So I've noticed so far...that wit is all about taking popular beliefs and twisting them around or presenting them from a less common angle or inverting reality (presented in many of Parker's poems where she satirizes or even goes as far as mocks society's values and opinions on different topics). Irony is especially key in creating wit (I have mostly seen this so far in Lucky Jim where many of the situations the characters go through are controlled by ironic fate rather than their own actions). Also, Parker uses words and their connotations in different ways that are not expected which also makes her poems quite witty. The thing is, so far, I have found that wit is all about mocking, poking fun at, or satirizing an aspect of life or character flaw.
That's what I've found so far....trying to get the jist of the big picture because i sometimes get hung up on just the details.
Stay tuned :)
Monday, March 31, 2008
Chapter 5: Lucky Jim
Chapter 5.
You know, I'm finding it really hard to describe wit as seen in these beginning chapters. I mean, it's pretty funny how Amis is using the characters and setting to play a part in the "wit" but exactly what makes these chapters witty, I'm not quite sure yet.
In this chapter, the humor lies in the fact that several characters are coming in and out of the house. A character strategy is the Dixon's is completely drunk and disoriented....he wants to enter the house again yet everywhere he tries to go (example, his kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom), he can't get access too because they are either closed or occupied. The IRONY (o yes, wit is created through irony a LOT in this novel) is that his drunkeness has nothing to do with his inability to get anywhere in his own house. Also, it's funny and ironic here because he sees certain things that he wishes he hadn't (ie the reader sees that Carol and Welch are having an intimate moment...having an affair? The reader does not know yet). They break the social profile because they don't belong to the same social class and during this time, it was not common to see such a moment. That's all the wit I saw in that chapter...It's interesting, so...irony presented through the characters' personalities and actions and the situations they go through is what makes up the wit so far in this novel. Stay tuned :)
You know, I'm finding it really hard to describe wit as seen in these beginning chapters. I mean, it's pretty funny how Amis is using the characters and setting to play a part in the "wit" but exactly what makes these chapters witty, I'm not quite sure yet.
In this chapter, the humor lies in the fact that several characters are coming in and out of the house. A character strategy is the Dixon's is completely drunk and disoriented....he wants to enter the house again yet everywhere he tries to go (example, his kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom), he can't get access too because they are either closed or occupied. The IRONY (o yes, wit is created through irony a LOT in this novel) is that his drunkeness has nothing to do with his inability to get anywhere in his own house. Also, it's funny and ironic here because he sees certain things that he wishes he hadn't (ie the reader sees that Carol and Welch are having an intimate moment...having an affair? The reader does not know yet). They break the social profile because they don't belong to the same social class and during this time, it was not common to see such a moment. That's all the wit I saw in that chapter...It's interesting, so...irony presented through the characters' personalities and actions and the situations they go through is what makes up the wit so far in this novel. Stay tuned :)
Parker Poem
Just thought this was a cute poem, quite witty too, that I felt like TPCASTTing in between my reading of Lucky Jim, enjoy. I really liked this one...I dont think I did this one before.
"Men seldom make passes
At girls who wear glasses"
Title: News Item implies that the speaker has discovered a piece of information or fact that is universal or well known.
Paraphase: Men really don't look at girl who wear glasses.
Connotation:"item"-I thought this word played off the less commonly used definition for being a couple or being involved in a relationship. Maybe to introduce, subtely to the reader, what the theme or purpose of the poem is reflecting."men"-interesting contrast between how the speaker uses this word in comparison to when he uses "girls"; symbolizes maturity and different interest. Somewhat mocks manly attributes."seldom"-it's interesting how this word is used due to its change in formality. The rest of the diction used is more colloquial which makes this word stick out; almost uses the diction and level of formality that would be seen in a newspaper articule"girls"-makes them seem immature; not ready to take on a relationship or haven't even reached the age where it's ok to have one. (See referance to "men")"glasses"- metonyme usage here because I assume that "glasses" stands for a person of intellectual rigor which clearly is not what "men" are looking for in a female (yes, I said this in a sarcastic manner-please note =p because quite frankly, the speaker is trying to portray the exact same attitude as I have just stated)
Attitude: Mocking. I can not find a better way to describe this. This is built up through the diction and the way the "men" and "girls" are portrayed and the fact that the only reason men dont go for certain girls is because they are intelligent.
Shift: After the first sentance, which goes from an introduction to what men look for in women (you'd think it would express somethign positive or at least optimisitic and the reader would assume this because news articles don't usually state or slander the behavior of men) but takes an unexpected turn to reflect upon a hasty generalization that men do not go or look for intellectual women.Theme: Men are superficial and are not interested in women who have high intellectual rigor. (Maybe this theme plays a part in what was going on in society at the time. I'd have to research more because there is no background information)Title: I think the title is what creates the attitude and wit of the poem because the speaker is making his/her opinion sound like a fact although it truly is his/her own personal opinion.
"Men seldom make passes
At girls who wear glasses"
Title: News Item implies that the speaker has discovered a piece of information or fact that is universal or well known.
Paraphase: Men really don't look at girl who wear glasses.
Connotation:"item"-I thought this word played off the less commonly used definition for being a couple or being involved in a relationship. Maybe to introduce, subtely to the reader, what the theme or purpose of the poem is reflecting."men"-interesting contrast between how the speaker uses this word in comparison to when he uses "girls"; symbolizes maturity and different interest. Somewhat mocks manly attributes."seldom"-it's interesting how this word is used due to its change in formality. The rest of the diction used is more colloquial which makes this word stick out; almost uses the diction and level of formality that would be seen in a newspaper articule"girls"-makes them seem immature; not ready to take on a relationship or haven't even reached the age where it's ok to have one. (See referance to "men")"glasses"- metonyme usage here because I assume that "glasses" stands for a person of intellectual rigor which clearly is not what "men" are looking for in a female (yes, I said this in a sarcastic manner-please note =p because quite frankly, the speaker is trying to portray the exact same attitude as I have just stated)
Attitude: Mocking. I can not find a better way to describe this. This is built up through the diction and the way the "men" and "girls" are portrayed and the fact that the only reason men dont go for certain girls is because they are intelligent.
