spring and death

Death is a relevant theme throughout the poem and it is seen from the very first line, “By the road to the contagious hospital.” A hospital is a white pure place of healing and recovery, something that is contagious is usually harmful and dirty. Winter is used to describe how the plants appear before spring. “Twiggy stuff of bushes and small trees with dead, brown leaves under them leafless vines—Lifeless in appearance, sluggish dazed spring approaches. The plants are sluggish and dazed which are human characteristics. The plants are awakening from a cold sleep; they are stripped of life because they are leafless and naked. The cycle of life and death is apparent, “They enter. All about them the cold, familiar wind.”

            In For Jane Meyers by Louise Gluck, spring is introduced to be more warm and energetic. The plants in this poem are like new born babies crying for the first time in the world. Spring has just arrived, “The daffodils flocking and honking.” The daffodils are making the world aware that they exist and will continue to exist for an extended period of time. Life and death is also described in this poem, “Months, years, and then the dull blade of the wind. It is spring I we are going to die I.” Life explodes into existence just to die, it may take months or years but it will inevitably come.

love and clocks

In the poem As I Walk Out One Evening by W.H. Auden, there are several speakers with disagreeing perspectives. The lover deeply believes that he is invulnerable to anything. He expresses that by describing China and Africa meeting and rivers jumping over mountains; he implies that love conquers all. Rules and events have no affect on the lover but when these impossible claims reach their peak the clocks begin to chime and that suggest the start of the battle between the lover and the clock. The lover goes on to say he holds “the flower of the ages, and the first love of the world.” The lover reinforces his belief that their love is invincible because it is the first of its kind and it is so unique that another like it will not come for ages.  The clock retaliates by saying “Time breaks the threaded dances, and the diver’s brilliant bow.” The clock suggests that love is susceptible to aging and that love can only thrive in youth. Love itself not only love for another person but for objects and activities is subject to times will. I believe the clock speaks for societies rules as well.  In society there are several factors that can destroy love, one of them being death. The clock says, Time watches from the shadow and coughs when you would kiss.” Death can come at any moment and through any method such as an unexpected illness. “The glacier knocks in the cupboard, the desert sighs in the bed, and the crack in the tea-cup opens a lane to the land of the dead.” The fact that the clocks speak of societies influence on love is reinforced by the description of poverty which can lead to love’s failure.  Love and time are present together but coincide in different ways. The lover is full of emotions that lead he to be ignorant to times existence. The clocks know they are one of many of the lover’s weaknesses and repeat that fact throughout the poem using references like death and poverty.

bright star

 In both poems the “steadfast” of the stars eludes to eternity. In Bright Star by John Keats, the star forces the speaker to heavily question himself. In the beginning he idolizes the star for its position in life. It is an almighty observer that sees anything it wishes to see from a solitary place and point of view. The speaker wishes to see life in the same perspective but that glimpse at immortality shifts his feelings completely. The speaker has a lover and wishes to experience the ecstasy of love with her. If he were to take the immortal position of the star he would never be able to die with his lover, and that sparks a great controversy in how he feels towards the star. The star condemns itself by forcing the speaker to choose between it and his lover. Is it possible for a human to condemn a divine being like the star? I believe the speaker is simply seeking guidance that the star is incapable of giving. He wishes to know if eternity with his lover is out of reach and how can he utilize the little time he has left with her.

In Bright Star, the star is constantly being questioned and argued with, but the star in Choose Something like a Star by Robert Frost, is utterly accepted. The speaker begins by acknowledging the star’s greatness and not comparing it to himself. “We grant your loftiness the right.” He places the star on a high pedestal but allows it some space by not demanding all of the answers. I believe the star knows it is being worshipped and responds to the speaker’s plea by saying, “I burn.” The speaker longs for the star to elaborate but it doesn’t. The star’s response gave no aid to the speaker but yet every letter of it was analyzed and memorized. In Frost’s poem there is no perspective from the speaker he is merely a puppet at the mercy of the star. In Keats’s poem the speaker chooses whether or not to see the star’s omnipotence and that is the major difference between both poems.

