Month: September 2019

Consider why Dickinson’s poetry is more terse and/or brief than most other poetry you might have read.

Compared to other poetry I have read, Emily Dickinson’s poetry tends to be brief and simple. The entire poem seems to be telling a story about someone’s life as each stanza provides memorable moments of that person’s life to the readers. The imagery and irony, showed in parts of the poem, help emphasize those moments to the reader. By reading these moments, readers can connect with the author by putting themselves in her “shoes,” and visualize how these moments occur in someone’s life. Dickinson’s poem also connects readers to their own life, allowing them to visualize certain moments that they encountered and understand why it occurred in their life.

What is Whitman’s relationship to the reader?

In his poetry, Walt Whitman praises himself and is prideful of who he is. While he “celebrates” himself, he wants us, the readers to celebrate with him and be proud of who we are just like he does. “For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.” He wants the readers to share their identity with the world as we all unite as one. Therefore, to Whitman, the readers are all his friends because he believes that everyone is the same. 

 

The Romantics believed of that children were products of their surrounding environments and adults. In “Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood ” the author states “Shaped by himself with newly-learned art …And with new joy and pride The little actor cons another part”. The use of the words shaped and con another part show the idea that children were influenced by their parents and shaped to be just like them. The author also says “That life brings with her in her equipage; As if his whole vocation Were endless imitation” highlighting how the purpose or role of childhood was to imitate adults and become the adults they grew up with. The adulthood would have been the model to replicate according the ideas of the Romantics.

 

equipage-the equipment for a particular purpose.

vocation-a strong feeling of suitability for a particular career or occupation.

Consider why Dickinson’s poetry is more terse and/or brief than most other poetry you might have read.

Emily Dickinson’s poetry is more brief compared to most other poetry because this piece is more of a story-telling poem about a shared adventure between two people. By condensing the words, it would be easy to debrief the ongoing journey and it would hook readers’ attention to make them want to learn more. Additionally, it provides her readers with a better context of how one line/stanza connects to another line/stanza. Unlike most other poetry, Dickinson’s brief poem can be related to her readers’ life experience instantly and leave them questioning the meaning behind those lines. In doing so, she had not only captured their attention, but also made her audiences rethink about the decisions they make in their lives. Dickinson created a suspension throughout her poem, so by employing a few descriptive words or imageries per line, it helps her readers to better interpret the poem.

~ Neo

Consider Dickinson’s uses of literary devices such as irony, imagery, and metaphors.

Emily Dickinson writes the first poem about one’s path to death. One reaches eternity by walking through the “forest.” The “forest of the dead” is imagery used to help the audience visualize a purgatory-like state where one meets their fate (62).

The poem “Hope is the thing…” uses an extended metaphor to compare hope to a bird. The bird is “heard [in] the most chill land” and “never stops” (314). Just like the bird, even in the strongest obstacle, hope cannot dissipate.

Dickinson personifies Death in “Because I could not stop for Death…” to have Death viewed in a new light. Death is not meant to be terrifying but rather peaceful. “Death – He kindly stopped for me” (712). Here, she personifies death amicably. At first, the poem is written as if she had recently passed away. Ironically, at the end of the poem, she describes a century as a day to indicate that she has been dead longer than the audience originally thinks.

Blake uses imagery and metaphors in his various poems and proverbs to give the reader a deeper sense of what hes saying. For example, in “The Gates of Paradise” Blake states, “Every Harlot was a Virgin once,/ Nor canst thou ever change Kate into Nan.” He is basically saying a prostitute was once a virgin and you can’t change one person to another. Next in “London” he paints a picture of faces he sees as he walks down the street and its a path marked by pain and oppression. Blake says in every face he meets there are marks of weakness and woe where men cry and children (Infants) cry of fear. He paint a picture of the chimney sweeper possibly blackened by the cinders and the soldiers sighing as if blood runs down the Palace walls. It’s a gruesome scene he paints with vibrant and touching words. Lastly in “The Chimney Sweeper” he depicts a small man crying in the cold snow who seems to be forced to do the chores of others who seek to praise God, the priest and the King. Another unhappy scene to picture as though Blake seems to show a side of society that is neglected in the light of this specific time period.

