World War I- The Great War, as it was known at the time, since they didn't know about World War II, and probably hoped that it would never happen again, forever changed the modern world. Not only in terms of warfare used, such as tear gas and trench warfare, but also in the all-encompassing scope of the people affected. Because Britain was so involved in the war, members of all classes were brought in to fight. Specifically, upper classes that had never before seen battle. But what really impacted life on the Western Front was a uniting culture of literature, a shared interest in the great writers of the time, that made communicating and expressing themselves easier. It is hard to imagine this as the United States doesn't really have the same shared literary interest as Britain had at any point, but the point is that this shared culture made communicating their experiences easier, and inspired a great many writers and poets to record their thoughts about the war as they sat in the trenches, preserving their perspectives for generations to come.
The Great War brought an irony and cynicism to modern life that had been missing before. The enemy had been effigied and exaggerated to the point where they became caricatures of themselves. This was to demonize the opponent and make the soldiers feel ok, morally speaking, about killing men who had hopes and dreams and families. There became a greater widespread belief in fate and destiny, as it was hard to think that life was under control on the front lines, when it could so easily be taken away by a stray bullet or piece of shrapnel.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Blog 19- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Number 43 of Sonnets from the Portuguese is very familiar. "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..." is perhaps one of the most famous lines from a sonnet ever. But less well known is the rest of the poem, which is beautiful in its own right. It talks about loving, "thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach," this is a love so compete and consuming that rarely is it experienced. In fact, I would say that Browning was lucky to have been so inspired by love that she needed to record it forever in a sonnet that would be endlessly quoted by those trying to emulate the same feeling of love, but without the eloquence and originality she possessed.
Number 21 also has a theme of love, though its message is more clear and common. Browning says, "Say over again, and yet once over again, That thou dost love me. Though the word repeated should seem "a cuckoo song," as thou dost treat it," which really conveys the fact that the more something is said, the less meaning it has. It makes sense to me, because while the love talked about in Number 43 is true and rare, the problems with love talked about in Number 21 is more common, flawed, and something that probably a lot more people experience. It seems that people either love you more than you love them, or they try and be earnest, but end up saying the words so frequently that they lose all meaning.
Number 21 also has a theme of love, though its message is more clear and common. Browning says, "Say over again, and yet once over again, That thou dost love me. Though the word repeated should seem "a cuckoo song," as thou dost treat it," which really conveys the fact that the more something is said, the less meaning it has. It makes sense to me, because while the love talked about in Number 43 is true and rare, the problems with love talked about in Number 21 is more common, flawed, and something that probably a lot more people experience. It seems that people either love you more than you love them, or they try and be earnest, but end up saying the words so frequently that they lose all meaning.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Blog 18- Virginia Woolf
Woolf was one of the foremost female writers of the 20th century. She managed to transform the modern English literature. Woolf wrote a magazine article called The Lady in the Looking-Glass: A Reflection. "One could not help looking" This makes it sound like if you hang a mirror somewhere where there is a lot of foot-traffic, people would of course look into it. It seems like people only care about their outside appearances and that they are always fussing about their look. If we keep just focusing about the way we look, we will miss part of the important things in life and no gain any morals. However, the social and psychological conditions make life bearable. Without our looks and friends and the drama, life would be boring.
A Room of One's Own talked of women and fiction and what that means. Woolf came up with possible explanations: "women and what they are like...the fiction they write...the fiction written about them...or all three inextricably mixed together" Woolf goes on to explain that she could not come up with a answer because it would be more of an opinion than a fact. The title of the essay comes from the line "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction" I didn't really understand this essay, it was about women and how they live, I think but I'm not too sure about it. It was just confusing to me.
A Room of One's Own talked of women and fiction and what that means. Woolf came up with possible explanations: "women and what they are like...the fiction they write...the fiction written about them...or all three inextricably mixed together" Woolf goes on to explain that she could not come up with a answer because it would be more of an opinion than a fact. The title of the essay comes from the line "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction" I didn't really understand this essay, it was about women and how they live, I think but I'm not too sure about it. It was just confusing to me.
Blog 17- T.S. Eliot
His biography says that Eliot was one of the dominant forces in English poetry of the 20th century. It was like if you got a good review from him, you must be really good. His presence was enough to make him a cultural icon and be a role model for the younger poets.
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock's footnote tells us that the poem references Dante's Inferno. "Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky" If the evening is spread out against the sky, it might be talking about the end of life. The evening being spread against the sky would be like maybe the evening is newly happening or that the person doesn't want the day to end. "And indeed there will be time to wonder, "Do I dare?" and "Do I dare?"" The person, Eliot or someone else, is asking if he should risk doing something different. Maybe the character wants to break out of their shell or boring life and do a spectacular stunt. "Do I dare disturb the universe? In a minute there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse" The man wonders if he should do what he wants or if it will mess up the order of things. He also says that if he takes a minute to think or try it, maybe he can reverse it if it goes wrong.
