ThEre’s No plAce lIke hOme… (Assignment # 10) October 16, 2008

 

                

 

How do you feel about home? Are you dying to get away, or do you hope you never have to leave?

I love my home, it is the place where I feel the best in, my home gives me comfort and relaxation in every sense of the word. It would be hard to leave my house if I was under a major threat, but life tends to change; However, I think that the home is where you are comfortable and surrounded by all your loves ones.

I will leave home soon, and I will miss it a lot, but I guess that it is time for me to start making myself a home of my own. I have to start growing up and leaving my parents behind.

RottEn to tHe cOre… (Assignment # 9) October 16, 2008

Images of hollowness -of rotting from within- pervade the story. In three paragraphs, cite these images, and discuss how they apply to the house, to Wormsley Common, and even to the story’s characters.

This place is definitely shaken, the three places that we will talk about are definitely in bad shape, they are not taken care of and they find themselves in a despicable manner.

The characters are surprisingly taken into account when we talk about these things. We do not know why or when they became like this, but you can see that they are not in a good shape in their personality or looks.

The house is in horrible shape form the inside and it is quickly spreading to the outside, we should be able to realize that these things are being affected from the inside to the outside, and that they find themselves in a bad and horrible shape.

 

The other side of the story: In a letter, tell a friend what happened to your house. Include your feelings about the gang and its motives.

 

Dear Alice:

 

I hope that you are well, and that these news do not come as a shock for you, as you might know, I am definitely in a bad shape about the things and the events that have happened here. I am not in a safe place, and I feel that things might get worse over time.

 

I am not safe anymore, and I am considering leaving here and going to a safer place, the gang is terrifying and I am afraid that I might get into more trouble or more danger than the one that I already found myself in.

 

I love your very much, and I hope that I see you soon. All the Best,

Emily.

LovE, lOve, loVe… (Assignment # 8) September 22, 2008

Robert Browning

Briefly summarize the emotions the speaker experiences during Porphyria’s Lover.

At the beginning of the poem, the lover is really depressed and man at Porphyria because she is married and cannot be his, then he gets angry and irritated and hills her, and then he is the most romantic lover, he takes care of her and gives her love, in the end he is happy and joyful that God has permitted this union and that he will be able to be with his lover forever.

 

How do the speaker’s emotions change as the poem progresses?

There is a constant change in emotions, but at the beginning there was like a dark feel to the poem and as it progresses everything becomes more and more peaceful in a sense.

 

Why do you think the speaker murders his beloved?

Because he believes that this is the only way that they will be together forever, he was mad and he doesn’t really see it as something bad. He wants her body and since he knows that Porphyria was eventually going to leave, he decides to kill her instead so he could have her with him forever.

 

 

Elizabeth Barret Browning

Use words, symbols, sketches, or images to create a collage that summarizes the content of Sonnet 43 and communicates the emotions presented in it.

Loves is the infinite emotion that the world feels and enjoys

On many different ways people are able to love

Very different feelings and emotions are experienced and

Every time this feeling is strong and unforgettable.

 

Do you think that the emotions presented in this sonnet are universal? Why or why not?

Yes, the emotion that this sonnet portrays is universal, everyone loves even if not romantically, but everyone experiences love in his or her life.

 

The most famous line in Sonnet 43 is “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways”. Why do you think this line is so popular?

This particular line of the poem is famous because it really shows and emotion that almost al people feel, when people are in love they tend to believe that they cannot even express how in love they are.

LoVe aNd lOss (Assignment # 7) September 22, 2008

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Tears, Idle Tears.

List three adjectives that the speaker uses to describe the past and explain how the adjectives are different or similar.

Fresh, Sad, Dear; What all these three adjectives have in common is the fact that they are all there to talk about the past, they are talking about how great the past was, the only thing that is different is “Sad” because it is speaking about something grim whereas the other too are speaking about something great.

 

Briefly state the tone of the poem.

This poem has a grim feeling; it is depressing and longing for something that is no more.

 

What does the speaker believe is precious about the past?


That the past is unique and that you will never be able to get it back even if you really want it, the past is now past.

 

Do you think the speaker had a joyous or miserable past? Why?

I think that it is very probable that the speaker had a very joyous past because he desires it so, and he hates the present. He wishes that he could return to the time that he has now lost.

 

The Power of Nature

Both “The Eagle: A Fragment” and “Flower in the Crannied Wall” contain lessons or messages. Explain how each quotation reveals the message of the poem.

“Close to the sun in lonely lands”: This poem is about a strong eagle, the sun is one the greatest thing ins the world and this is like a balance between something strong as the sun and something that is lonely and that will not have company (the lands).

“(If) I could understand what you are… I should know what God and man is”: In this quotation we can infer that the poet is trying to get the meaning of life, he is trying to realize what life is just by seeing these flowers.

 

What is the speaker’s attitude toward nature in each poem?

The speaker loves nature and sees it as divine and as something great that has no comparison in life.


 

In what ways are the two poems different?

One is about loneliness in this beautiful place, and the other one is about the greatness and vastness of the universe in something so small as the flowers.

