tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080279951469055854.post511560952100094727..comments2023-07-16T06:13:13.548-07:00Comments on Year 11 - English Literature: Let's start with the obvious then...rufurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16367671987465305783noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080279951469055854.post-74033751223628779552011-05-09T12:21:14.984-07:002011-05-09T12:21:14.984-07:00For only last night, as they whispered, I brought
...For only last night, as they whispered, I brought<br />My own eyes to bear on her so, that I thought<br />Could I keep them one half minute fixed, she would fall,<br />Shrivelled; she fell not; yet this does not all!<br /><br />The spurned woman, in this stanza, catches a glimpse of her unfaithful, and his 'consort'; the gaze lingers on her husband's lover, where she believes that for 'one minute fixed, she would fall'; basically, she believed, or willed with her evidently fervent rage, that her love rival would drop dead before her, merely because of her 'will' for it to happen; obviously, this does nothing to exenuate the bloodlust the speaker feels, and gives the author a deeper empathy when it comes to understanding her state of mind.<br /><br />Another thing which stood out was the phrase "She/Would fall,/Shrivelled" which is a very simplistic yet bleak description of how her rival would have died, at the behest of the speaker's glare. After this description, which is shameless and unrestrained, the speaker is disappointed at the fact she 'fell not' though is once again back into her bitter excitement; "Yet this does not all!" showing us the will for her rival's death has transcended mere thought and will, into an actual act; her glee regarding the poison is a trait seen throughout the poem.Kristianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02990429654682970776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080279951469055854.post-72163557289236114982011-05-05T15:54:04.840-07:002011-05-05T15:54:04.840-07:00What a drop! She's not little, no minion like ...What a drop! She's not little, no minion like me--<br />That's why she ensnared him: this never will free<br />The soul from those masculine eyes, -- say, 'no!'<br />To that pulse's magnificent come-and-go.<br /><br /> Straight away, the use of the word 'minion' stands out to me in this stanza. Mainly for the fact a minion is someone who is a follower, or is a lot less superior to a more powerful person. The speaker is clearly putting herself down by saying this, and by telling us that 'she's not little' like herself, suggests that this other woman is superior in some way compared to the speaker. It sounds like she is very jealous and possibly intimidated by the other woman. 'What a drop!' Could refer to the substance she has just put in her drink to 'brighten' it. <br /> 'That pulses magnificent come-and-go.' The joining of the words come and go, suggest that she is showing us literally, that their pulses will come and go right after another in a sequence just as it had been put to us. <br /> 'this never will free The soul from those masculine eyes,' tells me that perhaps she is a deep/spiritual person, and a romantic for the fact she believes someone's soul can be captured in another's eyes and never set free again. And as the speaker has said 'this never will free The soul from those masculine eyes,' straight before 'say, 'no!'' Could mean that either she is trying to help the other woman, by telling her not to fall into the man's trap and break free before it's too late; or that she is wanting her to say 'no' so that she can have him for herself again because she is a very jealous woman, and that is shown throughout the poem.Caseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14532334741701770276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080279951469055854.post-26789413889644144842011-05-05T15:30:48.005-07:002011-05-05T15:30:48.005-07:00That in the mortar — you call it a gum?
