Analysis Of ' Ezra Pound 's '

Throughout the ages, poetry has played--and continues to play--a significant part in the shaping of a generation. It ranges from passionate sonnets of love to the gruesome realities of life. One such example of harsh realism is Wilfred Owen 's "Dulce et Decorum Est." Owen 's piece breaks the conventions of early 20th Century modernism and idealistic war poetry, vividly depicts the traumatizing experiences of World War I, and employs various poetic devices to further his haunted tone and overall message of war 's cruel truths.

The purpose of war is again in question through the ironic titles evidenced in most of Owen’s poems. In ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’, the sweet and fitting death is contrasted against the bitter and

William Blake’s “London” and Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” appear to have little in common. Although at first they may seem different, they have many hidden similarities. Ultimately, Blake and Owen enhance the overall message presented in their poems by allowing the reader to fully gasp the meaning by connecting them through their senses, the overall consequences of the event, and the importance of the issue.

Throughout the sixteenth century Satire was used as a method of both exposing and correcting vice. Isabella Whitney, the first known woman in England to publish a volume of poetry, wrote several satirical works. Throughout the duration of this course, although on the syllabus, satire was never discussed. Whitney used satire to write her two final poems “A Communication Which the Author had to London Before She Made Her Will” and “The Manner of Her Will, and What She Left to London and to All Those in It at Her Departing” which were published as the final two poems in her second volume, A Sweet Nosegay. They were written as a critique of modern London at the time. Although very little is known about the life of Isabella Whitney it is very possible to assume that her works, including these two, are autobiographical. These two works, regarding Isabella Whitney’s “last will and testament” to London should be included in L309 because of the different perspective that could be gained through; reading a work in which the speaker is portrayed by the poet, acquiring a female perspective, hearing the view of a member of the lower class, and the additional perspective it could add to the discussion regarding satire, or start the discussion in the case of this semester.

To help Year Twelve students that are studying poetry appreciate it's value, this pamphlet's aim is to discuss a classic poem and a

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Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” makes the reader acutely aware of the impact of war. The speaker’s experiences with war are vivid and terrible. Through the themes of the poem, his language choices, and contrasting the pleasant title preceding the disturbing content of the poem, he brings attention to his views on war while during the midst of one himself. Owen uses symbolism in form and language to illustrate the horrors the speaker and his comrades go through; and the way he describes the soldiers, as though they are distorted and damaged, parallels how the speaker’s mind is violated and haunted by war.

Early English literature proceeds from orally transmitted storytelling, relying on the construction of an epic past to develop a sense of patriotism within the country. As written culture becomes more prevalent, however, this genre’s timeless attribute diminishes due an increase in recorded history which gradually turns literature’s focus from mystical origins to a concrete present. Frame narrative, or stories within a story, exist prevalently within the epic genre, but persist throughout this transition, generally preserving structure, but mutating in function. Although early literature forms like the epic employ frame narratives to convey their grandiose style, the transition from historical epics to satirical poetry aligns with frame narrative’s transition as an element of style to one of theme.

In the Republic, Plato proposes the complete censorship of imitative poetry from his ideal city, arguing that it corrupts individuals’ souls and therefore has a negative effect on society, resulting in injustice within the city. Although seemingly trivial at first, when considered within its proper context, the censorship of imitative poetry from the city would result in severe consequences. Throughout this essay I will discuss the political and psychological implications of its censorship, and will also refute Plato’s argument, showing how it lacks soundness: notably, through a criticism of his epistemology. Regarding the political implications of the censorship of poetry, I will draw from the ideas of Karl Popper, who argued Plato to be one of the most influential philosophers on the emergence of totalitarian regimes in the 20th century, laying the foundations for their very existence (K. Popper, 1945). I will also show how poets themselves have an important political role within cities, in that they enable the general population to hold the state accountable for their actions. To discuss the psychological implications of poetry’s censorship, I will compare the contrasting views of Plato and Aristotle regarding its effect on the soul, whereby Aristotle claims that poetry actually has beneficial, cathartic effects. Following these criticisms, it will become apparent that Plato’s proposed ban of imitative poetry is indefensible.

In "London", William Blake brings to light a city overrun by poverty and hardship. Blake discards the common, glorifying view of London and replaces it with his idea of truth. London is nothing more but a city strapped by harsh economic times where Royalty and other venues of power have allowed morality and goodness to deteriorate so that suffering and poverty are all that exist. It is with the use of three distinct metaphors; "mind-forg'd manacles", "blackning Church", and "Marriage hearse", that Blake conveys the idea of a city that suffers from physical and psychological imprisonment, social oppression, and an unraveling moral society.

London by William Blake is a poem characterised by its dark and overbearing tone. It is a glimpse at a period of England's history (particularly London) during war and poverty, experienced by the narrator as he walks through the streets. Using personification it draws a great human aspect to its representation of thoughts and beliefs of the narrator.

During the Romantic Period, poets believed themselves to be very politically aware and important. William Blake and Charlotte Smith are those amongst those Romantic Poets who took it upon themselves to educate the public on the events of the time; particularly the established Church, the Industrial Revolution and the Slave Trade in Haiti: ‘[Poetry] speaks to a divided society in an attempt to constitute its readers as citizens of what [Geoffrey] Hill calls… the just kingdom… and the commonwealth’.

the whole novel: “the linguistic pattern of choices realizes a primitive pattern of cognition, which in turn is the key to the tragic vision of the novel.”(Leech & Short, 2001: 32) Halliday being the widely acknowledged precursor of functional stylistics, the eminent German linguist-critic Leo Spitzer (1887-1960), is likewise father of literary stylistics. In his insistence that the smallest detail of language can unlock the “soul” of a literary work, he maintains the task of stylistics is to provide a hard-and-fast technology of analysis: I would maintain that to formulate observation by means of words is not to cause the artistic beauty to evaporate in vain intellectualities; rather, it makes for a widening and deepening of the aesthetic taste. It is only a frivolous love that cannot survive intellectual definition; great love prospers with understanding. (Leech & Short, 2001: 2) A question which is often asked in this connection is “At which end do we start, the aesthetic or the linguistic?” The image used by Spitzer of the “philological circle”, the circle of understanding, however, seems to suggest there is no logical staring point. Spitzer argues that the task of Linguistic-literary explanation proceeded by the movement to and fro from linguistic details to the

Bridging the distance between nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poetry is of great significance. As often the case with innovators and artists who are ahead of their times, Gerard Manley Hopkins was torn by contradictions and his poems regarded as unconventional for the historical period. His works are specifically marked by the varied use of linguistic features and rhythmic patterns which did not match the traditional writing styles of the

   By imitating writing styles of ancient poets, Ezra Pound exhibited his attitude toward modern civilization, and his famous poem, Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, is the stereotype. In this poem, Pound revealed his disagreement with industrial society. The poem is an imitation of other old poetic styles, or epic style; however, it presents ironic meaning. To fully understand Pound's divergence from modern culture, the ways of presenting his position will be firstly explained. Next, the focus is on the contrast between the elitist and popular culture. Finally, to highlight Pound's attitude, I prefer to make comparison with other literary masterpieces, Odyssey, which have similar poetic style,