Illustrated in the poems The Lady of Shalott and Ulysses by Alfred Lord
Tennyson, The Door by Mir slave Holub and The Girl in Times Square, a
novel by Paulina Simmons.
Change gives us roots; continuity gives us branches letting us stretch
and grow to reach new heights. Living as we know it wouldn’t exist if
change didn’t occur. This ability to continue changing is the only
true security we have. This is illustrated in the poems ‘The Lady of
Shalott” and ‘Ulysses’ by Alfred Lord Tennyson, ‘The Door’ by Mir
slave Holub and ‘The Girl in Times Square’, a novel by Paulina
Simmons.
Tennyson’s ‘The Lady of Shalott’ is divided into four parts, following
a strict and consistent meter and rhyme pattern throughout. The Lady
of Shalott is a magical being who lives alone on the island of Shalott
across the river from fast paced Camelot.
The first 2 parts of the poem illustrate a place where everything
stands still. There is a severe lack in movement and The lady of
shallot’s surroundings appears to be idle. This is illustrated through
the bleak and dull the poem provides.. “Four grey walls and four grey
towers..” “And the silent isle embowers” “Slow horses”. The uneventful
and bland introduction serves its purpose by setting the tone and mood
as a boring one, to only make the end excitingly climatic.
The first and most important change that occurs in this text is the
arrival of Sir Lancelot in Shalott. He is represented through the
imagery of flames, sun, sparkle, glitter, stars, gold, silver, shine,
burning light and glow. It was His mere presence that further sickened
The lady of Shalott of only seeing shadows and compelled her to leave
her loom. The fact that the decision to leave was hers alone, even
t...
... middle of paper ...
...result of choices
among alternate paths offered by the present, but a place that we
create using our minds and will, then in activity. The future is a
place we are creating not going to. The path is to be made not found
and through change she can achieve the most unique and fulfilling
destinations.
It is from the didactive nature of all of these texts we can conclude
that change is inevitable. Change can be positive or negative. With
change comes responsibility, but the price is always worth what we got
for it. The emotive, descriptive language and imagery used in
Tennyson’s poems, symbolism and simplicity of ‘The Door’ and the
mystery of ‘The Girl in Times Square’ all profoundly affect the way I
have viewed change as a necessary element of living, making it so
simple to say that Change by itself is the most powerful agent to
growth and transformation.
“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte and “Sula” by Toni Morrison are two classic works of novels. Both are two completely different stories. One tells the life story of an orphan who was raised by her cruel Aunt and was later sent away to school, worked as a teacher and a governess, experienced sleeping on the streets and begging for food, inherited a fortune from her father, discovers lost relatives and marries a previous employer whom she fell deeply in love with. This story, “Jane Eyre,” was in England during the Victorian Era and it deals with many different themes such as love, religion, social class and gender issues.
“Accept what is, let go of what was and have faith in what will be.” - Anonymous
The death of the female beloved is the only way deemed possible by the insecure, possessive male to seize her undivided attention. This beloved woman represents the "reflector and guarantor of male identity. Hence, the male anxiety about the woman's independence for her liberty puts his masculine self-estimation at risk" (Maxwell 29). The jealous and controlling males in Robert Browning's "Porphyria's Lover" and "My Last Duchess" possess a fervent desire to fix and monopolize their unconstrained female beloveds. Due to a fear of death, both speakers attempt to achieve control and deny object loss; by turning their lovers (once subjects) into objects, they ultimately attain the role of masterful subject.
After centuries of serving as background noise to her husband Ulysses’ odes of sea storms, sirens, and celebrity, the mythological Penelope finally steps into the light in Miriam Waddington’s poem “Ulysses Embroidered.” Functioning as a revisionary text to both the Alfred, Lord Tennyson work “Ulysses” and the tradition of The Odyssey itself, “Ulysses Embroidered” quickly strikes its readers as a fiercely feminist re-envisioning of Penelope and her tale. Waddington’s work allows for an age-old legend to be told in a new way with a bold, feminine speaker, but to what end do her changes remark on Tennyson’s original work? By engaging in two separate modes of revision by both reading against the grain and “constantly [engaging] in dialogue” to work in tandem with the original poem, Waddington
Throughout modern history the ancient Greeks and their stories have influenced our culture and way of life. Many of the ancient Greek myths are those of caution that teach us moral lessons. For example, the myth of Odysseus and the sirens, told by Homer in The Odyssey, teaches us to resist the urge to indulge in temptations. Odysseus and his crew are travelling near the island of the sirens when Odysseus plugs the ears of his crewmates with beeswax and has them tie him to the mast so that he can listen to the sirens’ song and not crash their ship onto the rocks as they pass the island. Odysseus and his crew safely pass the island of the sirens without any casualties and continue on their journey home. Author Margaret Atwood and artist John William Waterhouse both display their brilliant ideas about the myth of Odysseus and the sirens using poetry and painting. Both Ulysses and the Sirens by John William Waterhouse and “Siren Song” by Margaret Atwood use the myth of the sirens to show that during their lives, people often encounter bad temptations that can lead to their demise and should pay no attention to such temptations.
