UM Honors Blog 2021-2022

In the opening chapters of Bleak House  by Charles Dickens, the storyline is introduced along with the cesspool of quirky characters. Setting the tone for the coming storyline is essential for writers to nail down, and Dickens brilliantly portrays the many plot points of London to reflect an overall dreary mood.  For example, when introducing Chancery Court, Dickens provides great detail of the overwhelming fog surrounding Chancery Lane, suggesting the uncertainty surrounding the court’s decision making and the events to come. Dickens describes the weather as being increasingly foggy and cold, further revealing the mood by utilizing diction and the setting of the novel.  On a deeper level, as Dickens continues to introduce the setting, overall mood, and characters in the novel, he ultimately paints a picture of what England truly looked like at the time. While his characters were exaggerated and seemed almost unrealistic, he incorporated drastic symbolism of what life was...

It had been a while since I had read anything of Dickens. But as I began to read Bleak House , it all came rushing back. The methods he uses to convey imagery in his descriptions were unmistakable. In chapter One, especially, his style and wit are clearly defined; for they provide the details upon which the rest of the book depends. It is to a couple of these details that I now turn my attention. First, there is the way in which Dickens bestows animate qualities to inanimate objects. That is, he describes the nonliving environment in a way that makes it seem alive and active. He tells of the "implacable November weather" (page 5, line 2), as if it were the name of some disagreeable person. The waters in the next line were not diminished; rather, they "retired." The reason behind the soot-flakes was that the smoke had "gone into mourning, one might imagine" (line 8). Dickens certainly would have imagined it, as he imagined the streets to be some kind of mud...

       The section in Bleak House which struck me was the passage in which Mrs. Pardiggle, who is insufferable from the moment she is introduced, forces the girls to make visits with her. Upon the arrival at the brickmaker's house, it is evident that Mrs. Pardiggle is much more concerned in fulfilling what she sees as her duties to the community than in actually caring for the people she encounters. Even though the family is living in deplorable conditions, she shows no concern for their situation. The group encounters "a woman with a black eye, nursing a poor little gasping baby by the fire" and "a bold girl, doing some kind of washing in very dirty water" (p. 98). If Mrs. Pardiggle were truly the charitable person she thinks herself to be, she might take some useful, helpful action. However, it is disappointing to see that she does not fuss over the idea of helping the group get medical attention, furniture, or clean water. As indicated by the brickmaker, it ...

       Esther is a fascinating character. Dickens writes the most intriguing characters and every detail he notes is intentional. I think the same is true for Esther. Her namesake is reminiscent of the Jewish queen from the Bible. In that story, Esther was a brilliant woman who although helpless to her circumstances she stayed strong and did what she believed was right. If Dickens is doing what I think he is, then this detail is not a mere coincidence. When the novel starts Esther claims to be unintelligent and I predict she will prove to be incorrect. I think she will end up being the wisest of the characters in the novel. She mentions a doll she had as a child. This doll is meant to represent her youth and a period in her life in which she was a helpless child. When people come to relocate her she buries the doll. The act of burying the doll could be a metaphor for how Esther is burying her youth and innocence. Esther, like her namesake, is told where she is to liv...

Esther, in her introduction of herself, struck a chord with me. Her view of herself matches well with the title of the book. Bleak. The anecdote of speaking to her dear Dolly brought up old memories of marching around my large backyard telling my childhood dog all I had done that day. When Esther said, "I was such a shy little thing that I seldom dared to open my lips, and never dared to open my heart, to anybody else." (Dickens, lines 18-20)That is when I realized how similar I was going to find Esther and me to be. In my younger years and much into my teens until recently, I found my view of myself very bleak indeed. I had much to say and few to say it to, so I spoke to Jack, a mutt we adopted when I was eleven because he would never get annoyed or leave. I was much like Esther is with Dolly; she depended on the constant state of that doll to get her through her younger years. Esther's habit of noticing small things she knows mean something but does not understand was a...

  In Bleak House , Dickens presents a very dour and pessimistic view of the civil law system in England at the time of the novel. This general sentiment was already an old and time-honored tradition already by Dickens’ time, and somewhat carries to this day, but window we’re given into this world and these specific circumstances makes our modern complaints of frivolous lawsuits seem almost childish in comparison. The sentiment of the uselessness of chancery court is so widespread that it has simply become a common recreation to laugh at the misfortunes of those who find themselves wrapped up in chancery. Even those who find themselves irreversibly tangled in the web of Jarndyce and Jarndyce or similar cases find a bit of morbid humor in it. Miss Flite, for example, has resigned herself to making light of the situation. As she tells our young protagonists: "I expect a judgement, shortly. On the day of judgement. I have discovered that the sixth seal mentioned in the Revelations is ...

