The two poems I chose are "Autumn" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and "October" by William Cullen Bryant. Both poems signify each other and are based off of the same time period. I chose them because they are intertwined in how Longfellow's poem talks about the season of autumn and Bryant's poem talks about the end of autumn and the beginning of winter. The real meaning behind Bryant's poem is the life of an old man who is excited to move on to the next chapter. It is implied that he is happy when the poem talks about the year "And the year smiles as it draws near its death," and how he knows his end is her, yet he is over joyed by the fact that he lived an excellent life (Bryant).
Both of the poems meanings are related in how they talk about the endings of the seasons and a journey of some sort. In "Autumn", it signifies the ending of a part of someones life or a change for the better, while in "October" it talks about the ending of someones life and explains why a person should not be afraid of death because it can mean many significant things for an individual. Since I believe in Christianity, I am going to relate my example towards it, but any religion can be adapted and substituted in. If you believe in God and accept him as your Lord and Savior and you act to the best of your ability like our Father, you have a good chance of going to Heaven. According to the bible, Heaven is so much more better than it is here on earth. It talks about how it is a sin free, stress free, peaceful, and perfect environment where everyone is always happy and no one gets hurt. To some this would be considered Utopia, while I feel that this is just a gift that we have earned for serving the Lord and widening His kingdom. The changed referred to in "Autumn", is the change in personality or beliefs that this person did not have before. This could be considered when someone accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior and changes and gains new beliefs that they did not have before. When something like this happens it is a beautiful sight as signified in the poem by Henry Longfellow, "Brighter than brightest silks of Samarcand," (Longfellow).
It is probably considered that these were two very easy poems, which yes they were, but that they have a very vague meaning behind them. I like the fact that they do because that means I can adapt and adopt different topics or ideas as what I believe because there isn't any real concrete answers. Even though these poems were short they had a lot of examples of Romantacism. In "Autumn" Longfellow uses many descriptive words and different analogies that make the poem more personalized and less professional which is what I kind of see in Romanticism poems. In "October", Bryant talks about the weather changing from fall to winter and the ups and downs that come from this. All in all, these poems go very well together and can be intertwined to give a good life lesson to people.
Bryant, William C. "October - Poem by William Cullen Bryant." Famous Poets and Poems - Read and Enjoy Poetry. Web. 12 Dec. 2011
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. "Autumn." Bartleby.com. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Autumn-analyzed
In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Autumn" it talks about autumn (obviously), but it also talks about life and the changes we go through and how they are for the good while also giving a descriptive literal meaning to the poem as well. The literal meaning to "Autumn" is the change in weather and the change of the color of leaves. Longfellow talks about the different changes that signify fall or autumn is coming and what that feels like to him. He starts out his poem with "Thou comest, Autumn, heralded by the rain" which literally means after summer comes fall brought in by storms and crummy weather, but goes on to say "Brighter than brightest silks of Samarcand" talking about the beauty these showers bring and the gleaming of the rain twinkling in the sunlight on the golden yellow leaves (Longfellow lines 1-3).
Obviously the literal meaning of this poem is far off from the real meaning behind it. The point Longfellow is trying to get across is about life and the different changes people have. People change so often just like the seasons do in a year. They are very distinctive and can be very beautiful and amazing things, but sometimes they can be pretty ugly. Just like in a season people have different moods different days. When Longfellow talks about the weather being rainy and then beautiful is just like a mood in someone (Longfellow lines 1-5). After the nastiness comes a happy mood and the day is great. In the poem he talks about fall and the change in leaves from their green color to their beautiful yellow and red colors before going to brown and the weather getting nasty again. He is trying to point out that we should take advantage of the good times and not look back on the bad.. That is why he only talks about rain in one or two lines and then goes on for the remainder of the poem to talk about the beauty found in the leaves and the cool breeze while in the sunshine. He talks about the joy that these things bring to people and the smiles it puts on their faces.
