Christina Rossetti - I Dream of You, to Wake

Hi everyone,


So there's this page that investigates the plot progression of Monna Innominata.  Also, Mr. Sir has a page on the entire work.  I Dream of You is Sonnet 3 in the sequence, and the article also mentions some of the contemporary values and responses.  Worth scanning, if nothing else.

I also found the entire sonnet sequence, which could yield some interesting notes; but remember that if you analyse this poem you need to work with the provided text.  All research should inform our observations on the text rather than being "separate from" or even "in addition to" it.

Do have a look at GradeSaver: take note of Rossetti's style, its influences, and her general themes and preoccupations.  It would also be useful to consider how all this weighs up against the literary and social values of the Victorian age.  (This link was especially in-depth, though quite dense.)

I found an extensive article detailing Rossetti's biography.  This may provide some insights on either the poem's origin or Rossetti's writings in the Victorian age, but remember there seems to be some debate as to whether the inspiration for this poem has anything at all to do with the author's personal experience in love.  If you feel you can make an observation relevant to the analysis and focused on the text, go for it.


- T. Marcus

Mary Monck - Verses Written on Her Death-bed at Bath

Hi everyone,

This is that article that questions whether or not the author had indeed written these verses 'at Bath' or if it was simply a logical assumption.  Indeed, the writer of this page questions whether Mary Monck was the poem's author at all, and for some very compelling reasons!  To begin with, remember that this poem is not a part of Marinda, nor is its style congruous with any other poem in that collection.

Look into it, but we really need to consider the following:

• If Mary Molesworth Monck wrote the poem then how is the tone of the poem affected, considering her failed marriage and her father's clearly negative view of female authorship?  (Verses could have been written at an earlier point in Monck's marriage, but still.)
• If someone else wrote the poem, how does that alter our interpretation of its tone?
• And regardless of authorship, what societal values and literary genre does the poem seem to embrace?

I would balance the cultural values of Monck's father against the narrator's choice to ignore the issue of social propriety in favour of simultaneously communicating joy of love and transcendence of sorrow.

I found another link describing Marinda's contents and origin with reasonable concision, despite the bulk of it quoting Monck's father.  Don't bother quoting it yourselves; focus on discerning the apparent worldview of men towards female authorship in the beginning of the 18th century.

Here is a small introduction to Monck.  Short read and helps solidify the views we've already discussed.

- T. Marcus

Sir Walter Scott - Soldier, Rest!

Hi everyone,

This one has a very interesting background.  I covered the bones of it in class, but this site gives the exhaustive version.

Of particular interest are these paragraphs, found early on that page-

"The plot [of the poem] runs roughly as follows (Spoilers follow): 

The Highland Scots, led by Sir Roderick Dhu (exiled for committing a brazen murder in the King’s court) are at odds with the Lowland Scots, who are loyal to King James, who nominally rules Scotland. Douglas, who was formerly of the king’s court, has quarreled as a result of vicious rumors, and has fled to the highlands with his daughter Ellen and his minstrel, Allan Bane. 

As the poem opens, a lowland hunter, calling himself James Fitz-James, becomes lost in the highlands while chasing an elusive stag. His horse dies of exhaustion by the shores of a lake. He blows his horn, but instead of his countrymen, he is found by a highland maiden, who rows across from an island. By the common courtesy of the time, he is given a bed for the night, and sent on his way, even though he is known to be on the other side of the conflict. The maid is, of course, Ellen, and Fitz-James is smitten."

(eNotes does a slightly more thorough summary of the entire poem.)

Pay attention to the concrete structure, rhythm and scansion.  Lots of contrasting tones to consider: intention of narrator voice vs imagery and content of individual stanzas.

To give you further inspiration when developing and revising your notes, I highly recommend you check out this student analysis.

A google search of "walter scott soldier rest" will also give screeds of further links for your perusal.

Enjoy.


- T. Marcus

Emily Brontë - Last Lines

Hi everyone,


This poem is also often called by its first line, "No Coward Soul Is Mine", and was part of a collection of poems by all three Brontë sisters, which they published... and sold 2 copies.  That is not a typo.  Two.

This seems to be Emily's contributions to the collection, with a foreword by her sister Charlotte Brontë.

However it is called, I've quite enjoyed it.  Clearly a traditionalist, Brontë has been very thoughtful with imbuing meaning into the structure.  This adds great depth to the poem's content.

Mostly iambic, so note the discrepancies!  Where are they and what is the essential meaning / suggestion?

Here's a nice little analysis with brief background on the author herself.  Very useful.  Still, the comment on the meter should read "trimeter/pentameter".

This page has a few interesting insights into some of the themes and techniques.  This analysis takes a more well-rounded approach, and goes stanza-by-stanza through most of the poem; good stuff.

eNotes has a treatment more on Brontë's works overall, yet our poem is singled out a few times and the general commentary is valuable.

