The Aeneid, written by Virgil, is a prime representation of epic poetry and it encompasses all epic themes. In his attempt to continue the Aeneid, Maffeo Vegio looks to use Virgilian style and tone to tell story Aeneas' story after Aeneas kills Turnus. Although he touches upon some Virgilian techniques, he would be viewed through Virgil's eyes as a sub-par epic poet. Vegio does not capture the Aeneid accurately, partly because he does not stay faithful to the epic dactylic hexameter, and he arouses a different attitude toward the story as perceived by the reader than Virgil does. Some of the Virgilian techniques that Vegio attempts to imitate include the use of epithets, similes and metaphors, role of the gods, symbolism, and various others.
The poem points to the paradox of naming: while naming is creative and powerful, it is also limiting. Once named, an object snaps into focus. But the name interferes as well: it comes between us and the object. We can think of the object now only through the name that has been attached to it. The opening line of the poem, “By naming them he made them,” connects “naming” with making (Page line 1).
Tybalt and Mercutio’s death) • Elegy is about a “bloody fray”, but leaves out parts of Mercutio’s insults to Tybalt. • Tries to provide a fair account of what happened, maintaining that Romeo behaved properly while Mercutio and Tybalt wanted to fight. Also how he did not have time to intervene, as it went by so fast. • Elegy: a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead. • Elegy is also considered an epic poem: ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events • In the elegy, mention of Mercutio was left out and positive comments of Romeo’s behaviour, believed that Benvolio was homosexual.
“The Rocking-Horse Winner” Essay In the essay “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence, Lawrence uses irony as well as symbolism to aid him in reinforcing major themes of the short story. He uses these literary devices to reinforce the theme that modern man’s greed and materialism robbed him of his noblest instincts. This theme has, if anything, gained poignancy over time, as the human race becomes increasingly materialistic and superficial, causing one to wonder if mankind is really any better off than before the Industrial Revolution. “The Rocking-Horse Winner” had several points in the story in which irony is used, mostly to serve the purpose of creating pathos in the story. One instance of irony is where, when Paul tells his mother that he is lucky, and at the end of the story (Page 34), Paul asked: “Did I never tell you?
In a revisit to Homer’s eighth century epic poem "Illiad", David Malouf’s "Ransom" > explores the worlds of royalty, war and the common man. Although Malouf explores > the original themes of revenge, redemption and fate, he > predominately > focuses on the human connections, relationships and inner thoughts of his > characters. Malouf contends that Somax is the true hero of the novel, > "Ransom", through the events he participates in, > his disposition and the characteristics he displays, > > > > Somax, a mere > commoner that Malouf has added into his novel, gives Priam an insight into > the > world he was missing out on. His chatter, whether about ‘[the] little cakes’ > or > his ‘pretty daughter-in-law’, is always intriguing to Priam. After Somax > successfully > persuades Priam to do a number of things, such as getting him to waddle in > the > stream and nibble on some griddlecakes, he describes Priam as 'like a > child’.
Beowulf is a literary work which enables a reader to glimpse not only the societal customs but into the savage and seemingly uncontrollable environment of the first century. Literary historian, Raymond Chambers points out that in the fight between Grendel and Beowulf it appears as though Grendel is representative of the degraded form of human life attempting to gain power through violence, in his attempt to overthrow Hrothgar and take control of Heorot he is fatally wounded by Beowulf. Beowulf is a character who exemplifies the collective societal agreement as to the role of a hero and his duty to control a seemingly ungovernable environment (Chambers 46). The Beowulf poet describes Grendel and Beowulf as "Both ..enraged, fury filled, the two who meant to control the hall." (Beowulf 36).
In Modernist literature, much like painting, there is experimentation with form: narration style, tone and plot line. Instead of having Kurtz tell his story, or Marlow recite the tale of his journey; the actual narrator in the Heart of Darkness is an unknown passenger on the Nellie. Verisimilitude becomes of much importance when characters are not well defined. Unlike the renaissance period, Modernism spawned literature that questioned the existence of absolute truth; perfectly suiting this novella as through language power can be gained, yet most truths and realities can be seen to be lost in the “haze”. Language within the land of the “brutes” acts as an extremely powerful tool to aggrandize civilization above the “pilgrims”, and put Kurtz in possession of great power: “must necessarily appear to them [savages] in the nature of supernatural beings—we approach them with the might as of a deity…By the simple exercise of our will we can exert a power for good practically unbounded” In response to this, Marlow admits, “it gave me the notion of an exotic Immensity ruled by an august Benevolence”.
This “metafictional parody is… used to seriously rework a literary model… to call attention to its conventions and limitations by putting it in a new, contemporary context” (Staels 2009, 101) that is achieved “through the technique of self-conscious mythologizing and demythologizing” through the use of a contemporary Penelope (Staels 2009, 103). The use of Penelope as a “retrospective” narrator allows the construction of “a personal variant of the same story” told by Homer in Odyssey (Staels 2009, 103). Penelope’s ability to speak from the underworld in Penelopiad gives her a form of “critical omniscience” that gives her a sense of freedom with no obligation to the roles she held in her life, but her guilt still haunts her (Ryan 2011). Before the “rise of feminist criticism in the last decades of the twentieth century” The Odyssey had a strong connection with the “feminine” with “Athena as its presiding deity” (Suzuki 2007, 263). Despite the vast criticism in how Homer portrays women in his epic poems, there are a significant number of literary critics including Andrew Dalby that suggest both the Illiad and the Odyssey were written by a woman (Suzuki 2007, 263).
English Question 1 Essay How has a comparative study of texts aided in your understanding of context in shaping values? The exploration of William Shakespeare’s ‘King Richard III’ and Al Pacino’s 1996 film ‘Looking for Richard’ depicts explicit relationships between the text and their respective audiences. The Elizabethan and 20th century context shapes the various values portrayed within the texts and through this a valuable connection is established. Pacino utilises the 20th century context through anachronisms to modernise the thematic value of Shakespeare. Richard III, in Shakespeare’s play, relentlessly pursues power on his quest for kingship in the late 16th century and this shows his lack of humanity compared with the 20th century.
Ulysses was inspired by Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ and Dante’s ‘Inferno’, which suggests that Tennyson wanted to portray ‘Ulysses’ constant desire for adventure as a character flaw rather than a heroic instinct. As the poem progresses we come to see it as such, rejecting Ulysses’ vanity and egotistical nature, which is especially obvious in the second verse. In the opening stanza, we immediately discover the reason behind Ulysses’ depression and feeling of despair. He describes the monotony of ‘the still hearth’ and derides the people he rules. Describing them as ‘a savage race’.