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The holds in its topics the ideals of the time period,
concentrating on emotion, nature, and the expression of "nothing." The Romantic
era was one that focused on the commonality of humankind and, while using
emotion and nature, the poets and their works shed light on people's universal
natures. In Charlotte Smith's "Sonnet XII - Written on the Sea Shore," the
speaker of the poem embodies two important aspects of Romantic work in relating
his or her personal feelings and emotions and also in having a focused and
detailed natural setting. The speaker takes his or her "solitary seat" near the
shore of a stormy sea and reflects upon life and the "wild gloomy scene" that
suits the "mournful temper" of his or her soul (ll.4, 7,8). While much Romantic
writing dealt with love and the struggles endured due to love, there was also
emphasis placed on isolation, as seen in the emotions of Smith's speaker and
also in the setting on the work. Nature, in many Romantic sonnets, is in direct
parallel with the emotions being conveyed. Smith, for example, uses the water
to aid the reader's comprehension of the speaker's state of mind. Included in
this traditional natural setting is the use of the sea as stormy, deep,
extensive, and dark which ties the speaker in with the setting as the scene
applies to the tone of the poem as well. Also characteristic of the Romantic
sonnet is the retreat from the neo-classical age and its significant historical
references into a new age where it becomes common to speak of "nothing." In
William Wordsworth's "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge," there is no deeper
meaning to be grasped other than the beauty of the day's dawning. The speaker's
view of the morning and its "majesty" and the "calm" that comes over the speaker
are central ideas in the poem (ll. 3, 11). In this sonnet, it is again apparent
how influential and prevalent nature is.
The reflection upon simplicity runs through many works and is seen quite
evidently in William Blake's Songs of Innocence. In these poems, there is much
mention of children, whose lives, ideally, should be the most simple. Also
included in this simplicity are the innocence of the children and the simplicity
of the tone, metaphors, and images in the works. In Blake's "The School Boy,"
the character of the poem is a young boy whose joy in life should be rising on a
summer morning when the birds are singing and when he, in his happiness, can
sing with them. Here, there is simplicity in the pleasure of the child and also
in the life of the child himself. The boy's biggest problem in his life is
having to go to school and having to curb his "youthful spring," which Blake
compares to the cutting of a ...
I loved playing, Always having fun, We'd all laugh with joy, Until the day is done, When the long day was over, I held my mum tight, She'd tighten up the covers, And bid me goodnight, When the morning came and I awoke, With my morning glee, I'd feel my face shine over, As I ran and played so free, My teachers helped me with my prayers, I learnt s...
"" Worksheet Key 40 points Name: Maggie Palumbo Instructions: Complete the worksheet after reading Maya Angelou's poem "." 1. List 3 similes from the poem: But still, like dust, I'll rise. Shoulders falling down like teardrops But still, like air, I'll rise 2. List 2 metaphors from the poem: I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide Ou...
In '' (1623), John Donne suggested that those holding up to their sins are nonetheless forgiven. The speaker is begging forgiveness of God, but is like a difficult child taunting his parent with increasing disobedience. 'Wilt thou forgive that sin I begun, which was my sin, though it were done before?' (lines 1 and 2) John Donne utilized sinning an...
The epic poem of 'Beowulf' presents the characteristics of two heroes, Beowulf and Hrothgar. During this Anglo-Saxon time period, Hrothgar rules as the king of his Danish lands. However, this king faces many problems due to the disturbances of a monster known as Grendel. As an Anglo-Saxon warrior of the time, Beowulf hears of this creature and j...
Mother, any distance greater than a single span requires a second pair of hands. You come to help me measure windows, pelmets, doors, the acres of the walls, the prairies of the floors. You at the zero-end, me with the spool of tape, recording length, reporting metres, centimetres back to base, then leaving up the stairs, the line still feedi...
