William Butler Yeats

For my final blog post, I have decided to focus on William Butler Yeats' poem Leda and the Swan. In this poem, Yeats is retelling a story from Greek mythology, the rape of Leda by the god, Zeus, who comes in the form of a swan. The poem describes this act with exceptional vivid language, as it begins rather abruptly:

"A sudden blow: the great wings beating still

Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed

By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,

He holds her helpless breast upon his breast"(1125).

This poem is interesting in that, swans are usually conveyed to represent calm and happy features. In this situation, the swan represents the exact opposite. Perhaps, Zeus came to Leda in the form of a swan to fool her to believe he was harmless, when his intentions were quite hostile. Leda is portrayed as helpless under the great wings of the "dark" swan. The swan has complete control over the incredibly frightened girl. The sensory impact of the poem lies in Yeat's language as he uses ideal descriptions to contrast Leda's weakness and helplessness ("staggering", "helpless", "caressed", "terrified") with the powerful action of the massive swan ("beating", "shudder", "mastered", "burning"). The following stanza contains two rhetorical questions:

"How can those terrified vague fingers push

The feathered glory from her loosening thighs?

And how can body, laid in that white rush,

But feel the strange heart beating where it lies?"(1125).

Yeats uncovers that although this is such a bizarre phenomenon of Leda's rape by a swan, Leda is most obviously helpless because she is a mortal being raped by what is really an immortal, the ruler of all gods - Zeus. Of course she will be helpless in such a situation. The next stanza outlines the consequences of this act, which was the impregnation of Leda to bear Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. Helen of Troy eventually brought about the Trojan War: "The broken wall, the burning roof and tower and Agamemnon dead"(1126). This was the ultimate consequence of the rape. This war's lasting impact was the end of the mythological era and the birth of modern history. In the final stanza, Yeats seeks to explore Leda's thoughts on the situation as he writes:

"Being so caught up,

So mastered by the brute blood of the air,

Did she put on his knowledge with his power

Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?"(1126).

Yeats' seems astounded by the idea that Leda was simply a pawn in the plan Zeus had planned so perfectly. She had no idea of her ultimate significance in the course of history, or that she would be the one to ultimately birth the modern world as a result of this horrific experience. At the time of the raping, she was so incredibly "caught up" in the horror of the situation that her place in history could have seemed other-worldly. The act done to her would eventually lead to other horrible acts like the fall of Troy and the murder of a king. Leda was so unaware of his, a feature which Yeats seems to deeply implore as he vividly connects his readers with the shocking situation and its extensive consequences.  

World War I: Wilfred Owens

Like Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen's war poetry was shockingly realistic as it shamelessly uncovered the horrors associated with World War I. Owen's personal experiences on the frontline of battle must have definitely influenced the tone and content of his poetry. In his Anthem for Doomed Youth, Owen successfully portrays his theme of the horror of war as he writes in a very sorrowful, bitter tone. This poem writes of the innocent lives taken by the war, and laments their unnecessary deaths. 

From the moment the poem begins, the soldiers are described as "cattle" as they are slaughtered unrelentingly in the battlefield (1100). Each line in the first stanza of the poem tries to dehumanize the soldiers by stripping them of any significance or individuality, allowing the reader to feel remorse for their lives as they read into the harsh reality of the soldiers situation. 

"Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle

Can patter out their hasty orisons (1100)."

These lines convey that only the guns can be heard, and "only" the guns are accounted for in the midst of this battle. This is because the guns, the weapons of killing, are responsible for the deaths of many. The guns are described as holding a "monstrous anger"- giving this weaponry human-like emotions and characteristics. Perhaps, Owen does this to further protect the soldiers' innocence, outlining that although the soldier may hold and fire this machinery, they cannot be held responsible for the inherent deadly power associated with such weapons. These guns are so powerful and clamorous that they even cover the sounds of prayer. The soldiers lose more hope and significance, as the guns not only take away their power and individuality, but they also silence their prayers. Owen goes on to speak of the improper burial given to the fallen soldiers. When they die, they are given:

" The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;

And bugles calling for them from sad shires (1101)."

Owen compares the situation around the soldiers death with a funeral proceeding. He compares the noises of battle to "choirs" and "bugles," but his disgusted tone shines through when he writes these noises to be "demented" and "wailing." Owen shows such abhorrence for this unethical treatment because even though these soldiers are dying for their country, showing unimaginable courage and patriotism, they are treated as if the are useless, and their deaths absurd, undeserving of a proper burial. For nothing even mourns their loss other than the sounds of "wailing shells" coming from the weapons that killed them. However, as Owen speaks of the memory of the soldiers, he conveys a little more hope in the situation:

"What candles may be held to speed them all?

