French Revolution: Thomas Paine “The Rights of Man”

Here we get classical romantic era political theory rhetoric. To sum it up it is overly strong language that emphases free will as well as a need for your fellow man. This is the same era as social contract theory that Locke and Hobbs wrote about. At the time of this piece the Jacobeans were in power in France. This rule by terror was a freighting time in history as it seemed that no one was truly safe. The Jacobeans stood against everything that the French revolution of 1789 was about or the subsequent 1848 rebellion for that matter. Paine though is writing a response to Mr. Burke’s assessment of the French revolution. Paine wants to show that there is a need for reform in France that extended beyond King Louis XVI. There were issues with the church and parliament. In some ways this is a recounting of Paine’s more famous work Common Sense. Here it appears that Paine is now writing for the defense of the French citizen as opposed to the American citizenry. Paine shows his belief of government by the people in his defense of the French revolution. The belief in this lies that Declaration of Independence “that these truths are to be held self evident that all men are created equal.” This doctrine dominated the era. This is what helped strip King George III his power and the English parliament to truly become a force to be reckoned with. It also laid the groundwork for the revolutions that took place all throughout Europe in the mid 1800’s. Paine’s defense of the rights of man is based in equality. This belief fueled the flames of rebellion which lead to the want for a free and equal society.

Robert Browning on “Love Among the Ruins”

I like this piece. It fulfils my historical mind set. The fact that it shows some ways shows the Roman Empire, especially when there is a discussion about aqueducts. There seems to be a gloriousness about the idea of the ancient world. The third stanza really gives this off stating “and such plenty and perfection, see, of grass/ Never was! / Such a carpet as, this summer-time, o’erspreads/ every vestige of the city, guessed alone,/ stock or stone.” There seems to be a want for the older days of life. This is understandable given the time period that this was written. There was a major push to rediscover the world of the old times with Egypt and Persia. At the same time the industrial age produced smog and spoiled the natural beauty of landscape throughout the land. Browning here could be attempting to reattach romantic ideas to the Victorian era. This allows for poets to have a greater sense of freedom in writing. This allows for a reader to also reconnect with the old days. By using ancient times it makes it easier to push across the emotions of the past that are of nostalgia. Often when you hear of the Romans and Egyptians you think of the idea of power and nothing seems impossible. This is a romantic ideal. It embodies the French Revolution that nothing can truly keep a group of people down

John Keats on “Ode to a Nightingale”

I decided to read this poem after T.S. Elliot discussed how to read it. T.S. Elliot suggested that while nothing in this poem actually discusses a nightingale, but the essence of a nightingale is there. Now for that to work one has to know what a nightingale is. I do not know what a nightingale looks like but from the poem I can garner the image. The idea nightingale is a creature that is something that can not be contained and something to revel in. Keats compares it to something that can not be caged but in someway celebrated in life. And yet at the same time it is a sad sight to behold as the nightingale is something that is not often seen. You are reminded that this is an unusual occurrence. In some ways this creates a sense of sadness because you are reminded that the nightingale is a rare sight. The emotion of this poem is rich. It makes you feel like there is a sense of the unknown, happiness, and sadness all at once. For Keats and his purpose on the odes this shows off the paradox that the introduction text discusses about how the odes are phrased. It makes the reader confused and forces them to reread sections in order to fully grasp the idea that is being brought forward. This makes the poem into something more powerful then just a quick read but a literary device that forces people to full appreciate what is around them.

Percy Blysshe Shelly on “Ode to the West Wind”

Upon using T.S. Elliot’s suggestion I decided to look at this piece with the intent of analyzing it for its essence and not to think about Shelly’s other works nor the history associated with the west wind, though I will use a bit of history to start off. Often the west wind is regarded as the most favorable wind. In some Native American tribes when songs start those singing will face west out of respect for what it brings. The other winds are also given names and titles of what they bear yet none is as revered as the west wind. The west wind brings forward change of seasons. Shelly shows this vividly in the first part. The emotion generated by this section is that of death. Even the most subtle text can show death with “Beside and pumice isle in Baiae’s Bay” (600) can show death. This could be an allusion towards Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii, the famous volcano that buried and preserving the city. But also the emotion that the idea that in an instant everything could be forgotten and no longer seen. Shelly is trying to convey that even though death is coming there is nothing to be afraid of. Shelly reassures us of this by how he ends the poem with “if winter comes, can spring be far behind?” (601). This idea of spring allows for the reader to be assured that even though death comes, life is right behind it. It is a cycle that repeats itself year after year thanks to the west wind. The emotion that Shelly channels here is that change happens even in nature.

