John Henry Newman, Cong. Orat.

(21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an Anglican priest,

poet and theologian, and later a Catholic cardinal, who was an important and controversial figure in
the religious history of England in the 19th century. He was known nationally by the mid-1830s.[5]
Originally an evangelical Oxford University academic and priest in the Church of England, Newman
then became drawn to the high-church tradition of Anglicanism. He became known as a leader of,
and an able polemicist for, the Oxford Movement, an influential and controversial grouping of
Anglicans who wished to return to the Church of England many Catholic beliefs and liturgical rituals
from before the English Reformation. In this the movement had some success. In 1845 Newman,
joined by some but not all of his followers, officially left the Church of England and his teaching post
at Oxford University and was received into the Catholic Church. He was quickly ordained as a priest
and continued as an influential religious leader, based in Birmingham. In 1879, he was created
a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in recognition of his services to the cause of the Catholic Church in
England. He was instrumental in the founding of the Catholic University of Ireland which evolved
into University College Dublin,[6] today the largest university in Ireland.
Newman was also a literary figure of note: his major writings including the Tracts for the
Times (1833–1841), his autobiography Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1865–1866), the Grammar of
Assent (1870), and the poem The Dream of Gerontius (1865),[7] which was set to music in 1900
by Edward Elgar. He wrote the popular hymns "Lead, Kindly Light" and "Praise to the Holiest in the
Height" (taken from Gerontius).
Newman's beatification was officially proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 September 2010
during his visit to the United Kingdom.[1] His canonisation is dependent on the documentation of
additional miracles attributed to his intercession.

Early life and education[edit]

Newman was born on 21 February 1801 in the City of London,[7][8] the eldest of a family of three sons
and three daughters. His father, John Newman, was a banker with Ramsbottom, Newman and
Company in Lombard Street. His mother, Jemima (née Fourdrinier), was descended from a notable
family of Huguenot refugees in England, founded by the engraver, printer and stationer Paul
Fourdrinier. Francis William Newman was a younger brother. His eldest sister, Harriet Elizabeth,
married Thomas Mozley, also prominent in the Oxford Movement.[9] The family lived in Southampton
Street (now Southampton Place) in Bloomsbury and bought a country retreat in Ham,
near Richmond, in the early 1800

Definition of a Gentleman” – Cardinal Newman - Critical Summary

Introduction:

John Henry Newman’s The Idea of a University is an attempt to define a liberal

arts education. In this book, he argues that the primary purpose of a university is to develop the
mind, and not merely to dispense information. He was strongly in favour of a ‘liberal education'
which he contrasted with commercial or professional education. According to him, a student,
after his studies at the University, must be able to cultivate a lifestyle according to what he or
she has grasped and practised from the university way of living. The present essay, “A
Definition of a Gentleman” is an excerpt from The Idea of a University, a series of lectures given
in Ireland in the year 1852.

One who never inflicts Pain:

Newman defines the gentleman as one who never inflicts pain. This, according to him, is the
most refined as the most accurate definition of a gentleman. Outlining the qualities of a
gentleman, Newman says that, a gentleman doesn't assert his nature, but instead makes others
who are around him feel comfortable and at ease. He also helps others by making it easier for
them to succeed.

Gentleman – Compared to an Easy Chair or a Good Fire:

A true gentleman is like an easy chair or a good fire that helps people to be warm and cozy. An
easy chair does nothing really; it just provides a wonderful place to relax and make people feel
at ease and at comfort. Moreover, we don't have to do anything to enjoy the easy chair; it is
always there, always welcoming, and always comfortable. Similarly, the gentleman is not always
in front of you, but still he is there... waiting with open arms to comfort you, helps make your life
easier, and to support you when you need it most. The gentleman is also compared to a good
fire, which helps dispel cold and fatigue. The gentleman in like manner, is a secure solace
during times of sadness and weariness, and is a warm reassurance of solace during times of
trouble.

He carefully avoids whatever may grieve the minds of the people with whom he meets and
interacts in the ordinary course of his life. Because his great concern is to make every one feel
relaxed and at home.

