To what extent is Yeats concerned with his status of a victim of unrequited love?
Aaron Danelian To what extent is Yeats concerned with his status of a victim of unrequited love? Within ‘the Cold Heaven’, Yeats projects his status as a victim of unrequited love through the use of paradox within the poem. Within ‘the Cold Heaven’, Yeats offers a vision of impassioned guilt which is triggered by natural beauty; a wintry sky. The use of paradox “ice burned and was but more ice” suggests a concern with the afterlife and of heavenly judgement. Furthermore, Yeats makes clear that as a lover, time does not erode the memory and that he himself is gripped by the intensity of feelings. The tumult emotion further stirs the imagination and shows that Yeats is “possessed by memory”. Also, ice connotes a death, but furthermore, distant love as ‘burned’ conveys the heat of the passion of the lovers. ‘Ice cold’ furthermore suggests the feeling of painfulness of the loss and the speaker caught overwhelmed by emotions and former feelings of love. In comparison to ‘the Wild Swans at Coole’ the poems both focus on the loss of love and the way in which time erodes human relationships so effectively. Yeats also uses nature as a symbol of his alteration with his lover. The opening stanza ‘all’s changed’ enforces the image of stasis and is symbolic of the poet’s own feelings of age and his alteration with his former love interest “mirrors a
The element of nature ranges greatly, from the physical grandeur of mountains to the reverence of tiny creatures in the poems Afterwards, Rising Five and "Wild Swans at Coole".
Essay on how 3 poems illustrate how poets have illustrated nature. Maria Sun The element of nature ranges greatly, from the physical grandeur of mountains to the reverence of tiny creatures. In the poems Afterwards, Rising Five and "Wild Swans at Coole", nature is used as a symbol to emphasise the importance of slowing down and appreciating beauty of it and to illustrate it's vivid energy compared to temporary mundane human lives. In the poem Afterwards, Thomas Hardy is anticipating his own death and uses his own feelings and observations of nature as a contrast against his mortality. He identifies himself with the frail, weak, insect like creatures who are "innocent" but like he are doomed to death. In Stanza Three, Hardy observes a hedgehog that "travels furtively over the lawn". Hardy himself, feels out of place with his wild ideas in an orderly community like the hedgehog, a wild animal misplaced in a structured lawn that humans have recultivated. The main contrast in the poem is between the energetic life of nature against the dull grey lives of the people he lives among. Although Hardy is not concerned with them, he hopes they will realise that the life of a man who passes his time noticing and appreciating small creatures is an important one. Hardy's observations are accurate and unpretentious. The modesty in describing "full-starred heavens"
Did Charles Stewart Parnell do more to advance or to retard the cause of Irish Independence?
Did Charles Stewart Parnell do more to advance or to retard the cause of Irish Independence? Charles Stewart Parnell has on many occasions been described as the greatest Irish leader since Daniel O'Connell. He was similar in that he used to his powerful persona to gather support for his cause and to hold on to it, in order to make significant progress. Being born into one of the greatest families of Protestant Ascendancy, Parnell lived a relatively quiet life until he entered the furore of politics in 1874. He became an avid Irish Nationalist (which was, no doubt, a consequence of his mother's extremely nationalistic persuasion), and ultimately was elected as Home Ruler for the Irish constituency of Meath in 1875, and in 1877, he was again elected to be the President of the Home Rule Confederation of Great Britain. It is here that his great contribution to the history of Ireland comes into more significance. Before Parnell's appointment as Home Ruler, Isaac Butt, a protestant lawyer, had spearheaded the creation of the Home Rule Association in 1870. It was a non-sectarian organisation, which aimed (successfully) to appeal to men of all political ideologies. Its single aim was Home Rule for Ireland. However, Butt's leadership skills were questionable right from the start. He lacked the charisma, political ingenuity and eloquence to really move people and rally support for the
"Irish nationalism was a propaganda concept" - Discuss, with reference to the sources.
