Poetry

The poem "Washington Monument by Night" captures the beauty and magnificence of the iconic monument illuminated against the night sky, conveying a sense of awe and inspiration. The imagery and language used in the poem evoke a feeling of reverence for the monument and its historical significance, reminding readers of the enduring legacy of American democracy and freedom. Ultimately, the poem celebrates the enduring presence of the Washington Monument as a symbol of national unity and pride.

The poem "Unknown Citizen" is spoken from the perspective of a government official or bureaucrat who is praising the conformity and predictability of an unnamed individual. It critiques the dehumanizing effects of societal expectations and norms on individuals.

The poem you may be referring to is a ballad. Ballads are narrative poems that tell a story, often about themes like love, betrayal, or death. They are often written in a songlike form with simple language and a refrain.

It allows one to compare something nonhuman to human features, suggesting a subtle link between the two. It also clarifies what the poet is trying to say, explaining it wholly by something we humans can relate to.

Dante uses personification to give human-like qualities to the fat worm Cerberus. This enhances the description by creating a vivid image of Cerberus's reaction to seeing Dante and his companions.

plea of frustrated wish poem

Johnny's mother blames the doctor for her son's injuries because she believes the doctor made a mistake during Johnny's surgery which led to complications.

In "To His Coy Mistress," the speaker urges his lover to seize the moment and not waste time because life is short. This theme of seizing the moment and embracing life is also reflected in the relationship between Daisy and Jay Gatsby in "The Great Gatsby." Both works explore the fleeting nature of time and the desire to make the most of it.

No, the veteran is not a speaker in the poem "The Old Soldier's Return." The poem is narrated from the perspective of a soldier who has returned home after serving in the military.

Line 11 in the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes acts as a rhetorical question that reflects the frustration and disillusionment of African Americans experiencing deferred dreams. It contributes to the theme of the poem by highlighting the impact of unfulfilled aspirations on individuals and society.

Meter actually refers to the rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. It helps create a sense of musicality and structure in a poem. The specific pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables creates the meter, which can vary between different types of poetry.

the French Revolution; Neoclassicism

A poet might choose to use a strict meter to establish a consistent rhythm and structure, creating a sense of order and predictability. Varying from the meter occasionally can be a way to create emphasis, draw attention to certain words or ideas, or add complexity and interest to the poem. It can help break up the monotony of the strict meter and create a more dynamic and engaging reading experience.

