ESSAY CEMETERY

"The Swan" is a short story by Roald Dahl. It tells the story of Ernie, a teenager who receives a rifle for his birthday, and his friend Raymond. Ernie and Raymond go hunting in the countryside with the new gun. There they encounter Peter Watson, a 13-year-old whom the two boys often bully in school. Ernie and Raymond want to kill a swan sitting on her nest. Peter defends the bird, and this enrages the boys. They shoot the swan, sever her wings and tie the wings to Peter's arms. They force him to climb a tree and "fly".             It is not clear whether Peter actually takes flight, or rather jumps from the tree. There are several clues in the text which can help the reader decide on an explanation. However, the answer is by no means clear-cut. This uncertainty is precisely the subject of Tzvetan Todorov's essay, "Definition du Fantastique", where he defines the fantastic as a literary genre. According to Todorov, "the [fanta...

Summary :  The Tempest  is Shakespeare's last play, written in the early 17 th  century. The play features the character Antonio, whose attitude towards power mirrors the political spirit of the time. Renaissance in Europe was a time of political turmoil- treaties were made and broken, and rulers held thrones for progressively smaller stretches of time. Machiavelli, who was still influential in Shakespeare's time, held the viciously ruthless view that power is to be attained by any means. In  The Tempest  Antonio conspires with the King of Naples and usurps the throne of his own brother Prospero, the Duke of Milan. Later in the story he conspires again, this time against the King of Naples, who was previously his ally. Thus Antonio, involved in schemes to seize power throughout the entirety of the story, is the embodiment of the precarious political balance of the era. Essay The Tempest is Shakespeare's last play, written in the early 17 th century. It ...

Beowulf is an epic poem that relates the adventures of an Anglo-Saxon hero, composed to be recited in England in the early 8 th century. It was put into manuscript form, in Old English, in the late 10 th century, and the only surviving manuscript was partially destroyed by fire in 1731. Though the text as it was originally related is not available to us today, the many hands through which it passed and the numerous reincarnations thereof make this poem an invaluable tool. Through inferences about the changes made to the text as it changed hands, we may gain insight into the cultural values and religious beliefs prevalent in early Medieval Britain. The poem relates events that took place two centuries prior to its composition. It centers around two south Scandinavian tribes, the Danes and the Geats. The original audience of Beowulf, that of its oral incarnation, probably considered themselves descendents of the Geats (of whom Beowulf derived). Thus, much in the manner that the Aen...

On First Looking into Chapman's Homer The speaker is taken aback and inspired by the beautiful descriptions in Chapman's work Homer . Sleep and Poetry An appreciation of sleep as a wonderful inspirer, and of poetry as high form of art to which the speaker aspires. Endymion Nature is so beautiful as to alleviate depression. Just as nature is grand, so is the prospect of death. Bright Star, Would I Were as Steadfast as Thou Art The speaker wants to be like a star not in the sense that it hangs alone in the sky, forced to watch over everything constantly, but in the sense that it is immortal. He wants to spend eternity with his love or else die. La Belle Dame Sans Merci A knight is lonely and sad. He tells the narrator he met a maiden, and made love to her. She lulled him asleep and met many other men she bewitched. He woke up and discovered her gone. Ode to a Nightingale The speaker is numb, and seeks further numbness in liquor, so that he may forget ...

Mutability Like clouds, or music of a lyre, people and their experiences and emotions change. The only thing that can be counted on is mutability. England in 1819 England is falling apart, because of the reigning monarchs who are doing a horrid job governing it. Song- To the Men of England The speaker calls the attention of the lower classes to their toil for the benefit of the aristocracy and for which they are not adequately compensated. He calls them to beware, for they are good as digging their own grave, and to revolt, for they have power. Ode to the West Wind The power of the wind is great as it looses and shakes things. The poet wants to become one with the wind, and has the power to command it. The Cloud The cloud sees all and dominates nature. It constantly changes, and though can appear to be gone, it never is. Prometheus Unbound Prometheus, the bringer of fire to men and changed by Jupiter to a rock for eternity to be pecked at by vultures, is released. Percy...

