The introduction of The Rape of the Lock identifies the poem as a heroi-comical poem- i.e. mock heroic. This style of poem is a type of satire; and in this case, Pope satirises the beau-monde of eighteenth century England

The introduction of 'The Rape of the Lock' identifies the poem as a 'heroi-comical poem'- i.e. mock heroic. This style of poem is a type of sattire; and in this case, Pope satirises the 'beau-monde' of eighteenth century England of which he was not a part of and Canto 1 demonstrates both his crticism and perhaps even fascination or admiration for Belinda and the society in which she moves. The tone of Canto one already indicates that the high seriousness of traditional topics has suffered severeve diminishment, and the second line confirms explicitly what the first hints at: 'the am'rous causes' Pope describes ar enot comparable to the grand love of Greek hereos, but rather represent a more trivialized version of the same emotion. In lines one and two, Pope suggests that society is taking a fairly trivial incident too seriously, displaying an exaggerated sense of their own importance. The 'contests' Pope alludes to prove to be 'mighty' only in an ironic sense. They are card-games and frilvous tussles as opppsed to the great battles of epic tradition. Unlike the Helen of Troy, 'the face that launched a thousand ships', Belinda prompts foppish nonsense. With Belinda's dream, Pope exposes the 'machinery' of the poem- the supernatural powers the influence the action from behind the scenes. The sprites who watch over Belinda mimic the Greek and Roman Gods of tradition who

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Donne uses a variety of poetic methods in The Flea and Elegy XIX: To His Mistress going to Bed to show his desires of a physical intimacy with the woman.

By referring closely to ‘Elegy XIX: To His Mistress going to Bed’ and ‘The Flea’ and making use of relevant external contextual information on metaphysical poetry, examine the poetic methods which Donne uses to write about sexual relationships with women. Donne uses a variety of poetic methods in ‘The Flea’ and ‘Elegy XIX: To His Mistress going to Bed’ to show his desires of a physical intimacy with the woman. These poems share a common theme of seduction and are written with the idea that the female is, to a degree, attainable, although it can be argued that she progressively becomes attainable. Donne makes use of many poetic metaphysical characteristics present in both poems through the structure of stanzas, the focus on the physical rather than the spiritual, use of conceits, imperatives and wit. Mainly in ‘Elegy XIX: To His Mistress going to Bed’, there are references to the time period of the metaphysical poets such as exploration and the Ptolemaic theory. Although the poems are alike, it is apparent that ‘The Flea’ is much more of an erotic joke intended to be shared with Donne’s male friends rather than a sensual and passionate poem as seen in, ‘Elegy XIX: To His Mistress going to Bed’. ‘The Flea’ is a dramatic monologue that directly addresses the reader and is divided into three stanzas. Metaphysical poets were known for their

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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'Explore the Nature of Love in The Extasie': John Donne Poetry Analysis

Explore the Nature of Love in The Extasie: John Donne Poetry Analysis In his poem, The Extasie, John Donne describes his own attainment of a state of ecstasy (literally meaning, to stand outside of oneself), through his physical and spiritual proximity to his lover. In his earliest work (for example Elegie: To his Mistris Going to Bed, and The Flea) - which could be loosely termed his 'lust poetry' - Donne's focus tends to be on (or at least around) the sexual act and the beauty of the human (and more particularly the feminine) form, whilst in his later work (such as his Holy Sonnets) he explores religion and death, this poem falls into the transitory phase of what could be termed Donne's 'love poetry' (for example, The Good Morrow). Characteristically then, the main focus of The Extasie is his love for a specific woman (as opposed to women in general, or rather, any random woman - as is the case in his lust poems), and how this love is so transcendent that it leads to a platonic extasie. In the first stanza, the tranquillity of the setting is established, with the imagery of 'a pillow on a bed', a 'reclining head', suggesting relaxation, and the line 'Sat we two, one anothers best', suggesting serenity and the intimacy of the lovers. This continues into the subsequent stanza with the elegant, and yet deeply intense image of 'Our eye-beames twisted, and did thred Our eyes,

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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My Last Duchess.

My Last Duchess My Last Duchess In "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning, we are introduced to the dramatic monologue. In a dramatic monologue, the speaker unknowingly reveals his personality through his speech. In this poem, the audience listens to a conversation between the Duke and a nameless envoy who are making the final arrangements for the Duke's second wedding. Strangely, the Duke brings out a portrait of his former wife whom he rambles incessantly about. Through the Duke's ramblings, we learn that he is a self-centered, arrogant, and completely chauvinistic man, asserting emotions of both power and weakness. The Duke is a materialistic, proud man. He has a high rank in nobility and a well-respected name. Thus, he tries to portray himself as powerful and sophisticated. But his underlying motives shine through and we see the Duke as jealous and possessive. The Duke was formerly married and this marriage ended tragically. His last Duchess had a wandering eye and a smile for everyone. This infuriated the Duke - "She smiled, no doubt, whene'er I passed her; but who passed without much the same smile?" (line 44). The Duke must have been a Leo because he always had to be in the spotlight, his pride injured when the attention was not there. He felt he should be the only one in his Duchess's life to cause her joy or any sort of emotion, really. "All and each would draw from

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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My Last Duchess

My Last Duchess 'My Last Duchess' is a poem written by Robert Browning in 1845. It's a first person narrative of a duke who is showing the ambassador around his palace and negotiating his marriage to the daughter of another powerful family. As they are walking through the palace, the duke stops and looks at the beautiful portrait of his lovely last duchess. The duke speaks his thoughts about the girl, and as the poem progresses we begin to realize that his last duchess had been murdered. "...I gave commands, then all smiles stopped together," This metaphorical sentence tells us that his commands were the ones that caused her death and her 'stop of all smiles together'. The reason behind this is that she was flirtatious with all men because "she liked whate'er she looked on, and her looks went everywhere". The language techniques used in this poem emphasize the Duke's Last Duchess's flirtatious character. They also hint to us the themes of murder, jealousy, suspicion and the Duke's psychopathic character. The word 'I' is quite often used. "The curtain I have drawn for you, but I..." This means that the poem is a dramatic monologue. The metaphor used in the middle of the poem hints to the audience that he has great passion towards her. "My favour at her breast, the dropping of the daylight in the West". Here the Duke tells us that he believed he had a seat at her heart.

