1. The American Revolution and the French Revolution happened right before the Romantic period of literature. America gaining it's independence was a huge economic loss for England and it caused them to lose prestige and military confidence. The French Revolution led to a wave of democratic idealism in Europe which caused the ruling elite in England to implement restrictive conservative economic and political measures.
Another major event in England at the time was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Goods were now being mass-produced in factories, and this meant that most of the people who had been farmers in the countryside were now working in densely populated mill towns. Factory workers did not have to be very skilled and so child labor increased. Businessman and industrialists began to compete with the nobles in wealth. Overall, it was a time of great change.
2. I think for most normal people, life must have been hard during these times. For one, they had to move from where they used to work in the countryside to big industrial cities to find work. They would have dangerous jobs working in factories for long hours, and they would go home to very crowded and poor living conditions. The laissez-faire economy meant that the poor got poorer while the rich got richer, and the country was at war with France for a long time during this period.
3. The Romantic poets were idealistic, and they wanted to express youth and innocence. They were fascinated with "growing up," and they believed that emotions were as important if not more important than reason in terms of developing a sense of will and identity in order to better adapt to change and to create positive change in the future.
The Romantics also wanted to express the relationship of man with nature. They admired the mysterious forces of nature that caused change, not seeing them as hostile. They thought about the relationship of the human mind and nature instead of just nature itself.
The Romantics also wanted to express the importance of the human imagination. They believed that the human mind could create in the same way God or the forces of nature create by using their imaginations. They emphasized speaking from the heart and using spontaneity to get at the truth.
The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake (http://www.everypoet.com/archive/poetry/william_blake/william_blake_songs_of_innocence_the_chimney_sweeper.htm)
This poem is written in first person from a chimney sweeper's point of view. Chimney sweeper's were usually children, and the narrator of this poem says he was sold to be a sweeper after his mother died before he could barely cry, "weep, weep, weep." This sweeper is optimistic and tells a story of his friend Tom Dacre who had a vision where an angel came and freed all the chimney sweepers from their "coffins of black" and took them first outside to a green plain and a river to wash them, and them up into the skies of heaven. The angel tells Tom that if he was good, then God would be his father, and he would always be joyful. The poem concludes with Tom awakening from his dream and happily picking up his bags and brush to go sweep chimney's in the cold, warmed by his innocent faith.
This poem has many characteristics of Romantic poetry. To begin with, the poet uses his imagination throughout the poem to create the point of view of a young chimney sweeper and the wonderful dream he had. Here is the passage which is especially imaginative:
"That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.
And by came an angel, who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins, and set them all free;
Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing, they run
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.
Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind:"
The part where they went "down a green plain" and "wash in a river" shows how nature is valued during Romanticism; here they are cleansed of their suffering by being out in the outdoors. Also, the point of view is one of youth and innocence, which is what the Romantic poets wanted to express. Little Tom Dacre's optimistic attitude, is summed up in the final two lines of the poem:
"Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm:
So, if all do their duty, they need not fear harm."
I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud by William Wordsworth
(http://www.poetseers.org/the_romantics/william_wordsworth/library/i_wandered/)
In this poem, the narrator is wandering around outside feeling lonely when he sees a crowd of daffodils beside a lake beneath some trees. Wordsworth uses similes and personification to compare the abundance of daffodils he sees with stars in the sky and with the ripples in the bay, and he describes the daffodils as dancing and being full of glee. He gazes and gazes at them without thinking of the effect they've had on him; when he gets home and sits on his couch he realizes how when his inner eye flashes back to that scene, he is filled with pleasure again.
This poem is an excellent example of how the Romantic poets wanted to express the beauty of nature and the effect it could have on the human mind. The narrator is feeling lonely, but he sees a "crowd" of daffodils which make him forget about his loneliness. Wordsworth gives the daffodils human characteristics, imagining that they are "Tossing their heads in sprightly dance." and describing them as "jocund." The ending also shows how the narrator is looking backward in time and reminiscing, which is a common characteristic of Romanticism, about the effect the sight of the daffodils had on him:
"I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils."
Remind Me Not, Remind Me Not by George Gordon, Lord Byron
http://www.emule.com/poetry/?page=poem&poem=406
This is a love poem which starts off with a man reminiscing about when he was with the person he is writing it to. He is telling her not to remind him because he could never forget her fair features and their sweet love as they got nearer and nearer. Then he talks about missing those days and hours but still being able to relive them in dreams and fantasies until they are no more and are forgotten.
This is an example of a Romantic poem because the narrator is looking back in time and reliving the past and also because of the very emotional and lyrical style used. The style of writing is free-flowing and less like the neo-classical style which was used by the Restoration poets and there is a different type of rhyme scheme. It is like this throughout the poem, but a good example is this: "Can I forget---canst thou forget, When playing with thy golden hair, How quick thy fluttering heart did move? Oh! by my soul, I see thee yet, With eyes so languid, breast so fair, And lips, though silent, breathing love."
The Cloud by Percy Bysshe Shelley
http://www.internal.org/view_poem.phtml?poemID=316
This poem is told from the point of view of a cloud. Throughout the poem, Shelley basically explains all the things that clouds do and their interactions with other things in natures. He covers everything from the mountains, seas, skies, plants and trees to rocks, earthquakes, fire, thunder and lightning. He uses personification throughout to relate different aspects of nature to each other, showing how they're all interconnected, and in the end he explains how clouds never die.
This is a great example of the fascination with nature and it's power during the Romantic era of poetry. Nature was seen as beautiful and not hostile, and the Cloud in this poem is described as bringing "fresh showers for the thirsting flowers." This is also a very imaginitive poem, which is another characteristic of Romantic poetry. Shelley imagines Sunset breathing (And when Sunset may breathe, from the lit sea beneath, Its ardors of rest and of love) and lightning as being the pilot of the Cloud and keeping thunder in a cavern (Lightning, my pilot, sits; In a cavern under is fettered the thunder, It struggles and howls at fits.) The ending sums up Shelley's personification of the Cloud: "I silently laugh at my own cenotaph, And out of the caverns of rain, Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb, I arise and unbuild it again."
On the Grasshopper and Cricket by John Keats
http://www.bartleby.com/126/28.html
This poem is about poetry found in nature and specifically about the song of grasshoppers. It talks about how when the birds get tired and stop singing, the grasshoppers are still making their noises. John Keats repeats this idea again saying that when it's freezing cold and everything is silent, the Cricket's song brings warmth.
This is an example of Romantic poetry because it uses very simple language and focuses on the effect of nature on people. During the Romantic era of poetry, poets wanted to appeal to everyone, instead of just to an elite group of people. John Keats repeats the idea that poetry is found everywhere by saying first, "The poetry of earth is never dead:" and then later on, "The poetry of earth is ceasing never:". This is also a very innocent and peaceful poem, which was another characteristic of Romantic poetry.
