Eros by Robert Bridges and Anne Stevenson are both well crafted poems that are based around the story of Eros the Greek god. Throughout both poems the authors use a great deal of tone indicators, beginning with a question, and being told from the point of view of a women.
Both tones of the poem hold a different response to the God of Love. Stevenson holds a much more disappointed tone towards Eros in the first stanza the line "Eros my bully boy" is used revering to the boys actions towards others in a more hurtful rather then caring way. Later the poem goes into farther disappointment towards him with his explanation towards the reasoning his face looks the way it does. He makes a very self centered statement towards the speaker, that the "blows" of lust from the speaker has caused his terrible appearance. As the poem comes to an end the speaker is very disappointed in the idea of love and the way that it can rot or be dissolved with loss. Her tone stays the same throughout the poem no matter who the speaker telling the story might be. Bridges begins with a much different approach then Stevenson by beginning with a more complementary tone then disappointed. The speaker begins with stating ever quality that Eros has to make the blow to come off a lot less harsh. For explain she uses complimentary words like "proud dress," "flesh so fair," and "idol of the human race" all of these help convey the speakers tone towards Eros. Though as the poem progresses the speaker becomes concerned with the thoughts of Eros and begins to question the God himself. This creates a more thoughtful and concerning tone rather than depressing like the other poem held.
With Bridges version of the poem, the question of why the God of love isn't showing any emotion is the forefront of the poem. This is creating a dreamy and elevated tone towards the God to portray that though he isn't being himself he is still held on a very high pedestal towards the rest of the world. Ironically the ending question creates an "ironic tone" the concern becomes so strong that the question is asked to provided Eros a way to express his feelings. Stevenson poem also begins with a question this time to show the women's disappointment towards the love she is receiving from Eros himself prompting the hurtful feeling towards him. Later this shifts into a shaming of the women herself for even thinking that she could say the things she did about Eros.
But what I believe is a key piece to both poems as a whole is the speakers are both women showing their feelings towards the God himself. Stevenson portrays Eros as a much more meticulous and evil figure who holds a more self-centered attitude towards lust and love. Later the poem switches to the point of view of Eros who tries to turn her attitude towards him into blaming her that her actions are the reason she can't find the type of love she would like. Bridges shows a different perception of women. She holds him in a very high place with lots of complements towards him, rather then hate she has a more caring attitude towards him. She later becomes more concerned rather than hateful and resentful towards him.
Eros the god of love can be portrayed as a hateful and spiteful man but also a caring man in need of love himself. Tone, Speaker, and questions all play key roles throughout the poems to create a different yet similar story line.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Monday, November 23, 2015
Blog:13 Paired Poetry revision
In William Blake's two versions of the poem "The Chimney Sweeper" he uses a strong tone, interesting imagery, and irony to bring the two different stories to life.
The tone in both poems holds a very quiet and sad tone to play off the child's innocence and show you what particular things seem to bring them trust in the world. Though in the 1789 poem the child is on his own with the other group of children the only real adult figures he has left is God. Yet towards the end of this particular poem the tone does a total 180 and he seems to become more aware and hopefully towards the world that he is living in. The angel coming down to help his lost friends brought a sense of the child's innocence back into the poem, because though he may seem to be in a hard place he still hold this sense of naive attitude toward the idea that God will safe him from all things bad. Unlike in the 1794 poem that shows a much different side of the story for most of the children working like this but is really showing what the other himself feels about the idea of child labor within the Chimneys. The tone continues to be sad and show a felling of dismay and misunderstanding towards the parents and what they are doing. The lack of trust that his poem shows to anyone beyond himself his shown through the words '.....,"......"........
In both poems the image of God is a key piece to the entirety of the poem, but rather then God holding the same meaning to both the children they hold completely different meanings. In the first version of the poem published in 1789, God takes them away from all the harm and horrible things that are happening to these poor children that can't help do anything to help themselves. Line 20 says "He'd have God for his father and never want joy." This shows that no matter the situation that has been happening around them their father, though they might not have one by blood, would be God himself and that is all that they needed to have a fulfilling life even with the horrible job. Angels earlier in the poem were sent to set 4 of his friends free from the "coffins of black" that they had been locked in. Now they are playing around in Heaven, by stating this the lack of fear the boys have towards death as a child rather a sense of hope in the after life is readily portrayed. The innocence that death is okay because God will be there and Heaven is filled with "Sunshine and rainbows" is the bases of this poem, but that is not at all the case in the poem that was published in 1794 who uses the image of God as a source of misery to the children rather then a hopeful outlook to the afterlife in Heaven. The Child still has parental sources in there life but they are to busy praising God to help keep that child out of harms way. Just because the boy doesn't show the parents the ideal picture of dismay towards his job they believe that God has blessed them, but the child already knows that the parents have brought him closer to death through the work he has been doing. The innocence this child once held has disappeared rather then progressed like in the previous poem, the child no longer holds a sense of being naive towards the unknown. God is the cause of his misery rather then his hope towards a happy ending, the world has turned him dark. In many religions God is who created the Heaven and Earth the person that chooses your so said circumstances that you must live with, yet in this case he was dealt a worse hand then most children. With the Child's knowledge of how God is the creator of all things good and evil he portrays God as a man of Evil and the cause of total misery. His feelings towards the word his living in though he still laughs and smiles like everybody else shows his view of the live he lives.
