William Butler Yeats provides us a humorous take on Love. In speaking with a bishop, crazy Jane shares her opinion on the matter of love. “Those breasts are flat and fallen now / Those veins must soon be dry; / Live in a heavenly mansion, / Not in some foul sty.” (line 3 – 6). I think this is the bishop speaking. He is telling her that she is old and should be thinking about her salvation. She responds that she is old and there is no one else to take care of her. her friends have moved on or died. “My friends are gone, but that’s a truth, / nor grave nor bed denied.” (line 9 & 10). A woman has to do what she can to survive if a husband does not care for her. “A woman can be proud and stiff / when on love intent;” (line 13 & 14). A young woman can act in a lady- like manner to attract a husband. Jane is old so silly things like love do not matter to her. “But Love has pitched his mansion in / The place of excrement” (line 15 &16). Jane feels this love stuff is a pile of crap literally. She does not subscribe to the ideals of love anymore.
Perhaps this was written from years of unrequited love for Maude Gonne. Yeats wrote her many letters over 50 years and asked her to marry him. She did not return his affection. This poem was written later in his life and perhaps like many older people his tact button had worn down a bit. I feel sorry for anyone who does not have someone to share their life with. Love really is something that grows into something completely different. Love is fiery and powerful when a couple first marries that almost hurts, and places a pit of fear and excitement in your belly. After a few years, a dampened fire that warms you from the inside replaces this love. The huge flames can still be fanned to consume you and renew your passion. It brings a smile to your face, and peace replaces the pit of fear. After many years, that warm flame is more or less a single ember with more strength and power than a forest fire. Respect, admiration, and complete adoration replace the intense passion of the early years. A powerful and wonderful friendship blossoms between you. I learned this from observing my parents relationship over the last 40 years. This is the example I have to base my opinions. It is what I have experienced in my marriage of almost 18 years.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Chance
Life can sometimes be left up to chance. In his poem Hap, which means chance, Thomas Hardy writes about the misfortune chance can bring. Life can bring negative characters into our midst. The poor fellow speaking in the poem has come upon some unsavory characters in his travels.
The speaker in the poem says he could take strife better if it would God causing it. “Know that thy sorrow is my ecstacy, / That, thy love’s loss is my hate’s profiting! / Then would I bear it, clench myself, and die, “(line 3 – 5). He feels that if it would God’s vengeance causing him sorrow he would take it knowing that it was from a more powerful being than himself. He knows it is chance that has brought him this pain. “These purblind Doomsters had as readily strown / Blissses about my pilgrimage as pain.” (line 13 & 14). This poor traveler has come across some gamblers that treated him badly. “And dicing Time for gladness casts a moan” (line 12). He either gave into temptation and cannot pay his gambling debts. It is also possible he has come across unscrupulous characters that are taking advantage of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whichever the case this man has not been dealt a fair hand by Chance.
Sometimes bad things happen to good people. In this poem that is what I think happened to the speaker. We see victims of crimes on the news daily. Crime is an unfortunate bedfellow for some, especially during an economic recession. People can be taken advantage of, just like this man in the poem.
The speaker in the poem says he could take strife better if it would God causing it. “Know that thy sorrow is my ecstacy, / That, thy love’s loss is my hate’s profiting! / Then would I bear it, clench myself, and die, “(line 3 – 5). He feels that if it would God’s vengeance causing him sorrow he would take it knowing that it was from a more powerful being than himself. He knows it is chance that has brought him this pain. “These purblind Doomsters had as readily strown / Blissses about my pilgrimage as pain.” (line 13 & 14). This poor traveler has come across some gamblers that treated him badly. “And dicing Time for gladness casts a moan” (line 12). He either gave into temptation and cannot pay his gambling debts. It is also possible he has come across unscrupulous characters that are taking advantage of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whichever the case this man has not been dealt a fair hand by Chance.
Sometimes bad things happen to good people. In this poem that is what I think happened to the speaker. We see victims of crimes on the news daily. Crime is an unfortunate bedfellow for some, especially during an economic recession. People can be taken advantage of, just like this man in the poem.
