Allen Ginsberg has been endlessly talked and written about for the better part of the 20th century.
Allen Ginsberg has been endlessly talked and written about for the better part of the 20th century. His works have altered the evolution of poetry and prose in a manner that few contemporary poets have been able to achieve. His first collection of poems were written in the late 1940's and ushered in a style of poetry not yet seen before by critics and intellects alike. William Carlos Williams eloquently speaks of Ginsberg's early prowess as "This young Jewish boy, already not so young any more, has recognized something that has escaped most of the modern age, he has found that man is lost in the world of his own head."1 The early poem I have chosen is The Terms in Which I Think of Reality written in 1947, which emulates Ginsberg's troubled and confused mind in relation to what he might call a period of personal dishonesty and neglect. This stage of his writing precedes the impending fame he garnered with the poem Howl and subsequently offers an intense, mystified, uninhibited understanding of his philosophy on human realities. As his career developed further, I noticed an insistence in his writing that continued to focus on the realities of life and the potential it inherits, all the time keeping his work extremely intimate. Doing this despite the pressure of fame, political backlash, drugs, changing generations, and tragic personal events is amazing in itself. His work is a
Summary of "The Blessed Damozel".
Summary of "The Blessed Damozel" Dante Gabriel Rossetti was only 18 when he wrote "The Blessed Damozel." Although Rossetti was still young, the images and themes in his poem have caught the attention of many critics throughout the years. "The Blessed Damozel" is a beautiful story of how two lovers are separated by the death of the Damozel and how she wishes to enter paradise, but only if she can do so in the company of her beloved. "The Blessed Damozel" is one of Rossetti's most famous poems and has been dissected and explicated many times by many different people. Even so, they all revolve around the same ideas and themes. The theme of Rossetti's poem is said to have been taken from Vita Nuova, separated lovers are to be rejoined in heaven, by Dante. Many people say his young vision of idealized love was very picturesque and that the heavens Rossetti so often painted and those which were in his poems were much like Dante. The heaven that Rossetti painted in "The Blessed Damozel" was warm with physical bodies and beautiful angels full of love. This kind of description of heaven was said to have been taken from Dante's ideas. Others said that Rossetti's heaven was described so in "The Blessed Damozel" because he was still young and immature about such matters. In other words, he had not yet seen the ugliness and despair that love can bring, which he experienced later in his
How does Blake seek to influence the feelings of his readers for the victims of society which he believed was based on fear and repression rather than the brotherhood of man?
How does Blake seek to influence the feelings of his readers for the victims of society which he believed was based on fear and repression rather than the brotherhood of man? William Blake was a radical humanist who composed his poems and songs during a period of great social commercialism and change. As a philosopher poet, Blake disagreed with reason and empiricism. He was a fierce critic of organised religion and the authoritarian abuse of power. His collection of poetry, 'The songs of innocence and experience', sought to enlighten his contemporaries on his philosophies concerning English society. The first and most poignant of the poems that I have chosen is 'London'. 'London' is a poem that explores the hypocrisy and corruption that was conducted in the busy metropolis of Blake's time. Whilst many had looked upon London as a shining example of man's ability to progress within technology and architecture to create a modern society, Blake saw through this guise. In his 'London', Blake saw the exploitation of children, through prostitution and slave labour, and the blatant hypocritical behaviour amongst those in authority. Repetition of the word 'chartered' in the first stanza adheres to the conventional view of London, an opinion of a city that is well mapped out, a city that is at the fore front of design. Yet Blake uses the word 'chartered' to a different effect,
How do the poets of the late 1700s condemn the social conditions of their time? In your answer you should refer to five poems.
