The Individual, Faith and Society

 

Every piece of literature throughout the ages relates to the individual, faith, and society at the time. In the 17^th century John Donne was a well known poet that had a big influence on the society then and now. His two works “Song” and “The Indifferent” are both good examples of how much influence these things have on the world itself.

The poem “Song” by Donne is unique in both its form and the meaning. The nature of the individual is interesting in this poem because the narrator seems to be it their own imagination thinking about having a wife and child bearing. It seems as though the narrator is single looking for someone special to be with but is not optimistic that they will find one. The reader gets this idea from the final line in the poem saying, “Though she were true when you met her, / And last till you write your letter, yet she/ will be/ False ere I come, to two, or three.”(Donne, p. 605). It seems as though the nature of the individual is that they are pessimistic.

In the poem “The Indifferent” also by Donne it seems to have what was normal for format at the time. As the title says it seems as though throughout the poem the individual is indifferent in nature. As though they too are looking for love like the narrator in “Song” however, they are trying to make it seem as though they do not care. Donne does this in the beginning starting off by saying that the narrator could love pretty much anyone. However, because he seems to not care he does not put any effort into love. This is conveyed by saying, “Poor heretics in love there be,/ Which think to ‘stablish dangerous constancy.” (Donne, 1633, p. 607). This part makes the reader think that the narrator feels bad for the people that do fall in love because of the dangers of doing so.

Both of these poems have similar themes which are finding love. What is interesting about the two is that they are both written by the same author yet they portray two different perspectives on finding love. Donne in “Song” seems like he is happy to find love and keep looking; whereas in “Indifferent” Donne seems as though he does not care if he finds love or who he finds it with.  This nature seems to reflect in what the society thinks about the act of finding love. In one way it is important but in the other it does not really matter how one finds that special someone and or if the person they marry is really that special to them. It seems that as long as they find someone to marry that is all that matters.

Because of this fact it seems that Donne is attempting to express how society views the process of finding a mate. He makes that narrator of each poem relate to the society in such a way that they display what is important in the society. For example in “Song” where he says, “Get with child a mandrake root,”(Donne, p. 604). This part makes it clear that one of the main reasons why it is important to get married is to have child (mandrake root being thought to help women get pregnant).

Love is the biggest focus in both of these pieces and Donne does not seem to incorporate faith in either very much. The only part that seems to reflect a small part of faith in relation to the individual and society is in “Song”. He strings in a small about of faith and folk tale saying, “Or who cleft the Devil’s foot, / Teach me to hear mermaids singing,/ Or to keep off envy’s stinging,” (Donne, p. 604). In this part it seems that the individual does not relation much to faith except for their fear in what will happen after they die.

The message in these two poems seems to reflect the relationship between the individual, faith and society is interesting because it seems as though the requirement of having to get married rules the individual. It seems as though this requirement is the only thing that matters to the individual including putting faith on the back burner. However, it seems that aside from finding a mate faith is the second most important thing but it is low on the priority list until the “soul mate” is found.

Both poems “Song” and “Indifferent” by John Donne are interesting pieces that show how the people during the 17^th century relate to their society and faith. Because of how he chose to display this characteristic of the time period people today are able to fully understand the importance of finding someone to marry and continue on the family line.

References

Donne, J. (). 1633. In S. Greenblatt, & M. H. Abrams (Eds.), The Norton Anthology English Literature  (8th  ed., pp. 604-605). London: Norton & Company.

Donne, J. (1633). The Indifferent. In S. Greenblatt, & M. H. Abrams (Eds.), The Noron Anthology English Literature (8th ed., pp. 607-). London: Norton & Company.

.al-Khamisi, F. (2011). Imagery in Donne's Songs and Sonnets. Language In India, 11(7), 343-769.

Machacek, G. (1995). Donne's The Indifferent. Explicator, 53(4), 192.

The Environment of the Heron

Social environment changes from person to person on a regular basis. In the short story “The White Heroin” by Sarah Orne Jewett the social environment changes in a way that changes the way Sylvia, the main character, views the world for the rest of her life. The choice between the young, attractive ornithologist and the white heron is not only the choice to not kill her bird but also the choice to have a better life filled with money and the ornithologist.

In the beginning of the story Jewett describes Sylvia’s slow life style that she has more recently become accustom to. She starts off making it seem very tranquil and slow, “The woods were already filled with shadows one June evening…A little girl was driving home her cow, a plodding, dilatory, provoking creature her behavior, but a valued companion for all that…” (Jewett, 1886, p. 1203). In doing this she shows her life before the interaction with the ornithologist.