It could also be related to a relationship between two people. The nasty weather could signify the moments when a relationship is rocky and there are disagreements between the two. The beautiful fall weather could signify all of the happy moments you share with this person and that sticking with it and working your way through the downs is worth it in the end because the happy moments are so much more important. You shouldn't dwell on the past and you should trust your significant other. Anticipating the good to come in something is exciting and brings joy through the downs. If you truly like someone you can hate them one moment and be completely over it the next. A healthy relationship is basically two people who are best friends. You have to be nice to each other and work through things or else you will lose a great friend of yours. When Longfellow talks about the transition from the rain to the beautiful leaves falling from the trees signifies how much more important the big picture and the end is than the little things in the middle.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. "Autumn." Bartleby.com. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.
Obviously the literal meaning of this poem is far off from the real meaning behind it. The point Longfellow is trying to get across is about life and the different changes people have. People change so often just like the seasons do in a year. They are very distinctive and can be very beautiful and amazing things, but sometimes they can be pretty ugly. Just like in a season people have different moods different days. When Longfellow talks about the weather being rainy and then beautiful is just like a mood in someone (Longfellow lines 1-5). After the nastiness comes a happy mood and the day is great. In the poem he talks about fall and the change in leaves from their green color to their beautiful yellow and red colors before going to brown and the weather getting nasty again. He is trying to point out that we should take advantage of the good times and not look back on the bad.. That is why he only talks about rain in one or two lines and then goes on for the remainder of the poem to talk about the beauty found in the leaves and the cool breeze while in the sunshine. He talks about the joy that these things bring to people and the smiles it puts on their faces.
It could also be related to a relationship between two people. The nasty weather could signify the moments when a relationship is rocky and there are disagreements between the two. The beautiful fall weather could signify all of the happy moments you share with this person and that sticking with it and working your way through the downs is worth it in the end because the happy moments are so much more important. You shouldn't dwell on the past and you should trust your significant other. Anticipating the good to come in something is exciting and brings joy through the downs. If you truly like someone you can hate them one moment and be completely over it the next. A healthy relationship is basically two people who are best friends. You have to be nice to each other and work through things or else you will lose a great friend of yours. When Longfellow talks about the transition from the rain to the beautiful leaves falling from the trees signifies how much more important the big picture and the end is than the little things in the middle.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. "Autumn." Bartleby.com. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.
Rip and Tom
Irving's story of "The Devil and Tom Walker" is about a man selling his soul to the devil. There are many examples of Romanticism in this story like when Tom Walker meats the devil (Irving, "Tom" 244). He also goes to find his wife was hanged by the devil and doesn't care which proves that this story is a made up story or fairy tale because of the fact that if you found your wife was hanged however much you might hate her you cannot just ignore the fact like Tom did (Irving "Tom"). The story "The Devil and Tom Walker" and "Rip Van Winkle" are the same in how both men hate their wives. In "Rip Van Winkle" Rip was a very generous man and would help anyone that needed it, but never would accomplish his own tasks which got him in trouble with his wife. He would get in arguments with her and she would yell at him a ton. The story's are also the same in how both men wander off into the woods and find something mysterious. Both things that the men find are legends and get them in trouble.
In "The Devil and Tom Walker" Irving is almost sorry for Tom when writing his fate at the end. He isn't stern and make it sound like he deserved his punishment (which he did), but should be given a second chance as most people are when it comes to mistakes. It is a good example of how important it is to make the right decision the first time so it doesn't come around to hurt you and you regret it at the end. Tom was dumbfounded when offered such a large sum of money and didn't analyze what he was doing until it was too late. When he tried to fix it the devil dragged him off and he was never seen again. All of his possessions were burnt to a crisp and no one got to enjoy the treasure Tom was given (Irving "Tom" 250).
In "Rip Van Winkle" Rip makes a stupid decision of following and helping the shady character in the woods at night. He should have minded his own business and slept on a rock with his gun in his hand, but instead he got drunk and slept through the Revolutionary War...yes i said it, the REVOLUTIONARY WAR. I feel bad for Rip simply because he didn't get to experience this magnificent part of history (Irving "Rip" par. 19-24). Going off of what I was talking about earlier, this is another example of Romanticism and how these fictional stories are so much more interesting because of the impossible things that happen in them. I think that what makes these parts so interesting is the human mind and how it makes the person wonder if that could actually happen sometime even though it sound like a stupid thought and a ridiculous assumption.
