Write as much as you can on the idea of nature and its relationship to art and poetry in 'A Skylark'.
Write as much as you can on the idea of nature and its relationship to art and poetry in 'A Skylark'. In Percy Shelley's 'A Skylark' nature is used to represent an omnipotent and enlightened force that is above everything on earth in every sense. Shelley specifically uses a Skylark to bring across his message of something that is free of desire and void of care showing there to be a strong relationship between nature and art. The reason for this is that Shelley is writing about something that humans do not feel, 'Waking or asleep, Thou of death must deem, Things more true and deep Than we mortals dream,' therefore to get the powerful image of total harmony across Shelley has to use an equally powerful image that the reader can relate too. This comes from nature; nature itself is a mysterious and somewhat unknown force, perfect for illustrating something that is also mysterious and unknown. The Skylark is natures representative, a bird that carries a certain aura due to it rarely being seen yet being heard so clearly, 'And singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest,' and 'Thou art unseen, yet I hear they shrill delight,' The alliteration in the first quote is a cleverly emphasized illustration of the birds majestical ability to soar so high and yet still be heard. This firmly establishes early on in the poem the mystery that the skylark projects and later enables
In what ways does Miller use Willy's last day to raise questions about the validity of the American Dream?
Henry Bain In what ways does Miller use Willy's last day to raise questions about the validity of the American Dream? Death of a salesman primarily deals with the importance of consumerism and materialism, surpassing seemingly antiquated views and in this case, destroying a man who has failed in the attainment of "The American Dream." The fact that Willy dies in the play shows the effect that the delusion of unattainable greatness has on society and contradicts those who endorse it. Willy's financial status leads him to madness, talking constantly to himself and switching constantly between images of the present and past. He is more at ease with the potential and the once opportunities of the past than the difficulties and now missed opportunities of the present. He tells Charley in act 2 that after all the trains, and the appointments, and the years, "you end up worth more dead than alive." Willy seeks to justify everything in monetary terms, going as far as putting a price on his life. Charley tells Willy that no man is worth "nothin' dead," showing that a successful man can see that there is more to life than money, yet a man like Willy is constantly reminded of his inadequacy and can see nothing beyond material gain. Willy, who has failed to achieve what he wanted, lives vicariously through his sons, encouraging them to pursue money rather than happiness. When
'Romanticism was revolutionary.' In what ways is this statement true or untrue?
'Romanticism was revolutionary.' In what ways is this statement true or untrue? Before any analysis into the notion of Romanticism being revolutionary can be made, it seems necessary to examine the word revolutionary itself. The dictionary states that the adjective revolutionary means 'involving great changes' but the meanings of words can change over time, so surely we cannot be sure that the word revolutionary held the same implications in the 1800's as it does today. A revolution can be seen as a rebellion, or reaction to something. If we take revolutionary to mean a rebellion against existing beliefs and art forms then Romanticism could be viewed as being a reaction to the Age of Reason, enlightenment and neo-classicism. But it is also possible that revolutionary is a distinctly political term and in this case Romanticism could be seen politically revolutionary in that it forced questions to be answered about the monarchy, the government and organised religion amongst other issues. Blake and Wordsworth are two hugely important writers of the Romantic era. Their poems hold great significance, and although sometimes ambiguous, their views seem to encapsulate the anxieties and concerns that the people of this time must have been feeling. Blake and Wordsworth both lived in a time of turmoil and revolution. The effect of the War of American Independence, which ended in 1783,
The Landscape of London
The Landscape of London Both The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Picture of Dorian Gray deal with the notion of duality - Dr. Jekyll is the respectable doctor whose alter-ego is the dark and animalistic Mr. Hyde, and Dorian Gray is a beautiful young man whose portrait becomes aged and decayed through his immorality and corruption. The notion of duality is also evident in both novels' treatment of London as a city that is fragmented socially and geographically. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Picture of Dorian Gray, London is depicted in a manner that reflects the dual nature of the principal characters. At first glance, it would appear as if Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were two distinctly different individuals. They also reside in two separate, contrasting parts of London that appear to reinforce their character traits and the binary opposition between the two personas. The respectable Dr. Jekyll is a "well-made, smoothed face man of fifty" (44) who lives in a house that "wore a great air of wealth and comfort" (42) in a middle-class, West End neighborhood. In contrast, the atavistic Mr. Hyde is "wicked-looking" (47) and "downright detestable" (35), and he is appropriately situated in Soho, a dismal neighborhood that evokes the worst stereotypes about the East End. Yet, these binary oppositions are interrogated and deconstructed. The
