The People and Landscape of the Welsh Hillcountry R.S. Thomas writes about the people and landscape of the Welsh “hillcountry.” By referring closely to at least two of his poems, show how he makes the Welsh countryside and its inhabitants vivid to the reader. RS Thomas was born in Cardiff in 1913. He was a Parish Priest in Wales for more than 20 years. During this time he taught himself the Welsh language in order to understand the remote hill farmers that are under his care. He writes
alike as to whether of not Merlin was a real historical figure or a product of literary imagination. Much of the earlier poetry attributed to him in Welsh manuscripts, it seems, comes from authentic prophetic verse that Merlin himself spoke. Merlin was first seen in Geoffrey of Monmouthís History of the Kings of Britain written c. 1136. Many people do not accept Geoffreyís words as truth. Many say that Geoffrey wrote Merlinís legendary Prophecy referring to twelfth-century politics of King Henry
a fictional character. This was because there is no written record of a King Arthur in any area where he was reportedly born or deceased. King Arthur was real because there many people recall King Arthur or who have known personal stories of him, his family, and the wars he so bravely participated in. There are many people who recall King Arthur or know someone he was based off of. King Arthur was not real because it was not recorded in history that there was ever a “King Arthur.” Even though it is
"Drunk with melody, and what the words were, he cared not." This was a very common view among early commentators about Dylan Thomas (Cox 1). Thomas was a poet who was either loved or hated. It depended on the individual, and how they viewed his poetry. He was very famous for his poetry because it contained visions of life, aspects of birth and death, fear, grief, joy, and beauty. At a younger age, Thomas was a very violent poet. As he grew older, he spoke for all men greatly when he wrote. He wrote
has been named variously the ‘shadow,’ the ‘other,’ the ‘alien,’ the ‘outsider,’ the ‘stranger.’” It is with this borderline figure, mired in ambiguity, that this investigation is concerned: primarily with the stranger as the Moor in Othello, the Welsh in Henry IV, Part 1, and the woman in both. I suggest there is no concrete perspective of either prejudice or sympathy towards these character types. Rather, plurality in the representations of qualities such as race, ethnicity, religion, morality
wonderful solitude is, but also considers it’s negative side, with the example of a lonely girl. The poem starts off with a brief encounter into the history of Wales, and talks about the Llanthony monks, who the reader is told were unloved by the Welsh, and thus driven to a lonely life in the wilderness. By reading this poem, it seems as though being unloved is a popular reason for solitude. After this brief insight into Wales’ history the reader is then taken back to the realms of modern day
“For Wales, see England” - this oft-quoted entry in the index to the original edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica elegantly sums up the centuries of suppression of the Welsh identity by the English parliament. Llywr James, a worker at the National History Museum of Wales, told me with passion in his voice how he dreams of the day when the Embassy of Wales will be opened in Washington D.C. “And it will happen during my lifetime,” he emphatically added. “Independence is simply not in the interests
aged him. He couldn't fight the dreams like he used to. But he did have wisdom and experience on his side, though he was hard-pressed to figure out how that could help. He cast around for another subject. His mother's mother was Welsh. His mother had brought him up Welsh, her name for him had been 'Daffyd'. He wondered why he remembered that. He was confused, he didn't know what he was feeling or why. He shook his head, and with some small sense of purpose, climbed out of bed. He had decided to
Wales. Welsh had declined to a minority language status in Wales at the beginning of the 20th century but recent efforts carried out by the Welsh Government saw the language experience signs of revitalisation. I will consider the level of success of a possible revitalisation and the ways in which the country attempts to encourage it. I will refer to statistical data to support my arguments and apply the works of language theorists such as Joshua Fishman and David Crystal. I will explore the Welsh language
Sociolinguistics LING 2150 Assessment 1 Use the census data available on Welsh to build up a picture of what happened to a chosen small area of Wales over a period for which data is available in the census. The focus of your discussion should be on the rise/fall/stability of the minority language. Try to use data about the age of speakers, and degree of literacy. For this essay, I plan to look at what has happened to the number of speakers of Welsh in both Swansea and the Lliw Valley over time by using census
Irvine Welsh, is a story following the lives of a group of heroin-addicted youth in Edinburgh, known as the “Skag Boys”. The story alternates between narrators but maintains a focus on the most sane of the group, Mark Renton, who builds a reputation for dropping his addiction and relapsing suddenly. The illicit drug culture the Skag Boys live provide insight to a life different from the stereotypical image of bagpipe-playing, kilt-wearing, red-headed scots depicted in American movies. Welsh veers
Comparing Welsh Landscape, Small Window and Reservoirs In this essay I am going to discuss, compare and contrast the three poems written by R.S Thomas. The three poems arse based on Wales and Welshness. R.S Thomas' views are very clear in these poems. R.S Thomas was brought was brought up in Cardiff in a non-Welsh speaking community. R.S Thomas did not learn how to speak Welsh until he moved to Welsh speaking communities. When R.S Thomas wrote these poems he felt as if he couldn't express
Trainspotting: A Novel By Irvine Welsh Trainspotting is a captivating story of the random events that occur during a critical time in a group of Scottish junkies' lives. Irvine Welsh illustrates the confusion, anger and turmoil many heroin addicts are subjected to and what happens once they try to quit. The story is centered around Mark Renton, an ordinary twenty-two year old who was raised by a loving mother and father. He has two brothers: one was catatonic and the other was an overachiever.
