English Literature

The Sixteenth Century (1485-1603) Literary works in sixteenth-century England were rarely if ever created in isolation from other currents in the social and cultural world. The boundaries that divided the texts we now regard as aesthetic from other texts that participated in the spectacles of power or the murderous conflicts of rival religious factions or the rhetorical strategies of erotic and political courtship were porous and constantly shifting.

It is perfectly acceptable, treating Renaissance texts as if they were islands of the autonomous literary imagination. One of the greatest writers of the period, Sir Philip Sidney, defended poetry in just such terms; the poet, Sidney writes in The Defence of Poetry(NAEL 1. 933-54), is not constrained by nature or history but freely ranges “only within the zodiac of his own wit. ” Many sixteenth-century artists, such as Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, and William Shakespeare, brooded on the magical, transforming power of art.

This power could be associated with civility and virtue, as Sidney claims, but it could also have the demonic qualities manifested by the “pleasing words” of Spenser’s enchanter, Archimago (NAEL 1. 63), or by the incantations of Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus (NAEL 1. 990-1025). It is significant that Marlowe’s great play was written at a time in which the possibility of sorcery was not merely a theatrical fantasy but a widely shared fear, a fear upon which the state could act with horrendous ferocity.

Marlowe’s tragedy emerges not only from a culture in which bargains with the devil are imaginable as real events but also from a world in which many of the most fundamental assumptions about spiritual life were being called into question by the movement known as the Reformation. Catholic and Protestant voices struggled to articulate the precise beliefs and practices thought necessary for the soul’s salvation.

One key site of conflict was the Bible, with Catholic authorities trying unsuccessfully to stop the circulation of the unauthorized Protestant translation of Scripture by William Tyndale, a translation in which doctrines and institutional structures central to the Roman Catholic church were directly challenged. The Reformation is closely linked to many of the texts printed in the sixteenth-century section of Spenser’s Faerie Queene (NAEL 1. 628-772), for example, in which a staunchly Protestant knight of Holiness struggles against the satanic forces of Roman Catholicism. Text: The Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. 1. 6th ed. (NAEL)

The Importance of the 20th Century Literature The dawning of a new century marked a distinct change in the style and subjects of literature. Rural, agrarian lifestyles were fast becoming a thing of the past as industrialization made factory work the norm, and many people began to feel isolated despite living in big cities. Writers who identified as “modernists” reflected this new sense of isolation and displacement in their works. The entire Western world was also deeply affected by the devastation of World Wars I and II, and writers responded by evaluating humanity’s seemingly boundless inhumanity.

Women and minority voices became more prominent in the 1930s and beyond, further expanding the canon. The Beat Generation began in the late 1940s and writers reflected the growing trend of anti-conformist thought. By centuries end, Generation X writers were inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the decline of imperialism but were often seen as cynical and self-serving. The material, intellectual and social advancements of this century, has led to literary pieces made in the 21st century.

There will no doubt be lasting effects from the twentieth century that will surely have a direct influence on the political, social and interpersonal relationships that develop from now on. The use of the label “Celtic fringe” as applied to non-English, or traditionally non-English-speaking, territories to marginalise these cultures is now analysed as a colonial attitude, and literatures of Ireland, Scotland and Wales may be studied through the methodology of postcolonialism.

But a legacy of Britishness also survives around the world: a shared history of British presence and cultural influence in the Commonwealth of Nations has produced a substantial body of writing in many languages, known as Commonwealth literature. The year 1922 marked a significant changed in the relationship between Britain and Ireland, with the setting up of the Irish Free State in the predominantly Catholic South, while the predominantly Protestant Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom.

This separation also leads to questions as to what extent Irish writing prior to 1922 should be treated as a colonial literature. Nationalist movements in other parts of Britain, especially Wales and Scotland, also significantly influenced writers in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. During the 20th Century, much advancement and change occurred throughout English Literature. All of the works we studied from this period were heavily influenced by current events in the world.

The writers all examined the world around them and tried to express it through their writings. The three things that weave a common thread throughout all 20th Century English Literature are global warfare, radical artistic experimentation, and the effects of colonial expansion. The first point of global warfare is an easily identifiable and widespread one. All of the poetry we examined was centered around warfare and the effects of it on those involved. Sources: http://www. enotes. com/topics/century-literature http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/British_literature

The world of English literature has produced many diverse and astoundingly amazing works. Two of the most hailed pieces of literature to have graced the lives of readers throughout the ages are Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. These two poems have been around for a great number of years and have created many ripples across the lake of time. Despite its ancient roots, and the Green Knight continue to be regarded as two the greatest masterpieces of English literature.

This essay will try to show the impact that these two different poems have had on English literature. It will show that despite the age of both poems, they continue to be relevant up to this very day. This essay will show that it is very much important to continue the reading, the study and the appreciation of these works, Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, as well as the other masterful pieces of English literature that have been available to schools and readers for a very long time.

