Donne’s Poem Death Be Not Proud :: Death Be Not Proud Essays

Donne’s Poem Death Be Not Proud In the poem "Death Be Not Proud," written by John Donne death is personified. The personification of death creates a feeling that death is less powerful than we think. Donne creates and image of death that is not mysterious, not in control, and a slave of low status. He does this by undermining the idea of death as bound to the rules of "fate, chance, kings, and desperate men." He insists that death is no more powerful than any mortal is. Suggesting that death is not mysterious is the word slave. Directed to death, "thou art slave" forms an unthreatening stance of death because slaves are not threatening. This is due to the connections that go with the word slave. A slave is bound in submission to a master therefore having no say in what he or she can do. Death, in being personified into a slave that has many masters, is more extremely bound. This lack of freedom that death has in choosing its victims takes away any reason to be fearful of it. Power comes from being able to control something. Here death is the one being controlled by other outside forces that have power over how and when death can do its work. Death casts fear into mortals because it is unknown as to what happens in the afterworld. This poem creates a sense that we know who death is. For example we can see how death is a poor beggar on the street. This would make death a non-threatening person. He is a low class citizen that is just waiting for an opportunity to feast when his master allows. Donne produces this low-life death figure by associating him with "poison, war, and sickness." These are all things that less fortunate mortals deal with on a daily basis. These are dreadful things that are not good. Death personified is subject to these horrible circumstances therefore is very low in stature. If death can only reap his vengeance with such low standards governing him, then death is as low as what he works for. Death becomes less mysterious and something which we are not afraid of.

Analysis of a Poem Essay

Andrew Marvell’s poem To His Coy Mistress gives the reader a chance to delve into the mind of the narrator as he tells of his love for his mistress. This seems to be a simple enough theme, and indeed poets have been sounding out their barbaric yawps for quite some time over this issue of love, but what is so intriguing and memorable about Marvell’s take on love is how romantic it is (romantic in the romance way and not in the Romantic time period of poetry). He gives more of a narrative account of his love instead of the more fantastical accounts which accompany any number of Poe’s poems to his ‘lost Lenore’ or even of a less stable vision of beauty that Rimbaud portends to in his Barbarian poem. Marvell’s take on romance and love is a very elegant poem; in this essay Marvell’s elegant style and the way in which he sets the scene with concrete and realistic details will be given strict attention along with the metaphor and use of allusion. To begin with, Marvell introduces the reader to the subject of the poem even before the poem is begun. He applies the adjective ‘coy’ to his mistress which is a word full of connotations. With this word in mind in describing his mistress the reader is left to wonder why the woman is coy, or what makes her or causes her to be this way. Already the reader’s mind is a race toward an explanation of the woman. Thus, Marvell has succeeded in creating an air of mystery around the object of his affection and thereby placing an enigmatic tone to the poem even before one has read the first line. In typical romance fashion Marvell begins his poem with turn of the line which expresses things that are not but if they were he states what he and his love would do, Had we but world enough, and time, This coyness, lady, were no crime. (Marvell line 1-2). The word coy derives in part from the word coquettish which is a French word used to describe gaining the affections of the opposite sex for personal gratification. Thus, it would seem that Marvell is painting out the object of his desire to be a woman who has a lot of vanity and wishes to conquer his heart. Thus, the poem sets itself up to connotative notions of hedonism. This is states because the woman wants the older man’s affections for no other reason except to have them: She does not desire his affections for love or money or any personal gain except for her own vanity. Thus, the lines stating if they â€Å"had†¦but world enough† (Marvell line 1) then her coyness would be more highly permitted and not a ‘crime’. Perhaps Marvell included this bit about ‘crime’ because typically prostitutes are the ones who use coquettish techniques to acquire the attention of potential clients and thus the woman’s coyness is associated with sexual hedonism. Whatever the cause of the coyness (employment of pure ego) it is clear that the narrator does not mind the attention. Although, another take on this notion of being coy could have more to do with the time period in which Marvell wrote the poem (1650)– during which a woman was typically shy and not forward while in male company and therefore this brave act of ‘flirting’ caught the poet off guard. Continuing on with the narrative part of the story, Marvell further suggests in his poem what he and the young woman would venture out into their world and do: We would sit down, and think which way To walk, and pass our long love’s day. Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side Should’st rubies find: I by the tide (Marvell lines 3-6). Here Marvell gives a glimpse of his homeland’s exploration into the world and names exotic location by which these two could walk (or love by). Mainly, exploration was done in the East and this exotic atmosphere perhaps pairs well with how brazenly the mistress is flirting with the narrator. Thus, Marvell is coupling the woman with the landscape by which he thinks she could better flourish- a place where being coy is not considered a crime. Thereby does Marvell transport this moment into a more exotic locale which further supports the idea that the poet is a romantic in the sense of wooing. To further illustrate Marvell’s romantic nature he states, Love you ten years before the flood And you should, if you please, refuse Till the conversion of the Jews (Marvell lines 8-10). This again refers to having a world of there own in which apparently time and space do not exist in any rational form or according to physical laws of nature which would allow Marvell to have loved this woman since Noah’s fated flood (again, support for the romance of the poem). The last line of this part makes reference to the Jews – a reference which alludes to the manner in which Marvell would love this mistress. That is to say that he would love her in the same strict fashion that the Jews never converted to Christianity despite the Inquisition which was a time period that at the writing of this poem had ended a hundred or years earlier but a memory that was still fervently in the minds of the people of Europe. Marvell connotes many religious themes in this poem that help to show his knowledge of religion which further creates an atmosphere to the poem (perhaps Marvell is even stating that he will love this woman in a platonic fashion or nonsexual way until they are married as the Bible suggests should happen between man and wife). This idea of physical love and abstinence from sex until marriage carries further into the poem as Marvell states, My vegetable love should grow Vaster than empires, and more slow; (Marvell lines 11-12) This concept of vegetable love means that Marvell will love this woman for her self instead of for her sex. This is derived from the fact that Marvell suggests a vegetable love rather than a fruit love – fruits have a long association with sex and sexual passions and because Marvell chose to not allude to fruit but to vegetable (meaning vegetative perhaps and therefore dormant, or rather, latent sexual activity or sex after marriage) in order to support his proclamation of saving sex for marriage. Also, vegetables are a deep root plant which further illustrates Marvell desires to love this woman with a deep love not a purely fleshy love. If then Marvell is looking for a more lasting relationship with this woman it is no wonder that in lines 13 through 18 he expresses such a love through ages. Although the reader has already been exposed to the type of ageless love Marvell silently promises this woman with the flood (an antiquarian allusion) he further tells of an ageless bond between himself and this woman as well as the magnitude of this love with the following lines, An hundred years should go to praise Thine eyes, and on they forehead gaze Two hundred to adore each breast, But thirty thousand to the rest; An age at least to every part, And the last age should show your heart (Marvell lines 13-18). In these lines also, Marvell seems to telling of his hopes for this union. He desires a woman who has a true heart and therefore is not only interested in sex. He wants a beloved who will stay by him in old age as well as in their youth. Marvell seems to be placing a lot of emphasis on carnal pleasure versus what he perceives to be a more pure form of love. Albeit both will exist in his relationship with this woman should they get married, what Marvell truly wants out of this relationship is a lasting companion. His many allusions to time seem to fit with this theory fairly well considering he mentioned loving her until the apocalypse (it is said that the Jews will not convert to Christianity until the end of the world which is when Marvell professed he would love this woman). However, it seems that Marvell has a change of heart toward the last lines of the poem when he seemingly begs the girl for sexual gratification. Thus, the poem itself presents a timeframe of the poet’s thoughts leading from love to sex and back again. It seems that while Marvell desires a chaste union he also requires a more carnal pleasure right away. There may be something rather male delivered in the lines â€Å"Time’s winged chariot hurrying near† (Marvell line 25) which speaks to not wanting to waste any more time being strangers but to gain union together. Thus, despite the poem’s romantic notions the poet’s theme remains clear – pleasure and passion and love. Works Cited Cullen, Patrick. Imitation and Metamorphosis: The Golden-Age Eclogue in Spenser, Milton, and Marvell. PMLA Vol. 84, NO. 6 (Oct. 1969) 1559-1570. Hogan, Patrick G. Marvell’s ‘Vegetable Love’. Studies in Philology, Vol. 60, No. 1 (Jan. 1963) 1-11. Hyman, Lawrence W. Politics and Poetry in Andrew Marvell. PMLA, Vol. 73, No. 5 Part 1. (Dec. 1958) 475-479. Legouis, Pierre. Andrew Marvell: Further Biographical Points. The Modern Language Review. Vol. 18, No. 4 (Oct. 1923), 416-426. Summers, Joseph H. Marvell’s ‘Nature’. EHL. Vol. 20, No. 2 (June 1953) 121-135. Tolliver, Harold. The Critical Reprocessing of Andrew Marvell. ELH, vol. 47, no. 1 (Spring 1980) 180-203.