 

 ”The Lady of Shalott”

What associations do you have with the following words from the poem? Use words, symbols or images to communicate the ideas or emotions you associate with each of the following poem.

Cracked: Broken and shattered, something that can’t be fixed.

Mirror: A view of yourself, a self-image.

Curse: Something evil, strange and cruel something wicked.

Shadows: Dark and lonely something that is not nice but grim.

 

Explain the meaning of the above words in the context of the poem.

Cracked: Stopped, paused.

Mirror: Reflection

Curse: Spell of evil.

Shadows: Spirits of the dark.

 

Why do you think the Lady of Shalott becomes “half sick” of the shadows she sees in the mirror?

Because she is not sick, but she is scared and se is trying to overcomes this horrible feeling that she has because she saw something as horrible and as grim as a shadow is.

ShAdows oF tHe pAst (Assignment # 6) September 21, 2008

How can tears be “idle” – can you cry without knowing why?

Tears can be idle in the sense that they are happening without any real reason they are just happening because you have this feeling inside yourself that makes you cry, I think that this poem refers to idle tears as tears of the past, tears that happened and are in a sense frozen in time.

Yes, you can cry without knowing why, you do cry for a reason but it is just because of the moment and the time and place; It may not be because you are happy or sad, but because you need this releasing of emotions.

 

What do you think the “divine despair” is in line 2? Could you relate it to Adam and Eve’s fall in Genesis -would that story explain the speaker’s existential sadness?

I think that the divine despair in this poem is a reference to the time that life, the past present and future and how event have been; It can be related to Adam and Eve because after they committed the first sin they changed everyone’s faith and life, it can explain the speakers existential sadness because he longs for what could have been had they not been so weak.

 

Does the contradiction in the phrase “Death in Life” (line 20) make sense to you? Explain. What is your response to this line? Have you ever felt this way?

Yes, because it is speaking of something that is past and that you can not get back, something that is dead while you are still alive and longing for it. I really like this line because in a few little words it can express so much; I have felt this way before, I have longed a lot for things that are dead in a sense and that I can never recover even if I want they very much, I have to live with the fact that they will not come back and that now they are just memories of what has been.

sWept aWay (Assignment # 5) September 21, 2008

Have you ever experienced the sublime aspect of nature? When?

Nature is beautiful and it has some great things to offer, here in Guatemala, we are blessed to have some of the most beautiful things in the world like Atitlan, Tikal, Antigua, etc. When you go to places like these and you stand in the middle of nature and you just look around, you feel like you are in the most beautiful place in the world and everything is just like a fantasy, exhilarating and at the same time calming.

 

Natural disasters and events that happen around the world are also something that is very strange and exciting at the same time. I personally love rain, this is the most beautiful natural event that exists in the world, when you see and feel rain it is something that is almost magical and in a sense it is something beautiful that I love and that makes me feel happy and sad, it is like tears falling from the sky, but it is at the same time like diamonds falling from heaven.

 

Nature is something that is beautiful and great and I feel that we should all appreciate it, there are natural disasters that do harm us and that are horrible, but the fact is that things like rain, snow, rainbows, ocean waves, sun, etc. are things that make our lives just complete and different from a monotonous and boring chain of living.

The tEst of tIme (Assignment # 4) September 21, 2008

Suppose you’re a creator. Among architecture, sculpture, music, and literature, which do you think offers the most promise of an enduring monument? Explain your answer.

I think that if I were to create something because I wanted it to last for a long time, probably I would choose to make a work of literature; I think that books are really a great way of communication and of showing how things were, it is something that has a life of its own and that will really express and show what you wanted to portray in the first place. Architecture, sculpture and music are limited types of communication, because you cant have a building that tells a long story, or a song that is really long an explains things in detail and a sculpture is only the beginning of a story, whereas literature can be really long, detailed and it is an entire story if you want it to be.

 

Irony is the discrepancy between expectations and reality. Explain the fundamental irony in the sonnet.

Personally, I think that this sonnet’s irony is the fact that the city of grandeur that is mentioned here is in rubble; the king that proudly made the statement about the big beauty that this city held is now mistaken because his beautiful city is now no longer standing up.

 

Discuss, What you think is the speaker’s message about pride -and whether it also applies to artists.

The message of pride that this sonnet has is mainly in the king’s statement; this man was so proud of his city that he said that it was the best and that it was going to be the best forever, but in fact the city is now no longer standing and the pride that once was present in this city now can no longer be. This type of pride does apply to artists, because their works are for them the best ever and they think that these works will always be the best no matter what.

 

Could this poem apply to any contemporary figures that wield political power? Explain.

It can apply to political figures, because it is common that they think that the city or country that they are representing is the best, but they cannot see that this can all fall apart in a matter of seconds they are, in a sense, blinded by pride.

ThE Eye oF thE bEholdEr (Assignment # 3) September 21, 2008

In the poem She Walks in Beauty, by Lord Byron, what in the woman’s appearance does the speaker praise? What conclusions does he draw about her character and personality?

He praises her outer beauty, her skin and her looks; He says that she is a beautiful person form the inside and the outside as well.