Beowulf

Let us first dissect the epic poem, Beowulf, before we continue with the discussion of the importance of these two pieces. Beowulf was believed to have been written around the time 700 A.D. by an Anglo-Saxon poet. To this day, no one truly knows who wrote the poem but the last surviving manuscript of the poem was found to date back to the time 1000 A.D. and was speculated to have been in the hand of two different scribes. The original manuscript of Beowulf was written in the vernacular, Old English. (Melissa, 1997)

The importance of this piece to the entirety of English literature is both very simple and complex. To put it straightforwardly, Beowulf is the oldest surviving poem to have been written in Old English. This is of great importance because all of the poems recovered from that era were found to have been written in Latin. (Anonymous, 2006)

The importance of Beowulf in English literature, and in fact to the whole of world literature, is very clear even up to this very day. Because of the wars and battles raging across Europe in those earlier decades, very few literary manuscripts were able to survive. Beowulf, in fact, is the beacon and representative of the meager ten percent of the poetry written in Old English that have survived up to today. (Meyerhoff, 2006) What sets Beowulf apart from its other very few Old English counterparts is that it is an epic poem. In Britain, it has been accepted as a national epic. This is despite the debates and contestations regarding its merits as an epic poem.

The mere fact that Beowulf has survived time and history and is available to us today among the very small population of Old English works is enough to prod us to continue in our appreciation and study of the piece. But another importance of the literary piece remains in just that fact, that it has survived an era from which only very few literary works have. This suggests that scholars and even simple individuals are able to take a glimpse at the culture and traditions of that time.

Through Beowulf, we are able to see what these individuals held as important and what factors, both literary and in reality, they took into consideration. We say this not in a manner that will suggest taking Beowulf word for word as a historical timeline but rather in a manner that suggests reading deeper into Beowulf and understanding the thoughts and the emotions of the author. One such aspect of the epic poem that sheds light upon the culture of the said time is its constant use of the theme of Christianity. Although it is supposedly written in a pagan setting, the Christian theme in the poem is highly evident and unmistakable to any of its readers. (Yeager, 1999)

Perhaps the most amazing part about Beowulf as an epic poem is its resilience as a literary piece. Even though it has much merit as an aged piece and as a standard bearer of Old English poetry, Beowulf would not have survived throughout time if it did not have any other merits. The most important aspect of the epic poem, to my mind, is the fact that despite its age, it still continues to strike every reader deeply. It still calls forth the same emotions among its readers.

This is perhaps due to the way it was written. Although the events and places seen in the epic are strange to us, at the very core of the story, we find the same values and interests that are inherent in us even to this very day.  Beowulf is so well-written that even to this day, it continues to enthrall and connect with its diverse readership. No matter how old you are, no matter what country you come from, you are able to recognize the masterful workmanship put into creating Beowulf.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Another much acclaimed piece of English literature is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It was believed to have been written some time during the fourteenth century. It is considered to be a metrical romance, a romantic tale written in poetic form, about the life of Sir Gawain. (Weston, 1900)

Gawain was one of the more talked about characters of the Arthurian tradition. He far outstrips many of King Arthur’s knights in the number of romantic exploits written about his character. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knigh, Gawain exemplifies many of the virtues considered to be important in men of his stature. (Harper) This adds to the importance of the piece itself. With the different virtues that Sir Gawain is seen to have in the romantic poem, readers can easily see what the culture of the 14th century was like.

The virtues and culture held to be of importance during that time are extolled clearly in the character of Sir Gawain and can easily be identified through his various actions and descriptions in the poem. This is in contrast to other poems and literary pieces written about Gawain wherein he was portrayed as a flawed and even sometimes brutish character.

The importance of this piece may lie in the fact that its author was able to keep up a play of words wherein the reader can derive several different interpretations. This allowed for many different reactions and critics regarding the piece. (Goodlad, 1987)This is probably what kept the piece alive for so long. With regards to literature, it has opened the way for readers to regard different pieces with more wariness, viewing these pieces as perhaps holding more interpretations than that initially viewed.

It also holds much importance as a literary piece that defied the genre from which it came. Instead of relinquishing to the trend of producing literary pieces that were straightforward and direct in their presentation of storylines and themes, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’s wordplay and alliterative presentation brought a new style of writing to the fore. To this day, we can witness many new pieces of literature that have taken tot his style of writing providing readers with much more thought-provoking and reflection-inducing pieces. It is safe to say that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has done much to enrich English literature.

References

Anonymous. (2006). Beowulf. Spark Notes Retrieved 7 January 2008 from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/beowulf/context.html

Goodlad, L. (1987) The Gamnes of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 18(1), Retrieved 7 January 2008 from http://repositories.cdlib.org/cmrs/comitatus/vol18/iss1/art4

Harper, R. Gawain. The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester Retrieved 7 January 2008 from http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/cphome.stm

Meyerhoff, S. (2006). The Question of Genre in Byliny and Beowulf. The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies, 4, Retrieved 7 January 2008 from http://www.sras.org/news2.phtml?m=629&print=1

Snell, M. (1997) Beowulf. About.com Retrieved 7 January 2008 from http://historymedren.about.com/od/beowulf/p/beowulf.htm

Weston, J. L. (1900) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Retrieved 7 January 2008 from http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/sggk.htm

Yeager, R. (1999) Why Read Beowulf? Humanities, 20(2) Retrieved 7 January 2008 from http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/1999-03/yeager.html

The restoration is an interesting time in history. People from all over the world, especially Europe, were moving to American. It was during this time that the colonies rebelled and we soon became our own nation. When the period started England had just ended a 20 year civil war. The plague had killed many and England was finally settling down. When the restoration was starting, most authors still modeled everything they did on the classics: Greek, Roman, etc. People were starting to gain an understanding of the world and be less superstitious.