The Journey of the Magi says its about the journey the Wise Men made to Jerusalem to see baby Jesus. "We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death, But had thought they were different; this Birth was hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death" It says that the Birth was hard and bitter agony, meaning that because they truster God so much, they knew what the child would go through throughout his life. It seems that because they knew of his greatness, their Wise Men title would be thrown out and not count for much since the Messiah was now born. So, their position would die.
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock's footnote tells us that the poem references Dante's Inferno. "Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky" If the evening is spread out against the sky, it might be talking about the end of life. The evening being spread against the sky would be like maybe the evening is newly happening or that the person doesn't want the day to end. "And indeed there will be time to wonder, "Do I dare?" and "Do I dare?"" The person, Eliot or someone else, is asking if he should risk doing something different. Maybe the character wants to break out of their shell or boring life and do a spectacular stunt. "Do I dare disturb the universe? In a minute there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse" The man wonders if he should do what he wants or if it will mess up the order of things. He also says that if he takes a minute to think or try it, maybe he can reverse it if it goes wrong.
The Journey of the Magi says its about the journey the Wise Men made to Jerusalem to see baby Jesus. "We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death, But had thought they were different; this Birth was hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death" It says that the Birth was hard and bitter agony, meaning that because they truster God so much, they knew what the child would go through throughout his life. It seems that because they knew of his greatness, their Wise Men title would be thrown out and not count for much since the Messiah was now born. So, their position would die.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Blog 16- William Butler Yeats
No Second Troy was about comparing a woman he knows to Helen of Troy. The lady is really beautiful but she is so pretty that she makes everyone lives miserable. "Have taught ignorant men most violent ways" She causes people to fall in love with her and they tortures them because they do not know they are being played. I think that some women feel like they have to do this to men to get their attention, however, I think that it would just make them mad. "Why should I blame her that she filled my days with misery" The guy doesn't even know she is faking her feelings. He thinks its his fault he is sad, not hers.
Who Goes With Fergus? seems like it could be about multiple topics. "Young man, lift up your russet brow, and lift your tender eyelids, maid, and brood on hopes and fear no more." To me this says that when you are in love, you stop thinking so much about your hopes and fears. You tend to think of the other person and your new future. "And no more turn aside and brood upon love's bitter mystery" This poem is trying to get us to stop worrying about finding love and just let life's destiny take its course.
The Lake Isle of Innisfree talked about the saying home is where the heart is. "I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree...and live alone in the bee-loud glade...I hear it in the deep heart's core" Even though the main character has to live alone and do all the house chores by himself, he likes the place because it is peaceful and he loves living there. He can tell that this place is his home because his heart tells him.
Who Goes With Fergus? seems like it could be about multiple topics. "Young man, lift up your russet brow, and lift your tender eyelids, maid, and brood on hopes and fear no more." To me this says that when you are in love, you stop thinking so much about your hopes and fears. You tend to think of the other person and your new future. "And no more turn aside and brood upon love's bitter mystery" This poem is trying to get us to stop worrying about finding love and just let life's destiny take its course.
The Lake Isle of Innisfree talked about the saying home is where the heart is. "I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree...and live alone in the bee-loud glade...I hear it in the deep heart's core" Even though the main character has to live alone and do all the house chores by himself, he likes the place because it is peaceful and he loves living there. He can tell that this place is his home because his heart tells him.
Blog 15- John Stuart Mill
According to the biography, Mill was a radical advocate. He was helping get sexual equality, he right to divorce, universal suffrage, free speech, and proportional representation. He founded the Utilitarian Society to get some sort of revenge at his father for making him grow up with an absence of love and in the presence of fear. Mill had made changes to legislation in his run in Parliament, a century ahead of American Lawyers, he got the legislation to be change to nonsexist terms.
Mill wrote books and essays about his thoughts and ideas. In On Liberty, he talked of "liberty of the press". Mill wanted to make it free to talk or write what you pleased. He thought that it was fine to state your opinion or keep it to yourself. He also thought that if you were to force someone to not give their opinion, then you were not telling the full truth. In Chapter 3 of On Liberty, Mill was advocating individuality. He was trying to get people to be more unique and free to do what they pleased. He said that there were two requisites to being an individual: "freedom and a variety of situations" and those make "individual vigour and manifest diversity." We have definitely achieved diversity and originality in present time. Maybe we have gotten past just standing out and now we have moved onto being crazily different from others.
He also wrote The Subjection of Women, and in that he was volleying for equal rights. "the present system, which entirely subordinates the weaker sex to the stronger, rests upon theory only; for there never has been trial made of any other" If things had started out with the women being in place of the men and the men being the weaker sex, people would start trying to get men to be equal to women. We technically do not know if women could be the stronger sex because it hasn't been tried.
