The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock is placed in a city where we are given vivid, deathly images to acquaint ourselves with the setting. This places a very negative tone on the poem as T.S Eliot uses words such as, “half deserted streets” and “one-night cheap hotels”. He also repeats some lines which give us a very sharp image of the streets which the journey takes place. The journey is one which describes the personality of Prufrock. It allows us to get a sense of what he’s like without meeting him. When the ladies are talking of Michelangelo, he continues onward suggesting that he is unsociable and that he may feel emasculated by this. His attention to detail at this section also seems as though he is particularly interested in Michelangelo. However the poem is written so that we get a perspective of what the person going through this journey is feeling and seeing, it is almost as though we are behind his eyes looking in first person rather than looking upon the situation in third person. This raises a strange debate of perception as someone with a different personality walking down the same street may see the things completely different. This arises a strange question of how do other people see the things that I am seeing.

Hap Response

From the title we know that the poem will be about one’s fate or one’s luck as this is the definition of hap. In the first stanza we learn that our conclusion about the poem’s content is correct. Hardy is trying to make sense of why bad things always happen to him. He says that he would understand if there was some god who obtained happiness from his discontent. At the very beginning of the second stanza we are alerted of a shift by the word “Then”. In this stanza Hardy says that if this was the case he would bear through it, and eventually die. But his unhappiness had a cause, something much more powerful than he and there is nothing he could do about it, but it wasn’t just mere chance. The third paragraph also starts with a shift; “But not so”. This shows that the other two stanza’s are not true. He then continues to talk about why bad things continuously happen to him and his lifelong pilgrimage has turned to pain. The poem is written a sonnet with two quatrains and then a sestet with the rhyming scheme ABAB, CDCD, EFEFFE. The rhyming scheme has significance in the meaning of the poem as well as the last two lines are opposite the rest of the poem’s rhyme scheme. This suggests that his pilgrimage is abnormal and excessively painful compared to others.

There was a Boy Response

William Wordsworth fills the poem There was a Boy with natural imagery of the visible scenery at which the boy is familiar with. It also has a contemplative tone which makes it seem as though the boy is so small in contrast to the nature around him and he is contemplating his purpose in such a vast world. The poem deals with the essence of being alone which the boy is faced with throughout his lifelong journey. It also seems as though the boy is looking for someone to share his boyhood journey, specifically when he calls out to the owls as though he is calling for help or longing for companionship; “Blew mimic hootings to silent owls”. The next line then suggests that this is a journey which he will be facing on his own as the owls do not answer his mimic hootings.

Ode On The Death Of A Favourite Cat Drowned, Response

The title seems ironic as a cat, the predator, has drowned in a tub of goldfishes which the cat is often known to hunt. This may set an ironic theme for the poem and the title also suggests a tragic tone for the poem as this drowned cat was previously the owners favourite. In the first stanza the author sets the setting of the cat's death and provides us with a potential name for the diseased, Selima. The second stanza allows us to picture the cat with vivid imagery such as "fair round face, the snowy beard, the velvet of her paws" The poem then begins to turn more tragic and escalades to the ending paragraph where it describes the cat's watery grave in vivid detail. The poem has a rhythm scheme of AABCCB and then this repeats with different rhymes. The meter of the poem is iambic which gives the poem a specific rhythm which also contributes to the satire in the poem.

To the Virgins, to make much of Time, Response

This poem makes much use of the poetic device carpe diem. This certain seize the day poem is clearly a man trying to convince a woman to give him her virginity. This can be seen right at the beginning by the title. The author also uses a rhyme scheme ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GHGH. This gives the poem a very rhythmic feeling. The author uses the flower in the first paragraph as a symbol for his lover, “And this same flower that smiles to-day to-morrow will be dying.” This sentence strongly represents the carpe diem aspect of this poem, to seize the day. In the second stanza he uses the sun as a metaphor for time. This metaphor also has a very carpe diem feel to it as he is saying that he’s getting higher quickly and that just means that he’s sooner to setting. He also personifies the sun by comparing it’s orbit to a race. There is a big shift at the end of the poem at about the end of line 12. He shifts from telling her how she hasn’t got long to telling her that at this time she may be beautiful but soon she will lose her prime. This entire poem is very convincing to seize the day and clearly that’s what Robert Herrick was trying to get across to his lover.