"Irish nationalism was a propaganda concept." Discuss, with reference to the sources. Irish nationalism as a concept came into prominence around the 1850s, although it became more significant only after the 1916-21 revolution. It is debatable, however whether this nationalism was based purely on a revival of the tradition and history of Ireland, or whether it was intended only as a tool for the use of propagandists. Out of the five sources, three contain pictures, and it is these three, which express this belief in Irish nationalism. Firstly the photograph depicting the destruction inflicted upon the Post Office during the 1916 rising. This clearly shows the damage caused, and therefore supports the presence of Irish nationalism. The extent of the damage shown would have taken a substantial period of time to inflict; all the while people were fighting to hold their position in the Post Office. The destruction, couple with the fact that deaths would also have been incurred by the entrenched Irish, implies that the Irish fighters must have felt they were fighting for something worthwhile which they believed in. Irish nationalism was most definitely present, according to this picture. There is also little chance that this photograph was taken to be used as nationalist propaganda. However it is only a photograph, and it does not show a wide picture or give any
The poem
The poem "Carrickfergus" was written by an Irish writer called Louis MacNeice in The 20th Century. It was written in four line stanzas and now I am going to analyse this poem and talk about each stanza. In the first line of the first stanza, we notice that the child Louis MacNeice is using specific detail in his poem as he says he was born in Belfast between the mountain and the gantries. MacNeice was brought up among a lot of divisions and when there was a lot of trouble going on, he mentions divisions in his second stanza when he says, "The Scotch Quarter was a line of residential houses, but the Irish Quarter was a slum for the blind and halt." What he means is that the Scotch Quarter is richer than the Irish Quarter and they can afford residential houses but the Irish live in slums for the blind and halt. The word Scotch Quarter and Irish Quarter were intentionally placed together to show the divisions which existed at the time. We can also see the use of onomatopoeia when MacNeice says, "to the hooting of lost sirens and the clam of trams." MacNeice says in the third stanza that there was a stinking smell of chlorine and his lights looked over the Lough to the lights of Bangor, from this we can tell that he lived in a industrial town and he doesn't look it to much as he says the smell stinks, and the yarn-mill
Poem Analysis: The Second Coming by W.B.Yeats
Poem Analysis: "The Second Coming" by W.B.Yeats The poem "The Second Coming" written by William Butler Yeats is full of imagery, the uses of exquisite diction, language styles such as personification and hyperbole, as well as a lot of symbolism. The first stanza of this poem described the catastrophes of this world. The word gyre in the first line symbolized history, or the life cycles of men. As a gyre turns bigger and bigger while keeping its original shape, which is round, it means that even though everything, like technology keeps on improving, human nature and the lives that we live never does. History keeps on repeating itself, and human never learn from their mistakes. This gyre also represents a whirlwind, or a storm that shakes the whole world. The falcon and falconer, as referring to a medieval sport, represent a leader and a follower. As the falcon cannot hear the falconer, it means that the followers cannot, or rather, do not want to follow and obey the leader anymore. Imagery is again painted in the fifth line, with the blood-dimmed tide representing an attack or a surge of emotion or action, with blood, meaning with violence. Civilized living, or the ceremony of innocence, by any means, no longer exists. The second stanza, on the other hand, is full of Yeats' prophecies. Referring back to his background, Yeats was not a Christian, but yet he included an
Yeats' Leda and the Swan
Kayla Mann Enc 110 Explication Paper 21 January 2006 Yeats' Leda and the Swan In Leda and the Swan, Yeats is describing a rape. The poem is written in the second person which suggests that it is being told by a bystander. The first stanza is describing foreplay. In the first line, "A sudden blow" is used to bring intensity, impact, and tension to the rape. It is saying Leda is taken by surprise. He has taken over her, caressing her thighs. By using the words " dark webs"(3) the speaker is suggesting that Leda cannot see the webs (the rapist) because it is dark and that she has been captured. Darkness suggests night time. He has her by the nape (back of neck). "He holds her helpless breast upon his breast" (4) suggests that the rapist is on top of Leda holding her so she can't move or fight back. Yeats uses alliteration to help bring the tension to the poem. In the second stanza, the speaker is describing the forceful intercourse. Lines five and six: "How can those terrified vague fingers push, The feathered glory from her loosening thighs?" suggests that he is forcefully thrusting his "finger" (5) into her and she is giving in because she knows she can't fight back. She can't wait for it to be over with but in the same aspect she can't help but feel the rapists compassion for her. The author also uses the metaphor "And how can body, laid in that white