With all of the new reasons for things being given by science, religion had to change too. This was also when the smaller minorities of society became more ignored and repressed. But when the puritans fell out of power things started to happen. Theaters re-opened, satire appeared, and so did journalism. The Restoration period was marked by an advance in colonization and overseas trade, by the Dutch Wars, by the great plague (1665) and the great fire of London (1666), by the birth of the Whig and Tory parties, and by the Popish Plot and other manifestations of anti-Catholicism.

In literature perhaps the most outstanding result of the Restoration was the reopening of the theaters, which had been closed since 1642, and a consequent great revival of the drama (see English literature). The drama of the period was marked by brilliance of wit and by licentiousness, which may have been a reflection of the freeness of court manners. The last and greatest works of John Milton fall within the period but are not typical of it; the same is true of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress (1678).

The age is vividly brought to life in the diaries of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, and in poetry the Restoration is distinguished by the work of John Dryden and a number of other poets. Restoration literature, English literature written after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 following the period of the Commonwealth. Some literary historians speak of the period as bounded by the reign of Charles II (1660–85), while others prefer to include within its scope the writings produced during the reign of James II (1685–88), and even literature of the 1690s is often spoken of as “Restoration. By that time, however, the reign of William III and Mary II (1689–1702) had begun, and the ethos of courtly and urban fashion was as a result sober, Protestant, and even pious, in contrast to the sexually and intellectually libertine spirit of court life under Charles II. Many typical literary forms of the modern world—including the novel, biography, history, travel writing, and journalism—gained confidence during the Restoration period, when new scientific discoveries and philosophical concepts as well as new social and economic conditions came into play.

There was a great outpouring of pamphlet literature, too, much of it politico-religious, while John Bunyan’s great allegory, Pilgrim’s Progress, also belongs to this period. Much of the best poetry, notably that of John Dryden (the great literary figure of his time, in both poetry and prose), the earl of Rochester, Samuel Butler, and John Oldham, was satirical and led directly to the later achievements of Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, and John Gay in the Augustan Age. The Restoration period was, above all, a great age of drama.

Heroic plays, influenced by principles of French Neoclassicism, enjoyed a vogue, but the age is chiefly remembered for its glittering, critical comedies of manners by such playwrights as George Etherege, William Wycherley, Sir John Vanbrugh, and William Congreve. (For further discussion of this period, see English literature: The Restoration. ) King Charles I was executed in the January of 1649. He was the supreme King of Britain, with suzerainty over England, Scotland and Ireland. However, he earned a lot of disrespect from the Parliament for his preposterous theory known as Divine Rights of Kings.

The Parliament feared he was turning into an absolutist monarch and would eventually sideline the democracy that was so carefully established in Britain. In his final years, he was engaged in Civil Wars. The First English Civil War (1642) was against the Parliament and the Puritans of England. He was defeated in this War in 1645, but he continued his ideologies. In 1948, there was a Second Civil War, and he was defeated again in 1649. This time, he was captured, tried, convicted and finally executed for treason. The Parliament took over, formed a republic that came to be known as the Commonwealth of England.

Monarchy, apparently, came to an end. Restoration of Monarchy by Charles II But, what seemed to be an end for monarchy actually turned out to be only a pause. 11 years later, in 1660, Charles I’s son, Charles II assumed monarchy once again. The resurgence of monarchy was brought about by a series of historically significant incidents. One of the main leaders of the republican government formed after Charles I was Oliver Cromwell, who was by title the Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. He was also the commander of the armies that fought against Charles I in the English Civil Wars.

Old Ironsides, as he was referred to, valiantly brought England, Scotland and Ireland under a unanimous republican rule after the execution of Charles I, and he was in fact one of the main persons responsible for his execution. Oliver Cromwell died in 1658 of a host of ailments. Historians attribute his death to malaria and urinary infections, but there could have been several other reasons. Cromwell was succeeded by his son Richard as the Lord Protectorate. However, Richard was not popular with the Army. The Army was prompt in removing him.

Several other transfers of power later, Charles II issued what is known as the Declaration of Breda on April 4, 1660. This declaration was to lay down the fact that he was interested in accepting the Crown of England. Taking into consideration the various failed seizes of power in England, the Parliament accepted the terms. On 8 May, 1649, the Parliament accepted that Charles II had been the lawful monarch of England after the death of Charles I. Charles II returned from The Hague, where he was exiling, and assumed monarchy of England. This is what is known as the English Restoration.

Harmonizing to “ Saint Agnes of Rome, ” from Marypages.com, Saint Agnes of Rome was born on January 28, 292, and died at the age of 12. She was raised by a Christian household, and her name means “ pure ” in Greek, and “ lamb ” in Latin. She is besides known as Ines, Ines de Campo, and Ynez. Her feast twenty-four hours is January 21, in award of the twenty-four hours she was killed ( Terry H. Jones, “ Saint Agnes of Rome ” ) .

Saint Agnes was a beautiful immature miss, who at the age of 12 was asked to get married a prefect ‘s boy. He offered her gifts, but she refused. She claimed she had a partner who loved her, and she could non get married him. Agnes told the prefect ‘s boy that she was married to Jesus Christ ( Creative Commons ) .