Mill wrote books and essays about his thoughts and ideas. In On Liberty, he talked of "liberty of the press". Mill wanted to make it free to talk or write what you pleased. He thought that it was fine to state your opinion or keep it to yourself. He also thought that if you were to force someone to not give their opinion, then you were not telling the full truth. In Chapter 3 of On Liberty, Mill was advocating individuality. He was trying to get people to be more unique and free to do what they pleased. He said that there were two requisites to being an individual: "freedom and a variety of situations" and those make "individual vigour and manifest diversity." We have definitely achieved diversity and originality in present time. Maybe we have gotten past just standing out and now we have moved onto being crazily different from others.
He also wrote The Subjection of Women, and in that he was volleying for equal rights. "the present system, which entirely subordinates the weaker sex to the stronger, rests upon theory only; for there never has been trial made of any other" If things had started out with the women being in place of the men and the men being the weaker sex, people would start trying to get men to be equal to women. We technically do not know if women could be the stronger sex because it hasn't been tried.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Blog 14- Felicia Hemans
In Hemans' poem The Homes of England, she talks of how beautiful they are and how perfect they look. I don't think this shows how she truly felt about marriage and houses (families). The biography said that she thought all men were unreliable and that she didn't really do any of the household duties people thought women should do. "Where first the child's glad spirit loves its country and its God." This line made think that the first house you live in or your parents house, is your home. It doesn't matter if you have your own home or apartment. Where ever your parents live is what you love the most. Hemans makes the Homes of England seem so peaceful in this line: "Solemn, yet sweet, the church-bell's chime floats through their woods at morn"
In the poem Woman and Fame, it seems Hemans is talking of herself and what fame has done to her. "Thou hast a charmed cup, O Fame! a draught that mantles high, and seems to life this earthly frame above mortality" Actually, this could be true to all celebrities. Some people can resist the problems that fame produces. However, others just get one taste of the fame from the charmed cup, and they go crazy. People think that being famous is all fun and games and that those people lead charmed lives. Really they are just doing their jobs and trying to please us.
I happened to read the Companion Reading by Francis Jeffrey and he says "women, we fear, cannot do everything; nor even everything they attempt. But what they can do, they do, for the most part, excellently..." After reading what he had to say, I appreciate the steps that were taking to make women more equal in the world we live in today. I think he was trying to compliment Hemans, but it came out a bit harsh against women.
In the poem Woman and Fame, it seems Hemans is talking of herself and what fame has done to her. "Thou hast a charmed cup, O Fame! a draught that mantles high, and seems to life this earthly frame above mortality" Actually, this could be true to all celebrities. Some people can resist the problems that fame produces. However, others just get one taste of the fame from the charmed cup, and they go crazy. People think that being famous is all fun and games and that those people lead charmed lives. Really they are just doing their jobs and trying to please us.
I happened to read the Companion Reading by Francis Jeffrey and he says "women, we fear, cannot do everything; nor even everything they attempt. But what they can do, they do, for the most part, excellently..." After reading what he had to say, I appreciate the steps that were taking to make women more equal in the world we live in today. I think he was trying to compliment Hemans, but it came out a bit harsh against women.
Blog 13- Thomas Hardy
The poem Hap seems really dark and gloomy. “Know that thy sorrow is my ecstasy” What kind of god would want his people to be in pain? The character this poem is talking of might just be angry at everything for the pain he is going through and his death. He might have regrets and he knows his life is drawing to a close so there is no time to fix his problems. “And dicing Time, for gladness casts a moan…these purblind Doomsters had as readily strown, Blisses about my pilgrimage as pain.” Throughout your life you must gamble with time, if you take things too safely, you will miss all the important things in life. If you rush through it though, you will miss things too. I think this poem is trying to tell us to find the middle of the two and try to experience enough of life. In the musical Rent, many of the characters have AIDS and they repeat this mantra “There’s only us, there’s only this, forget regret, or life is yours to miss, no other road, no other way, no day but today.”
The poem In Time of “The Breaking of Nations” talks of life and having to do the same boring thing, day after day, and year after year. It seems to be describing the working life and that at times it is just tedious repetition. “Yet this will go onward the same through Dynasties pass.” Even when the farmer dies, some one has to take over doing the fieldwork.
“I never cared for Life: Life cared for me, and hence I owed it some fidelity” is a line from Epitaph. If you travel through life not really doing too much then you will end up alone maybe living in your mother’s basement. These lines made me think of how homeless people don’t care about their lives but they are still alive and wait for others to take care of them. It seems like they don’t try to fix their problems, they just wait until the problem gets so bad, you cant turn it around.
The poem In Time of “The Breaking of Nations” talks of life and having to do the same boring thing, day after day, and year after year. It seems to be describing the working life and that at times it is just tedious repetition. “Yet this will go onward the same through Dynasties pass.” Even when the farmer dies, some one has to take over doing the fieldwork.
