Monday, June 23, 2008
Robert Browning
Browning's "Porphyria's Lover" was something different to read. The poem was so beautiful and sweet (well at least the beginning was). I like the fact that he descibed the weather conditions outside, "The rain set early in to-night, the sullen wind was soon awake" (pg. 662), because it really sets the tone for the poem as well as show how much Prophyria really loves him. The fact that she walked through the storm to get to him was a true testament of the love that she has for him. Browning made the poem even better by describing the interaction between the 2 of them inside the house/cottage. What a lot of people sometimes don't get is that it more often than not it's the simple things that mean the most to people of significance and Browning really grasped those small endearing things, "She put my arm about her waist, and made her smooth white shoulder bare, and all her yellow hair displaced, and, stooping, made my cheek lie there" (pg. 662). But once I got to line 38, "...and all her hair in one long yellow string I wound three times her little throat around, and strangles her" (pg. 663), everything I thought previously went out the window. I am really mad that he straight killed her like that and then had the nerve to sit there with her as if she were still alive and everything was all flowers and sunshine. This poem is a classic example of a psycopath who can't bear to lose the only love they have ever received from another human being so they kill that person in order to permanently retain it. This poem was so creepy but so good at the same time.
John Keats
It sucks that Keats died at such a young age because if he had lived to be even just 40 years old or so I honestly believe that he could have composed some of the best poems ever because the few that we do have are great. His poems seem to deal a lot with death and I guess that is to be expected since his father, mother, and brother all died and he personally cared for 2 of them until their dying day.
I liked "To Autumn" because it made me feel calm as I was reading it. I'm personally a summer person but I liked how he described the wonderous things that the autumn season brings and what he is going to miss about it. When I read the the mini cliff note that was given for the word "autumn" it said that there was a double meaning to this poem, "The ode evokes two competing but related senses of autumn: the social context of harvest bounty; and the symbolic association with death" (pg. 443). I grasped the poem in the context of harvest and its social applications but I really didn't see how death was incorporated into this poem as well. The only thing I could think of was the changing seasons is like the changes that occur throughout life and maybe the cold that winter brings can somewhat correlate with death in some way I think. That part really did confuse me but other than that I really loved reading this.
I liked "To Autumn" because it made me feel calm as I was reading it. I'm personally a summer person but I liked how he described the wonderous things that the autumn season brings and what he is going to miss about it. When I read the the mini cliff note that was given for the word "autumn" it said that there was a double meaning to this poem, "The ode evokes two competing but related senses of autumn: the social context of harvest bounty; and the symbolic association with death" (pg. 443). I grasped the poem in the context of harvest and its social applications but I really didn't see how death was incorporated into this poem as well. The only thing I could think of was the changing seasons is like the changes that occur throughout life and maybe the cold that winter brings can somewhat correlate with death in some way I think. That part really did confuse me but other than that I really loved reading this.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Oh my gosh, Browning's stuff was so beautiful. Before I get into her work I first have to make a few comments about her life prior to meeting Robert Browning. It really bothered me while reading her biography that her father was so overprotective and I really wonder why. With 11 children it really makes me wonder what he was so afraid of. Like the fact that he did not want ANY of his child to get married. This woman was 40 years old when she met Robert and she had to hide her relationship from her father and eventually elope so that he wouldn't find out. That is unbelievable. I know it was a different time and things were done quite differently than they are now but I refuse to believe that a woman who is old enough to be my mother has to hide her relationship from her father. I mean at this point what can the man really do to her?
"Sonnets from the Portuguese" was the most beautiful thing I think I have ever read, no lie. I loved it so much because the love that she had for Robert and the love he had for her really saved her life, "Straightway I was 'ware, so weeping, how a mystic Shape did move behind me, and drew me backward by the hair; And a voice said in mastery, while I strove,--"Guess now who holds thee?"--"Death," I said. But, there, The silver answer rang,--"Not Death, but Love"" (pg. 530). At 40 years old and not in the best of health this woman was still able to find love and the best love she could ever have. She really expressed that in this sonnet and it's an example to all that you are never to young or to old to find true love.
