Love in the Poetry of John Donne.
Love in the Poetry of John Donne a paper by Iain Morrison, student of English Literature at The Edinburgh Academy, under the direction of Mr J. Marsh. It is impossible to say exactly what Donne's attitude to love is precisely because he seems to have many different attitudes. This is due, in part, to the nature of Donne's life which falls neatly into two different periods. The first was from his birth in 1572 to his ordination in January 1615 and the second was from then till his death in March 1631. Most of his devotional poetry stems from this second period and the love poetry from the first. There is however an element of love in the devotional poetry and vice versa. His love poetry can also be divided into two strains; that of the witty and the realistic. He draws some aspects of his style from Petrarch, the Italian sonateer who was perhaps the first poet to write about his love for a woman in an honest but still romantic way. However unlike Petrarch, who considered sexuality a burden, Donne appears not to condemn physical love. It seems unusual now but at the time of Donne's life it was thought that every time a couple indulged in sex, their lives were shortened but Donne treats this physical side of love as a gateway to something higher. In 'The Canonization' Donne takes this idea of death and turns it round. He says that if they die because of their love then they
The Dualistic Genesis of Paradise Lost
Mary Kline Doctor Martin English 3210, Section 301 23 Nov 04 The Dualistic Genesis of Paradise Lost In The Role of the Reader, Umberto Eco points out that ideological bias can lead a reader to interpretations employing codes not envisaged by the sender. The task, then, is to affirm one's bias clearly at the beginning, and then infer away. In this paper the Fall of Man in Paradise Lost is filtered and interpreted through two matrices not intended by John Milton; that of Semiotics, and that of Buddhist psychology. This paper, therefore, is a humble attempt to see if this interpretation will yield new insight into the human condition in its pre- and post-lapsarian state. Eco (1984), citing the classical definition of a sign, aliquid stat pro aliquo, points out that the correlation by which the sign stands for the signified can be of diverse forms. This paper will primarily have as focus the; "sign [that] is a manifest indication from which inferences can be made about something latent" (Eco, 1984:15); an example of which being footprints as sign of a person's passage. Linguistic "signs" may also take part in this relationship. In Paradise Lost, JohnMilton, retelling the tale of Genesis, posits a number of characters, places and objects: God, Satan, Heaven, Hell, Eden, Adam, Eve, two trees of intense significance, and a sweet fruit with a bitter aftertaste, amongst many
Amine Werther's attitudes to nature. Is any development discernible? You may also wish to refer to Goethe's poetry of the same period.
Examine Werther's attitudes to nature. Is any development discernible? You may also wish to refer to Goethe's poetry of the same period. Goethe wrote his novel "Die Leiden des jungen Werther" in the spring of 1774 and a revised edition was published in 1787. The period in which the novel was written is one in of high sensitivity or "Empfindsamkeit" and there was an emphasis on the self, or the ego. The form of the novel, not just its content, illustrates these trends in 18th Century thinking as we get a close insight into Werther's emotions and attitudes through his letters to Wilhelm. Werther, the protagonist, is a highly sensitive young man who is led by his heart rather than rational judgement. He is a slave to his moods and we can see that nature is one element that greatly affects how he feels. Werther's changing attitudes towards nature reflect his emotional state - sometimes we see nature as a source of joy, peace and relaxation, at other times one of torment and hatred. There exists, therefore, strong connections between Werther's emotional state, his attitude to nature and his beliefs, specifically his perception and worshipping of God. Werther's takes a pantheist outlook on religion. This belief, which was also held to some extent by the author, is the theory that God is manifested in all living things, making a close link between God and His creation. It is a
Smith, Charlotte (Turner) 4 May 1749 - 28 October 1806.
Smith, Charlotte (Turner) 4 May 1749 - 28 October 1806 British poet and novelist who never wrote a "Gothic" work. So what's she doing here? Simple: she helped invent the Gothic, in large part due to the influence of her works on Ann Radcliffe. (She also helped invent Romanticism and William Wordsworth, and never gets much credit for that, either.) She did this by bringing to the sentimental novel-extremely popular in her day-a sophisticated aesthetic sense (informed by her deep interest in landscape and painting) that included a thorough knowledge of the sublime and the picturesque. Setting important episodes and characters in both sublime and picturesque landscapes, Smith heightened the emotional and aesthetic register of her works, thus bringing them in line with-and/or helping to create, actually-the emerging intellectual and cultural currents of Romanticism. There are "Gothic" elements in only a few of Smith's early works, for by her own admission she was uninterested in literary sensationalism and in the supernatural; adverse financial circumstances (a profligate and irresponsible husband, largely) led her to novel-writing in the first place (she preferred poetry), and the success of her first novel, Emmeline (1788), showed her that sales could be positively affected by the inclusion of the sorts of dramatic scenes she was writing. But her own interest in political
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
The main characters in Le Roman de la Rose and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are capable of finding an identity that suits them; the different paths that each characters takescourtly love and chivalrywere the highest ideals in medieval times
Le Roman de la Rose and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in Search of an Identity In medieval times the romance genre was a portrayal of the world of the court, a genre that belonged to the aristocratic class overlooking the realities of the outside world. Adventures, quests and ladies were the conventional reasons for the courtly knights to embark in exciting experiences that helped to establish a set of rules that all other persons of the court were to follow, reinforcing their ideals. But even as the tradition of the romances spread to modest courts and finally to the uprising bourgeoisie, they kept reflecting the fears and necessities that are common to mankind: the construction of a personal identity and the problems to preserve it. In contrast with texts of the previous epic genre, like Beowulf, the reader is no longer confronted with the construction of a national identity but with a personal one that others can relate to. Romances were born in the French courts with famous troubadours like Chrétien de Troyes that used the tales and characters of the Arthurian tradition to reflect the life and values of the courts. The concept of "courtly love", a sentimental refinement, was one of the main principles for the people in the court, it emphasized the "link between love, its social setting (the court), and its ways (courtliness): the set of social qualities and skills
