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Lady of shalott from the perspective of a women
Lady of shalott from the perspective of a women
Lady of shalott from the perspective of a women
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The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes and Lord Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott
In this essay, I intend to examine the storylines, themes and language
of ‘The Highwayman’ and ‘The Lady of Shalott’ and then explain why I
think that one of the poems is more powerful than the other one.
‘The Highwayman’ is a love story full of romance and adventure. The
hero is the rakish highwayman of the title who dies for the love of
his mistress – the darkly beautiful innkeeper’s daughter, Bess.
‘The Lady of Shalott’ is a mysterious poem set in the mythical time of
legend Camelot. It is also a tragic love story in which the Lady of
Shalott, who is cursed to stay in her tower and not look out of the
window, dies for her love because she looks out of the window at Sir
Lancelot.
The highwayman himself is a romantic hero of the 18th century. He is
very well dressed, with ‘a French cocked-hat on his forehead’ and
‘lace at his chin’. His ‘breeches of brown doe-skin’ fit ‘with never a
wrinkle’. He is a thief – the highwayman tells Bess that he will be
‘back with the yellow gold’. In addition, he is very daring. He could
be caught but still steals things and comes to visit Bess. This shows
that he is passionate about Bess. He loves Bess and promises her that
he will be back ‘though Hell should bar the way’.
Sir Lancelot is also a hero and a very brave and religious man as he
is ‘a redcross knight’. He is also cheerful because as he was riding
by the river he was singing ‘Tirra Lirra’. The writer does not
describe how Sir Lancelot looks in great detail except that he has
‘coal-black curls’ and a ‘broad clear brow.’ Sir Lancelot is a typical
romantic, Victorian hero.
Bess, the landlord’s daughter, has ‘long black hair’ and ...
... middle of paper ...
...d.
After examining both of the poems, I prefer ‘The Highwayman’ to ‘The
Lady of Shalott’.
Firstly, the main reason is because ‘The Highwayman’ is much more
dramatic and the storyline is much easier to follow than that of ‘The
Lady of Shallot’.
Secondly, I like Noyes’ use of language. He has used lots of similes,
alliterative phrases, personification and examples of onomatopoeia to
bring the ballad to life and give the reader a vivid image of what is
happening all the way through the poem. Although ‘The Lady of Shalott’
has many sensual images, much of the description of the surroundings
is left out which makes it harder to get a clear picture of what is
going on.
Finally, I think that ‘The Highwayman’ is a more powerful poem because
the pace is quicker than that of ‘The Lady of Shalott’, which has a
much slower and gentler, less dramatic pace.
the ballad becomes more of a tall tale or a story to be laughed at. And
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek to find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
The time and way people are brought up in society makes a huge difference on how they will climb up the social scale in life. In the classic novel House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton and Call it Sleep, by Henry Roth the main characters experience totally different upbringings into society. While Lily Bart is brought up into a high class society, David is born into an immigrant family in a part of the city, which has similar people as his own country. The two characters in the novels both have different and some similar views on how to climb up on the social scale. Although they would give different advice to each other on how to climb the social scale, and have different views on life, one thing that would be common would be to have money.
Throughout British Literature, there are many instances of heroism. To be considered a hero by others in the time period of 449 to 1625, you must be, “noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose: especially, one who has risked or sacrificed his life” (Morris 618). Four characters in British Literature that portray heroic traits are Beowulf, Sir Gawain, Macbeth, and the Knight of The Canterbury Tales. Beowulf shows himself worthy of the title of being a hero when he leaves his country to help a neighboring country, Denmark and rid them of the long lasting fear of a malicious monster known as Grendel. Sir Gawain is considered a hero by many because of his loyalty to King Arthur. He even risks his life so that King Arthur would live and participates in the Green Knights challenge. Although Macbeth has got a few more faults than other heroes have in British Literature, his name is still synonymous with “hero”. Aristotle says “the tragic hero has to fall from grace … after being on top” (Chui 1). Before the three witches tell Macbeth the false prophecies, Macbeth is in held is high accord, yet afterwards, his ambition tears him down and he does anything it takes gain the role of King. The Knight, from The Canterbury Tales, excels beyond all others when it comes to being a hero. He is the most loyal and is admired by the other characters for his courage, bravery in battle and his exploits in war. He is on a religious pilgrimage not to make money or any other avaricious deed that the other characters are on the pilgrimage for, he is on the pilgrimage to worship God, which is also honored by his peers as being heroic. All four characters mentioned have heroic traits and they all are considered heroes. Although they might gain their title in different ways and for the wrong reasons, they are truly heroes. In British Literature, many stories have been influenced by the heroic traditions of their time period. The characters, although in different stories, all portray the heroic tradition in British Literature.
