Friday, 26 January 2007
Welcome
Welcome to the ENGL 309 blog site. Here, you'll be entering your journal entries and we'll be able to have an ongoing collaborative discussion. Feel free to comment on any of the class readings; however, you should also provide feedback on one another's insights and comments. The more actively engaged you are in this site - as per the instructions via the syllabus, the better your score! Good Luck and HAPPY BLOGGING.
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It was interesting that we started the course with a study of the Romantic period on Valentines day!However,the name of the period was a bit misleading since we started off with two rather grim and not very romantic events: the French and Industrial revolutions!
While Romanticism refers to freedom of expression, fantasy and feelings, I could not help but detect the sinister undertones of Orientalism that lurk within the beautiful poetry. The Industrial revolution,which caused major societal upheavals in Europe, also kickstarted serious empire building worldwide. These poets were not always referring to their backyards when describing their fairy coloured flowers and murmuring ring-doves...
Noora #1446
I agree with hooda's comments to some extent. I was also suprized about the topics that we started with. since it was a study of romantic period i thought we would start off with poems and art paintings. But i sort of liked the start of this class even if it was shocking a little, it made me realize why it was named "The Romantic Period"
The industrial revolution was very shocking to me, they used to let little children work for hours for little amount of money to support their family.
And yet our course is about emotions, love feeling towards others. The Industrial revolution
helped the improve the trade which is very important to countries. It also filled out the spaces of children that carried the goods.
Our discussion should also evoke another thought: What is the difference between "romantic" and "Romantic"?
You know, I think the reason the Romantic period bloomed was in response to the turmoil and social upheaval and troubles of the previous century. In fact, you can almost say that it was because of things like the French Revolution and Industrial Revolution that artists felt it was important to return to the true nature of the self and build life from there. Because of the restlessness, disillusionment, class distinction, and estrangement from the self of the 18th Century, it was obvious to people like Blake, Keats, Wordsworth and everyone else that beauty, love, intuitive feelings, and relationships with Nature were so essential. I mean, people like Wordsworth saw how important it was to be truly attuned with nature and thusly achieve peace. Read, for instance "I wandered lonely as a cloud," where Wordsworth beautifully describes the happiness he feels at his new communing with nature, as a result almost completing him as a human being. Maybe Hooda detected a melancholy tone because of the after-effects of the 18th century on the poets. Take (again) Wordsworth's "The world is too much with us." That's why they lament things, sometimes. What do you think?
Oh yeah, in response to Dr. Pamela's suggestion, I think that's an important point to discuss before getting down to study the poems and things. I guess "romantic" with a small r is generally like lovey-dovey, whereas "romantic" with a capital R generally denotes idealism, love of beauty, the actual movement in the 19th Century, a real consideration for feelings, the nature of the self, one's position in relation to the universe and the Divine - things like that, I guess. Don Quixote would be called romantic in that sense, I think.
PS. I have a 108-01 after my name because I'm using the same account for another blog :)
“Written at the Close of Spring” by Charlotte Smith.
This poem moved me because of the wonderful imagery portrayed and the hidden meanings that lie within it. This poem speaks of Spring, of the Birth, Death and Rebirth of it. “Each simple flower, which she has nursed in dew”, and in this line “she” refers to Mother Nature, or Springtime, and it shows the process of flowers being nurtured by the earth’s dew. The author has a beautiful way of putting feelings into words when she portrays Mother Nature as a mother feeding her own children who are the flowers. When it comes to death it is clearly shown in lines 5 and 6; “No more shall violets linger in the dell, Or purple orchis variegate the plain,” and these lines which reflect changes can portray death or short life-span of the violets (also representing the flowers) or change in mood, feelings or season. The Rebirth is presented in lines 13 and 14; “Another May new buds and flowers shall bring; Ah! why has happiness – no second Spring?” where the author is basically saying that in a year, when May comes again there will be new flowers that grow for people to enjoy their beauty. I’m not so sure what this line meant “Bid all thy fairy colors fade away!” and I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you.
As a new transfer student to the university, i am really looking forward to learn a lot from this class! The name of the class itself interested me to take part in it! What i really like about the course so far, is the different powerpoint presentations on the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, and Romanticism. Many times when we first take a certain course, the doctor begins right away in the information we would be studying without caring much whether the students have a background about such topic or not! This time, with a detailed background information, i guess that we will all be able to engage in the topics successfully, learn from them, as well as enjoy...
S00004601
The Romantic Era is a revolution in itself. Writers such as Coleridge, Blake and Wordsworth wrote beautiful and moving poetic pieces that addressed themes contrasting sharply with the morals and genres of the previous Augustan Age. Following the ideals of the famous German philosopher Immanuel Kant who believed our personal experiences and beliefs define our understanding of the world Romantic writers made the individual spirit the subject of their literary work. Thus, when the French Revolution occurred, Romanticists hailed it as the dawning of a new era and the light of hope in the future. Wordsworth expresses this hope in The Prelude when he wrote, “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive.” For the first time in Europe, individuals took a radical stand against tyranny and challenged their monarchs’ power by making their voices, demands and protests heard. In addition, the revolutions’ spirit of “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” must have appealed to the Romantic generation since a democratic government expresses the value of human life, emotions and thought. Thus, it inspired Romanticists to present their feelings, hopes, views, experiences and explore the complexity of human nature in their literary work. Unfortunately, however, in time, this patriotic spirit proved to be nothing more than an intangible dream. Shortly after the execution of Marie Antoinette, France entered an era known as the Reign of Terror. This surely must have compelled some of the Romantic writers to question human nature and evaluate the failure of the revolution and the violent turn it took. For instance, Charlotte Smith in her masterpiece The Emigrants criticizes monarchy’s exploitation of the poor and the vindictive nature of the revolution.
However, Romanticism was not just influenced by the French Revolution. In fact, the Industrial Revolution played a large role in inspiring Romanticists. During this time in history, many laborers were forced to move to the city and work in factories. The capitalist nature of this age dehumanized and exploited the poor. In response, Romantic writers began contrasting the horrors of city life with majestic beauty and purity of nature. For instance, Blake criticizes the way in which the individual is lost and is regarded as nothing more than a machine. In his renowned poem London, Blake portrays London as a city where people are imprisoned and their minds are chained by the oppression of an Industrial society.
I wander thro each chateer’d street
Near where the charter’d Thames does flow,
And markin every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
In every cry of every Man,
In every Infant’s voice, in every ban
The mind-forg’d manacles I hear.
In this sense, both the French and Industrial Revolution inspired writers to return to nature, examine human nature, express imaginative ideas and hail the beauty of human experience. This somewhat reminds us of the Transcendental movement that took place in 19th century America which also celebrates of nature, placed importance on individualism and explored human nature.
As a new transfer student to the university, i am really looking forward to learn a lot from this class! The name of the class itself interested me to take part in it! What i really like about the course so far, is the different powerpoint presentations on the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, and Romanticism. Many times when we first take a certain course, the doctor begins right away in the information we would be studying without caring much whether the students have a background about such topic or not! This time, with a detailed background information, i guess that we will all be able to engage in the topics successfully, learn from them, as well as enjoy...
S00004601
Starting with Jean Jacques Rousseau in particular and the French Revolution in general empathizes that rebellion is a major component of creativity. The desire of innovation, going beyond the boundaries and ending the dark ages that Europe had gone through were the basic reasons why English literature examines philosophical speculations, and urges writers and poets to add spirit to their writings in order to achieve freedom. When we have been introduced to the dark ages in Europe, and the absence of women right and freedom of expression, I understand that injustice is spread everywhere, and ending it need some intellectuals who have to be the voice of commons who face troubles.
The Romantic Period is interesting because it illustrates different aspects of life. It is a period that shifts the way of writing from rationalism to a period that focuses more on the inner feelings of the individual. This period has a lot of implications that are related to our life. In the Arabic literature, for example, writers and poets did struggle and still from the absence of freedom of expression, and they have a desperate need to repeal the restrictions because of the negative results. Actually, three days of this class were succeeded to better give an idea about the entire course.
AMAZING GRACE !
So far, you are all presenting some interesting comments. I like the various perspectives and the diverse voices from this class. The additional research some of you have done adds much to the understanding of what we are doing in this class. Also, the opinions and personal responses provide a window into the critical thinking that you are contributing. Thanks so much for being such active participants in this class.
Dr. Pamela
When i first read the poem "The Haunted Beach", I wasn't exposed to it deeply, and I didn't have the required material to understand it, when Dr. Pamela told me that it might relate to her life story from her brief bibliography, I compared the poem to her relationships with men, and the line that stood out to prove my point was when she started talking about a shipwrecked Mariner, on line (46-54 I interepreted as an encounter or the experience she felt, but then i started thinking about the poem and realized thats not a realistic metaphor. In my opinion I think the author Mary Robinson was just illustrating a portrait of the beach, and giving life to the objects that you see on a beach, and then she uses her imagery by creating characters such as the fisherman and the shipwrecked Mariner, and giving them a story. Even though she's unaware of those people even if they existed in her portrait, but she still didn't know anything about them so she created their life story, kind of a recreation of this illustration she seas. She has a very good grasp of describing the imagery of the beach in her poem, which just reading the poem and visualizing the beach she is talking about you can feel the romanticism that is produced by this poem. just like a postcard sent to you fo the a beach in the bahamas and seeing the clean blue ocean and white sands, make you feel secluded, and I think when someone is isolated that has a relationship with romanticism.
Kubla Khan is considered to be one of Coleridge’s most beautiful and enduring pieces of poetry; yet it is enshrouded by a cloud of controversy regarding its interpretation due to its status as a verse fragment. After consuming an ample amount of opium to relief his dysentery, Coleridge falls asleep while reading an account of Kubla Khan’s palace. During his short repose, Coleridge envisions the Khan’s glorious summer palace in Xanadu and a complete verse accompanying it. Upon waking, Coleridge instantly begins recording down his poem until he is disturbed by “a man on business from Porlock.” When returns he to his work, Coleridge’s vision is interrupted, and he is left with nothing more than a fragment of a dream. Regardless, Coleridge’s complex poem is a typical example of Romantic poetry. In fact, the images and ideas addressed in the poem are distinctive of this era.
In the first stanza of the poem, Coleridge introduces the ordered world of Kubla Khan through his description of his grand empire. Coleridge presents a realm whose grandeur and size exceeds man’s wildest fantasies and whose depth penetrates the “sunless sea.” Unsatisfied by the mere size of his empire, the Khan decrees that a “stately pleasure dome,” or summer palace be erected in Xanadu. In addition, Kubla builds large towers that are raised “twice five miles of fertile land” that overlooks the serene and beautiful surrounding nature, “gardens where bright with sinuous rills where blossomed many an incense- bearing tree,” that complements his kingdom’s magnificence. Through these images, Coleridge creates a tangible world ruled by Khan’s firm grasp. In this sense, the reader can consider the “sunny dome” and the land it encompasses to be a symbol of Kubla Khan’s imperious nature and the supreme power he commands.
The second stanza depicts an ancient forest that is both savage and wild. Thus, it sharply juxtaposes the images presented in the first stanza. Khan’s organized domain and this rampant realm do not exist in harmoniously. As a matter of fact, they are divided by a hidden crack. For instance, the speaker notes, “But oh! That deep romantic chasm which slanted down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover! A savage place!” With this, Coleridge begins to describe a mysterious and supernatural world that is far beyond the Khan’s control. To accentuate this feeling of the unknown, Coleridge presents a haunting image of a “woman wailing for her demon-lover.” Furthermore, to emphasize the forest’s wild nature, Coleridge portrays a violent eruption of water that hurls the surrounding boulders “like rebounding hail.” This idea of power of savagery and violence is echoed in the last verse of the second stanza. “Ancestral voices prophesying war!”
The third stanza describes the Khan’s “sunny palace” as memory since the speaker shifts from the present to the past tense. Perhaps the stanza is foreshadowing the outcome of the war and Kubla’s end. The Kan’s empire melts into a “shadow of the dome of pleasure” that floats on the waves of the sacred river.
In the final stanza of the poem, the narration shifts from the third person to the first. Here, Coleridge finally communicates the theme of a lost dream through his description of the Ethiopian “damsel with a dulcimer.” In fact, she becomes a metaphor of this lost vision. If only the speaker could recall her soothing symphonies, he would be able to reconstruct the sunny dome in the air with his powerful words. Hence, Coleridge subtly makes the man from Porlock a manifestation of the wicked forces that obstruct works of the genius.
Although Kubla Khan is only a fragmented piece, it is still considered to be a timeless poem constructed of beautifully weaved images, juxtaposed ideas, and a varying rhyme scheme that heralds its poet’s creative genius and mastery.
Noora Al-Abdullah 1446
i loved the images that were discribed in the poem. i loved the way the author used nature to decribe the way things were for example in line 31-34 the discription of dome floating on the waves. i love that part of the poem how dome would float on waves to come to us. I also like part 5 "Down to a sunless sea." a sea that has no hope for tomorrow or a cause to look for hope or future. in that line it seemed to me the author had no hope that there would come a bright day.
The poem also had a strange rhyme to it, the rhyme made the poem more enjoyable to read. the words that the author used and some of the images that are put to me were a little scary for example line 16, "By woman wailing for her demon-lover!"
This was the most interesting poem that we have read in class so far. I really enjoyed reading it because i was able to paint an image of the authors words.
“A Vision in a Dream” being another title for the poem “Kubla Khan” which is mysterious, burns my curiosity to figure out what is the story of this Asian ruler. Actually, I read through some of reliable journals taken for Jstore to discover the hidden meanings of the title and the story of the dream it has. This dream might be a self-doubt more than a dream because of Coleridge's opium addiction which might cause some psychological problems. “Kubla Khan” presents themes that contrasting the man-made earthly paradise with a true form of Paradise. This particular idea reminds me with a major idea in philosophy that deals with diodes and the belief in the afterlife, and making illustrations on the present life which is an argumentative point between intellectuals and people who don't have a clear ideology.
The poem is set around “Stately pleasure dome” of the emperor Kubla Khan who breaks the rules by making heaven on earth which is artificially built by humans. The poet presents some themes that deal with Paradise decreed which appears clearly in the introduction, particularly (1-5). He puts the reader in to the place. Then he shows the fulfillments of the decree; the paradise that Khan shaped is is full of colors, and that appears in the words and usage of the poet in the second verse (6-11) such as: bright, sunny, blossomed, and greenery; these adjectives besides the motion of nature components tells the reader that the poet is optimistic, especially the use of the term “blossomed” in line 9 which associated with spring and hope. The Also, he focuses on the term “Romantic” in the second verse, particularly line 12 which says: “But oh! That deep romantic chasm” which associated with: love, beauty, woman, adventure, landscape, wild, and danger. These themes are associated with the human nature and his inner feelings when it comes to the desire to imagine what will happen in the afterlife, in heaven. This desire was the reason why Khan shaped an artificial paradise in his place. At last, I think this poem is kind of a mystery for me, and I still has wonders about some parts in it; hopefully Wednesday class could illustrate some of the confusing parts.
Just checking
I really enjoyed the the poetry we studied so far, but Colerdige I think fascinated me most!his "sunny domes with caves of ice" evoke such vivid imagery.It reminded me of the Gigantic pleasure dome in Dubai, the Mall of the emirates with its mountains of artificial snow and caves of ice all under a hedonistic dome of ultimate consumerism. I think Coleridge would have been proud to see his eerie prophecy come true!
Colerige's poetry also raised my interest in investigating the topic of Romantic Orientalism and how does such poetry support Edward Said's paradigm of Orientalism as "a Western style for dominating,restructuring,and having authority over the Orient".How do Abbyssinian damsels, pleasure domes, and other Exotic Orintalia contribute to this genre and how is this reinforced in Art and music.I think we night have a class project material here!
Noora 1446
After our class discussion today both poems "To the poet Coleridge" and "Kubla Khan" the poems started to show me different views and meaning to it. I read the poems three times and fourth time in class and every single time i got a different view about the poems.