Analysis of Literary Devices: ""Leda and the Swan" ""Leda and the Swan" written by William Butler Yeats in 1928, is about a powerful god named Zeus
Kimberly Gonzalez April 3, 2006 English 102 10 Poetry Paper Analysis of Literary Devices: ""Leda and the Swan" ""Leda and the Swan" written by William Butler Yeats in 1928, is about a powerful god named Zeus raping Leda in the form of a swan. It is assumed that the audience understands and has background knowledge of Greek Mythology and the event that Yeats bases this poem on. The result of Zeus raping Leda, Queen of Sparta is the birth of Helen. Helen is the reason for the fall of Troy. Yeats illustrates the rape of Leda and the cause of the fall of Troy through his use of personification, structure, and rhyme. In this poem, Yeats gives the swan humanlike qualities. A swan being able to rape Leda is personification. For example, the swan is rubbing Leda's thighs with his webs, "Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed / By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill," (2-3). A swan does not have the ability to rape a human, or caress Leda's thighs. In line 4, there is another example of personification, "He holds her helpless breast upon his breast." Yeats also shows the unnatural superiority the swan has over a human, "A sudden blow: the great wings beating still" (1).Yeats uses personification in ""Leda and the Swan" to stretch the point that the swan is Zeus, the most powerful god. Yeats writes this poem in sonnet form, or a 14 line poem in iambic pentameter.
The Wild Swans at Coole.
The Wild Swans at Coole In The Wild Swans at Coole, Yeats recreates a moment of inspiration and awe that he experienced in his youth. He is adept at recalling the feel of that particular evening and the 'October twilight'. He includes details of the trees and woodland paths as if retracing his steps in his memory. The image of the stillness of the 'brimming water' and the sky mirrored in it is particularly effective. The stillness is contrasted with the sudden movement and breaking of the breathless serenity as the swans 'suddenly mount and scatter wheeling'. The swans are 'wild' and have that untamed beauty and freedom that resists the poet's attempts to capture them in his mind's eye. The 'broken rings' that the birds form contrasts with the symmetry of the mirrored sky. They embody a kind of natural power and strength. The poet recalls the sound of their wings as being 'clamorous' against the background of stillness with the unexpected metaphor of the 'bell-beat'. This suggests not foreboding but something joyful and uplifting, a celebration of beauty and freedom, perhaps. Or it emphasises the majestic quality of the birds. His 'lighter tread' displays the sense of delight and inspiration that he feels. The 'brilliant creatures' possess the kind of beauty that is almost wounding to the poet's artistic sensibilities; his 'heart is sore' with nostalgia and a kind of
Analysis of 'Down by the Salley Gardens'
‘Down by the Salley Gardens’ Questions. a. In the poem ‘Down by the Salley Gardens’, the technique of rhyming couplets is used to draw emphasis to the last word of the line. In the first verse al the rhyming couplets contain an ‘ee’ sound, which makes the stanza sound light and energetic. The first rhyming couplet ends in a ‘t’ sound, creating a staccato effect and making the verse sound crisp and fresh. This is effective as the verse is about new love, and young, perhaps immature people. In the second stanza however, the rhymes are made up of more elongated vowels. This makes them sound dragged out and gives them a more negative effect, which enhances the change in the second verse from the first. Sibilance is also used in the last couplet (‘weirs’ and ‘tears’), reflecting the grief the injured lover feels, and may represent the sound of him crying. b. In the first stanza Yeats uses the image ‘as the leaves grow on the trees.’ This suggests that the love between him and his lover is new and growing, and not yet in its prime, but will blossom. It is also a strong image of nature, meaning perhaps that their love is a natural process and is supposed to happen. Also in the first stanza, the meeting is described to take place in a ‘garden.’ A garden suggests new life and activity, with vibrancy and beauty, and is perhaps used to enhance the
