Loneliness in the Lady of Shalott and Mariana.

“Actually, feeling lonely has little to do with how many friends you have. It 's the way you feel inside. Some people who feel lonely may rarely interact with people and others who are surrounded by people but don 't feel connected” (Karyn Hall 2013). Truthfully, loneliness is something almost all people fear. It 's a deeper feeling then just being isolated. It 's feeling distant or disconnected from others. Loneliness is so much more than just feeling secluded, it 's feeling rejected by society, or even like an outcast. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck suggests that there is a deeper meaning to being lonely than just the superficial sense of

Loneliness is one of many central themes in John Steinbeck’s classic novella, Of Mice and Men. Throughout the story many characters sought after the company and attention of others. Each character has a certain barrier that keeps them isolated from the outside world. Three characters who portray this loneliness throughout the novella are Crooks, Curly’s wife, and Candy. Each having a different wall between them and society.

“Loneliness is a common emotion when someone feels alone, separated from others or unsupported and distressed” (Kennedy). A common occurrence of many great authors is to make a theme regarding loneliness or isolation for example, “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Yellow Wallpaper”. “The Fall of the House of Usher”, comparatively speaking, is a very challenging read for most, whereas “The Yellow Wallpaper” is more of a relaxed read. There are many differences between “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Yellow Wallpaper”, however, there is a common occurrence that links the two, loneliness. Throughout the two short fiction pieces both characters, Roderick Usher from “The Fall of the House of Usher and Jane from “The Yellow Wallpaper”, are isolated from the outside world, both characters have an illness that keeps them in isolation, and both characters in some way turn to a form of literature to pass time . All of these aspects contribute significantly to loneliness.

When isolated from society, loneliness becomes a part of you. In the poems, The Wife’s Lament translated by Ann Stanford and The Seafarer translated by Burton Raffel, are two similar and different poems. The characters in these poems handle their exiles in different ways. The way the two characters reflect from their exile is based off Anglo-Saxon values and beliefs. These poems compare and contrast the exile between men and women.

“I think cruelty is loneliness disguised in bitterness” (Thomas W. Hiddleston). This quote expounds how the lack of company and friends can potentially lead you down a path of heartlessness, and despair. In the story Of Mice and Men, you follow the duo George and Lennie in their quest to achieve the American dream. John Steinbeck utilizes his story Of Mice and Men to show how the loneliness of the characters leads to their cruel actions, he exposes this through the characters Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife.

In the novella, Of Mice and Men, author John Steinbeck creates a world of solitude and isolation through the characters of his story. The men and women in Of Mice and Men illustrate that though one may not physically preside alone, the characters will portray the mental and emotional seclusion and the overwhelming feeling of loneliness that still dwells within them. The inevitability of aloneness within the lives of each one of Steinbeck’s characters in Of Mice and Men alludes to the fact that it does not matter the situation one may currently or previously endure, one’s mental status, marital status, or racial status, the feeling of loneliness will preside in the mist of all the other feelings that one may feel. John Steinbeck displayed that seclusion and desolation which presides in the world in which the characters of the novella Of Mice and Men dwell in and their lives and trails display how each one of them either over overcome or become victim of the obliterating feeling of loneliness.

The speaker refers to the night as his acquaintance. This implies that the speaker has a lot of experience with the night, but has not become friends with it. Thus, because even the night, which has been alongside the speaker in comparison to anything or anyone else, is not a companion to the speaker, the idea of loneliness is enhanced. In addition, “rain” (2) is used to symbolize the speaker’s feelings of gloom and grief, because there is continuous pouring of the rain, which is unlikely to stop. In line 3, “city light” is used to convey the emotional distance between the speaker and society. Although the speaker has walked extensively, he has not yet interacted with anyone – thus distancing himself even further from society. Moreover, the moon, in lines 11 to 12, is used as a metaphor of the speaker’s feelings. The speaker feels extremely distant from society that he feels “unearthly.” The idea of isolation and loneliness in this poem is used as the theme of the poem; and the use of the setting and metaphors underscores the idea that the speaker feels abandoned from society.

