Charles Dickens
" A Visit to Newgate" is not your typical prison tale based writing as he points out in the beginning of the reading. They simply saw the prisoners and chose to write from what they saw and heard from them. And so they first described the layout of the prison, which by the way I believe it was in the heart of the city for everyone to gaze upon. And one of the first description of a person was one of an old lady. "In one corner of this singular-looking den, was a yellow,haggard,decrepit with faded ribbon of the same hue, in earnest conversation with a young girl-prisoner, of course-of about two and twenty." He goes on to say something that really lets you see and feel what he is at that moment "It is impossible to imagine a more poverty-stricken object, or a creature so borne down in soul and body, by excess of misery and destitution, as the old woman." When I first read that I felt at that moment like I was right there beside him walking the halls of that prison. He continues to give you the play by play of his walk and he does not skip one detail of the trip. I swear to you if a fly was to land on his nose I would bet anything that he would make that swipe of that fly the most symbolic fly swat away ever. That is just how wonderful his description in this was. He does this pattern all the way to the description of the press room. This was an interesting place this is where it seemed he got most disgusted. It seemed that a person on death row had 24 hours to get his case over turned if not he was placed in the press room with his coffin and killed for the public to see. Now you would think that would scare the living crap out of someone , but no as he went to their apartments(place they stayed until execution) he saw man of all ages, even one that was not even a teenage yet. And what he saw them doing was just going on with their lives. The thing that got me was one man was teaching one of the younger ones to read. The way that closes kinda makes you feel sorry for one of the guys. They describe a man who is going to be killed in the morning but the man is having a dream. And in this dream he escapes but right when he becomes free he is awaken to the turnkey of the guard. A guard about to take him to his death. They go on to describe his confusion and just for a few moments you feel sorry for the man no matter what wrong he may have commented.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
William Wordsworth
Earlier I spent alot of my time on Coleridge's poem "The Rime and the Mariner," but I found out it was only one of the many books of Wordsworth collection that he called "The Lyrical Ballads." These are said to have started the change in British literature as well as American literature. Coleridge only added four poems to the deal where Mr. Wordsworth took up the slack. It is no surprise that these poems are easy to read. They are like that because that is the way he in tented them to be. He wanted these poems to be poems for the people and he toned down his level of vocabulary so that the common people could enjoy such works. This was one of the many changes that helped shape a new age of literature. In these ballads there is a theme of returning back to nature, a theme in which he finds very important. In the poems I read which were "There was a Boy," "Strange Fits of Passion have I known," "Song,""Three years she grew in sun and shower," and a few others it seems that he ends in a similar way. The way is that each character dies or is dead and they die with some similar activity of nature.
A full half hour together I have stood,
Mute- for he died when he was ten years old
(from "there was a boy")
O mercy! to myself I cried
If Lucy should be dead!
(from "Stranger fits of passion")
But she is in her grave, and Oh!
The difference to me!
(from "a Song")
She died, and left to me
this heath, this calm and quiet scene,
The memory of what has been,
And never more will be.
(from "Three years she grew in sun and shower")
With all these references to death it got me thinking. Lots of poets like to think of death in different ways. Some see it as reaching a new place of spirituality, some see it as some sort of sexual act such as an orgasm, while some see it as simply death in itself. As I read over these poems i ask myself what did the poet mean by each one and quite honestly I feel I could argue either way for all of the for mentioned poems. I wonder what you think. If you could read over the poem and let me know that may give me a better insight of what makes more sense..............haha look I feel like a teacher now.
Earlier I spent alot of my time on Coleridge's poem "The Rime and the Mariner," but I found out it was only one of the many books of Wordsworth collection that he called "The Lyrical Ballads." These are said to have started the change in British literature as well as American literature. Coleridge only added four poems to the deal where Mr. Wordsworth took up the slack. It is no surprise that these poems are easy to read. They are like that because that is the way he in tented them to be. He wanted these poems to be poems for the people and he toned down his level of vocabulary so that the common people could enjoy such works. This was one of the many changes that helped shape a new age of literature. In these ballads there is a theme of returning back to nature, a theme in which he finds very important. In the poems I read which were "There was a Boy," "Strange Fits of Passion have I known," "Song,""Three years she grew in sun and shower," and a few others it seems that he ends in a similar way. The way is that each character dies or is dead and they die with some similar activity of nature.
A full half hour together I have stood,
Mute- for he died when he was ten years old
(from "there was a boy")
O mercy! to myself I cried
If Lucy should be dead!
(from "Stranger fits of passion")
But she is in her grave, and Oh!
The difference to me!
(from "a Song")
She died, and left to me
this heath, this calm and quiet scene,
The memory of what has been,
And never more will be.