“I never cared for Life: Life cared for me, and hence I owed it some fidelity” is a line from Epitaph. If you travel through life not really doing too much then you will end up alone maybe living in your mother’s basement. These lines made me think of how homeless people don’t care about their lives but they are still alive and wait for others to take care of them. It seems like they don’t try to fix their problems, they just wait until the problem gets so bad, you cant turn it around.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Blog 12- Bernard Shaw
After reading Pygmalion Act I, I realize that the social classes were even worse in the time period than it is in present time. “She is no doubt as clean as she could afford to be; but compared to the ladies she was very dirty.” Not only did the lower class people get looked down on by the upper class citizens, but they had such little money, they couldn’t even afford to be clean. Today, the lower class can afford to be clean, except for the small percentage that is homeless. So in the time that Pygmalion takes place, the homeless people make up more of the population than the homeless do now. Instead of blended lines between classes, there were huge gaps and even if you were in a lower class and received money, you couldn’t break into another class. Also, after reading Act I, I realized that Pygmalion is the play they put on in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. In the last chat session, it was said that Pygmalion is the back-story of My Fair Lady.
I can’t believe that Eliza was sold to Mr. Higgins for 5 pounds. This whole bet that Higgins and Pickering had going on is kind of cliché. “Well, sir, in three months I could pass this girl off as a duchess at an ambassador’s garden party” They didn’t even ask her if she wanted to join. It’s just like in the movie She’s All That. The guys don’t even ask her if she wants to be changed into the prom queen. They just assume that teens want to be popular, however, some teens are just fine being a nerd or band geek. Throughout the bet and ‘experiment’ they still treat Eliza like a lowly flower girl and not like the lady she is turning into. The way they treated her easily explains why she flipped out and threw her slippers at Higgins.
I can’t believe that Eliza was sold to Mr. Higgins for 5 pounds. This whole bet that Higgins and Pickering had going on is kind of cliché. “Well, sir, in three months I could pass this girl off as a duchess at an ambassador’s garden party” They didn’t even ask her if she wanted to join. It’s just like in the movie She’s All That. The guys don’t even ask her if she wants to be changed into the prom queen. They just assume that teens want to be popular, however, some teens are just fine being a nerd or band geek. Throughout the bet and ‘experiment’ they still treat Eliza like a lowly flower girl and not like the lady she is turning into. The way they treated her easily explains why she flipped out and threw her slippers at Higgins.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Blog 11- Oscar Wilde
What I first noticed about Impression du Matin is that the rhyme scheme was unusual, it was A,B,B,A. When reading the poem, it made the poem sound different than most and the flow seemed off. Wilde might have done this to make his poem and back story pop out and be more noticeable. Also some of the adjectives in the poem are not what one would normally use. For example, "the yellow fog came creeping down." This is different because fog is not yellow, it is grey or white. However, after looking at the footnotes' definition of the title, I realize that maybe the fog is yellow because Wilde was describing the morning and the light was hitting the mist to make it seem yellow. Another thing that is strange about this line is that the fog is creeping down. Things normally creep up on people, but in this case I think that Wilde is trying to convey the image of the fog slowly making its way off the wharf; "Dropt from the wharf: and chill and cold."
Some might wonder if yellow was Wilde's favorite color and if where he lived was constantly surrounded by fog. The rhyme scheme in Symphony in Yellow is the same as in Impression du Matin. I wonder if all of Wilde's poems had the same scheme and about fog or yellowness of nature. I really liked the descriptive line "the yellow leaves begin to fade and flutter from the Temple elms." It is very easy to picture the scene in your mind because everyone has seen a tree with yellow leaves and seen leaves fall from a tree.
Some might wonder if yellow was Wilde's favorite color and if where he lived was constantly surrounded by fog. The rhyme scheme in Symphony in Yellow is the same as in Impression du Matin. I wonder if all of Wilde's poems had the same scheme and about fog or yellowness of nature. I really liked the descriptive line "the yellow leaves begin to fade and flutter from the Temple elms." It is very easy to picture the scene in your mind because everyone has seen a tree with yellow leaves and seen leaves fall from a tree.
Blog 10- Gerard Manley Hopkins
In his biography, it says that he started writing poems in 1868 and then he had a 7 year writers block. In 1875 he started writing in a new style, he was studying to become a priest and 5 nuns had died in a shipwreck. It also says that his later poetry was a mix of religious and sexual imagery that was supposed to express his love and meager poetic productions. It seems like he struggled to find the balance between God and other things in his life.
The Windhover talks of a darling French heir and there is a significant number of alliterations. Windhover implies a bird, because birds hover in the wind and well, the footnote says it is a Kestrl falcon. In this case the bird is a falcon and it talks of the pleasure one gets from watching one soar gracefully. "Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume" Falcons can be dangerous and majestic at the same time. However, the subtitle of the poem is To Christ Our Lord, which is implying that maybe instead of it being a falcon, Hopkins could be talking about Jesus.
I think that Hopkins' poem Spring and Fall: to a young child is about the joy and sadness a child gets from the changing of the seasons. However, I also think that this is a waste of space. Yes, he is trying to express the emotion people feel but its not very detailed. "As the heart grows older it will come to such sights colder" as we grow up we don't find the same joy in life that little kids have. We might see bubbles now and think that they are boring or maybe a little bit reminiscent. But when you watch little kids play with bubbles, its hilarious because they act as though they have never seen anything as beautiful.