Victorian Period
1. One of the major historical events of the Victorian period was the expansion of the railroad, steam engines, electricity, and the economic boom of the Industrial Revolution. This meant that more and more people left the countryside and England's cities became more and more developed. The new manufacturing power, and the ability of the railroad to transport goods all over the country at fast speeds meant that goods became cheaper and easier to obtain for the new middle and working classes of the cities. This made the Victorian period a time of great material progress.
Some other historical events were the social and political reforms that came out of the Victorian period. In 1842, a law was passed to ban women and children from working in mines. A series of Factory Acts limited child labor and reduced the normal working day to ten hours a day. State-supported schools were established in 1870, and they were made free in 1891. This led to a majority of the population becoming literate by 1900, when before it had only been a small group.
2. I think life for normal people was probably a lot better than it had been in earlier times in England. For one, England wasn't at war with any countries. There were a lot of exciting changes going on in England, and an increase in trade meant that people had access to goods and luxuries from other countries at cheaper prices because of the railroads they were coming on. Another positive change that came out of this era was that more and more people began to have political power as opposed to when it was the barons and the kings and queens that ruled England.
3. The biggest difference between the Romantic period and the Victorian period is that a large middle class emerged in the Victorian period which had more political power than they had before thanks to the Reform Act of 1832. This was caused by the expansion of the railroad and the huge economic growth that England was going through because of trade throughout it's empire and the Industrial Revolution. This affected literature because it meant that now writers were writing to please the large middle class instead of rich patrons as they had in the Romantic period. This era became famous for great British novels and more and more novelists made money from selling to the large reading middle class.
4. The Victorian poets did not reject the style of poetry that came before them as had the Romantic poets had done, so many of their themes are similar. One of the things the Victorian poets wanted to express were the conditions of life under the Victorian rules of propriety and morality. Under Queen Victoria, everything was more strict and there was a lot more prudery. This made some Victorian poetry more orderly and strictly formed than the poetry from the age before.
Another aspect of society which the Victorian poets wanted to express was how the Industrial Revolution had a lot of negatives along with the economic growth it brought. They wanted to promote social change by writing about the poor conditions that many British workers lived and worked under.
Some of the Victorian poets, called the Pre-Raphaelite poets were more like the Romantic poets and wanted to express medieval themes. The wanted to write about simple and natural things, focusing on visual detail. Their poetry was rich with symbolism.
The Captain by Alfred Lord Tennyson
http://home.att.net/~TennysonPoetry/tc.htm
This poem tells the tale of a British naval ship, it's captain, and it's crew. The captain is a cruel leader who would whip his crew for any light transgression and so his crew hates him. The captain hopes to make his ship famous so when he sees a French vessel he decides to charge after it. They meet and everything is silent as the two ships line up to fire at each other. All the British crew are killed and the ship sinks to the bottom of the sea.
This poem reflects the Victorian period because of the way it is written and because of the language used. It is written in a very standard form characteristic of the strict and proper way of life for people of the Victorian age. It starts off with a simple rhyme scheme pattern ABAB in the first four lines:
"He that only rules by terror
Doeth grievous wrong.
Deep as hell I count his error.
Let him hear my song."
This pattern is used continuously throughout the poem. Also, the language is simple and straight-forward, making it easily accessible to the large literate middle class of the time period.
Prospice by Robert Browning
http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/293.html
This poem is about approaching death (probably on a battlefield). The narrator first asks the question whether he should fear death then describes it as a fog in his throat and a mist in his face, and then describes it as a storm looming near him. He answers his question by saying that he would want to face death in battle instead of letting him grow old ("I would hate that death bandaged my eyes and forbore, And bade me creep past.") He wants to die like the heroes of old. He finishes by saying that the worst will become the best to the brave and that his soul would rest with God.
This poem is an example of the Victorian poetry that echoed medieval times. It refers to chivalry where it was more noble to die in battle than to cower away from it. An example of the poem in this is, "11Though a battle's to fight ere the guerdon be gained,
12 The reward of it all.
13I was ever a fighter, so--one fight more,
14 The best and the last!"
There is also a great amount of symbolism in this poem, which is characteristic of the medieval themed Victorian poetry. Death is described as a "storm," a "fog," a "mist," and the "black minute." While this is an example of Victorian poetry, it's subject is not specifically of the Victorian age.
East London by Matthew Arnold
http://www.netpoets.com/classic/poems/001003.htm
This is a short poem that takes place in East London. First the narrator sees a pale weaver looking out of his window. After that he talks to a preacher he meets there and asks him how he's doing since he is ill and overworked. The preacher responds by saying he's been consoled by his thoughts of Christ, the living bread. The narrator then exclaims how powerful the human soul is (or maybe he is referring to the priest) and says it is fit for the heaven it hopes for.
This is an example of Victorian poetry because it describes simply and plainly a scene in a poorer part of London. The sun is described as being smoting on the "squalid streets of Bethnal green." The pale weaver is described as looking "thrice dispirited" and the priest is "ill and o'erworked." The end of the poem is idealistic and speaks of the power of the human soul to overcome these poor situations, which makes this poem like many of the poems from the Romantic era.
The Man He Killed by Thomas Hardy
http://www.poetry-archive.com/h/the_man_he_killed.html
This poem starts off with the narrator saying that if he had met this other man at an inn, they would have a few drinks together, but since he met him on a battlefield he shot at him and killed him as they were staring face to face. The narrator then says that they both had enlisted in the army for the same reason (they were out of work and had sold their "traps".) The narrator finally reflects how curious war is when you'd shoot someone that if you had met in an inn you would treat to a drink.
This is an example of Victorian poetry because it is short and to the point. The common people who were just learning to read at this time would be able to easily understand this poem. The whole poem could be summed up in the last quattrain:
"Yes; quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow down
You'd treat if met where any bar is,
Or help to half-a-crown."
Monday, April 23, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
The Restoration
1. The Glorious (Bloodless) Revolution is when King James II and his family were pressured into fleeing England by a union of Parliamentarians after James II, a Roman Catholic, had inherited the throne from his brother King Charles II. King Charles II was one of the Stuarts and he had reestablished the Church of England as the official church while he was alive. After King James II fled, England was ruled by his Protestant daughter, Mary and her husband William of Orange.
I think this event was so important because it was the first time in a long time that control of the country shifted from Protestant to Catholic without somebody being beheaded. It has ensured that, ever since, the rulers of England have all been Anglicans. Another important result is that since the new king, King William of Orange was part of the Dutch Reformed faith and not the Church of England, the Parliament passed the Act of Toleration of 1689, which granted toleration to nonconformist Protestants, although not to Catholics. Another major effect of King James II being pressured to flee to France is that ever since, the power of the Parliament has increased and the power of the Monarchy has decreased in England.
2. A satire is a literary work or a work of art that pokes fun at or criticizes something by using irony. Some examples are the Daily Show, the Colbert Report, and Scary Movie.
