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38.cao Thu Hien - Tong Hop AM
38.cao Thu Hien - Tong Hop AM
a.Simile: has the effect of evoking pictures to help describe things and events to be
more specific and vivid.
- His hair is dark as the hyacinth-blossom, and his lips are red as the rose of his
desire; but passion has made his lace like pale Ivory, and sorrow has set her seal
upon his brow.
- She passed through the grove like a shadow, and like a shadow she sailed across
the garden.
- 'My roses are white,' it answered; 'as white as the foam of the sea, and whiter than
the snow upon the mountain.
- Bitter, bitter was the pain, and wilder and wilder grew her song, for she sang
of the Love that is perfected by Death, of the Love that dies not in the
tomb.Ellipsis
… "No red rose in all my garden!” He cried.
"Why, indeed?" said a Butterfly.
Oscar Wilde also used inversion devices to make the languages rich and
colorful. Here are some syntactic parallel constructions to show the inversion.
For example:
… louder and louder grew her song ,
… bitter and bitter was the pain,wilder and wilder grew her song
…. fainter and fainter grew her song. ……
The above sentences are inverted, but they are more important in view of
parallelism. When we read, the tone is up and down with strong rhythm. It gives
us a musical effect to the readers. …………
d.Repetition
is used to emphasize important details by repeating.
An obvious example is the three conversations of the nightingale with the oak
tree.
- ‘Give me a red rose’, she cried, ‘and I will sing you my sweetest song.’
But the Tree shook its head.
'My roses are white,' it answered; 'as white as the foam of the sea, and whiter
than the snow upon the mountain. But go to my brother who grows round the
old sun-dial, and perhaps he will give you what you want.'
- ‘Give me a red rose’, she cried, ‘and I will sing you my sweetest song.’
But the Tree shook its head.
'My roses are yellow,' it answered; 'as yellow as the hair of the mermaiden who
sits upon an amber throne, and yellower than the daffodil that blooms in the
meadow before the mower comes with his scythe. But go to my brother who
grows beneath the Student's window, and perhaps he will give you what you
want.'
- ‘Give me a red rose’, she cried, ‘and I will sing you my sweetest song.’
But the Tree shook its head.
'My roses are red,' it answered, 'as red as the feet of the dove, and redder than
the great fans of coral that wave and wave in the ocean-cavern.
Another example in the development punctuated by repetition helps the reader
to imagine how great the nightingale's sacrifice was.
- But the Tree cried to the Nightingale to press closer against the thorn. 'Press
closer, little Nightingale,' cried the Tree, 'or the Day will come before the rose
is finished.'
So the Nightingale pressed closer against the thorn, and louder and louder grew
her song, for she sang of the birth of passion in the soul of a man and a maid.
- And the Tree cried to the Nightingale to press closer against the thorn. 'Press
closer, little Nightingale,' cried the Tree, 'or the Day will come before the rose
is finished.'
So the Nightingale pressed closer against the thorn, and the thorn touched her
heart, and a fierce pang of pain shot through her. Bitter, bitter was the pain, and
wilder and wilder grew her song, for she sang of the Love that is perfected by
Death, of the Love that dies not in the tomb.
e. Paradox
The Professor's daughter rejects the Student. The Student calls the Professor's
daughter "ungrateful" and then throws away the rose the Nightingale died to
create, proving himself the ultimate ingrate. This is yet another example of
dramatic irony because the Student has no idea he is squandering a precious
sacrifice.
f. Personification
This is self-evident because it is the very definition of fairy tales. In this story,
the rose-trees, the lizard, the daisy, the butterfly, the oak, the moon, and of
course the Nightingale are all personified.
REVISION:
Multiple-choice and True/False questions:
1. What color rose is the student searching for?
a. red b. yellow c. white d. pink
2. What does the nightingale admire about the student?
a. He’s a good singer. b. He values love above all else.
c. He likes birds. d. He wears really nice clothes.
The nightingale wants the student to experience the love that he was dreaming
about. Also she didn't know it the girl loved the boy or she would accept the rose,
but she gave her life away so as to at last offer him a chance.
3. Where does the student plan to present the rose to the girl?
a. at her house b. at school
c. at the Prince’s Ball d. at the football game
In "The Nightingale and the Rose," when the student finds the beautiful red rose,
he brings it his beloved's home on the day of the ball.
