nikkia

1)Richard Wilbur, Lorna Crozier, and Harry Thurston all use extended metaphors within their poems that represent life. In “The Writer,” Wilbur uses first the idea of a voyage by boat, heavy with cargo, to represent his daughter’s life. The cargo symbolizes the emotional baggage his daughter already has and the author acknowledges that “some of it [is] heavy” (line 8). In the second half of his poem, Wilbur switches to image of a bird struggling to free itself from inside the house. The bird is representative of his daughter’s struggle through childhood and adolescence; you may be pushed down again and again, but you have to get up and try again. At the end of the poem the author states “it is always a matter...of life or death” (lines 31/32) and I think that this has its very obvious meaning but also the factor of adolescence in which everything feels so much bigger than it really is. When you are young so much truly is the end of the world, and parents need to remember this. In her poem “Packing for the Future: Instructions,” Lorna Crozier breaks the human lifespan into a series of seemingly ordinary items: socks, an old tin box, a ball of string. And also into the abstract things that some might say make us human: sadness, language, dreams. These things all represent something that most people carry with them for at least a part of their life. The poem would be incomplete, however, without its final lines: “Always travel lighter than the heart.” (lines 39/40) This is Crozier’s wisdom that she hopes to pass on to her readers; the other items in the poem are things that may differ from person to person, or could be interchangeable with other items, but this final piece of wisdom is a universal need for a happy life. “Miracle,” by Harry Thurston is simple and sweet, with an extended metaphor that is easy to spot. The strawberry blossom represents his daughter who will eventually grow and turn into something new, just as the blossom will become a fruit. Thurston recognizes that the change from seed to blossom to fruit is miraculous, and his awe of his daughter is also reinstated. This poem is a reminder that life is amazing, and if someone were to tell you how it works you probably wouldn’t believe them right away. Hard to believe that something so small can become something so different and so wonderful--no matter if it is a woman or a strawberry.

2)“Daddy,” by Sylvia Plath is certainly only semi-autobiographical just as most of her work is. There are similarities in the poem to Plath’s real life, such as the time of her father’s death, a mention of his feet when in actuality her father died after his foot was amputated, and the confession of her own attempted suicide. Plath may have written this way (not entirely truthful) because it was easier to let her true feelings show, and perhaps is was less painful to turn real events into a fictional story. It is also possible that the final lines of the poem (“daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through”) were her way of foreshadowing her own death for anyone who cared to notice. I am not sure if Plath would have agreed with the idea that “there is no autobiography; there is only art and lies.” Her writing is extremely telling of her true life and feelings and though it may not always be factual there is always a feeling of truth behind it. Having said that, her writing is also art; it has things added to make it more interesting or to improve its sound, and this is not as easily done if something is entirely 100% truthful.

1) I think the most interesting part of studying literature in this class has been getting to read other people’s opinions and views on the material we read. I have been reading since I can remember, and my mom used to teach high school English, so I have always been encouraged to read, but I’ve never really shared my thoughts on literature with a group before—it has been enlightening, entertaining, and (at times) disappointing. I continue to hope I can get over my scepticism of trying to analyze someone else’s work. I really find it hard to believe that Shakespeare, for example, meant for his readers to get as much out of his work as we put on it today. I have a hard time not being critical of overanalyzing writing of any kind, but I am trying to put that aside for this class. I am concerned that I may be doing these blogs completely wrong...I wish we got marked on them every week.

2)Looking ahead
The following definitions were obtained from www.dictionary.com:

Hamartia: the flaw in character which leads to the downfall of the protagonist in a tragedy.

Oedipus’ tragic flaw is perhaps his strong desire not to fulfil the prophecy he believes he is meant for. He is so disdainful, alarmed, and frightened by the prophecy that he leaves his home to avoid it. He does not act carefully, or think morally, on his journey, if he had perhaps his true father would not have been killed, leaving his true mother available for marriage.

Hubris: (in Greek tragedy) an excess of ambition, pride, etc., ultimately causing the transgressor’s ruin.

Oedipus’ is so arrogant and proud that he believes his own rule of Thebes will end their hard times. When things worsen he becomes obsessed with finding out who murdered the former king, not thinking that it could have been him (he is not exempt from the crime of murder).

Catharsis: the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially through certain kinds of art, such as tragedy or music.

Catharsis is featured in the play in a way I suppose, but the characters do seem to be cathartic in ways that are much more extreme then may be necessary. Oedipus’ (upon learning he has fulfilled the prophecy) curses himself and gouges his eyes out, and his mother kills herself because of her shame and grief. Catharsis through singing a song, or painting a picture might be a bit less harmful overall.

Peripeteia: a sudden turn of events or an unexpected reversal, especially in a literary work.