3. I was a little surprised when he started talking about eating babies. The author seems to have planned the situation all out. He's even got all the statistical information calculated. The tone he uses is very sincere and believable, making it even more disturbing to think about. The arguement is well organized and laid out by the narrator, making it sound very rational.
This work is a satire because Jonnathon Swift is using irony the whole time (the proposal in reality is completely unacceptable but for the narrator is completely acceptable) to criticize and ridicule the inhumaneness of landlords and economists at the time.
4. I didn't really like this account of the black plague very much. I thought it was too unattached and impersonal, and I didn't like the dry style of writing used. It was hard for me to get into the reading and it took me a long time to read even though this is a pretty short work. The narrator of the journal writes: "This may serve a little to describe the dreadful condition of that day, though it is impossible to say anything that is able to give a true idea of it to those who did not see it, other than this, that it was indeed very, very, very dreadful, and such as no tongue can express."- but he never really seems to be very disturbed by the events, or at least the tone never really changes from that of a reporter. I would've been more interesting to me if it sounded more like a personal experience, although it is very detailed. It would've been better if more of it was written like the poem at the end:
"A dreadful plague in London was
In the year sixty-five,
Which swept an hundred thousand souls
Away; yet I alive!"
5. I think for the common people living in England at the time, the most important thing would be staying alive and trying to enjoy life. The plague of London of 1665 wiped out a huge number of people, and the Great Fire of London destroyed most of the houses in the city, so at this time, people were trying to regroup and restore their livelihoods. Jonathan Swift writes of the "present deplorable state of the kingdom" in A Modest Proposal and describes the large number of beggars there were: "It is a melancholy object to those who walk through this great town or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads, and cabin doors, crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for an alms. These mothers, instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants: who as they grow up either turn thieves for want of work, or leave their dear native country to fight for the Pretender in Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbadoes."
However, for the upper classes, the most important think might have been knowledge, since it was the Age of Reason. More and more people in the upper classes were reading because more and more authors, such as Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift, were using prose. Prose is more direct and to the point than poetry and usually describes how things happen more than asking why they happen like Shakespeare often did in the Renaissance period of literature.
I think this event was so important because it was the first time in a long time that control of the country shifted from Protestant to Catholic without somebody being beheaded. It has ensured that, ever since, the rulers of England have all been Anglicans. Another important result is that since the new king, King William of Orange was part of the Dutch Reformed faith and not the Church of England, the Parliament passed the Act of Toleration of 1689, which granted toleration to nonconformist Protestants, although not to Catholics. Another major effect of King James II being pressured to flee to France is that ever since, the power of the Parliament has increased and the power of the Monarchy has decreased in England.
2. A satire is a literary work or a work of art that pokes fun at or criticizes something by using irony. Some examples are the Daily Show, the Colbert Report, and Scary Movie.
3. I was a little surprised when he started talking about eating babies. The author seems to have planned the situation all out. He's even got all the statistical information calculated. The tone he uses is very sincere and believable, making it even more disturbing to think about. The arguement is well organized and laid out by the narrator, making it sound very rational.
This work is a satire because Jonnathon Swift is using irony the whole time (the proposal in reality is completely unacceptable but for the narrator is completely acceptable) to criticize and ridicule the inhumaneness of landlords and economists at the time.
4. I didn't really like this account of the black plague very much. I thought it was too unattached and impersonal, and I didn't like the dry style of writing used. It was hard for me to get into the reading and it took me a long time to read even though this is a pretty short work. The narrator of the journal writes: "This may serve a little to describe the dreadful condition of that day, though it is impossible to say anything that is able to give a true idea of it to those who did not see it, other than this, that it was indeed very, very, very dreadful, and such as no tongue can express."- but he never really seems to be very disturbed by the events, or at least the tone never really changes from that of a reporter. I would've been more interesting to me if it sounded more like a personal experience, although it is very detailed. It would've been better if more of it was written like the poem at the end:
"A dreadful plague in London was
In the year sixty-five,
Which swept an hundred thousand souls
Away; yet I alive!"
5. I think for the common people living in England at the time, the most important thing would be staying alive and trying to enjoy life. The plague of London of 1665 wiped out a huge number of people, and the Great Fire of London destroyed most of the houses in the city, so at this time, people were trying to regroup and restore their livelihoods. Jonathan Swift writes of the "present deplorable state of the kingdom" in A Modest Proposal and describes the large number of beggars there were: "It is a melancholy object to those who walk through this great town or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads, and cabin doors, crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for an alms. These mothers, instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants: who as they grow up either turn thieves for want of work, or leave their dear native country to fight for the Pretender in Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbadoes."
However, for the upper classes, the most important think might have been knowledge, since it was the Age of Reason. More and more people in the upper classes were reading because more and more authors, such as Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift, were using prose. Prose is more direct and to the point than poetry and usually describes how things happen more than asking why they happen like Shakespeare often did in the Renaissance period of literature.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Renaissance
1. The difference between Spencer's and Shakespeare's rhyme schemes in the two sonnets is that Spencer carries over an end-of-the-line rhyme from the first four lines into the next four lines by having an ABAB BCBC CDCD EE rhyme scheme, while Shakespeare's uses new rhymes every four lines in his ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme. I like Spencer's rhyme scheme better because I think it flows more naturally.
2. In the first section of Shakespeare's sonnet, he's trying to decide whether or not to compare the person he's talking to to a summer's day but he decides not to since they are more lovely and temperate. Then he goes on to criticize summer saying it's not long enough and it's too hot somedays and that it will always fade away. Then in the third part (the turn) he says that the person who he's talking to's eternal summer will not fade and their beauty won't die- basically saying they're perfect. Then the final message is that as long as their are people to witness him or her, they will feel the same way.
I thought that the first three sections of Spencer's sonnet had a similar message. The narrator wonders how he could still love and desire this woman so much even though she grows colder the more he entreats her. And the colder she gets towards him, the hotter his flame of desire gets. The last section basically sums it up saying, that's the power of love in gentle mind.
3. Shakespeare's Sonnet 3
Look in thy glass, and tell the face thou viewest
Now is the time that face should form another;
Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest,
Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother.
For where is she so fair whose unear'd womb
Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?
Or who is he so fond will be the tomb
Of his self-love, to stop posterity?
Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime:
So thou through windows of thine age shall see
Despite of wrinkles this thy golden time.
But if thou live, remember'd not to be,
Die single, and thine image dies with thee.
The rhyme scheme here is ABAB CDCD DEDE DD. I think the first section is saying that the person looking into the mirror should think about having a child or else he would be doing a disservice to the world. The second section is asking what kind of woman would turn him down and also asks why he would choose not to be remembered by having a child. Then in the third section, Shakespeare comments that you are your mother's glass or window into the past, meaning that parents see themselves in their youth ("lovely April of her prime") in their kids. The message of the couplet at the end is that if you don't like being remembered, then don't have kids because then your image would die with you and not get reflected down through generations.
