engl 211 final

I repeat, The Count your master's known munificence Is ample warrant that no just pretence Of mine for dowry will be disallowed; Though his fair daughter's self, as I avowed At starting, is my object.

My last duchess by Robert Browning; listener is the servant of a Count, and the Duke is wooing the Count's daughter. The Duke tells the servant that he knows about the Count's wealth and generosity, or "munificence" (49), so he expects to get any reasonable dowry he asks for. But his main "object" (53) in the negotiations is the daughter herself

It little profits that an idle king, By this still hearth, among these barren crags, Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race, That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.

Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson; telling us that a king gains nothing from just sitting around by the fire with his wife and making laws for people who don't even know him. Here it refers to the king's allotment of rewards and punishments to his subjects.

Absolute! complete idealist A supersubtle peasant (Conception most unpleasant) A supersubtle peasant in a shabby square Assist me to the pure idea — 40 Regarding nature without love or fear

First debate between the body and soul by T.S Eliot

And a street piano through the dusty trees Insisting: "Make the best of your position" The pure Idea dies of inanition The street pianos through the trees Whine and wheeze. Imaginations Masturbations The withered leaves Of our sensations —

First debate between the body and soul by T.S Eliot

And always come The whine and wheeze Of street pianos through the streets Imagination's Poor relations The withered leaves Of our sensations.

First debate between the body and soul by T.S Eliot

And yet devoted to the pure idea One sits delaying in the vacant square Forced to endure the blind inconscient stare Of twenty leering houses that exude The odour of their turpitude

First debate between the body and soul by T.S Eliot

For a little while, a little while Standing our ground — Till life evaporates into a smile Simple and profound. Street pianos through the trees Whine and wheeze Imagination's Defecations The withered leaves Of our sensations —

First debate between the body and soul by T.S Eliot

The August wind is shambling down the street A blind old man who coughs and spits sputters Stumbling among the alleys and the gutters. He pokes and prods With senile patience The withered leaves Of our sensations —

First debate between the body and soul by T.S Eliot

The eye retains the images, The sluggish brain will not react Nor distils The dull precipitates of fact The emphatic mud of physical sense The cosmic smudge of an enormous thumb Posting bills On the soul.

First debate between the body and soul by T.S Eliot

See the mountains kiss high heaven And the waves clasp one another; No sister-flower would be forgiven If it disdained its brother;

Love's Philosophy by Percy Shelley;

The fountains mingle with the river And the rivers with the ocean, The winds of heaven mix for ever With a sweet emotion;

Love's Philosophy by Percy Shelley; refers to natural things in nature to love

Nothing in the world is single; All things by a law divine In one spirit meet and mingle. Why not I with thine?—

Love's Philosophy by Percy Shelley; nothing in the world is similar to love, can't go without love

And the sunlight clasps the earth And the moonbeams kiss the sea: What is all this sweet work worth If thou kiss not me?

Love's Philosophy by Percy Shelley;if all these things in the natural world are connected to all these other things... like moonlight kisses the sea, then surely the two of them should do the same, and she should kiss he

Nay, we'll go Together down, sir. Notice Neptune, though, Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity, Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!

My last duchess by Robert Browning; Duke's listener seems to try to get away from him The Duke stops him and insists that they stay together. before leaving the Duke points out one more of his art objects - a bronze statue of Neptune, the god of the sea, taming a sea-horse.The Duke mentions the name of the artist who cast this statue, Claus of Innsbruck, who made it specifically for him.

This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands As if alive. Will't please you rise? We'll meet The company below, then.

My last duchess by Robert Browning; Our best guess is that he had her killed She's not his Duchess anymore The Duke ends his story of the Duchess and her painting by gesturing toward the full-body portrait again, in which she stands "As if alive" (47). they stand and go back downstairs to the rest of the "company."

Even had you skill In speech - (which I have not) - to make your will Quite clear to such an one, and say, "Just this Or that in you disgusts me; here you miss, Or there exceed the mark" - and if she let Herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set Her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse, - E'en then would be some stooping; and I choose Never to stoop.

My last duchess by Robert Browning; The Duke lists all the obstacles that prevented him from talking to the Duchess directly about his problems with her behavior. even if he were a skilled speaker, and even if she didn't argue, he says he still wouldn't talk to her about it. Because he thinks that bringing it up at all would be "stooping" to her level, and he refuses to do that.