? essay

Why are the plots of The Stranger and Metamorphosis so similar? Why do both main characters feel trapped? Why do they not see a way out of their problems? What’s the difference between Meursault and Gregor’s problems? Does Meursault imagine the future? Why does Gregor look forward to the future?

            Why does being confined to a room enlighten Meursault and Gregor? How does it enlighten them? Does Meursault see the world from the inside looking out? Why does Gregor see the world looking at him through his cracked open door? Is Meursault as self-conscious as Gregor?  Why does Meursault not care what people think about him, especially for putting his mom in a home?

            Where would both characters be without the women who deeply care about them? Does Meursault actually care about Marie or does he use her for sex and sex only? Why is Gregors love and concern for his sister met with hate and rejection? Does everything change when someone looses their value? What becomes of someone like Meursult who does not have any value to begin with?

            Does too much responsibility push people over the edge? How does Mersault not being able to provide for his mom shape him as a man? How does Gregor change when he loses the ability to provide for his family? Do expectations and pressure play a role in how both of these characters see the world?  

? essay

Why are the plots of The Stranger and Metamorphosis so similar? Why do both main characters feel trapped? Why do they not see a way out of their problems? What’s the difference between Meursault and Gregor’s problems? Does Meursault imagine the future? Why does Gregor look forward to the future?

            Why does being confined to a room enlighten Meursault and Gregor? How does it enlighten them? Does Meursault see the world from the inside looking out? Why does Gregor see the world looking at him through his cracked open door? Is Meursault as self-conscious as Gregor?  Why does Meursault not care what people think about him, especially for putting his mom in a home?

            Where would both characters be without the women who deeply care about them? Does Meursault actually care about Marie or does he use her for sex and sex only? Why is Gregors love and concern for his sister met with hate and rejection? Does everything change when someone looses their value? What becomes of someone like Meursult who does not have any value to begin with?

            Does too much responsibility push people over the edge? How does Mersault not being able to provide for his mom shape him as a man? How does Gregor change when he loses the ability to provide for his family? Do expectations and pressure play a role in how both of these characters see the world?  

queshion essay

power point independent reading

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power point independent reading

https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AesOwtp75O6-ZGN0d2RicHpfMGdwY2hoOWc5

the mystery in the cave

In the poem “The Mystery of the Caves” the speaker does not feel any emotions, he just longs for a purpose and guidance. The first stanza describes the speaker wandering in caverns slowly filling up with water. In the second stanza the water symbolizes parts of life like the environment someone is raised in. The water can guide the speaker to a better place where his problems are solved or he can sink to the bottom where he already dwells in darkness. There are several examples of symbolism in the poem that suggest the speaker is lost. In stanzas 5 to 7 the writer describes the speaker to be on his last stand through a chaotic period of time. The writer says, “One yellow finger of flame wavered on his last match.” The speaker has little hope left and the chances of slipping into darkness are elevated. His mother breaking perfume bottles in her struggle and his father portray the chaos he is witnessing.

            The poem obviously describes the rough life of a child, the speaker, who witnesses an intense battle between his parents. The poem’s theme about searching and longing suggest that the speaker must find his own path. He will be frozen in time, doomed to experience the same hardships again and again if he does not find a solution to his problems.

           

Existentialist ideas

“The idea that I am born into a particular time, place, family, and
economic environment is absurd.”

Everybody is born into a specific home and family. Some are born into wealth while others are born into poverty and despair. The statement above is what defines parenthood. A soon to be mom or dad will strive to make his or her offspring’s future the best it can be. At times the family, time, and economic environment of birth are definite, but that is what growing up and experiencing life is about. Being born into a royal family in Britain will be a different life of someone who is born in an African village.

“In life, I must make choices regardless of what’s best for others. I can
only choose what’s best for me.”