Spencer's Sonnet 75
One day I wrote her name upon the strand,
But came the waves and washed it away:
Again I wrote it with a second hand,
But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.
Vain man, said she, that dost in vain assay
A mortal thing so to immortalize!
For I myself shall like to this decay,
And eek my name be wiped out likewise.
Not so (quoth I), let baser things devise
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame:
My verse your virtues rare shall eternize,
And in the heavens write your glorious name;
Where, whenas death shall all the world subdue,
Our love shall live, and later life renew.
The rhyme scheme here is ABAB BCBC CDCD EE. The first section describes the narrator writing his love's name on the beach only to see it washed away each time by the waves and the tide. I think the message here is that you can't beat time or nature. She responds in the second section by pointing out how useless it is to try and immortalize something that is mortal since she will be wiped out by nature and time just the same. In the turn, however, he replies by saying that he'll let more worthless things die in dust, but for her he would write poetry that would make known her rare virtues to the world and immortalize her name ("and in the heavens write your glorious name.") In the final couplet, he says this is how their love will always live on (through poetry) and be renewed in another life.
Sonnett I by Manas Winfield
In crowded marketplaces
Under hot dusty skies
The suicide-bombers show their faces
And we can only ask why?
What could compel a person
To kill themself, foes, and friends
With no regard to innocent children?
I guess it makes no difference to them in the end.
So to stop a human bomb
What do you do?
Find the bombs and put them in a tomb.
Then the suicide bombers can only hate you
This is what we're trying in Iraq
It is not easy to stop an attack
2. In the first section of Shakespeare's sonnet, he's trying to decide whether or not to compare the person he's talking to to a summer's day but he decides not to since they are more lovely and temperate. Then he goes on to criticize summer saying it's not long enough and it's too hot somedays and that it will always fade away. Then in the third part (the turn) he says that the person who he's talking to's eternal summer will not fade and their beauty won't die- basically saying they're perfect. Then the final message is that as long as their are people to witness him or her, they will feel the same way.
I thought that the first three sections of Spencer's sonnet had a similar message. The narrator wonders how he could still love and desire this woman so much even though she grows colder the more he entreats her. And the colder she gets towards him, the hotter his flame of desire gets. The last section basically sums it up saying, that's the power of love in gentle mind.
3. Shakespeare's Sonnet 3
Look in thy glass, and tell the face thou viewest
Now is the time that face should form another;
Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest,
Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother.
For where is she so fair whose unear'd womb
Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?
Or who is he so fond will be the tomb
Of his self-love, to stop posterity?
Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime:
So thou through windows of thine age shall see
Despite of wrinkles this thy golden time.
But if thou live, remember'd not to be,
Die single, and thine image dies with thee.
The rhyme scheme here is ABAB CDCD DEDE DD. I think the first section is saying that the person looking into the mirror should think about having a child or else he would be doing a disservice to the world. The second section is asking what kind of woman would turn him down and also asks why he would choose not to be remembered by having a child. Then in the third section, Shakespeare comments that you are your mother's glass or window into the past, meaning that parents see themselves in their youth ("lovely April of her prime") in their kids. The message of the couplet at the end is that if you don't like being remembered, then don't have kids because then your image would die with you and not get reflected down through generations.
Spencer's Sonnet 75
One day I wrote her name upon the strand,
But came the waves and washed it away:
Again I wrote it with a second hand,
But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.
Vain man, said she, that dost in vain assay
A mortal thing so to immortalize!
For I myself shall like to this decay,
And eek my name be wiped out likewise.
Not so (quoth I), let baser things devise
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame:
My verse your virtues rare shall eternize,
And in the heavens write your glorious name;
Where, whenas death shall all the world subdue,
Our love shall live, and later life renew.
The rhyme scheme here is ABAB BCBC CDCD EE. The first section describes the narrator writing his love's name on the beach only to see it washed away each time by the waves and the tide. I think the message here is that you can't beat time or nature. She responds in the second section by pointing out how useless it is to try and immortalize something that is mortal since she will be wiped out by nature and time just the same. In the turn, however, he replies by saying that he'll let more worthless things die in dust, but for her he would write poetry that would make known her rare virtues to the world and immortalize her name ("and in the heavens write your glorious name.") In the final couplet, he says this is how their love will always live on (through poetry) and be renewed in another life.
Sonnett I by Manas Winfield
In crowded marketplaces
Under hot dusty skies
The suicide-bombers show their faces
And we can only ask why?
What could compel a person
To kill themself, foes, and friends
With no regard to innocent children?
I guess it makes no difference to them in the end.
So to stop a human bomb
What do you do?
Find the bombs and put them in a tomb.
Then the suicide bombers can only hate you
This is what we're trying in Iraq
It is not easy to stop an attack
Mentor Logs
Monday April 16th from 5:00 to 6:25
I met with my mentor again inside Adderhold Hall, this time to sit in on a graduate school class she's currently taking. The class had around ten or twelve people in it, and it was more casual than I was expecting. For International Creativity Week, the professor had decided to play a game in class. All of the grad students had come assuming the role of a famous psychologist and they went in turns asking the other psychologists questions about creativity and tried to guess what the answer would be. The students had to answer as if they were the famous psychologist, so it tested how much they knew about different psychologist's theories and ideas. I'd never heard of any of the psychologists except for Freud, but it was interesting to see how many different ways a concept such as creativity is looked at by psychologists and how many differing theories there are.
Friday April 13th from 10:50 to 12:40
This time I met with my mentor inside Adderhold Hall at the Torrance Center which is a small group of offices where research for creativity goes on. It's named after Dr. Ellis Paul Torrance who pioneered identifying and developing creative potential. He invented the Torrance test which is used in elementary schools to measure creativity. At first, my mentor showed me what she had been working on to celebrate International Creativity week. She is planning to put up posters around the department and pass out stickers for the psychology professors to wear to raise awareness on the importance of creativity in general.
After that she showed me the databases, called Galileo, that researchers at the University have access to and how to use them. If you're working on your dissertation to get a PhD. in psychology you would probably spend a lot of time using the databases to look up journal articles and either read them if the UGA has them online, or find them at one of the three UGA libraries. Most of the journals and books of psychology, my mentor said, are in the science library. Searching through the databases to find what you want can seem hard at first since there are thousands of articles that come up, but my mentor showed me how she narrows down the searches to make it easy to find the information she needs. We read through a lot of interesting articles about creativity. Reading through some of the articles showed me how interconnected everything is in psychology and how broad the field is, since a lot of the articles had advanced medical terminology.
Sunday April 8th from 3:00 to 4:45 p.m.
