The General Prologue is the first part of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey and makes the Host its
Host its governor, judge, and record keeper. They set off the
Chaucer. It introduces the frame story, in which a group of pilgrims
travelling to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury agree to take part in
a storytelling competition, and describes the pilgrims themselves. The
Prologue is arguably the most familiar section of The Canterbury Tales,
depicting traffic between places, languages and cultures, as well as
introducing and describing the pilgrims who will narrate the tales
Synopsis
The frame story of the poem, as set out in the 858 lines of Middle English
which make up the General Prologue, is of a religious pilgrimage. The
narrator, Geoffrey Chaucer, is in The Tabard Inn in Southwark, where he
meets a group of 'sundry folk' who are all on the way to Canterbury, the site
of the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket, a martyr reputed to have the power of
healing the sinful.
The setting is April, and the prologue starts by singing the praises of that
month whose rains and warm western wind restore life and fertility to the
earth and its inhabitants.[2] This abundance of life, the narrator says,
prompts people to go on pilgrimages; in England, the goal of such
pilgrimages is the shrine of Thomas Becket. The narrator falls in with a
group of pilgrims, and the largest part of the prologue is taken up by a
description of them; Chaucer seeks to describe their 'condition', their 'array',
and their social 'degree'. The narrator expresses admiration and praise
towards the pilgrims' abilities.[3]
The pilgrims include a knight; his son, a squire; the knight's yeoman; a
prioress, accompanied by a nun and the nun's priest; a monk; a friar; a
merchant; a clerk; a sergeant of law; a franklin; a haberdasher; a carpenter;
a weaver; a dyer; a tapestry weaver; a cook; a shipman; a doctor of physic; a
wife of Bath; a parson and his brother, a plowman; a miller; a manciple; a
reeve; a summoner; a pardoner; the Host (a man called Harry Bailey); and
Chaucer himself. At the end of this section, the Host proposes that the group
ride together and entertain one another with stories. He lays out his plan:
each pilgrim will tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two on the
way back. Whoever has told the most meaningful and comforting stories,
with "the best sentence and moost solaas" (line 798) will receive a free meal
paid for by the rest of the pilgrims upon their return. The company agrees
next morning and draw straws to determine who will tell the first tale. The
Knight wins and prepares to tell his tale.[4]
Structure
The General Prologue establishes the frame for the Tales as a whole (or of
the intended whole) and introduces the characters/storytellers. These are
introduced in the order of their rank in accordance with the three medieval
social estates (clergy, nobility, and commoners and peasantry). These
characters are also representative of their estates and models with which
the others in the same estate can be compared and contrasted.
The structure of the General Prologue is also intimately linked with the
narrative style of the tales. As the narrative voice has been under critical
scrutiny for some time, so too has the identity of the narrator himself.
Though fierce debate has taken place on both sides, (mostly contesting that
the narrator either is, or is not, Geoffrey Chaucer), most contemporary
scholars believe that the narrator is meant to be Chaucer himself to some
degree. Some scholars, like William W. Lawrence, claim that the narrator is
Geoffrey Chaucer in person.[5] Others, like Marchette Chute for instance,
contest that the narrator is instead a literary creation like the other pilgrims
in the tales.[6]
Chaucer makes use of his extensive literary and linguistic knowledge in the
General Prologue by interplaying Latin, French, and English words against
each other. French was considered a hierarchal, courtly, and aristocratic
language during the Middle Ages, whereas Latin was the language of
learning. The opening lines of The Canterbury Tales show a diversity of
phrasing by including words of French origin like "droghte," "veyne," and
"licour" alongside English terms for nature: "roote," "holt and heeth," and
"croppes."[7]
The Eve of St. Agnes is a Romantic narrative poem of 42 Spenserian stanzas
set in the Middle Ages. It was written by John Keats in 1819 and published in
1820. The poem was considered by many of Keats's contemporaries and the
succeeding Victorians to be one of his finest and was influential in 19th-
century literature.[1]
The title comes from the day (or evening) before the feast of Saint Agnes (or
St. Agnes' Eve). St. Agnes, the patron saint of virgins, died a martyr in 4th-
century Rome. The eve falls on 20 January; the feast day on the 21st. The
divinations referred to by Keats in this poem are referred to by John Aubrey
in his Miscellanies (1696) as being associated with St. Agnes' night.[2]
Background
Keats based his poem on the folk belief that a girl could see her future
husband in a dream if she performed certain rites on the eve of St. Agnes;
that is, she would go to bed without any supper, and transfer pins one by
one from a pincushion to a sleeve while reciting the Lord’s Prayer.[3] Then
the proposed husband would appear in her dream.
A Scottish version of the ritual would involve young women meeting
together on St. Agnes's Eve at midnight, they would go one by one, into a
remote field and throw in some grain, after which they repeated the
following rhyme in a prayer to St. Agnes: "Agnes sweet, and Agnes fair,
Hither, hither, now repair; Bonny Agnes, let me see The lad who is to marry
me."[3]
Keats started writing this seminal work while staying in Chichester. He
travelled to Chichester, probably arriving on St Agnes' Day, 20 January 1819.
It is said that the medieval architecture of Chichester inspired the great hall
and house where Madeline lived. [4] A statue of Keats resides in Eastgate
Square in Chichester to commemorate the fact he started this poem there.
The statue was unveiled by Chichester-based actress Dame Patricia
Routledge. [5]
In the original version of his poem, Keats emphasised the young lovers'
sexuality, but his publishers, who feared public reaction, forced him to tone
down the eroticism
Summary
On a bitterly chill night, an elderly beadsman says his prayers in the chapel
of the ancestral home of Madeline's family, where a loud party has begun.[7]
Madeline pines for the love of Porphyro, sworn enemy to her kin. She has
heard 'old dames full many times declare' that she may receive sweet
dreams of her lover if, on this night, St. Agnes' Eve, she retires to bed
following the proper rituals.
Later that night, Porphyro makes his way to the castle and braves entry,
seeking out Angela, an elderly woman friendly to his family, and
importuning her to lead him to Madeline's room at night, where he may but
gaze upon her sleeping form. Angela is persuaded only with difficulty, and
first obtains some food from the banquet for them.[7]
Concealed in an ornate, carved closet in Madeline's room, Porphyro watches
as Madeline makes ready for bed. He creeps forth as she sleeps, to prepare a
feast of rare delicacies. Madeline wakes and sees before her the same image
she has seen in her dream and, thinking Porphyro part of it, receives him
into her bed. Waking in full and realising her mistake, she tells Porphyro she
cannot hate him for his deception since her heart is so much in his, but that
if he goes now he leaves behind "A dove forlorn and lost / With sick
unpruned wing".
