"A Sad Child"
by Margaret Atwood
You’re sad because you’re sad.
It’s psychic. It’s the age. It’s chemical.
Go see a shrink or take a pill,
or hug your sadness like an eyeless doll
you need to sleep.
Well, all children are sad
but some get over it.
Count your blessing. Better than that,
buy a hat. But a coat or pet.
Take up dancing to forget.
Forget what?
Your sadness, your shadow,
whatever it was that was done to you
the day of the lawn party
when you came inside flushed with the sun,
your mouth sulky with sugar,
in your new dress with the ribbon
and the ice-cream smear,
and said to yourself in the bathroom,I
am not the favorite child.
My darling, when it comes
right down to it
and the light fails and the fog rolls in
and you’re trapped in your overturned body
under a blanket or burning car,
and the red flame is seeping out of you
and igniting the tarmac beside your head
or else the floor, or else the pillow,
none of us is;
or else we all are.
Commentary
In Margaret Atwood’s poem “A Sad Child”, the poet uses simplistic diction, imagery, and figurative language in order to express one’s ideas or feelings about experiencing depression. The speaker, possibly Atwood, uses these literary techniques as a basis of coping with the inevitable occurrences in life, which is influenced by sadness, as the title would suggest. The opening line also suggests this idea as it says “You’re sad because you’re sad.” The speaker is suggesting that sadness is inescapable as it is “psychic. It is age. It is chemical.”
The speaker suggests all children are sad, though some get over it, as it is a natural part of life. Throughout the poem the speaker develops ways of coping with this sadness as she suggests seeing a shrink or “hug your sadness like an eyeless doll.” This simile suggests that sadness is childlike as a child looks to an innocent doll as a means of escaping the misery. The speaker also looks more so to the materialistic things in life, like buying a hat, coat, or pet n hopes to forget the sadness. The speaker also suggests taking on a physical task, like dancing, as another way to deal with the pain. Although, the speaker tries to keep an optimistic point of view as she suggests, “count your blessings”.
In the third stanza the speaker concludes, “I am not a favorite child.” As the speaker comes to this realization it adds to the sadness the speaker is facing. In the following stanza the speaker uses a metaphor and states, “the light fails and the fog rolls in and you’re trapped in you’re your overturned body”, which causes the speaker to panic. This vivid image again gives us the impression that the speaker is helpless and unable to escape the pain, as these events add to the pressure.
To conclude, the speaker states, “none of us is; or else we all are”, which suggests that unfortunately either we are all effected by depression or not, which adds to the idea that depression is universal. Through the use of diction, imagery, and figurative language, the speaker stresses the idea that although depression is inescapable when consumed by it, there are ways to cope with the sadness.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Heaney's "Follower" Commentary
"Follower" by Seamus Heaney
My father worked with a horse plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck
Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.
I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.
I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow around the farm.
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.
Commentary
In Seamus Heaney’s “Follower” the poet uses diction, imagery, and figurative language to describe the relationship between a father and a son. Throughout the play there are visual images of a farmer who is hard at work, which is a metaphor for the father. The speaker is the son, perhaps Heaney, who describes the enduring process of farming, as he admires and looks up to his father and his strength for inspiration as he tries to live up to his father’s expectations. With that, that title, “Follower”, represents admiration as the son tries to follow in his father’s footsteps.
In the first stanza, the speaker is comparing his father to sailor as he states, “his shoulders globed like a full sail strung.” The speaker is suggesting that his father, like a sailor, is in complete control of what he is doing. The speaker uses the nautical imagery to compare the breeze, ease, and control of sailing a ship on the smoothness of water to the strength his father has as he tolerates the harshness of doing labor on the rough land of the farm. The speaker also states, “his eye narrowed and angled at the ground, mapping the furrow exactly.” This again refers to the father’s strength and preciseness in his work. This image also reflects the phrase in the previous stanza in which the speaker briefly states, “An expert.” This phrase emphasizes the idea of the speaker’s father being very precise and full of potency. These interpretations create a very powerful and reflective tone.