Irony is the key to the complex attitude throughout the world of literature and that happens to be very present within these two poems. In the very first version the ideal image would be the child has this sense of hope towards his future and getting away from the place he is currently in, but rather he looks much farther then that all the way to what will happen to him after death.
The tone in both poems holds a very quiet and sad tone to play off the child's innocence and show you what particular things seem to bring them trust in the world. Though in the 1789 poem the child is on his own with the other group of children the only real adult figures he has left is God. Yet towards the end of this particular poem the tone does a total 180 and he seems to become more aware and hopefully towards the world that he is living in. The angel coming down to help his lost friends brought a sense of the child's innocence back into the poem, because though he may seem to be in a hard place he still hold this sense of naive attitude toward the idea that God will safe him from all things bad. Unlike in the 1794 poem that shows a much different side of the story for most of the children working like this but is really showing what the other himself feels about the idea of child labor within the Chimneys. The tone continues to be sad and show a felling of dismay and misunderstanding towards the parents and what they are doing. The lack of trust that his poem shows to anyone beyond himself his shown through the words '.....,"......"........
In both poems the image of God is a key piece to the entirety of the poem, but rather then God holding the same meaning to both the children they hold completely different meanings. In the first version of the poem published in 1789, God takes them away from all the harm and horrible things that are happening to these poor children that can't help do anything to help themselves. Line 20 says "He'd have God for his father and never want joy." This shows that no matter the situation that has been happening around them their father, though they might not have one by blood, would be God himself and that is all that they needed to have a fulfilling life even with the horrible job. Angels earlier in the poem were sent to set 4 of his friends free from the "coffins of black" that they had been locked in. Now they are playing around in Heaven, by stating this the lack of fear the boys have towards death as a child rather a sense of hope in the after life is readily portrayed. The innocence that death is okay because God will be there and Heaven is filled with "Sunshine and rainbows" is the bases of this poem, but that is not at all the case in the poem that was published in 1794 who uses the image of God as a source of misery to the children rather then a hopeful outlook to the afterlife in Heaven. The Child still has parental sources in there life but they are to busy praising God to help keep that child out of harms way. Just because the boy doesn't show the parents the ideal picture of dismay towards his job they believe that God has blessed them, but the child already knows that the parents have brought him closer to death through the work he has been doing. The innocence this child once held has disappeared rather then progressed like in the previous poem, the child no longer holds a sense of being naive towards the unknown. God is the cause of his misery rather then his hope towards a happy ending, the world has turned him dark. In many religions God is who created the Heaven and Earth the person that chooses your so said circumstances that you must live with, yet in this case he was dealt a worse hand then most children. With the Child's knowledge of how God is the creator of all things good and evil he portrays God as a man of Evil and the cause of total misery. His feelings towards the word his living in though he still laughs and smiles like everybody else shows his view of the live he lives.
Irony is the key to the complex attitude throughout the world of literature and that happens to be very present within these two poems. In the very first version the ideal image would be the child has this sense of hope towards his future and getting away from the place he is currently in, but rather he looks much farther then that all the way to what will happen to him after death.
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Blog 12; Paired Poetry
In William Blake's two different versions of the poem "The Chimney Sweeper" he uses a strong tone, interesting imagery, and irony to bring a complex attitude to both poems yet holding completely different meanings.
The tone in both poems holds a very quiet and sad tone to play off the child's innocence and show you what particular things seem to bring them trust in the world. Though in the 1789 poem the child is on his own with the other group of children the only real adult figures he has left is God and the people he must work for. Yet towards the end of this particular poem the tone does a total 180 and seems to become more aware and hopefully towards the world that they are living in. Unlike in the 1794 poem that shows a much different side of the story for most of the children working like this. The tone continues to be sad and show a felling of dismay and misunderstanding towards the parents and what they are doing.