The metaphysical poets were a small group of English lyric poets of the 17th century who had similar styles and concerns. Their fresh and sophisticated approach to the writing of lyrics was marked by an intellectual quality and an inventive and subtle style, with the use of the metaphysical conceit (a figure of speech that employs unusual and paradoxical images). Of this group of poets the work of only two will be covered in this short course: John Donne (1572-1631) and Andrew Marvell (1621-1628). Some of the others were Crashaw, Cleveland, Cowley and Vaughan. The term "metaphysical poets" was first used by Samuel Johnson (1744), who said that "the metaphysical poets were men of learning, and to show learning was their whole endeavour." He also said of their poetry that "the most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together; nature and art are ransacked for illustrations, comparisons, and allusions…." Donne, regarded as one of the chief poetic innovators among the metaphysical poets, was reacting against the 16th century (Elizabethan) love lyrics, which embodied courtly-love conventions which idealized women. Donne did not use the sonnet form for his love lyrics - a significant break with the tradition found in earlier poets such as Sidney and Spenser. He used colloquial language, he abandoned (and sometimes satirized) the courtly mode and focused on individual experience in a way that offered a less static notion of love than many previous poets. However, his view is often a somewhat egotistical view, with the stress on male ownership of women, defining "maleness" against "femaleness" and suggesting the primacy of the man rather than an equal partnership in love. In a sense, the achievement of Donne was to resituate the love poem outside the boundaries of the palace, as it were - that is, outside the courtly tradition. Sanders speaks of Donne's poetry in terms of "the self-exploratory role-playing and the swaggering behind a defensive mask; the perfection of art bordering upon human nullity; the treacherous manipulation of irony and the spectacle of the ironist betrayed" (50). For centuries Catholicism had dictated both secular and religious values throughout Europe, but the Reformation had offered a different, Protestant, view of the world, and the metaphysical poets were helping to establish this view. Seventeenth-century metaphysical lyricists wrote as though they were turning new ground, and their individual style developed partly in response to the task of situating the English lyric more firmly within the relatively new tradition of Protestantism. The emphasis on individual experience mentioned above in relation to love poetry was also an important element of Protestant religious experience. The religious controversies in England (and elsewhere) revolved around matters of the individual conscience in religious matters, as opposed to the supremacy of the Church's authority. In the work of a key metaphysical poet such as Donne religious poetry and love poetry were not mutually exclusive, and each might contain elements of the other. According to the twentieth-century poet TS Eliot, this reflected the more flexible cultural pattern of Donne's time. Eliot calls this new fragmented sense of life "the dissociation of sensibility", when "the integration of thought and feeling began to disappear from literature" as well. As Eliot says, thought to Donne was an experience: it modified his sensibility... the ordinary man [today]... falls in love, or reads Spinoza, and these two experiences have nothing to do with each other, or with the noise of the typewriter or the smell of cooking; in the mind of the poet these experiences are always forming new wholes. (The Metaphysical Poets, 287) Not surprisingly, the themes of rebellion and instability are prominent in 17th century English poetry. Many of the metaphysical poets wrote against the backdrop of revolutionary political developments: continuous internal conflict, the impeachment and beheading (1649) of King Charles I, and the Civil War which followed this and produced, for a while, a radically changed form of government which excluded kingship (1642-1660). Andrew Marvell (1621-1678), another of the Metaphysical poets, in 1657 was appointed as an assistant to the blind Latin secretary for the Commonwealth, John Milton (who wrote Paradise Lost, which you will be reading during your English 278 course). Milton supported the beheading of the King and the establishment of the Commonwealth under Cromwell. After the restoration of kingship in 1660, Marvell helped to save Milton from jail. Most of Marvell's poetry was published after his death, by a woman who was probably his housekeeper. " Playful, casual, and witty in tone, always light on its metrical feet and exact in its diction, Marvell's verse displays depth and intellectual hardness in unexpected places; its texture is extraordinarily rich" (M.H. Abrams, "Andrew Marvell", p. 1415) The 17th century was a fruitful period for the lyric, both secular and religious. During this time, the lyric developed into a highly polished, formalized, self-conscious, self -questioning form which subverted and played with the courtly conventions (remember, the court had, for a while, disappeared), while also providing fertile soil for innovative poetic exploration. Note: Critics often make a distinction between the poet and the persona/ speaker in a poem, since we cannot usually assume that the persona's thoughts and experience are those of the poet. However, this distinction becomes a difficult one to make when dealing with some lyric poetry. Sources: Abrams, M.H., "Andrew Marvell", The Norton Anthology of English Literature (New York: Norton, 1993). Eliot, T.S., "The Metaphysical Poets", Selected Essays, London: Faber, 1951. Parfitt, George. English Poetry of the Seventeenth Century. London: Longman, 1992. Sanders, Wilbur. John Donne's Poetry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971.

S – Spirit flowing through our lives A – Adoration of the divine presence C – Communion with one another and God R – Reflection on mysteries revealed A – Awe and wonder in sacred moments M – Mystery of grace unfolding E – Eucharist of love and unity N – Nurture of soul and spirit T – Transformation by divine encounter

Iambs are metrical feet in poetry consisting of two syllables, with the first syllable unstressed and the second syllable stressed. An example of an iambic word is "today," where the stress falls on the second syllable. Iambic meter is commonly used in English poetry.

Absolute music.

The Latin word for stanza is "versus."

Mrs. Mallard brought her son a coat every year in the story "The Prince and the Pauper" by Mark Twain.

Robert Browning uses dramatic monologue in "My Last Duchess" to reveal the character of the Duke through his own words and perspective. This technique allows for an exploration of the Duke's personality, motivations, and relationships with others through his speech.

Dual-Processing theory

In "The Philosophy of Composition," Edgar Allan Poe states that he decided on the death of the woman in "The Raven" as the first element of the poem. He then built the narrative around this central idea of mourning and loss.

A. My grave is like to be my wedding bed.

Kenyon Clutter is one of the four children of Herb and Bonnie Clutter in Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood." He is described as a sensitive and artistic teenager who is deeply affected by the murders. Kenyon's character serves as a representation of innocence lost and the impact of violence on a family.

that the speaker has come to terms with their grief and found solace and acceptance in the ending. The resolution of the poem may leave the reader with a sense of closure and understanding of the emotional journey described in the poem.