Porphyro declares his love for Madeline and promises her a home with him
over the southern moors. They flee from the castle, passing insensate,
drunken revellers and rush into the night. Angela's death is revealed in the
poem's final stanza and the beadsman, "after thousand aves told, / For aye
unsought for slept among his ashes cold".
======================================================--====
Epithalamion is an ode written by Edmund Spenser to his bride, Elizabeth
Boyle, on their wedding day in 1594. It was first published in 1595 in London
by William Ponsonby as part of a volume entitled Amoretti and
Epithalamion. Written not long since by Edmunde Spenser. The volume
included the sequence of 89 sonnets (Amoretti), along with a series of short
poems called Anacreontics and the Epithalamion, a public poetic celebration
of marriage.[1] Only six complete copies of this first edition remain today,
including one at the Folger Shakespeare Library and one at the Bodleian
Library.
The ode begins with an invocation to the Muses to help the groom, and
moves through the couple's wedding day, from Spenser's impatient hours
before dawn while waiting for his bride to wake up, to the late hours of
night after Spenser and Boyle have consummated their marriage (wherein
Spenser's thoughts drift towards the wish for his bride to have a fertile
womb so that they may have many children).
Spenser meticulously records the hours of the day from before dawn to late
into the wedding night: its 24 stanzas represent the hours of Midsummer
Day. The ode's content progresses from the enthusiasm of youth to the
concerns of middle age by beginning with high hopes for a joyful day and
ending with an eye toward the speaker's legacy to future generations.
Background
Spenser lived from 1552 to 1599. Works in this time period are considered
Early Modern literature, which spanned from the Baroque period to the Age
of Enlightenment. It saw writers such as Miguel de Cervantes, Daniel Defoe
and Jonathan Swift in Europe. He was also considered to be a part of the
Elizabethan era.[2] It coincided with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and is
considered to be the literary height of the English Renaissance. Poetic forms
such as love sonnets, the pastoral, and the allegorical epic were popular in
this era.
Summary
Epithalamion is a poem celebrating a marriage. An epithalamium is a song
or poem written specifically for a bride on her way to the marital chamber.
In Spenser's work, he is spending the day anxiously awaiting to marry
Elizabeth Boyle. The poem describes the day in detail. The couple wakes up
and Spenser begs the muses to help him on his artistic endeavor for the day.
Spenser spends a majority of the poem praising his bride to be, which is
depicted as both innocent and lustful.
When she finally wakes, the two head to the church. Hymen Hymenaeus is
sung by the minstrels at the festivities. As the ceremony begins, Spenser
shifts from praising Greek Gods and beings to Christian language to praise
Elizabeth. After the ceremony, Spenser becomes even more anxious at the
thought of consummating the marriage. Spenser then rebukes any idea of
evil that could ruin their new found happiness. Spenser asks for blessings
for childbearing, fidelity, and all things good at the end.[3]
Structure
Epithalamion follows a rhyme a scheme of ABABCC, DEDEFF, and so on
(except the 15th stanza.). The structure is 24 stanzas, each with either 18
lines or 19 (15th stanza has 17 lines). The last stanza is an envoy(a short
formal stanza which is appended to a poem by way of conclusion) with 7
lines. There are 433 lines in total.
In the 15th stanza, Spenser changes the structure.[4] Throughout the poem,
the stanzas are structured with 18 or 19 lines. In the 15th, there is a line
missing. The rhyming structure typically goes ABABCC, then DEDEFF and so
on. But stanza 15 is FEGGHH. This might have been done to keep the
onomatopoeia of the poem or to keep the structure of the 365 lines as a
metaphor for a year.
Numerology
There are 24 stanzas and 433 lines in the poem. There are 365 longer lines
and 68 shorter lines. The 365 longer lines represent the year leading up to
Spenser's wedding day.[5] The poem starts at midnight of the day of the
wedding, as Spenser grows anxious of the future he is embracing. Every
stanza is an hour of that day, eventually leading to the event and then to the
consummation. Every hour is described in detail; from what is being worn to
where the wedding is taking place to Spenser's own thoughts. The 24 stanzas
represent the 24 hours in a day and the 365 longer lines represent every day
in a year. Spenser's wedding is one day; the first 16 stanzas are the day time
and the last 8 are the night time, and the relationship with Boyle has been
occurring for a year.
Leave me, O love which reachest but to dust,
And thou, my mind, aspire to higher things;
Grow rich in that which never taketh rust:
Whatever fades but fading pleasure brings.
Draw in thy beams, and humble all thy might
To that sweet yoke where lasting freedoms be,
Which breaks the clouds and opens forth the light
That doth both shine and give us sight to see.
O, take fast hold; let that light be thy guide
In this small course which birth draws out to death,
And think how evil becometh him to slide
Who seeketh heaven, and comes of heavenly breath.
Then farewell, world! thy uttermost I see:
Eternal Love, maintain thy life in me.

Interpretation
Leave Me, O Love Which Reachest But To Dust: A Criticism and
Interpretation
Leave Me, O Love Which Reachest But To Dust is a classic Elizabethan
sonnet, written by the English poet Sir Philip Sidney, one of the most
prominent figures of the Elizabethan era. The sonnet is one of Sidney's most
famous and critically acclaimed works, and has been analyzed and
interpreted by countless literary scholars and enthusiasts over the centuries.
In this literary criticism and interpretation, we will delve into the various
aspects of the sonnet, including its form, structure, language, themes, and
symbolism. We will also explore the historical, cultural, and personal
context in which the sonnet was written, and its relevance and significance
in our modern times.
Form and Structure
Leave Me, O Love Which Reachest But To Dust is a traditional Elizabethan
sonnet, composed of fourteen lines in iambic pentameter, and following the
rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. The sonnet is divided into three
quatrains and a concluding couplet, with each quatrain presenting a
different aspect of the theme, and the couplet serving as a resolution or a
final plea.
The sonnet's form and structure reflect the conventional structure of sonnets
in the Elizabethan era, and Sidney's mastery of the form is evident in the
seamless flow of the poem, and the way in which each quatrain leads into
the next, building up to a powerful conclusion.
Language
The language of Leave Me, O Love Which Reachest But To Dust is rich,
evocative, and deeply emotional. Sidney uses a variety of poetic devices such
as metaphor, personification, and alliteration to convey his message of the
transience of love and the inevitability of death.
The first quatrain of the sonnet sets the tone for the poem, with its powerful
opening line "Leave me, O love which reachest but to dust". The use of the
imperative verb "leave" creates a sense of urgency and desperation, while
the metaphorical comparison of love to dust suggests its fleeting and
impermanent nature.
The second quatrain continues the theme of the transience of love, with the
image of "the purple pride which on thy temple lies" fading away like a
flower. The use of personification in the line "death's second self, that seals
up all in rest" creates a haunting and eerie image of death as a lover,
embracing and sealing up everything in its path.