Harmonizing to “ Saint Agnes Church Biography ” , from Creative Commons Attribution, the prefect ‘s boy was devastated when he heard her answer, and his male parent, the prefect, spoke to Saint Agnes. The prefect asked her why she would non get married his boy, to which she replied she already had a partner. When he learned she was a Christian from one of her retainers, he was pleased, for now he had power over her. The prefect offered Agnes one of two picks, either she would give to his heathen Gods, or she would be sent to the whorehouse and raped. Saint Agnes refused to idolize his false Gods, and so she was sent to the whorehouse, where she said God would protect her ( Creative Commons ) .

When she chose the whorehouse the prefect was ferocious, and had her stripped of her apparels. She was taken to the whorehouse, but God gave her grace, and the hairs upon her caput began to turn. They grew until they covered her full organic structure, from her caput to her pess, and her organic structure could non be seen by the work forces who might harm her. At the whorehouse, Saint Agnes found an angel sent from

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God to protect her. This angel shielded her in a bright visible radiation, so work forces would non see her, nor injury

her. Agnes prayed to God and He gave her white garments, which she wore and thanked Him

for in supplication ( Creative Commons ) .

God protected Saint Agnes, so while she was in the whorehouse, merely one adult male tried to go against her. This adult male was the prefect ‘s boy ( Leo ‘s Design ) . Harmonizing to St Agnes Church Biography, the prefect ‘s boy was struck dead when he attempted to go against her ( Creative Commons ) , but harmonizing to Saint Agnes of Rome, the prefect ‘s boy was merely smitten blind ( Leo ‘s Design ) . However, both beginnings agree that after the prefect ‘s boy was harmed, Agnes prayed to God, and He revived the prefect ‘s boy.

When the bishops of the graven images heard of Agnes ‘ title, they cried for her decease, naming her a sorceress. The prefect did non desire to kill Agnes, because she had saved his boy, so he delivered her to his lieutenant. The prefect ‘s lieutenant chose to fulfill the people by firing Agnes to decease. However, the fires parted around her and did non touch her, so she was non harmed. When this did non work, the lieutenant took a blade to her organic structure ( Creative Commons ) . Saint Agnes was martyred by being stabbed or beheaded ( Terry H. Jones, “ Saint Agnes of Rome ” ) .

After Saint Agnes ‘ decease, Saint Emerentiana buried her ( Creative Commons ) . Saint Emerentiana was Agnes ‘s Foster sister. Agnes was buried following to the Via Nomentana in Rome. Following to her grave is a church, dedicated to her by Constantine ‘s girl ( Leo ‘s Design ) . Constantine ‘s girl had a church built for Saint Agnes, because when she was praying one clip, she fell asleep at Agnes ‘ grave. While she was asleep, Agnes appeared in her dream and said to her, “ Bodensee, work invariably, and if thou wilt believe in Christ, 1000 shalt anon be delivered of thy illness, ” ( Creative Commons ) . When she awoke, Constantine ‘s girl was cured of the leprosy she had been enduring from and was whole. Constantine ‘s girl was

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baptized, and had a church built by Agnes ‘ grave. It is said that Agnes appeared to others as good

as Constantine ‘s girl at her grave or church. After her entombment, Agnes was said to hold

appeared to her parents with a battalion of virgins, and she told her parents that they should non mourn her, for she is with her partner and love, Jesus Christ ( Creative Commons ) .

Another visual aspect Saint Agnes made was to a priest of her church, who wanted to acquire married. This priest had asked the Catholic Pope to be relieved of his services so that he might get married. The Catholic Pope alternatively gave him a ring to give to Saint Agnes, and told him to inquire her to be his married woman. The priest did so, and an image in the church accepted the ring. To this twenty-four hours that ring is on one of the images of Saint Agnes in her church ( Creative Commons ) .

Today, on Saint Agnes ‘ feast twenty-four hours, two lambs are blessed at her church in Rome, Italy, and so their wool is sheered. The wool from the two lambs is woven into the cerebral cortexs that the Catholic Pope gives to the archbishops as a symbol of their legal power ( Leo ‘s Design ) .

Saint Agnes is the frequenter saint of many things, including misss, engaged twosomes, the Children of Mary, colza victims, and virgins ( Leo ‘s Design ) . Harmonizing to William Benton, she is mentioned in the canon of the Roman mass ( 330 ) .

I chose to make my study on Saint Agnes of Rome because of all time since I was in 2nd class I have wanted to be confirmed as Agnes, after this saint. I used to travel to a school called Saint Agnes, and I loved and learned about her there. Saint Agnes could hold chosen a pleasant, easy life and married the prefect ‘s boy, but she chose non to because of her love for Jesus Christ. Agnes traveled the hardest portion of her journey entirely except for God, because her parents likely did non back up her determination, and many people likely thought she was a sorceress. It must hold been even harder because Christians were persecuted more readily so than they are today. Saint Agnes loved and trusted God wholly, and that, even without the fright of decease, is ever hard, even today. She believed in God wholly, and he saved and protected her from

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all bodily injury until the blade that killed her. I ca n’t state for others, but I know that I admire her

courage, and wish I could be more like her. I know that when I hear Saint Agnes ‘ narrative it reminds

me that anything is possible with God, and it gives me strength to finish whatever challenge may confront me.

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To analyze seventeenth century literature, one can barely overlook John Donne and to read done literature, one can non ignore his love sonnets through which Donne ‘s position of love and how he viewed the adult females of his clip, as the object of this love, can be scrutinized absolutely.