I completely disagree. Life is all about the sacrifices you make for others. If everyone chose what was best for them the world would be a very cruel place to live in. A quick scenario would be a child lost in a mall, I am in the mall but I have to make the bus home or ill be late. According to the statement above I should ignore the helpless child and head for the bus but where would that leave the child? Humans chose to help each other every day and that’s how close knit communities are formed. If everyone made selfish choices then there would be no communities or even neighbors.

fire and ice

Love is a majestic relationship between humans. Are their conditions for a man and women in order to love one another? Does a woman have to have the same interest and beliefs as a man in order to love him and vice versa? That is not true because people tend to be attracted to other people that are complete opposites. In Sonnet 30 by Edmund Spencer the speaker describes himself as fire and the woman he is attracted to is ice. Fire and ice cannot coexist but the writer’s desire for ice does not fade away even though as fire he can melt what he desires most. It can be suggested then that humans are attracted to their own weaknesses, but in the poem ice makes fire burn even brighter and fire polishes ice.

            The speaker can be pursuing ice to obtain balance. Humans desire love because they lack something. This desire will push people to go against the odds and fight for what they want. Why fight for something that is so indifferent when compared to you? In science, oppositely charged particles attract each other just like a mere commoner can win the love of a princess. The reasoning supporting this can be found in lines nine to twelve, “What more miraculous thing may be told that fire, which all thing melts, should harden ice:
and ice which is congealed with senseless cold,
should kindle fire by wonderful device?

 The commoner and princess represent fire and ice and are of completely different worlds, but that is what brings them together.

            Love is a method of filling in the weak spots in one’s life. Most people excel at one thing and improve at it, in doing so they allow another trait to decline. The trait that becomes dull can range from social skills to self happiness. In love, opposites attract so the trait that declines will improve because the void will be filled by the other person. There is an utter acceptance to learn and change in order to keep the revolving door of love spinning.   

            Love is not meant to be associated with pain but it is. The emotions someone encounters in love can be beautiful but they can also cause a pain that is like no other. In love there is death and with death comes pain and loss. The writer pursues love because he desires the ice but if the ice were to melt it would cause him devastating pain. Love can be a double edged sword in the way that it can be so grand and perfect at one point and then ugly and depressing at another.

            Love is a rare function in life that does not have conditions. Opposites like fire and ice will continue to attract each other to fulfill and improve each other’s flaws. In hindsight just like a mother would sacrifice herself for her child, ice would melt for fire.

             

echo sonnet

In “An Echo Sonnet: To an Empty Page by Robert Pack, the speaker is in a deep internal struggle with himself. He is trying to overcome a loss that is causing his depression. He is speaking to his emotions, or the echo, with his rational mind, the voice, and in doing so he creates a battle between his voice and his emotions.

            In the first couple of lines the voice states, “How from emptiness can I make a start?” “And in starting, must I master joy or grief?” The echo replies, “Start” and “Grief” which means to imply that the only way to beat depression is to attack it by accepting grief. Grief is to not be just accepted, but utterly understood. What led up to this grief, and why does the speaker feel the grief he does? The answers will lead him to salvation. The speaker questions whether salvation or even happiness is achievable. The voice says, “I’d leap into the dark if dark were true.” “And in that night would you rejoice or weep?” The echo replies “True” and “Weep.” When someone succumbs to the darkness they cross the point of no return, in this case that point is suicide. The echo supports the speaker’s desire to commit suicide so that he can find happiness, and the echo weeping can suggest that the speaker half heartily takes his own life.

            “An Echo Sonnet: To an Empty Page” depicts the hardships a person will endure to find happiness. People achieve their goals by being supported and pushed by other people. The speaker is isolated and alone so he leans on himself for guidance. The sonnet suggests that surviving and getting through an injury of any kind, whether it is to the mind, body, or spirit is completely impossible.

sonnetv 130 essay

William Shakespeare's sonnet 130 takes a new direction in describing women. His usual sonnets depict women to be majestic creatures that are on a different plateau then everybody else. He uses exaggeration to conceal the flaws women have but in sonnet 130 the speaker expresses the true beauty of his lover by using similes to admit her flaws and embrace them.