Though the father’s physical strengths are stressed throughout the first three stanzas, in contrast, the last three stanzas are more so about the weaknesses of the son. The speaker says, “I want to grow up and plough, to close one eye, stiffen my arm”, which suggests hope, as he wants to grow up and be just like his father, especially physically. But, the speaker uses words like “stumbled”, “fell”, “nuisance”, “tripping”, “falling”, and “yapping always” to describe his flaws. As he is an innocent child, these words suggest perhaps he is not living up to his father’s expectations, as he is very clumsy. It seems as though the speaker is constantly in his father’s way and he is not of much help on farm. But, the speaker concludes, “But today it is my father who keeps stumbling behind me, and will not go away”. I interpreted this as the father becoming very weak, old and unable to work, so he is pressuring his son to follow his footsteps and meet his physical abilities.
In conclusion, Heaney uses diction, visual images, and figurative language to describe the physical relationship between a father and son. The visual images constantly allow us to picture the father hard at work, which is comparable to a sailor sailing a ship. The son wants to be like his father, but he lacks the physical aspects to meet that deed, perhaps because he is only a child. But, the son admires his father, as the title would suggest.
My father worked with a horse plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck
Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.
I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.
I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow around the farm.
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.
Commentary
In Seamus Heaney’s “Follower” the poet uses diction, imagery, and figurative language to describe the relationship between a father and a son. Throughout the play there are visual images of a farmer who is hard at work, which is a metaphor for the father. The speaker is the son, perhaps Heaney, who describes the enduring process of farming, as he admires and looks up to his father and his strength for inspiration as he tries to live up to his father’s expectations. With that, that title, “Follower”, represents admiration as the son tries to follow in his father’s footsteps.
In the first stanza, the speaker is comparing his father to sailor as he states, “his shoulders globed like a full sail strung.” The speaker is suggesting that his father, like a sailor, is in complete control of what he is doing. The speaker uses the nautical imagery to compare the breeze, ease, and control of sailing a ship on the smoothness of water to the strength his father has as he tolerates the harshness of doing labor on the rough land of the farm. The speaker also states, “his eye narrowed and angled at the ground, mapping the furrow exactly.” This again refers to the father’s strength and preciseness in his work. This image also reflects the phrase in the previous stanza in which the speaker briefly states, “An expert.” This phrase emphasizes the idea of the speaker’s father being very precise and full of potency. These interpretations create a very powerful and reflective tone.
Though the father’s physical strengths are stressed throughout the first three stanzas, in contrast, the last three stanzas are more so about the weaknesses of the son. The speaker says, “I want to grow up and plough, to close one eye, stiffen my arm”, which suggests hope, as he wants to grow up and be just like his father, especially physically. But, the speaker uses words like “stumbled”, “fell”, “nuisance”, “tripping”, “falling”, and “yapping always” to describe his flaws. As he is an innocent child, these words suggest perhaps he is not living up to his father’s expectations, as he is very clumsy. It seems as though the speaker is constantly in his father’s way and he is not of much help on farm. But, the speaker concludes, “But today it is my father who keeps stumbling behind me, and will not go away”. I interpreted this as the father becoming very weak, old and unable to work, so he is pressuring his son to follow his footsteps and meet his physical abilities.
In conclusion, Heaney uses diction, visual images, and figurative language to describe the physical relationship between a father and son. The visual images constantly allow us to picture the father hard at work, which is comparable to a sailor sailing a ship. The son wants to be like his father, but he lacks the physical aspects to meet that deed, perhaps because he is only a child. But, the son admires his father, as the title would suggest.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Seamus Heaney's "Blackberry-Picking" Commentary
"Blackberry-Picking"
By Seamus Heaney
Late August, given heavy rain and sun
For a full week, the blackberries would ripen.
At first, just one, a glossy purple clot
Among others, red, green, hard as a knot.