Jewett continues with the story discussing Sylvia’s past and how she came to be on the farm with her grandmother. When she is describing the situation Sylvia was in she introduces the grandmother saying “Mrs. Tilley… made the unlucky choice of Sylvia from her daughter’s houseful of children,…” (Jewett, 1886, p. 1204). This part shows the reader that Sylvia does not think very highly of herself. It also shows that she views her grandmother in a different sense then what is typical because she titles her in a more formal way. This gives the reader a view of how Sylvia views the world.

As she continues to describe her walk in the woods with the cow it seems to be Sylvia’s safe place. Then she meets the ornithologist on the way home and she is scared, “Suddenly this little woods-girl is horror-stricken to hear a clear whistle not very far away. Nor a birds-whistle… but a boy’s…” (Jewett, 1886, p. 1204). This part shows that just the sound of a male near her is frightening. It makes the reader wonder of her past and if anything bad happened to her that involved a male figure.

Sylvia continues to keep her guard up with the young man even though he is friendly and nice to her. He seems to mean no harm and starts to walk with her back to her home. Once they make it make to Sylvia’s home the perspective of the story seems to switch from Sylvia’s to the ornithologist’s. This switch in view point the story makes the reader wonder what the true meaning of the visit could mean for Sylvia. While they are eating dinner it is as though the grandmother is trying to make Sylvia look good to the man. She talks highly of her and how useful she is.

The ornithologist see’s Sylvia’s usefulness and also seems to find her attractive, “He listened eagerly to the old woman’s quaint talk, he watched Sylvia’s pale face and shining gray eyes with ever growing enthusiasm, and insisted that this was the best supper he had eaten for a month…”(Jewett, 1886, p. 1205). As the conversation continues it becomes more obvious that he is interested in Sylvia because even though the grandmother is talking about something upsetting to her, he continues to ask about Sylvia, “The guest did not notice this hint of family sorrows in his eager interest in something else” (Jewett, 1886, p. 1206). It is slightly unclear if he is more interested in his bird collection or Sylvia in this moment; however, he seems to see the benefit of keeping Sylvia around for a large variety of things.

The switch back to Sylvia’s point of view is abrupt and shows how she is does not seem to be interested in not only the conversation but also the ornithologist. It seems as though she has a sense what the man is really interested in and she does not want anything to do with him. When he mentions that he is going after her bird the white heron she gets nervous, “Sylvia’s heart gave a wild beat; she knew that strange white bird…” (Jewett, 1886, p. 1206). When the man says that he would give a great deal of money to find that bird, Sylvia’s social environment gets tenser than before.

Sylvia must choose between her bird, the white heron and her freedom that she has living with her grandmother. Or she can choose to show the attractive ornithologist where her bird lives and get her family out of financial trouble and possibly marry the man but in turn give away her freedoms and sacrifice her bird. This is the major changing point for Sylvia and how she views the world.

As she is thinking about all of her choices she goes out to where the bird is in the woods. Trying to decide what decision she should make she climbs the tree where she sat with the bird. That is when she decides that she is not going to tell the man were her bird is and in a sense decides that she was not going to sell herself for money. Then as the man realizes the Sylvia has made her choice and even though she knows where the bird is that is not going to tell him he decides to leave.

After he leaves Sylvia seems to have regretted her decision, “suffered a sharp pang as the guest went away disappointed later in the day,  that could have served and followed him and loved him as a dog loves!” (Jewett, 1886, p. 1209). When the man finds her bird without her help and kills it anyways she questions herself even more, “Were the birds better friends than their hunter might have been,-- who can tell?” (Jewett, 1886, p. 1209). It seems as though the loss of the possible money and love of a wealthy man was lost for no reason at all to her at this point. It is here that the reader sees that Sylvia will never view life as simple as she had before.

Sylvia’s social environment in this story impacted her life in a major way. Choosing her freedom and her bird had seemed like the right decision at the time. Then when she did not get to have either her bird or the ornithologist she did not know what was right anymore.

References

Jewett, S. O. (1886). A White Heron. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1203-1209). New York: Mc Graw Hill.

Postwar Emerging Issues

After the war many people questioned things such as race and feminist issues. These issues were expressed through a variety of different authors and poets. Gwendolyn Brooks and Flannery O’Conner are two people that expressed how they felt about these issues in their writing. Brooks in her work “The Bean Eaters” and then O’Conner in “Good Country People”. Both writers even though they had different issues expressed the way they felt in similar writing styles by having the main character in the story be a victim of the issue.

In the poem “The Bean Eaters” Brooks starts by discussing what the narrator of the story eats making it sound very simple and almost blain, “They eat beans mostly, this old yellow pair./Dinner is a casual affair./” (Brooks, 1960, p. 1856). In these two lines the reader also gets a since that this poem is describing someone of color because of the phrase, “this old yellow pair.” Then the poem continues to describe their simple life style by saying, “Plain chipware on a plain and creaking wood,/ Tin flateware.”(Brooks, 1960, p. 1856).

