John Betjeman and Ted Hughes: A study of persona Persona, literally a mask, the “I” or the speaker of a work, sometimes identified as the author but usually better regarded as the voice or mouthpiece created by the author. Hence we know that persona is important, regardless in a poem or a play, as it acts as the narrator, the story-teller and the speaker in the piece of work, to express attitudes and judgements, as well as to present arguments, for example, to create satirical or irony effect. Persona is not to be confused with the author, as it is a fictive character created by the author, and may not represent the author him/herself. “A poem is written by an author, but it is spoken by an invented speaker.” In John Betjeman “In Westminster Abbey”, from the lines: “Let me take this other glove off” (line 1) and “Listen to a lady’s cry” (line 6), we know that the persona in this poem would be a lady. In addition, the lady was wearing gloves, which suggests that the lady must be from a wealthy, probably upper-class background. The usage of Latin words “vox humana” (line 2), “…beauteous field of Eden” and suggest that the lady is pompous and tend to show off her upper-class status by using ‘different’ language that makes her feel …show more content…
She asked God to “protect them… in all their fights/ And, even more, protect the whites”. Although it seemed to be an ordinary thing to the persona, we readers could see that it is ridiculous and also absent-minded to ask Lord to protect the whites more, where in fact Lord is fair and would not choose who to protect (regardless of colour)! John Betjeman again uses the persona to express a satirical effect. As if her prayers were not ridiculous enough, the lady proceeded with “class distinction” (line21), showing that she was a boastful and class-discrimination minded person. She had the tendency to grandise herself and despise
In the former, out of 54 who was thought to be part of the insurgency and brought to Southampton’s court (Greenberg, pg. 57-58) one Black enslaved woman, Lucy Barrow was arrested and hanged (Greenberg, pg. 13), and she didn’t kill or hurt any White during the insurgency but simply prevented one from escaping, but was helped by another enslaved Black (Greenberg, pg. 98). Though admittedly guilty, we can see how demanding of blood the Whites were, during this critical moment that anything that could’ve hurt their brothers and sisters were punished by either hanging or transportation back to Africa. Meanwhile, in the latter’s pamphlet, he took time to mention the significant role of an enslaved Black woman in the recapturing of slaves in Kentucky, who fought back against their captors. A rare opportunity wasted by the unnecessary kindness of the enslaved woman. She was heavily criticized by Walker saying that “the actions… really unsupportable” (Wilentz, pg. 24). He also mentioned how heartless White Christian Americans were and they deserve no support nor protection from the Black people. Though, it should also be noted that the man helped by the Black woman was a Negro driver, and therefore, she may have felt a bit kinship or brother/sisterhood for their skin colour. It also possible that her mother instinct kicked in and
Her being white in the 1930’s after slaves have been recently set free in the south, she is going to have a lot of power regarding to her race alone. People in the south mostly still treated african americans the same as when they were slaves. The white people would try to insult most african americans anyway they could at any time because whites still thought they were superior over african americans, and even though that is still an issue in today’s world, it was probably more than ten times worse back then. In court, if the jury is white, it is almost a law that if the case is white versus black, the white person or people will win because in that time period, court cases were won based on public interest. Not to mention in court Tom was convicted as “immoral” based on his race of being african american because of the time
Dramatic monologue often pertains to the narrator talking to and addressing the audience (1063). Fife uses dramatic monologue form, without any particular rhyme schemes, as well as no typical line or stanza count ordinarily given for regular verse poetry. Along with not using rhyme or line count norms, Fife has a lack of grammatical use throughout her poems. There is no punctuation or capital letters
Unlike the earlier era, in which they had received freedom but it was so new to them, and they truly didn’t understand what it meant to be a free group, they began to move into a time period where they were finding their voice, and “finding their freedom”. Instead of writing about becoming free, and wanting freedom, they begin to act free. They begin to prove they were free by giving off confident in their culture and in their work. In her writing she has many different subsections where she rebuttals the ideas pushed onto the African American race. She proves the stereotypes wrong using the truth. The first example is, under the section titled “originality” she wrote, “it has been said so often that the negro is lacking in originality that has almost become a gospel. Outward signs seem to bear this out. But if one looks closely its falsity is immediately evident.” and , “So if we look at it squarely, the Negro is a very original being. While he lives and moves in the midst of a white civilian, everything that he touches is re-interpreted for his own use. He has modified the language, mode of food preparation, practice of medicine, and most certainly the religion of his new country, just as he adapted to suit himself the sheik haircut made famous by Rudolph Valentino.” this passage shows how much she believes in her race. She isn’t asking for anything from anyone. She doesn’t beg for respect, acceptance, or freedom, she is telling them to treat them like they are free. This passage really exemplifies the theme of accepting themselves and their culture during this time period. The African Americans were able to begin to stand up for themselves and up against the falsely acclaimed stereotypes that have been made against them. During this time period they were recreating the culture that had been taken away from them. They were finding their voice through
Characterization has been established as an important part of literature as it allows authors to fully develop characters’ personalities, allowing readers to understand the characters and their actions. In the poem Judith, the author uses adjective phrases to describe Judith and Holofernes’ personalities. The diverse contrast in their nature highlights the heroic qualities in Judith, which teach the reader to have faith in God, as that is where her courage and strength stems from. Therefore, characterization can further be used as a technique to establish major themes in a work of
