A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

The Civil Rights Movement in the United States refers to a set of events and reform movements in that country aimed at bringing to an end public and private acts of racial discrimination and racism against African Americans between 1954 to 1968, Whenever the civil rights is brought up there are names that almost always come to mind like Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks. But there are others both black and white that participated in the movement. That are not as famous or not mentioned in history but played a major part in the movement.

The book “My soul is rested”, by Howell Raines takes place during the civil rights movement in the South. Howell Raines was a white southern journalist who interviewed many people like activist, lawyers, and many other people in the states of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi that were involved in the civil rights movement. As known, Rosa Parks was the person who sparked the civil rights movement by refusing to give up her seat and move to the back of the bus for the one white citizen that was left standing on the bus. Unfortunately she was arrested, fingerprinted, incarcerated, and trialed over this situation. Because of Rosa Parks’ courage on December 1, 1955 people are now able to ride, sit, and coexists with other nonblack people. Just like two of the many activists, Horton (white) and Malone Jones (black), were two important characters in the civil rights movements. The Civil Rights Movement was a social movement in the U.S. to end racial segregation and discrimination against blacks. Raines wrote this book in order for people to tell their side of their story in the civil rights movement. This book is about political and social history. It’s also a tribute to everyone that made history happen.

William Wordsworth existed in a time when society and its functions were beginning to rapidly pick up. The poem that he 'Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye', gave him a chance to reflect upon his quick paced life by taking a moment to slow down and absorb the beauty of nature that allows one to 'see into the life of things'; (line 49). Wordsworth's 'Tintern Abbey'; takes you on a series of emotional states by trying to sway 'readers and himself, that the loss of innocence and intensity over time is compensated by an accumulation of knowledge and insight.'; Wordsworth accomplishes to prove that although time was lost along with his innocence, he

“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth, a poem that discloses the relationship between nature and human beings: how nature can affect one’s emotion and behavior with its motion and sound. The words the author adopted in this poem are interconnected and related to each other. They are simple yet profound, letting us understand how much William Wordsworth related his works to nature and the universe. It also explained to us why William Wordsworth is one of the greatest and the most influential English romantic poets in history. As Robert DiYanni says in his book, “with much of Wordsworth’s poetry, this lyric reflects his deep love of nature, his vision of a unified

Millay throughout her poem utilizes symbolism which sets the tone of loneliness and nostalgia, making it easier for the reader to grasp the meaning of the poem. The first two lines of the poem, “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why, / I have forgotten, and what arms have lain” (Millay 1-2) the speaker explains in a subtle way about her former lovers she has now forgotten. “Under my head till morning; but the rain/ Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh/ Upon the glass and listen for reply,” (Millay 3-5) the speaker uses symbolism on her former lovers as ghosts that are tapping and can be interpreted as them prompting her memories. “And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain/ For unremembered lads that not

The second and final work I am critiquing is from a book entitled, ‘The Life of William Wordsworth: A Critical Biography’ written by John Worthen. I have selected a chapter which pairs nicely with article mentioned above. The chapter features both Wordsworth and Coleridge as well. However, it is not as critical as the article, it is more biographical and informational which is to be expected in a biography. The chapter focuses on the years 1806 to 1807. It begins with the mention of the death of Wordsworth’s brother, John. According to Worthen, this deeply effected Wordsworth and he had little success with the poetry he was writing during this time. Worthen then, points to ‘Elegiac Stanzas’ which confronts his late brother’s death, displays a new sense of reality, and again redeems him as a poet. Worthen states, “The poem makes the narrator 's youthful state of ecstatic, thoughtless love for the natural world — ‘of lasting ease, / Elysian quiet, without toil or strife’ — utterly unreal, in contrast with the realities of life as he now knows them. A ‘fond delusion of my heart’ he calls that old love, ‘to be pitied’ not believed in” (328). The author implies that the death of his brother drastically changed his worldview. The bleak reality of a world without his brother led to Wordsworth becoming more mature and wise after experiencing loss. The author then shifts to discussing ‘Tintern Abbey’ and his reflections during a time of youth. I believe that the author mentions the

William Wordsworth’s poem, “Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting The Banks Of The Wye During A Tour. July 13, 1798” (also known as simply, “Tintern Abbey”), was included in the book Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems. This was a joint effort between himself and author Samuel Taylor Coleridge. “Tintern Abbey” remains one of Wadsworth’s most famous poems, and at its printing, the book was completely sold out in two years. The name of the poem reflects the inspiration Wadsworth felt upon visiting the ruins of an old church called Tintern Abbey, with his sister Dorothy.

