Analysing The Novel Elegy For My Father English Literature Essay

Analysing The Novel Elegy For My Father English Literature Essay Elegy for my Father is a melancholy piece of poetry which uses descriptive imagery in order to describe a fathers last hours. The original definition of an elegy was a dedication to a persons life, either in mourning or sorrow. This example is written in six separate eight line stanzas, each flowing from the next. The poem could also be described as a form of lyric poetry because of the deep thoughts and feelings expressed in it, and the story it is telling. The sombre metre of the poem uses dactylic tetrameter, which creates a kind of rapid effect, and also with the unrhymed lines creating a less flowing rhythm, with a more jagged like tone throughout the poem. The variations of the chosen dactylic meter illustrated in the first stanza, range from the trochee in lines 1 and 7, the cretic in the first foot of line 2, the bacchic in the third foot of line 2 and the running start or extra syllable beginning in the first foot of line 4. The different mix of the poetic forms shows how the author, Annie Finch, illustrates freedom and expression in her writing. In his review of Annie Finchs poetry, Michael Parker states, Finch is simply a master of meter, displaying a distinct, complex yet highly readable metrical system, most unique for contemporary poets. The main subject, the father, has little of his life left to live and Finch wants the reader, to journey through this particular time in great detail. The images of vigil evoked in this poe m allow the reader to develop a feel of the pagan ritual of mourning the death of a loved one. The spiritual views which Finch follows so boldly and weaves into her works beautifully are very vivid in the imagery used in Elegy for my Father. Ted Richards wrote in Jacket Magazine that Finch, who has described her work process as including the whispering or muttering, shouting or chanting or singing her words aloud as she writes, has brought that song into the words in a way that we associate with poets of an earlier era, like Tennyson or Kipling. Throughout the poem, the repetitive use of you and he for the father is significant because it creates that close personal feeling of a father and his daughter, and how death can change it all. It also creates empathy in the reader towards the subject. In the later part with lines like Night, take his hand and He has given his body we can feel the distance which is created by death. This creates that feeling of transition and distance which one goes through in the ritual of mourning the death of a loved one. In the transition from you to he Finch has created that feeling of departure just like creating the most moving moments in an elegyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. when a poet juxtaposes the mourners address to the dead person with a sympathetic but sceptical testing of that convention: If the dead are forever deaf and inert, how can they hear what we say? (Shaw, 1994) The two epigraphs presented in quote form at the beginning of the poem act as a preface to the subject of the poem: death as part of the natural circle of life. No earthly shore until is answered in the vortex of our grave. The word grave mentioned early on in the poem reveals ideas about death and earthly shore about the earth bound physical part of our life before we move on to the spiritual life beyond. In the next line, the seals wide spindrift gaze towards paradise, the seal and paradise emphasise that once dead in the physical sense, you are passed on to paradise. Similarly with the lion in the second epigraph, it is as if we the readers are to believe that humans can be compared to an animal as large and triumphant as a lion or a seal perhaps. The reason for the epigraphs at the beginning of the poem is to create a strong indication of the poems theme that is to follow. Finch uses two quotes from a poet (Crane) and a philosopher (Wittgenstein, in whose work her father was a pa rticular