"Sonnets from the Portuguese" was the most beautiful thing I think I have ever read, no lie. I loved it so much because the love that she had for Robert and the love he had for her really saved her life, "Straightway I was 'ware, so weeping, how a mystic Shape did move behind me, and drew me backward by the hair; And a voice said in mastery, while I strove,--"Guess now who holds thee?"--"Death," I said. But, there, The silver answer rang,--"Not Death, but Love"" (pg. 530). At 40 years old and not in the best of health this woman was still able to find love and the best love she could ever have. She really expressed that in this sonnet and it's an example to all that you are never to young or to old to find true love.
French Revolution
Helen Williams' writings on the French Revolution were really good. It is common knoledge that the French and the English don't get along (I personally don't think they ever di or ever will) so it was really cool to read about the French Revolution through the eyes of and Englishwoman and it wasn't rude or hateful in the least bit. They were just regular letters about her time in France and how much she enjoyed it there and I liked that the most about them. I don't know if it's right to assume that she was biased in her views of the French people or not because even though she was English she might as well of had been French solely based on the love and affection she had for them and the country.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
"Pirates of the Caribbean" on deck!!! Sorry, that was me being slow but on to the poem. What on earth was the point of this poem? I really just don't get it. I get that the Kraken is a mythical creature and Tennyson is talking about him sleeping and his surroundings and eventually being awaken by humans but that makes absolutely no sense to me. I really chose to blog on this particular poem because it comfused me so much and I'm really hoping someone can clue me in. It doesn't even seem to blend in with any of his other poems in my opinion.
Industrialism
It is just amazing to think that the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s would have, and continues to have, such a vast impact on my life today. Something as simple as the invention of a steam-powered loom and the railway system has paved the way for every single invention that has come since and every invention that has yet to be made.
Fanny Kemble's "Record of a Girlhood" allows for fantastic insight into the wonders that the railway brought and how people reacted to it. I thought it was cute how Kemble compared the train to a person in some aspects and a creature in others. The fact that she described it by saying such things as "She goes upon two wheels, which are her feet, and are moved by bright steel legs called pistons" (pg. 490) really helps those reading her journal/excerpt on her first experience on the train get a sense of what the experience is really like. People in thode days more than likely wouldn't know what a piston was and the fact that she compared it to something that was quite relatable to the common person I think made transitioning into the Industrial Age that much easier. Even with all the leaps and bounds and grand things that the Industrial Revolution brought it didn't come without it's negatives as well.
Charles Dickens and his "Dombey and Son" tell of the negative and not so glorious side of the Industrial Revolution. He let it be known that the countryside was suffering in multiple ways due to the building of the railway and it wasn't wanted by everyone, "Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wilderness of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing" (pg. 496). Even though the Industrial Revolution brought so many great things, and even more and better things to come to society it didn't do so without destroying a few things along the way and I'm glad that both sides of the spectrum were expressed via a slew of extremely talented writers.
Fanny Kemble's "Record of a Girlhood" allows for fantastic insight into the wonders that the railway brought and how people reacted to it. I thought it was cute how Kemble compared the train to a person in some aspects and a creature in others. The fact that she described it by saying such things as "She goes upon two wheels, which are her feet, and are moved by bright steel legs called pistons" (pg. 490) really helps those reading her journal/excerpt on her first experience on the train get a sense of what the experience is really like. People in thode days more than likely wouldn't know what a piston was and the fact that she compared it to something that was quite relatable to the common person I think made transitioning into the Industrial Age that much easier. Even with all the leaps and bounds and grand things that the Industrial Revolution brought it didn't come without it's negatives as well.
Charles Dickens and his "Dombey and Son" tell of the negative and not so glorious side of the Industrial Revolution. He let it be known that the countryside was suffering in multiple ways due to the building of the railway and it wasn't wanted by everyone, "Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wilderness of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing" (pg. 496). Even though the Industrial Revolution brought so many great things, and even more and better things to come to society it didn't do so without destroying a few things along the way and I'm glad that both sides of the spectrum were expressed via a slew of extremely talented writers.
