Twentieth Posting

Virginia Woolf what a weird woman, but I guess we all can be. "The Lady in the Looking-Glass: A Reflection" is a very funny reading to me. I really enjoyed reading about a nosey person. I understand that the story is more meaningful than what I see it as, but I think I can still explain and express my own opinion. In the introduction it actually helped me to really understand exactly what the story symbolized and it truly written about. I think it is just merely a person being nosey. I really think it is so realistic. I can literally see a woman sitting and focusing on a looking glass in order to be able to see what is going on in someone else's life or home. I think it is great how the description is so detailed from the garden to the cabinets. I know that I should probably focus on Isabella Tyson who had so secrets. The narrator basically helps to clarify that you really don't know what goes on behind closed doors and also you can judge a book by its cover. I really think that this type of activity is probably some kind of crime now-a-days (haha). I like how she is sarcastic at the end by saying "People should not leave looking-glasses hanging in their rooms" this statement to me really made the story. I think the ending was actually the best part she really did a good job building up to that ending.

Nineteenth Posting

T.S. Eliot seemed like a descent guy. He grew up in a very wealthy and smart family. I believe that there was 3 U.S. Presidents and even a reverend in his family and also some Harvard Graduates. He also seemed to be a pretty religious man.

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is definitely not a love song, but more of a personal poem I think. The narrator is expressing his personal thoughts. He also experiences a lot of conflicts of his life. Throughout the poem he throws in a few religious points some of which include "But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed" and "I am Lazarus, come from the dead, Come back to tell you all..." He is speaking of fasting and praying which are both very religious topics to talk about. He also talks about Lazarus and he is stating that Jesus Raised from the dead yet he is not Lazarus. One of the parts of the poem that I liked was page 1195 lines 37-48 this reminds me of a conflict that the narrator is experiencing a midlife crisis. He is worried about the way that he looks, his hair, arms and legs. I think this section is funny I liked it because it reminds me of my parents. Lines 70-72 is when he is a bet depressed and lonely.

I enjoyed T.S. Eliot he seems to actually be one of the good guys. He actually doesn't seem to have so much drama in his life.

Eighteenth Posting

Wyndham Lewis was the founder of the magazine Blast. Blast was made to suggest an explosive charge it was supposed to be bright and exciting to get rid of the boring stuff. Blast is such a weird magazine. The entries that are in the book don't really all make sense. They are really out in left field. The "Vorticist Manifesto Long Live the Vortex!" WOW!! I really don't know what to say. There is a lot of hardcore things said in this article. I really like the part where he states that Blast is not made for a certain class of people, but for "THE INDIVIDUAL." What a strong and awesome statement to really let people know how you feel. He goes on the talk about how the magazine is created for everyone even the King. The last statement is awesome way to sell a magazine "Blast presents an art of individuals." I really like how this whole article is worded it is so powerful. I really am not sure what to think about the other things that are written and presented.

I also enjoyed "The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke out of this section of reading. It made me think about the soldiers now. The soldier is basically saying that if he is to die just remember that he was a soldier who accomplished things. He really doesn't want the people to think of him but of the land that he fought or or for "That is forever England." He states "And think, this heart, all evil shed away," he doesn't want there to be bad thoughts please let those thoughts go away. "And Laughter, learnt of friends" he wants happiness and times spend with friends. This is a touching poem. I think it is one that all of the soldiers families should read.

I really don't have to much more to say about this section these are really the only things that interested me the most.

Seventeenth Posting

William Butler Yeats another sad poet well in the sense of his childhood. Yeats grew up very poor and lived a ruff life. At a young age he even tried to help with finances for his family. Yeats is another great poet.

"The Lake Isle of Innisfree" this is where I want to be a small island. I thought this poem was great. I really can image being on this island with nature and a cabin. He describes the sound of the "lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore" and how he can hear it on the pavement or the roadway. He even says "I hear it in the deep heart's core" like he can even hear the sounds of the water and nature within himself. What a fantastic feeling. I enjoyed reading this poem line to line.

I also enjoyed "The wild Swans at Coole" it is another poem that made me feel at one with nature. I see the autumn beauty all of the colors on the trees and the dried up leaves. "Under the October twilight the water mirrors a still sky;" can't you visualize the water very still and calm with just those few little ripples in it and the light of the moon and the sky reflecting off of it. He goes on to start talking about the swans. He describes how he sees the swans every time he comes and how there wings sound as they fly. He almost compares the swans to people and how they by sating their feelings and their hearts. At the end of the poem he states "Delight men's eyes when I awake some day To find they have flown away?" what a neat ending and such a true statement. He admired something so much and enjoyed it so much that one day it will be gone. It is almost like the saying you don't know what you have til it's gone. He didn't realize really how much he enjoyed their beauty until they weren't there anymore. I really liked the ending of this poem.

