The Kingdom of Union and Joy can only be attained through the elevation and expansion of spirit which is influenced by its intricate relationship with matter. They reflect, inverse and alter one another depending on the nature of their alliance; and challenge the pervading intuition that one entertains concerning hierarchy, the superior and the inferior, rising and falling. Throughout the poem, the prophetic persona enlightens the reader on the manner to ascend to the spiritual realm via tales on base spirits, on praising and praised bodies -- thus, purveying a dynamic dramatisation of the fall. Mammon and the Son are two spiritual figures that typify the convoluted relation between matter and spirit. In their description, the persona invites the reader to compare the attitudes of these characters towards the material world and the fashion in which they apply their spirits to it.
Mammon is the «least erected Spirit that fell / From Heav’n» (1.679-80). Possessed by a boundless desire for «The riches of Heav’ns pavement, trod’n Gold» (1.682) -- towards which his thoughts are bent -- he already manifests a vertical movement in his heavenly status as he sinks low within the highest realm of the universe. The narrator’s speech transcribes the discontinuity of Mammon’s spiritual rank through the juxtaposition of inversely connotative words such as the sequence least - erected - fell - Heav’n.
Being the classical symbol of greed, he aspires to elevation by means of material abundance. Even when fallen, he persuades himself and his fellow companions of a possible good life in hell provided they exploit its treasures. From thence, directed by Mammon, the crew proceeds to violently abuse the earth who’s centre they «Ransack» and «with ...
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... his «Humiliation shall exalt» (3.313). The Son’s Grandeur shall ensue from his submission as the bounds established on matter shall, in due course, allow for the Kingdom of Union and Joy. While Mammon perceives obedience as a divine deception, the Son rationalises it by coupling subservient actions with gratifying results through grammatical conjunctions. Though, he first «Lie[s] vanquisht», «yield[s]» to Death and «suffer[s], he ultimately will «rise Victorious», «subdue / [His] Vanquisher» and «disarm» him. The Son portrays this outcome as inevitable by overusing conjunctions, such as though - yet - but - then; as well as by the repetitive use of «shall», thus expressing the strength of his assertion (3. 234-65). Therefore, temperance leads to the profusion of spirituality as it mirrors creation and recognises the intimate connection between matter and spirit.
In the poem, “The Was of Things,” (P 14) by Willie Perdomo, the poem is a free verse, no rhyme scheme, has 10 lines, and one stanza. The poem includes different techniques such as symbolism, personification, imagery, alliteration and so forth to illustrate different themes in the poem. The speaker uses enjambment in the poem to make readers think of what comes next. The beginning word of the poem is capitalized, the speaker trying to emphasize the first word in the poem or just followed a pattern. The purpose of the poem is to identify one theme in the poem, hence, what can be a theme captured in the poem “The Was of Things?” In this essay, I discuss the theme speculation and use structure, word usage, imagery, alliteration and symbolism to demonstrate the speculation throughout.
sin and avarice; the Elect could come and perfect themselves, if they were prepared to
Walter Percy’s The Moviegoer is the fascinating depiction of a bizarre bird, Binx Bollings, a New Orleans’s stockbroker, who is driven by a search. There are two kinds of searches Binx is concerned with, a vertical search and horizontal search. Through them, Binx strives to transcend “everydayness,” as well as existential despair, hopelessness, and malaise. He fears being content in life because he does not want to loose his individuality and become invisibly dead—a fear he eventually accepts. In this paper, I shall argue that Binx Bollings abandons the vertical search because the vertical search is his descent in hell, similar to Dante’s Inferno, and once he reaches his circle of Hell, he is stuck in an eternal horizontal existence—unlike his step-brother, Lonnie, who truly transcends everydayness, and ascends in the vertical search due to grace.
He cites many examples that one who gets anxiety gets the rest, the one who draws the knife finds the Isaac and one who descends gets the beloved rescued. To strengthen his claim, that one must work to get the bread he gives many examples of heroic deeds of Agamemnon, Jephthah and Brutus how they overcame the pain and agony and acted for fulfillment of the task. He also cites Abraham and shows how his act was different from others, which earned eternity for him. In this perspective, he distinguishes between Infinite resignation and the
...o the heavens, and the earth to Mont Blanc which is described as the "monarch of mountains" (1.1 60). The spirits are influential in the stories prominently for the two characters, which reflect the preoccupations and processes of dealing with their traumas.
