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Compare and contrast between William Blake and Wordsworth
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Transcendentalism United States
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The Apology Analysis
Well known transcendentalist and writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his poem The Apology, describes his unapologetic nature towards the people misunderstanding his passion and beliefs, as well as his feelings toward the existence of a God. Emerson was born on May 25th, 1803. Ralph Waldo Emerson graduated from Harvard University in 1821. He became a transcendentalist in 1823, these beliefs being what inspired most of his works. Emerson became a licensed and ordained minister by the year 1829. Emerson married Ellen Tucker in 1829 as well. When she died of tuberculosis in 1831, he fell into a state of depression. Her death, added to his own recent crisis of faith, caused him to resign from the church. In 1833 he began to lecture
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on topics of spiritual and ethical living. In 1835 he got remarried to Lydia Jackson. Emerson died on April 27th, 1882. His beliefs and ideals were strong influences on the work Henry David Thoreau and his contemporary Walt Whitman, as well as a number of others. Being a transcendentalist, Emerson felt a genuine spiritual connection with all forms of nature. Emerson was a man of strong faith, but he did not believe in a one specific God. Emerson believed that man should have a very close relationship with nature, as shown through his poems. Emerson’s purpose was to show that his work is equal to or even greater than any type of physical labor. He creates a passive and relaxed tone to show that he is not talking down to the audience, but trying to make them truly understand his work, passion, and beliefs. Throughout the poem Emerson uses a plethora of different rhetorical devices. He uses personification, alliteration, assonance, and allusion particularly frequently in The Apology. Emerson is also known to use symbols to represent the natural world, and the spiritual feelings he has towards nature. Emerson also tends to use a certain amount of non-derogatory diction throughout the poem, to emphasize the point that he is not talking down to audience, even though they look down upon him. Emerson opens the poem with the line, “Think me not unkind and rude, that I walk alone in grove and glen;” Emerson tells the audience not look down upon him because of his lack of physical labor, Emerson believes he is doing something equally as important. He also uses diction relating to nature, the words grove and glen, showing that he feels a spiritual connection with nature. These lines imply that while the laborers are out and about, he is alone, doing his own form of labor. The first line shows clear transcendentalist influences. He then moves to the line “I go to the god of the wood / To fetch his word to men.” The use of the word god shows that he feels an apparent connection to the woods, and that he wants to share his enlightenment and connection with the all other people who are looking down on him because of his beliefs. Emerson very clearly doesn’t capitalize the word God when he states “I go to the god of the wood…” judging by his transcendentalist ideas this was very much intended. The second stanza begins with the line “Tax not my sloth that I / Fold my arms beside the brook;” Emerson is emphasizing the fact he shouldn’t be judged for the fact that he finds peace and is inspired by nature.
His use of alliteration, “beside the brook”, emphasizes the relaxed and laid back tone established in the previous stanza. In the next line Emerson states “Each cloud that floated in the sky / Writes a letter in my book;” Emerson uses personification to give the affect that the clouds are living things that inspire his poetry. Emerson uses rhetorical devices such as personification and alliteration all throughout his …show more content…
work. Continuing into the next stanza Emerson moves to a tone in which he is almost trying to convince the audience not to dislike him because of his beliefs or passion. He states “Chide , me not, laborious band / for idle flowers I brought;” He also uses the term “idle flowers” to represent how little Emerson believes the audience actually cares about his work, by saying that the flowers are just idle and nothing to really think twice about in these people’s eyes. Emerson then shifts his tone with the next line when he says “Every aster in my hand / Goes home loaded with thought.” By saying this Emerson essentially tells the audience that he does this because nature, flowers specifically, inspire him in every way, but mainly with his art. This final thought is also another example of personification, implying that the each individual flower specifically inspires Emerson. As the poem begins its next stanza, Emerson begins to explain himself and his ideals a little further.
He writes “There was never mystery, / But ‘tis figured in the flowers,” He is using alliteration to establish once again that there was never any mystery about what Emerson truly believed in throughout his life. He also once again brings up the image of flowers and them being a major part of his connection with nature. In the next line Emerson says “Was never secret history / But birds tell it in the bowers.” This line is to reinforce the fact that, this path is the one for Emerson, and that there is no secret about that. Waldo Emerson also once again uses images of nature. His use of alliteration in this particular stanza helps the overall natural flow of the
poem. In the final stanza of the poem Emerson begins to talk about “God’s” wishes for him. In the last stanza he states “One harvest from thy field / Homeward brought the oxen strong; / A second crop thine acres yield, which I gather in a song.” In this entire final stanza Emerson is saying that if you do as “God wishes”, in this case he uses the example of harvesting land, good things will come to you. He uses the symbol of a song to represent these so called good things. The Apology is a very tongue in cheek poem, almost satirical at points. Emerson highly emphasizes the fact that people shouldn’t be judged for their passion or beliefs, also themes of God and spiritualism as a whole are present. Emerson believes that God is all around us, while he doesn’t believe that there is one specific God, he believes that there is a godly presence around us in nature. In conclusion the poem is about a man who is passionate about being one with the world around him, along with the existence, or nonexistence, of a higher power. He uses rhetorical devices to keep a consistently passive and calming tone. The Apology is a masterwork of American poetry and is highly underrated in my opinion.