In both poems the image of God is a key piece to the entirety of the poem but rather then God holding the same meaning to the children they hold complete opposite meanings. In the first version of the poem God takes them away from all the harm and horrible things that are happening to these poor children that can't help the situations they have been put in. Line 20 says "He'd have God for his father and never want joy." This shows that no matter the situation that has been happening around them there father though they might not have one by blood would be God himself and that is all that they needed. Angels earlier in the poem were sent to set 4 of his friends free from the coffins of black that they had been locked in and now they are playing around in Heaven this shows the lack of fear the boys have towards death as a child. The innocence that death is okay because God will be there and Heaven is filled with "Sunshine and rainbows" is the bases of this poem but that is not the case in the poem that was published in 1794 who uses the image of God as a source of misery to the children rather then a hopeful outlook at Heaven. The Child still has a parental sources in there life but they are to busy praising God to help keep that child out of harms way. Just because the boy doesn't show is parents this ideal picture of dismay towards his job they believe that God has blessed them, but the child already knows that the parents have brought him closer to death through the work he has been doing. The innocence this child once held has disappeared rather then progressed like in the previous poem. God is the cause of his misery rather then his hope towards a good ending, the world has turned him dark.
Overall the poems are ironic that the idea of a chimney sweep is to clean a black covered object. The smoke represents a way to death that the boys are being put right into without a second thought. Smoke is deadly to inhale but the money talked louder then the health risks.
Reflection: I would give myself a 3 or 4 seeing as I never seemed to have a complete thought about any of the pieces I decided to use to compare and contrast the two poems. My biggest focus within the poem was how the use of God was heavily present in both poems. Though this was a key idea I feel as though I could of better described my other two pieces that I detected within the poem which were tone and irony. Going all the way to the beginning with my thesis, it was a very simply stated thesis that didn't go into much detail nor had a complex comparative structure. Moving to the end of my essay I don't have a conclusion which is a very important part when it comes tying the essay together as a whole. As a whole my essay seems to be very fragmented and incomplete and I wouldn't give myself a very high score.
The tone in both poems holds a very quiet and sad tone to play off the child's innocence and show you what particular things seem to bring them trust in the world. Though in the 1789 poem the child is on his own with the other group of children the only real adult figures he has left is God and the people he must work for. Yet towards the end of this particular poem the tone does a total 180 and seems to become more aware and hopefully towards the world that they are living in. Unlike in the 1794 poem that shows a much different side of the story for most of the children working like this. The tone continues to be sad and show a felling of dismay and misunderstanding towards the parents and what they are doing.
In both poems the image of God is a key piece to the entirety of the poem but rather then God holding the same meaning to the children they hold complete opposite meanings. In the first version of the poem God takes them away from all the harm and horrible things that are happening to these poor children that can't help the situations they have been put in. Line 20 says "He'd have God for his father and never want joy." This shows that no matter the situation that has been happening around them there father though they might not have one by blood would be God himself and that is all that they needed. Angels earlier in the poem were sent to set 4 of his friends free from the coffins of black that they had been locked in and now they are playing around in Heaven this shows the lack of fear the boys have towards death as a child. The innocence that death is okay because God will be there and Heaven is filled with "Sunshine and rainbows" is the bases of this poem but that is not the case in the poem that was published in 1794 who uses the image of God as a source of misery to the children rather then a hopeful outlook at Heaven. The Child still has a parental sources in there life but they are to busy praising God to help keep that child out of harms way. Just because the boy doesn't show is parents this ideal picture of dismay towards his job they believe that God has blessed them, but the child already knows that the parents have brought him closer to death through the work he has been doing. The innocence this child once held has disappeared rather then progressed like in the previous poem. God is the cause of his misery rather then his hope towards a good ending, the world has turned him dark.
Overall the poems are ironic that the idea of a chimney sweep is to clean a black covered object. The smoke represents a way to death that the boys are being put right into without a second thought. Smoke is deadly to inhale but the money talked louder then the health risks.
Reflection: I would give myself a 3 or 4 seeing as I never seemed to have a complete thought about any of the pieces I decided to use to compare and contrast the two poems. My biggest focus within the poem was how the use of God was heavily present in both poems. Though this was a key idea I feel as though I could of better described my other two pieces that I detected within the poem which were tone and irony. Going all the way to the beginning with my thesis, it was a very simply stated thesis that didn't go into much detail nor had a complex comparative structure. Moving to the end of my essay I don't have a conclusion which is a very important part when it comes tying the essay together as a whole. As a whole my essay seems to be very fragmented and incomplete and I wouldn't give myself a very high score.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
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