Sunday, August 30, 2009

Moon

“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” represents what people feel when they have a little treasure. In Wordsworth’s case: Daffodils were his treasure. If we start asking people what is something very special for them they will come up with the most strange and peculiar things. Therefore, I could draw to a conclusion: Daffodils were to Wordsworth what the moon is to me. Whenever I feel sad or happy or excited, I look at the moon and it sooths me. It is an enriching feeling which overcomes solitude, and I think it is how the poet felt when he gazed at the crowd of daffodils. It is clear that the poet had a very close relationship as well as all the other romantic poets with nature. In his poem, he mentions various elements of nature such as cloud, hills, daffodils, lake, trees, stars, Milky Way, bay and waves. Nature was a key element of all the romantic poets, and it is absolutely clear that Wordsworth rejoiced with it. I do enjoy staring at the moon as I think Wordsworth enjoyed gazing at the daffodils.

Fears


Having read Keats’ “When I Have Fears that I may Cease to Be”, I completely identified myself with its words because I do have feel fear when I think about my death. Also, I could immediately relate his poem with the desire of transcend after dying. Keep living in the world, not physically but by being remembered. That is why there is a saying that reads “Every man needs to have a son, plant a tree and write a book”. These three are ways of transcending in the Greek fashion. I am sharing my thoughts about death (written almost a year ago).
Thoughts...
I seriously have no idea of why this thought comes to me once in a while. Anyway, I don't like it, it makes me feel rotten. Actually, I just hate the way it makes me feel! This stupid thought is about death. When it comes to my mind I ask myself whether life is really worth the trouble of living it.
I have this restlessness desire to know what happens after death. Where do we go to? Is there any place to go? Why have I taken all the trouble to live my life and do my best doing it if I will day and that's it, it will be over? This thought really worries me, and when I am thinking about it I feel so cold and my stomach gets tense. I mean, Death frightens me. And it makes me feel scared of wasting my time in silly things. I really think we have to live our life and take the most of it without wasting any minute.

Today, I was in the bus and this stupid thought came to me... I said, I don't want to die, I don't want to! But you can't live forever, right? Eventually, we will all die. What right does death have over me that take away my possibility of living forever? For me, dying is the most horrible thing in life, but we all know it will happen, any day since your birth.
I hope to feel a bit more relaxed about this topic that is a big issue for me!


Just a question,
What do you feel when you think about dying?

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Coleridge


“It is essential to poetry that it should be simple, and appeal to the elements and primary laws of nature; that it should be sensuous, and by its imagery elicit truth at a flash; that it should be impassioned, and be able to move our feelings and awaken affection”.



After reading some poems, we can see that nature is essential for the romantic poets. Kubla Khan by Coleridge is full or references to nature, but not any type of nature, nature that goes beyond concrete seeing. The above quotation relates to Kubla Khan because it describes poetry as appealing to the elements of nature and also the importance of imagination which undoubtedly is present at Coleridge’s poem. Can we read without portraying characters, settings and images? Imagination is indispensable for reading. As his description of nature does not involve reason, we need our imagination to depict the beauty of Xanadu while reading. He has taken me into a journey to a place that exists only in me because none of us could have seen the same place. We all have very singular images of Paradise.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

The Little Black Boy

After reading “The Little Black Boy” by Blake, I felt he wanted me to feel we are all the same in Eternity. Thus, I was drawn to entitle the poem as “Equal”. Choosing a painting was effortless because Renoir’s “Mother and Daughter” is very explicit. It shows a tree which was an element in his poem. However, it presents a girl whereas his poem presents a boy. The words in Blake’s world are highly represented in the poem. For instance, the tangible is shown with the sun that gives his heat and light away so that every soul can feel it. The intangible is depicted with eternity. These two key elements in his poem constantly move, and the tangible becomes intangible and vice versa. Past is present also as it is continuously influencing the present and it portrays the fact that there has always been white and black.