Carefully Read the Poem Simon Lee by William Wordsworth

Simon Lee the Old Huntsman is a poem which occurs in Lyrical Ballads and was written in 1798, belonging, thus, temporally to the Romantic period (1780-1830). Romantic writing is commonly identified with some key elements, which concern imagination, nature, symbolism and myth (although there have been writers of this period who were not as ‘mainstream’). William Wordsworth has been characterised as a canonical author of Romantic Poetry in that his work is highly attached to the notion of Nature and plenty of reference is made to it. Approaching a piece of literary work, however, from this perspective is very restraining, therefore, in this essay we will attempt a ‘social’ or ‘historical’ kind of approach. We shall try to ‘read’ the idealistic language found in the poem as social or historical discourse through the poetic techniques employed by the writer. In other words, we will analyse the way various elements of poetic form and language combine to create meaning and effects. Simon Lee is about an old huntsman who, while was once strong and active, now strives to fight his declined health and strength. The poem recounts an actual encounter of the poet with this old man. It seems to be a hybrid of lyric and narrative (a lyrical ballad). Lyric in that we have a first-person expression of emotion and concentration upon the actions and feelings of an individual at a particular moment, while narrative, since there is a narrator and another character, whom the former encounters and, later, describes. There are 12 stanzas of eight lines each with a rhyme scheme of ABABCDED that causes the lines to flow smoothly. The first stanza of the poem introduces us with Simon and sets the scene: ‘In the sweet shire of Cardigan’. It is obvious from the beginning that Wordsworth is dealing with a matter from common life, since every reader is familiar with and can picture a sweet shire, the same way the notion of ‘pleasant’ is easy to grasp. Furthermore, a series of modest, plain adjectives that evoke sadness are used to describe Simon: ‘old man’, ‘a little man’, who ‘once was tall’ making it clear that the ‘hero’ of the poem is just a humble, ordinary old man. Nature, Wordsworth argued, can save people from the alienation, frustration and triviality of contemporary urban life. It seems to me that by choosing to start the poem placing the readers in a rural area away from urban life, he seeks to evoke feelings opposed to the ones mentioned above, those that are for him connected with away-from-nature settings. The second stanza is, I consider, somewhat tragic, since two totally contradictory adjectives- ‘poor’ and ‘merry’- are used to describe this same person only in two different periods of his life: in the past and present. In this way, the winding down of Simon’s life over the years becomes even more intense to the reader. The rhyming couple ‘has he/ see’ in Lines 1 and 3 of the second stanza is known as poetic inversion. Wordsworth has inverted the word order for the sake of the sound sense of the verse as well as of the rhythm, both of which would have been different if he had used ‘he has’. Perhaps any other choice would have made the rhyme pattern less unfussy than it is now, and complication is what he has tried to avoid throughout the whole poem. The easy rhymes ‘merry/cherry’, ‘sound/round’, ‘sick/thick’, ‘door/poor’ are also justified by this theory. The metaphor ‘like a cherry’ is directly derived from the ‘diction’ of Nature and can be easily comprehended and pictured by the majority of the common population-especially in rural areas. In the fourth stanza the retrospection stops and Simon is no longer in the prime of his life. He is no longer healthy, rather he is ‘poor old Simon Lee’ again, who ‘has no son’, ‘has no child’, he only has ‘an aged woman’ and they both live ‘upon the village common’. Simon Lee is again transformed into the old man that was presented to us in the first stanza and the poetic inversion of ‘village common’ functions to leave an echo of the commonness of everything that surrounds this man, for once more. For the following four stanzas this picture of his is highlighted through words such as ‘lean’, ‘sick’, ‘thin’, ‘dry’, ‘weak’, ‘the weakest in the village’ or the image of his ankles, which are ‘swoln and thick’. By these means, the reader is ‘forced’ to sympathise with the hero, who is totally helpless. Even