You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet
Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it
Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust for
Picking. Then red ones inked up and that hunger
Sent us out with milk cans, pea tins, jam-pots
Where briars scratched and wet grass bleached our boots.
Round hayfields, cornfields and potato-drills
We trekked and picked until the cans were full,
Until the tinkling bottom had been covered
With green ones, and on top big dark blobs burned
Like a plate of eyes. Our hands were peppered
With thorn pricks, our palms sticky as Bluebeard's.
We hoarded the fresh berries in the byre.
But when the bath was filled we found a fur,
A rat-grey fungus, glutting on our cache.
The juice was stinking too. Once off the bush
The fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour.
I always felt like crying. It wasn't fair
That all the lovely canfuls smelt of rot.
Each year I hoped they'd keep, knew they would not.
Commentary
In Seamus Heaney’s “Blackberry-Picking”, the poet uses imagery and diction to describe the process and feelings one endures while picking blackberries, as the title suggests. Heaney also uses other literary devices, like metaphors and similes, which make the idea of blackberry picking as a child more in-depth and stand for something else. As the innocence of waiting all year to have the pleasure and excitement of harvesting and picking blackberries ends, so does the child’s innocence.
In the first stanza the speaker experiences the excitement of picking the first “glossy purple clot” while patiently waiting for the others to ripen, as they were “hard as a knot”. The speaker says, “you ate the first one and its flesh was sweet like thickened wine”. The use of the simile puts emphasis on the sweetness and joy that came with picking blackberries, which is comparable to the wonderful taste that one has while drinking wine. The poet uses the innocence of the blackberry picking seems to signify the innocence of a child’s life as the "sweet flesh" and “summer’s blood” seems to represent the life’s goodness. Also, the speaker states, “we trekked and picked until the cans were full”, which suggests these children, picked every delicious blackberry in sight. Hence, this may represent the passion they have for life as they realize its decency. All of these vivid images allow the reader to actually see and image what is the speaker is talking about. The imagery sets the tone for the first stanza, as it is full of joy, happiness, and passion.
As the poem transitions from first to the second stanza, so does the tone of the poem. As the individuals in the poem try to hoard the blackberries in the byre, “a rat-grey fungus” consumes them. As the blackberries are diminishing from the first stanza, which seems to symbolize a child’s innocence and life, the second stanza seems to represent the loss of innocence and death. The second stanza is full of images that seem to resemble images of decomposition. The images of the fruit fermenting as “the sweet flesh would turn sour”, remind the reader that as berries ripen, so does one’s life as it comes to an end…death. The overall tone changes in the second stanza, as the first stanza is full of life’s happiness and the second stanza is full of sadness as life rots. The speaker comes to this realization and concludes, “each year I hoped they'd keep, knew they would not”, which suggests all good things come to an end.
In conclusion, Seamus Heaney uses diction, imagery, and figurative language to explain how the bittersweet things in life come to an end. The use of figurative language emphasizes this and the idea that nothing in life comes easy. Heaney uses the innocent images of blackberry picking in comparison to the challenges one endures in their life, including death, which represents the loss of innocence. Though the speaker enjoyed and had a passion for blackberry picking, the speaker also had to take in the pain that came along with it.
By Seamus Heaney
Late August, given heavy rain and sun
For a full week, the blackberries would ripen.
At first, just one, a glossy purple clot
Among others, red, green, hard as a knot.
You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet
Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it
Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust for
Picking. Then red ones inked up and that hunger
Sent us out with milk cans, pea tins, jam-pots
Where briars scratched and wet grass bleached our boots.
Round hayfields, cornfields and potato-drills
We trekked and picked until the cans were full,
Until the tinkling bottom had been covered
With green ones, and on top big dark blobs burned
Like a plate of eyes. Our hands were peppered
With thorn pricks, our palms sticky as Bluebeard's.
We hoarded the fresh berries in the byre.
But when the bath was filled we found a fur,
A rat-grey fungus, glutting on our cache.
The juice was stinking too. Once off the bush
The fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour.
