post 1 for week # 8: MILTON'S POEMS

PROMPT: Contrast Milton's portrayal of happiness/contentment/pleasure in L'Allegro and Il Penseroso. In what does this state consist in each of the two poems? How do their representations resemble one another? How are they different? Are they compatible? Why or why not? As always, be sure to use plenty of specific details from the texts.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


At first look L'Allegro and Il Penseroso seem to be contrasting poems, the first about happiness/contentment/pleasure and the second about melancholy/sadness/displeasure. However, these poems are instead both about happiness and more specifically, the path one should take to contentment.

In L'Allegro, true joy is portrayed as opposite from melancholy. The opening lines state, "Hence loathed Melancholy...born...Mongst horrid shapes, and shrieks, and sights unholy." Later, the speaker says of the graces born of Zephyr and Aurora, "So buxom, blithe, and debonair./ Haste thee nymph, and bring with thee/ Jest and youthful Jollity." Melancholy is presented as worthy of loathing. The speaker also portrays Melancholy as foreign, scary, and evil. "Mongst horrid shapes, and shrieks, and sights unholy" the reader can imagine demons, murderers, and goblins. Thus, Melancholy is linked to all images and figures are unsightly and should be avoided and feared. This link occurs early in the poem, in lines 1-5.

In Il Penseroso, lines 1-5 read, "Hence vain deluding joys,/ The brood of Folly without father bred./ How little you bestead,/ Or fill the fixed mind with all your toys;/ Dwell in some idle brain." In the same way that L'Allegro presents melancholy in a negative light before moving on to an embrace of joy, Il Penseroso rejects joy as the product of delusion and folly. To this speaker, joyfullness is not a true state, rather joys are "likest hovering dreams" that trick people into believing they posess a contentment. But, the speaker says, people who believe this have idle minds. Line 12 begins, "Hail, divinest Melancholy,/ Whose saintly visage is too bright/ To hit the sense of human sight; And therefore to our weaker view,/ O'erlaid with black, staid Wisdom's hue." These lines express the speaker's view of Melancholy as the greater emotion. It seems the speaker nearly worships Melancholy, seeing it as divine-like. Much like a view of God or God's love for humans as beyond the comprehension of the human mind, this speaker believes that Melancholy is also often beyond comprehension. This speaker would certainly say that it is this inability to see the worth in melancholy that causes the speaker of L'Allegro to view Melancholy as evil or scary. But, for the speaker in Il Penseroso, Melancholy is the one pathway to wisdom, and without embracing Melancholy, one will dwell without wisdom in false happiness.

The two portrayals of the way to contentment contrast greatly. L'Allegro seems to present a view that centers on involvement with other people in a carefree state. The poem reads, "Mirth, admit me of thy crew/ To live with her and live with thee,/ In unreproved pleasures free;" Towards the middle of the poem, the speaker describes scenes including multiple persons and seems to find his joy in these scenes. He says, "...the plowman near at hand...And the milkmaid singeth blithe, and the mower whets his scythe...Straight mine eye hath caught new pleasures...Where Corydon and Thyrsis met, Are at their savory dinner set...Which the neat-handed Phyllis dresses...To many a youth and many a maid, Dancing in the checkered shade; And young and old come forth to play..." These are all very social scenes where people enjoy each other while engaging in their daily duties or pastimes. This speaker seems to be saying that happiness comes from having fun and trying to move on from sorrow quickly.

One can imagine that the speaker of Il Penseroso would respond to the speaker of L'Allegro by saying his interactions with others are just a distraction from his true feelings. The speaker of Il Penseroso relies on a more introspective path to contentment. He advises, "Forget thyself to marble, till/ With a sad leaden downward cast,/ Thou fix them on the earth as fast./ And join with thee calm Peace and Quiet...But first, and chiefest, with thee bring,/ Him that yon soars on golden wing,/ Guiding the fiery-wheeled throne,/ The cherub Contemplation/ And the mute Silence hist along...Sweet bird that shunn'st the noise of folly,/ Most musical, most melancholy!"
This speaker's path to contentment is one that, unlike L'Allegro's speaker does not rely on anyone else. Instead of feeling like this speaker is taking part in jollity to reach contentment, the reader sees that he is instead removing himself from such things in order to observe the world and concentrate on how he truly feels about that world.

Because these two portrayals of contentment are so different, they are not compatible. As stated before, they are contrasting paths to a similar destination. But, it is also apparent that although the desired destination is contentment, each speaker sees his own state as more true than the others'. The speaker of L'Allegro chooses social exchange, the embrace of lighter subjects, and the rejection of melancholy ones as his path to happiness. But, the speaker of Il Penseroso sees the path to contentment as one that must embrace melancholic emotional states, instead of ignoring or overcoming them.