Observes the Four Cardinal Virtues:

A gentleman strives earnestly to follow the four cardinal virtues of Prudence, Justice, Self-
control and Courage. The word cardinal comes from the Latin word cardo, which means "hinge."
They are so called because they are the four primary moral virtues (the hinges) upon which the
door of the moral life swings.

The gentleman always makes light of the good deeds that he does to others, and never speaks
of himself unless compelled to do so. He has no room for slander or gossip, and is never mean
or little in his disputes. He never takes unfair advantage of any situation, does not nurse a
grudge against people who were unjust to him.

He Possesses A Disciplined Intellect:

Exposure to a good liberal education at a good university makes a person have a disciplined
intellect. A disciplined intellect is an intellect that has been trained to handle any situation by
applying thought to problem-solving. A student with a disciplined intellect knows his own
intellectual strengths and weaknesses, and consciously attempt to improve on his strengths and
correct his weaknesses. This process is commonly called "critical thinking."

A disciplined intellect also preserves a gentleman from the blundering discourtesy of

uneducated minds, who waste their strength on trifles.

He is An Expert Decision-Maker:

Decisiveness is an essential aspect of a gentleman. The world respects the decisive man. The
decisive man is calm and cool under pressure. He has purpose and direction; he is the man with
the plan. In contrast, the indecisive man makes little or very slow progress in his life because he
is always uncertain, unable to decide which way to go.
 His Attitude towards Religious Beliefs:

As regards religious beliefs, a gentleman is open-minded person regarding others religious

beliefs and curious to know and hear what other religions can teach him. He respects piety and
devotion; honours ministers of religion and is a friend of religious toleration. His philosophy has
taught him to look on all forms of faith with an impartial eye, which is an essential ingredient of
civilisation.

Conclusion:

Newman’s holistic viewpoints on the definition of a gentleman are characteristics one needs to
develop, demonstrate and perfect over a lifetime. To sum up, a cultivated intellect, a delicate
taste, a dispassionate mind, a noble and courteous bearing in the conduct of life, are the
essential qualities that make a gentleman out of a good liberal university education.

The Charge of the Light Brigade

BY A LFR ED , LORD TENNY SON

I
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

II
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

III
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.

IV
Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wondered.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre stroke
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

V
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
 Left of six hundred.

VI
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

n/a
Alfred Lord Tennyson's 'The Charge of the Light Brigade,' is one of the most famous poems in the
English language. Written after Tennyson read an account of a battle during the Crimean War, the
poem celebrates the patriotism of the many brave English soldiers who died in the 1854 conflict.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Born in 1809, British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson grew up in a rectory in Somersby, Lincolnshire.
One of twelve children, Tennyson's childhood was unhappy. His father, a clergyman, was sometimes
violent, and some of Tennyson's siblings were institutionalized for alcoholism, drug addiction, and
mental illness. As a child, Tennyson seemed to find relief from his family by writing poems. Later,
while studying at Cambridge, Tennyson won an award for his poetry. In 1850, Queen Victoria named
him Poet Laureate. A poet laureate is an officially appointed poet that sometimes composes poems
for special events. Tennyson remained the foremost Victorian poet until his death in 1892.

Poem Context
Tennyson's poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade, is based on events from the Battle of
Balaclava that occurred near the Black Sea in 1854. This battle of the Crimean War, in which
England, France and the Ottoman Empire fought against Russia, immediately captured Tennyson's
interest when he read a newspaper article detailing British casualties at Balaclava. The many dead
and wounded English soldiers were the result of a tragic misunderstanding about the location of
Russian arms. Mistakenly informed that these arms were in a valley, the British troops descended
and became easy targets of the Russians. As a result, almost half of the Light Brigade died.