I always felt like crying. It wasn't fair
That all the lovely canfuls smelt of rot.
Each year I hoped they'd keep, knew they would not.
Commentary
In Seamus Heaney’s “Blackberry-Picking”, the poet uses imagery and diction to describe the process and feelings one endures while picking blackberries, as the title suggests. Heaney also uses other literary devices, like metaphors and similes, which make the idea of blackberry picking as a child more in-depth and stand for something else. As the innocence of waiting all year to have the pleasure and excitement of harvesting and picking blackberries ends, so does the child’s innocence.
In the first stanza the speaker experiences the excitement of picking the first “glossy purple clot” while patiently waiting for the others to ripen, as they were “hard as a knot”. The speaker says, “you ate the first one and its flesh was sweet like thickened wine”. The use of the simile puts emphasis on the sweetness and joy that came with picking blackberries, which is comparable to the wonderful taste that one has while drinking wine. The poet uses the innocence of the blackberry picking seems to signify the innocence of a child’s life as the "sweet flesh" and “summer’s blood” seems to represent the life’s goodness. Also, the speaker states, “we trekked and picked until the cans were full”, which suggests these children, picked every delicious blackberry in sight. Hence, this may represent the passion they have for life as they realize its decency. All of these vivid images allow the reader to actually see and image what is the speaker is talking about. The imagery sets the tone for the first stanza, as it is full of joy, happiness, and passion.
As the poem transitions from first to the second stanza, so does the tone of the poem. As the individuals in the poem try to hoard the blackberries in the byre, “a rat-grey fungus” consumes them. As the blackberries are diminishing from the first stanza, which seems to symbolize a child’s innocence and life, the second stanza seems to represent the loss of innocence and death. The second stanza is full of images that seem to resemble images of decomposition. The images of the fruit fermenting as “the sweet flesh would turn sour”, remind the reader that as berries ripen, so does one’s life as it comes to an end…death. The overall tone changes in the second stanza, as the first stanza is full of life’s happiness and the second stanza is full of sadness as life rots. The speaker comes to this realization and concludes, “each year I hoped they'd keep, knew they would not”, which suggests all good things come to an end.
In conclusion, Seamus Heaney uses diction, imagery, and figurative language to explain how the bittersweet things in life come to an end. The use of figurative language emphasizes this and the idea that nothing in life comes easy. Heaney uses the innocent images of blackberry picking in comparison to the challenges one endures in their life, including death, which represents the loss of innocence. Though the speaker enjoyed and had a passion for blackberry picking, the speaker also had to take in the pain that came along with it.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Donne's "The Flea" Commentary
"The Flea" by John Donne
Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deny'st me is;
It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;
Thou know'st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead;
Yet this enjoys before it woo,
And pampered swells with one blood made of two,
And this, alas, is more than we would do.
Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, yea, more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is;
Though parents grudge, and you, w'are met,
And cloistered in these living walls of jet.
Though use make you apt to kill me,
Let not to that, self-murder added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.
Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail in blood of innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?
Yet thou triumph'st and say'st that thou
Find'st not thyself, nor me the weaker now;
'Tis true, then learn how false fears be:
Just so much honor, when thou yield'st to me,
Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee.
Commentary
In John Donne’s poem “The Flea”, the diction, imagery, and constant use of metaphors creates a comical, yet persuasive and argumentative tone, which exhibits another one of Donne’s metaphysical poems. Donne uses unusual images to resemble symbols of love and romance. The image of the flea biting the speaker and then his beloved metaphorically represents the two engaging in premarital sex. Using the innocence of the image “two bloods mingled” within the flea, the speaker wants to convince his lover that sexually mingling would be equally innocent.
In the first stanza the speaker says, the flea “sucked me first, and now sucks thee, and in this flea our two bloods mingled be”. The speaker is implying that the flea has sucked his blood first and then his beloved, so now inside the flea’s body they are “mingled”, hence in a sense they have already had sex, though the lover denies him. The speaker tries to reason with the lover and suggests that their blood mingling in the body is neither “a sin, nor shame”. The speaker argues that the flea is not a big deal, hence losing her virginity would not be either.
