In this poem “Luxury”, Nikki Giovanni examines the word luxury and by doing this she realizes what it means to her. She realizes having more materialistic things in life isn’t all that we need. We need something that’s going to last forever something that can’t be taken away. So instead of finding contentment in the things we as society find luxurious, she found all the luxury in the world in her soulmate. To Giovanni love is the state of great comfort and extravagant living, meaning it’s more important than fame, money, fast cars and expensive clothes. Love by definition is a strong feeling of deep affection for somebody/something and this is what she felt when she was held that “one evening” (23).
In the first stanza it’s like she’s piggybacking
off a comment made by someone who maybe suggesting that luxury is having more materialistic things. Her response to that was: “I suppose living in a materialistic society luxury to some would be having more that then what you need” (1-5) this helps set the tone of poem. Her tone is very neutral, like she’s agreeing but only if you’re basing this off the fact that we’re living in a society where having more inessential items that are expensive or difficult to obtain is luxury, only then; one can assume that this definition is true. In these lines she’s using denotation, so she is giving the literal meaning of the word but in contrast to what she actually feels the word means. The way these lines come off, is she understands why we think this way, but is also disagreeing that this is what the word luxury really means. Giovanni goes into deeper details about the literal meaning of the word luxury by pointing out the effects it has on our generation: “living in an electronic age seeing the whole world by pushing a button” (6-7) this is a great use of metaphor, to think, just with one push of a button we can gain access to the entire world. This is very convenient which makes it a luxury. But she only sees it as being lazy by saying: “the nth degree might perhaps be adequately represented by having someone there to push the buttons for you” (8-14) Giovanni wants to us to realize that this culture of luxury is making us a slothful society. The final stanza doesn’t go into depth about the new age and its technology by instead she letting us know that she too once wanted the luxuries of this world. Giovanni says that she “thought if only I could become rich and famous I would live luxuriously” (15-18) she’s stating if she could just become wealthy she will gain happiness, but that was until she met her soulmate who gave her something worthwhile: “ but you held me” (22). With just a touch from her soulmate she gained the “ultimate luxury” (24) love. In lines 22-25 the poet uses connotation which is the idea or feeling she gets when she thinks of the word luxury in addition to its literal meaning. So instead of looking at the word luxury in regards to things she sees it having a deeper meaning. Luxury for those who cherish life is life itself and love is major part of it.
While Anna Williams views escaping the confines of marriage as a desirable thing, Charlotte Lennox’s greatest lament, as expressed by her poem “A Song,” is merely to have the freedom to love who she pleases. Although Charlotte Lennox has a more romantic view of men and love than Anna Williams, neither woman denies the need for companionship. Charlotte Lennox’s opinion towards love is expressed clearly in her piece “A Song.” The poem’s female speaker is experiencing unrequited love.
Giovanni’s diction enhances the theme of the poem because it is informal and because it shows the reader that she adores them. Lines 18 and 19 of the poem “Kidnap Poem” states, “yeah if i were a poet i’d kid nap you”. These lines show that Giovanni is writing almost as if she is carrying on a conversation with someone. She purposely writes with lowercase letters throughout the poem to convey a more relaxed tone and style so that it is like a normal everyday discussion. Giovanni’s diction enhances the theme of the poem because it shows that she adores the reader.
spite of her hardships, she is happy through her words and expressions in the poem.
When we think about the force that holds the world together and what makes humans different from animals, one answer comes to our minds - that humans can love. Love is a state of mind that cannot be defined easily but can be experienced by everyone. Love is very complicated. In fact it is so complicated that a person in love may be misunderstood to be acting in an extremely foolish manner by other people. The complexity of love is displayed in Rostand’s masterpiece drama Cyrano de Bergerac. This is accomplished by two characters that love the same woman and in the course neither one achieves love in utter perfection.
“Don’t waste your love on someone who doesn’t value it.” In the play Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare exposes the life of two young lovers in the Renaissance period fighting for something they cannot live without; each other. Although fate takes its toll, the everlasting feud between two families, conditional love by parents, and the irresponsibility’s of father and mother like figure are the main causes in the death of Romeo and Juliet. The idea of love is something that is valued in this play from many different aspects of characters, lines, and scenes. Shakespeare leaves the minds of readers soaring over not why it happened, but who was at fault.