Blog 2 Week #7: A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE SOUL AND BODY

"A Dialogue Between the Soul and Body" illustrates classic conflicts that a person has within themselves. The poem explains each person as multifaceted. A person has both a body and a soul, which are often in conflict. By positioning Soul and Body as separate characters involved in a verbal exchange Marvell further reveals the conflicts that can take place between one's physical and mental/emotional/spiritual side. Both Soul and Body are, in a way, prisoner to each other because they are inseparable. Both have the interest of themselves as the main concern, yet they cannot separate what happens to one from what happens to the other. The reader is able to acknowledge through this poem the extreme measures one often takes to either preserve their body or their soul. But, according to the dialogue that takes place in this poem, it seems that a glorification or preservation of the soul results in fatigue of the body and vice versa. So, this poem also presents a conundrum of sorts and raises the question, "is one are or portion of a person more important than another?"

prompt 2 for week 6. LOVE'S ALCHEMY

John Donne's poem, "Love's Alchemy," says in lines 3-12 read,

I have loved, and got, and told,
But should I love, get, tell, till I were old,
I should not find that hidden mystery;
O' tis imposture all:
And as no chemic yet elixer got,
But glorifies his pregnant pot,
If by the way to him befall
Some odiferous thing, or medicinal;
so lovers dream a rich and long delight,
But get a winter-seeming summer's night.


-------------------------------------------------------

I really adore this portion of the poem because by comparing the illusiveness of love to the impossibility of alchemy Donne draws a concrete example for the reader. For the poet in "Love's Alchemy," happiness in love remains a complete mystery. He describes love relationships as imposters, similar to chemics who search to create gold. These chemics put all their faith and hope into their "pregnant pots," hoping to find happiness and riches. But, the poet states, no matter what the chemic's elixer, he cannot create gold. The poet seems to believe that, similarly, people place their faith in romantic relationships hoping to find true love, but instead are left with a "elixer" that fails to be the right potion.

This poem raises an interesting point when it reads, "so lovers dream a rich and long delight, /
But get a winter-seeming summer's night." It reflects the idea that people enter into relationships to find love, and while in the relationship they dream for the perfect harmony of being "in love." Instead of just being lovers, lovers want to be in love. Instead of enjoying a relationship for it's simplicity, fun, etcetera, couple's inevitably feel the weight of finding the person that will "complete them," be "the one," and cure all there past hurt from other relationships. But, just like the chemic who lacks the right potion, this poet is pointing out that most relationships do not end up being "the real thing," no matter how deeply the people involved want it to be.

On Giles & Joan

On Giles and Joan seems to be representative of the writing style and subject matter of the Cavalier poets. This poem is packed with humor because of its very subject matter, and although the poem makes an astute observation about the discrepancy between happiness in marriage and “getting along” with one’s partner, it does so in a manner that maintains lightheartedness. While this poem definitely incorporates humor, it also raises questions about what the relationship between married parties should be.

Giles and Joan agree on their dislike for each other and the malcontent of their marriage. In this way, they get along. But, although the poet presents Giles and Joan as having a humorously discontented relationship, he brings up some rather serious subjects. Apparently, Joan’s children do not belong to Giles and the married couple cannot stand the site of each other. It would seem that to an outsider Giles and Joan have a decent marriage even though they despise each other. Thus this poem raises questions about the true nature of marriage and joy in marriage.

prompt for The Twelfth Night

If music be the food of love, play on,

Give me excess of it that, surfeiting,

The appetite may sicken and so die.

That strain again, it had a dying fall.

O, it came o’er my ear like the sweet sound

That breathes upon a bank of violets,

Stealing and giving odor. Enough, no more,

‘Tis not so sweet now as it was before.

[music ceases]

O spirit of love, how quick and fresh art thou

That, notwithstanding thy capacity

Receiveth as the sea, naught enters there,

Of what validity and pitch so e’er,

But falls into abatement and low price

Even in a minute! So full of shapes is fancy

That it alone is high fantastical.

As a stand alone piece of text this soliloquy works to point out the ever-changing character of love. Orsino uses natural images to lend visual context to the explanation of this abstract concept. Furthermore, the playing of music and the ceasing of it allow the reader to further connect the words of Orsino with something that appeals to their senses. Orsino describes the strain of music as having a dying cadence, starting strong and then progressively getting weaker. Orsino is obviously comparing the lessening strength of the music with the progression of love. Orsino further illuminates this theme by describing wind blowing over violets. While the wind “breathes” over the flowers it simultaneously yields fragrance while also taking the scent from the violets. Both these references, music and flowers, seem pleasing to Orsino at first, but then come to not be “as sweet” as they were before. Similarly, love begins with the near intoxication of infatuation but lessens with length of time. Further, the comparison between flowers and love can be taken further. Flowers are often connected with youth and youthfulness. A flower is in bloom for a time, during which it is beautiful, fragrant, and enjoyable. But, when a flower begins to wilt it loses both its beauty and pleasing smell. In the same way, love is often short lived and once love begins to fade it seems nearly putrid to dejected lovers. Orsino continues to use natural images by referring to the tides. Love, as the ocean, both asks for and is willing to receive a great amount. But, like the ebbing of tides, love also decreases after time. This comparison of love to tides is also interesting because tides continue to come and go. Therefore, although Orsino seems to be pointing to the way love can end quickly, he also may be saying that even when love seems to be ending it may return, just as high tide does.