Ah, the b...That in the mortar — you call it a gum? <br />Ah, the brave tree whence such gold oozings come!<br />And yonder soft phial, the exquisite blue,<br />Sure to taste sweetly, — is that poison too? <br /><br />This stanza reveals to the reader how obsessed the speaker has become with the poison which is being made. She describes the gum tree as "brave". This is an example of personification, where the tree is being given the human characteristic of bravery. It shows us how much the speaker admires the poison. She also uses unusual words to describe the poison, "Soft", "sweetly" and "exquisite" may have been used to describe a fine item of food, but in this case the speaker of the poem has attributed these positive words to the poison which she plans to use. <br /><br />It also tells us a lot about the character featured in this poem. She seems to be transfixed by the poison, becoming even excited to witness it being mixed. The use of an exclamation mark at the end of line fourteen shows us this excitement. This leads me on to think that she enjoys what she does, and that she is looking forward to revenge and will not have any regret for her actions, despite how deranged they seem to be.seanduffyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12408364048852721432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080279951469055854.post-49461382154774895782011-05-05T15:29:22.187-07:002011-05-05T15:29:22.187-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.seanduffyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12408364048852721432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080279951469055854.post-42427162984838848862011-05-05T13:09:44.508-07:002011-05-05T13:09:44.508-07:00Grind away, moisten and mash up thy paste,
Pound a...Grind away, moisten and mash up thy paste,<br />Pound at thy powder, -- I am not in haste!<br />Better sit thus, and observe thy strange things,<br />Than go where men wait me and dance at the King's.<br /><br /><br />She is ''not in haste'' and enjoys watching the deadly concotion being prepared in front of her- she takes pleasure in knowing she is going to get revenge. I get the impression that she cannot move on until she gets revenge, as she would rather ''observe thy strange things'' than ''go where men wait me''; she would rather watch the apothecary at work, than ''dance at the King's''. It suggests that, although she is wanted by men, she is too attached to her husband and lets her jealousy take over. However, it could also hint that her thoughts are detached from reality, and lead to the reader asking whether she really is wanted, suggesting that perhaps her jealous and paranoid nature led to her convincing herself her husband is being unfaithful. This is furthened by ''I am not in haste''; the act is pre-meditated, suggesting the narrator has thought the plan through many times, perhaps the same way she overthinks her husband's actions.Emahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11308262626928326643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080279951469055854.post-19208321915989094142011-05-04T12:02:15.529-07:002011-05-04T12:02:15.529-07:00He is with her; and they know that I know
Where th...He is with her; and they know that I know<br />Where they are, what they do: they believe my tears flow<br />While they laugh, laugh at me, at me fled to the drear<br />Empty church, to pray God in, for them! -- I am here.<br /><br /><br />The mention of a 'drear empty church' paints another vivid image of what - perhaps - the female narrator feared most: lonelyness. She was willing to go to any length to regain that - relationship - which had been lost to her. By only addressing her husband as 'he', it seemed that she had no need for him as a smart individual; this may be proven by a lack of a proper name for her husband. It seemed, that he resided in the darkest corner of her mind as simply a companion; a 'male corps' to help stop the 'flow' of her 'tears'('male corps' derived from Duffy's Havisham poem; which shows an inter-ideological view that the lonely women unly bask in hatred as they seak love. When love is unknown, one takes refuge in the only thing life has been kind enough to teach: hatred)<br /><br />It is unusual that Browning would use a liquid verb - 'laugh' - in this stanza to present the distress that the narrator is feeling; as liquid sound connote to pleasantry. However, this could be taken as a mal-judgement on the narrator's part of the event that really did occur; that her jealous nature had misinterpreted her husband's flirtascious nature for marital unfaithfulness. Therefore making the liquid 'laugh', a reminder that all is pleasant outside the narrator's hallucinogenic mind.balthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17218236880450740167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080279951469055854.post-39100697343515738602011-05-03T15:41:38.905-07:002011-05-03T15:41:38.905-07:00ANCIEN REGIME
Now that I, tying thy glass mask ti...ANCIEN REGIME<br /><br />Now that I, tying thy glass mask tightly,<br />May gaze thro' these faint smokes curling whitely,<br />As thou pliest thy trade in this devil's-smithy--<br />Which is the poison to poison her, prithee?<br /><br />It's already brilliant. <br /><br />I think you'd have to turn over a lot of stones to find an English teacher who could say they liked all The Anthology poems or poets but if you find one who doesn't like Browning report them immediately to whoever should know!<br /><br />I particularly admire the phrase 'smokes curling whitely', it sets the scene in the laboratory by the end of the second line. The tone is set by the phrase 'devils-smithy'; there are clearly diabolical deeds that go on here. The repetition of 'poison' in the last line leaves the listener in no doubt as to the nature of this conversation. The last word in the stanza, 'prithee', shows the that the speaker of the poem is someone with manners. 'Prithee' is an archaic form of I pray thee; meaning please.rufurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16367671987465305783noreply@blogger.com