Poets tend to compare women to the sun relating her to its beautiful radiant glow. The speaker begins using the simile" My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun". He is saying that her eyes do not stand out to him and that they are dull. The speaker accepts the fact that his lover's eyes are not overwhelmingly gorgeous.

At first the speaker seems to be insulting his lover by describing her voice to be annoying and her breath to reek terribly. He is state’s her flaws so that he can conclude with his overall point. At the end of sonnet 130 the speaker says, "And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare as any she belied with false compare." This simile explains that the speaker’s feelings for his lover are incomparable in the face of women who are over-exaggerated. A women's natural beauty is superb to beauty engulfed in falsehood.

sonnet 30 fire and ice

Love is a majestic relationship between humans. Are their conditions for a man and women in order to love one another? Does a woman have to have the same interest and beliefs as a man in order to love him and vice versa? That is not true because people tend to be attracted to other people that are complete opposites. In Sonnet 30 by Edmund Spencer the speaker describes himself as fire and the woman he is attracted to is ice. Fire and ice cannot coexist but the writer’s desire for ice does not fade away even though as fire he can melt what he desires most. It can be suggested then that humans are attracted to their own weaknesses, but in the poem ice makes fire burn even brighter and fire polishes ice.

            The speaker can be pursuing ice to obtain balance. Humans desire love because they lack something. This desire will push people to go against the odds and fight for what they want. Why fight for something that is so indifferent when compared to you? In science, oppositely charged particles attract each other just like a mere commoner can win the love of a princess. The reasoning supporting this can be found in lines nine to twelve, “What more miraculous thing may be told that fire, which all thing melts, should harden ice:
and ice which is congealed with senseless cold,
should kindle fire by wonderful device?

 The commoner and princess represent fire and ice and are of completely different worlds, but that is what brings them together.

            Love is a method of filling in the weak spots in one’s life. Most people excel at one thing and improve at it, in doing so they allow another trait to decline. The trait that becomes dull can range from social skills to self happiness. In love, opposites attract so the trait that declines will improve because the void will be filled by the other person. There is an utter acceptance to learn and change in order to keep the revolving door of love spinning.   

            Love is not meant to be associated with pain but it is. The emotions someone encounters in love can be beautiful but they can also cause a pain that is like no other. In love there is death and with death comes pain and loss. The writer pursues love because he desires the ice but if the ice were to melt it would cause him devastating pain. Love can be a double edged sword in the way that it can be so grand and perfect at one point and then ugly and depressing at another.

            Love is a rare function in life that does not have conditions. Opposites like fire and ice will continue to attract each other to fulfill and improve each other’s flaws. In hindsight just like a mother would sacrifice herself for her child, ice would melt for fire.

Draft 1 complete

At one point or another most people have to deal with some sort of responsibility. Children are usually pardoned, until they mature, and that is Stephen Dedalus’ case in A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man. Growing up Stephen was obliviously being bestowed with the lifestyle of a devoted Catholic. Responsibilities that correspond to that lifestyle are no stealing, hurting others, and sex is reserved for marriage. When Stephen goes to college and experiences life he finds that his desires and experiences do not complement his responsibilities as a Catholic, and he realizes that to understand the rules he must abide to he must first break them.

A contest or game’s difficulty is determined by the rules the participants must abide by. In Stephen’s life it is becoming more and more difficult to follow the rules. His family is now in deep poverty and his home life has changed dramatically. The two men he counts on are gone from his life, his uncle is senile and his father is barely seen because he must work. Rules can be tricky to follow if the game is challenging enough, and Stephen’s life is a game in that sense. Stephen is having awkward thoughts and interactions with the opposite sex and it is making it extremely difficult to hold true to his responsibilities as a Catholic. He is impacted by his loneliness and seeks comfort but no one is there to give it to him. If a game gets to tough is it ok to break the rules? It is not ok but it is not surprising because there is only so much someone can take truthfully while following the rules.

