In classic literature it is considered a sin to think too highly of yourself, having too much pride or vanity would lead to feelings of dislike by people of your class. The reason you would be disliked is because your peers will get annoyed with you. In “The Rape of the Lock,” by Alexander Pope, he takes that distaste and annoyance toward people to a whole new level. In this now classic new twist on epic poetry, it’s timeless characters can be anyone from any time period. Pope’s version of epic poem is a very welcome twist to an old classic. He took the original traits of the poem and revamped it to become his own.
The Rape of the Lock is a poem in which things, not people, are the heroes. The diminution of the human, made ridiculous
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However, there are some out there who believe that she needs to be taught a lesson, that looks are not everything.
Fairest of mortals, thou distinguished care Of thousand bright inhabitants of air… Some secret truths, from learned pride concealed…Think not, when woman’s transient breath is fled, That all her vanities at once are dead: Succeeding vanities she still regards, And though she plays no more, o’erlooks the cards. Her joy in gilded chariots, when alive, and love of ombre, after death survive (1138-39).
Pope in the first canto uses excellent phrases and play on words to draw you into his poem of the abnormal. When reading any part of the poem it can associate with any time period. It is that style that continues to make the poem still popular today. Right from the beginning it has traits that get you hooked and puts the reader in shock for how selfish and naïve Belinda appears. She gets a warning from Sylphs at the beginning of the tale. It appears in a dream. Dreams are a common in many epic tales, epics haven’t always been in poetry form. For example, Shakespeare gave many of his characters warnings in his plays. In “Macbeth” one of the most famous, Macbeth is having dreams along with visions trying to warn him of dangers that are going to come. In Belinda’s dream Sylphs were trying to warn her that there was going to be man who was going to kill her vanity. Since she doesn’t believe
Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.
One of the things that is so fascinating about poetry is that it allows readers to discover and sometimes challenge and channel their emotions as well as their understanding. A poem’s words as well as its structure can reveal many things to its intended audience. In “Myth” by Natasha Trethewey, the poems form is just as important as the words she writes, becoming a map for the journey Trethewey takes, using transitions to take us from one place to another. The nature of the poem therefor becomes multifaceted, as it encourages the reader to think about the speaker’s words and use of form and structure she uses to craft this epic story. Using form as a tool, Trethewey is able to use structure as a way to guide us as readers and the speaker across the conscious and unconscious thoughts and dreams the speaker faces in this story.
“Once upon a time there was a wife and mother one too many times” (Godwin 39). This short story begins with the famous opening, once upon a time, which foreshadows that the story line will be similar to a fairy tale. It raises expectations for the story that all will be magical and end happily. A typical modern-day fairy tale is that of a distressed character who overcomes an obstacle, falls in love with prince charming, and they ride off into the sunset; living happily ever after never to be heard from again. Godwin however, puts an unexpected twist on “A Sorrowful Woman”. This short story is a tale about what can happen when everyday roles take over our identity. Ultimately, this short story challenges societal expectations of marriage
In terms of literary quality, Chaucer went great lengths to give all elements a bit of attention. The work is primarily about a knight who is pardoned from a rape on the condition that he acquires the answer to one of life’s
In the poem, “35/10” by Sharon Olds, the speaker uses wistful and jealous tones to convey her feeling about her daughter’s coming of age. The speaker, a thirty-five year old woman, realizes that as the door to womanhood is opening for her ten year old daughter, it is starting to close for her. A wistful tone is used when the speaker calls herself, “the silver-haired servant” (4) behind her daughter, indicating that she wishes she was not the servant, but the served. Referring to herself as her daughter’s servant indicates a sense of self-awareness in the speaker. She senses her power is weakening and her daughter’s power is strengthening. It also shows wistfulness for her diminishing youth, and sadness for her advancing years. This
And he also shows that when a judge is greedy when it comes to a case. At the same time in lines 111-114 when Pope is displaying that the upper-class make a simple situation into a large commotion. For example when Belinda lost her lock of hair, her shrieks got everyone’s attention
“The courtly lady…possesses a curiously hybrid gender. While maintaining stereotypically female sexuality, she also holds, in principle at least, the status of a feudal lord.” Burns’ statement insinuates a reversal of power dynamics between man and woman in the courtly love lyric, implying that the woman’s stereotypical beauty and sexuality in courtship, is a gateway to subverting and overpowering the lovesick male, making her a superior lord. The Amour Courtois lyric is deemed inconsistent with the representation of woman as an empowered “feudal lord” due to the sheer objectification of femininity and beauty. Poets such as Geoffrey Chaucer and William Dunbar commend a woman’s aesthetic appeal or satirise the lack of it, thus elevating medieval misogynistic expectations of physical beauty as a feminine necessity that objectifies women under the control of man’s advances. Throughout courtly love lyrics female beauty is a purely frivolous and superficial trait lacking predominant depth, to render woman as a “lord” would be poetically conflicting as the only power exemplified by female subjects in courtship is through the idolisation and sexual lust of the male devotee.