William Butler Yeats
Reading his biography really made me sad. It seems like he never really got a break from the bad things in life but on the upside it made for some nice poems. I understood but at the same time I didn't quite get "No Second Troy." I really felt this poem because no one ever wants to be rejected or have their heart broken. I thought that it was very flattering that he compared Maud to Helen of Troy (I mean who wouldn't want to be compared to her because she was gorgeous) but at the same time it wasn't necessarily a good thing seeing that the country of Troy was completely destroyed because of her. I get that Maud is like Helen in that she captivated him and all he wanted in this world was to be with her but I'm not quite sure if he is putting himself in the role of Paris or Menelaus. I understand how he could be Menelaus in that he had her in his life and in a sense she belonged to him (of course in case there was absolutely nothing sexual about that relationship). Then she all of a sudden she is lost to him via another man and he desparately wants her back. At the same time I can somewhat see him as Paris in that this beautiful woman that he is so in love with and wants nothing but to be with her essentially (but at the same time unintentionally) destroys his life (in Yeats' case his life is destroyed emotionally while Paris' was destroyed physically and materialistically). This poem was a nice way for him to express the pain and loneliness he felt after Maud rejected his marriage proposal and at the same time it really makes you think about where he is coming from and how he may be dealing with this difficult chapter of his life.
World War I
All I have to say is WOW!!! "Vorticist Manifesto" was something serious to say the least. I first have to start off by saying that the way is was written is very interesting and unique. I guess it's only right to try and reestablish what art should be by taking a totally new approah on the way the verses are written. At first glance it is kind of hard to really grasp the flow of the manifesto because words are literally all over the page, there is no structure whatsoever. But once you get past the initial shock reading it is a interesting as well as entertaining.
Boy did they "blast" anything and everyone. I didn't think that it was humanly possible to dislike so many things about an institution and then to go as far as to list the horrors or other institutions that have absolutely no impact on your life. Then they shocked me again and listed all the great things that each institution had. I don't know if it's just me but they seemed a bit shallow when it came to listing all the "blessings" of France. Half of the things listed for France had to do with sex and women it seemed and that really made me laugh. I guess England and France never have and probably never will truly get along.
Boy did they "blast" anything and everyone. I didn't think that it was humanly possible to dislike so many things about an institution and then to go as far as to list the horrors or other institutions that have absolutely no impact on your life. Then they shocked me again and listed all the great things that each institution had. I don't know if it's just me but they seemed a bit shallow when it came to listing all the "blessings" of France. Half of the things listed for France had to do with sex and women it seemed and that really made me laugh. I guess England and France never have and probably never will truly get along.
William Blake
Blake's work was different from all the other readings by the other authors I've read so far in that he adds religion in almost every single one of his poems. Of course that is not a bad thing it's just something that I noticed.
I really did like his work, especially the fact that a lot of it dealt with children. the introduction poem from "Songs of Innocence and of Experience" was so sweet. It's simply about playing music that is bringing joy to a child (or is it the spirit of a child). Everyone is quite aware of the fact that it really doesn't take a lot to bring a smile to a child's face and I love the fact that Blake has really expressed that in this poem.
"The Chimney Sweeper" was another great poem that Blake wrote. On the contrary it is very sad. The little excerpt at the bottom of the page that correlated with the word "sweeper" explained that "Chimney-sweepers were mostly young boys, whose impoverished parents sold them into the business, or who were orphans, outcats, or illegitimate children with no other means of living" (pg. 81). Reading that really broke my heart. How could any parent just sell their child like that. I'm pretty sure they did not get that much money and even if they did you can never put a price on someones life. Reading this poem also made me think of the movie "The Little Princess" (I'm sure almost all of you remember that movie) and the little boy in that movie who was sweeping the chimney of the boarding school and how horribly he was treated by everyone. The best thing about this poem though was the fact that the little boy Tom had something to be happy about when he awoke in the morning. He had something comforting to hold on to.