In conclusion, I'm not sure if I agree with Gerard Manley Hopkins being in this book with poets like Keats, Tennyson, and T.S. Eliot. His poems seem to be lacking in detail and about topics that are cute but not exactly up to par with what the others have brought to the table.
The Windhover talks of a darling French heir and there is a significant number of alliterations. Windhover implies a bird, because birds hover in the wind and well, the footnote says it is a Kestrl falcon. In this case the bird is a falcon and it talks of the pleasure one gets from watching one soar gracefully. "Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume" Falcons can be dangerous and majestic at the same time. However, the subtitle of the poem is To Christ Our Lord, which is implying that maybe instead of it being a falcon, Hopkins could be talking about Jesus.
I think that Hopkins' poem Spring and Fall: to a young child is about the joy and sadness a child gets from the changing of the seasons. However, I also think that this is a waste of space. Yes, he is trying to express the emotion people feel but its not very detailed. "As the heart grows older it will come to such sights colder" as we grow up we don't find the same joy in life that little kids have. We might see bubbles now and think that they are boring or maybe a little bit reminiscent. But when you watch little kids play with bubbles, its hilarious because they act as though they have never seen anything as beautiful.
In conclusion, I'm not sure if I agree with Gerard Manley Hopkins being in this book with poets like Keats, Tennyson, and T.S. Eliot. His poems seem to be lacking in detail and about topics that are cute but not exactly up to par with what the others have brought to the table.
Blog 9- Robert Browning
Porphyria's Lover seems like its a one sided love story about a lady who practically worships this guy and little things just seem to extremely bother him. Browning writes about murder and of course the scene takes place on a dark, stormy night. "The rain set in early in to-night, the sullen wind was soon awake, it tore the elm-tops down for spite" this is the cliche plot of a murder. When Porphyria sits beside him he does not even acknowledge her "at last she sat down by my side, and called me. when no voice repiled" its like shes competing for his attention and trying to get him to fully notice her. He might be medicated or drunk so he does not really understand what hes doing. "And thus we sit together now, and all night long we have not stirred, and yet God has not said a word" I do not really understand these lines because if he did kill her or himself why did God stay silent? Maybe God did not say anything because Porphyria was a sinner and he made things right.
It makes me wonder if Love Among The Ruins is about Elizabeth Barrett Browning. "Held his courts in, gathered councils, wielding far, peace or war." The first stanza could easily be talking about heaven and the afterlife. The footnote, however, talks of the excavations of Babylon, Nineveh, and Egyptian Thebes or possibly the Roman Campagna. The title hints at timeless love and still being in love after turning into Ruins. The title could also be talking of palentologists finding things that lead to love. The love could be toward the country that is now a Ruin. Now that I read more of the poem, the last hypothesis is more likely. Even though the scientists have found the old city, maybe they could still feel the patriotism.
It makes me wonder if Love Among The Ruins is about Elizabeth Barrett Browning. "Held his courts in, gathered councils, wielding far, peace or war." The first stanza could easily be talking about heaven and the afterlife. The footnote, however, talks of the excavations of Babylon, Nineveh, and Egyptian Thebes or possibly the Roman Campagna. The title hints at timeless love and still being in love after turning into Ruins. The title could also be talking of palentologists finding things that lead to love. The love could be toward the country that is now a Ruin. Now that I read more of the poem, the last hypothesis is more likely. Even though the scientists have found the old city, maybe they could still feel the patriotism.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Blog 8- Alfred, Lord Tennyson
The Kraken is reminiscent of classic mythology, like things you see in Ancient Greek Myths. Or Pirates of the Carribean 2, Dead Man's Chest. Which also had a Kraken. I think that what Tennyson is saying is that the Kraken is sleeping beneath the sea, and will until, "the latter fire shall heat the deep,"which means until Judgement day. Basically, this is a terrible monster that is lurking, "far, far beneath in the abysmal sea," in a sort of sleep. He won't be able to surface until the end of the world, when he will die. That's sort of depressing and pointless, for the Kraken. Why is Tennyson going through all the trouble to describe this ancient monster, whose life is at a complete standstill? This poem is as pointless as the monster's existence.
Break, Break, Break! obviously is talking about waves on the English shore. I think this poem captures everything we think about when we picture the sea, dark and dreary and depressing. The last bit is the most important, where Tennyson says, "the tender grace of a day that is dead Will never come back to me." Clearly, it is talking about death in this poem, especially when you look at, "But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand, And the sound of a voice that is still!" The speaker in this poem is longing for someone that is now no longer with him, someone that has passed away. When Tennyson writes about the fisherman's boy or the sailor lad, he always says, O Well! I think this is because the sea is cold and gray and the waves continue to crash and break, they don't care if people are playing or alive, there is still death and destruction, they just don't see it. That's how it always seems when people die, other outsiders are happy and go about their lives, but it feels like you'll never be happy again.
