Musing on Much for School!

Death is… an eventuality. Yes, but does it mean something different in War than it does during other times? Yes, it does, becuase in war the circumstances of the death can mean the difference between being just another casualty and being honored as a hero. Stephan Crane describes death, in what I would call a disturbing manner…

The tall soldier opened his lips and spoke. He made a gesture. “Leave me be–don’t tech me–leave me be—-” There was another silence while he waited. Suddenly, his form stiffened and straightened. Then it was shaken by a prolonged ague. He stared into space. To the two watchers there was a curious and profound dignity in the firm lines of his awful face… … His arms beat wildly about hsi head in expression of implike enthusiasm. His tall figure stretched itself to its full height. There was a slight rending sound. Then it began to swing forward… …in the manner of a falling tree. (55)

Crane’s technique is in the detail, he described what it was like for someone to die violently in war. When someone has a wound they often have several spasms before they die, much like the tall soldier, Jim. It makes me sick, the way it is described, but that’s what Crane wants. Crane wants to ensure that the reader knows exactly what its like to watch someone die in a war. The youth is utterly horrified by the event, he cannot get over what he just saw and is on the lookout for some of the same signs coming from the tattered soldier that accompanied him. The tall soldier is awestruck, but only because he keeps repeating, “I never seen a man do like that before.” (56)

I’ve seen dead bodies at funerals and such, but I can’t imagine what it would be like to actually watch someone die like that. Would it change my thoughts about the way things work? I don’t know, I’ll have to be in that situation first, but this little descrption by Crane doesn’t make me in any hurry to watch somone die…

Comrades is a word that is often misrepresented by colloquial definitions.  Were the men that served with Henry truly comrades? Well, to be truthful, a lot of them were not really his friends, (or at least not revealed that way) and they tended not to share common interests. The tall one, for instance was very vocal about his opions of which Henry did not agree at all. They all agreed that the higher-ups were being foolish, but they really didn’t define anything else that was similar. In fact Henry often alienated himself from the group, making them far from comrades!

In the novella The Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane explores a lot of territory involving the subjects that dominate most human conceptions of “War” in his story. In chapters 5-8, we follow Henry as he wins his first fight, and feels like a hero… but as he finds wars are not fought in fights, but in battles.

In the traditional norm, a hero is someone who braves every conflict, who never runs, and fights for what he or she believes in with the full force of their being. Henry of course, falls short of this. While his “red rage” and “acute exasperation of a pestered animal” (33) certainly carries him through the first wave of attack, it falls short when he calms down and the enemy forces attack again.  At this he violates another heroic principle “the stoic” as he beginst to run and rationalize himself with thoughts like “He had done a good part in saving himself who was a little piece of the army.” Such acts would not cross the mind of a traditional hero!

However, courage and heroism are subjective, not objective terms. When a little girl faces up to her mean stepfather who in a mature males mind is scrawny, then we can still call that courage, becuase to the little girl, even that scrawny man is a tough opponent. If she is protecting her little brother from the stepfather, then we can call that heroism becuase she is defending something else. Courage is being able to stand up to things that you are scared of, and though you are frightened you punch your way through anyway, and heroism is having the courage to save the things that you hold dear, particularly human life.

I think that the fact that I have read a few Piers Anthony books and delved deep into the question of Heroism after 9/11 have really influenced my thoughts on the matter. Becuase Piers Anthony always includes in his works (though they be pulpish fiction) the idea that a courageous man is one that stands up to fear though he is afraid and a hero is one who works to end the problems that face his ideals.  Of course, 9/11 is a terrible event that produced many heros. The firefighters who helped try to calm the blaze that happened after the explosion and even the people on the plane themselves.

Crane is trying to show us that being a hero is something that is subjective by using Henry’s thoughts to show us that he thinks of himself as a practical man for fleeing the battle. The ball that is placed on the words is that he has his animal instincts that rule his fighting, but he has human rationale’s for getting out of there!

Realism and Naturalism were movments that occured in the ninteenth century as a response to Romanticism. The reasoning behind the movements themselves originates in France in the typical rational mind vs. emotional mind comes into play. Romaticism played upon emotions more than it did any sort of real experiences and there tended to be magic in the air with the plots. The French commonly viewed themselves as rationalists, even as far back as the eighteenth century so the idea of Romanticism (even when it was associated with the revolutions that were frequent in France at the time) did not necessarily sit well with the French intellectuals.

