Rupert Brooke—The Great Lover p1097

Originally when looking at the title of this passage and reading through the first few lines I thought that it would be about Brooke having multiple affairs with women and ultimately never finding true love. But then about in the middle, I realize that this is not what he is talking about; but it is more about some of the material things that he enjoys in his life—this really took me by surprise.

These I have loved:
White plates and cups, clean-gleaming,
Ringed with blue lines; and feathery, faery dust;
Wet roofs, beneath the lamp-light; the strong crust
Of friendly bread; and many-tasting food;
Rainbows; and the blue bitter smoke wood;
And radiant raindrops couching in cool flowers;
And flowers themselves, that sway through sunny hours,
Dreaming of moths that drink them under the moon;
Then, the cool kindliness of sheets, that soon
Smooth away trouble; and the rough male kiss
Of blankets; grainy wood; live hair that is
Shining and free; blue-massing clouds; the keen
Unpassioned beauty of a great machine;
the benison of hot water; furs to touch;
The good smell of old clothes; and other such—
The comfortable smell of friendly fingers,
Hair’s fragrance, and the musty reek that lingers
About dead leaves and last year’s ferns… (lines 26-43)

In these lines Brooke is referring to some of the simple things in life that we do not normally notice. I found it really inspiring to “stop and smell the roses.” What I like most about this passage is that he refers to all of his senses as he describes the things that he enjoys; for example, he talks about the smell of clothes, the patterns on the plates, and the feel of blankets on his skin. I enjoyed how he was able to really capture the beauty in things that we see everyday and give new insight into their features. For some reason I love readings that capture the beauty in things that are naturally overlooked in our busy everyday lives. There so many things on this earth that have been created with such perfection and splendor… I admire writers who are able to put them in words on paper in such a way that it causes readers to actually feel, see, or hear everything that they have experienced. I definitely think that Brooke captured it all in this passage.

William Butler Yeats—A Prayer for My Daughter p1123

Of course the first thing that came to my mind when reading this was my dad--that's why I liked it so much. I think that this passage really captures the thoughts and prayers of almost any father who has a young daughter. There was so much beauty and emotion that was put into this writing…and so much truth as well. I found the setting on little weird—they’re out on a sea in the middle of a storm while the child sleeps—but nevertheless, it doesn’t take out any of the tenderness of the prayer.

Once more the storm is howling, and half hid
Under this cradle-hood and coverlid
My child sleeps on. There is no obstacle (lines 1-3)
And for an hour I have walked and prayed
Because of the great gloom that is in my mind.
I have walked and prayed for this young child an hour
And hear the sea-wind scream upon the tower,
And under the arches of the bridge, and scream (lines7-11)

In the beginning it seems that maybe he has taken his young daughter out to sea with him and they are caught in the middle of a storm and his hear is troubled—perhaps he fears that she would lose her life at such a young age, so he begins to pray that they will make it to safety and she will live out the rest of her life into adulthood.

May she be granted beauty and yet not
Beauty to make a stranger’s eye distraught (lines 17-18)
May she become a flourishing hidden tree
That all her thoughts may like the linnet be,
And have no business but dispensing round
Their magnanimities of sound. (lines 41-44)
And may her bridegroom bring her to a house
Where all’s accustomed, ceremonious; (lines73-74)

He wants the best for his daughter—beauty, intelligence, husband, house. Through his words Yeats was able to express the unconditional love and affection that he had for his daughter. He earnestly prayed with great emotion, and this is what made it so touching to me. My dad came to my mind when reading it because he always expresses how he wants the best for me, and tends not to accept anything less than perfect. Fathers and daughters have a unique relationship and Yeats was really able to bring that out in this passage…I can imagine the love that he felt for his daughter…and how much he probably spoiled her.

Isaac Rosenberg—Dead Man’s Dump p1104

This story was really depressing and filled with vivid images. It is describing a scene that is most likely a battleground that has recently been abandoned by the soldiers. A few people are riding on carriages across the field and just observing the many dead bodies in pools of blood laying on the ground around them.