Nor in the hands of boys, but in their eyes

Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.

The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;

Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,

And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds (1101)."

Although in the midst of battle, the soldier is given no recognition or significance, his loved ones with the memory of him, shall mourn his death. The funeral of these soldiers do not occur in the battlefield but instead within the grieving of their loved ones. I really loved this last stanza because it showed that although the war is terrorizing and horrific for the soldiers, they can be laid to rest as they are mourned by all of those that have memory of them. They are honored in the tears of their survivors. The poem begins with the soldier's death as insignificant and forgotten, as if one more causality is just impersonal and anonymous. Owen concludes conveying the significance of the individual fallen soldier, each with a family and loved ones whose weeping mourns the loss of their soldier in the most significant way. In this way, the soldier's situation may seem hopeless in the midst of battle, but their courage and sacrifice provide hope for the entire nation they protect by fighting, and for this reason they cannot be forgotten.  

Right now, I am in Washington D.C. and last night I walked along the Vietnam War memorial where there is a wall where over 50,000 names of fallen soldiers are listed. This poem with that experience allowed to to realize that although I may never be able to comprehend the horrors of war, I am capable of joining many others in appreciating the soldiers who have fought for our country with unimaginable courage. To these soldiers I believe we have a solemn obligation to show honor for their bravery and ultimate sacrifice.

 

World War I: Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Sassoon's poem, Glory of Women, was very displeasing to me. Sassoon uses extensive irony to show his bitter and hateful attitude towards the role of the young, working, British women of this time period. This irony begins with the very title of the poem: "Glory of Women," when in no way does this poem seek to glorify women at all. The form of the writing is also rather ironic, for it is written in the form of a sonnet, whose content is usually doting and happy, rather than hating and bitter. The poem outlines the ways in which women show admiration for the soldiers, but Sassoon believes their love to be highly conditional, as it does not apply for the defeated soldiers. Ultimately, he believes these women to be fickle hypocrites who have no business in fancying the tales, wounds, and medals associated with war because they are truly misguided in their definition of heroism. Sassoon begins by writing: 

"You love us when we're heroes, home on leave,

Or wounded in a mentionable place

You worship decorations; you believe

That chivalry redeems the war's disgrace"(1099). 

Sassoon attempts to capture the feelings of every soldier as he uses the pronoun, "we" to show his realization of these women's motives is not just his own, but is the shared notion of many soldiers. The women only love the soldiers for their supposed heroism when the soldiers return from war, wounded from a battle. The women "worship" the the medals the soldiers receive, but only because a decorated soldier is like a trophy himself, one to be flaunted about the town by the woman deemed his sweetheart. The women believe the heroism and "chivalry" of these soldiers to validate the the stigma associated with war; but they are all the while ignorant of the true horrors a soldier endures while at war. 

Sassoon mocks the women's attempt to contribute when he writes sarcastically, "You make us shells. You listen with delight,/ You crown our distant ardours as we fight"(1099). These women, while believing war to be romantic, hoping to be of some help with their insignificant shell-making and worthless encouragement. While actually, the women unknowingly only helping in allowing for more death and blood-shed with their shell-making. Sassoon then condemns the women when he writes:

"You can't believe that British troops 'retire'

When hell's last horror breaks them, and they run,

Trampling the terrible corpses --- blind with blood"(1099).

Sassoon is amazed by the audacity these women have to be unable to find understanding for soldiers who wish to "retire," when the women are completely unaware of the horrific scene Sassoon paints of a battle scene: bloody, filled with corpses, and even hell-like. The women are so far removed from the concept of war that this scene would seem rather like an frightening animation than appalling actuality. The women question a soldiers retirement from war simply because their knowledge of war is so terribly underdeveloped, thus had they been aware of what a soldier really went through, they would probably encourage them to quit. 

The final lines of the poem juxtapose the British women with a German mother:

"O German mother dreaming by the fire,

While you are knitting socks to send your son

His face is trodden deeper in the mud"(1099). 

Sassoon attempts to compare these women to show that British women are in the factories making the shells that murder the German soldiers, the sons of the German mothers Sassoon speaks of. The final and most powerful irony of the poem lies here: the ability of one woman to ultimately be responsible for another woman's grief, who unlike the other women would prefer her soldier to return without decorations, wounds, or even tales, but her soldier is left "trodden deeper in the mud." 