...in his willingness to lay down his life to fulfill the Green Knight’s request of King Arthur’s men. Beowulf is known among the people as a selfless hero in their times of need. Not only did Beowulf have immense physical strength, but he also had a burning desire for his people’s safety. It is for this selflessness and concern for others that Beowulf is the better hero.
In the short stories "The Story of an Hour," by Chopin and "A Rose for
Beowulf is a good example of a courageous and strong hero. He shows all of
The Shadow of the Galilean by Gerd Theissen is a fictional narrative about a Jewish merchant, Andreas, searching for information about a group of people known as Essenes, John the Baptist, and Jesus of Nazareth. While traveling through Jerusalem Andreas was imprisoned by the Romans thinking he was a part of a demonstration against Polite when his mission was to find Jesus. Andreas writes, “I never met Jesus on my travels through Galilee. I just found traces of him everywhere: anecdotes and stories, traditions and rumors. But everything that I heard of him fits together.
Lancelot is portrayed mostly as a love-struck man and not a very logical knight. From the first moment he is introduced, he is seen as someone sick from love. He will do anything to save his love, Gweneviere; even if that meant dishonor. When Lancelot rode on the cart, he was immediately labeled as someone bad. He pushed aside reason for love. “Because love ordered it, and wished it, he jumped in; since Love ruled his action, the disgrace did not matter.” (212) There seemed to have been nothing that could stand in the path of Lancelot.
The speaker begins the poem an ethereal tone masking the violent nature of her subject matter. The poem is set in the Elysian Fields, a paradise where the souls of the heroic and virtuous were sent (cite). Through her use of the words “dreamed”, “sweet women”, “blossoms” and
The three heroes discussed here, Beowulf, Sir Gawain and King Arthur, are heroes for different reasons. Beowulf, our earliest hero, is brave but his motivation is different than then other two. To Sir Gawain personal honor and valor is what is important. King Arthur, Sir Gawain's uncle, is naturally the quintessential king of the medieval period. Though all men to a certain extent share the same qualities, some are more pronounced than in the others. It is important to see how these qualities are central to their respective stories and how it helps (or hinders) them in their journeys.
Writing the poem in ballad form gave a sense of mood to each paragraph. The poem starts out with an eager little girl wanting to march for freedom. The mother explains how treacherous the march could become showing her fear for her daughters life. The mood swings back and forth until finally the mother's fear overcomes the child's desire and the child is sent to church where it will be safe. The tempo seems to pick up in the last couple of paragraphs to emphasize the mothers distraught on hearing the explosion and finding her child's shoe.
He wants it to be told that to write poetry is just as difficult as his attempt to court Maud. It is extremely difficult to produce a beautiful poem, as it is difficult to fall in love. Many people think that writing poetry is not hard work, as falling in love seems to be easy for some people. To make, “sweet sounds together” as in a po...
Pushing tears from her eyes, a frantic mother scrambles through what remains of her beloved church. But she does not locate her choir singer. Only a little white shoe and a glove to match. In his poem “Ballad of Birmingham,” David Randall uses descriptive imagery, dialogue, irony, and a tonal shift to give the poem emotion and draw the reader’s attention towards the dramatic situation.
'Ulysses' is both a lament and an inspiring poem. Even modern readers who are not so familiar with the classics, can visualize the heroic legend of Ulysses, and so is not prepared for what he finds in the poem— not Ulysses the hero but Ulysses the man.