Chloe McKee
English 112- Formal Essay 1
February 28, 2011
Morals, Personality and True Identity
Ironic Symbolism is used to define the conflicts within “The Flea” by John Donne and “The Unknown Citizen” by W.H Auden by having a significant object, which is a flea and a monument, which represent a conflict that is portrayed throughout the poem. The flea represents three different arguments that are introduced in each stanza based on sex and the morals behind it. The monument in the “Unknown Citizen”, symbolizes the model citizen only based on statistics and not the true identity of the human such as their personality. Both these authors create a compelling conflict with arguments and evidence which can be portrayed through the ironic
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Therefore, it is suggesting that sex would also be unimportant considering the circumstances. All of this plays into the idea that he is trying to make his lover decrease the value she places on her virginity. He uses the idea that if the whole body is seen as less important, then each part of the body would also seem less important. Therefore, the lover would not be so concerned with protecting her virginity and would just give it up.
Donne then introduces the image of the flea as their “marriage bed and marriage temple” (l.13). This emphasizes the intimate nature of the mingling of blood presented earlier. The flea is a place where the two lovers can have a marital relationship. Donne is suggesting that the mingling of their blood is affiliated to marriage. The conclusion that he would like his lover to come to is that if they can be considered married in the body of a flea, why can they not have that same relationship and all the physical aspects that go along with it in the real world. In the final three lines of the second stanza he compares the killing of the flea to murder. It would be “three sins in killing three” (l 18) since he and his lover would be killed within the flea if she were to follow her natural tendency to kill the insect. He even states that the act of killing the flea would be “sacrilege” (l.18). This means that it would be an offence to religion. If the lover denies the fact that their blood
The third stanza is the inevitable ?fall from grace? as our speaker has finally ?taken off the gloves? and resorts to the vengeance of cold steel. The speaker utters one last phrase of motivation as he/she eerily takes pleasure in holding the tool of his nemesis? destruction. ?The food from our mouths, I said, righteously thrilling to the feel of the .22, the bullets? neat noses.? The killer now takes a moment to lament on his/her course of action, acknowledging that her pacifism is a thing of the past; that he/she was once comparable to Darwin and his pension for non-violence. However, this does little to dissuade he/she from swiftly taking the life of the pests. ?I, a lapsed pacifist fallen from grace puffed with Darwinian pieties for killing, now drew a bead on the little woodchuck?s face. He died down in the everbearing roses.? This stanza marked the turning point of the narrative as our speaker has been pushed beyond their boundaries into an unfamiliar realm of pleasure. A side of them has been exposed that has remained dormant for what appears to be the duration of their life. It is now a newfound sensation that has thrilled them beyond
He justifies saving the flea’s life in line 11 by saying that now they are “more than married” through the flea. The speaker says that they are the flea, and the flea is their marriage bed and temple, therefore justifying premarital sex between the two. Now, making his plea, the speaker goes further by saying in line14 that “we are met,” meaning that they have already been sexually acquainted because of the mixing of blood between the two lovers inside of the flea’s body. The speaker then explains that if she were to kill the flea, she would be committing three sins against God in killing herself, him, and the flea.
As the girl threatens to kill the flea, the speaker begs her to stop. He states that all three of their lives are in this flea, and that through the blood of the flea he and her are already married. If the girl were to kill the flea, he feels that it would be the equivalent of murdering all three of them. The speaker is desperately trying to manipulate the girls actions too his advantage. Donne uses more metaphors too twist his words into a more convincing argument.
In the novel ‘’Night’’ Eliezer survives from Auschwitz and surprisingly almost dies from food poisoning.The irony in this is that he could of died many ways at Auschwitz but ultimately almost dies from food poisoning.That is also a form of situational irony meaning that the situation turns opposite of what you expect.Another example of situational irony in’’Night’’ is when Chlomo Wiesel makes a remark about the yellow Jewish star,mocking it by asking if its lethal,but wearing the yellow star is what kills him in the story.In this essay I’ll be giving you more three more examples of irony throughout the novel ‘’Night’’.