Shift: After the first sentance, which goes from an introduction to what men look for in women (you'd think it would express somethign positive or at least optimisitic and the reader would assume this because news articles don't usually state or slander the behavior of men) but takes an unexpected turn to reflect upon a hasty generalization that men do not go or look for intellectual women.Theme: Men are superficial and are not interested in women who have high intellectual rigor. (Maybe this theme plays a part in what was going on in society at the time. I'd have to research more because there is no background information)Title: I think the title is what creates the attitude and wit of the poem because the speaker is making his/her opinion sound like a fact although it truly is his/her own personal opinion.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Chapter 4: Lucky Jim
Chapter 4.
Well, interesting novel so far. So basically, Amis brings the characters together in the university at this faculty meeting to demonstrate and emphasize different qualities that the professors possess. I must say it's pretty witty how Amis does this because all of the characters, from Margeret to Dixon, dress, speak, and think differently...which emphasizes the different social barriers created by their society and their flaws. There are obviously major differences between Dixon and Welch because Dixon can neither read sheet music or discuss welfare in a manner tough enough to win an argument between the professors. Because of this, the reader sees the flaws in judging the intelligence strictly on social class because indeed Dixon still remains favorable to the reader because he is the one who is able to analyze everything going on around him. The wit is set up here in the way in which Amis presents members of different social classes and emphasizes different character flaws and materialistic desires.
Well, interesting novel so far. So basically, Amis brings the characters together in the university at this faculty meeting to demonstrate and emphasize different qualities that the professors possess. I must say it's pretty witty how Amis does this because all of the characters, from Margeret to Dixon, dress, speak, and think differently...which emphasizes the different social barriers created by their society and their flaws. There are obviously major differences between Dixon and Welch because Dixon can neither read sheet music or discuss welfare in a manner tough enough to win an argument between the professors. Because of this, the reader sees the flaws in judging the intelligence strictly on social class because indeed Dixon still remains favorable to the reader because he is the one who is able to analyze everything going on around him. The wit is set up here in the way in which Amis presents members of different social classes and emphasizes different character flaws and materialistic desires.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Chapter 3: Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
Chapter 3.
Ok, so this novel is really starting to get interesting here. At the beginning of this chapter, a student named Michie is introduced as being on of Dixon's students. Now, Dixon begins to analyze the ironies of life because this particular student of his commanded a huge troop and tank during World War II yet in the university, it seems Dixon has all the power over him even though when Dixon was involved in the war, he was in no battle action. This is the first student that Dixon interacts with (possibly the only one? I'm not sure, I'll need to read on still) and it seems they both value different things. Michie is ignorant of the fact that he believes he is getting the best education out there even though from Dixon's perspective/actions, the reader sees that he is by no means concerned about giving his students the best education but nearly plans his lessons according to how to get the three best looking girls to attend his class. Because of this, Amis introduces the irony in society and how different people are ignorant to how different things work (ie power and education). It seems that Amis is already mocking the structure and function of this university by first beginning by poking out the flaws and actions of the professors and then how the university functions as a whole. The aspect in this chapter that's been quite ironic so far is that all the reader sees is Dixon's point of view so it is not clear if the circumstances are presented through a reliable eye. His voice is quite like Stevens's from Remains of the Day--quite distorted in terms of what really may be happening. Interestingly enough, a character named Bill Atkinson who is somewhat similiar to our narrator, seems to be extremely "straightforward" and "honest" which are the qualities our narrator idolizes yet he himself is supposedly being that to the reader...or is he? It's ironic how our narrator strictly admires this one particular character even though none of the others like him.
Ok, so this novel is really starting to get interesting here. At the beginning of this chapter, a student named Michie is introduced as being on of Dixon's students. Now, Dixon begins to analyze the ironies of life because this particular student of his commanded a huge troop and tank during World War II yet in the university, it seems Dixon has all the power over him even though when Dixon was involved in the war, he was in no battle action. This is the first student that Dixon interacts with (possibly the only one? I'm not sure, I'll need to read on still) and it seems they both value different things. Michie is ignorant of the fact that he believes he is getting the best education out there even though from Dixon's perspective/actions, the reader sees that he is by no means concerned about giving his students the best education but nearly plans his lessons according to how to get the three best looking girls to attend his class. Because of this, Amis introduces the irony in society and how different people are ignorant to how different things work (ie power and education). It seems that Amis is already mocking the structure and function of this university by first beginning by poking out the flaws and actions of the professors and then how the university functions as a whole. The aspect in this chapter that's been quite ironic so far is that all the reader sees is Dixon's point of view so it is not clear if the circumstances are presented through a reliable eye. His voice is quite like Stevens's from Remains of the Day--quite distorted in terms of what really may be happening. Interestingly enough, a character named Bill Atkinson who is somewhat similiar to our narrator, seems to be extremely "straightforward" and "honest" which are the qualities our narrator idolizes yet he himself is supposedly being that to the reader...or is he? It's ironic how our narrator strictly admires this one particular character even though none of the others like him.
Foundations: Wit and Music
Hello! This song came on the radio and just by the words, I found it pretty witty and layful so I decided to include it in my blog. The song is called, "Foundations" by Kate Nash. Here are some of the lyrics and I'll tell you why I find this song so witty:
"Foundations"
Thursday night,
everything's fine,
Except you've got that look in your eyes,
when I'm telling a story
And you find it boring,
you're thinking of something to say.
