The Romantic Age
The Romantic Period (1789-1850)
Industrial and political revolution began to over turn traditional ways in Europe. Romanticism was inspired by the beauty and power of nature and was shaped and was a very powerful cultural movement that dominated European culture throughout the early 1800's. The three big ideas were "The Stirrings or Romanticism", "Nature and the imagination", and "The Quest for Truth and Beauty." William Blake valued imagination and feeling over intelect and reason. Defining the nature of Romanticism may be approached from the starting point of the primary importance of the free expression of the feelings of the artist. I.
Analyzinga Poem Through Annotation |
The Victorian Period (1850-1900)
he Victorian period formally begins in 1837 (the year Victoria became Queen) and ends in 1901 (the year of her death). 1830 is usually considered the end of the Romantic period in Britain, and thus makes a convenient starting date for Victorianism. since Queen Victoria’s death occurred so soon in the beginning of a new century, the end of the previous century provides a useful closing date for the period. Video Source: Literature Launchers. "The Victorian Age." DVD. Glencoe 2012. |
The Lamb
By William Blake Little Lamb who made thee Dost thou know who made thee Gave thee life & bid thee feed. By the stream & o'er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing wooly bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice! Little Lamb who made thee Dost thou know who made thee Little Lamb I'll tell thee, Little Lamb I'll tell thee! He is called by thy name, For he calls himself a Lamb: He is meek & he is mild, He became a little child: I a child & thou a lamb, We are called by his name. Little Lamb God bless thee. Little Lamb God bless thee. My Poem
Composed Night time A dark place with no light A place where people are frightened as if there's no hope An image of death where the dead walks the earth The new dead join the old in an old hearse There's no light i have yet to see But then i don't think i can wake up from this sleep Wake me, save me i ask of thee For there's no way i can let this come true Could it be a dream? Or some dark place with no one you know As this goes on, it'll just grow like a bad memory Curious as i am, i can stay stuck like this for eternity |
II. Analytical Essay
Imitation Exercise An Analysis of William Blake “The Lamb” Poems in English literature, particularly those from the Romantic Age, contain a variety of heavily-used rhetorical devices in order to convey the meaning intended by the author. In William’s “The Lamb,” for instance, the reader finds a number of devices that aid in conveying the tone and, ultimately, the theme of this poem. Concepts such as positive, nature, religion, and creation pervade the poem in the poet’s attempt to convey the theme that god creates everything including nature. To begin to understand a poem, one must deal with the basics. These involve knowing general information about the speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, and subject. The speaker of “The Lamb” reveals himself (or herself) to be a lamb trying to talk to him to ask questions. The occasion is summer, and the time is afternoon. The speaker’s audience and his/her purpose involves asking about god. Lamb a soft and nice creature” acts as the subject of the poem. To paraphrase the events of the poem, one might say that a man is sitting in the early afternoon in a shed and there is a lamb,and he asked the Lamb if he knew where he came from In terms of tone, the poem begins with a curosity or calm mood or atmosphere but ends up determined and curious. Some diction that suggests this involves the speaker first using the words “life,” “stream,” “delight,” and “bright,” but then later in the poem by employing words like “mild,” “meek,” “little,” “child,” and the speaker reveals a more determined tone by the end. This suggests that the lamb has made the man think in a whole other way think that in another life that what if he is the lamb and god changed it . The speaker’s attitude also becomes apparent in the poem. The speaker’s tone first reveals a Calm attitude with the use of the word “Creation,” but his/her attitude becomes positive with the use of diction like “happy” and “blessed.” The three most significant rhetorical devices that the poet uses to convey the theme in the poem involve the use of imagery, personification, and symbolism. The poet uses imagery to help the reader get a sense of good feeling by thinking of creation with words and phrases like “Little Lamb who made thee” and “Gave thee such a tender voice.” S/he also uses personification as a way of giving human qualities to nature, specifically with phrases like “Dost thou know who made thee,” “Gave thee life and bid thee feed” referring to “Life.” Finally, the poet uses symbolism to give deeper meaning to the poem by who made thee to represent life. Thus, the devices used by the author give the reader the idea that man can find hope in the midst of despair, particularly in nature. Essentially, this poem is about finding how creation through God in surprising. To create this meaning, the author uses numerous devices of rhetoric and the effects of tone to create an atmosphere that changes from despairing to hopeful. As a result, we can see how the use of rhetorical devices and tone give meaning to poetry and other forms of literature. |