expert) to inform her poems content. In comparison, T.S. Eliots poem Gerontion uses an epigraph taken from Shakespeares Measure for Measure: Thou has nor youth nor age/ But as it were an after dinner sleep/ dreaming of both. A popular choice among literary writers, the epigraph sets the scene for what is to follow and enables the reader to form their own ideas about the theme chosen. In the deep room where candles burn soundlessly and peace pours at last through the cells of our bodies. Lines 1 and 2 of the second stanza echo line 1 of the first. The repetition of both adverbs soundlessly and wordlessly is an example of where Finch has attempted to use rhyme but in a completely different way. The family of the dying father is watchful by his side, Three of us are watching, one of us is staring. It is almost as if they know what is going to happen, but they want to stay in the moment forever and not see him die. With the wide gaze of a wild, wave-fed seal. Incense and sage speak in smoke loud as waves. The descriptive imagery Finch uses, particularly the alliterative w sound in line 12 and the sibilant s sound in line 13 in the second stanza shows that she is using sound to illustrate how she is feeling. The repetition of these consonants and the use of the nature theme help to create an image of happiness, and not sadness. Crickets sing sand towards the edge of t he hourglass. The hourglass signifies an end point in time, but if crickets are singing then there could be an element of joy too. It is the difference between our imaginations and reality that the focus of this poem is illustrating. It is showing the balance of light and dark and death alongside life. Overall, the description of the room and the imagery used suggest aspects of Pagan ritual the references to incense, candles and circles and to animals. There are roughly three sections of this poem; the first being the descriptive tribute to a father most loved, the second being the father losing grip on his life, with his family close by, we will stay with you, keeping the silence we all came here for, and the last involving the moment in which he dies, Silence is here. In the fifth stanza, lines 34, 35 and 36 all begin with the word spin. This is the first noticeable pattern of words chosen by Finch. The effect of repeating each line with the same word affects the outlook on the situation. It is as if the death which is happening is such a blur that it spins impatiently, waiting for an outcome. Lines 38 and 29 of the same stanza also begin with the repeated word flying. The similarity between spin and flying, both of which suggest adventurous actions demonstrate that at this point, that the father is nearing a dignified death, His breath slows, lending its edges out to the night. Ending with the last stanza, where the father dies, it is important to point out that with the authors pagan religious beliefs, the theme throughout has been that death is much more than just death alone. It is likened to nature, and the soul; He has given his body; his hand lies above the sheets in a symbol of wholeness. This powerful imagery and religious (albeit Pagan) input infuses a feeling of warmth and strength for the ending of the poem. We the readers are left to our own imaginations, words such as gold, flame, temple, and prayer paint the scene of the mourning and passage of a person into the realm of death with ritualistic and religious sanctity. Edain McCoy has said that, when one defines oneself as Pagan, it means she or he follows an earth or nature religion, one that sees the divine manifest in all creation. The cycles of nature are our holy days, the earth is our temple. Annie Finch in Elegy for my Father creates a personal outlook on her fathers death framed by her own Pagan beliefs. 1,492 words Endnote 1. The writer of the poem was identified by typing the first two lines of the first stanza into Googles search bar, and following the first link to: http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/annie_finch/poems/22499

