Abstract This paper explains that, in "The Rape of the Lock", Pope satirizes the human condition, and, in "Tartuffe", Moli?re satirizes the religious. The author points out that Pope's "The Rape of the Lock", written in the traditional the heroic couplet form, is considered one of best illustrations of what is termed a mock-epic poem. The paper relates that, in "Tartuffe", Moli?re also uses satire to comment on society; through the exaggerated characters of Tartuffe and Orgon, he exposes religion and gullibility.
From the Paper "Pope also takes a shot at male mentality. For instance, men are depicted as shallow as women are. The Baron devises new "strategems" (3:120) to achieve his own ends. After he successfully attains the lock of hair, he exclaims, ?The glorious prize is mine!? (3:162) This scene reveals the lack of character of men who seek only to achieve a prize."
Abstract The poems, "To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth" and "To S. M., a Young African Painter, on Seeing His Works", illustrate Wheatley's technical style and structure. Wheatley's verse is characterized by rhyming couplets and vivid imagery, which enhance her messages. This paper examines how her poems demonstrate her talent.
From the Paper "In these lines, Wheatley parallels the slavery of America to the slavery of Africans. She continues with this oppressive image by adding her personal experience of being brought to America from Africa into the poem. Powerful images such as "iron chain" (17) and "lawless hand" (18) depict the oppression of slavery. She tells William, "I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate/Was snatch"d from Afric's fancy"d happy seat" (24-5). She describes pangs of molestation as well as her parents? sorrow and prays that "Others may never feel tyrannic sway" (31). This is a powerful technique Wheatley is employing at this point in the poem. She can speak from experience, and yet she is speaking in a voice that is calm and peaceful."
This paper is a critical analysis of the poem "To My Dear and Loving Husband" by Anne Bradstreet. It includes a couplet by couplet analysis which discusses the themes in the poem and a brief biography of the poet.
1,280 words (approx. 5.1 pages), 8 sources, 2002, $ 43.95
Abstract This paper looks at the poet Anne Bradstreet, known as the 'Mother of American Poetry', her life as a female Puritan writer in 17th century New England. The author analyzes one of her celebrated works, "To My Dear And Loving Husband", discussing her open feelings of physical and spiritual love for her husband, and how these emotions interact with Puritan beliefs.
From the Paper "Bradstreet's work, although sometimes very un-Puritan, is not completely rebellious when she does not follow the standard convention of Puritanism. One must keep in mind that the standard convention is based almost exclusively on men, Rosenmeier 4. She struggles with ?the tension and conflicts of a person struggling for selfhood in a culture that was outraged by individual autonomy and that valued property to the extent that it praised God.?
Abstract This paper examines Shakespeare's use of the theme of time-as-destroyer, in three of the sonnets: No's 64, 65, and 73. Shakespeare's poetic techniques are analyzed in detail. Some of these include meter, alliteration, antithesis, syllogism, personification, ploce, and chiasmus. In order to demonstrate these different techniques, the author makes extensive comparisons between the three sonnets.
From the Paper "The poem is an apostrophe, addressed to the absent (or at least voiceless) lover. It says these things you may see in me: that I am aging, that I am like a setting sun, that I must soon die. But because you see this impermanence, this fading or deterioration, you only love me more. Now, impermanence has become a positive thing, fuelling the love his beloved has for him.
"The imagery in this sonnet is gentler than that of the two others. There, we had raging, engulfing oceans, and battering days, and rocks and brass and hard, indomitable things. Now, the imagery is of yellowing leaves, and boughs that once had sweet singing birds on them. The giving over to inevitable death is not one raged against, but is a sweet thing like the setting of a sun. His late stage of life is being compared with fading light, and with night which is "death's second self that seals up all in rest." We are being eased into death here, being made to think of it as slumber."