In the next stanza Brooks continues by describing the couple themselves and how they live. This part gives the reader a better feel for the couple and how they are victims of racism. She does this by saying, “Two who have lived their day,/ But keep on putting on their clothes/ And putting things away.”(Brooks, 1960, p. 1856). This part makes it seem as though the couple works hard but does not get their fair share of pay. It also makes the reader believe that the couple understands that they will never get their fair share because that is the way life was at the time.

In the last stanza the reader gets the idea that the couple are slaves because of the line, “As they lean over the beans in their rented back room that/ is full of beads and receipts and dolls and cloths,/” (Brooks, 1960, p. 1856). This stanza makes the reader feel sad for the older couple in their small room surrounded by their few belongings. This is where Brooks accomplishes her goal by showing that racism is an important issue during the time period. She does this by forcing the reader to see how the “other side” lives. Thus making the reader feel remorse for how they are treated in the time period.

In the story “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Conner she discusses feminist issues. She starts with the protagonist’s mother narrating the story. She starts by describing a couple that she hired to do work for her around her property. This part of the story seems to have to significance until she starts to describe her daughter and how she is not the typical girl. This is because the couple that she hires has two daughters that are the typical girls of the time period. The reader understands this when O’Conner says, “Mrs. Hopewell liked to tell people that Glynese and Carramae were two of the finest girls she knew and that Mrs. Freeman was a lady and that she was never ashamed to take her anywhere or introduce her to anybody they might meet.”(O’Conner, 1955, p. 1991).

When O’Conner switches to Hulga, the daughter’s point of view the reader gets the impression that her and her mother do not get along very well. This is because she portrays the girl as being annoyed with her mother right away saying, “The girl was used to this kind of dialogue for breakfast and more of it for dinner; sometimes they had it for supper too.”(O’Conner, 1955, p. 1992).

Then as O’Conner continues with the story she switches back to the mother’s point of view. This is where the reader truly understands that the mother does not approve of her daughter and how she is. “She thought of her still as a child because it tore her heart to think instead of the poor tout girl in her thirties who had never danced a step or had any normal good times.”(O’Conner, 1955, p. 1992).

The reader does not truly understand the purpose of the mother and daughter not getting along until she says, “The girl had taken the Ph.D in philosophy and this left Mrs. Hopewell at a complete loss…All day Joy sat on her neck in a deep chair, reading. Sometimes she went for walks but she didn’t like dogs or cats or birds or flowers or nature or nice young men. She looked at nice young men as if she could smell their stupidity.” (O’Conner, 1955, p. 1994). 

In this part it is clear that Mrs. Hopewell compares her daughter to the rest of the “normal” girls. Not only does she have a wooden leg but she does not believe in God and she is a philosopher instead of a more normal person. Throughout the story O’Conner makes it clear that these things are not expectable by her mother but she deals with them anyways.

In the end of the story Hulga meets up with a “Bible sales man” that seems like a nice young man by her mother’s perspective. She trusts him and starts to become intimate with him. Then he tricks her into taking off her artificial leg and steels it leaving her in an old barn unable to leave the reader sees another aspect of the feminine issue during the time period. It shows that this girl that is an individual trusts her mother’s judgment of a man for once and then he is takes advantage of because of her. Making the reader see not only is it not fair for women to not have all their rights; but also when following the normal social rules women can get hurt.

In the two pieces “The Bean Eaters” and “Good Country People” by Brooks and O’Conner readers get a better understanding of social issues of the time period. Because these authors expressed their opinions on these issue in such a way people understood and agreed that the issues needed to be fixed. They in large part expressed how many people of the time period felt and were successful in their goal to change how people viewed the issues and responded to them.

References

Brooks, G. (1960). The Bean Eaters. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., p. 1859). New York: McGraw Hill.

O’Conner, F. (1955). Good Country People. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1990-2003). New York: McGraw Hill.

Poetry vs. Fiction

 

Poetry and fiction in the time between World War I and World War II related in some ways and differed in others. Robinson Jeffers poem “To the Stone Cutters” and Katherine Anne Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” is two pieces that were written in this time period, being good examples of the differences between poems and fiction. One of the main similarities is the need to leave a good legacy.

In the poem “To the Stone-Cutters” Jeffers discusses how poets are remembered in the time using the term “Stone Cutters”. It seems as though the main focus of the poem is to discuss the legacy that poets leave on the world after they are gone; “The square-limbed Roman letters/ Scale in the thaws, wear in the rain./ The poet as well/ Builds his monument mockingly;” (Jeffers, 1924, p. 1630). This part of the poem shows readers the true meaning and that the poets are like stone cutters in that they make history and it lasts for a long time.