I really did like his work, especially the fact that a lot of it dealt with children. the introduction poem from "Songs of Innocence and of Experience" was so sweet. It's simply about playing music that is bringing joy to a child (or is it the spirit of a child). Everyone is quite aware of the fact that it really doesn't take a lot to bring a smile to a child's face and I love the fact that Blake has really expressed that in this poem.
"The Chimney Sweeper" was another great poem that Blake wrote. On the contrary it is very sad. The little excerpt at the bottom of the page that correlated with the word "sweeper" explained that "Chimney-sweepers were mostly young boys, whose impoverished parents sold them into the business, or who were orphans, outcats, or illegitimate children with no other means of living" (pg. 81). Reading that really broke my heart. How could any parent just sell their child like that. I'm pretty sure they did not get that much money and even if they did you can never put a price on someones life. Reading this poem also made me think of the movie "The Little Princess" (I'm sure almost all of you remember that movie) and the little boy in that movie who was sweeping the chimney of the boarding school and how horribly he was treated by everyone. The best thing about this poem though was the fact that the little boy Tom had something to be happy about when he awoke in the morning. He had something comforting to hold on to.
John Stuart Mill
"It is necessary to society that women should marry and produce children. They will not do so unless they are compelled. Therefore it is necessary to compel them" (pg. 526). What in God's name is that??? I have never heard something so unbelievably ignorant in my 20 years of life and I've heard a lot. My initial thought upon reading the above atatement was of course how is it that men intended to "compel" these women to subject to marriage in the first place. As I continued to read I wound that they intended to "close all other doors against them" (pg. 526) in order to, in a sense, control them. But what are those "other doors" that they intend to close? Where they not going to allow women who went against the grain the opportunity to obtain a job; since there were SOOO many open opportunities for women to choose from.
I have to say though that I absolutely LOVE Mill!!! "The Subjection of Women" was the absolute best thing I have ever read coming from a man of all people. It really just makes me wonder what it was about his upbringing compared to that of everyone else's of that time that gave him such a different view of women and what their status in society should be. It's amazing that even after he got elected into Parliament he was still trying to make strides towards helping women gain equality in society. "Statement Repudiating the Rights of Husbands" was another good story/excerpt. I wonder how people back then reacted when they found out that he wanted his wife to retain all of her assests. Everything about Mill's work was just too awesome for words.
I have to say though that I absolutely LOVE Mill!!! "The Subjection of Women" was the absolute best thing I have ever read coming from a man of all people. It really just makes me wonder what it was about his upbringing compared to that of everyone else's of that time that gave him such a different view of women and what their status in society should be. It's amazing that even after he got elected into Parliament he was still trying to make strides towards helping women gain equality in society. "Statement Repudiating the Rights of Husbands" was another good story/excerpt. I wonder how people back then reacted when they found out that he wanted his wife to retain all of her assests. Everything about Mill's work was just too awesome for words.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
James Joyce
"Clay" was actually a nice little excerpt from "Dubliners." It's simplicity was probably the best part of the story, it wasn't overpowering or lost in translation in a sense. I was super surprised at the fact the Maria was a prostitute. The way she is portrayed in the story would never remotely cause me to think that she was a prostitute. It is kind of weird that "reformed" prostitutes are working in family homes with their children. I don't mean to judge or anything but is there really such a thing as a "reformed" prostitute in the first place? Okay yes it happened in "Pretty Woman" but that clearly isn't real life. I know for certain that I would never want someone who does or did sell their body for money working in my house or around my family.
I don't know if it's just me but while I was reading the story I kind of got an inkling that maybe there were some feelings between Maria and Joe. There wasn't a particular line or phrase that confirmed this, it was just a slight feeling I got while reading. This really was a nice story because it simply told the story of a woman who worked for a family (in a sense these people were her family) and the normal things they do on a day to day basis. It would have been nice to read the entire novel because the little that I had the oppotunity to read was really nice.
