Comparing two poems Essay Example for Free

Comparing two poems Essay In this essay I will be comparing two poems. These poems are on the topic of war which is very relevant especially as there is a war going on in Iraq as I am writing this. The first poem I am going to write about called: Dulce et Decorum est is written by Wilfred Owen. He had first hand experience of war as he was a soldier; so he will give us a very honest opinion of war and what it was really like to fight in one. Unfortunately for him he was killed in action a week before the war ended. The poem has a very strong anti-war feeling about it; it is his personal view that dying for your country is not a very good thing and in the poem he conveys this to us by giving us very clear mental pictures of the horrible effects of war. Wilfred Owenss attitude to war is that he is frustrated, angry and resentful of it. The poem type Wilfred uses in this poem is the Sonnet; this is odd because Sonnet poems are usually about love but in this case he is writing about hurt; rhythm of the octaves in this poem is slow and speeds up in the sestet. These ties in with the mood of the poem e.g.: Gas! Gas! Gas! This line has been broken up with exclamation marks to show that there is an emergency. Then it slows down quite considerably again in the final stanza to make us think of the suffering the soldiers go through. It is wonderful the way that he structures this poem from the soldiers feelings, to his own and then he asks the reader for their views. There is one very noticeable thing about the structure and that is that there are two lines of the poem on their own; also these line are not in the past tense like the rest of the poem and this is because he is trying to emphasize the mental scars of war which remain with him in the present. He gives us a very detailed mental picture and he gives us this in all three verses. In verse 1 he talks about the physical breakdown of the soldiers. He builds up this mental image of suffering e.g.: knocked kneed, and he continues this mental picture into versus 2 as he talks about his fellow solider suffering and dying in the gas as he cant get his helmet on. He uses verbs in this verse in a clever way e.g.: Fumbling and floundering. E.g.: Fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time. And floundering like a man in fire or lime. In verse 3 he uses Onomatopoeic e.g.: gargling. He uses this word to explain how his fellow solider died e.g. Gargling from the forth-corrupted lungs. The pain that this soldier suffered is conveyed to us in a very gruesome way e.g.: As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. What he means by that is he has breathed in so much gas its suffocating him so it is very like drowning. Another example He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. In the first verse he uses metaphors in a very powerful way e.g. Blood shod, drunk with fatigue to show the exhaustion and suffering of the soldiers. Also the Onomatopoeic words in the first verse sludge and trudge, show us how the soldiers slowly marched ; it tell us also that they had no determination and enthusiasm lift to fight for their country. Wilfred Owen is basically saying in this poem that hes been there and its not that good at all to fight for your country. This is the complete opposite of what Lord Tennyson talks about in The Charge of the Light Brigade. Lord Tennysons poem is different from Wilfred Owen in a number of ways. Firstly Lord Tennyson has never fought in a war; Tennyson poem is also saying that it is good to die for your country and Tennysons poem is about the soldiers being heroes and noble men. The poets attitude to war is that it is an honorable and noble thing to die for your country. The tone of this poem is fast and very sharp e.g.: Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns! Another example is Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them stays at this speed for most of the poem. Tennyson structures his poem in to 6 verses of even length. He starts off describing the advance in verse 1 and 2 e.g.: Into the valley of death Forward, the Light Brigade! then into verse 4 he talks about the heat of the battle e.g.: Flashed all their sabers bare, Flashed as they turned in air, Sabring the gunners there. In verses 5 and 6 he talks about the retreat e.g.: Back from the mouth of Hell, All that was left of them and he then goes on to say how courageous, noble and heroic the soldiers were e.g.: honour the charge they made! Honour the light brigade, Noble six hundred. Verse 6 is shorter than the rest as it is a tribute to the soldiers that fought in the war. The rhythm of the poem is regular; it conveys how inevitable the charge was. The rhyme sounds very grand, patriotic and has a musical tone about it. The poem type is a ballad. A ballad is usually a short narrative poem with stanzas of two or four lines and usually a refrain. They contain repetition e.g.: Rode the six hundred (which is on the end of every verse) another example: Half league, half league, half league onward. They are written in straight-forward verse, seldom with detail, but always with graphic simplicity and force. Many old-time ballads were written and performed by minstrels attached to noblemens courts. Language used in the poem is very powerful to glorify the charge rather than show pity. He uses metaphors in his poem e.g.: Into the valley of death; there is also personification used in his poem e.g.: Into the jaws of death and Into the mouth of hell He uses these metaphors and personification in his poem to emphasize the suicidal march of the Light Brigade. The hell and death in these phrases reinforces the views of this being the end for the soldiers. I really liked the way that Tennyson brings the reader into his poem by asking a rhetorical question: Was there a man dismayed? and When can their glory fade? He does use a quite a lot of onomatopoeia e.g.: Volleyed and thundered and Shot and shell. He has also chosen his verbs in his poem really well. They are Very prominent; convey idea of speed, the light and movement all in the one verb is flashed. The repetition is very powerful and significant in the poem from the very first line: Half a league, Half a League, Half a league onward. My personal view on war is that it is a terrible thing and should only be used for a last resort. I would only agree with a war at present if there was evidence to prove that Iraq have weapons of mass destruction and then I would consider it a just war and that we must get Saddam quickly and carefully to keep down the risk of innocent deaths. I personally prefer Dulce et Decorum est. by Wilfred Owen as it is more detailed and gives you very vivid pictures of the soldiers deaths and as Wilfred Owen was believable actually there its more in a sense as he was has seen it up close. This poem taught me that war is a bad thing and its not worth it; it helped me to appreciate how much pain some of the soldiers had to suffer in the war.