The short story “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Porter focuses on a very similar topic as “To the Stone-Cutters”. In this story the main character is a woman that is on her death bed. Her family is visiting her in her final moments and she is reminiscing in her mind about her life and things that she wished she had gotten done. “They had been so sweet when they were little. Granny wished the old days were back again with the children young and everything to be done over.” (Porter, 1929, 1930, p. 1735) In this part Porter displays how the women feels about what she is leaving behind when she dies. This story’s theme is similar to “To the Stone-Cutters” because both discuss what the main character leaves behind after they are gone.

Many people during this time period and after were concerned with what they left for people after them. Both Porter and Jeffers make that a clear concern for the people in this time period. One piece discussing the poets carving their legacy in “stone” so that people remember them when they are gone saying, “Stone-cutters fighting time with marble, you foredefeated/ Challengers of oblivion” (Jeffers, 1924, p. 1629). Then with the women who is concerned that she raised her children right so that she left something good behind to be proud of. This story showed this by saying, “Sometimes she wanted to see John again and point to them and say, Well, I didn’t do so badly, did I?” (Porter, 1929, 1930, p. 1736).

Because both authors where writing during the same time period it is clear that they were affected by the same trends and outside focuses. During this time period of war many people were affected by the death of their family members. This most likely made them reflect more on what they left behind when they were gone because they were left behind after their loved ones died.

The environment does not seem to affect one writer more than the other. Both the Porter and Jeffer seem to be affected by the environment in the same way. Because both express that they are concerned with their legacy. Jeffer expresses this by saying, “For man will be blotted out, the blithe earth die, the brave sun/ Die blind, his heart blackening: Yet stones have stood for a thousand years, and pained thoughts found/ The Honey peace in old poems.”(Jeffers, 1924, p. 1630). Porter expresses how the same environment affected her by saying, “While she was rummaging around she found death in her mind and it felt clammy and unfamiliar. She had spent so much time preparing for death there was no need for bringing it up again.”(Porter, 1929, 1930, p. 1735).

As one looks at the form of the poem “To the Stone-Cutters” it would seem like it was not influenced by other art forms such as jazz music. However, if one looks at the form that music takes they would see that poetry and music are very similar. This is because they both typically have rhythm and rhyme. Because of this both jazz music and poetry of the time period would affect each other equally.

When one looks at a short story such as “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” they would not think that the author was affected by something such as an essay. This is because the essay is a more formal piece of writing. Whereas the short story is more of a creative process not held by the boundaries that the essay has. Therefore making the short story more affected by the authors surroundings and own ideas of how they want to convey their alternate reality.

In the pieces “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Katherine Anne Porter and “To the Stone-Cutters” by Robinson Jeffers one sees the concern of legacy. This is one of the main similarities in these two pieces even though they are completely different types of art. This shows that many people during this time period were affected by the same thing and that was death.

 

References

Jeffers, R. (1924). To the Stone-Cutters. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1629-1630). New York: McGraw Hill.

Porter, K. A. (1929, 1930). The Jilting of Granny Weatherall. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1734-1740). Retrieved from New York

Poetic Imagery and Political Realities

20^th century poetry changed what the idea for what was proper poetry. During this time imagery was one of the main focuses while writing poetry. Many authors made this a main focus in their works. Some of those authors were Carl Sandburg, Amy Lowell, and William Carlos Williams. Using imagery these authors discussed several different topics including their political views and insight on what was going on in the time period.

William Carlos Williams used imagery in many of his poems. One poem that is a good example of his use of imagery while discussing his view on the politics at the time is “Tract”. In this poem he vividly describes a funeral and the traditions of the funeral service. He describes each aspect of the funeral with a sense of disgust. Throughout the poem readers get the idea that he is not only talking about the formality of a funeral but also the routines of people in the society at the time, as if they are not being genuine. For example, when he is discussing the driver of the hearse it seems like he could be talking about the leaders in America, “For heaven’s sake though see to the driver!/ Take off the silk hat! In fact/ that’s no place at all for him-/ up there unceremoniously/ dragging our friend out to his own dignity!...” (Williams, 1916, p. 1563). This insinuates that he thinks in some ways the government does that to its people.

Amy Lowell is another poet that used imagery in a large part of her poetry. In the poem “Patterns” she describes a women walking in a garden thinking about her “pattern” in the society that she lives in. As she goes through the garden she paints a picture of the person that she is supposed to be in society’s opinion. “My dress is richly figured,/ and the train/ makes a pink and silver stain/ On the gravel, and the thrift… The dripping never stops./ Underneath my stiffened gown/ is the softness of a woman bathing in a marble basin…” (Lowell, 1916, p. 1533). As she describes her pattern and then how it contrasts to the background it makes the reader see that she has a more harsh reality then what society thinks she has.