Look at all the above links; I'm going to ask you what you got out of each one.  :)  Mwah.

Enjoy,


- T. Marcus

Robert Louis Stevenson - Requiem

Hi everyone,

UPDATE regarding his health: (quote from Wikipedia)
Contemporary views were that he had tuberculosis, but more recent views are that it was bronchiectasis or even sarcoidosis.

The point is, he had poor health throughout his life.

For anyone still confused on exactly what defines an 'epitaphic fiction':

"Dr. Johnson understood that words on headstones provide cover stories. Acts of make-believe inscribed in stone may be as banal as an incorrect—or fudged—year of birth; the phrase “In Loving Memory” must be a fiction much of the time. On the other hand, great writers have composed words for headstones, real and imaginary, that offer us complex fictions in which we may dwell, as if in compensation for loss. For such writers, good grief is infused with imagination."

In 'Robert Louis Stevenson: The Critical Heritage' the author tells us that a poet by the name of Robert Herrick is likely to have been the inspiration for Stevenson's Underwoods anthology, but this claim is solely based on the similarities of style between Herrick and Stevenson.  In the opening page of Stevenson's anthology, he admits Underwoods as a title is 'stolen' from Ben Jonson.  It turns out Herrick was heavily influenced by Jonson, so commenting on this in an essay would likely end in a hair-splitting debate.  Interesting to know, but I think Cambridge will be more interested in what is symbolised by Stevenson's use of the stolen title: that "Stevenson is suggesting that his poems too are a varied collection and less important than his prose works, yet at the same time he is presenting himself, like Jonson, as an all-round literary writer."

For your interest, here's a brief history of the poem's origin.

Look up and balance together the various meanings of the word 'requiem'.  I think all are applicable, especially considering the lyric feel of the poem and the poet's history of writing lyrical verse.

Focus on the largely monotone diction, and make an exhaustive exploration of structure.  This should include rhyming pattern, repetition, physical layout, and contrast.

Contrast is listed with the above due to the structural aspects it encompasses, but don't limit it to that. Explore the final two lines as well as comparing the 4th and 8th lines. Compare emotions and actions, meaning and use of repeating words, occupations, settings and sounds.

Have fun.  :)


- T. Marcus

William Bell Scott - Death

Hi everyone,


This is probably the most unique poet I've come across, more remarkable for the fact that he wasn't very good at the consistently flowing and beautiful language forms we normally associate with the word 'poetry.'

'Death' was part of Scott's "Poems: 1854" anthology.  Twenty eight years later, he published "Poems: 1875" which largely included the same material, edited to one degree or another.  'Death' does not appear in this second publication.

Except it does.  Scott has taken the original poem and made it part of a much larger narrative ballad he titled 'The Dance of Death', though here it is altered in various ways.  This version of the poem was originally released in a brochure called 'The Edinburgh University Souvenir,' which I leave to you to research for any potentially useful facts.
(You will not be expected to know the altered version.  Still, being able to comment on its existence may be a good thing.)

I found a 1951 doctorate thesis on the life and works of this poet.  I can make it available if you're that interested, but below are what I think are the main points.

Regarding the changes in the poet's style from the 1854 to the 1875 publications:

• "One might summarize by saying that the basis of the later work was present in the earlier and that the advance was one of technique rather than inspiration."

Finally, these two quotes seemed the most applicable for our concerns:

• "Scott's most positive virtue was his originality"
• "The distinction Rossetti makes is valuable: Scott is interesting because he offers his personal meditation on some of the current problems of the nine-teenth century..."  (Obviously life and death would have been high on that list.)

Focus on his originality.  His use of repetition is powerful if not necessarily purposeful.  You should discuss the effects of his continuous enjambments and caesuras, despite the fact that he may not have put much planning into using them.  Good opportunity to weigh up effectiveness of poet technique.

In fact, considering his nearly accidental use of standardised poetry techniques, think about why Scott bothered persisting with the rhyming couplets at the end of each stanza!

Definitely talk about scansion in terms of rhythm and the rising and falling metre variations; overwhelmingly iambic, yet several single lines that are mostly dactylic / trochic or possibly contain spondee.

Above all, know the speaker voice and the subject he is speaking to.  The first word, "I", places the narrator voice as a personification of Death, which leaves "thee" [archaic singular form of 'you'] as the specified "man" in the poem.

Using all you now know, be ready to answer this:

Explain, based on this poem, the poet's view of Death's character.
(Hint: Start by looking at the feeling / concept being communicated by each individual stanza)


- T. Marcus

John Donne - This is My Play's Last Scene

Hi everyone,


Ahh, 16th century poetry.  Much more familiar territory for me.

There are links off to the side for different types of sonnets, if you need a refresher.

The poem itself is one of 19 found in a collection called The Holy Sonnets.  Check out the 'Themes' section in that link.  Pretty hefty paragraph, but lots to look at in terms of Donne's commonly explored themes.

Enjoy.


- T. Marcus