The reality of war is often harsh and ill-understood for those who have no first-hand experience. Unfortunately, Sassoon is also harsh and a little unfair to the women of Britain during World War I. First, these women cannot to completely to blame for their futile knowledge of war. Exactly how were they expected to gain a more sufficient knowledge? Although some women may have found value in the wrong aspects of a soldier, at least they appreciated the underlying cause of the soldier's action, to protect their nation and stand united against the enemy. Second, when Sassoon successfully juxtaposes the British women and the German mother, it is as if he removes everything between the two, such that the British woman is the only agent that led to the event causing the German mother's despair. Unfortunately, this was far from the case. The British woman neither commanded the rifles to be fired, nor did she fire the rifle. Just as Sassoon claimed the women to be so far removed from the concepts of war, they are too equally removed in this case. Overall, I believed Sassoon's poem to be thought-provoking and debatable. However, I found it to be truly interesting that in the midst of war, a time when a nations unity is most crucial, Sassoon whines about all British women, claiming they are ignorant and destructive; thus, Sassoon is guilty of the very offenses he is ascribing to women, for he is being destructive with maintaining Britain's unity and is ignorant of the positive aspects the women could have been contributing. 

Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy's poem, The Convergence of the Twain, was an interesting alternative perspective the happenings associated with the loss of the Titanic. Hardy depicts the the growth and fate of both the ship and the iceberg, which collided as if it were their destiny. 

The first half of the poem conveys the state of the Titanic, now under the sea. Each description of the submerged ship juxtaposes the ways in which the ship was a waste of time, money, and labor. Where there were once "salamandrine fires" in the furnaces of the ship, there are now "cold currents thrid"(1076). The heat and life that once filled the ship have since been replaced with cold and death. Hardy also writes of the former magnificence of the ship when he references the "opulent mirrors" that are now as useless as sea worms: "grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent"(1076). Even the jewels once on board the ship are now on the ocean's floor, "ly[ing] lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind"(1076). It was interesting to me how Hardy uses many vivid adjectives and descriptive alliteration to reference the loss of all the material possessions associated with the ship; but never once does he write of the human lives that were lost. I believe Hardy does this to reveal what the ship truly represented - vanity. The ship was once filled with many luxurious treasures highlighting the vain for which it was created. Now these vanities mean nothing as they are submerged far under the sea, a concept that Hardy mocks in the poem. The vanity of the Titanic cause it to fall far from humanity and become nothing more than a memory and a lesson for those who survived it.

The Titanic was a representation of the wealth and power associated with industrialization. It was created as a symbol for the power of Britain's technology in that time. Hardy writing only of the material items associated with the ship highlights his disdain for the British nation concentrating on so-called progress for pride, wealth, and vanity rather than the suffering and demise of the people. If the Titanic had been built only to navigate the ocean instead of proving Britain's power in the Age of Industrialization, then perhaps it would have not been so fatal to those who bought into its magnificence.

The poem then turns to speak of the the actual cause of the tragedy. Hardy uses the technique of enjambment, to show both the combination of the ship and the iceberg but also their literal collision. As Hardy speaks of the ship's "sinister mate" destined to collide with the Titanic due the the planning of "Immanent Will" or the "Spinner of the Years"(1076-1077). These phrases imply that the tragedy was by no means a coincidence, but rather the Titanic's demise had been planned since its initiation. The eighth stanza is by far the most ominous description of the ships deadly fate, while the ninth begins to describe the collision:

"And as the smart ship grew

In stature, grace, and hue,

In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too.

Alien they seemed to be:

No mortal eye could see

The intimate welding of their later history"(1076-1077).

The first stanza implies that these two enormous forces were built simultaneously. One was built by the power of man, while one was built by the greater power of nature. The next stanza emphasizes an apparent inevitability of the two to meet. Their connection seemed to be like a wedding or even a sexual union of some sort, it was made to be "intimate" because they were truly created for the purpose of combining with one another. Hardy seems to truly convey that no matter the height of human progress that has been obtained, man is always subject to the whim of nature, which has no feeling or care for our fate. Our technology will never be able to surmount the great pillars of nature, like the ocean. For these reasons, man should always remain humble and grounded to prevent disaster. We can be assured that although the Titanic was once full of pride and vanity transversing the mighty ocean, she has most definitely been humbled since the humiliation of crashing and falling to the depths of the ocean, she had tried to conquer.  

Gerard Manely Hopkins

Of Gerard Hopkins' poems, I found Spring and Fall to be very interesting and enjoyable. This poem begins with the speaker questioning a young child, Margaret, who is unhappy because the leaves are falling. The speaker says, "Margaret, are you grieving/ Over Goldengrove unleaving?"(776). Margaret's grieving outlines her innocence. She realizes that as the leaves are falling, they are dying, and therefore, she feels remorse for them. Only the innocence and naivety of a child could experience anxiety over the fate of a simple leaf as if it were of "the things of man"(776). The older speaker tells Margaret:

"Ah! as your heart grows older

It will come to such sights colder

By and by, nor spare a sigh

Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie"(776).

