From the first depiction of the subject of The Wanderer, “earth-stepper,” “earth-walker,” and “the Wanderer,” the translators Greg Delanty, E. Talbot Donaldson, and Alfred David differ in their translations (Delanty l. 6, Donaldson 112, David l. 6). These differences build throughout the rest of the poem, eventually leading the audience to arrive at different conclusions based on each translation. By translating the Christian ideas in the poem (God, Earth, human) with distinct word choice, Delanty, Donaldson, and David create translations of The Wanderer that demonstrate the pitfalls of choosing inaccurate language.
Delanty, Donaldson, and David cannot agree on the proper translation of the most central element of Christianity, God,
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By focusing on replicating the poetic structure of the original Old English in Modern English, Delanty betrays his background as a poet, compared to David and Donaldson, who are both professors. By choosing poetic form over a more accurate translation, Delanty describes a concept of an impersonal deity, a concept that did not exist in the time of the poem, and leads the audience to the conclusion that the poet confused religious views. Conversely, by drawing on Biblical tradition, David and Donaldson inject strong Christian sentiment into the poem that the original poet may not have intended and suggest to the audience that the Christian God held a prominent role in Anglo-Saxon religious life. In direct reference to God for the second time, Delanty’s choice of “Shaper” follows a different path than David’s and Donaldson’s “Mankind’s Creator” and “Maker of Mankind,” respectively (Delanty l. 85, David l. 85, Donaldson 113). Delanty continues to develop the deity of the poem in distinctly non-Christian terms. While the capitalization of the term clearly indicates Delanty considers this moniker representative of God, he does not make a connection to Christian teaching. This suggests Delanty believes the God, or higher power, of the poem does not align with the God of Christianity and the poem has fewer connections to Christianity than the translations of David or Donaldson would suggest. David and Donaldson use similar
Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor are two poets who are puritans. They are able to use writing and language to portray their ideas on G-d and religion. Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666 by Bradstreet and Huswifery by Taylor are similar in the sense that G-d is always a part of their poems, whether it’s direct or through the use of complex writing. Through the use of language and metaphors, Bradstreet conveys that a connection with G-d could be strengthened through destruction while Taylor reveals that a connection can be reinforced through creation.
The song “Believer”, by Imagine Dragons, they sing about how the pain and depression, they were going through, has made him stronger than before. This song tells us that your greatest strengths come from your weaknesses. Imagine Dragons are trying too say that “Pain” and depression and sadness are only stepping stones to your strength, in this song. “Believer” is about that you don’t have to dwell on your troubles and can look on the bright side of things. This song also explains that you can become a “Believer” by embracing all of the problems going on in your life today. The theme of relationships in this song is highlighted through many various examples of similes, metaphors, and other literary devices throughout the song.
William Blake’s 1793 poem “The Tyger” has many interpretations, but its main purpose is to question God as a creator. Its poetic techniques generate a vivid picture that encourages the reader to see the Tyger as a horrifying and terrible being. The speaker addresses the question of whether or not the same God who made the lamb, a gentle creature, could have also formed the Tyger and all its darkness. This issue is addressed through many poetic devices including rhyme, repetition, allusion, and symbolism, all of which show up throughout the poem and are combined to create a strong image of the Tyger and a less than thorough interpretation of its maker.
In John Irving’s novel A Prayer for Owen Meany, a boy with an uncanny way of persuading and changing people’s lives tugs at the reader’s heart throughout a powerful story. A special soul named Owen Meany is not only everyone’s friend, but also a symbol of Christ. Not only does Irving show us symbolism, but he also shows us many other literary devices throughout the entire novel.
The poem “The Wanderer” speaks of a man who has been exiled from his clan, and is now forced to roam the land alone. Separation from his fellow kinsmen and lord seems to be the worst fate imaginable. The man speaks of his great loss, remembering the time when he was happy with his liege,
In the poem “Ballad of Birmingham”, by Dudley Randall, many different things can be analyzed. The difference in the two translations; one being a literal translation, telling the true meaning of the poem, and the other being a thematic translation, which tells the author’s theme and symbolism used in his/her work. Another thing that all poets have in common is the usage of poetic devices; such as similes, metaphors, and personification.
