John Stuart Mill

I really enjoyed reading Mill's work. I think it is so interesting how people like this who seem so radical back then are not even radical today. However, in today's standards I am fairly conservative so I would probably be the one pointing the finger saying oh my goodness. What I like about reading this older literature though is that it makes me realize the people who were so radical back then really were not that bad and their ideas were pushed through and made a better world. This makes me want to try and understand radical people today.
Mill really stepped up and represented the people who were not able to stand up for themselves. I really like the line in the beginning of On Liberty when he says "If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind" page 515. He believes this is an important principle because if you do silence that opinion that you are actually robbing mankind. This is true because look at for instance his opinion for women to be equal. He in the large picture would have been one of the only people to have felt that way, but if he had been forced to be silenced then women today may still be forced to be domestic housewives. Being a woman that would not be fun for me!
I also like how he feels about people living for a purpose. He believes it is a waste to just live through life being told how you think and never really finding yourself. It is very important that everyone finds their purpose, because if they do not find their purpose they will never know the impact they could have made in the world.
When he talks about women's rights he even mentions that men really do not want women to be completely obedient. Unless of course they are just total jerks. In fact he points out the fact that men do want to have a connection with their wives. This would have been a bold statement for him to make. Men probably did feel this way, but they would have never admitted it. It is STILL hard to find a guy my age that would admit he wants some deep connection. With guys they only like to admit its all about the physical attraction.
I really liked how Mill spoke up for the people who needed the most representation. He did not fear standing out or being different.

William Butler Yeats

The Wild Swans at Coole:
Usually when you think about swans you picture a beautiful creature floating on the water. Swans have a special meaning to me because I went to a boarding school for high school and we had swans on the lake at our school. They were very peaceful animals, very elogant, and when you sat by the lake to watch the swans they were beautiful. We loved the swans at our lake, and the school was very proud of them. Usually any place that you see swans the surroundings are nice. I have not seen to many swans floating around ugly lakes. I do not know, but I suppose swans a fairly expensive animals to obtain.
One thing I know from experience is that while swans are beautiful creatures when you mess with a swan they become very mean and will hiss. Being high school kids many of our pranks involved stealing the swans, chasing the swans, and just doing goofy things to the swans in our lake. The animal that is so beautiful to look at suddenly becomes a fierce animal when messed with!
The reason I point the opposite side of the swans is because this poem like many observations focuses on the beauty of the swans. There is also a mystery to swans which the narrator points out. They prefer to not be near people. Also, the reason this poem reminded me of my boarding school was because Coole was the place where an Irish king had lived, but he decided to move in order to hunt and do other things. Here again this would be a very nice setting in which the swans nested. Possibly swans prefer these nice places because they are left alone and admired for their beauty.
The narrator is also talking about how so many things have changed in his life, but the swans have remained the same. This is exactly how I felt after four years of high school. So many things were changing we were all moving on, but the swans remained there on the lake floating and being admired by a new set of students entering the school. When I think back on swans just like the narrator I think of my high school years and smile. Just like the narrator says "Their hearts have not grown old" line 22.
The last line of the poem confused me a bit. I am not sure if the narrator is saying he is delighted they flew away or that it would deligh him. I do not recall swans flying to begin with. Secondly they seem quite territorial so I believe he is saying it would delight him if they did fly away and grow up, or move on just like he is.

Virginia Woolf

The Lady in the Looking Glass: A Reflection
This is an interesting story because it deals with a lady looking at herself through a looking glass, or mirror. The lady is named as Isabella Tyson, however I believe this is a poem in which Virginia Woolf is talking about herself. The reason I believe this is because "Isabella" is admiring herself in a mirror. I believe this is how Virginia talked about herself through another character.
She first starts out by talking about the inside of the house. She talks about how the furniture is arranged and describes the house as nice. She mentions marble, and italian glass. The house seems to be one of an upper class family and is well furnished. Then she begins to talk about the outside of the house. She talks about the garden outside and about Isabella going out to pick flowers and things. She also mentions Isabella's age to be around 55-60. At the time this poem was written she would have been 47. So even though I believe she is talking about herself she changes up her character some.
Then the narrator really tries to dig down into Isabella's life. She realizes she is rich, and travels, but she feels by looking at her something is missing. Isabella is single also we find out. The narrator watches as the lady receives the mail, as if she is expecting something great, but then she says they were merely letters.
I believe the point Woolf was trying to make here is that just by looking at someone you do not really know who they are. You must dig down beyond the surface to understand a person's true meaning. Because just like Isabella on the surface she is rich, single, well spoken, etc. However, that does not necessarily mean she is happy. I think this is why early on the narrator says "People should not leave looking glasses hanging in their rooms any more than they should leave open cheque books or letters confessing some hideous crime" page 1224.