more, the repetition (which could also be characterised as alliteration) of the phrase ‘he has no’ in Line 5 of the fourth stanza reinforces the sense of loneliness and misery that is created. The same effect is also achieved by the alliteration that occurs between the words ‘sole’ -‘survivor’ in Line 8 of the third stanza. What is strikingly noticeable is that there is a pause at the end of almost each line, either a comma, a semi-colon, a full-stop or an exclamation mark, with occasional exceptions in some lines in an inconsistent pattern. This stylistic device, known as ‘enjambment’, suggests that these exceptional lines actually run on; however, on account of the actual line ending itself (with no punctuation mark) the reader is made to pause for a while and think. In other words, he can read each line slowly. This works to relieve any sense of suspense or tension within the poem. Or we can say that the writer initially aims at reproducing classical qualities of balance, harmony and proportion, while the variations noticed may function to indicate the disturbance that has occurred to the above. Suddenly, in the ninth octave Wordsworth writes directly to the reader –‘My gentle reader’- and asks him to expect no action; the poem is not climactic and the poet is addressing this fact (‘It is no tale’). Through the phrase ‘I perceive’ he reveals his insight into the reader’s reactions (‘ I’ m afraid that you expect some tale will be related’) and he establishes that there is no resolution or climax to be expected. He is also implying the reader’s blindness of the ‘tale’ already told by Simon’s aging body: the fact that he is humbled while he realises that struggling against a decaying organism is hopeless. At this point it might be useful to think of the readers whom this poem was originally created to address. On the one hand, Wordsworth has chosen to include the common people of rural life in his range of audience, and therefore is using their own language. In the ‘Preface’ to his Lyrical Ballads of 1802 he argues that the language of poetry ought to be ‘language of men’. As he says, this is because the rural poor ‘convey their feelings and notions in simple and unelaborated expressions’ (Wu, Romanticism,1994 p. 252). Their habits do not change as they are not affected by fashion, so their language is more sincere. On the other hand, by the phrase ‘my gentle reader’, we could also say that he is addressing the readers belonging to the upper-class of society; the educated people who would expect a more elaborated language and this poem to actually be far less profound that it really is. To those people who cannot see that it functions to be symbolic, but who only see the words and the events without the meaning lying below these. Wordsworth had lived through the Revolutionary period and was against the early ideas, which is why he had the reputation of a radical. He was influenced by the democratic ideas of the period. It seems that through this poem he seeks to change the social circumstances of the time. He seeks for a more democratic state and he attempts to pass this notion through the use of simple, unelaborated language, which is considered as ‘uncorrupted’. Let’s not forget that it was written in a period of remarkable social and political change. Therefore, in one sense, he conducted his own ‘social revolution’, influenced by the social context within which he created poetry. He was against the received idea of poetic language being as refined and eloquent as to be available only to those with an education. We might, thus, say that by addressing his reader in these two stanzas he is being ironic towards this class of society. At the conclusion of the poem, where the only action so far has been the decay of life, this ‘single blow’ in the twelfth stanza seems to be releasing a sense of freedom from this natural law and the writer’s tone suggests this victory over aging and decay. Simon’s response to this comes with ‘The tears into his eyes’ and ‘thanks and praises’ , conveying a shift from negative to positive; from pity to admiration, since attention now passes from Simon’s outward decay to the endless ‘activity’ and openness of his heart. The writer is overwhelmed by this gratitude expressed towards him and suggests that kindness within one’s heart may overcome any physical decay that comes with aging and bring about this spiritual survival that equals physical vigour of youthful.

