Compare the ways in which Philip Larkin and Carol Ann Duffy present the theme of death and its implications on life
Transfer-Encoding: chunked ELLA4 Coursework Essay Compare the ways in which Philip Larkin and Carol Ann Duffy present the theme of death and its implications on life The concept of death and its implications are explored extensively by Larkin and Duffy, both poets agreeing that the destructive quality of death makes void of all the time and effort we invest in life. Larkin seems to demonstrate a cold fear towards this inevitability by distancing himself from the reality in ‘Ambulances’ and ‘Dockery and Son’, choosing to make resigned but philosophical points on the subject. Duffy, by contrast, invests in a far more emotional approach and suggests how the finality can bring a strange sense of comfort amidst the devastation; this is demonstrated in the poems ‘The Suicide’ and ‘Never Go Back’ where the personas vow to never repeat their deathly experiences again, and, in the case of ‘The Suicide’ in particular, use death as a means to exact revenge. ‘Ambulances’ are described as vehicles that both literally transport the dying, and are the anthropomorphised psychopomps who help establish the transitory stage between life and death. The fairly archaic yet idiomatic verb phrase ‘borne away’ and the use of determining modifiers in ‘any kerb: / All streets’ suggests that death is a ubiquitous and ghostly presence that transcends time and takes
Compare and contrast three examples of gothic fiction
Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and The Island of Dr. Moreau are excellent examples of Gothic fiction. These stories deal with the forces of good against evil. The good forces are the family, social conscience, religious belief and moral judgement, all constituents of a civilised society. The evil side is the corruption of conscience, the misuse of power, violation of nature and rampant ego. The themes of each work explore the dual nature of mankind. Behind the benevolent face of civilisation there still lurks the beast within every man and it is this fear that the protagonists exploit to justify their blasphemous experiments. The brooding gothic background is powerful vehicle for writers to express their unease regarding the imbalance between nature, science, man and spirituality. Frankenstein is the story of a brilliant chemist who discovers the elixir of life and sets himself up as a 'creator'. The second story is The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the equally famous tale of a scientist who assaults the social order by unleashing his dark side. Finally The Island of Dr Moreau, is where we meet the most modern of the three scientists, but we are left without a solid description of what we must fear. The Island of Dr Moreau, as with the other two novels, deals with the failures of science. As Mason Harris points out: The Island of
How do the writers present sexuality and gender in Tales Of Ovid, Streetcar Named Desire and Behind The Scenes At The Museum?
Alex Morris 4070 Mrs Sullivan How do the writers present sexuality and gender in Tales Of Ovid, Streetcar Named Desire and Behind The Scenes At The Museum? Gender roles have been continually redefined throughout literary history. The evolution of sexuality and gender is presented in Behind The Scenes At The Museum, A Streetcar Named Desire and Tales Of Ovid as driven by context and in particular patriarchal society. From Hughes’ classical presentation of a ‘human passion in extremis’[1], so strong that it ‘combusts, levitates, or mutates into an experience of the supernatural’[2] to Streetcar’s ‘succes de scandale’[3], dealing with sex to an extent, and in a manner not yet encountered on the stage and then Museum’s sterile and comical view of sex, the mutability of sexuality and gender has transcended generations but has been subject to contrasting literary perspectives. The degree of fluidity of gender can be clearly seen to mirror the context of societal and historical change within which the three works were created. In the introduction of Ovid, Hughes describes the significance of the tales being written at ‘the moment of the birth of Christ within the Roman Empire. The Greek/ Roman pantheon had fallen in on men’s heads’[4] and Hughes makes a clear attempt to equate Adonis with Jesus Christ, describing him as ‘the
Romanticism.