 

This poem has been criticized as sentimental and dependent on clichés. Tell me whether or not you agree and why.

This poem is in a part sentimental, but to me it doesn’t have any clichés, the poem is about a girl who is beautiful and that has entranced the writer, she is a very timid and shy girl but none the less the writer sees some beauty inside of her and this is totally independent on clichés.

 

Do you think that inward nature can be revealed by outward appearances? Explain.

I think that you are what you let people see, however your outward appearance doesn’t have anything to do with who you really are and who you really want people to think and perceive you as. You might be beautiful or horrible and have a beautiful or a horrible personality.

Water Water Everywhere (Assignment # 2) September 8, 2008

1. And through the drifts the snowy clifts
Did send a dismal sheen:
Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken -
The ice was all between.

2. The sun came up upon the left,
Out of the sea came he!
And he shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the sea.

3. The souls did from their bodies fly, -
They fled to bliss or woe!
And every soul it passed me by,
Like the whizz of my crossbow!”

4. Down dropped the breeze, the sails dropped down,
’Twas sad as sad could be;
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea!

 

What situations in contemporary life would you apply the lines to?

The fist set of lines would be used when people have this madness between them, when they are mad at each other and they feel that nothing they can do will break the ice. The second set would be used to talk about the sun and the rising of new day, to express how every day comes as easily as it goes. The third one and the fourth one to me would be used to talk about people who just died; they would be used in obituaries and gravestones.

 

Do you agree or disagree with Coleridge about the message in this poem? Why?

I think that this poem does have a big moral message that tries to portray some life lesson about guilt and to think before we act because if we don’t, the consequences of our actions may be too hard to handle. I do agree because I think that we sometimes do not think before we act and we then regret our actions.

 

Find examples of especially effective examples of simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, assonance and internal rhyme (one of each).

Simile: “Like the wiz of my crossbow!”

Metaphor: “As green as emerald.”

Personification: “The upper air burst into life.”

Alliteration:         Water, water, every where,
                   

And all the boards did shrink;
                   

Water, water, every where,


Nor any drop to drink.

Assonance:          “There was a ship,” quoth he.

`Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!’

Eftsoons his hand dropped he.

Internal Rhyme:      Higher and higher every day,

   Till over the mast at noon -”

   The Wedding-Guest here beat his breast,

   For he heard the loud bassoon.

The Power of Imagination (Assignment # 1) September 1, 2008

Have you ever felt fear, joy, wonder, or grief because of an animal?

Personally, I have had many experiences with animals, both good and bad. Throughout my life I have had a lot of pets like dogs, turtles, hermits, iguanas, chickens, fish, hamsters, etc. The typical pets that children have, I have loved all of my pets and I have had to put three of my dogs to sleep. This has not been easy and I still miss them because dogs are man’s best friends and I found a true friend in all of my dogs. It has been really strange, but al my dogs have been good looking and nice, I have never had an angry dog that we have to be careful with. We all love our dogs and in my family they are considered a part of the clan.

 

Write a poem to another creature. (8 lines)

To my Dogs

You have been life in our home,

We have been so happy to give you a bone.

You have always been joyful and nice

And we have taken care of your lice.

True friends in the world are hard to find

When I think of a friend I have you in mind.

I will miss you when you go and leave this house

But I will know that you will always be here.

 

Think back to William Blake’s The Tyger and The Lamb and try to answer these questions: Why do human beings do evil? Why do evil people sometimes prosper? Why does God allow innocent children to suffer?

Human beings do evil because there is always a temptation put in front of us and sometimes doing an evil thing is easier than doing just some good thing. Sometimes evil makes people prosper and become greater, but the fact is that they only prosper economically or with something material, but in the inside they are just the biggest losers that exist in this world. God is a great being and he allows people to suffer, because without any pain there could not be any love or true sympathy, things always have the good or the plus and the bad or the con, and without these extremes the world would be dull, there has to exist good and evil so that there can be that comparison and that people can really live a life that is reigned by a certain liberty.

 

If you could cry out against an evil of our day -and get people to listen-, which social problem would you choose? Why would you choose it?

I would choose selfishness, because the world should not live in a place where people do not share. I really hate people that are not there for each other and that do not share something as simple as a hug or a little bit of love. I would like the world to be a place where more people are happy, but there are just some people that I consider selfish and that I know make things in the world, at least for one person, bad.

 

What happens to anger that is allowed to grow and fester, anger that is nurtured with our own deceit?

When you are angry at someone and you don’t say a thing, then after a wile you grow resentment against this person and the fact that the person doesn’t know what they did and how this affecter you only makes things worse because then it is harder for people to forgive the one that did them any pain. I believe that people should speak up when they are bothered by something, because they might lose a good friend because of this.

 

Think of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. What does confession mean to you? What purpose does confession have for the teller and listener? Is a listener even necessary? Why do you think the act of confession plays such an important part in law and religion?

This confession is a really weird story, the mariner kills the albatross that was innocent and then he regrets his decision. The teller really wants to tell people that they should not do things juts for spontaneity, they should think before they act. Because if people confess you can really see that they regret what they have done, and any illegal or unfair acts that people do can be solved.