Monday, November 27, 2017

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Shakespeare's Sonnets Summary and Analysis of Sonnet 18 - "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate:"
What if I were to compare you to a summer day? You are lovelier and more temperate (the perfect temperature):
"Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May / And summer's lease hath all too short a date:"
Summer's beauty is fragile and can be shaken, and summertime fades away all too quickly:
"Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines / And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;"
Sometimes the sun is far too hot, and often it is too cool, dimmed by clouds and shade;
"And every fair from fair sometime declines / By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;"
And everything that is beautiful eventually loses its beauty, whether by chance or by the uncontrollable course of nature;
"But thy eternal summer shall not fade / Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;"
But your eternal beauty (or youth) will not fade, nor will your beauty by lost;
"Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade / When in eternal lines to time thou growest:"
Nor will Death boast that you wander in his shadow, since you shall grow with time through these sonnets:
"So long as men can breathe or eyes can see / So long lives this and this gives life to thee."
For as long as people can breathe and see, this sonnet will live on, and you (and your beauty) with it.

Sonnet 18 is arguably the most famous of the sonnets, its opening line competitive with "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" in the long list of Shakespeare's quotable quotations. The gender of the addressee is not explicit, but this is the first sonnet after the so-called "procreation sonnets" (sonnets 1-17), i.e., it apparently marks the place where the poet has abandoned his earlier push to persuade the fair lord to have a child. The first two quatrains focus on the fair lord's beauty: the poet attempts to compare it to a summer's day, but shows that there can be no such comparison, since the fair lord's timeless beauty far surpasses that of the fleeting, inconstant season.
Here the theme of the ravages of time again predominates; we see it especially in line 7, where the poet speaks of the inevitable mortality of beauty: "And every fair from fair sometime declines." But the fair lord's is of another sort, for it "shall not fade" - the poet is eternalizing the fair lord's beauty in his verse, in these "eternal lines." Note the financial imagery ("summer's lease") and the use of anaphora (the repetition of opening words) in lines 6-7, 10-11, and 13-14. Also note that May (line 3) was an early summer month in Shakespeare's time, because England did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752.
The poet describes summer as a season of extremes and disappointments. He begins in lines 3-4, where "rough winds" are an unwelcome extreme and the shortness of summer is its disappointment. He continues in lines 5-6, where he lingers on the imperfections of the summer sun. Here again we find an extreme and a disappointment: the sun is sometimes far too hot, while at other times its "gold complexion" is dimmed by passing clouds. These imperfections contrast sharply with the poet's description of the fair lord, who is "more temperate" (not extreme) and whose "eternal summer shall not fade" (i.e., will not become a disappointment) thanks to what the poet proposes in line 12.
In line 12 we find the poet's solution - how he intends to eternalize the fair lord's beauty despite his refusal to have a child. The poet plans to capture the fair lord's beauty in his verse ("eternal lines"), which he believes will withstand the ravages of time. Thereby the fair lord's "eternal summer shall not fade," and the poet will have gotten his wish. Here we see the poet's use of "summer" as a metaphor for youth, or perhaps beauty, or perhaps the beauty of youth.
But has the poet really abandoned the idea of encouraging the fair lord to have a child? Some scholars suggest that the "eternal lines" in line 12 have a double meaning: the fair lord's beauty can live on not only in the written lines of the poet's verse but also in the family lines of the fair lord's progeny. Such an interpretation would echo the sentiment of the preceding sonnet's closing couplet: "But were some child of yours alive that time / You should live twice; in it and in my rhyme." The use of "growest" also implies an increasing or changing: we can envision the fair lord's family lines growing over time, yet this image is not as readily applicable to the lines of the poet's verse - unless it refers only to his intention to continue writing about the fair lord's beauty, his verse thereby "growing." On the other hand, line 14 seems to counter this interpretation, the singular "this" (as opposed to "these") having as its most likely antecedent the poet's verse, and nothing more.