In the second stanza, the speaker persuades the speaker and says, “Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare, where we almost, yea, more than married are.” The three lives the speaker is referring to are himself, his lover, and the flea. The speaker is suggesting that by allowing the flea to cause their blood to conjoin, the two have had sex in its body, therefore they have become “more than married are” though they are not married at all. The speaker metaphorically refers to the flea as their “marriage bed” and “marriage temple” as the flea is sacred and he tries to prevent the lover from killing it. The speaker exaggerates using the words “self-murder” and “sacrilege” to guilt and convince the lover that in killing the flea, she will be but also killing herself and the speaker.
By the third stanza, the lover does not fall for the persuasive accusations the speaker makes throughout the play as the lover “purpled thy nail”, evidently squashing the flea. So the speaker calls the lover “cruel and sudden” having killed the innocent flea, which also destroyed the hopes of sexual relations between the two. The speaker suggests to the lover that she should not fear the loss of honor as long as she surrenders her virginity to him.
In conclusion, Donne uses diction, imagery, and figurative language to convince his lover to have premarital sex with him. These devices create a seductive and argumentative, yet comical tone throughout the play. Using the innocence of the image “two bloods mingled” within the flea, the speaker wants to convince his lover that sexually mingling and the loss of her virginity would also be innocent.
Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deny'st me is;
It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;
Thou know'st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead;
Yet this enjoys before it woo,
And pampered swells with one blood made of two,
And this, alas, is more than we would do.
Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, yea, more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is;
Though parents grudge, and you, w'are met,
And cloistered in these living walls of jet.
Though use make you apt to kill me,
Let not to that, self-murder added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.
Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail in blood of innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?
Yet thou triumph'st and say'st that thou
Find'st not thyself, nor me the weaker now;
'Tis true, then learn how false fears be:
Just so much honor, when thou yield'st to me,
Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee.
Commentary
In John Donne’s poem “The Flea”, the diction, imagery, and constant use of metaphors creates a comical, yet persuasive and argumentative tone, which exhibits another one of Donne’s metaphysical poems. Donne uses unusual images to resemble symbols of love and romance. The image of the flea biting the speaker and then his beloved metaphorically represents the two engaging in premarital sex. Using the innocence of the image “two bloods mingled” within the flea, the speaker wants to convince his lover that sexually mingling would be equally innocent.
In the first stanza the speaker says, the flea “sucked me first, and now sucks thee, and in this flea our two bloods mingled be”. The speaker is implying that the flea has sucked his blood first and then his beloved, so now inside the flea’s body they are “mingled”, hence in a sense they have already had sex, though the lover denies him. The speaker tries to reason with the lover and suggests that their blood mingling in the body is neither “a sin, nor shame”. The speaker argues that the flea is not a big deal, hence losing her virginity would not be either.
In the second stanza, the speaker persuades the speaker and says, “Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare, where we almost, yea, more than married are.” The three lives the speaker is referring to are himself, his lover, and the flea. The speaker is suggesting that by allowing the flea to cause their blood to conjoin, the two have had sex in its body, therefore they have become “more than married are” though they are not married at all. The speaker metaphorically refers to the flea as their “marriage bed” and “marriage temple” as the flea is sacred and he tries to prevent the lover from killing it. The speaker exaggerates using the words “self-murder” and “sacrilege” to guilt and convince the lover that in killing the flea, she will be but also killing herself and the speaker.
By the third stanza, the lover does not fall for the persuasive accusations the speaker makes throughout the play as the lover “purpled thy nail”, evidently squashing the flea. So the speaker calls the lover “cruel and sudden” having killed the innocent flea, which also destroyed the hopes of sexual relations between the two. The speaker suggests to the lover that she should not fear the loss of honor as long as she surrenders her virginity to him.