You'll go along with and then drop it
And you humiliate me,
in front of our friends.
Then I'll use that voice what you find annoyin'
And say something like
"intelligent input darlin' why don't you just have another beer then?"
Then you call me a b....
and everyone we're with will be embarrassed,and I won't give a s...
My fingertips are holding onto the cracks in our foundations,
and I know that I should let go,but I can't.
And everytime we fight I know it's not right,
everytime that you're upset and I smile
I know I should forget, but I can't.
You said I must eat so many lemons,
'cause I am so bitter.
I said "I'd rather be with your friends mate,'cause they are much fitter"
Yes it was childish and you got aggressive and I must admit that I was a bit scared,but it gives me thrills to wind you up......Oh my gosh, I cannot be bothered with this.
I hope I'm not stuck with this one.
I'd first like to start off with the big picture: It is quite obvious that the speaker is describing the small flirtatuous "fights" that take place between her and the guy she is referring to. It is quite obvious that she is in love with him yet does not wish to admit it to him but expresses it through the mean way she treats him (and it seems that he feels the same way). She knows she should let go of this infatuation (although it seems she does not wish to by her tone and the chorus) but she knows she can not (because she shifts and continuously describes how she likes to irk and provoke her love). The thing I find so witty is the fact that she uses powerful lines (the ones in bold) to describe their relationship and actually admit that he loves him although she does not wish to blatently say that because she just can't believe it. The constant shifts in tone help create the wit. She begins by setting up the situation on a Thursday evening where she was " telling a story and [he found] it boring and "was thinking of something to say". She presents a sense of playfulness between her and the subject yet there is almost a bitter tone when she fights his response by mocking his intelligent and "witty" response by telling him to have another beer. She then shifts in tone by describig how she should "let go" and "forget" her crush but she can no. She then further describes that when they "fight, [she] knows it's not right". When he "frowns", she "smiles" to further prove that this is all a playful expression of her infatuation yet she regrets it has to be so "bitter". He actually says, "I must eat so many lemons,'cause I am so bitter" basically showing to the audience that he knows she does it on purpose. She then shifts (maybe giving a sense of denial? or not wanting to think about it anymore) to describing what she said to him...that she'd rather be with one of his friends because they are much "fitter"). It seems throughout this entire song that she is mocking herself and their relationship...that they both can not admit to each other their emotions yet their actions present them perfectly. Interesting though, could she possibly be mocking the cliche that "actions are stronger than words?" It seems so because they are not getting anywhere with their constant bitterness towards each other. The speaker seems regretful and sad YET she tries to cover it up again with the last few lines by saying, "I can not be bothered with this. I hope I'm not stuck with this one". The general theme here seems to be that one can not cover up their emotions because in one way or another, they will show up. By writing the song, she is obviously thinking about the subject and can not forget about him..no matter what her actions are, she still has those feelngs lingering and it seems that the guy is feeling the same thing. The wit in this is how she mocks the whole situation and the irony of it all..love makes them act quite pathetic yet they know how to stop up but they can not.I'd also like to comment on the symbol of a "foundation": Now that I look back on the entire song, it seems that the foundation is love The reason why the speaker is "holding on to the cracks in our foundations" is because she is holding onto the strong feelings she has for the guy.For a witty song, it seems to have a generally sad tone to it when looking back on it.
"Foundations"
Thursday night,
everything's fine,
Except you've got that look in your eyes,
when I'm telling a story
And you find it boring,
you're thinking of something to say.
You'll go along with and then drop it
And you humiliate me,
in front of our friends.
Then I'll use that voice what you find annoyin'
And say something like
"intelligent input darlin' why don't you just have another beer then?"
Then you call me a b....
and everyone we're with will be embarrassed,and I won't give a s...
My fingertips are holding onto the cracks in our foundations,
and I know that I should let go,but I can't.
And everytime we fight I know it's not right,
everytime that you're upset and I smile
I know I should forget, but I can't.
You said I must eat so many lemons,
'cause I am so bitter.
I said "I'd rather be with your friends mate,'cause they are much fitter"
Yes it was childish and you got aggressive and I must admit that I was a bit scared,but it gives me thrills to wind you up......Oh my gosh, I cannot be bothered with this.
I hope I'm not stuck with this one.
I'd first like to start off with the big picture: It is quite obvious that the speaker is describing the small flirtatuous "fights" that take place between her and the guy she is referring to. It is quite obvious that she is in love with him yet does not wish to admit it to him but expresses it through the mean way she treats him (and it seems that he feels the same way). She knows she should let go of this infatuation (although it seems she does not wish to by her tone and the chorus) but she knows she can not (because she shifts and continuously describes how she likes to irk and provoke her love). The thing I find so witty is the fact that she uses powerful lines (the ones in bold) to describe their relationship and actually admit that he loves him although she does not wish to blatently say that because she just can't believe it. The constant shifts in tone help create the wit. She begins by setting up the situation on a Thursday evening where she was " telling a story and [he found] it boring and "was thinking of something to say". She presents a sense of playfulness between her and the subject yet there is almost a bitter tone when she fights his response by mocking his intelligent and "witty" response by telling him to have another beer. She then shifts in tone by describig how she should "let go" and "forget" her crush but she can no. She then further describes that when they "fight, [she] knows it's not right". When he "frowns", she "smiles" to further prove that this is all a playful expression of her infatuation yet she regrets it has to be so "bitter". He actually says, "I must eat so many lemons,'cause I am so bitter" basically showing to the audience that he knows she does it on purpose. She then shifts (maybe giving a sense of denial? or not wanting to think about it anymore) to describing what she said to him...that she'd rather be with one of his friends because they are much "fitter"). It seems throughout this entire song that she is mocking herself and their relationship...that they both can not admit to each other their emotions yet their actions present them perfectly. Interesting though, could she possibly be mocking the cliche that "actions are stronger than words?" It seems so because they are not getting anywhere with their constant bitterness towards each other. The speaker seems regretful and sad YET she tries to cover it up again with the last few lines by saying, "I can not be bothered with this. I hope I'm not stuck with this one". The general theme here seems to be that one can not cover up their emotions because in one way or another, they will show up. By writing the song, she is obviously thinking about the subject and can not forget about him..no matter what her actions are, she still has those feelngs lingering and it seems that the guy is feeling the same thing. The wit in this is how she mocks the whole situation and the irony of it all..love makes them act quite pathetic yet they know how to stop up but they can not.I'd also like to comment on the symbol of a "foundation": Now that I look back on the entire song, it seems that the foundation is love The reason why the speaker is "holding on to the cracks in our foundations" is because she is holding onto the strong feelings she has for the guy.For a witty song, it seems to have a generally sad tone to it when looking back on it.