The Roles of Self-Esteem Familial Bonds and Bicultural Identity on Ethnic Identity - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1306 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/04/10 Category Culture Essay Level High school Tags: Cultural Identity Essay Did you like this example? The topic we have chosen to focus our study on is ethnic identity, and, more specifically, how self-esteem, familial bonds and bicultural identity affect and shape peoples perception of their own ethnic identity. The topic of ethnic identity is extremely important, not only because it can be applied to literally everyone on this planet, but because it offers an extremely interesting and useful view into the lives of human beings and why they are the way they are. Additionally, while self-esteem has already been shown to have a large effect on people and various aspects of their lives, we thought it would be interesting to integrate a more social parameter to contrast our findings against. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Roles of Self-Esteem: Familial Bonds and Bicultural Identity on Ethnic Identity" essay for you Create order On the other hand, familial bonds and bicultural identity delivered stimulating stepping points for us to base our research on, since not only was our group interested in a very broad range of variables that effected ethnic identity, but because no study has ever looked at all of these factors together. In the 1995 study The Effects of Ethnic Identity, Ethnicity, and Gender on Adolescent Well-Being by Ruben O. Martinez and Richard L. Dukes, 12,386 adolescents were looked at and completed anonymous questionnaires. Participants were given one of two versions of their Likert based questionnaires, which included various scales used to facilitate measurement, and answered questions focusing on demographics, self-esteem, and ethnic identity. The first version of the questionnaire also including questions about self-confidence, extracurricular activities, and work, while the second version of the questionnaire included other questions about family and purpose. The results showed percentile scores for average ethnic identity by gender and ethnic group with Black coming in at the 71st percentile, Hispanic at the 68th percentile, Asian at the 60th percentile, mixed ethnicity at the 53rd percentile, Native American at the 46th percentile, and White at the 45th percentile. Furthermore, their results found that age had no significant effect on well-being, and that there was significant variance between ethnicities when it came to not only self-esteem, but purpose in life and self-confidence, too (Martinez Dukes, 1997). In another study, published in 2016, Lizette Ojeda, Brandy Pina-Watson and Gerardo Gonzalez took a deep dive into the cultural community of Mexican American college men. Their study, The Role of Social Class, Ethnocultural Adaptation, and Masculinity Ideology on Mexican American College Mens Well-Being, used a questionnaire to collect information, and focused on 134 Mexican American men attending a Hispanic-Serving Institution near the Texas-Mexico border, with ages ranging from 17 to 42 years old. The majority of participants, 44.4%, were second-generation Mexican Americans, followed relatively closely by first-generation Mexican Americans, coming in at 22.6%. Participants were asked a range of questions regarding perceived social class, familismo, enculturation and acculturation, Mexican American attitudinal marginalization, masculinity ideology, and well-being, again with many previously developed and accredited scales used to measure and evaluate said topics. Findings indicated that the Mexican American college men who seemed to be most satisfied with their lives adhered to familismo and heritage cultural behaviors, as well as also having an easi er time accepting Mexican American cultural norms. Although familismo and heritage cultural behaviors were not the strongest predictors, they were both highly related to well-being something that we are assuming will show as true through various cultural backgrounds (Ojeda, Watson Gonzalez, 2016). Examining Bilingual and Bicultural Identity in Young Students by Ruth Fielding and Lesley Harbon is an study that used observation, questionnaires, and interviews to look at bicultural identity and its development. Fielding and Harbon looked at a bilingual and monolingual program in a public primary school in Sydney, Australia, where 23 students were used to study. According to the study, approximately 50% of students spoke English