I met with my mentor at the Borders bookshop. To begin with she asked me a little about the project and I explained it, telling her how it was about a career in psychology. She told me a lot about her job as an educational psychology researcher at the UGA. I asked her how she became interested in psychology and she said that originally she had been a fifth grade teacher for 14 years. She was interested especially in creativity and gifted education. I found out that the education system and teaching in general is based on psychology. Educational psychologists are employed to study all the factors that affect learning like how information is presented and how people feel about their learning. Organizations such as schools, businesses, and the military all use this information to better teach and/or train their subjects.
I asked my mentor what she is currently working on and she told me she is currently researching the link between creativity and bipolar disorder and the neurotransmitters that are related to these creative abilities. The more in-depth research we have on this subject, the easier it will be for doctors to detect signs of bipolar disorder early in children who exhibit certain types of creativity that are linked to the disorder. She is also taking classes and working on her Ph.D. She said she would do less research eventually and become more of a professor of Psychology. I asked her what getting a Ph.D involved and she said you need to read extensively on the subject that you're interested in, meet others in the field at conferences to pick up new ideas, and do extensive research to eventually come up with a dissertation. She also told me about the new fMRI technology. With it, scientists are starting to map out the brain at a whole new level which could to lead to all kinds of breakthroughs in psychology and treatments for psychological diseases in the future. We arranged to have our next meeting at the Torrance Center at the UGA where she'll show me the databases she uses to research and analyze data.
I met with my mentor again inside Adderhold Hall, this time to sit in on a graduate school class she's currently taking. The class had around ten or twelve people in it, and it was more casual than I was expecting. For International Creativity Week, the professor had decided to play a game in class. All of the grad students had come assuming the role of a famous psychologist and they went in turns asking the other psychologists questions about creativity and tried to guess what the answer would be. The students had to answer as if they were the famous psychologist, so it tested how much they knew about different psychologist's theories and ideas. I'd never heard of any of the psychologists except for Freud, but it was interesting to see how many different ways a concept such as creativity is looked at by psychologists and how many differing theories there are.
Friday April 13th from 10:50 to 12:40
This time I met with my mentor inside Adderhold Hall at the Torrance Center which is a small group of offices where research for creativity goes on. It's named after Dr. Ellis Paul Torrance who pioneered identifying and developing creative potential. He invented the Torrance test which is used in elementary schools to measure creativity. At first, my mentor showed me what she had been working on to celebrate International Creativity week. She is planning to put up posters around the department and pass out stickers for the psychology professors to wear to raise awareness on the importance of creativity in general.
After that she showed me the databases, called Galileo, that researchers at the University have access to and how to use them. If you're working on your dissertation to get a PhD. in psychology you would probably spend a lot of time using the databases to look up journal articles and either read them if the UGA has them online, or find them at one of the three UGA libraries. Most of the journals and books of psychology, my mentor said, are in the science library. Searching through the databases to find what you want can seem hard at first since there are thousands of articles that come up, but my mentor showed me how she narrows down the searches to make it easy to find the information she needs. We read through a lot of interesting articles about creativity. Reading through some of the articles showed me how interconnected everything is in psychology and how broad the field is, since a lot of the articles had advanced medical terminology.
Sunday April 8th from 3:00 to 4:45 p.m.
I met with my mentor at the Borders bookshop. To begin with she asked me a little about the project and I explained it, telling her how it was about a career in psychology. She told me a lot about her job as an educational psychology researcher at the UGA. I asked her how she became interested in psychology and she said that originally she had been a fifth grade teacher for 14 years. She was interested especially in creativity and gifted education. I found out that the education system and teaching in general is based on psychology. Educational psychologists are employed to study all the factors that affect learning like how information is presented and how people feel about their learning. Organizations such as schools, businesses, and the military all use this information to better teach and/or train their subjects.
I asked my mentor what she is currently working on and she told me she is currently researching the link between creativity and bipolar disorder and the neurotransmitters that are related to these creative abilities. The more in-depth research we have on this subject, the easier it will be for doctors to detect signs of bipolar disorder early in children who exhibit certain types of creativity that are linked to the disorder. She is also taking classes and working on her Ph.D. She said she would do less research eventually and become more of a professor of Psychology. I asked her what getting a Ph.D involved and she said you need to read extensively on the subject that you're interested in, meet others in the field at conferences to pick up new ideas, and do extensive research to eventually come up with a dissertation. She also told me about the new fMRI technology. With it, scientists are starting to map out the brain at a whole new level which could to lead to all kinds of breakthroughs in psychology and treatments for psychological diseases in the future. We arranged to have our next meeting at the Torrance Center at the UGA where she'll show me the databases she uses to research and analyze data.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
The Reeve's Tale
The Reeve's tale was told by the Reeve to get back at the Miller for his tale which made fun of a dumb carpenter. I think it's amazing how well the author is able to describe the characters and the events while making the story rhyme at the same time. The Reeve's tale is not too long, but a lot of things happen and I didn't think there were any parts where it was boring. It was entertaining throughout. I was kind of surprised when the miller would let the two clerks stay the night at his house especially after he had just robbed them of their corn. The scene at night was written in a funny and comedic way, but part of it could also be interpreted as vengeaful rape by John and Alain. In the end, all the characters seemed end up being fooled and the Miller eventually gets humiliated the most I think.
Canterbury Tales is a great example of life in the Middle Ages. Although not displayed in the Reeve's tale, the moral code of chivalry is described in the prologue. Chivalrous knights in the Middle Ages were of the highest honor and showed loyalty to their kings in everything they did. The knight in Canterbury tales exemplifies this ideal as he is said to have, "loved chivalry, truth, honour, freedom, and all courtesy." "Full worthy was he in his sovereign's war."
Also, the knight was an example of a Crusader since he had fought "as well in Christendom as heatheness" meaning that he had gone to Eastern Europe ("Against another heathen in Turkey") and the Middle East to fight in the Holy Wars. This reflects one of the major events of the Middle Ages, the Crusades. Also in the prologue, the medical beliefs of the Middle Ages are shown in the description of the doctor. At that time they believed that the position of the planets had an effect on human life, so they thought if a doctor was a good astronomer he would be a good healer also. ("Well could he calculate the planetary position, To improve the state his patient is in.")
Canterbury Tales is a great example of life in the Middle Ages. Although not displayed in the Reeve's tale, the moral code of chivalry is described in the prologue. Chivalrous knights in the Middle Ages were of the highest honor and showed loyalty to their kings in everything they did. The knight in Canterbury tales exemplifies this ideal as he is said to have, "loved chivalry, truth, honour, freedom, and all courtesy." "Full worthy was he in his sovereign's war."
Also, the knight was an example of a Crusader since he had fought "as well in Christendom as heatheness" meaning that he had gone to Eastern Europe ("Against another heathen in Turkey") and the Middle East to fight in the Holy Wars. This reflects one of the major events of the Middle Ages, the Crusades. Also in the prologue, the medical beliefs of the Middle Ages are shown in the description of the doctor. At that time they believed that the position of the planets had an effect on human life, so they thought if a doctor was a good astronomer he would be a good healer also. ("Well could he calculate the planetary position, To improve the state his patient is in.")
