During the prosper of the Victorian period, there was a large distinction between social class divisions. It started up top with the noble aristocracy down to the middle working class to the farmers. A big part of who you become is who you came from. Mostly it was all birthright which decided your social standing. Ladies and gentlemen had their own dominion in their own area. Men worked, while the household was the ladies domain. Ranking starts early from what school you attend, to your family status, and soon to your spouse. Women still had no legal rights, for they were to just attend to work inside the home not outside. This included no voting and professional education. It was very surprising to see that women " were classed with criminals, idiots, and minors" (556). That seems harsh to class them in that category. I expected.the women to be looked as as simply house wives and not to be head of the household, to compare them to criminals and to be uneducated not by choice is merely an insult to women of that time. Being brought up in today's society, I can hardly imagine not attending school at this age but instead staying home and taking care of the many kids I probably would have at this age and tending to my husbands demand.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Lord Tennyson ~*Mariana*~
The start of Lord Tennyson's biography is quite interesting to see that he was doubted his talent, and soon later became a top-selling well-known writer. His parents provided great affection and also they had a love of poetry. As a child he started to discover poetry and wrote his own nature poems. He had a solid background of rounded education..I noticed many connections to mythical stories in his writings.
Throughout the poem, Mariana, he uses dark, melancholic descriptions like "blackest moss", "rusted nails", thickest dark", and "night is dreary" (587). This poem kinda gave me the chills with all the description of the setting. He repeats "I am aweary, aweary, I would that I were dead" makes a big impact on her sorrow throughout the poem(587). She awaits the coming of her lover, yet her never comes. You can tell she is isolated and she just desires for him to return. It seems as if she is starting to dream of the day he comes home; "all day within the dreamy house, the doors upon their hinges creak'd; The blue fly sung in the pane; the mouse behind the mouldering wainscot shriek'd... Old faces glimmer'd thro' the doors, old footsteps trod the upper floors, old voices called her from without. (588). This dispressed woman is lost of all hopes and dreams. She has nothing to look forward to, yet keeps awaiting for the day that will never come.
Throughout the poem, Mariana, he uses dark, melancholic descriptions like "blackest moss", "rusted nails", thickest dark", and "night is dreary" (587). This poem kinda gave me the chills with all the description of the setting. He repeats "I am aweary, aweary, I would that I were dead" makes a big impact on her sorrow throughout the poem(587). She awaits the coming of her lover, yet her never comes. You can tell she is isolated and she just desires for him to return. It seems as if she is starting to dream of the day he comes home; "all day within the dreamy house, the doors upon their hinges creak'd; The blue fly sung in the pane; the mouse behind the mouldering wainscot shriek'd... Old faces glimmer'd thro' the doors, old footsteps trod the upper floors, old voices called her from without. (588). This dispressed woman is lost of all hopes and dreams. She has nothing to look forward to, yet keeps awaiting for the day that will never come.
Thomas Carlyle ~*Know Thy Work*~
Thomas Carlyle seems to be a unique character, "difficult and cranky" (475). Carlyle had moved from small village farms to the city life in London. He was able to see the difference in society and how the government was running the country from the living in different perspectives. Living in the city was not at all great for those like Carlyle that had to live in poverty with poor health. His stories tell of the living situations at the time of big change to the Industrial Revolution, yet government seemed to not tend to the health of society. He wrote of many great leaders like Oliver Cromwell that he hoped would inspire because "Carlyle believed that strong leaders were the only hope for social reform" (476).
In his piece Know Thy Work, Carlyle discussed the importance to "Know thy work and do it. Know thyself" (481). Knowing your work and enjoying it helps one know more of themselves. He describes the working man as to being "noble and sacred" (481). He speaks of the nonworkers as having "idleness" and they will not get much accomplished. When you perform your work, you must put your all and love what you do. My close friend sometimes mentions that he wants a new job in search of something that may pay better. Eventually he always is hesitant because he loves what he does and even though he wishes he could get a high paying job, he always mentions every time he completes a job and hears a customers satisfaction and praise on his job well done, that is worth his work and he has "the blessed glow of Labour in him". If you don't have your heart set on your job, you may not be happy in your future if you continue to pursure it. Carlyle says "Labour is Life", this makes me think that your job in a way represent who you are (482). You are able to learn what you like or dislike from the work that you do and understand more about who you are. You aquire the "self-knowledge" (482).
He seems to highly respect the working class. They say "there's no such thing as a free lunch", and this relates to Carlyle's piece because you work and earn what you get not just receive it by being "idle".
In his piece Know Thy Work, Carlyle discussed the importance to "Know thy work and do it. Know thyself" (481). Knowing your work and enjoying it helps one know more of themselves. He describes the working man as to being "noble and sacred" (481). He speaks of the nonworkers as having "idleness" and they will not get much accomplished. When you perform your work, you must put your all and love what you do. My close friend sometimes mentions that he wants a new job in search of something that may pay better. Eventually he always is hesitant because he loves what he does and even though he wishes he could get a high paying job, he always mentions every time he completes a job and hears a customers satisfaction and praise on his job well done, that is worth his work and he has "the blessed glow of Labour in him". If you don't have your heart set on your job, you may not be happy in your future if you continue to pursure it. Carlyle says "Labour is Life", this makes me think that your job in a way represent who you are (482). You are able to learn what you like or dislike from the work that you do and understand more about who you are. You aquire the "self-knowledge" (482).
He seems to highly respect the working class. They say "there's no such thing as a free lunch", and this relates to Carlyle's piece because you work and earn what you get not just receive it by being "idle".