I don't know if it's just me but while I was reading the story I kind of got an inkling that maybe there were some feelings between Maria and Joe. There wasn't a particular line or phrase that confirmed this, it was just a slight feeling I got while reading. This really was a nice story because it simply told the story of a woman who worked for a family (in a sense these people were her family) and the normal things they do on a day to day basis. It would have been nice to read the entire novel because the little that I had the oppotunity to read was really nice.
Thomas Hardy
I really liked these poems by Hardy. He seems to be very in touch with his sensual side and it shows in his poetry. I really loved "On the Departure Platform." This poem is that of a classic love story. It was so sweet how he talked about watching his love walk away and get lost in the distance, "She left me, and moment by moment got smaller and smaller, until to my view she was but a spot" (pg. 1075). This is one of those poems that anyone, whether you've been in love or not, can relate to and fully understand. I didn't quite understand the last few lines of the 5th stanza, "And in season she will appear again--Perhaps in the same soft white array--But never as then!" I'm not sure if he's saying his love will soon come back to him after her trip has ended or if he means he will see her again but only in spirit or through his dreams.
"Logs on the Earth" was another Hardy poem that really touched me. My uncle recently died so I can relate to this poem but in a different way of course. It was sweet how he was reliving a particular moment he had with his sister before she died. What made it more touching was how simple the memory was, climbing a tree. It's always the simple and seemingly boring events that tend to have a huge affect on people whe they look back at there lives and this is a prime example of that. It's great that Hardy was willing to share this memory of his late sister with the world through his poetry.
"Logs on the Earth" was another Hardy poem that really touched me. My uncle recently died so I can relate to this poem but in a different way of course. It was sweet how he was reliving a particular moment he had with his sister before she died. What made it more touching was how simple the memory was, climbing a tree. It's always the simple and seemingly boring events that tend to have a huge affect on people whe they look back at there lives and this is a prime example of that. It's great that Hardy was willing to share this memory of his late sister with the world through his poetry.
Gerard Manley Hopkins
When they said in the intro that "In his journals Hopkins often sounds like an English Thoreau" (pg. 773) boy were they right. It has been awhile sine I had to endure the writings of Thoreau (our last battle was during my high school days) but reading Hopkins's work sure did bring back those memories. I didn't really understand what he was fully saying in his poems but I did like the "beauty" of his words, if that makes any sense at all. Hopkins and Thoreau both talk about and are really in touch with nature it seems and it really made for beautiful poetry. I really like the fact that Hopkins incorporated his religion and the fact that he was a priest into his writings, It really gave the reader a sense of who he really was and what mattered to him. I noticed that he uses a lot of accents where they don't seem to be needed so that was a bit confusing to me.
None of his poems nade the slightest bit of sense to me but I may have understood "Spring and Fall." It sounds like he is talking about the changing seasons, in respect to love and relationships, and how it affects the girl Margaret in the poem. It sounds like he is trying to comfort Margaret and help her understand her grief. The fact that he used the actual seasons, spring and fall, to describe how love affects Margaret is amazing. I usually don't like the use of metaphors and personification, hince why poetry and I don't get along, but I like how it was used here. The only thing I don't really get is why Margaret is mourning for herself. Could someone please help me out on that?
None of his poems nade the slightest bit of sense to me but I may have understood "Spring and Fall." It sounds like he is talking about the changing seasons, in respect to love and relationships, and how it affects the girl Margaret in the poem. It sounds like he is trying to comfort Margaret and help her understand her grief. The fact that he used the actual seasons, spring and fall, to describe how love affects Margaret is amazing. I usually don't like the use of metaphors and personification, hince why poetry and I don't get along, but I like how it was used here. The only thing I don't really get is why Margaret is mourning for herself. Could someone please help me out on that?