Comparison Between Alice In Wonderland and Our devised Drama
Comparison between "Alice's adventures in Wonderland" and our devised drama Our devised drama, which is set five hundred years in the future, is about a girl who has been frozen for a punishment for taking drugs by law, and the drama is about how the freezing went wrong and the girl, who is about 20 years old, has to go through her past in her mind. "Alice's adventures in Wonderland" was a novel written in the 1865 by Lewis Carroll is about a girl who chased a white rabbit down a rabbit hole into a fantasyland. "Alice's adventures in Wonderland" is very similar to our devised drama as they both deal with strange and unusual situations. For example, in our devised drama, the freezing was never meant to go wrong, but it did and the same in "Alice's adventures in Wonderland", in the normal world there is never meant to be a talking cat, but there was. "Alice's adventures in Wonderland" was written in the middle of the nineteenth century, and reflects the culture and society that was present in that time, for instance the "mad hatter" was mad because of the solution that was on his top hat, this problem, the problem of going mad because of the solvent used on top hats, was only their in the nineteenth century. Our devised drama, however, is set in the future but also deals with problems in the present day, such as drug abuse and corrupt families. These problems will probably
Compare the presentation of changing and contrasting attitudes throughout the First World War through Sebastian Faulk's Birdsong and Poems of the Great War. At the eve of the First World War in 1914
Question: Compare the presentation of changing and contrasting attitudes throughout the First World War through Sebastian Faulk's Birdsong and Poems of the Great War. At the eve of the First World War in 1914, the world was a different place compared to the one we live in today. Great Britain was at the height of its colonial power when the war first began and many men joined the military services in a hope to be a part of this patriotic war of good and evil. This is illustrated by the early literature such as the propaganda poems Flanders Fields and The Soldier. The war was expected to be a short one with a quick victory expected by both sides. However, as the war dragged on many people became disillusioned by it and the pieces of works that were being produced were a negative reaction to fighting for a cause most people had forgotten. "This is not a war this is an exploration of how far man can be degraded." Birdsong is a novel that brings out some of the horrific aspects of soldiery and war. Although Sebastian Faulks uses fictional characters he is able to construct a realistic view of trench warfare and life within the First World War. The novel is based around a central character called Stephen Wraysford and concentrates on his journey through the war. Birdsong is also populated with characters that represent different parts of society during the war period. Poems of
Room with a view E.M.Forster wrote 'A Room with a View' and it was published in 1908. Critically this novel has been treated as a fine example of travel literature, character development and comedy
To what extent can we define Charlotte Bartlett's attitude as Victorian; and how far can we agree with Mr Everson that Lucy Honeychurch is a 'poor muddled girl'? E.M.Forster wrote 'A Room with a View' and it was published in 1908. Critically this novel has been treated as a fine example of travel literature, character development and comedy. Forster's novel was immediately popular with early readers, as he wanted to offer his reader a significantly different perspective of females poised on the edge of a new century. Forster's infatuation with Tuscany and the Italian culture is shown throughout the novel, "Italians are born knowing the way." (Chapter 6) This is brought to life through the changing way of England's history of that time. Whereby Queen Victoria's death, brought her son King Edward VII to the throne, and it was he who worked hard to improve foreign relations and his love of foreign culture and travel ensured that people noticed this attitude and British society grew more tolerant. 'A Room with a View' is in many ways a conventional romantic novel, with any main character we see Lucy Honeychurch develop throughout the novel towards a state of self-awareness and understanding of her own character. The other character is Charlotte Bartlett, both characters hold very different values, which are apparent in their mannerisms and outlook on life. Cousin Charlotte is
Account for the continuing popularity of ‘Death of a Salesman’ as a stage play.
