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The similarities between ulysses and my last duchess
Compare the persona in Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess” to that described in Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Ulysses”
Compare the persona in Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess” to that described in Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Ulysses”
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Comparing Ulysses by Lord Tennyson and My Last Duchess by Robert
Browning.
“Ulysses” was written by Lord Tennyson and is a poem about a mythical
Greek character and is a dramatic monologue. Another poem that is a
dramatic monologue is “My Last Duchess”, by Robert Browning. Both
poems are similar, for example they are both structured similarly, and
are both different, one difference being their subject. In this essay
I will compare the two poems, focusing on form, and how language helps
to build up subject matter.
Ulysses is a Greek mythical character, and was famous for being a
pirate, ransacking villages and being a warrior. In Greek literature,
Ulysses just seemed to disappear after he got home, and Tennyson
decided to write about Ulysses and his thoughts after ‘retiring’ from
fighting. The poem is written in verse, and seems to be either a
dramatic monologue or monologue interior. It is hard to know which
one, as a dramatic monologue must have a listener (other than the
audience. Ulysses is talking to someone, his dead soldiers, but as
they are deceased it is difficult to decide if they count as a
listener to the poem.
“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning was written in the same era as
“Ulysses” and is written in Verse. This poem is different to “Ulysses”
as this poem is about a fictional character which is created by
Browning. This is a Dramatic Monologue, as the duke (the character
created by Browning) is talking to the servant of the father of a
possible bride. To create the effect of speech, Browning uses Iambic
Pentameter, which helps to imitate the rhythm of conversational
speech, and enjambment frequently.
The use of language to present the subject matter is important for
both poets. I...
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displeasure from his wife and why, almost acting as a warning to his
next wife. So a poem about the “Last Duchess” is actually a poem about
the Duke’s likes and dislikes, which again helps to subtly build up
the self centred nature of the character without revealing too much
and loosing the readers’ interest.
Both poems are similar and different in many different ways. The most
obvious similarity to both poems is their form, but if we look deeper
into the poem we see that their content and their characters are very
similar. However, some differences still remain in the poem. The main
subject matter for both poems is death, but the two poems have
different feelings towards death. For the Duke, it is something
ordered and controlled by him, but for Ulysses, even though he has
encountered death within his life so much he cannot accept that he
will die.
Both science fiction stories Nethergrave and A Sound of Thunder were amazing stories. Although I preferred A Sound of Thunder over the Nethergrave. A Sound of Thunder had more excitement it also relates to life a little more. A sound of thunder tells us how small mistakes spiral into huge ball kind of like a snowball effect and can turn into a disaster. Which is true in situations you have to think before doing? Nethergrave on the other hand was slow and didn’t relate to the real world as much as A Sound Of Thunder. It didn’t keep me wanting to read more or predicting, what will happen next? A sound of thunder was written by Ray Bradbury originally published 1952. Nethergrave was written by Gloria Skurzynski. These two stories go way back
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Have you ever fallen in love? Have you ever developed strong feelings for another? If problems arose between the two of you, were you able to overcome them? Well certain men in Robert Browning’s works couldn’t seem to. . . “overcome” these differences with their women. Browning grew up learning from his father’s huge library. His wife was much more successful at writing than him. Eight years after her death, his career turned around for the last 20 years of his life. During this time, he wrote many short dramatic monologues such as My Last Duchess and Prophyria’s Lover. These two very intriguing and disturbing Monologues, My Last Duchess and Prophyria’s Lover, by Robert Browning, involve two very messed up men whose actions are both alike in their idea of immortalizing their woman, but different in why they chose to commit the act between the two stories, and a conclusion may be drawn from this observation.
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middle of paper ... ... Ultimately, we have two poems which can be compared on the grounds of their subject, but are poles apart regarding their message. The structure of these poems is not what would be typically expected from a war poem, but are structured on the basis of these typical structures in order to create some sense of familiarity.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a book about status and wealth and disappointment. Two of the main characters, Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, seem to have everything but yet want more. At first glance, it seems that they have most things in common. Both are wealthy, popular, and love Daisy. However, once examined more closely, their wealth, their popularity, and their love for Daisy define them as very different one from the other.
When the 1920's came about there was a new way of living in America. With the war, women were integrated into the 'masculine' jobs. Old traditions were pushed aside for the new traditions. New inventions brought more movement and freedom to the country, cars enabled people to travel more easily. The stock market crash started the 1930's with a bang. With 14 million Americans unemployed, the national income dropped by more than half. With Roosevelt's New Deal's the Depression slowly lifted ("The United States..."). F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Heminway both had their own depictions of wealth in their stories.
“The Great Gatsby” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley” each tells a tale of upward mobility, wherein the triumph of the protagonists is due to their futuristic, imaginative, and theatrical personalities, which were built upon a desire to compensate for their origins; these specific characteristics cause Jay Gatsby and Thomas Ripley to find that reality falls short of their dreams. Each of the two men follows a path that leads to success at certain level, but failure in the ultimate satisfaction they sought. Their individual histories give them a reason to rise, and their mental capacity for imagining the future give them the capability to do so. When it comes to living in the reality they achieved both struggle with the flaws that refuse to line up with their dreams.
Fate is usually described as what happens during one’s lifetime. Many people conceive that their fate is already planned out before they are born. From the time that books have been written, authors have written about people finding fates through some prophecy. Although many people might consider it futile, the person attempts to change it. However, many of these characters then realized knowing their fate is usually worse than not knowing it. In particular, Macbeth and Lord Voldemort (from Harry Potter). Each of them tries to change their own fate, but it ends in their demise. Although they thought they would benefit from hearing their future, both would have been much better off not knowing.
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Tennyson brings out the agony felt by Ulysses at his old age, The influence of the Industrial age can be seen in Tennyson's usage of the word 'profits' in the very first line . The character calls himself 'idle' showing his disillusionment at this ripe stage of life .The "still hearth" and "the barren crags" symbolize death. He continues complaining about his hapless state and the reader begins to detect the shallowness of character of this otherwise larger than life legend. He is so self-centered and full of self pity that he shows scant respect for those close to him and those that he rules as seen in lines 4-5. His pride keeps him from calling himself old, in that many words ; He has to allude to his wife's age to let the reader in on his own advanced years.
The only strong comparison between the poets, in terms of structure and technique, is that the meaning of their poems run much deeper then the specific words on a page. Even this can come as a contrast when looking at these three poems. “Home Burial,” by Frost is a fairly straightforward poem, written in dialogue, with the writer working as the narrator. The poem is about a married couple dealing wi...