However, one facet remains changeless ; Donne seldom lingers over the adult female ‘s physical visual aspect, and leaves the reader to presume that the adult female in Donne ‘s verse form is a shady figure, the object or contemplation of male desire, or a sex object to be circulated for the exhilaration and amusement of Donne ‘s male groups.

Beauty was merely a thing that happened by opportunity and is accordingly, as Donne concludes, of no existent worth. Not merely was beauty of no existent worth, but neither were the females themselves.

These ideals were set forth chiefly by mediaeval and early-modern Christians, who found several justifications for adult females ‘s lower status in the narratives of Genesis and the New Testament ; 1 ) adult female was created after adult male, and hence adult male must be more perfect ; 2 ) Eve ‘s function in the autumn suggests pride, that she was governed by passions, and that adult females ‘s beauty and gender made them possible corrupters of adult male ; 3 ) adult females were clearly expected to be subservient to their hubbies ; and 4 ) as the ‘weaker vas, ‘ adult females possessed non merely less physical, but less mental strength than work forces. Though there were so many statements against the female sex, the female physical ( non needfully sexual ) organic structure and psyche was held in the highest respect, particularly the abovementioned thought of the female as “ vas. ”

John Donne expanded this thought in his poesy, composing about adult females in a manner that degraded their physical organic structure, their mental and emotional capablenesss, and their relation to the male sex. Women, in John Donne ‘s eyes were seen as a necessary portion of the male-female, body-soul connexion but were unsafe every bit good. Womans, in the 16th and 17th centuries were believed to transport merely every bit much truth – and secrecy – as work forces. Womans were vass that could be filled ( with anything ) ; this capacity non merely made adult females appealing, but made them unbelievable agents of any force, good or bad.

The relationship between organic structure and psyche, a relationship Donne regarded as one of common necessity, was the specifying bond of his life. His experiences ( of friendly relationship, love, wellness, unwellness, work, leisure ) were all conditioned by the interactions between the two parts of the ego. As a poet and a curate, the physical and the religious, the male and the female, the layman and the Godhead were inexorably linked for Donne, and were ever carried into his poesy.

To obtain farther grounds of how Donne, every bit good as his talkers, views the female organic structure, one must look closely at his poesy ; for illustration, Donne ‘s verse form “ Air and Angels. ” This verse form addresses the struggle of Love within the spirit and the organic structure. The verse form begins: “ Twice or thrice had I loved thee, / Before I knew thy face or name ; / So in a voice, so in a shapeless fire ” ( 1-3 )

In another verse form, “ The Extasie, ” Donne states that “ Our soules, ( which to progress their province, / ere gone out, ) hung ‘twixt her, and mee./ And whil’st our soules negotiate at that place, / Wee like sepulchral statues ballad ” ( 15-18 ) . Asserting this anterior belief that souls/spirits can go forth the organic structure to mix with other psyches, Donne carries this belief to the lines in “ Air and Angels. ” Possibly how he ‘met ‘ his lover, their psyches negociating far from their physical organic structures, Donne ‘s talker in “ Air and Angels ” believes his spirit met his lover ‘s spirit ( a voice or shapeless fire ) while their organic structures lay elsewhere. Despite the talker ‘s declaration that the female was disembodied and “ shapeless, ” and merely as psyches are required to take a organic structure, the talker needs to concentrate upon the human signifier ( as simply an empty outline/container ) in order to make full it with whatever he chooses, in this instance his love. The female lover addressed is the concrete incarnation required to finish this relationship.

The talker describes the determination of the physical being and their first meeting in the 5th line: “ Still when, to where 1000 wert, I came, / Some lovely glorious nil did I see ” ( 5-6 ) . When the talker came ( physically ) to where his female lover was, a “ glorious nil ” did he see. This interesting line becomes a sexual wordplay sing the female genital organ. If we look back at Galenic theories of foetal development, ( Galen, a outstanding Roman doctor, philosopher, and accomplished medical research worker ) we find that 2nd century doctors believed that the female was an inferior version of the male. Despite multiple grounds for this, one ground was universally accepted ; the female was an “ undercooked ” male for the parts that are indoors in adult female are outside in man.The outgrowth of the phallus in male foetuss was an look of “ doneness ” in foetal development. Since the vagina remained inside the female foetus, Galen and co-workers understood this to intend the female foetus was non “ done. ” Therefore, the female genital organ were nil, a “ glorious nil, ” and an interestingly present absence.

As a consequence, the talker supposes that he must make full that empty infinite, that absence, within this lover ‘s organic structure. He utters, “ Since my psyche, whose kid, love is/ Takes limbs of flesh and else could nil make ” ( 7-8 ) . Because the kid of the psyche is Love, Love needs a corporeal organic structure ; a place. Love must take a organic structure, so the talker asks Love to “ presume thy organic structure, I allow, / And repair itself in thy lip, oculus, and forehead ” ( 12-14 ) . Her organic structure is the container for Love, and the talker must come to acknowledge and love her physically.