(1.2.84-86) For they are actions that a man might play; But I have that within which passeth show, These but the trappings and the suits of woe. (1)
As the first poem in the book it sums up the primary focus of the works in its exploration of loss, grieving, and recovery. The questions posed about the nature of God become recurring themes in the following sections, especially One and Four. The symbolism includes the image of earthly possessions sprawled out like gangly dolls, a reference possibly meant to bring about a sense of nostalgia which this poem does quite well. The final lines cement the message that this is about loss and life, the idea that once something is lost, it can no longer belong to anyone anymore brings a sense...
In careful amounts, identity can remain unharmed, or even be found anew, using material aid. However, the attention and time one spends on increasing his/her material value can very easily crowd out other more meaningful aspects of existence. Once an unfortunate soul is perverted in such a way, what remains of the identity can be altered to better satisfy the increasing need for material wealth. The line between safety and corruption in terms of ownership of earthly riches is maintained by the discipline to receive joy from these riches, while also keeping in mind the astronomical joy and tranquility that the simple, immaterial parts of existence can already
The five-line interlude ending on "the floors of silent seas" forms an encapsulated version of the remainder of the poem, in which the frustrated effort to establish purposive discourse leads once again to withdrawal downward and inward to a silent world of instinctual being. A return to images of distension and distracting sensuality provokes a final impulse toward violent imposition of the will--"to force the moment to its crisis"--which ends, like previous thoughts of disturbing the universe, in ruthless self-mockery. The image of decapitation parodies the theme of disconnected being and provides for at least a negative definition of the self: "I am no prophet."
“The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”.(Matthew 26:41) These words of Jesus are thematic in both the novel, The Power and the Glory, by Graham Greene, and the poem, “Batter my heart, three-personed God”, by John Donne. Both the whiskey priest and the speaker of the poem are involved in a battle between their sinful flesh and their spirit, which seeks the Divine. They also admit their sin and commit themselves to God. In both the novel and the poem, the authors use similar paradoxes to describe the character’s relationship with God while the search for holiness takes each on a different path.
A running theme in William Golding's works is that man is savage at heart, always ultimately reverting back to an evil and primitive nature. The cycle of man's rise to power, or righteousness, and his inevitable fall from grace is an important point that Golding proves again and again in many of his works, often comparing man with characters from the Bible to give a more vivid picture of his descent. Golding symbolizes this fall in different manners, ranging from the illustration of the mentality of actual primitive man to the reflections of a corrupt seaman in purgatory.
The question of whether Satan is the hero or the villain of John Milton’s Paradise Lost has been largely debated by scholars over the centuries. The ones who believe Satan is the villain of the epic, more commonly known as the Anti-Satanists, tend to argue that Satan is too foolish to be considered a hero, as his “hostility to Almighty power” is ultimately a futile endeavour (as God’s power is omnipotent) (Carey, 135). C. W. Lewis, also an anti-Satanist, goes as far as to claim that to “admire Satan, then, is to give one’s vote not only for a world of misery, but also for a world of lies and propaganda, of wishful thinking” (Lewis, 203). The ones who claim Satan is the hero of the epic, the Satanists, perceive him as the rebellious angel who rises up and defies God’s monarchy and “the tyranny of Heav’n” (174).They choose to focus on Satan’s “nobler qualities, his loyalty in leadership, fortitude in adversity, unflinching courage and splendid recklessness” (Satan/Promo, 3). While these two positions are both valid, this paper will be focusing on a third position: the individuals who believe that Satan is neither the hero nor the villain of the epic.
‘The spirit of my father, which I think is within me, begins to mutiny against this servitude. I will no longer endure it, yet I know no wise remedy how to avoid it.’
Through the technical irregularities evident in the number of lines, rhyme scheme and even meter in each respective stanza, Keats constructs a playful sense about the poem; the poem develops to be more spontaneous than structured. Keats’ imagery contributes to the dreamlike sense about the poem and stresses the natural beauty of Psyche or the soul. The speaker experiences a journey realizing his desire to become a priest of Psyche, a worshipper of Psyche and inadvertently of his own soul. He transforms from questioning the lack of excitement surrounding Psyche to eventually igniting his own. The speaker becomes a priest of Psyche because he is able to praise his psyche himself without relying on the efforts of others.
Criticism. The. New York: Norton, 1975. Fox, Robert C. "The Allegory of Sin and Death in Paradise Lost." Modern Language Quarterly 24 (1963): 354-64. ---.