Reflextive Questions:
Mr. Kelada enters into an argument with Mr. Ramsay, regarding a chain worn by
Mrs. Ramsay. While Mr. Ramsay says that the chain is made of fake pearls, Mr.
Kelada argues that the pearls are natural and very valuable. They enter into a bet
for 100 dollars. Mr.Kelada examines the chain. He appears to have found the
pearls as natural. But, looking at Mrs. Ramsay’s pleading eyes, he does not reveal
the truth. He accepts that the pearls are fake and loses 100 dollars to Mr. Ramsay.
The next day, he receives an envelope containing 100 dollar note thrown into his
cabin.
Thus, Mr. Kelada, who appears as a silly character in the beginning, due to his
talkative nature, proves himself as a helping and kind-hearted person. The author
starts liking him.
II. Literary Analysis
1. Describe the characters
a. Mr. Kelada:
Kelada is a successful, widely-traveled businessman. It is therefore difficult to
believe that he does not understand the normal conventions of polite “British”
behavior. His ship-board informality can perhaps be put down to trying a little
too hard to be liked and accepted socially by other passengers.
b. Mr.Ramsay:
Works at the US Consulate in Kobe. He was a native of the Middle East,
very stout, greasy, his clothes tight. He flew to New York to visit his wife
who had been at home for a year and was on her way back to headquarters
Inferring. Mr. Ramsay is really the ignorant showoff in the story. He is also
insensitive to the feelings of others, especially his wife's feeling. Answer
should be supported by one or more of the following: He pretends to know
about pearls but really couldn't tell that his wife's pearls weren't fake. / He
doesn't notice that Mrs. Ramsay doesn't want to take off her pearls.
c. Mrs. Ramsay as the symbol of modesty. She was small and pretty, well-
mannered, and had a good sense of humour. The Consulate pays low wages,
so her dress is very simple; but she knows how to dress and works with it.
B. Questions
1. Mr. Ramsay and Revision: made a bet at the dinner table. What was the bet
about?
If it was left by Mrs Ramsay, the fact that there is no thank you note inside
indicates that she is a shallow character with little concern for others. She does not
understand or appreciate the sacrifice that Mr Kelada made for her, and regards the
$100 simply as a loan to be repaid.
2. After Mr. Kelada examines the pearls and returns the necklace, the
narratorsays: "Suddenly he caught sight of Mrs. Ramsay's face. It was so
whitethat she looked as though she were about to faint. She was staring athim
with wide and terrified eyes." What is Mrs. Ramsay so afraid of? Explain.
Ramsay is correct in declaring that foul weather will ruin the next day's
voyage, she persists in assuring James that the trip is a possibility. Mrs. Ramsay
cheated on her husband and received the pearl chain as a gift from her lover. She
lied to her spouse about purchasing the pearl chain for 18 dollars. She was
concerned that if Mr. Kelada examined the chain, her deception would be exposed
and the marriage would end.
3. At the end of the story the narrator says: "At that moment I did not
entirely dislike Mr. Kelada". What caused him to say this?
He realizes that Mr. Kelada is better than he had previously imagined. Mr.
Kelada is a nice person who understands what others are concerned about and is
willing to risk his reputation to salvage someone's marriage.
If I were Mr. Ramsay, I'd hunt for the true narrative after the pearl chain. I
would pay more attention to my wife and take better care of her, so that the
cheating would not occur.
Now, "single" here has nothing to do with the woman's relationship status. It means she's
out there in the field alone. She is "solitary," as we learn in line 2.
Oh, and this "she" is a "Highland Lass." We're sure you've heard the word "lass" before,
but just in case you haven't, it's a Scottish word for "girl."
As for "Highland," a geography lesson can help us out. Scotland can be divided into two
parts: the lowlands and the highlands.
The lowlands are the southern part, and the highlands are the northern part, as you can
see on this map right here.
Now, the whole highlands-lowlands distinction isn't just a geographical issue. Back in the
day, there were some pretty big cultural divisions too.
The lowland Scots were obviously closer to England, and they tended to act a lot more
English. The highlanders, in contrast, were a different breed altogether. They kept more
to themselves, via a sophisticated clan structure that was in place for many years.
A lot of times, when we think of Scotland, we think of kilts and dirks and all that jazz.
That kind of stuff was very much associated with the highlands.
Back in the day, there was a whole lot of prejudice and racism between highlanders and
lowlanders, and between both of them and the English.
