Sonnet 130

Secondly, if the outer space is the physical representation of Roland’s inner psyche then one could say that these nightmarish places are the representation of his broken mind. For example, the main feature of the land is the wasteland. As in the ninth stanza Roland says: “Than, pausing to throw backward a last view/O’er the safe road, ‘t was gone; gray plain all round:” (IX. 3-4), which another possible clue that Roland is mad, as there is nothing left behind him, only a wasteland. It could be…

John Donne’s “Death Be Not Proud” and Anne Finch’s “To Death” personify the abstraction of death through their manipulation of apostrophe and figurative language. Their vivid descriptions extend beyond a mere conversation with death, revealing their inner thoughts toward the inevitable demise of every human. Though examining the same theme, Donne and Finch develop vastly different tones. Donne’s tone of defiance juxtaposes Finch’s tone of resignation, cultivating these through the use of…

Old English literature, also referred to as Anglo-Saxon literature, can be described as gloomy or grim. These writings reflected the emotions and conflicts the people were experiencing during this time. Two examples of Anglo-Saxon literature that are very alike are “The Wanderer” and “The Wife’s Lament”. “The Wanderer” and “The Wife’s Lament” are similar in their elegiac tone, theme, and form of writing. Many Anglo-Saxon poems contain a certain mournful tone that longs for the past. This tone,…

The poem Landscape and the Fall of Icarus by William Carlos Williams is based off of a painting by the same name. It invokes similar imagery and emotions, while emphasizing the insignificance of Icarus’s death. Although the poem briefly mentions Icarus in the first stanza, he is only acknowledged once more in the final line. The remaining four stanzas focus on describing the setting. Williams speaks of “a farmer… ploughing his field,” and of how “the whole pageantry of the year was tingling…

"The Passionate Shepherd to his Love" (Christopher Marlowe) and "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" (Sir Walter Raleigh) are both wonderful poems that state that love can have many different perspectives. They both emphasize that these two characters love each other, and that they have intense feelings for each other. Although they emphasize the same thing, they both have many differences. Not only that, but the poems also have things that are absent from each other. Marlowe's poem has many…

Pablo Neruda, a well-known romanticist and poet of the 20th century, had produced many works throughout his lifetime. Many of his poems contain metaphors, personification, and other literary devices that express his ideas. Neruda’s poems are often and unsurprisingly described as “playful”, in both form and expression. This is evident though two common themes in his pieces- those regarding women, and those dedicated to everyday objects. Many of Neruda’s poems, including those in his collection…

In 1919, El Lissitzky would create one of his most successful propaganda posters. Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge was a major breakthrough that showcases El Lissitzky’s new ideas on constructivism. This poster was produced in the same year that Lissitzky would paint his first Proun. He had a fascination with type that led him to the idea of combining the geometry of the Proun with typography. (6. Pg.254) However, it’s important to note that this work is actually not considered to be, or…

When Roland Barthes casts his bone into the Rue Servadoni, he is performing the symbolic act of act of letting go. When Boltanski builds shrines to his past self, he too is trying to cast something away from himself, in a process of mourning and of consolidating. Whether we feel the need to dispose of them or hold on to them, there is no denying the ceremony around these objects- the agency they hold and importance they play for us. Our urge to collect, forever juxtaposed with our urge to be…

The ‘Miniver Cheevy’ The narrative poem, Miniver Cheevy, was written by Edwin A. Robinson. It was first published in 1910. The poem tells the tale of a despairing lover who spends his days contemplating how things would have been had he been born earlier. Although the poem affords no exact setting, a reader will get to know that Cheevy lives in the fictional town Tilbury, which is quite similar to Robinson’s hometown in Maine. Robinson has maintained the use of this town in several of his poems…

A lingering sense of hopelessness is embedded within the human condition, manifesting itself in various ways depending on the person. This sense of hopelessness is delved into constantly within literature, although most poignantly though the works of Bobbi Sykes, Edgar Allan Poe, Wilfred Owen, and Seamus Heaney. Both Sykes and Poe utilise the poetic device of symbolism as to generate a persistent feeling of futility throughout their works. Through the emphasis of both the magnificence and…