Journal Exercise 5.1A: Morality Then

Journal Exercise 5.1A: Morality Then and Now

The literature of the Victorian Period expressed fascination and fear with technology and machinery. Thomas Carlyle stated that man's ability to use tools is all he is in his philosophical work Sartor Resartus. In John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, the author stresses the idea that the individual is supreme and sovereign over all else, which addresses the period's fear that individuals were being replaced by machines. The advent of the industrial revolution seriously affected religious beliefs. Matthew Arnold suggested that the period was hovering between two worlds, "one dead" and "one powerless to be born," according to his Stanzas from the Grand Chartreuse. One of these worlds is religion and one is technology. According to Arnold, the Victorian Period was still clinging to its Puritan Christian morals while struggling to emerge into a world ruled by a technological, not religious, morality. Like the Victorian Period, the modern era is filled with technological innovation with implications for modern morality. In this post-modern world, the typical view is that morality is an individual choice. What is right for one person might not necessarily be right for another. Just as technological innovation caused Victorians to doubt their belief in God and the importance of their own selves and souls, technological innovation in the modern era has caused individuals to doubt that a universal religion or moral code applies to all. Because modern technology has proven that a variety of solutions exist for each task, individuals have begun to assume the same about morality-many solutions and moral choices exist for each person.

Journal 5.2A: Youth and Aging Alfred Lord Tennyson's Ulysses is a poignant poem for readers of all ages. As the aged and impotent king reflects on the days that gave him joy, even the youngest readers must contemplate their own morality. The ability to challenge even young people to think this way is an example of Tennyson's brilliance as a writer, but the content of the piece is worth discussing independently of the poet. Unlike the young Ulysses, I am not in the midst of glorious days of battle in my youth, but I do experience similar exhilarations. The ability to perform in a variety of activities, have more then one job, attend school, and actively participate in social causes without tiring are examples of the activities that are important in my life right now, examples of activities that I may not be able to continue forever. When I've become too old to live at this pace, I imagine I will feel much like the withered old king. I will look back with fondness on my accomplishments, while retaining a degree of sadness that I cannot continue. Just as Ulysses did, I might leave a more capable young person, like Ulysses' son Telemachus, in charge of those responsibilities that I find too stressful in my old age, while I let myself sink like a once- rising star, enjoying the company of those my own age with whom I can reminisce, and continuing to seek in my own way. In fact, Ulysses's (and Tennyson's) use of star imagery conjures up not just the image of a physical star, but also the image of a faded celebrity (or star) who has continued his or her career long after it has peaked. An example of this is rock and roll star Meatloaf. Although his vocal chords were damaged and he had gained a great deal of weight, he continued to produce albums and is currently on tour. Like Ulysses, Meatloaf's image of who he once was haunts him, and he continues to seek his own fame and power. If I had to deal with the issues of either the aged king or the withered star, I would need to be surrounded by friends and family members in order to counterbalance the negative image of my current self I would have in light of my former, more powerful self. Journal Exercise 5.2B: "The Lady of Shallot" Poetry Analysis Chart:

Key Words and Phrases: "Willows whiten, aspens quiver,/Little breezes dusk and shiver," the wave "that runs for ever," "a magic web with colours gay," 'a curse is on her if she stay," "I am half sick of shadows," "like some bold seer in a trance seeing her own mischance," the pale lady lying in the boat, "her blood was frozen slowly,"

Symbols: The island is a symbol of isolation. The fact that it's surrounded by agriculture (barley and rye) and technology and innovation (the road) suggest that it is a boundary between the two worlds. Cold imagery suggests a frightening and strange aspect to the tower, and the contrast between "gray walls" and "flowers" symbolizes a bittersweet situation and the contrast between the lady and her situation. Transportation images near the stationary tower further suggest the lady's loneliness. The curse and the woman's weaving as she looks over Camelot suggest how she tortures herself by looking outward on society while she is forced to remain in one place. The mirror symbolizes what the woman cannot have. The mirror's cracking resembles the lady's attempt to gain what she cannot have. Her death symbolizes her attempt gone too far. All of these symbols seem to echo the position of the Victorian Period.