Summary & Structure

The plot of The Charge of the Light Brigade provides only a bare outline of the battle. Still, Tennyson
gives us just enough details in the poem's 6 stanzas to make us realize that the British command
has blundered, and that the soldiers fight valiantly, even as many are being torn apart by cannon
balls.
As the poem opens, the Light Brigade's leader commands hundreds of his soldiers to keep riding
towards the lowlands until they reach and can seize Russian firearms. The troops are, as is
mentioned three times in the first stanza, half a league away from finding their enemy's firearms.
Unaware that one of their commanders has made a mistake, the soldiers calmly ride forward but as
they reach the lowlands, the Light Brigade soldiers are attacked. As cannons sound, the English
hold their swords high and fight on. In the smoky air caused by the cannons, the soldiers bravely
fight on, managing to run their swords into the flesh of some of their Russian enemies. The soldiers
soon find they cannot withstand the Russian cannons any longer, as their horses and friends lie
wounded or lifeless on the ground, the surviving soldiers watch their enemies retreat, unaware that
their Light Brigade will be remembered as glorious.

STANZA 1 SUMMARY
 BACK

 NEXT

Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this

poem line-by-line.
Lines 1-2
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,

 This poem starts with the same three words, "Half a league" repeated three times.
 First of all, what does that mean? Well, a league is an old way to measure distance, and
it was equal to about 3 miles. So half a league is roughly a mile and a half.
 Second of all, why start a poem like this? Well, we think it sets up a nice rhythm, a kind
of rolling, hypnotic sound. Maybe even a bit like a military march: Left! Left! Left, right,
left!
 We also think these opening lines make the speaker of the poem sound exhausted, like
he is at the end of a race, just trying to force himself through the last few laps. That
mood will be really important later in the poem

Line 3
All in the valley of Death
  Now this isn't half a league on a sunny day in the park. Nope, it turns out we're traveling
in "the valley of Death." Scary, huh?
 We don't know exactly what that means at this point, but it's sure meant to make us feel
a little scared and uncertain.
 We're pretty sure Tennyson and his readers would also have been thinking of the
famous line in Psalm 23: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death."

Line 4
Rode the six hundred.

 Tennyson is slowly introducing us to the setting and the action of the poem.
 Notice that he isn't being too specific. We already know that someone is covering a
certain distance in a scary place. Now we learn that there are six hundred people, and
that they are riding, probably on horseback. We mean, would you want to take your
bicycle out for a spin in the valley of Death?
 We'll get more details soon, but things are already taking shape.

Line 5
"Forward, the Light Brigade!

 Now someone speaks, shouting out a military order to move forward. We don't know
who this fellow is, but he introduces the heroes of this poem, the fearless men of the
Light Brigade. Who are these guys?
 Well, they are a group of soldiers – a "brigade" is a way of dividing up an army.
 They are "cavalry" soldiers, meaning they are riding on horseback.
 Finally, they are called "Light" to separate them from the "Heavy Brigade," another kind
of cavalry unit at the time. Make sense? We just didn't want you to think they were
actually glowing or anything.
 Also, Tennyson's poem is based on real events. In 1854, there was a Charge of the
Light Brigade during the Crimean War.

Line 6
Charge for the guns!" he said.

 Imagine you're a soldier in 1854. We think "charge for the guns" would probably be the
last thing you'd want to hear. That sounds dangerous, right? Especially if you're on a
horse. Most folks would probably rather charge away from the guns.
 Who is this guy shouting out such a crazy order? We're not quite sure, and we think
Tennyson left him invisible on purpose, to keep us focused on the amazing, tough guys
in the Light Brigade.

Line 7-8
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
  The speaker ends the first section of the poem with a little refrain, a kind of recap of what
we've learned so far (in lines 3-4).
 The brigade has been ordered into the valley, and they're riding in, even though they
know that guns and "Death" are waiting for them

Line 9
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"

 The order is repeated. The speaker really wants us to focus on those words, on
the command to move forward. The men are being sent to their doom.
 Again, we don't know who's giving the orders here, but this disembodied voice
might make us pause and think about why these brave men are being sent into
"the valley of Death."

Line 10
Was there a man dismayed?

 Now we're trying to get a peek into the heads of these soldiers, trying to imagine
how it must feel to charge toward death.
 The speaker asks if any of the soldiers were "dismayed." In this case, to be
dismayed means to lose your courage, to be overcome by terror or sadness.
That would be a pretty normal reaction to a situation like this.