John Adams :: biographies bio biography American History

John Adams (1735-1826) Founding father. Second President of the United States, first vice-president of the U.S., member of the Continental Congress, helped draft the Declaration of Independence, helped negotiate the treaty of Paris with England in 1783. Also known as the Paris Peace Treaty, this agreement ended the United States War for Independence, giving formal recognition of the United States, and established it's then-boundaries. Second President (1797-1801) John Adams devoted much of his presidential energy to dealing with infringements on American neutrality in an Anglo-French war. He succeeded in keeping the United States from being drawn into those hostilities. He did so, however, at great cost to his popularity, and he left office feeling much battered and wrongly abused. Many years later, Adams observed: "No man who ever held the office of President would ever congratulate a friend on obtaining it." THE PARIS PEACE TREATY (PEACE TREATY of 1783): In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity. It having pleased the Divine Providence to dispose the hearts of the most serene and most potent Prince George the Third, by the grace of God, king of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, duke of Brunswick and Lunebourg, arch- treasurer and prince elector of the Holy Roman Empire etc., and of the United States of America, to forget all past misunderstandings and differences that have unhappily interrupted the good correspondence and friendship which they mutually wish to restore, and to establish such a beneficial and satisfactory intercourse , between the two countries upon the ground of reciprocal advantages and mutual convenience as may promote and secure to both perpetual peace and harmony; and having for this desirable end already laid the foundation of peace and reconciliation by the Provisional Articles signed at Paris on the 30th of November 1782, by the commissioners empowered on each part, which artic les were agreed to be inserted in and constitute the Treaty of Peace proposed to be concluded between the Crown of Great Britain and the said United States, but which treaty was not to be concluded until terms of peace should be agreed upon between Great Britain and France and his Britannic Majesty should be ready to conclude such treaty accordingly; and the treaty between Great Britain and France having since been concluded, his Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, in order to carry into full effect the Provisional Articles above mentioned, according to the tenor thereof, have constituted and appointed, that is to say his Britannic Majesty on his part, David Hartley, Esqr.