As in the other stanzas, this arranges its four supporting arguments into three couplets and a triplet by rhyme. However, whereas the first stanza loosely held the ideas to couplets, the second shows more organization in thought. This further structure is necessary to support the conceit of the flea as a holy church. The support for this idea is arranged into the following four sub-argument: one, do not kill the flea, because we have conceived within it; two, thus, the flea is like a “marriage bed,” and by extension, a “marriage temple”; three, despite your parents’ and your concerns, that’s the way it is; and four, if you kill the flea, you commit three sins – killing me, killing yourself, and sacrilege by violating the sanctity of the marriage temple. Note that Donne does present an argument to seduce his beloved in this stanza. His words are filled solely with reverence and concern for the flea. Through this, we can see the earnestness and seriousness of the passion he has for his beloved: the sanctity of their relationship – even their surrogate relationship within the flea – is sacred to him.
The use of simile in the last stanza ‘matchstick hands as pale as the violet stems they lived among’ is used to compare a frog to violet flowers, which are very delicate and easily broken. The innocence of childhood is painted through this visual technique as the narrator only sees the frogs being very delicate, but to the readers the simile also creates a vivid image of the condition of the ‘Frogs’/ the French. The use of first person helps to create a reminiscent tone about the narrator’s experiences, and further helps to stress the ideas of childhood innocence and the influence of war on children because the poem is written from a child’s perspective. The use of enjambment generates a conversational and personal tone, emphasizing to the readers the reality of the themes discussed throughout the poem. The use of symbolism of frogs as pets and also representing the French highlights the idea that adults saw ‘Frogs’ as insignificant or unworthy to speak about, whereas the children could not understand this adult thought, and they placed exemplary regard to the wellbeing of the
The metaphor is further enforced in lines 8 and 9 when Donne illustrates the image of the swollen flea "pampered swells with one blood made of two" (line 8) introducing the image of a baby, and the idea of pregnancy. With the possible allusion of a pregnancy Donne is emphasizing that he is attempting to sleep with the woman. Thus, Donne continues to use the image of a flea to unconventionally simplify lovemaking. The absurdity of the poem is portrayed through the use of a flea to convince a woman into bed, when a flea would typically connote repulsiveness, dependency, and something ugly and simple, which mooches off of others. In the second stanza of the poem, the speaker continues to emphasize his conceit, although it has become clear that the woman wants to remove the flea from her body, and consequentially the relationship with the speaker. "Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare" (line 10), the speaker is now relying on guilt, persuading the woman to spare not only the life of the flea, however he goes as far as mentioning the lives of himself and the woman. Drawing a comparison once again to the act of love, the speaker mentions marriage, portraying that the flea has joined them eternally much like a marriage would. Marriage is a significant motif in the second stanza, which also relates to
For several years I failed to grasp the important aspects of literary and rhetorical devices. . However, since the beginning of my junior year my understanding of literary and rhetorical devices has improved substantially. Especially on the correspondence of identifying literary and rhetorical devices when reading. Also being able to incorporate these devices into my writing. Such as in my comparative analysis. I wrote about the irony in “Lamb to the slaughter” by Roald Dahl and “Desiree’s baby by kate chopin”.
Without doubt, Edgar Allan Poe’s story is one of the author’s masterpiece. The story is an exhibit of artistic genius with various literary features well incorporated. Among them, irony, defined as, “A figure of speech which is a contradiction or incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs”, is the most evident. Allan Poe demonstrates the use of various types of irony throughout the play, which he uses to pass the intended message to the audience.
Lack of emotional intimacy in sex leads to suppression of feelings, and this can affect one’s ability to create an attachment, worst still, feelings of awkwardness crop. This is evident as Olds puts it in (line 7), “wet as children at birth whose mothers are going to give them away.” Mother giving away her child is a metaphor depicting dangers of unwanted pregnancies as a result of casual sex. The image of undesired childbirth illuminates negligence and irresponsibility since the lover 's intention was not bearing children. This unplanned procreation highlights the fallacies of sex without love.
