Gerard Manley Hopkins

Hopkins takes us back to nature in his poem "Pied Beauty" as did the poets in the Romantic period.

"Glory be to God for dappled things-- For skies of couple-colour......for rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim....finches' wings; landscape plotted....."(p. 775). I found the poem to be short and sweet. I admire the fact that Hopkins give glory to God for the natural things and their differences. I believe that God is responsible for the beautiful things that surround us. God makes everything with its own differences. Humans and other beings. The sky and landscape have their various colors and so do people, fish, birds, etc. That was my take on the first stanza.

He really sheds light on the fact that everything had its purpose and we are made a certain way for a reason. "All things counter, original, spare, strange; Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)......He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change: Praise him." Have you ever heard someone say "its not better, its not worse, its just different"? That is what came to mind when I read the last stanza. If something about someone or something is different, that does not necessarily mean better or worse. Even if it goes contrary to popular belief, the differences we find in nature and each other are worth appreciating and accepting.

Robert Browning

"Porphyria's Lover" seems to be the most shocking monologue that Browning wrote. I found this work to be extremely weird, but by far the most attention-grabbing. The author lives in a cabin in the middle of no where, it seems. "When glided in Porphyria; straight she shut the cold out and the storm, and kneeled and made cheerless grate blaze up, and all the cottage warm" (p. 662). Then his lover, a young woman named Porphyria comes in from a storm and makes a fire to keep them warm. Porphyria seems very giving of herself to her lover. "She sat down by my side and called me. When no voice replied, she put my arm about her waist." I was not sure why her lover did not answer when she called him. I also thought it was interesting that after he says nothing she shows him that she wants to be with him by placing his arms around her. "And made her shoulder bare....Murmuring how she loved me--she too weak, for her heart's endeavour, to set its struggling passion free" (p. 662-663). She makes her shoulder bare for him and tells him how she feels about him. I interpreted the lines about her being too weak for her heart's endeavour to mean that it is not easy being in love with him. There could be many reasons why. Her family may not approve or he may have hurt her before. I could tell there was some strain on the relationship. "Porphyria worshipped me; surprise made my heart swell, and still it grew while I debated what to do." No matter the strain, her lover could tell from her words she spoke that she not only loved, but worshipped him. This made his heart swell to know how strongly she feels for him. "A thing to do, and all her hair in one long yellow string I wound three times her little throat around, and strangled her. No pain felt she; I am quite sure she felt no pain." I was completely surprised when I read these lines. He had just realized how Porphyria cares for him and now he kills her. I did not understand why he would want to do such a thing. The way he did it was really weird. She had long blond hair and he strangled her with it. "I warily oped her lids: again....I propped her head up as before...Porphyria's love: she guessed not how.....And all night long we have not stirred, And yet God has not said a word!" Just to show what a real weirdo he is, he plays with her corpse after she is dead. He opens and closes her eye lids and then props her up beside him. He continues to sit there with her dead body through the night as if she is still alive and nothing ever happened. I feel that Porphyria's lover knows he has done is wrong. Murder is a grave sin. He mentions that God has not said a word. He must realize that sometimes we are punished for a bad deed when we least expect it.

John Stuart Mill

I would like to comment on John Stuarts Mill's "Statement Repudiating the Rights of Husbands." After reading this statement I thought that Mill was saying that marriage, in his present day, lacked awareness and compassion. People did not think hard enough about the enormity of the decision to marry someone. Nor did they realize that when you marry someone you are agreeing to share your life with this person, through the good and bad. Mill expressed that marriage is a life-long commitment, just like a legally binding contract. However, he makes it clear that he does not wish to use marriage to the only woman he has ever loved as a tool of power that he is allowed to wield over her. During the time in which he wrote this, women basically had no rights and what a husband said goes. Men had a myriad of power. In my opinion, maybe because I am a woman, a little too much power. Woman were not able to go out and get jobs or be independent. They stayed home and neither received formal education. This statement is special because I feel like Mill was recognizing the spiritual union that a man and woman share. He realizes that marriage is an emotional unification and not merely physical. If the marriage occurs, he wishes his wife to have the same freedoms she enjoyed before she was married.I admire the respect that he has for the woman he loves. It would be a great thing if all men would respect their wives this way.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

I believe that people often think about what will happen when they die or when the world comes to an end. The unknown can worry us sick or even make some of us paranoid. For instance, the Y2K scare. People thought everything was going shut down when the year 2000 came. People were stocking up water and food as to be prepared if something unexpected were to happen. However, everything went on as usual and nothing happened. You hear about the world coming to an end in church and it the book of revelation in the bible can be scary. Tennyson brings curiosity, worry, and fears about judgement day to light in "The Kraken."