Line 11-12
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.

 Of course the Light Brigade is too tough and loyal to feel dismayed.
 That first word, "not," implies that these men don't feel discouraged at all. They're
ready to do their job, even though the order might be crazy.
 This is a really important point in this poem. The soldiers aren't dumb. They know
this charge isn't a good idea, that someone has made a mistake, has
"blundered."
 This is as close as the poem gets to criticizing the men who ordered this attack.
The speaker is no revolutionary, but we think you can feel some anger at the
commanders simmering under this poem, especially at this moment.

Lines 13-15
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
  This is a famous group of lines, and for good reason. Do you see how they fit
together, the way they share the same first word and the same rhyming sound at
the end? Do you see how simple they are, too? There's no showing off, no fancy
words (in fact almost all the words in these lines are one syllable).
 The speaker uses these lines to sum up all of the honest, humble heroism of
these men. They're just doing their job. That job doesn't let permit them to talk
back to their commanders ("make reply") or to figure out the point of the attack
("reason why"). All they can do is to ride and fight and possibly die ("do and die").

Line 16-17
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

 These last two lines are the same as the last two lines in the first stanza. In
poetry, that's called a refrain (like the chorus in a song). It emphasizes the main
action of the poem, which is these men riding to their death. It also gives a
smooth, dignified rhythm to the poem.

Line 18-20
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them

 The valley of Death turns out to be just about as lousy as it sounds. The soldiers
are surrounded by enemy cannon, left, right, and front. Bad news for the Light
Brigade.
 Notice how Tennyson stretches this simple information out over three lines. What
effect does that have?
 Well, for one thing, it echoes the three lines in the section above (13-15), which
also all start with the same word.
 It also makes the feeling of being surrounded much more intense. It's almost as if
we are right there, turning our heads right, left, and forward, and seeing cannon
everywhere. Scary, huh?

Line 21
Volleyed and thundered;

 A little vocab here: a "volley" from a cannon is just a round of firing.

 So these huge walls of cannon all around them are firing, and making a sound
like thunder.
 Want to know what cannon fire is like? Check out this YouTube video.
 Line 22
Stormed at with shot and shell,

 The soldiers in the Light Brigade are being "stormed at," by gunfire, an image
that picks up on the word "thundered" in the line we just read.
 The "shot" (bullets) and "shell" (big explosives fired from cannon) are a violent,
noisy, destructive force that reminds the speaker of a storm.

Line 23
Boldly they rode and well,

 These guys aren't scared of some gunfire, though. In fact, they ride "boldly"
(bravely) even though this is looking more and more like a suicide mission.
 The point of this poem is to show us how heroic these men were.

Line 24
Into the jaws of Death,

 Tennyson has a lot of images for this scary valley, and he brings some more of
them in here. Now the valley of Death becomes the "jaws of Death."
 We'll admit it's not a super-original image, but it works well here. It's almost as if
these guys were riding into the mouth of some kind of ferocious animal.

Lines 25-26
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.

 This is the spot (at the end of the stanza) where the refrain belongs (see lines 7-8
and 16-17), but Tennyson switches things up a bit here. Instead of "Into the
valley of Death," now the men are riding "Into the mouth of hell."
 The "mouth of hell" matches up nicely with the "jaws" in the line before, and it's
just one more way of emphasizing how bad the valley is and how brave these
men are.
 Changing the refrain also helps to keep us on our toes a little, and keeps the
poem from seeming stale or repetitive.