Margots Intentional Killing in Hemingways The Short Happy Life of Fra

Ernest Hemingway is known for writing novels and short stories with unresolved endings. In his short story, ?The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber?, he definitely leaves his readers guessing. The question is whether Margot kills her husband, Francis, intentionally, or if she accidentally shoots him, because she tries to save his life. There are many points that could be argued for both conclusions, but my observations have led me to believe that Margot did indeed shoot her husband intentionally, however, without pre-meditation. Margot has one of the most obvious motivations to kill her husband: money. In addition, she, on the other hand, has one great asset, her beauty, ?They had a sound basis of union. Margot was too beautiful for Macomber to divorce her and Macomber had too much money for Margot ever to leave him? (Hemingway). As this sentence says, their relationship is one of selfishness on both their parts. Francis desires beauty while Margot desires wealth. Money has long been considered the root of evil especially for those who do anything to keep it. The marriage bet...

Nickel and Dimed Essay

Blue collar jobs are decent means to earn a living.   However, upon reading Nickel and Dimed, a sad reality on the plight of the working poor or the low-wage workforce would wrenched anyone’s heart thinking that if this one is happening in America what will happen to the rest of the other world for instance the poorer countries or we may say the fourth world? The world look up at America’s prosperity but in reading the book of Ehrenreich somebody with a heart would say leave behind that job that enslave and find a living!   This can be easier said but in the true sense it is not the case.   The world we are in is a competition and harsh to people who have the misfortune of having the least opportunity. For this reason, a gesture of kindness or a smile for the working class would alleviate their misery and this is the least we can do or offer them.   Moreover, it is a thing every man should ponder, and to find ways and means to eradicate such meanness. Essay for question number 2 Affordable housing is always in locations called the inner city.   No low-wage worker can afford a prime location and these locations are normally the place where somebody could easily find a job.   Moreover, city planners and businesses cater to the public who have the highest purchasing power because that means business.   With these realities, one may say that the problem is difficult to solve. Habitat for Humanity offers affordable housing but to marginalize few, this international housing organization despite its efforts can not extend its arms to every body that will be in need for low-cost housing.   Many of the working class has a need for affordable housing but it is a bone wrecking effort to make both ends meet.   Probably the only remedy is to lower the living condition and live within the most viable limit.   Truly the best way for a poor person is to live a frugal and detached life and that is to live in a trailer house? Essay for question number 3 Color or hues, even if we say we live in a free country still matters not because it is the Americas but on the simple truth that man are judgmental, discriminating or simply out of touch to reality, greedy or just bent on maximizing their profits. The life of working person begins not in front of his or her job but in the home when she or he start pulling the laundry, wash the dishes or fetch a son or daughter in school.   These are domestic works which needs to be polished day in and out.   In fact, this daily duties is enough challenge to a single parent when he or she needs to battle his or her time from the job that is at hand.   Moreover, single parents do not receive much emotional backups and for this reasons are occasionally being construed by a society to be in need of help but are often are the ones most of the times victimized. Essay for question number 4 Low-wage workers are often times people because of poverty have low self-esteem and for some are rebels.   These workers find difficulty in asserting themselves.   Just imagine the torture of everyday, fighting for the lease of a life that seemed to becoming expensive everyday?   Mentally these are poor workers who have already despaired on their sad fate that since there is no choice left to live, these are just the guys who would shrug their shoulder and live until one can still swallow an air to breath. People who are bereft of a just wage are men marginalized in a materialistic society that lords over technology.   A hedonistic society that looks down on men who belongs to the working class and despised them as if they are not flesh and bones like the rest of the human race.   Every citizen has the right to a just wage, a safe working condition, and a job that could sustain not just the pocket but the heart and mind as well. However, some rights are often undermine by the lack of concern not only from the policy makers but also from the public itself when people patronized products that are cheap because it provides cheap labor to its workers.   Employees of ill-minded owners or greedy businesses should make a stand not to patronized products and services that belong to these suckers.   There is a call for genuine solidarity among employees so that demands will be laid in the most effective and orderly manner or strategy.   With Barbara,   one would say that a 6$ job is not enough â€Å"to compensate indignity† (Ehrenreich, 2000). References Ehrenreich, B. (2000). Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America [Electronic Version]. Retrieved 29 February 2008, from http://www.henryholt.com/readingguides/ehrenreich.htm         

Blindness In Oedipus The King Essay - 725 Words

Blindness plays a two-fold part in Sophoclesamp;#8217; tragedy amp;#8220;Oedipus the King.; First, Sophocles presents blindness as a physical disability affecting the auger Teiresias, and later Oedipus; but later, blindness comes to mean an inability to see the evil in oneamp;#8217;s actions and the consequences that ensue. The irony in this lies in the fact that Oedipus, while gifted with sight, is blind to himself, in contrast to Teiresias, blind physically, but able to see the evil to which Oedipus has fallen prey to. Tragically, as Oedipus gains the internal gift of sight, he discards his outward gift of sight. Sight, therefore, seems to be like good and evil, a person may only choose one. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Teiresias,†¦show more content†¦Yet what distinguishes Teiresias from the others was his genuine concern for others amp;#8211; a concern that he voiced before demolishing Oedipus in front of the growing crowd outside of the palace. For Teiresias, the choice was simple amp;#8211; he chose to forego his disability and delve deeper into himself in order to find a sight that surpassed his physical limitations, a sight destined for good. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Oedipus, on the other hand, was not given such an easy decision. While gifted with an outward sense of sight, he lacked the knowledge of his own sinful actions - his hamartia, so to speak. Oedipus was seeing to others, but blind to himself. As he fled from Corinth, fearing a prophecy he received from an oracle, Oedipus showed complete blindness to the inevitability of his fate. The murder of his father, Laius, and the subsequent marriage to this mother, Jocasta, further elucidate the extent of Oedipusamp;#8217; blindness; blind in deed, reason, and consequence. Tragically, Oedipusamp;#8217; anagnorisis occurs simultaneously with his motheramp;#8217;s/wifeamp;#8217;s suicide. 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