These stories are a lot alike, but have some differences too. For instance, in "The Devil and Tom Walker" Tom gets some good out of his deal (Irving "Tom")while in "Rip Van Winkle" Rip sleeps through and misses out in a big chunk of his life (Irving "Rip" 25-68). There are always the obvious differences, but other that the one stated there aren't a lot of major differences between the two. I enjoyed both of the stories and would like to read more like these in the future.
Irving, Washington. "Rip Van Winkle." Bartleby.com. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.
Irving, Washington. "The Devil and Tom Walker." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 240-250. Print.
In "The Devil and Tom Walker" Irving is almost sorry for Tom when writing his fate at the end. He isn't stern and make it sound like he deserved his punishment (which he did), but should be given a second chance as most people are when it comes to mistakes. It is a good example of how important it is to make the right decision the first time so it doesn't come around to hurt you and you regret it at the end. Tom was dumbfounded when offered such a large sum of money and didn't analyze what he was doing until it was too late. When he tried to fix it the devil dragged him off and he was never seen again. All of his possessions were burnt to a crisp and no one got to enjoy the treasure Tom was given (Irving "Tom" 250).
In "Rip Van Winkle" Rip makes a stupid decision of following and helping the shady character in the woods at night. He should have minded his own business and slept on a rock with his gun in his hand, but instead he got drunk and slept through the Revolutionary War...yes i said it, the REVOLUTIONARY WAR. I feel bad for Rip simply because he didn't get to experience this magnificent part of history (Irving "Rip" par. 19-24). Going off of what I was talking about earlier, this is another example of Romanticism and how these fictional stories are so much more interesting because of the impossible things that happen in them. I think that what makes these parts so interesting is the human mind and how it makes the person wonder if that could actually happen sometime even though it sound like a stupid thought and a ridiculous assumption.
These stories are a lot alike, but have some differences too. For instance, in "The Devil and Tom Walker" Tom gets some good out of his deal (Irving "Tom")while in "Rip Van Winkle" Rip sleeps through and misses out in a big chunk of his life (Irving "Rip" 25-68). There are always the obvious differences, but other that the one stated there aren't a lot of major differences between the two. I enjoyed both of the stories and would like to read more like these in the future.
Irving, Washington. "The Devil and Tom Walker." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 240-250. Print.
Fireside Poets
The fireside poets consisted of many different writers of the 1800's. The most popular of these being Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, William Cullen Bryant, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell ("The Fireside Poets" 210). These men got their title from the idea that people would sit around the fireplace in their houses to read different stories and poems written by these men (The Fireside Poets" 210). Thus the name fireside poets came to be. As the term grew more common more and more poems were written.
This type of poetry, when compared to the Rationalism time period, was a lot more romantic and made up. Rationalist, also called Deist's, wrote based on logic and facts, while the fireside poets wrote in a more romantic and feelings based style. The fireside poets wrote about family activities, relationships, love, religion, and more. The Rationalist wrote about logic and reasoning and things that always made sense. The fireside poems were a lot more interesting to me because they talked about things that had room for imagination to take control and determine where the story was to go unlike the Rationalistic poems didn't. The Rationalism time period and writing style was more for educational purposes and the learning of facts and information. One of the main Rationalist was Benjamin Franklin, who would seem like he was a joking man with a good sense of humor, but we will never know because he didn't write about his feelings. He was strictly professional and wrote only about boring, dry topics. The fictional stories are always the interesting ones that tend to be enjoyed the most because there is adventure and imagination. It makes your brain think and reenact different scenes out in your brain. Most of these being things that aren't able to happen in real world situations and can only happen on paper.
The two different styles are definitely different in many ways, but are both important to our nations history. They are both enjoyed for their different reasons and are liked by different kinds of people. I personally am enjoying the fireside poets more because I have a huge imagination that can really be put into effect during these poems and stories. I also think that the fireside poems make you think about the story and the real meaning behind them a lot more.