At the beginning of the poem, the speaker starts by telling the reader the place, time and activity he is doing, stating that he saw something that he will always remember. His description of his view is explained through simile for example “Ripe apples were caught like red fish in the nets of their branches” (Updike), captivating the reader’s attention
Truman Capote showcases his very distinct style of writing in his true crime novel, In Cold Blood. Capote intentionally frames ruthless murderer Perry Smith as a relatable, well-intentioned human throughout the whole novel, and employs various rhetorical devices to show us that Perry is not just a stone cold killer. Specifically, Capote uses diction comprised of complex words, interviews conducted by Capote personally in which he interacted with the suspects and their loved ones, and sentence structure that came off as very to the point, in order to illustrate Perry’s dynamic and unique personality, opposed to the one dimensional heartless murderer many made him out to be.
The essay "Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson implements the use of many transcendentalist ideas through the use of strong rhetorical language. The core belief of transcendentalism is self-reliance and independence, and it stresses the importance that people need to do things on their own. Emerson uses irony to point out many latent truths about the concept. He also uses personification to show that the world around someone can have qualities of a human. Metaphors are also used heavily in the essay as catalysts to help the reader better understand Transcendentalism.
I chose this word because the tone of the first chapter seems rather dark. We hear stories of the hopes with which the Puritans arrived in the new world; however, these hopes quickly turned dark because the Purtains found that the first buildings they needed to create were a prison, which alludes to the sins they committed; and a cemetery, which contradicts the new life they hoped to create for themselves.
In 1729, Jonathan Swift published a pamphlet called “A Modest Proposal”. It is a satirical piece that described a radical and humorous proposal to a very serious problem. The problem Swift was attacking was the poverty and state of destitution that Ireland was in at the time. Swift wanted to bring attention to the seriousness of the problem and does so by satirically proposing to eat the babies of poor families in order to rid Ireland of poverty. Clearly, this proposal is not to be taken seriously, but merely to prompt others to work to better the state of the nation. Swift hoped to reach not only the people of Ireland who he was calling to action, but the British, who were oppressing the poor. He writes with contempt for those who are oppressing the Irish and also dissatisfaction with the people in Ireland themselves to be oppressed.
Many people have gone through their lives conforming their beliefs and practices for the sake of fitting in or for the happiness of others, but Socrates was not one of these people. In “The Apology” Plato shows Socrates unwillingness to conform through a speech given by Socrates while on trial for supposedly corrupting the youth of Athens and believing in false gods. Although the title of the dialogue was labeled “The Apology,” Socrates’ speech was anything but that, it was a defense of himself and his content along his philosophical journey. At no time during the trial was Socrates willing to change his ways in order to avoid punishment, two reasons being his loyalty to his God and his philosophical way of life.
The main argument in The Apology by famous ancient Greek philosopher Plato is whether, notorious speaker and philosopher Socrates is corrupting the youth by preaching ungodly theories and teaching them unlawful ideas that do harm to individuals and society. In his words Socrates quoted the prosecution’s accusation against him: “Socrates is guilty of corrupting the minds of the young, and of believing in supernatural things of his own invention instead of the gods recognized by the state.” 1 Further Socrates consistently introduces tediously compiled number of examples to provide valid and sound arguments to prove that he is innocent of the charges brought up against him to the court.