In conclusion, Donne uses diction, imagery, and figurative language to convince his lover to have premarital sex with him. These devices create a seductive and argumentative, yet comical tone throughout the play. Using the innocence of the image “two bloods mingled” within the flea, the speaker wants to convince his lover that sexually mingling and the loss of her virginity would also be innocent.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Commentary on John Donne's "The Good-Morrow"
"The Good-Morrow"
by John Donne
I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I
Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?
But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?
Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers' den?
'Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be.
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desired, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee.
And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear;
For love, all love of other sights controls,
And makes one little room an everywhere.
Let sea-discoveres to new worlds have shown,
Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one.
My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;
Where can we find two better hemispheres,
Without sharp north, without declining west?
Whatever dies was not mixed equally,
If our two loves be one, or, thou and I
Love so alike that none do slacken, none can die.
Commentary
In John Donne’s poem “The Good-Morrow” the speaker uses repetition, diction, and rhetorical questions to express his ideas and feelings of the maturing love he has for a significant other. As the poem is broken down in three stanzas, each stanza signifies a particular phase in growth of love that these two lovers share together. Through the structure of the poem we see how the relationship these lovers share progresses from an immature and childlike relationship and develops into an eternal love for one another.
In the first stanza the writer uses word choice and rhetorical questions to express his love he once had for an individual. The speaker states “Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then? But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?” Here the speaker’s tone is lustful. With that, this suggests that the love they once had was childish, naïve, and immature. It seems as though their relationship was nothing more than that. A rhetorical question the speaker uses says, “Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den?” The allusion the writer uses also refers back to his youth. As he questions where the time went, this indication suggests the love he once had was never really true love. Also, the use of the words “I wonder” and “dream” resembles the love he wished he had with his lover, but he has yet to have that connection with her.
Again, in the second stanza the speaker uses rhetorical questions and diction to express the change and transition from immature love in exchange for the hopes of true love. The speaker states, “and now good-morrow to our waking souls”. As the speaker awakes from his dream in “good-morrow”, literally good morning, he realizes his hopes for true love. As he comes to this realization, the repetition of the words “let” and “world” broaden the opportunities of vast love the speaker wants to share with his lover.
In the third stanza, there is again a transition in the speaker’s emotions towards his lover. As the poem changes stanzas, so does the speaker’s view on love. The speaker states, “My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears”. As the speaker’s eyes get lost in his lovers, this assures he has found true love. As the speaker concludes, “Love so alike that none do slacken, none can die”, he is sure that their love is everlasting and they are meant to be together as he looks forward to the future.
To conclude, in John Donne’s poem “The Good-Morrow”, the use of the rhetorical question, diction, and repetition of words express the changes of love the speaker has for his lover from stanza to stanza. Stanza to stanza, we see how the love matures. The speaker begins to reminisce of the immature love he once had, only to dream of the love he wishes he had, and concludes that he has found that true love.
by John Donne
I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I
Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?
But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?
Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers' den?
'Twas so; but this, all pleasures fancies be.
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desired, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee.
And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear;
For love, all love of other sights controls,
And makes one little room an everywhere.
Let sea-discoveres to new worlds have shown,
Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one.
My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;
Where can we find two better hemispheres,
Without sharp north, without declining west?
Whatever dies was not mixed equally,
If our two loves be one, or, thou and I
Love so alike that none do slacken, none can die.
Commentary
In John Donne’s poem “The Good-Morrow” the speaker uses repetition, diction, and rhetorical questions to express his ideas and feelings of the maturing love he has for a significant other. As the poem is broken down in three stanzas, each stanza signifies a particular phase in growth of love that these two lovers share together. Through the structure of the poem we see how the relationship these lovers share progresses from an immature and childlike relationship and develops into an eternal love for one another.
In the first stanza the writer uses word choice and rhetorical questions to express his love he once had for an individual. The speaker states “Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then? But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?” Here the speaker’s tone is lustful. With that, this suggests that the love they once had was childish, naïve, and immature. It seems as though their relationship was nothing more than that. A rhetorical question the speaker uses says, “Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den?” The allusion the writer uses also refers back to his youth. As he questions where the time went, this indication suggests the love he once had was never really true love. Also, the use of the words “I wonder” and “dream” resembles the love he wished he had with his lover, but he has yet to have that connection with her.