Other footings throughout the verse form that suggest her organic structure is simply a container are “ ballast ” and “ tender ” ( a little boat ) as in: “ Whilst therefore to ballast love I thought, / And so more steadily to hold gone, / With wares which would drop esteem, / I saw I had love ‘s tender overfraught ” ( 15-18 ) . In the verse form, Donne expresses that the talker ‘s love is excessively much for the female ; that he invades her and “ love ‘s tender is overfraught ” ( 18 ) . What should hold been a stabilising weight ( Love ) was emotionally unwieldy for the bantam vas. The talker had intended to stabilise love ‘s boat with wares which would drop an undistinguished ship of mere esteem, but alternatively had overloaded even Love ‘s ship ( a more powerful abstraction than mere esteem ) , unbalancing the really Love which he meant to maintain safe. The concrete and physical specifics were excessively overpowering for human love, which can non inhere ( be portion of something natural and built-in ) in discorporate liquors. Here, Donne reasserts his passionate belief that one can be neither merely affair nor merely spirit ; one must capture both. Therefore, neither can Love happen its permanency in “ nil, ” nor in the appendage or glare of passion or beauty as the talker states, “ For, nor in nil, nor in things/ Extreme, and dispersing bright, can love inhere ” ( 21 ) ( Nutt 24 ) . In the concluding lines: “ Merely such disparity/ As is ‘twixt air ‘s and angel ‘s pureness, / ‘Twixt adult females ‘s love, and work forces ‘s, will of all time be ” ( 26-28 ) , Donne stresses the Elizabethan sentiment that there will everlastingly be a duality between a adult male and a adult female ‘s love. A adult female ‘s is more fugitive and sacred, yet harder to capture and more widely sought after, hence, less “ bodily ” and more “ spirit-like. ” These factors besides make her love less stable. A delicate balance is required to non merely maintain Love afloat, but to non overburden it every bit good ; even the most carefully placed, but lopsided ballast can easy tip the tender of Love.

In “ Air and Angels, ” the female organic structure is highly misunderstood, and described as a mere container for Love to busy. Although look up toing adult female for her ownership of a sacred and widely sought-after Love, the full verse form relies upon the female signifier and the fact that it is uninhabited and can easy be filled with a assortment of things. The transforming regard of the witness, need non be constrained by an being outside the organic structure. In imaginativeness at any rate, it might be possible to sail into the organic structure which could therefore look as a topographic point of infinite infinite, a topographic point with infinite possibilities ( 140 ) . Sadly, this filling is non done of her ain will, but of the male talker ‘s ; she must digest his use and idealistic position of love, and addition nil in return save an overfraught tender. And in Donne ‘s verse forms, we seldom hear the female voice, or learn of Love from the female position.

In the bulk of Donne ‘s verse forms, the talker is male, and the audience is preponderantly male. John Donne was a clique poet, significance that he wrote to a choice group of close friends, most likely poets themselves. Writing in an epoch where a female was deemed a lesser being than a male, Donne was entirely following the conventions used by other coterie poets by composing misogynous Hagiographas about adult females from a hypermasculine point-of-view. And though he seldom wrote about Love itself, he did compose about Love in the sense that it was an abstract male-female connexion.

Work cited

The Norton Anthology of English Literature Volume one, Sixth edition.

Abjadian, A. A study of English Literature. Tehran ; 2006.

www.wikipedia.com

When we were foremost given this assignment, I thought, how will I larn anything from this? By the clip I was on the 3rd chapter I had my reply. A book filled with emotions, calamity and difficult clip, I could n’t assist but believe how in some ways, many of these are slightly like today ‘s. While, granted, the bulk of us still have occupations, instruction, and roofs over our caputs, I will explicate subsequently on how there are many similarities between today ‘s economic system and the economic system which lies within this book. But first, allow me take you into the absorbing universe that is, The Grapes of Wrath.

It begins with the debut of Tom Joad, fresh out of McAlester prison after functioning four old ages for manslaughter. As he makes his manner back place he is incognizant of what has happened in the last few months while he has been locked up. When a truck driver, who kindly agrees to give Tom a lift slightly of the manner, asks him why he is returning place to what is most likely empty land as its more than probably that the Bankss have seized it, as they have done with many other belongingss. On his concluding stretch of route in which he walks, Tom comes across a tatterdemalion looking adult male sitting in the shadiness of a tree. It turns out to be Jim Casey, the sermonizer from the church Tom attended as a kid. As they walk together we hear of how Casey has decided to no longer a sermonizer due to his behavior with misss after mass. As the brace arrive to the farm in which the Joad ‘s owned it is noticed how dead it is. While houses are half knocked, Tom recognises how no 1 had stolen wood or anything else. He realises that what the teamster says was true and fears he will non be able to happen his household. Fortunately for him, an old neighbor informs him that the Joad ‘s have gone to Uncle John ‘s place, and program to travel to California from at that place on. When Tom arrives to Uncle John ‘s he is heartily greeted by a happy male parent, Pa, and an even happier female parent, Ma. As he settles down he learns of how the Bankss have evicted households from their land as the bankers are non doing adequate net incomes from the agriculture. It is so announced that the program to travel to California is in fact true. They have been told that many occupations are to be found and that one could do a batch of money from picking the likes of oranges and grapes. Bombarded with this intelligence Tom insists on fall ining his household. They plan on going in a truck which was picked out by Tom ‘s younger brother Al. We are besides introduced to the youngest sibling Ruthie and Winfield along with Tom ‘s pregnant sister Rose of Shannon who is married to Connie, a local male child from a neighbouring farm. We besides meet Tom ‘s grandparents. It is told how they all plan on going in this truck, including Tom and the sermonizer, with all that they posses. As they pack up what is left of their properties, holding sold most of it to do money to acquire to California, the household make up one’s mind it is clip to travel. However, holding lived on the land all his life Grandpa decides he does n’t desire to go forth. Knowing he ‘ll be asleep shortly the household complete the wadding and carry him to the truck, and off they set.