Ralph Waldo Emerson might have been Truman a standout amongst our incredible geniuses despite the fact that he. Might have a short history. In any case likewise Emerson once said himself. “Great geniuses have the most brief biographies.” Emerson might have been likewise a significant. Pioneers for “the philosophical development for Transcendentalism”. Transcendentalism might have been faith for a higher actuality over that found ordinary an aggregation. That a mankind 's camwood accomplish. Anecdotal data Emerson might have been destined around May 25, 1803 done Boston, Massachusetts. As much adore for music, something she imparts to her father passed on at he might have been youthful and as much mothball. Might have been exited with him and as much four different siblings. Toward those
Ralph Waldo Emerson grew up in Boston, Massachusetts his childhood was good. Emerson’s father William Emerson was a clergyman, which the majority of Emerson’s lineage had been. Emerson went Boston Latin School and later went to Harvard University and the Harvard school of divinity. In 1826, he was approved as minister and ordained to the Unitarian church in 1829. Emerson had three main points about scholars being educated. The three key points were that nature, books, and action educate the scholar. The first point was that nature’s variety conceals fundamental laws that are the same time laws if the human mind: “the ancient principle, “Know Thyself” and the modern principal, “Study Nature”.
In his first chapter entitled Nature Emerson writes “To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society.”(615) This reflects his feelings towards society and how it must be left behind to truly find God. Later in this chapter he marvels over how God Had made the atmosphere in such a way that we can see the rest of the universe, God’s almighty handiwork. Emerson ponders just what the future generations of people will still appreciate the city of stars God has provided. In Nature Emerson also expresses his love and admiration for the poet when he writes how a woodcutter sees a tree as a stick of timber where the poet sees it for what it is, a tree. Also in this first chapter Emerson expresses his transcendental belief that children are closer to God when he writes, “The sun illuminates only the eye of a man, but shines into the eye and the heart of a child.”(616). From this first chapter we can tell that Emerson had an almost insatiable love of nature, he believed that god was all around us, in our fields, our forests, and our rivers.
Frost uses quite a bit of personification throughout the poem to give the sky and ocean human like traits. The use of this literary device helps embody the meaning of the poem. The first use of personification is seen in the second and third line “Great waves looked over others coming in/ and thought of doing something to the shore”. This illustrates how the waves were smashing upon each other and getting larger and larger than the ones before. The personification of the waves in line three, suggest that the waves have an actual mind of their and shall do what they wish.
A. Under trial for corrupting youth and not worshiping the Gods in Athens, Socrates takes an attitude that many might interpret as pompous during his trial. Rather than apologise, as Plato’s dialogue title Apology suggests, Socrates explains why he is right and those who accused him are mistaken. He speaks in a plain manner, as if the jury is just another of his followers. Socrates first cites the profit at Delphi for why he behaves in ways that lead to him being under scrutiny of the law. He explains that his friend, Chaerephon, went to ask the oracle if anyone is wiser than Socrates and the oracle responded no (21a). Socrates then explains his interpretation of this being that he is wise in knowing that he does not know certain things, where
To begin his essay and to convey an idea, Ralph Waldo Emerson builds up the opening lines with a charismatic gusto; to which his word choice is very particular, because the words he chooses directly influences his tone throughout these three paragraphs. His tone seems friendly and wise, it could be compared to the “old man at the corner-store” type character; on a lazy summer day, always genuine and offering down to earth advice over a cup of lemonade. It creates such an atmosphere for the audience to become comfortable, and in this case the audience can be assumed to be singular in the context of the text, so it can be implied that message will be personal, which is textbook pathos, and because his proposition plays on our emotions, we take his words to heart. Emerson creates a string of beatific phrases that echoes in the labyrinths of our private minds. Our thoughts, our ideas, are indeed important. Speak your
In “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” William Wordsworth accomplishes his ideal of nature by using personification, alliteration, and simile within his poem to convey to the reader how nature’s beauty uplifts his spirits and takes him away from his boring daily routine. Wordsworth relates himself in solidarity to that of a cloud wandering alone, “I wandered lonely as a cloud” (line 1). Comparing the cloud and himself to that of a lonely human in low spirits of isolation, simultaneously the author compares the daffodils he comes across as he “floats on high o’er vales and hills” (line 2) to that of a crowd of people dancing (lines 3-6 and again in 12). Watching and admiring the dancing daffodils as he floats on by relating them to various beauties of
Figurative language is used by William Wordsworth to show the exchange between man and nature. The poet uses various examples of personification throughout the poem. When the poet says:”I wandered lonely as a cloud” (line 1),”when all at once I saw a crowd” (line 3), and “fluttering and dancing in the breeze” (line 6) shows the exchange between the poet and nature since the poet compares himself to a cloud, and compares the daffodils to humans. Moreover, humans connect with God through nature, so the exchange between the speaker and nature led to the connection with God. The pleasant moment of remembering the daffodils does not happen to the poet all time, but he visualizes them only in his “vacant or pensive mode”(line 20). However, the whole poem is full of metaphors describing the isolation of the speaker from society, and experiences the beauty of nature that comforts him. The meta...