Abstract This paper offers an explanation of what is meant by Frost when he says he is acquainted with the night. Also discussed is the structure of the poem and the use of tercet rhymes and iambic pentameter. Finally, this paper interprets the meaning of the symbols used in the poem.
From the Paper "On one level "Acquainted With The Night" seems deceptively simple and straightforward: observations of a solitary, late night walk in a city. Frost's use of language almost lulls the reader; the language is colloquial and accessible. Even the word "acquaint" seems reserved in the context of what the poet is trying to say. However, this simple, everyday language belies the complexity of this and many of Frost's poems, according to Robert Diyanni in Modern American Poets Their Voices and Visions. ? . . .though his poems are accessible to the general reader, they are not simple nor are they necessarily easy to understand . . . Frost avoids obscure language, preferring instead the familiar word and the idiomatic phrase."
Abstract This paper explains that Donne's ?Sonnet 10? argues that Death is simply living a masquerade; therefore, we do not have to accept the fact that Death is the end of everything. The author points out that the poem follows the Italian sonnet form with a standard "abbaabba" rhyme scheme consisting of fourteen lines and ends with a dramatic couplet, which is generally associated with Elizabethan sonnets. The paper relates that Donne's point is that Death itself is really asleep; in the end, we will wake from our sleep with Death, which leads us to eternal life.
From the Paper "Donne begins by addressing Death with a serious, yet cynical attitude. His tone is straightforward and he appears to be very confident when he tells death that it has nothing to be proud of, although "many have called thee/Mighty and dreadful" (1-2). Donne tells Death that this fact is simply "not so" (2). Again, we get a sense for Donne's tone with this line?he is meeting Death face to face without fear or intimidation. Donne then introduces us to an interesting paradox when he says, "For those whom thou think"st thou dost overthrow,/Die not? (3-4). This is important because it sets the mood for the entire poem. Donne is speaking to Death without absolutely any reservation. He points out that even those who do die, have not been actually overthrown by Death. In essence, Donne has absolutely no respect for Death."
Abstract This paper analyzes Keats' poem with respect to the laws of a Shakespearean sonnet and the spirit of the Romantics. The paper examines the wording, motif, style, diction, religious associations and use of personification to analyze and interpret the meaning of the poem.
From the Paper "In his poem, "Bright Star, Would I Were as Thou Art"(1819), Keats (John, 1795-1821) allows a close insight into a moment of intimacy between lovers while one is sound asleep and the other--who narrates--wishes to eternally stand guard beside his beloved one. By constructing a definite scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet, Keats exploits the classical elements of such a love sonnet (e.g., courtly love, masculine subjection before a mistress, and so on) to the advantage of, generally, the themes and ideals of his time , such as the mystery in nature, solitude, the meditation of the creative spirit; where personally, Keats 'injects' into the poem the themes more common of his style: the recognition of the claims of passion and emotion in the living and the vulnerability and temporality in human life as overshadowed by death. An even more intimate perception of the poem would eventually reveal the innuendoes related to Keats' own tragic love-life, and not in vain, for it was characteristic of the poets of that period to "invite [their] readers to identify the hero with the writer. ""
Abstract This paper examines how, like all of Geoffrey Chaucer's "General Prologue", the passage about the Prioress is written in iambic pentameter form consisting of rhyming couplets. It discusses how the text introduces us to the Prioress and how it goes on to give a detailed account of her character with an emphasis on her physical description.
From the Paper "The passage tells us little of the Prioress's spirituality or of her understanding of her sacred vocation. Chaucer leads us to wonder about a woman whose conscience and charity work is depicted through concern for mice and dogs and whose interest in sacred ritual is the song not the substance, "Ful weel she soong the service dyvyne". However, her concern with emotion, tenderness and the diminutive could also be seen as part of the late fourteenth century shift in sensibility which led to the flowering of English mysticism - an emotional style in the arts and the ascendancy of the heart over the reason in religious matters. "
Abstract This paper explains that William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130" is his joke, which becomes a true token of love when read between the lines. The author points out that Shakespeare depicts his lover's attributes with very non-traditional and realistic references that come across as very insulting, which undermines the Petrarchan form of love poetry that generally viewed love in an idealized way and often idolized the lover. The paper relates that the joke becomes a rather serious issue with its last couplet when, by recognizing his lover's ordinary characteristics and loving her this much anyway, he reinforces the depth of his love.