Percy Bysshe Shelley
All I can say is that Shelley had an interesting and orthodox life especially for living in the 1800s. When they said he was "One of the most radically visionary of the Romantics" (pg. 391) they sure did mean that in all aspects of his life. I didn't know people eloped back in those days since their lives were so traditional so to read that Shelley "convinced her (Harriet) to elope with him in August 1811" (pg. 392) was a surprise. Also reading that he and Mary experimented with an open relationship for awhile was mind-blowing. It is clear to me that his life had an impact on his poetry and I say that in a good way.
When it comes to his poetry, I'm not going to lie, I really just didn't get any of it. I read each of them twice on diffferent days hoping to let it sink in a little better so that I could really analyze them but that clearly didn't work. Poetry isn't one of my best friends by any means but his stuff just flew right over my head. I'll say his poem "To a Sky-Lark" might be the only one I somewhat grasped, I think. I might be going completely left field on this but in my head I understood this poem to be about wanting to find happiness and freedom from dispair. After reading about his life in the introduction one finds out that he suffered a great deal of loss in his lifetime. He divorced one wife, tired in some way of another, and fell for yet aother married woman. During the midst of all his female hopping he suffered the loss of 3 children. This poem seems to reflect his grief in some way especially at the end of the poem, "Teach me half the gladness that thy brain must know" (pg. 404).
I think I read "Ozymandias" about 3 times and I still can't comprehend it. I get that the poem is talking about a statue of Ramses II and unfortunately that's all I was able to understand. The underlying meaning of the poem isn't jumping out at me and I really wish it would.
When it comes to his poetry, I'm not going to lie, I really just didn't get any of it. I read each of them twice on diffferent days hoping to let it sink in a little better so that I could really analyze them but that clearly didn't work. Poetry isn't one of my best friends by any means but his stuff just flew right over my head. I'll say his poem "To a Sky-Lark" might be the only one I somewhat grasped, I think. I might be going completely left field on this but in my head I understood this poem to be about wanting to find happiness and freedom from dispair. After reading about his life in the introduction one finds out that he suffered a great deal of loss in his lifetime. He divorced one wife, tired in some way of another, and fell for yet aother married woman. During the midst of all his female hopping he suffered the loss of 3 children. This poem seems to reflect his grief in some way especially at the end of the poem, "Teach me half the gladness that thy brain must know" (pg. 404).
I think I read "Ozymandias" about 3 times and I still can't comprehend it. I get that the poem is talking about a statue of Ramses II and unfortunately that's all I was able to understand. The underlying meaning of the poem isn't jumping out at me and I really wish it would.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Victorian Ladies and Gentlemen
"Let woman be what God intended; a helpmate for a man--but with totally different duties & vocations" (pg. 580). That has got to be the dumbest and most sexist thing I've ever heared/read in my life.
These reading passages were very enlightening to say the least. I was always aware of the fact that women were quite inferior in the eyes of men in the 1800s but i didn't know there were so many women who were content in living in that lifestyle. I guess because I am a female living in the 21st century with the same rigts and respect given to any and every other male alive it is a bit hard for me to understand why inferiority was so acceptable. I mean I was astonished that Queen Victoria did not want women to have the same rights as men (the reading specifically stated her position against women and voting (pg. 580)).
Reading about old England's distinction of what a lady and a gentleman is was also fascinating while at the same time a bit predictable. It is interesting that a lot of the those views are still quite prevalent even in America today. At least now I understand why "manliness" and sports go hand and hand. It was disturbing to read about Charlotte and Anne Bronte's extremely unpleasant experiences as a governess. I still just don't understand why working, for a positive reason of course, was and is in some respect looked down upon, "Rarely was the governess treated as an equal by her employers, even though she was expected to be a "lady"" (pg. 560). Reading about their experiences made me feel bad for them and sorry for that society for being so ignorant and close-minded. In my opinion the two of them were the perfect images of what a "lady" is supposed to be.