She had A heart - how shall I say? - too soon made glad. Too easily impressed: she liked whate'er She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.

My last duchess by Robert Browning; This is his main problem with her: too many things make her happy. She doesn't save her "spot of joy" for him alone

Sir, 'twas all one! My favor at her breast, The dropping of the daylight in the West, The bough of cherries some officious fool Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule She rode with round the terrace - all and each Would draw from her alike the approving speech, Or blush, at least.

My last duchess by Robert Browning; if he gives her a "favor" or mark of his esteem that she can wear, such as a corsage or piece of jewelry, she thanks him for it in the same way that she approves of a pretty sunset, a branch of cherries, or her white mule admits that sometimes she doesn't say anything and just blushes in that special way.

Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt, Whene'er I passed her; but who passed without Much the same smile?

My last duchess by Robert Browning; she did smile at him whenever he passed by her. But, he says, it's not like that was special. She smiles at everyone in the same way.

She thanked men, - good! but thanked Somehow - I know not how - as if she ranked My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name With anybody's gift.

My last duchess by Robert Browning; the way the Duchess thanked people seemed to imply that she thought the little favors they did her were just as important as what the Duke himself did for her. the Duke gave her his "nine-hundred-years-old name" (33) - a connection to a longstanding aristocratic family with power and prestige.

Who'd stoop to blame This sort of trifling?

My last duchess by Robert Browning; who would actually lower himself and bother to have an argument with the Duchess about her indiscriminate behavior? "nobody."

Sir, 'twas not Her husband's presence only, called that spot Of joy into the Duchess' cheek:

My last duchess by Robert Browning;He describes her cheek as having a "spot / Of joy" (14-15) in it, perhaps a slight blush of pleasure. It wasn't just "her husband's presence

Will't please you sit and look at her? I said "Frà Pandolf" by design, for never read Strangers like you that pictured countenance, The depth and passion of its earnest glance, But to myself they turned (since none puts by The curtain I have drawn for you, but I) And seemed as they would ask me, if they durst, How such a glance came there; so, not the first Are you to turn and ask thus.

My last duchess by Robert Browning;The Duke asks his listener politely to sit down and examine the painting. He says that he mentioned Pandolf on purpose, or "by design" (6) because strangers never examine the Duchess's portrait without looking like they want to ask the Duke how the painter put so much "depth and passion" (8) into the expression on the Duchess's face, or "countenance" (7). the Duke mentions that he's always the one there to answer this question because nobody else is allowed to draw back the curtain that hangs over the portrait.

perhaps Frà Pandolf chanced to say, "Her mantle laps Over my lady's wrist too much," or "Paint Must never hope to reproduce the faint Half-flush that dies along her throat": such stuff Was courtesy, she thought, and cause enough For calling up that spot of joy.

My last duchess by Robert Browning;The Duke imagines some of the ways that Frà Pandolf might have caused the Duchess to get that "spot of joy" in her face. "man, that skirt's way too long - maybe you should hike it up a little." complimented her on the becoming way that she flushes,

THAT'S my last Duchess painted on the wall,Looking as if she were alive. I call That piece a wonder, now: Frà Pandolf's hands Worked busily a day, and there she stands.

My last duchess by Robert Browning;This tells us that the speaker is a Duke, that his wife is dead, and that someone is listening to him describe his late wife's portrait, possibly in his private art gallery.The Duke tells his mysterious listener that the painting of the Duchess is impressively accurate. The painter, Frà Pandolf, worked hard to achieve a realistic effect.

i cannot rest from travel: I will drink Life to the lees: all times I have enjoyed Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when Through scudding drifts the rainy Hyades Vexed the dim sea:

Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson; he doesn't want to take a break from roaming the ocean in search of adventure. He will not let life pass him by. Ulysses tells us that he has had a lot of good times and a lot of bad times, sometimes with his best friends, and sometimes alone, both on dry land and while sailing through potentially destructive storms.

Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough Gleams that untravelled world, whose margin fades For ever and for ever when I move. How dull it is to pause, to make an end, To rust unburnished, not to shine in use! As though to breathe were life!

Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson; the "Untravelled world" as an arch. As Ulysses moves, his experiences make an arch covering the arch of the "Untravelled world." The more he travels, the more the margins or edges of that world recede or are covered up. ulysses reiterates how boring it is just sitting around refers himself metallic instrument that is still perfectly useful and shiny but just rusts if nobody uses it. life is about more than just "breathing" and going through the motions; it's about adventure.

Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere Of common duties, decent not to fail In offices of tenderness, and pay Meet adoration to my household gods, When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.

Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson;"Decent not to fail" means that Telemachus is smart enough not to fail at doing nice things for people and paying the proper respects to the gods." when I am gone" means that Ulysses is planning on going back to sea for some more adventures, or if he's thinking about his own death.

...Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die. It may be that the gulfs will wash us down: It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles, And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.

Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson;Here a "furrow" refers to the track or mark made in the water by the ship. He tells his sailors to "smite" or strike it, most likely with oars. "Purpose" it can mean "destiny," as in "sailing is my purpose in life," To sail beyond the "baths" means Ulysses wants to sail beyond the horizon of the known universe - until he dies."baths.. stars"- it refers to the outer ocean or river that the Greeks believed surrounded the (flat) earth The "happy isles" refers to heaven where big-time Greek heroes like Achilles enjoyed perpetual summer after they died

...Life piled on life Were all too little, and of one to me Little remains: but every hour is saved From that eternal silence, something more, A bringer of new things; and vile it were For some three suns to store and hoard myself, And this grey spirit yearning in desire To follow knowledge like a sinking star, Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson;Ulysses continues to a radiate a desire for adventure, claiming that even multiple lifetimes wouldn't be enough for him to do all the things he wants. every hr...-It means something like "each additional hour that I live, or each hour that I am saved from death, brings me new experiences."At this point, he's an old man - a "grey spirit" - near the end of his life, and he wants to make the most of what's left Ulysses wants to chase after knowledge and try to catch it as it sinks like a star.

...I am become a name; For always roaming with a hungry heart Much have I seen and known - cities of men And manners, climates, councils, governments, Myself not least, but honoured of them all - And drunk delight of battle with my peers, Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy, I am a part of all that I have met;

Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson;Ulysses has become famous because he's traveled to so many places. ulysses tells us that he's visited a variety of different places, with different manners, weather, governments, etc. He portrays himself as a Renaissance traveler of sorts with an insatiable desire ("hungry heart") to see as many places as he can "I wasn't treated like the least little thing but was honored by everybody I met." The "plains" are "ringing" because of the armor clashing together in battle.The last phrase suggests that Ulysses left parts of himself everywhere he went

This is my son, mine own Telemachus, To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle - Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil This labour, by slow prudence to make mild A rugged people, and through soft degrees Subdue them to the useful and the good.

Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson;Ulysses introduces us to his son and heir, Telemachus, who seems like the right guy to take over the job of King of Ithaca. He's smart, and he knows how to make his people do things without being too harsh about it. slow prudence," meaning he's patient and willing to make the best decision The people of Ithaca are "rugged," which means that they're a little uncivilized and uncultured. That's why they need to be reigned in ("subdued," made "mild") and put to good use.

Death closes all: but something ere the end, Some work of noble note, may yet be done, Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods. The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks: The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep Moans round with many voices.

Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson;Ulysses knows that death will end everything, but he still believes he can do great things, things worthy of men who fought against the will of the gods during the Trojan War. "Lights begin to twinkle from the rocks" is an elegant way of saying the stars are coming out.

There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail: There gloom the dark broad seas. My mariners, Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me - That ever with a frolic welcome took The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed Free hearts, free foreheads - you and I are old; Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;

Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson;Ulysses shifts our attention from his son to the port of Ithaca, where he tells us a ship is preparing to set sail. Looks like he's planning on skipping town after all, and with his old friends as well."Thunder and sunshine" is used here to mean something like "good times and bad times." They have gladly ("with a frolic welcome") gone through thick and thin for Ulysses. ulysses means that his sailors "opposed" whatever came in their way he's talking to an old man. Ulysses suggests that even though old people are respected, they also have responsibilities.

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and though We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are; One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson;he and his sailors are old and don't have a lot of gas left in the tank, there's enough left to go a little farther. These guys are a team with one heartbeat. They're old and broken, but they still have the will to seek out and face challenges without giving up The phrase "strong in will / To strive, to seek, to find, and not yield" means something like "we're strong because of our will to strive" or "our will to strive is strong."

Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

she walks in beauty by lord byron; Everything that's great about both "dark and bright" is "mellow'd," or toned down to something that's more "tender" and less intense than the light you get during the day.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

she walks in beauty by lord byron;But even though she's quiet and "calm," her "smiles" and blushes are "eloquent" Her face is very expressive,

She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

she walks in beauty by lord byron;Her beauty is compared to "night."a night in a place where there are no clouds and lots of stars. We suppose that means she has a very clear and lovely complexion

And all that's best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes:

she walks in beauty by lord byron;So her whole appearance and especially her "eyes" create some kind of harmony between "dark" and "bright."

Where thoughts serenely sweet express How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

she walks in beauty by lord byron;The "sweet[ness]" of this lady's expression suggests that her mind is "pure" and innocent.

One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o'er her face;

she walks in beauty by lord byron;The balance between "shade" and light in the lady's beauty is so perfect that if you added one more "shade," or took away a single "ray" of light, you'd mess everything up.This "nameless grace" is visible in every lock of her black hair ("every raven tress") and it "lightens" her face.

But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!

she walks in beauty by lord byron;The woman's serenity and "smiles" also reflect the calmness of her mind. Because she's a good person, her "mind" is at "peace with all below" (everyone on earth).her love is pure and "innocent" - in other words, that it's not a sexual love.

Days little durable, And all arrogance of earthen riches, There come now no kings nor Cæsars Nor gold-giving lords like those gone. Howe'er in mirth most magnified, Whoe'er lived in life most lordliest, Drear all this excellence, delights undurable!

the seafarer by Ezra pound; After claiming that winning fame is the only way to live forever, the speaker implies that it has gotten a lot harder to do Mentioning the loss of "givers of gold" implies that contemporary lords may not be as wealthy as lords once were. This loss confirms the speaker's belief, expressed in line 66, that the "riches of the world" do not last forever. Everything fades away.

Moaneth alway my mind's lust That I fare forth, that I afar hence Seek out a foreign fastness. For this there's no mood-lofty man over earth's midst, Not though he be given his good, but will have in his youth greed; Nor his deed to the daring, nor his king to the faithful But shall have his sorrow for sea-fare Whatever his lord will.

the seafarer by Ezra pound; As it turns out, the whole reason our speaker goes on this journey in the first place is to "seek the homeland of a foreign people."

He hath not heart for harping, nor in ring-having Nor winsomeness to wife, nor world's delight Nor any whit else save the wave's slash, Yet longing comes upon him to fare forth on the water. Bosque taketh blossom, cometh beauty of berries, Fields to fairness, land fares brisker, All this admonisheth man eager of mood, The heart turns to travel so that he then thinks On flood-ways to be far departing.

the seafarer by Ezra pound; Once again, the decision-making is not being done by the speaker, but rather by his mind or spirit, which feels urged to travel by the blossoming plants and comely fields. Because it's the mind that feels like traveling, and not the person,

O'er tracks of ocean; seeing that anyhow My lord deems to me this dead life On loan and on land, I believe not That any earth-weal eternal standeth Save there be somewhat calamitous That, ere a man's tide go, turn it to twain. Disease or oldness or sword-hate Beats out the breath from doom-gripped body.

the seafarer by Ezra pound; he's saying here: eventually we all lose our earthly prosperity and die. in fact, the only certain thing here is that we'll all die one way or the other at the appointed time - either by disease, old age, or in battle.

That he on dry land loveliest liveth, List how I, care-wretched, on ice-cold sea, Weathered the winter, wretched outcast Deprived of my kinsmen; Hung with hard ice-flakes, where hail-scur flew,

the seafarer by Ezra pound;He's basically saying that most people could never possibly understand what he's been through, because they stay on safe, cozy land.These lines also describe even more winter weather: the sea is "ice-cold,"

Not any protector May make merry man faring needy. This he little believes, who aye in winsome life Abides 'mid burghers some heavy business, Wealthy and wine-flushed, how I weary oft Must bide above brine.

the seafarer by Ezra pound;In the city, it seems, you're free to drink wine and forget your troubles. so this suggests that the city-dweller gets drunk a lot, which is hardly admirable.

Neareth nightshade, snoweth from north, Frost froze the land, hail fell on earth then Corn of the coldest. Nathless there knocketh now The heart's thought that I on high streams The salt-wavy tumult traverse alone.

the seafarer by Ezra pound;Night falls, bringing with it frost, snow, and hail. grain which means corn, Here, though, instead of feeding the speaker, the grain torments him.