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Main Characters in Canterbury Tales
The knight was a fine example of chivalry. "Who from the moment That he first began to ride around the world loved, chivalry, Truth, honour, freedom, and all courtesy." He's been in battles everywhere and won them all, but he wears simple clothes anyway, "a tunic of simple cloth he possesed."
The Squire is a very lively, talented, strong, and humble young man. "Singing he was or whistling all the day." "He could make songs and words thereto indite, Joust and dance to, as well as sketch and write."
The Yeoman is a true forester, armed with bows and arrows, a sword, a dagger, and a buckler. "And he was clothed in coat and hood of green" probably to blend into the forests.
The Prioress is very refined and well-mannered nun "She was very pleasant, amiable - in short." If she saw something harmed "then pity ruled her tender heart."
The Monk is a prelate which is a church dignitary but he doesn't stay in a cloister like other monks. He loves to ride horses and hunt. "riding and hunting of the hare Were all his love, for no cost would he spare."
Hubert the Friar was a festive man, well liked by everyone and he wore a semi-cope like the pope. "He heard confession gently, it was said, Gently absolved too, leaving no dread."
The Merchant knows how to deal foreign currencies and trade so well even though he's in debt. "This worthy man kept all his wits well set; There was no person that knew he was in debt, So well he managed all his trade affairs With bargains and with borrowings and with shares."
The Clerk is a scholar more interested in philosophy and learning than religion or money. He has to borrow money from his friends to pay for his schooling. "Filled with moral virtue was his speech, And gladly would he learn and gladly teach."
The Seargeant of the Law is wise, dignified, and rich. "Because of his knowledge and high reputation, He took large fees, had robes more than one." He bought more land than anyone else.
The Franklin is an old vavasor (vassal ranking just below a baron) who is delightful, happy, and has feasts all the time. "No man had better cellers stocked with wine. His house was never short of food and pies."
The Cook is very skilled. He has an open sore on his shin. "he could roast and boil and broil and fry, and prepare a stew, and bake a tasty pie."
The Shipman is an experienced sailor. "Hardy and wise in all things undertaken, By many tempests had his beard been shaken."
The Physician is an expert doctor who made a lot of money because of the Bubonic plague. "In all the world there was none like him, to speak of medicine and surgery."
The Wife of Bath is an older lady who could make clothes well and had had five husbands and travelled all over Europe. "Upon a pacing horse easily she sat" meaning that she was used to traveling.
The Parson is a poor country priest who teaches through his own example. He is gentle to everyone and isn't into big ceremonies. "I think there never was a better priest. He had no thirst for pomp or ceremony, Nor spiced his conscience and morality, But Christ's own law, and His apostles' twelve He taught, but first he followed it himselve"
The Plowman is the parson's brother. He is religious ("He loved God most") and very determined since he plows the fields without thought of reward but for God's sake. "He paid his taxes, fully, when it was due."
The Miller is big and strong with a red beard and a big mouth. "He lifted each door from its hinges, that easy." He can also play the bagpipe and recite sinful poetry.
The Manciple is an expert at buying food. "Cash or credit, he knew all the rituals."
The Reeve is a smart guy who manages his lord's crops and livestock. Nobody messed around with him- "There was no agent, herd, or servant who'd cheat; He knew too well their cunning and deceit;" and he was never in "arrears" (debt).
The Summoner has a childish face full of pimples and knobs and he gets so drunk a lot and yells things out in Latin. People still feared him, however, because of his curses "In his own power had he, and at ease, Young people of the entire diocese, And knew their secrets, they did what he said."
The Pardoner is the summoner's friend. He sings church songs to make money and collected relics on the road to sell to parsons. "To gain some silver, preferably from the crowd;
Therefore he sang so merrily and so loud."
The Squire is a very lively, talented, strong, and humble young man. "Singing he was or whistling all the day." "He could make songs and words thereto indite, Joust and dance to, as well as sketch and write."
The Yeoman is a true forester, armed with bows and arrows, a sword, a dagger, and a buckler. "And he was clothed in coat and hood of green" probably to blend into the forests.
The Prioress is very refined and well-mannered nun "She was very pleasant, amiable - in short." If she saw something harmed "then pity ruled her tender heart."
The Monk is a prelate which is a church dignitary but he doesn't stay in a cloister like other monks. He loves to ride horses and hunt. "riding and hunting of the hare Were all his love, for no cost would he spare."
Hubert the Friar was a festive man, well liked by everyone and he wore a semi-cope like the pope. "He heard confession gently, it was said, Gently absolved too, leaving no dread."
The Merchant knows how to deal foreign currencies and trade so well even though he's in debt. "This worthy man kept all his wits well set; There was no person that knew he was in debt, So well he managed all his trade affairs With bargains and with borrowings and with shares."
The Clerk is a scholar more interested in philosophy and learning than religion or money. He has to borrow money from his friends to pay for his schooling. "Filled with moral virtue was his speech, And gladly would he learn and gladly teach."
The Seargeant of the Law is wise, dignified, and rich. "Because of his knowledge and high reputation, He took large fees, had robes more than one." He bought more land than anyone else.
The Franklin is an old vavasor (vassal ranking just below a baron) who is delightful, happy, and has feasts all the time. "No man had better cellers stocked with wine. His house was never short of food and pies."
The Cook is very skilled. He has an open sore on his shin. "he could roast and boil and broil and fry, and prepare a stew, and bake a tasty pie."
The Shipman is an experienced sailor. "Hardy and wise in all things undertaken, By many tempests had his beard been shaken."
The Physician is an expert doctor who made a lot of money because of the Bubonic plague. "In all the world there was none like him, to speak of medicine and surgery."
The Wife of Bath is an older lady who could make clothes well and had had five husbands and travelled all over Europe. "Upon a pacing horse easily she sat" meaning that she was used to traveling.
The Parson is a poor country priest who teaches through his own example. He is gentle to everyone and isn't into big ceremonies. "I think there never was a better priest. He had no thirst for pomp or ceremony, Nor spiced his conscience and morality, But Christ's own law, and His apostles' twelve He taught, but first he followed it himselve"
The Plowman is the parson's brother. He is religious ("He loved God most") and very determined since he plows the fields without thought of reward but for God's sake. "He paid his taxes, fully, when it was due."
The Miller is big and strong with a red beard and a big mouth. "He lifted each door from its hinges, that easy." He can also play the bagpipe and recite sinful poetry.
The Manciple is an expert at buying food. "Cash or credit, he knew all the rituals."
The Reeve is a smart guy who manages his lord's crops and livestock. Nobody messed around with him- "There was no agent, herd, or servant who'd cheat; He knew too well their cunning and deceit;" and he was never in "arrears" (debt).