From a writers standpoint, I feel that the Rationalism poems would have been a lot harder to write because you had to know the information and make it all work out. Personally, I wouldn't be able to stand myself if I was a Rationalism writer because its too dry and boring. When we did the section in English over this time period, it was extremely hard for me to continually pay attention. Now, I like to get into the discussions and understand these poems more. I think that realizing what the real meaning behind the fireside poems is easy, its just take the effort to try to analyze the poem and figure it out.
"The Fireside Poets." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 210-211. Print.
This type of poetry, when compared to the Rationalism time period, was a lot more romantic and made up. Rationalist, also called Deist's, wrote based on logic and facts, while the fireside poets wrote in a more romantic and feelings based style. The fireside poets wrote about family activities, relationships, love, religion, and more. The Rationalist wrote about logic and reasoning and things that always made sense. The fireside poems were a lot more interesting to me because they talked about things that had room for imagination to take control and determine where the story was to go unlike the Rationalistic poems didn't. The Rationalism time period and writing style was more for educational purposes and the learning of facts and information. One of the main Rationalist was Benjamin Franklin, who would seem like he was a joking man with a good sense of humor, but we will never know because he didn't write about his feelings. He was strictly professional and wrote only about boring, dry topics. The fictional stories are always the interesting ones that tend to be enjoyed the most because there is adventure and imagination. It makes your brain think and reenact different scenes out in your brain. Most of these being things that aren't able to happen in real world situations and can only happen on paper.
The two different styles are definitely different in many ways, but are both important to our nations history. They are both enjoyed for their different reasons and are liked by different kinds of people. I personally am enjoying the fireside poets more because I have a huge imagination that can really be put into effect during these poems and stories. I also think that the fireside poems make you think about the story and the real meaning behind them a lot more.
From a writers standpoint, I feel that the Rationalism poems would have been a lot harder to write because you had to know the information and make it all work out. Personally, I wouldn't be able to stand myself if I was a Rationalism writer because its too dry and boring. When we did the section in English over this time period, it was extremely hard for me to continually pay attention. Now, I like to get into the discussions and understand these poems more. I think that realizing what the real meaning behind the fireside poems is easy, its just take the effort to try to analyze the poem and figure it out.
"The Fireside Poets." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 210-211. Print.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Journal 20
Autumn by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is about autumn and the pleasant weather and jolly it brings to the peoples of this world. I dont know if it is just me but whenever the perfect autumn day comes around I never want it to end. In the poem it talks about golden leaves and the perfect autumn day. Longfellow uses many descriptive words and characteristics to make you feel like you are in the story. I feel like I say this a lot, but it is what makes a great writer and a great poem. When I think of golden leaves, I remember the trees with the yellowish bronze leaves on them and the few leaves that have already fallen to the ground. I think of football and lots of family bonding.
That was analyzed literally and not for the real meaning behind it. It talks about peoples emotions and how they react within themselves when they are in the presence of company. It talks about the emotions people have during autumn and the jolly they have. As I said earlier, whenever the weather is good outside people are less stressed and in a great mood, but whenever its dark and gloomy out people are depressed, stressed, and constantly tired. Take winder for instance, after christmas break people hate school and beg for snowdays, but when summer comes around they wish they hadn't had the snowdays. I know for a fact, that on a day that we have lots of rain and its cold out, I hate school, want to sleep, and am extremely tired and on days when it is warm out and the sun is shining I love life and dont care what happens during the day because I know its going to be a good day. I always have a smile on my face and nothing can put me down. I always want to hang out with friends and play basketball or football in the front yard with friends.
That was analyzed literally and not for the real meaning behind it. It talks about peoples emotions and how they react within themselves when they are in the presence of company. It talks about the emotions people have during autumn and the jolly they have. As I said earlier, whenever the weather is good outside people are less stressed and in a great mood, but whenever its dark and gloomy out people are depressed, stressed, and constantly tired. Take winder for instance, after christmas break people hate school and beg for snowdays, but when summer comes around they wish they hadn't had the snowdays. I know for a fact, that on a day that we have lots of rain and its cold out, I hate school, want to sleep, and am extremely tired and on days when it is warm out and the sun is shining I love life and dont care what happens during the day because I know its going to be a good day. I always have a smile on my face and nothing can put me down. I always want to hang out with friends and play basketball or football in the front yard with friends.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Thanatopsis
Thanatopsis wasn't an exciting poem by any means.
