Similarly, Kipling approaches the concept of life in a prudent manner and forms a series of advice to the reader in the didactic poem “If.” The poet informs the reader on how to balance their life and become a trustworthy leader in society. The main themes presented in “If,” are leadership and maturity. The poem is considered to be a “memorable evocation of Victorian stoicism and the "stiff upper lip" that popular culture has made into a traditional British virtue.” “The stiff upper lip,” is a phrase originated from Sparta in Ancient Greece and most commonly heard of as part of the idiom “keep a stiff upper lip,” which means to face misfortune bravely and to suppress any display of emotion. Kipling presents these two meanings skillfully in the poem. “If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you” or “If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,” are one of the many advises Kipling gives in the poem that all lead to one success; being “a Man.” Kipling has combined “Spartan toughness with Stoic detachment,” presenting not only the ideal of the “stiff upper lip” in the poem but the overall achievement of Manhood and leadership in life. “The stiff upper lip,” is a phrase that has become symbolic to the British and has particularly inspired the English public school system during the age of the British Empire where Kipling at that age had endured “harsh discipline,” at his school.
Another similar poem that expresses “a memorable evocation of Victorian stoicism and the stiff upper lip” is William Ernest Henley's poem “Invictus” which means unconquered in Latin. The poem represents Henley’s struggle with tuberculosis, a lethal disease he had fallen victim to at the age of twelve. The poem depicts the true meaning of courage, ...
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...s everything beautiful in the world or even life itself. The “sun in flight,” represents the lifespan of people’s lives. “Flight” means that our lives move rapidly therefore we need to cherish and live every moment to the fullest with the time we have under the sun. A similar concept is also addressed in “To his Coy Mistress,” by Andrew Marvell who believes that life is shortly lived. The last stanza of the poem implies that the only way to influence the run of time is to speed it up and live it more intensive, “…we cannot make our sun stand still, yet we will make him run.” In “If” Rudyard as well emphasizes that we should live life to the fullest and occupy every minute “With sixty seconds worth of distance run,” this is a metaphor for life and a conceit telling us we should run—making the most of every second we have—and not waste time walking in our life time.
“The Soldier” written by Rupert Brooke in 1914 is a pro-war poem to express the bravery of soldiers going to war and fighting for their nation. Brooke's poems use of extended metaphors “Earth a richer dust.” Is used to explain that when a brave soldier dies the ground will forever hold its value. This allows him to convey his message of bravery by fighting for your nation because the earth will forever be grateful of your brave actions. He also uses personification “A dust who England bore, shaped aware,” To compare England to a mother as it gave life to the soldier and molded the
In many parts of the poem, Guest uses metaphors to show the strength that one should always keep while facing their troubles. He tells his readers to "Lift your chin and square your shoulders, plant your feet and take a brace" to prepare for whatever could be ahead (lines 2-3). Even through the metaphor "Black may be the clouds above you" which gives a clear perception of difficult and hopeless moments that might be surrounding an individual, it is still better than running since it "will not save you" (lines 8-11). It is throughout the poem that Guest has used many metaphors to remind his readers about the facing the problems that will lie ahead. It is even pointed at points, such as, "You may fail, but fall fighting" to remind the reader that not all problems can be confronted. However, the author suggests that with a person's body language, like standing tall, could become a resolve. With these metaphorical commands, it gives the reader the feeling of a solider or fighter that is preparing to face an enemy. This is also further emphasized from his use of repetition. Guest repeats the figurative phrase, "See it through" to show the reader to overcome the toughest or most hopeless of problems. It is also from this statement that he suggests to go keep going no matter what since in the end it is possible that one can succeed. Becoming the clearest and most encouraging phrase and title of the poem, Guest has made the distinction of his theme to overcome everything that one can in order to achieve the best for one's
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others.”-MLK Jr. In the book A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines explores the relationship between a student and a teacher in Bayonne, Louisiana, in the 1940s, and how their actions affect the society they are living in. Jefferson, a young black man, is accused of a murder, and is sentenced to death because of his race. Miss Emma, Jefferson’s godmother, wants Grant Wiggins, an educated black teacher to “make him a man” before Jefferson dies. Even though Grant was reluctant that it would amount to anything, but he gave his word that he would try, and soon after a couple of visits to the jail, Grant starts to develop a bond with Jefferson. As the book progresses, Jefferson learns that you need to take responsibility for your own actions, you should always be humble, one should never submit their dignity no matter the circumstances, and always remember that even heroes are not perfect.
One of the best, most valuable aspects of reading multiple works by the same author is getting to know the author as a person. People don't identify with Gregor Samsa; they identify with Kafka. Witness the love exhibited by the many fans of Hemingway, a love for both the texts and the drama of the man. It's like that for me with Kurt Vonnegut, but it strikes me that he pulls it off in an entirely different way.