               Throughout the novel, multiple characters care more about their outward appearance of actions rather than the morals behind them. Two specific characters that come to mind are Mrs. Jellyby and Mrs. Pardiggle, both of whom are obsessed with appearing outwardly religious and showing that they apparently care about the people around them. However, they obviously do not truly care about the problems that they campaign for and are instead more concerned about appearing moral and religious.             Mrs. Jellyby is the best example of this, as she completely ignores her children to focus on Africa. Pages 38-39 in chapter 4 are filled with references to this emphasis on Africa, with Mrs. Jellyby ignoring Peepy and the rest of the children to continually focus on helping the poor Africans rather than those who are right in front of her. These children are continually neglected for ...

 I find it interesting the emphasis Dickens puts on pollution on the first page. He talks about the fog and emphasizes the pollution and dirtiness of the of the city. Setting plays a major role in the book so I believe it is important to recognize the emphasis of this detail that Dickens points out about the city in which the book, Bleak House, takes place. He states in chapter one," Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city." This sets the mood of the book in the first chapter. It creates an eerie and mysterious mood. This detail and sentence about the setting is important point out because it sets the mood for the start of the book. The fog creates a setting in which a lot is unknown and unseen. Fog makes it hard and see and docent allow for a clear view of one surroundings. This signifies an unknown and mysteri...

     Fog. There was so much fog, and while it was a bit overbearing, I understood. Sure the fog set the scene but it set something else. It set my thoughts off onto a track that I had been delaying for, oh dear, three days now. Among the chaos of life in general, school, and work, I've been struggling with a few extremely specific things in the past three days. Of all the things that have happened, I don't think I could have described it better than simple, overwhelming fog.      To go on a personal side tangent, as I seem to tend to do in these posts, I've been struggling. Not with school, and not even with work as the flow of people pick up tremendously the closer All Hallow's Eve approaches. Those I can handle. It's not even the thought of having to pay for repairs from Pyro's little fender bender, which I do believe you all know about given how they handled it. No, it's far from those things. I seem to be developing POTs, or at the very least am showing...

I don't know if everyone gets the same feelings as I when reading old books or if this post is going to make me seem crazy, but I have the hardest time trusting most of the characters in the novel. Part of this is probably because the story at the beginning is so vague. The novel plays as a movie in my head. In the first chapter, I am an outsider simply watching the happenings in Lincoln Inn Hall. This feeling of being an outsider is strengthened by the fact that I know nothing about the case being fought over. I barely understand the conflict. I know nothing of the parties involved. I have not born witness to the generations who have dealt with this case. Then, the scene changes and I am brought into the story. The narrator is no longer a third party without a name. Now, Esther is telling me the story, and it's her story, so I am brought into the narrative. She describes not only what is happening around her, but her own thoughts. However, this also means I know only what she ...

      In Chapter 9 of Bleak House, while Mr Jarndyce, Esther, Ada, and Richard are being visited by Mr Boythorn for a time. Mr Guppy comes by one morning to visit him. At lunch time, Mr Guppy comes to Esther, wishing to have a private conversation, which she obliges. In this conversation, Mr Guppy proposes to Esther. Shocked and disgusted, she rejects him. He leaves, certain she will change her mind.      While reading this, I could not help but to be reminded of a similar instance in Pride and Prejudice , when Mr Collins proposed to Elizabeth Bennet. Both men had made proposals to women who did not now them as well. Both were rejected. And both men believed the women would change their mind.     Another thing they had in common was something a lot of marriages were based on the economic aspect of the contract. Mr Collins mostly just wanted to marry Elizabeth for the estate and reputation. Even though Mr Guppy claimed to be in love ...

