Good and Evil in The Horses
The concepts of good and evil resonate throughout the work of the Scottish poet Edwin Muir. In Muir’s important poem “The Horses,” guilt and innocence, good and evil, are also in the plainest view. But the poem is not sabotaged artistically because of it, as so many such poems are. “The Horses” is about the unexpected return, after an apocalypse, of new horses that restore the “long lost archaic companionship” with the surviving humans. The narrator condemns the “old bad world” that wreaked the damage:
Barely a twelvemonth after The seven days war that put the world to
sleep, Late in the evening the strange horses came. By then we had made our convenant with
silence, But in the first few days it was so still We listened to our breathing and were afraid. On the second day The radios failed; we turned the knobs; no
answer. But on the third day a warship passed us,
heading north, Dead bodies piled on the deck. On the sixth
day A plane plunged over us into the sea.
Thereafter Nothing. The radios dumb. And still they stand in corners of our
kitchens, And stand, perhaps, turned on, in a million
rooms, All over the world. But now if they should
speak, If on a sudden they should speak again If on the stroke of noon a voice should speak, We would not listen, we would not let it
bring That old bad world that swallowed its
children quick At one great gulp. We would not have it
again . . .
Have Armageddon and its aftermath ever been more powerfully, more palpably imagined? And yet, I do not think that the poem’s extraordinary vividness is the greatest strength of “The Horses.” Its special power is in the way cataclysm evokes Muir’s most abiding theme: the renewal of that “long-lost archaic” bond between life and the world even in the face of catastrophe (“Our life is changed; their coming our beginning”).
Sitting in their cottage, mayhap talking of the soldier brother, there fell upon the ears of these defenseless home-keepers strange sounds: the galloping of horses, the clanging of swords, frequent shots, sharp, quick commands. They wondered what all this clamor could mean, and rushing to the porch, they saw companies of men clad in blue, all riding in hot haste toward the bridge over the creek. They were beating and spurring their brutes [mules], which seemed weary under their human burdens, and in their dumb way resenting the cruel and harsh measures used to drive them to greater and more strenuous effort.
Rhetorical analysis is utilized throughout the novella to assert Johnson’s main message of the beauty and danger of nature. Nature is only able to accept man when man complies with nature’s laws. Although nature’s spoils must be utilized to ensure survival in the desirous wild, it is not always accepting of man’s measures for survival: “It was only when you left it alone that a tree might consider you a friend. After the blade bit in, you had yourself a war” (14-15). The use of personification in this quote helps the reader to identify nature’s menace. By using the word “war”, Johnson signifies the impending doom that some men face once they challenge nature’s concrete laws.
The poem begins by describing the lunatic as a man with very animal tendencies, “with starting pace” and “with wide and hollow eyes” (lines 2-3) These characteristics alone give the reader a vivid image of how this man acts, and immediately sets low expectations for his character in a social and intellectual sense. His primitivism shows as “his cold bed upon the mountain turf” (6) is mentioned, furthering the image of a wildly sav...
Adam Zagajewski begins his poem,”Try to Praise the Mutilated World,” by attempting to bring the thoughts of his reader back to the times of which he or she enjoyed the long summer days of peace. He does this by encouraging his readers to “ Remember June’s long days, and wild strawberries, drops of wine, the dew. The nettles that methodically overgrow the abandoned homesteads of exiles.” (Zagajewski) Zagajewski begins his poem invoking thoughts of peace to bring the reader into remembrance of the good times before the bad and tells that,” You must praise the mutilated world.” (Zagajewski) The journey the reader takes during that time of reading the poem, begins with...
J.R.R Tolkien’s work of fiction The Lord of the Rings, have with the advent of Peter Jackson’s film adaptation brought the series to newfound heights of fame. As with many works of it’s kind, The Lord of the Rings depicts a battle between good and evil, with the main characters in the books striving to thwart evil’s plan. In many other works, the author’s personal belief system or worldview drives the narrative, with the message being paramount and the characters the vehicles of conveyance for the point of the story. C.S Lewis, a friend and contemporary of Tolkien’s, is a prime example of this. Lewis’ popular series The Chronicles of Narnia is an allegorical work, teaching Christian principles through the use of fiction. While raised as a Catholic himself, Tolkien does not explicitly promote his religious background, nor does he engage in allegory. However, Tolkien’s views of morality can be found throughout the work, specifically in the way in which evil is portrayed, the use of power and moral freedom of choice. Randel Helms writes in his book, Tolkien’s World, “Tolkien’s particular myth parallels his Christianity, … positioning a malevolent and corrupting outside influence, spiritual and probably eternal, against which man is doomed to fight, but which he has no hope of conquering” (67).