The third quatrain introduces the theme of the speaker's own mortality, with
the lines "I am to follow her who went before, / As he that flies from Tigris to
the Nile". The use of the simile creates a sense of inevitability and
helplessness, as the speaker compares himself to a bird fleeing from one
river to another, unable to escape his ultimate fate.
The concluding couplet serves as a final plea, with the speaker asking "O, if
thou wilt, thyself deny! / Letting shame go and others' grief on me." The use
of the exclamation mark creates a sense of urgency and desperation, while
the use of the word "shame" suggests that the speaker would rather bear the
burden of unrequited love than continue to suffer from the pain of loss.
Themes
The themes of Leave Me, O Love Which Reachest But To Dust are central to
the human experience, and continue to resonate with readers today. The
sonnet explores the themes of love, death, and mortality, and the ways in
which these universal experiences shape our lives and our relationships.
The theme of the transience of love is one of the most striking aspects of the
sonnet. Sidney portrays love as fleeting and ephemeral, capable of bringing
joy and happiness, but ultimately doomed to fade away like dust. This theme
is particularly relevant in our modern times, where the fast-paced nature of
modern life often leads to fleeting and superficial relationships, and a sense
of emptiness and disillusionment.
The theme of death is another prominent aspect of the sonnet, with Sidney
portraying death as a lover, embracing everything in its path and sealing it
up in rest. This theme is particularly poignant in light of Sidney's own life,
which was cut short at the age of 32 by a tragic injury sustained in battle.
The sonnet can be seen as a reflection of Sidney's own mortality, and his
attempts to come to terms with his own inevitable fate.
The theme of mortality is also central to the sonnet, with Sidney
contemplating the inevitability of his own death, and the ways in which it
will impact his relationship with love. This theme is universal, and speaks to
the human experience of grappling with our own mortality, and the ways in
which it shapes our relationships and our sense of self.
Symbolism
The use of symbolism in Leave Me, O Love Which Reachest But To Dust is
subtle and effective, adding depth and richness to the sonnet's themes and
language. One of the most striking symbols in the sonnet is the comparison
of love to dust, which suggests its fleeting and impermanent nature. This
symbol is particularly evocative, as it conjures up images of dust blowing
away in the wind, and the sense of loss and emptiness that comes with it.
Another prominent symbol in the sonnet is the image of death as a lover,
embracing and sealing up everything in its path. This symbol is haunting
and eerie, creating a sense of inevitability and helplessness in the face of
death's power.
The use of the simile in the third quatrain, comparing the speaker to a bird
fleeing from one river to another, is also highly symbolic, suggesting the
futility and pointlessness of trying to escape death. This symbol is
particularly poignant, as it captures the sense of desperation and
inevitability that comes with facing our own mortality.
Conclusion
Leave Me, O Love Which Reachest But To Dust is a masterpiece of
Elizabethan poetry, and a powerful meditation on the themes of love, death,
and mortality. Sidney's mastery of the sonnet form is evident in the seamless
flow of the poem, and his use of language and symbolism is highly evocative
and effective.
The sonnet's themes and messages continue to resonate with readers today,
and its exploration of the transience of love, the power of death, and the
inevitability of mortality is as relevant now as it was in Sidney's time. Leave
Me, O Love Which Reachest But To Dust is a timeless classic, and a testament
to the enduring power of poetry to capture the human experience in all its
complexity and profundity.
The Lucy poems are a series of five poems composed by the English
Romantic poet William Wordsworth (1770–1850) between 1798 and 1801. All
but one were first published during 1800 in the second edition of Lyrical
Ballads, a collaboration between Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
that was both Wordsworth's first major publication and a milestone in the
early English Romantic movement.[A 1] In the series, Wordsworth sought to
write unaffected English verse infused with abstract ideals of beauty, nature,
love, longing, and death.
The "Lucy poems" consist of "Strange fits of passion have I known", "She
dwelt among the untrodden ways", "I travelled among unknown men",
"Three years she grew in sun and shower", and "A slumber did my spirit
seal". Although they are presented as a series in modern anthologies,
Wordsworth did not conceive of them as a group, nor did he seek to publish
the poems in sequence. He described the works as "experimental" in the
prefaces to both the 1798 and 1800 editions of Lyrical Ballads, and revised
the poems significantly—shifting their thematic emphasis—between 1798
and 1799. Only after his death in 1850 did publishers and critics begin to
treat the poems as a fixed group.
The poems were written during a short period while the poet lived in
Germany. Although they individually deal with a variety of themes, the idea
of Lucy's death weighs heavily on the poet throughout the series, imbuing
the poems with a melancholic, elegiac tone. Whether Lucy was based on a
real woman or was a figment of the poet's imagination has long been a
matter of debate among scholars. Generally reticent about the poems,
Wordsworth never revealed the details of her origin or identity.[2] Some
scholars speculate that Lucy is based on his sister Dorothy, while others see
her as a fictitious or hybrid character. Most critics agree that she is
essentially a literary device upon whom he could project, meditate and
reflect.
Sonnet on Chillon
In June 22, 1816, Lord Byron and his contemporary and friend Percy Bysshe
Shelley were sailing on Lake Geneva […] and stopped to visit the Château de
Chillon. After touring the castle—and walking through the dungeon in which
Bonivard was imprisoned—Byron was inspired by Bonivard’s story and
composed The Sonnet of Chillon.
[…] In late June or early July (several early drafts and copies present
conflicting dates), Byron composed the longer fable. The work was probably
completed by July 2, 1816. Following his return to England, The Prisoner of
Chillion was first published as The Prisoner of Chillon and Other Poems by
John Murray on December 5, 1816
The Castle of Chillon
“Eternal Spirit of the chainless Mind!
Brightest in dungeons, Liberty! thou art:
For there thy habitation is the heart—
The heart which love of thee alone can bind;
And when thy sons to fetters are consigned—
To fetters, and the damp vault’s dayless gloom,
Their country conquers with their martyrdom,
And Freedom’s fame finds wings on every wind.
Chillon! thy prison is a holy place,
And thy sad floor an altar—for ’twas trod,
Until his very steps have left a trace
Worn, as if thy cold pavement were a sod,
By Bonnivard!—May none those marks efface!
For they appeal from tyranny to God.”
– Sonnet on Chillon
The Sonnet on Chillon is a chant to political freedom. Byron starts asserting
that, although a person can be imprisoned, the ideals cannot be fettered.
Also, the poet demonstrates a great admiration for Bonnivard, so much so
that he assures: “Chillon! thy prison is a holy place” because he inhabited it.
He considers Bonnivard a martyr, and his suffering will let God see and
punish the injustice.