In life as one gets older their experiences come in different shapes and forms. Stephen experienced clean pure days in his early childhood which are natural for a child. As he got older he was exposed to biased beliefs that he was expected to retain. On a break from college, Stephen returns home for Christmas dinner, where he is allowed to sit at the adult table for the first time, but is subjected to another intense religious argument. The argument is about a Catholic priest who was convicted by the church for having an affair. One side believes that is just and the other believes the church’s punishment is uncalled for. Stephen is expecting to have a grand dinner with his family as a member of the adult side of the family but religion and the rules that apply to it affect his life negatively again. Does being mature force someone to face more problems? Stephen found himself thinking about politics and why people are punished severely for crimes that do not ask for it. He learns that each part of life has an unfair side to it and suffering will follow the people on that side.

Following the lifestyle of a strict Catholic can be an obstacle when Stephen’s desires are in question. He never had an experience with the opposite sex because of the rules attached to his responsibilities. While in Dublin, Stephen encounters a prostitute and succumbs to sexual intercourse. His physical desire forced him to break the rule of abstinent until marriage, but in doing so he understood why he was not suppose to have sex. Stephen is guilt ridden over the ordeal and that negative feeling makes him believe that he was wrong. Stephen regroups and desperately tries to revert to his Catholic ways and is overwhelmed by the responsibility of doing so.

An environment can dictate responsibilities and the rules that are attached to them. Stephen’s poverty stricken home with a sense of intense Irish nationalism for a backbone decided the rules he would have to abide by to stay true to his responsibilities. The religious beliefs set the rules to be broken so that Stephen would understand why he was not supposed to have sex, and his situation at home put him in the perfect setting to break theses rules.

hamlet essay

The future is dictated by the living. Following that perspective, life must have a certain value tagged to it because it is not infinite and death will come inevitably. Every goal worked for and everything earned in life is lost in death because of the ignorance people express towards human life.

In the first scene of act of five two, clowns debate over what occupation is build the strongest. The choices are a mason, shipwrights, and carpenter. Clown one asks which is build strongest and clown two replies, “The gallows-maker, for that frame outlives a thousand tenants.”  Clown two asks clown one the same question and he replies, “Say “a grave-maker,” the houses he makes last till doomsday.” The responses symbolize the little value life holds. Life is not worth living because we will all die at one point or another. The grave and gallows makers will never be unemployed because death is never ending.  Hamlet arrives and begins to dig up skulls that each holds a different value. He finds the skull of a politician that “had a tongue in it, and could sing once.” The politician impacted society through his words but in death his words hold no value and Hamlet describes him by saying,  “This might be the head of a politician, which this ass now reaches over one that would go around God, might it not”?  

Everything earned in life is lost in death so what is the point of living if everything you love will be lost? Hamlet feels that way throughout the entire play. If he cannot have his revenge what is the point of pressing forward? Hamlet has no concept on how valuable life is. His ignorance leads to the selfish belief that he has the right to take a priceless life, he portrays that when he says, “Does it not, think thee, stand me now upon—
He that hath kill'd my king, and whored my mother;
Popp'd in between the election and my hopes;(70)
Thrown out his angle for my proper life,
And with such cozenage—is't not perfect conscience
To quit him with this arm? And is't not to be damn'd
To let this canker of our nature come
In further evil?”