William Bowles How do the poets of the late 1700s condemn the social conditions of their time? In your answer you should refer to five poems. William Blake is a social commentator and a first generation Romantic poet who has written many poems describing the hardships of social conditions. With his social vision, he explores the humane protest incorporating religious allusions. His system of symbolism focuses on children who are exploited and neglected by adults. I am exploring four of William Blake's poems, 'The Chimney' Sweeper', 'Little Black Boy', 'The Chimney Sweeper' and 'London' where he fiercely condemns a society which is cruel, corrupt and unjust. Thomas Hood is another social critic and I will look at his focus on morality in the poem 'The Song of Shirt'. William Blake wrote two poems with the same title of 'The Chimney Sweeper' from different narrative perspectives. One of them focuses from a child's perspective displaying the harsh realty of child labour in the 1700's. The poem begins informatively, adopting a sad and miserable tone. 'When my father died I was very young'. The poem has a rhythmic structure similar to a nursery rhyme to subtly reflect the child's purity and innocence. William Blake cleverly creates a link between the innocent voice of the child and the cry of the chimney being swept. 'Scarcely cry weep weep weep weep'. This ironic comparison
Blake was writing at a time when revolutions in America and France had overturned the established governments and when people hoped or feared the same would happen in Britain. With reference to a range of poems in innocence and experience, show how Blake
Blake was writing at a time when revolutions in America and France had overturned the established governments and when people hoped or feared the same would happen in Britain. With reference to a range of poems in innocence and experience, show how Blake presents attitudes to authority. "Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains," a famous quotation from Rousseau. It is part of the philosophy underpinning the French Revolution, a movement that Blake strongly supported. The Monarchy and the Church were extremely powerful during Blake's life and he despised this power and order. He felt it was restrictive. Although Blake was religious, he had slightly different beliefs to the traditional Christian. He was a non-conformist who thought that the Ten Commandments were constrictive. He also believed in leadership, but not a leadership as tyrannical and corrupt as the Government or the Church. Blake often represents these authorities in his poems through subtle symbolisation. For example, in "Laughing Song" there is an almost sinister line, "When the painted birds laugh in the shade" this could be seen as the artificial, authoritative figures lurking in the darkness, mocking the innocence of people and encouraging them to join their world "Come live and be merry, and join with me," An example of Blake's ideal leadership is illustrated in "The Shepherd" in "Songs of Innocence".
The Lady Of Shalott' by Lord Tennyson
'The Lady Of Shalott' by Lord Tennyson, is about a lady who has been banished to the island of Shalott and is only allowed to view the outside world through a mirror. Unfortunately, when Sir Lancelot goes by, the Lady of Shalott looks directly at him and sets off the curse, so she leaves her house and dies in a boat as she floats down to camelot. 'Goody Blake and Harry Gill' by William Wordsworth is about two completely different people, Harry Gill and Goody Blake. The only way Goody Blake could survive winter, was by taking old, rotten twigs from Harry's hedge, but he grabs her arm and she puts a curse on him, so he can never again be warm. 'Goody Blake and Harry Gill' is mainly set in the past, although it starts off in the present, saying what Harry is like now. Then it goes back maybe a couple of years in a flashback, to when this began. It is set in Dorsetshire, during the winter. Goody Blake's house was described as a 'poor' hut. From what we hear about Harry Gill, we would think that he has quite a good house. 'The Lady of Shalott' is set on and around the island of Shalott, which is in the middle of a river that runs past camelot. On the island there is a large house with 'four grey walls and four grey towers', which is surounded by nature (plants etc.). On either side of the river are long fields of 'barley' and 'rye'. It is set near harvest, we know this because
With reference to a range of poems in innocence and experience, show how Blake presents attitudes to authority.