CONCLUSION: Byron, as many other Romantics of his time, honoured
patriots. François Bonnivard’s fight against the attempts of controlling
Geneva by Duke of Savoy was so inspiring for Byron, and his martyrdom
and courage impressed him so much, that he felt he had to write a poem
about him. However, what really shows to what extent the author was
fascinated by the story of Bonnivard is the fact that he would later write a
much longer poem, The Prisoner of Chillon, after knowing more deeply
Bonnivard’s life.
“When this poem was composed, I was not sufficiently aware of the history
of Bonnivard, or I should have endeavoured to dignify the subject by an
attempt to celebrate his courage and his virtues. With some account of his
life I have been furnished, by the kindness of a citizen of that republic,
which is still proud of the memory of a man worthy of the best age of
ancient freedom”
– “Advertisement”, The Prisoner of Chillon.
Besides, if we take into account that Byron became aware of Bonnivard’s
existence during a visit with his friend Shelley to the Château de Chillon in
Switzerland, we realise how much Byron got involved with every place he
was to, and that although he did not keep any kind of journal, he kept
memory of all the things he experienced in his journeys
When The Lamp Is Shattered' by Percy Bysshe Shelley
When the lamp is shattered,
The light in the dust lies dead;
When the cloud is scattered,
The rainbow's glory is shed;
When the lute is broken,
Sweet tones are remembered not;
When the lips have spoken,
Loved accents are soon forgot.
As music and splendor
Survive not the lamp and the lute,
The heart's echoes render
No song when the spirit is mute:-- Summary of the Poem
No song but sad dirges, When the Lamp is Shattered is a poem about the impermanence of life and
Like the wind through a ruined cell, the inevitability of death. The poem begins with a description of a shattered
Or the mournful surges lamp, which serves as a metaphor for a life that has come to an end. The
That ring the dead seaman's knell. speaker then goes on to describe the beauty and wonder of life, and how it is
all too brief. He speaks of the joys of love and the pain of loss, and how they
When hearts have once mingled, are all part of the cycle of life and death.
Love first leaves the well-built nest;
The weak one is singled The poem is divided into three stanzas of varying lengths. The first stanza
To endure what it once possessed. sets the stage, describing the shattered lamp and its significance. The second
O Love! who bewailest stanza is a reflection on the transience of life, and the third stanza brings the
The frailty of all things here, poem to a close with a message of hope and an affirmation of the beauty of
Why choose you the frailest life, despite its impermanence.
For your cradle, your home, and your bier?
Analysis of the Poem
Its passions will rock thee, Themes
As the storms rock the ravens on high; The central theme of the poem is the transient nature of life. Shelley uses the
Bright reason will mock thee, imagery of the shattered lamp to convey this idea, highlighting the fragility
Like the sun from a wintry sky. and impermanence of life. The poem also explores the themes of love, loss,
From thy nest every rafter and the inevitability of death.
Will rot, and thine eagle home
Leave thee naked to laughter, Imagery and Symbols
When leaves fall and cold winds come. Shelley employs vivid and powerful imagery throughout the poem, using the
broken lamp as a metaphor for the fragility of life. The image of the
shattered glass and the spilled oil is a powerful symbol of the inevitability of
Interpretation death, and the fact that life can be extinguished at any moment.
When the Lamp is Shattered: A Critical Analysis
Author: Percy Bysshe Shelley The poem also makes use of other symbols, such as the rose and the lute. The
Date Published: 1824 rose is a symbol of love, beauty, and fragility, while the lute represents the
Genre: Poetry joy and beauty of music.
Length: 50 lines
Structure and Form
When The Lamp Is Shattered is a beautiful creation of the great romantic The poem is written in free verse, with no formal rhyme scheme or meter.
poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley. It is a poem that speaks to the soul, stirs up The lack of a set form allows Shelley to use language in a more flexible and
emotions, and leaves a lasting impression on the reader. In this literary creative way, and to create a more natural and flowing rhythm.
criticism and interpretation, we will delve deep into the meaning, themes,
and symbolism of the poem, and explore the brilliance of Shelley's writing.
The poem is also divided into three stanzas of varying lengths. This structure
allows Shelley to explore different aspects of the theme, and to create a sense
of progression and development throughout the poem.
Language and Tone
The language of the poem is rich and evocative, with Shelley using a range of
literary devices to create a vivid and powerful image of life and death. He
makes use of metaphor, imagery, and symbolism to convey his message, and
his use of language is both beautiful and haunting.
The tone of the poem is melancholic and reflective, with Shelley exploring
the sadness and beauty of life in equal measure. There is a sense of
resignation and acceptance in the poem, as the speaker comes to terms with
the inevitability of death.
Interpretation
When the Lamp is Shattered is a deeply philosophical poem that explores
some of the most fundamental questions of human existence. It speaks to the
universal human experience of love, loss, and mortality, and offers a
powerful reflection on the meaning of life.
At its heart, the poem is a meditation on the transience of life, and the fact
that all things must pass. The image of the shattered lamp is a powerful
symbol of this idea, representing the fragility and impermanence of human
life.
However, the poem is not simply a lament for the brevity of life. Instead,
Shelley offers a more complex and nuanced perspective, suggesting that
there is beauty and wonder to be found in the fleeting nature of existence.
The poem is also a celebration of love, and the power that it holds to bring
joy and meaning to life. Despite the inevitability of loss and death, the
speaker affirms the importance of love, and the way that it can transcend the
limitations of time and mortality.
Conclusion
When the Lamp is Shattered is a masterpiece of English poetry, and a
testament to the enduring power of Shelley's writing. Through its lyrical
language, vivid imagery, and powerful symbolism, the poem offers a
profound meditation on the meaning of life, love, and mortality.
In its celebration of the beauty and wonder of human existence, despite its
impermanence, the poem offers a message of hope and affirmation that
resonates with readers across time and culture. It is a poem that speaks to
the heart and soul, and offers a vision of the human experience that is both
profound and timeless.
"One Word Is Too Often Profaned" is a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley,
written in 1822 and published in 1824
Background[edit]
The poem was intended for Jane Williams. It expresses Shelley's deep and
genuine devotion for her.
Shelley met Jane Williams and her lover, Edward Ellerker Williams, in Pisa
sometime in 1821. The Williams befriended Percy Bysshe and Mary Shelley,
and they all frequently met Lord Byron, who also lived in Pisa at that time.