I enjoyed reading Yeats poetry. I admire him for his hard work, all the way up until he died he worked hard on his writings.

Sixteenth Posting

Bernand Shaw is a play writer. I think I enjoyed reading his soap opera "Pygmalion." The only problem I had was that it was really long. I say it is a soap opera because it is very similar to our everyday life in a sense. All of the different people and events. The Mother and Daughter and going out in the rain. This is just an example of something that happens in everyday life.

On page 1015 he really does a good job of describing the living conditions. Eliza seems to live in very poor conditions. It is really kind of sick. I can actually visualize the run down house and all of the old fixings.

I really am upset about the ending. It kind of made it pointless in reading the whole play. The ending was completely unfinished that is horrible. I wonder does Eliza leave Higgins for good to marry Freddy or does she stay with Higgins. I think in the end I kind of wasted my time reading this it is like watching a movie that doesn't have a good ending. I know that I can't stand the feeling of not knowing.

Fifteenth Posting

Thomas Hardy was not only a poet, but also a fiction novelist. He also seems to be a bet opposite of Hopkins especially in the poem "Hap." "If but some vengeful god would call to me From up the sky, and laugh:" this opening of this poem makes me feel that Hardy is wondering if there is a God in heaven that he can talk to. The whole poem basically makes me think that Hardy questions if there is a God. He wonders if The God will cause him to shed tears. He just really shows how opposite he is from Hopkins in this poem because Hopkins is pretty set in his religions beliefs unlike Hardy.

"On the Departure Platform" is a very sweet poem. This poem has got to be considered a love poem. I love when men write poetry like this. I like how he describes the spot that she represents as she gets further and further away. I can see it as I read it. At the end of the poem "And why, young man, must eternally fly A joy you'll repeat, if you love her well?" I think he is saying will you go back again to see her off or you will do this again if you really love her. I like this poem it is completely different from "Hap." Hardy talks about two different things: Love and God.

All of Hardy's poetry is different he talks about God, love, Titanic, The Nation, etc. It seems like a lot of poets tend to stay close to the same types of topics and styles when they write and Hardy really veers off from that stereotype.

Fourteenth Posting

Gerard Manley Hopkins is a very interesting poet. Hopkins shows in his poetry that he was surrounded by religion most of his life.

In the poem "God's Grandeur" he shows a relationship between God and nature. "It will flame out, like shining from shook foil," this is describing how the world is growing to expand with God like a sense of a leaf or tinsel. The poem also shows God and his control and protection when it talks about the "Holy Ghost over the bent world broods" and "bright wings." These are both symbols of protection.

Well, the poem "I Wake and Feel the Fell of Dark. Not Day" is really out there. This poem is very dark and weird. I really am not sure if I understand it completely, but I feel that he is kind of talking about hell. I feel that he may be expressing a time that he was upset or depressed. This poem just really scares me in a sense the way that it is worded.

Hopkins is a very odd poet. I can't really decide whether I like his writings or not. In a sense I really don't know what to say about him.

Thirteenth Posting

Oscar Wilde is described as a funny guy I wish I could have met him I love funny people they can always put a smile on your face. Wilde was a busy guy he was a performer and a writer. I like his saying " I have put my talent into my works. I have put my genius into my life." After reading about him this seems to be very true. He became famous and rich because of his talent.

The poem "Impression du Matin" is very beautiful. I can visualize the picture in my head. The colors, the birds, the pale woman it is all there. I think it is kind of interesting that Wilde's good friend wanted to cause trouble over this poem. The poem was describing his painting not still his ideas. I would have thought that since they were such good friends they could have joined together with this work and maybe sold things in pairs. The picture and the poem. I just think that is odd that they lost friendship over this.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" is great. It still is funny now in this day and time. This play was know as one of the most hilarious in the English Language. Algernon in the play seem to be the funny start forward kind of guy with a sarcasm about him. I think that is really what makes the play good.

Twelfth Posting

John Stuart Mill seems to be a good guy. He definitely was a gentlemen. He accomplished a lot of things in his life time. He followed in the footsteps of his father who probably was a good man himself. Mill was an unoridinary man. He wanted the equal rights for women. He definitely gives his thoughts on society as a whole from his personal stand point and what he feels is right and wrong.

