William Butler Yeats
William Yeats is a little difficult to understand. After reading his poem “The Second Coming”, I was lost with the specifics. I’m sure if he even had specifics, but it felt like there more points he was trying to make evident than there were. One of the first things I gathered was he was referring to the second coming of Christ. He mentions anarchy and the “blood tide” and innocence being drowned, which to me sounds like the chaos mentioned in the book of Revelation. In a sense, all of the tragedies that have been going on in our world today could be seen as the chaos mentioned in the Bible. But as for Yeats, he does a good job painting the picture of what he feels this will be like during the Second Coming, but his last two lines…
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity
Don’t really seem to fit the rest of it. Again, maybe he was going for more than just a visual in the first stanza, but it could have ended with the 6th line and still had a strong ending.
In the last stanza, he mentions the second coming repeatedly, for emphasis on its importance I suppose, and later speaks on Christians’ readiness for His return. He compares Christian to babies being asleep in a cradle and also speaks on several different beasts that will be roaming the earth during the rapture. He never says why the beasts are relevant or how he feels about the Christians’ “stony sleep” so I’m trying to figure out why he wrote this. Was it to express chaos in a poem to parallel how things would be during the rapture? Or is there an underlying message that I messed? The topic at hand is an important one, feel free to correct me or INFORM me as to what is happening in this piece. I don’t think Yeats is on my list of people I like to read, but his work is interesting.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde was quite the fellow to present unlikely topics. In “The Decay of Lying” he presents an interesting point that I feel many people would agree with: without lying, life would be boring. His characters Vivian and Cyril go back and forth throughout the piece, each one defending/explaining their view. Vivian is more interested in the ‘artistic’ side of life and actually enjoys the energy that comes with things besides the natural. Cyril, on the other hand, is more of a stick to the basics type of woman. The two characters are humorous to say the least, and are both typical figures for their time.
The dialogue in this piece was a little exhausting, but probably would have been better acted out. Although Vivian had a point, speaking of the bare facts all the time would be rather boring, lying causes problems. I’m a bit of a stick in the mud when it comes to these kinds of topics, but I value honesty as one of the most important things there are so I couldn’t fully enjoy this piece like every one else probably did. I think Wilde did an excellent job expressing his thoughts through his characters’ voices and he made some very strong observations when it comes to how the world functions (especially by social standards). But….because I feel that he is in fact promoting lies to be ‘ok’ and even considered as an art in certain lights, I can’t give him my support because I disagree with that aspect of the message he was trying to convey with this piece of work. I would enjoy it for its comedic purposes, but once I go any deeper than the surface I’d quickly lose interest in it. Wilde is still a phenomenal writer, but when comes to personal views, mine get in the way of being able to thoroughly appreciate him because of the topics we disagree on.
Oscar Wilde was quite the fellow to present unlikely topics. In “The Decay of Lying” he presents an interesting point that I feel many people would agree with: without lying, life would be boring. His characters Vivian and Cyril go back and forth throughout the piece, each one defending/explaining their view. Vivian is more interested in the ‘artistic’ side of life and actually enjoys the energy that comes with things besides the natural. Cyril, on the other hand, is more of a stick to the basics type of woman. The two characters are humorous to say the least, and are both typical figures for their time.
The dialogue in this piece was a little exhausting, but probably would have been better acted out. Although Vivian had a point, speaking of the bare facts all the time would be rather boring, lying causes problems. I’m a bit of a stick in the mud when it comes to these kinds of topics, but I value honesty as one of the most important things there are so I couldn’t fully enjoy this piece like every one else probably did. I think Wilde did an excellent job expressing his thoughts through his characters’ voices and he made some very strong observations when it comes to how the world functions (especially by social standards). But….because I feel that he is in fact promoting lies to be ‘ok’ and even considered as an art in certain lights, I can’t give him my support because I disagree with that aspect of the message he was trying to convey with this piece of work. I would enjoy it for its comedic purposes, but once I go any deeper than the surface I’d quickly lose interest in it. Wilde is still a phenomenal writer, but when comes to personal views, mine get in the way of being able to thoroughly appreciate him because of the topics we disagree on.
Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Hopkins word choice for his poems were a little hard to understand at times, but the messages were good. Out of all the pieces that I read in our textbook, there were two that I liked over the others. The first one was “I wake and Feel the Fell of Dark, Not Day” and “Thou Art Indeed Just, Lord” was the second. These pieces both express the inner thoughts of Hopkins which could easily be the thoughts of anyone. But, unlike the average Joe, Hopkins articulated his thoughts with literary brilliance.
In the first piece, Hopkins opens the first stanza with the title “I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day” which a pretty powerful opening. Usually people associate waking up with mornings—and brightness—but here you have the opposite. On the surface it seems likes he’s may be talking about night time, but the darkness he’s referring to is actually the cruelty of his surroundings. He finishes that stanza speaking of the ‘hours of darkness’ which are actually years of unhappiness. He then finishes the poem, still in darkness, speaking of the ‘lost’ (souls in Hell) while speaking of his ways being worse than theirs in God’s eyes….which bring me to the second piece I liked.
Hopkins speaks of the short-comings of man in God’s just eyes. God is just and fair and all He expects us to do is work towards getting to Him. God gives blessing to those who praise Him and provide ways for those who don’t know Him to get close, but by a societal view it’s as if “sinner’s ways prosper” and “disappointment” is continuous. Hopkins also proposes the question of how thing would be if God were our enemy…something many of us wouldn’t dream of actually giving thought to. Hopkins makes it very clear that he feels as though he only a person who is weak and needs God to grow…”O thou lord of life, send my roots rain” and I respect and appreciate the acknowledgements of the two: 1. God being the provider and 2. Us needing Him to prosper, not the other way around. My only real complaint about Hopkins is the language he uses with his pieces. Aside from that, I give him two thumbs up.