Lowell continues her imagery throughout the entire poem. About halfway through she starts to discuss the main characters fiancé that was killed as a soldier. This part shows how much the war during the time effected people and their lives. It emphasizes that because of this, and the pattern her fiancé was expected to keep he died and she could not be with him anymore. “In a month he would have been my husband./ In a month, here, underneath this lime,/ We would have broken the pattern/…/Now he is dead.” (Lowell, 1916, p. 1534).

Another poem by Lowell that she uses imagery describing the time period that she lived in called “A Decade”. In this poem she describes how she views the decade in a small amount of words. Even though the poem is short it gives the reader a very vivid picture of her view of the decade that she is describing. “When you came, you were like red wine and honey,/ And the taste of you burnt my mouth with its sweetness./…/ (Now) I hardly taste you at all for I know your savour,/ But I am completely nourished.” (Lowell, 1919, p. 1535). In this small amount of words the reader understands how bitter sweet the decade that she lived in was.

Carl Sandburg is another author that uses imagery to describe the time after war. One poem is called “Fog”. This is a short poem that talks about a cat in the fog, it’s shortness makes the reader see that the time after the war is like the cat in the fog just coming and going. “The fog comes; on little cat feet./ It sits looking/ over harbor and city/ on silent haunches/ and then moves on.” (Sandburg, 1916, p. 1464). As the reader reads the poem they can clearly imagine the cat coming and going in the fog just as the time of peace came and went for the people.

            Another poem that Sandburg wrote that he uses imagery to describe this decade is “Grass”. In this poem he discusses how grass covers all of the signs of war, including the bodies of the dead. “Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo./ Shovel them under and let me work-/ I am the grass; I cover all.” This part shows that the grass does not care what it covers and where it grows. Even though people do care nature does not. In these short stanzas the reader understands that. “Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor: What place is this? Where are we now?/ I am the grass./ Let me work.” (Sandburg, 1918, p. 1465). In the last part the reader sees that the time passes and that a place that was once significant, no one in the present knows that significance anymore.

            “Southern Pacific” is another poem that Sandburg wrote using imagery describing the time period. In this poem he discusses the difference between classes and the similarities. Sandburg shows in form and in imagery how alike and how different the two men from the time period. “Huntington sleeps in a house six feet long./ Huntington dreams of railroads he built and owned… Blithery sleeps in a house six feet long./ Blithery dreams of rails and ties he laid.”(Sandburg, 1918, p. 1466). In these lines the reader gets the image of how similar and how different the classes of this time period were.

            William Carlos Williams, Amy Lowell, and Carl Sandburg were all very talented imagery poets. The imagery helped readers understand the time period and how to envision life during that time. It also made how people felt during the time period clearer. Because these poets expressed themselves in this way, people of today are still able to experience and better understand how things were in that time and learn from it.

References

Lowell, A. (1916). Patterns. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tadition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1532-1535). New York: McGrall Hill.

Lowell, A. (1919). A Decade. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., p. 1535). New York: McGrall Hill.

Sandburg, C. (1916). Fog. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in literature (12 th ed., p. 1464). New York: McGrall Hill.

Sandburg, C. (1918). Carl Sandburg, “Southern Pacific”. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in literature (12th ed., p. 1466). New York, NC: McGraw Hill.

Sandburg, C. (1918). Grass. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), Grass (12th ed., p. 1465). New York: McGrall Hill.

Williams, W. C. (1916). Tract. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelans, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1562-1563). New York: McGrall Hill.

Lowell vs. Lowell

            Like one big family poets have similarities and differences. Some are vast and some are not. Amy Lowell and Robert Lowell are not only both poets but also they are related. The differences and similarities in their poems range from their form to the subjects that they discuss, thus making an interesting comparison.  Giving the reader deeper insight in how their backgrounds affect their writing and how that is portrayed in their writing.

            Amy Lowell was born into a wealthy family in Brookline. She attended private schools during her early education and also was educated by governesses and European travel. Needless to say she was well educated and well off from the start. Once she hit her twenties, she started to work harder on her poetry and had her first poet published at thirty-eight. She was the most popular during the First World War (Perkins & Perkins, 2010, p. 1532)

            A. Lowell had a unique style that made readers attracted to her poetry. One of the main things is her form in them. She seemed to have a visual pattern that she followed in her line length that went medium, shortest, short, longest, long, medium, long, medium, long, short, ect. This line length one can see almost throughout the entire poem “Patterns” and also in “A Decade”. (Lowell, 1916, p. 1534) (Lowell, 1919, p. 1535)

            The form in her poems is not the only thing that was unique to A. Lowell. The subjects that she discussed in the way that she does are also unique. In her poem “Patterns” she discusses one of the time periods main concerns, which was war and how it affected the people in the United States. The way she portrays the main character and how the story plays out it makes out the girl and her lover to be victims of the war. In her poem “A Decade” she also discusses main concerns of the time period and displays how people feel about what is going on around them. Reading these two poems the reader gets a good sense for what the people of the time period thought and believed about their society.

