Apostrophe & Personification: Poetic Comparison Essay -- essays resea

Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem, "Ode to the West Wind" and Sylvia Plath's poem "Mirror" both employ the poetic tools of apostrophe, the address to something that is intangible, and personification, the application of human characteristics to something inanimate. However, they form a paradox in the usage of these tools through the imagery they create. Both poets have breathed life into inanimate objects, however death and aging are the prominent themes within both of these works. In "Ode to the West Wind", Shelley personifies many of nature's elements by attaching descriptions of remains of death that are typically human. He begins the poem with a simile by comparing the autumn leaves to ghosts. Though leaves are in fact, living things, the term "ghost" implies a spirit or presence from a living being who has passed on. To become a ghost, it is necessary to have a soul and this is specific to humans and other mammals. Shelley uses the idea of giving a soul to an inanimate object in the second stanza of his poem as well. In the fourth line, he uses angels as a metaphor for decaying leaves. Here, the reader is compelled to envision spirit beings falling from the sky with the rain and lightning. In another area of the poem where Shelley applies human death attributes, he states that each of the "winged seeds" is "like a corpse within its grave" (Charters, p. 871). Again, he gives us the image of a human who has died a nd is lying in he or she's burial place. In the third stanza of Shelley's poem, he uses personification by assigning emotion to some of nature's elements. In the eleventh line, Shelley declares that the "sea-blooms and the oozy woods" will "suddenly grow grey with fear". The emotions he assigns are relative to the idea of death. These are the feelings that humans develop when they feel that death is near. Shelley has again, managed to give the reader an intense image of foliage shaking in their roots at the thought of the west wind's approach. As the poem progresses, Shelley puts a new twist on the idea of personification. Or, more accurately, Shelley reverses the idea of personification by attaching inanimate qualities to the person speaking in apostrophe form to the west wind. In t... ... give the reader a picture of arms from the mirror extending outward toward the woman. In desperation of a different, younger image, the woman begins to cry. (Charters, p. 1105) The mirror acknowledges the process of age in the second to last line as well, by stating that "in me she has drowned a younger girl, and in me an old woman rises toward her day" (Charters, p. 1105). Though both poems utilize the same tools, they do so in very different styles. Sylvia Plath used personification to encompass the entire poem by allowing the inanimate object to be the speaker itself. She also gives the object various physical and emotional traits that are specific to humans. Shelley's poem, conversely, applies elements of personification to a few of the objects in his poem. Most of the human attributes Shelley gives to these objects are mainly metaphysical. The paradox of Sylvia Plath's "Mirror", is that the mirror is given life to reflect the image of aging, and the sadness of the inevitability of death. Ironically, Shelley has managed to employ the tool of personification, not by giving life to an inanimate object, but by giving it death.

John Donne Essay

The literary heritages of John Donne are famous for their style that distinguishes them from poems of his age, particularly his attachment to sensuality and reality. He is in fact considered to be a ‘metaphysical poet’, and recognized to be ahead of his contemporaries. One of his most notable collections are the Holy Sonnets, which is a reflection of his a primarily religious life. (Stubbs, 2006) The innovative use of language and metaphors are what distinguishes the works of John Donne; he has produced a wide collection of poems, satires, sonnets, translations, and other literary works. The life and struggles of John Donne reflects the rich and meaningful body of literature that he has produced. He was born to a rich family, yet poverty was common for him, as he went to a period of persecution during his process of transfer of devotion to the Anglican Church. He eventually became an Anglican priest, which is said to have considerably influence the writings in the latter years of his life, when he wrote poems and sermons. (Bald, 1970) He became known for a style, which would be known as metaphysical, and often, his work is dubbed as metaphysical conceit, as he cleverly unifies two vastly dissimilar ideas. The most common subjects of his literature are death, love and religion; he employs the use of irony, witty-ness, and cynicism. (Stubbs, 2006) This metaphysical form of literature would refer to the passion for life and pleasures, yet much regard for the emotional dimension. John Donne marked the evolution to a more personal poetry from the classical forms before his time. The early poetry of Donne is mainly criticisms of the problems of the English society during that time, as Britain was plagued by corruption and pretensions of its citizenry and nobility. He used colorful imagery to create satires of this reality of his time, but eventually, he moved on to the topic of religion, which shows that Donne lived a religious life, as he converts from Catholicism to being a devoted Anglican. Donne also produced substantial amount of love poetry, which is said to be addressed to his wife, who died after giving birth to their twelfth child. The poems written at the later stage of the life of John Donne has a more pious and somber tone to them. His poems began to take on a gloomy tone, as he writes about more serious things; for instance, his poem in memory of Elizabeth Drury, symbolizes destruction and the fall of man. (Greenblatt, 2006) Increasingly, he moved towards more religious topics, which exhibited this gloomy nature. The motivation for this shift to religious poems and sermons is his conversion to the Anglican Church, which marked a step to maturity and change in his writing style. These sermons and poems would later on influence English poets and future literature. Towards the conclusion of his fruitful and dynamic life, the focus of Donne’s work shifted to death, as he nears his own death. His works explores this topic, and how humans fear this inevitable occurrence, and the eventual accent to heaven following one’s death. He delivered the sermon Death’s Duel from his deathbed, which shows suffering and pain, yet also salvation and hope. (Bald, 1970) He died in 1631. The literature of John Donne is impressive indeed, and each piece of literature reflects his life and the society that is revolving around him. His work is wide-ranging, from love to death to religion; each shows passion, emotion, and reality. The metaphysical nature of his poems influences the future of English literature, as he cleverly used metaphors, imagery, and language. References Bald, RC. (1970). John Donne: A Life. United States: Oxford University Press. Donne, John. (2006). John Donne’s Poetry. Donald Dickson, Ed. United States: W. W. Norton and Company. Greenblatt, Stephen. (2006). The Norton Anthology of English Literature. United Kingdom: W. W. Norton and Company. Stubbs, John. (2006). Donne: The Reformed Soul. United States: Viking Books. Targoff, Ramie. (2008). John Donne, Body and Soul. United States: University of Chicago Press.