T.S. Eliot

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock:
This poem is about a man who struggles with his self image. He begins the poem by talking about the bad area of town that he hangs out in. He describes cheap hotels, half deserted streets, etc. This is the beginning of us seeing how he feels down on himself. Then he goes on to talk about how he feels when he walks into a room with people. He is very self conscience and worries that they talk about his bald spot, or that they point out that his legs and arms are so skinny. He is so uncomfortable in his own skin that he canot truly enjoy an evening out because he is so worried about what other people think of him. I have been out before and had very similar esperiences. He seems to be torn about whether or not he should go ahead and continue to persue the woman. He knows the people, he knows what they will say, but it is hard for him. It is like he is doing everything he would normally do, but this woman is really messing him up. I have been on dates where I have felt so uncomfortable so I understand exactly where the speaker is coming from. He also compares himself to different figures such as in line 83 he says "I am not prophet" then again in line 111 "No! I am not prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;" By comparing himself to big figures I feel that he is just re-assuring himself while at the same time putting himself down. He feels like he cannot help it that he was not born great, but then he is like but that is what people want. He says also that the "eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker/ and in short, I was afraid" 85-86. He feels like everyone is looking at him, talking about him, and picking out his flaws constantly. I believe he is a normal man, however when it comes to dating he gets extremely in secure and becomes a different person. I am sure in a normal setting that he is a great person to be around. He even says that "I have heard mermaids singing, each to each./ I do not think they will sing to me" 124-125. While this is sad, I got a chuckle when I he said I do not think they will sing to me. He is just so down on himself and feels like he is not worthy of anything. I do not really know why, except that he is just not confident in himself. Self confidence is something that some people have a very hard time with, and when a person gets down on there self like that they can be really negative and unpleasant to be around.

James Joyce

from Dubliners: Clay:
This was an interesting story about a nanny who took care of two brothers when they were younger. She seemed so wrapped up in their lives that they were literally what she lived for. Once they were grown she did not want to let them go and was not quite sure what to live for anymore. She said she did not want a man, however when she was on the tram she got very flustered by the man she met. She was so dishoveled that she actually forgot to bring the plumcake to Joe that she had searched around town for finding the perfect piece. Even though she claims to not want a husband her actions show us different. For her to forget the plumcake for Joe means that there was something pretty important happening because he was her life. She also struggled throughout the story because Joe and Alphy did not get along anymore. It would be like her own to children not getting along because she practically raised them. The boys had gotten her a job doing laundry to help pass her time and pay her bills. I thought it was neat that she worked at the laundry place for prostitutes they were trying to get off the street. She probably did not even have to work, however she was to stubborn to move in with Joe. She mentioned that Joe had offered for her to move in with him, but she felt she would be in the way. This is just like a typical grandparent in today's society. Once they become retired they find odd jobs to keep busy, and even though the need to be living with someone, and probably want to live with someone they feel like they are being a burden on them. I am not old enough to understand, but being 22 years old I would not find my grandmother or grandfather moving in a burden. Of course you lifestyle would change some, however this is your own flesh and blood. She seemed so happy when she was at the house with Joe and his family though. They drank, and she sang a song for the children. Also, I believe that her mind may be slipping her. When she sang the song to the children they did not point out that she sang the first verse twice instead of singing the first and second verses. Maybe this is a sign to Joe and the family that she is starting to slip and she needs to move in with them.
The thing that bugged me about the poem was that it just ends. We do not know what ends up happening to her, or if the brothers ever end up re-uniting. I was just starting to get into the story and boom it ends! I suppose according to the biography that Joyce does this a lot!