(from "Three years she grew in sun and shower")
With all these references to death it got me thinking. Lots of poets like to think of death in different ways. Some see it as reaching a new place of spirituality, some see it as some sort of sexual act such as an orgasm, while some see it as simply death in itself. As I read over these poems i ask myself what did the poet mean by each one and quite honestly I feel I could argue either way for all of the for mentioned poems. I wonder what you think. If you could read over the poem and let me know that may give me a better insight of what makes more sense..............haha look I feel like a teacher now.
Lord Byron
This was a pretty unique man that had to have tough skin. His life was praised as well as despised. He has gone through separations, incest, several love affairs, major debts and to just put it simple lived a wild life. Plenty of his major works got showed in the spotlight but I was more interested in one of his minor poems that created quite a stir as well. In the poem "She Walks in Beauty," readers of this poem wondered who exactly he was talking about in the poem.
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light 5
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face; 10
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow, 15
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
(from "She walks in beauty")
Some people speculate that he is talking about no one that he is simply writing a poem for poems sake. Others say that this clearly is a a poem to one of his incest lover's. If this is a poem to one of his cousins I will have to say that first that is gross and second that is quite bold of him to do that considering the consequences.
All his life was not so bad though, in fact his life was quite admirable. In the time of need Mr. Gordon let him self become an agent of the London committee and even more than that he used the profit he gained over the years to help the cause. This upon his death at the age of 36, I believe is what saved his name. And I could imagine that he ended his life just as his poem says.
Seek out-less often sought than found-
A soldier's grave, for thee the best;
Then look around, and choose thy ground,
And take thy rest.
(from "On this day I complete my 36th year)
This was a pretty unique man that had to have tough skin. His life was praised as well as despised. He has gone through separations, incest, several love affairs, major debts and to just put it simple lived a wild life. Plenty of his major works got showed in the spotlight but I was more interested in one of his minor poems that created quite a stir as well. In the poem "She Walks in Beauty," readers of this poem wondered who exactly he was talking about in the poem.
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light 5
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face; 10
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow, 15
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
(from "She walks in beauty")
Some people speculate that he is talking about no one that he is simply writing a poem for poems sake. Others say that this clearly is a a poem to one of his incest lover's. If this is a poem to one of his cousins I will have to say that first that is gross and second that is quite bold of him to do that considering the consequences.
All his life was not so bad though, in fact his life was quite admirable. In the time of need Mr. Gordon let him self become an agent of the London committee and even more than that he used the profit he gained over the years to help the cause. This upon his death at the age of 36, I believe is what saved his name. And I could imagine that he ended his life just as his poem says.
Seek out-less often sought than found-
A soldier's grave, for thee the best;
Then look around, and choose thy ground,
And take thy rest.
(from "On this day I complete my 36th year)
The Great World War
In a war where over a million people died and fifteen-hundred died daily, there should be no surprise as to how big the impact of the first World War had on poets. This changed the way most people reacted to life. It also had some thinking doomsday was coming upon us. Those had to be some scary times. The poets of this time were called "war poets," and they had their different approaches to the world's conflict. They were also soldiers who wrote about their physical and mental experiences in the war. It really gives you a chance to see what a person in that state was really thinking. Rupert Brooke, one of the poets, was killed even before action by blood poison. It seemed he knew his time was near and wrote about how he already felt free.
"If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of foreign field That is forever England...."
(From The Solider)
This poem, entitled "The Soldier" was also read at his funeral. Not everyone was praised as a hero though. Siegfried Sassoon was a spoiled rich kid whose life was turned upside down by the war. He was injured while on duty and told them that he did not want to go back. He felt that the war became unnecessary and because of his comments people felt that he was not patriotic. I on the other hand am not the one to judge. who is to say how I would feel if i was thrown into a war I did not start and had to kill several people. I guess at a certain point he felt that the killing will never end and he illustrates this in "Everyone Sang."
My heart was shaken with tears; and horror
Drifted away.......O, but Everyone
was a bird; and the song was wordless; the singing will never be done.
It seems like he is saying sure we are free this time but there will be another time where we will have to fight and then another and another. The fighting will not stop. i just found it amazing because Sassoon actually saved someones life and received a reward for it but to the public he is seen as non-patriotic. While Mr. Brooke who never even entered combat is considered a hero. I guess that shows you just how much power writings have on people.
In a war where over a million people died and fifteen-hundred died daily, there should be no surprise as to how big the impact of the first World War had on poets. This changed the way most people reacted to life. It also had some thinking doomsday was coming upon us. Those had to be some scary times. The poets of this time were called "war poets," and they had their different approaches to the world's conflict. They were also soldiers who wrote about their physical and mental experiences in the war. It really gives you a chance to see what a person in that state was really thinking. Rupert Brooke, one of the poets, was killed even before action by blood poison. It seemed he knew his time was near and wrote about how he already felt free.