"The Subjection of Women" is a create writing I would have never expected a man to write this. He feels that society men and women should have equal rights. He shows this through his thoughts and opinions in this essay. I like how he compares slave owners and government men and the whole power that they have. I really thought that a point was made here. I can't believe that women were tried as slaves were. I still can't believe that there were a such thing as slaves in the first place. Things were horrible back then. He makes a point about women and their husbands and how they had to depend on everything from them. I love how times have changed it is awesome. Women actually can go out and make way more money than their husband and men are even being the stay at home dads.

I think that if it weren't for people like Mill in society that things would not be how they are today. I know that Mill even stated that there would eventually be change that it would just happen gradually. I now that times would change, but I worried if people like Mill hadn't taken a stand towards society would things still be horrible for women? Would there have not of been such a drastic change?

I really enjoyed Mill's he is a respectable guy in a sense and I thank him for standing up for women and their rights.

Eleventh Posting

Well, "Ladies and Gentlemen" I always thought of this as what a person say when they are introducing someone at a show of some sort. It is a saying that is always said at entertainment events like baseball, wrestling, etc. This was the first thought I had when I read the title of the reading.

Well, according to this reading "Ladies and Gentlemen" refer to the rich and what are supposed to be proper. I guess in a sense there are some rich and proper people out there today, but there are a lot of rich improper people out there that don't know how to have good manners (Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, etc.). I really think it is funny how they separated people in this time and the bad part about it is that we as a society still do it. Like for example "among middle class men, the clearest social division was between those who had attended a public school (an elite boarding school) and those who had not. I think we still do this today don't we?

I would like to talk about Charlotte Bronte and how she was treated. The school teachers should have been people that were looked up too. Like now-a-days we would be a lot of stupid illiterate people if it were for our school teachers. I still think that school teachers are poorly paid for the job that they have to do, but I have never thought a teacher should be treated any worse than any other person especially by her employer. In the letter to her sister she is very unhappy with her life and situation. She say that there is a such thing as having beautiful around you but not being able to enjoy it. I think we all feel this way from time to time. She basically comes across as felling used and abuse.

I also think that it is horrible that as governess the women were cut off from their family and friends I am sure this made the situation even worse. I really think this was a difficult time for women along with a lot of different past times in society. I feel like women are just now starting to get a break from almost everything.

Tenth Posting

Well, I wondered just like I am sure everyone else did if Robert and Elizabeth were related. Well, after reading about Elizabeth it is true that are married not related. They seemed to have a great relationship. Robert seemed to be a good husband and father. He took good care of his wife so much that he really didn't have to much time to focus on his writings. Browning creativity and talent was brought on by his parents who were completely opposite of Elizabeth's parents. They brought him up as a gentleman and he received all kinds of lessons.
The poem "My Last Duchess" is great I liked it. I felt that the picture represented what men wanted a pretty picture, no realness. The picture of her smiling is a symbol of the women at this time they were one dimensional. I enjoyed this poem.

Ninth Posting

I like how Elizabeth's introduction starts off "Elizabeth Barrett Browning was the most celebrated woman poet if the Victorian era" this immediately caused me to want to read on about her. I really think that the childhood that she had to live was difficult for the fact that she had lung disease. Her father seemed like a jerk. He didn't want what was good for his children. She needed to be living in better conditions in order to fight off her disease. Even though she had some problem she still accomplished a lot she wrote "The Battle of Marathon" at twelve. I think that the story of her and Robert is great. I think it is awesome that he was younger than her, but they were both so old. The started out as friends and ended up married. A great point was made about how the verse novel "Aurora Leigh" was the first poem in English in which the heroine, like the author, is a woman writer, "Aurora Leigh" rewrites Wordworth's "The Prelude" from a female point of view. I think this is great women's power. I love when women accomplish something good and it is actually acknowledged.
"Aurora Leigh" is extremely long. I really like the section BOOK 2 (woman and artist) "The whole creation in my little cup, And smiled with thirsty lips before I drank" what a visual. I really like the wording that she uses in her writing. This is really a strong statement. It really made me think. She uses very good imagery and comparison to explain how she feels about her life and what she has accomplished.
I really don't know how I feel about Elizabeth Browning I really don't care for her father and his care for his children, but I am glad she went on to become a great woman and made sure that people knew that.