Hopkins word choice for his poems were a little hard to understand at times, but the messages were good. Out of all the pieces that I read in our textbook, there were two that I liked over the others. The first one was “I wake and Feel the Fell of Dark, Not Day” and “Thou Art Indeed Just, Lord” was the second. These pieces both express the inner thoughts of Hopkins which could easily be the thoughts of anyone. But, unlike the average Joe, Hopkins articulated his thoughts with literary brilliance.
In the first piece, Hopkins opens the first stanza with the title “I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day” which a pretty powerful opening. Usually people associate waking up with mornings—and brightness—but here you have the opposite. On the surface it seems likes he’s may be talking about night time, but the darkness he’s referring to is actually the cruelty of his surroundings. He finishes that stanza speaking of the ‘hours of darkness’ which are actually years of unhappiness. He then finishes the poem, still in darkness, speaking of the ‘lost’ (souls in Hell) while speaking of his ways being worse than theirs in God’s eyes….which bring me to the second piece I liked.
Hopkins speaks of the short-comings of man in God’s just eyes. God is just and fair and all He expects us to do is work towards getting to Him. God gives blessing to those who praise Him and provide ways for those who don’t know Him to get close, but by a societal view it’s as if “sinner’s ways prosper” and “disappointment” is continuous. Hopkins also proposes the question of how thing would be if God were our enemy…something many of us wouldn’t dream of actually giving thought to. Hopkins makes it very clear that he feels as though he only a person who is weak and needs God to grow…”O thou lord of life, send my roots rain” and I respect and appreciate the acknowledgements of the two: 1. God being the provider and 2. Us needing Him to prosper, not the other way around. My only real complaint about Hopkins is the language he uses with his pieces. Aside from that, I give him two thumbs up.
Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle was a “difficult and cranky old man” who had and enormous influence on Victorian writers. His influence with the Victorian writers was so substantial it was stated that even if all his books were burnt “it would only be like cutting down an oak after all its acorns have sown the forest.” Carlyle was raised in a very strict family who emphasized the importance of hard work. If it weren’t for this, Carlyle may not have have been the writer he became. His dedication to his work not only contributed to our literary libraries, but it also allowed him to marry the love of his life. I found it very interesting that although his wife, at least at first, did not see Carlyle as the man for her, he wouldn’t let it go. He predicted the weather and everything for their wedding and didn’t not give up until it came true. There was no doubt in his mind that he would accomplish his goal once his mind was set to it, both in relation to work and personal affairs, and I think that is an important trait many more people should possess. He also stated a good quote in his piece “Labour [know thy work]” which states “Doubt of whatever kind can be ended by Action alone.” Again, his follow through makes his words even more meaningful.
In the piece “Labour [know thy work]” Carlyle speaks of the importance of the working man and how valuable his work actually is. Carlyle actually valued ‘work’ so much, at one point he preached the Gospel of Work to his generation. In the beginning of his piece he says, “ There is always hope in a man that actually and earnestly works: in Idleness alone there is perpetual despair.” This is a very strong and true statement that I feel our generation needs to be aware of. So many time people complain about their retail jobs and cranky customers when we consider work today would be kids play in the past. We, as a society, have become spoiled and expect everything to be handed to us or to barely to do anything and expect the full benefits of what we could have gotten had we “earnestly” worked for it. If Carlyle were here today, I feel that he’d be very disappointed, if not ashamed, at how spoiled we have become. Carlyle is indeed a very intelligent and insightful man. While his works were interesting, I would honestly have to say his works wouldn’t be the first thing I’d grab out of selection. He has very good morals and I respect what he has contributed to us, but I’d expect to see him in a history class more so than literature.
Thomas Carlyle was a “difficult and cranky old man” who had and enormous influence on Victorian writers. His influence with the Victorian writers was so substantial it was stated that even if all his books were burnt “it would only be like cutting down an oak after all its acorns have sown the forest.” Carlyle was raised in a very strict family who emphasized the importance of hard work. If it weren’t for this, Carlyle may not have have been the writer he became. His dedication to his work not only contributed to our literary libraries, but it also allowed him to marry the love of his life. I found it very interesting that although his wife, at least at first, did not see Carlyle as the man for her, he wouldn’t let it go. He predicted the weather and everything for their wedding and didn’t not give up until it came true. There was no doubt in his mind that he would accomplish his goal once his mind was set to it, both in relation to work and personal affairs, and I think that is an important trait many more people should possess. He also stated a good quote in his piece “Labour [know thy work]” which states “Doubt of whatever kind can be ended by Action alone.” Again, his follow through makes his words even more meaningful.
In the piece “Labour [know thy work]” Carlyle speaks of the importance of the working man and how valuable his work actually is. Carlyle actually valued ‘work’ so much, at one point he preached the Gospel of Work to his generation. In the beginning of his piece he says, “ There is always hope in a man that actually and earnestly works: in Idleness alone there is perpetual despair.” This is a very strong and true statement that I feel our generation needs to be aware of. So many time people complain about their retail jobs and cranky customers when we consider work today would be kids play in the past. We, as a society, have become spoiled and expect everything to be handed to us or to barely to do anything and expect the full benefits of what we could have gotten had we “earnestly” worked for it. If Carlyle were here today, I feel that he’d be very disappointed, if not ashamed, at how spoiled we have become. Carlyle is indeed a very intelligent and insightful man. While his works were interesting, I would honestly have to say his works wouldn’t be the first thing I’d grab out of selection. He has very good morals and I respect what he has contributed to us, but I’d expect to see him in a history class more so than literature.
Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens’ A Visit to Newgate tells about the visit to the prison and all of the observations. It has a very sympathetic message about prisoners and how many people avoid ‘death’ and the concept of it. There was a strong feeling of hopelessness and everyone pretty much seemed to keep to themselves almost oblivious to their fellow inmates. Of course, as anyone would imagine, spending time in prison would wear down one’s confidence after so long, but the younger boys who were in prison for petty crimes had a different point of view. They almost had a sense of pride for being locked up. The women were very down trodden about being in the prison, that was very evident. The main theme of this piece would be deterioration and death if had to be pin-pointed.
One of the parts that stuck out the most was when he passed through the ward where the children had been arrested for pick-pocketing. There wasn’t anything in this part of the prison that seemed to posses the feeling of shame or honesty. These boys were thankful just to be looked at, even if they were being look at as prisoners because they were a product of neglect.
“We never looked upon a more disagreeable sight, because we never saw fourteen such hopeless creatures of neglect before.”
Because their innocence is gone, these children represent death of life before it even began. The women are hopeless who have the children, the children then in turn, are raised without hope themselves and are neglected by the hopeless parents thus becoming a class of people who are doomed to be prisoners. Although this piece was written many years ago, the same cycle is being perpetuated today. It’s sad to say, but very true, that many of youth are declining and have a sense of imprisonment, even if it’s just an environmental feeling, which can still lead to and unproductive life.
Charles Dickens’ A Visit to Newgate tells about the visit to the prison and all of the observations. It has a very sympathetic message about prisoners and how many people avoid ‘death’ and the concept of it. There was a strong feeling of hopelessness and everyone pretty much seemed to keep to themselves almost oblivious to their fellow inmates. Of course, as anyone would imagine, spending time in prison would wear down one’s confidence after so long, but the younger boys who were in prison for petty crimes had a different point of view. They almost had a sense of pride for being locked up. The women were very down trodden about being in the prison, that was very evident. The main theme of this piece would be deterioration and death if had to be pin-pointed.
One of the parts that stuck out the most was when he passed through the ward where the children had been arrested for pick-pocketing. There wasn’t anything in this part of the prison that seemed to posses the feeling of shame or honesty. These boys were thankful just to be looked at, even if they were being look at as prisoners because they were a product of neglect.
“We never looked upon a more disagreeable sight, because we never saw fourteen such hopeless creatures of neglect before.”
Because their innocence is gone, these children represent death of life before it even began. The women are hopeless who have the children, the children then in turn, are raised without hope themselves and are neglected by the hopeless parents thus becoming a class of people who are doomed to be prisoners. Although this piece was written many years ago, the same cycle is being perpetuated today. It’s sad to say, but very true, that many of youth are declining and have a sense of imprisonment, even if it’s just an environmental feeling, which can still lead to and unproductive life.
Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Work Without Hope captures the desolation of man’s inner feelings. Many times, even present day, people go about working without feeling they have a true meaning or purpose for their labors. In this piece, Coleridge uses contradictory imagery to emphasize the empty feeling the man has inside. His surroundings are all positive and happy, and place where most people would feel content he feels out of place….
All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair—
The bees are stirring—birds are on the wing—
And winter slumbering in the open air,
Wears on his slumbering face a dream of Spring!
All the description and imagery in this section of the poem are of the environment. Then the man’s true feelings are revealed…
And I, the while, the sole unbusy thing
Nor honey make, nor pair, nor build, nor sing.
He is out of place and does not know what to do about it. This poem also reminds me of my earlier years in college. I didn’t really know what I wanted to study and I was a little discouraged because all of my classmates knew what they wanted to major in and what they wanted to do with their careers. At some point in everyone’s life I’m sure they feel out of place or uncertain of what their role is, but we must work with hope for…
Work without hope draws nectar to a sieve,
And Hope without an object cannot live.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Work Without Hope captures the desolation of man’s inner feelings. Many times, even present day, people go about working without feeling they have a true meaning or purpose for their labors. In this piece, Coleridge uses contradictory imagery to emphasize the empty feeling the man has inside. His surroundings are all positive and happy, and place where most people would feel content he feels out of place….
All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair—
The bees are stirring—birds are on the wing—
And winter slumbering in the open air,
Wears on his slumbering face a dream of Spring!
All the description and imagery in this section of the poem are of the environment. Then the man’s true feelings are revealed…
And I, the while, the sole unbusy thing
Nor honey make, nor pair, nor build, nor sing.
He is out of place and does not know what to do about it. This poem also reminds me of my earlier years in college. I didn’t really know what I wanted to study and I was a little discouraged because all of my classmates knew what they wanted to major in and what they wanted to do with their careers. At some point in everyone’s life I’m sure they feel out of place or uncertain of what their role is, but we must work with hope for…
Work without hope draws nectar to a sieve,
And Hope without an object cannot live.
Keats
John Keats
John Keats is another “young poet” to greatly shape the world of poetry. Keats wasn’t on the scene very long, but his works are known by many. He is most known for his odes, Ode to a Grecian Urn is one, and many of his pieces are quoted and taught in many literature classes. Of the pieces that were in our textbook, I especially liked his Sonnet: When I have Fears.
