Depression in To seem the Stranger, Fell of Dark, Carrion Comfort, and No Worst
I believe that there can be seen a progressive deepening of depression throughout Hopkins' so-called terrible sonnets. The poems I intend to look at will show this, starting with "To seem the Stranger lies my Lot", "I wake and Feel the Fell of Dark", "Carrion Comfort", "No Worst, there is None", and finally "My own Heart let me more have Pity on". The first of the above poems shows the beginning of Hopkins' descent into depression. This is followed by "I wake and Feel ...", illustrating Hopkins descending further into depression. The depths to which Hopkins sank are shown in "Carrion Comfort" and in "No Worst, there is None". Following this, "My own Heart ..." represents the beginnings of an ascent out of depression, and into a more stable frame of mind. Although the order of the poems are set by the editors of various collections, I think that the above order is the order in which they were written, based on their content.
The symptoms of the early stages of depression, that of paranoia, listlessness and feelings of isolation are recounted in 'To seem the Stranger lies my Lot'. Although in some cases, these feelings tend to be a result of mental imbalance, and have little or no relationship with external reality, in Hopkins' case it would seem that his feelings of isolation are in some senses valid. Following Hopkins' decision to become a Catholic, he came to be rejected by his family. This then would explain his bitterness:
Father and Mother dear,
Brothers and sisters are in Christ not near
And he my peace my parting, sword and strife.
To seem the Stranger lies my Lot, lines 2-4
This bitterness he feels about the gulf that now exists between himself and his family is expressed in the irony of Christ being both the bringer of peace, and the cause of the "sword and strife". The paranoia common to the early stages of depression is also expressed:
Only what word
Wisest my heart breeds dark heaven's baffling ban
Bars or hell's spell thwarts.
To seem the Stranger lies my Lot, lines 11-13
The alliteration both of the repeated 'b' and 'ell' sounds show frustration at his being not allowed to write his poetry. He transfers the decision of his Jesuit superiors to "ban" his poetry to being one of God himself.
The alliteration used is to emphasize rhythm in the poem. On the other hand, the poet also depicts a certain rhyme scheme across each stanza. For example, the first stanza has a rhyme scheme of this manner a, b, c, d, e, a. With this, the rhyme scheme depicted is an irregular manner. Hence, the poem does not have a regular rhythm. Moreover, the poet uses a specific deign of consonance, which is present in the poem (Ahmed & Ayesha, p. 11). The poet also uses the assonance style depicted in the seventh stanza, “Seven whole days I have not seen my beloved.” The letter ‘o’ has been repeated to create rhythm and to show despair in the poem. On the second last line of the seventh stanza, the poet uses the style of consonance, “If I hug her, she’ll drive illness from me. By this, the letter ‘l’ is repeated across the line. The poet’s aim of using this style of Consonance is to establish rhythm in the poem and add aural
Athena was the goddess of war and wisdom. Daughter of Zeus and Metis, but born from only Zeus. Gaea the Earth goddess told Zeus that his child would u...