The wheels lurched over sprawled dead
But pained them not, through their bones crunched,
Their shut mouths made no moan
They lie there huddled, friend and foeman,
Man born of man, and born of woman. (lines 7-11)
We heard his weak scream,
We heard his very last sound,
And our wheels grazed his dead face. (lines 84-86)

When I read this, the first thing that came to my mind was not exactly about death in war; but it was more about death in general. It mostly made me think about how we all come together in death and there is no separation that exists as it does now. Throughout this world there are so many ways that people are separated—race, social class, sex, nationality, etc.—and in this narration these soldiers were separated by the country that they were defending. But in the end, men from both sides and probably different nationalities were spread out over the ground over a large area of land. In a way it seems like death brought unity among these men—“friend and foeman” (line 11). What I contemplated most about after reading this was mainly wondering how the human race has become so divided in almost every aspect; and it appears that as time passes, it only gets worse. Maybe I’m being a little optimistic and unrealistic, but I anticipate the day where we do live in unity and not have to wait for death for that to happen.

Siegfried Sassoon—Glory of Woman p1099

This passage is narrates how women dealt with hard times during World War I. What really attracted me to this passage is that he took the time to honor women for some of the things that are typically overlooked. It’s not often that you hear about the roles that women play, whether on the job or in the family; especially during that particular time. Usually during a war we hear hero stories of soldiers who risk their lives for their country; we hear about their bravery and strength; but instead Sassoon depicts women has being the heroes for what they continued to do back home.

You make us shells. You listen with delight,
By tales of dirt and danger fondly thrilled. (lines 5-6)

These two lines really showed the sincerity that he felt as he wrote. Here is acknowledging how well they listened to their wartime stories or anything similar. I really admired that this was something that he noticed; something that is typically taken for granted. (What more could a woman want!) I think that maybe it was just the long time spent away from home and loved ones that allowed him to capture the things that were not noticed before. I guess that time away really does make the heart grow fonder…but who knows how long this appreciation lasted after he returned home…

Thomas Hardy—Logs on the Hearth p1078

This passage is a narration about an individual who is remembering sitting in front of a fireplace and enjoying quality time spent with a sister. As I read it, I could imagine myself sitting in front of a fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate during a cold winter’s night. Hardy made is so easy to relate because of the great detail that he described his surrounding—his depiction of the fireplace was really detailed in even the small things that he saw.

The fire advances along the log
Of the tree we felled (lines 1-2)
Where the bark chars is where, one year,
It was pruned, and bled—
Then overgrew the wound. But now, at last,
Its growing all have stagnated. (lines 9-12)

Hardy’s use of words made it really easy to develop a mental image of what he was seeing. I could see the flames of the fire slowing dancing from one end of a log to the other as the fire gets bigger and casting shadows on the wall. It’s a beautiful way that he remembers such a simple time that was spent with a sister. I think that it really shows how it is the little moments that count the most in life. Instead of remembering an expensive vacation or something similar; he thought of a moment that most people tend to take for granted. That’s what I admired most about it.

Thomas Hardy—On the Departure Platform p1075

I really loved this poem because it was so easy for me to relate to as I read it. The passage is basically narrating how someone is seeing their loved one off; someone who will probably be away for a long time. He is standing on a crowded platform, saying his last goodbye—I could definitely relate to the way that he was feeling at that time.

We kissed at the barrier; and passing through
She left me, and moment by moment got
Smaller and smaller, until to my view
She was but a spot; (lines 1-4)
We have penned new plans since that fair fond day,
And in season she will appear again—
Perhaps in the same soft white array—
But never as then! (lines 17-20)

I’ve experienced this before—watching someone close to me leave and standing there until their image is no longer visible. And before they had even left; we started planning what we will do when they return. This seemed to me like the perfect love story in just a few lines. It was really bizarre reading this because it seemed like Hardy was in my head at the moment that I was experiencing that and he wrote down all of my thoughts at that moment and everything that was being seen through my eyes.