These reading passages were very enlightening to say the least. I was always aware of the fact that women were quite inferior in the eyes of men in the 1800s but i didn't know there were so many women who were content in living in that lifestyle. I guess because I am a female living in the 21st century with the same rigts and respect given to any and every other male alive it is a bit hard for me to understand why inferiority was so acceptable. I mean I was astonished that Queen Victoria did not want women to have the same rights as men (the reading specifically stated her position against women and voting (pg. 580)).
Reading about old England's distinction of what a lady and a gentleman is was also fascinating while at the same time a bit predictable. It is interesting that a lot of the those views are still quite prevalent even in America today. At least now I understand why "manliness" and sports go hand and hand. It was disturbing to read about Charlotte and Anne Bronte's extremely unpleasant experiences as a governess. I still just don't understand why working, for a positive reason of course, was and is in some respect looked down upon, "Rarely was the governess treated as an equal by her employers, even though she was expected to be a "lady"" (pg. 560). Reading about their experiences made me feel bad for them and sorry for that society for being so ignorant and close-minded. In my opinion the two of them were the perfect images of what a "lady" is supposed to be.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Thomas Carlyle
"Doubt of whatever kind, can be ended by Action alone" (pg. 482). I just have to first start off by syaing that has got to be one of the absolute best quotes in life.
To be quite honest I was surprised at how much money seemed to control and consume peoples lives in the 1800s. I loved reading the "Gospel of Mammonism" but at the same time I was a bit heartbroken about what happened. It is so sad that people, in general, are so completely self-serving. No one is willing to lend a helping hand and it is something the continues until this very day. I am a firm believer in karma and I think the death of the 17 people was karma for not helping out 1 person and her children.
I love the fact that he is all about advocating the working class. People have really lost their sense of working to help better themselves because it seems that money is the only thing that motivates people, then and now, "A man perfects himself by working" (pg. 481). He is talking about the beauty and pride there is in doing manual labor, expressing that there is nothing wrong with being a blue collar employee and jobs or that sort actually help better a person. After reading his work, especially "Labour," it really made me stop and think what is so wrong and taboo about manual labor? Why have physical jobs such as warehouse working or contracting been pushed to the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to what society considers to a an accepatble and more dignified job? Being a doctor/lawyer/CEO/professional athlete are all great careers but without the welders and warehouse workers and contractors who would build the hospitals and arenas and Fortune 500 company buildings? Who would supply the hospitals with the supplies they need to save thousands of lives every single day? Carlyle really opened my eyes to the greatness hard labor brings and I hope those ideas will one day manifest into actions by everyone.
To be quite honest I was surprised at how much money seemed to control and consume peoples lives in the 1800s. I loved reading the "Gospel of Mammonism" but at the same time I was a bit heartbroken about what happened. It is so sad that people, in general, are so completely self-serving. No one is willing to lend a helping hand and it is something the continues until this very day. I am a firm believer in karma and I think the death of the 17 people was karma for not helping out 1 person and her children.
I love the fact that he is all about advocating the working class. People have really lost their sense of working to help better themselves because it seems that money is the only thing that motivates people, then and now, "A man perfects himself by working" (pg. 481). He is talking about the beauty and pride there is in doing manual labor, expressing that there is nothing wrong with being a blue collar employee and jobs or that sort actually help better a person. After reading his work, especially "Labour," it really made me stop and think what is so wrong and taboo about manual labor? Why have physical jobs such as warehouse working or contracting been pushed to the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to what society considers to a an accepatble and more dignified job? Being a doctor/lawyer/CEO/professional athlete are all great careers but without the welders and warehouse workers and contractors who would build the hospitals and arenas and Fortune 500 company buildings? Who would supply the hospitals with the supplies they need to save thousands of lives every single day? Carlyle really opened my eyes to the greatness hard labor brings and I hope those ideas will one day manifest into actions by everyone.
Dorothy Wordsworth
"Dorothy Wordsworth would probably be surprised to see herself in our pages, for unlike just about everyone else here, she did not think of herself primarily as a writer" (pg. 290). That surprises me because she is a great writer. Her stuff is so simplistic and personal, it really helps you understand her as a person as well as her life.