Dickinson’s poem 1545 contains multiple meanings and interpretations. It is a criticism of Christianity, however, she criticizes in a rather witty way. Throughout this piece of literature, she uses words that have many meanings to dig at the bible and people’s narrow-minded beliefs within the sacred text. Dickenson also uses repetition to draw attention to certain words. Perhaps the ultimate gibe is that she takes seemingly long, complicated, and popular biblical stories and shortens them to four words or less. By doing this she gives off the impression that the “faded men” who wrote the bible are not as clever as they think; but rather they’re stories are simple and transparent.
These dark and grim metaphors might hide a deeper meaning, for in his essay "The Necessity of Atheism", Shelley compared religion and God to a "veil woven by philosophical conceit, to hide the ignorance of philosophers even from themselves" (Shelley ?) The fact that Shelley compared religion to a veil gives a whole new interpretation to this poem. The poem can thus be interpreted as
In the medieval period, the Old English elegies use unnamed speakers that offer similar descriptions of devastated landscapes and immense personal hardships. However, where the unknown authors’ of the Old English elegies often present smilier descriptions and themes across their respective works, they do not present similar opinions on larger concerns like religion and the role of community. This is a concept that is interwoven into the framework of the Old English elegies “The Wanderer” and “The Seafarer”. By comparing and contrasting these two works, this paper will argue that the unnamed narrators’ vivid descriptions of landscapes, circumstances surrounding their exile, and climactic perspectives on the earthly community function solely
In Edward Taylor’s “Prologue” he seeks to demonstrate the inferiority of man in respect to God’s glory. Taylor begins his piece by creating a metaphor in which his own subsidiarity to God is described in terms of physical stature and uniqueness. He then purposefully includes phrases with erroneous meter and imperfect rhymes to demonstrate that his inferiority extends to his abilities as a writer. Taylor further attempts to establish his lack of authorial skills by including repetitious words, implying that he lacks an extensive vocabulary. When combined these tactics serve to support the idea that Edward Taylor has many shortcomings, both as a human and a poet, especially in comparison to the greatness of God.
The ideas that are received from the poems of John Donne and George Herbert present us with a very distinct view on God, and more generally, religion. Both were writing in the late 1500s and early 1600s; however the methodologies used by each are very distinct.
In the poems “The Wanderer” and “The Dream of the Rood,” anonymous authors give way to the idea that an Almighty God will solve every problem a person has by doing two things: 1) drawing upon the memories of a warrior who has lost everything near and dear to him due to war, and 2) entering the dream of a man who has been exiled and isolated. Each piece takes its reader through the trials and tribulations that one may not relate to in this era, yet the reader is still there alongside the character wanting them to find peace with their world and themselves. Initially, it is believed that the characters will overcome their hardships and achieve the happiness they seek. However, as the reader delves deeper into the character’s story, there is an overwhelming sense of incompleteness. What actually happens at the end of each piece is not written in stone - telling us the story is not whole - nor has a conclusion been reached. The intrapersonal thoughts being shared with the reader reveal the obstacles that keep an overall wholeness from occurring.
A comparison of Sharon Olds’ “Still Life in Landscape” with Linda Pastan’s “I Am Learning to Abandon the World.”
Poetry is a reduced dialect that communicates complex emotions. To comprehend the numerous implications of a ballad, perusers must analyze its words and expressing from the points of view of beat, sound, pictures, clear importance, and suggested meaning. Perusers then need to sort out reactions to the verse into a consistent, point-by-point clarification. Poetry utilizes structures and traditions to propose differential translation to words, or to summon emotive reactions. Gadgets, for example, sound similarity, similar sounding word usage, likeness in sound and cadence are at times used to accomplish musical or incantatory impacts.
Some of the recurrent themes and motifs in Hopkins’ poetry include the idea that the world resembles a book written by God, through which he expresses himself in order to provide humans with an opportunity to understand and approach him (Gardner 11). In ‘God’s Grandeur’ Hopkins can be seen to express his concern about the spiritual crisis of the Victorian period. During this time of urbanization and industrialization, Hopkins voiced his distress about human indifference to destruction. This poem is one of the very few which he wrote during the time when he served as a priest.