Reflection In Prose or Poetry - Literature review Example

Reflection Literature In Prose or Poetry Paragraph One: Discuss seasonal symbolism in Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Shakespeare’s sonnets represent some of his best-loved work because they provide compact and elegant observations on the three great human themes of love, death and the passage of time. Part of his mission in the sonnets is to celebrate all of the fleeting emotions that people experience while remaining conscious of the impending shadow of death that will come to everyone sooner or later. In Sonnet 18, for example, he makes the famous comparison between his beloved and “a summer’s day” (Shakespeare, line 1) which emphasizes the brief spell that a human life represents when compared with the finality of death. He acknowledges that “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May” (Shakespeare, line 3) and in this line he uses the winds as a metaphor for the adversity that comes along in life, eventually destroying the beauty of spring blossoms. Shakespeare’s poetic snapshot of a time of great beauty, in the English garden and in his English lover, is presented as something that must be treasured and admired while it lasts. There is some sadness in this picture, but his creative genius makes a memorable sonnet out of it all, thus giving an element of literary immortality to his lover’s beauty. The summer season is a metaphor for inevitable change, and the writing of the sonnet is a very clever way of acknowledging the passing of time, while holding on to an image of his beloved while she is at the peak of her beauty. Paragraph Two: Discuss an important theme (like the sublime) in Romantic prose or poetry. Romanticism was a movement in art and literature which placed great emphasis on majesty. This word is used to describe a fascination with larger than life ideas, objects and people. Majesty is a word that conjures up wealth and power, as well as a superhuman quality that makes the observer feel small and insignificant in the presence of something immeasurably greater than ordinary human beings. Some works of art depicted grandiose mountains, or impressive storms and seascapes, while in literature there was an emphasis on the emotional reactions that people felt in response to dramatic or striking stimuli. The poem “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley epitomizes this notion of “majesty” in its description of a broken and abandoned statue located in an indeterminate “antique land” (Shelley, line 1). The statue’s imperious inscription challenges the observer to “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” (Shelley, line 11). Some adjectives in the poem such as “vast” (line 2), “colossal” (line 13) and “boundless” (line 13) stress the huge physical size of the great statue while others such as “cold” (line 5) “lifeless” (line 7) “bare” (line 13) and “lone” (line 14) create an emotional distance between the observer and the statue. At the end of the sonnet Shelley transfers the awe of the reader from the statue itself, to the vast desert in which it stands, making the point that human beings are at the mercy of powerful rulers, but this is nothing when compared to the majesty of the natural environment which eventually swallows up all human endeavors. Paragraph Three: Discuss an important theme (like imperialism) in Victorian prose or poetry. The theme of social class is very important in Victorian literature because it reflects the hierarchical world view that was prevalent at the time. There was a very strict moral code in operation, which dictated the way people were supposed to behave. Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre contrasts the experiences of lower class people, such as the heroine Jane and the pupils at Lowood school, and upper class people, like Mr Rochester and his beautiful high society friend Blanche Ingram. The young Jane Eyre is an orphan without any financial support, and therefore she belongs to the lower class and has very few life choices open to her. Adèle, on the other hand, even though she is “the illegitimate offspring of a French opera-girl” (Bronte 170) enjoys the protection of the patriarchal Mr Rochester, and this means that she is a member of the upper class. The concept of “station” is used to express this differentiation, and the housekeeper Mrs Fairfax makes it clear that Jane has a duty to resist her feelings for Mr Rochester when she says “… distrust yourself as well as him. Gentlemen in his station are not accustomed to marry their governesses.” (Bronte 306). Charlotte Bronte’s novel has become a classic largely because it subverts the Victorian class order. The spirited governess Jane challenges the restrictions imposed upon her by society, and finds a way, through honest and virtuous love for Mr Rochester, to rise up from her lower class origins and find a place in privileged, upper class society. Paragraph Four: Consider the impact of WW1 on Modern prose or poetry (in terms of style or theme). The First World War (1914-1918) was such a devastating experience for millions of families that it prompted a radical review of the whole concept of war, and it challenged traditional assumptions about the heroism that had hitherto been associated with military action. Wilfred Owen’s poem “Anthem for Doomed Youth” is an example of a poem which redefines the sacrifice of young men in wartime. Many traditional words which would normally give a ceremonial meaning to death in action are used in the poem, such as “Anthem” (title line), “passing bells” (line 1), “prayers” (line 5), “bells” (line 5) “voice of mourning” (line 6) “choirs” (line 7) “bugles” (line 8). These elements of religious ritual are, however, juxtaposed with evocative images of destructive forces in a mechanized war such as “demented choirs of wailing shells” (line 7) and the onomatopoeic “stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle” (line 3). Owen draws attention to the senselessness of mass slaughter, since the young men “die as cattle” (line 1) with no chance to defend themselves against automatic weapons that mowed them down in seconds. The brutality of the imagery is intentional, because it makes the point that there is no religious or moral belief that can justify such a mindless bloodbath, and no ritual that can comfort the bereaved or add meaning to the suffering of all concerned. World War 1 made clear the utter futility of modern warfare and this poem records the impact of that realization so that future generations can learn from it. References Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. London and New York: Penguin Classics, 2006. Print. Owen, Wilfred. “Anthem For Doomed Youth.” Poem. [Accessed 28th July, 2012]. Web. Shakespeare, William. “Sonnet 18.” Poem. [Accessed 28th July, 2012]. Web. Shelley, Percy Bysshe. “Ozymandias.” (1818) Poem. [Accessed 28th July, 2012]. Web. Read More