"A Chinese Sage" is a poem written by Elizabeth Jennings and is part of a collection called Growing-Points, written in 1975.

Poetry Commentary "A Chinese Sage" is a poem written by Elizabeth Jennings and is part of a collection called Growing-Points, written in 1975. It is written in a very unusual form that can be considered as free verse, using various different indentations and alignments for different lines. This is used by the author to put emphasis on the story in the poem. It consists entirely of 23 lines all in one stanza. It could be said that the poem is a mixture between didactic and narrative poetry. The poem reveals two significant characters: A wise Chinese Sage who likes to write poetry, and a dead simple, uneducated female peasant. Both of these individuals differ from each other in every way. The only way in which they can both relate to each other in any way is by adapting to each others level of intelligence on an emotional level. This turning point in the poem is also emphasised by the use of varying alignment and indentations and especially the use of more emotionally tuned words. The Chinese Sage is very peculiarly introduced: The way he writes his poems is described. He is introduced in this way because it displays the main difference between him and the peasant woman. She is unable to relate to any form of art due to her background. Basically, this shows how absolutely incompatible the two of them are. Natural human instincts play a big role in this, since it is the

  • Word count: 973
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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"A shockingly cynical picture". In the light of this comment, discuss the Wife of Bath's account of her marriages to her first three husbands. In your response, you should consider:

"A shockingly cynical picture". In the light of this comment, discuss the Wife of Bath's account of her marriages to her first three husbands. In your response, you should consider: * what the account reveals about the Wife of Bath's character and personality * the account's significance in the poem's treatment of the theme of marriage * tone and style Within the Prologue the Wife of Bath leaps into account of her marriages to her first three husbands. We are treated to a vivid depiction of her distinct character and personality and gain profound insight into Chaucer's treatment of the theme of marriage. I will now discuss in detail how the wife paints a picture that is "shockingly cynical". To begin, the wife's merciless and uncaring nature should be considered. She takes delight in recounting the sexual demands she made of her husbands and the misery that she thus caused them. It is almost as if she gains a sadistic pleasure from doing this: "I laughe whan I thinke/How pitously a-night I made hem swinke". Moreover, the wife recalls with a boastful tone how "many a night they songen "weilawey!" She also prides herself on her ability to make them bring her "gaye things fro the faire" yet she still "chidde them spituously", highlighting a lack of respect towards her husbands. This is likewise apparent in the wife's tirade against them in which she employs a variety of

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  • Word count: 909
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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"A short story should stimulate the imagination and hold the reader in suspense." Consider this statement with detailed reference to at least two of the stories in the anthology.

"A short story should stimulate the imagination and hold the reader in suspense." Consider this statement with detailed reference to at least two of the stories in the anthology. For this assignment I will be looking at three of Ambrose Bierce's short stories, 'An Arrest', 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' and 'The Affair at Coulters Notch'. In 'An Arrest' a man escapes from jail only to be captured and taken back to his cell by a ghost, In 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge', a man is captured and is waiting to be hung on a bridge and as he is dying he imagines himself escaping only to die as he runs to embrace his wife. 'The Affair at Coulters Notch' is about a Southerner fighting for the North in the Civil War, the General of his army doesn't like him and orders him to fire a gun at the enemy, but the target happens to be his own home and Coulter fires the gun without question and kills his family. All three stories are about death and two of them are about the American Civil war. Bierce experienced a lot of unhappiness in his own personal life and may be why many of his stories are about death and bloodshed. 'An Arrest' is typical of Bierce's work in its approach, subject matter and brevity. Bierce also fought in the civil war himself so he knows what the war was like and he is clearly against the idea of war in his writing. I think that the story with the best

  • Word count: 1414
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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"All The major Romantics...were engaged...in the rediscovery of nature, the assertion of the one-ness of man and the rest of creation" James Reeves. What has interested you about the ways in which Coleridge has asserted this one-ness?