The poem, "The Night House" by Billy Collins, is very symbolic and meaningful, and most people can relate to because everyone has something they are not content with in life. Collins is a great, straightforward writer that people can depict with in his poems because he is practical and uses simple things or everyday experiences in an easy way. This poem in particular is very symbolic and effortless to analyze because it is the everyday life--- going to work, coming home, and then going to sleep--- the cycle then repeats over and over. He talks about "the body works" at the beginning (which sets the tone for the rest of the poem), which symbolizes that our hearts and minds are not always into what we are doing. He talks and illustrates figurative parts of the body: the heart, mind, conscience, and soul. When he talks about the woman sleeping, all these figurative body parts are restless and come out at night to do what they really want to do.

Throughout “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” William Wordsworth shows his relationship with nature through his choice of diction, fantastic descriptions, and shifting mood of his poem. There are also many words and phrases that Wordsworth included into his poem that shows how he feels about nature. These phrases are well written, extremely descriptive, and show how Wordsworth is influenced by the wild: “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, “When all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils", “Continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the milky way, they stretched in never-ending line along the margin of a bay: ten thousand saw I at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance”, “The waves beside them danced; but they out-did the sparkling waves in glee”, “I gazed—and gazed—but little thought what wealth the show to me had brought”, and “For oft, when on my couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood, they flash upon that inward eye [...] and then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils.” Another phrase, which indicates that the flowers were so beautiful that no true poet could be sad in their presence, also builds upon Wordsworth’s relationship with nature. These particular lines in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” show how Wordsworth’s mood shifts from somber and lonely to joyous and content. The lines also show how the gorgeousness of nature sticks with

William Wordsworth was born in 1770. His mother died when he was eight years old, and his father died five years after. Wordsworth went to school in Hawkshead, a place he and Coleridge would eventually transform into one of the “poetic centers of England” (Greenblatt 124). Wordsworth wrote conversational poems, that tackled themes such as memory, wisdom, and imagination. He argued that poems should be written without what is generally considered to be “poetic language,” and that they should be written as if they were being spoken, with conversational language.

“Her long shadow fell to the water’s edge. Her face had a tragic and fierce aspect of wild sorrow and of dumb pain mingled with the fear of some struggling, half-shaped resolve. She stood looking at us without a stir, and like the wilderness itself, with an air of brooding over an inscrutable purpose…”

“In Tintern Abbey, Wordsworth fears the loss of his genial spirit and seems to be worried about his poetic ability. Similarly, Coleridge, in Dejection, admits that his poetic originality is at stake” (Magnuson 15). In the forth stanza, Wordsworth writes, “Nor perchance / If I were not thus taught, should I the more / Suffer my genial spirits to decay” (113-115). Likewise, Coleridge, in the third stanza, writes, “My genial spirits fail” (39). Actually, both Coleridge and Wordsworth admit that they have been facing problems with nature. In the beginning of the third stanza, one can feel the sad tone of Wordsworth’s poem. The poet tells us how he lost part of his feelings toward nature. His ideas become “dim” and “faint.” He writes, “And now with gleams of half extinguished thought, / With many recognitions dim and faint, / And somewhat of a sad perplexity” (59-61). He cannot feel nature the same way he used to do as a child. Describing the way he was as a child, the poet says, “I cannot paint / What I was then” (76-77). Similarly, Coleridge asserts that he used to view nature differently as a child. In the beginning of the sixth stanza, he says, “There was a time when, though my path was rough, / This joy within me dallied with distress, / And all misfortunes were but the stuff”

Throughout the beginning of the poem there are religious undertones Coleridge uses words like bended knee and reverential to highlight a religious belief and perhaps a plea to God to cure the “Pains of Sleep” this is interesting as he seems to feel “humbled” by the spirit presence. He mentions being weak but realises he is blest by this power. The religious undertone suggests to me a feeling of utter helplessness.

William Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey" celebrates imagination and emotion over rationality and reason, and intuition over science. It is the beginning of English Romanticism in the 1800's and Wordsworth was one of the leading poets of that era. He introduced the readers to grasp nature and fully appreciate all aspects of it. "Tintern Abbey" focuses on Wordsworth's nostalgic experience on returning to the Abbey, but pays much attention to the poem's theme of emotional beauty and nature. In this poem, the reader finds Wordsworth's intense and loving memory of natural scenes.

William Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, West Cumberland in the year 1770. Many years later he died at the age of 80 on April 23, 1850. Wordsworth lived a life full of struggles and pain but many accomplishments. He lost his mother at the age of 8 and was sent to a school in Hawkshead. In 1791 after he graduated with a degree at Cambridge University, he became an avid supporter of the French Revolution which seemed to him to promise a “glorious renovation” of society. He then married a French woman named Annette Vallon and had a daughter Caroline. Soon after Caroline’s birth Wordsworth had an emotional breakdown because the lack of money he had forced him to return to England. Years later he remarried a childhood friend, Mary Hutchinson, and had five children in which only three survived. In 1805, his favorite brother drowned and in 1810 his sister Dorothy's physical and mental state declined however, with the agony he grew up with underlied many of his greatest poems. He remained famous, as he was