Wuthering Heights Quotes and Analysis

“I am now quite cured of seeking pleasure in society, be it country or town. A sensible man ought to find sufficient company in himself.”
Lockwood, Page 28
Although Lockwood is not a central character in the novel's main plot, his need to be alone reflects Emily Brontë's preoccupation with solitude. Appreciation for solitude is what separates the people who live at Wuthering Heights from the civilized, quiet world of the Lintons and Thrushcross Grange. In fact, the characters who most like to be alone––Heathcliff, Catherine Earnshaw, and Hindley––are also the characters who are most in touch with their own passionate emotions, for better or for worse. Brontë seems to suggest that 'finding sufficient company in [one]self' is the only way a person can truly know who they are and what they want.
“We don’t in general take to foreigners here, Mr. Lockwood, unless they take to us first.”
Ellen Dean, Page 46
Ellen's early admonition evokes specific incidents in the novel––from Lockwood's disastrous first encounter with Heathcliff, to his eventual decision to move to London because he can no longer bear the unpleasant atmosphere of the moors. However, it also reflects the extreme insularity of this society more generally. The novel focuses on two families, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and the people in these families only interact socially with their servants and with each other. The introduction of Heathcliff––a "foreigner," both in the sense that he is not from the moors, and in the sense that he is not ethnically English––proves to be a violent disruption to this isolated society.
“I wish I had light hair and a fair skin, and was dressed, and behaved as well, and had a chance of being as rich as he will be!”
Heathcliff, Page 56
Heathcliff's outlook on life as a young boy contrasts sharply with the hardened, stoic worldview he will adopt later in life. In a rare moment of emotional earnestness, Heathcliff admits that he envies Edgar Linton. Some of the reasons for this envy are not surprising––like many characters in Victorian novels, Heathcliff aspires to be improve his financial situation. However, his desire for 'light hair and a fair skin' suggests a veiled critique of English attitudes toward foreigners. Heathcliff's origins are uncertain, but people often call him a "gipsy," which suggests he has Eastern European features. This would have prevented him from moving up in society at this time, even if he did amass as much wealth as Edgar Linton (as indeed he does later in the novel). Although Heathcliff descends into amorality as he gets older, Brontë suggests that this is not entirely his fault––his rejection from society contributed to this outcome as much Heathcliff's own choices.
“I perceive that people in these regions acquire over people in towns the value that a spider in a dungeon does over a spider in a cottage, to their various occupants; and yet the deepened attraction is not entirely owing to the situation of the looker-on. They do live more in earnest, more in themselves, and less in surface, change, and frivolous external things.”
Lockwood, Page 61
The rugged, inspiring beauty of the Yorkshire moors is one of Wuthering Heights's central motifs. Just as the countryside inspires wildness––but also intimacy––between Cathy and Heathcliff, Lockwood suggests that the rural lifestyle encourages people to be more reflective and in touch with their feelings. Many Victorian authors, including Thomas Hardy and George Eliot, wrote novels with rustic settings. However, Emily Brontë is unique in her tendency to associate the natural world with powerful, atavistic emotion. Although the countryside's ability to bring out people's deepest selves can be frightening, Brontë suggests that spending time in the country is necessary to have a full and passionate life.

“My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I’m well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He’s always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.”
Catherine Earnshaw, Page 82
Cathy's oft-quoted declaration of love for Heathcliff incorporates many of the novel's important themes and stylistic qualities. When she likens her relationships with Linton and Heathcliff to different aspects of the natural world, Cathy reinforces the connection between nature and deep emotion that Brontë introduced earlier in the novel. By having Cathy refer to herself and Heathcliff as the same being, Brontë further develops some questions about the self that she addresses elsewhere in Wuthering Heights. She raises the question of how far the bounds of the self extend––can two people really be one person, as Cathy suggests? She also refers to the question of how one gets to know oneself. When Cathy talks about herself, she is oddly dissociated––she describes herself using the same terms and syntax she would use to describe another person. This suggests that we can only understand our minds by spending time with ourselves––the same way we would get to know any other person.

“I surveyed the weapon inquisitively. A hideous notion struck me: how powerful I should be possessing such an instrument! I took it from his hand, and touched the blade. He looked astonished at the expression my face assumed during a brief second: it was not horror, it was covetousness.”
Isabella Linton, Page 140
Isabella's fascination with the knife illustrates Brontë's interest in the relationship between gender and power. Up until now, Isabella has been a somewhat passive character; she rarely thought for herself and was always under the influence of Edgar or Heathcliff. Her realization of the power she would get from wielding a weapon foreshadows her violent argument with Heathcliff later in the novel. Although Heathcliff wields the knife in that fight, Isabella's choice to leave him is the first instance in which she truly thinks for herself. Isabella's shifting relationship with power reflects Brontë's subversion of traditional gender roles––the knife is a very violent, phallic object, and Isabella's choice to live alone and raise a son by herself would have been highly unusual in the nineteenth century.