At first when i read "Kubla Khan" it seems to me that because of the heavy medication i thought that the poem came out of his unconscious part of his brain as freud said that we express our real feelings in our dreams. so i thoguht that because he was alone when he wrote this poem he wanted to build a fantasy land for him to enjoy his time in. It also kind of expressed a gape the author had in him. because th words he was using, most of them were very violent and expressed his inner feelings. for example, i saw the "Sacred river" as his feelings the river which flows through the "Alph"which was the underground chamber, which is his heart. (I went online to dictionary.com ro find the meanings of these words.)
At the end of the poem lines 37-54 the author was discribing a Abbin girl. So the ending of this poem made me come to the conclusion above. That the author was lonely and he had the need to affiliate, to belong to that special someone.
In the poem "To the poet Coleridge" It seemed to me that they both shared a dream or a journey together in this life or maybe the next life. It also seemed to me as if they inspired each other. M. Robinson seemd to be inspired by Coleridg's writing and i think she also wanted to inspire him just like Prof. Pamela said. and it seems to me that if we joined these two poems togther all into one one it would paint an image of love. the two poems show us clearly that the two authors had feelings of affection, friendship and care for each other. It like they are both runing together into a dream or journey to be togther. we all mentioned this in class and this made me love the poems a lot. It also seems that M. Robinson is answering him back in her own way telling him that she is also seeing the things that he is seeing in his poem. I thought these poems were very romantic (and Romantic). I enjoyed reading the poems a lot. These are the type of poems that you would love to share with your loved ones ( Friend, Best friend or members of your family.)
From our class discussion today, I think (As in my point of analysis view) that it was about the relation between the two of them (William and Mary) they both are trying to show up their feelings toward each others. When William shared his feelings in his "Kubla Khan" while he was Lonleyness in an unconsciousness way of thinking, he sort of wrote what is inside him. On the other side Mary kind of responded to him in her way of expression. But the second time i read it, my point became sort of vague! they both got into the nature and explained much about it, but after all it still something they both have feelings for which is the real relation between them.
As William Blake once said, “The imagination is not a state; it is the human existence itself.” After reading a brief biography about the British poet, I realized that this very quote speaks volumes about his character and, essentially, tells us the philosophy of his life. Before critiquing the assigned poems, I would like to give the bloggers a bit of background information about his life because it will make reading his poetry much more meaningful and worthwhile. During his childhood and adolescent years, he is reported to have witnessed many religiously-themed visions and apparitions, like elaborate scenes of angels, but his father repeatedly replied with harsh castigation in an attempt to discourage William from appearing insane in front of family and friends. Due to his devotion to the Bible, the young poet and painter continued to have visions throughout his life, which eventually became the inspiration for his works. He not only claims to have witnessed angels and monks, but also deceased family members, like his brother. “Thirteen years ago I lost a brother, and with his spirit I converse daily and hourly in the spirit, and see him in my remembrance, in the region of my imagination. I hear his advice.” Many questioned his mental state, claiming he was insane, while other have proposed his strange and unique nature as, nothing but, the ingredients of a visionary mind and creative thought. I think Blake was not embarrassed to speak openly about his imaginations because they constitute his character, and that’s nothing to be shamed of.
My favorite 18th century English painter is Sir Joshua Reynolds, who also played a part in Blake’s life. It was fascinating to see the lives of two contrasting geniuses intersect, even though they were no not united in most of their thinking. William Blake was a student of The Royal Academy in London, which was founded by Reynolds, and used his experience in the institution as the foundation of future paintings. Blake detested Reynolds’s seeking of general truth, and instead opted for detailed truth. He told Reynolds boldly, “To generalize is to be an idiot; to particularize is the alone distinction of merit.” This quote in itself tells us much about Blake’s outlook on the world, and what he believed his mission was on Earth.
These experiences are subtly “sprinkled” in his poetry, and we can only make sense of his words after becoming in touch with the world he grew up in. In “The Lamb,” Blake dignifies the glory and virtue of God through the creation of innocence, physically embodied by the lamb. He further implies that only an entity of innocence and benevolence, which is God, is capable of the lamb’s creation. Blake proudly acknowledges the lamb’s presence, as well as his own. “I a child, and thou a lamb,
We are called by His name.” We can see the underlying spirituality that set the stage for “The Lamb,” undoubtedly inspired by his numerous visions as a child and as an adult. “The Tyger,” which Blake connects to “The Lamb,” is a poem of questions – questions of our existence and faith. A first impression that I perceive from “The Tyger” is how it starkly contrasts “The Lamb” in many respects, namely the animal itself and what it represents. In order to convey purity, Blake uses a lamb, and for darkness and fear, he uses a tiger. I think he means that in order for us to enjoy the good in life, we must acknowledge the bad. What’s interesting is that the poem does not end with an answer, therefore providing the reader an opportunity to draw his/her own conclusions. I thought method of questioning is very Socratic because, like Socrates, it gives no definite answer, yet indirectly navigates us to our own inferences. My first impression of the poem’s title, before reading the poem, was that the tiger represented evil, due to the fiery and frightening imagery, like ‘burning bright’, ‘forests of the night’, ‘seize the fire’ and ‘fearful symmetry.’ I especially like the way he illustrated how the star’s “water’d heaven with their tears” because it so vividly captures the image of water flowing into heaven.
The Haunted Beach by Mary Robinson was a poem that reflected an event that happened to her in reality. It is said that this poem is also influenced by Coleridge’s Kubla Khan, like her other piece of work To the Poet Coleridge. It is also recognized as part of the early Romantic movement.
The Haunted Beach is dominated by the supernatural forces and uncanny imagery. The “Sea Birds” that were hovering somewhat reflect the audience, the readers, that are eager to read on and unveil the tale of the haunted beach. They also represent spectators who have witnessed the murder of the Fisherman.
The imagery in Robinson’s writings contain such sad elements to them. Most of her poetry seem to be written about the time of night when the moon is out and everything is dark. It makes me wonder, are the mood of her poems an impact of her life? Perhaps the fact that her father abandoned his family affected her and affected the way she viewed life.
Let us not forget that Mary Robinson spent quite some time in the Fleet Prison for debt and that is where she started her poetry career, and that must have had some effect on her writings.
William Blake’s “Songs of Innocence” is accompanied by a counterpart, “Songs of Experience.” Through these collections, Blake offers two opposing views of the world. The dreary ambiance that inhabits the “Songs of Experience” is generated by Blake’s disappointment with the outcome of the French Revolution and the death of the values the revolution advocated. In fact, he must have been consumed with a disappointment in humankind and questioned its benign nature. Perhaps one of the most famous poems in the collection is Blake’s “The Tyger.”
The “Tiger” is composed of a series of unanswered questions that compels the readers to consider the magnitude of God’s power and question the nature of our world. Blake opens his poem with inquiry; what hands could have possibly given life to a creature like a tiger? For instance, the speaker states, “What immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?” The following stanzas simply refine and elaborate the initial question. In the second stanza, Blake wonders what universal power could have created the tiger’s fierce eyes and controlled their fire. “In what distant deeps or skies burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the fire.” Here, readers can see two allusions. The first is the “wings,” which allude to Icarus; a Greek mythological character who aspired to fly close to the sun; however, his wings melted due to the sun’s heat. Secondly, “hand that seized the fire” can be interpreted as an allusion to Prometheus; a mythological character who invoked the gods’ fury by stealing fire for mankind. The third stanza, the poet explores not the physical creation of the tiger, but the spiritual composition through his examination of its heart. In fact, the speaker begins to wonder what physical power strengthened the tiger’s vicious heart, while the fourth compares the tiger’s creator to a mysterious and sinister blacksmith and questions the nature of the furnace and anvil that gave rise to such a violent being. In the final two stanzas, Blake wonders how the creator might have reacted to his final product. Would he have smiled at his aesthetic physical achievement? Would he have recoiled at the tiger’s ethical connotations? Could the creator who breathed life into the innocent and peaceful lamb be the very same as that who created the sublime, but fearful tiger? Through the poem, Blake alters the essence of the tiger into a symbol of the spiritual and moral problems that inhabit our world. Both beautiful and horrific, the tiger embodies the dichotomy between good and evil.
Blake is known to have taken a stand against the Industrial era. As a matter of fact, he idealized the rural and pastoral life and abhorred the “satanic mills” of an industrialized society. Thus, he set “The Lamb,” a poem about innocence and purity, in a pastoral landscape, while he filled “The Tyger” with images that are closely related to industrialization such as furnaces, anvils and hammers. Consequently, “The Tyger” could be seen as a critique of an industrialized society. Like a tiger, industrialization appears to be a great movement on the surface, for it increases efficiency, wealth, trade and communication. However, under the surface, it brought horrendous effects on individuals such as the lower classes, the laborers, and the exploitation of women and children.
The whole aspect of escaping toward the orient as what Hooda mentioned previously in Wednesday's class opens the door to raise some wonders about the desire of escapism from a world to another: why creative people like poets, writers, intellectuals who are considered as “Elites” most of the time has a great desire to innovate and investigate other cultures? In the case of Coleridge and the images he draw for the reader to sense the characteristics of the orient, I think the reason of escapism from the West through words is because he wants to enrich his verse/writing. Actually, the orient seems to be a rich material that helps in construction of images and thoughts. This cultural exchange among East and West is an excellent way to better understanding for life and the reason why somethings have no inner logic. For example, I am majoring in English Literature to know how the Western culture deals with the themes and aspects of life, and in order to achieve this aim, genres of literature, such as poetry are the best way to examine a profound look on life. Juxtaposing visions of Arab and Western poets is my beloved field as a big fan of the Arabic literature. The idea of cultural exchange is involved in most of the art works, especially in music. For instance, here is a song by a Lebanese singer, Majeda Al Romi named: Habibi “My Lover” which is composed by Albanoni – Adagio. To listen, follow this link:
http://www.6rbtop.com/library/resources/Majda_Al-Roomi/Collection/listen/28020_hi.ram
Enjoy!
It was really interesting to me that we get to read a brief background on each of the poets before we actually read their poems. It builds a deep idea in our minds on how we should react to the themes and ideas in each poem. Overall, the poems have really astonished me with their deep meanings and imagery. It seemed to me that if i took any line ,from any poem, alone, i could interpret it in hundereds of different meanings. The ways in which Charelotte Smith uses nature to express her sorrows was a really surprising element. All the adjectives she uses are depressing and describe her sense of disollusionment from the world. This has made us understand her poems more deeply. Also, what i really enjoyed, was juxtaposing Mary Robinson's poem, "To the Poet Coleridge," with "Kubla Khan." It is really interesting that we could, first of all see unfinished works in literature, and second of all, visualize the relationship between two poets through their literature. I saw a sense of dialouge between both works. It felt more of a novel that has its parts scattered around in different areas. WOW!
Maha Fathi
Hello my diligent and bright students! You are simply AMAZING. I can't remember when I've enjoyed a class more than this one....although admitedly, I have enjoyed many!!! I sure appreciate your energy and dedication to analysis - your willingness to read and to be enthralled over the poetry and poets we are inhaling. GOOD GOING!!!! Oh, Esraaa....I'm going to listen to the link now. Thanks for providing this. Dr. Pamela
Hi - I had ABSOLUTELY no access to the Internet all day yesterday, so although I won't be graded on this comment, I just thought I ought to put something up.
Maha's right about the juxtaposition of the two poems - it was a great idea. Although it was kind of foreseen that we would have to read "Kubla Khan" before reading Robinson, it was a delightful surprise when Robinson really does make a wonderful response, so brilliantly does she weave a Paradise extended out of her own experience, so excitedly does she practically speak to Coleridge. I mean, it is almost as though she were sitting with him while reading it, and at the end of every verse, would excitedly comment in beautiful verse. That's how close her reactions are, in my opinion, and the juxtaposition of the two made it all the more intense and brilliant. Personally, that's what stood out for me more that the complex contrast of masculinity/femininity. It exists and very vividly, I admit, although it was more of an after-thought. You know, the contrast between the muse-like, golden Abbysinian maiden and the wailing woman... they were apparent throughout, but they didn't make that strong an impression on me about either poem. What do you guys think? Also, I enjoyed particularly Robinson's verse where, after delighting at the way Coleridge kindled an exotic light in "Kubla Khan," there was a spark to extend to a Paradise of her own - not so much as a form of escapism, I don't think, but maybe as a wonder of the Orient, a fascination that held a lot of people those days. Days of Tibet and Peru. (This isn't really that important, but those were the days Hiram Bingham explored Peru and Macchu Picchu, right? Images of pyramids of gold and jungles must have been just as appealing as the cold lavender mountains of Far Asia, right?) Besides, it was her experience and so well integrated with Coleridge's, so smoothly that Robinson had to write that poem. It was the likenesses of their vivid, brilliant imagination and way with words that probably so moved Robinson and inspired her to write. Personally, I feel a bit sorry for the businessman from Porlock - Coleridge must have appeared agitated and perhaps angry as is hinted in his last lamenting, deperate lines, wishing that the Paradise-fed inpiration of heavenly milk and honey would be guarded by the muse. I like Robinson's lighter approach to this part, too. She promises that she would be his approving muse of inpiration and weave him that garland of "flowers besprent."
All in all, it was really very fun to read this poems together and see what a marvellous spark of inpiration and imagination Coleridge and Robinson shared, just like Hooda and others commented in class.
Sorry about the late comment - definitely looking forward to Blake nest class - one of my favourites!
Noora 1446
I like the discussion we had in class today, i thought about the whole idea of experience and innocence that we discussed earlier today in Blake's poem about the Lamb. I thought that for a person or anything to be called or thought of as "Innocent" that it should not have experience because in my view the innocent has no experience in life or anything thats why we called it "Innocence".
It was a little strange for me that i didn't find the Lamb poem religious at a point. but when this was mentioned in class, i thought that it might resemble virtue. The virtue of young girls and boys. How they are seen or viewed as soft, pure, loving and harmless.
The poem was very peaceful, symbolic and it had a lovely rhyme scheme. It reminded me of the poems and stories that were read to me when i was in Kg. which brought up a lovely memory, this poem was a very nice way to start off the week.
It’s unbelievably fascinating how my understanding and perception of a poem differs after I’ve acquired some background information about its author. Becoming acquainted with the poet’s background is crucial to our understanding of the poem because, after all, poetry is used as an avenue for self-expression. When I read, for the first time, a Robert Burns poem, I had no background information about his life whatsoever, and you can imagine my reaction. Something kept me from continuing on to the next stanza, and that something was confusion. After reading a bit about his life, all his words suddenly made perfect sense, the poems’ themes and his personal experience linked to one another, and I even overcame the obstacle of Scottish dialect. I can appreciate his poetry now because I’m aware of what compels him to write the way he does. I like to compare Picasso to Burns because of their numerous similarities: As prolific artists, they came from humble, poor backgrounds, produced exceptional work, and are regarded as symbols for their respective countries.
Picasso, to me, is an artistic genius, and when I first became of his extraordinary paintings, I saw the color, the shapes, and the innovation. I also saw his painting a piece of canvas, a mixture of acrylic colors with no story behind it. But all that changed forever once I read his biography and learned about the many emotional phases during his lifetime, and how that navigated Picasso through his artistic journey. Every color has a reason; each technique has a story behind it. Nothing in his art is “out of the blue,” so to speak. And that goes the same for poets, in which they convey emotion and personal experience that is true to them. Otherwise, who would immortalize his work if it did not come from the soul? I remember meeting an Irish man, James, and his wife in a London art museum, and we were contemplating a gloomy, blue Picasso painting. It was an astounding piece of work, yet so depressing, and I vividly recall James telling me that it’s been twenty five years since he’s read Picasso’s biography, but he remembers every detail as if he just read it yesterday. He said that the Spanish artist thoroughly reveals his emotions and experiences through the artwork, as if “each painting is a chapter from his life.” All of the enjoyment of experiencing someone’s work is knowing where it comes from, its roots, and I cannot stress that enough, especially when we’re dealing with poets. I now apply his words to Burns and Blake because each poem is a chapter from their respective lives.
