In what ways is The Merchant's Tale a response to The Clerk's Tale?
In what ways is The Merchant's Tale a response to The Clerk's Tale? Chaucer's establishment of the Clerk in the General Prologue as a committed scholar who prioritises his academic studies over material wealth contrasts sharply with the description of the Merchant's 'bargaines' and his 'chevissaunce'. In placing The Clerk's Tale immediately before that of the Merchant and exploring similar themes within both, Chaucer introduces to his readership a likelihood of the second tale being a response to the first. The differing attitudes and outcomes of the tales, whilst having significant links in their subject matter, provoke comparison of the narrators in their personal discussions and the protagonists become the embodiment of their views towards marriage in the tales. Walter is presented by the Clerk as a largely stereotypical marquis, whose qualities of humility and understanding in his proposal to Griselda are linked to the distinct lack of irony in the introduction to his character. The Clerk narrates in praise of the protagonist, "Handsome and young and strong; in him were blent High honour and a gentle courtesy." It is then admitted that Walter did show certain faults ("He was indeed to blame...") although the fact that he is named so shortly after the beginning of the tale resounds importantly in the Merchant's prologue, where Chaucer admits to having forgotten the
To what extent does religious poetry appeal to readers who hold religious beliefs?
To what extent do you agree that religions poetry appeals only to readers who have religious beliefs? Poetry in general appeals to anyone who is interested in knowing what the poet is talking about for different purposes which could be educational, religious, political or historical. It is like a way of expressing ideas based on various issues of concern which could be child slavery, religion, education, personal feelings and thoughts like Sylvia Plath and so on. Poetry has three meaning; the first meaning is one that the reader gets from the poem, the second meaning is contextual meaning or the meaning relating to the way of life in the period it was written and received in. finally, the last meaning is based on personal values. Religion is a big institution that affects everyone and everything in generally from the government, society, parents and so on. Blake's poems illustrate this and some of the poems from Robert frost although both poets show a contrast in their ideas. Blake's poems talks about everything, from social altitudes to child slavery, marriage, religion, nature and the industrial state. In other words, it appeals to a wide audience and talking wide audience. Blake's poem "the chimney sweep" from the collection of songs of experience illustrates the social attitudes towards children and the church, parents and the church is involved in it. In the poem,
The word sonnet comes from the Italian word sonetto meaning a little song.
Sonnet Coursework The word sonnet comes from the Italian word sonetto meaning a little song. I am going to look at and assess different types of sonnets. The first type of sonnet, which I am going to look at, is called a Shakespearian sonnet. A Shakespearian sonnet consists of three quatrains and a rhyming couplet at the end. In a Shakespearian sonnet each line has ten syllables, which is called cambic pentameter. The next type of sonnet, which I am going to look at, is called a petrochan sonnet. A petrochan sonnet is divided into two parts- * An octave- Lines 1-8, has a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA * The sestet- Lines 9-14, has a rhyme scheme of CDCDCD or CDECDE. In this type of sonnet the octave introduces the topic of the poem and the sestet sums it up. The sonnets which I have decided to assess and compare are- . Sonnet CXVI - William Shakespeare 2. Sonnet CXXX - William Shakespeare 3. "Phillis" - Thomas Lodge 4. "How Do I Love Thee" - Elizabeth Barret Browning To fully understand the sonnet written by Elizabeth Barret Browning we must first take a look into her past. Elizabeth Browning had a troubled childhood as her mother died when she was young and her father was very strict. Her father wanted to choose any potential husbands for his daughters and banned one of his daughters from marrying altogether. When Elizabeth Browning met a man whom she loved she knew
"The reader was to seek in the sonnet not what the poet felt but what he himself felt." (C.S Lewis). Examine the themes of love and/or mortality and/or faith in the sonnets you have studied, and by reference to two or three.