Blake was writing at a time when revolutions in America and France had overturned the established governments and when people hoped or feared the same would happen in Britain. With reference to a range of poems in innocence and experience, show how Blake presents attitudes to authority. Songs of Innocence The Laughing Song: "When the painted birds laugh in the shade" - could be seen as artificial, authoritative figures lurking in the darkness, mocking their innocence and encouraging them to join their world "Come live and be merry, and join with me," Nurse's Song: The nurse respects the opinion of her charges and gives them responsibility of their own destiny. This means that the children are happy. This may represent the people of the government and that if the government respected the opinions of the public, the public would be happier and less prone to revolution. This links with NURSE'S Song. See SOE. The Shepherd: The shepherd in this poem seems like a benign authority figure that follows his herd, "He shall follow his sheep all the day," rather than leads them. This suggests that Blake feels that Authorities should listen more to what people want rather than telling them what they want. The shepherd listens to what the sheep say and looks after them, and in return the sheep trusts the shepherd. This could represent how Blake feels about the government in that he
Blake's "The Clod & the Pebble" - Innocence Vs Experience
Blake's "The Clod & the Pebble" - Innocence Vs Experience "Love seeketh not Itself to please, Nor for itself hath any care; But for another gives its ease, And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair." So sang a little Clod of Clay, Trodden with the cattle's feet: But a Pebble of the brook Warbled out these metres meet: "Love seeketh only Self to please, To bind another to its delight; Joys in another's loss of ease, And builds a Hell in Heaven's despite." William Blake (1757-1827) The above truly unique and abundant in imagery love poem belongs to the sequence of poems Songs of Experience, which was written as a response to the Songs of Innocence. In combination, these two groups of poems represent the world as it is envisioned by what Blake calls "two contrary states of the human soul." As it is implied by the name of these poems, Songs of Innocence refer to the naive, pure and guileless feelings we all have during our childhood and youth years, whereas the Songs of Experience constitute the "voice of logic", the experience gained through the hardships and ordeals during the mature years in one's life. The voice of experience warns the innocent against the pain, injustice and cruelty of life and advises cautiousness. What is unique in this poem is that the two contrary visions are presented evenly in one poem. The Clod - the innocent and altruistic love - and the
The first disparities can be seen in the meter of these two poems. Lawrence writes his poem, Snake, in a free verse style, whereas Dikinson writes her untitled poem as she did many of her poems, in iambic tetrameter and trimeter
Although Emily Elizabeth Dikinson and David Herbert Lawrence lived and wrote during two different times, and in different parts of the world, their poetry contains many similarities. At the time Dikinson was being laid to rest in Massachusetts, Lawrence was born in Nottingham, England. Also, along with the likenesses, they both have many differences. These affinities and dissimilarities can be seen in poems written by these authors dealing with snakes. The first disparities can be seen in the meter of these two poems. Lawrence writes his poem, Snake, in a free verse style, whereas Dikinson writes her untitled poem as she did many of her poems, in iambic tetrameter and trimeter. The meter of her poem shifts in every other line from four meters to three. "A narrow fellow in the grass, Occasionally rides;", exhibits this form of rhythm. Lawrence's free verse style is also a characteristic of many of his works. His poem contains no conventional style of meter, only alternating long and short lines which can also be witnessed in the structure of the poem. The rhythm and the structure of these two poems directly influence one another. Lawrence and his free verse style are reflected in the long and short lines in his poem, whereas Dikinson's structure is more of a conventional structure. Lawrence has no set number of lines per line or stanza. Dikinson, on the other hand, has four
The Sandpiper by Elizabeth Bishop is about a student of William Blake that is trying to find himself. He is looking for something
Sandpiper The Sandpiper by Elizabeth Bishop is about a student of William Blake that is trying to find himself. He is looking for something, not sure of what it is, possibly a new world of his own in which he belongs. It is as if the sandpiper is surrounded by these boundaries that are stopping him from reaching what he is looking for. The theme of the poem could also be Blake's famous quote that, "It is possible to see a world in a grain of sand". The sandpiper is looking for that world in the millions of grains of sand. "The roaring alongside he takes for granted, and that every so often the world is bound to shake. He runs, he runs to the south, finical, awkward, in a state of controlled panic, a student of Blake." In the first line of the poem the bird is unaware to his surroundings; the roaring of the ocean "he takes for granted." If we look at the ocean's roaring in a different point of view, maybe the sandpiper has come to accept this fact of modern life, "that every so often the world is bound to shake." In the final two lines of the first stanza, the poet mixes the humorous and the serious. The humorous being the juxtaposition, "controlled panic" and the serious being the reference to the romantic poet William Blake. The sandpiper responds to the roaring by running, southward. The fact that "runs" is repeated here and in other parts of the poem is significant.