What is prudence? definition and meaning - BusinessDictionary.com

www.businessdictionary.com/definition/prudence.html

1.
2.
Good judgment or wisdom gained from experience and knowledge, expressed in a realistic and
frugal attitude. Prudence, however, is not the same as grave caution or wariness concerned
only with preserving the status quo. If there is no real cause for fear, prudence lies in avoiding

son·net
-a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English
typically having ten syllables per line
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Moulton-Barrett, /ˈbraʊnɪŋ/; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was
an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime.
Born in County Durham, the eldest of 12 children, Elizabeth Barrett wrote poetry from about the age
of six. Her mother's collection of her poems forms one of the largest extant collections of juvenilia by
any English writer. At 15 she became ill, suffering intense head and spinal pain for the rest of her
life. Later in life she also developed lung problems, possibly tuberculosis. She took laudanum for the
pain from an early age, which is likely to have contributed to her frail health.
In the 1830s Elizabeth was introduced to literary society through her cousin, John Kenyon. Her first
adult collection of poems was published in 1838 and she wrote prolifically between 1841 and 1844,
producing poetry, translation and prose. She campaigned for the abolition of slavery and her work
helped influence reform in the child labour legislation. Her prolific output made her a rival
to Tennyson as a candidate for poet laureate on the death of Wordsworth.
Elizabeth's volume Poems (1844) brought her great success, attracting the admiration of the
writer Robert Browning. Their correspondence, courtship and marriage were carried out in secret, for
fear of her father's disapproval. Following the wedding she was indeed disinherited by her father.
The couple moved to Italy in 1846, where she would live for the rest of her life. They had one
son, Robert Barrett Browning, whom they called Pen. She died in Florence in 1861.[1][2] A collection of
her last poems was published by her husband shortly after her death.
Elizabeth's work had a major influence on prominent writers of the day, including the American
poets Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson. She is remembered for such poems as "How Do I Love
Thee?" (Sonnet 43, 1845) and Aurora Leigh (1856).

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's

Sonnets from the Portuguese
Sonnet 1

I THOUGHT once how Theocritus had sung

Of the sweet years, the dear and wished-for years,
Who each one in a gracious hand appears
To bear a gift for mortals, old or young:
And, as I mused it in his antique tongue,
I saw, in gradual vision through my tears,
The sweet, sad years, the melancholy years,
Those of my own life, who by turns had flung
A Shadow across me. Straightway I was 'ware,
So weeping, how a mystic Shape did move
Behind me, and drew me backward by the hair,
And a voice said in mastery, while I strove,--
'Guess now who holds thee?'--'Death,' I said.
 But, there,
The silver answer rang,--'Not Death, but Love.'

The Poem
(Critical Guide to Poetry for Students)

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Although Elizabeth Barrett Browning called her famous sonnet

sequence Sonnets from the Portuguese, in order to suggest that the poems
were translations, in actuality she wrote them all herself. The forty-four poems
describe the development of the love between Elizabeth Barrett, an invalid
almost forty years of age, and the vital, energetic poet Robert Browning, who
was six years younger than she. Written during their courtship, the collection
was not published until after Elizabeth and Robert had eloped, been married,
and had a son.

All the Sonnets from the Portuguese are written in the form of a conventional
Italian, or Petrarchan, sonnet—that is, a fourteen-line iambic pentameter
poem with a prescribed rhyme scheme. Italian sonnets fall into two parts, an
eight-line octave followed by a six-line sestet. This first sonnet varies from the
pattern only slightly: The octave has been slightly expanded to eight and one-
half lines, while the sestet, necessarily, is only five and one-half. The
differentiation between octave and sestet is important, because generally in
an Italian sonnet the movement to the second part of the poem is marked by a
distinct shift or development in thought.

In this poem, the octave itself is based on a contrast. At one time, the poet
says, she had thought about the way in which the Greek poet Theocritus had
described life. To him, each year was precious, with its own gift; however, at
the time when she was musing about Theocritus, the poet herself saw life very
differently. To her, it was uniformly sad. Her years had been dark, not bright,
and the recollection of them brought her only tears.

At that point, the poet recalls, she became aware of a presence behind her.
This spirit seized her by the hair, taking control of her. In accordance with her
melancholy view of life, she thought that it was Death which had come for her.
To her amazement, however, the spirit identified itself as Love.

Thus the poem concludes with the word which states the theme of the entire
sonnet sequence. It is the love of Robert Browning for her, and her love for
him, which is to transform Elizabeth Barrett’s life, which is to make her sing as
rhapsodically as Theocritus.