Crossing the Bar is hinting that the bar is like the threshold of life and death, so when the speaker is talking about crossing the bar, he is talking about crossing over. "I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crost the bar." The speaker is hoping to meet their maker, or God, presumably. Tennyson writes so much about the sea because England is an island. So there is a crapload of sea. Of course it makes sesne that the sea comes up as a metaphore for life and death and the afterlife.
Break, Break, Break! obviously is talking about waves on the English shore. I think this poem captures everything we think about when we picture the sea, dark and dreary and depressing. The last bit is the most important, where Tennyson says, "the tender grace of a day that is dead Will never come back to me." Clearly, it is talking about death in this poem, especially when you look at, "But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand, And the sound of a voice that is still!" The speaker in this poem is longing for someone that is now no longer with him, someone that has passed away. When Tennyson writes about the fisherman's boy or the sailor lad, he always says, O Well! I think this is because the sea is cold and gray and the waves continue to crash and break, they don't care if people are playing or alive, there is still death and destruction, they just don't see it. That's how it always seems when people die, other outsiders are happy and go about their lives, but it feels like you'll never be happy again.
Crossing the Bar is hinting that the bar is like the threshold of life and death, so when the speaker is talking about crossing the bar, he is talking about crossing over. "I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crost the bar." The speaker is hoping to meet their maker, or God, presumably. Tennyson writes so much about the sea because England is an island. So there is a crapload of sea. Of course it makes sesne that the sea comes up as a metaphore for life and death and the afterlife.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Blog 7- Victorian Ladies and Gentlemen
If we think that social 'cliques' are bad in the present time, we should take time to examine the social classes of the Victorian time period. We might think that what society thinks of us today is very important, but in the Victorian age it was even more important. The social standings were so significant that manners, money, birth, occupation, and leisure time determined one's place in society and their freedom to act, speak, learn, and earn. Now we can do whatever we want to do and we have the opportunity to do it. Sure, some times we care too much what others think, however we try to treat others equally no matter what social class they are in.
My younger sister would not agree with the way ladies had the control over the domestic life and men were in charge of the moneymaking side. My sister thinks that we, as women, should be less passive and selfless. We should be able to run the family and do what the men are supposed to do.
In the Victorian time, women were discouraged from playing sports or having an opinion. Girls depending on social standing were forced to do certain things. For example, girls in the lower classes had to work as maids and girls in the middle to upper classes were expected to attend boarding or charm school. Back then, being unproductive was a sign of rank and now it is considered a bad sign or a gold digger. Things sure have changed since the Industrial Revolution, not just the technology but the traditions and the actions of human beings.
My younger sister would not agree with the way ladies had the control over the domestic life and men were in charge of the moneymaking side. My sister thinks that we, as women, should be less passive and selfless. We should be able to run the family and do what the men are supposed to do.
In the Victorian time, women were discouraged from playing sports or having an opinion. Girls depending on social standing were forced to do certain things. For example, girls in the lower classes had to work as maids and girls in the middle to upper classes were expected to attend boarding or charm school. Back then, being unproductive was a sign of rank and now it is considered a bad sign or a gold digger. Things sure have changed since the Industrial Revolution, not just the technology but the traditions and the actions of human beings.
Blog 6- Thomas Carlyle & the Industrial Landscape
After reading about Carlyle, I realized that he sounds like my older sister. He was a critic and he managed to influence many other writers in the Victorian era. My sister is the very good at arguing and she can make you feel bad about yourself by saying one sentence. Carlyle seems like the kind of person who can easily get people to follow him and lead them against the government. He was very capable of getting others to believe what he thinks. Carlyle was definitely a revolutionary of the time and the era would not have been the same with out him.
The Industrial Revolution definitely changed the world at the time and it is still helping us today. The revolution started with cotton and the cities started to expand. Leaps and bounds were made during the revolution and made it possible for people to move faster than horses. Although the Industrial Revolution made living better and easier, the pollution and carbon that might have been the trigger to global warming. Since we are still using the things that were involved in the revolution, we have been continuously releasing all the bad gases that have depleted the ozone.
The Industrial Revolution definitely changed the world at the time and it is still helping us today. The revolution started with cotton and the cities started to expand. Leaps and bounds were made during the revolution and made it possible for people to move faster than horses. Although the Industrial Revolution made living better and easier, the pollution and carbon that might have been the trigger to global warming. Since we are still using the things that were involved in the revolution, we have been continuously releasing all the bad gases that have depleted the ozone.
Blog 5- John Keats
John Keats wrote some very romantic poems. La Belle Dame sans Mercy is about him spotting a woman in a meadow and falling in love with her at first sight. However, at the end of the poem it turns out it was only in his dream. Almost like A Midsummers Night Dream by Shakespeare, the people in the woods think they dream all of what truly happened. I think that this poem is still relevant today because our dreams deceive us sometimes. Some dreams affect us more that others, we can almost believe that it did happen. This poem could also be talking about the Greek Sirens or Nymphs because the couple of poems before this one in the book were about the Iliad.