As one grows older, they come to realize that all things come to an end. Everything will eventually die. Age will alter the innocent response conveyed by Margaret. Later in her life, Margaret will witness forests carpeted with dead leaves and such a scene will not evoke any sympathy from her. These leaves can represent man. Just as leaves fall from the tree and die, people will also inevitably fall from existence and die. It is interesting that Gerard chose to title his poem Spring and Fall, rather than using the British term "autumn." I believe he does this so that he may link autumn decay with the biblical fall of man from grace. Gerard also juxtaposes this "fall" with the spring-like child nature, one associated with freshness, innocence, and young emotion. Because Margaret is so young, she feels a bond with nature that allows her connect to it in an intimate way giving her feelings of remorse when she sees it decay. This youthful communion with nature reminds me of William Wordsworth's poem, Tintern Abbey, where he writes of his former communion with nature. Wordsworth's child perspective allowed him to become completely immersed in nature, such that in was his "all in all"(204). 

As the poem continues, the speaker uncovers the true reason why Margaret weeps. Even as she grows older, she will continue to cry over the same things, but now while she is still young, she cannot fully understand why she experiences this remorse. The speaker claims:

"Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed

What heart heard of, ghost guessed

It is the blight man was born for,

It is Margaret you mourn for"(776). 

Margaret's heart knew why she was weeping, but her mind and mouth were yet too innocent to understand. The final lines reveal to Margaret the reason for her sadness. The origin of her remorse will be the same as that of her childish grief because, "sorrow's springs are the same"(776). Upon adulthood, Margaret will be conscious of the reason behind her grief- she is truly mourning her own mortality. For just as the leaves have an end, Margaret's heart knows that she too will have an end. This must have been such a dreadful and scary conclusion for a child to encounter, a conclusion that Hopkin's must have remembered experiencing for himself. Margaret represents a stage that every person must reach in comprehending mortality and loss. These stages are just like the passing of seasons. In the spring, the children like new leaves are naive and innocent and as fall approaches each child now aware and more adult-like falls from the tree of life, like a leaf falls among the infinite number of other leaves that had fallen before him. 

  

John Stuart Mill

The views of John Stuart Mill concerning the roles of women completely juxtapose the views of Sarah Ellis. Mill promoted sexual equality, among his many other radical views like the right to divorce, universal suffrage, free speech, and promotional representation. He did not believe that a women's duties were strictly confined to domestic affairs and a women's purpose was only to keep their husbands content, as did Ellis. Mills revokes this inferiority in Chapter 1 of The Subjection of Women when he writes:

"- the legal subordination of one sex to the other - is wrong in itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human improvement; and that ought to be replaced by a principle of perfect equality, admitting no power or privilege on the one side, nor disability on the other"(521). 

In reading this quotation, the reader can clearly witness what Mill believes in: sexual equality. He states that no gender is greater than another. Women should not be inferior to men, just as men should not be subordinate to women. If these views of subordination are adopted (with either gender considered inferior), it only cripples the ability of society to continue towards human improvement. 

Mill also writes, " the opinion in favour of the present system, which entirely subordinates the weaker sex to the stronger, rests upon theory only"(521). Basically, there is no significant evidence that proves one gender should be inferior to another. This idea was created by the belief of society, a belief that was constructed without examining that such a convention would be advantageous. Mill reiterates this as he writes, "the adoption of this system of inequality never was the result of deliberation, or forethought, or any social ideas, or any notion whatever of what conduced to the benefit of humanity or the good order of society"(522). Mills continues in a well developed argument against theories, uncovering that many have been proven to be false. He argues that slave owners of the Southern United States also held their "theories" to be absolute, but was not this concept similar to the one concerning sexual equality? He questions his reader, "Did they not call heaven and earth to witness that the domination of the white man over the black is natural?"(522). By this point in history, slavery had been outlawed and was considered highly unacceptable in society. Mills points out that society was formerly wrong when they believed black men to be inferior to white men, subjecting the black men to white man's rule. Just as society was wrong in this belief, they are equally wrong in presuming that women are unequal and subordinate to men. Yet, Mills concludes that the reasoning behind these feelings is the association among individuals in sharing one another's conclusions. He writes, "A stupid person's notions and feelings may confidently be inferred from those which prevail in the circle by which the person is surrounded"(524). It is always easier for people to ascribe to the conclusions that are most popular, and least refuted. For an individual, this is like taking the easy way out- they do not have to explore their personal feelings, or be educated in what they believe to be right or wrong, nor do they have to experience disagreement when their personal beliefs are contested. If someone were to ever disagree with their shared conclusions, they would not lose anything in being proven false, for their personal belief was never grounded in such an idea. This simple road is taken by so many that soon everyone ascribes to an idea that they may or may not truly believe. So if one tried to take the road least traveled by ascribing to a different theory, he would face overwhelming opposition that could easily cause him to turn away from his conclusions from fear alone. 