That rights to anybody were the same that it didn’t matter on race or gender. While at the convention she had heard speeches given by local ministers and their agreement that men where on the higher on the society ladder then that of women. Giving arguments on four main categories: Superior intellect, how Christ would wanted equality he would of given the rights to the women before his death, and that of the first sin of Eve (Aint I A woman). All of the points the ministers made were why it was that women did not possess much power in a religious view. One minister had made a pointed out if Christ had intended to give women rights he would have done it before he had died. Sojourner having stated back, “He says women can’t have as much right as men, ‘cause Christ wasn’t a women! Whar did Christ come from?” (Aint I, pg. 2). That Christ had been born by a woman and had nothing to do with men at all. In a later speech she had stated,” the Bible says, sons and daughters ought to behave themselves before their mothers, but they don’t I’m watching…” (What time of night is it?). Many slave women had served as maid hands to young misters and misses of the plantation owners. They had served as second mothers to these children most of the time neglecting their own children. Much like Harriet and her grandmother, who had worked for the same women who now demanded
She is asked to serve at a dinner party for a group of privileged whites, that appear happy to play their role, engaging in “high intellectual discourse” about literature they did not understand or even read, drinking out of the finest Baccarat crystal, and
Many people during the time of Harriet Beecher Stowe and even now regard religion as a means of getting out of the requirement of having to go to Hell by being a part of a religion. What these people do not realize is that there is more to just being able to say that they are Christians and getting out of the punishment for their sins. They must be examples of what it is like to be religious and practice it with fervency and commitment. Miss Ophelia was Stowe's embodiment of these people that are trying to cheat their way out of spiritual punishment. She admits to having feelings of bigotry toward blacks. "I've always had a prejudice against negroes [ ] and it's a fact, I never could bear to have that child touch me; but, I didn't think she knew it" (246). Miss Ophelia's aversion toward African Americans shows that to be human is to be flawed; however, it is still unchristian to be so.
...e and gender, were by default always arguing for universal equality. In no instance could black women argue specifically for their rights and freedom, without necessarily raising up the all blacks and females. As the famous phrase declares, black women were “lifting as they climb” (Brown, 44). In their fight for enfranchisement, they were advocating for universal suffrage; in their movement to end lynching, they were urging, “that every human being should have a fair trial;” in the demand for fair, living wages, they were insisting that all people should have the capacity to live honestly and adequately from their pay (Brown, 34). Black women, not only assumed a peculiar position in society, where they had to band together to fight for their own rights, but also they were in a powerful situation, which granted them the capacity to fight for everyone’s rights.
The "persona" narratives from the book - "Mending Wall," "After Apple-Picking," and "The Wood-Pile" - also strive for inclusiveness although they are spoken throughout by a voice we are tempted to call "Frost." This voice has no particular back-country identity, nor is it obsessed or limited in its point of view; it seems rather to be exploring nature, other people, ideas, ways of saying things, for the sheer entertainment they can provide. Unlike poems such as "Home Burial" and "A Servant to Servants," which are inclined toward the tragic or the pathetic, nothing "terrible" happens in the personal narratives, nor does some ominous secret lie behind them. In "The Wood-Pile," for example, almost nothing happens at all; its story, its achieved idea or wisdom, the whole air with which it carries itself, is quite unmemorable. A man out walking in a frozen swamp decides to turn back, then decides instead to go farther and see what will happen. He notes a bird in front of him and spends some time musing on what the bird must be thinking, then sees it settle behind a pile of wood. The pile is described so as to bring out the fact that it has been around for some time. With a reflection about whoever it was who left it there, "far from a useful fireplace," the poem concludes. And the reader looks up from the text, wonders if he has missed something, perhaps goes back and reads it again to see if he can catch some meaning which has eluded him. But "The Wood-Pile" remains stubbornly unyielding to any attempt at ransacking it for a meaning not evidently on the surface.
...lacks in white robes, along with her and Claud standing besides them” (34). This epiphany was a wake up call for Mrs. Turpin, and this identified the importance to her that everyone is viewed as equal in Gods eyes, no matter how poor, murderous, or prosperous an individual may be.
...won for herself just as the Negro is. And for their full development it is necessary that women, just as much as Negro men, shall be granted perfect equality of the rights. (1345)
...nspired to make a change that she knew that nothing could stop her, not even her family. In a way, she seemed to want to prove that she could rise above the rest. She refused to let fear eat at her and inflict in her the weakness that poisoned her family. As a child she was a witness to too much violence and pain and much too often she could feel the hopelessness that many African Americans felt. She was set in her beliefs to make choices freely and help others like herself do so as well.
...the persona, a young man, to a coy Mistress who has denied his sexual needs. The persona strains to seduce the woman by expressing his thoughts on youth and impending death. The first Stanza of the poem shows the speaker to be tolerant and waits for the Mistress’s response for sex. The Mistress, as he finds out, is a challenging woman to win over, because she holds her virginity as holy. The persona derives extreme notions, when she is dead her virginity’s sole purpose is worm food, and grasps attention by the graphic image of her death. The speaker embodies the theme of Carpe Diem and tries to force his ideas upon her so that he may have sex with her.
In Betjeman's "Lenten Thoughts of A High Anglican" his repetitive reference to "The Mistress" echoes throughout the poem; this plays on the duality of meanings the word possesses, as some readers may draw reference to the connotations of female power & liberation made popular in the early 20th century whilst some readers may draw reference to the connotations of sexual promiscuity. Betjeman continues this tone by alluding to her thick, full, "droop{ed}" lips and "elegant