The first “major player” of the realists was a man by the name of Honoré de Balzac. He wrote several novels he titled “La Comédie humaine (The Human Comedy)” Which was his attempt to systematically write about every walk of life from the lowly theif to the highest aristocrat. He had a great obsession to detail which could be related to the great obsession to detail that the animators for The Incredibles took in order to make that movie look so darn fantastic. His title was a parody to Dante’s Divine Comedy which was popular at the time.

The realists tended toward the philosophy that writing about real human events is far more interesting then writing about the fantastical side of things. While I tend to agree with that to a point I think that having a few fantastical elements in a story really makes it more powerful to the reader. Human ideas and foibles should always be present, something that the Romantics tended to ignore. Anyway:

The second major player (also French) was Gustave Flaubert. This man was MORE realistic than Balzac because he wrote about the events of a adutlerous named Madame Bolvary he wrote about her in such a way as to not make her adultery justifiable at all. The novel is described in the article Realism and Naturalism as “almost an anti-romantic tract.” Whether true or not, the fact remains that the novel probably influenced future realistic writers.

Naturalism is not truly a break from Realism, in fact one can be a Naturalist and a Realist without being attacked by either party. According to the Realism and Naturalism article “The term was invented by Émile Zola partly because he was seeking for a striking platform from which to convince the reading public that it was getting something new and modern in his fiction.” As a “Naturalist” he argued that he was writing a novel from a new perspective: with the scientific method. Personally, I think that Realism was the same way and it can be interchanged.

 The philosophy behind Realism is valid, though extreme, however the philosophy behind Naturalism is little more then splitting hairs. It’s the same thing when people argue about which 80’s Hair-Metal band they like better. There is a difference, but its a semantic difference based upon the way things are described. Realism uses exhaustive descriptions, and Naturalism uses mostly dialogue. Anyway, this is Cyril signing out. I feel like I ranted on too much on this already. Enjoy!

In the Red Badge of Courage the first three chapters are primarily about the main character, Henry, and his growing trepidation about the coming battle his regiment has been ordered to march toward. All of the men physically carry their packs, which they eventually let go of shortly into the march in the first page of chapter III. They carry their rifles for eventual combat. They carried their canteens and haversacks so they could eat. The soldiers carried their blankets so they could sleep. They also carried their bodies, which can seem heavy enough at times.

The intangible things these men carry are their insecurities, like the loud one who is all talk until chapter three’s end; their fears, like Henry’s constant battle with himself over the war; their frustration with the way their regiment is being led; the men carried they personal beliefs, of which Henry felt he was the only one who held the beliefs he did, and they carried their doubts about each other.

The things that I carry on my person are the normal things most of the time. At any given time during a weekday I will have at least: my wallet, my cellphone, my flashdrive (I seem to have misplaced that), a ChapStick, and a couple guitar/bass picks. Now, figuratively, I always carry the mistakes I have made in the past, which are numerous, the opprtunities I have let slip by, tasks not completed, people I have wronged, and the memory of people who’ve wronged me. I think everyone carrys these things to some degree.

Song

1) Occasion of poem? Literary device employed? What do you know?

The occasion of the poem is a man giving the rose a pep-talk before he gives it to his love. His love is shy though, so he uses personification to tell the flower to give his message.

2) Paraphrase each stanza.

Go forth beautiful Rose, tell that young woman that wastes our times that when I compare her to you, she realizes how lovely she is to me. Tell her that she is young and doesn’t want to be seen, but if she were to have come up in a desert with no men around, she would die without ever receiving a compliment. Beauty that is not shown in the light is not worth much. Tell her to show herself and allow herself to be desired and not blush when she is admired. Die, so that she can see the fate of all rare things, and may see in you how little time all the wondrous sweet and things have.

3) Describe the prosody and structure. How do these reinforce the content?

There are four five-line stanzas that have the same rhyme scheme of ababb. Lines 1, 3, 6, 8, 11, 13, 16, and 18 all are half the length of the others. The short lines are the b rhymes and the long lines are the a rhymes. Lines 1, 2, 6, 13, 14, and 16 are began by spondees. “Then die” is arguable the most important one because its very powerful. Because the structure is so intense, each stanza is a complete thought. The rose to deliver four messages and then die.

Virtue

1) What two unlike things are being compared and what do they have in common?.