As autos line the Highway 66 we learn of how every squeak, every jar and every hushing of noise is to be listened for in the truck. All driver know precisely how far it is from service station o service station, aware of the possibility of interrupting down and holding no manner of repairing the auto if they are in the center of nowhere. It is after go throughing through Oklahoma and settling for the dark that the first calamity occurs. As the household draw up and bivouac on the route side they meet a adult male, Ivy Wilson, and his married woman, Sairy, whose auto has broken down at the side of the route, all households worst incubuss. We besides find out that Grandpa is ill, really ill. The Wilson ‘s are sort adequate to offer their collapsible shelter for Grandpa to lie down in, nevertheless, it ‘s non long before he has a shot and unfortunately passes off. It is so decided to bury Grandpa and to go forth a non saying what happened. Come morning, both households decide it will be a good thought to go together from now on. With the Wilson ‘s auto fixed for now, the all set off one time once more. However, on the 3rd twenty-four hours of going the Wilson ‘s auto one time once more brakes down. Tom and the sermonizer stay behind with the auto while Al brings the remainder of the household to a nearby encampment topographic point before heading back to Tom and the sermonizer to assist repair the auto. Back at the cantonment site a adult male is informing Pa of how there is really no occupations in California and it is a waste of their clip traveling at that place. Not being one to be put off, Pa bushes the remarks to a side and continues on with his eventide. When the male childs arrive back with the auto fixed they decide to kip in it so as to avoid holding to pay more money to remain in the cantonment site. However, in the cantonment site, Grandma is highly ill, holding fallen ailment after the decease of her hubby. Geting sicker by the minute the household decide to head off at the cleft of morning so as to make the desert before taking nether interruption. Once the range the outskirts of the sweet, technically already in California, another adult male tells of how he is on his manner place after gaining there is no proper occupations to be had in California. As Grandma gets worse the household make up one’s mind it will be easier to take the desert at dark so they set off. However, this clip it is with sibling Noah, who has decided that he wants to remain on the outskirts. Convinced he is non truly loved by his household he pleads with Tom to inform the remainder of the household about his determination. When Ma hears this, she believes her household is falling apart. As the household get stopped for a everyday review, Ma pleads with the constabulary to allow them on as Granma is in demand of some medical intervention. However, when they reach the other side of the sweet, Ma announces that Granma has been dead since the review of the truck. The household eventually arrive to a cantonment where there is a little possibility of acquiring work, nevertheless as a battle breaks out between Tom, the sermonizer and a constabulary adult male, it ‘s realised that Tom has one time once more interrupt his word. The sermonizer kindly steps frontward and takes the incrimination for the battle and he is put in prison. With the disappearing of Connie as good, the household decide to travel on to another cantonment. It is here that Tom finds work and the household start to settle, nevertheless, after a few hebdomads Ruthie accidently outs Tom about being in prison and the household must one time once more travel on. Here strikes the 3rd calamity, Rose of Shannon gives birth to a still babe. With heavy rain endangering the hovel in which the household are remaining in, they decide they must happen dry land. On their travels they see a barn and venture to it. It is here they find a adult male and his boy. The adult male is deceasing have n’t non eaten in yearss. So ill that he is unable to eat any solid nutrients, merely milk or soup, it is here that Rose of Shannon asks the household to go forth them entirely for a piece.

John Steinbeck, born Febuary 27th 1902 wanted to be a author. He graduated high school in 1919 and went on to analyze at Stanford University. Having left University without a grade he moved to New York to prosecute his passion of going a author. When times were tough at that place he moved back to California where his first novel was published. He wrote a sum of 20 seven books and in 1962 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He is best known for his plants including East of Eden, Mice of Men and of class, The Grapes of Wrath, is an writer that many people can fall in love with. His ability to convey you into a book and do you experience like you are at that place with him, along for the drive. He does n’t compose to compose, he writes to inform and edify 1s ego of what times had been like. He connects profoundly with the book, about as if he is stating you his really ain life narrative. It ‘s rare to experience as if the writer is composing from the bosom. Yet, Steinbeck draws you in from the really get downing. His ability to do you oppugn what his characters do, how they act and what they say. It ‘s as if he is a portion of the book and the book is a portion of him. It ‘s about as, daring I say, if he got stuck in witting, the book could give him a intimation as to where to travel on from. A great author, possibly, an even better narrative Teller.