            One of the main things that one looks at after knowing A. Lowells background is her wealth. Coming from wealth many people would assume that it would affect her writing. Looking farther into her writing and her topics one is drawn to the conclusion that her wealth affects her perspective on things. This is mostly displayed in her poem “Patterns”.  Throughout the poem it seems as though the girl is similar to A. Lowell herself, she is well off and somewhat sheltered from the world. That is why the girl feels as though she is a victim of what has happened. If this poem was written from a person’s point of view that was not wealthy it may have focused more on how they were going to survive after the lover’s death. (Lowell, 1916, p. 1534)

            Robert Lowell was raised very similar to Amy as that he was also born into wealth and was well educated. Like Amy he attended Harvard University. He was first published in his late twenties and two years later won a Pulitzer Prize. Unlike Amy Lowell he had a little bit earlier start and a family history of literature and poetry. (Perkins & Perkins, 2010, p. 1859)

            R. Lowell’s poems are very similar in form in comparison to A. Lowell. He seems to follow the same pattern in line length: medium, shortest, short, longest, long, medium, long, medium, long, short, ect. This is noticeable in almost all of his poems including “For the Union Dead”, “Skunk Hour”, and “The Neo-Classical Urn”. (Lowell, 1960, p. 1865)

            Many of R. Lowell’s poems are also about important topics during the time period. Even though he does not seem to focus on that in all of his poems like A. Lowell does, one poem that he does is “For the Union Dead”. He seems to try to keep a large variety of subjects in his works. In doing this the reader gets a better understanding as to how he feels regarding a variety of different subjects.

            In R. Lowell’s writing it seems as though he is less sheltered than A. Lowell. The reader sees this in the topics that he discusses and also the way that he describes them. The fact that they lived in different time periods could be part of that. Another aspect of that could be because A. Lowell is a female and lived a more sheltered life because of that.

            Both Amy Lowell and Robert Lowell wrote amazing and inspiring poetry. They influenced people and taught them about the way life was during their time. With similar yet different lifestyles so is their poetry similar but different. The similarities are what make the reader think, and the differences are what make the reader intrigued. Making both poets famous for what they do and how their writing effects people then and now.

 

 

 

 

References

Lowell, A. (1916). Patterns. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1532-1535). New York: McGraw Hill.

Lowell, A. (1919). A Decade. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., p. 1535). New York: McGraw Hill.

Lowell, R. (1960). For the Union Dead. In B. Perkins, G. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1864-1867). McGraw Hill: New York.

Perkins, B., & Perkins, G. (2010). Robert Lowell (1917-1977). In G. Lowell, B. Lowell, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1858-1860). New York: McGraw Hill.

Perkins, G., & Perkins, B. (2010). Amy Lowell (1874-1925). In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1531-1532). New York: McGraw Hill.

 

Literature and the Ideal

During the 18^th century the idea of women’s rights was quite a bit different then what it is today. During that time women were expected to take care of home duties and be a good wife to their husband and mother to their children. They were not looked at as having the same rights as men during the age and often times were punished for doing something that men did regularly. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu expressed these ideas and how she felt about them in her two pieces “The Lover: a Ballad” and “Epistle from Mrs. Yonge to Her Husband”.  In these pieces she attempts to display the ideal of woman’s rights through various persuasive techniques.

In Montagu’s piece “The Lover: a Ballad” she portrays a girl that has the longing to find a lover and a spouse but is unwilling to give herself to anyone. Unlike many women during the time period she was not going to just marry someone because they could take care of her, she wanted love. “From such a dear lover as here I describe/ No danger should fright me, no millions should bribe;/ But till this astonishing creature I know,/ As I long have lived chaste, I will keep myself so…”(Montagu, 1747, p. 1199). In this part she conveys her feelings on the subject in a way that makes the audience realize what her intentions are in writing the ballad. This reshapes the idea of the romance poem because it shocks the reader. Prior to this part they believed that this is a romantic poem when really it is poem discussing a sensitive subject for women during the time.

In “The Lover: A Ballad” the linguistic structures and literary techniques Montagu uses makes the reader see further what her goal was in writing it. Throughout this piece she uses strong language for the time to portray her feelings about the subject of getting married to just anyone. Some examples of this is in the first stanza when she says, “This stupid indifference so often you blame/…/ I am not cold as a Virgin in lead,” (Montagu, 1747, p. 1198).  She continues on describing this feeling by comparing it to being cheated and that she will not be tricked. Every word that she uses is important to her ultimate goal.