“No, no! Even if he had doted on me, the devilish nature would have revealed its existence, somehow. Catherine had an awfully perverted taste to esteem him so dearly, knowing him so well – Monster! would that he could be blotted out of creation, and out of my memory!”
Isabella Linton, Page 172
The characters in Wuthering Heights repeatedly refer to Heathcliff's evil "nature." Most of them seem to assume that people are born either good or bad, and that individuals have little control over their personalities or their actions. This worldview helps explain the characters' preoccupation with physical appearances. For example, Heathcliff isn't allowed to stay at Thrushcross Grange as a child because of his dark coloration, and as an adult, Heathcliff scorns his son Linton because of the boy's delicate, fair appearance. For Brontë, personality is just as immutable as physical appearance, and there is usually a correlation between the two.
“And the best of it is, Hareton is damnably fond of me! You’ll own that I’ve outmatched Hindley there. If the dead villain could rise from his grave to abuse me for his offspring’s wrongs, I should have the fun of seeing the said offspring fight him back again, indignant that he should dare to rail at the one friend he has in the world!”
Heathcliff, Page 217
Here, Heathcliff's utter lack of empathy becomes clear, demonstrating how much he has changed since Catherine Earnshaw's death. Not only does he take a contemptuous attitude toward Hareton and his admiration, but he can only think of his relationship with Hareton in terms of how it would affect the long-dead Hindley. This shows Heathcliff's morbid fixation with the past; he continues to dwell on the cruel treatment he received from Hindley even after the older man has died and Heathcliff exacted his revenge by becoming the owner of Wuthering Heights. This personality trait will crop up again when Heathcliff continues to nurse his hatred for the Lintons after Edgar has died.

“Let him dare to force you ... There’s law in the land, thank God! there is; though we be in an out-of-the-way place. I’d inform if he were my own son: and it’s felony without benefit of clergy!”

Ellen Dean, Page 274
This is one of the only times that a character in Wuthering Heightsrefers to the people and customs of the world outside Wuthering Heights and the Grange. Besides passing references to Gimmerton, the nearest town, the characters seem to live in complete isolation, which helps to explain their passionate relationships and convoluted family trees. The fact that Ellen thinks of seeking help from the outside world indicates both the direness of the situation when Heathcliff imprisons her and Cathy at Wuthering Heights, as well as her common sense relative to the other characters. This contrasts sharply with Cathy's personality; despite her liveliness, the young girl cannot conceive of a life outside her own insular community, and her greatest ambition as a child was only to see the other side of the hill on the edge of the Grange.

“Linton is all I have to love in the world, and though you have done what you could to make him hateful to me, and me to him, you cannot make us hate each other. And I defy you to hurt him when I am by, and I defy you to frighten me!”
Cathy Linton, Page 284

Cathy's defiant stand against Heathcliff's attempts to control her contrasts with the fear and subservience he inspires in virtually everyone else in the novel: Hareton, Joseph, Linton, and even Lockwood. Cathy Linton draws her strength and passion from love, unlike Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, who are driven by deep, animalistic urges and only seem to care about themselves and each other. Because of this, she represents humanity and civilization in this noticeably wild, cruel society. Her fierce determination to love someone––even if he may not deserve it––speaks to the absolute necessity of love in the human psyche.

Friday, November 3, 2017

Robert Frost

Robert Frost
American poet
Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in America. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. Wikipedia
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.
These woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.
In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.


Emily Brontë -Novelist


Emily Jane Brontë was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a lassic of English literature. Wikipedia
DiedDecember 19, 1848, Haworth, United Kingdom
Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.
Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.
Love is like the wild rose-briar; Friendship like the holly-tree. The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms, but which will bloom most constantly?