The Summoner has a childish face full of pimples and knobs and he gets so drunk a lot and yells things out in Latin. People still feared him, however, because of his curses "In his own power had he, and at ease, Young people of the entire diocese, And knew their secrets, they did what he said."
The Pardoner is the summoner's friend. He sings church songs to make money and collected relics on the road to sell to parsons. "To gain some silver, preferably from the crowd;
Therefore he sang so merrily and so loud."
Monday, April 2, 2007
The Middle Ages
The Crusades were one of the main historical events of the Middle Ages. They were a series of military conflicts fought by Christians to regain the Holy Lands of Jerusalem from Muslim rule. The first crusade started in 1095 when the leader of the Eastern Orthodox (Christain) Byzantine Empire asked the Vatican Pope for help in stopping the Turkish Seljuq dynasty (Muslim) from invading into Byzantine territory in Anatolia. Pope Urban II responded by calling for a huge number of forces to take back territory all the way to Jerusalem. This was the first time rival kingdoms of Europe were united to fight for a common cause, and since many of these Christain knights had known nothing but fighting their whole lives they were hard to stop, often described as cruel and savage. Some historians would even argue that most of the knights weren't fighting for their religion but they were fighting just to plunder and kill. The Crusades ended in 1291 and the main changes that took place as a result were that the European world obtained knowledge of science, architecture, and mathematics from the Islamic world. Trade routes opened up and new technology would come from the east to the west. This would all later lead to the European Renaissance in later years.
The Magna Carta or "Great Paper" in Latin is a famous English document that was first issued in 1215, (although most of the rights came from the one issued in 1225) when Pope Innocent III, King John, and English barons disagreed about the rights and powers of the King. Since the Norman conquests of 1066, The King of England had become the most powerful position in all of Europe at that time, but after King John made some big mistakes including giving up land to the French to save face, killing his cousin Arthur, and disagreeing with the Pope about who the Archbishop of Canterbury should be. This caused the English barons to rebel and there was a civil war until the barons forced the King to put his seal on the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta is famous for including the right of Habeas Corpus and for making the King accept that his will could be limited by the law. The King no longer had absolute power. This is why historians say it was the "most significant early influence on the extensive historical process that led to constitutional law today."
Thomas a Becket was King Henry's chief administrator and a "carousing chum" and when the Archbishop of Canterbury seat fell open in 1162, Henry II persuaded a reluctant Thomas to become the new Archbishop. He was expecting that since they were friends to begin with that Thomas would support the King in the battle between church and state. However, Thomas changed as Archbishop and became a strict observer of church law, even going so far as to wear a hair shirt under his vestments and choosing to be flogged. He sided with the Pope instead of with King Henry II and infuriated the monarch. He was eventually killed by four of the King's knights in Canterbury Cathedral and was made a martyr.
The Black Plague was one of the the worst known pandemics in human history, assumed to be spread by rats. It started around the 14th century and killed 75 million people, at least a third of Europe's population at the time. It was characterised by swollen lymph nodes in the victims. It affected European culture by making it very morbid and pessimisstic for a while and people became cynical of the church and religious officials when they couldn't keep their promises of providing cures.
The Magna Carta or "Great Paper" in Latin is a famous English document that was first issued in 1215, (although most of the rights came from the one issued in 1225) when Pope Innocent III, King John, and English barons disagreed about the rights and powers of the King. Since the Norman conquests of 1066, The King of England had become the most powerful position in all of Europe at that time, but after King John made some big mistakes including giving up land to the French to save face, killing his cousin Arthur, and disagreeing with the Pope about who the Archbishop of Canterbury should be. This caused the English barons to rebel and there was a civil war until the barons forced the King to put his seal on the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta is famous for including the right of Habeas Corpus and for making the King accept that his will could be limited by the law. The King no longer had absolute power. This is why historians say it was the "most significant early influence on the extensive historical process that led to constitutional law today."
Thomas a Becket was King Henry's chief administrator and a "carousing chum" and when the Archbishop of Canterbury seat fell open in 1162, Henry II persuaded a reluctant Thomas to become the new Archbishop. He was expecting that since they were friends to begin with that Thomas would support the King in the battle between church and state. However, Thomas changed as Archbishop and became a strict observer of church law, even going so far as to wear a hair shirt under his vestments and choosing to be flogged. He sided with the Pope instead of with King Henry II and infuriated the monarch. He was eventually killed by four of the King's knights in Canterbury Cathedral and was made a martyr.
The Black Plague was one of the the worst known pandemics in human history, assumed to be spread by rats. It started around the 14th century and killed 75 million people, at least a third of Europe's population at the time. It was characterised by swollen lymph nodes in the victims. It affected European culture by making it very morbid and pessimisstic for a while and people became cynical of the church and religious officials when they couldn't keep their promises of providing cures.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Beowulf
1. I thought Beowulf, although difficult to follow at times, was in the end a good and exciting story and worth the time to read it. It's a heroic epic poem that was first written down around 700-1000 A. D. telling the legendary tale of Beowulf and also of battles from the 5th or 6th century among Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tribes in present day England. So there is some history in it, even though it is mainly a fictional tale with monsters and dragons meant to entertain. The story also shows a lot of aspects of Anglo-Saxon religion and culture as well as there wisdom and ideals.
The story starts off with the description of the Danish king Hrothgar: how he built his reputation up as the greatest of kings through victories in battle and through his own good deeds and gifts. He built a great mead hall made of gold and treasures and everybody ate, drank and was merry for years. This all comes to a halt when a bloodthirsty beast named Grendel emerges from the shadows of darkness and infiltrates the great hall destroying all 30 of Hrothgar's greatest warrior guards inside. He began living in that hall for 12 years (although God would not let him sit on the throne.) One of the things that I found confusing is that the descriptions of God seem to be refering to the Christian God and not to the Anglo-Saxon god Odin since Odin was an ambivalent god, not choosing sides. This is when the legend begins and Beowulf arrives with his own fleet on Hrothgar's shores, proudly boasting to be the first warrior who could finally keep his word and kill Grendel since many warriors had already said they could and failed.
From then on, the action begins and we see Beowulf's strength in action. He was said to have the hand-grip strength of thirty men, and so instead of going to fight Grendel with a sword he trusts his strengths and goes solo. Beowulf boasts about his abilities a lot but he earns all his glory by risking his life wherever he goes to help others. I liked all the different ways the author would use to describe Beowulf, such as "the brave one" or "that great warrior" or "the strongest of men, brave and noble" instead of using something weak like "he".
I like the descriptions of the warriors and the action scenes. I think the story is hard to follow sometimes because there are so many names to keep track of in a short space. A lot of different kings and queens are mentioned but it's hard to differentiate between them because they often are described in the same way. I was surprised when Beowulf killed Grendel in episode 4 because there was such a big lead up to it, but the actual battle was described real quickly with Beowulf killing Grendel with only his hand grip.