Oxbow Lakes - Information and Examples

Oxbow Lakes s Rivers flow across wide, river valleys and snake across flat plains, creating curves called meanders. When a river carves itself a new channel, some of these meanders get cut off, thus creating oxbow lakes that remain unconnected but adjacent to their parent river. How Does a River Make a Loop? Interestingly, once a river begins to curve, the stream begins to move more rapidly on the outside of the curve and more slowly on the inside of the curve. This then causes the water to cut and erode the outside of the curve and deposit the sediment on the inside of the curve. As the erosion and deposition continue, the curve becomes larger and more circular. The outer bank of the river where erosion takes place is known as the concave bank.   The name for the bank of the river on the inside of the curve, where sediment deposition takes place, is called the convex bank. Cutting off the Loop Eventually, the loop of the meander reaches a diameter of approximately five times the width of the stream and the river begins to cut the loop off by eroding the neck of the loop. Eventually, the river breaks through at a cutoff and forms a new, more efficient path. Sediment is then deposited on the loop side of the stream, cutting off the loop from the stream entirely. This results in a horseshoe-shaped lake that looks exactly like an abandoned river meander. Such lakes are called oxbow lakes because they look like the bow part of the yoke formerly used with teams of oxen. An Oxbow Lake Is Formed Oxbow lakes are still lakes, generally, no water flows in or out of oxbow lakes. They rely on local rainfall and, over time, can turn into swamps. Often, they ultimately evaporate in just a few years after having been cut off from the main river.   In Australia, oxbow lakes are called billabongs. Other names for oxbow lakes include  horseshoe lake, a loop lake, or cutoff lake.   The Meandering Mississippi River The Mississippi River is an excellent example of a meandering river that curves and winds as it flows across the Midwest United States toward the Gulf of Mexico. Take a look at a Google Map of Eagle Lake on the Mississippi-Louisiana border. It was once part of the Mississippi River and was known as Eagle Bend. Eventually, Eagle Bend became Eagle Lake when the oxbow lake was formed. Notice that the border between the two states used to follow the curve of the meander. Once the oxbow lake was formed, the meander in the state line was no longer needed; however, it remains as it was originally created, only now there is a piece of Louisiana on the east side of the Mississippi River. The length of the Mississippi River is actually shorter now than in the early nineteenth century because the U.S. government created their own cutoffs and oxbow lakes in order to improve navigation along the river. Carter Lake, Iowa Theres an interesting meander and oxbow lake situation for the city of Carter Lake, Iowa. This Google Map shows how the city of Carter Lake was cut off from the rest of Iowa when the channel of the Missouri River formed a new channel during a flood in March 1877, creating Carter Lake. Thus, the city of Carter Lake became the only city in Iowa west of the Missouri River. The case of Carter Lake made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Nebraska v. Iowa, 143 U.S. 359. The court ruled  in 1892 that while state boundaries along a river should generally follow the natural gradual changes of the river when a river makes an abrupt change, the original border remains.