“Victorian poets illustrated the changeable nature of attitudes and values within their world and explored the experiences of humanity through these shifts.”
In" A Good Man is Hard to Find" there are a variety of themes. The themes in this short story are: the grace of the grandmother and The Misfit, the vague definition of a “good man”, and the class of the grandmother. All of these themes are apparent to any reader, but it does not quite seem to match O’Connor’s depth style way of writing. The two characters, the Grandmother and the Misfit change from beginning to end. Even though they are both different as night and day, they both have principles and stand by their principles no matter what the circumstance.
One poem that is full of irony is “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen. The very title is ironic which means it is sweet and right to die for your country. His poem talks all about World War I but nothing about it is sweet or shows the honor of dying for one’s country. In this poem, he shares the harsh conditions and grim reality of war. As a soldier he witnessed his friends choking and dying by gas, no glorified death. He saw the real physical and mental exhaustion of these soldiers. He uses irony to get his point across of the truly horrific experiences of men at war.
This is in such a tone, that it is suggesting that a higher being is
...ness into one ball. What does he mean by that? Why would they roll their strength and sweetness into a ball? The “sweetness” and “strength” are used as symbols for a cannon in which the narrator uses to establish his triumphant victory in successfully persuading his mistress to give in to his wishes. He goes on saying they should vent their frustrations through the act of sex because “thus though we cannot make our sun stand still, we will make him run.” What does he mean we make our sun run but we cannot make it stand still? The allusion of the sun is used as the narrator’s vengeance against time, with him ultimately stating that instead of being controlled by time he will attempt to control it himself. His frustrations with time will be relieved as he and his mistress force the sun to race them, instead of giving in to the essence of time (Poetry for Students).
It is a shock when the soldiers suddenly spring into action at the start of the gas attack and the responder are given a chance to realize that the soldiers are really only young men, forced to mature through mental and physical burden. Owen conveys the vastness of the gas attack by employing a simile in “As under a green sea, I saw him drowning” the word ‘sea’ accentuates the thickness of the gas and the suffocating lack of air for the soldier. The dying of the man is personalized by positioning the responder in first person; “He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.” to create an emotional rapport between the two to elevate the feeling of loss. “If in some smothering dreams you too could pace behind the wagon that we flung him in” Owen creates empathy and pity from the responder through embedding them into the scene. Owen criticizes the loss of innocent life in “incurable sores on innocent tongues” to condemn the use of propaganda to attract innocent youths with false glory at stake. The poem moves from the battlefield, to an attack and the death of the man, to his dying and finally to the message “The old lie: It is sweet and honorable to die for one’s
The words and imagery used in this poem is specifically to deter young men. Nothing in this poem will glorify fighting for your country. The speaker paints a very vivid picture of death for the readers when he says “In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning”. (ln. 15-16) Not everyone wants to volunteer to see things like this. He also says “If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene at cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile,
The first fact about this poem is according to Diniejko, J. Andrzeij, the author William Ernest Henley was an editor, a critic, and a poet in 1849-1903. Also, his influence for literature was by a man named Thomas Edward Brown, who was a poet and an academic. When Henley was 12 years old he was diagnosed with tuberculosis of the bone. The doctors had to amputate his one leg because it was effected. Although, usually since one leg had to be amputated, the other one had to also, but a doctor used
The Mending Wall by Robert Frost Robert Frost was not just a writer. Frost was, more importantly, an American writer whose works epitomized the Modernist literary movement, and in turn represented the mood and minds of a nation. Frost remains emblematic of a specific time in our country. Through the words of the poet, readers of his day could see a real-time reflection of themselves - visible in Frost's verses were the hopes and apprehensions that marked the first half of the twentieth- century.
In “If” by Rudyard Kipling, the poem explains things that a boy must do to be a man. For example, one of the stanzas in the poem is, “If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;”. These are a few examples that the poet portrays as growing up. As each line of the poem goes on, it may make one believe that it is an older, wiser person, talking to a younger, “not-as-wise” boy. At the end, the poet writes, “my son”, so someone can see that the poet is a father (or mother) talking to her
In the poem Song of Myself featured in Leaves of Grass, the poet Walt Whitman describes that everybody occupies an individual place in the universe because they are composed of atoms, also everybody has a purpose in life. Whiteman explains, “For every atom belonging to me...belongs to you.” (ll.3). This example proves that everybody is equal by saying that what belongs to him also belongs someone else. The author says that everything is made up of atoms in order to show that everything and everybody is equal.Whiteman emphases people being equal and sharing the same thing in a time where there was slavery. Additionally the text discusses,"...sprouting alike in broad zones and and narrow zones, Growing among black folks as among white..." (ll,