After two stanzas of describing how bad a life of being married to someone she did not love would be, she continues describing how she imagines being married to someone she does love. When Montagu describes what she sees as right in a marriage it makes the reader see how she feels and her real point of view on the topic. “Let the friend and the lover be handsomely mixed,/  In whose tender bosom my soul might confide,/ Whose kindness can sooth me, whose counsel can guide,/ From such a dear lover as her I describe…” (Montagu, 1747, p. 1199).  Because of this contrasting the reader understands what Montagu is trying to say and they feel the same as she does that it is a woman’s right to marry who she wants to. She gets her idea across very successfully because the reader continues to feel that way after they read the ballad.

“Epistle from Mrs. Yonge to Her Husband” Montagu portrays the same idea of women’s rights but in a different way. Her language and form of the poem make the reader sympathize for the women that has fallen victim to society’s standards. Montagu starts by asking the reader to not feel sorry for her and her situation. The opening stanza makes the reader wonder what she is talking about. As she continues into the next section the reader realizes automatically that it is about the unfairness towards women during the time. She does this by saying, “The weak submissive sex of womankind./ If sighs have gained or force compelled our hand,/ …/ Whatever motive binds the fatal tie,/ The judging world expects our constancy.”(Montagu, 1742, 1972, p. 1200).  After reading this the reader wonders what this woman went through to make her feel this way about life.

The history of this piece is particularly important because it is the entire reason why the narrator feels the way she does about her rights as a woman. The narrator was treated unfairly by her ex-husband when he found out the she had had an affair. The treatment that he gave her was unfair because he too had been having an affair and never got punished. The language that she uses gets this idea out without describing her full story completely.

The way that Montagu’s strategy works well is because it keeps the audience wondering until they know a little background on the story. However, without the background story the reader still fully understands that the narrator had been treated unfairly, thus bring up woman’s rights. The part that the reader starts to fully understand some of the background is, “Renounce your fortune, and release your vows./ To custom (though unjust) so much is due;/ I hide my frailty from the public view/ My conscience is clear, yet sensible of shame,/ My life hazard, to preserve my fame.” (Montagu, 1742, 1972, p. 1201). This part gives the reader an idea of where the poem is going.

Montagu continues portray the need for having more rights as a women when she says, “Dragged into light, my tender crime is shown/ And every circumstance of fondness known./ Beneath the shelter of the law you stand,/ And urge my ruin with a cruel hand,/ While to my fault thus rigidly severe,/ Tamely submissive to the man you fear.”(Montagu, 1742, 1972, p. 1201). In using the words such as “dragged”, “tender crime”, “cruel hand”, and “submissive” Montagu makes her point clear that the narrator is a victim of the society’s standards and expectations for women and their rights.

Montagu gets her point across very well by using the words and phrases that she does. One can see that because by the end of the poem not only is the reader feeling sorry for the narrator but they are also feeling compelled to stand up for their own rights. Because of this her ultimate goal is clear and also accomplished.

Overall both of these poems portray the need for women’s rights in the 17^th century in two distinct ways. Both are strong perspectives and persuade the reader of Montagu’s point of view. Because both narrators in the poems were strong and willing to stand up for their rights it makes the reader stronger and more willing to stand up for theirs. This ultimately makes Montagu a strong inspirational person in the beginning of the women’s rights movement.

 

References

Montagu, L. W. (1742, 1972). Epistle from Mrs. Yonge to Her Husband. In S. Greenblatt, & M. H. Abrams (Eds.), The Norton Anthology of English Literature (8th ed., pp. 1200-1201). London: Norton & Company.

Montagu, L. W. (1747). The Lover: A Ballad. In S. Greenblatt, & M. H. Abrams (Eds.), The Norton Anthology of English Literature (8th ed., pp. 1198-1199). London: Norton & Company.

Literature and the Ideal

During the 18^th century the idea of women’s rights was quite a bit different then what it is today. During that time women were expected to take care of home duties and be a good wife to their husband and mother to their children. They were not looked at as having the same rights as men during the age and often times were punished for doing something that men did regularly. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu expressed these ideas and how she felt about them in her two pieces “The Lover: a Ballad” and “Epistle from Mrs. Yonge to Her Husband”.  In these pieces she attempts to display the ideal of woman’s rights through various persuasive techniques.