How does Thomas Hardy present men and women and their relationships in the three 'Wessex Tales'? The relationships between men and women are explored seriously and humorously
How does Thomas Hardy present men and women and their relationships in the three 'Wessex Tales'? The relationships between men and women are explored seriously and humorously in 'The Withered Arm', 'Tony Kytes - the Arch-Deceiver', and 'The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion'. It is through the plot that concerns about marriage and social status are revealed, and through this Hardy presents a fictionalised picture of society and relationships at that time. Hardy's stories are based on many tales, which had been told to him as a young boy. They are mainly based on events, which happened before his birth in 1840. This therefore separates the time period of his contemporary readers from his characters lives, and therefore enables Hardy to create a fictionalised world that is based on social fact. Wessex is a fictional county that was closely based on the county of Dorset, which is why much of the dialect used in the three stories, is that of Dorset. The events relayed in the stories tell us that the social attitudes and values have not changed, and this also gives us a picture of how relationships between men and women must conform to society's standards. In each of the three stories, Hardy has chosen to use the pastoral voice, which is the common dialect throughout many of Hardy's stories. The use of dialect during his stories, occur at moments when Hardy does not
'A Brilliant projection of a very common male viewpoint whereby women are to be denigrated (perhaps out of fear) and also celebrated as objects for male gratification'(George Parfitt). Is this an accurate description of the presentation of women in male-a
'A Brilliant projection of a very common male viewpoint whereby women are to be denigrated (perhaps out of fear) and also celebrated as objects for male gratification'(George Parfitt). Is this an accurate description of the presentation of women in male-authored poetry? The female, for years, as George Parfitt points out in his quotation, has been subject to the idea of male superiority. Even in Genesis, the earliest of literature, woman is not given her name until after the expulsion from the garden, and Milton very clearly looks down upon Eve in his Paradise Lost: he makes clear that the serpent aims to target Eve all along, as she is 'opportune to all attempts'1, unlike Adam who is of a 'higher intellectual'2 than his wife. Eve is seen as of little importance by Milton, although, of course, it is she who brings about the events of his epic poem. She has less value than Adam, is more open to the wiles of the devil, and has less care for the creation of God, or so Milton would have us believe. Parfitt suggests that it is possibly through fear that the male denigrates the female, perhaps, in Milton's case, this may be true. Eve is known to be the cause of the original sin, and a vessel of Satan in persuading Adam to eat the apple of knowledge, as such, she is dangerous, and outside of the control of God, since she is under the power of Satan. Women were often seen as
How does William Blake use his work to show his disapproval of the society of his time
How does William Blake use his work to show his disapproval of the society of his time? William Blake was one of the first romantic poets, writing during the French and American revolutions in 1780. Romantic poets believe that people should be free to follow their own desires, everyone has a right to pursue and fulfil their desires in order to be happy, that imagination is more important than science and logic, and that childhood is important and should be innocent. Blake was a visionary writer, he talked to God and angels came to him in his dreams and visions. He translates these experiences into his poems. He viewed God as an artist, active and full of passion and love, rather than a scientist. However, Blake disliked institutions such as the Church and formal religion, the government and the royal family. Blake believed that people should have open marriages and to enjoy sex, possibly with multiple partners, and was also against unions such as marriages. Society and the Church taught people to think that sex was sinful and wrong, whereas Blake believed sex and desire is a connection to God and spirituality. Blake was especially frustrated with the Church, he thought they were controlling people, especially the poor and working classes. These institutions would teach that although people may be poor and unhappy in this life, if they do not rebel they will be able to go to
The Meaning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
The Meaning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight [It is] somewhat surprising to discover that the bulk of Arthurian criticism which has been directed to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has largely overlooked the real source of its extraordinary appeal. Early and late scholars have sought to establish Gawain's origin among the ranks of primitive Celtic gods and to suggest, it would seem, that Gawain's success might perhaps be best accounted for because he is not to be taken for the representation of an ordinary human being, but because he is, on the contrary, either a superhuman or supernatural being. Some critics have been concerned with the Green Knight himself, finding him to be, according to [a 1949 article in Scrutiny by John Speirs], an unmistakable relation to the Green Manthe Jack in the Green or the wild man of the village festivals of England and Europe, or, in another accounting [H. Brady's, in a 1952 article in Modern Language Notes], a figure modeled on a person who actually lived in the fourteenth century. Other scholars have turned their attention to the sources and provenience of the varied subject matter of the romance. The results of this criticism have been, first, to make of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight something of a mythological poem, or else a nature rite, second, to suggest that its hero and antagonist are godlike beings; and, third, to coax the