The English generally saw the Scots, and especially the highlanders, as backwards,
primitive, and unevolved.
The whole reason we're telling you all this stuff about highlanders is because, well, an
early nineteenth-century reader would have had all this in mind as soon as he or she came
across the word "highlander."
Wordsworth was fascinated with rural people of all sorts (largely because he came from a
rural part of England himself), and the lass in his poem is no exception.
We have to ask ourselves, now, is the speaker wandering in the highlands of Scotland?
Or is this highland lass hanging out somewhere in England?
That question isn't answered in this poem, at least not yet, so we'll have to keep that one
in the back of our minds for later.
Let's keep going and see what this bonnie lass is up to, in that field all by herself.
Lines 3-4
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
The highland lass is "reaping" (gathering crops) and "singing" all alone.
He tells us, or whoever else may be reading this charming little poem, to stop or…
"gently pass"? What's up with that?
Think of it like this: this highland lass hanging out in the field is a breathtaking sight, at
least for the speaker. We can tell he feels there is something special going on here. It's the
equivalent of being out in the woods and happening to stumble upon a rare animal
engaged in some beautiful activity.
In fact, it's a lot like a bird of paradise doing its mating dance that most people never get
to see.
Now, don't get it twisted—we're not saying this woman is an animal, or some goofy little
bird. This is a woman doing her thing, and it's a gorgeous sight. The speaker tells his
readers to stop and observe because, well, he's moved by the woman's song and figures
other people might be moved as well.
However, since he's aware that this woman's song isn't everybody's cup of tea, he also
offers a different option.
When he says "gently pass" it's his way of saying, "Hey folks, if this song isn't your
thing, don't make a lot of noise and freak this woman out. Quietly pass by so she's not
disturbed." The speaker is absolutely fascinated by this scene, and is worried lest
somebody disturb it.
(Now that we think about it, we're pretty sure Wordsworth is always worried about
people disturbing scenes like this. At the end of a poem with the cute little title
of "Nutting" he writes: "Then, dearest Maiden, move along these shades / In gentleness
of heart; with gentle hand / Touch—for there is a spirit in the woods.")
Lines 5-6
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
The woman is singing and reaping, that much we know. The speaker now gives us more
details about what is going on.
By reaping the speaker means she is cutting some kind of grain (probably because it is
growing in huge stalks in a field) and tying it all together ("binds").
The song she's singing isn't a very happy one either. It is a "melancholy strain."
Now why on earth would this woman be singing an unhappy song? Is it because she's
alone? Is it because she has to work out in the fields?
No clue is given as to why this lass is singing a "melancholy" song. She could be
perfectly happy, and just happen to be singing a sad song. (We do that all the time, in
fact.)
It's totally possible to appreciate or enjoy a song about something unpleasant without
necessarily feeling unpleasant ourselves, right? Pay attention next time you're listening to
a sad song, and you'll see what we mean.
In the meantime, let's see what else our Scottish friend is up to out there in the field...
Lines 7-8
O listen! for the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.
Well, this poem is certainly full of orders now isn't it? Here we are in the seventh line and
the speaker once again tells us what to do.
He tells us to listen, to hearken to the song, because the Vale, which is magnificent and
great ("profound"), is full to the brim with the sound of the woman's song.
Now, while the speaker may or may not be a huge Game of Thrones fan, he's not talking
about The Vale in these lines. (Sorry, folks.)
Here, our speaker is referring to some generic vale, which is another word for a valley.
Well, we're definitely getting a lesson in geography in this poem. We've already learned a
little about Scotland, and now we've just covered vales, which are pretty common in
certain parts of England.
Before we forget, though, we should also say something about the rhyme scheme.
In this first stanza, lines 2 and 4 rhyme, but 1 and 3 don't, and the final four lines
are couplets. It'll be interesting to see if this odd pattern keeps.
In any case, we'll cover that too, over in "Form and Meter."
Stanza 2:
… Lines 9-12
"Chaunt" is just an old British spelling of "chant," and here it means "sing" or "chirp."
A "shady haunt" is kind of weird because it makes us think of a bower, or shady area, enclosed by trees,
kind of like this.
We're not sure, but the speaker is probably just being poetic here. (Okay, so he's obviously being poetic
because, you know, he's a poet.)