Look at Macbeth’s Monologue in Act III Scene I, what do we learn about Macbeth? Essay

In Macbeth’s monologue in Act III Scene I, we learn a lot about Macbeth’s insecurities. He tells us that he does not feel safe on the throne because of the witches’ prediction that Banquo’s children will be kings. He fears Banquo because Banquo is brave, and he represents good and he would not approve of how Macbeth obtained the crown, we can see Banquo’s suspicions earlier in this scene when he fears that Macbeth has â€Å"played’st most foully† for the crown. He says that Banquo is clever and as long as Banquo is around, Macbeth will live in fear of him. Macbeth then talks about how the witches have predicted that Macbeth will have no children and his crown is â€Å"fruitless†, and he has a â€Å"barren sceptre† meaning that he will not pass on his crown to anyone in his family. He then says that he only murdered Duncan for Banquo’s children, as they will be the next kings, and it was only for them he gave his soul to the devil and only for them he has become a more evil and treacherous man. He then asks for fate to be kind. This is a clear change in Macbeth’s character here, earlier in the play he was described as â€Å"disdaining fortune† in battle, which means that he did not worry about fate or fortune, he just fought bravely against the odds, but now we see that Macbeth has come to rely on fortune and beg for it to be kind to him. In this monologue Macbeth reveals that he is probably going to kill Banquo and Fleance, Banquo’s son. Earlier in the scene he asked how Banquo was going to get to the banquet at Macbeth’s palace and if Fleance would be going with him. He wants to kill Banquo to stop himself going mad with fear of the witches’ prediction about Banquo â€Å"having kings†. He realises that this may mean that one of Banquo’s children may kill him to become king. He wants to kill Banquo and Fleance, as that will stop Banquo’s line of descendants as Fleance is Banquo’s only son and then Macbeth will be safe in the crown. We can also see that Macbeth is a very insecure person and is especially insecure as a king. He will go to any lengths to make sure that he remains king, even murdering his best friend and his best friend’s son. There are some hints I this passage that Macbeth is going slightly mad. He says that he ahs â€Å"filed his mind†, which means that has corrupted his mind or has gone a bit crazy, by killing Duncan. In this monologue we see some of Macbeth darkest and deepest thoughts. He has changed from the brave, loyal and honourable man that we first were introduced to him as by the dying captain to a man that is willing to murder innocent men for power, and a man that is haunted by predictions made by some old women.

Empowerment is an unrealistic concept. Discuss Essay

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How did teddy roosevelts life prepare him to build panama canal Essay

How did teddy roosevelts life prepare him to build panama canal - Essay Example The Panama Canal was a project by the French that would save the long journey from the Atlantic to Pacific via South America and which took months to get across from. Just as the Suez Canal had attracted investors, the Panama Canal was believed to be a viable project for future investors as well. Due to the bad weather and wild animals including snakes and insects that caused malaria, thousands of workers died and millions were used without any much work being completed and the canal was left unfinished by the French. Once he became president, Roosevelt picked up the project in 1902 and they reached an agreement of $40 million to buy the rights from the French and agreement reached with Panama of $10 million which secured the Canal Zone rights to build. This was not so smooth a deal as US had to go to war with Columbia over Panama and US won amid bribery of soldiers to surrender the war and it made Panama a country with its own sovereign rights from Columbia and hence accepting the deal from the US of the rights in exchange for the money to build their country (Vander Hook,

Airplane Evolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Airplane Evolution - Essay Example The historical development of airplanes brought several trials and inventions that were trimmed down to create an aircraft that shall able to cope up with wind velocity and gravitational pull. Even before the inventions of the Wright brothers in the 18th century where gliding planes became the fundamental outline for modern planes, many engineers and inventors aspire in building an aircraft through their sketches and visual designs substantiated by mathematical equations. Nevertheless, modern planes emerged from collective efforts of inventors and engineers in the recent centuries. Part of the building and development of modern planes are previous inventions such as the windmill which will serve as the early plane propeller, the kite as wings, and definitely the modern helicopter. Modern airplanes today are significant equipment both on commercial used, military used and in space explorations. Also economic growth especially on export dependent countries, faster consignment of goods to countries with the use of private planes can create economic bombasts. Such is the achievement on the invention of airplanes. I. History. Body I. History. Part of airplane history is the desire of men to fly and glide in the air as birds do. Even in mythology, flying was then perceived. Daedalus the Greek prisoner in Greek mythology was imprisoned along with his son Icarus by King Minos in the Minotaur's labyrinth. To escape the devour of the Minotaur they decided to flee through flying. Using wax as wings they escape the labyrinth. With the joy of flying, Icarus flew through near the sun and this cause his death. The wax melted and he drowned in the Aegean Sea. Daedalus however managed to escape. This myth has become the aspirations of men that someday an equipment or a birdlike aircraft would be invented. Several centuries past and the myth became a modern tale, the Puritan fairytale. According to the tale, the period of experimentation on inventing airplanes is in its height during the 17th century. Leonardo da Vinci's brilliance is their epitome. Da Vinci's ornithopters were a piece of draft that was supported with math ematical equations. His mind was preoccupied with bird flight and with flapping-wing machines. It is in this premise that his flying machine focused. Da Vinci's work lack technical value, that is why his flying machine was not considered a great achievement but just a draft that needed further replenishment. In 1714 Emmanuel