Keats had a time period where he wrote Odes and they reflected personal, cultural, and political contexts of 1819. He wrote of controversy, drugs, misery, death, and migrating to America. In Ode to a Nightingale it seems like he was in intoxicated when he was writing it:
"My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,"
He was taking opium to try to block out the pain he felt from his brothers death and he was trying to cope with all that was going on in the world at the time. There is proof that people have been abusing drugs for a very long time. At the bottom of page 438 it says "in small doses hemlock is a sedative; in large doses, such as Socrates', it is fatal." Hemlock is an opiate that is basically a painkiller. If some of the brightest people are depressed and overdose on drugs then some hope is lost for others.
The first poems in the books by Keats seem happier and more romantic than those towards the end. For example, This living hand and Bright Star are more gloomy. This living hand talked of death and how we can all leave the earth at any time. Bright Star is not as dark as This living hand. It talks of nature and at the end of the poem it talks of the rise and fall of the heart in love. I think that Keats could also be talking of all of life's journeys.
Keats had a time period where he wrote Odes and they reflected personal, cultural, and political contexts of 1819. He wrote of controversy, drugs, misery, death, and migrating to America. In Ode to a Nightingale it seems like he was in intoxicated when he was writing it:
"My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,"
He was taking opium to try to block out the pain he felt from his brothers death and he was trying to cope with all that was going on in the world at the time. There is proof that people have been abusing drugs for a very long time. At the bottom of page 438 it says "in small doses hemlock is a sedative; in large doses, such as Socrates', it is fatal." Hemlock is an opiate that is basically a painkiller. If some of the brightest people are depressed and overdose on drugs then some hope is lost for others.
The first poems in the books by Keats seem happier and more romantic than those towards the end. For example, This living hand and Bright Star are more gloomy. This living hand talked of death and how we can all leave the earth at any time. Bright Star is not as dark as This living hand. It talks of nature and at the end of the poem it talks of the rise and fall of the heart in love. I think that Keats could also be talking of all of life's journeys.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Blog 4- George Gordon, Lord Bryon
She walks in beauty was a really romantic poem. Bryon writes and compares a woman to a starry night. It seems very sweet and like he was writing to impress or woo her. I think Bryon thinks that beauty is "all thats best of dark and bright" which could be like the ugly of a girl (bitchiness etc...) and the good about a girl (caring and looks etc...). In a way, he could not be writing about a girl he knows but about a girl he hopes to meet one day. So he could be idolizing the "perfect" woman. It seems like a lot of people think about their "perfect" significant other, instead of accepting what is really out there.
On This Day I Complete My Thirty-Sixth Year talked of life and learning to like what you have. This peom reminded me of a lyric from the musical Rent: "There's only us, there's only this, forget regret, or life is yours to miss" If we go through live without love and without doing what we think will bring us happiness, we will end up having a nothing life. This poem also reminds me of Little Miss Sunshine: "Life is one beauty contest after another. School, then college, then work...You do what you love, and f*** the rest." In order to truly enjoy life we should just do things to have fun instead of for others.
On This Day I Complete My Thirty-Sixth Year talked of life and learning to like what you have. This peom reminded me of a lyric from the musical Rent: "There's only us, there's only this, forget regret, or life is yours to miss" If we go through live without love and without doing what we think will bring us happiness, we will end up having a nothing life. This poem also reminds me of Little Miss Sunshine: "Life is one beauty contest after another. School, then college, then work...You do what you love, and f*** the rest." In order to truly enjoy life we should just do things to have fun instead of for others.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Blog 3- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
In the Eolian Harp by Coleridge, he uses a lot of descriptive words to make the reader feel like they are at the cottage he is writing about. The poem reminds me of a relaxing, beautiful vacation place and its also full of mystery. The first stanza of the poem really draws in the reader and makes one wonder about what else the cottage and surrounding area can offer. I just don't understand why Coleridge started talking about God and religion at towards the end of the poem. Maybe the cottage is supposed to represent Heaven and how amazing it will be once you get there. You'll be with your true love and you will be in this magical land.