What we mean is that he's talking about travelers in "shady haunts" and nightingales, which happen to be
very common images in British poetry. (Don't believe us? Just check out this poem by John Keats, and this
one by Wordsworth's buddy Samuel Taylor Coleridge, or this one by John Milton, who was one of
Wordsworth's faves.)
What's also interesting here is that the speaker describes the woman's song by describing what it is not.
He doesn't gush and say, "OMG this song was amazing and it was the greatest thing I ever heard." On the
contrary, he just says no nightingale ever sang anything even remotely as beautiful as this woman's song.
Now, we just told you that lots of other poets have mentioned the nightingale. The speaker seems to be
suggesting, ever so quietly, that no other poets have ever sung about something like this.
They've sung about nightingales greeting weary travelers in the middle of nowhere, not about the
remarkable Scottish lasses who actually sing better.
If lots of poets in Wordsworth's day, and before, thought nightingales were great poetic subjects, this
speaker says that a highland lass, and her song, is actually a better choice.
By the way, this is a totally Wordsworthian thing to do. In the "Preface" to the second edition of Lyrical
Ballads in 1800, for example, Wordsworth talks about writing a more human poetry. While he doesn't
come right out and say that there will be no poems about nightingales, he does say that the poems
in Lyrical Ballads will take events from "common life" and use the "language really used by men."
Translation? "Hello everyone and welcome to 1800. I'm done with all the high-brow, phony poetry of the
eighteenth century and will now proceed to write poems about actual, real subjects like highland lasses.
The end."
If you've read our "In a Nutshell," you know that Wordsworth, and his close buddy Coleridge, launched
a poetic revolution in 1798 when they first published Lyrical Ballads.
Lines 13-16
A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard
In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of the seas
Among the farthest Hebrides.
Birds sure are on the speaker's mind, that's for sure. This time it's the "cuckoo-bird," and the speaker
makes the same kind of comparison as before.
The highland lass's voice is way more thrilling than the cuckoo's spring-time song.
And that cuckoo-song, according to our speaker, was one of the only sounds that broke the calm silence of
the seas near the Hebrides.
Hebrides did he say? The Hebrides are a group of islands off the northwest coast of island. There's
the Outer Hebrides and the Inner Hebrides.
The speaker mentions these because he's been talking about Scotland a lot, and he probably figured he
might as well cram some more Scottish stuff in while he can.
Either way, the Hebrides are pretty far from downtown London, and they symbolize what we would
describe as "way out there."
Even still, the cuckoo-bird's song—way out there in the Hebrides, breaking the silence of the ocean—has
got nothing on this woman's song.
Once again, the speaker lets us know that this woman's song is much better than all the typical songs poets
like to talk about (nightingales, cuckoos, etc.).
Before we go any further, note that this second stanza rhymes a little more neatly than the first, with
a rhyme scheme of ABABCCDD. Hit up "Form and Meter" for more.
Stanza 3:
Lines 17-20
Up there, people used to speak a language known as Scots Gaelic, or Erse, which sounds absolutely nothing
like English, as you can see… err,
Since he can't understand a lick of what the woman is singing, the speaker decides that he will speculate.
He wonders if perhaps the "plaintive numbers" (mournful songs) are about a bunch of sad, sad, things from
long, long ago ("old, unhappy, far-off things"). Or maybe she's singing about old battles.
The fact of the matter is the speaker really has no idea what the woman is singing about, but he can
definitely tell the song is sad ("plaintive"), and that it's kind of like… a poem.
This is why he says "numbers," a word that is often used to describe lines written in meter (because they
have a predetermined "number" of syllables).
The solitary reaper is kind of like a poet then. She is a peasant who is also a poet, something like the
speaker's double or alter ego.
Lines 21-24
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of to-day?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been, and may be again?
The speaker continues to ponder the woman's song.
He now wonders if her song is a more "humble lay," something more "familiar" or day-to-day, like this,
or this.
Maybe she's just singing about your average, run-of-the-mill causes of sadness (the death of a bunny rabbit,
a mean sibling, etc.).
As before, he's really only sure about one thing: this woman's song is a sad one.
Is somebody going to show up and help the speaker understand what's going on here? Or is he going to be
in the dark for the remainder of the poem? Let's read on to find out.
Stanza 4:
Lines 25-28
Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o'er the sickle bending;—
We've reached the poem's final stanza, and the speaker appears to not even
care about understanding the woman's song anymore.