I wanted to know from the first day we started Robert Burns why he is regarded so highly in his native Scotland, as if he was more than a poet. In today’s terms, he’d be regarded as an ambassador of Scotland because of the patriotism and bond he has with the Scottish people. It is said that he had a commanding presence with anyone who met him and very charismatic as well. I like how his fame in Edinburgh society did not make him lose sight of his roots and values. That should be a lesson for those who enjoy fame today, some of whom neglect to acknowledge their roots. When Burns released 'Poems,' Burns welcomed everybody to read the collection, however, he wanted it to appeal to the common man as well, just like himself. The colloquial dialect still is in use by traditional Scots, so Burns’ words remain as effective as during his time. I read in one article online that said Burns would write poetry to his friends and welcomes comments and criticism in order to improve. I understand why the Scottish figuratively put him on a pedestal and make him rise above others. It only comes once in a lifetime to see someone sustain posthumous fame, perhaps more so than he was alive.
Tarek - your blog is very interesting. Mabrook! This is exactly what I am expecting from students - discussion on the literature and connections to life. Thanks so much for putting your passion into the blog. Dr. Pamela
Tarek - you're absolutely right! Burns is a symbol of the common man, and if I can quote you, Tarek, "after reading a bit about his life, all his words suddenly made perfect sense, the poems’ themes and his personal experience linked to one another, and I even overcame the obstacle of Scottish dialect." That's exactly how I feel! I mean, the obstacle of understanding the dialect is a bit much for those who are not Scottish, but not because Burns was being stubbornly nationalist or anything - actually he was but the point is it's like that because that's a part of who he is. It's a universal expression of the human experience. Every single one of his words come straight from his heart, you can just feel it. OK, no Blake mysticism or Coleridge fantasy - as beautiful as those are, Burns is a wonderful example of the Romantic period because he knows himself and extends himself into the world and Nature. Take "To A Mouse," for instance. If I were a Lowlands Scot, I'd probably have written something like that if I'd seen a mouse flee, and felt truly sorry that he'd been "cowran," just like Burns did.
That's why I disagreed to a large extent about what we were discussing about Burns last class. Do you guys remember when we were trying to extend Burns' poetic experiences to social distinction, the Industrial Revolution, and all those stuff. Well, it may be like that, but I see Burns as too individual and true to his heart to introduce secondary elements of meanings to his words. Tarek, you said it perfectly when you quoted James saying that each of Picasso's paintings is "a chapter of his life." Exactly and nothing more. I believe that poets like Burns are so true to their heart and being that there's no space to go ahead and insert some underlying meanings in direct, forceful poems. So for Burns, it is this clear, honest, from-the-heart quality that makes him a seriously universal poet. Have any of you read Wordsworth's "To My Sister"? It's to Dorothy Wordsworth, and he tells he how wonderful today is and that it is sunny and the flowers are blooming. He tells her that right after breakfast, her and Edward ought to make haste and leave their books, and leave today "for idleness." It's a wonderful, beautiful, honest poem that a brother would write to his sister. I just turned 17 on Sunday, and in the morning when I was coming to school, I found my sister had left me a birthday card and had written the poem for me (it's one of her favorites.) Of course, she substituted Ahmed for Edward (my brother for Wordsworth's), and although I'd read the poem before and detected the Wordsworth colouring to the poem, I honestly think she could have written it. It is those poems I believe reach your innermost and reflect a joy of sheer existence. They're just so honest and so real - Burns is like that.
I also agree with with both Nur and Tarek. When you read the background of authors you come to know how they feel and why they wrote their poems in the way they did. Reading their backgrounds also help you interpert what it is they are trying to tell us in their poems. To me writing poems and reading poems is a type of therapy to the soul. And for me to find to see it in this way i would really need to understand the background of the author. I also think that there is a bit of psychology in literature, because when you go to therapy you would have to tell your therapist about your background a little before you'd acctually tell them your problem it self. It helps the therapist see you for who you are and understand your problem. It's the same thing with poems. i used to read a lot of poems before talking this class but i never understood what the poets were trying to say or why they wrote what they did. i couldn't even interpert their words. but after this class (which i am very happy and proud to say) it made me realize the importance of poems and the poet's background it self. I understand the peoms that i am reading and i can in some ways relate to the poem itself.
I also talk to my mother about the poets and their poems outside of class and she was really interested in our english course. I never thought that this course would be this exciting i am learning a lot of new information and i have never read this amount of poems in my life with my own will of enjoying it. So, as Tarek and Nur said the poets background is very important for the reader because it does give us a better understanding of the poems. It also makes them very easy and fun to read.
Nur you said "but I see Burns as too individual and true to his heart to introduce secondary elements of meanings to his words." I totally agree with you because this is what i saw when i read my article which was about burns. All his works were too individual and this is something i love about him, because it made it easier for me to connect to his words because they were individualized. I also agree with Nur about burn's poems that they seem more to the heart than some other poems because in a way to me it seemed to have more realism in them. This is what most people what to read nowadays real words that come straight from the heart and then enters the readers. heart. After read some of burn's poems it made me realize what an amazing person he is, he had lots of love and emotion in him which he poured out in his poems.
William Wordsworth was not simply a renowned Romantic poet; in fact, along with Samuel Coleridge, Wordsworth was a major catalyst for the birth of the Romantic era in England. Although “The Prelude” was his claim to fame, Wordsworth still presented a collection of poems and sonnets that were expressive, eloquent and profound. One of his most beautiful and insightful sonnets is perhaps “It is a Beauteous Evening.”
Underlying this reflective piece are some intimate experiences. According to Dorothy Wordsworth’s journal and some remaining letters, “It is a Beauteous Evening” is inspired by a poignant event. Years before the French Revolution, Wordsworth had a passionate and an ongoing relationship with a French woman named Annette Vallon. In 1792, Wordsworth and Annette were blessed with a daughter, Caroline. The couple planned to wed, but Annette’s parents opposed the match vehemently. The war between France and Britain had widened the ridge between them. During their time away from each other, Wordsworth met another woman, Anne Hutchinson, and in time was betrothed to her. Once the war ended, Wordsworth planned to make a final visit to France to bid Annette farewell and make arrangements for their ten year old daughter. This poem is considered to be one of Wordsworth’s most personal sonnets since it is based on Wordsworth’s evening with his daughter on a beach. Unlike many of his other works, “It is a Beauteous Evening” does not convey moral or political indignation. As a matter of fact, the sonnet is as serene as the theme it presents. Nevertheless, like “Tintern Abbey,” this sonnet merges imagery portraying natural scenes with religious images. Influenced by John Milton’s works, Wordsworth followed the rhyme scheme of the Petrarchan sonnet. He divided this poem into an octave and sestet. The octave follows a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA, while the sestet follows a CDEDEC scheme.
“It is a Beauteous Evening” basically centers on the poet’s reactions while watching the sun set over the ocean. Like a “Nun breathless in adoration,” the tranquil ambiance of the beach renders in Wordsworth a mood of religious awe. However, as the poem progresses, the poet’s attention shifts from this serene scene to the sound of waves. The sound of the waves crushing against the shore reminds the reader of the sound of thunder. This image shows that the ocean, like its Creator, is very much awake. Thus, the ocean’s continuous motion renders in the poet a sense of eternity. Amid this tranquil scene, the poet is not alone. He addresses a little girl walking beside him. Unlike her companion, the scene does not evoke “solemn” reflection in her. Conversely, she is close to the divine since she lies “in Abraham’s bosom all the year.” Apparently, she is always watched by a higher power, God, and she prays and worships Him even when observers are not aware.
A prominent element of the poem is its two abrupt shifts. In the first five lines of the poem, the poet expresses the serenity of the evening. Amid this peaceful scene the poet experiences a moment of religious awe. As the metaphor, “quiet as a Nun breathless with adoration,” suggests, the poet becomes strikingly aware of a higher power overlooking nature; thus, rejecting the idea of a passive let go. This tension is furthered as the poet reflects upon the natural phenomenon where the sun seems broader near the horizon. For instance, he states, the sun is “striking down in its tranquility.” Echoing Milton in Paradise Lost, the poet states “The gentleness of heaven broods o’er the Sea.” This allusion presents the union of tranquility and alertness and at the same time implies a profound religious experience of nature. In line six, Wordsworth interjects an imperative “Listen,” thus shifting from a visual scene to sound. Suddenly, the poet hears the roaring ocean. “Listen! The mighty Being is awake, and doth with his eternal motion make a sound like thunder-everlasting.” Like the ocean, God never sleeps and like its waves’ everlasting sound, God is eternal. Through intertwining the peaceful scene with “heaven’s broods,” Wordsworth suggests the existence of a mighty being controlling the universe. Contrasting Wordsworth’s solemn reflection, the child is not affected by this natural scene. Nonetheless, this does not make her “less divine” since she carries divinity in her and does not need to extract it from her surroundings.
All in all, thirs profound and beautiful poem expresses Wordsworth’s ability to masterfully describe an existing spirit in nature that renders in its observers profound feelings and implications.
Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey is one of William Wordsworth’s most remarkable poems that left an evident mark in the history of Romanticism, as he accentuated the importance of instinct, pleasure and emotions over reason and rationale. It speaks of his longing to go back down memory lane and visit the places he has been to as a youth. Wordsworth is back, five years later, to experience the same old places with a brand new viewpoint which makes everything, no matter how familiar, taste and feel different. It also tells us on how childhood memories are viewed in the minds of an adult, and how as children we take nature for granted.
Wordsworth talks about how he longs to visit the waters from river and the steep and lofty cliff, and how he sits by a sycamore tree examining the beauty of the nature around him. The author also gives us a sense of desire to return to this place compared to the noisy city life that he lives; he reminisces the way nature was always blooming around him as a child and yearns to be amongst the beauty of it all again. The speaker explains vividly the scenes around him, forcing the readers to want to know more of what is being unveiled to them through the eyes of this poet.
What really struck out is the way his memory of beautiful landscape and proudly standing Tintern Abbey are so powerful in his mind that when he does return his memory disguises the real images of his surroundings.
The author acknowledges the fact that as a younger boy he was foolish enough to overlook this magnificent views and sceneries, but upon returning to it as an older man he has a different view of things. His observations mature and he has a more meaningful and appreciative attitude towards nature around him.
Reading your comments "Nuha" was very refreshing and thank you for reminding us about the background of William "Willy" (Prof. Pamela's nick for William) WorldsWorths. His life was very upsetting and depressing the poor man went though a lot in his life. He lost some very dear members of his family for example as Nuh mentioned his daughter's death 'Catherine'.
I agree with our class interpretations of Tintern Abbey to some extent because I do not only see William describing the land around or and the nature. I saw this poem as a brief biography of his life in way. Because he talks about a lot of things but mainly about how he interpreted the world around him that he was once young and he did not understand but when he matured he understood the true beauty of nature and the things that were around him that he might have taken for granted.
In lines 20-22 he mentions a "Hermit who lives alone in his cave. I feel that he is talking about him self because at the time he wrote this poem his daughter had just passed away and he was still in grief, so he was feeling lonely because a huge part of him was missing. I also saw the poem of part of William worldsworths spirit his love for nature.
In some way I can I identify with how he misses the place that he was in and that going back to it brought back many memories to him. We used to have a garden in my house and it wasn't a big garden but it was beautiful. We had different types of flowers and trees. And after reading the poem I can understand how William felt. Some things in life we do take for granted and we do not appreciate them until they are gone or if we move away from them. This is when we know how much that place or thing meant to us. And to some extent this is what William is trying to say in his poem.
I have never read any poems of William Worldsworth, but now I understand why a lot of people love his poems.
check out this website it's very nice i thought you might like it (http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/romantics/)
it has poems that you can hear and you don't have to download them they are very fast!
My interest in Wordsworth made me read more poems of his. EVERYONE, i really think that you should all read "The Thorn!" I know "Tintern Abbey" is beautiful, but "the Thorn" is rich. I understood from it what Wordsworth means when he says that "peotry is a spontaneous overflow of emotions. In this particular poem, Wordsworth talks about a woman, Martha. He describes her pain, and the fact that she decides to create a barrier between herself and the outside world through going to live on a mountain alone. Through great imageries, and symbols, he describes to us what has happened to this woman! She losses her innocence, and realizes that sehe is pregnant; hence, she desides to be alone. "Blood" and "red" are a motif that he uses in many stanzas of the poem to give us an overview of the situation she is in. In line 210, he says, "I've heard, the moss is red with drops of that poor infants blood..." Although he doesnt tell us directly that she had lost her innocence, just by reading these beautiful words we could understand that she has lost her innocence and is pregnant. It really amazes me how he uses the word "moss" and associates it with "red" to describe the protagonist, and in addition says "poor infoant's blood" to hint that she is pregnant!
Another symbol that i really loved when reading the poem is "the pond." I think that Wordsworth uses it to refer to Martha's life because the pond, which we always see as a beautiful thing, is muddy (like her life is!) This image really emphasizes tht this woman is being degraded in society. The fact that the only thing that people see in the pond is the baby, tells me that it is actually the only event in her life, that is shaping it for her.
"The thorn is bound with heavy tufts of moss, that strive to drag it to the ground" is also another clue that this brillian poet uses to get his point across to us. In this part, i felt that the "thorn"symbolizes this "wretched" woman and the "moss"symbolizes soceity and the obstacles in it. It seems that society will never forget what has happened to her. What i really loved about the poem is that, although she is living in a peacful place, she is still haunted by the moss (in this case, society which is degrading her!) That is, the peacuful atmosphere doesnt help her in not becoming woeful!!! And her past will not be erased, both from her heart and in the eyes of society, even if she decides to live alone!!! This idea of past and history actually reminded me of Toni Morrison's "Beloved," which also centers around the idea that our pasts will always be hauting us!!! Please everyone, read the thorn, you will love it and it will teach you many true lessons about life, YOUR life because it is simply BEAUTIFUL!! :)))
Maha Fathi
Hey everyone! sorry i forgot to tell you, "the Thorn" is on pages 252-258 of our book! :)))
The memory of a place is the memory of the human being. The remembrance of Wordsworth and the combination he made between the nature and the civilization in the second stanza make me believe that the human being is innocent despite the fact that life and experience grant him things that steal his innocence. Being alone and recalling the 'thoughtless youth' inspired Wordsworth to make a comparison between the past and the present and think about the future which will be a result of both present and past. Nature is associated with the civilization which is represented in the 'towns and cities' and 'river'…etc which tells how he view things and look at them with a different eye that has a profound look that dive deep inside the human spirit in a try to understand the secret of life and raise the everlasting moral question: why the human being need to live for a long time to know what is the meaning of life and its component? Why after we loose dear persons, we feel the value of their presence in our lives? The same thing applies for the years of innocence and years of experience. This reminds me with a Syrian series named "All Along the Days" directed by Hatem Ali; there is a scene between the two main characters which represents two lovers have meet after breaking down, rejecting their love, and examining the life. They met after years; the man says, "I learned a thing from our love experience, the problem we face and the pain of loss that hurts us so much. If we were outside the story, we can view the whole picture and acts wisely; however, because we were inside the story, we couldn't see the whole image, just the part we want. We were directed by our emotions at the time." So, I think this motif is related somehow to the poem itself.
did something happen with the blogs' times, instead of having an hour added to each blog time, it is now 2 hours...is there something wrong? it is now 9:58..
When i first read about William Wordsworth i kept on reading his lyrics althought i couldn't understand some things, but i keep on connecting with the other lines.
However, i see more of his writings as lyrics! the way he wrote them reminds me of the way of sharing lyrics in present days but what differt is the sound.