in G.K. Chesterton's compelling poem, The Ballad of the White Horse. During a time when the
The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring is no doubt one of
As the speaker comes to understand the origins of the carousel and the mule, they notice that “The sky did not darken with this news / nor did a general silence fall on the strollers” in the park around them and that “no one even paused to look [their] way” (13-14, 16). These specific phrases in relation to the speaker displays how the speaker themselves are alone in this realization, creating an emotion of loneliness surrounding them. No one in the surrounding area seems to care enough about the plight of the blind mule and how it had been used for human entertainment, illustrating how people’s ignorance leaves those who are knowledgeable alone with nothing but their thoughts. Also, as the speaker was leaving the scene of the carousel at the park, they sang softly to themselves “Poor blind beast… poor blind me, poor blind earth turning blindly on its side” in reflection of the newfound awareness for the world around them (34). The specific way in which this phrase was worded coupled with the language used conjures an emotion of pity that the speaker feels towards the themselves, the mule, and the Earth. The speaker sees how the people around them are completely blind to the darker and less appealing parts of the world, choosing instead to ignore the open sources of information that is
In the first stanza of the poem the speaker describes the fearful dream she had. Bogan introduces the symbol of a mighty horse that embodies the fear and retribution carried from the speaker's childhood, fear and retribution that have been "kept for thirty-five years" (3). Bogan effectively uses metaphorical language as she describes the fear personified inthe horse as it "poured through his mane" (3) and the retribution as it "breathed through his nose" (4). The source of her fear is unclear, but it may be that the horse is a symbol of life that can be both beautiful and terrifying. The imagery created when the speaker tells us, "the terrible horse began / To paw at the air, and make for me with his blows" (1-2) describes a sense of entrapment as life corners her and spews forth repressed fear and retribution, emotions that must be faced.
The nuclear bomb was the most devastating weapon ever created by man. It was developed between 1942 and 1945 during the second World War. The project to build the worlds first atomic weapon was called The Manhattan Project. The nuclear bomb was based on the idea of splitting an atom to create energy, this is called fission. Three bombs were created, “Trinity”, “Little Boy”, and “Fat Man”. “Trinity” was dropped on a test site in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, proving the theories, engineering and mathematics of the bomb to be correct. Shortly after that, not more than 2 months, the U.S. performed the first actual nuclear attack in the history of war. The bomb “Little Boy” was dropped on the town of Hiroshima, instantly killing thousands. “Fat Man” was dropped shortly after on the town of Nagasaki. After the bombing almost all scientist involved with the creation of the bomb regretted its construction and spoke out against the abolishment of nuclear weapons.
In the poem “Darkness” by Lord Byron, he begins his poem by saying “I had a dream, which was not all a dream” immediately leaving the reader to suspect that the rest of what they were about to read was his interpretation of a true story or event (line 1). The eruption of Mt. Tambora caused Byron to picture the breakdown of mankind and nature in the face of the end of the world and how they discarded their beliefs in the face of the mortality.
It may be hard to admit, but television has become an intricate part of our everyday lives. People children often find themselves sitting in front of the television screen for a longer period of time than before and this has evolved immensely over the past few years. In this article, “The Trouble with Television,” by the author Marie Winn, mentions that addiction of television is negative effects on children and families. It keeps the families from doing other things and it’s a hidden competitor for all other activities. Television takes place of play and on top of that kids who watch a lot of television grow uncivilized. Also, the author mentioned that televisions are less resourceful for children and have negative effects on children’s school achievement and on physical fitness. Although there are so many other types of addictions but the author Marie Winn’s points of argument of watching television is a serious addiction that our children and families have negative effects.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:4-5)
“Consciousness is defined as everything of which we are aware at any given time - our thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions of the external environment. Physiological researchers have returned to the study of consciousness, in examining physiological rhythms, sleep, and altered states of consciousness (changes in awareness produced by sleep, meditation, hypnosis, and drugs)” (Wood, 2011, 169). There are five levels of consciousness; Conscious (sensing, perceiving, and choosing), Preconscious (memories that we can access), Unconscious ( memories that we can not access), Non-conscious ( bodily functions without sensation), and Subconscious ( “inner child,” self image formed in early childhood).
Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan” is a short poem that depicts “the Author[’s]” dream as a result of reading a book called Purchas’s Pilgrimage and falling into an anodyne (opium) induced sleep. Coleridge was in fact high on opium when he composed this story from unconscious composition via a dream. He then later put his vision to words. Coleridge did not intend himself to be directly portrayed by the readers as “the Author” character depicted in the poem. The public’s reaction to the poem then and today, why Coleridge has set up “the Author,” as well as why Coleridge chose the two part introduction/dream format play a large role in how the poem should be analyzed in order to investigate its true purpose and meaning.