The point is, this woman kept singing and singing and singing while she
worked.
She was singing, even while she was bending over ("o'er") her sickle (a
special farming tool used to cut crops).
The "Maiden," as she is now called, sang and sang, as if her song would
never end—kind of like this.
The phrase "could have no ending" makes it sound like the song isn't
designed to ever end, like some definitive song that is a fact of life.
Now that we think about it, Wordsworth had described something kind of
like this back in 1798 in a famous little poem you may have heard of called
"Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey". In that most famous
of Wordsworth poem, the speaker describes hearing the "still, sad music of
humanity."
It's possible Wordsworth is describing the "music of humanity" here as well.
Lines 29-32
I listened, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.
With these final lines, the time has come for the speaker to be on his way
(and for us to be on ours).
Now that he's done telling us all about what the woman was doing while she
was singing, and done trying to figure what she's singing about, he tells us
what happened next.
He stopped dead in his tracks, and stood "motionless and still" as he listened.
After that, he went on his way, but he's apparently kept the woman's song
("the music") in his heart ever since—"long after it was heard no more."
It seems our speaker was quite moved. In fact, maybe he was a little too
moved. That "motionless and still" is just a tad bit… eerie for our liking.
That's because, while normally there would be nothing wrong with those
words, Wordsworth usually uses them in very—how shall we say this—
unsettling contexts.
Exhibit A: "A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal"—in that poem, Wordsworth
says of a dead girl, "No motion has she now." Exhibit B: in Book V of the
Prelude, right before the dead body of a drowned man is hoisted from the
water, the speaker describes a "breathless stillness." Exhibit C: in Book IV
of that same poem, Wordsworth describes a creepy, ghastly, former soldier
and— do we need to go on?
The bottom line: "motionless and still" is an unsettling combo in
Wordsworth's poetry.
Okay, so then what's the deal? The speaker finds this woman, she sings a
great song, he's totally moved by it—why all the doom and gloom?
Well, one way to look at it is that it is kind of an eerie little scene, even a bit
creepy. The speaker is almost spying on this woman.
In addition, the speaker is so immersed in the scene before him—so "into" it
—that he might as well be dead. It's a lot like when you get totally engrossed
in something and you're pretty much dead to the world.
Now, while this is all sounds very ominous, it's also kind of good in a weird
way. The Romantic poets loved to talk about something called
"transcendence," about stepping outside the self and accessing a higher
spiritual reality. In order for that to happen, though, you sort of have to "die"
for a little while—fly away, that is.
That's kind of what is happening here. The speaker is experiencing a
transcendental moment: he is "motionless and still" because he has stepped
away from himself (think daydreaming).
Now all of this is complicated by the weird tense changes in this poem.
You may recall that, up to now, the speaker has been speaking in the present
tense: "behold," "sings," etc.
Now, all of a sudden, he's talking in the past tense: "I listened," "I mounted."
This shift from the immediacy of the present ("Hey, look, there she is, she's
singing") to the distance of the past ("I listened and then went away") relates
to this whole issue of transcendence.
Think of it like this: if at first (in the present tense parts of the poem) the
speaker is totally immersed in the scene before him, by the end you could
say that he is less immersed.
At the poem's conclusion, he is looking back on the scene, rather than
presenting it as it unfolds.
In a way, then, he has reentered the stream of time. The day dream is now
over, and he is moving forward with his life—"mounting" the hill and
continuing on his journey.
3. Meaning of difficult words
Binds
Melancholy: Sad
Profound magnificent and great
Hebrides: The Hebrides is an archipelago off the western coast of Scotland.
Plaintive number : refer to sad songs with a melancholic tune. The plaintive
numbers are about unhappy, far-off things. They seemed to flow like a
stream from the reaper's heart.