            Hamlet questions himself in whether or not he has the right to take a life. He deeply believes that if the King’s life must be taken it should be by his hand only. Does anyone have the absolute right to pass judgment and take a life? In his rage Hamlet fights with that conflict within himself throughout the entire play. Therefore, Hamlet’s hesitation and half hearted beliefs is a product of his ignorance towards the value of life. 

poetry terms 2nd colum

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grendel movie

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1st 16 words of colum 1

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grendel essay

                  

            The protagonist and antagonist of a story are determined by perspective, actions, and state of mind. I believe Grendel is both, throughout the story he constantly changes perspectives and takes new action thus making him a dual sided character. In the beginning he has a thirst for curiosity, almost like a child. As he matures and interacts with different characters he begins to find his true purpose and decides for himself what he has to do.

            In observer does not hurt anyone and Grendel was just curious as to how humans behave. Being the protagonist at this point, he observes the disgusting ill mannered behavior that humans label normal and right. He is a child being influenced in a negative way and this foreshadows his change. If Grendel was truly innocent in the beginning of the novel, which he was, then his perspective was obviously changed after encountering certain things. The dragon enlightened Grendel as to what his longed for purpose was. It said that Grendel needs is meant to wreak havoc on the Danes and torture Hrothgar until he dies. Grendel realized that he is enchanted with a spell that makes him invulnerable to weapons and that pushes him to finally confront the humans. At this point he is now the antagonist and enjoys killing and causing chaos in the mead-hall. His power and the way he is uses it reminds me of an evil villain trying to triumph over his arch-nemesis. Grendel’s innocence returns as he spares Unferth because once again his views are challenged. He cannot stop pondering why this man pursues him knowing he will die. After hearing why Unferth acts the way he does Grendel takes pity upon him and brings him back to Herot alive. This is symbolic to how a human can change his views in an instant if something is impactful enough.

            Grendle’s constant shifts from protagonist to antagonist left him with a weak resolve. He set out to do certain things but failed because he did not follow through. He could not be just an observer because he ended up interacting with the humans and he failed to torture the Danes and Hrothgar because he allowed Beowulf to kill him. Grendel is a failure. He fails because he never found one goal to devote all of his energy to, but instead he constantly changed perspectives and acted on impulse.

Evil and Free Will

Evil is not a problem in life, it is a condition of living. Evil is a representation of how unachievable perfection is. Crime, violence, and other forms of evil are present so that absolute perfection is never reached. Perfection for Grendel would be peaceful nights lacking the noise of drunken warriors, but the warriors will always drink and yell at night. It all starts in the beginning, humans are born imperfect whether it is a mental defect or a weakness some never have the chance of being close to perfection to begin with. Evil is not always pure and intended, a common person can decide to drink, drive, and take a life by complete accident. Is that not evil? I believe evil is when someone severely hurts someone else in a way that will change them forever.

Evil is explained and dictated by a human’s free will. The ability to make a decision believing it is your own can lead to evil. Revenge is the chief path that can sway an individual to committing a heinous act. The victim who lost their child in the accident involving the drunk driver could chose revenge and create evil. Free will is the power that allows for the emotions hate, happiness, jealousy, and the words greed and selfishness to come to life. A man, who must support his family, steals an elderly woman’s purse. He chose to commit the evil but was it justified? The concept of free will is decision making. Decisions made have ramifications; they can be either negative or positive, but a certainty behind these ramifications is that the decider is solely responsible for the outcome. Man could have been placed on earth to find his place in society by making his own choices. Humans would not have been created with the ability to make choices if the choices did not impact themselves and the world around them greatly.

poetry paragraph *

In the peom "Imperial Adam" by A.D. Hope their is stanza thats says, "This plump gourd severed from his virile root, she promised on the turf of paradise. Delicoius pulp of the forbidden fruit; sly as the snake she loosened her sinuos thighs." This stanza tells me about the strength of a man's desire and how a woman can manipulate them. Asam desires sex and the woman is offering it to him. She "promises delicious pulp of the forbidden fruit." After offering what Adam wants she decides to take it herself in the form of seduction. She is sly as the snake and loosens her thighs, but being a snale tells me that she coiled her thighs around his neck. A woman has the power to seduce a man and men have the reverse power as well, but it is not nearly to the extent of a woman.

Poetry paragraph