     Before I get into the main topic of my post, I have to point out the "Jarndyce and Jarndyce" case being a great parallel to why we shouldn't hold on to anger and grudges. The book starts off with the dreariest description of a courthouse (is there any other way to describe it?) and a case that has been going on forever. The real reason behind the case isn't even known anymore, because they've been at it for so long. As someone with family who has been in dragged out lawsuits and court cases, I have to say this description is completely accurate. In the end, it comes down to who can afford to pay their lawyers the longest. You're just being bled dry in a case nobody remembers the initial reason behind. But, I digress.      Chapter 3 is clearly where the butter meets the bread. I hope I'm not the only person who notices how Esther has a warped sense of self. The way she sees herself as being unintelligent bothers me, especially after the whole paragraph...

 The depth of this novel is downright overwhelming and breathtaking in its complexity. I never know whether or not each chapter will bring another clue to the Jarndyce case, another installment to Esther's story, or a character portrait that will be important later. However, the way that Dickens describes interiors, especially houses, remains constant over all of these chapters. Each of these houses particularly have a dark secret or injustice in some form or another. The Jellyby home is characterized by neglect, the Dedlock estate carries the curse of a bitter ancestor (and ghost, if the story proves true...), Mrs. Pardiggle is cruelly insensitive towards her own children, and - in the most severe case - Mr. Krook loses a tenant to opium overdose. The overwhelming theme lies in the injustice that goes on behind closed doors; this injustice is doubly shocking, as everyone seems to visit the other houses without saying a word when they observe the wrongs. Mrs. Pardiggle, for example...

     Ever feel like you just live the same week several times, over and over? Yeah, I have those seasons of life too. Us being students, we have our schedules dictated by the classes we take, commitments we focus toward, extra hobbies and gifts we pick up and/or cultivate, etc. The sense of being on auto-pilot or the same events occurring repeatedly in an intriguing feeling, and this feeling is generally found relatable by many in society. In Bleak House,  this feeling is a major theme that describes the world Dickens is building. Routine and repetition are commonly seen with world-building elements such as the heavy fog constantly around the court, the man from Shropshire always yelling "My Lord!", the elderly woman consistently in attendance with her "documents," and more. The conflict at hand between Jarndyce and Jarndyce has drudged on for so long it has actually become routine to not even care about it anymore, which says a lot about the conflict itself. We see...

                  Esther Summerson is seen as the "perfect" child. She knows what her duties are, and she never complains. Never putting herself first, her main goal is to care for others and put their needs above her own. Even if she disagrees with the statements of another, she would never admit it as she aims to please others. Her character conforms to the rules, and she would never step a toe out of line. She is a follower, and her actions at this time would be highly praised as women are supposed to go along with whatever they are instructed to do.               A lot of people today have the same problem as Esther, which is appeasing to others and trying to reach "perfection". None of us will ever reach perfection no matter what we do. Even if we conform to others and do whatever we feel is necessary to make others happy, we will still never attain perfection. God does not expect for us to pe...

 Charles Dickens uses metaphors in nearly everything, and tends to extend them far longer than is necessary. For example, he references fog nonstop for the entire first half of chapter one. On the one hand, the imagery is perfect for setting the scene, on the other, his overuse of it gets out of hand, making the reader think: "Okay, we get it. There's a lot of fog. Fog this, fog that, fog here, fog there, fog everywhere. And you still keep mentioning the fog! Get on with it." and then Charles Dickens is like: " Hey, did I mention? There's fog!" And the reader is like: "Yes, we know, what else is there?" And Charles Dickens is like: "Did you know there is a lot of fog?"      Normally, I like metaphors and references, but the excessive, redundant nature of Dickens' metaphors is maddening and disconcerting. It makes it hard to focus on what is actually happening. And this is not confined to just the fog metaphor, at another point there ...

 I have to admit, it was a struggle for me to read chapters 1-11 of Bleak House. I am the kind of person that likes to have everything figured out about a narrative so, for Dickens to leave so many of my curious questions unanswered, is an absolute pain. When he wrote that there was fog everywhere, I think he wrote that knowing just how confused the reader would be when starting to read Bleak House. It is as if while reading the words there is a slight haze of fog obscuring some of the words on the page making it hard to know the true meaning of the words. There are certain important aspects that can be seen and you grasp onto those, but it is as if at the same time you know you're missing out on a major part of the story. I really do think that Dickens did that on purpose; he wrote Bleak House in a way that would keep the full picture of the story hidden from the reader. It is as if we're viewing the story of Bleak House like trying to view a magnificent painting of Van Gogh t...