Marrying an accomplished and wealthy man would make life a lot better for the daughter. The subject of love in plays previous to Romeo and Juliet had nearly always been based around comedy. Never before had this subject of love been seen as serious or tragic. Therefore, the creating of this new way to look at love’s emotions was a dramatic device in its... ... middle of paper ... ...
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is perhaps one of the most well-recognized love stories of all time. However, it is more than just a classic love story, it is a tale of desperation and obsession. While developing these themes, Shakespeare contrasts Romeo and Juliet’s obsession with the concept of real love; he also demonstrates the danger of obsession-Romeo and Juliet do not heed Friar Laurence’s ominously omniscient warning “[t]hese violent delights have violent ends/ and in their triumph die, like fire and powder,/ which, as they kiss, consume”(II vi 9-11), and obsession with honor is likewise dangerous. He probes the theme of despair; the suicidal impulses that become reality for Romeo and Juliet are grounded in the dynamic and
“A lot of people resist transition and therefore never allow themselves to enjoy who they are. Embrace the change, no matter what it is; once you do, you can learn about the new world you 're in and take advantage of it.” Nikki Giovanni was born in Tennessee in the time period where racial segregation was reaching its peak. She was a talented writer who displayed her views of the world around her through text. Her affinity towards the civil rights movement is a leading factor that defined her voice and what gave substance to her literary prowess. She not only was an inspiration behind the keyboard but in the public eye for she attended countless speaking engagements to pass on her experience to the youth of today. Although Nikki Giovanni lived
Pablo Neruda’s “My ugly love” and William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” are commonly well-known to describe beauty in a way hardly anyone would write: through the truth. It’s a popular fact that many modern-day poets compose poems that make love seem perfect and use phrases that often costume the truth by masking true beauty with words. Yet, Shakespeare and Neruda, both sincere people, chose to write about what love really is, it matters more what’s on the inside than what is found on the outside. The theme of true beauty and love are found through Shakespeare and Neruda’s uses of reflection of imagery, uses of organized structure, and uses of sensory devices to describe the meaning of beauty and love.
Nikki Giovanni was born in 1943. She has established herself as one of the leaders in poetry. She was part of the civil rights movement and black power movements. These helped inspire her to write poetry. Publishing her first book in 1968, Giovanni is an erudite poet, writer, activist and educator. She has received countless awards, and has written countless poems. One of her most mysterious poems was released in 2002. Poem For A Lady Whose Voice I Like is packed full of themes and writing styles unique to civil rights among African Americans. This poem also touches on problems with gender, depending on how this piece is analyzed by the reader. One solid fact about this poem is that it is about Lena Horne. This Paper will be analyzing this
The next new perspective on love comes from Shakespeare’s “Sonnet One Hundred and Sixteen”. “Sonnet One Hundred and Sixteen” “sets forth an ideal of true love as something permanent and never changing” (Kastan 17). Integrated throughout the poem are various circumstances in which true
In the play “Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare shows that love has power to control one’s actions, feelings, and the relationship itself through the bond between a destined couple. The passion between the pair grew strong enough to have the capability to do these mighty things. The predestined newlyweds are brought down a rocky road of obstacles learning love’s strength and the meaning of love.
Love has been the cause of some of the greatest feats, discoveries, and battles in the history of man. It has driven men to insanity and despair, while it has lead others to happiness and bliss. This idea that love has a strong influence on man’s decisions can be seen in the poem, “Love is not all” by Edna St. Vincent Millay. The most prominent theme presented in “Love is not all” is that although love is not a necessity of life, it somehow manages to provoke such great desire and happiness that it becomes important.
Love has been expressed since the beginning of time; since Adam and Eve. Each culture expresses its love in its own special way. Though out history, though, it’s aspect has always been the same. Love has been a major characteristic of literature also. One of the most famous works in literary history is, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. This story deals with the love of a man and a woman who’s families have been sworn enemies. There love surpassed the hatred in which the families endured for generations. In the end they both ended up killing their selves, for one could not live without the other. This story is a perfect example of true love.
... most enjoy in life; warm, youthful, amorous love. These things must stay ever-changing and spontaneous, in order to retain their exclusive exuberance (Wigod 61). Passionate, youthful love belongs to real life, not art; although art can show “marble men and maidens”, life on the urn is still cold, motionless; art can only represent life, it merely scratches the surface when it comes to depicting warm, fluid life, filled with fervor.