Shelley developed a very strong affection towards Jane Williams and
addressed a number of poems to her. In most of these poems, Shelley
projects his love for Jane in a spiritual and devotional manner. This poem is
an example of that. Shelley's affection towards Jane was known to Edward
Williams and also to Mary Shelley. But since Shelley always projected this
relationship in a platonic manner, Williams and Mary Shelley were not
afflicted by jealousy regarding this relationship. In fact, Mary Shelley was
quite fond of Jane and Edward Williams, and Shelley enjoyed Edward's
company too. Shelley and Edward Williams drowned while on a boating trip
on 8 July 1822.[1]
Shelley wrote a number of poems devoted to Jane including With a Guitar,
To Jane, One Word is Too Often Profaned, To Jane: The Invitation, To Jane:
The Recollection and To Jane: The Keen Stars Were Twinkling.[2]
In One Word is Too Often Profaned, Shelley rejects the use of the word Love
to describe his relationship with Jane. He says that this word has been so
often profaned or misused that he will not use it to describe this
relationship. He then goes on to say that the usage of this word may be
rejected by Jane herself and that his feelings for her are too pure to be
falsely disdained.
He uses the word pity and states that the feeling of pity from Jane is more
dear than love from any other woman. At this point he starts elevating Jane's
stature to something larger than other women of the world. Shelley chooses
to employ the word worship to describe his devotion towards Jane. He states
that the feeling of worship that he feels towards Jane is something that is
uplifting and is also moral (and the heavens reject not).
He describes the nature of his devotion: it is the devotion of a moth for a star
or what the night feels towards the next morning. He describes his devotion
as something that lies beyond worldly existence and strife (the sphere of our
sorrow).
Shelley uses the sentence I can give not what men call love which shows that
he himself is not averse to the use of the word love but because it has been
misused often by men everywhere to describe ordinary and worldly
feelings, he will not use this word for Jane.
The metrical feet used in the poem are a mixture of anapests and iambs. The
first line of each couplet contains three accents and the second line contains
two.[3]
This poem has at times been printed with the titles To --- and Love.
The poem was published in London in 1824 in the collection Posthumous
Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley by John and Henry L. Hunt.
Tears, Idle Tears" is a lyric poem written in 1847 by Alfred, Lord
Tennyson (1809–1892), the Victorian-era English poet. Published as one of
the "songs" in his The Princess (1847), it is regarded for the quality of its
lyrics. A Tennyson anthology describes the poem as "one of the
most Virgilian of Tennyson's poems and perhaps his most famous lyric".
[1]
Readers often overlook the poem's blank verse[1][2]—the poem does not
rhyme
Tennyson was inspired to write "Tears, Idle Tears" upon a visit to Tintern
Abbey in Monmouthshire, an abbey that was abandoned in 1536. He said the
convent was "full for me of its bygone memories", and that the poem was
about "the passion of the past, the abiding in the transient."[1] William
Wordsworth also wrote a poem inspired by this location in 1798, "Tintern
Abbey", which develops a similar theme.
While Tintern Abbey may have prompted the poem, it seems unlikely that its
powerful emotion derives only from a generalised feeling for the past. The
final stanza in particular strongly suggests Tennyson's unhappy attachment
to the lovely Rosa Baring, whose wealthy family lived in Harrington Hall, a
short distance from Tennyson's Somersby. Rosa's family evidently
disapproved of Rosa's continued relationship with the son of Somersby's
alcoholic clergyman, and she ultimately severed the connection. The "kisses .
. .by hopeless fancy feign'd/on lips that are for others" and the cri de coeur
"Deep as first love, and wild with all regret" seem to have little to do with
Tintern Abbey, and much to do with a personal disappointment in love.
(Ralph Wilson Rader, Tennyson's Maud: The Biographical Genesis, 1963)[4]
"Tears, Idle Tears" is noted for its lyric richness, and for its tones of paradox
and ambiguity—especially as Tennyson did not often bring his doubts into
the grammar and symbolism of his works.[5] The ambiguity occurs in the
contrasting descriptions of the tears: they are "idle", yet come from deep
within the narrator; the "happy autumn-fields" inspire sadness. Literary
critic Cleanth Brooks writes, "When the poet is able, as in 'Tears, Idle Tears',
to analyze his experience, and in the full light of the disparity and even
apparent contradiction of the various elements, bring them into a new unity,
he secures not only richness and depth but dramatic power as well."[6]
Critic Graham Hough in a 1953 essay asks why the poem is unrhymed, and
suggests that something must be "very skillfully put in [rhyme's] place" if
many readers do not notice its absence. He concludes that "Tears, Idle Tears"
does not rhyme "because it is not about a specific situation, or an emotion
with clear boundaries; it is about the great reservoir of undifferentiated
regret and sorrow, which you can brush away...but which nevertheless
continues to exist".[2] Readers tend not to notice the lack of rhyme because
of the richness and variety of the vowel sounds Tennyson employs into the
poem. (T. S. Eliot considered Tennyson an unequalled master in handling
vowel sounds; see, for example, Tennyson's "Ulysses".) Each line's end-sound
—except for the second-last line's "regret"—is an open vowel or a consonant
or consonant group that can be drawn out in reading. Each line "trails away,
suggesting a passage into some infinite beyond: just as each image is clear
and precise, yet is only any instance" of something more universal.[7]
The poem, one of the "songs" of The Princess, has been set to music a
number of times. Edward Lear put the lyric to music in the 19th century, and
Ralph Vaughan Williams' pianistic setting of 1903 was described by The
Times as "one of the most beautiful settings in existence of Tennyson's
splendid lyric"
"The Blessed Damozel" is perhaps the best known poem by Dante Gabriel
Rossetti, as well as the title of his painting (and its replica) illustrating the
subject. The poem was first published in 1850 in the Pre-Raphaelite journal
The Germ. Rossetti subsequently revised the poem twice and republished it
in 1856, 1870 and 1873.[1]
Poem
The poem was partially inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven",[2]
with its depiction of a lover grieving on Earth over the death of his loved
one. Rossetti chose to represent the situation in reverse. The poem describes
the damozel observing her lover from heaven, and her unfulfilled yearning
for their reunion in heaven. The first four stanzas of the poem are inscribed
on the frame of the painting:
Paintings
The Blessed Damozel is the only one of Rossetti's paired pictures and poems
in which the poem was completed first. Friends and patrons repeatedly
urged Rossetti to illustrate his most famous poem,[3] and he finally accepted
a commission from William Graham in February 1871. After the work was
completed Graham requested a predella, the lower part of the painting, on
December 31, 1877. His total cost was £1157. Alexa Wilding modelled the
damozel in Paradise, Wilfred John Hawtrey modelled the child–angel, and
the probable model for the left–hand angel was May Morris.