The theme is of this piece is the resolution of an intense fear of time. Keats expresses his fear of dying young in the first thought. He fears that he will not fulfill himself as a writer:
“When I have fears that I may cease to be/Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain” (line 1-2)
and that he will never experience romance or will lose those he loves dearly.
“That I shall never look upon thee more,/Never have relish in the fairy power/Of unreflecting love” (lines 10-12)
Keats resolves his fears by asserting the unimportance of love and fame in the concluding two and a half lines of this sonnet. This assertation allows him to create a distance that allows him get a grasp on the fear. Unfortunately, we are left with only what he was able to write in his short life time. I can only imagine what other great works he would have produced as his writings would have matured over time.
John Keats is another “young poet” to greatly shape the world of poetry. Keats wasn’t on the scene very long, but his works are known by many. He is most known for his odes, Ode to a Grecian Urn is one, and many of his pieces are quoted and taught in many literature classes. Of the pieces that were in our textbook, I especially liked his Sonnet: When I have Fears.
The theme is of this piece is the resolution of an intense fear of time. Keats expresses his fear of dying young in the first thought. He fears that he will not fulfill himself as a writer:
“When I have fears that I may cease to be/Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain” (line 1-2)
and that he will never experience romance or will lose those he loves dearly.
“That I shall never look upon thee more,/Never have relish in the fairy power/Of unreflecting love” (lines 10-12)
Keats resolves his fears by asserting the unimportance of love and fame in the concluding two and a half lines of this sonnet. This assertation allows him to create a distance that allows him get a grasp on the fear. Unfortunately, we are left with only what he was able to write in his short life time. I can only imagine what other great works he would have produced as his writings would have matured over time.
Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy had an interesting view on things. Many people today believe that if something happens, it happens for a reason. With Hardy’s expression through his poem “Hap” he would NOT be satisfied with just anything taking place in his life. If something took place, it had to take place specifically for him because that’s what made him unique and what made it special. He voices in the first stanza that a ‘god’ could cause vengeance that was specifically for him and it’d be a profit…
If but some vengeful god would call to me
From up the sky, and laugh: “Thou suffering thing,
Know that thy sorrow is thy ecstasy,
That thy love’s loss is my hate’s profiting!”
To gladly accept the intentional suffering of a ‘god’ for personal betterment seems to be a bit of a stretch. For one reason, any type of suffering should not be amusing to God, but then again I am speaking from the beliefs of a Christian. On another note, Hardy seems to have some humor in this piece with emphatic use of enduring pain. For God to powerful, and humans to be weak, it’d be a little ironic for Him to take pleasure by us suffering and make Him weak. And for a human to be “all-powerful and mighty” because he accepts specified suffering seems to be a clever literary spoof on an opposition of roles. Mr. Hardy chose his words carefully and cleverly and I applaud him for this piece. Maybe I’m looking at it wrong, but I feel he did a very good job at being sarcastic on a controversial issue.
Thomas Hardy had an interesting view on things. Many people today believe that if something happens, it happens for a reason. With Hardy’s expression through his poem “Hap” he would NOT be satisfied with just anything taking place in his life. If something took place, it had to take place specifically for him because that’s what made him unique and what made it special. He voices in the first stanza that a ‘god’ could cause vengeance that was specifically for him and it’d be a profit…
If but some vengeful god would call to me
From up the sky, and laugh: “Thou suffering thing,
Know that thy sorrow is thy ecstasy,
That thy love’s loss is my hate’s profiting!”
To gladly accept the intentional suffering of a ‘god’ for personal betterment seems to be a bit of a stretch. For one reason, any type of suffering should not be amusing to God, but then again I am speaking from the beliefs of a Christian. On another note, Hardy seems to have some humor in this piece with emphatic use of enduring pain. For God to powerful, and humans to be weak, it’d be a little ironic for Him to take pleasure by us suffering and make Him weak. And for a human to be “all-powerful and mighty” because he accepts specified suffering seems to be a clever literary spoof on an opposition of roles. Mr. Hardy chose his words carefully and cleverly and I applaud him for this piece. Maybe I’m looking at it wrong, but I feel he did a very good job at being sarcastic on a controversial issue.
R. Browning
Robert Browning
Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess” scared me a little at first. I had to go back and look at the foot notes to make sure I was understanding it correctly. My first impression of the poem was, “Wow, this guy has serious control issues!!” It seemed like Browning was using the other characters in the piece to voice how he felt about his lover. Browning was ‘sheltered’ and ‘spoiled’ growing up, so this didn’t seem too far-fetched.
The poem is, in fact, about the Duke looking at a painting of his last duchess for he is now widowed. The Duke reminisces on the painting sessions of the portrait and also on the past memories he has of her. He was a jealous man, in my eyes and held himself above others simply because he was royalty. He voices his dissatisfaction of his wife, who was very humble and modest, would give strangers the same smile she would give to him for thanks.
She thanked men,--good! But thanked
Somehow—I know not how—as if she ranked
My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name
With anybody’s gift
Although the Duke did have his royal name to be proud of, I feel that he thought a little too much of himself for something he didn’t really earn. Browning did a good job with this piece. It wasn’t difficult to understand or follow and was very well written
Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess” scared me a little at first. I had to go back and look at the foot notes to make sure I was understanding it correctly. My first impression of the poem was, “Wow, this guy has serious control issues!!” It seemed like Browning was using the other characters in the piece to voice how he felt about his lover. Browning was ‘sheltered’ and ‘spoiled’ growing up, so this didn’t seem too far-fetched.