Wuthering Heights

Heath Cliff
Throughout Wuthering Heights two distinct yet related obsessions drive Heathcliff's character: his desire for Catherine's love and his need for revenge. Catherine, the object of his obsession, becomes the essence of his life, yet, in a sense, he ends up murdering his love. Ironically, after her death, Heathcliff's obsession only intensifies.
Heathcliff's love for Catherine enables him to endure Hindley's maltreatment after Mr. Earnshaw's death. But, after overhearing Catherine admit that she could not marry him, Heathcliff leaves. Nothing is known of his life away from her, but he returns with money. Heathcliff makes an attempt to join the society to which Catherine is drawn. Upon his return, she favors him to Edgar, but still he cannot have her. He is constantly present, lurking around Thrushcross Grange, visiting after hours, and longing to be buried in a connected grave with her so their bodies would disintegrate into one. Ironically, his obsession with revenge seemingly outweighs his obsession with his love, and that is why he does not fully forgive Catherine for marrying Edgar.
After Catherine's death, he must continue his revenge — a revenge that starts as Heathcliff assumes control of Hindley's house and his son — and continues with Heathcliff taking everything that is Edgar's. Although Heathcliff constantly professes his love for Catherine, he has no problem attempting to ruin the life of her daughter. He views an ambiguous world as black and white: a world of haves and have-nots. And for too long, he has been the outsider. That is why he is determined to take everything away from those at Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, who did not accept him. For Heathcliff, revenge is a more powerful emotion than love.



Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
On a dark winter evening, the narrator stops his sleigh to watch the snow falling in the woods. At first, he worries that the owner of the property will be upset by his presence, but then he remembers that the owner lives in town, and he is free to enjoy the beauty of the falling snow. The sleigh horse is confused by his master’s behavior stopping far away from any farmhouse and shakes his harness bells in impatience. After a few more moments, the narrator reluctantly continues on his way.
Analysis
In terms of text, this poem is remarkably simple: in sixteen lines, there is not a single three-syllable word and only sixteen two-syllable words. In terms of rhythmic scheme and form, however, the poem is surprisingly complex. The poem is made up of four stanzas, each with four stressed syllables in iambic meter. Within an individual stanza, the first, second, and fourth lines rhyme (for example, “know,” “though,” and “snow” of the first stanza), while the third line rhymes with the first, second, and fourth lines of the following stanza (for example, “here” of the first stanza rhymes with “queer,” “near,” and “year” of the second stanza).
One of Frost’s most famous works, this poem is often touted as an example of his life work. As such, the poem is often analyzed to the minutest detail, far beyond what Frost himself intended for the short and simple piece. In reference to analyses of the work, Frost once said that he was annoyed by those “pressing it for more than it should be pressed for. It means enough without its being pressed…I don’t say that somebody shouldn’t press it, but I don’t want to be there.”
The poem was inspired by a particularly difficult winter in New Hampshire when Frost was returning home after an unsuccessful trip at the market. Realizing that he did not have enough to buy Christmas presents for his children, Frost was overwhelmed with depression and stopped his horse at a bend in the road in order to cry. After a few minutes, the horse shook the bells on its harness, and Frost was cheered enough to continue home.
The narrator in the poem does not seem to suffer from the same financial and emotional burdens as Frost did, but there is still an overwhelming sense of the narrator’s unavoidable responsibilities. He would prefer to watch the snow falling in the woods, even with his horse’s impatience, but he has “promises to keep,” obligations that he cannot ignore even if he wants to. It is unclear what these specific obligations are, but Frost does suggest that the narrator is particularly attracted to the woods because there is “not a farmhouse near.” He is able to enjoy complete isolation.
Frost’s decision to repeat the final line could be read in several ways. On the one hand, it reiterates the idea that the narrator has responsibilities that he is reluctant to fulfill. The repetition serves as a reminder, even a mantra, to the narrator, as if he would ultimately decide to stay in the woods unless he forces himself to remember his responsibilities. On the other hand, the repeated line could be a signal that the narrator is slowly falling asleep. Within this interpretation, the poem could end with the narrator’s death, perhaps as a result of hypothermia from staying in the frozen woods for too long.
The narrator’s “promises to keep” can also be seen as a reference to traditional American duties for a farmer in New England. In a time and a place where hard work is valued above all things, the act of watching snow fall in the woods may be viewed as a particularly trivial indulgence. Even the narrator is aware that his behavior is not appropriate: he projects his insecurities onto his horse by admitting that even a work animal would “think it queer.”