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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'My Last Duchess'

AMDG Andrew Baird L5- 'My Last Duchess' 'My Last Duchess' by Robert Browning is a dramatic monologue in which the Duke of Ferrara is discussing the matter of a dowry with an emissary sent by a Count. The use of dramatic monologue allows the poet to subtly reveal the personality of the persona to the reader. The language used by the speaker allows the poet to evoke strong emotions in the reader, something I intend to prove. The reader is given an early insight into the personality of the Duke in the very first line of the monologue: 'That's my last Duchess painted on the wall' This early impression portrays the Duke as a very sophisticated man with a wealth of knowledge in art. This impression is continued when he mentions the very artist who painted the Duchess, 'Fra Pandolf'. However, even at this early stage there are some hints that the Duke may not be all that he claims to be- the use of the word 'My' is very possessive, perhaps suggesting that the duke sees the Duchess as no more than an object. Furthermore the use of the word 'Last' implies that there have been many Duchesses and that the eponymous individual is just the most recent, suggesting that the Duke may be dishonest. This aspect of the persona's character is confirmed later in the monologue, when the Duke says: 'She liked whate'er she looked on And her looks went everywhere' Here the Duke is challenging

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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My Last Duchess.

Nancy Kuo Introduction to Literature Journal 4 0 Apr. 2003 My Last Duchess This is a monologue of a duke of Ferrara, who is introducing a painting of his last wife to a person or some people. Through the painting, the duke reminds her beauty and trifles of hers. The duke speaks arrogantly and shows his jealousy about the duchess and then he murders her. After that, he is going to marry a new wife. This poem is somewhat a confess but even looks like an invitation to the duke's intimate friend. Through this kind of monologue, all I can see is the words of the only side of the duke, which is full of mad and jealousy words. It easily makes me become one of the listeners, the "you", in this poem, and I can smell some chauvinisim in it. The duke must love very much as we can see from these lines, "......that pictured countenance/The depth and passion of its earnest glance(7,8)." She must have bright eyes, and her cheeks are also charming. "...it was not her husband's presence only, called that spot/Of joy into the Duchess' cheek(13-15)." Then I would think the duke is very rich and he married a very beautiful woman; he paid to the painter(s) for her portrait. Maybe the duke is old or very ugly but the duchess is very young. She is not fond of staying with her time with the duke and she has a heart to play around. The duke can't put up with that and killed her. The

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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My Last Duchess by Robert Browning.

English B30 Essay Sumeet Choksi Mr. Armstrong English 30B May 9, 2007. My Last Duchess by Robert Browning That's my last duchess painted on the wall, Looking as if she were alive. I call That piece a wonder, now: Frà Pandolf's hands Worked busily a day, and there she stands. Will't please you sit and look at her? I said "Frà Pandolf" by design, for never read Strangers like you that pictured countenance, The depth and passion of its earnest glance, But to myself they turned (since none puts by The curtain I have drawn for you, but I) And seemed as they would ask me, if they durst, How such a glance came there; so, not the first Are you to turn and ask thus. Sir, 'twas not Her husband's presence only, called that spot Of joy into the Duchess' cheek: perhaps Frà Pandolf chanced to say "Her mantle laps "Over my lady's wrist too much," or "Paint "Must never hope to reproduce the faint "Half-flush that dies along her throat": such stuff Was courtesy, she thought, and cause enough For calling up that spot of joy. She had A heart-how shall I say?-too soon made glad, Too easily impressed; she liked whate'er She looked on, and her looks went everywhere. Sir, 'twas all one! My favor at her breast, The dropping of the daylight in the West, The bough of cherries some officious fool Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule She rode with

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Venus and Adonis

The poem opens with a description of Adonis's physical beauty, "rose-cheeked", this clashes with the accepted norms of a love sonnet. Traditionally a sonnet would be praising a woman's beauty rather than the other way round. Venus says he is "sweet above compare, stain to all nymphs" and " more white and red than doves or roses are". What is notable about this is Shakespeare's reference to Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophil and Stella as Sidney often uses the colours red and white to refer to female beauty "Marble mix'd red and white do interlace". One interpretation could be that he deliberately means to perhaps use it to signify a blushing innocent. I think it is vital to realise that Shakespeare did model his poem on earlier adaptations of Ovid's Metamorphoses for instance Thomas Lodge's Scillaes Metamorphosis which was the first Elizabethan erotic minor epics based on Ovid. Adonis appears to be an unconventional male, not strong and aggressive, rather he is sweet and delicate. He constitutes the characteristics of a woman in love by being effeminate, he is "more lovely than a man". Adonis blushes, revealing his apparent sexual innocence which in turn makes him more sexually desirable to Venus. An interesting parallel is with the story of Narcissus and Echo. Narcissus avoided sexuality, like Adonis and eventually dies as he cannot leave his reflection. Is this Shakespeare

  • Word count: 513
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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