When placed into the context of The Twelfth Night, Orsino’s soliloquy has similar meaning to its stand alone value. However, because this play is so full of confusion in relationships and characters who are constantly seeking the attention and recognition of those they love, the meanings are strengthened. Through reading the play, the reader receives an illustration of the ideas asserted by Orsino. Just as the tides ebb and flow, the relationships and connections between each of the characters also strengthen, weaken, and change. Furthermore, the reader is able to see how easily the characters fall in love with one another, fall out of love, and in love with someone else. Thus, placing Orsino’s soliloquy into the framework of the play does not lend a different meaning to the reading. Instead, placing Orsino’s words within the play’s context strengthens Orsino’s images and themes.

Sonnet #1: Astrophil & Stella

Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show,
That the dear She might take some pleasure of my pain,
Pleasure might cause her read, reading might make her know,
knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain,

These are the first four lines of Sidney's first Astrophil & Stella sonnet. I have heard this sonnet many times before and have always liked it. What I think is significant about this sonnet is the willingness on the part of the speaker to do what is needed to obtain the favor of the woman he loves. He is willing to embrace his pain and to be pitied in order to obtain her grace. In an odd way, the reader can also see a reflection of interaction between God and a human. (Bare with me here, I know this is abstract) A surface reading of this poem most definately yields the interpretation that the speaker is seeking earthly romantic love and affection from a woman, which he tries to obtain by delighting her with his writing skills, ultimately realizing that it is not his intellect that will bring him favor in her eyes, but his true feelings from his heart. However, the word choice in this poem also reflect the struggle of a man who is searching for salvation. If we think of "my verse" as actions instead of written words one can assume that the speaker is attempting to obtain salvation or God's "grace" through his actions here on Earth. Salvation from God is often referred to as God's grace or mercy. Thus, the speaker is attempting to please God through his works. As the speaker toils on Earth attempting to please God, he hopes that God will see his hard work, pity him, and grant him salvation. If God is therefore the muse for the speaker's actions on Earth, the statement "look in thy heart and write" would be a statement to the speaker directly from God. Instead of an urging from a woman to a man to accurately write of his love for her, this statement can be interpreted as an urging from God for the man to open his heart to receive true salvation. Thus, this poem can be read as a gospel message. Although one's efforts here on Earth to do "good works" and to please God through one's actions are admirable, all one must really do to become "saved" is open their heart to God.

writing prompt for love poetry week 2

In small groups during class my group concentrated on sonnet #5 from Sidney's Astrophil & Stella sonnets. I think my group came up with a lot of really great analysis about the poem. During our classtime I noticed, in particular, one portion of the sonnet that yields multiple meanings. The second quatrain reads,

"It is most true, what we call Cupid's dart/ An image is, which for ourselves we carve;/ And, fools, adore in the temple of our heart,/ Till that good god make church and churchman starve."

I think this particular quatrain is interesting. In it, Sidney describes earthly romantic love. Sidney dedicates the first four lines to a description of virtue, which he says should rule. The four lines following the description of earthly love describe heavenly love, one that should transcend earthly romantic feelings for Christians. Sidney's address of three types of love in one poem lend to the reader's ability to see multiple meanings throughout the poem's text. Here, I will concentrate only on the portion of this sonnet that speaks of Astrophil's earthly love for Stella. When the speaker points to "what we call Cupid's dart" it is easy to see that he is pointing to a distinctly human interpretation of love. He then refers to love as "an image" which is "carved" or created for oneself by oneself, or created for humanity by humanity. The speaker says that love is created, instead of that it exists outside of human control. Thus, one analysis of this passage would be that love is a social construction, and therefore is not real. The speaker affirms that although earthly love is a creation of earthly beings, it entices real feelings from people, causing us to "adore in the temple of our heart." He also asserts that submitting to this false constructed love makes fools of humanity, since, instead, they should be embracing the heavenly love that, unlike earthly love, is immortal.

A second or alternate interpretation of this passage is that the speaker is equating earthly love to a violation of the first and second commandments which are (1) Thou shalt have no other gods before me [Jesus] and (2) you shall not make for yourself an idol. In line 6 the speaker refers to love directly as a carven image. Furthermore, Christians often speak of their bodies and hearts as "temples," in which Jesus resides, and which should not be polluted by the worshipping of false idols or delighting in lust. Referencing these ideas suggest that to embrace earthly love is to deny God's true love and to instead idolize our own, temporary, created love.