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis: Chapter 2
Chapter 2.
Hm, interesting second chapter. The style of writing, the way Dixon uses flashbacks and different scenes, which aren't clearly connected in the story, is obviously done for a particular purpose which seems to be that he picks the scenes that present the characters in a negative light. He begins by presenting a recollection of scenes in which is he is speaking to Margeret Peel, a woman who works at the university with Dixon's but has a slightly higher social status. Dixon's, again, is presented to be commenting of the flaws in her character- she is not attractive, wears too much makeup to cover it up, and overly dresses in order to attract attension. It seems that Amis is mocking different types of people who seem to want to attract attension of over people and gain their approval even though they disregard how they are really being seen. It is also interesting how he seems to analyze that her supposed suicide attempt was strictly done to achieve the attension of him and her ex-boyfriend because she lacks the looks to which many women get attension from. This also presents another aspect in the novel, Margaret values the traditional gender roles and expectations. The reader sees this through the way in which she expects to get attension of men only through her looks and supposed sensitivity and how she makes Dixon pay for her drink even though she has a higher paying salary than him. The way he describes her laugh and sensitive actions also show that she tries to act as the traditional woman was expected to act during the time in which the novel was written. Towards the end of this chapter, Dixon's describes London and how he wishes to be there while his university is located on the other side of the country which maybe represents that he wishes to be in different conditions or have a completely opposite life than he already has.
Hm, interesting second chapter. The style of writing, the way Dixon uses flashbacks and different scenes, which aren't clearly connected in the story, is obviously done for a particular purpose which seems to be that he picks the scenes that present the characters in a negative light. He begins by presenting a recollection of scenes in which is he is speaking to Margeret Peel, a woman who works at the university with Dixon's but has a slightly higher social status. Dixon's, again, is presented to be commenting of the flaws in her character- she is not attractive, wears too much makeup to cover it up, and overly dresses in order to attract attension. It seems that Amis is mocking different types of people who seem to want to attract attension of over people and gain their approval even though they disregard how they are really being seen. It is also interesting how he seems to analyze that her supposed suicide attempt was strictly done to achieve the attension of him and her ex-boyfriend because she lacks the looks to which many women get attension from. This also presents another aspect in the novel, Margaret values the traditional gender roles and expectations. The reader sees this through the way in which she expects to get attension of men only through her looks and supposed sensitivity and how she makes Dixon pay for her drink even though she has a higher paying salary than him. The way he describes her laugh and sensitive actions also show that she tries to act as the traditional woman was expected to act during the time in which the novel was written. Towards the end of this chapter, Dixon's describes London and how he wishes to be there while his university is located on the other side of the country which maybe represents that he wishes to be in different conditions or have a completely opposite life than he already has.
Parker Poem
A Well Worn Story by Dorothy Parker
In April, in April,
My one love came along,
And I ran the slope of my high hill
To follow a thread of song.
His eyes were hard as porphyry
With looking on cruel lands;
His voice went slipping over me
Like terrible silver hands.
Together we trod the secret lane
And walked the muttering town.
I wore my heart like a wet, red stain
On the breast of a velvet gown.
In April, In April,
My love went whistling by,
And I stumbled here to my high hill
Along the way of a lie.
Now what should I do in this place
But sit and count the chimes,
And splash cold water on my face
And spoil a page with rhymes?
Title: The title itself seems to indicate or imply that the poem is going to poke at a particular issue because the phrase, “well worn” indicates that the speaker knows how ingeniune this “story” is and how she is going to portray her reasons for this.