Eighth Posting

Alfred, Lord Tennyson was yet another author that was interesting to read about. After he was basically shut down by his grandfather and given the money. I bet his grandfather felt stupid after Tennyson published so much and became so successful. I also thought that it was cool that both of his parents including his alcoholic father loved poetry. He grew up in poverty and an unstable family, but Tennyson became a great poet in the end no matter what. Everyone expected this of him seeing as he was the image of what a poet is said to look like. I enjoyed the poems "The Kraken" and "Crossing the Bar" both poems are about the sea and also short and sweet. "The Kraken" is a very animated poem I can actually see what is gong on. I can see the sea monster sleeping in his cave "The Kraken sleepeth..." and he will rise and die on the surface. This poem I am sure has more meaning to it. Possibly this is how Tennyson felt as a child kind of trapped in a sense. "Crossing the Bar" is a very peaceful poem. I feel like Tennyson was at peace when writing this poem I can almost imagine him getting on a boat in the dark and wanting to know what the pilot looks like. In the poem he can't wait to see the pilot who he has been on the boat with and he knows he won't be able to see him until he crosses the bar and is in the light. I think we have all wondered what it would be like to be in an situation like this.

Seventh Posting

Thomas Carlyle was known for his imaginative, eccentric works of history and social criticism. Carlyle was a very religious person he went to college and studied ministry. He was a very spiritual person. This along with his writing could have been what made him seem to be one of the sane authors unlike the others that we have read about. I thought it was interesting how Carlyle wrote "The French Revolution," but lent it to a friend whose house maid accidentally burned it. He had to rewrite it and that was torture for him. He felt that strong leaders were the only hope for social reform. He was probably right about that. I enjoyed the entry from "Gospel of Mammonism" about the Irish Widow. I thought this really helped with the visuals of how things were at this time. I think this is a very touching story and it is pretty sad.

Sixth Posting

Reading about Industrialism was interesting. This time period was known to be "the most fundamental transformation of human life in the history of the world" according to Eric Hobsbawm. This is a very strong statement basically saying that this is one of the biggest changes in the world. The cotton industry is where it all started and continued to grow into the railroad boom. Then if you look at what we have today we could survive with out our technology and industries. The working conditions at this time were horrible. Men, women, and children were working in filth and horrid conditions. The worst part about this was that there living conditions were said for some, to be worse than their working conditions. There was several different writers that evolved during this time Dickens, Disraeli, Engels, Kemble, etc. All of these writers wrote very inspirational pieces.

This was another period in time that can be looked back on and the people should be praised. These people worked very hard and they didn't have too much to show for it. This is also another time that we as Americans can look at and once again be thankful for what we have and our rights as citizens. I don't think any of us can image what it was like to live in these conditions.

Fifth Posting

John Keats is a very interesting poet for one reason being that he was so young. Keats really didn't get to experience life as much as most people do because he died at age 25. Keats had a difficult childhood. His father died in an accident when he was nine and his mother left her kids for four years. Keats was close to his mother and she died after he nursed her illness when he was fourteen. I thought it was awesome that he survived through all of this and more as a child. I enjoyed some of Keats poetry. "Ode on Melancholy" is a sad poem. This poem basically is tell the reader how to deal with melancholy or sadness when it hits you and how it feels. This poem is very touching mainly for the fact that it was written by such a young poet. I also liked "Bright Star" it is very easy to relate to. I think we all look at the stars from time to time and realize how amazing they truly are. Keats is an amazing person. I really thought that his childhood story was touching. He was a great poet especially seeing as he didn't have as much schooling as other poets that we have already read.

Fourth Posting

After reading the brief summary about Percy Bysshe Shelley I found out that he would probably not be liked by a lot of people in present day life. I think he would have been considered a child molester and a pimp, player, or swinger however you want to put it. He should have never been married because he broke his vowels severely. Shelley mainly traveled throughout his life. He seemed to be very rebellious. I feel that he was also stuck up and felt that he could do whatever he wanted because of how he was raised and who raised him. He was raised wealthy and was a son of a member of Parliament. All of this is reflected in his poetry. His poems were about nature such as severe storms, seasons, childhood, etc. I really didn't like Shelley's poetry I didn't really get into it. I just don't have much to say. I mean based on what I read about him he disgusts me. Well, any child molester does.

Third Posting

William Blake was another interesting writer. I really don't know how to take him. He is peaceful and dark, he is heavenly and hell, and he is happy and sad. William Blake has no formal education he became a excellent poet and writer from being an avid reader. I thought this was very interesting I love how some people are just gifted to write. I really wish that I was gifted and able to write I am a horrible writer. "With precocious talent as a sketcher, he hoped to become a painter, but his father could not afford the tuition, and so apprenticed him at fourteen as an engraver" this was very interesting information to know. I think it is neat how he wanted to become a painter and instead became a poet.