The poem is, in fact, about the Duke looking at a painting of his last duchess for he is now widowed. The Duke reminisces on the painting sessions of the portrait and also on the past memories he has of her. He was a jealous man, in my eyes and held himself above others simply because he was royalty. He voices his dissatisfaction of his wife, who was very humble and modest, would give strangers the same smile she would give to him for thanks.
She thanked men,--good! But thanked
Somehow—I know not how—as if she ranked
My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name
With anybody’s gift
Although the Duke did have his royal name to be proud of, I feel that he thought a little too much of himself for something he didn’t really earn. Browning did a good job with this piece. It wasn’t difficult to understand or follow and was very well written
E. Browning
Elizabeth Browning
“The most celebrated woman poet of the Victorian era”
Elizabeth Browning was the eldest of eleven children and had a passion for Greek poetry. She grew up in the country and later moved to London where she had a hard time adjusting to her surroundings. Her poetry, at one point, was the only thing to keep her hopes up. Her sonnets were a particular favorite of mine. Here are my take on sonnets 21 and 22
21 “Say over again, and yet once over again,/That thou dost love me.” (lines 1-2)
The theme of this sonnet is doubt and reassurance of love. Throughout this sonnet Browning acknowledges repetition might be viewed as unnecessary as some might see the cuckoo’s song as unnecessary, but reassurance of love is an important to a relationships health as the cuckoo’s song is to announcing the coming of Spring. Despite the love she feels Browning is mired in doubt as well:
“ Beloved I, amid the darkness greeted/ By a doubtful spirit-voice, in that doubts pain,/Cry, ‘Speak once more--though lovest!’” ( line 7-9)
Despite what seems to be a focus on the spoken word, Browning ends her plea with her deepest desire, for her love to love her but “only minding, Dear,/To love me also in silence with thy soul.” (lines 13-14)
22 Browning begins this sonnet with the image of the souls of her and her love’s souls rising higher and higher into heaven after death, but despite the image the poem does not convey a desire to love him until the end of time while in heaven. Her wish is to remain on earth..she asks
“---what bitter wrong/Can the earth do to us, that we should not long/Be here contented? Think! In mounting higher,/The angels would press on us and spire/ To drop some golden orb of perfect song/Into our deep, dear silence.” (lines 4-9)
She finds beauty in the living in an unfit, contrary world that essentially leaves their “pure spirits” alone. Essentially, she finds their love beautiful by comparison. A love compared to the outside world is easier to cherish and feels more special and beautiful A love compared to the beauty of heaven and angels would be almost inadequate or impossible to compare.
“The most celebrated woman poet of the Victorian era”
Elizabeth Browning was the eldest of eleven children and had a passion for Greek poetry. She grew up in the country and later moved to London where she had a hard time adjusting to her surroundings. Her poetry, at one point, was the only thing to keep her hopes up. Her sonnets were a particular favorite of mine. Here are my take on sonnets 21 and 22
21 “Say over again, and yet once over again,/That thou dost love me.” (lines 1-2)
The theme of this sonnet is doubt and reassurance of love. Throughout this sonnet Browning acknowledges repetition might be viewed as unnecessary as some might see the cuckoo’s song as unnecessary, but reassurance of love is an important to a relationships health as the cuckoo’s song is to announcing the coming of Spring. Despite the love she feels Browning is mired in doubt as well:
“ Beloved I, amid the darkness greeted/ By a doubtful spirit-voice, in that doubts pain,/Cry, ‘Speak once more--though lovest!’” ( line 7-9)
Despite what seems to be a focus on the spoken word, Browning ends her plea with her deepest desire, for her love to love her but “only minding, Dear,/To love me also in silence with thy soul.” (lines 13-14)
22 Browning begins this sonnet with the image of the souls of her and her love’s souls rising higher and higher into heaven after death, but despite the image the poem does not convey a desire to love him until the end of time while in heaven. Her wish is to remain on earth..she asks
“---what bitter wrong/Can the earth do to us, that we should not long/Be here contented? Think! In mounting higher,/The angels would press on us and spire/ To drop some golden orb of perfect song/Into our deep, dear silence.” (lines 4-9)
She finds beauty in the living in an unfit, contrary world that essentially leaves their “pure spirits” alone. Essentially, she finds their love beautiful by comparison. A love compared to the outside world is easier to cherish and feels more special and beautiful A love compared to the beauty of heaven and angels would be almost inadequate or impossible to compare.
Woolf
Virginia Woolf (e-text)
Even the beginning of this excerpt is a tribute to the power of women. Woolf claims that it was easy for her to become a journalist: “She had only to move the pen from left to right--from ten o’clock to one. Then it occurred to her to do what was simple and cheap enough after all--to slip a few of those pages into an envelope, fix a penny stamp in the corner, and drop the envelope into the red box at the corner.” Her easy transition into writer essentially refutes the common prejudices against women in professional or “men’s” occupations. Her only remorse was that, at first, she did not know the struggles of professional women, and with her first wages bought a cat instead of paying bills.
Woolf’s battle with a certain phantom she calls The Angel in the House is truly the main theme of this excerpt. This allusion to a poem of the same name by Coventry Patmore gives her phantom the character of the “perfect Victorian woman” who is meek, domestic, subservient, and judged by surface material. This angel “excelled in the arts of family life. She sacrificed herself daily. If there was chicken, she took the leg. If there was a draught, she sat in it--in short she was so constituted that she never had a mind or wish of her own, but preferred to sympathize always with the minds and wishes of others.“ Woolf’s Angel is the descendent of these beliefs. Her fight is with modern societal prejudices against the ability and roles of women. This angel is a personification of the social identity that was ingrained into Woolf ,and many other women of her time, since birth. But in oder to succeed in her journalist career, Woolf had to thoroughly shed these hindering beliefs. Or as she puts it, she had to kill the angel.