Is There Nothing Worse Than Death?
Gerard Manley Hopkins writes about death in his poem No Worst, There is None. He speaks about death as if there is nothing worse. He focuses on the anguish and torment of death. He seeks the comforter and receives none. I think he may be referring to the death of Christ.
In the first line we are introduced to the author’s position on death. “No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief.” (line 1) The author is devastated beyond grief over his loss. What makes me think this poem may be about Christ is his reference to Mary. “Mary, mother of us, where is your relief?” (line 4). He talks about the importance of the person who died “My cries heave, herds-long. Huddle in a main, a chief / Woe, world-sorrow; on an age-old anvil wince and sing -.” (line 5 & 6). The death of Christ would be a world sorrow and an age old anvil.” This is something we celebrate each year. Easter is an important part of our religious culture. His death before his resurrection was horrible. This is especially horrific, because we were responsible for his death. Our sins put him there. It wasn’t just for the sinners two thousand years ago, it was for everyone, for eternity. Because of Christ’s sacrifice we are sentenced to death each time we sin. “Wretch, under a comfort serves in a whirlwind: all / Life death does end and each day dies with sleep. Each day we sleep, our sins are forgiven and the death sentence released. We are forgiven each day for our transgressions. Christ’s death was a beautiful sacrifice to save humanity from itself. I think there are plenty of worse things than Christ’s death. His death allows me to live.
Is there anything worse than death? I think there can be. What about the shell of a woman that used to be my grandmother, who does not know who her children are? She gets no enjoyment out of life. She sits in her chair trapped, in her head full of memories. She is nearly 90 years old and legally blind. There is no relief for her except death. The worst for her is that her body won’t give up what her mental faculties have abandoned over a year ago. How can death be terrible for her? Is having a beating heart really mean we are living? It pains me to see life and death torturing her. Life for making her continue in this emaciated way, and death for staying just out of reach from her. When God does take her home, I will not be crying tears of grief. Those tears will be from the joy of knowing she has been released from her prison and finally free.
In the first line we are introduced to the author’s position on death. “No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief.” (line 1) The author is devastated beyond grief over his loss. What makes me think this poem may be about Christ is his reference to Mary. “Mary, mother of us, where is your relief?” (line 4). He talks about the importance of the person who died “My cries heave, herds-long. Huddle in a main, a chief / Woe, world-sorrow; on an age-old anvil wince and sing -.” (line 5 & 6). The death of Christ would be a world sorrow and an age old anvil.” This is something we celebrate each year. Easter is an important part of our religious culture. His death before his resurrection was horrible. This is especially horrific, because we were responsible for his death. Our sins put him there. It wasn’t just for the sinners two thousand years ago, it was for everyone, for eternity. Because of Christ’s sacrifice we are sentenced to death each time we sin. “Wretch, under a comfort serves in a whirlwind: all / Life death does end and each day dies with sleep. Each day we sleep, our sins are forgiven and the death sentence released. We are forgiven each day for our transgressions. Christ’s death was a beautiful sacrifice to save humanity from itself. I think there are plenty of worse things than Christ’s death. His death allows me to live.
Is there anything worse than death? I think there can be. What about the shell of a woman that used to be my grandmother, who does not know who her children are? She gets no enjoyment out of life. She sits in her chair trapped, in her head full of memories. She is nearly 90 years old and legally blind. There is no relief for her except death. The worst for her is that her body won’t give up what her mental faculties have abandoned over a year ago. How can death be terrible for her? Is having a beating heart really mean we are living? It pains me to see life and death torturing her. Life for making her continue in this emaciated way, and death for staying just out of reach from her. When God does take her home, I will not be crying tears of grief. Those tears will be from the joy of knowing she has been released from her prison and finally free.
The Importance of Being Earnest
The word earnest has a moral connotation. It means a serious and intent mental state. The irony of the play is that each character was not being earnest. They were all being deceptive with themselves and others. The two main characters who seem to have the most difficulty with being earnest were Algy and Jack. I have not found a truly good reason for being deceptive. Ultimately, it ends up hurting all people involved. Algy and Jack each had reasons for their deception.