"The Lamb" is an interesting poem I think it is peaceful and dark. I feel that the Lamb represents Christ. This poem gave me a sense of peace, but at the same time was dark and deep. It implicates innocence with dangerous ignorance and vulnerability to oppression.

"The Fly" is very interesting and in a sense sad and depressing. The person is depressed and thinks that everything about his life is pointless. It is almost as if the person wants to be the fly or is comparing life to the fly. It to me it a bit disturbing.

These are just two of Blake's poems that I enjoyed and thought were interesting. I think Blake was inspired in writing his poems by his childhood and his experiences in life. Blake uses a lot of innocence in his writings. I really like how he doesn't strictly write about one type of topic, but a variety of topics and idea.

Second Posting

Mary Wollstonecraft is a hard writer to understand until you kind of get into her readings and realize that she is basically talking about Burke. Burke and Wollstonecraft have view opposing views. She refutes Burke's views. "Concerned chiefly to refute Burke's arguments for the heredity succession of the crown, the inviolability of a national constitution, and the necessary alliance of church and state..." Almost everything that Burke wrote she refutes and has an opposite view. I feel that the different views and how she goes about talking about her views of Burke is very entertaining. Burke seems to be the one who doesn't want things to change at all. Wollstonecraft wants to explore. She wants oppression to end. She seems to want people who are interested in the revolution to read her ideas.

Wollstonecraft is against Burke's views and feels as if he makes up arguments because he wants attention from the readers as mentioned in the Podcast. I would have to agree with her. After reading Burke he does seem to try and get attention from the readers and has an argument about everything.

In the section "The Rich and The Poor" Wollstonecraft raises a lot of questions in the sixth paragraph. She also answers the questions her language in this paragraph is very confusing and kind of hard to interpret. She seems to basically be taking the rich and the poor and comparing there lives to other forms of nature. Like the Peasant stealing the farm she then uses the cow, children, and the hut and so on. I had to read this paragraph several times.

I felt that Wollstonecraft was hard to understand, but I really enjoyed reading her work. She is very forward about how she feels about Burke. Burke and Wollstonecraft seemed to have one thing in common and that would be appealing to the audience and keeping their attention. They definitely had different views, but they both had understanding views. I enjoyed both views and readings. They both seemed to keep me on my toes and wanting to read a little more.

First Posting

This reading was difficult to understand. I really am happy about the Podcast they helped a lot. The language used just seems a little hard to interpret.

After listening to the second podcast about the background information. I found it very interesting that the 1800s was when trends started and the democratic political power came into view. People got excited about new opportunities. There were new jobs available and families started to live in the cities instead of in the countries. There were tons of questions then about life and society and til this day there still are questions. This information was very informative and helped with the understanding of the reading.

I enjoyed Edmond Burke's sections. Burke uses a lot of satire and sarcasm in his writings. Burke's views are different from the other writers Williams, Wollstonecrest and Paine all agreed with the end of the French Monarchy while Burke opposed the French Revolution he favored the American Revolution. Burke views the French Revolution as unnatural because it is none traditional. On page 47 Burke states "Everything seems out of nature in this strange chaos of levity and ferocity, and of all sorts of crimes jumbled together with all sorts of follies."

Burke states how he feels about the rights of men and says "men have the right to live by the rule; they have a right to do justice, as between their fellows are in public function or in ordinary occupation." He continues on he thinks that men can do whatever they want as long as they don't disrespect another man. Burke definitely makes it clear on what he thinks the real rights of men are.

Burke seems to want the readers to agree with him. There is several parts where I felt like I was being spoken to directly. Burke jokes and uses sarcasm. As mentioned in the podcast he uses a lot of sarcasm in the section "The Arrest and Imprisonment of the King and the Queen" on page 52 he is trying the associate with the readers and on page 53 there is a whole section that he uses sarcasm and satire. These types of writing can keep a reader reading and interested. I am sure that this allows the reader to agree with Burke and his views most of the time.

I really enjoyed the reading and views of Burke. Burke is a very interesting writer he is not afraid t say exactly what he thinks. I also enjoy his sarcasm and satire. This makes it easier to read and relate too. Burke definitely knows how to hold the attention of his audience.

Hello

Hey my name is Krista Sitten. I am a Business Major. I will be a senior after this summer. I am taking 2 online courses and 2 night courses. I just recently got a job at BB&T Bank and I love it.

I am new to the online course world and I really struggle with English it is one of my worst subjects, but I hope to learn alot and grow in my reading and writting skills. I am ready to get started.