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud The poet wanders in the field and encounters a bunch of daffodils, which make him happy. My Heart Leaps Up Rainbows make the speaker happy today, as they did when he was a child The World is Too Much With Us City life corrupts the soul, moves us out of tune with nature. For the narrator, even paganism is better than city life. William Wordsworth

We Are Seven A little girl insists she has seven siblings, even though two are dead. Expostulation and Reply William is asked why he sits and stares at nature uselessly. He replies that there is value not only in activity but in reflection and observation. The Tables Turned The speaker implores his audience to turn from books to nature, and become immersed in the emotions it evokes. Lines, Composed Above Tintern Abbey The narrator returns to a place in nature where he had been five years previously. He reflects upon the location, and how his growth as a person is reflected in his changing attitude towards nature. William Wordsworth

Songs of Innocence Introduction A child, delighted by the songs of a piper, urges him to put them in writing. The Little Black Boy A mother teaches her black son that after long travail on earth, god awaits, as well as heaven, where everyone is equal. The Chimney Sweeper Little boy Tom has a dream that an angel releases all the chimney sweepers  to heaven, and is comforted. Infant Joy A two day old baby is joyful and wishes joy upon others. Songs of Experience The Chimney Sweep A chimney sweep, who is unhappy, blames his church-going parents and the church for his misery. The Sick Rose A worm destroys a rose The Tyger The speaker wonders at the power of a tiger, and wonders that it was created by the same entity as the lamb. The Garden of Love The garden of Eden turns into a graveyard after a church is built in it. Illustration by William Blake

THEMES AND CORRESPONDING QUOTATIONS Songs of Innocence Joy Piping songs of pleasant glee Children And I wrote my happy songs, Every child may joy to hear Meta-art The white race is superior to the black heathen race My mother bore me in the southern wild, And I am black, but O! my soul is white Tolerance My mother bore me in the southern wild, And I am black, but O! my soul is white; White as an angel is the English child Nature God Suffering is temporary, god brings relief Man as innocent (lambs) In heaven everyone is the same Songs of Experience Meta-art: the poet as see-all, prophet Hear the voice of the Bard! Who Present, Past, & Future sees; Whose ears have heard The Holy Word Criticism about the church ``And because I am happy & dance & sing, They think they have done me no injury, And are gone to praise God & his Priest & King, Who make up a heaven of our misery.'...

THEMES Fiction Women Money Chance STYLE ellipsis Stream of thought, the way thought moves from thing to thing Interruption People are not named Self-reflexivity KEY WORDS Woman Fiction Virginia Woolf

Summary of chapters 1 and 2. Bottom line: for women to be independent of men, they need money. Chapter 1 Woolf begins her long essay by explaining how difficult the questions of fiction and women and their relationship are. All she knows for sure, she says, is that " a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction". She hopes that through exploring the manner in which she arrived at this conclusion, that the topic of women and fiction will become clearer. She proceeds to tell a fictitious story (I think) to illustrate her point. A woman walks on the lawn on the grounds of a college. She has an idea, which she forgets when she abruptly remembers that only fellows of the college are allowed on the grass, and others on the gravel paths. She ponders the writing of two authors, when she remembers that their manuscripts are in the library on the grounds. She decides to view the manuscripts, but finds that women are not allowed in the library...

THEMES  The struggle of writing Experiences in writing Limitations for woman writers The taboos for woman writers Men's constraints on women The definition of woman The profession of writing Other professions for women The future of women as professionals KEY WORDS Books Women Man Angel in the House Pen Ink Experience Profession Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf is addressing a group of women seeking employment in a workforce predominated by men. She speaks of the struggle present for all women writers, and that is to break out of the conventions society has for women- being pure, and conservative, and sycophantic towards men without a mind of their own. This is a mental barrier that she was able to break, with great difficulty, in order to incorporate her own voice into her writing. She was able to do so thanks to her financial independence, which allowed her to not depend on writing for a livelihood and allowed her to break conventions. Now that women will join the workforce, Woolf says that it is important to ask questions regarding what all of this implies, and how women are to behave once they are professionals, and to explore the individual voice that women will need to bring to their jobs. Virginia Woolf

Fragments is a collection of short phrases, witticisms and reflections. Friedrich Schelgel THEMES Wit Genius Literature poetry Art Philosophy Christianity Art as religion (knowledge as means to become holy) Novel Critics Desirable traits (Gracefulness) Drama Writing Ideas Germany Key word: romantic Narcissism/egotism Gender (also hermaphrodite) Ideas Self-reflexivity- the mention of fragments Knowledge Love Prophesying science fiction French vs. German and English (comparing nationalities) Ancient Greek and Roman literature Stupidity Autobiography Nature Vulgar imagery ("nature relieving herself" STYLE AND DEVICES Irony Comparison References to other works Oxymoronic statements ("should be both objective and subjective") Figurative language