English Lit

English Literature is coming to an end. I did enjoy the class pretty well. I thought it was an interesting chance to read some authors that I had never tried before. I was most impressed by Frankenstein I think. It was interesting to read the story, since I have seen the movie adaptations before.

Mrs. Dalloway

We read Mrs. Dalloway this week in English Literature. I have previously read the book and I have to say it did not improve upon a second reading. I thought that the book was strange and a little bit hard to follow.

I am not sure exactly why the book was so acclaimed, I didn't think it was all that good. I think too much stock is put into these weird books.

When You are Old

When You are Old is the following poem by W.B. Yeats:

When You are Old
by W. B. Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true, But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face; And bending down beside the glowing bars, Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled And paced upon the mountains overhead And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

This poem is beautiful and sad at the same time. A woman who has grown old is reflecting back on her younger life. She was beautiful and had many admirers. There was one man who loved her for who she truly was. However, she did not appreciate him as she should have and eventually he left. Now she is left to her lonely old age to contemplate what could have been.

The Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti

We read an interesting poem in English literature this week, called The Goblin Market. Here is a link to it, if you are interested in reading it.

http://plexipages.com/reflections/goblin.html

I was surprised by the underlying theme of this poem, which was the empowerment of women. It would highly doubt that the poem was very well received by Rossetti's contemporaries at the time that it was published. The Goblin men in the poem represent the lying and cheating men who seek to get what they want from a woman and then discard her when they are finished. The heroine of the poem manages to outsmart the men. While, obviously, this poem appeals to me I cannot see it being very popular at that time.

Say Over Again- Elizabeth Browning

Say over again, and yet once over again,
That thou dost love me,
Though the word repeated
Should seem a "cuckoo-song," as dost treat it,
Remember, never to the hill or plain,
Valley and wood, without her cuckoo-strain
Comes the fresh Spring in all her green completed.
Beloved, I, amid the darkness greeted
By a doubtful spirit-voice, in that doubt's pain
Cry, "Speak once more--thou lovest!" Who can fear
Too many stars, though each in heaven shall roll,
Too many flowers, though each shall crown the year?
Say thou dost love me, love me, love me--toll
The silver iterance!--only minding, Dear,
To love me also in silence with thy soul.

We read this sonnet this week in my English Literature class. I loved it. I thought that it was a simple and beautiful sonnet about expressing affection to your lover. I think it is deceptively simple. It seems like such a basic concept, tell the one that you love that you love them. Not only that, but SHOW them that you love them. However, it seems to be a concept that people struggle with in their relationships daily. I think one of the biggest killers of relationships is neglect. People may love their partners, but in the hustle and bustle of every day life I think they tend to forget the need to express that love. It doesn't need to be something big or over the top, even just little affirmations of love can refresh the relationship and reassure your lover.

Frankenstein

This week in English Literature we read the story Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Considering that I had only ever seen the Mel Brooks movie prior to this, I was in for quite a surprise. The story in the book was worlds away from any modern interpretation of Frankenstein that I have ever seen referenced in any modern day book or show.

I found myself feeling a lot sorrier for the monster than for Victor. Overall, I found Victor to be very selfish and week. The monster was thrust into a situation that he new nothing about, and then abandoned. He tried to make the best of it, but could find no love or compassion from anyone simply because he looked different. I could see this driving anyone to seek vengeance.

Romantic Poets

This week in my English Literature class we are studying some of the Romantic poets: Byron, Percy Shelley, and Keats. I enjoyed all of the poems that we studied but one of them spoke to me more than any of the others. That poem was Lord Byron's "When We Two Parted". The poem made my unspeakably sad. It is always so sad to think of two people who are filled with this joy and love and care so deeply for each other. Then, at some point, that love turns to hatred or even worse, indiffence. It is painful to think you can love someone and share with them so deeply, only to then have them gone from your life. The hole that they leave behind is painful and hard to fill.