Natural Beauty

In "The World Is Too Much with Us", William Wordsworth criticizes his materialistic society and its disregard towards the beauty and importance of nature. Wordsworth explains that people no longer appreciate the raw materials nature provides. Instead, they exchange among each other, "getting and giving" goods instead of making them. "We lay waste our powers" and contribute nothing to the world. Wordsworth even goes so far as to say "we have given our hearts away". He argues that our neglect to remember the importance of nature could cost us our souls. Wordsworth continues his poem describing different aspects of nature concluding that his society is "out of tune" with them. Everything in nature has a rhythm and works together, except humans. Humans have drifted from this pattern and thus are "out of tune" and off kilter. Wordsworth embraces another aspect of romanticism when he shows favor towards archaic ways and skepticism towards the modern world. He feels that his society's way of thinking is so off-kilter that he would rather be "a pagan suckled in a creed outworn". He is glorifying the old pagan ways, turning away from his modern society, and emphasizing the importance of nature.

I know I was right...right?

In “The Man He Killed” Thomas Hardy describes an encounter between two soldiers on opposite sides. One soldier shoots the other, but thinks about how things would be different had they met outside of battle: “Had he and I but met/ By some old ancient inn,/ we should have sat us down to wet/ right many a nipperkin!”. He is talking about how if they had met at a bar they would have sat around, drank, and been merry. The tone shifts to the contrary: “But ranges as infantry,/ and staring face to face, / I shot at him as he at me/ and I killed him in his place”. The speaker is saying how they were at battle, shot at each other, and the speaker killed the other man. Up until now the tone has been sure and unwavering that, yes they would have been friends outside the war, but he had to shoot him. However his tone shifts to uncertainty: “I shot him dead because—/ because he was my foe”. He wavers after “because” and restates “because he was my foe/ just so: my foe of course he was”. He is trying to reassure himself that he did the right thing, but deep down he knows just because that man was his foe does not justify murder. A continuation in the tone shift is when the speaker continue with “That’s clear enough; although/ He thought he’d ‘list, perhaps/ off-hand-like—just as I—/ Was out of work—he had sold his traps—/ No other reason why”. The speaker contemplates the probability that the man he killed was not much different from himself, thinking perhaps enlisting was this man’s only option; like himself. The next stanza is a mild shift, more of a continuation and expansion on the previous stanza: “Yes: quaint and curious war is!/ You shoot a fellow down/ You’d treat, if met where any bar is,/ Or help to a half-a-crown”. Once again he revisits the idea that if they had met at a bar the two men would drink, talk, and be merry. In conclusion, the speaker begins thinking of how things would be different if they had just met elsewhere-to-but we met in war so I killed him-to-why did I shoot him? I shot him, because he was my enemy (he is second guessing his reasoning, doubting himself)-to-thinking of how this man was probably not much different from himself-to-revisiting the nagging thought that if they had met at a bar somewhere he probably would have bought the man a drink and had a good time together.

Your body is a temple, No littering

Andrew Marvell is a metaphysical poet and as such contemplates the relationship between the soul(mind) and body. In “A Dialogue between the Soul and Body” Marvell portrays the dialogue between someone’s soul and their body. He uses imagery to paint a very clear picture of their suffering: “With bolts of bones, that fettered stands/ In feet, and manacled in hands”. The word “bolts” brings to mind something hard, cold, and heavy. “Fettered” means chained and manacles are restraints. The thought of thick, rough, cold iron gripping painfully around your wrists and ankles and restricting your movement is the image this one phrase is meant to bring to mind. The soul feels tortured and restrained in the harsh and uncomfortable body. The body responds in equal despair: “…this tyrannic soul?/ Which, stretched upright, impales me so…”. The soul “impales” the empty body. Emotions pierce the otherwise shallow and uncaring body, and force it to feel. The word upright has two meanings in this phrase. It means upright as in stretching the body uncomfortably, but also the soul gives the body a conscience. The soul knows right from wrong and forces the body to do the right thing when it would much rather follow it’s animal instincts: “…warms and moves this needless frame/ (A fever could but do the same)”. The body feels the soul is unnecessary and lives just to torture it. The soul feels the same way: “Constrained not only to endure/ Disease, but, what’s worse, the cure;/ …. Am shipwrecked into health again”. Not only is the soul forced to endure the suffering of disease, but the soul also feels tortured that it must become healthy again. The soul wants nothing more than to be free from the torturous dungeon the flesh has made and so it despairs when the body heals. Each and every sentence of this poem is filled with sharp imagery as the examples above. It causes the reader to feel the body’s and soul’s pain through the imagery.