Cuckoo calleth with gloomy crying, He singeth summerward, bodeth sorrow, The bitter heart's blood. Burgher knows not He the prosperous man — what some perform Where wandering them widest draweth. So that but now my heart burst from my breast-lock, My mood 'mid the mere-flood, Over the whale's acre, would wander wide. On earth's shelter cometh oft to me, Eager and ready, the crying lone-flyer, Whets for the whale-path the heart irresistibly,

the seafarer by Ezra pound;The arrival of warmer weather brings with it the return of birdsong and, in particular, the cry of the cuckoo. It may mark the arrival of warm weather, but it also means that sorrow's coming, too, presumably because it means it's time to say farewell.The spirit departs with a "twisting" motion, and then soars widely around the world. Its physical freedom is a sharp shift from the trapped feeling speaker's body experiences in lines 8-12, when the cold imprisons him. The waterway over which the spirit soars is also called a "whale's path," which is a lovely metaphor for the sea.

Nor may he then the flesh-cover, whose life ceaseth, Nor eat the sweet nor feel the sorry, Nor stir hand nor think in mid heart, And though he strew the grave with gold, His born brothers, their buried bodies Be an unlikely treasure hoard.

the seafarer by Ezra pound;The second part of this passage answers that question. It tells us that the soul can't preserve the gold before the fear of God, which is basically another way of saying "you can't take it with you." In other words, you can't keep your material possessions with you after you die

My feet were by frost benumbed. Chill its chains are; chafing sighs Hew my heart round and hunger begot Mere-weary mood. Lest man know not

the seafarer by Ezra pound;The speaker personifies the cold and frost here by saying his feet are frost benumbed we learn that all this unfortunate freezing action happens in the same place where cares are "hot" around the speaker's heart. So he's both cold and hot at the same time.

Waneth the watch, but the world holdeth. Tomb hideth trouble. The blade is layed low. Earthly glory ageth and seareth. No man at all going the earth's gait, But age fares against him, his face paleth, Grey-haired he groaneth, knows gone companions, Lordly men are to earth o'ergiven,

the seafarer by Ezra pound;This passage compares the aging and withering of the world's glory to the aging of a single individual. Just as every person grows old and wastes away, so does the glory of the world. Age "comes upon" every man, like some outside force that takes over his body. His face "grows pale," probably because he's ill, or can no longer work outside. it shows us just how much the aging body comes to dominate an elderly person's existence. The man is literally nothing but his gray beard.

There I heard naught save the harsh sea And ice-cold wave, at whiles the swan cries, Did for my games the gannet's clamour, Sea-fowls, loudness was for me laughter, The mews' singing all my mead-drink. Storms, on the stone-cliffs beaten, fell on the stern In icy feathers; full oft the eagle screamed With spray on his pinion.

the seafarer by Ezra pound;he describes what he heard. And it ain't much - just the roar of the ocean and the cries of seabirds But still, those bird-cries are nosubstitute for the pleasures he could enjoy in the mead hall (a place to eat and drink) among friends. "icy-feathered." Turns out, this tern is having just about as bad of a time as our speaker. The eagle "always" cries at it, and our best guess is that this means the eagle is probably trying to make a meal of the poor little tern.

May I for my own self song's truth reckon, Journey's jargon, how I in harsh days Hardship endured oft.

the seafarer by Ezra pound;he poem's not just about him, it's about his travels. With the verb "endured," we get the feeling that these travels can't have been easy.

Bitter breast-cares have I abided, Known on my keel many a care's hold, And dire sea-surge, and there I oft spent Narrow nightwatch nigh the ship's head While she tossed close to cliffs. Coldly afflicted,

the seafarer by Ezra pound;the speaker focuses on a particular place where his sorrow lies:the speaker suffered these sorrows on a ship at sea. night-watch" took him to the prow of the ship. That means that he went to the front of the ship to keep watch for who-knows-what in those dark waters.

And for this, every earl whatever, for those speaking after — Laud of the living, boasteth some last word, That he will work ere he pass onward, Frame on the fair earth 'gainst foes his malice, Daring ado, ... So that all men shall honour him after And his laud beyond them remain 'mid the English, Aye, for ever, a lasting life's-blast, Delight mid the doughty.

the seafarer by Ezra pound;what comes after it: for each man, the praise of the living is the best epitaph. But the added bonus is, that bravery will make you be remembered after you're gone, too.