The first unlike thing that is being compared is the day time being a melding of the earth and the sky because they are being brought together by light. The dew is personified as a person weeping the “death” of the day. The rose is being personified, and it is described as being so bright that it brings tears to those who look at it. Sort of like the sun. The last two things that are being compared are is that the soul of a virtuous person is like seasoned wood, which does not bend like new wood does.

2) How is the poem structured? Structure supports meaning?

The structure is four stanzas with three of them with a separate personified object. All of the things in this are called “sweet” at some point. The back of the book reveals that each of these things lasts progressively longer. The turn is in the final stanza, because everything eventually dies except for the virtuous soul.

3) How does prosody reinforce the poem’s meaning?

The first three stanzas are each a complete thought giving examples of finite things. It ends with something that will last for an eternity.

1) What is the structure of a rime royal?

The rime royal is a septet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ababbcc. The last two lines are the unification lines.

2) What is the structure of the poem? How do imagery and argument of each sanza develop and intensify the appeal?

The structure of the poem is sequential. It starts with the the appeal’s to his “lady’s” mercy. Then the second stanza almost has the reader hearing the gold coins rattling in the purse. The speaker is trying to use flattery there. The thrit stanza is a begging to the lady for help to leave the town. Also, if the purse will not be filled, she must help him escape from his unpaid debts!

3) How does diction account for the humor in this parody?

Chaucer is using a comparison to compare the money to his love, and uses courtly traditions to ask for what he wants. He places the money on the pedestal and gives it powers, just like they used to do with ladies.

4) how does the envoy continue the tone of the poem even as it addresses a specific person.

Henry IV is acknowledged, rightly, as a conquerer. And he  has foudn the land of Brutus Albiun. The descendant of the founder of Rome. The free election shows he is not a tyrant, but the rightful king. The envoy reminds the king that he can help alleviate his problems. Also, all the manners standard of courtliness of the time are upheld.

1) Describe the prosody of the poem

The poem is (as the title suggests) a French form of poetry called a sestina which consists of 6 stanzas of six lines each and an “envoy” of three lines that finishes the poem. Each of the 6 lines of the poem ends with one of six words or their variants. In this case they are: said, English, closed, words, nombres, and Spanish. The poem then merely rearranges the ending. It starts as abcdef. Then it mutates as follows: faebdc, cfdabe, ecdfad, deacfb, bedfeca. In the last three lines, the envoy, all of the ending words are used and the last three is bfb for some reason. According to the back of the book it is ace but that doesn’t make sense.

2) Effect of personification and allusion in first stanza? What is the Spanish counterpart to each? Sum up the meaning of the stanza.

The narrator’s attitude toward the English language is done through personifying the English language as “snowy, blonde, blue-eyed, gum chewing.” (Apparently this is a stereotyped American girl… Definitely wouldn’t have made that connection on my own.) Also, there is an allusion to the national anthem by “dawn’s early light” in the third line. The imagery which in the context of the poem that constitutes our national anthem would evoke in most Americans the rugged flag, evokes a different memory in the narrator. She thinks of the dawn of her home and the dark-skinned girls who spoke her tongue.

3) What mood is evoked in stanza two? How does language create this mood?

Nostalgia. Simple. That is what is evoked by the naming of old friends. “A child learning the nombres” “before” all of these are a longing for the past.

4) What do we learn in stanzas two and three about the difference between names and vocabulary words? How does the example of the plan called morivivir illustrate this gap? What does the metaphor of the genii in the bottle tell us about the nature of language?

Names have history behind them. Vocabulary words do not. Vocabulary words are “language closed” The plant was like a vocabulary word because it closed when it was touched. Words are powerful, yes, but they are also frail. Because even a name can yield nothing.

5) In stanzas four and five, why does the speaker invoke Gladys and Rosario from her childhood? How is her childhood sensitivity to words inextricably bound to Spanish, her first language? What is significant about the allusion to Adam, the first man?

The speaker invokes Gladys and Rosario because they have the Spanish words that meant so much more to the speaker than the dry English words. Her childhood sensitivity is bound to Spanish because they were the first words put into her mouth by her childhood friends. No one else did, not even the first man.

Alright, this is my first time making a very structured blog post, so I decided to have the “block quote” portions be my answers, just so you guys know.

Death Be Not Proud

1) Poem conform to sonnet form? Notable variations with effects?