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Felicia Hemans ~*The Wife of Asdrubal*~
One of the author's biography that was interesting and really impacted her writings was Felicia Hemans. Unlike the previous writers, her father did not decease but left her mother to "Canada" and never return causing her mother to raise the family as a single parent. She interprets her feelings about being hurt by the men in her life starting with her father leaving her mother and her husband leaving and never returning from his trip. She emphasizes the duties of a woman, and the betrayal portrayed by the men in her life especially in The Wife of Asdrubal.
It is a tragic story that the wife kills her children on the burning roof, but she does it to save them rather than hurt them. Her husband had sided with the enemy just to save his life and risks the lives of all others. She seems to protect her children from future suffering that she had endured. This pain is probably from the pain endured by her father and husband. That is her duty as a mother to protect her children "and fain would rush for shelter to her breast"(407).. It is inspiring to see even throughout all the neglect of the men in their lives, that Hemans and her mother could go on and raise their families during that period of time when women were not a real part in society, not having jobs, and social status. To be hurt, she still inspires to not give up and make her life and her family live in the best standards she can provide.
It is a tragic story that the wife kills her children on the burning roof, but she does it to save them rather than hurt them. Her husband had sided with the enemy just to save his life and risks the lives of all others. She seems to protect her children from future suffering that she had endured. This pain is probably from the pain endured by her father and husband. That is her duty as a mother to protect her children "and fain would rush for shelter to her breast"(407).. It is inspiring to see even throughout all the neglect of the men in their lives, that Hemans and her mother could go on and raise their families during that period of time when women were not a real part in society, not having jobs, and social status. To be hurt, she still inspires to not give up and make her life and her family live in the best standards she can provide.
The Victorian Age
The Victorian Age was named after the era under Queen Victoria of England. This was to describe the pride the country felt during her reign. Victoria stood for "England and Empire, but also for Duty, Family, and especially, Propriety" (453). Like the early French revolution, a big change was to occur. The Industrial Revolution brought on change to new inventions, technological advances, as well as a period of reform. A big invention was the railroad. This brought on trade as well as transportation of materials and even people. This helped society in "rising incomes, the greater availability of goods, the perception of surplus production" (454). This helped create a larger middle working class with work in warehouses and factories. Even the culture of fashion and design changed. There was a large rise in publications to entertain the public with "magazines, newspapers, novels, poetry, histories, travel narratives, sporting news, scandal sheets, and penny cyclopedias" (466). With this change there also was an overwhelming question of faith, and different sects broke out from the Church of England.
Women's role in society was still unseen in the working and education scenes. The "Woman Question" became a big debate to advocate women's rights. This passage describes what women were seen as " the ideal Victorian woman was supposed to be domestic and pure, selflessly motivated by the desire to serve others rather than fulfill her own needs" (462).
Women's role in society was still unseen in the working and education scenes. The "Woman Question" became a big debate to advocate women's rights. This passage describes what women were seen as " the ideal Victorian woman was supposed to be domestic and pure, selflessly motivated by the desire to serve others rather than fulfill her own needs" (462).
John Keats ~*Ode on Melancholy*~
Like many of the previous writers, John Keats experiences a early loss of his parents. His father died in a riding accident when Keats was nine, and at the age of fourteen his mother died of an illness. He had some medical knowledge from apprenticing yet he didn't take on that field as a career but had his eye set on poetry. Keats is well known for his quote "Beauty is truth, truth is beauty" from the poem Ode on a Grecian Urn (440).
In Ode on Melancholy, it seems as if Keats is stating that in a way for every good thing that happens melancholy has it's match up.
"Beauty that must die;
And Joy, whose hand is ever at his lips
Bidding adieu; and aching Pleasure nigh,
Turning to poison while the bee-mouth sips:
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine" (442).
He creates the image of pleasure and pain dealt together. I think that putting the two together, you don't take the beauty for granted unless you have a grasp of suffering. In his other odes, they seem to have a more positive aspect to the nightingale, and the urn, yet in this he seems to give more empathy to melancholy rather then beauty of nature.
In Ode on Melancholy, it seems as if Keats is stating that in a way for every good thing that happens melancholy has it's match up.
"Beauty that must die;
And Joy, whose hand is ever at his lips
Bidding adieu; and aching Pleasure nigh,
Turning to poison while the bee-mouth sips:
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine" (442).
He creates the image of pleasure and pain dealt together. I think that putting the two together, you don't take the beauty for granted unless you have a grasp of suffering. In his other odes, they seem to have a more positive aspect to the nightingale, and the urn, yet in this he seems to give more empathy to melancholy rather then beauty of nature.
Lord Byron ~*She Walks in Beauty*~
Lord Byron seems to have anger and agitation because of his early years with the disappearance of his father, his club foot, and mother who saw him as a perception of his father. He was able to become a Lord when he inherited his great-uncle's title.
In the poem She Walks in Beauty, Byron contrasts between light and darkness. He is amazed at this woman's beauty. The subject of his poem is his cousin whom he sees at a party wearing a radiant dress. This seems to be a love poem, but being his cousin, it kind of makes me confused of his feelings to her. It seems as if it is a love at first sight situation. He describes that her beauty on the outside reflect her internal beauty as well, "meet in her aspect and her eyes"(358). He puts details in every aspect of this woman from her cheeks to her smile.
In the poem She Walks in Beauty, Byron contrasts between light and darkness. He is amazed at this woman's beauty. The subject of his poem is his cousin whom he sees at a party wearing a radiant dress. This seems to be a love poem, but being his cousin, it kind of makes me confused of his feelings to her. It seems as if it is a love at first sight situation. He describes that her beauty on the outside reflect her internal beauty as well, "meet in her aspect and her eyes"(358). He puts details in every aspect of this woman from her cheeks to her smile.
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