On the other hand, i searched for some more poems of his, and i liked some more others but one which was easy to read (All mostly easy) but i liked it called "I wandered lonely as a cloud". Here is the first stanza of the poem
I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o'er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd
A host of dancing Daffodils;
Along the Lake ,
beneath the trees,
Ten thousand dancing in the breeze.
The poem begins with someone wandering. The sounds like he/her lost somehow, but doesn't looks like in life it is like lost inside! like lost spiritually. Like the person is seeing society more like in life, away of feeling the nature. yet as known that nature is not a part of man. the third one looks like that the person has finally sees for his first time!
if you just keep on reading the rest of the poem it will comes to life at the end it was really awsome the way he wrote this as it begins with vagues and no wonder.
But then it ends with life. Very interesting. I didn't check if it is in the book but while i was searching i read it guys you should search more of his "Lyrics" as you will find it interesting. have a rest great holiday
wee identity crisis
It was interesting that the three Burns' poems we discussed in class today involved non humans: a mouse, a louse and a lamb. I am not a particularly animal lover, but I was fascinated with the poet's ability to empathize with these creatures and his ability to evoke the readers' feelings into sharing his empathy! I could not help but think of a recent news item in the Arab Times about a demonstration in front of the Australian Embassy in Kuwait by protestors from an Animal Welfare group who were protesting against the atrocious methods live sheep are brought into the country. These animals travel thousands and thousands of miles to be slaughtered here for demand for halal meat. The group claimed that the live stock is crammed into tight, dirty containers and the animal arrive dehydrated, distressed and injured. The image of a protestor wearing a fluffy sheep costume with a red bandage around his leg in front of the embassy in Kuwait was quite as sight. I wish someone would also protest the existence of that appalling animal circus that sits in the middle of Salmiya and looks like the saddest dismal attraction of all times. I wonder what horrors that filthy tent beholds?
Its funny how a barely legible poem in a Scottish dialect could trigger such thoughts
Many thanks to Nuha for putting me on the blog track again!
As I reread Tintern Abbey again in preparation for tomorrow's class, I recalled (once again) the opening lines from pre-Islamic poetry, The Seven Odes: The Poem of Zuhair which opens, just like Wordsworth does, with a lament over the fickle nature of passing time:
"Does the blackened ruin, situated in the stony ground
between Durraj and Mutathallam, which did not speak to me,
when addressed, belong to the abode of Ummi Awfa?
"And is it her dwelling at the two stony meadows, seeming
as though they were the renewed tattoo marks in the sinews
of the wrist?
"The wild cows and the white deer are wandering about
there, one herd behind the other, while their young are spring-
ing up from every lying-down place.
"I stood again near it, (the encampment of the tribe of
Awfa,) after an absence of twenty years, and with some efforts,
I know her abode again after thinking awhile.
"I recognized the three stones blackened by fire at the
place where the kettle used to be placed at night, and the
trench round the encampment, which had not burst, like the source of a pool.
"And when I recognized the encampment I said to its site,
'Now good morning, oh spot;
may you be safe from dangers.'
Another poem ,by Imru-Ul-Quais
evokes similar sentiments:
Stop, oh my friends, let us pause to weep over the remembrance of my beloved.
Here was her abode on the edge of the sandy desert between Dakhool and Howmal.
The traces of her encampment are not wholly obliterated even now;
For when the Sonth wind blows the sand over them the North wind sweeps it away.
The courtyards and enclosures of the old home have become desolate;
The dung of the wild deer lies there thick as the seeds of pepper.
These two famous poems are among the Mo'allaqat (the seven suspended poems ) thought to have been "suspended" on the walls of the Ka'bah in the Holy City of Mecca.
In my view these poems evoke a
theme that is very present in Tintern Abbey, a bittersweet nostalgia to a forgotten past (twenty years for Zuhair), (Five for Wordsworth) and a pilgrimage to a place of lost memories, of "unrememberd pleasures".All three poems evoke a sense of the impermanence of manmade structures,whether an English abbey or a bedouin dwelling. All three imply the ravaging hand of time, and that in the final analysis it is nature ,not architecture, that perseveres.
It’s fascinating to see how each poet views and expresses his views on the world. When we read Robert Burns, he spoke in a raw, colloquial accent because he was proud of his roots, of his country, and now, as we look at Wordsworth, I see the countless differences yet one unifying similarity. Although Wordsworth comes across in a more formal tone that Burns does, they both have an unconditional affection for something. Burns glorifies his native Scotland with utmost praise, while Wordsworth honors nature, almost to a spiritual extent. So, it’s amazing to see how to individuals express their love for something and both get their message across very effectively.
I realized that many critics online who analyze Wordsworth’s works refer to him as the Lake poet. After doing some biography research, I read that he lived in England’s Lake District, a scenically rich area of lakes, trees, mountains – a slice of ‘pastoral’ heaven. Samuel Coleridge is also referred to as a Lake poet. After looking at some of its breathtaking pictures, I couldn’t imagine the infinite inspiration that Wordsworth must have gotten from this place. His poem ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’ exemplifies his ability to capture nature as it is. It describes a magnificent scene (in early 1802) that he and Dorothy saw, a scene of “golden daffodils beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering … in the breeze.” These extraordinary, idyllic scenes of Lake District gave him a great dose of inspiration that made him the poet he is. He seems to surrender to the glory of nature and welcomes “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings,” which is unique characteristic of his. I never realized how much just gazing down onto a green, flower-filled field can make someone feel a myriad of emotions that he/she would not feel otherwise. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but he makes it seem as it is worth an infinite number of words. It’s amazing to see how many millions of people pass by the Lake District region, or any other pastoral landscape, and just see it as ‘pretty’ and ‘lovely’ and seldom do they contemplate the wealth of greenery. Wordsworth became one with nature because he knew that nature will only reveal its glory if one takes time to discover it.
After Tintern Abbey, ‘I wandered…’ is my favorite of his poetry because he personifies everything he is watching. He refers to the daffodils (Wales national flower) as a “crowd, a host…dancing in the breeze…tossing their head in sprightly dance.” He talks of the dancing waves and also how his heart “dances with the daffodils.” I love the way he shows the harmonious co-existence of the flowers, the bay and trees, a stark contract to the absence of harmony in the human world at the time. Let’s not forget that the French Revolution under Napoleon was taking place, so the unstable and precarious Europe was so distant from harmony, and Wordsworth’s poem presents this comparison when you put it in context to the time period.
Wordsworth said that “the poet writes under one restriction only, namely the necessity of giving immediate pleasure.” Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think this quote can be applicable to all poems. Some poetry exists for the sole purpose of conveying a serious message that is not at all pleasurable, so how can his quote be applied? I think the ‘restriction’ he talks about defines his personal philosophy of poetry and how he himself writes poems. It makes me question how he defines pleasure...
I was really fascinated by the amount of work we put in our responses for Shelly's "Ode to the West Wind!" When i first read it, i really enjoyed the notion of transformation in it. it seemed that the poet was not just presenting transformation within his words, but also through his poem's structure as well. Nonetheless, an inexplicably strange transformation took place within us! Without realizing it, Shelly was able to create transformations within the readers mind, in the sense that we were not always prepared for the transformations that would be presented, yet we adapted to them easily...this told me that he was a great peot that could easily get to his readers! Not much to my surprise, i learned a lot from his "Defense Poetry" that i could write pages on it..i is really intresting, how again, he gets his points across to his readers in implicit ways. Although the main point that he seems to emphasize is: "Poets are the legislators of this world," and their poems are the "harmony" we live in, Shelly does not say it explicitly. Instead, we learn it through what he says. I really liked how he compares poetry to economics, politics, and prose. Well the first two might be possible to compare, but prose was a really challenging comparison. From reading what he says, one could learn that poetry is more interesting than prose is. That is because prose is limited with time. Poetry, on the other hand, could create new ideas every time we open it again. No matter how much time passes, or ideas within us change, poetry would still be special in every way to us. It is able to alter our experiences into more pleasant ones, to make us enjoy things that we fail to experience with our blind eyes. Because of peotry, we became able to see, and ENJOY!!!! Thanks to the poets who are able to experience many diffrent ideas, within themselves, and within us, and express them in a numerous different ways.. In deed they are the legistlators of this world....and Shelly has created them!!! :)
Maha Fathi
Noora Al-Abdullah #1446
Our wednesday class was very interesting. I kept thing about the Romantic age that we might be going through right now. i do see a Romantic age in music and the activities that are happining around us. In music we see this in the Shaban Abudul-Rahem's songs. He has a lot of songs that deal with the situations that are happening around the world (Iraq, America, Iran & Isra'al.) He disscusses these issues in his song called 'Uncle Arab.' this is the url ( http://www.ozq8.com/song-15816.ram ) It's in arabic so if you guys fon't understand arabic ask someone to translate it for you because it's very interesting.
I also found a very interesting article the other day in Newsweek.com about Marie Antoinette. did you guys know that she used to wear stunning costumes to show people that she was powerful and to wage war against her enemies. Well know we can understand and knwo why she wore all of her fancy stunning clothes if we get to see any of her portraits. I thought that was interesting to share with the class since we did study and discuss Marie Antoinette at the begining og the term.
I would love to talk about Ozymandias since we didn't get the chance to talk about this poem. It was a very interesting poem and in this poem i was a reflection of percy's personality. one of the reasons that Percy wrote about Ramses was that he was inspired by him and that he wanted to be like him in a way. who wouldn't want to be like Ramses he was a builder, husband, father and a military leader. he was a very powerful man. Lets not forget that Percy's children had died and he only had one son that survived to adulthood. He could have also been inspired by Ramses because he fell in love with a lot of women and married a lot of women. Percy fell in love with three woman Harriet, Marry and Jane!! And Percy would have waned people to remember him even after his death just like Ramses. He also wants people to remember his words the same way they remember the words that are written on the statue.
Ramses pictures, portraits and statues are made to show us that he is young and he will always be young. which is not true i went to Egypt and i saw how old and scary he was which is very funny, it shows us how throughout the ages and centuries we all wanted and still want to stay young and youthful we don't want to age and try to hide it in everyway. That brings us to another point in the poem. Percy discribes the statues lips as "wringled ( old mans lips) lip" as in he never aged and that he lives thoughout peoples works and tales. he is also saying to us that people have not forgotten him and his words. that his words that are on the statue are still young and youthful unlike his statue which has aged throughout the years. A theme that i have spotted so far is the arrogance and power of the peom and how the poet himself identifies with the statue and peom. this was very exotic for the european audiences and tourists at that time.
"from A defence of poerty", how can i start talking about this amazing piece of writing. It was very touching and defending for all poets and their work. I love how percy included the human imotions, imaginations, thoughts and feelings about poerty. because as he mentions (and in which i agree on) it does give us a sense of moral. Poems do make people better in the way they think and view life itself. It makes minds grow. It's a way of feeding the brain and human body of feelings, emotions and thought. I should know because every since i took this class the poems that i have read feed me with morals, though, information about the world past and present. And how these issues are still present in our day and how we deal with these issues. It certainly changed my way of thinking, i am starting to think more critically. I also think about morals of others and mine. So io do agree with Percy on this point.
Not everything we read has value and meaning to it the way a poem has.
Percy Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind carries many beautiful images that intrigue the reader and invite him into reading deeper into Shelley’s world. In this poem Shelley emphasizes on the significance of the wind in nature; be it in the phases of birth and rebirth, “destroyer and preserver” (line 14) or calm and enraged. I also noticed that the second and third stanza end with “O hear!” which again stresses on the importance of the wind in this poem.
It’s amazing how Shelley showed the readers the image that he was seeing while he sat in the forest within the nature. The “West Wind” in this poem can symbolize indirectly the power of God and His might. Why? Well because this “West Wind” is everywhere, and is responsible for the dying leaves in Autumn, the birth and pollination in Spring, the cold and deathly weather in Winter, and the warm breeze in Summer. This is what the “West Wind” symbolizes.
In the first stanza Shelley talks about the wind as being a powerful spirit that chases the ghosts away. This symbolizes the way the death of the old leaves and the West Wind is chasing the dead leaves away from their tree. What is beautiful is the way the poet says much in such a few words, a lot is unsaid yet given through these few lines. Of course the variety of colors resemble the variety of races, and the falling down of the leaves is the poet’s way of saying that despite our race or skin color we all die. And in support to that point the author says “Each like a corpse within its grave.” (line 8)
The second stanza speaks of the relationship between the wind and the sky. The wind aids the clouds in shedding the rain, and therefore the wind is part of the rebirth process as it was part of the death process in the previous stanza. The wind mourns “the dying year” (line 24) and it is as if the wind is present in the funeral of the year, of nature, of beauty and of everything this wind has helped bring into life.
Stanza three talks of how the wind tries to overcome the powerful sea, and how the wind tries to compete with the sea’s rage and fury, however in this scene Shelley gives us an image of a calm and peaceful wind compared to the first couple of stanza’s. The Mediterranean sea is portrayed as still and serene, however this serenity is threatened by the restlessness of the winds as seen in line 29.
In the fourth stanza the speaker is begging the West Wind to move his spirit, whether he were “a dead leaf”, “a swift cloud” or “a wave”, the speaker is asking the wind to be his friend, his savior. He asks it to uplift him, and to uplift his spirit and soul. There are images and patterns of the sea, the land and the sky repeated within this stanza. The wind throughout the poem represents the life cycle, death and rebirth, and here the poet is suggesting that even humans are part of this life cycle, part of this never-ending natural cycle.
The last stanza the speaker acknowledges the pain and sorrow within him, yet to him he realizes that this sorrow has a sweet sadness to it, because he is part of this never-ending natural cycle of life and death. The speaker asks the wind to scatter his writings and poems and words across the earth eager for more ideas and inspirations. The poem ends with the speaker questioning the wind, which shows us that the relationship between the speaker and the wind has grown closer since the beginning of their journey together. The last two lines, being a question, the poem’s ends with hope more than certainty, and you can almost sense the anticipation of the speaker to get an answer from the mighty “West Wind”.
For anyone who’s interested in hearing the poem, here is a website that has a quite interesting reading for “Ode to the West Wind”, the link is the 20th name under “Archived Readings” by Anne Rouse. http://www.rc.umd.edu/editions/poets/toc.html
29 March 2007 6:35
Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind" works as a symbolic drama for the life's reality of suffering by wondering about death. The poet emphasizes on the fact there is sorrow and pain behind happiness and joy. The reader can feel the fear of death by the usage throughout the poem: 'leaves dead' (2), 'yellow and black' (4), 'corpse within its grave' (8), 'wild spirit' (13), 'dirge' (23), 'dying year' (24), and 'black rain' (28). There is a 'sapless' (40) view of life and a development of the theme of what it is behind the beauty of nature, and why leaves of trees fall down each year. The fallen of the 'leaves [that are] dead' (2) refers to the human being and the everlasting fact: death is a fate for every living thing, and that there is no way to escape in order to avoid being buried in grave. Shelley's used the wind here as a living thing might be a symbol of a great power that can make things fall/die. He describes the wind as 'destroyer' (14) and 'preserver' (14) which means that this great power is in capable of both giving and taking lives for living things. The 'dying year' (24) in the third stanza again reminds the reader of the 'breath of autumn's being' (1) in the first stanza. Actually, the poem is full of great thoughts, and by reading Shelley's "Defense of Poetry" I could see clearly the relation between his prose and poetry. He says while speaking directly to the wind, 'drive my dead thoughts over the universe' (63). In this line, we could see the role of poetry that it can enlarges the imagination and gives life to abiotic/non-living thing "wind".
- Thanks Bedour for providing the link.
Hi - sorry for the 2-days-late blog; slipped my mind!