Romanticism. EN2 Essay I "In spite of its representation of potentially diabolical and satanic powers, its historical and geographic location and its satire on extreme Calvinism, James Hogg's Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner proves to be a novel that a dramatises a crisis of identity, a theme which is very much a Romantic concern." Discuss. Examination of Romantic texts provides us with only a limited and much debated degree of commonality. However despite the disparity of Romanticism (or Romanticisms) as a movement it would be true to say that a prevalent aspect of Romantic literature that unites many different forms of the movement, is a concern with the divided self. As the empirical Rationalism of the eighteenth century was partially subverted by the subjective metaphysical reflection in the nineteenth artists tended to examine wider issues from an introspective starting point. The idea of the divided self became a motif from Blake's "Albion" to Byron's Manfred to Keat's musings on the disassociated nature of the Poetic Self. Some writers personified this division in distinct physical manifestations, usually a hero and his inverse doppelganger. Most famously in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the various "selves" in De Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium Eater and in the complex mirroring of major characters in James Hogg's ambiguous
Dr Faustus and The Man Who Would Be King on Power
Compare and Contrast how Doctor Faustus and The Man Who Would Be King Present the Subject of Power. Introduction: What doth it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? The Bible- Sacred Scriptures In the texts, 'Dr Faustus', by Christopher Marlowe and Rudyard Kipling's, 'The Man Who Would Be King', there are similarities in the way both writers approach the subject of power. Each approach is characterised by the continual questioning of its audience's perceptions of power. Both texts use of the theme of control presents a subtext, which in relating to the period of the time, examines where power truly lies. In this way the audience of the time affect and shape the views of power presented by both writers who can be seen to use this subtext to reflect a conflict mirrored in the time of writing. Power: Faustus: Power as a Corrupting Influence In the beginning of the play, before he agrees to the pact with Lucifer, Faustus is full of ideas for how to use the power that he seeks. He imagines piling up great wealth, but he also aspires to plumb the mysteries of the universe and to remake the map of Europe. Though they may not be entirely admirable, these plans are ambitious and inspire awe, if not sympathy. They lend a grandeur to Faustus's schemes and make his quest for personal power seem almost heroic, a sense that is reinforced by the eloquence
How do the writers of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights use setting and atmosphere in the development of their novels?
How do the writers of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights use setting and atmosphere in the development of their novels? Setting and atmosphere are dominant features of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. Through them the authors are able to reveal plot through characters and underlying themes. They colour our interpretation of the novel and allow us to assess situations for ourselves. This is summed up in the writer Lori Handleand's assessment of a novel when she says that "setting can influence your entire novel and the reader's response". The title Wuthering Heights refers to the dwelling place situated on the heights. "Wuthering" is defined as an "atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather", and has the effect of stunting growth around it. This description permeates the lives of the characters in Wuthering Heights causing them to be crippled, emotionally and mentally. Charlotte Bronte also draws a parallel between the surrounding and inhabitants in Jane Eyre. Jane's childhood to her maturity is chartered through five locations with internal and external obstacles in her path. Mike Edwards describes this "as a journey towards liberation from the psychological and physical prison". We can thus conclude that the setting and atmosphere is paramount to the novel's development. Victorian society dictated that households were run on a rigid yet
A comparison of the satirical techniques in Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock with those of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest
A comparison of the satirical techniques in Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock with those of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest "What dire Offence from am'rous Causes springs, What mighty Contests rise from trivial Things" Although written over 150 years apart, both Pope's The Rape of the Lock (hereafter referred to as The Lock) and Wilde's The Importance of being Earnest (hereafter referred to as Importance) share a significant characteristic - their respective elaborate and witty social satire. Wilde wrote Importance at the height of his popularity as a dramatist; but he was also a celebrity. From this position, Wilde created his deceptively flippant commentary on London society. Deeply embedded amongst the frills and frivolities of his position, the satire he presents is critical but not sanctimonious. A homosexual at a time that homosexuality was not only taboo but illegal, it is possible that even at his most popular and influential Wilde was something of an outsider, allowing him the position of an observer. Pope too, although most definitely involved in London life, had been set apart from others throughout his life. Initially, this was due to his Catholic upbringing, and later augmented by the deformities caused by childhood tuberculosis. That is not to say, however, that he was out of touch - whilst he never married he formed close friendships in