Account for the continuing popularity of 'Death of a Salesman' as a stage play. 'Death of a Salesman' is a play that has come to redefine the concept of modern tragedy, whilst simultaneously enrapturing audiences around the globe. A challenge to Philip Sydney's judgement that 'tragedy concerneth a high fellow'i, 'Death of a Salesman' is the tragedy of the common man, tragedy of Willy low man. 'One of the major texts in our time'ii, 'Death of a Salesman' does not follow the traditional Aristotelian definition of a tragedy. This has ignited passionate debate among critics as to whether it is a tragedy at all, whilst ensuring its position and popularity as the epitome of what has been dubbed 'modern tragedy'. It is not the fall of a great man through a predestined flaw (hamartia), and it has been argued that Willy even lacks the self-knowledge to be a true tragic hero. Willy is a man of 'massive dreams', not high stature, although Biff calls him a 'prince', drawing comparison with Hamlet. His self-knowledge is present, countering those who claim to the contrary. It is clearly contained in the lines 'I'm fat. I'm very - foolish' (of himself) and 'I'm always in a race with the junk yard' (of payment of manufactured goods). His flaw lies in his determination to see material wealth as the only path to success. He is swallowed by 'the corporate dream machine'iii. The idea of the
An Analysis and Comparison of the reactions towards confinement and dilemma of Lindo Jong, An-Mei Hsu and Mary Maloney.
An Analysis and Comparison of the reactions towards confinement and dilemma of Lindo Jong, An-Mei Hsu and Mary Maloney The three characters I will compare and analysis include; Lindo Jong (from the short story Red Candle by Amy Tan), Mary Maloney (from the short story Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl) and An-Mei Hsu (from the short story Scar and Magpies by Amy Tan). I will be focusing on how these characters react towards their situations of confinement, which they face with different ways. They also face a dilemma and use their own methods solve their problems. The married Mary Maloney; she is a pregnant housewife whom daily waits patiently, her husband's arrival home from work. Her isolation and devotion for her husband seems at vain when her husband declares that he wants a divorce. At this point Mary turns to anger, jealousy and revenge by murdering him. She understands that if she was caught, it could lead to her death and perhaps her unborn child. Mary turns to deceit and covers up any possibility to find her guilty. At Lindo's side of the story, she goes through the terrible experience of being isolated from her family when they leave her with the signed marriage. Living with the Huang family for many years, she bears loathe of being separated from her family, ordered around by the Huangs and to live with her despised marriage. One day she decided to escape
Illustrate and explain how different poets make use of the traditional imagery of nature in a range of poems you have studied.
GCSE English Literature Coursework Comparative Study Tradition in the Literary Heritage Illustrate and explain how different poets make use of the traditional imagery of nature in a range of poems you have studied. Nature is usually seen as a positive and good thing of the Earth. It is something that is opposite to humans, opposite to cities, opposite to technology and the modern, computer run world. It is normally seen as peaceful. But nature is also used to describe bad disasters which are neither caused by man, nor preventable by man. It is a force which cannot be controlled by humans, it is untameable, and for example earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes are all known as 'natural disasters'. These also are referred to as 'mother nature', as if nature is alive. Nature is also used a lot to describe both good and bad sides of a persons personality. The term 'human nature' has two completely different meanings, good and bad. Human nature can be generous, loving and caring, but also carries a second meaning, selfish, competitive and evil. Nature has been used by many poets and authors as a source of inspiration and symbolism. Nature's symbols and images have been used to express a range of ideas. The theme of nature can be used to help describe human behaviour and emotions, and as a source of inspiration to help draw ideas and help develop them in the poets mind. The