Gerard Manley Hopkins—I Wake and Feel the Fell of Dark, Not Day p778

When first reading this passage I thought that it was about someone who may be in a depressed state. I felt that he was in a mental state where he could not see the good in life—referred to as the “light”— but was continuously in a darkened state of mind. But then the last few lines gave me a second perspective on it:

The lost are like this, and their scourge to be
As I am mine, their sweating selves; but worse. (lines 13-14)

This made me think of it more as a message to sinners. It seems like a narration of what it would be like for someone who has been doomed to live in hell for eternity. Most people have the image of hell being a place of continuous darkness, where day never seems to come:

“I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day.
What hours, O what black hours we have spent
This night! what sights you, heart, saw; ways you went! (lines 1-3)

These lines made me think of someone who’s “heart” continuously turns from the way that God wants them to be. I think that the fact that Hopkins was a priest would more support my second interpretation of it being more as a caution to live a righteous life in order to avoid eternity in darkness. This passage really seemed like Hopkins was preaching through his writings without referring to scriptures as is traditionally done; but he was able to make it more realistic to have a bigger impact on its readers.

Gerard Manley Hopkins—Spring and Fall p776

When I read this poem I thought of how differently children can view the world. In this reading the little girl is sad because the leaves of the tree are falling to the ground as the new season approaches. Hopkins captures the innocence and deep care of the child. Children care about the smallest thing. Here this girl is grieving just because leaves are falling to the ground. I really love the tenderness of her. I remember as a child, crying when my brother used to jump on ant hills in the front yard; but now I would gladly pour out ant-killer on all the hills that appear in the yard. I think that we should all stay this way; unfortunately, that’s not the case.

Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By and by, nor spare a sigh. (lines 5-7)

I think that this line really captures the truth in life. As people grow into adulthood, these deeply caring feelings go away; the smaller things become less important and we become unattached to nature. But is it better to lose that tenderness and care for such small things? Life would be a lot different. I could just imagine—we would be overrun with small insects that we kill so carelessly out of aggravation. So I guess that the way that it is now is how it should be. The innocence of children is what makes them so unique.

Virginia Woolf--The Lady in the Looking-Glass: A Reflection p1224

This reading was fascinating to me because it held so much truth in it. The first sentence really caught my attention: “People should not leave looking-glasses hanging in their rooms any more than they should leave open cheque books or letters confessing some hideous crime.” From this sentence, I could tell that this was not going to be about looking in the mirror and seeing only the outward appearance….the clothes, the makeup, or the hairstyle; But this looking-glass was one that would look within and see the heart and soul of the individual.
The beginning of the passage begins with just setting the scene; describing some of the things that are around in the room. This really made me kind of anxious…because I wanted to know who would be the one that would appear in the looking glass, and what will they see. But I think that setting the scene was important for a few reasons. For one, it allowed to reader to know that this was not an ordinary place, but seemed to be a house of someone wealthy, someone who had it all (at least all the material things). It seems like an empty place, because up to this point, no one has been seen. Then we are told where the occupant of the house is:

“Half an hour ago the mistress of the house, Isabella Tyson, had gone down the grass path in her thin summer dress, carrying a basket, and had vanished, sliced off by the gilt rim of the looking-glass. She had gone presumably into the lower garden to pick flowers.” (p1225)

After her introduction, then we begin to learn more about her. She is a rich woman who has many friends (or so it seems). She probably enjoys all the finer things in life. So first it seems like there is nothing more this woman could as for.

“She was thinking, perhaps, that she must order a new net for the strawberries; that she must send flowers to Johnson’s widow; that it was time she drove over to see the Hippesleys in their new house. Those were the things she talked about at dinner certainly. But one was tired of the things that she talked about at dinner…At the mention of those words it became obvious, surely, that she must be happy. She was rich; she was distinguished; she had many friends; she travelled—she bought rugs in Turkey and blue pots in Persia.” (p1227)

This woman is able to put on a smile and have superficial conversations with her friends over dinner.
But when she is alone is when we find out who she really is and how she really feels:

“At last there she was, in the hall. She stopped dead. She stood by the table. She stood perfectly still. At once the looking-glass began to pour over her a light that seemed fix her; that seemed like some acid to bite off the unessential and superficial and to leave only the truth. It was an enthralling spectacle. Everything dropped for her—clouds, dress, basket, diamond—all that one had called the creeper and convolvulus. Here was the hard wall beneath. Here was woman herself. He stood naked in the pitiless light. And, there was nothing. Isabella was perfectly empty. He had no thoughts. She had no friends. She cared for nobody. As for her letters, they were all bills. Look, as she stood there, old and angular, veined and lined, with her high nose and her wrinkled neck, she did not even trouble to open them. People should not leave looking-glasses hanging in their rooms”