I'm not sure if I agree with what Coleridge think of heaven. Although no on knows for sure, we all just assume that its white and peaceful. Coleridge took it one step further and thinks it will be like going on vacation. People feel very strongly about their faith and religion in America, but there are a lot of Atheists and Agnostic humans out there. It almost seems like because we are such a "get it done now" country that people have less time to attend a church or service. Since there is a bunch of people who are not sure what to believe in our country, some of the hard core religious people try to shove faith down the nonbelievers throats. Just driving down the freeway in Northern California there are some billboards that have saying on them or pictures of a cross. Most of them are put up by : www.jesuslives.com
I'm not sure if I agree with what Coleridge think of heaven. Although no on knows for sure, we all just assume that its white and peaceful. Coleridge took it one step further and thinks it will be like going on vacation. People feel very strongly about their faith and religion in America, but there are a lot of Atheists and Agnostic humans out there. It almost seems like because we are such a "get it done now" country that people have less time to attend a church or service. Since there is a bunch of people who are not sure what to believe in our country, some of the hard core religious people try to shove faith down the nonbelievers throats. Just driving down the freeway in Northern California there are some billboards that have saying on them or pictures of a cross. Most of them are put up by : www.jesuslives.com
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Blog 2- William Wordsworth
Wordsworth wrote poems about whatever he wanted and he wrote whenever he wanted. I thought that the world is too much with us was a good poem. "Getting and spending, we lay waste in our powers:" to me this meant that we walk throughout life not really comprehending the activities around us. We just get money and spend it. "We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon" we do not care about others and our hearts are cold. Which is true, we do have tendencies to not be kind to others and to be selfish. The poem as a whole seems like Wordsworth is taking a step back from his life to look back on it and think of all the aspects of life in general. This poem made me think of an anecdote from Plato that we read in FYS, it was about a man being held captive in a cave. When the man was place outside of the cave he was surrounded by beauty and was blinded by it. The world is too much with us could also be about the fact that nature is so beautiful and we as humans are only destroying it or that we just are not adding to the beauty.
The next poem in the book is It is a beauteous Evening and this poem is very peaceful. "it is a beauteous evening, calm and free" It makes me think of spring evenings when the weather is perfect to sit outside and relax. The air just makes you feel like you have no responsibilities or stress. "Breathless with adoration; the broad sun is sinking down in its tranquility" the more I think about those two lines, the more I think about a sunset on the beach. just being there makes the rest of the world disappear. I think Wordsworth was describing the sunset on the beach he was at. He really conveyed the scene through his words and the readers can easily imagine almost every aspect.
The next poem in the book is It is a beauteous Evening and this poem is very peaceful. "it is a beauteous evening, calm and free" It makes me think of spring evenings when the weather is perfect to sit outside and relax. The air just makes you feel like you have no responsibilities or stress. "Breathless with adoration; the broad sun is sinking down in its tranquility" the more I think about those two lines, the more I think about a sunset on the beach. just being there makes the rest of the world disappear. I think Wordsworth was describing the sunset on the beach he was at. He really conveyed the scene through his words and the readers can easily imagine almost every aspect.
Blog 1- William Blake
All Religions Are One by Blake does not make sense because the title does not seem to go with the poem. If all religions are the same then why does Blake only bring up the good Christianity points and no other religions are mentioned. It's like he is not backing up his statement and does not really think that all religions are the same. It is true that most people no matter what religion they are, are similar in how they act or what they write. However, the customs of different religions are so different that the people are not the same. What Blake really should have titled this was All People Are Similar Despite Religious Activity. There is some proof to the theory that most religions have the same source and backgrounds but I do not see it. Its like the only people who say that all religions are the same are just arrogant Christians or Catholics.
In life, there are always ways to get around the laws and do things that are wrong. Even though child labor laws exist today, people still do not listen to the laws and employ children in dangerous factories for little pay. How else do you expect to get all of our clothes to be so nice and relatively fair priced? Sure, people complain about the abuse of children but are we willing to pay more for our clothes to make things right? I do not think people would do it. In The Chimney Sweeper, Blake tells of the life of young children working as chimney sweeps. Their parents sell them to the company, or the children working are orphans or illegitimate. There are so many laws that prevent child labor, child abuse, and people are still arguing about abortion. Americans try to pretend like we enforce all of the rules but I am starting to doubt it. I think that some people just over look the laws to get what they want or they are just too busy to care. We have come to a problem in life, we are all infatuated with the media and obsessed with ourselves and our material possessions are running our lives for us. We need to start caring more about others than being self-centered.
In life, there are always ways to get around the laws and do things that are wrong. Even though child labor laws exist today, people still do not listen to the laws and employ children in dangerous factories for little pay. How else do you expect to get all of our clothes to be so nice and relatively fair priced? Sure, people complain about the abuse of children but are we willing to pay more for our clothes to make things right? I do not think people would do it. In The Chimney Sweeper, Blake tells of the life of young children working as chimney sweeps. Their parents sell them to the company, or the children working are orphans or illegitimate. There are so many laws that prevent child labor, child abuse, and people are still arguing about abortion. Americans try to pretend like we enforce all of the rules but I am starting to doubt it. I think that some people just over look the laws to get what they want or they are just too busy to care. We have come to a problem in life, we are all infatuated with the media and obsessed with ourselves and our material possessions are running our lives for us. We need to start caring more about others than being self-centered.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Introduction
My name is Jenni Holtz and I'm a sophmore at Mercer. I'm on the softball team and I'm from California (the reason for taking the course online...) I'm not sure how well this online course will go because of the time difference and I'm now a working member of society (ew...)
I'm trying to decide what major to declare when I get back to school in the fall, I'm between Communications and Business (Accounting). It's a good thing I have only taken GenEd classes, huh?
I'm trying to decide what major to declare when I get back to school in the fall, I'm between Communications and Business (Accounting). It's a good thing I have only taken GenEd classes, huh?
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