Paraphrase: The first sentence is about a female (it seems) speaker that has a particular affection towards her “one love” so she ran up a hill to follow him. The speaker then begins to describe her “love” as being “terribly” mesmerizing and she could not help but be engulfed in his presence. They both “trod” together and seemed to have had an affair or romance without the fear of walking into “the muttering town” and were not at all shamed for their actions. The speaker explains to the reader how she wore her heart like a stain on a beautiful velvet dress. Her lover left her as she stumbled to hold her head high. She explains her confusion in indecisiveness as to what she should do now that this event has occurred and snarls that the only thing left is to sulk about it and write it in a poem. Connotation: This poem has so many connotations in it which creates its general tone.First off, “well worn” as I’ve stated before, sets the speaker’s tone as being sarcastic and almost exploitive of the nature of overused “stories”. It prepares the reader to look for this attitude throughout the poem and sets the general mood of it as well by indicating the speaker’s attitude.“In April, in April” is repeatedly used throughout the poem. I find the connotation of the month, April, to be very interesting in how Parker uses it. When one thinks of this month, they either picture spring or rain. With the image of spring comes flowers and happiness which creates a general vibe of the synthetic happiness the speaker feels when in love as opposed to the speaker’s genuine and underlying attitude. April can also imply a rainy season because of the phrase “April showers”. The speaker is subtly presenting her attitude despite her “happy” emotions of being in love. ”one love”: I know this isn’t referring to its connotative meaning but I wanted to note that the word “one” seemed to imply that those who are blinded by love sound pitiful."high": the way in which Parker uses this word is creatively placed due to the fact that it implies several things. For one thing, "high" can be associated with something that is unable to be attainable and can also bring about an image of heaven because it refers to something so high up and angelic."hill": I find it interesting how Parker combines this word with "high" because she implies to the reader a negative vibe because she is basically indicating that this love of hers is unable to be reached (the hill can be taken as the final product of a struggle; a desired goal because in literature, the climbing to the top of the hill is usually the goal of whomever is climbing somewhere)."slope": brings about a connotative implication of something steep or a struggle to go up against "thread": although it does not look negatively connotative, in context, it definitely makes its point about our speaker's dreams of romance. The speaker implies she is chasing after something so thin, as a thread, knowingly that it is unlikely to occur."hard": I found it slightly different how she explains the man to be this way. I'm guessing it’s an indirect metaphor referring to the man's heart. When I first read this word in the context of the poem, it reminded me of stone or rock that is unbreakable."slip": implying that it was by mistake; uncontrollable"silver": the use of this word is interesting because with silver comes the implication of rotting or oxidizing with changes silver to rust which hints at what happened to their love because the man seemed to tolerate his "love" up until he lets her go (when his "emotions" rust)"muttering": I just find it a bit comical when Parker uses this word in her poem. I mean, the speaker knows that the entire town is speaking of her yet she admits it openly and does not care. This word is pretty negative in context which again subtly brings out Parker's attitude and mockery towards the speaker of the poem."wet": this word is used to describe the heart of the speaker. When "wet" is used, it usually means that something was recently caused to make it to be in that state and also implies that it has not died out yet and is still a fresh sort of pain to the speaker."velvet": usually I associate this word with the upper class or something very fragile. She uses this word in contrast with "wet stain" which strikes the reader because of such a contrast in level of diction (wet and stain are such standard words which velvet is more formal and descriptive) which indicates that even something so simple as expressing one's emotions to another can have and the drastic affects it can cause on others.
Attitude: As I mentioned many times before, I definitely believe that Parker is snarling in some ways at those who fall in love so easily despite the warnings of others, get their hearts broken, and frivolously decide that there is nothing else to do but sit and mope about it and write about their ailment. Parker demonstrates this through the diction she chooses and the last stanza which changes completely in style to indicate her underlying purpose.Shift: I'd say the shifts of this poem are after every stanza. She first begins talking about how she is oh so passionately in love, shifts over to describe the difficult and almost cold nature of her lover, refers to how she did not listen to others and had a romantic relationship with this man despite the warnings of others and how her heart was broken and then to the final stanza which reveals Parker's attitude more than the speaker about the fact that there is nothing left to do but sulk and write about it.
Theme: This poem has two themes: In life, often times we tend to follow our hearts instead of rationally listening to others' opinions that sometimes end up being true.The second is that: when things happen against what she wished them to turn out to be, we must hold our heads high and not do what the speaker of the poem does.Title: Parker uses this title to indicate that this situation never gets old and the fact that it occurs quite often yet people never learn from the experience. Wow, this was long. I guess I'll type out the rest of the TPCASSTs in the next entry or two. I'm still trying to think though, why do we as readers react to wit? I mean, I can pick up on a lot of wit used but why does it strike me and is it more effective to demonstrate one's purpose? I'm still trying to get my grasp on the answer to these questions
In April, in April,
My one love came along,
And I ran the slope of my high hill
To follow a thread of song.
His eyes were hard as porphyry
With looking on cruel lands;
His voice went slipping over me
Like terrible silver hands.
Together we trod the secret lane
And walked the muttering town.
I wore my heart like a wet, red stain
On the breast of a velvet gown.
In April, In April,
My love went whistling by,
And I stumbled here to my high hill
Along the way of a lie.
Now what should I do in this place
But sit and count the chimes,
And splash cold water on my face
And spoil a page with rhymes?
Title: The title itself seems to indicate or imply that the poem is going to poke at a particular issue because the phrase, “well worn” indicates that the speaker knows how ingeniune this “story” is and how she is going to portray her reasons for this.