2. Beowulf shows a lot of examples of Anglo-Saxon culture. For one, the Anglo-Saxons were a warring people where warriors would earn status and rewards through their own deeds. Battle armor and swords were very valuable, and the Anglo-saxon's belief in animism meant that the swords that were used to kill great beasts were thought to be sacred. This is why Beowulf had all his armor and treasure with his body on the funeral pyre at the end of the story.
The Anglo-Saxon kings in Beowulf were also called "treasure givers" and "gold-friends" since a lot of their power depended on how they supplied their knights. When Beowulf kills Grendel, Hrothgar gives him a gilded battle flag, a helmet wrapped in metal bands, and a horse with the same jewel inlaid saddle that he had used in battle. "He had no reason to be ashamed among warriors for taking those rich gifts." Although in an Anglo-Saxon culture, the ultimate reward for a knight was not treasure but eternal fame. This is why in Beowulf there are so many warriors who die attempting to slay Grendel before Beowulf comes along.
The strong Anglo-Saxon belief in God and fate is also shown throughout Beowulf. In episode 8 one line stood out to me as an example of this: "It is wonderful to say how mighty God through his wisdom and large heart distributes land and rank to the race of men. He controls all." In episode 5 fate was described: "Fate is not easy to flee from, try it who will."
3. In a way Beowulf is like Batman or Spiderman, since he was born a normal human being and is able to kill monsters far greater than the average man. He's different from them though because he fights like a normal human being would, not using special powers or gadgets. He relies on his strength- his hand grip. He's not invinceable but unlike batman or spiderman he does become a ruler of his people for fifty years and doesn't stop fighting even into his old age as he slays the dragon when he's in his seventies, making him the ultimate warrior. Batman and Spiderman are more like law enforcement heroes while Beowulf is more like a war hero.
4. I felt that Beowulf's death was probably the best way he could've died. He remained brave and noble till the very end and refused to run away from the dragon even as he was being engulfed in flames. Although maybe he couldn't have done it without Wiglaf, he did slay the dragon and ended it's reign of destruction on the neighbouring people.
He was allowed to speak some dying words showing that he was at peace with himself and that he was ready for death ("I feared no one. I awaited my destiny well: never did I plot a quarrel, never did I swear an unjust oath. I take joy in this despite a mortal wound. I have traded my old life for the people's needs.") I felt this was a good way for him to seal his legend, and the long mourning scenes shows that he wasn't being arrogant when he said he was the best as the last lines of the epic seal the legend of Beowulf. "Thus the Geats mourned their great lord, saying he was among the world's Kings, the mildest, the gentlest, the kindest to his people, and the most eager of eternal fame."
The story starts off with the description of the Danish king Hrothgar: how he built his reputation up as the greatest of kings through victories in battle and through his own good deeds and gifts. He built a great mead hall made of gold and treasures and everybody ate, drank and was merry for years. This all comes to a halt when a bloodthirsty beast named Grendel emerges from the shadows of darkness and infiltrates the great hall destroying all 30 of Hrothgar's greatest warrior guards inside. He began living in that hall for 12 years (although God would not let him sit on the throne.) One of the things that I found confusing is that the descriptions of God seem to be refering to the Christian God and not to the Anglo-Saxon god Odin since Odin was an ambivalent god, not choosing sides. This is when the legend begins and Beowulf arrives with his own fleet on Hrothgar's shores, proudly boasting to be the first warrior who could finally keep his word and kill Grendel since many warriors had already said they could and failed.
From then on, the action begins and we see Beowulf's strength in action. He was said to have the hand-grip strength of thirty men, and so instead of going to fight Grendel with a sword he trusts his strengths and goes solo. Beowulf boasts about his abilities a lot but he earns all his glory by risking his life wherever he goes to help others. I liked all the different ways the author would use to describe Beowulf, such as "the brave one" or "that great warrior" or "the strongest of men, brave and noble" instead of using something weak like "he".
I like the descriptions of the warriors and the action scenes. I think the story is hard to follow sometimes because there are so many names to keep track of in a short space. A lot of different kings and queens are mentioned but it's hard to differentiate between them because they often are described in the same way. I was surprised when Beowulf killed Grendel in episode 4 because there was such a big lead up to it, but the actual battle was described real quickly with Beowulf killing Grendel with only his hand grip.
2. Beowulf shows a lot of examples of Anglo-Saxon culture. For one, the Anglo-Saxons were a warring people where warriors would earn status and rewards through their own deeds. Battle armor and swords were very valuable, and the Anglo-saxon's belief in animism meant that the swords that were used to kill great beasts were thought to be sacred. This is why Beowulf had all his armor and treasure with his body on the funeral pyre at the end of the story.
The Anglo-Saxon kings in Beowulf were also called "treasure givers" and "gold-friends" since a lot of their power depended on how they supplied their knights. When Beowulf kills Grendel, Hrothgar gives him a gilded battle flag, a helmet wrapped in metal bands, and a horse with the same jewel inlaid saddle that he had used in battle. "He had no reason to be ashamed among warriors for taking those rich gifts." Although in an Anglo-Saxon culture, the ultimate reward for a knight was not treasure but eternal fame. This is why in Beowulf there are so many warriors who die attempting to slay Grendel before Beowulf comes along.
The strong Anglo-Saxon belief in God and fate is also shown throughout Beowulf. In episode 8 one line stood out to me as an example of this: "It is wonderful to say how mighty God through his wisdom and large heart distributes land and rank to the race of men. He controls all." In episode 5 fate was described: "Fate is not easy to flee from, try it who will."
3. In a way Beowulf is like Batman or Spiderman, since he was born a normal human being and is able to kill monsters far greater than the average man. He's different from them though because he fights like a normal human being would, not using special powers or gadgets. He relies on his strength- his hand grip. He's not invinceable but unlike batman or spiderman he does become a ruler of his people for fifty years and doesn't stop fighting even into his old age as he slays the dragon when he's in his seventies, making him the ultimate warrior. Batman and Spiderman are more like law enforcement heroes while Beowulf is more like a war hero.
4. I felt that Beowulf's death was probably the best way he could've died. He remained brave and noble till the very end and refused to run away from the dragon even as he was being engulfed in flames. Although maybe he couldn't have done it without Wiglaf, he did slay the dragon and ended it's reign of destruction on the neighbouring people.
He was allowed to speak some dying words showing that he was at peace with himself and that he was ready for death ("I feared no one. I awaited my destiny well: never did I plot a quarrel, never did I swear an unjust oath. I take joy in this despite a mortal wound. I have traded my old life for the people's needs.") I felt this was a good way for him to seal his legend, and the long mourning scenes shows that he wasn't being arrogant when he said he was the best as the last lines of the epic seal the legend of Beowulf. "Thus the Geats mourned their great lord, saying he was among the world's Kings, the mildest, the gentlest, the kindest to his people, and the most eager of eternal fame."
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