Anyway, writing that response for "Ode to the West Wind" really let loose a whole wave of incredible thoughts. The biro was literally racing across the sheets as one by one, rand new ideas popped up. I think it's a brilliant, colourful Ode to Life, and fantastically demonstrated Shelley's deep sensitivity to the world that he recognizes. I mean, within the very buried seeds in their "cold, wintry bed," he envisions almost immediately the bright azure sister Spring. Isn't that just so intelligent? It is attempting to encompass forms which are so diverse in that they are almost binary opposites. That is not that easy to do, so it was quite incredible for Shelley to do that. And like you said, Esraa', this is exactly what he's been saying throughout "A Defence of Poetry;" it is the harmony and embrace of Pain and Pleasure to generate a true Poem.
Bedour - I was completely flabberghasted when I saw your interpretation of the poem - it did not cross my mind at all, and yet, it was EXACTLY what I meant to say all along in a sense.
Remember when you wrote that the "West Wind” is everywhere, and is responsible for the dying leaves in Autumn, the birth and pollination in Spring, the cold and deathly weather in Winter, and the warm breeze in Summer. This is what the “West Wind” symbolizes"? Well, you're right! I think so, too; it is, prehaps, a symbolic likening to the Infinite Omnipresence, describing how Spring and Winter, like Santayana once said, can in fact be preceived simultaneously.
Also, do you guys remember when we attemped to defferentiate between Wordsworth's philophy on Poetry and Shelley's? Now that I tkink about it, they're not that different, right? (this popped into my head while I was brushing my teeth last night - that's when I remembered the blog!)I mean, Wordworth describes it as being spontaneity expressed when the soul feels most tranquil. Well, that's the highest form a bring can take, and whatevery is expressed in this pure, tranquil state can only be for the Highest, moral good, right? See you on Monday - Happy Prophet's Birthday!
PS - Hooda, you're absolutely right! I recall reading that the structure of pre-Islamic poetry was almost always like that. To begin with lamenting the ruins and relics where a beautiful loved one once was and remembers her with melancholy, then goes ahead to do something about it. Great!
Hi :) I thought I'd do my blog a bit earlier this week. How is everyone's essay going? Fine, I hope! Mine's going smoothly so far, al-hamdu-lillah - as I go along, so many brand new points just pop up that you didn't plan to examine but realise they're the best part of your paragraph! Also - believe it or not - I really appreciate at this point Dr. P's urging us to jump that cliff - you learn so much about yourself and your great capabilities to actually come up with something almost entirely new! Personally, I've learned a lot more about the Romantics as I've flipped through old, tattered Anthologies my mum has, browsing the Web and thinking about it - I now deeply appreciate all the thinking and discoveries the Romantics made as human beings.
I now read their works from a slightly bigger, macro perspective, if you will. Just like you said, Tarek, several comments back:"These extraordinary, idyllic scenes of Lake District gave him a great dose of inspiration that made him the poet he is. He seems to surrender to the glory of nature and welcomes “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings,” which is unique characteristic of his." Precisely! It is their capability as growing human beings, to embrace discover the glorious warmth and beauty that Nature offers with "abundant recompense." Also, you and Mohammed have read "I Wandered As a Cloud" and see, just like I did, his ability of reviving within himself the bliss of the golden daffodils. But I think the leek is the symbol of Wales - isn't it?
Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well on their essays - good luck - don't forget to enjoy your holiday while you're at it!
I agree with nur's whole comment!! we hvae learned a lot from this paper and it have been a very exciting experience to jump over the cliff. I personally have learned a lot from the Romantic age and the poets. It is very increadible the way that the poets wrote their poems and how they came to influence their readers. more and more i find out how much i love reading all of these poems and how they have made me think more out of the box.
Jumping off that cliff is not an easy task at all, one will have to admit!! it is a great experience but many times, as i am writing, i just feel that im saying something that will shock my readers...but soon i remember that i am supposed to be jumping "off that cliff" and the thought keeps me going!!! Actually it is a really challenging experience. hence, the more i feel that i am going of track, the more i remind myself that i have to prove what i am saying.. and if what i am saying makes sense to me, it will surely (with my supporting ideas) make sense to my readers as well, i hope!!! Noura and Nur, when you talked about the cliff quotation in your bloggs, you reminded me of two things that my teacher at school used to tell us to push us too, and they are "get up an win the race" from a poem, and "just keep swimming" from "Finding Nimo." So im just hoping that everyone of us will be able to "just keep swimming" to "jump off that cliff," and if we fall, i am sure that one day we will be able to "get up and win [this] race"... good luck everyone with your papers...
‘The sun never sets on the British Empire’ is a quote that exemplifies Victorian Britain, in my opinion. Not only did this quote have figurative importance, it also has a literal meaning because the sun literally never set on the British Empire since it controlled more than a quarter of the world's land. We have to remember that at that time in history, no other country would dare come close to such territorial power. England gave meaning to the phrase ‘imperial power,’ and it gained such power and influence through mass trade. After I read some background about the Victorian age and it’s endless prosperities ( as well as considerable poverty and brutality), I know can appreciate why the British regard Queen Victoria as someone larger than life. She is up there among England’s greatest of the greatest monarchs in the country’s thousand year history….and it’s no surprise. My favorite author in English literature is Charles Dickens, and he prolifically wrote novel after novel during the Victorian age. I think he brings into light many of the dark, harsh aspects of society at that time. His typical settings and themes revolved around unsanitary conditions, crowded places, and really the things you wouldn’t want to hear because they overshadow the enormous growth and economic boom of the period. I also remember when I did the gothic romanticism in the class presentation,where almost ¾ of all Gothic research I found was Victorian, not Romantic. Gothic got a kick-start in the Romantic age, but enjoyed a lot of growth and became a respected genre during the Victorian age. It’s fascinating to see how everything grew during this time: population, power, poverty, technology, literature, and most importantly, empire. The empire itself is what made Britain what it was, and it was not only powerful in Europe, but everywhere in the world....And lest we forget, the mystery of Jack the Ripper and his horrific murders in the town of Whitechapel happened during Victoria’s reign. I don’t know why I am so intrigued and fascinated by the enigma of this killer because, like many other things in Victorian times, it was unprecedented. Even serial murder was taken to new heights. And the fact that they never found him only adds to the dark mystery of Victorian times. I hope everyone in class enjoys Victorian literature because it has so much to offer. I never cease to enjoy reading something from that period in British history.
Although poetry has great poetic mindfulness because of its intense and mysterious aims, I adore prose pieces more. So, starting discussing some of them was interesting. I realized that happiness is one of the variety images that Thomas Carlyle tires to draw in "Sartor Resartus." He exclaims that in order to achieve happiness, you've to seek freedom. And that freedom will be obtainable if you started to examine the essence of things and mediate their Metaphysics. He urges humans to use their minds in thinking about life and the great power. He refers to freedom I its profound meaning. In other words, freedom for him is to free your spirit, express your own visions, and use the method of thinking critically. To dispel being perceived machines, there is a need to question things. This whole idea reveals the most in the following quote, "To me, in this our life which is an internecine warfare with Time-spirit, other warfare seems questionable. Has thou in any way a Contention with thy brother, I advise thee, think well what the meaning thereof is."
The Tailor Retailored.
Freedom of expression, is the main image that Thomas Carlyle tires to show in "Sartor Resartus." It is supposedly put together from scraps of diaries, journals and letters that been edited by fictional editor.
Live to tell the truth about his own feelings toward what he think, feel, and realize the picture in his mind. Thomas tried to build up some rules of attraction to his own thoughts to the people all around him. The people who understand the meaning of the words he wrote. Electric youths. He also brought the good image of happenis of life. in some other words, Man needs to rid himself of himself and direct himself to others. He must rid himself of materialistic desires and focus on the spiritual.
The Subjection of Women. I believe that overlooking the omitted sections is an unfortunate loss. From The Subjection of Women gives the reader an idea of what is fuelling Mill’s arguments by explaining why the subjection of women is ludicrous. Mill uses the abolition of slavery to support his argument and further illustrates this by indicating how in history, “Conquering races hold it to be Nature’s own dictate that the conquered should obey the conquerors…. AND that this relic of the past is discordant with the future, and must necessarily disappear” (1156, 1159). In addition, Mill reveals that women are only seen as naturally subjective, because the nature of women is “an eminently artificial thing – the result of forced repression in some direction” (1161). Unfortunately, From The Subjection of Women does not contain the solutions suggested by Mill in the omitted sections. These solutions are keys to understanding the context in which Mill was writing his essay. The arguments presented by Mill in From The Subjection of Women are undoubtedly convincing. However, the last words seen by the reader leave a vague notion of Mill’s completed essay as he mockingly suggests: “They never should have been allowed to receive a literary education. Women who read…who write, are…a contradiction and a disturbing element: and it was wrong to bring women up with any acquirements but those of an odalisque, or of a domestic servant” (1165). It is precisely this ending that caused me to wonder about the deleted content.
How interesting it was today to have class out on the balcony! I think it made our John Stuart Mill discussion all the more exciting. It was very interesting to link his idea of subjection to our society today because we have to realize that prejudice/racism/subjection, whatever it’s called, is forever existent in this world as long as human beings will be here. They have been here since the beginning of time and will continue well into the future unfortunately. And in Mill’s case, he focuses on women’s rights and the female members of society being oppressed by a patriarchal society. I never found out that a male author had written this because never have I come across a feminist-themed paper not written by a woman. So, I read some background about Mill and learned that he was heavily influenced by his wife and the way she emotionally expressed her anger towards this very issue. I completely respect the way he regards people as people, not as women, not as men. He applies the right to freedom and intellectual advancement and happiness to all human beings existing on this Earth – nothing is exclusive to any particular gender. As a member of the British Parliament, he did not use his power and position to achieve absurdly useless ambitions at the expense of the British public. Instead, he fought the women’s right to vote, which was so controversial for his time. He must have had tremendous courage to pursue a goal like that! The thing that exploded him with anger was the stereotypical outlook of society that women are mentally and physically weaker than men, and he demanded evidence to support this theory. A quote that really stood out is “What women by nature cannot do, is quite superfluous to forbid them from doing.” These words are so crucial to his philosophy and quite powerful because Mill demonstrates the ridiculous contradiction in this statement, in which men prevent women from doing something they cannot do. I understood that Mill is implying a man’s character is insecure where he feels threatened that a woman can execute a task better than he can. Also, when women have liberties, they can grow intellectually to the degree where it can improve their marriage. And interesting enough, he did not like the way marriage was socially constructed and thought "there remain no legal slaves, save the mistress of every house." I don’t think I’ve ever read about someone so passionately charge in the fight for women’s rights. Although he was part of the Woman’s Suffrage Society in England and fought for equal liberties, he would have been just as happy to hear about equality abroad, wherever that may be. Women in Kuwait have the right to vote, but it came after years of parliamentary refusal to the pass the law. I don’t understand how we are in the 21st century with all the technology and medicine, but we cannot banish this primitive mentality and allow ourselves to be enlightened by the modern times. It’s amazing how we, the human race, can move forward in every aspect and field possible, be it education or telecommunications, but we cannot let go of prejudice towards other human beings. I guess it’s just a trait implanted into human nature, and prejudice will be alive and well a thousand years from now. Mill knew he cannot change the world no matter how hard he tried, but we must regard him with utmost respect for putting as much effort and devotion into the issue.
"How do i love thee? Let me count the ways?" i can noot even get started in talking about how BEAUTIFUL this poem is....every single word is deep and meaningful to stand on its own and create endless pictures in our mind!!! i have always heard the line " how do i love thee, let me count the ways," but never knew who its peot was! now, feel that i am really smart to know both the lines, and the one who wrote it!!! knowing the lines and the poet too makes me feel that i am very intelligent!! What i really like in Elizabeth Browning's peoms is that her words are really simple but effective!!! they are very honest, that is why we get to connect with them quickly! Also, it felt very important for us to be knowing the background of this amazing poet!!! Seriously, understanding her life's story, and the pains she suffered from her father really made her works more meaningful to us!! Fortunately, i found out that i am going to be presenting on her husband! i cant wait to see how their works are different and alike when i juxtapose them together...i know that they love each other very much becuase she titles her entire work with the nick name that was most dear to his heart! she is indeed a brilliant poet! i cant waint until we discuss her next class! :) ii am sure that i will find something about her or her work that i could connect even more to, or something that could remind me of a special moment in my life..like dr. Pamela's graduation present!!! :) Hearing about it was very unique too..i felt that Elizabeth Browning made us discover things about our professors childhood that we have never heard of or thought about before! Interesting! i am sure that her work will live and touch everyone in the future, just like it did in the past, and is actually affecting us today!!! This is my favorite poet so far!!!! :)))
Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a very interesting poet and now i know why Prof. Pamela loves her "Sonnets from the portuguese." Her poems are full of love and emotions!! Elizabeth made me fall in love with love itself by the way she expresses her emotions towards her lover. She has also inspired me to try to write sonnets. In her sonnets i don't know if anyone else fells the way i do but i felt that she has shown me a new meaning of love well not a new meaning but the true meaning of love. She has also shown me that there is no limit to love in the way she expresses her self in her sonnets. "I love thee freely."(7) "I love thee purely."(8) these are one of my favorite lines in the poem 'How do i love thee?'
I also found the biography of Elizabeth that prof. Pamela told us about was very interesting because Elizabeth and her lover who then became her husband only communicated by letter (600) woow!! I don't think anyone would be able to do this now which shows us how loyal lovers were at that time!!
The image Tennyson draw in "Mariana" is highly detailed. The reader can feel the movement, sense the silence, and hear the sounds that jump from the lines right away to the heart of the reader. I appreciate the themes the poet has illustrated. The image he draws is full of desperation, pain, loneliness, darkness. He says: "upon the lonely moated grange" (8), "her tears fell with the dews" (13), "the moon was low" (49), and "I would that I were [was] dead" (36). Actually, the whole poem should be quoted to show what miserable life Mariana has, however, the lines I mention speaks directly her pains. Because of her sadness and despair, the soul of the objects of her room is colored by gray and dark colors. Once I read this poem, the picture started to be drawn in front of my eyes, I imagined this girl who represents the injustice of fate that humans examine throughout their lives, how does it feel to stay awake all along the night until the sun rises up, and the reality of suffering once the magic of love goes away leaving the person with a deep silence associated with pain. This word painting that draws the emotions reminds me with the book of Arabic writer called "Tawq Al Hamama" by Ibn Hazm. He actually talks about the theme of love and other themes associated with it. Also the silence and the soft sounds that lies within the poem remind me by a line from Nazek El Malaeka, Iraqi poet. She says, "I veil myself with silence" (I am). Now, if we started thinking about the real image the poet is trying to draw, we might say that if the poet tries to associate sensation with thought. This idea of companying thoughts with emotions might not be developed because the poet focuses more on making this vivid image from a dark angle. However, it might be there, hidden behind this desperation. This is left for the reader to figure out. I don't know, but what I know is that some aspects of this poem reminds me with Nizar Qabbani and his focus on women in an attempt to emphasize on their lost rights in the shadow of the 1950's Syrian society. So, there might be thought simply because poetry without a summation of thoughts loses it beauty for the elite of readers; they will say if they don't sense the presence of thought: "OK. What's then?"