"His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee" (p. 586).
We may dream about what happens to us in the after life or wonder if we will be here on earth to see the world destroyed by fire. We wait for the occurrence and he compares this to the fire being dormant or asleep just waiting for the right time to come forth. This seems like a dark and gloomy time and one would be lucky to find even the faintest bit of sunlight.

"Battening upon huge seaworms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die."
I interpreted this as Tennyson describing a battle between good and evil. While the fire burns below the heavens, angels appear to do their work. Whatever is evil shall die. However, those that have lived right should not fear judgement before God. Good shall always prevail over evil one way or another.

Victorian Ladies and Gentlemen

In this section there is a short poem with a funny title, "Vitai Lampada" on page 582-583. In this poem the author uses his words to link two very different things. The poem is up-beat and sorrowful all at once. The background listed above the poem on page 582 tells us that Sir Henry Newbolt's poems create a link between school games and "romantic ideology of empire." It tells is that one officer actually dribbled a soccer ball as he led his men to their deaths in the battle of the Somme. In this particular poem he links a game children play to events occurring during World War I. Although a soccer ball was mentioned in the background, some words in the poem such as "bumping pitch, sand, sodden red, and square that broke" make me think about baseball. However, the game could be something similar to baseball such as stick ball because of the time period during which it was written. The poem changes lanes and becomes more serious during the end of the second stanza. "And the regiment blind with dust and smoke. The river of death has brimmed his banks, And England's far, and Honour a name." These lines bring imagery of the war to the reader. During the war there was dust and smoke on the battle field from the weapons they used. While reading this it made me think of the suffering as well as the patriotism of the parties involved. All things must come to an end and so did World War I. The poem ends with the line, "Play up! play up! and play the game!" Newbolt did a great job at describing the events with the actions of games.

Industrialism

The Victorian Era is known as the age of energy and invention. These readings come during a time when new industrial occupations of the factories came about, where the weavers' looms were powered by steam engines.

I found "The Steam Loom Weaver" on page 489 quite interesting. The poem is based on the summer months during the Industrial Revolution. These lines were of importance to me: "Two lovers walking in their bloom, the lassie was a steam loom weaver, the lad an engine driver keen." My take on this is that the steam loom weaver represents the woman in a relationship and the engine driver is the man. The author continues the poem in which the two converse about a problem that the loom weaver needs help with. The problem is the getting up of steam. The loom weaver had not operated in a while and her loom is out of fettle. She ask the engine driver if he can muster up some steam so that she may get in working order. This poem really tells a story. After reading this part of the story I interpreted as the woman saying that she has not been in a relationship in a long while. Nor has she been in love or experienced any special feelings for anyone. She is asking the man to bear with her and if he can compromise and be willing to do everything it takes for their budding romance to work. The man tells her that she seems very determined about making it work.
"Dear lass these things I will provide, but when to labour will you begin as soon my lad as things are ready my loom shop you can enter in." When I read these lines I was thinking that the relationship may have been more serious at this point and I started to doubt my interpretation above. I was thinking that this poem could be about sexual advances between the man and woman. Whatever it may be, I liked the poem. It is funny how I'm almost positive that someone else will not interpret the poem that way I did. That is the great thing about poetry.

Felecia Hemans

I found "The Homes of England" intriguing. I have never been out of the United States and I have always wanted to visit various places like Italy, England, France, Australia, Spain, Thailand, and China. I like the way Hemans took one aspect of England and magnified it. The homes are a part of England that stood out to her and a part that she appreciated as well. In the first line of each stanza she describes the homes as "stately, merry, blessed, Cottage, and free." These words alone make you feel much like you are at home. The word stately reminds me of a regal and well-kept home. The words merry and blessed bring that comfort and joy that you feel when the whole family has a gathering at someone's home and everyone is talking and laughing. It makes you feel like you are blessed with love and good company. She describes each type of home and their surroundings. My two favorite homes in the poem were the stately and the merry.

She describes the stately homes:
"How beautiful they stand!.....tall ancestral trees, o'er all the pleasant land. The deer across the greensward bound.....swan glides past them" (p. 412).
I would love to live in a stately home of England. They are gorgeous structures with such soothing surroundings. Can you imagine having the most beautiful trees around your home that provide the perfect shade along with a lake in the back in which swans live? I can. I have always admired those who live close by lakes because they provide a certain calmness. You can fish or just bring a blanket and have a picnic.

The merry homes of England are "Around their hearths by night, What gladsome looks of household love......woman's voice flows forth in song, or childhood's tale is told....some glorious page of old" (p. 412).
The merry homes sound like they are full of family and full of love. The woman that Hemans mentions reminds me of someone's mother or possibly grandmother. Some people have extended family in their homes. Parents and grandparents enjoy telling young ones in the family about things that happened in their childhood. It feels good to reminise sometimes.

Hemans incorporated aspects of the homes such as their landscape as well as the things that occur within a home. That is what made this a enjoyable reading.