T.S. Elliot on “Tradition and the Individual Talent”

Upon reading this work the one thought that kept coming to my mind was “why are we not required read this selection before dealing with literature and poetry?” Here Elliot criticizes traditional ways to criticize and analyze literature. Elliot points out that the most traditional way to approach anything is by relying on what we know. But this takes away from looking at the core of poetry. For Elliot the essence of poetry is the emotion and, more importantly, conviction that the work carries stating “for it is not the ‘greatness,’ the intensity, of the emotions, the components, but the intensity of the artistic process” (1219). This makes analyzing and understanding poetry so much easier at one level. Elliot throws out the traditional notions of looking at past works of a poet in order to achieve some kind of understanding of the new work. Instead, Elliot suggests that we look at each piece for just itself. It is quite counterintuitive as we are taught to look at a whole body of work typically. Often it is hard to fully appreciate a work unless put in context of some other work. It is hard to fully appreciate one of Aristophanes’ plays without reading his other plays and understanding the history at the time. The same can be said for numerous other authors. Yet Elliot rejects this notion with the belief that if a poem is looked at individually one can full appreciate what it is trying to accomplish. Elliot in some ways blames education for making us in the way that we are in looking at poetry. His belief is that education binds the mind in ideals and prevents it from reaching its potential. For a poet to be truly effective there must be a detachment from education and a willingness to try new things. For this to truly work and to be understood one must look at each poem individually as each is trying to capture a different emotion or ideal. This idea, for me at least, makes the most sense. Often it seems that poems do not relate to another piece unless it is explicit. This ideal makes the approach to understanding poetry easier in that you look for the ideal and emotion instead of being caught up in details. For Elliot it appears that details should only be used to get a full idea across to a reader. I believe that this piece helps make the understanding of poetry much easier.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson on “Ulysses”

I have been found of this piece sense the eighth grade when I first read it in conjunction with the Odyssey. At the surface it is the story of our hero returning to a life of adventure. However, it is more than that in which it captures the age’s ideals. At this time emigration was starting to take place and massive waves of people were heading to America in search for a new adventure. Even though their homeland provided what was necessary for them. For this time period idleness is what was preached against. The idea o staying home and living the normal and slow life was not acceptable. Instead one had to seek adventure much like Ulysses. This ideal is displayed by showing Ulysses old exploits at home. But by the end of the poem we get a sense of grandeur almost as if the exploration makes a person more interesting and maybe into a hero. In some ways this is like a modern commercial that makes you into a hero if you buy the new thing. For Tennyson, the hero is on the move, and therefore the average person must also be on the move. The style of this poem conveys this sense of motion as it builds upon itself to the glorious conclusion that Ulysses “…sail beyond the sunset, and the baths/ of the western stars, until I die” (594). For Ulysses will always be restless and wants to explore new ways. This is why he sailed away from the main fleet on the way home and took over ten years to get home. But for Odysseus this is not a problem. While he did long for home it is written here and in Dante’s Inferno that he leaves again to explore the world. It is a common subject for someone to never be satisfied with what they have accomplished. For this poem expresses that. I feel that Tennyson is expressing that idleness is a vice and that one should be in motion and explore what all was going on around your life.

“Vorticist Manifesto Long Live the Vortex”

If find this peace so interesting because it attacks and defends what makes everything, everything. To put it another way it attacks and defends the essence of each nation. The part of this manifesto that truly gets me is “mercenaries were always the best troops” (1093). I distinctly remember reading Machiavelli’s The Prince and the discussion of why princes should never use mercenaries. The main reason is that mercenaries are for hire and therefore do not have loyalty to the land. Yet here there seems to be an opposite effect. Another part of this piece that I find to be interesting is the defense of art. The manifesto makes it out that art is what almost truly defines a nation and by extension England due to much of the original thought originating from there. Because of this there is a sense of elitism that is brought forward from the English over the likes of the French, Latins, and to an extent Americans. This elitism is what drives the first part of the era. Before World War One there was a massive arms race over battle ships due to a history book written by Alfred Mahan. The idea was that for a nation to be powerful it must have a strong navy. This lead to the Washington Arms treaty but the ground work was set over the elitist ideals that would dominate this era. This is why after the Great War there is a rise of fascism and nationalism. In many ways this manifesto captures the ideas of many nations and their belief that they are the true rulers and holders of power throughout the world. I truly like how forward this piece is.