Month: September 2019

Willam Blakes poems depict a society that is filled with misery.  He discusses Satan’s situation and how he will always be recognized in a negative way. This theme continues in the poems because Blake illustrates the dark events of his society. He suggests that the situations these people are in are not temporary. Even though people may try to find solace in religion it will not change their state of living.  This is relevant today because people often use faith and religion for comfort and even hope like they did during eighteenth-century England.

In Shelley’s work, “An Ode to The West Wind”, he uses wind to represent ever occurring changes in the world. The last line of the poem demonstrates that wind represents renewal just like Spring is a time of renewal after Winter. In a time where cultural revolutions were taking place the idea of a “new wind” bringing renewal was never more prevalent. Romanticism was seeking to curb the changes made due to enlightenment by focusing on nature’s benefit to mankind. That being said, there is no better metaphor than wind which causes the coming and going of seasons while also representing change.

Shelly chose to write an ode to the wind because she believes that the West Wind has a great impact on society both positively and negatively. For example, she says, “Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere; Destroyer and preserver.” The West Wind can do things such as blow away the autumn leaves and welcome in thunderstorms. However, there is a larger concept to the wind when the speaker want it to affect him in the same way. I think it represents a medium for which the speaker can make himself known as well as sharing his ideas. The speaker wishes that the wind can have the same affect on him as it does blowing the autumn leaves around.

In Ode to the West Wind, the speaker seems like they are stuck in a negative state of mind. She is writing an ode to the wind because she is looking for its help. She describes the wind as a powerful spirt; a “destroyer and preserver.” The wind represents change, as it routinely “destroys” old  things or ideas and preserves new ones at the same time. She wants the wind to “lift [her] as a wave, a leaf, a cloud” and “drive [her] dead thoughts over the universe.” It seems that the poet is asking the wind to rid her of her negative thoughts and bring about positive ones.

William Blake uses his poems to reflect on his perspectives on how the beliefs/ standards of religion is contradictory on how people should treat and view others. For instance, “The Gates of Paradise,” it was written, “Truly, my Satan, thou art but a Dunce […] Every Harlot was a Virgin once,/ Nor canst thou ever change Kate into Nan.” Blake is saying that Satan is not dumb and could be suffering from something bigger that the people are unable to see. In addition, he goes on to say that every prostitute was innocent and held their virgintiy before a twist in events led them down the path of prostitution; while also saying that you cannot change people. This contradicts how people should interact with others within society because religion gives people the characteristic of being judgmental and allowing them to give people the benefit of the doubt when something wrong is done. Also, it is often seen that people will try to change the behaviors of others if it doesn’t correspond with what they feel is right. This commentary is relevant today because it’s seen that the minds of many people is swayed by religion- specifically in Christianity, people often pass on their judgement by referring to the teachings on the aspects on how God created the world, which can be interpreted differently.

In romantic literature, the self is attracted to nature, piously praises nature and believes in nature. The nature in the eyes of the poets is sublime and sacred. The poets emphasize self, pursue freedom, love nature. Romantics integrate themselves into nature and feel  the nature. For example, William expressed his love for nature in his poem “Tintern Abbey”, and Percy Shelley expressed his emotions by describing nature in her poem “Ode to the West Wind”. These beautiful sceneries are the poets’ inner for a beautiful life and a yearning for beautiful nature. Although the romantic poets have different choices of natural images and artistic expressions, natural consciousness is deeply rooted in their poems.

 

 

Emily Dickinson’s poem utilizes dashes in order to emphasize the importance of a specific sentence. Every time theres’s a dash, the reader takes a slight pause in their head. If the reader were to read the line “[w]inter [a]fternoons-” without the dash, they may miss the significance of this line. The dash allows the reader to envision the imagery and mood of this sentence with the dash. Dickinson uses the dash effectively, as in the case above, to emphasize the purpose of the sentences to the poem.

The poem, Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour. July 13, 1798 unfolds with Wordsworth taking in the same scenery he once did five years ago. Wordsworth recalls how nature provided comfort and “tranquil restoration” for his mind. He realizes that his perception of nature has changed over time. In the past, nature was his everything-“An appetite; a feeling and a love,” but now he has developed a more profound and deeper understanding with nature. Wordsworth thinks of nature as “The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, / The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul / Of all my moral being.” Nature has allowed him to connect spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically with himself. While in the company of his sister, Wordsworth sees his former self in her and prays that his sister will be able to experience nature and find solace within it as well.

The Enlightenment can be described as a movement away from tradition and becoming more independent in thought and actions.  However, readers can immediately interpret William Blake’s thoughts about the Enlightenment through his diction.  The fourth line of the piece reads “Every Harlot was a Virgin once”, implying that leaning away tradition does no good for anyone.  He also refers to living without tradition as ‘misery’. This writing is clearly demonstrating criticism against the Enlightenment.

Percy Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind” should not be taken literally, as the poet is not truly writing just about the west wind, but instead about change. There are numerous references in the poem to the themes of death and rebirth, and they are connected to the wind. In one instance, Shelley writes, “Drive my dead thoughts over the universe/ Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth!” The wind takes something that is dead, which no longer works for the benefit of anyone, and gives it a new life. Through metaphor, Shelley thus asserts that change is both inevitable and good, especially when considering the poem’s final lines, “O Wind,/ If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” Overall, Shelley equates the wind with change, likely emanating from Western society (thus the “west wind”), which the poet sees as creating a better world.