Taliesin brings the wounded Arthur to Insula Pomorum, which is an attempt to translate the Welsh Ynys Avallach, and leaves Arthur there under the care of Morgen (Loomis, Roger Wales 154). Morgen was the chief of nine maidens on the island and was skilled in the arts of healing; the 4th line, 2nd stanza says that "By the breath of nine maidens it [the cauldron] was kindled" (Loomis, Roger Wales 154). A 12th century Welsh tradition derived the name of the island of Avalon from Avallach, the father of Morgain;
'Marabou Stork Nightmares,' as I have found it particularly interesting I comparison to the other novels. Irvine Welsh introduces us to the wildly active, albeit coma-beset mind of Roy Strang, whose hallucinatory quest to eradicate the evil Marabou Stork keeps being interrupted by disturbing memories of social and family dysfunction that brought him to this state. In the novel Welsh portrays Roy as an anti-hero, someone that believes that violence is the answer when fighting to earn power and
Trainspotting follows a group of people who live in Leith who are heroin addicts as well as friends of said heroin addicts who take part in destructive behaviour. The addicts have little morals when it comes to deceiving their friends but the story is about their relationships with one and other and how they maintain the bond they share. It is set in the late 1980’s and the Sunday Times called it “the voice of punk, grown up, grown wiser and grown eloquent.” The book gives a very bleak look into
exploitative self interest that characterises the everyday life of heroin addiction." (Petrie 90) Its' realistic style, use of language and unflinching portrayal of drug use was what first attracted me to look at it a bit closer. Based on the novel by Irvine Welsh, it tells the story of a group of working class unemployed drug addicts, focusing on their problems with heroin abuse, inability to get a job and family problems. Set in Edinburgh in the early nineties, Danny Boyle's (director) style is undoubtedly
similar, but not the same breed. You remember the two breeds of corgi, the Pembroke Welsh Corgi, and the Cardigan Welsh Corgi. You decide to make a list of similarities, between the two breeds, but what would be on that list? The Pembroke Welsh Corgi and the Cardigan Welsh Corgi both originated in Wales. Although, the two breeds originated in the different regions of Wales for which they are named. The Pembroke Welsh Corgi was believed to have its origins from the Flemish weavers, from the north, that
built right on the border between Welsh and Norman lands, and therefore could have been useful for both sides to have. For example, Thomas Gill states: "Either the Welsh or the English could have made use of a castle on this site". On balance, Most evidence suggests that Castell Morgraig was Wesh built because of the location it has been built in and its style of build. When looking at the design of Castell Morgraig, most evidence suggests that it was Welsh built. The castle's thickest wall
The Mabinogion is a collection of eleven tales from the Welsh myths, preserved in two manuscripts, the White Book of Rhydderch and Red Book of Hergest. The tales from the Mabinogion are divided into three categories: the first four tales belong to the Four Branches; the next four are the Independent tales; and the last three are called the Three Romances, which show strong association to the French romances written by Chretien de Troyes. Historia Peredur ab Efrawg shares significant material in