As Hamlet says in Shakespeare’s famous play, art and literature should “hold as ‘twere the mirror up to nature” (3.12.21). Literature, therefore, must reflect the fact the fatal flaws of humanity. This is evident in Alexander Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock,” Jonathan Swift’s “Modest Proposal” and in William Blake’s “A Poison Tree.” Through their works, the writers call to attention people’s tendency towards vanity, avarice and wrath, three deleterious imperfections that are a blemish in the face of society. Alexander Pope employs Horatian satire to emphasize the vanity and affectations of the upper class. One notable feature of “The Rape of the Lock” is the recurrent use of the hyperbole in the form of a mock epic. Specifically, when Belinda realizes her hair has been cut, “screams of horror rend th’affrighted skies” that are louder than “when husbands, or when lapdogs breathe their last” (11. 156-158). The use of this hyperbolic reaction suggests that a …show more content…
He first utilizes the apple as an extended metaphor for the loathing he feels for an opponent. When the speaker tells his friend of his anger, the anger dissipates, however, when he feels anger for his foe, and does not tell them of it, the wrath grows into a tree that “bears an apple bright” (1.10). The speaker has gone to the efforts of watering their hate with fears and tears to grow a poison tree. Blake subtly conveys that the speaker could have spent the same amount of effort to grow a tree from which they can eat. He also employs biblical allusions to compare the apple tree to Satan and his followers. The foe of the speaker steals into the garden, tempted by the “apple bright” and in the morning is found by the speaker “outstretched beneath the tree” (11.10-15). Blake uses the allusions to suggest that the apple of wrath is Satan, and the foe Adam and Eve, therefore highlighting the ubiquitous flaw within us
The Romantic period in American literature is different than what it initially sounds like. There is a lot of talk of evaluation and judgement of human life as we know it to be. In works like “The Devil and Tom Walker”, “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment”, and “The Pit and the Pendulum” humanity seems to be put on trial and assessed to the fullest degree. This paper will further analyze humanity as a whole, based on the representations of these works above.
There are many aspects that can lead to tragedy in texts, shame can be a strong aspect however there are others that can be just as dramatic as an aspect for a tragedy to take place. In this essay I will be looking at the effects of shame and other aspects of tragedies.
All three texts portray leading characters who suffer due to flaws within their own personalities; however, it could be argued that the flaws these individuals fall victim to are directly a product of their environments rather than being innate within themselves. These texts were written between 1623 and 1989 and depict figures from all levels of the social hierarchy; from a King in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale to a servant in Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day and a socialite in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, showing that falling victim to a weakness within one’s own character is not an experience exclusive to one era or one class of people.
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. "Chapter 10, Hate Poem." Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 412+. Print.
Jane Austen and Alexander Pope had had a myriad of writing styles and techniques from which to express the desired themes of their works. Satire, however, seemed to be the effective light-hearted, yet condescending, tool that enabled them to surface the faults and follies of their moral and elite society. In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, satire is used to the full extent in revealing the glutton within a pious and sacrificing nun, the vain hunter within a poor and meditative monk, and the vulgarity within a honorable woman of society. In Pride and Prejudice and The Rape of the Lock, Austen and Pope use contrasting forms of satire to obtain the same result as Chaucer: to ridicule society's hypocritical and supercilious manner by forcing it to see the absurd truth of what society pretends to be and what it really is. In order to create satire in their literature, Austen and Pope must place an ironic, mocking language in an environment, and allow the language to transform its surroundings into a parody of human moral regression. The essence of satire in Pride and Prejudice and The Rape of the Lock begins with the writer's mocking use of diction, and then spreads to how the characters, tone, and theme of the literature are heightened to a level that identifies with supercilious society.
Effectively ushering change in society or pointing out faults that have existed and gone unnoticed can be a daunting task for any social commentator. Often, blandly protesting grievances or concerns can fall upon deaf ears and change can be slow or non-existent. However, Jonathan Swift in his pamphlet A Modest Proposal, uses clever, targeted, and ironic criticism to bring the social state of Ireland to the attention of indolent aristocrats. He accomplishes such criticism through satire, specifically Juvenalian satire. Swift’s A Modest Proposal stands as an example of the type of satire that plays upon the audience’s emotion by creating anger concerning the indifference of the voice created. He complements such criticism with sophisticated, clever language which may be mistaken for the more docile Horatian satire. Yet, this urbane voice, coupled with irony and the substance of the proposals accentuates Swift’s motive to use anger as a force for action. Through his absurd/humorous proposals, stinging irony, and use of voice, Swift effectively portrays A Modest Proposal as a Juvenalian satire designed to stir emotions concerning the social state of Ireland.
"An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind"(Gandhi) An eye for an eye, or revenge, has been a theme that has shown up in many literary pieces throughout history. Although revenge is a common theme in many literary pieces, the reason and outcome of the revenge is often very varied. In “A Poison Tree” by William Blake shows that wrath left unattended will cause more damage oneself and others, in this case resulting in death, as it grows and develops into a form of revenge. In “The Cone” by H.G. Wells there is also a theme of revenge brought about by the entrapment of emotions leading to a revengeful death but this death results in the seeker of revenge feeling remorse. This essay will compare how the murderers in both “A Poison Tree” and “The Cone” feel about the deaths they’ve caused and how their emotions affect the overall theme of the text as a whole.
Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift in their respective poems, The Rape of the Lock and The Progress of Beauty, offer opposite representations of the nature and function of cosmetics in eighteenth century society. In The Rape of the Lock, Pope gives a positive representation of cosmetic’s nature and function in eighteenth century society. On the other hand, Swift’s representation takes a very negative tone. Both poets clearly appreciate and admire the natural beauty of a woman and their opposite opinions and therefore representation of the nature and function of cosmetics, springs from this admiration. Pope, whilst slightly ridiculing cosmetics through his use of satire, represents cosmetics in a positive light through portraying it as something which can enhance natural beauty. Swift vehemently opposes cosmetics in his poem and his representation of the nature and function of cosmetics in eighteenth century society is a direct contrast to Pope’s. He represents cosmetics as something not that enhances natural beauty but as something that destructs the natural beauty of a woman. Essentially in their poetry, Pope represents cosmetics as having a positive nature and function in eighteenth century society and Swift represents cosmetics as having a negative nature and function in eighteenth century society.
In the three chosen works of literature, Ordinary people by Judith Guest, Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and Antigone by Sophocles, alienation, initiation, journey, suffering and reconciliation are among the themes covered by the these great works of literature. The writers through the various characters in the scripts have clearly brought out the five themes as the main themes. These works of literature act as a reflection of what was happening in the society then. In terms of literature not much has changed and would still expect the same to be happening in the society today. As acknowledged, literature indeed reflects the society, its ill values and good values. In mirroring of the ills of the society, the view is to make the society realize its mistakes and make amends. The good values are set out for others to emulate. As an imitation of human actions, literature presents an image of what people do, think and do in the society.
To begin, in "The Rape Of The Lock," Alexander Pope uses Horation satire to invoke a light, whimsical, melancholy mood to illustrate the absurdity of fighting over the cutting of one's hair. In fact, Horation satire is defined by K. Lukes as a device that is: " urban, smiling, witty" and "seeks to correct the human foibles." and is further reiterated in The Concise Oxford Dictionary Of Literary terms as: "Horation satire, often contrasted with the bitterness of Juvenalian satire, is a more indulgent, tolerant treatment of human inconsistencies and follies, ironically amused rather than outraged" (101). Thus, Alexander Pope's intentions in writing "The Rape Of The Lock" was to turn an actual incident in which: "A young man Lord Petre, had sportively cut off a lock of a Miss Arabella Fermor's hair,"(Poetry, 211) into "jest ... so that good relations (and possibly negotiations toward a marriage between principals) might be resumed" (Poetry, 211) This type of satire is conveyed through Pope's use of mock epic form.
In “A Modest Proposal” several forms of satire are demonstrated throughout the story. Satire is defined as the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose or criticize people’s stupidity or vices. (Google) In "A Modest Proposal" Swift uses parody which is a form of satire. Parody is primarily making fun of something to create a humorous feel for it. In “A Modest Proposal,” Swift uses parody to make fun of the people and children of Ireland, expressing the children as delicious food to be eaten.
In “A Poison Tree,” by William Blake is a central metaphor explains a truth of human nature. The opening stanza sets up everything for the entire poem, from the ending of anger with the “friend,” to the continuing anger with the “foe.” Blake startles the reader with the clarity of the poem, and with metaphors that can apply to many instances of life.
Images of violence are deployed in various means in order to reach ends which may link to the personal views of the writer, which in term reflect greater public views of events (Dawson, 50), and political issues that are prevalent in the society. The Romantic age was highly interested in ‘violent and inclusive change’ and can be seen to have influenced the poetry of the time (Abrams, 46). William Blake, William Wordsworth, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge use violence in different ways in order to reach their end. Poetry, during the Romantic period, becomes closely related to politics (Bainbridge, 196) as not only was it believed that poets helped ‘contribut[e] to political understanding and action in ways that went beyond their role merely as citizens’
In 'The Rape of the Lock' Alexander Pope (1688-1744) employs a mock-epic style to satirise the 'beau-monde' (fashionable world, society of the elite) of eighteenth century England. The richness of the poem, however, reveals more than a straightforward satirical attack. Alongside the criticism we can detect Pope's fascination with, and perhaps admiration for, Belinda and the society in which she moves. Pope himself was not part of the 'beau-monde'. He knew the families on which the poem is based but his own parents, though probably comfortably off, were not so rich or of the class one would have to be in to move in Belinda's circle. He associated with learned men and poets, and there can have been little common ground between the company he kept at Will's Coffee House and those who frequented Hampton Court.
The Web. The Web. 9 Dec. 2010. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/aboutEbook.do?pubDate=119880000&actionString=DO_DISPLAY_ABOUT_PAGE&inPS=true&prodId=LitRG&userGroupName=west89013tgps&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GALE%7C0KTB>. - - -. “Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800.”