In Montagu’s piece “The Lover: a Ballad” she portrays a girl that has the longing to find a lover and a spouse but is unwilling to give herself to anyone. Unlike many women during the time period she was not going to just marry someone because they could take care of her, she wanted love. “From such a dear lover as here I describe/ No danger should fright me, no millions should bribe;/ But till this astonishing creature I know,/ As I long have lived chaste, I will keep myself so…”(Montagu, 1747, p. 1199). In this part she conveys her feelings on the subject in a way that makes the audience realize what her intentions are in writing the ballad. This reshapes the idea of the romance poem because it shocks the reader. Prior to this part they believed that this is a romantic poem when really it is poem discussing a sensitive subject for women during the time.

In “The Lover: A Ballad” the linguistic structures and literary techniques Montagu uses makes the reader see further what her goal was in writing it. Throughout this piece she uses strong language for the time to portray her feelings about the subject of getting married to just anyone. Some examples of this is in the first stanza when she says, “This stupid indifference so often you blame/…/ I am not cold as a Virgin in lead,” (Montagu, 1747, p. 1198).  She continues on describing this feeling by comparing it to being cheated and that she will not be tricked. Every word that she uses is important to her ultimate goal.

After two stanzas of describing how bad a life of being married to someone she did not love would be, she continues describing how she imagines being married to someone she does love. When Montagu describes what she sees as right in a marriage it makes the reader see how she feels and her real point of view on the topic. “Let the friend and the lover be handsomely mixed,/  In whose tender bosom my soul might confide,/ Whose kindness can sooth me, whose counsel can guide,/ From such a dear lover as her I describe…” (Montagu, 1747, p. 1199).  Because of this contrasting the reader understands what Montagu is trying to say and they feel the same as she does that it is a woman’s right to marry who she wants to. She gets her idea across very successfully because the reader continues to feel that way after they read the ballad.

“Epistle from Mrs. Yonge to Her Husband” Montagu portrays the same idea of women’s rights but in a different way. Her language and form of the poem make the reader sympathize for the women that has fallen victim to society’s standards. Montagu starts by asking the reader to not feel sorry for her and her situation. The opening stanza makes the reader wonder what she is talking about. As she continues into the next section the reader realizes automatically that it is about the unfairness towards women during the time. She does this by saying, “The weak submissive sex of womankind./ If sighs have gained or force compelled our hand,/ …/ Whatever motive binds the fatal tie,/ The judging world expects our constancy.”(Montagu, 1742, 1972, p. 1200).  After reading this the reader wonders what this woman went through to make her feel this way about life.

The history of this piece is particularly important because it is the entire reason why the narrator feels the way she does about her rights as a woman. The narrator was treated unfairly by her ex-husband when he found out the she had had an affair. The treatment that he gave her was unfair because he too had been having an affair and never got punished. The language that she uses gets this idea out without describing her full story completely.

The way that Montagu’s strategy works well is because it keeps the audience wondering until they know a little background on the story. However, without the background story the reader still fully understands that the narrator had been treated unfairly, thus bring up woman’s rights. The part that the reader starts to fully understand some of the background is, “Renounce your fortune, and release your vows./ To custom (though unjust) so much is due;/ I hide my frailty from the public view/ My conscience is clear, yet sensible of shame,/ My life hazard, to preserve my fame.” (Montagu, 1742, 1972, p. 1201). This part gives the reader an idea of where the poem is going.

Montagu continues portray the need for having more rights as a women when she says, “Dragged into light, my tender crime is shown/ And every circumstance of fondness known./ Beneath the shelter of the law you stand,/ And urge my ruin with a cruel hand,/ While to my fault thus rigidly severe,/ Tamely submissive to the man you fear.”(Montagu, 1742, 1972, p. 1201). In using the words such as “dragged”, “tender crime”, “cruel hand”, and “submissive” Montagu makes her point clear that the narrator is a victim of the society’s standards and expectations for women and their rights.

Montagu gets her point across very well by using the words and phrases that she does. One can see that because by the end of the poem not only is the reader feeling sorry for the narrator but they are also feeling compelled to stand up for their own rights. Because of this her ultimate goal is clear and also accomplished.

Overall both of these poems portray the need for women’s rights in the 17^th century in two distinct ways. Both are strong perspectives and persuade the reader of Montagu’s point of view. Because both narrators in the poems were strong and willing to stand up for their rights it makes the reader stronger and more willing to stand up for theirs. This ultimately makes Montagu a strong inspirational person in the beginning of the women’s rights movement.

 

References

Montagu, L. W. (1742, 1972). Epistle from Mrs. Yonge to Her Husband. In S. Greenblatt, & M. H. Abrams (Eds.), The Norton Anthology of English Literature (8th ed., pp. 1200-1201). London: Norton & Company.

Montagu, L. W. (1747). The Lover: A Ballad. In S. Greenblatt, & M. H. Abrams (Eds.), The Norton Anthology of English Literature (8th ed., pp. 1198-1199). London: Norton & Company.