I think that this narration was really powerful. It really illustrates how materials things can’t buy happiness. It also shows how easy it is to pretend to be happy on the outside, even though that’s not the real feelings on the inside. I felt like I could really relate to this story on that part. Sometimes I’ve had to go out in public and put on a smile when I didn’t want to. I can really imagine how hard it was for this woman to go through everyday pretending not to have a care in the world, when inside there was something missing. Overall, I think that it really spoke to me that I should always examine myself at the end of the day—to peer into the looking-glass and see what’s inside, and if I’m happy with what I see.

Henry Mayhew – Watercress Girl p508-511

This was a very emotional passage that I’m sure captured the attention and concern of all who read it. Mayhew tells of an encounter with a young eight-year-old girl who works tirelessly each day selling watercresses to earn money. What Mayhew captures the most is how this girl has lost her childhood from growing up in those conditions.

“Although only eight years of age, had entirely lost all childish ways, and was, indeed, in thoughts and manner, a woman. There was something cruelly pathetic in hearing this infant, so young that her features had scarcely formed themselves, talking of the bitterest struggles of life, with the calm earnestness of one who had endured them all.” (p508)

Mayhew was not able to speak to her as we would speak to a child today, but she probably had more knowledge than he did of the subject. She knew nothing of dolls, playgrounds, and playmates. She had no education, religion, parental teachings, or childish friendships; all she knew was the business of selling. Though it is sad to think of the environment that this girl had to grow up in; how her childhood was stolen from her (and probably her adulthood as well)…The first thing that came to my mind as I read was hero. This young girl took up the responsibilities of a woman (and probably a mother to younger siblings) in order to help provide for her family. She went out every morning, no matter the weather, no matter how underfed she was and did what had to be done, and she did so without complaining. Not only did she give up her childhood, but the responsibilities that she took up, was done with dignity and much skill.

“I am a capital hand at bargaining—but only at buying watercreases. They can’t take me in. If the woman tries to give me a small handful of creases, I says, ‘I ain’t a goin’ to have that for a ha’porth,’ and I go to the next basket, and so on, all round. I know the quantities very well.” (p510)

I found it amazing how a little girl of eight had already taken her place in society, when during this day and age, many are so reluctant to find their place.

Thomas Carlyle-Past and Present p477-486

Carlyle’s style and emotional input in his writing really caught my attention. He greatly portrayed his distress and disappointment in the change in society that was taking place (a change for the worse that is). He showed both outrage and perhaps shame for the government and its lack of laws that protected the working-class.

“A Poor-law, any and every Poor-law, it may be observed, is but a temporary measure; an anodyne not a remedy: Rich and Poor, when once the naked facts of their condition have come into collision, cannot long subsist together on a mere Poor-law. True enough:--and yet, human beings cannot be left to die!” (Midas, p478)

The government was failing the working-class. Instead, the majority were fixed on wealth and the material things that came along with it. Carlyle told of a husband and wife who made the decision to murder their children in order to feed their starved bodies. And I think this few lines captures the atmosphere of the whole society.

“A human Mother and Father had said to themselves, What shall we do to escape starvation? We are deep sunk here, in or dark cellar; and help is far.—Yes, in the Ugolino Hunger-tower stern things happen; best-loved little Gaddo fallen dead on his Father’s knees!—The Stockport Mother and Father think and hint: Our poor little starveling Tom, who cries all day for victuals, who will see only evil and not good in this world: if he were out of misery at once; he well dead, and the rest of us perhaps kept alive? It is though, and hinted; at last it is done. And now Tom being killed, and all spent and eaten, Is it poor little starveling Jack that must go, or poor little starveling Will?—What committee of ways and means!” (Midas, p479)

Within this horrible story, it seems as if Carlyle felt more sympathy and compassion than anger for this couple. A couple that made a choice to take the life of their own child because they could not feed themselves or the rest of their family. Can we blame them for their acts? What other choice did they have but to allow them all to die of starvation in their home? Who would have the strength to find them guilty for the murder of their child? I don’t think that I would be able to. So who is to blame? Is it the government for not providing them with the proper laws of protection, or is it the common people who pass them by on the street without offering a helping hand?
In The Irish Widow Carlyle clearly shows how although the members of the society have created an invisible line between the rich and poor, they are still ultimately the same people.

