In the extract there is no reference of the Sandemanian cult, which had a very profound effect on the man himself. This was a purely scientific lecture, however 'the Sandemanians stressed an ideal of service not only in their church but also in public life.' (OU: Fame and Faraday, p. 96 (Falconer with James)). Which leads us back to Faraday's 'purity of spirit'. Faraday's dream was to make science a classical art; accessible to the masses. He added a grandiose frontespiece of classical Corinthian columns to the RI, and totally reorganized the previously chaotic lecture theatre. The lecturer assumed a more commanding role, and he encouraged audience members to participate in debates. An unorthodox, self-education gave him an advantage of being able to, 'think outside the box', and a combination of factors finally lead Faraday to the upper echelons of the grand Royal Institute. Faraday must have struggled between religious conviction, and ambition. He qualifies these potential paradoxes by describing his duty, as a natural philosopher was to reveal God's wonders. He was also a consummate actor/performer, and, it has been argued his more pious persona could have been a pretence. Despite the apparent spontaneity and infallibility of his spectacular experiments, they were rehearsed relentlessly beforehand, in the solitude of his workshop. He also had elocution lessons to help project his voice, and made constant refinements to his demonstrations, to show his level of confidence, as well as ability.
In conclusion we can gather that Faraday was a man of great simplicity in nature.and he felt himself more humble and as a servant to god and to the people to unravel the nature of science and its potential. In doing so he elavted himself to a position of high elevation which he reluctantly had to accept due to his popularity and roles in filled during his career as a man to be admired and consulted upon when called for.
Word count 598
AA100 The Arts Past and Present - Assignment 3
Part 2 – Reading Poetry: The Faber Book of Beasts.
Read the following poems by Thom Gunn (‘Apartment Cats’) and
Thomas Flatman ‘(An Appeal to Cats in the Business of Love’) in ‘The
Faber Book of Beasts’ (pp.5-6). In no more than 600 words, compare
the way in which the two poets represent cats.
Being familiar with the tongue they call ‘jazz’, my initial responseupon reading the titles of the poems was to wonder whether the ‘Cats’being discussed would be of that ilk. A brief checking of the period inwhich the two poets were writing confirmed that Thom Gunn would have been writing at a period when the usage of ‘cats’ was a jazz scene colloquialism he may have been aware of, however Thomas Flatman’s composition is from a far earlier period, in the 17th Century.
Cats in both instances have been subtly personified - the usage of ‘Girls’ to open Gunn’s piece, and ‘Men’ to mark the change inrhyme scheme of Flatman’s. Humour is a present theme in the feel ofboth poems, though Flatman’s use of rhyming couplets makes this
more obvious. Gunn certainly displays a freer usage of structure, but the lineation is essential to the flow of verse. This is present even in the opening line of ‘Apartment Cats’, where ‘pad up to the door’ plays out a monosyllabic mimicking of cats paws. Both poets tell us of feline ferocity – Gunn recounting a metaphorical chariot race, whilst Flatman bears witness to an oxymoron, as the cats ‘spit love’ at each other. However, this is offset by Flatman and Gunn attributing
wisdom to both ‘Cats in the Business of Love’ and the ‘Apartment Cats’ respectively. There is a slight air of rebellion hanging over the poems - Flatman is making an ‘Appeal’ to his cats, while Gunn’s poem is highly charged with sexual imagery as the cats’ ‘eyes get
wild, their bodies tense’.
The most striking comparisons between the two poems arrive in the imagery and sentiment of the final lines, with both poets deliberately leaving us to look on as their metaphorical moggies
depart. Thom Gunn watches one cat ‘stalk off in wise indifference’, and the poet’s word choice, I feel, captures well the ambiguity of feline behaviour. To think of this cat stalking away does not denote a retreat in my mind, more a defiance with dignity intact. Although the rhyme used in ‘An Appeal...’ emphasises the imagery being portrayed throughout, perhaps the most effective image of the poem comes when Flatman’s cats ‘Keep their feet, mount their tails, and away!’ In
the split second before a cat leaps off to its new perch there often comes a slight steadying – much in the same way a person might bend the knees slightly to add momentum to a jump – and Flatman captures this brief pause exquisitely, as the cats ‘mount their tails’. The exclamation mark which ends the poem is also really quite effective, sitting perfectly poised like a cat’s tail.
The overall comparison which stood out for me between the poems, was the way in which Thom Gunn and Thomas Flatman both provoke us to witness our world by way of a leonine perspective, and, more specifically, they seem to be asking us to bear in mind the feminine side of existence. I would even recommend reading the poems again - through anthropomorphic goggles - and suggest that the ‘Apartment Cats’ could be viewed as positively lewd in this
context, while perhaps ‘Cats in the Business of Love’ were simply as raunchy as decorum may have allowed.
Word count 546
Bibliography
" Danson Brown, R., (2008) ‘Reading Poetry: The Faber
Book of Beasts’, in Price (ed.) Tradition and Dissent
(AA100 Book 2), Milton Keynes, The Open University,
pp.39-70
" ‘What Am I? Beasts and Tradition’ (2009) (AA100 Audio
CD), Milton Keynes, The Open University