 Chapter III introduces young Esther and her godmother. Poor Esther has it rough as a child. First off she does not have her parents only her godmother and servant Rachael. Secondly, the only friend she really confides her problems with is her doll Dolly. She has no friends because at the school she went to she was the youngest there by lot. But more important than these is that Esther’s godmother is not an ideal parent by any means. She did not have much to do with Esther; she basically would just feed her and send her to school and have Esther read the Bible to her. Despite this, when Esther first talks about her godmother, she speaks highly of her. Esther says, “She was a. good, good woman!” (Dickens 17). Esther then describes the most admiral trait that her godmother has, she was faithful to church. The first thing that Esther says about her godmother was her devotion to God. That is the best possible thing that I believe someone should say about us as Christians, that we are d...

      The presence of fog is everywhere in Bleak House. It is used to describe almost every setting that is presented to us. For example, "Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green acts and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city... Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich pensioners, wheezing by the fireside of their wards;" (13). Saying the fog is in the eyes and throats of pensioners real shows how thick, dense, and widespread this fog is. The idea of having fog literally in your throat is a rather uncomfortable feeling. This isn't the only place where fog is mentioned either. There are multiple other places throughout the first eleven chapters where fog is used to set the scene. It presents the idea that you cannot get away from it, no matter where you go. It really sets up a dark and gloomy environment leading up to the gloomy events that a...

 For some reason, this story reminds me in many ways of the story of The Secret Garden. I am unsure why, as most of the similarities between the two are more surface level than anything else. A young child is orphaned and sent to live with a strange older man that is a bit fickle and lives in a house that is rather....odd, and finds abnormal companions along the way that help show her deeper meanings to life than what she expected before. Maybe this is just a me thing, but perhaps Frances Hodgson Burnett took some inspiration from Dickens in her writing of The Secret Garden.  Secondly, what is the deal with this lawsuit? In what world would a real lawsuit take generations to be settled? I know perhaps that some creative liberty can be taken since it is a fictional story and it is a different time period, but that felt somewhat...unbelievable to me. Once again, perhaps that is just a me thing. But I will admit it is an interesting story plot, that much of the action of the stor...

     In Chapter 4 of Dickens' Bleak House,  we are introduced to a woman named Mrs. Jellyby, who is over a rather rambunctious household. Her numerous progeny run about filthy and ignorant, unbathed and unschooled. Meanwhile, Mrs. Jellyby is consumed in her "mission" to provide, with religious rigor, resources to the development of trade routes into the African interior. Believing her philanthropy to be the best thing she could possibly be doing with her time, she completely ignores opportunities for do-gooding (and blatantly disregards her God-given responsibilities) that have been placed right in front of her face.     Jellyby is presented as a satire of numerous people Dickens encountered in his own London. The men and women who got so caught up in church work that they forgot about the children under their own roofs must have disgusted him. Given his other works, such as Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and Hard Times, and their romantic representation...

 Charles Dickens is, and will remain, one of my favorite authors. He is a master of creating unique characters and complex storylines that draw the reader in. Bleak House is a perfect example of Dickens' creativity. So far in reading, my favorite character is Mr. Harold Skimpole. He is, to me, the most interesting person at Bleak House living under the care of Mr. Jarndyce.  Dickens first introduces Mr. Skimpole through the words of Mr. Jarndyce. "There's no one here but the finest creature upon the earth--a child," says Mr. Jarndyce (Dickens, 82). The very first impression we have of Mr. Skimpole is that of a child. Such language is used throughout chapter 6 in reference to his person, and even comes form the mouth of Skimpole himself. I find the fact that Jarndyce and Skimpole speak of such innocence or naiveté as if it is a quality to be proud of. They almost rejoice in the fact that Skimpole is a child and treated as such. As I read this passage, I considered what...

      Although I greatly enjoyed the eeriness of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey" struck more of a chord with me because I can truly relate to the enjoyment of soaking up the beauty of nature. Though Wordsworth has some pantheistic leanings ("How oft, in spirit, have I turned to thee, o sylvan Wye"), his appreciation for nature can be viewed through a Christian perspective (l. 57-58). Wordsworth talks about the "deep seclusion" he experiences while enjoying isolated landscapes. The splendor of God's majesty can certainly be admired and immensely enjoyed as Wordsworth does. Instead of turning one's spirit to the river (wye), one can immerse himself or herself in the complexity of nature and learn lessons through time spent in it without praising the river itself. A common saying is that it is important to worship the Creator, not the creation. This can be a balancing act if one is not careful.     Nature ...