Again, in the second stanza the speaker uses rhetorical questions and diction to express the change and transition from immature love in exchange for the hopes of true love. The speaker states, “and now good-morrow to our waking souls”. As the speaker awakes from his dream in “good-morrow”, literally good morning, he realizes his hopes for true love. As he comes to this realization, the repetition of the words “let” and “world” broaden the opportunities of vast love the speaker wants to share with his lover.
In the third stanza, there is again a transition in the speaker’s emotions towards his lover. As the poem changes stanzas, so does the speaker’s view on love. The speaker states, “My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears”. As the speaker’s eyes get lost in his lovers, this assures he has found true love. As the speaker concludes, “Love so alike that none do slacken, none can die”, he is sure that their love is everlasting and they are meant to be together as he looks forward to the future.
To conclude, in John Donne’s poem “The Good-Morrow”, the use of the rhetorical question, diction, and repetition of words express the changes of love the speaker has for his lover from stanza to stanza. Stanza to stanza, we see how the love matures. The speaker begins to reminisce of the immature love he once had, only to dream of the love he wishes he had, and concludes that he has found that true love.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Act of Resistance/ Final Response to Lysistrata
For my Act of Resistance, my goal was to protest against an issue that greatly effects the younger generation. Therefore, I wanted to focus on the issue of binge drinking, in general, on college campuses. For those of you who are unaware of what binge drinking is, essentially binge drinking means to drink heavily over a period of several days, however, the term refers to the heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. Individuals binge drink mainly for the purpose to become intoxicated. The main problems that may evolve from the issue of binge drinking include alcohol poisoning, impaired judgment, physical harm to the body (increased likeliness of being overweight and having high blood pressure), mental health problems, and possibly alcoholism.
But, the main question that I raised before publicly protesting the issue of binge drinking was, why do people binge drink? In the search for answering my own question, I came to the conclusion that people binge drink mostly because they have giving in to peer pressure and just want to fit in. Other reasons include that individuals become curious as they want to know to what is like to drink excessively. Individuals look to alcohol as a way to relieve stress and make them feel better, although they are unaware that it may make them feel sick and hung-over. Also, they want to feel older than they actually are.
After I researched and gathered my thoughts on what I already knew about binge drinking, I thought the perfect way to express my protest was on a college campus to college students, as college students seem to be the most effected by this issue. So, my mission was to speak to college students at Ripon College, in which my sisters attend, to see what their opinions on binge drinking were. I mostly spoke to my sisters’ friends and sorority sisters about it. For the most part, they all responded in the same way and mainly suggested that binge drinking is very harmful as they have either witnessed or experienced the effects of binge drinking. As some admitted to binge drinking, they also stated they were unaware of why they choose to binge drink other than the fact that the alcohol was there and it was not hard to get away with it. But, some did say that they were aware of the possible effects and bad consequences from such choices may have had including drinking and driving or having sex. Other people said they like the feeling of being drunk, and that is why they drink, yet they were not sure of what they truly got out of it as binge drinking is never a positive thing.
Personally, I fell that binge drinking is very unsafe and although one may think it is cool when their in the moment, they are often ignorant of that of which will come after their experience of binge drinking is all said and done. I do not see what people get out of binge drinking. I think what shocked me the most about my protest was that some easily admitted to binge drinking, even some who were underage.
In the future, I do not think I would do anything different about my protest. But, for insight to the future, I do wish to continue to educate individuals about binge drinking and address the negative consequences and harm it does to an individual, both mentally and physically. I think I did help the problem. After I completed my act of resistance, I was greatly satisfied with the effect it may have had on others, as I hope they will think twice before binge drinking again.
