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Alfred Lord Tennyson as a representative poet of the Victorian age
Discuss Tennyson as a representative poet of the Victorian age
Discuss Tennyson as a representative poet of the Victorian age
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“Break, Break, Break”
Religion is a powerful, prevailing entity, influencing mankind since before the inception of civilization; Christianity in particular, has had a profound impact on Western literature in modernity. Christianity defines the underlying message within Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “Break, Break, Break.” Every line of the poem can be broken down and interpreted in a religious aspect. Highlighting each Christian reference in the poem through the utilization of allusions, Tennyson relates every line to important characteristics of the Christian religion to display his piety.
The poet ingrained Christianity in this poem from the title itself throughout the first stanza. The title of the poem- “Break, Break, Break”- is an allusion
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The speaker says, “O, well for the fisherman’s boy” (5): another allusion to the fourth chapter of the Book of Mathew when Jesus urges the men to become fishers of men. Jesus wants to capture the meaning of the word of God and spread it to the world as fishermen capture fish and spread the food their catch bears to the world. In addition, four of the twelve disciples were commercial fishermen before they followed Jesus Christ. Peter, Andrew, James, and John all stopped fishing for fish and began the fishing for men when the benignant Jesus walked out to the boat on the stormy Sea of Galilee and saved them all. Tennyson referring to the “boy” or son of the fisherman also references that Jesus was the Son of Man sent to Earth to bring humanity closer the Creator. In the following line, the poet claims that the boy “shouts with his sister at play” (6). This allusion relates to the twenty-first chapter in the Book of Mathew when Jesus shouts at the men conducting business in a place of worship. Jesus did not think that his brothers and sisters of humanity should play these games of bargaining and negotiating at the temple: a holy place. However, Tennyson did not lose hope for man and states, “O, well for the sailor lad,/ That he sings in his boat on the bay” (7-8). His declamation positively states that if the …show more content…
The speaker mentions “the stately ships go on/ To their haven under the hill” (9-10). These two lines reference the stately Ark that Jonah built to survive the forty days and forty nights of flooding on Earth to rid the world of its evils. The “haven” the ships were protected by is parallel to the protection God gave Noah and the other passenger during the terrible experience. The poet does not only refer to the destruction of the flood, but also stresses the optimistic future. He writes, “But O for the touch of a vanished hand,/the sound of a voice that is still” (12) as an allusion to the lasting effect of Jesus’ words after he ascended into Heaven. During Jesus’ short time on Earth, he spread many messages of the word of God far and wide. However, the true lasting effect of the Messiah is how he has affected the world from beyond his lifetime and after his ascension into Heaven. Since Jesus’ death, Christianity has become one of the worlds’ leading religions and affected millions of people. Jesus’ voice may be still, but the resonance of his powerful words is spread every
Why I Left the Church” by Richard Garcia is a poem that explores the ongoing and conflicting relationship between a child’s fantasy and the Church. Although the majority of the text is told in present tense, readers are put through the lenses of a young boy who contemplates the legitimacy of the restricting and constricting nature of worship. It is a narrative that mixes a realist approach of storytelling with a fantasy twist that goes from literal metaphors to figurative metaphors in the description of why the narrator left the church. The poet presents the issue of childhood innocence and preset mindsets created by the Church using strong metaphors and imagery that appeal to all the senses.
In the essay "Worldviews in Conflict," Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey compare and contrast the ideas of Christianity and the views of today's society. Throughout the essay, they provide information about how the changes in society affect views regarding Christianity. Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcy's essay was written to contribute information so others could understand their views about the shifting cultural context and how it affects society's beliefs. The authors Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey's essay is credible because they both have knowledge and experience regarding the topic and researched various parts of the topic using reliable sources. Along with this essay, Charles Colson has written thirty books which have received much praise among the Christian community.
The piece itself is about a man (the narrator) who commits some form of domestic violence against his partner/wife, and is begging for forgiveness - asking God to understand that he didn’t truly mean to hurt her and that he is sorry, ‘I’m just a soul whose intentions are
2. Wright, James. "Saint Judas." Approaching Poetry, Perspectives and Responses. Ed. Meg Spilleth. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1997. 70.
In writing this paper, I believe, God has given me wings, strong wings, to help me fly above common literary convention. The prophet Isaiah said, "[T]hose who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. . ."(Isaiah 40:31). Because I believe the Bible is the complete word of God, I must conclude that that "The Awakening," by Kate Chopin, is "not a healthy book"(Culley 146). The truths presented in the Bible that lead me to this conclusion are the following. "The Awakening" has a central message that is contrary to Biblical Christianity, denying the headship of Christ and making it seem that people are basically animals and should be able to do whatever they want. It would be possible to argue that Kate Chopin is simply projecting that man is an animal lacking moral obligations without bringing Christianity into the picture, but Kate Chopin made several attacks on Christianity in her fable, and her seeming obsession with tearing down Christianity opens her up to Biblical criticism.