  When reading Wordsworth poem I could see two of the themes that were especially prevalent in the Romantic period, the wonder of nature and the magic of youth. In the poem the speaker is revisiting a place he has not seen in five years. He describes the scenery with a fond tone:  “Once again Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs, That on a wild secluded scene impress Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect The landscape with the quiet of the sky. The day is come when I again repose Here, under this dark sycamore, and view These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts, Which at this season, with their unripe fruits, Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves 'Mid groves and copses” (Wordsworth 4-14) He reflects on his past when he visited the place last and then he thinks on the years since. As he recalls his time away he realizes that even while away he yearned to be here:  “But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din Of towns and cities, I have owed to t...

            In both poems, and throughout the entire romanticism movement, the value of nature was extremely prominent. Wordsworth's poem focusses entirely on its beauty, and the Mariner only breaks the curse after appreciating the sea life and unknowingly blessing both them and himself. However, Wordsworth takes his appreciation one step too far when he begins to describe nature in God-like terms, displaying some pantheistic tendencies.             Lines 110-113 are especially frightening from a Christian standpoint, as he calls nature “… the guardian of my heart, and soul / Of all my moral being” (112-113). This is clearly over the top, and while I enjoy nature, I certainly do not find my truth in it. Rather than using it as a means of general revelation to look to the creator, Wordsworth is clearly looking to creation as the original source of truth and morals. This shows the consequences of removi...

"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" upon first inspection seems like a good old-fashioned sea legend. It has references to curses (the ill-fated Albatross), ghosts and specters, and an undead sailor, but to top it off there are some strange, inexplicable parallels to the New Testament. Coleridge opens up the poem with mention to three wedding guests heading to a wedding feast, which appears to loosely echo the parable of the three virgins waiting with their lamps for the bridegroom to arrive. While this might be a coincidence, the ending suggests that something happened between the Mariner and the guest he stops, as the man "turns from the bridegroom's door" (621) and does not enter. Instead, the man "went on like one who hath been stunned / And is of sense forlorn: / A sadder and a wiser man" (622-624).  Is the wedding guest "forlorn" of sense by not going in and feasting, or is this something deeper? The fact that the man is now "sadder ...

      In the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the Mariner shoots the albatross that has helped them with a crossbow. It then says,  "Ah! well-a-day! what evil looks Had I from old and young! Instead of the cross, the Albatross About my neck was hung."      His shipmates blamed him for their terrible fortune in the sea and forced him to take responsibility for it. By hanging the Albatross around his neck, it was a constant reminder of what he had done. His shipmates later died in front of him, which probably only added to the guilt.  "Alone, alone, all, all alone, Alone on a wide wide sea!  And never a saint took pity on My soul in agony."      Him being alone at sea is yet another reminder of the mistake he made. I know that in life, the same thing can happen to us. We have to face the consequences of our actions and we could feel so incredibly guilty, and it weighs us down, like the Albatross around his neck. Sometimes living...

                The Rime of the Mariner   presents a fascinating picture of guilt and penance. The mariner has committed the crime of senselessly taking the life of one of God’s creatures which has brought him and his crew only fortune. What the sailor comes to find, however, is that this sin carries not the retaliation of death but instead the curse of the very opposite. The mariner suffers and watches his crew mates suffer and die at the hand of his failures, yet he himself cannot find escape in the release of death.               The sailors placed a penal burden of their own on the sailor, that of the very albatross he killed. The emotional and spiritual weight of this burden proves all the heavier than the physical, as the mariner cannot even bring himself to pray and face God himself while he bears this burden. It is only when he repents of his lac...

       Tintern Abbey is a beautiful blank verse poem written by William Wordsworth in 1798. Blank verse is a simple poetic form where each line simply must meet iambic pentameter. This form is close to the cadence at which most English speakers talk; generally, it is pleasing to hear read aloud because of its natural flow. In this poem, Wordsworth recounts visiting the Tintern Abby for the first time in five years (Line 2). Throughout the poem, you can see his fondness for this place that time has not waned. He describes the view from under a dark sycamore with intense detail (Line 10). He continues to make small observations until he begins to detail the feelings being there again has given him. He begins to detail how like most any man, he has had days where he can no longer see the beauty of nature because of the toils of life around him (Lines 23-29). He describes the best things in life to be moments of good deeds unseen and unrewarded, as they are for the love ...