Alving in Search for Freedom Essay

Henrik Ibsen’s works are dealing with the well kept secrets and dogmas in society. His plays strip away the defending layers of the established ethical and moral virtues of social life and therefore create a great commotion and distress among the general public. Ibsen’s radical exposure of highly tabooed themes such as sexually transmitted diseases, euthanasia, incest, dysfunctional marriages, and the â€Å"angel of the house† role of women causes the painful response of the spectators facing the brightness of the truth. Prof. Bjorn Hemmer in his â€Å"The Dramatist Henrik Ibsen† laconically summarizes the magnitude of Ibsen’s impact on modern theatre and social conventions: â€Å"However, drama was the focus of his real lyrical spirit. For a period of many hard years, he faced bitter opposition. But he finally triumphed over the conservatism and aesthetic prejudices of the contemporary critics and audiences. More than anyone, he gave theatrical art a new vitality by bringing into European bourgeois drama an ethical gravity, a psychological depth, and a social significance which the theatre had lacked since the days of Shakespeare. In this manner, Ibsen strongly contributed to giving European drama a vitality and artistic quality comparable to the ancient Greek tragedies.† â€Å"Hedda Gabler† and â€Å"Ghosts† are the two plays this essay will focus on and especially on the importance for the two protagonists-Hedda Gabler and Mrs. Alving- to defeat social constraints according to which they have structured their lives. The great dramatist Ibsen masterfully reveals the disastrous consequences on his heroines’ psyches and souls this social canon of conformity inflicts. Through the subtle play of light, language and stage position, Ibsen reinforces the tragic circumstance in which Hedda and Mrs. Alving exist, the mundane lamp and living-room furniture encapsulate the deep tragedy of human beings and simultaneously show Ibsen’s naturalistic talent in portraying life. In â€Å"Hedda Gabler† the movement of the protagonist’s own pieces of furniture in the front and back room are emphasizing and helping even the spectator to anticipate her following action. Hedda Gabler is the daughter of General Gabler, who bequeathed her no financial independence, but a pair of dueling pistols and anachronistic, severely strict military aristocratic code of behaviour and is newly married to the historian George Tesman, whom she neither loves nor respect. She is conscious of her total dependency on the very reliable Tesman and this acknowledgement tears apart her being with rage and helplessness. In order to be able to continue living under these circumstances Hedda viciously emphasizes her intellectual and rank superiority over Tesman and his ever-sacrificing Aunt Julia and hurts them through her highly sarcastic language. She denies in her mind falling into the frame of the assigned female societal role and therefore slips fully into the indulgence of nothingness and boredom. This state could have remained for ever unchanged until the abrupt reintroduction of her former platonic lover Lovborg who becomes what before seemed to Hedda â€Å"impossible†, i.e. â€Å"†¦some goal in life to work toward.†2 Ibsen confronts her with the reformed alcoholic and genius Eilert Lovborg and throws her back in the idyllic past of General Gabler reading a newspaper and her experiencing the â€Å"forbidden world† through the wild and seductive stories of young routhen Lovborg on the sofa behind him. Lovborg is back on his feet fighting for a clean starting in life and writing books that are a tremendous success. But Hedda is not the inspiring power at Lovborg’s site anymore and that makes her extremely jealous of the woman who has such a positive power on him at the moment Mrs. Thea Elvsted and who is ironically a former flame of her husband. Hedda Gabler’s personality is a very complex mixture of the severely installed in her being notions of correct behaviour in social aspect of rank and class belonging and the fully suppressed personal creative potential. Hedda is lamed with fear; her whole existence is driven not by the positive force of creating, but the devastating nihilistic grip of fear and conventions of society. In order to contradict this haunting power of correctness and properness Hedda searches through Lovborg life experiences to live out her inborn human desires for creative fulfillment. But Hedda is a woman of good standing, she cannot do as she pleases, she can do as she pleases solely within the framework of the norms prescribed by public opinion. Lovborg is only a feeble opportunity for her to show her creativity, because the fear of a scandal creeps in and Hedda’s creative potential and suppressed sexuality are distorted into a storm of malevolence.

Cruelty of Society in Frankenstein, Master Harold, and An...

Cruelty of Society in Frankenstein, Master Harold, and An Enemy of the People â€Å"Master Harold†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦and the Boys, St. Joan, and An Enemy of the People show that society shows hate and cruelty to people who are different or who do not share similar ideas as other people do. For example, in â€Å"Master Harold†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦and the Boys, Hally’s racist attitude toward Sam and Willie is a result of his experiences in society. In Frankenstein, society is cruel and hateful to the monster because he looks different than other people. In An Enemy of the People, society persecutes Dr. Stockman because he attempts to gain support for the repair of the Baths. The stories that are presented here illustrate the cruelty and hatefulness of society. In â€Å"Master†¦show more content†¦He takes this anger out on Sam, even though Sam is trying to help Hally. Hally yells at Sam, insults Sam and makes racist comments about Sam. Hally would not behave in this manner if he were not raised in a racist society. Hally hurts Sam through racism and insults, and in doing so he shows that society is cruel and harsh to those who are different. One more example of the cruelty of society to those who do not fit in with society is also seen in Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein experiments with the forces of nature when he creates a monster out of body parts of dead humans. Victor creates the monster with the intent to discover methods of improving humanity. However, Victor’s hopes turn to horror when he sees that the monster that he has created is ugly and wretched. After Victor rejects the monster because of the monster’s ugliness, the monster escapes to roam freely throughout the world. While the monster travels, people are frightened by his appearance. They run from him or try to hurt him. These people, however, frighten the monster. He was banished by society, and he is very lonely. The monster describes their hatred when he says â€Å"but a fatal prejudice clouds their eyes, and where they ought to see a feeling and kind friend, they behold only a detestable monster† (Shelly, 95). The monst er is banished by society because he is not the same as society. The people that the monster encounters are