"All The major Romantics...were engaged...in the rediscovery of nature, the assertion of the one-ness of man and the rest of creation" James Reeves What has interested you about the ways in which Coleridge has asserted this one-ness? Throughout Coleridge's works, we can see that he tries to unify nature, through both the workings of his superior secondary imagination and his language. He constantly strives to give a sense of togetherness between all aspects of Nature and himself, even if through the idea that we are united in our diversity. Coleridge also shows us the effects of a lack of this 'one-ness', effectively emphasising its importance. Perhaps the most frequent impression of 'one-ness' in Coleridge's work is given by the assertion of God in Nature. In The Aeolian Harp, Coleridge talks about "the one life within us and abroad/ Which meets all motion and becomes its soul". This 'one life' is God, and Coleridge emphasises how He connects us all through the soul. Coleridge also unifies nature in the following description, "A light in sound, a sound-like power in light, /Rhythm in all thought, and joyance everywhere". This emphasis connects 'light', which is an indication of Divine power, with nature, and also brings in the key to the 'one-ness' of Man and Nature: Joy. We can also see this reflection of God in Nature in Lime-Tree Bower, where Coleridge describes

  • Word count: 2060
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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"Birches" - critique.

Birches Essay In any life, one must endure hardship to enjoy the good times. According to Robert Frost, the author of "Birches", enduring life's hardships can be made easier by finding a sane balance between one's imagination and reality. The poem is divided into four parts: an introduction, a scientific analysis of the bending of birch trees, an imaginatively false analysis of the phenomenon involving a New England farm boy, and a reflective wish Frost makes, wanting to return to his childhood. All of these sections have strong underlying philosophical meanings. Personification, alliteration, and other sound devices support these meanings and themes. Frost supports the theme by using language to seem literal, yet if one visualizes the setting and relates it to life, the literal and figurative viewpoints can be nearly identical. Take this example: "Life is too much like a pathless wood". This simile describes how one can be brought down by the repetitive routine of day-to-day life, but only if one processes the barren, repetitive forest scene that Frost paints in that sentence. Sound devices also add to the effect of the poem. Frost gives the image of the morning after an ice storm, as the ice cracks on the birch trees: "They click upon themselves / As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored / As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. / Soon the sun's warmth makes them

  • Word count: 1012
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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"Captain Corelli's Mandolin"How do the language and classical allusions in this chapter present Dr. Iannis and his way of thinking? In your answer you should: Look closely at the use of language and narrative method

Ioulia Samouilovskaia. 22.09.05. "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" How do the language and classical allusions in this chapter present Dr. Iannis and his way of thinking? In your answer you should: --> Look closely at the use of language and narrative method --> Comment on the place of issues such as Dr. Iannis's level of education and the importance of the past as part of the island's identity. Already from the first chapter the author introduces us to one of the most important characters of the book, Dr. Iannis. There are several factors that help the writer to present him to the readers. The most important ones are language (including the narrative style) and classical allusions. The diction in this chapter is very difficult and contains a lot of medical terminology. This shows us that Dr. Iannis is a very educated man and that probably most of the people on the island respect him due to this superiority. From the phrases that he uses we find out that he likes to impress people, especially if they are his patients. For example in the first chapter instead of telling his patient that the cause of his earache is a pea, he describes it as "an exorbitant auditory impediment"-this helps the doctor to create some mystery around his work and knowledge and therefore makes him a more interesting person in the eyes of Stamatis and his wife.

  • Word count: 1065
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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"Compare and contrast the poems 'Dulce et Decorumest' by Wilfred Owen and 'The Soldier' by Rupert Brooke, onthe theme of war".

"Compare and contrast the poems 'Dulce et Decorum est' by Wilfred Owen and 'The Soldier' by Rupert Brooke, on the theme of war". In this assignment I will try to show the different ways in which each poet viewed his own war experiences and how it was shared through their poetry. The poems are very different and it is necessary to know a little about each author in order to understand why the poetic styles are so different. Many things can shape how people view the same event, social background, class, education, and associates are among the influences that can alter a person's view. In the case of Owen and Brooke, all these things and more seem to have affected how each man chose to portray events and experiences of the First World War. Wilfred Edward Salter Owen was born in 1893 in Oswestry, Shropshire. He was educated Birkenhead Institute and Shrewsbury Technical College. From an early age he had a passion for poetry and he counted Keats and Shelley among his early influences. From 1913 to 1915 he was a language tutor in France, he had no great desire to join the army, but did so on 21st October 1915 because of peer pressure and propaganda. The moral pressure to enlist was intense; slogans such as 'Are YOU in this?' 'Fight for Freedom with the Strength of Free Men' and a badly misused quote from Shakespeare "Stand not upon the order of your going, but go at once" -

  • Word count: 1390
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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"Discuss how two or three writers treat the subject of war."