Change is undoubtedly one of the scariest and most uncomfortable, emotionally challenging aspects of life. Wordsworth goes into great detail in his poem “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” of how revisiting a specific place brings back memories of the past and reveals what one has truly lost and gained in the time passing. In the way Wordsworth relates the character’s memories back to the nature surrounding him, he suggests that change is an inevitable part of life in which individuals experience pain and growth without losing sight of the past.  Wordsworth uses lines such as, “That time is past, and all its aching joys are now no more, and all its dizzy raptures,” to describe how the speaker reflects on his youth. In one of the most meaningful lines of the poem, the speaker directly addresses both the positive and negative affects of change in that, “…nor mourn nor murmur; other gifts have followed; for such loss, I would believe, abundant recompense.” Wordsworth reve...

 In Wordsworth’s poem “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey”, he writes that “Knowing that Nature never did betray / The heart that lord her; ‘tis her privilege… for she can so inform / The mind that is within us, so impress / With quietness and beauty…nor all / The dreary intercourse of daily life, / Shall ever prevail against us, or disturb / Our cheerful faith…” (lines 125-136) I was reminded of Romans 1:20 that says “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” (KJV) We have no excuse seeing creation and not believing in a Higher Creator. Look at every piece of creation and tell me that it all came from nothing. I commented on Isabelle’s and Samantha’s posts.

     Before I begin my short tirade, I would like to preface this by saying I do understand there are much deeper meanings behind the poems and works we read. This blog post is simply the refined word vomit drawn from my ADHD thought process.       There is this haunting song called "Wellerman" that has been popularized on Tik Tok. I am not personally on TikTok, but I heard this tune in the middle of a YouTube video. If I were musically talented enough, I would put "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" to a tune similar to "Wellerman." The way the old man is described I think would make for an equally haunting chorus line. However, since I am not musically talented nor focused enough to do this, I am going to complain about the fact that bass clarinets are never mentioned in poems.      I can understand including an instrument that was literally used to blow down the walls of an ancient city.  I might see a little lee way for including ...

 Perhaps one of the most appreciated romantic poets in both the literary and non-literary sphere, Wordsworth is a master at connecting his love of nature with his past, present, and future. To him, nature and poetry combined is the surface of water in which is revealed the reflection of his heart. The imagery he uses is familiar to readers because everyone with eyes to see can observe the natural beauty that he depicts. At the beginning of his poem "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey", he mentions that it has been "five summers, with the length/ Of five long winters" since he had seen this beautiful place he describes (lines 1/2). In the amount of time he has been gone, he still hasn't forgotten the joy and peace the memory of this place has brought him and upholds its image as something so restoring to his mind that it positively affects even his present and future actions. "These beauteous forms,/.../In hours of weariness, sensations sweet,/Fe...

     It is not often that I find myself singing that which was intended unsung but Samuel T. Coleridge caught me in lyrics with as tune not too dissimilar from The Wellermen.  Particularly the ebb and flow of part two had me subtly humming the poem to myself. I am not the biggest fan of reading poetry and if I were completely honest; I believe poetry shouldn't be read but only be listened to. As a human we have many levels of communication that are non verbal and almost all of that is lost with simple words on the page. Listening to poetry allows you to inhale the breath and meaning of the what the author intended for you more clearly. Reading William Wordsworth's poem "lines composed a few mines above Tintern Abbey" felt very disconnected I was able to understand what he was saying but I would have personally found much greater enjoyment had it simply been reconnected in paragraph form.       I know this blog comes across entirely more critical t...

 The final lines of William Wordsworth's poem "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey" really resonated with me. In these lines he writes, "If I should be where I no more can hear / Thy voice, nor catch from thy wild eyes these gleams / Of past existence--wilt thou then forget / That on the banks of this delightful stream / We stood together; and that I, so long / A worshipper of Nature, hither came / Unwearied in that service" (lines 150-156). Wordsworth then goes on to explain that he would rather that person remember the nature and the beauty that surrounded them rather than remembering him. Wordsworth is striking the essence of what it means to know longer be able to be with someone that you had so longed adored. If you are no longer able to see that person, would it be better to forget them or try to let their memory live on in your mind? As easy as Wordsworth makes it sound to forget someone you cared for for so long, we all know that life does not...