"The reader was to seek in the sonnet not what the poet felt but what he himself felt." (C.S Lewis). Examine the themes of love and/or mortality and/or faith in the sonnets you have studied, and by reference to two or three, show how the poets have made you react to these themes. In the sonnet 'One day I wrote her name upon the strand' Spenser presents the theme of mortality by referring to his own personal situation. The structure of the sonnet (three quatrains and a couplet) is effective as it gives flexibility and has enabled Spenser to tell a complex poetic 'story'. The chained linkage of the quatrains allows them to evolve logically from one another. For example, in the first quatrain the speaker gives a description of the action of the waves washing the words away and in the second and third quatrains there is conversation with the addressee's response and the speaker's reply to her. The first line of the poem "One day I wrote her name upon the strand" will be a common action to some readers as it is a celebration of love and a relationship. Spenser uses repetition in the first quatrain "But came the waves and washed it away", "But came the tide..." to emphasise the speaker's failure to immortalise his lover with the action of writing her name in the sand. The poet uses personification "made my pains his prey" to present the waves as a rival to the speaker and the
Sonnets. One of Shakespeares most famous sonnets is his Sonnet No. 18 Shall I compare thee to a summers day?
Sonnets The sonnet was originally from Italy in the 16th century. The name "sonnet" comes from the Italian "sonneto" meaning little song. English travellers heard it and liked it so brought it to England. Since then, it has become one of the most widely used forms of poetry. The sonnet consists of 14 lines that use an iambic pentameter. There are two main types of sonnet, the Petrachan and the Shakespearean. The Petrarchan sonnet is in the original form that came out of Italy. It consists of an Octave and a sestet. That use a rhyme scheme abba abba then cdecde, though the sestet maybe cdcdcd. Usually an idea is developed in the Octave and then rounded off in the Sestet. The other form is the Shakespearean sonnet, developed by William Shakespeare. It has three quatrains and then ends in a rhyming couplet with a rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg. Often an idea is looked at in three different ways in the quatrains and then concluded in the rhyming couplet at the end. The most challenging thing for writers of sonnets is the strict format they must conform to. I have shown the format and it is a very tight and concise frame to write a poem in. It makes writing very constrictive but still appeals to a number of poets, perhaps because its rigid structure gives an extremely satisfying finished result. One of Shakespeare's most famous sonnets is his Sonnet No. 18 "Shall I compare thee
Compare how love is portrayed in Sonnet 18,
Katherine Doyle English Poetry Coursework Compare how love is portrayed in Sonnet 18, "The Sun Rising" and "To His Coy Mistress". The three poems studied for this, all contain material describing love for a woman. Among this theme are other underlying messages being projected to attentive readers but the theme which will most probably be initially remarked upon or noticed by someone reading these poems for the first time will be their dedication to the female form. Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare begins with what seems like an ode to a special person, we can assume is a women. Shakespeare uses terms such as "lovely" and "darling" in order to describe the image which he wants to portray of this particular person. These descriptions initially seem entirely complimentary towards the subject seemingly implying that she is full of love. However, the word "temperate" is also used in the same phrase as "lovely". Temperate meaning not too hot or too cold, seems to imply that the subject being discussed is average. These too words used side by side seem to imply a contradiction within that particular phrase. The word "temperate" in this phrase could also be describing the subject's personality as average, nothing special. This would make the phrase quite a complete description if that were the case, as we would have the physical description as "lovely" in juxtaposition with the
In the poem, 'To His Mistress Going to Bed,' John Donne, in the form of first person dialogue, uses various themes and extended metaphors to illustrate the seductive, witty events occurring
English Commentary Elegy XX - To His Mistress Going to Bed by John Donne In the poem, 'To His Mistress Going to Bed,' John Donne, in the form of first person dialogue, uses various themes and extended metaphors to illustrate the seductive, witty events occurring between the speaker and his mistress. The metaphysical nature of the themes and imagery introduces a lot of complex ideas, parallelism, and concentrated language within the poem. Such themes are revolved around the events of the poem. The mistress is 'willingly' stripping nude for the speaker and is doing so in a submissive yet seductive manner, which is powered by a single force of sexual desire. The structure follows a chronological set of events. Each of these events holds a unique image which is linked with the other poem's images through some fundamental themes. Such themes include eroticism, excitement, adventure and pureness, which is illustrated through the many kinds of images used. The poem begins with a seemingly rather colloquial and arrogant tone from the speaker, saying to the woman, "Come, all rest my powers defy; until I labour, I in labour lie." Firstly the exclamation to the woman creates more demand for attention which compels the reader to continue. For the lines, they not only suggest that the woman is a prostitute with authoritative and colloquial language but it introduces the speaker's
Critical Appreciation of "Since There's No Help" By Michael Drayton.