Throughout time, readers have learned many different lessons from their favourite books. In The Chrysalids, John Wyndam used his story to teach his readers valuable, lifelong lessons. He makes it evident to his readers that prejudging certain people is not right. Also, he relates how change is possible, but hard to achieve. More specifically, religion often influences one’s point of view. John Wyndam’s, The Chrysalids was written with a purpose that teaches his readers about discrimination, about how change is possible, and how religion often influences one’s point of view.
Introduction: All of the three texts explore religion and its practises, but each approach it from a different perspective. Whilst Owen and Brecht refer directly to the idea of God and Jesus, Vonnegut uses a far more ambiguous approach; the opinion of God in ‘Slaughterhouse 5’ has to be read allegorically, as Vonnegut’s mentions of Christianity are seldom stated. Religion does not have to be seen as only an ideology and references to God are not the necessity needed to create the theme of Religion – it appears through spirituality and communities which follow the same belief. The Thirty Years’ War of 1618 in ‘Mother Courage’, which emerged from a disagreement between Protestant and Catholic believers, is a distinct example of religious communities
In the first five stanzas, the author discusses the already submerged ship. ?Stilly couches she,? describes the ship resting on the bottom of the ocean. The lines, ?Jewels in joy designed?lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind?, point out the waste of money, technology and craftsmanship going down with the ship which is consistently mentioned in these stanzas. In the next six stanzas he describes the iceberg and the ship meeting together as one in destiny.
The Seafarer highlites the transience of wordly joys which are so little important and the fact thet we have no power in comparison to God.
William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Jonathan Swift were very different writes but are bound by basic Christian beliefs. In their writings there are strong references to Christ and symbolic images of Him. Blake writes "The Lamb" as a symbolic representative of Christ. Coleridge uses many form of religious symbolism in his poem "The Rhime of the Ancient Mariner", but the thing that stands out the most is how the albatross represents Christ. Swift writes in "Gulliver's Travels", of a man named Pedro de Mendez who is a savior to Gulliver. These three authors show us how Christian views and Jesus are a part of life not just in the Bible but also in current society. Blake uses our questions about faith to emphasize the importance of Christ in our lives.
James Davison Hunter is Labrosse-Levinson Distinguished Professor of Religion, Culture and Social Theory at the University of Virginia and Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. In To Change The World, The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in The Late Modern World, Hunter writes three interconnected essays that are filled with chapters to make his case for the possibility of change.
In the “Unholy Sonnet; after the Praying” by Mark Jarman and “Batter my Heart, Three-personed God, for You” by John Donne, there lies very common subject matters. Both poems are expressing a feeling that the author has about his religion and it’s purpose in his life. Yet, although the subjects both poems are addressing are the same, the messages being delivered are slightly different.
The first thing that strikes me about this poem is the structure. The poem is very ordered written with 4 lines a stanza and a total of 6 stanza’s. This looks like a professional poem created by an adult, showing experience right away. The syllables are normally 7 per line but there are exceptions to this rule as all of stanza 5 has 8 syllables a line. The first stanza and the last stanza are nearly the same apart from the last line of each differing by a word. This poem uses many poetic devices well to create a vivid picture in the readers mind. There are rhyming couplets, alliteration, repetition, rhetorical questions as well as many biblical and egotistical references to the artist and poet himself. Now we will look at the poems meanings.
The second stanza reinforces Hopkins’ idea concerning the capability of mankind with undertaking such an enormous commission. He states that “Generations have trod, have trod, have trod” (Hopkins 880). This verbal repetition emphasizes the importance of our generations past; that we have destroyed much of the Earth. The diction used in the second and third lines of this stanza seems to illustrate a furious rant by Hopkins. He states that we are guilt...
“The lonely traveler longs for grace, For the mercy of God…He cuts in the sea, sailing endlessly, aimlessly, in exile” (7). The speaker tells of the unfortunate circumstance of the wanderer, in need of help from God. Unfortunately, life can be filled with difficult circumstances, and fate governs events within it. But in the ultimate end, things will be well for the person who seeks comfort and help from God, in whom all strength and solidity rests. This is wonderfully depicted in this opening because the message is a universal one: whether it be a king or a helpless vagrant, each will end up with the same status and substances once departed from life and into