“Behold I am sinking, bare of help: ye must help me? I am your sister, bone of your bone; one God made us; ye must help me!” They answer, “No, impossible; though are no sister of ours.” But she proves her sisterhood; her typhus-fever kill them: they actually were her brothers, though denying it! Had human creature ever to go lower for a proof…Seventeen of you lying dead will not deny such proof that she was flesh of your flesh; and perhaps some of the living may lay it to heart.” (The Irish Widow, p481)

Even though the woman desperately cried out for help from those around her, they continued to refuse her, for they felt that she was beneath them, and perhaps they thought she was even of another being. The conditions of that time so divided the society into two nations, yet they could not escape the same illness that they denied. Carlyle was clearly disturbed by the inhumane acts of the people who once called each other neighbor or friend.

Friedrich Engels-The Great Towns p500

This passage was really enlightening. In it Engels takes his readers on a journey through the slums and ghettos of England. It was interesting how he began describing the beauty and greatness of the cities:

“All this is so magnificent and impressive that one is lost in admiration. The traveler has good reason to marvel at England’s greatness even before he steps on English soil.” (p500)

Then he dives into the cold darkness that is hidden beneath all of this beauty:

“It is only later that the traveler appreciates the human suffering which has made all this possible. He can only realize the price that has been paid for all this magnificence.” (p500)

It’s distressing to read about how for so long the poor have been hidden away in the back alleys of cities, and to this day this continues in so many places. In reality it is the working-class that keeps the cities functioning. It is by their sweat and strength that the rich can live in luxury. While at the end of the day, the workers went home to filthy water and air, deteriorating homes, and cramped neighborhoods. I don’t understand how they put the working-class people in these poor and unhealthy conditions, but yet they expected them to work day and night. One thing I often wonder is how modernization continued even though there was such a massive growth in poverty.

I grew up in a family that taught me to work for everything that I need; I’ve been taught that nothing in life will come on a silver platter. But those who do have things handed to them are unable to appreciate the finer things in life. They don’t know that someone did have to put in the work in order for them to obtain what they desire. I think that today’s society has become accustomed to trying to find the quickest and easiest way to get rich, and I think that it began during the beginning of modernization. Engel’s sums of his attitude toward the conditions of that time very well in the following words:

“It is only the industrial age that has made it possible for the owners of these shacks, fit only for the accommodation of cattle, to let them at high rents for human habitations. It is only modern industry which permits these owners to take advantage of the poverty of the workers, to undermine the health of thousands to enrich themselves. Only industry has made it possible for workers who have barely emerged from a state of serfdom to be again treated as chattels and not as human beings…Industry alone has been responsible for all this and yet this same industry could not flourish except by degrading and exploiting the workers.” (p507-508)

Benjamin Disraeli: The Two Nations p499

Disraeli’s passage was similar to Dickens. It’s easy to see that the two had the same view of the coming modern age. In this passage, there is a focus on the widening gap in society between the rich and the poor. It’s obvious that as the rich get richer, the poor become poorer. I will never understand how so many could stand aside and do nothing while whole communities suffered with starvation and disease. How people attempted to justify and defend the advancement of modernization, even with the increases conditions of poverty, shows just how much the society and individual communities were dividing.

“Two nations; between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other’s habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets; who are formed by a different breeding, are fed by a different food, are ordered by different manners, and are not governed by the same laws.” (p499)

I find this thought to be very true. Not only did that truth hold during this time, but is still true today. Our society is divided between the “haves” and the “have-nots,” and the two are unaware of the others existence. The beginning of modernization created this gap, and after all these years it has yet to disappear. Disraeli also focuses on the diminishment of religion:

“Christianity teaches us to love our neighbor as ourself; modern society acknowledges no neighbor.” (p499).

As Dickens pointed out in his passages, society became based on individualism; people were doing whatever needed to be done for personal gain. While entire families (men, women and children) were working in the dangerous conditions of factories, the owners were enjoying their riches. Can we honestly say that introducing modernization in our societies was a wise choice?