Critical Appreciation: Since There's No Help ~By Michael Drayton~ 'Since There's No Help' is a typical example of Drayton's work, yet it has been solely responsible for plucking Drayton from the general obscurity of Elizabethan sonneteers. It was his one and only "excellent" sonnet, reaching the "highest level of poetic feeling and expression"1 considered to be the "the one sonnet by a contemporary which deserves to rank with some of Shakespeare's best"1. This poem is written in traditional Shakespearian sonnet form, consisting of fourteen lines of iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is also consistent of a Shakespearean sonnet, being [abab cdcd efef gg]; yet critics are divided as to whether this sonnet can be split into the traditional three quatrains and a rhyming couplet, as with other Shakespearean sonnets. Lemuel Whitaker, in his essay 'The Sonnets of Michael Drayton', argued "many critics have shut their eyes to the sestet". "Now", at the opening of line 9, undoubtedly acts as a Volta, marking a substantial change in tone and causing some critics, including Whitaker, to consider this sonnet as an octave and a sestet, following the Petrachan sonnet form, rather than as a Shakespearian sonnet. The language has a vivid, spoken quality, whilst being sincerely simplistic. It also displays the directness that characterises most Elizabethan poetry. After the Volta in
the convict- coleridge
Essay question - Miss west The convict by William Wordsworth * Show how poem reflects wordsworth beliefs about prisons * Explore how poem reflects conditions in prisons/treatment of convicts in late eighteenth century * Analysis techniques and how it encourages the reader to empathise with convict. * Use technical vocabulary Plan -Oppression of conflict is described in description -Injustice of oppression - comparison with monarch the convict feels much guilt that "his bones are consumed" - cannot forget past and is paying for it. -> Contrasted with monarch -Concept of freedom is present - to juxtapose with conditions of convicts life. Prisons during late eighteenth century - violent disorder was common - convicts treated with cheap lives Main body. In William Wordsworth preface to his lyrical ballads he draws upon the fact that his poems are going to reflect "ordinary things". He suggests "ordinary things should be presented to the mind in an unusual way" (357). This claim is no different than what is presented in his poem "the convict". It can be argued that in his poem Wordsworth reveals his true feelings about prison reform at the time of writing and the empathy that he illuminates towards the convict is effective in engaging the reader's sympathy. The fact that the poem is called the "the convict" allows the reader to fully understand that although we do
Consider the Development of the Sonnet from the 14th Century to the Modern Day
Consider the Development of the Sonnet from the 14th Century to the Modern Day. The word sonnet is the English translation of the Italian word sonetto, a 'little sound' or 'song'. A sonnet is a poem consisting of fourteen lines, ten syllables in English and Italian and generally twelve in French. There are three basic sonnet forms, the Petrarchan, which is an eight lined and a six lined (octave and sestet) sonnet with no rhyming couplet; the Spenserian, consisting of three quatrains and a couplet; finally the Shakespearian, consisting of three quatrains (four lines) and a couplet. There are different styles of sonnets all over the world. For example, France has its own unique structure that their sonneteers write in and the same with other countries. With all these different countries having different styles of writing that also means there are also different rhyming schemes. Reading sonnets is a great way of learning about different cultural aspects of life; for example during the seventeenth century the central theme of most sonnets was religion. During this time it gave people a great opportunity to learn about many different religions. The use of enjambment occurs in many sonnets. Enjambment is the running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a syntactical break The first sonneteer was Italian, his name was Francesco Petrarch. He was