"Discuss how two or three writers treat the subject of war." I am going to discuss how Wilfred Owen, Siegfred Sassoon and Isaac Rosenberg treat the subject of war. I have studied Rosenberg's 'Break of Day in the Trenches.' This title suggests a calm atmosphere as the break of day is very relaxing and peaceful the beginning of a new day. The whole poem has a calm and peaceful feel to it and the poet achieves this by using assonance e.g. "sleeping green" and soft consonants such as "sympathies." Even though the poem has a calm atmosphere, the message that the poet wants to say in the poem is about anger and object to war. The poet comments on the devastating effects war has on the earth and the freedom that it takes away form men. The poem opens describing the "darkness" crumbling "away" gives the effect of a bleak atmosphere as the darkness only disappears bit by bit and not gradually altogether. The use of "crumbling" conveys an image of there always being a bit of darkness that has not fully crumbled away. Maybe this is because Rosenberg wanted to give war an image of being always dark and gloomy. The poet also makes "Time" a pronoun and describes it being "druid." He may have used this technique to make war seem if it had made men dreary and the sense of time has gone back to the ancient days when life was dull and restricted. The word "druid" conveys an impression of

  • Word count: 4018
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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"Does it Matter?"- Siegfried Sassoon

"Does it Matter?"- Siegfried Sassoon Questions . The terrible injuries are, 'losing your legs', which means that in war soldiers have had their legs blown away; 'losing your sight', which means soldiers have become blind as a result of war, and finally 'those dreams from the pit', which means that soldiers still have, and always possibly will have for the rest of their lives, the memories of war as hell, and also dreams about it. They will therefore remember the conditions they've been in when at war. 2. Sassoon means, when he uses sarcasm to sharpen effects, such as 'There's such splendid work for the blind', that war is really terrifying and after it can affect soldiers' lives very seriously, such as making them blind, turning them disabled, and even killing them. He's sending out a message that once blind, you can never get your original life back like it was before, when you could see the world. He is also stating that the blind cannot do things that people who aren't blind can, such as work; Sassoon is feeling sorry for them, as he knows it wasn't their fault for choosing to go to war, and that they were wrongly persuaded to go. Other sarcasm states that it does not matter to get injured in war; the repetition of 'Does it matter?' tells us exactly this. 3. I think the most striking verse is the third and final verse, as it contains the most sarcasm. The verse tells us

  • Word count: 567
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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"Duffy expresses her social criticism by giving voices to characters who reveal their lives as being without purpose."

"Duffy expresses her social criticism by giving voices to characters who reveal their lives as being without purpose." How far do you agree? Carol Ann Duffy presents to the reader through her poetry many views she has on society. Her recent poetry portrays her views on the treatment of females and how in the past they have not been given true status in society. Duffy is a strong feminist and I think that the fact that she was not chosen poet laureate for both her sex and her sexuality has further strengthened her views on the rights females should have and the power they should have relative to men. Her feminist views are provoked even further when she is second choice in the running to be laureate and not until Seamus Heaney drops out of the race it is only then that she is the favourite to become the new poet laureate. It can be seen that again because Heaney was male and she was female the automatic choice would have been Heaney because of the stereotypical views in society regarding men being better then women. These could be some of the reasons why Duffy writes many poems from a female's point of view regarding the male gender. Carol Ann Duffy's ability to give voices to previously silenced figures helps her tell the reader her views on society. By using characters' voices rather than her own, Duffy identifies with the speaker and confers authority onto a voice which

  • Word count: 2396
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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