Charles Dickens p495

Through these writings Charles Dickens was really able to show how strongly he opposed the coming of this new age of industrialism. It seems that he experienced multiple emotions from pain and sorrow to outrage and disgust. People did not even have time to process the change, it was not only sudden but it was dramatic, While many were striving to tell the public about how great a change this was, Dickens was able to see the reality of it.

“Houses were knocked down; streets broken through and stopped; deep pits and trenches dug in the ground; enormous heaps of hearth and clay thrown up; buildings that were undermined and shaking, propped by great beams of wood. Here, a chaos of carts, overthrown and jumbled together, lay topsy-turvy at the bottom of a steep unnatural hill; there, confused treasures of iron soaked and rusted in something that had accidentally become a pool.” (The Coming of the Railway, p496)

After reading these lines, I could develop a visual image of what a typical town may have looked like during this time of change. The development of technology created a society that focuses on self-interest and individual gain. This was the beginning of a new era in which the concepts of community, religion, and individuality were destroyed. Dickens noticed the monotony and dehumanization that developed along with the industries:

"It contained several large streets all very like one another, inhabited by people equally like one another, who all went in and out at the same hours, with the same sound upon the same pavements, to do the same work, and to whom every day was the same as yesterday and tomorrow, and every year the counterpart of the last and the next.” (Coketown, p497)

I don’t think that much as changed today. Though we have benefited much from new means of transportation and medical breakthroughs, it’s not easy to decide whether or not we have benefited more than it has hurt us. During this age we are now beginning to see how industrialization has taken a toll on the world around us. Deforestation, pollution, extinction…. if we could go back in time and start all over knowing what we know now, I think that there would not have been such a rush to begin new developments. Outrage over the oil spill definitely adds to the mistake of industrial development. But now that modernization has already begun, I don’t think it’s possible to stop it or even slow it down.

Record of a Girlhood-Fanny Kemble p490

I found the contents of this passage to be very interesting and much like an advertisement for steam engines. In fact, much of it I found to be amusing but clever. For example: “She (for they make these curious little fire-horses all mares)” (p490). I found it quite ironic how steam engines are referred to as being female. Though I contemplated on it much, I can find no connection between the two. However, Kemble seemed to find some similarities:

“She goes upon two wheels, which are her feet, and are moved by bright steel legs called pistons; these are propelled by stream, and in proportion as more stream is applied to the upper extremities (the hip-joints, I suppose)…” (p 490).

Of course this was most likely used so that they would appear more appealing to those who opposed their construction. If someone had never seen a stream engine before and had only drawn from this reference, I think that they would expect to find a very attractive piece of machinery. Even to those who had grown accustomed to the horse and carriage, comfort could be provided for them: “The reins, bit, and bridle of this wonderful beast…This snorting little animal, which I felt rather inclined to pat, was then harnessed to our carriage…” (p 491). This was sure to bring in all the horse-lovers. I think that having this actress be the first to describe her steam engine experience was extremely witty. But one would have to wonder whether these were words of her own composition, and how many people were disappointed after relying on such a passage and then finding quite the contrary.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Frost At Midnight (p343-345)

I think that this was a beautiful poem that focuses on the sweetness of childhood innocence. The man character is sitting quietly one night in his house after everyone else has fallen asleep (line 4). With him is an infant child who is sleeping peacefully beside him (lines 6-7). During this time he begins to remember things from his childhood, such as the school and church (lines 23-43). Then he looks at the sleeping baby and begins to describe the innocence and beauty of this child, such as his placid breathing and peaceful spirit (lines 44-49). The desire that he has for this child is that he would be brought up in a country home; in a place where he can be connected with the nature around him. He relates the child to things of nature such as the breeze, lakes and shores (lines 54-55). Obviously he finds that cities have nothing to offer; that being raised in a city is not the best life that one could live. I would have to say that I completely agree with him. I currently live in the country, and it is the most beautiful thing. Being able to look out the window and see miles of trees and grass, or see small animals running across the yard, causes a peace to overcome me. When I went to Macon my first year of college, I really disliked it. All I could hear was the sounds of rushing cars and police sirens. The way he feels that growing up in the country really brings one close to nature, I can really relate to, there is absolutely an advantage.