From the Paper "With "Sonnet 130," Shakespeare uses this type of comparison but in a very unique and memorable way. Coral lips, rosy cheeks, and eyes the are bright as the sun are mentioned in this poem, but they are a joke that forces us to see real beauty in real life. Love is often blind but it does not need to be and Shakespeare show us how love can be honest and beautiful in its own way. In the end, Shakespeare is suggesting that love and lovers do not need to be as beautiful as these love sonnets make them to be true love."
Abstract The paper discusses how the 17th century language used in this poem revolves around an iambic pentameter, which relies on rhyme schemes of couplets over the 12 lines of his poem. The paper explains that in breaking the language of the poem down, one can realize that that the rhyme endings rely on an abcdef format, as none of the line endings are the same in their sound and musical affect. The paper notes that in particular, Bradstreet uses certain word choices that impart the true feeling of the poem.
From the Paper "The title of this poem insinuates a feeling that this is merely a simple love poem between husband and wife. However, the ambiguous references to other feminine entities and the manner of materialism in the East (Asia) suggests there is a greater religious symbolism in the word choices that Bradstreet uses. The poem is about a wife's longing to eternally preserve her love in the marriage vows she has taken with her husband. In many ways, Bradstreet elicits the Puritanical views of love that include a sense of predestination in her tone about their past, present and future love."
Abstract This paper explains that Shakespeare modified the traditional Petrarchan sonnet format into what is now called English or Shakespearean sonnet, which he used for all of his 154 sonnets. The author points out that, when reading a Shakespearean sonnet, it is important to know that he intended each quatrain and the couplet to be read as distinct from the others because each contains a particular idea that the speaker is trying to express; however, the poem requires that all of the lines be part of a single movement. The paper reviews sonnets 29 and 116 to demonstrate Shakespeare's skill as a writer and his flare as a user of language when he speaks to his audience through the medium of poetry. The paper includes several quotations from sonnets 29 and 116.
From the Paper "The appeal of this sonnet for the average person is that everyone has felt lost and lonely in the world and a true friend can make all the difference in the way we feel about ourselves and our lives. Anyone can appreciate the sentiments conveyed here without necessarily knowing the circumstances under which the poem was written. As mentioned earlier, this is one of the many poems addressed to a young man. According to Thomas M.Greene, "The poetry reflects a sense of inner depletion, emptiness, poverty, which the friend is asked or stated to fill up.""
Tags: iambic, pentameter, rhyme, scheme, young, man, universality, love
Abstract In this article the writer dissects Maxine Kumin's poem "Morning Swim" and notes that this poem has great imagery and rhyme scheme. It is noted that Kumin is a favorite poet of the writer's due to the way that she uses mundane experiences as a vehicle for serious ideas. The writer looks at the heart of the poem and then discusses the poet's word usage and use of rhyme. The writer maintains that Kumin definitely lives up to her reputation with her word usage and rhythm and concludes that it was interesting to delve in and draw out truths in Kumin's work.
From the Paper "Her poetry reads more as a conversation, its deeper meaning imbedded in the word choices she makes than the image she describes. Her rhyming of the couplets in "Morning Swim" was done skillfully to reduce the singsong impression of the words by using enjambments and slant rhymes. She gives the nature around her, personas of its own. For example, allowing the fish to sing her name or treating the lake as an intimate lover. The meter of the poem also enjoins with the imagery to enhance the readers feeling of swimming. The metaphors, simplicity, and the technical tricks it employs give "Morning Swim" a memorable feeling of deeper meaning. "