exclusively outside of school, in addition to two speaking only French, approximately 25% speaking both French and English, and the final 25% speaking English as well as another language other than French. Students were then taught and observed in various situations with various languages being used, and afterwards 14 of the students were asked to fill out a questionnaire, and nine of them participated in interviews, answering enquiries focusing on their perception of language use, language attitudes, and bilingualism. Results showed that nearly all students suggested they appreciated being bilingual, and that family connections, language connections and country connections all played noteworthy roles in the childrens bicultural identity with some children even feel ing conflicted between their bilingual and bicultural identities (Fielding Harbon, 2013). In our study, we looked to gain insight into our participants level of presumed ethnic identity through the lens of self-esteem, familial bonds, and bicultural identity. Our study is different, yet extremely connected to past research discussed above because it is an amalgamation of all the factors we consider important and noteworthy in discussing ethnic identity. In addition to this, we are using an entirely different population than the aforementioned studies used. Our prediction is that the students in our study who have high self-esteem and strong familial bonds will associate more closely with their ethnic identity. Furthermore, it was also presumed that participants with different language or country connections may struggle with or have a lower sense of ethnic identity perhaps even conflicting at times. To test for our predictions, X college aged psychology undergraduate students will complete a questionnaire focusing on the above topics. The questionnaire will predominantly consist of Likert based questions, while also including various verified scales. After the study is completed, the data received from our participants will be measured and analysed. Method Participants The participants that were used in our study were X University of California Santa Cruz undergraduates, all of whom were enrolled in Psychology 100: Research Methods. They were not compensated monetarily but were awarded for their attendance through participation credit for the course. The participants mean age was X, with a range of X to X, and X males and X females. When recruiting for participants, we requested a diverse sample of students particularly in that the group would include as wide of a range of various ethnicities as would allow, and bicultural or multicultural participants too. Materials The materials used in our study included X copies of our consent form, presented in 12-point Times New Roman black font on a single sided piece of white A4 paper. Additionally, ten black pens and one large manila envelope were used to record and store consent forms. X laptop computers were used in the study for participants to use in the completion of our questionnaire which was pres ented in the form of a Google form. Design Procedure Testing took place on the University of California Santa Cruzs campus, in the main lower level area of the Earth Marine Building. Research was conducted in a single afternoon, between 1:30pm 3:05pm, on November 13th, 2018. On this day, after volunteering for our experiment, participants were led to a table and set of chairs by our runner, Y, where our researcher and timekeepers, Y and Y, were waiting. After filling out the consent form and placing them face down, completed, into the open manila folder located on a desk separate from other participants and experimenters, participants were asked to listen to a set of instructions from our researcher, Y, whom also told participants that if at any time they felt uncomfortable, they were more than welcome to skip a question or stop filling out the questionnaire. Following this, they were prompted to fill out the questionnaire, which focused on self-esteem, familial bonds, bicultural identity, some general personality traits, and ultimately, ethnic identity. There was no time limit for answering the questions, every questionnaire was filled out anonymously to erase the possibility for any personal biases, no variables were manipulated in our study, everyone received the same questionnaire, and thus, our study was within subjects. Upon completing the questionnaire, participants were debriefed by our researcher, Y, before being escorted back into room B206 to make place for the next round of participants to join.