But, the main question that I raised before publicly protesting the issue of binge drinking was, why do people binge drink? In the search for answering my own question, I came to the conclusion that people binge drink mostly because they have giving in to peer pressure and just want to fit in. Other reasons include that individuals become curious as they want to know to what is like to drink excessively. Individuals look to alcohol as a way to relieve stress and make them feel better, although they are unaware that it may make them feel sick and hung-over. Also, they want to feel older than they actually are.
After I researched and gathered my thoughts on what I already knew about binge drinking, I thought the perfect way to express my protest was on a college campus to college students, as college students seem to be the most effected by this issue. So, my mission was to speak to college students at Ripon College, in which my sisters attend, to see what their opinions on binge drinking were. I mostly spoke to my sisters’ friends and sorority sisters about it. For the most part, they all responded in the same way and mainly suggested that binge drinking is very harmful as they have either witnessed or experienced the effects of binge drinking. As some admitted to binge drinking, they also stated they were unaware of why they choose to binge drink other than the fact that the alcohol was there and it was not hard to get away with it. But, some did say that they were aware of the possible effects and bad consequences from such choices may have had including drinking and driving or having sex. Other people said they like the feeling of being drunk, and that is why they drink, yet they were not sure of what they truly got out of it as binge drinking is never a positive thing.
Personally, I fell that binge drinking is very unsafe and although one may think it is cool when their in the moment, they are often ignorant of that of which will come after their experience of binge drinking is all said and done. I do not see what people get out of binge drinking. I think what shocked me the most about my protest was that some easily admitted to binge drinking, even some who were underage.
In the future, I do not think I would do anything different about my protest. But, for insight to the future, I do wish to continue to educate individuals about binge drinking and address the negative consequences and harm it does to an individual, both mentally and physically. I think I did help the problem. After I completed my act of resistance, I was greatly satisfied with the effect it may have had on others, as I hope they will think twice before binge drinking again.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Final Thoughts on "Lysistrata"
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the play “Lysistrata”. The play was a more difficult read compared to the other plays, “The House of Bernarda Alba” and “Hedda Gabler”. “Lysistrata” was unlike the other plays as it did not end in a tragedy, which is another reason why I like this play more. Also, the language, including the puns/play on words and metaphors, were humorous and made the play easier to want to read. I also like “Lysistrata” better than the other plays because it was more so about the strength of the women, which were displayed in the themes, presented throughout the play. The other plays were more so about the repression of women, not “the power of a woman”. I did not notice any big comparisons between the plays either. Ultimately, the play was pretty okay and I would recommend it to others who are interested in reading a sexual comedy.
The Puns!?!?
When I started to read “Lysistrata” I knew that the play was supposed to be funny and comical as it full of puns. As I was completely the reading each night I did not think the puns were that funny. Perhaps I was just overlooking them or maybe I really did not understand them. Though I thought the play was pretty good, I do not know why I failed to see why the play was so funny, as it was supposed to a sexual comedy.
"Lysistrata" Themes
For the group oral presentation my group is focusing on the themes found throughout the entire play. Aristophanes uses motifs and symbols to represent the majority of the themes that ultimately represent the portrayal of all the women in the play. Aristophanes focuses on household and domestic articles that represent the women including the cleaning supplies, cloth/fabric/thread, and the spindles. These motifs are embedded “below the surface” and ultimately represent the presence, yet in a sense the lack of, women power in the play “Lysistrata”.
Give in, Women!!
An important question was brought up in class and that as whether or not one thought the women would have eventually given in to the oath if the men would not have put down their weapons and given up in the war. The oath I think eventually the women would have given in, especially because some of them were so hesitant into taking the oath to begin with. But, ultimately it was the women’s choice and decision to take the oath. I think the women took the oath because Lysistrata led and convinced the women to take away all sexual favors from the men, unless they decided to end the war. Therefore I think the women were then determined to stay absent from sex. I think if the women were the ones to have give in they would have lasted a lot longer than the men did, especially considering the fact that the men could not go twenty-four hours without sex.
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