19 May 2011 Explication of Theodore Roethke’s “Root Cellar” A popular theme of a variety of art and media, life and death are often focused on individually. In the poem “Root Cellar,” Theodore Roethke creates a vivid depiction of life fighting for survival. To give a sense of the struggle life is facing, the poet uses a vocabulary that conveys a sense of unease and degradation. Perhaps drawing on his upbringing, Roethke shows a contrast of existence amidst backdrop of downtrodden cellar in the throes of decay, giving readers an insight into the intrinsic power of life’s resilient capabilities. The poem opens with heavy imagery to show the difficulty that one would expect life to have surviving in a root cellar.
He continues this idea by using “wander” later in the line. The transferred epithet of “mean” conveys the hostile environment and makes us question the kind of people who live on the estate, suggesting they are perhaps cold, hateful and aggressive. The use of word choice immediately introduces the theme of purposelessness to the reader and creates a vivid portrayal of the scene. Despite the classical sonnet rhyming of the poem, it has been given an unconventional structure using enjambment throughout the octave, which modernises the poem overall and creates a stream of consciousness, engaging with the reader and ensuring the persona’s words appear genuine: “Play fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash” The plosive alliteration of “brick and bric-a-brac” creates a harsh and unwelcoming sound, signifying the worthlessness of everything on the estate and expressing society’s disgusted attitude towards the neglected area. “Ash” could connote the remains of the dead or of a crumbling building, insinuating decay and sorrow.
Like a true existentialist, Tarrou demonstrates three critical attributes; anguish, forlornness and despair. Because of Tarrou’s character and ideas, he can be identified as the ideal man of existentialism. When the narrator in the book The Plague first mentions Tarrou, he is introduced as an outsider who arrives in Oran on vacation who demonstrates anguish. As Tarrou finds himself in the midst the outbreak of the plague, he documents the series of events of the town as the situation digresses from bad to worse. When the first occurrences of plague are reported Tarrou remarkably, becomes “the man who involves himself and who realizes that he is not only the person he chooses to be, but also a lawmaker who is, at the same time, choosing all mankind as well as himself” (Sartre 1194).
Sean Capron HON 190 Dr. Cordeiro 11/8/14 A Mask of Perfume Charles Baudelaire’s The Flowers of Evil contains many provocative and startling works, a group of which are known as the “corpse poems,” for their very vivid depictions of death and decay. While these works are not any sort of bizarre or perverse preoccupation with death on Baudelaire’s part, their style and voice tell us about the poet: through these poems, Baudelaire exposes and mocks humanity’s innate and lingering fear of death and decay, while at the same time portraying his own acceptance of it as an inevitable part of the cycle of life. Baudelaire’s corpse poems turn our worldview upside-down, making us think very carefully about what exactly we imagine life’s purpose to be. No matter how much metaphorical perfume and make up we hide behind, death will still find us, and will watch gleefully as we dance, completely unaware of its long, skeletal fingers coming to rest on our shoulders. The poem “A Carcass,” emphasized with the poem “Danse Macabre,” is Charles Baudelaire’s version of a wake-up call, urging us to be mindful of our own mortality and live accordingly, for fear that in our arrogance we lose touch with our reality and die before we are truly prepared.
Consequently, the ethics of humanity is challenged through these creators in both texts as they express the contextual concerns such as post-industrialism and greed. Shelley exhibits both nature and nurture in “Frankenstein”. The importance of nature is illustrated through the use of imagery. Victor states - “These sublime and magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation that I was capable of receiving.” His surroundings control his emotions. This point of view is formed by Shelley’s experience of Romantic Idealism and sublimity.
Ernest is described in terms with positive connotations such as “spirit”, while Frankenstein is described in pejorative terms such as “loathing”. The juxtaposition allows Shelley to critique the Enlightenment and promote Romantic ideals. Humanity * Example: Frankenstein: “I ardently desired the acquisition of knowledge”. * Technique & Effect: Shelley uses the technique of dramatic irony to highlight Frankenstein’s error in the acquisition of knowledge, as the reader is already aware from the start of the novel the failure of
Buried Alive Edgar Allan Poe is methodical in creating a gothic darkness and evil storyline provoking sympathy anger, and back to understanding the actions of evil that Montressor inflicted without impunity. Poe creates fantasy and reality, “his fiction often made fun of what he wrought best: terror tales”, (Fisher xv) with The Cask of Amontillado, leaving the reader to question self on how far would you go to avenge your pride, and your honor. The Cask of Amontillado, Montressor narrates a sinister plot to punish and bury Fortunato alive is implausible, however, understanding how antagonistic Fortunato was towards Montressor and the mass of insults delivered may change the readers mind. Poe uses two unusual settings to create the atmosphere in the story, a carnival at night which initially reads as fun, festive, and happiness and however, if you look beyond that carnivals also create an environment of madness, and chaos which releases Montressor freedom to implement his plan of revenge and his high level of evil in which Montressor lures Fortunato into the family catacombs to die. The first setting in the story of jovial, happiness, and jubilant behavior amongst the crowd allows a sense of freedom for Montressor to move and execute his plan without suspicion from Fortunato.
The major transformation used by ‘O’ director Tim Blake Nelson in his adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello into ‘O’, was modernising the subjects of Shakesperean everyday life which includes jealousy, racism and false impression vs reality, which is evident through the character of Hugo/Iago. Evidently, the major change is setting which is radically different in both texts. Shakespeare set Othello in Venice which is appropriate because at the time it was a place filled with corruption and racial tension. Othello was a Moor with dark skin so audiences of the Elizabethan period would be familiar with the context. If it were set in another, less racist setting, audiences would not understand the criticism.
It starts with the narrator giving us a morbid introduction. We don’t know why the narrator is so obsessed with death, but we are bluntly told that “The face of sickness was the mouth and moving beard, the ingenious futility of Washington Woodward.” As the narrator delves into his recollection of Woodward’s unique life story, he seems to be a decent, if not somewhat bizarre, character. Then towards the end, the narrators tale takes on a darker connotation, coming full circle and explaining why Washington exudes an aura of death. This works because it’s difficult to understand why Washington would have such an effect on the author, until we realize Washington has lived a life stockpiling material possessions with no particular reason, and having nothing noteworthy to show for it. It’s a great reminder that while one may live one’s life accumulating material possessions, at the end it’s better to have friends and family by your
Character Development in Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice is focused on Gustav von Aschenbach’s thoughts and actions that reflect his gradual psychological decay and physical transformation. Aschenbach is depicted, in the beginning, as a highly repressed man, who lives a rigorously disciplined life; yet, his lifestyle is not a compete reflection of his inner nature. He always distances himself from his real and repressed sensual urges by justifying his own behaviors abstractly and philosophically, which creates unbalance between two opposing forces, inner urges and rigorous discipline, within him. As Freud’s “concept of repression that will inevitably avenge itself,” during the vacation in Venice, Aschenbach loosens the control of his desires, and he soon capitulates to these repressed passionate urges and detaches from his former self. Aschenbach’s development (or decline) over the course of the story echoes the growth of formless personality that, eventually, dominates the disciplined one.