Darling Darling

Robert Browning’s “Meeting at Night” is about a man coming to port late at night to be reunited with someone dear to him. The purpose of the poem is to relay the joy of being reunited with a significant other to the reader. Browning achieves this through captivating imagery that engages the senses. The speaker is a person who has been at sea, is returning at night, and is meeting someone. The occasion of the poem could be a special meeting between Browning and someone else. The occasion could also be that Browning observed a meeting similar to the one depicted in the poem. Browning begins the poem by describing the “gray sea and the long black land”. The ominous darkness of the land is contrasted with “the yellow half-moon large and low”, causing a dramatic image. The speaker then explains that his boat(prow) approaches the cove and is slowed to a stop by “the slushy sand”. All this imagery has imprinted the image of a dark night whose only light is the bright yellow moon.

The next stanza is very romantic as the speaker describes his journey to meet his lover. He travels “a mile of warm…beach” through fields finally to arrive at the farm. Most of the imagery above has only enticed the physical senses whereas the next stanza’s imagery and description evoke an emotional response: “ And a voice less loud, through its joys and fears, /Than the two hearts beating each to each”. The line “two hearts beating each to each” suggests the lovers’ hearts are beating as one but also reaching out to the other in excitement of the sailor’s safe return. “A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch” suggests this person is anxious because his moves are quick and precise. He wants to wake his lover without making unnecessary noise to wake others in the house. Perhaps their love is forbidden or frowned upon. Either way they are overjoyed at their reunion, struggling to keep their voices quiet as they excitedly talk of “their joys and fears”. The “joys and fears” are probably the fears of the sailor not returning or being injured and the joy is the relief their safety brings. In conclusion the purpose of the poem is to relay this image of a beautiful reunion and evoke an emotional response, perhaps reminding the reader of a similar memory.

twinkle twinkle little star

The way William Wordsworth invites us to participate in the experience his poem is about is through whimsical imagery and personification. Wordsworth begins his poem describing himself as a "lonely" cloud that "floats". It is no coincidence that he chose these two words to set the stage of his poem. When he says he is a lonely cloud the scene he is depicting is a cloudless (stereotypically beautiful) sky and clear day. He uses the term "float"; if one is floating it implies a carefree mindset, such that nothing is weighing them down. Then he notices "A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze". A “host” of flowers provides the image of a large area covered in daffodils that are gently moving in the breeze. Saying that they are "fluttering" implies the breeze is light, not a heavy wind, and most likely a pleasant temperature. He goes on to describe how the daffodils look endless like the stars. In non-urban areas there is not a piece of sky without a star in it, so once again, many daffodils, but not too many. He mentions again the movement of the flowers "tossing their heads in sprightly dance". If someone tosses their head it is usually back in laughter, hence another positive image of the flowers laughing and gently moving in the breeze. This is further supported by his use of the word "sprightly" dancing. A sprite is a fairy- very cheerful, beautiful, and graceful. He describes the lake, filling the reader’s head with the images of gently rolling waves and flowers lining the bank. He also mentions for a third time the "dancing" flowers. Wordsworth concludes his poem stating that any poet could not be anything but happy if he was in the company of such a gorgeous sight. Finishing with the statement that anytime he is sad in his home he will just think back to that image and smile.

The Age of Chivalry

No, precious creature,
I had rather crack my sinews, break my back,
Than you should such dishonor undergo
While I sit lazy by(3.1.30-33)

Ferdinand says this line after Miranda offers to help him carry the logs, and let him rest a while. His response is basically saying, no I will not let you do a man’s work where you will strain while I sit here on my lazy butt. This line is important because it shows the code of chivalry. In medieval times women were thought to have specific roles, mainly keeper of the house. While men were supposed to do all the “difficult” work such as decision-making, log-chopping, and other manual labors. Men did not allow women to do much of anything because they felt it was their duty to protect women, even from themselves. Miranda is offering to do some very difficult labor because she is so in love with Ferdinand. She isn’t thinking about the fact that with her delicate frame and lack of exercise she could very well pull her back or even break a bone by accident. Ferdinand knows this, and through his code of chivalry (not to allow women to do men’s work, and protect your woman) continues to chop and carry firewood in spite of his exhaustion. In conclusion, while it is true that the code of chivalry robbed women of their ability to govern themselves, the men did it in attempts to protect them. This quote is a prime example of the purpose and execution of chivalry.