Consider Dickinson’s uses of literary devices such as irony, imagery, and metaphors.

Dickinson’s usage of imagery at the beginning of the poem sets a melancholy setting as if all hope is gone. It brings imagery of a “white flag” meaning a lost and their “feet reluctant to led”, bringing the relationship with the other to a halt. Her use of imagery connects with nature and is used to paint an unforgiving picture of romance. Along with that, her irony in her metaphors of “Hope” and “Faith” where they were looked up upon in relationships was torn apart in her eyes. Many people are taught growing up to use hope and faith to believe in romance but instead, she believes that it can distract the truth. She also discusses “The Brain” as something physical to have the power to mentally and physically affect others. Her irony represents the lack of faith Dickinson has for romance. Dickinson ends the poem with “Or every man be blind -” relating to the metaphor earlier of “Success in Circuit lies”. Dickinson encourages others to not be blinded by romanticism because the success in relationships can be made up of lies.

 

Consider Blake’s use of images and metaphor in his various poems and proverbs.

In “The Gates of Paradise” by William Blake, Blake uses imagery to show the destructiveness of a society solely focused on monarchy and religion. In a description of the young Chimney Sweeper, he writes “They clothed me in the clothes of death… And are gone to praise god and his priest and king.” The parents have left the young boy to do a dangerous and dirty job, only so that they can go pray and appease the king. The imagery of a young boy in the snow covered in soot evokes rage towards the parents and society because it shows that the life and happiness of one’s own child is held secondary to the church and state.

In a description of everyday people, it appears that all of them are unhappy with their lives. Blake writes,  Men “cry”, Infants, “cry of fear”, and hapless Soldiers “Sigh.” However, later in the poem, Blake writes, “And are gone to praise god and his priest and king, who make up a heaven of our misery,” showing that the king and priests live a life as though they were in heaven while the common man and child suffer.

How is his work a commentary on the mores, religious temperament, and society in which he lived in late eighteenth century England? What aspects of this commentary are still relevant today?

Throughout his poems, William Blake was able to comment on English customs and society and how they were dominated by religion in late eighteenth century England. Blake compares those that ruled to Satan because they were corrupt and cunning. For this reason, he says that “…dost not know the Garment of the Man” meaning that rulers did not know their people. Blake further says that these rulers are even able to get others that are good like Jesus or Jehovah to worship them, albeit wary. William Blake also comments on the fact that the church is used to justify bad behaviors or illicit acts. In “The Chimney Sweeper,” a child, dressed in “clothes of death,” was left alone or abandoned in a heath because he seemed happy to be there. “Clothes of death” is meant to describe the dirty black clothing that the child is wearing because they are a sweeper. However, the child is singing “notes of woe,” which shows their discontent with their situation. The church accepts what the parents do (possibly abandoning their child or letting them work at a young age in a dangerous job) since they are allowed to go back to “praise God and his priest and king.” Blake’s line of “who make up a heaven of our misery” is meant to reflect that the church functions as a result of the suffering of others.

One aspect that is still relevant today is that there are still people in charge who should not be. These people are corrupt, to some extent, and still have people who follow them blindly. In regard to religion I’d say that the church still dominates the lives of many and dictates the actions of those devotees. Some of these people in following their religious morals and teachings may go against what society has set as a norm. Although they may go against, they have their church to fall back on.

Do you consider Wordsworth’s poetry optimistic or pessimistic or some combination of the two?

Wordsworth the masterful English romanticism poet knows how to play with the words, which makes it harder for readers to interpret if his poem are flowing toward optimism or pessimism. For instance, the first two lines of “Tintern Abbey” seem and mean to be pessimistic. It is phrased as the poet is complaining about the life and long seasons. However, it becomes more clear in the later lines which the poem is mostly flowed toward optimism and the poet is praising the beauty of nature. In my perception Wordsworth’s poetry is optimistic. However, the definition of the words in a poem are meant to be different based on every individual’s interpretation.