РефератыИностранный языкStStudy Of Poetry Essay Research Paper An

Study Of Poetry Essay Research Paper An

Study Of Poetry Essay, Research Paper


An Essay Study of Poetry and


A Poet’s Ability to Forsee


The Future


The world is changing and evolving at an astounding rate. Within the last


one hundred years, the Western community has seen advances in technology


and medicine that has improved the lifestyles and longevity of almost


every individual. Within the last two hundred years, we have seen two


World Wars, and countless disputes over false borders created by


colonialists, slavery, and every horrid form of human suffering


imaginable! Human lifestyles and cultures are changing every minute. While


our grandparents and ancestors were growing-up, do you think that they


ever imagined the world we live in today? What is to come is almost


inconceivable to us now. In this world, the only thing we can be sure of


is that everything will change. With all of these transformations


happening, it is a wonder that a great poet may write words over one


hundred years ago, that are still relevant in today?s modern world. It is


also remarkable that their written words can tell us more about our


present, th!


an they did about our past. Is it just an illusion that our world is


evolving, or do these great poets have the power to see into the future?


In this brief essay, I will investigate the immortal characteristics of


poetry written between 1794 and 1919. And, I will show that these


classical poems can actually hold more relevance today, than they did in


the year they were written. Along the way, we will pay close attention to


the style of the poetry, and the strength of words and symbols used to


intensify the poets? revelations. The World Is Too Much with Us, written


by William Wordsworth in 1807 is a warning to his generation, that they


are losing sight of what is truly important in this world: nature and God.


To some, they are one in the same. As if lacking appreciation for the


natural gifts of God is not sin enough, we add to it the insult of pride


for our rape of His land. Wordsworth makes this poetic message immortal


with his powerful and emotional words. Let us study his po!


werful style: The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and


spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours;


We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! (Lines 1 – 4) Materialism,


wasteful selfishness, prostitution! These are the images that these lines


bring to me! Yet, is it not more true today than in Wordsworth?s time,


that we are a culture of people who simply consume and waste? The third


line awakens me, and says that I have been raised with the mentality that


I am not a part of nature, and that I do not identify my needs with those


of nature?s needs. This mentality may have been quite true in 1807, but it


is surely more true in 1996. There is absolute disregard of nature in the


acts of well respected western corporations. Would someone who is in-touch


with nature orchestrate the ?slash and burn? of beautiful rain forests of


South America, or the life giving jungles of Africa and Asia? Would


someone who is in-touch with nature dump c!


hemical waste into waters that are home to billions of plants and animals?


These and other abominations have surely increased in the last 189 years


since this poem was written. What makes the sin even worse is the fact


that men who order this destruction are well respected people in our


culture. The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered


now like sleeping flowers; For this, for everything, we are out of tune;


It moves us not. ? Great God! (Lines 6 – 9) Wordsworth gives life to


nature in his words, and displays to us nature?s agony and pain, ?howling


at all hours.? But, we listen not! For we are out of tune, and much too


important to ourselves, that we may not listen to the wind, rain, land or


sea. I do not know which is the greater sin: the pillage of the earth?s


natural beauty, or man?s torturous inhumanity toward his fellow man.


London, written in 1794, by William Blake is a poem of civilization?s


decline ? and also the decline of compassion and humanit!


y. I wander thro? each charter?d street, Near where the charter?d Thames


does flow, And mark in every face I meet Marks of weaknes

s, marks of woe.


(Lines 1 – 4) London, a city of millions, with very few who are wealthy


enough to own land. In a subtle way, Blake tells us that every inch of


London is owned ? the ?charter?d streets,? the ?charter?d Thames.? It is a


reflection of the immaturity of our culture that we allow just 5% of the


world?s population to control 80% of the world?s wealth , leaving most in


utter poverty. This is especially true today: the United States frequently


dumps excess farm and dairy produce to keep their market price high,


rather than share the excess food with the hungry people of the world.


During Blake?s time, the world was not in such excess as it is today. It


seems that in our culture, the more we have, the more we waste. How the


Chimney-Sweeper?s cry Every blackning Church appalls, And the hapless


Soldier?s sigh Runs in blood down Palace walls. (!


Lines 9 – 12) Every potent word of these four lines inject emotions of


grief, hopelessness, and death: the images of the child?s cry, the


blackning Church, and blood on Palace walls. The words force us to mourn


the decline of London?s society. The history of the child enslavement of


chimney sweepers, during Blake?s time, was a horrid inhumanity to


children. Great Britain and other western nations would like to praise


themselves for abolishing this sort of slavery. However, the inhumanity of


child enslavement is more true today than in the seventeen and eighteen


hundreds. The sin of enslavement is even more heightened, because


neocolonialism and multinational corporations have moved their inhumane


business practices to developing countries, where they may take advantage


of the desperation and poverty of those areas. In addition, the disturbing


images of slavery are hidden from westerners who respect the success of


multinational corporations. Yes, Blake?s poem is very relevant t!


oday. It is difficult to choose among William Butler Yeats most timeless


poems, because every one of them has immortal qualities. His poem, The


Second Coming, not only embraces eternal relevance and a deep


understanding of humanity?s history, but also the fruits of prophesy!


Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the


falconer; Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is


loosed upon the world? (Lines 1 – 4) With respect to the two major topics


discussed before (man?s inhumanity and disrespect for nature), this stanza


offers much insight into the progression of humanity. The state of decline


that was described in poems written over one hundred years ago described a


human cultural trend that is to continue on an intensifying cycle, like


the ?widening gyre.? Today, we are approaching a state of complete


detachment from our origin, our nature and our God: ?The falcon cannot


hear the falconer,? as insightfully described by Yeats. This stanza i!


s so very relevant to us, because it symbolically describes every aspect


of the progression of humanity! Yeats poetry transcends immortality, and


becomes prophetic! His ?widening gyre? symbolizes the climactic end, until


anarchy is upon us. Every word of his poem creates a deep fear of


humanity?s downward spiral. The relevance of poetry is undeniable. As


Percy Bysshe Shelley admits, ?A poem is the very image of life expressed


in its eternal truth.? It is an ?eternal truth? that can offer wisdom for


hundreds of years after the poem?s birth. A prophet or a mystic may


attempt to tell ones future; but, the poet approaches from a very


different angle. The poet becomes intimate with the nature of humanity,


and its timeless characteristics. In this way, the poet surrounds himself


in a divine sort of wisdom. Truly, poetry is immortal. To explore the


wisdom and symbolic message of poetry is an exciting journey for me. As a


child, I was never introduced to poetry, and certainly never wa!


s exposed to its importance. To study the deeper meaning of poetry has


been a challenge and an adventure. It has brought my mind to contemplate


things to which I have never attached a value, such as my personal


connection with nature. I agree with Shelley, that poetry ?awakens and


enlarges the mind itself by rendering it the receptacle of a thousand


unapprehended combinations of thought.?

Сохранить в соц. сетях:
Обсуждение:
comments powered by Disqus

Название реферата: Study Of Poetry Essay Research Paper An

Слов:1589
Символов:10155
Размер:19.83 Кб.