Lament

Certain images or motifs invoke certain feelings. Movies use rain to signify sadness. Bunnies and baby animals are symbols of innocence and rebirth, especially around springtime. Using imagery to evoke a certain feeling is a powerful tool, as it can cause the reader to emotionally connect with a composition. Edgar Allen Poe uses imagery masterfully in The Raven to lace his poem with a melancholy mood. Without it, The Raven would falter and lose its layered depth. The Raven begins in a room,…

“Do you want to start out?” asks Fred Hiatt, an editor at the Washington Post. “No,” Trump replies, and then starts out. He reminds Hiatt that he’s been “treated very, very badly by the Washington Post,” but quickly moves on to talk about an upcoming press conference, or rather, the building that the conference would be held in. It’s owned by him, and after telling Hiatt about the high quality of marble that will be used once it’s finished, Trump concludes, “I know how to build. I know how to…

In general, people make mistakes that usually lead to even worse actions in the future. In the tragic play, Macbeth, William Shakespeare suggests that just one criminal act leads to other unintended actions. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth unwillingly kills Duncan with a vast amount of internal conflict and experiences much guilt before and after the murder. Later, Macbeth’s panicking leads to him murdering Duncan’s guards and his desire for safety results in the death Banquo. Finally,…

Chaucer recounts the story of Aeneas and Dido using contrasting elements of both Virgil’s Aeneid and Ovid’s Heroides. While the Aeneid presents Aeneas as making a noble sacrifice on behalf of his gods and his people, the Heroides’ recount of Dido’s lament paints Aeneas as a selfish lecher. The uneasy interweaving of these warring texts leaves the dreamer, the reader of the temple walls, unsure of whether to forgive or to condemn Aeneas (426-430, 293-295). The confusion of this reader,…

In this psalm, David praises God, but he still cries out to God for deliverance. These concepts confuse many people. In everyday life, people are confused why Christians can praise God through trials. David has probably been furthering this confusion through this psalm. However, I believe that David’s praise of God illustrates that God is worth following and knowing even if our worldly circumstances do not change. In fact, following God can sometimes cause worldly circumstances to become worse,…

This essay will discuss Baudelaire’s exploration of nineteenth century Paris, making detailed references and discussing a variety of poems from the section entitled “Tableaux Parisiens” of Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal. Charles Baudelaire is one of the most compelling poets of the nineteenth century, praised for his modernist innovative style and often shocking subject matter the poet is acclaimed for his interactions and observations with every aspect of Parisian life. In “Tableaux…

narrative and context. Homer’s The Odyssey is an epic poem composed in the eighth century Before Christ, detailing the nostos—or homecoming—of the hero Odysseus after the Trojan War, while tales of Wayland, such as in the tenth century Old English lament Deor , the tenth century Old Norse poem Völundarkviða and the thirteenth century Old Norse prose narrative The Story of Velent the Smith , tell of the remarkable metalworker’s escape from the clutches of a wicked king. While the category of…

Scholars often refer to Housman’s poem in two ways, as an elegy and as a dramatic monologue. How would you describe the poem? (Elegy: a poem of lament or somber reflection. Dramatic Monologue: poem where the speaker assumes a character, revealed in speech, in relation to a significant event) - I think that this poem is a dramatic monologue. Because instead of putting himself as a poem he put himself…

Symbolism, Literary Style and Form in John Donne’s ‘The Flea’ ‘The Flea’ is a satirical love poem by medieval poet John Donne. In the poem, the speaker uses the flea as an example in attempts to persuade his lover into having intercourse with him. While the poem is humorous and satirical in nature, the poem is also one that is both erotic and uses some important literary devices and reflects upon the experience of love and romance in medieval Europe. The speaker in his attempts to persuade his…

In “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell laments that the English language has deteriorated over time. He is particularly frustrated with the misleading and abusive language used by the politicians, especially in the context of the wars and economic issues that were prevalent in the 1940s. In “The World of Doublespeak,” William Lutz elaborates on the same idea, but terms it “doublespeak.” He describes four different types of “doublespeak” and how they are being used to misinform…