Here is one of my favorite images that I think it is somehow related to "Mariana":
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/3897/yaaaahod7.jpg
It’s interesting to see the polar opposite characteristics of Robert and Elizabeth Browning when it comes to their poetry. I am still reading Elizabeth Browining’s “Sonnets from the Portuguese” because they are so complex and meaningful, especially when I read some more than once. I sensed an underlying religious tone in some of her poetry, and then I read that she was an avid reader of the Bible and engaged in many religious activities in her local church. As I continued reading a short biography, it was fascinating how fate brought everything together. After her brother drowned, she became a virtual recluse and shut everybody out of her life and those who did not belong to her close circle of family and friends. She only communicated through letters, and through that she became acquainted with Robert. Just imagine, had her brother not died so tragically, perhaps we would never have been able to see her mastery in love poetry. It just further confirms my belief that nothing fails in this world, that we can extract positive from the negative for our own benefit. And she obviously wrote her poetry and letters as a catharsis, no doubt. Robert thought that her writing was so profound that he pushed her to publish them, which she initially rejected because fame was not part of her agenda. She had no desire to achieve any level of popularity because she wrote to fulfill her own soul, and that characteristic alone is something rare in our world today where everything is driven by money. That’s the reason why she did not include her name in the title of this work. The line that exemplifies her faith in God and her religion, I think, is the last few lines of “I lived with visions for my company” which read “from out thee overcame my soul with satisfaction of all wants: Because God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame.” After I read that line, I just paused for a few moments thinking about the effect of these words. She tries to portray that man’s selfish desires overshadow God’s gifts to us, and just the way she says it is very creative. In “My own beloved, who hast lifted me,” she describes her solitary world, presumably in her room, he found and rescued her into a happier world. For example, she says “My own, my own who camest to me when the world was gone and I who looked only for God found thee.” ‘WOW’ would be the way I reacted to these words because I was so mesmerized. I like the imagery and metaphors she employs to prove her love no matter how unconventional it sounds, like in “With the same heart, I said, I’ll answer thee.” In this poem, she emphasizes her physical and emotional attraction tom his presence, and she wants to prove her unconditional love for him. She wants him to place his hand on her heart and see that “no child’s foot can run fast as this blood.” I loved this metaphor of a child’s energetic run with her blood rushing for Robert because this comparison is not something we hear very often. Her love seems beyond extraordinary, almost like he is her salvation. There are no words that could no justice to her admiration for Robert like these sonnets, so he’s a lucky man! Now, as we read Robert Browning, I am fascinated by their differences to their respective approach to poetry. I though to myself: How could he have been attracted to her poetry when his own poetry is nothing like hers? It’s just amazing how these opposite, yet equally prolific, poets met and shared their lives together…A true Victorian fairy tale.
Tarek - wonderful blog - you really had me interested! You know, as pressed for time as we are, I think we're writing better blogs - and Esraa' I checked your link, and I found another picture too that's exactly how I pictured her. See, I feel that we shouldn't over-analyse, out of all poets, Tennyson, because in his readings, I feel this honest sense of literally him reading something, feeling so intimately overwhelmed with it that he feels the need to write out his fresh impressions of the literary work. I mean, if one of us read, say, Antony and Cleopatra, for instance, which I did last year, one feels compelled, if they read it long and extensively enough, to express one's reading of it in words, or in pictures, as I did. If you flip through my well-thumbed, lovingly dog-eared school copy, you'll find that beside particularly compelling scenes, such as when Antony feels angry at Cleopatra's foolishness and influence, I'll have done a pencil sketch of Antony looking cross, with Cleopatra standing expectantly there. Even look at our Romantic textbook this term: I filled Robert Burn's pages with sketches and sketches - one is Miss's proud head, with a little pencilled dot on her fancy bonnet from "To a Louse," while another of a tiny, trembling mouse, cowering in the poppies and wheat stalks while a tall Burns stands wistfully smiling at him while leaning on his rake ("To a Mouse"). Those were my notes for the day :D
That was my way; Tennyson felt the urge to communicate his colored visions of literature again in words, and he does so quite beautifully, I think. And even though Mariana's nothing like Shakespeare's Mariana, that again is Tennyson's impression as his thoughts wandered and rambled, fresh from reading (or re-reading it).
Anyhow, now for Robert Browning. Time and time again, I know I've said it in class, but reading "My Last Duchess" reminds me all too well of "Executive" by John Betjeman. He's really quite a famous British poet - the Poet Laureate from 1972+, in fact, after Cecil Dy Lewis died. Anyhow, here it is, one of his better-loved poems:
Executive by John Betjeman
I am a young executive. No cuffs than mine are cleaner;
I have a Slimline brief-case and I use the firm's Cortina.
In every roadside hostelry from here to Burgess Hill
The maitres d'hotel all know me well, and let me sign the bill.
You ask me what it is I do. Well, actually, you know,
I'm partly a liaison man, and partly P.R.O.
Essentially, I integrate the current export drive
And basically I'm viable from ten o'clock till five.
For vital off-the-record work - that's talking transport-wise -
I've a scarlet Aston-Martin - and does she go? She flies!
Pedestrians and dogs and cats, we mark them down for slaughter.
I also own a speedboat which has never touched the water.
She's built of fibre-glass, of course. I call her 'Mandy Jane'
After a bird I used to know - No soda, please, just plain -
And how did I acquire her? Well, to tell you about that
And to put you in the picture, I must wear my other hat.
I do some mild developing. The sort of place I need
Is a quiet country market town that's rather run to seed
A luncheon and a drink or two, a little savoir faire -
I fix the Planning Officer, the Town Clerk and the Mayor.
And if some Preservationist attempts to interfere
A 'dangerous structure' notice from the Borough Engineer
Will settle any buildings that are standing in our way -
The modern style, sir, with respect, has really come to stay.
See? For those of you who have read "My Duchess," doesn't it ring a bell? I mean, the silly duke's saying to the probably amused/bemused agent that "well, you really must let the present Count know that he mustn't refuse the dowry I ask for, but by the way, mention I do quite like his daughter, before I forget." Poor thing doesn't realise it, but that was proabably why that pretty young wife of his that had died had eyes for just about everyone else, or, as the Alfonso puts it, "Sir, 'twas not/ Her husband's presence only, called that spot/ Of joy into the Duchess' cheek" (13-15). Everyone from himself, with his own kind words, to the "officious fool" who offered her a sprig of cherries. Of course, Alfonso does not quite so grasp that his idea of love and marriage and dowry cannot always generate some sort of sincerity in the love between he and his wife. But I thoroughly enjoyed the poem, I really did - it was good fun to be on the audience's side of the stage, so to speak, and see someone so blindingly and naively display their foibles and blunders in their very attempt to, perhaps, hide it, and do it for us in the vey spirit of unintentional humour.
(PS the timing of our blog's messed up again. It is actually 9:15 in the morning)
Both My last Duchess and The Bishop orders his tomb explore a qintessential Victorian tradition: Obsession with ornament, whether a stately fine portrait, a collection of object d'árts(The bronze cenature),or an elaborate jewel-encrusted tomb, this is an era of conspicuous consumption and both poems reflect a satire on the spending habits people of that era.Actually it is amazing what those people hoarded and if any of you has had a chance to visit some of the stately houses of the Victorian age (as I have,reluctantly dragged by my parents during the long summer months in the Midlands in the UK) you would be able to see for yourself the elaborately and lavishly decorated halls,rooms, libraries, etc absolutely laden with artwork, sculpture,paintings,carvings in wood,marble gilded furniture ..By the end of each tour I remember being so exhausted after being inundated with so much "Ornament"..One house was full of stuffed animals ,birds and reptiles thatI recall being spooked by all those dead and embalmed creatures peering at me with glazed eyes from every direction!
I got the same feeling reading Brownings poetry: crammed,extravagant and left no air for me to breathe with its heavily decorated, difficult and ornamented language..just like I couldn't wait to reach the end of the tour of those stuffy houses with their fusty dusty objects!
Our class on wednesday was very interesting. i enjoyed reading My last Duchess. I read this poem twice because it was so amazing it was like reading a story or one persons short conversation to someone else. When i first read this poem i hated it! I saw the Duke presenting woman as an object in this poem, as a portrait to hang on a wall to decorate the house. The speaker also tries to present an awful image of the Duchess. He tells us that she smiles to everyone and is very easily pleased. The duke also tells us that the Duchess thanked men in a way that he did not know how, and this clearly show us that he is pointing out that the Duchess is cheating on him but he does not know how. The Duke is also angry that the Duchess did not appreciate his nine hundred year old name and that she was not take care of that name which was a gift that he gave her.
The second time i read this poem i started to understand it more. I understood why the Duke was trying to give us a bad image about the Duchess. The duke of Ferrara has a guest in his house who has come to negotiate his marriage to this girl. As he is showing his guest around the house he comes acrross the late Duchess portrait and he starts to talk about her. The Duke tells his guest that the Duchess was not behaving well and that she did things she was not supposed to do like smile a lot. He also told him that she was always looking around and that she was flirting with other men. The Duchess actions clearly showed the Duke that she did not appreriate his high-status aristocratic name. The Duke clearly shows us that he was tries to make a good impression about him self but as he tries he shows us his personality and reveals a hidden part of him self when he talks about the Duchess in a bad way. And this is very common in our day we have a lot of people that talk about others in a bad way just to show people how good they are but they end up giving a very bad impression about them selves. we also see these things in our relationships (boy/girl or friends relationship) if they break up you always see one of them (Girl or Boy) going around telling people that their partner was bad to them they always looked around when a girl came along or that they were very friendly to the opposite sex. This is very ineresting that most of our writers wrote about situations that are present still today. It also makes me realize that people in our society and humans themselves don't really change a lot over time because we keep doing and repeating most of the actions that people in the past were doing. It also shows us how human beings characteristics are the same no matter what age or time has passed we have the same actions.
When we were studying Elizabeth Browning's Poetry, I couldn’t help but fall in love with her Sonnet XIV:
If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love's sake only. Do not say
'I love her for her smile---her look---her way
Of speaking gently,---for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day'---
For these things in themselves, Belovèd, may
Be changed, or change for thee,---and love, so wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,---
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love's sake, that evermore
Thou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
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For some reason it moved me because as we see today all of the relationships are artificial, and they have no true meaning to them. In this poem Browning is asking the one who loves her to love her for who she really is, for her true personality, for who she is from the inside, instead of loving her looks and her face and her smile. Her face might be beautiful, her eyes might shine like stars, but within a matter of decades these stars will start to fade. Unfortunately, today everyone is engaged in hollow relationships that are based on image. In fact, everything around us is based on image. So ladies, when a man says he loves the way you look more than your personality.. walk away.(Love me for who I am, not for what I look like..!!)
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Professor Pamela wanted us to try and change the verb in Browning's poem "How do I love thee, let me count the ways." I have given it a shot, some parts don’t make sense (to me, I think..) but it was worth a try. I think it turned out quite interesting.
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How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways.
I hate thee to the depth and strength of hell
My soul can reach, when feeling out of pain
For the ends of Hell away from Heaven.
I hate thee to the level of killing
Thine self, through suicide using a gun.
I hate thee freely, as women hate men;
I hate thee deeply, as cats hate the dogs.
I hate thee with a passion put to use
In my old laughs, and my teenage trouble.
I hate thee with delight I seemed to gain
With my new sins, --- I hate thee the foul breath,
Awful smile and broken teeth! --- God forbid,
Should I love thee, 'tis better to face death.
very interesting ....Bedour, thanks for the effort in your emotion of "hate" with Browning's sonnet. You did rather well.
Porphyria's Lover. This poem really gives the impression of murder, crime, and mystery. The style and structure of this poem play a significant role in the
effect of the poem. Browning uses many techniques, including a simple rhyme scheme, enjambment, and caesura to convey various characteristics and qualities
about the speaker and the situation. the poem's style, structure, and historical
references, it becomes evident that even if the speaker did not directly kill his wife, he certainly had something to hide. It is really amazing image to give, As Hooda once said the right word for this poew to explain "Crimes of Passion" that is really good exression for such as this kind of poems and specially Browning's. We could also see this kind of murders nowadays, but mostly what is the different is the way of killing, and turturing, it is love and jelousy. What goes around comes around. very interesting poem of Browning it could move the feeling we i read it the third time it gave the impression of a murder.
on the other hand, there are many things we know
for certain and many others that are questionable. We know that the Duchess died suspiciously and that the Duke is in the process of looking for a new wife. He is speaking to a messenger about a painting of his now deceased wife. The Duke, of course, is casting himself in a
favorable light and is presenting his best side. He wants to make it look as if his wife was cheating on him and was unfaithful to him. He is very controlling, and could not control her and her smiles. This
smile was what the Duke likes the most about the painting of the
Duchess--he feels that the painter accurately captured the smile and the vivacity of the Duchess. Now that the Duke owns this painting and has placed it behind a curtain, he can at last control who is graced with
her smile.
P/S i could'nt post my blog the same day as my computer been affected with virus.
“Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all” is a quote I have heard for countless years in movies, sitcoms, books, and many others as well. When we read Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson, I thought it sounded quite exceptional and so rich that I was eager to read more of his poetry. ‘How come I have never heard of him before?’ is the first question I ask myself because poetry is a hobby of mine yet I was never introduced to his work. Being arguably the greatest Victorian poet, I thought I should at least be familiar withy his work. Anyways, of all the poets we have studied this semester, Tennyson is by far my favorite because he combines many historic themes and legends that just push one’s imagination to new horizons. I’m amazed at how the agonizing drama in his life never overshadowed his ability to prolifically write one masterpiece after the other. He was a hypochondriac, meaning that he was in excessive fear about his health. He had an abusive father, insane brother (Edward), and opium addict brother (Charles). What an unfortunate family! One amazing story is that in 1832, Tennyson published “Poems” and was panned by critics very harshly, so he did not publish anything for nine years. So, we can see he was a very sensitive person, yet I can’t understand why he would dignify critics with a response of not writing for nine years. Poetry was, like all other poets, a catharsis for him, especially after the untimely death of a dear friend (Arthur Hallam), so bad critical reviews are no excuse to stop poetic self-expression. The very element that attracted me to his poetry is “Idylls of the King,” which is based on King Arthur. Every since childhood, I have been so mesmerized and intrigued by enigmatic figures of history, those individuals that that we read so much about yet we essentially have no conclusive evidence of their existence. I like that storytelling element that Tennyson uses in his King Arthur poems, which are 12 poems that illustrate the Arthurian legend and are saturated with imagination and wonderment. He dedicated this collection to Prince Albert. What an honor to have Queen Victoria invite him over to the royal residence to praise his poetry. She said that his poems provided comfort as she mourned for her late husband, and it must have been terrifying for Tennyson who was so self-conscious about his work. I think he deserved such recognition and his subsequent appointment as Poet Laureate, which means that he had to compose poetry for state occasions and other social events. I think it would be too overwhelming an honor to many because of the grand expectations the public has. Towards the end of his life, he was often compared to Shakespeare, yet I don’t see how. I’m no literature expert, but it’s safe to say that someone of Shakespeare’s caliber and genius cannot be compared to Tennyson, who wrote a handful of plays that were not well-received, to say the least. When he wrote his first play “Queen Mary,” everyone was curious about Tennyson’s latest creation in un-chartered territory for him, the territory of theater. Let’s consider in our modern times today that we hear J. K. Rowling has established herself as a prolific, best-selling author and now would like to venture onto the stage. Imagine the immense anticipation by the world! That’s what occurred for Tennyson, but to his shock, “Queen Mary” saw a decreasing audience with each performance and after twenty-three shows, it was unfortunately cancelled. His next two plays were flops as well, so he obviously had trouble establishing himself as the next Shakespeare. As he lay on his deathbed, he held a copy of Shakespeare’s plays, perhaps signifying his failed dream. Ultimately, his successes far outweigh his minimal failures, and that’s obvious by his reputation as the premier Victorian poet, so he has much to be proud of….
In the peom the Blessed Damozel it is very interesting. I don't know if any of you guys looked at it carefully. But if you do, you will see on the top there are little pictures of lovers together and they are kissing, then we have a picture of a sad and depressed woman with stars in her hair and she is holding three liliesand right underneath her we have three other single and sad women. i think that the three lilies might represent the three women under her, or maybe not. but if anyone knows something about please tell me i'd love to know because i thought it might have an interesting story behind it. The Blessed Damozel has a lot of symbolizm in it. It also show us how the girl in the poem is restricted from the earth's pleasures and in some ways it can reflect on women on that time how they were restricted by society of doing certain things. I alos noticed througout the poe there are different speakers which makes the poem a little complicated but still interesting to read. i never thought that i would enjoy reading the victorian age but i am glad that this period turned out to be very interesting.
