... must take on the domestic drudgeries of life. In the male dominant society, she alone must fulfill the role of housekeeper. With the absence of her lover, the woman takes sole responsibility for maintaining a pleasant household; she alone makes the bed, dusts the tabletop, and sets the coffee on the stove. The portrait of her miserable life contrasts sharply with that of her lover. While she struggles with the endless monotony of house chores, he loafs around, carefree and relaxed. During her monotonous morning routine, the man flippantly goes "out for cigarettes." Although he too notices the problems in the house, he satisfies himself with merely complainin ...
... them down in verses for people to read for generations to come. By doing so, both of the poets are preserving the beauty of the subjects, which are the young friend of Shakespeare and Keats' "Grecian Urn." Beginning with Sonnet 18, and continuing here and there throughout the first major grouping of sonnets, Shakespeare approaches the problem of mutability and the effects of time upon his beloved friend in a different fashion. Instead of addressing the problem of old age, he emphasises his friend's attributes: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate... (lines 1-2)" Though time and death work together to rob man, ...
... words: The time you won your town the race We chaired you through the market place; Man and boy stood cheering by, And home we brought you shoulder-high. (Housman 967). Stanza two describes a much more somber procession. The athlete is being carried to his grave. In Leggett's opinion, "The parallels between this procession and the former triumph are carefully drawn" (54). The reader should see that Housman makes another reference to "shoulders" as an allusion to connect the first two stanzas: Today, the road all runners come, Shoulder high we bring you home, And set you at the thresho ...
... that would be wrong. The second time that he expresses this theme is when the speaker questions his own manliness. This is stated in the poem when it says, "Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill it?" This line from the poem says that the speaker is worried that he will not be called a man because he did not kill the snake. The speaker does not want to feel less than a man because he did not kill the snake, like all men are supposed to do. The third time he expresses this theme is when the speaker tries to hit the snake with a log. This is stated in the poem when it says, "I picked up a clumsy log and threw it at the water-trough with a clatter. This line ...
... the blind as his introduction to his questions. He begins to question his writing that only death can take away (“...one talent which is death to hide..”), “ lodged... useless” within him because of his new blindness. As a result, Milton begins to question God, “Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?” Milton wonders as to the meaning of his blindness; Does God want him to continue to write, even with his blindness, or what does God really mean? At first his tone seems harsh, but his feelings are redirected as he answers his own questions in time. His last question to God, was answered by himself as he realizes that he cannot blame God for his actions ...
... on the next. This is the theme that is running throughout the entire poem. In the next section of Lordes poem she describes a dreamlike situation. This is where her son has been shot, probably in the face. Although "blood from his punctured cheeks and shoulders/is the only liquid for miles"(9-10), "my mouth splits into dry lips"(12). With the death of her boy she is willing to sacrifice her own need of any quenching of her lips. She is "thirsting for the wetness of his blood"(14) but it is more important to resist the temptation, "trying to make power out of hatred and destruction"(18). The power displayed in the third section of Lordes Power is that of hatre ...
... offers, and the tone of each speaker, these differing methods can be understood. The "Passionate Shepherd" is set in a romantic, natural backdrop in the seventeenth century. In this rural setting the Shepherd displays his flock and pastures to his love while promising her garlands and wool for weaving. Many material goods are offered by the speaker to the woman he loves in hopes of receiving her love in return. He also utilizes the power of speech to attempt to gain the will of his love. In contrast, the poem "Song" is set in what is indicative of a twentieth century depression, with an urban backdrop that is characteristically unromantic. The speaker "h ...
... that he returns to when the movie is over. "but there wasn't much blue in the drifts or corners: just white and more white…" (lines 13-15). It feels that once the movie is gone so is all the excitement in his life, that through the movies he can explore something that he cannot in real life. Stoutenburg or the person he is writing about does not seem to want to live outside of this fantastic dreamscape. Although Stoutenburg is with his girl friend throughout the whole poem, he does not make mention of her until the second body paragraph, "I held my girl's hand," (line 9). He is so caught up in the movie that he fails to acknowledges her existenc ...
... any reason that mariner can deduce the result. He has unknowingly taken on a huge burden, and the quest begins to extract all the rash impulsiveness of mankind. The mariner now must search for moral, spiritual and internal rationality, and this goal is expressed in the poem as a type of blessing or relief which he must earn. In 'Kubla Khan', Coleridge expresses man's social instinct to conform and belong to a group. This also relates to the creation of rituals and rules by the human- being and the obeying of the cycle of life to death, again and again. The running theme of freedom and release for man is emphasised in both poems, escaping from criticism, in the case ...
... By describing the creation of a picture or ornamental love-knot, the poet is able to limit the multitudinous meanings found by the reader, allowing the poet to further implicate his or her beliefs and situations. Thus, the use of physical artifacts provides a freedom to express that which the characters in each poem lacks in their lives. Though unable to grasp the images that they create, each character in the poems gains a sense of self awareness. These utopian moments expressed by the creations are frozen, images that surpass the lives of their creators and remain intact with meaning. Through the utilization of physical artifacts, Aunt Jennifer and ...