The killing of these beliefs was an act of self defense to Woolf: “Had I not killed her she would have killed me. She would have plucked the heart right out of my writing.” Identifying as one with her writing, Woolf realizes that internalizing the beliefs of her phantom would have been the death of her writing and of herself. Internalizing unjust beliefs is demoralizing and perpetuates a cycle of sex based inequality., which is exactly what Woolf and her contemporaries fought against. This struggle to her was in a sense a waste of time. She had to spend precious moments fighting for an equality that should have been a natural right instead of learning a new language or seeking adventures but in her words “Killing the Angel in the House was part of the occupation of a woman writer.”
Even the beginning of this excerpt is a tribute to the power of women. Woolf claims that it was easy for her to become a journalist: “She had only to move the pen from left to right--from ten o’clock to one. Then it occurred to her to do what was simple and cheap enough after all--to slip a few of those pages into an envelope, fix a penny stamp in the corner, and drop the envelope into the red box at the corner.” Her easy transition into writer essentially refutes the common prejudices against women in professional or “men’s” occupations. Her only remorse was that, at first, she did not know the struggles of professional women, and with her first wages bought a cat instead of paying bills.
Woolf’s battle with a certain phantom she calls The Angel in the House is truly the main theme of this excerpt. This allusion to a poem of the same name by Coventry Patmore gives her phantom the character of the “perfect Victorian woman” who is meek, domestic, subservient, and judged by surface material. This angel “excelled in the arts of family life. She sacrificed herself daily. If there was chicken, she took the leg. If there was a draught, she sat in it--in short she was so constituted that she never had a mind or wish of her own, but preferred to sympathize always with the minds and wishes of others.“ Woolf’s Angel is the descendent of these beliefs. Her fight is with modern societal prejudices against the ability and roles of women. This angel is a personification of the social identity that was ingrained into Woolf ,and many other women of her time, since birth. But in oder to succeed in her journalist career, Woolf had to thoroughly shed these hindering beliefs. Or as she puts it, she had to kill the angel.
The killing of these beliefs was an act of self defense to Woolf: “Had I not killed her she would have killed me. She would have plucked the heart right out of my writing.” Identifying as one with her writing, Woolf realizes that internalizing the beliefs of her phantom would have been the death of her writing and of herself. Internalizing unjust beliefs is demoralizing and perpetuates a cycle of sex based inequality., which is exactly what Woolf and her contemporaries fought against. This struggle to her was in a sense a waste of time. She had to spend precious moments fighting for an equality that should have been a natural right instead of learning a new language or seeking adventures but in her words “Killing the Angel in the House was part of the occupation of a woman writer.”
W. Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a poet of the Romantic period who wrote both in rhyme and in free verse. Wordsworth was also known for the imagery he used in his pieces. He liked to provoke his audience’s feelings and did so in such a way that we would get lost in his words. Even if the poem was about death, which he spoke of with several voices, the language in which Wordsworth used left with a feeling of comfort.
His piece “We are Seven”, for example, is written in the voice of a small girl. In this poem he begins speaking (I’m assuming it’s him) and finishes the poem in the voice of a little girl. Her words are delicate and death does not seem to bother her. She speaks of the family members that have died in her family and where their bodies lie. Even though we usually don’t associate children speaking of death, the girl in this piece had a very strong voice and didn’t seem to be speaking outside of her age frame. She was articulate, calm, and confident with her words and Wordsworth did a very good job making their conversation believable. I took a persona poetry course so I know how challenging that can be.
Death is also in Wordsworth’s piece “Strange fits of passion have I known.” In this poem he speaks of his trip going o see a woman named Lucy. He never reveals who exactly Lucy is, but he describes the scenery and the night on his way to go see her. The moon is his guiding light…
I to her cottage bent my way
Beneath the evening moon
And gives a sense of comfort along his route. The night seems cool and while reading, I felt as if I were on horseback on my way too!! All along his journey his thought of her kept him happy and then he mentions how the thought of her death would bring him pain. The mysteriousness of Wordsworth was also, I feel, a strong point of his writing.
William Wordsworth was a poet of the Romantic period who wrote both in rhyme and in free verse. Wordsworth was also known for the imagery he used in his pieces. He liked to provoke his audience’s feelings and did so in such a way that we would get lost in his words. Even if the poem was about death, which he spoke of with several voices, the language in which Wordsworth used left with a feeling of comfort.
His piece “We are Seven”, for example, is written in the voice of a small girl. In this poem he begins speaking (I’m assuming it’s him) and finishes the poem in the voice of a little girl. Her words are delicate and death does not seem to bother her. She speaks of the family members that have died in her family and where their bodies lie. Even though we usually don’t associate children speaking of death, the girl in this piece had a very strong voice and didn’t seem to be speaking outside of her age frame. She was articulate, calm, and confident with her words and Wordsworth did a very good job making their conversation believable. I took a persona poetry course so I know how challenging that can be.
Death is also in Wordsworth’s piece “Strange fits of passion have I known.” In this poem he speaks of his trip going o see a woman named Lucy. He never reveals who exactly Lucy is, but he describes the scenery and the night on his way to go see her. The moon is his guiding light…
I to her cottage bent my way
Beneath the evening moon
And gives a sense of comfort along his route. The night seems cool and while reading, I felt as if I were on horseback on my way too!! All along his journey his thought of her kept him happy and then he mentions how the thought of her death would bring him pain. The mysteriousness of Wordsworth was also, I feel, a strong point of his writing.
Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
After reading the bio information on Shelley I thought I was going to be in for a real treat. In our text book his called “one of the most radically visionary of the Romantics” and he seemed to be quite the risk taker. He was expelled from Oxford for a pamphlet he assisted in writing with a friend on atheism. Later in his life, which was riddled with scandal and misfortune, he was even denied custody of his children because of a piece he wrote, Prometheus Unbound. Shelley lived a short life, but it was filled with more than enough activity for during the years he was alive.
Looking at Shelley’s “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty” I ended up with some mixed emotions. At first I felt like he was trying to propose rhetorical questions about the “Spirit of Beauty” and why mankind focused so much on “love and hate, despondency and hope” because there was more to life, but I didn’t that way towards the end of it. Typically, I expect most writings to push toward getting closer to God unless the author was known for having religious beliefs where God wasn’t the Alpha and Omega of life. Then I remembered Shelley’s being expelled for the pamphlet. In the third stanza he writes…
…Frail spells—whose uttered charm might not avail to sever/
From all we hear and all we see,
Doubt, chance, and mutability
Which I interpreted as him speaking on prayer. It seems that Shelley is saying the “frail spells” (prayer) might not be worth anything in long run and it seems like he is trying the power/might of God. I may just be reacting to the piece to personally, but I didn’t find his work all that great. Besides the content being disturbing, I didn’t feel it was written well either.
After reading the bio information on Shelley I thought I was going to be in for a real treat. In our text book his called “one of the most radically visionary of the Romantics” and he seemed to be quite the risk taker. He was expelled from Oxford for a pamphlet he assisted in writing with a friend on atheism. Later in his life, which was riddled with scandal and misfortune, he was even denied custody of his children because of a piece he wrote, Prometheus Unbound. Shelley lived a short life, but it was filled with more than enough activity for during the years he was alive.
Looking at Shelley’s “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty” I ended up with some mixed emotions. At first I felt like he was trying to propose rhetorical questions about the “Spirit of Beauty” and why mankind focused so much on “love and hate, despondency and hope” because there was more to life, but I didn’t that way towards the end of it. Typically, I expect most writings to push toward getting closer to God unless the author was known for having religious beliefs where God wasn’t the Alpha and Omega of life. Then I remembered Shelley’s being expelled for the pamphlet. In the third stanza he writes…
…Frail spells—whose uttered charm might not avail to sever/
From all we hear and all we see,
Doubt, chance, and mutability
Which I interpreted as him speaking on prayer. It seems that Shelley is saying the “frail spells” (prayer) might not be worth anything in long run and it seems like he is trying the power/might of God. I may just be reacting to the piece to personally, but I didn’t find his work all that great. Besides the content being disturbing, I didn’t feel it was written well either.
D. Wordsworth
Dorothy Wordsworth
“I should detest the idea of setting myself as an Author,” were the words of Dorothy Wordsworth. Dorothy Wordsworth was indeed a great writer like her brother William, but never desired for her works to be published. Dorothy was more of a private writer who encompassed the skill and craft of a poet. She was closest to her brother William (there were other siblings) and the two of them inspired each other’s works. Many of their pieces actually were responses and almost conversational to the other’s work. Before her death, William published a few of her works in him volumes and merely specified them as being written “By my sister” and not signing her name to them. The two lived together, even after William was married, and couldn’t have been any closer.
Some of the things I really liked about Dorothy’s writing were her simplicity and thoroughness. Her journal entries and poem “Thoughts on My Sick-bed” were a few of the pieces I really enjoyed. Her entry “A Vision of the Moon” captured my attention. I absolutely love being outdoors and the stars and moon have a special place with me. Her description of the night was captivating and reminded me of some of the nights I spent looking up at the stars. Her poem made me a little sad, but I felt that it was written well. She didn’t go into depth about her misery or pain and mainly spoke of her friends coming to see her and voiced…
When loving Friends an offering brought,
The first flowers of the year,
Culled from the precincts of our home,
From nooks to Memory dear….
--I thought of Nature’s loveliest scenes;
And with Memory I was there.
She never seemed to let anything bring her down and I found that personally inspiring.
“I should detest the idea of setting myself as an Author,” were the words of Dorothy Wordsworth. Dorothy Wordsworth was indeed a great writer like her brother William, but never desired for her works to be published. Dorothy was more of a private writer who encompassed the skill and craft of a poet. She was closest to her brother William (there were other siblings) and the two of them inspired each other’s works. Many of their pieces actually were responses and almost conversational to the other’s work. Before her death, William published a few of her works in him volumes and merely specified them as being written “By my sister” and not signing her name to them. The two lived together, even after William was married, and couldn’t have been any closer.
Some of the things I really liked about Dorothy’s writing were her simplicity and thoroughness. Her journal entries and poem “Thoughts on My Sick-bed” were a few of the pieces I really enjoyed. Her entry “A Vision of the Moon” captured my attention. I absolutely love being outdoors and the stars and moon have a special place with me. Her description of the night was captivating and reminded me of some of the nights I spent looking up at the stars. Her poem made me a little sad, but I felt that it was written well. She didn’t go into depth about her misery or pain and mainly spoke of her friends coming to see her and voiced…
When loving Friends an offering brought,
The first flowers of the year,
Culled from the precincts of our home,
From nooks to Memory dear….
--I thought of Nature’s loveliest scenes;
And with Memory I was there.
She never seemed to let anything bring her down and I found that personally inspiring.