It was very depressing and said with nothing happy happening in it
anywhere. The poem talked about death and what happens to the body
after you are buried. I thought that it
was confusing from the old English style writing and different words that were
used that we don’t normally use in everyday speaking. After reading the literary criticism though,
it all made a lot more sense and I understood it a lot easier. It helped because it went through the entire
poem and analyzed it piece by piece giving descriptions and examples of each
part. These two things helped a lot but
what I enjoyed the most was how Bryant wrote in regular English and didn’t use
any fancy words like thy, thee, adding –ith to the ends of every other word,
etc. My thoughts on how gloomy and death
oriented this poem was make so much sense now.
From reading the online literary reference I learned that “Thanatopsis”
translates from Greek to “view of death” in English (Barney and Paddock). I also noticed that this poem was written in
the early to mid 1800’s. That would
explain why all of the written text is in old English instead of something more
modern.
To an extent, Bryant was trying to prepare the reader for death. He talked about what it was like and what happened after death as if he was trying to explain that they should not be scared and that everyone will eventually die. He looks at the positives to death instead of the negatives which can really change a persons outlook on things. Bryant says that you can die at any time, if your "life's green spring" or a "gray headed man" (Bryant lines 68-70). Regardless of how old you are you could die any second. He tries to convince the readers to believe in what they want because there end could be near.
Reading this poem really made me realize how much we take life for granted. I am shocked to think that I expect to wake up every morning and don't treat my days as gifts like I should. I need to pay more attention to what I believe in and how I show that because I am not on the right track. I need to figure things out and use this poem to help me. My big problem is how I say I do one thing and act like it, but when people aren't looking I don't always represent that. And since I believe in God, I believe that he can see me reguardless of where I am and if everyone else in the world can't. I have always struggled with this and think that many people do. I would like to meet someone that hasn't. I believe that my God will forgive me when I ask for is as long as I promise to try my best to stop doing whatever I'm doing wrong. This poem has really been an eye opener for me and I am glad I actually read it and didn't skim through it and just get the necessary stuff from it. I am glad I took the time to analyze it and understand what is going on.
Barney, Brett, and Lisa Paddock, eds. "'Thanatopsis'."Encyclopedia of American Literature: The Age of Romanticism and Realism, 1816–1895, vol. 2, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008.Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 7 Dec. 2011.
Bryant, William Cullen. "16. Thanatopsis." Bartleby.com. Web. 7 Dec. 2011.
To an extent, Bryant was trying to prepare the reader for death. He talked about what it was like and what happened after death as if he was trying to explain that they should not be scared and that everyone will eventually die. He looks at the positives to death instead of the negatives which can really change a persons outlook on things. Bryant says that you can die at any time, if your "life's green spring" or a "gray headed man" (Bryant lines 68-70). Regardless of how old you are you could die any second. He tries to convince the readers to believe in what they want because there end could be near.
Reading this poem really made me realize how much we take life for granted. I am shocked to think that I expect to wake up every morning and don't treat my days as gifts like I should. I need to pay more attention to what I believe in and how I show that because I am not on the right track. I need to figure things out and use this poem to help me. My big problem is how I say I do one thing and act like it, but when people aren't looking I don't always represent that. And since I believe in God, I believe that he can see me reguardless of where I am and if everyone else in the world can't. I have always struggled with this and think that many people do. I would like to meet someone that hasn't. I believe that my God will forgive me when I ask for is as long as I promise to try my best to stop doing whatever I'm doing wrong. This poem has really been an eye opener for me and I am glad I actually read it and didn't skim through it and just get the necessary stuff from it. I am glad I took the time to analyze it and understand what is going on.
Barney, Brett, and Lisa Paddock, eds. "'Thanatopsis'."Encyclopedia of American Literature: The Age of Romanticism and Realism, 1816–1895, vol. 2, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008.Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 7 Dec. 2011.
Bryant, William Cullen. "16. Thanatopsis." Bartleby.com. Web. 7 Dec. 2011.