    Do you ever stare blankly at a computer screen knowing you need to get work done, but you just sit there as the songs on your playlist play on? One song passes. Two songs. Three, skip until another sadder song comes on. Suddenly it has almost been an hour since you opened up the Blogger website. Today was a mess, to say the least. Not in the sense that everything went wrong, more so in the sense that this one really big  thing went wrong. "What's the thing that went wrong, Michael?" you may be asking.      Side note: hi! My name is Michael and I am one of the main people who front/control the body. My role is called "host" and I have probably met all of you and I just didn't tell you. Anyway, back to the blog.       Two words: physical health. You know when your computer is frozen and you have to hard shut it off to fix it? Yeah, my brain did that to my body today.      I'm going to say this now as it reaches an hour a...

      When reading The Rime of the Ancient Mariner , I was somewhat confused as to the meaning behind the poem. The Ancient Mariner begins to tell an unsuspecting wedding guest his story. He tells him of how, by killing an Albatross, he brought about the death of his crew. After being released from the curse, he is able to come across a Pilot, his son, and a Hermit. He ends the tale, speaking of how he must tell his story to be relieved from his guilt for a time.      Part of me thinks, how would one have the imagination to come up with a story like this? To me, it seems like a random story. As if the poet made it up as he went along. But knowing poetry, I know very well that there must be a deeper meaning to this. I just cannot tell exactly what he could mean.      I think that might actually be the point. I have noticed in works that are hard to understand, typically any interpretation of it is accepted. Whatever it means to ...

      Wordsworth is excellent at imagery. He can paint a beautiful picture with words, allowing the reader to see what he is describing. Not only that, this allows him to set the mood of the place, affecting and evoking emotions as well. This allows him to introduce characters without describing the characters themselves. Due to the place in which they live, the reader is able to imagine the person.     The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is an interesting and dark story, which seems to largely represent karma coming to get someone. However, it can be looked at from a completely different perspective. All of those who died believed the superstition, and it could be that the purpose of the story is to show the power of confirmation bias. The people believed something terrible would happen to them, and it did. The person who didn't believe the superstition was not affected by it directly, but was instead affected by what happened to those around him, which l...

 In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the mariner is essentially the captain of a ship. While sailing, an Albatross is flying with the ship, and for no good reason the mariner decides to just shoot the bird with his cross-bow. After this is when the story finally gets a little interesting. In part 2, mariner starts to feel some guilt about killing the albatross and then everything starts to go horribly wrong for him. Wind is extremely vital for sailing ships since it is the only way for them to move and it just so happens that the wind quits blowing after the albatross is dead. Now the mariner and the entire ships crew is stranded. The sun now makes it unbearably hot since there is no wind blowing. It also seems that the ship is out of drinkable water since it is stated “Water, water every where / Nor any drop to drink” (Coleridge 433). These terrible things that are now happening makes the mariner wish he had never killed the albatross. Now I don’t know if killing the albatross is ...

 In Wordsworth's poem he conveys how the woods and wilderness in the middle of the summer affected his emotions and made him feel. The woods were barren as though it were winter and the emotions conveyed match this season.He speaks of the hedges as though they are barren and the leaves have fallen off. He says that the hedges are barre woods. He also speaks of smoke coming from the trees. This is a sign of winter in that it is a sign of a fire. The winter season is typically a symbol of loneliness and sadness. This poem portrays these emotions through its diction. Wordswoth uses words such as silence, uncertain, houseless hermit, and alone within the first stanza which creates a sad and lonely mood. H talks about how the woods are houseless and how hermits live in the caves. A hermit is a lonely person so therefor when he talks about a hermit in the caves it creates a lonely and sad mood. He also states," That on a wild secluded scene impress/ Thoughts of more deep seclusion;...

I found this weeks reading to be very interesting. There is a thread of similarity in both the poems of Wordsworth and Coleridge. Each is very unique and neither follows the same poetic style. However, both poems give reverence to nature in an almost spiritual way. They evoke a feeling of spirituality. In Wordsworth's poem, the speaker views nature as the fountain from which understanding and higher, deeper thought springs forth.     ...I have felt     A presence that disturbs me with the joy     Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime     Of something far more deeply interfused,     Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,     And the round ocean and the living air,     And the blue sky, and in the mind of man     (Wordsworth, 95-101).  The ancient mariner speaks, too, of a natural element as having supernatural power. The albatross that comes to the mariner's ship is seen as a good omen. It's white ...