Tim O'Brien's 'The Things They Carried' and Pat Barker's 'Regeneration'. Compare and contrast the ways in which both authors present the futility of war in their text
'If war is hell, what do we call hopelessness?[i]' Compare and contrast the ways in which both authors present the futility of war in their text. In his collection of short stories, 'The things they carried' Tim O'Brien attempts to explore the 'bloody eccentricity[ii]' of Vietnam- a war dominated by uncertainties and unlike any war which had gone before. The stories connect a group of fictional soldiers called the alpha company in their journey through the war. The Vietnam War divided America for ten years and lead to a confusing political and social split within the country. A generation was shaped in a country where business men 'could not agree on even the most fundamental matters of public policy[iii]'. When America lost the war in 1975 the blow was immense to the nation and caused an intense backlash against the patriotism and ideological complacency which had characterised their national 'superpower' identity. Vietnam became the forgotten war as 'Evil has no place... in our (American) national mythology.[iv]' In the other text, Pat Barker's 'Regeneration' the backdrop is another iconic war, the First World War. The First World War also had a remarkable effect on society and how war was viewed for a long time after its aftermath. The total destruction caused by the technological advances in warfare had never before been seen and there effects were devastating to a
Explore the motives which have driven the villains in Othello by William Shakespeare and We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver and Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.
Explore the motives which have driven the villains in Othello by William Shakespeare and We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver and Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. The motives behind the villains from Othello, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Rebecca are one of the key ingredients that attract the readers to the characters as, the writers choose not to explicitly spell out their true motives but to make the readers' curiosity grow by giving them hints as the readers are able to interpret how they see the motives. Othello is a romantic tragedy written in 1603. Shakespeare has adapted the plot from a collection of tales by Italian writer Giambattisa Cinzio Giraldi called Hecatommithi (1565). Othello is still relevant in the modern society as we can still relate to the themes of love, jealousy, betrayal and racism. We Need To Talk About Kevin is a post-modern thriller by Lionel Shriver published in 2001. It is written in a series of letters from Eva a mother to her estranged husband Franklin. The novel mainly focuses on the modern society of America as Kevin's crime is based on the real life Columbine shooting of American teenagers. Shriver also uses Eva's character to explore the nature versus nurture's debate and explores whether Kevin was born evil or was his behaviour a result of Eva's lack of motherly love. Rebecca, a romantic, gothic novel written in 1938 by a British
Twentieth century literature often portrays the relationship between men and women as deeply problematic. By comparing and contrasting three texts by Katherine Mansfield, Harold Pinter and Carol Ann Duffy, discuss to what extent you agree with this view.
‘Twentieth century literature often portrays the relationship between men and women as deeply problematic’. By comparing and contrasting three texts, discuss to what extent you agree with this view. This essay will address the way various relationships between the opposite sexes are represented in selected texts from Katherine Mansfield, Harold Pinter and Carol Ann Duffy, whose works pertain to different periods of the 20th century. My aim is to compare and contrast their texts in an in-depth exegetical study in order to exhibit different treatments of these largely problematic relationships. To begin with, I shall consider Katherine Mansfield’s short story “Bliss”. Upon its publication, “Bliss” was subject to much divisive criticism; Virginia Woolf, who hitherto admitted to being “jealous”[1] of Mansfield’s writing, deemed it “poor”[2] and “cheap”[3], whilst T.S. Eliot praised the “skill with which the author has handled perfectly the minimum material.”[4] The story in “Bliss”, as in The Homecoming, takes place over the course of a single day; this narrative strategy provides the story with tension and is in keeping with the Aristotelian unity of time. The protagonist, Bertha Young, is a romantic and idealistic character, whose childish personality is reflected in the style of the writing: non-sequitur conversations, stream of