Algy was a bachelor and used deception to go only to events that suited him. He made up a person by the name of Bunbury to blame his absence on. When a social engagement came up that Algy had no intention of attending, his friend Mr. Bunbury would get very ill. He reveals this to us when speaking to Jack.
“You have invented a very useful younger brother called Ernest, in order that you may be able to come up to town as often as you like. I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down in to the country whenever I choose. Burnbury is perfectly invaluable. If it wasn’t for Bunbury’s extraordinary bad health, for instance, I wouldn’t be able to dine with you at Willis’s tonight, for I have been really engaged to Aunt Augusta for more than a week.” (page 852).
Jack on the other had created a brother named Ernest. He tells his friend Algy that when raising a young girl it is necessary to be a good example. His brother Ernest gets into trouble and is not a good example. “My dear Algy, I don’t know whether you will be able to understand my real motives. You are hardly serious enough. When one is placed in the position of guardian, one has to adopt a very high moral tone on all subjects. It’s one’s duty to do so. And as a high moral tone can hardly be said to conduce very much to either one’s health or one’s happiness, in order to get up to town I have always pretended to have a younger brother of the name of Ernest, who lives in the Albany, and gets into the most dreadful scrapes. That, my dear Algy is the whole truth pure and simple.” (page 852).
In the country he is required to be a good moral example for his ward, Cecily. In the city however he can be Ernest and act in a manner he prefers.
As a teacher I will be held to a higher moral code then most other occupations. I am in charge of educating our future leaders. I will have to be careful to conduct myself respectfully in public. I am not much of a drinker but my husband enjoys an occasional beer now and then. I worry about having beer in my shopping cart. What if I see a student or their parents? They may not have an issue with it, but it tarnishes me a little in their eyes. I understand why Algy and Jack made up other characters. It allowed them to escape their lives for a short period of time. This is certainly not something any of us could get away with today. We are too plugged in to the grid to make up a character for an escape from reality.
Algy was a bachelor and used deception to go only to events that suited him. He made up a person by the name of Bunbury to blame his absence on. When a social engagement came up that Algy had no intention of attending, his friend Mr. Bunbury would get very ill. He reveals this to us when speaking to Jack.
“You have invented a very useful younger brother called Ernest, in order that you may be able to come up to town as often as you like. I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down in to the country whenever I choose. Burnbury is perfectly invaluable. If it wasn’t for Bunbury’s extraordinary bad health, for instance, I wouldn’t be able to dine with you at Willis’s tonight, for I have been really engaged to Aunt Augusta for more than a week.” (page 852).
Jack on the other had created a brother named Ernest. He tells his friend Algy that when raising a young girl it is necessary to be a good example. His brother Ernest gets into trouble and is not a good example. “My dear Algy, I don’t know whether you will be able to understand my real motives. You are hardly serious enough. When one is placed in the position of guardian, one has to adopt a very high moral tone on all subjects. It’s one’s duty to do so. And as a high moral tone can hardly be said to conduce very much to either one’s health or one’s happiness, in order to get up to town I have always pretended to have a younger brother of the name of Ernest, who lives in the Albany, and gets into the most dreadful scrapes. That, my dear Algy is the whole truth pure and simple.” (page 852).
In the country he is required to be a good moral example for his ward, Cecily. In the city however he can be Ernest and act in a manner he prefers.
As a teacher I will be held to a higher moral code then most other occupations. I am in charge of educating our future leaders. I will have to be careful to conduct myself respectfully in public. I am not much of a drinker but my husband enjoys an occasional beer now and then. I worry about having beer in my shopping cart. What if I see a student or their parents? They may not have an issue with it, but it tarnishes me a little in their eyes. I understand why Algy and Jack made up other characters. It allowed them to escape their lives for a short period of time. This is certainly not something any of us could get away with today. We are too plugged in to the grid to make up a character for an escape from reality.
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