Another, later version is in the Lady Lever Art Gallery. Frederick Richards
Leyland commissioned eighteen paintings from Rossetti, not counting
unfulfilled commissions. Soon after Leyland acquired his first Rossetti
painting, he and Rossetti explored the idea of a Rossetti triptych, which was
eventually formed with Mnemosyne, an 1879 replica of The Blessed Damozel
painted by Rossetti himself, and Proserpine.[5] Three additional Rossetti
paintings were then hung in Leyland's drawing room, all of which Leyland
called "stunners."[4]
Music[edit]
Several pieces of music were based on the poem, including those for
orchestra by Debussy, Granville Bantock (1891), Edgar Bainton (1907), Ernest
Farrar (1907); for piano by Arnold Bax (1906); for string quartet by Benjamin
Burrows (1927); and a 1928 choral by Julius Harrison.
The poem was the inspiration for Claude Debussy's La Damoiselle élue
(1888), a cantata for two soloists, female choir, and orchestra.
"The Darkling Thrush" is a poem by Thomas Hardy. Originally titled "By
the Century's Deathbed", it was first published on 29 December 1900
in The Graphic.[1] The poem was later published in London Times on 1
January, 1901.[2] A deleted '1899' on the poem's manuscript suggests that it
may have been written in that year. [3] It was later included in a collection
entitled Poems of the Past and the Present (1901).
The Darkling Thrush” is a poem by the English poet and novelist Thomas
Hardy. The poem describes a desolate world, which the poem’s speaker
takes as cause for despair and hopelessness. However, a bird (the
“thrush”) bursts onto the scene, singing a beautiful and hopeful song—so
hopeful that the speaker wonders whether the bird knows something that
the speaker doesn’t. Written in December 1900, the poem reflects on the
end of the 19th century and the state of Western civilization. The desolation
of the scene the speaker sees serves as an extended metaphor for the
decay of Western civilization, while the thrush is a symbol for its possible
rebirth through religious faith.
Summary
The first two stanzas describe a bleak winter landscape at dusk, and the
feeling of lifelessness that it produces. In stanza three, the melancholy
atmosphere is transformed when "an aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small"
suddenly launches into "a full-hearted evensong of joy illimited." The final
stanza muses that since there was no apparent cause for such an ecstatic
outburst, the bird's singing must have been inspired by "some blessed Hope,
whereof he knew and I was unaware." The use of the word "darkling" recalls
the same word in Matthew Arnold's Dover Beach (1867), a poem about loss
of faith.
The Darkling Thrush” Summary
I was leaning on a gate, on a path leading into a forest. The frost was gray as
a ghost and the last of the winter day made the sun look bleak as it
descended. The tangled stems of climbing plants cut across the sky like the
strings of a broken musical instrument. And all the people that lived nearby
had gone away to the warmth of their homes.
The land’s harsh hills and cliffs seemed like the corpse of the just-ended
century, leaning out. And the clouds hanging above seemed like the
century's tomb, while the wind seemed like a sad song played upon its death.
The age-old urge to reproduce and grow had shriveled up. And every living
thing on earth seemed as depressed as me.
All of a sudden, a voice rose up from the dreary twigs overhead, singing an
evening prayer with limitless joy. He was a bird, frail and old, skinny and
small, with his feathers rumpled by the wind. He had decided to sing with all
his soul in the increasing dark.
There was no cause for such joyful singing—at least no cause was evident in
the world around me. So I thought the bird's happy song carried some secret
and holy hope, something that he knew about but I didn’t.
Psalm 23 is the 23rd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the
King James Version: "The Lord is my shepherd". In Latin, it is known by the
incipit, "Dominus regit me".[1][2][3][4] The Book of Psalms is part of the third
section of the Hebrew Bible,[5] and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In
the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and
Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 22.
Like many psalms, Psalm 23 is used in both Jewish and Christian liturgies. It
has often been set to music. Haredi educator Tziporah Heller referred to it as
perhaps the best-known of the psalms due to "its universal message of trust
in God, and its simplicity.
Interpretation
The theme of God as a shepherd was common in ancient Israel and
Mesopotamia. For example, King Hammurabi, in the conclusion to his
famous legal code, wrote: "I am the shepherd who brings well-being and
abundant prosperity; my rule is just.... so that the strong might not oppress
the weak, and that even the orphan and the widow might be treated with
justice."[10] This imagery and language were well known to the community
that created the Psalm and was easily imported into its worship.
Psalm 23 portrays God as a good shepherd, feeding (verse 1) and leading
(verse 3) his flock. The "rod and staff" (verse 4) are also the implements of a
shepherd. Some commentators see the shepherd imagery pervading the
entire psalm. It is known that the shepherd is to know each sheep by name,
[citation needed] thus when God is given the analogy of a shepherd, he is not
only a protector but also the caretaker. God, as the caretaker, leads the sheep
to green pastures (verse 2) and still waters (verse 2) because he knows that
each of his sheep must be personally led to be fed. Thus, without its
shepherd, the sheep would die either by a predator or of starvation, since
sheep are known for their helplessness without their shepherd.
J. Douglas MacMillan argues that verse 5 ("Thou preparest a table before
me") refers to the "old oriental shepherding practice" of using little raised
tables to feed sheep.[11]: 78 Similarly, "Thou anointest my head with oil"
may refer to an ancient form of backliner – the oil is poured on wounds, and
repels flies. MacMillan also notes that verse 6 ("Goodness and mercy shall
follow me") reminds him of two loyal sheepdogs coming behind the flock.
[11]: 82
The header or first verse of the Psalm ascribes authorship to King David, said
in the Hebrew Scriptures to have been a field shepherd himself as a youth.
However, some scholars do not agree with this attributed authorship and
hypothesize various other possibilities, commonly dating it to the post-exilic
period.[12]
Taken together, Psalms 22, 23, and 24 are seen by some as shepherd psalms,
where the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep as a suffering
servant and king
Psalm 27 is the 27th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the
King James Version: "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I
fear?". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible,
and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly different
numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate
translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 26. In Latin, it is known as
"Dominus illuminatio mea".[1]
The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and
Nonconformist Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music by Marc-Antoine
Charpentier and Frances Allitsen among others.
English translation (King James Version)[edit]
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the
strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up
my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though
war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell
in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the
LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his
tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
Structure
Traditionally this Psalm is divided into two sections, verses 1–6 and 7–14.
The first section declares the power of God and a boundless hope that God
will bring rescue and protection from all enemies.[10] The second portion
has a clear shift in tone with the declaration "I believe".[11] The New
American Bible, Revised Edition, describes each part as "complete in itself".
[12] Some scholarship contends that it may have originally been two
separate psalms.[13][14]
In Hebrew the first three verses increase numerically: Two parallel phrases
of five words each, then six, then seven (hinting at completion in Jewish
numerology).[13]
The Psalm is a cry for help,[15] and ultimately a declaration of belief in the
greatness of God and trust in the protection God provides. It may be a sequel
to the preceding psalm.