George Gordon, Lord Byron On This Day I Complete my Thirty-Sixth Year (p390-391)

I think that this poem places great emphasis, and maybe even a warning, of how the reader should live their life each day. Though I find quite odd how he decides to analyze his life at the age of thirty-six, it kind of makes since in a way. I guess it is never too early or too late to look back on one’s life and determine what has been accomplished. One thing the writer put a lot of emphasis on was love and compassion. Immediately at the beginning he makes it known that he does not have a companion by his side (lines 5-8). This first impression is that the writer has greatly desired a love in his life. It seems that this is how he has decided whether or not he is in fact a failure or a success in life. Many people fear dying alone, and I think that this is how he feels. He is even envious of those who have found love. (lines 13-15). I think that the “chain” he speaks of wearing is one of loneliness, or maybe failure. I think he defines love as being happiness; if one lives a life absent in love then they are empty. After realizing that he has failed in the area of love, he feels the only thing left for him to do, maybe the only thing that can save his dignity, is to die as an honorable death as a soldier. I think that he believes that since he has no lover to speak well of him after he departs from earth, that he could at least have his fellow soldiers to speak highly of him. Overall, he finds himself dissatisfied with his life. However, I think that he took a limited view on his life; he failed to analyze any of his other accomplishments of life. But I also know that, no one can determine whether or not some one was successful in life; that can only be determined by how that individual perceives it.

Dorothy Wordsworth Thoughts on My Sick-bed (p293-294)

I really enjoyed this poem. It provided me with insight into how people should view life everyday. Although in pain in suffering, she was able to capture the beauty of life around her. She recognized the small things that one would normally not recognize in our busy every day lives (lines 11-12). With anxiousness and excitement she observed the things around her (lines 13). I think that the fact that she may have been in her last days, her senses were awakened like they had never been before. She was seeking to experience things that had never been (line 14). Everything around her seemed to be filled with life with dancing and singing (lines 17-20). One thing that really stuck out to me is that she did not talk about in pain or suffering that she was experiencing. In fact, one would not even know that she was ill except for reading the title. Instead, her vivid imagery of beauty consumes the reader. I find it amazing how she was able to escape her bedridden body, her room, and her house to experience the life outside through her memories (lines 45-52). I think this is how life should be everyday. We should not wait until the end of our lives to try and capture those things that we’ve passed by in the previous years. Life has become so busy, and we go by everyday not realizing the beauty of things that are in front of us. It makes we wonder, what would my memories comprise of if I were on my sickbed.

William Wordsworth We Are Seven (p200-201)

I found this story very interesting. It gives insight into how children and adults view the world in two completely different ways, and how the views that we develop as a child are stolen from us as we grow older. The girl is of age eight, and she is described as one with beauty, innocence, purity, and full of life (lines 1-12). The individual then questions the girl about how many siblings that she has, and she sweetly answers that there are seven of them. She tells that whereabouts of her siblings and the questioner then comes to realize that two of her siblings have died and are buried under a tree in the church yard (lines 32-33). Puzzled, the questioner wonders why she still claims that there are seven of them when two are dead, and he insists on her saying that there are now only five (lines 35-36). Kindly, she still replies that there are seven of the children. She then goes to tell him about how she knits, sings, and eats her supper with the two under the tree (lines 41-48). The little girl either does not understand the concept of death at such a young age or she desires to be with them even though she knows that they no longer exist, so she continuously denies their absence. The latter seems to be more the case, because she speaks of God taking her sister (lines 50-53), indicating that she may have some understanding of death. Moreover, perhaps children are still able to sense the presence of loved ones past, but adults are no longer sensitive to this. Nevertheless, the little girl still experiences so much joy around the graves of her siblings. Still, she refuses to acknowledge their death, even with the continued persistence of the questioner. In the end she still declares that there are seven (lines 65-69). This story gave me insight into the many fears that we develop as we come into adulthood. In fact, it even seems that the questioner has intentions of ruining the joy of the little girl by demanding that that only five exist, as if he is trying to teach her how to grow into an adult. Or maybe he is frustrated because he has lost someone and is enraged that the girl and still enjoy her siblings after their death, but he is not able to. But which one is right? Who can determine how someone should views death?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (p326-341)