Sonnet 116 Shakespear- TP CASTT

Title: The title of this sonnet is "Let me not by the marriage of true minds". When given the first look at the title we are given an idea that this poem will be about love as suggested by the word "marriage" in the title. The true minds part may illude to a very intense love.

Paraphrase:
The intense love that binds people does not stop with obstructions. Love is not love if it can be altered when a problem arises, or gets weak when someone leaves: Deffinetly not! It forever binds us that looks on violent windstorms and is never shaken; It is even the most immovable people's guide, there is no price for love. It is not beaten by time, even with the loss of rosy lips and cheeks and even outlasts man's deffinite end; Love does not change depending on how often you see each other, but endures to the end. If i am in error and this is proved, nothing I have ever writ is worthwhile, and no man has ever loved.

Connotation: In sonnet 116, shakespeare makes use of some very intense poetic devices to illustrate the meaning to the reader. He uses an almost personification when talking about love, he does not give it human qualities, however he gives natural qualities to a feeling. This displays how real love is, it is as real as the stars in the sky or the bark on the trees. He also uses rosy lips and cheeks as symbols for youth. His diction at the end of the sonnet also outlines how positive he is that love endures forever.

Attitude: The attitude of this poem is loving. Through his diction, it makes it seem as though the poet is deeply in love and that nothing can come between him and his lover. There is also a cocky attitude in the poem as he is so sure of his theory, this is shown mainly at the end when he says if this is wrong, everything i have ever written is wrong and no man has ever loved.

Shifts: There is a shift at the end of line seven and then it shifts back at the end of line 9. I am unsure of the meaning of this shift but it seems to make line 7 and 8 seem very important, perhaps they have personal meaning. There is also a shift at the end of the poem when he is done talking about how love is everlasting and then starts to talk about how positive he is that this theory is correct.

Title: Looking at the title again I think that I was mainly right the first time but the true minds seems to suggest a level of love that is so intense something more than physical lust.

Theme: The theme of this poem is everlasting love. It is saying that real love is so intense that it will outlast time, and distance and all obstructions in it's way.

Wuthering Heights: Response #2

After reading to the end of Chapter 9, what is your impression of the characters you have been introduced to in the novel? Whose behaviour is the most reprehensible? Whose behaviour is the least reprehensible? Your response should be 150-200 words and should make use of evidence from the novel when possible.

The characters that we have been introduced thus far have given the reader very interesting impressions of the family at Wuthering Heights. Catherine is a two-face who seems to mean well, Heathcliff has a tragic story and we feel for what he has been put through and Nelly is a sweet person who looks out for the well-being of the family. However the character who has the most reprehensible behaviour is Hindley as he has shown weakness, anger towards people Wuthering Heights and has generally let people who are close to him down. He has shown great weakness when his wife died after child birth and he turned to alcohol to solve his depression. He has shown very unfair behavior and anger toward Heathcliff and constantly lets everyone at Wuthering Heights down, even his son, when he drops him from the stairs. The character with the least reprehensible behaviour is Nelly, who has told of her dedication towards the family, such as raising Hareton because Hindley was unable to in his alcoholic condition. However, Nelly is the narrator of this story at the moment and she could give a bias view of what she has done. But her hospitality towards Lockwood makes her story and the impression we get from it very reliable.

Wuthering Heights Response #1

After reading the first 3 chapters I would characterize Lockwood as a gentleman, however not a perfect one. I am led to believe he is a gentleman through some of his actions at Wuthering Heights but some of his other actions also contradict this characterization, so this is why he is not a true gentleman. Lockwood’s characterization is shown in his response to Mrs. Heathcliff, “You must excuse me for troubling you – I presume, because, with that face, I’m sure you cannot help being good-hearted.” This type of flattering to the hostess helps to show his characterization of a gentleman however his actions toward the dogs of the Wuthering Heights are not so gentlemanly at all. His character affects his role as narrator of the novel because he gives a bias view of the people in Wuthering Heights because they are not pictures of perfect poise and not necessarily people he is normally associated with. This also makes him unqualified to comment on the society at Wuthering Heights because clearly he is not used to this type of atmosphere and although it may seem dysfunctional to him, it may be very functional for the purpose of Wuthering Heights.