Batter my heart, three-person'd God
Holy Sonnet XIV" – also known by its first line as "Batter my heart, three-
person'd God" – is a poem written by the English poet John Donne
(1572 – 1631). It is a part of a larger series of poems called Holy
Sonnets, comprising nineteen poems in total. The poem was printed
and published for the first time in Poems in 1633, two years after the
author's death.[2] In the 1633 edition the sequence of the poems was
different from that found in Herbert Grierson’s edition from 1912;
that is why Holy Sonnet XIV features as Holy Sonnet X in older
publications. However, the majority of twentieth-century and later
editions of Donne's Holy Sonnets are found to prefer and use the
order proposed by Grierson and thus include the sonnet as the
fourteenth in the cycle.[3]
Internal division[edit]
There is no scholarly consensus regarding the structure of Holy Sonnet XIV;
different critics refer to particular parts of this poem either as an
octave and a sestet (following the style of the Petrarchan sonnet, with
a prominent example being Robert H. Ray's argument[4]), three
quatrains and a couplet (the division established by the English
sonnet, an example being an article by Purificación Ribes[5]), or
decide to avoid definite pronouncements on this issue by referring to
line numbers only (seen in James Winny’s A Preface to Donne[6]).
This supposed difficulty has been circumvented here, with critics
dividing the poem as they see fit in their readings, although there are
instances where the style of this poem is addressed directly
(especially when it comes to the imagery of the poem).
William Zunder takes into consideration the entirety of work of Holy
Sonnets, stating that Donne "combines the Italian with the English
sonnet form, in order to attain the possibility of a resolution of
sentiment in the English sonnet final rhyme."[7] S. L. Bethell suggests
that this poem is not restrained by any rules or style, as it is a
 combination of both intellect and emotion that results in a reflection
"of the mind,” and harsh rhythms and words like "break" or "force"
"do what they say,"[8] which would be breaking the rules of then
standardly written poems by using a "concrete and immediate"
language, and forcing the form to change into an imitation of "the
speech of impassioned thought."[8]
Holy Sonnets: At the round earth's imagin'd corners, blow
BY JOHN DONNE
At the round earth's imagin'd corners, blow
Your trumpets, angels, and arise, arise
From death, you numberless infinities
Of souls, and to your scatter'd bodies go;
All whom the flood did, and fire shall o'erthrow,
All whom war, dearth, age, agues, tyrannies,
Despair, law, chance hath slain, and you whose eyes
Shall behold God and never taste death's woe.
But let them sleep, Lord, and me mourn a space,
For if above all these my sins abound,
'Tis late to ask abundance of thy grace
When we are there; here on this lowly ground
Teach me how to repent; for that's as good
As if thou'hadst seal'd my pardon with thy blood.
Little Gidding is the fourth and final poem of T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets, a
series of poems that discuss time, perspective, humanity, and
salvation. It was first published in September 1942 after being
delayed for over a year because of the air-raids on Great Britain
during World War II and Eliot's declining health. The title refers to a
small Anglican community in Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire,
established by Nicholas Ferrar in the 17th century and scattered
during the English Civil War.
The poem uses the combined image of fire and Pentecostal fire to emphasise
the need for purification and purgation. According to the poet,
humanity's flawed understanding of life and turning away from God
leads to a cycle of warfare, but this can be overcome by recognising
the lessons of the past. Within the poem, the narrator meets a ghost
that is a combination of various poets and literary figures. Little
Gidding focuses on the unity of past, present, and future, and claims
that understanding this unity is necessary for salvation.
Background
Following the completion of the third Four Quartets poem, The Dry Salvages,
Eliot's health declined and he stayed in Shamley Green, Surrey, while he
recovered. During this time, Eliot started writing Little Gidding. The first
draft was completed in July 1941 but he was dissatisfied with it. He believed
the problems with the poem lay with his own inability to write, and that,
precipitated by air raids on London, he had started the poem with too little
preparation and had written it too quickly. After the first draft was written,
he set the poem aside, and he left in September to lecture throughout Great
Britain.[1]
It was not until August 1942 that he started working on it again. In total,
there were five drafts. The poem was finished by 19 September 1942 and
published in the October New English Weekly.[2] Little Gidding was
intended to conclude the Four Quartets series, summarising Eliot's views
expressed in this series of poems.[3]
Little Gidding was the home of an Anglican community established in 1626
by Nicholas Ferrar. The Ferrar household lived a Christian life
according to High Church principles and the Book of Common
Prayer. The religious community was dispersed during the English
Civil War between Parliamentarians and Royalists but re-formed,
ending with the death of John Ferrar in 1657.[4] Eliot had visited the
site in May 1936.
Unlike the other locations mentioned in the titles of the Four Quartets
poems, Eliot had no direct connection to the original Christian
community. As such, the community is supposed to represent almost
any religious community.
Poem
Critics classify Little Gidding as a poem of fire with an emphasis on
purgation and the Pentecostal fire. The beginning of the poem
 discusses time and winter, with attention paid to the arrival of
summer. The images of snow, which provoke desires for a spiritual
life, transition into an analysis of the four classical elements of fire,
earth, air and water and how fire is the primary element of the four.
Following this is a discussion on death and destruction, things
unaccomplished, and regret for past events.[6]
While using Dante's terza rima style, the poem continues by describing the
Battle of Britain. The image of warfare merges with the depiction of
Pentecost, and the Holy Spirit is juxtaposed with the air-raids on London. In
the second section, a ghost, representing the poets of the past stuck between
worlds, begins talking to the narrator of the poem. The ghost discusses
change, art in general, and how humankind is flawed. The only way to
overcome the problematic condition of humanity, according to the ghost, is
to experience purgation through fire. The fire is described in a manner
similar to the medieval mystic Julian of Norwich's writing about God's love
and discussed in relationship to the shirt of Nessus, a shirt that burns its
wearer. Little Gidding continues by describing the eternalness of the present
and how history exists in a pattern. The poem concludes by explaining how
sacrifice is needed to allow an individual to die into life and be reborn, and
that salvation should be the goal of humankind
The Windhover" is a sonnet by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889). It was
written on 30 May 1877,[1] but not published until 1914, when it was
included as part of the collection Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins. Hopkins
dedicated the poem "To Christ our Lord".
"Windhover" is another name for the common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus).
The name refers to the bird's ability to hover in midair while hunting prey.
In the poem, the narrator admires the bird as it hovers in the air, suggesting
that it controls the wind as a man may control a horse. The bird then
suddenly swoops downwards and "rebuffed the big wind". The bird can be
viewed as a metaphor for Christ or of divine epiphany.
Hopkins called "The Windhover" "the best thing [he] ever wrote".[2] It
commonly appears in anthologies and has lent itself to many interpretations.
The Windhover
I caught this morning morning's minion, king-
dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird, – the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!
Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!
No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermilion.
"The Emperor of Ice-Cream" is a poem from Wallace Stevens's first collection
of poetry, Harmonium (1923). Stevens' biographer, Paul Mariani, identifies
the poem as one of Stevens' personal favorites from the Harmonium
collection.[1] The poem "wears a deliberately commonplace costume", he
wrote in a letter, "and yet seems to me to contain something of the essential
gaudiness of poetry; that is the reason why I like it".[2]
Structure and meaning[edit]
The simple poetic structure is of two stanzas related by an identical closing
verse in each stanza. The poem is only clarified in its allusion upon
completion of the reading of the second stanza which identifies a "cold" and
"dumb" body as common references to a dead body. In this case a dead body
is being prepared for a funeral.[3]
According to the critic Helen Vendler, quoted by Austin Allen, the ice-cream
in the poem is being prepared for serving at a funeral wake.[3] The use of
holiday sweets and heavy desserts for funerals is part of the culture of
varying civilizations. In this case the reference is likely to pre-Castro Cuba,
which Stevens visited during business trips to Florida. The "emperor" of ice
cream is illustrated through imagery by Stevens as sufficiently ruddy to
churn the ice-cream and blend its sugar in order to make the customary
funeral treat used in the country.[3]
Thomas C. Grey in his book on Stevens sees the poem as a harsh didactic
lesson studying the use of the metaphor of "coldness" in Stevens. As Grey
states: "Stevens knows the corruptions of coldness as well as its beauties.
Chief among them is the heartless selfishness, represented by the sweet
sinister cold of 'The Emperor of Ice-Cream.' In the kitchen a cigar-rolling
man whips 'concupiscent curds' of ice cream as the wenches come and go; in
the adjoining bedroom, a dead woman lies in undignified discard, 'cold ...
and dumb' under a sheet, her horny feet protruding. Both rooms teach the
cynical wisdom that 'The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream': what
you see is what you get; look out for Number One; enjoy the sweet cold
before the bitter cold claims you."[4]
According to Norman Foerster, instigator of the New Humanist movement in
American criticism, this poem has been discussed for a long time, but maybe
we mistake an exact meaning. Foerster wrote: “At this funeral (or wake)
there is to be neither the pretense nor the fact of morbid grief.” These are
expressed by ice-cream in this poem. At the same time there is neither
disrespect for the dead nor a blinking of the fact of poverty and death. The
world of his poem is a realistic and stable one.[5]
According to Syunsuke Kamei, an honorary professor at the University of
Tokyo and a scholar of American literature, this poem was composed by
Stevens for his daughter. Stevens had a strong sense of fulfillment of life. He
did not see death in a special light. This poem is telling us to take things easy,
but seriously. Ice cream is an incarnation of a sense of fulfillment. It is easily
melted, but it is a natural thing. Stevens tells us to enjoy the ice cream now.
Ice-cream is a symbol of the summit of ordinary people’s delight.
Bibliographies
Bibliographies provide the reader with a complete list of sources used in a
research essay. Occasionally you may be asked to submit an annotated
bibliography. This means that each bibliographic entry is accompanied by a
description of the source and its relevance to your essay. Few bibliographies
are annotated. When compiling your bibliography, please follow these
guidelines:
The bibliography is located on the last page(s) of the essay, following
endnotes, if used.
Always start your bibliography on a new page.
List bibliographic entries in alphabetical order, according to the author’s
surname. When listing multiple works by one author, alphabetize according
to title.
Separate alphabetized entries into the following categories if used: Archival
sources, Primary sources and Secondary sources.
If you have used more than one article or primary source published in a
single volume, provide individual bibliographic entries for each article. In
the case of a primary source collection in which the documents are very
short (for example, a collection of brief letters) and you used a lot of them, it
is acceptable to provide one entry for the book as a whole.
Unless instructed otherwise, list only works cited. Do not list all the works
you consulted for your project, but did not cite. Listing all works consulted is
considered padding and is frowned upon by scholars.
Make sure your bibliographic format is consistent within each essay.
Examine some recently published history texts to see how bibliographies
should look.
Introduction to Documentation
Proper documentation of sources is essential to a strong research essay.
Failure to cite your sources properly will result in a reduced or failing grade.
Different academic disciplines require different methods of citation. The
purpose of this module is to introduce you to the correct formats for notes
and bibliographies in history essays.
Notes
Notes are references listed at the bottom of a page (footnote) or at the end of
a research essay (endnote) that document sources or provide additional
information to your reader. Acknowledging the work of other historians is
an essential part of the process of writing a research essay. Notes tell your
reader where you found your information and enable your reader to
explore your ideas in more depth. Failing to acknowledge the words or ideas
of others, and leaving the impression that they are your own, is a very
serious offence. Scholars work extremely hard to produce books and articles.
You must give credit where credit is due. Provide notes specifying your "gilt wheels," devoid of glass or upholstery. Personal mementos are
sources for the following: preferred to store-bought wreaths, and the driver is to be "low and
inconspicuous." These elements create a more somber and respectful
Quotations, paraphrases, arguments and unique ideas. atmosphere that allows for a genuine expression of grief.
Statistical information or other specific information that is not commonly
known. Compared to Williams' other works, this poem shares his modernist
Controversial or contested information. perspective and focus on the everyday. However, it is more explicitly
In addition to listing sources, notes can also serve as a place to put didactic than his other poems, providing clear instructions for how a funeral
supplementary information that is not appropriate in the main text of your should be conducted. The poem also reflects the post-World War I era, with
essay or might distract your reader from your main argument. Provide notes its disillusionment and emphasis on simplicity. It challenges the
for the following: superficiality and commercialization that had become prevalent in
American society during that time.
Suggestions for further reading.
Further explanation or background that is not strictly relevant to your
argument.
Definitions of terms and concepts based on scholarly research.
The original language of a translated quotation.
Broad historiographical debates that would be overwhelming in the body of
the essay. For example, if a date is disputed, you might explain the debate in
a note, while in the body of your essay providing only the date you have
determined is most valid.

william carlos williams "tract"

This is certainly not William Carlos Williams’ best-known poem, but it is one
that is as interesting and unusual as his greatest verse. ‘Tract’ engages with a
wide range of themes (particularly if readers agree with the alternative
interpretation described below); these include mortality and tradition.

The poet also chose to address these themes in a surprising way, criticizing
the funeral practices of a specific group of townspeople and implicitly
critiquing all funeral practices that engage in anything similar.

Analysis (ai): This poem challenges traditional funeral practices, advocating

for a more authentic and humble ceremony. It rejects the opulence and
artificiality often associated with funerals, emphasizing the importance of
simplicity and commonality. The hearse is described as a "rough dray" with