Paraphrase: The first sentence is about a female (it seems) speaker that has a particular affection towards her “one love” so she ran up a hill to follow him. The speaker then begins to describe her “love” as being “terribly” mesmerizing and she could not help but be engulfed in his presence. They both “trod” together and seemed to have had an affair or romance without the fear of walking into “the muttering town” and were not at all shamed for their actions. The speaker explains to the reader how she wore her heart like a stain on a beautiful velvet dress. Her lover left her as she stumbled to hold her head high. She explains her confusion in indecisiveness as to what she should do now that this event has occurred and snarls that the only thing left is to sulk about it and write it in a poem. Connotation: This poem has so many connotations in it which creates its general tone.First off, “well worn” as I’ve stated before, sets the speaker’s tone as being sarcastic and almost exploitive of the nature of overused “stories”. It prepares the reader to look for this attitude throughout the poem and sets the general mood of it as well by indicating the speaker’s attitude.“In April, in April” is repeatedly used throughout the poem. I find the connotation of the month, April, to be very interesting in how Parker uses it. When one thinks of this month, they either picture spring or rain. With the image of spring comes flowers and happiness which creates a general vibe of the synthetic happiness the speaker feels when in love as opposed to the speaker’s genuine and underlying attitude. April can also imply a rainy season because of the phrase “April showers”. The speaker is subtly presenting her attitude despite her “happy” emotions of being in love. ”one love”: I know this isn’t referring to its connotative meaning but I wanted to note that the word “one” seemed to imply that those who are blinded by love sound pitiful."high": the way in which Parker uses this word is creatively placed due to the fact that it implies several things. For one thing, "high" can be associated with something that is unable to be attainable and can also bring about an image of heaven because it refers to something so high up and angelic."hill": I find it interesting how Parker combines this word with "high" because she implies to the reader a negative vibe because she is basically indicating that this love of hers is unable to be reached (the hill can be taken as the final product of a struggle; a desired goal because in literature, the climbing to the top of the hill is usually the goal of whomever is climbing somewhere)."slope": brings about a connotative implication of something steep or a struggle to go up against "thread": although it does not look negatively connotative, in context, it definitely makes its point about our speaker's dreams of romance. The speaker implies she is chasing after something so thin, as a thread, knowingly that it is unlikely to occur."hard": I found it slightly different how she explains the man to be this way. I'm guessing it’s an indirect metaphor referring to the man's heart. When I first read this word in the context of the poem, it reminded me of stone or rock that is unbreakable."slip": implying that it was by mistake; uncontrollable"silver": the use of this word is interesting because with silver comes the implication of rotting or oxidizing with changes silver to rust which hints at what happened to their love because the man seemed to tolerate his "love" up until he lets her go (when his "emotions" rust)"muttering": I just find it a bit comical when Parker uses this word in her poem. I mean, the speaker knows that the entire town is speaking of her yet she admits it openly and does not care. This word is pretty negative in context which again subtly brings out Parker's attitude and mockery towards the speaker of the poem."wet": this word is used to describe the heart of the speaker. When "wet" is used, it usually means that something was recently caused to make it to be in that state and also implies that it has not died out yet and is still a fresh sort of pain to the speaker."velvet": usually I associate this word with the upper class or something very fragile. She uses this word in contrast with "wet stain" which strikes the reader because of such a contrast in level of diction (wet and stain are such standard words which velvet is more formal and descriptive) which indicates that even something so simple as expressing one's emotions to another can have and the drastic affects it can cause on others.
Attitude: As I mentioned many times before, I definitely believe that Parker is snarling in some ways at those who fall in love so easily despite the warnings of others, get their hearts broken, and frivolously decide that there is nothing else to do but sit and mope about it and write about their ailment. Parker demonstrates this through the diction she chooses and the last stanza which changes completely in style to indicate her underlying purpose.Shift: I'd say the shifts of this poem are after every stanza. She first begins talking about how she is oh so passionately in love, shifts over to describe the difficult and almost cold nature of her lover, refers to how she did not listen to others and had a romantic relationship with this man despite the warnings of others and how her heart was broken and then to the final stanza which reveals Parker's attitude more than the speaker about the fact that there is nothing left to do but sulk and write about it.
Theme: This poem has two themes: In life, often times we tend to follow our hearts instead of rationally listening to others' opinions that sometimes end up being true.The second is that: when things happen against what she wished them to turn out to be, we must hold our heads high and not do what the speaker of the poem does.Title: Parker uses this title to indicate that this situation never gets old and the fact that it occurs quite often yet people never learn from the experience. Wow, this was long. I guess I'll type out the rest of the TPCASSTs in the next entry or two. I'm still trying to think though, why do we as readers react to wit? I mean, I can pick up on a lot of wit used but why does it strike me and is it more effective to demonstrate one's purpose? I'm still trying to get my grasp on the answer to these questions
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Experience
Experience
Some men break your heart in two,
Some men fawn and flatter,
Some men never look at you;
And that clears up the matter.
Title: The title of this poem is very vague due to the fact that the reader does not know what it is refers to. It is interesting how she uses a general topic to introduce what the poem is about.
Paraphrase: Some men break your heart, some men drool over you and others just compliment you, some men never even look at you, and that's that.
Connotations:
"Some"- Parker has to qualify what she says to imply that men are extreme in their actions because we see that for everything she explains, she qualifies her argument.
"Break"- This word is negatively connotative word referring to how men disrigard a woman's feelings and just end a love affrair without caring; she's they are careless.
"Fawn"-
1.
to seek notice or favor by servile demeanor
servile-
slavishly submissive or obsequious; fawning: servile flatterers, characteristic of, proper to, or customary for slaves; abject, yielding slavishly; truckling, extremely imitative, esp. in the arts; lacking in originality.
2.
(of a dog) to behave affectionately.
"Flatter"-Just the use of this word makes it imply that love or the strategy for a woman to fall in love with a guy is very strategic and easy (which is not true).
Attitude: The attitude of this poem is quite sincere and curt.
Shift: The shifts are after she describes what each type of man does or acts towards women.
Theme: The theme of this poem is that men are very predictable. She realizes this from personal experiance.
Some men break your heart in two,
Some men fawn and flatter,
Some men never look at you;
And that clears up the matter.
Title: The title of this poem is very vague due to the fact that the reader does not know what it is refers to. It is interesting how she uses a general topic to introduce what the poem is about.
Paraphrase: Some men break your heart, some men drool over you and others just compliment you, some men never even look at you, and that's that.
Connotations:
"Some"- Parker has to qualify what she says to imply that men are extreme in their actions because we see that for everything she explains, she qualifies her argument.
"Break"- This word is negatively connotative word referring to how men disrigard a woman's feelings and just end a love affrair without caring; she's they are careless.
"Fawn"-
1.
to seek notice or favor by servile demeanor
servile-
slavishly submissive or obsequious; fawning: servile flatterers, characteristic of, proper to, or customary for slaves; abject, yielding slavishly; truckling, extremely imitative, esp. in the arts; lacking in originality.
2.