Cuba, el eldorado del placer essays

Cuba, el eldorado del placer essays A principios de los noventa se desarollaba el fenmeno del turismo en Cuba y mas precisamente del turismo sexual. He elegido hablar de este subjecto a causa de la indignacion resultando de promover un pais para eso. Mismo si el porcentaje de viajeros que van a Cuba para practicar turismo sexual es minoritaria, se trata aqui a la vez de un problema politico y de un fenomeno de sociedad. Desde la disaparcion la Unin Sovitica y entoncs de su sostinemiento financiero, Cuba orientaba su politica sobre un sector de actividades muy lucrativo: el Turismo. Para apoyar este nueva politica el regimen alegaba a la vez los avantages del pais, como climate y paysajes, y tambien la hospilidad de las cubanas. Desde este annuncimiento, se ve apparecer muchas jovenes en las calles quien por la mayoria no tenian la mayoria de edad y tambien se prostituyen. Y al mismo tiempo, turistas de medio edad, avidos de sexo facil, son presentes por todas partes y cubanos les denominan turipepes. Las consequencias estaban mas rapidas que previsto. Con una poblacin de seis millones de habitantes, en 1959 Cuba tenà ­a cien mil prostitutas, de origen campesino el 95 por ciento. Hasta tel punto que los touroperadores organisan viajos a la isla caribeprostitucion es el resulatdo indirecto de la politica del pais. El turismo se traduce por el desarollo de lulujosos hoteles a lo largo de las playas lo que attrae numerosas turistas. La mayoria de ellos son alle ...

Mart -to- Market Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Mart -to- Market Accounting - Essay Example as been discussed and debated very thoroughly that the mark to market accounting is basically responsible for the creation of the current financial crisis. This method of accounting affected the value of the companies during the current financial crisis because with the crash in the property market, the values of the assets held by the firms also declined in their value. As per mark to market accounting procedures, firms were required to record their assets at new values and book the losses arising due to the reduction in the value of these assets. As a result of this, firms recorded heavy losses and their company values started to decline thus creating financial crisis. 3) It has been argued that the mark to market accounting does not work when markets are basically inactive and illiquid. (Katz). In such situation, it is therefore proposed that the rules regarding the mark to market process shall be suspended in order to provide more flexibility to the

Short paragraph writing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Short paragraph writing - Assignment Example The current immigration laws are ineffective and unfair based on the interests of the American citizens. The laws should be amended, and the importation of qualified immigrants be suspended to give room for the absorption of the American graduates. Since there is adequate STEM graduate, it is imperative for the government to improve the compensation and allowances to attract these individuals (Hira & Stephan,  2014). The emphasis on cheaper labour from immigrants hinders the prospect of personal development as Americans face stiff competition in the workforce. For these reasons, there is a need to amend the Immigration Reform and Control Act should complicate the employment of foreigners. Notably, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be keen to identify illegal workers. Additionally, the penalty policy should be increased such that it scares the employers from hiring illegal immigrants. Finally, the Immigration Act should make it difficult for foreigners to access the I-551 Alien Registration Receipt and the H-1B visa program. Hira,  R., & Stephan,  P. (2014, July 27). Bill Gates tech worker fantasy: Column. Retrieved from

Live Performance versus Studio Recordings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Live Performance versus Studio Recordings - Essay Example These differences are highly noticeable in a studio vs. live recording of the Beatles’ ‘Love Me Do’. The live recording was captured at the BBC, while the studio recording was featured on the album ‘Please, Please, Me’. One of the advantages of studio recordings is that the band and the producer have the luxury of recording the different musical elements at different times and then mixing them together. This ensures that the greatest quality recording is possible. This is definitely noticeable with the Beatles’ studio recording as one notices the crisp drums and harmonica sound that is produced from the song’s introduction. Just as instruments can be recorded on different tracks, so can vocals. This is a highly noticeable feature for the Beatles’ music as they are prone to singing in harmony. As the harmony begins one again recognizes the pure crisp sound they are able to achieve. Undoubtedly this sharp sound was achieved through many hours in a studio perfecting the exact vocal elements of the song. There is the recognition that while the studio environment is able to achieve a sharp and crisp sound, the live environment is generally more free-form. In this way, the live environment lacks the ability to record the instrumentation and vocals separately and as such may contain some errors. While this rough sound may perturb some, for others live recordings may be fuller of life as they constitute a singular performance. The Beatles’ BBC performance of ‘Love Me Do’ contains many of these elements. While the harmonica and drum track of the studio recording achieve a high level of musicianship, one recognizes that there is a messier and rough feel in the BBC track. While the Beatles are consummate musicians, one recognizes this difference is slight; however it functions as one of the major differing elements between the songs. In terms of vocal elements, it appears that the studio recording was more