Coleridge

Of all Coleridge's work presented in our book, the one I enjoyed the most was the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner." While it may seem a bit unenlightened to say such a thing, the main reason I enjoyed it was because it the poem rhymed and thus was to me at the very least a little entertaining. As far as allegories go, this one is fairly straightforward in meaning. The ancient Mariner kills a bird that is helping the ship the Mariner is on to find safe passage home. This is a possible allusion to Noah's ark. Also, the act of killing the bird may signify original sin. As Adam and Eve were ejected from the Garden for their transgression, the Mariner also suffers for his destruction of what appears to be a divine creature. After the Mariner kills the bird the entire crew (save the Mariner) is struck dead. The Mariner is saved only by God's intervention, yet is still cursed to wander the earth and deliver his story to the person he is directed to. The basic moral being that all creatures great and small were made by God and thus should be treated kindly. Another aspect of this story I found interesting were the famous sayings derived from it. The famous line: "water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink" is from this poem (Coleridge 329). Also, the final stanzas of this poem have the Mariner speaking of "all things both great and small" from which it may be that the title of the book by James Herriot was inspired by this phrase.

William Wordworth

Wordsworth most memorable poem, to me at least, is "We Are Seven." This poem appears depict some of Wordsworth's metaphysical beliefs or at least show how Wordsworth felt concerning people's perception of death. The poem follows a narrative of a man, presumably an adult Wordsworth describing to an acquaintance an occurrence he had in a churchyard with a little girl. Wordsworth asks the girl how many brothers and sisters she has, to which she promptly responds there are seven of them. This is in spite of the fact that two of the seven are dead. Wordsworth attempts to correct the little girl but to not avail, as she always says that there are seven of them. The two that are in the churchyard are still there. they are merely dead. This can be seen in the last line of the poem, " 'But they are dead; those two are dead!' / 'Their spirits are in heaven' / Twas throwing words away; for still / The little Maid would have her will, / And say, 'Nay we are seven!' " (Wordsworth 201). What this says to me is that there is a fundamental difference between the death perceived by adults and the death perceived by children. For a child, such as the young made of the poem, death is not a sad occurrence but merely a different type of existing. For an adult it is much more somber and conclusive. I believe Wordsworth is saying that everyone should be like the little girl of the poem and perceive death in more innocent terms, just like the little Maid.

William Blake

William Blake's famous poem "The Tyger" has been given numerous interpretations over the years. I've seen the poem reprinted on posters for zoo exhibits on tigers, seen the poem on t-shirts, and various other places. Yet, many people seem to not realize that one of the most common interpretations of "the tyger" is that the poem itself is about Lucifer. These people who have the posters on their walls or the poem on their t-shirt would not think the poem so nice if they knew this, or so I believe. In the poem, when Blake speaks about "the forests of the night," there is an allusion to Dante's Inferno (Blake 88). The dark forest mazes in the Inferno conduct the passageway to hell in Dante's epic poem. There are other examples to support the belief that the poem is about Lucifer, such as alluding to Icarus's fall which parallel Lucifer's own fall from grace in the quote "on what wings dare he aspire?" (Blake 89). Perhaps most clearly, however, is the quotation which references Jesus Christ (also known as the "Lamb of God") which states: "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" (Blake 89). Now, if Blake wrote this poem about Lucifer for what reason did he do it? I believe that Blake wrote this poem to describe his musings on Lucifer. Blake was well known for writing a great deal on the nature of heaven and hell and also widely wrote poetry which dealt heavily with Christian mythology. Perhaps also, Blake was merely inspired to write a work that honored Dante and Milton for their works.

The French Revolution

The French Revolution was a crucial event in the development of modern Europe. Not only did the French revolution along with the American revolution signal the beginning of the end of the age of Imperialism, but it also signaled a change in terms of political order for Europe. This was the end of the age of monarchy and the beginning of the age of democratic rule. Social change as well was paramount at this time as can be seen in the writings of Wollstonecraft, Burke, Williams, and Paine. Instead of analyzing all three I will simply pick the one that held the greatest significance for me, that being the criticism of Burke by Mary Wollstonecraft.
Mary Wollstonecraft's criticisms held significance for me not solely by the arguments she made but also by the parallels I drew between her and Charles Dickens based upon several statements she made concerning the nature of man. One of these such statements was, "man has been changed into an artificial monster by the station in which he was born" (Wollstonecraft 58). This ties in with Dickens's writings, perhaps most notably in A Tale of Two Cities or Oliver Twist, in which major characters face hardships not because of personal or familial inefficiencies but because of society's treatment of the characters. Wollstonecraft argues for social equality and general egalitarianism, as well as for an end to the slave trade. The poor, a favorite topic she shares with Dickens, are in special need of benevolent treatment. Wollstonecraft states that "It is not by squandering alms that the poor can be relieved, or improved - it is the fostering sun of kindness, the wisdom that finds them employments calculated to give them habits of virtue, the meliorates their condition" (Wollstonecraft 63). As such, Wollstonecraft describes the uplifting of the poor as not a goal to be accomplished by simple charity. Instead, it is a process by which the poor are educated and transformed that sees the true salvation of the impoverished. All of her arguments provide ample fuel for the fire she lights underneath Burke who, though obviously an intellectual, Wollstonecraft portrays as illogically ruthless. Simply put, Burke is in favor of keeping things as they are perhaps because of an inherent social cynicism he possesses in which the poor are best left in their place and society is best left in the state that it already is. Wollstonecraft, in my opinion, follows a more socially optimistic perception in which things are in poor shape yet capable of improving.

I apologize if there is anything I left out in this post. I hope to return later and flesh out my description of Burke, adding quotations for him and other things. Currently it is 12:33 PM, I have just finished writing this and in 15 minutes I will be leaving for Hartsfield International Airport from which I will fly to Las Vegas for my family vacation.

Who am I and Why am I taking this course?

My name is Jay Hood, I am nineteen years old and live with my parents in Douglasville, Georgia. I am a big science fiction fan, and although that may be the main category most of the books I read fall into I also enjoy a wide variety of other literature. My main anxiety for this class is based on the fact that most of the work we do will be on a self motivated basis. While this does allows people to work at their own pace, I tend to procrastinate. I'm taking this class for several reasons: one is that I need English credits because I'm an English major, another is because Professor Glance is the one teaching it so I know the subject matter will at least be interesting, and finally I am a fan of Dylan Thomas and I am hoping to get a chance to read more of his work besides the few poems of his I know (though it does not seem too likely we'll be covering him). I hope this course will be interesting and that what I read can provide me with a decent background in British literature, affording me greater advantages when taking higher level English classes.