Unfortunately, many women writing in this era were overlooked. And the men who may have seen the injustice in gender inequality, were, for reasons described by Mills, unable to confess their beliefs. The men who did opt to write and fight for women's rights were written of as too radical an were looked down upon, as John Mills was. Fortunately enough people reached their personal conclusions regarding this injustice and voiced them. Therefore, we can thank writers and reformers like Mill who took a risk in fighting for what he believed was right.

  

Victorian Ladies and Gentlemen: Sarah Stickney Ellis

While reading the section on Victorian Ladies and Gentlemen, I gained immense insight into the lifestyle of women in the Victorian era. Women's duties were strictly domestic; they were in charge of all affairs related to the home and of the family, while the men attended the business world, and were expected to financially provide for their home. These roles seemed unvarying and absolute. Tennyson captures the boundaries of these gender implications in his poem, The Princess:

"Man for the field and women for the hearth:

Man for the sword and needle for the she:

Man with the head and woman with the heart:

Man to command and woman to obey

All else confusion"(555).

In the Victorian era, a woman seeking a career or a man raising his children would have seemed outrageous. During this time, the wife was never the "bread-winner," nor was her husband "Mr. Mom." Such absolute definitions were placed on these now versatile roles, a jurisdiction that would seem quite odd to our modern day society. I would be infuriated knowing that my future had already been defined for me, and there was nothing I could do to escape it. A Victorian woman "could not work outside the home; they could not vote; they had no legal rights, even over their own children; they could not attend university or enter the professions"(556). All women were treated as convicts, with rules and regulations criticizing their every move. The had only one objective, one purpose: to tend to their children and keep their husbands content. Even these roles, the duties of the home, seemed to be unappreciated yet expected. (I wonder what Felicia Hemans would have written towards the lack of importance deemed upon these women and their duties?)   

Sarah Stickney Ellis wrote to encourage women to accept this social confinement and find contentment in the happiness of their superior male companions: their husbands, brothers, and sons. Ellis also discouraged women to seek education, for she found this did not benefit the women's domestic affairs and was therefore, unnecessary. 

In her writing, The Women of England: Their Social Duties and Domestic Habits, Ellis outlines the multiple reasons why women should seek only to perform household duties, and to focus only on domestic affairs and the importance of women confined to this realm. Ellis writes, "the influence of women in counteracting the growing evils of society is about to be needed more than ever" (558). She then questions, "Will an increase of intellectual attainments, or higher style of accomplishments, effect this purpose?"(558). Ellis argues that since women seeking education will not help them to fight "growing evils," then they should not, in any way attempt to gain intellect through academic conquests. The only focus a woman should have, at this time, is combating the calamitous happenings in society. Engagement in "superficial reading" will not be able to aid the women in assisting men, so they should not do it. 

I strongly disagree with Ellis on these points. When ever has knowledge of any kind and all kinds not assisted in one's ability to understand the world around them? If women are only taught to cook, clean, and watch over their children, what profound "influence" might they have over the "growing evils of society"? Ellis is encouraging women to focus on battling evil, when she discourages them to gain the tools appropriate to do so. I wonder if Ellis is aware of this, so she is simply building the self-esteem of these inferior women to think that they are important and have "influence," when they are actually being distracted from the injustice that defines their lives. Logically speaking, it would truly benefit society if women were able to break out of their confinement to the home. In this way, the knowledge of men could be coupled with the newly-gained knowledge of women. If female intellect had been ignored as it was in the Victorian era, we would have also ignored the discoveries of Rosalind Franklin, who made instrumental contributions to the understanding of DNA, or Caroline Herschel, who is attributed to discovering the planet Uranus. To think that these women, and many more who have helped to define many successes of discovery and ingenuity, could have been discouraged by society to seek education, is but a disgusting idea in my mind. The ignorance of this period, regarding the intellect of women, is shown by Ellis's writing, a woman who could have also made greater contributions to history, rather than attempting to stifle greatness in others.