This story begins with a mariner who comes to a wedding feast of people who he does not know. Among the strangers he sees three men and chooses one to pull aside and tell his story to. (line 2) In actuality, it is not that he chose this man to speak to but it is more like a supernatural spirit has chosen him. In the beginning the wedding guest is defiant to engage in conversation with the strange man (line 11), but after the story has begun he finds himself listening intently like a child (line 15). The mariner tells the story of how he and his crew were sailing along with the joy of the favorable weather that moved their ship through the sea (lines 25-28), but suddenly they are lead into the cold and icy waters of the south where life ceases to be (lines 47-62). The individuals on the ship then see an albatross, the only sign of life besides themselves. It comes like a heavenly spirit, depicted as a “Christian soul” (lines 63-66). The albatross becomes a savior to the mariner and his crew. It lifts the mist and guides them through the icy waters bringing wind through their sails. But out of nowhere, the mariner decides to kill the albatross (lines 80-81). Why he chose to do this, I can not seem to understand. It makes no sense me why he would kill something that brought them peace during their darkest hour. But I find no explanation of why the mariner chose to do such a vicious act. Initially, the others began to criticize him for his acts (lines 93-95), but then praised him, for they believed that the bird brought unfavorable weather (lines 99-102). The fact that the wind began blowing once again after the death of the bird (line 103) made me think that nature was giving the men an opportunity to repent for the wrongdoing and wrongful accusations. Killing the bird was wrong, but they could not decide for sure if it was wrong or if it brought them good fortune. When they finally made up their mind that the bird should have been killed, the wind suddenly ceases to blow. (line 107) The ship then becomes still in the quiet waters. At this moment is seems as if all of nature, the sun, moon, wind, seas, and all the creatures, are deciding what will become of these men. Will they go unpunished or will the bird be avenged? The approaching of a strange ship that glides through the water with no wind (166-170) gives conformation that the individuals will in fact receive a punishment. When the ship approaches it covers the sun (175-176), indicating its massiveness and possible authority over the sun itself. It is the Day of Judgment for the men on the ship. There fates are decided of whether they will die or live in death. Their lives are gambled on (195-198) and it is decided that all will die except for the mariner. The mariner would instead be cursed to walk the earth in misery unable to die. (lines 257-262) On the mariner’s journey home, he experiences a life change. He realizes the importance of every living creature on earth (lines 282-287). He realizes that all things created by God are to be cherished. The living creatures and the natural world are all a part of one union, and the death of the albatross resulting in nature taking revenge on the mariner. The sea, the wind, and the sun brought the men misery and misfortune. Relief comes after the mariner realizes the true beauty of nature and he is able to return home (lines 464-467) by the grace of the sea (lines 327-330) and the spirits of the air (lines 379-380); Upon his return he acknowledges and praises the hermit who prays three times a day (line 519). Here, one can see how the mariner has had a change in his outlook on life. Though it seems that all is forgiven, it is not. He is still cursed with a life that he will live as a witness. He will perhaps forever roam the earth telling his story and teaching to the ones that are chosen. And he is only given peace when the story has been told, only to have the misery return again until he meets another (lines 578-590). The only one joy he finds now is in prayer (lines 601-609).

I think that the fact that the mariner showed up at a wedding feast is significant in understanding the story. Weddings are a time in which people are engaging in earthly pleasures. They have no cares and are unaware of any morals that may have been previously established. People are drinking and dancing with no cares. The setting provides a warning to readers that one should always be aware of their conscious, the decisions they are making, and their acts. The main meaning that I got out of the story is that humans will try to control nature by their own hands. We feel that we have authority over all other living things, and fail to realize the power of the natural world. All things should be cherished and respected, we are not more important than the birds in the sky or the fish of the sea. (lines 612-617). But far too often, we fail to realize this truth.

Introduction

Hello, my name is Trenae Hamilton. This is currently my last semester at Mercer. I am majoring in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. I am taking this class to fulfill a general education requirement. So far everything has been going well with this online classes. I have never blogged before so this is very new to me and it will probably take me awhile before I learn how to work everything well. I've enjoyed the reading so far and look forward to the rest of the semester.