The Greeks believed that the earth was formed before any of the gods appeared. The gods, as the Greeks knew them, all originated with Father Heaven, and Mother Earth. Father Heaven was known as Uranus, and Mother Earth, as Gaea. Uranus and Gaea raised many children. Amoung them were the Cyclopes, the Titans, and the Hecatoncheires, or the
Myths relate to events, conditions, and deeds of gods or superhuman beings that are outside ordinary human life and yet basics to it” ("Myth," 2012). Mythology is said to have two particular meanings, “the corpus of myths, and the study of the myths, of a particular area: Amerindian mythology, Egyptian mythology, and so on as well as the study of myth itself” ("Mythology," 1993). In contrast, while the term myth can be used in a variety of academic settings, its main purpose is to analyze different cultures and their ways of thinking. Within the academic setting, a myth is known as a fact and over time has been changed through the many different views within a society as an effort to answer the questions of human existence. The word myth in an academic context is used as “ancient narratives that attempt to answer the enduring and fundamental human questions: How did the universe and the world come to be? How did we come to be here? Who are we? What are our proper, necessary, or inescapable roles as we relate to one another and to the world at large? What should our values be? How should we behave? How should we not behave? What are the consequences of behaving and not behaving in such ways” (Leonard, 2004 p.1)? My definition of a myth is a collection of false ideas put together to create
Zeus the god of the sky who was married to his sister Hera the goddess of marriage and ultimately jealousy. Another one of Zeus’s roles was that of being the lord of justice for the gods. This goes back to the story of Oedipus Rex with the Priest of Zeus represented the people of the plight of Thebes and him asking for justice to be done for the people. Though he is known by being the Lord of Justice he is also known for being very unfaithful to his wife. This unfaithfulness can reverberate back to the way that Oedipus Rex had a love for his mom almost in the way that it relates to inbreeding. In a way that Zeus had many affairs though his most famous was Leto. Leto was one of his first relationships apparently before Zeus was married to Hera. Leto was the...
* Life was never easy for him. His stepmother wanted to make him miserable as punishment of her husband’s infidelity”. (paraphrased)
Athena was the virgin daughter of the great god Zeus and she was also one of the great
Mythology is defined as a collection of interrelated stories of a given culture. Myths are intended to explain and describe the mysteries of nature and give understanding about the world that surrounds us. Each culture has their own mythology that reflects their values and beliefs. Myths were also generated to tell the story of the first people to inhabit the earth. The Egyptian mythology elevated these people to the level of Gods and Goddesses by giving them supernatural and special powers. These myths of creation were passed from one generation to the next, either orally or by hieroglyphs painted in sacred temples, pyramids, and sanctuaries.
sword and the sandals and began his journey to Athens to claim Aegeus as his
Athena, back in time when Greece was making its mark in history as one of the great civilization of the Ancient World, there was a great deal of emphasis on the Gods and Goddesses. To the Greeks the world was governed by the Gods and they were the reason many things happened in the world, mostly things that where unexplainable. The goddess Athena was one of the many gods or goddesses that played a large role in Greek mythology. Even though Athena was the patron saint of Athens she supported other Greeks outside of Athens, such as, Achilles, Orestes, and especially Odysseus. Athena is know to be the goddess of war, guardian of cities, patroness of arts and crafts, and promoter of wisdom (Classical).
Hermes is the god of travel, roads, thieves, sports, and shepherds. His symbols are the tortoise, caduceus staff, winged saddles, winged cap, and rooster. He is a very athletic and fit god. He is also the messenger for the gods because he is the only god that can travel easily through the realms of Olympus and the human
Within the writings of Greek mythology women commonly display certain attributes that the Greek society associated with women or femininity back in the day. A common quality demonstrated amongst the women in Greek society, and more specifically in Greek mythology, is deception. Throughout the Greek literature discussed in class, women have commonly showed their deception and trickery in different ways and for numerous different reasons. The Odyssey, Theogony, and Homeric Hymm all displayed Greek women showing some form of deception within the stories and poems. These stories show various ways and reasons for Greek women being deceiving and disingenuous, reasons for which there needs to be more discussion.
Zeus, his name is synonymous with Greek mythology and religion. God of the weather and sky he used his powers of wind, lightning, and thunder to uphold the law and keep order. He ruled Mount Olympus as well as the pantheon of gods who lived there. Watching over mankind he would punish those who defied him and help those who were wronged. However, Zeus did have his flaws. His quick tempered nature combined with his lust for women made him relatable to the common man. From his coming to power until the beginning of Christianity, this complex god would have no equal.
After wounding his father and taking away his power, Cronus became ruler of the universe. But Cronus, in turn, feared that his own son would supplant him. When his sister and wife Rhea gave birth to offspring---Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon?Cronus swallowed them. Only the youngest, Zeus escaped this fate, because Rhea tricked Cronus. She gave him a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow in place of the baby.