Dante Gabriel.One of the most famous poets in the Victorian age because of his vague poems as he always get the reader to get confussed with what his poit in the poem. I cant tell more about this as it was really a surprise that my presentation on Dante next Saturday and we just started reading his work. Jenny's poem is somehow sound of art. He is picturing her in nudity as she is not that good looking but her figure could show it all. Dante Gabriel writes of a prostitute, and while it is true that he describes her sensuous, half-clothed body and the attractions of her beauty, the focus of the poem is a realization that the prostitute Jenny occupies a discint social position, fulfills a certain social duty, and is to some degree a prisoner of this position and duty. Since the narrator is clearly sympathetic to Jenny's plight, he rejects the notion that prostitutes must be either condemned or reformed. Instead, he expresses his sympathy by leaving her the tribute which she will most appreciate; he spreads gold coins in her hair while she sleeps
Despite their silence and quietness, paintings of Robert Browning's poems such as "My Last Duchess" speak in an intensive way. I mean by the intensity when it comes to speaking silently is the feelings and the wide imagination of the poet. He forgets everything surrounds him and sticks to mediating his killed wife actions with others. Throughout the poem, we can sense her smiles and how here eyes are striking which results in a burning fire in her husband's heart. This dramatic lyric aspires to draw the words in order to draw a colorful thought. It shows the irony of the speaker from the person portrayed in the painting, and the everlasting desire of men: they want to bring women's beauty within their control. It is maybe the obsession of enjoying having the main character role over women. And that appears within the poem; the speaker killed his wife and destroys her life. This irony allows the reader to think critically about the hidden message of the poem.
Personally, this piece of writing let me think more about how to illustrate a thought in a colorful way that has a sapless look.
I am currently reading John Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ and it is monumental and just unbelievable. As the title suggests, it talks about man’s first disobedience and the subsequent punishment of Adam and Eve, yet Milton illustrates it in a broader, detailed context than what we are usually familiar with. I felt that Milton is implicitly try to get a message across about the two opposite roads that one chooses after disobedience: either continue being sinful or taking the road to redemption. It’s fascinating how Milton portrays the devil and Adam/Eve as creations of God, yet the devil continues his sins even after being sentenced to hell. As you read this work, I think you might forget that this is a writer’s idea, not a universal truth because no one knows for sure. Anyways, I know this is not related to our class, but I wanted to tell everyone about it. Our discussion of Robert Browning’s poems was quite interesting in class because we saw an overarching theme that Brown is known for. ‘My Last Duchess’ is unique because it has the elements of a best-selling thriller, namely passion, murder, deception, power, and it was one of the few poems that I can vividly capture a mental picture. Although Shakespeare masters the monologue, one cannot underestimate Browning’s skill at it because both writers have their own styles. Browning, as we saw in class, uses death as a key concept in his poetry, and there is always a character being immortalized. Although my first thought was the duchess was murdered, I like to believe that Browning implied something else because it is extremely obvious that Browning wants us to think that she was killed. It’s part of his skill in poetry, and I sincerely believe that quickly believing that she was murdered is underestimating Browning’s talent. I think he, like all poets, write their pieces so readers can intellectually engage in articulating the meanings and interpretations. If everything is so clear and obvious, it is not poetry – it’s science. It is said that Robert Browning felt downcast at some point in his writing career because he thought that his poetry will lack longevity and meaning and relevance after he died. He thought that the rapidly advancing world would overshadow his legacy, yet those sad thoughts did not seem to affect his writing power. He was sure, however, that Elizabeth Browning’s love-poetry would live on because love was, is, and will always be universal. How surprised he would be if he were to get a glimpse, a tiny peak into his poetry’s influence in the 21st century! A great poem to read by Browning is "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" because it combines his love of Shakespeare and medieval times, yet it does not have this fairy-tale atmosphere that we so often associate with the medieval. The poem’s subject, Child Roland, pretends to be insane to someone from murdering him, which clearly Browning paying homage to King Lear and Hamlet. As I read this poem, there’s a sense of emptiness about it, and it doesn’t formulate any new ideas. It just leaves us with more questions and few answers, if any. We slowly discover the character’s quest for the Dark Tower, but the reason is unknown. Although this piece of work is over a hundred years old, it reminds me of postmodernism concepts, namely that of postmodern skeptic Frederic Jameson. He would say this very poem is like “speech in a dead language” and “a statue with blind eyeballs” because it does not formulate new answers. Jameson would argue that it’s “empty nostalgia” because it is simply an imitation of the past and is not pertinent to Browning’s world. Pro-postmodernism Linda Hutcheon, on the other hand, would absolutely applaud this poem, saying that it’s a “critical reworking” and a re-interpretation of the past and not simply an imitation. I like relating "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" to postmodernism because it’s an enigmatic, mysterious poem, much similiar to postmodern ideas, which opens the door to countless interpretations, if any. It’s nice to relate poetry to other fields of literature, fields that we do not necessarily associate poetry with….
The Feminine as a Religious Icon
As we dicscussed Rossetti's Blessed Damozel, It transfered me to the earlier version of this poem, to Dante Alighieri's vision of the Feminine as Divine symbol. In paradiso Canto 31 Dante describes the ethereal beauty of Beatrice and her beatific smile from :
I thus implored;and she,though so far away
looked down at me and smiled
then to the eternal fountain she turned again
This image is be tranfered centuries later in Rossetti's poem as he describes his damozel's mysterious smile and her illuninous face as she "gazes'from her place in the celestial spheres. Just like Beatrice symbolized faith, the damozel is infused with an aura of the Divine: The handmaidens,the references to Mary,the Dove, Christ, the Lord, God's sight. in his visual representation the image of the blessed damozel leaning out of her heavenly abode as her face is illuminated with the circling celestial stars reinforces the Divine- like nature of this unearthly female.
perhaps Rosseti, just like Dante did, finds solace and comfort in infusing his unbearable sadness of loss(Beatrice died in Florence and Dante may have been in love with her) with the ultimate consolation of hope of reconciliation in another life, another time, in the heavenly spheres.
Yesterday's presentation, in my opinion, was excellent!!!! Great job ladies! i really enjoyed it, and really felt that the group members were really interested in what they were presenting, and that was what kept us listening all the time.. i really enjoyed the fact that you chose poems with a new theme that we were not used to reading in class. Aside from nature, that is, i was really enjoying what you were presenting. I like Hopkins' poems. It is not very common, as Nur stated, to find someone deeply honest in their choice of words for the peoms they create. I really liked how they thought of "Surat Al Nur" from the Holy Koran. I was amazed at how they thought of it, but the overall theme and meaning of it was very similar to "God's Grandeur!" Maybe Hopkins has read it, as Hooda said, he was a great reader and philosoper, and based his poems on these beautiful Koranic verses...you never know! :) Moving on, it is interesting that Hopkin's poems are both short but really packed with words, meanings, and beautiful imageries. One thing i have realized in his poems, also, is that he really depends on alliteration to represent his view. This is really obvious in the three poems that the group presented. In "God's Grandeur," for instance, we find "smuge," "shares" "soil" and "smells" together in the same line. In the "Starlight Night," there "bright books," and "cirlcle-citadels." Finally, in the "Pied Beauty," one would find "swift," "slow," "sweet," and "sour," just to mention a few. I felt that Hopkins was really intending to do so, to convince the people with what he has to say. In fact, it seemed that he is helping his readers get more attached to God. Using alliteration creates a melodious sound to the poems, hinting that he is proving that loving God does not have to be strange and difficult. Instead, it is simple and beautiful, "if" a person strides the right road to find this beaty, understand it, and actually know how to appreciate it. I also realized some internal rhyming in his peoms as well. Perhaps, it also adds to the strategies that Hopkins uses to convince his readers with what he presents, and also to make them live with the words that he creates. GReat presentation, Great poet, i have really enjoyed yesterday's class...great job!!!! :))))
Hi everyone - can you believe we're almost done? I've enjoyed our 309 class so much - over those lessons, I think I've learned so much about the human experience that I feel I've gained a better understanding of things; I mean it - learning that extensively about Shelley, Keats, Stuart Mill, Hopkins (a new addition to my list of favorite poets - and who you are going to hear even more of today in my critical article presentation) really gave us a brilliant perspective into live then and life now and Nature, and the nature of man - for this I'm grateful, also to Dr. Pamela - you really shared some beautiful insights with us that I think I'll remember for a long time, and all of you in the class - those were some of the nicest, most thought-provoking, and exciting class discussions I've had in any of my courses this semester , so thanks.
As if you haven't had enough of Hopkins, I'm going to be presenting an article about him to you guys today - but it's really quite an intriguing article; Lichtmann is a terrific writer and incredible critical thinker, I think. She's presenting a very unusual topic - Hopkins the Hero - you'll hear more about it later :) I really enjoyed watching all our other presentations - they really evoked a whole lot of other ideas for me, especially Matthew Arnold's poem - not "Dover Beach," the other one - I can't remember the name! Anyway, it was really interesting to learn about all of these - and I think the one on Oscar Wilde will be immensley interesting. Did you know that Wilde was one of the most compelling, interesting, and attractive conversationists among his contemporaries? People used to marvel and enjoy his exciting, perfectly-worded responses when he'd speak - all would come out with such spontaneity, yet with eloquece that would have demanded hours of preparation, but didn't really.
I really enjoyed doing the group Hopkins presentation - I think we all did a good job of it, and I sure hope I do a good hob of the second Hopkins presentation of the year. Oh yeah, and we still have that paper due next week, and our BIG project later - I think it'll be good fun, actually.
Have a good weekend all; see you next week! Nur
We are approaching the end of the semester, the end of this wonderful course which I’m sure we have all enjoyed greatly. I came into this class knowing nothing of the 19th Century British Literature, and I am glad to say that towards the end of this course I know I have learnt about a great deal of literates, read numerous poems and prose’s and even literary articles. From the Romantics Mary Robinson, William Blake, and the infamous Percy Shelly and John Keats, these majestic writers created pieces of art that reflect on the human emotion, and the Victorian era of Elizabeth Browning, Robert Browning, Dante Rossetti and of course Gerard Hopkins, their works inspired by the Industrial Revolution, and many many more beautiful writers of the 19th century.
It is hard for me to pick one of these writers to name my favorite, because I realize that all have inspired me, each in a unique way has left a mark in my mind. It is also not possible to pick a favorite poem, because each is beautiful within it’s own context, each one I find dear to my heart.
What I found intriguing about the course was the knowledge I acquired through reading the poetry and trying to analyze it. Poetry is another form of art, and each person can interpret it differently, and the class discussions were very interesting in that we shared different views and opinions about specific events or sceneries in the poetry.
The one thing that I truly loved about this class was the first paper, the Romantic paper. I honestly did not ever expect myself to be able to accomplish this goal, but I did. I used to read critical articles on the internet and I used to think to myself “wow, I can never write like that..!” I’m not saying my paper is “wow”, I’m just saying that the fact that I sat down and did a lot of research, analyzed, criticized, and exerted a lot of effort and attention to such paper, was in its self an accomplishment for me.
Another project which I similarly enjoyed was the group presentations we did. I never realized that working with such wonderful people would be very interesting and pleasant at the same time. Both groups I worked with were amazing, and it’s a shame I didn’t get to work with others, still the final project is bringing the whole class together to work on one project which I think is quite motivating.
Overall, this class was a pleasure to attend, and it has changed the way I view poetry. I appreciate those writers more, I appreciate their work, and most importantly I appreciate our Professor who made this class an interesting learning experience.
This course has been the most interesting English literature course I have every taken in this university. I have learnt a lot throughout the course, I now know how to analyze any piece of literature, how to write proper essays that tie up two or more different poems and I also learnt how to integrate most of our work with other works. I have also enjoyed doing all of the projects in this course because they were very useful and it helped both the class and me to understand the material that was presented. I also found out that I love dramatic monologues because they fascinate me a lot. Two of my favorite dramatic monologues are from Browning’s poems “Porphyria’s lover” and “My last Duchess.” The Victorian period is my favorite period that we have studied because I felt that the poems involved Religion, norms, values and society. Unlike the Romantic period I felt it was involved more about the writer’s feelings, past relationships, life and nature.
The outlines and in class response were also very helpful because they helped give a better understanding of the poem and how to analyze the poems. It also taught me how to read poems because reading a poem is not the same as reading any text it is much different because each time you go back to the poem you find another meaning to the poem or anther hidden image. The images on both books are also interesting, in the Romantic period the cover of the book was of an old building and it seemed kind of foggy but the cover on the Victorian period is very colorful it has a picture of a woman making different images. Okay, I don’t want to start to analyze both images but, I felt that the covers of both book have a lot to say about both periods. Just looking at both of the images can help you analyze and understand more about periods that we have studied. This class has made me analyze everything which fun because once you start to analyze things it’s just hard to stop it.
When I first entered this class I did not know anything about analyzing and I could not understand any of the poems that we were analyzing. So, I believe I have improved a lot during the course. I know enjoy reading, I never used to read anything and I used to hate reading. I have now brought me a few books to read during the summer course and I am searching for poems of different authors to also read during the summer because I want to increase my knowledge. So I have learnt a lot during this course and I am very glad that I got to take this course because it improved my skills in reading, writing, and analyzing.
I never knew i could write a paper like the "Romantic paper" i feel like i have a coomplished something huge. I have never written a paper like this ever and i feel very proud of my self. I also know a lot of authors that i have never known in my life before and whenever some talks about the author we have studied i feel that i can join into the conversation and elaborate or give them knew aspects of the topic that they are talking about. I feel like a very very intelligent and well read person. This class has given me a huge boost in my self esteem.
I thank one very dear person for all of this, thank you Prof. Pamela. you have really inspired me a lot this course and i would have not achieved all of this improvment if it wasn't for all of your hard work and effort that was put in to our class. I have learnt a lot from you.
Thank you !!
This is in extension of the blog I did yesterday. Maha, it's so nice of you to say that! And I completely, 100% agree with you on what you said about Hopkin's rhyming scheme and thoughts - how did you come up with that stuff - absolutely terrific! I like it when you said "Using alliteration creates a melodious sound to the poems, hinting that he is proving that loving God does not have to be strange and difficult. Instead, it is simple and beautiful, if a person strides the right road to find this beaty, understand it, and actually know how to appreciate it. " Absolutely incredible! You're right! by making the melody of his poems easy and smooth - natural melody of sprung rhythm - the words and their meanings, and the brilliantly packed impressions of inscape compounding - readers will sense the easy path to beauty! Beautiful words, Maha, seriously! Hopkins is totally on my list of favorite authors, especially after reading Lichtmann - I told my mother about the article, and now she's reading my copy!
I've really enjoyed our class - over all of these weeks - how many I can't remember - I've learned so much about human nature and the workings of the poetic heart and mind, that I'm truly grateful. I really think that all the things we learnt over this semester has really instilled in me a more profound appreciation for the human being than before, and has equipped me with better skills for critical thinking, too. I mean, when we read Shelley's "In Defense of Poetry," it seriously changed the way I thought about human expression in general - drastically. Even when I'm attending my Music Appreciation class, it profoundly enhanced my understanding of expression over the era's - Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic (which lasted up until 1901 or something) - I appreciate it now a whole lot more than I would have, had I not come to understand, truly, human expression. Our class is full of wonderful, wonderful people who've really contributed to our whole understanding of everything - a really good class. Dr. Pamela: you've shared some incredible things with us over the semester - thanks for everything you've given us, from material, to advice, to things you taught us about our own thinking and our great capabilities - we're all so grateful for this.
Nothing will last except our memories which will always remind us of this course. Although it was a challenging experience, it will be unforgettable. I did benefit a lot from the various assignments we did in class individually or as a collaborative work. I liked our small family in class; every one added interesting points during discussions of different pieces of writings. Actually, it was a good introduction for me to the world of English literature. The quiet environment in our class has a special taste. It differs from other classes. I think that's because of the nature of the course; it went smoothly, especially when it comes to look to both Romanticism and the Victorian Era. Reading works of elites, thinking about what lies within them, writing our visions and relating that to other literatures reflected the way I did view things before. It added to my knowledge, which is in its process of elevation, especially the themes that reveal from the poems, prose pieces, and other critical articles.