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Mom's on Facebook Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mom's on Facebook - Essay Example However, one cannot diminish the fact that these social networking websites have caused an up rise over security flaws that have plagues the creation of the networking websites. Facebook privacy breaches have without a doubt become a nightmare for its users. The social networking website has come under heavy fire for the lack of security options it offers its users. The issue at hand has become out of control as privacy regulators have called for the government to intervene in this issue. The privacy problems continue to accumulate as Mark Zuckerberg continues to make this website more public to its users. Instead of limiting controls, Facebook has become notorious for developing more tools that hinder privacy. The privacy issue continues to haunt the users as many have been victims of ID theft, fraud, and email scams. Facebook application administrators even admit that there are privacy issues concerning this networking website. Many reports have confirmed that many Facebook applica tions are a threat since they share data with other advertisers. Without a doubt, Facebook security is not safe because of enhanced features, information sharing, lack of filters, and creates bias for employees.employees. One of the main issues discussed in the video that relates to the idea of Facebook security is the fact that it allows individuals to intrude into others easily. In this particular video, the mother was able to reply to any posts that her son made. Furthermore, the mother in this case can see the pictures of other individuals who are not aware that someone is viewing their pictures. Clearly, these lays foundation for people to cyber stalk individuals who they find attractive. Moreover, one cannot diminish the fact that users are allowed to look at every content that individuals post on Facebook. Majority of the users are unaware of the privacy settings in their own Facebook. Facebook security in essence lacks the criteria of allowing individuals to practice privacy which is essential in the fast technological era we reside in. From my perspective, clearly Facebook lacks quality assurance of security that it needs to implement to assure its users that they won’t be victims of cyber stalking. Furthermore, Facebook should implement rules that ask consent of individuals whose images are uploaded in their friend’s webpages. Although this seems as a hefty effort, one cannot diminish the true essence and the importance of it. Securing images of others can truly diminish stalking and other illicit relationships that are based upon lust. Another reason why I think Facebook is dangerous a social utility tool is due to the fact that it lacks the necessary security protocols to protect its users. In a high technological world, networking has become a very easy concept. Facebook allows individuals to display their personal information, â€Å"poke† others, tag friends, â€Å"like’ statuses. Although these features might seem ha rmless, one cannot diminish the fact that it creates a foundation of much more interaction to come. A mysterious â€Å"poke† from another individual can be a gateway towards being more than â€Å"just friends.† This could be extremely dangerous especially for young teenagers, who are just amazed by the powerful features of the social utilities that are present in Facebook. Many teenagers tend to upload many pictures and share their interests, information, hobbies, and other personal information that others can view. This could be detrimental as many stalkers and child abusers take advantage of these resources to intimate contact with these children. One of the groups in Facebook is known as â€Å"You have poked me, I am assuming you are DTF?.† These absurd concepts are not humorous but unfortunately reality. Many Facebook users admit that

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Same-Sex Sexuality, Biology and Social Responses - Essay Example This paper explores the existence of homosexuality and how sexuality and biology are related. The paper reviews the scientific discoveries that have been made on the occurrence of homosexuality in a person’s genes. The paper also discusses the negative responses of the society towards homosexuality and their effects on gay and lesbian people. Darwin denied the existence of same-sex behavior amongst humans. Arguing on scientific grounds, he observed that the reason for copulation is that transfer of sperms takes place and an offspring is produced. If the nature follows such rules for mating, then it is not possible for homosexuality to exist since copulation between the same-sex cannot produce offspring (Roughgarden, 2004, p.127). Opponents of the existence of homosexuality adhere to the point of view that homosexuality is a result of some error or a deceitful trick. Until 1973, homosexuality was regarded as a sexual disorder and was a part of DSM (Kring, Johnson, Davison & Neale, 2009). However, homosexuality was removed as an official mental disorder due to the pressure from the gay community and psychiatrists (Rosario, 2002, p. 1). Proponents of the topic argue that copulation and reproduction are two different concepts (Roughgarden, 2004, p.127). Research has shown that copulation is not only needed for the purpose of breeding, but it also essential for the satisfaction of the sexual needs of the people and to deal with their relationships. This has been proved by studying the sexual needs of both men and women. Women prefer the fostering of a close relationship with a man before having intercourse with him (EastWest Institute, 2010).