(of a dog) to behave affectionately.
"Flatter"-Just the use of this word makes it imply that love or the strategy for a woman to fall in love with a guy is very strategic and easy (which is not true).
Attitude: The attitude of this poem is quite sincere and curt.
Shift: The shifts are after she describes what each type of man does or acts towards women.
Theme: The theme of this poem is that men are very predictable. She realizes this from personal experiance.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
The Last Question
New love, new love, where are you to lead me?
All along a narrow way that marks a crooked line.
How are you to slake me, and how are you to feed me?
With bitter yellow berries, and a sharp new wine.
New love, new love, shall I be forsaken?
One shall go a-wandering, and one of us must sigh.
Sweet it is to slumber, but how shall we awaken ---
Whose will be the broken heart, when dawn comes by?
This is quite an interesting poem especially because the highly connotative diction. Let me explain....
Title: The reader wants to know more about what the last question really is and wishes to read more in order to find out what the speaker is referring to. When breaking up the title, it seems interesting because "last" implies that there was some action or situation that made it be the final, ultimate question. Question implies uncertainty and confusion. It seems it was used in order for the speaker to possibly solve the problem? Or solve it?
Paraphrase: New love, new love, where are you going to take me now? You'll lead me through a narrow curve that'll be a crooked and wavy curve, How are you to ditch me and let me go? How are you to feed me? With bitter yellow berries and wine. New love, new love, should I just let it go? One shall go wondering and one should just sigh. Slumbering is sweet but now it's time to wake up, who is going to be the one heartbroken, when dawn comes by?
Connotations:
"Love": The speaker refers to a genuine love at the beginning. This word generally implies someone who is faithful and loyal. Who cares about the other and take care of the other.
"Lead": This is a highly negatively connotative word because it implies that her "love" does not truely love her but is leashing her on a string and leading her on. Possibly implying he doesnt love her?
"Narrow": Implies that her lover is blinding her and leading her down a very specific path and she can not see anything but the path on which her lover leads her through.
"Crooked": Implies that there is a deformity in the path in which she walks through. Something isn't right about it. It also implies that it is possibly impacting her negatively because she is gearing off on the wrong path.
"Slake": Implies ditching, betrayal, abandoning
"Feed": Can imply that her "love" keeps her coming back for more or that she relies too much on him.
"Bitter"/"Sharp": Refers to her love's actions and words. Not very nice.
"Wine": When someone consumes too much alchol, it causes drunkness...which causes distortion of reality.
"Sigh": Implies sadness/depression.
"Dawn": The beginning of light, prevailing light.
Attitude: The speaker feels pretty accepting towards the end to prevail over her lover's influence of her.
Shift: Towards the beginning, she describes the influence of her lover and how negatively he impacts her. At the end, she shifts her attitude to accepting letting him go.
Theme: .....Love has a very powerful affect on people and can take over and influence all your actions.
Title: The last question...is whether or not you want the feeling of love to have THAT much influence on you.
Deep.
New love, new love, where are you to lead me?
All along a narrow way that marks a crooked line.
How are you to slake me, and how are you to feed me?
With bitter yellow berries, and a sharp new wine.
New love, new love, shall I be forsaken?
One shall go a-wandering, and one of us must sigh.
Sweet it is to slumber, but how shall we awaken ---
Whose will be the broken heart, when dawn comes by?
This is quite an interesting poem especially because the highly connotative diction. Let me explain....
Title: The reader wants to know more about what the last question really is and wishes to read more in order to find out what the speaker is referring to. When breaking up the title, it seems interesting because "last" implies that there was some action or situation that made it be the final, ultimate question. Question implies uncertainty and confusion. It seems it was used in order for the speaker to possibly solve the problem? Or solve it?
Paraphrase: New love, new love, where are you going to take me now? You'll lead me through a narrow curve that'll be a crooked and wavy curve, How are you to ditch me and let me go? How are you to feed me? With bitter yellow berries and wine. New love, new love, should I just let it go? One shall go wondering and one should just sigh. Slumbering is sweet but now it's time to wake up, who is going to be the one heartbroken, when dawn comes by?
Connotations:
"Love": The speaker refers to a genuine love at the beginning. This word generally implies someone who is faithful and loyal. Who cares about the other and take care of the other.
"Lead": This is a highly negatively connotative word because it implies that her "love" does not truely love her but is leashing her on a string and leading her on. Possibly implying he doesnt love her?
"Narrow": Implies that her lover is blinding her and leading her down a very specific path and she can not see anything but the path on which her lover leads her through.
"Crooked": Implies that there is a deformity in the path in which she walks through. Something isn't right about it. It also implies that it is possibly impacting her negatively because she is gearing off on the wrong path.
"Slake": Implies ditching, betrayal, abandoning
"Feed": Can imply that her "love" keeps her coming back for more or that she relies too much on him.
"Bitter"/"Sharp": Refers to her love's actions and words. Not very nice.
"Wine": When someone consumes too much alchol, it causes drunkness...which causes distortion of reality.
"Sigh": Implies sadness/depression.
"Dawn": The beginning of light, prevailing light.
Attitude: The speaker feels pretty accepting towards the end to prevail over her lover's influence of her.
Shift: Towards the beginning, she describes the influence of her lover and how negatively he impacts her. At the end, she shifts her attitude to accepting letting him go.
Theme: .....Love has a very powerful affect on people and can take over and influence all your actions.
Title: The last question...is whether or not you want the feeling of love to have THAT much influence on you.
Deep.
Pride and Prejudice
Well, I have to admit, there was a lot of wit in Pride and Prejudice so I thought I'd dedicate an entry to that. At first I noticed that Austin uses wit through the way some of her characters respond to each other (specifically Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth). The reason why she does this, I think, is in order to mock society's social roles and distinctions of social class.