Itchy, tiny, and crawly are words that people use to describe a louse, but Robert Burns’s poem “To a Louse” tells a different story. Although this poem has a rough exterior, the story should not be overlooked just because of the different writing style. The poem begins by telling the story of a little louse peeking out of a sophisticated woman’s bonnet. The third person feels that this low life louse does not belong with a classy lady, but he should be among the beggars. Then, the poem ends pointing out that the woman is being acknowledged by the bug on her bonnet and not by her looks. The poem ends with a message in the last stanza saying “To see oursels as ithers see us!” (Burns). Understanding the summary of the poem, the story can be further explored by looking at the background and literary devices. In evaluating this poem, one can gain an insight on the historical context, irony, and how this literary device affects the audience’s thoughts.
He takes it a step further by stating that in the flea they “yea more than married are” (2.1). It is one thing to note that a flea contains two individuals’ blood, but to say that this union is greater than marriage is very extreme. Yet Donne executes this unlikely comparison with the utmost confidence, creating a surprisingly poignant argument. When the speaker says “though parents grudge,” he acknowledges that the woman’s parents (and society in general) would show great disapproval for such behavior (2.5). However, he replies that they are “cloistered in these walls of jet” (2.6). He describes their blood as secluded within the flea to remind his lady that they are also far away from any condemning parents. When the lady threatens to kill the flea, the speaker shows his opposition when he states “And sacrilege, three sins in killing three” (2.9). Once again, it seems strange to jump to the defense of a bothersome insect, but when we consider the flea as two lovers and the chamber that houses them it becomes more rational.
He goes on to suggest that, when she has killed the flea that holds blood, which in this case is considered as ?life?, from both him and her, that the blood lost had not weakened them (?Find?st not thyself, nor me the weaker now?) and she had not lost any honour. Therefore, with these points considered, the blood she would lose to him would not make her weaker and she would not lose any honour, ?Just so much honour, when thou yield?st to me/ Will waste, as this flea?s death took life from thee?. To some extent, both poets express a way in which they will consummate or have consummated their mistress. Marvell suggests that they should ?roll all their strength and all/ Their sweetness into one ball? and ?tear? their pleasures ?with rough strife/ Through the iron gates of life.? Whereas Marvell explains the consummation as aggressive, sensual and romantic, Donne uses the flea, a very insignificant, unromantic creature, to imply sexual intercourse, ?and in this flee, our two bloods mingled be.?
Satire is a specific classification of writing that occasionally makes utilization of realistic and performing expressions with the aim of scorning society into self-change. With social criticism being its fundamental objective, it uses dark sarcasm as its primary device to get the point across. Satire impacts people to reconsider themselves so as to alter senseless thoughts and behaviors. Different techniques are utilized in delivering the satirical impact, those of which use wit as their primary weapon. These methodologies mix the acing of matching unimportant and authentic matters as one joke, demonstrating compliment yet meaning the contrary to show ambiguity, and asking rhetorical questions. Moreover, the creator may downplay an issue keeping in mind the end goal to move the group of audience towards the genuine significance of the theme, antagonistically; distortion is utilized to bring down the effect of an issue to its lesser quality. Aggregately, these procedures are practiced to draw out the human follies and vices in society. In Molière 's Tartuffe and Jonathan Swift 's article A Modest Proposal, both diagonally condemn and criticize human conduct and the discernment we have towards others. Through a comedian conveyance, these creators offer an understanding past the apparently self-evident, and expect to enhance this flawed custom of one sidedness as opposed to disposing of it.
George Orwell’s allegorical novella, Animal Farm is a satirical retelling of the events leading up to the 1917 Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin. After the animals rebel against Mr. Jones and his employees, they set up a government constituted by “Animalism”, which in its raw state parallels the basic principles of socialism. In order to govern them, they create basic laws meant to unify them known as, “The Seven Commandments”, which they write on the outer wall of the barn. However, the pigs begin to disobey the commandments and change them to get away with it. None of the other animals notice due to their illiteracy, so Napoleon continuously exploits this fact to get what he wants. As a result, the farm that was meant to be utopic