"If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of foreign field That is forever England...."
(From The Solider)
This poem, entitled "The Soldier" was also read at his funeral. Not everyone was praised as a hero though. Siegfried Sassoon was a spoiled rich kid whose life was turned upside down by the war. He was injured while on duty and told them that he did not want to go back. He felt that the war became unnecessary and because of his comments people felt that he was not patriotic. I on the other hand am not the one to judge. who is to say how I would feel if i was thrown into a war I did not start and had to kill several people. I guess at a certain point he felt that the killing will never end and he illustrates this in "Everyone Sang."
My heart was shaken with tears; and horror
Drifted away.......O, but Everyone
was a bird; and the song was wordless; the singing will never be done.
It seems like he is saying sure we are free this time but there will be another time where we will have to fight and then another and another. The fighting will not stop. i just found it amazing because Sassoon actually saved someones life and received a reward for it but to the public he is seen as non-patriotic. While Mr. Brooke who never even entered combat is considered a hero. I guess that shows you just how much power writings have on people.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wild, oh excuse me, I mean Wilde was to me a slickster. He was one of the kind guys you could not leave your girlfriend with ( or in his case guy friend), because of his smooth talking and flashy style. Despite his persona he has put out several great works. In the words of Oscar “I have put only my talent into my works. I have put my genius into my life.” I mean something is to be said about a man who is low on money and finds that the solution is marriage. To me he was a liar others and himself. I guess this is why I found “The Decay of Lying” and “The Importance of being Earnest,” to be some of his most intriguing plays. I mean how can this man talk about the importance of telling the truth, let alone how bad it was to lie. “The Importance of being Earnest,” tells a story of man who has a secret identity and how that identity gets him into a lot of trouble. He lost love, family, and if I read correctly life. All of these things were very similar to Oscar’s own life I might add. By losing his children and freedom over the love of a young man, one could say that he too had a secret identity that know one knew about until then.
Oscar Wild, oh excuse me, I mean Wilde was to me a slickster. He was one of the kind guys you could not leave your girlfriend with ( or in his case guy friend), because of his smooth talking and flashy style. Despite his persona he has put out several great works. In the words of Oscar “I have put only my talent into my works. I have put my genius into my life.” I mean something is to be said about a man who is low on money and finds that the solution is marriage. To me he was a liar others and himself. I guess this is why I found “The Decay of Lying” and “The Importance of being Earnest,” to be some of his most intriguing plays. I mean how can this man talk about the importance of telling the truth, let alone how bad it was to lie. “The Importance of being Earnest,” tells a story of man who has a secret identity and how that identity gets him into a lot of trouble. He lost love, family, and if I read correctly life. All of these things were very similar to Oscar’s own life I might add. By losing his children and freedom over the love of a young man, one could say that he too had a secret identity that know one knew about until then.
Virginia Woolf
How fitting that we end our class and our talk of the moderns with the lady writer, Virginia Woolf(The only lady modern we looked at by the way) First off, let me say that this is my subjective opinion of Mrs. Woolf. I am pretty sure she would like that. I mean it was her who stressed this idea of subjectivity. Another idea she wanted to express was writers freedom. She felt that no true writer is really free to write with their emotions. This means a writer on any particular day can have any particular mood. Thus, making each work take on a life of its own everyday. The frustrating part for a writer though is that they have to stay in the same emotional state in order to write an acceptable piece of art. If not she said that it will not be acceptable to the market. Even though I think she would like to write without any boundaries, I will have to say that she is not a fool because she know that publishers would not pick it up.
She did however did a good job at selling her subjective point across to me in “A Reflection.“ In this first person narrative she describes a women that sees another women through a looking glass. As she is looking through this glass she starts to describe how wonderful this person’s life seem to be and how pleasing her room is for her eyes. But then she goes from a pleasant praising description of her to the more disappointing points of her life. Now look how she describes her room.
Under the Stress of thinking about Isabella, her room became more shadowy and symbolic; the corners seemed darker, the legs of chairs and tables more spindly and hieroglyphic.