Blake
William Blake
Although William Blake wasn’t widely known during his day, he was very well known during the modern counter-culture. In addition to being an artist with words, Blake was also an artist with the brush. Some of his famous art works include Red Dragon and Dante’s Inferno which are both very striking pieces. Blake’s ways of expressing himself, through his art and poetry, were viewed as eccentric and rather intense. Some people even believed him to be mad in his day. Even though his works were out of the ordinary, his expressiveness and creativity are what made him stand out amongst other poets.
In one of his two most famous works, Songs of Innocence and Experience, he expresses the ‘innocence’ of life through the voice of children (as in The Chimney Sweeper) and the observations of children as well (Nurse’s song).
In Blake’s The Chimney Sweeper, the voice of a young boy tells the story of the life of sweepers. Most of them came from impoverished homes and the working conditions were horrible. No place for a child to be to say the least. Beside the work being unfitting for a child, sickness and death were common from the children getting black lung from breathing in soot. The children were constantly surrounded by misery and distress, but somehow still managed to gather some kind of happiness, even if it was by thinking of their friends passing on to go to heaven…
And by came an Angel who had a bright key
And he open’d the coffins and set them all free.
Then down a green plain leaping and laughing they run
And wash in a river and shine in a sun
The thought of being in a better place, even if by death, was all they had to go for. Their innocence had been taken from them and Blake did a wonderful job expressing their despair with his style (rhyme schemes and imagery).
In contrast, Blake’s Nurse’s Song captures the true innocence of children. In this piece he speaks through an observation…
When the voices of little children are heard on the green/….
My heart is at rest within my breast…
and through the voice of the children…
No no let us play, for it is yet day…
I enjoyed Blake’s work, both the expression of his societal awareness and his writing style.
Although William Blake wasn’t widely known during his day, he was very well known during the modern counter-culture. In addition to being an artist with words, Blake was also an artist with the brush. Some of his famous art works include Red Dragon and Dante’s Inferno which are both very striking pieces. Blake’s ways of expressing himself, through his art and poetry, were viewed as eccentric and rather intense. Some people even believed him to be mad in his day. Even though his works were out of the ordinary, his expressiveness and creativity are what made him stand out amongst other poets.
In one of his two most famous works, Songs of Innocence and Experience, he expresses the ‘innocence’ of life through the voice of children (as in The Chimney Sweeper) and the observations of children as well (Nurse’s song).
In Blake’s The Chimney Sweeper, the voice of a young boy tells the story of the life of sweepers. Most of them came from impoverished homes and the working conditions were horrible. No place for a child to be to say the least. Beside the work being unfitting for a child, sickness and death were common from the children getting black lung from breathing in soot. The children were constantly surrounded by misery and distress, but somehow still managed to gather some kind of happiness, even if it was by thinking of their friends passing on to go to heaven…
And by came an Angel who had a bright key
And he open’d the coffins and set them all free.
Then down a green plain leaping and laughing they run
And wash in a river and shine in a sun
The thought of being in a better place, even if by death, was all they had to go for. Their innocence had been taken from them and Blake did a wonderful job expressing their despair with his style (rhyme schemes and imagery).
In contrast, Blake’s Nurse’s Song captures the true innocence of children. In this piece he speaks through an observation…
When the voices of little children are heard on the green/….
My heart is at rest within my breast…
and through the voice of the children…
No no let us play, for it is yet day…
I enjoyed Blake’s work, both the expression of his societal awareness and his writing style.
Tennyson
Lord Alfred Tennyson
After reading Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Tears, Idle Tears” another name was added to my list of favorites. I wasn’t too familiar with too many of his pieces, but this one I really liked and kind of connected with. It wasn’t until recently, about the past two years or so, that I had ever just cried for “no apparent reason.” (I’m not trying to go Dr. Phil on you, promise) But reading this piece made re think about some of those moments when I have and it made think about the afterlife as well. Tennyson describes the past as “Death in Life” and the “days that are no more.” He actually repeats this line at the end of every stanza emphasizing the hold that the past has on him and its meaning. To merely look “on the happy Autumn-fields” and have tears fall, shows that’s he has a deep connection with his memories and his emotions which I think is very important. He also seemed to have some inner battles going on which you can also sense in the melancholy over-tone of the piece. There are many good poets, but this is a personal piece which still reaches out to many different individuals. The language of his poetry was intriguing as well: idle tears; half-awaken’d birds; dear as remembered kisses after death, tears from the depth of some divine despair. Out of all of the poets we’ve read in this class, I think I would have taken pleasure in having a literary conversation with him.
After reading Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Tears, Idle Tears” another name was added to my list of favorites. I wasn’t too familiar with too many of his pieces, but this one I really liked and kind of connected with. It wasn’t until recently, about the past two years or so, that I had ever just cried for “no apparent reason.” (I’m not trying to go Dr. Phil on you, promise) But reading this piece made re think about some of those moments when I have and it made think about the afterlife as well. Tennyson describes the past as “Death in Life” and the “days that are no more.” He actually repeats this line at the end of every stanza emphasizing the hold that the past has on him and its meaning. To merely look “on the happy Autumn-fields” and have tears fall, shows that’s he has a deep connection with his memories and his emotions which I think is very important. He also seemed to have some inner battles going on which you can also sense in the melancholy over-tone of the piece. There are many good poets, but this is a personal piece which still reaches out to many different individuals. The language of his poetry was intriguing as well: idle tears; half-awaken’d birds; dear as remembered kisses after death, tears from the depth of some divine despair. Out of all of the poets we’ve read in this class, I think I would have taken pleasure in having a literary conversation with him.
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