For example, on page 4 of the novel, Mr. Bennet responds to Mrs. Bennet by stating, "you're poor nerves. They are my dearest friends". It seems that Austin does this to mock the way in which the Mrs. Bennet tries to follow proper decorum to such an extent that she is being fake.
Another example is when Mr. Bennet says, "And if you do marry him, I will never speak to him again" when Mrs. Bennet threatens Lizzy to marry Mr. Collins or she'll never speak to her again. It's funny because Mr Bennet knows Lizzy doesnt love him and does not want her to marry for money in order not for her to make the same mistake as she did.
For example, on page 4 of the novel, Mr. Bennet responds to Mrs. Bennet by stating, "you're poor nerves. They are my dearest friends". It seems that Austin does this to mock the way in which the Mrs. Bennet tries to follow proper decorum to such an extent that she is being fake.
Another example is when Mr. Bennet says, "And if you do marry him, I will never speak to him again" when Mrs. Bennet threatens Lizzy to marry Mr. Collins or she'll never speak to her again. It's funny because Mr Bennet knows Lizzy doesnt love him and does not want her to marry for money in order not for her to make the same mistake as she did.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Love and Wit
Prophetic Soul
Because your eyes are slant and slow,
Because your hair is sweet to touch,
My heart is high again; but oh,
I doubt if this will get me much.
Title: According to dictionary.com, the word 'prophetic' has two distinct meanings;
1) of or pertaining to a prophet
2) predictive; presageful or portentous; ominous
It seems that both these definitions apply to the poem. The first definition refers to the 'soul' because the subject possibly knows of something that is not commonly known by many and the second definition applies because the subject of the poem can possibly suggest that the speaker knows of the consquences of whatever is to happen. the word 'soul' is interesting because it has many connotations distinctly referring to the inner self or inner being, possibly very deep personal opinions or feelings about something. It also suggests that the speaker is speaking from the heart or from experiance where she has learned something important.
Already, I sort of took the title in a witty way because it seemed to be an overstatement or sarcastic when referring to its subject.
Paraphrase: Because your eyes are sideways and sort of crooked and slow, because your hair is very sweet to touch, my heart is high again and I am deeply giddy from being in love with you, but oh, i doubt this is a good thing or it will get me anywhere.
Connotations: As I already stated, 'prophetic' and 'soul' are highly connotative words used in the title. The word 'eyes' suggests appearence or knowledge (possibly indicating the motif of appearence versus reality) which emphasizes the fact that the speaker knows that being in love is all a facade. "slant' and 'slow' do not have positive connotations due to the fact that 'slant' implies that something is not straight which implies a somewhat of a deformity. the word, 'slow' indicates that the eyes of the one she is in love with is slow (possibly indicating that he does not realize she is in love with him?) 'sweet' generally does not refer to texture which could imply the extreme sensation that she recieves when touching his hair. The word 'heart' implies love. The word 'high' possibly indicates the speaker's deeply giddy emotions evoked from being in love. 'much' indicates that fact that the speaker belittles the benifits of being in love.
Attitude: It is obvious that our speaker is quite distraught with being in love and does not see a point because it seems as if the man she is in love with does not realize it.
Shifts: The speaker first describes the one she is in love with and subsquently shifts in describing her emotions about being in love and then shifts once more when indicating the fact that she thinks there is no point.
Theme: The theme of this poem is that there is no point of being in love with something who does not even realize you feel the same way about him.
it is obvious Parker is not fond of being in love
:)
Because your eyes are slant and slow,
Because your hair is sweet to touch,
My heart is high again; but oh,
I doubt if this will get me much.
Title: According to dictionary.com, the word 'prophetic' has two distinct meanings;
1) of or pertaining to a prophet
2) predictive; presageful or portentous; ominous
It seems that both these definitions apply to the poem. The first definition refers to the 'soul' because the subject possibly knows of something that is not commonly known by many and the second definition applies because the subject of the poem can possibly suggest that the speaker knows of the consquences of whatever is to happen. the word 'soul' is interesting because it has many connotations distinctly referring to the inner self or inner being, possibly very deep personal opinions or feelings about something. It also suggests that the speaker is speaking from the heart or from experiance where she has learned something important.
Already, I sort of took the title in a witty way because it seemed to be an overstatement or sarcastic when referring to its subject.
Paraphrase: Because your eyes are sideways and sort of crooked and slow, because your hair is very sweet to touch, my heart is high again and I am deeply giddy from being in love with you, but oh, i doubt this is a good thing or it will get me anywhere.
Connotations: As I already stated, 'prophetic' and 'soul' are highly connotative words used in the title. The word 'eyes' suggests appearence or knowledge (possibly indicating the motif of appearence versus reality) which emphasizes the fact that the speaker knows that being in love is all a facade. "slant' and 'slow' do not have positive connotations due to the fact that 'slant' implies that something is not straight which implies a somewhat of a deformity. the word, 'slow' indicates that the eyes of the one she is in love with is slow (possibly indicating that he does not realize she is in love with him?) 'sweet' generally does not refer to texture which could imply the extreme sensation that she recieves when touching his hair. The word 'heart' implies love. The word 'high' possibly indicates the speaker's deeply giddy emotions evoked from being in love. 'much' indicates that fact that the speaker belittles the benifits of being in love.
Attitude: It is obvious that our speaker is quite distraught with being in love and does not see a point because it seems as if the man she is in love with does not realize it.
Shifts: The speaker first describes the one she is in love with and subsquently shifts in describing her emotions about being in love and then shifts once more when indicating the fact that she thinks there is no point.
Theme: The theme of this poem is that there is no point of being in love with something who does not even realize you feel the same way about him.
it is obvious Parker is not fond of being in love
:)
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