It ‘s astonishing how a book can merely catch your attending from the start. It sucked me right in. I was in a universe of my ain reading it. I could n’t assist believe to myself how things are so different now but yet, so the same. However, some of Steinbeck ‘s descriptions bothered me a spot. While they were full of imagination and gave great item, I found myself oppugning was it truly necessary. Such as the first chapter on dust. I merely did n’t see how it related to the remainder of the narrative. I do nevertheless, understand why there was such great description sing California, it was the hereafter of the household so I was happy to read about it. I merely felt that some spots of it seemed meaningless, they did n’t look to add to the narrative line and frequently, I felt myself planing over it to acquire to the good portion. But when we reached the parts about the household I was in my component. Reading the battle they had to get the better of, about being able to see it was astonishing. One of my favorite minutes in the book was when we read of how Tom and Al had found a debris pace and because the proprietor was n’t at that place, they were able to acquire pieces of a auto at a fraction of the monetary value to what it would of been had the proprietor been at that place. It merely shows how concern proprietors were taking people for granted, cognizing they would pay about anything to repair up a auto so they could acquire to California. There were many minutes in this book when I merely halt and believe. The looks people used, the cognition people had without an instruction. It was astonishing to see how the male childs were able to repair up a auto that had something incorrect with it that I had ne’er heard of. At the age of 16, Al was able to pick out a truck he knew was trust worthy plenty to acquire him and his household all the manner to California. He was so able to drive the truck and listen out for any little, uneven noises the engine might do. The manner it was written, you would hold thought he was in his mid-twentiess, non a immature teenage male child. I besides thought the character of Tom Joad was one of the best written characters I have of all time read approximately. He puts everything aside to mind and protect his household. He is even willing to allow them travel in front and remain behind if it means they will be happier and no problem will follow them. He did n’t inquiry interrupting his word to remain with his household. It ‘s as if he was the knight in reflecting arm for the household. Possibly sometimes a difficult read, over all, there was a sense of achievement reading this book. It would n’t hold been one I would hold read out of wonder, but I ‘m glad I got to read it. There is something particular about completing a book and holding it linger in your head for a clip after.

Who would hold thought a book about the great depression would somewhat mirror today ‘s economic system. Does that demo merely how bad things have gotten? I think it ‘s clip we have a expression and happen out merely how much the economic system in The Grapes of Wrath are mirrored in today ‘s economic system. Let ‘s foremost compare the “ monsters ” , otherwise known as the bank directors. Back so, they regarded the bank directors as the monsters as they took the land in which people lived on, took all their money and got off with it. I think it ‘s just to state today that the Bankss can be called monsters as good. Some high up bank directors have besides taken what is n’t theirs and a few have in fact gotten off scot free, or have been somewhat punished but nil to what should hold happened. Therefore I think it is just to state that in both universes, bank directors can be regarded slackly as monsters. I besides think the book helps explicate what is go oning in the economic system today. We seem to be in a province of daze, or we were when the recession foremost happened. it was like nil we have of all time seen earlier. Jobs were traveling left and right. Peoples all of a sudden realised they had auto loans and monolithic mortgages to pay and did n’t hold the money to pay them. Suddenly Bankss did n’t hold money and set force per unit area on people to pay up. We ‘re selling our 2009 Mercedes and B.M.W.s for 2004 Opel Astra or a Ford Fiesta so that we can afford to run it and pay back loans. We ‘re no longer heading in Brown Thomas on a Saturday afternoon to sit down with a friend to hold a java and a scone merely because we have n’t seen them since last Saturday! We non traveling into the bag section and purchasing a Miu Miu bag because we think it ‘ll travel with one outfit we have. Now let ‘s expression at what happened in the Grapes of Wrath. Suddenly they excessively had a strain on their money. They sold what they had to do money. They were cognizant of how much they could afford to pass on a auto to acquire them to California and non a penny more. They knew how much they would necessitate to pass on gas to acquire at that place. They knew they may necessitate some trim hard currency to set towards parts for the truck if it broke down. They were n’t traveling down the town for a few pints, or passing money on Sweets for the kids. To me, the lone difference between both universes is one thing and one thing merely, the kids in the Grapes of Wrath understood what was go oning, even at the stamp age of seven or eight. Now, do n’t acquire me incorrect, today, plentifulness of 16 twelvemonth or 17 twelvemonth olds and above understand what ‘s traveling on. But allow ‘s be honest, the younger kids do n’t. They do n’t understand that Ma and Pa may non be able to acquire them that Xbox game they wanted this month, they ca n’t afford to purchase a new brace of Uggs every clip a brace gets soaked and takes a few hebdomads to return to normal coloring material. But the kids in The Grapes of Wrath, Ruthie and Winfield for illustration, they know why they ca n’t hold a saloon of cocoa ; they know how lucky they were to be given Sweets towards the terminal of the book. It ‘s as if, straight away the Joad ‘s were cognizant they need to maintain money tight. It ‘s besides as if, it took people today a piece to gain they needed to make the same, but after clip, they realised. We could hold learned from this book though. There was no authorities bond outs in the Grapes of Wrath, no NAMA, no 2nd opportunities. Imagine if we had applied such thought to our economic system. If your thought would we be in the same places as the Joad ‘s had no such bond outs occurred, I know we would n’t hold. But we can larn from this book to assist us today. We can be smart with our money. We can make as Tom and Al did and pass maintain the money they saved when purchasing the auto parts. They could hold gone down to a saloon and had a great dark if they wanted to. But they were smart with their money. We could travel and book a vacation with the money we could acquire for selling a twelvemonth old auto and down rating to an old auto, or we could make as the male childs did, and salvage it. Put it towards the hereafter. Bring back the economic system so our kids and expansive kids can hold the life we had. We can larn a batch from this book sing the economic system. Our economic system today is their economic system seventy old ages ago.

It could easy be said that The Grapes of Wrath is about one thing and one thing merely, the difficult times people can fall on. But we know it ‘s non. While it is about the difficult times, it is besides about the unbreakable yet breakable bond of a household, their desire to populate another twenty-four hours and their will power to travel on when everything is traveling against them.