One of the most amazing writings I've read in my life that really urges me to read more for Percy Shelley is "In Defense of Poetry." Its soul speaks a lot. It shows how profound the world of poetry is. Its association of poetry with philosophy was profound and nice.
The most important thing about this course was meeting such great people who have the desire to learn, analyze, discuss, and add another angel on the beauty of the words of poems.
Finally, thanks for you all. It was a pleasure to share our thoughts with each other.
Dr. Pamela: I feel lucky that I attended your class at last, and took from your nice experience which will last for a long long time.
Allow me to print a copy of this blog to keep you with my memories always!
I find it difficult to find the proper words to "wrap up" such a class as ours. Our whirlwind tour through the best of 19th Century British poetry seemed to whiz by relentlessly. And just as we were beginning to appreciate the beauty of a poem, it seemed to be time to move on again. In his "Defense of Poetry," Shelley says: "Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world”. I think we all agree that by invoking all the ghosts of these long gone and dead poets we have been honored to visit their personal worlds and discover a little magic in each and every one of their pieces. Poetry will never cure an illness, feed a hungry child, or solve a conflict, but it has the ability to elevate us spiritually to another realm, albeit momentarily, and then gently bring us back again. And for those special, fleeting moments we should be thankful!
Many thanks to the Wonderful Dr Pamela who brings forth such enthusiasm and profound insight into each class. Her strictness is sprinkled with kindness and encouragement and I know she will leave a terrible void in the AUK and we all wish her success in her next adventure!
I shall end this blog with a song I heard on the radio today. I thought it would be appropriate..
Enjoy:
NATASHA BEDINGFIELD
These Words
These words are my own
Threw some chords together
The combination D-E-F
Is who I am, is what I do
And I was gonna lay it down for you
Try to focus my attention
But I feel so A-D-D
I need some help, some inspiration
(But it's not coming easily)
Whoah oh...
Trying to find the magic
Trying to write a classic
Don't you know, don't you know, don't you know?
Waste-bin full of paper
Clever rhymes, see you later
These words are my own
From my heart flow
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you
There's no other way
To better say
I love you, I love you...
Read some Byron, Shelly and Keats
Recited it over a Hip-Hop beat
I'm having trouble saying what I mean
With dead poets and drum machines
I know I had some studio time booked
But I couldn't find a killer hook
Now you've gone & raised the bar right up
Nothing I write is ever good enough
These words are my own
From my heart flow
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you
There's no other way
To better say
I love you, I love you...
I'm getting off my stage
The curtains pull away
No hyperbole to hide behind
My naked soul exposes
Whoah.. oh.. oh.. oh.. Whoah.. oh..
Trying to find the magic
Trying to write a classic
Waste-bin full of paper
Clever rhymes, see you later
These words are my own
From my heart flow
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you
That's all I got to say,
Can't think of a better way,
And that's all I've got to say,
I love you, is that okay?
---------------------------------
PS: You need to download the song to appreciate it!
That’s all folks!
Hello my fellow scholars! It is such a pleasure to address you in this way. I've learned so much from all of you. I must tell you that during this semester, you've become the best "poem" of my year. Your thirst for the elixir of life - your inquisitive minds - your unpretentious lust for the poets' thoughts, dreams, visions, aspirations, desires, and meaning of their own existence have caused me to reflect on how empty I would have been without you - without your personalities - without your characters - without your consistent energy. I leave AUK with a heavy heart. As we have learned in our discussions and readings, there are sometimes vile winds that cause changes in the current just as the French Revolution had done. However, I am the better for having had this class of ENGL 309. Your memories will remain a part of me wherever I go. God be with all of you.
Keep in touch with me please:
pamalleg@aol.com - and as long as any of you wish, the blog will remain. All things come to and end eventually and as the tide of our lives move on, the blog will know when to say "goodbye".
I don’t know where to start but I can say that I learn something I haven’t ever thought of. This class I took as Professor Pamela know that how much I like her classes.
Let me write what happened as long as this is my last but not least Blog. I was searching for classes to take in this course so I searched from the category and when I found this course (which I don’t know anything about) I found that professor Pamela is teaching it. So I say yes I have to take it I never forget my first class of English 108 that I took with D.Pamela and how much I learned from it. So I decided to go and visit Dr. Pamela so she encourages me to join it. Even when I was the only male in the class I have never thought of dropping it as I know Professor Pamela and she know how much I appreciate her classes. However, I realized later that it is more into poetry class; I can’t tell you how my background is empty of poets and poems. Arabic and English. From the first poem I’ve somehow complicated but you won’t believe how much I learned from it. Especially Wordsworth I really had a big influence in his work. I learned stuff and I analyzed poems which I haven’t ever read before or even analyse a poem before but really professor Pamela encouraged me to go for it and keep on trying and I can see myself that I really learned a lot from this course. Even my Dante’s critical article I bet that it was the hardest article in this class I have never ever read such an article like that before but I got deeply into reading it and understand it but every time I read it I got confused. In my presentation I haven’t ever been presenting this way it was really amazing how confident the way I present it, it is not because I was it is because of Professor Pamela’s encouragement that made feel like this, and I can say that yes now I might be presenting in front of audience I will need as my major is marketing and I will need it in my marketing courses. However, from this course I learned a lot of amazing authors such as, Burns, Browning, Rossetti, ….. And the amazing Wordsworth and he’s nature influenced poems. The first essay I have never wrote an analysis of a poem before but I did write a lot other subjects, but I never knew that I would express that much in poems. When I first wrote I couldn’t stop writing it was a lot of thoughts as I said I really got influenced by Wordsworth’s work. And if I didn’t took this class I won’t ever heard of him. I can say thank you Professor Pamela for encouraging me and helping me through this course. Every time I visit your office I learn something that helps me with my work in and out the university. My last time being in your office when I told you about being some how uncomfortable presenting something about sexuality subjects but you encouraged me when bringing examples of that personal life of authors or any others never going to change the good way of loving their works and yes it is right. By this I wrote the questions that I asked the class. I can’t say how tuff I worked and how much I worked in this class but also can’t tell how much I learned from it. And how much I build up my background information about romantism and Victorian ages. One good thing is that when I talk with friends sometimes I mentions Wordsworth and that is amazing. Also our last group presentation novel amazing and perfect to present. I got really influenced to this novel, I even bought different copies of it and the 2 movies that been made 1954 and mid 70s and I can’t wait to receive them. I always remember Professor Pamela’s classes and until now my last English 108 class was my best ever class and this could be added. I really learned Nur, Maha (Thank you so much for helping me out girls). I learned how to present well by watching Hooda, Tarek, Noora and Esraa’s presentations. Thank you guys and a huge regard to our professor Pamela that encouraged me to take this course that made a big impression and changed it actually from what I thought of poets and poems before. I will never say goodbye I will always as I said be in touch thank you Professor for giving us your email to keep in touch with you. And i hope we'll present our last presentation to be a good end of this class and im really happy to be part of a class that has a very intelligent and brilliant stundents and that big thanks goes to professor Pamela. God bless you and be with you.
Although i have just blogged a couple of days ago, its seems that blogging now is so much different! i am not really sure if im happy to be blogging for the last time or not! i honestly cant believe that the semester is over! it feels like yesterday we have just begun!!! This was my first English class which was only concentrating on poems...and i have really enjoyed it. My favorite part in class was the presentations! I got to know everyone in class and i really enjoyed working with everyone of them. i dont know why, but this class really felt like a small family to me. They were really encouraging for a person to present for, they were always excited about what they were reading, and they were really enthusiastic about what they had to present. Many times in class, i was really amazed by how they could brilliantly interpret certain texts in the ways they did. Each and every single person in my class was unique in their own way! It was a class with a unique experience. Although i was talking 2 courses with dr Pamela, i have always felt more comfortable in this class. Maybe that is because i am an ECLT major, and maybe because it is a higher level course, that she felt more relaxed in. And i believe that the calm state she was in during class, got reflected on us more. Dr. Pamela, thanks a million is not enough for your support. i have always felt that you wanted to bring the best out of us, even if it was through pressuring us! Now that the semester is almost over, when i look back, i get really amazed by how much we were able to cover in such a short period of time...SO MANY POETS!!! WOW!!!! Thank you also goes to Esraa, Nur, Bedour, Hooda, Nura, Tareq, Mohamed, and Ayham..You have all been great class mates. The final project was one thing that got us all talking together, and i hope it will never be the last....
as i said last but not least, i dont know but to say that it is really interesting to our memories though this cours that is almost approaching the end. I downloaded this fresh song that really inspired me especially for this class that concentrates alot on poems and poets so here is the lyrics that is really amazing to connect between it and our cours in some words:
Hey you,
Don't you give up, it's not so bad
There's still a chance for us
Hey you,
Just be yourself, don't be so shy
There's reasons why it's hard
Keep it together, you'll make it alright
Our celebration is going on tonight
Poets and prophets would envy what we do
This could be good, hey you
Hey you,
Open your heart, it's not so strange
You've got to change this time
Hey you,
Remember this, none of it's real
Including the way you feel
Keep it together, we'll make it alright
Our celebration is going on tonight
Poets and prophets would envy what we do
This could be good, hey you
Save your soul, little sister
Save your soul, little brother
Hey you, save yourself
Don't rely on anyone else
First love yourself, then you can love someone else
If you can change someone else, then you have saved someone else
But you must first love youself, then you can love someone else
If you can change someone else, then you have saved someone else
But you must first
Hey you,
They're on the fence, you've got a choice
One day it will make sense
Hey you,
First love yourself, or if you can't,
Try to love someone else
Keep it together, we'll make it alright
Our celebration is going on tonight
Poets and prophets will envy what we do
This could be good, hey you
First love yourself, then you can love someone else
If you can change someone else, then you have saved someone else
But you must first love youself, then you can love someone else
If you can change someone else, then you have saved someone else
But you must first
it was recently released song and been performed by Madonna this song is exclysivly released for the summer of 2007 (next July) for the Live Earth show in London that includes more than 17 singers for that charity show. And when i heard the words i said yes it is really amazing to share to class and especially we're almost done.
Every Victorian poet captured my attention in one form or another, especially due to the enigmatic, sophisticated nature of the writing in that era. In choosing between the Victorian and Romantic, I would undoubtedly say Victorian poetry is my favorite particularly because of the irony and symbolism in poetry, like those of Tennyson and Robert Browning. I realized that whenever reading a Victorian poem more than once, I discover new elements that I didn’t catch in my first reading. They say that a great poem has more than one meaning, and Victorian poetry exemplifies that idea. And this characteristic of Victorian poetry encourages different interpretations by each reader, therefore allowing individuals to engage in a never-ending discussion where each opinion is valid. That’s the kind of poetry that I cherish, the poetry that challenges the mind and allows a person ‘think outside the box’ and lets you discover the extent of your imagination. And it goes the same for paintings, where colors, shapes and lighting conjure up different meanings for each person. What incredible gift it is to have a love for literature and art and excel in both, like Dante Rossetti, especially given the effort and expertise needed for both. He, like Tennyson and Picasso, was subject to an excruciating pain and suffering after the death of a close companion, yet that devastation drove these three individuals to artistically prevail against their traumas and produce some of the greatest works. Interestingly enough, he loved his wife so much that, when she tragically died, he buried a huge bulk of his unpublished poems in her grave, much to the anger of his closest friends. Like Alfred Tennyson, Rossetti was influenced by the Arthurian romances and obviously incorporated those elements into his paintings. He depicted the same woman and her erotic nature in most of his paintings – they look almost identical. And this woman reminds me of the artistic depiction of Titania, Queen of fairies (A Midsummer’s Night Dream) and Ophelia (Hamlet) with their silky garments and natural surroundings of the leaves and the flowers. He portrays women as goddesses in a fantasy, dream-like world. I cannot imagine how spooky it was when Rossetti dug up his buried poetry with his deceased wife. How can one possibly handle digging up the grave of a loved one? The thought alone gives me the creeps! So, he published those poems but they were castigated for their sexual nature, and consequently, he slowly submerged into depression and drug addiction because of his ill-equipped personality to handle the harsh criticism. I’m not sure if Rossetti regarded himself as religious/spiritual, but we clearly see the religious imagery in work especially because of his early admiration of Italian medieval art. When I think of medieval italian art, I think of Michelangelo and da Vinci, two of the greatest masters whose work, to this day, still mesmerize and marvel onlookers and artists alike. We wee Rossetti’s particular inspiration by Leonardo da Vinci’s Christian themes in the poem “For Our Lady of the Rocks by Leonardo Da Vinci”:
Mother, is this the darkness of the end,
The Shadow of Death? And is that outer sea
Infinite imminent Eternity?
And does the death-pang by man's seed sustained
In Time's each instant cause thy face to bend
Its silent prayer upon the Son, while He
Blesses the dead with His hand silently
To His long day which hours no more offend?
Mother of grace, the pass is difficult,
Keen are these rocks, and the bewildered souls
Throng it like echoes, blindly shuddering through.
Thy name, O Lord, each spirit's voice extols,
Whose peace abides in the dark avenue
Amid the bitterness of things occult.
This poem is obviously influenced by da Vinci’s painting ‘Madonna of the Rocks’ due to its sinister nature and dark setting, which is exactly like the painting where the Virgin and Child are placed among rocks in what looks like a dangerously high cliff. Imagine if the painting is accompanied with this poem as a caption in the museum (Louvre) where the painting resides…. This class truly exposed worlds and universes of poetry that I never knew existed, and it’s been an informative and exciting journey, especially during our studies into Victorian literature. I hope to read more in the near future.
Yes Tarek I 100% agree with you that the Victorian era was a lot better than Romantic period. "This class truly exposed worlds and universes of poetry that I never knew existed, and it’s been an informative and exciting journey, especially during our studies into Victorian literature" YES Tarek exactly it is what i thought exactly we wounld never knew about this period if we havent registered for this work. It is really different than what i study which is business but this really helped me alot to build up my knowledge and that it why i like this course the most.
I don’t know as I have already mentioned that it is more connected to this generation that we are living in nowadays. Also I got to know more but Wordsworth is the only reason why I should say that I liked Romantic age too. However I do also found more interesting poets and writers as the legend Oscar Wilde he is so much more of a legend in this period (Victorian) I can say only one of his novels really attracted me to search for more which is "The Picture of Dorian Gray" very interesting and the way he wrote it conflicted on his personal life which was being discovered from his society that everything he wrote about homoerotism that there is a connection between his novels and his personal life. Some people that time has doubted about his writings and the way he explained the relations he made in his novels between men that he meant it like love relations which was very stricted in that age of Victorian that he was living since. However I can say that both of Oscar Wilde and Dante Gabriel Rossetti do have that big connection between their works as they are actually have the feelings of homosexuality that made them in someway self-division by explaining their work like their talking normally like trying to send points to the society different than what is inside their feelings. Dante Rossetti's work shows the people how much he loves women but actually what it has been realized from the philosophers are different and they described it as male to male as I presented the article. But Oscar Wild shared it in different direction when he wrote some of his novels people and us did had doubted the relations between the male characters he used as it could show the conflict of his personal life of homosexuality really mysterious way of writing.
Aventually if i didnt registered this class i wouldn't know anything about these amazing authors that really amazed me with their work.
Hi, at the request of Dr. p, I thought I'd add this nearly final blog as a joyous/wistful farewell to our class:
I just thought I'd also say a little thank you, Dr. P, for giving us the opportunity to write this paper (the Paper 2)- I learned so much about my own thinking, and was quite excited with the results - it has, ultimately, made me even more appreciative of the human expression, and more aware of my own capabilities, so I'd like to extend a most warm and honest thanks to you! :)
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