(from a Reflection)
This is a drastic change in tone here for the narrator. It is quite a powerful tool that she uses and has to make you wonder about how you make first impressions about someone. We can go from calling someone a homeless, uneducated, thief to dubbing them the next multi-millionaire just by the way a person dresses, talks or just how the sun hits them at a particular moment. I mean this poem really makes you think how many wrong assumptions you have had about someone without finding out the truth? Even more to think about is how many people have the wrong impression about you? In today’s world where image is so very important, I find this subject a topic that will stay with us until death……………..Many kudos for bringing that to my attention Mrs. Woolf. Thanx
How fitting that we end our class and our talk of the moderns with the lady writer, Virginia Woolf(The only lady modern we looked at by the way) First off, let me say that this is my subjective opinion of Mrs. Woolf. I am pretty sure she would like that. I mean it was her who stressed this idea of subjectivity. Another idea she wanted to express was writers freedom. She felt that no true writer is really free to write with their emotions. This means a writer on any particular day can have any particular mood. Thus, making each work take on a life of its own everyday. The frustrating part for a writer though is that they have to stay in the same emotional state in order to write an acceptable piece of art. If not she said that it will not be acceptable to the market. Even though I think she would like to write without any boundaries, I will have to say that she is not a fool because she know that publishers would not pick it up.
She did however did a good job at selling her subjective point across to me in “A Reflection.“ In this first person narrative she describes a women that sees another women through a looking glass. As she is looking through this glass she starts to describe how wonderful this person’s life seem to be and how pleasing her room is for her eyes. But then she goes from a pleasant praising description of her to the more disappointing points of her life. Now look how she describes her room.
Under the Stress of thinking about Isabella, her room became more shadowy and symbolic; the corners seemed darker, the legs of chairs and tables more spindly and hieroglyphic.
(from a Reflection)
This is a drastic change in tone here for the narrator. It is quite a powerful tool that she uses and has to make you wonder about how you make first impressions about someone. We can go from calling someone a homeless, uneducated, thief to dubbing them the next multi-millionaire just by the way a person dresses, talks or just how the sun hits them at a particular moment. I mean this poem really makes you think how many wrong assumptions you have had about someone without finding out the truth? Even more to think about is how many people have the wrong impression about you? In today’s world where image is so very important, I find this subject a topic that will stay with us until death……………..Many kudos for bringing that to my attention Mrs. Woolf. Thanx
T.S. Eliot
T.S. Eliot had quite a family background to live up to. With Presidents and Deans in the family bloodline, Eliot had no chance but to be something great and something great he was indeed. Among his great tasks he completed was “The Wasteland.” It can be considered one if not the most influential poem of the 20th century. As I read the material I can see why. This to me is a very difficult read because it makes so many references to so many other writings and in order for you(well me) to understand where Eliot was coming from you have to go back and take your mind back to the reference to see where their mind was at, so you can see where Eliot’s mind was at, so you can make up your mind on what to think…….whew, sorry about that. An example of what I mean is this in “I had not thought death had undone so many.”(line 63) This comes from “Dante’s Inferno,” again one of my favorites, and as you go back and understand how the inferno was developed you can come back to Eliot and really appreciate what he is trying to say. As it says in the footnotes, Chapter 3 versus 55-57 of the Inferno
An interminable train of souls pressed on,
so many that I wondered how death could have undone so many
(from the Inferno)
The versus which are very similar talk about how he is surprised to see how many people live life in the middle. This means that these people are not completely devoted to serving God or are not considered completely evil. Thus, this made them unable to go to either Heaven or Hell. Now all that deciphering was made for only one line of this poem. This is why I consider this a hard read for me, maybe the hardest of our semester. I mean it is almost as if ever line has a life of its own. At no means is this a negative critique of his work. I loved this piece and I see why it is so widely praised. And I guess it is fitting that with his family legacy such a piece would come from him. As he is truly a genius.
T.S. Eliot had quite a family background to live up to. With Presidents and Deans in the family bloodline, Eliot had no chance but to be something great and something great he was indeed. Among his great tasks he completed was “The Wasteland.” It can be considered one if not the most influential poem of the 20th century. As I read the material I can see why. This to me is a very difficult read because it makes so many references to so many other writings and in order for you(well me) to understand where Eliot was coming from you have to go back and take your mind back to the reference to see where their mind was at, so you can see where Eliot’s mind was at, so you can make up your mind on what to think…….whew, sorry about that. An example of what I mean is this in “I had not thought death had undone so many.”(line 63) This comes from “Dante’s Inferno,” again one of my favorites, and as you go back and understand how the inferno was developed you can come back to Eliot and really appreciate what he is trying to say. As it says in the footnotes, Chapter 3 versus 55-57 of the Inferno
An interminable train of souls pressed on,
so many that I wondered how death could have undone so many
(from the Inferno)
The versus which are very similar talk about how he is surprised to see how many people live life in the middle. This means that these people are not completely devoted to serving God or are not considered completely evil. Thus, this made them unable to go to either Heaven or Hell. Now all that deciphering was made for only one line of this poem. This is why I consider this a hard read for me, maybe the hardest of our semester. I mean it is almost as if ever line has a life of its own. At no means is this a negative critique of his work. I loved this piece and I see why it is so widely praised. And I guess it is fitting that with his family legacy such a piece would come from him. As he is truly a genius.
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