Oedipus’ whole life seems to be a long road of unexpected reversals. Is born royalty, then cast aside for dead, but found and raised as a peasant. He leaves as a traveller, becomes a murderer, defeats a mythical beast, and becomes a king. Then he blinds and exiles himself from his home and family. Of course, you could also say that this is all just part of the prophecy and, therefore expected.

Anagnorisis: (in ancient Greek tragedy) the critical moment of recognition or discovery, especially preceding peripeteia.

When Oedipus discovers who his real parents are, and what he has done, it is absolutely the critical moment of discovery. It shapes the whole ending of the play: the suicide, the blinding, and the exile.

Part I

1. In his short story, “The Boat,” Alistair MacLeod uses intertextuality in a variety of ways in order to help the reader find the deeper meaning of his words. Always choosing to reference the “great” classic works of literature, he weaves his story tightly around the books his two “main” characters have spent so much time using to escape reality, but that ironically reflect their own lives in a variety of ways.The narrator of the story first makes reference of Thomas Hardy’s tragic character Eustacia Vye; he likens his mother to her physically (“tall and dark and powerfully energetic”and at first glance you could assume that is the only reason. However, if you look more closely at the two stories you will see more similarities between the two women. Both women want their husbands to be different then they are; their spouses long for a life of a learning and neither woman is happy with that desire. Both women also come to a tragic end; Eustacia throwing herself from a small dam, and Jenny alone in a house without a husband because he died doing what she wanted him to do. I believe that the narrator made reference to this literary character because of exactly what he says: she reminds him of his mother. The narrator is a lover of literature and probably sees connections all around him, seeing Eustacia as similar to his mother is a natural conclusion for him because the two women do have several things in common.Another major reference made is that of the story “Moby Dick,” by Herman Melville; the narrator’s uncle is described as being “like a latter-day Tashtego”. The obvious connection between “Moby Dick,” and “The Boat,” is that both are about boats, the sea, and fishermen. There is also a connection between the obsession Captain Ahab feels for revenge, the obsession that most of the narrator’s family appears to have with literature. It is so easy to connect to books that have a similar setting to that of your own; the narrator must have found many parallels between his own sea-faring life and that of the characters in Moby Dick. It is possible he described his uncle (and his father) as being like Tashtego because he considers them to be noble and brave in a similar way.


2.Metafiction is writing in which the writer is not trying to “lie” or “trick” the reader into believing that what they are reading is true. There are constant reminders within the writing that you are reading “fiction about fiction” (Wikipedia). An author might decide to use metafiction because they want the reader to be able to suspend their disbelief and just sink into the story. If you are constantly thinking “well that would never happen” you are immediately ripped away from the story; but if, for example, you know what you are reading about is in a book that a character in the story is reading, you are able to just continue on, knowing it does not need to fit into your world. Of course there are other ways an author can suspend a reader’s disbelief, but this is an interesting one. An example of metafiction that I love is the book (and movie), “The Princess Bride”; in the book a grandfather is reading his sick grandson a novel of the same title, and that is the story you are reading.

Part I

This poem does not fit the criteria for "great literature".It seems like the author is angry. Perhaps he lived through a really messed up childhood. In either case, he tries to show the reader how he sees things and how messed up everything is. “This Be the Verse” does everything right to pull a reaction out of anyone.Larkin writes this poem with a very simple rhyme scheme and rhythm.Each statement is very to the point, lacking explanation. The poem concludes by instructing the reader to “not have any kids.” The poem concludes by instructing the reader to “not have any kids.” He is interested in getting others to consider both sides of the fence when it comes to parenting and how children are affected by their different caretakers.

PartII

Eveline stays home and takes over the motherly duties in the household as a teen after a promise was made to her dying mother. Death plays a major role in this story as the author points out that many of Eveline’s friends and family are said to have died at some point. There are several issues presented by Joyce that give rise to Eveline’s internal conflict of breaking the promise to her mother and leaving with Frank. One major problem is that the family is very poor and money is a very precious resource in their lives. To Eveline, Frank represents a new and exciting lifestyle that she has not had the opportunity to experience after taking over the mother role. Her routine, mundane lifestyle that Eveline has led appears to be comforting to her because of its stability, whereas being with Frank is something new and spontaneous. Perhaps Eveline is not so much in love with Frank as she is with the opportunity to embark on a new lifestyle. she gave up a chance to all the things she had wanted.Eveline had been beaten down by her father so many times that she began to accept it and she didn't have to courage to stand up to him. comparing two literature becomes more complicated when it comes to theme.It shows the influence of parent in childrens life.Both of these writing, causes the reader to think deeper and understand the theme of this literature whether they relate to their own life and understand the concept and apply it in the future.