Thomas Hardy

The Convergence of the Twain
(Lines on the loss of the Titanic)
In 1912 Hardy wrote this poem, which was the same time the Titanic sunk. I have always been interested in the Titanic so that is why I chose to write on this poem. I could only imagine the emotions felt by people who were actually alive during the sinking of the Titanic. The Titanic received so much press coverage, and was the “unsinkable” ship. The excitement of the ship and then the devastation of the sinking of the ship would have spurred lots of emotions.
This poem took on a different perspective than what one would expect. Instead of focusing on the tragedy itself, the poem focused on the ship’s current state being submerged under the water. In fact, Hardy seemed to almost mock the ship for what it originally stood for and what it stands for in its current state months after sinking. He focuses a lot on the ship itself and how nice it was in the beginning of the poem. He says, “Of her salamandrine fires, / Cold currents third, and turn to rhythmic tidal lyres” 5-6. Meaning where the hot fires once burned and propelled the ship, now a cold current runs here, meaning that death and coldness run through the same place where the hot fires once were. To write a statement like this right after the ship had sunk would have been bold. Most people would be feeling bad for the families and all of the people on the ship who died, but Hardy continues to focus on the actual body of the ship and not the tragedy. He points out things such as the “glass opulent” 8 and then turns right around and compares it sea worms crawling around in the ship. All of these things that represented wealth, and upper class were just on the bottom of the sea rotting away. I think Hardy felt the ship was a waste of money and that all the fuss that had been made about the ship was ridiculous in the first place, and now he finds it ironic that the ship lies on the bottom of the ocean. If you remember, the Titanic was for the rich and wealthy upper class to ride on. They had the best of what could be offered at this time. Average people would not have been allowed on the ship. Another example he uses to show this is “Jewels in joy designed/ To ravish the sensuous mind/ Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind” 10-12. I think Hardy is being almost funny and mean here by being like all of these wonderful jewels that are so special simply lie on the bottom of the ocean and mean nothing now. They represent death now. I do not think he is mocking the fact that people died, but just the fact that such a big deal was made about the ship and the wealthy just wasted money on frivolous things just to have them on the bottom of the ocean.
Then Hardy goes on to talk about the “destiny” as he calls it of the ship and iceberg colliding. I like his line “And as the smart ship grew/ In stature, grace, and hue,/In shadowy distance grew Iceberg too” 22-24. I think what Hardy is trying to say is that the more fuss that was made about the ship and the more money they spent and the more the upper class people were being snobby about the ship the more the iceberg was growing. Kind of like the Pinocchio story, how every time he lied, his nose would grow. Except in this case the more money and more elegant the ship became the more the iceberg grew. He ends the poem with the ship and the iceberg hitting. There again he does not focus on the tragedy itself, but he focuses on the actual ship and the event solely. He obviously did not have anyone on the ship he knew, or his poem probably would have been very different. Since most of his poems focus on some aspect of nature though, this follows the same pattern. This poem focuses on the iceberg and the ship as it lies undersea. The ship still in today’s society plays an important role as it lies under water. People still are talking about the ship and how great it was for 1912. In today’s standards the ship was nothing beyond normal, however at this point in time I suppose riding on the ship would have given someone such a sense of class and really defined “gentlemen” as we read about earlier. If you were not allowed to be apart of this part of society and witnessed it from the stance that Hardy must have, then sure I suppose you may find the whole incident a bit funny and ironic. The “unsinkable” ship, the elegant wonderful Titanic that hit an iceberg and sunk and took down all of the wonderful things on board. I believe he is a little un sensitive about the event, but I enjoy his perspective on it.

Gerard Manley Hopkins

God's Grandeur:
In the beginning of this poem the speaker is letting us know that god is present here on Earth and this his presence is strong. He uses the metaphor of light shinning from a foil and the great power that has. When you think of light shining off of foil, it can go in all directions and make all sorts of different shapes and figures. The foil can be wrinkled up and the light can bounce of in all directions or it could be flat and it could bounce straight back like a reflection. The reason I believe he chose to use foil here is to say that god is everywhere and god is such a strong force. This force could be bad, however this force could be bad if we angry god. Then he compares God to "It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil/ Crushed" 3-4. Here he is referring to how great god can be. In order to get oil out of seeds the seed must be crushed at a certain pressure. This is like saying that in order to get greatness out of God that a person must put in a certain amount of work for him. Then he is confused as to why people still misbehave and are not afraid of his reign. "Why do mean then now not reck his rod?"4.
In the next section he is referring to nature. This would be typical of Hopkins because he focused on nature and god throughout all of his poems. What is he trying to say in this second stanza is that in the current day society (being back in the early 1900's) that people do not appreciate the beauty of nature. He says, "And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil/ And wears man's smell: the soil/ Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod. (6-8) Right here he is blaming industry and factories for tearing up nature to build and produce their goods. He feels that these are taking away from nature and are an ugly eye sore. He feels that people have become unsensitive to nature and do not have any appreciation left for it. This is very troublesome to the speaker who sees so much beauty and greatness in nature.
In the last stanza he sort of changes his tone a bit. He reassures that nature will still continue trying to grow and be beautiful and that it is just waiting after each night. He also lets us know that since god is forgiving he is going to forgive us for what we have done to nature, but we need to be aware of it. Nature is going to keep coming back because it is deep in this world, and it represents freshness and good.
The Windhover:
In this poem once again the speaker is pointing out the beauty in nature. He finds the bird flying to be very beautiful and ponders how the bird was able to learn such a trait. In fact, he compares the bird flying to someone riding and being able to control the ride. Why would the speaker be so interested in this bird flying though besides just the beauty of it? I believe that the speaker became so obsessed with the perfection of the birds fligth that possibly he started to realize something about his own life. The speaker may realize that he is not putting his all into whatever it is that he does. I got this interpretation from the lines "My heard in hiding/ Stirred for a bird, -the acheve of, the mastery of the thing!" 7-8. He points out that to be able to acheive such perfection at something is so amazing. Maybe the speaker wants to do the same thing in his own life. Maybe, the speaker does not think he could ever acheive such perfection, and realizes that only god could have given the bird such a talent. The reason I believe he would relate it back to god is because all of Hopkins poems deal with nature and god's force in nature.
Hopkins was not my favorite author, however he was not bad. I was able to understand his poems for the most part, but there was nothing about them that really jumped out and grabbed my attention like the Ellis story I read!