In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses many types of imagery to provide understanding of the characters and also to express reoccurring themes in the novel. Through bird imagery specifically, we are able to see Jane develop from a small, unhappy child into a mature and satisfied young woman. "The familiarity and transcendence of birds have given them a wider range of meaning and symbol in literature than any other animal. The resemblance of their activities to common patterns of human behavior makes them exceptionally suitable for anthropomorphic imagery that links man to the common forms of nature" (Lutwack xii). Through the use of birds such as doves and sparrows Bronte enables the audience to gain insight into the type of person that Jane is, caring, selfless, and independent. It also allows the reader to see what type of person Mr. Rochester is, strong and controlling, by comparing him to eagles and cormorants. The connotations involved with the specific birds mentioned in Jane Eyre allow the reader to become aware of the distinct traits the characters possess and certain reoccurring themes presented in the novel.
F. Scott Fitzgerald is known for his use of symbols and imagery throughout The Great Gatsby to illustrate his many ideas and themes. The green light is a symbol that seems to pervade the novel, taking on many meanings. The image of the green light is presented in Chapter 1, as Gatsby extended his arms to the “single green light” at Daisy’s dock as if it were some sort of religious icon. Jordan also confirms this sense of idolization when she says that “Gatsby bought [his] house so that Daisy would be just across the bay,” suggesting his obsessive devotion to Daisy (77). As shown in Chapter 9, the green light can also be interpreted as a symbol of growth. Near the end of the novel, Fitzgerald illustrates Daisy’s dock transforming into the “fresh green breast of the new world” before sailors, struck by the verdant and fertile virgin American soil. This image establishes the discrepancy between Gatsby’s dream and the “American Dream” while also expressing the inability to repeat the past. The color green also represents money, making it appropriate that Gatsby acknowledges a woman whose...
In the poem “Cell”, Margaret Atwood contrasts the cancer cell against the popular, negative image. The author uses literary devices such as imagery, figurative language, structure, and perspective to create the contrast. The result makes the reader consider the cancer cell in a new light. There is beauty in a cancer cell and we are not as different from cancer cells as we think.
Mr. Jay Gatsby, a man too obsessed with the past to see the present. Gatsby is a young man in his early thirties from North Dakota. It is here that he lived an impoverished childhood and dreamed of wealth and the sophisticated lifestyle. Gatsby obtained his dreams through organized crime and any way he could. Ultimately we see that his possessiveness with the lavish lifestyle is fueled continuously for his ever passionate love for Daisy Buchanon, a woman he met in 1917 in Louisiana before he departed for World War 1. When Gatsby met Daisy he immediately fell in love with her aura of luxury, so he lied about his past to seem as if he was worthy of her time and not just another poor kid from North Dakota. While Gatsby had returned, he attempted
Victor Hugo, a French novelist, philosopher, poet and politician was the literal counterpart of Napoleon Bonaparte. Pre – eminent scholars like Leo Tolstoy hailed, the French general as the personification of the verve and spirit of France. He was the embodiment of the throbbing omniscient “life force” that had unseated the “old order” in post – revolution era. Studying Hugo in isolation would be a great injustice to a prolific artist. Boisterous and pompous, Hugo asserted that his works constituted a whole. He employed different vehicles to disseminate his brilliant ideas. At times discursive, at times rambling, and at times tangential but always with flashes of pristine sublimity. A discerning genius who let himself sink into the profundity of the words he conjured. A radical rebel with poignant analysis he was epitome of the unrelenting profuse manifestation of virtuosity.
In the sonnet, "Thou Blind Man's Mark," Sir Philip Sydney uses a poetic form to express desires in his mind and how it affects him. The speaker begins by insulting how bad desires are, which shows…... This contempt is most readily optically discerned when he elaborates on poetic devices such as oxymoron, repetition, and diction to convey the speaker’s complex attitude.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born in Durham,England.She became a famous poet, at first her poems were very depressing,sad but once she meet the right person her poems went from sad to romantic.She is the oldest child of twelve kids.Her family wasn't poor at all there were very wealthy.Her dad was the owner of a sugar plantation that he had in Jamaica.She was a very smart girl, by smart I mean she started writing and reading novels at age six.She didn't go to school like the rest of the kids she was homeschooled.Can you believe that at age ten, she started studying Greek! She wrote her own poem in Greek style at age twelve.
'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.
Lady Macbeth's character is first formed in Act I scene v, the scene opens with her reading a letter from her husband, its content is full of thoughts and tellings of the meeting with the witches earlier that day. Lady Macbeth begins by talking about how her husband now has a goal and addresses his personality. Understandably she would like this prophecy to transpire and there is no question that she would be willing to help him gain the title of king. Lady Macbeth comes to the conclusion that to become king Macbeth must kill Duncan.
There are a number of reasons why the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop appeals to modern readers. The descriptive, vibrant language of Bishop transcends through time to appeal to every reader in all of her poems. What I admire the most about Elizabeth’s poetry is its combination of detailed, imaginative description and intriguing insight. She closely observes and vividly describes the world around her particularly like how Bishop’s poetry changes everyday scenes to vivid imagery. Bishop has a keen eye for detail, she transforms the visual images she observes into poetic language that creates clear images in the reader’s mind. This gives her poetry a powerful, visual quality, drawing the reader into the world she describes. She deals with a number of themes including death,loss,childhood,domesticity and the resilience of the human spirit also admire her ability to write a poem from a child’s point of view, so the poem can be seen through the eyes of a child. Bishop’s poems are rooted in personal experience, but have a genuine universal appeal.