Images and Opposing Images: the isolated Island of Shalott surrounded by "barley" and "rye," "the road," and "the lilies," "four gray walls, and four gray towers, Overlook a space of flowers," the "silent isle," images of transportation near the stationary tower, the woman weaving her web in the middle of a curse, Sir Lancelot with his "helmet and the helmet- feather," which "burned like one burning flame together," Sir Lancelot's praise of her dead, lovely face

Theme: The themes of the poem suggest loneliness, immobility, and sense of being trapped between two worlds.

Analysis:

The theme of The Lady of Shallot is that the Victorian Period is lonely era of transition trapped between the modern and out-dated worlds. This is shown by the Lady of Shallot, who serves as a symbol of the Victorian period. The lady sits locked in a tower that is surrounded by agriculture, or the out-dated world, on one side and a road, the modern world, on the other, yet she is immobile. She concentrates on weaving her web, which is a symbol of the Victorian Era's attempt to create its own identity. In addition, she is haunted by a magical mirror that shows what is going on outside. The mirror symbolizes the outside world, and when the lady attempts to leave the tower, the mirror breaks, symbolizing that the Victorians cannot escape the progress of the outside world. Lancelot symbolizes the Victorian Era's unattainable goals, or seeking to postpone modernity, and the Lady's death on trying to reach him symbolizes the impossibility of those goals. Finally, Lancelot's ironic reaction of praising the lady's dead face is a symbol of the modern era's reaction to the Victorian Period. They see the era as beautiful, but gone and irrelevant, something of the past. Based on these images and symbols, therefore, the poem symbolizes the Victorian Era's position as a lonely era of transition trapped between the modern and out-dated worlds. Journal Exercise 5.3 A: Love Poetry Although the saying is clich?, no one really "knows" what love is. It is impossible to describe, but Elizabeth Barrett Browning comes close with her description of how she loves in "Sonnet 43." If I were to follow Browning's guide for describing how I love one of my loved ones, I would use the following descriptions. 1. I love you like the bees that are content to live in solitude with one another. 2. I love you to a point that exceeds my frustration with you and becomes a new emotion, a sort of bemused, angry, and appreciative emotion, because if you were gone, I would miss even the messy parts of love. 3. I love you enough to want to speed on my way home to you, to turn off the radio and think of you, and to call you when I have nothing to say. 4. I love you the way a child loves her first pet, which she must learn not to restrain even when her only desire is to lavish it with attention. 5. I love you above what you are, above the concept of you, the images of you, the understanding of your personality. I love you as an entity made up of procrastination and blue shirts and everything that is you that I cannot now separate. 6. I love you the way I love the dog that I must train before he hurts himself with his own ambition. 7. I love you like the breathe of fresh air after a deep-end dive. 8. I love you enough to give you choices. 9. I love you much more like the journal, which inspires creation, than the washing machine, which only exists for convenience. 10. Falling in love with you feels like sigh I breathe as I catch the last seat on the train and it whizzes out of the station. Journal Exercise 5.3 B: Responding to Literature 1. The cherry blossoms dint each other in the whisper of wind as I throw them up in the air and prance under them, pretending I am someone else's bride. He comes, charging like a mule with his lips pursed and his hands clutched over the bronze medallion he wears as if it were his heart- his wife- and I'm caught white handed with the smiles and the cherry blossoms, which dint each other in the whisper of wind and his whispers to the guards. When he turns his back, I see no more white but only red, only the cherries, only my blood stained smile. 2. With the last line of his poem, Robert Browning not only casts light on his character of the duke, but he also leaves the reader with a chilled feeling. More than an effective conclusion, the line suggests that the duke is truly as malevolent as he suspects. Very quickly, he is able to turn from the foreboding tone he uses to describe the hate he had for his last wife-hate enough to probably murder her-to a light and whimsical tone, which he uses to ask his the emissary to praise the richness of his belongings. Not only does this allow the reader to finally understand how psychotic the duke really is, as the quick changing of emotions to benefit one's situation is a type of psychotic behavior, but also he or she is left with the chilling sensation that this murderous man is still alive and in a position of power, showing his guests around his home, while his wife lies dead. The comment supports the overall message of the poem, therefore, exemplifying its frightening tone and the malevolent character of the duke. Though the ending is a shocking transition in tone for the duke, it is both consistent and effective in light of the poem's overall tone and theme.