"The Grasmere Journals" was an interesting collection to read I must say. I really love the fact that they are nothing more than just recollections of her day. The simplicity of her writing is by far the best thing she has going, in my opinion, because it's so real and that is really what people love to see and read about. ---I must say though that while reading I was kind of disturbed by just how CLOSE she and William really are "There was never any question about her remaining in the household: Mary married them" (pg. 291). Okay, I have siblings and I love the crap out of them but living with them until I'm old and gray would be a complete nightmare. I really don't know how families opperated during those times but I doubt it was like that. I'm surprised William's marriage lasted because that just seems like and unhealthy brother-sister relationship.--- I don't have to much else to say about that so here is where I leave you.
"The Grasmere Journals" was an interesting collection to read I must say. I really love the fact that they are nothing more than just recollections of her day. The simplicity of her writing is by far the best thing she has going, in my opinion, because it's so real and that is really what people love to see and read about. ---I must say though that while reading I was kind of disturbed by just how CLOSE she and William really are "There was never any question about her remaining in the household: Mary married them" (pg. 291). Okay, I have siblings and I love the crap out of them but living with them until I'm old and gray would be a complete nightmare. I really don't know how families opperated during those times but I doubt it was like that. I'm surprised William's marriage lasted because that just seems like and unhealthy brother-sister relationship.--- I don't have to much else to say about that so here is where I leave you.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Felicia Hemans
Reading Hemans biography really helped put into perspective an understanding of where her writings came from. I like the fact that she writes about the feelings women have after losing someone they love (and certainly not by death) but doing so in a very classful way because it is very easy to show that scorned, angry side that all women posess. I must say that of all the poems of hers that I read "The Wife of Asdrubal" is by far my favorite, primarily because it was the only one that I was fully able to comprehend (poetry isn't really a strong attribute of mine). I understand the pain and betrayal Asdrubal's wife felt when she saw her husband siding with the enemy and leaving her and her children to suffer a horrible death (pg. 407). When I first read the poem I thought that Asdrubal's wife took it to the extreme when she stabbed her children then proceeded to throw them into the approaching fire but once I thought about it for a while longer I realized that it was probably the best thing for her to do for her children so that they wouldn't suffer.
I found the companion reading fairly interesting because it allowed me the opportunity to see how a male felt about Hemans and her work. I loved the fact that women were praised in the very first couple of lines, "Women we fear, cannot do every thing... But what they can do, they do, for the most part, excellently" (pg. 415). That praise, however, was short lived because the rest of that page talked about nothing else but of what women were incapable of doing, at least in their minds at the time. Once you got past all the "vagina" bashing you really just read one writer praising the work of another.
It is clearly evident that Hemans was a bit bitter towards men during her life. Being abandoned by her husband and her father abandoning her mother really affected her and impacted her work, "The Wife of Asdrubal" is a prime example of that. On the other hand she did show the lighter in side of women like in "The Homes of England." I found her to be an extremely talented writer and possibly helped women, along with the other talented female writers of her time, revolutionalize the typical views of what a woman is capable of.
I found the companion reading fairly interesting because it allowed me the opportunity to see how a male felt about Hemans and her work. I loved the fact that women were praised in the very first couple of lines, "Women we fear, cannot do every thing... But what they can do, they do, for the most part, excellently" (pg. 415). That praise, however, was short lived because the rest of that page talked about nothing else but of what women were incapable of doing, at least in their minds at the time. Once you got past all the "vagina" bashing you really just read one writer praising the work of another.
It is clearly evident that Hemans was a bit bitter towards men during her life. Being abandoned by her husband and her father abandoning her mother really affected her and impacted her work, "The Wife of Asdrubal" is a prime example of that. On the other hand she did show the lighter in side of women like in "The Homes of England." I found her to be an extremely talented writer and possibly helped women, along with the other talented female writers of her time, revolutionalize the typical views of what a woman is capable of.
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