The poem conforms to sonnet form in the fact that it is three quatrains and a couplet, and each quatrain develops a different idea and problem, while the couplet is the solution. The notable differences are the fact that the rhyme scheme on all the quatrains and the couplet are not the standard rhyme scheme. Instead It repeats ABBA for the first two quatrains, CDDC for the last quatrain and ends with AE for the ending couplet. It’s effect is interesting, the repetitiveness of the first quatrains has a feeling that its the same idea. And the AE gives a sense of finality, and unease because most people’s minds want it to rhyme, but it does not. This goes throughout the poem.

2) Use of apostrophe and personification. How do they enhance?

Donne uses apostrophe and personification to great effect. He takes death, this inanimate thing and not only talks to it as if it were a real person, but gives it human characteristics. The fact its a slave, the fact that it’s not proud, it can die. Death is also capitalized, suggesting we are talking to a the person Death not “death.” The apostrophe and personification of this poem makes us almost feel sorry for death, because as he is talking to it, we get an image of a sad person who wants to have the power he claims to have.

3) Paraphrase, keep the apostrophe and personification.

Death, you are not proud, and though some say you are mighty and dreadful, you are not; for those who fear you, you overcome them; don’t die poor Death, but you can’t kill me yet. Rest and sleep are like you, but we get pleasure from them, so from you we must get more pleasure, and soon our best men will go with you, resting their bodies and delivering their souls to Heaven. You are a slave to the powers of fate, chance, kings and desperate men, and you dwell in poison, war and sickness, and opium can make us sleep just as you can, but they are better than you at it, why do you get so puffed up? We have only a “short sleep” before we are constantly awake in the afterlife, and in that place there shall be no more death, Death, you will then die.

To Death

1) Describe the form and structure.

In this poem, the structure is simple. There are 16 lines of heroic couplets The first three couplets are one sentence/idea as conveyed by the period. Then there is a single couplet sentence that sort of bridges the way between the first idea and the second. The last two couplets, however are the most important, as they are the heart of what he author truly thinks of death. Also, what should not be ignored (as it was almost ignored by me) is that the poem ends with AA, meaning that it ends as it began. This could parallel the fact that we are all born essentially helpless, and most of us are helpless against death. I could be reading too much into that though.

2) Details personifying death? Their effect? Attitude towards death? Requests of death by author?

Death is being personified, sort of, as a terrible king who has unbounded power. The details that personify death are the ones that make him seem evil, “…thy prey,” “…thy contagious darts, that wound.” The majority of things given to death are weapons, however it is pointed out that he is a king. Therefore the author is reverent towards death, but as reverent as someone is to a despot. She only wishes that death would take her gently, and not violently with the weapons that he possesses.

3) Paraphrase line by line. Change all figurative language to literal.

Death is terrible, with no limit to its powers. All that live will die. The King, the Priest, the Prophet, all will die. Even Christ died. I am going to die. And I will only add to all that have died already. I am not scared of dying, but I am scared to die violently with racks, swords. I don’t want to die from a sickness that deaden the senses. And kill us while we are insane and unprepared for death. And the diseases will spread too. Spread to the friends who are by the beds. Hopefully, these people will not die, but will die when they are old. My business is to die, and to accept my fate. Now, let me die gently. Insensibly drifting into the coldness of death.

Hopefully you guys like this, I had a hard time with question three of the last poem. Comment away rapscallions!

I’ve heard, within my classes and among some of the forums I frequent, the general opinion that blogging is a foolish pastime that is reserved for political activists and/or paid political campaign bloggers. The problem with this opinion is that it fails to recognize the importance of blogging in today’s society and most certainly future society.

This being said, the various uses of blogs, including those used in politics, must be enumerated. This list includes, but is not limited to: telling/ reminding collegues about meetings/appointments (because you do not need an account to view a blog,) keeping track of your accomplishments so that they can be viewed by others (mostly used for indie bands/small businesses,) and of course expressing your modest opinion to the wideness of the internet.

But, its even more than that! Not only can you tell people your opinions, but you can also showcase your favorite recipes, comics, music, pictures… anything! The best part about that is, as technology improves, we can post ever greater amounts of things through the ‘net! Who knows? Willy Wonka’s “Wonka-Vision” may be commonplace in the future! Of course, I’m probably exaggerating a litte.

I hope I have helped you reconsider your opinion of the blogosphere, I would post more, but I am making this post on my PocketPC, so it is more than a littl tedious. Stay safe, and happy blogging!

~Cyril