World famous poet, Edgar Allan Poe, once wrote in one of his poems, “From childhood’s hour I have not been. As others were, I have not seen. As others saw, I could not awaken. My heart to joy at the same tone. And all I loved, I loved alone.” In those lines, Poe demonstrates his love for being alone because his childhood was full of isolation, meaning that the writer grew used to the feeling. Since boyhood throughout his adult life, Edgar Allan Poe endured through a series of unfortunate events. From his parents dying, his animosity with his foster father, his consecutive poverty, to facing rejection from the public, the man’s life was as ominous as his fiction. This essay will discuss the reason behind the writing of one of Edgar Allan

Isolation is omnipresent: in the world and among literature, as it is a component of human nature. Although, sometimes, societal standards create outcasts, isolation can be of one’s own making. Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shallot is epitomizes isolation. “Four gray walls, and four gray towers, / Overlook a space of flowers, / And the silent isle imbowers / The Lady of Shallot” (line 15-18). The Lady of Shallot is physically isolated in a tower, but upon her own accord for she fears to interact with the outside world due to a “whisper” (line 39) that said she would be cursed if she paused her weaving to look outside at Camelot. So, she observes the town indirectly through a mirror only seeing shadows. Her weaving makes her happy but soon enough, she becomes, “half sick of shadows,” (line 72). Once she hears Sir Lancelot sing, “Tirra lirra,” (line 107) she leaves her art of weaving and breaks her isolation and the curse bestows her. She had isolated herself and diligently worked on her art: it is once Sir Lancelot comes that she risks the truth of the curse.

When we look at Tennyson as content with his seclusion, we see also see a man who also desired his poetry to be heard. . Perhaps it was the voice of disapproval foe materialism to be heard from by the public, torn by the materialism brought with fame. He had been said to have a desire to be famous, and was called "the most instinctive rebel against the society in which he was the most perfect conformist" (p.1911). The need for fame could be the temptation for materialism, or perhaps the recluse giving into materialism gave leverage for his poems to be heard. The conflict can be thought of as Tennyson's curse, causing opposing feelings. The curse is reflected in "The lady of Shallot." At first, the lady is content in seclusion. She becomes mesmerizes by materialism of glittering gold of the Red Crosse Knight. His

Veering from the egocentric poems of the Romantic era, Victorian poets began to write poetry not only to express the feelings of an “I,” but also to inspire change in the collective “we.” Being from a historical period with a dramatic class divide, Victorian poets wrote with the intention of crafting beautiful lasting poetry as well as articulating a need for cultural reform in their now. One of the most renowned Victorian poets, Elizabeth Barrett Browning possessed the expert skill of integrating not only imagery and precise rhyme scheme into her poetry, but afflicting her readers with a sense of pity so paramount they had no choice but to make a change.

The poem Mariana by Alfred, Lord Tennyson was published in 1830 and is the text I have chosen to do closely analyze. The subject matter of the poem was taken from one of Shakespeare’s plays titled “Measure for Measure”, and the line: “Mariana in the moated grange,” gave Tennyson the inspiration to write of a young woman waiting for her lover. The two texts share a common theme of abandonment, as in Shakespeare’s play the young woman is also diligently awaiting the return of her lover Angelo after his desertion upon discovering her loss of dowry. Similarly to Shakespeare’s text, Marianna lacks action or any narrative movement, the entire poem serving as an extended depiction of the melancholy isolation

“Maud: A Monodrama” is the lengthy poem that dominated the first collection published by Alfred, Lord Tennyson after he became poet laureate. In its rich and romantic symbolism, it is characteristic of the great poet 's work. Notable, also, is its critique of the hypocrisy and other social failings of Victorian Britain. “Maud” became one of the best-known poems of the period, and continued to be influential even after its style became dated.

Tennyson portrays the isolation of women through the reoccurring theme of Romanticism, this is shown through the poet’s constant associations with nature being the centre of the poem. The poet focuses more on the surroundings of the main character as she lives “By the island in the river…And the silent isle embowers The Lady of Shalott.” Tennyson presents the speaker to hide the details of the actual lady, her imprisonment and the curse which leads us to believe she is a mystery as the nature around her seems overpowering and consuming her. Tennyson portrays the lady in the poem to be an embodiment of a typical woman of the contemporary culture as he describes ‘A charmed web’ which the woman is ‘weaving, either night or day’. The ‘web’ can be a symbol of slavery but also a symbol of creativity and possibility. When the woman tries to turn away from the web she refuses to be a slave and ultimately

Robert Browning and Alfred Lord Tennyson are celebrated authors and poets in the field of field of literature. A deeper analysis of some of their works displays particular similarities and distinct differences that make each one of them unique. For instance, Browning’s My Last Duchess and Tennyson’s Ulysses show similarities in the overall theme, death, but each brings it out in different styles. This essay explains the comparison of the two poems in detail and the respective significance of use of stylistic devices.