This essay compares the conception honor in Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath's Prologue" and "The Franklin's Tale" from The Canterbury Tales. The problem of honor seems to be timeless in its difficulties. There are many ideas and opinions concerning this delicate subject, which always is popular, along with its ability to frustrate and perplex the human. During the time of Chaucer, females such as the Wife of Bath were asserting their rights against the forces of male chauvinism. Apparently, the battle of the sexes for supremacy is everlasting in its intensity and has always been fought. Consequently, we have both male and female chauvinists, and they appear in Chaucer's works. They make for interesting reading.
Initially, Collins demonstrates how one can weigh a dog’s weight with his method. Concrete diction in the first stanza, such as, “ small bathroom”, “ balancing”, and “shaky” suggest the uncomfortable nature of his intimate relationship with his pet. Although Collin is unappreciated for the gritty toil determination, he praise himself to applauded that “this is the way” and raising his self-esteem by comparing how easier it is than to train his dog obesity. In addition, the negative diction used to describe Collin holding his dog to be “awkward” for him and “bewildering” for his pet. This establish he rather force love rather willing show patience. When holding a pet on scale, there is less hustle because he secures the dog’s position by carrying it. Where as when he orders the dog to stay on the weighing scale with a cookie, his dog only followed him because of the expected reward.
The poem “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid is a lengthy poem describing society and the social structure in the early 50’s from what it sounds. The short story “Girl,” deals with the experience of being young and female in a poor country. This poem describes a time when stereotypical gender roles where a huge part of society women had duties that only women could do such as clean, cook, wash clothing, watch the children and ect. And the men were head of the house hold and preserved as high and mighty, the untouchables by women and children. “This is how you iron your father 's khaki shirt so that it doesn 't have a crease; this is how you iron your father 's khaki pants so that they don 't have a crease;”(Kincaid) is an example of how the poem spells out how the women are supposed to cater to men, how to act in public settings and a variety of other things women were “meant to do” or as ordered by men.
The poem, “The Theft Outright” by Heid E. Erdrich, a Native American poet, refutes claims made in another poem, “The Gift Outright” by Robert Frost, that America was empty before the colonists. In his poem, Frost claims that America was “unstoried, artless, [and] unenhanced,”(Frost 15) demonstrating blatant racism by erasing the entire Native American culture and race from American history. Erdrich counters his beliefs by citing the colorful, full lives of Indians in the past and now, directly juxtaposing his work by saying that the Americas are “still storied, art-filled, [and] fully enhanced”(Erdrich 30) because of the Native Americans that lived there then and now. Similarly, the book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by
Conversely, Pope adopts a colloquial, sing-song-like tone in an effort to inaccurately characterize war as simple and effortless. Her application of the word “laddie” throughout her poem The Call communicates the informal and conversational presentation of the topic, for the word is often used in everyday, casual settings. Such a careful choice of language demonstrates her subtle downplay of the seriousness of war, for choosing to converse in such an informal manner when discussing a subject of this magnitude highlights her intention to equate war to the everyday connotation of her word choice. In addition, it allows her to appeal to her audience on a personal level. Rather than merely posing questions to her audience every other line, Pope chooses to address them personally with the inclusion of “my laddie”. Perhaps this intimate acknowledgment contributed to her poem’s success in persuading men to enlist. Likewise, the entirety of The Call exhibits her deliberate illustration of war as a sport or game, specifically in lines such as, “Who longs to charge and shoot” and “Who’s keen on getting fit” (Pope 11,13). These understated comparisons accentuate her sing-song-like tone, for they are consistently followed by rhetorical questions that challenge a reader’s loyalty and commitment. This rhythm Pope develops in The Call results in a forced steady read, much like that of nursery rhymes. Although indistinct, the rhythmic similarities between nursery rhymes and The Call
Patricia Lockwood’s The Rape Joke is a risky composition- not because it discloses information about Lockwood’s personal rape experience, but because it does so from a comedic stance, ridiculing the unfortunate event and the events leading up to and after it. While the creation of the poem was prompted due to the sexual assault she experienced, the content and subject are not centered around the incident or the assaulter but around rape culture and the sociological concept of victim blaming, from both society and oneself. There is no such thing as a rape joke-the joke is the incredulous ways society has guided people to respond to it.
College-age adults are known to be high risk for sexual violence and most studies show that one in three women have experiences some type of sexual assault whether it was through physical force or harassment. These statics are known by most women on college campuses to ensure that women know and understand that this could happen to them. The issue is more than ensuring that women are aware of how protect themselves and know how to avoid these situations because it shouldn’t even be happening. When women are taught that they should know how to defend themselves we are saying that this type of behavior is normal and inevitable. We should shift from this dynamic and start teaching both men and women that this behavior is completely unacceptable and that sexually assaulting or harassing someone is NOT normal. This paper will mostly focus on incidents of rape and sexual assault on college campuses and what the outcome and reactions of these incidents were.
The views of women have altered over time, but have always had objectifying tendencies. During the 18th century, cosmetic alteration to natural beauty peaked and materialism heightened throughout societal views. Authors such as Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift vividly spew these views throughout their writings. Pope’s Rape of the Lock exposes the materialism used in objectifying women, mainly in the upper-class societal levels. The whole plot of the story centers around a cosmetic appearance creating an objectified view, as since the lock of hair was cut from a woman's head, the missing lock became, so called, evidence of a man’s sexual conquest. Other sexual conquests, forced or not, are spoken with anything but love and only those of