4. Poetic/Literary devices
a. Style of poetry
“The Solitary Reaper” alternates between two meters: iambic tetrameter and
iambic trimeter. Most of the poem is in iambic tetrameter; while each stanza also
contains a single line in iambic trimeter, the fourth line of each stanza.
b. Form
“The Solitary Reaper” is made up of four octaves. The poem follows the
ABABCCDD rhyme scheme and this pattern continues till the end.
c. Tone
The tone of "The Solitary Reaper" is admiration and awe. Although Wordsworth
cannot understand the maiden's song, he is dumbfounded by the beauty of the
poetic tune.
d. Punctuation
Punctuation mark marks are mainly used for special stylistic effects or rhetorical
purposes. This poem adopts exclamation marks, for example Yon solitary
Highland lass Stop here, or gently pass to expressing special feelings of
impressiveness of the girls voice dash. Besides, Will no one tell me what she
sings? by chance the plaintive numbers flow for old, unhappy, far-off things , the
usage of the dash here is to give the various possibility on the question.e. Imagery
Imagery is used to make the readers perceive things involving their five senses. For
example, “Reaping and singing by herself”, “I saw her singing at her work” and
“More welcome notes to weary bands.”
f. Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a device used to exaggerate any statement for the sake of emphasis.
For example, the below verses exaggerates the impact of her song,
“O listen! for the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.”
g. Metaphors
Wordsworth uses several metaphors for the reaper. The solitary reaper is a woman
who is alone in a field in the Scottish Highlands reaping and singing when the
narrator comes across her. He likens her to both a "Nightingale" and a "Cuckoo-
bird," both birds with beautiful songs.
h. Rhetorical questions
Rhetorical Question is a sentence that is posed to make the point clear. For
example, “Will no one tell me what she sings?”, “That has been, and may be
again?” and “Familiar matter of to-day?”
THE THEME OF THE POEM
Everlasting beauty and sorrow are the major themes of this poem. The poem
presents two things; the labor of that girl and her expression of sorrow. She is
working and singing at the same time without being bothered about her
surroundings. She does not notice that the speaker is listening and enjoying her
song. She just continues as if she is outpouring her heart out in the lap of nature.
The speaker, on the other hand, seems enchanted by her song as he claims that the
song’s beauty is matchless. Thus, he stops and enjoys its beauty knowing it will
not last forever.
III. Revision: Quizzes and Questions
1. When was Wordsworth born?
a. April 7th 1770
b. March 6th 1770
c. May 7th 1770
d. December 7 1770
2. Where was Wordsworth born?
a. Keswick
b. Cockermounth
c. Paris
d. London
3. Why do we call him the poet of nature’?
a. Because he was very fond of flowers, birds likes, rivers, rocks and tree.
b. Because he was very fond of school, poetry, studies.
c. Because he was very fond of animals, humans and children
d. Because he was very fond of music
4. Where does "The Solitary Reaper" take place?
a. England
b. Scotland
c. Ireland
d. Franc
5. Who is singing in "The Solitary Reaper"?
a. A muse
b. A goddess
c. A circle of temptresses
d. A beautiful girl
6. What is rare about "The Solitary Reaper"?
a. It takes place in Scotland
b. It does not come from Wordsworth's own experiences
c. It is about a beautiful girl
d. It is broken into four stanzas
7. The poet’s lament in the poem ‘The Solitary Reaper’ is that ______.
a. He cannot understand the song
b. He did not know the lass
c. She stopped singing at once
d. He had to move away
8. Where does the poet go?
Climbed up the mountain
9. How did the song affect the poet?
Left a permanent mark on his heart.
10. How did he use to enjoy the beauty of nature?
He hears the plaintive tone of her song in this land of natural beauty
11. What kind of song was the girl singing?
The girl was singing a sad and lonesome song.
12. What is meant by 'melancholy strain'?
A sad song…
13. What does the 'vale profound' refer to?
It refers to a deep valley.
14. To what does the poet compare the reaper's song ?
The young maiden’s song was inspiring and welcome to the poet, just as the
nightingale’s song in the desert which is indicative of an oasis nearby.
In Act III, Trench, Cokane and Lickcheese return to Sartorius' house to plan a
shady business venture. Trench, disillusioned and coarsened by knowing his
income is tainted by its source, no longer takes the moral high ground. In the final
scene, notable for its erotic tension, Harry and Blanche reunite.
Mr. Sartorius
Money even made Mr. Sartorious seems to be a real gentleman who cleverly
hides his crime. Cokane and Harry are deceived by Sartorius’ appearance uses
the money even to buy his daughter the respect of Harry’s family is arrogant
and fearless of the law. (doesn’t spend to repair the broken step)
Lickcheese
Money charm doesn't spare Lickcheese Lickcheese returns to tell Mr. Sartorius
that he learned from him a way of being rich which is to buy widowers" house
and rent them to poor people
Harry Trentch: not wander about the source of Sartorius' wealth enjoys his
days and spent the money the way he liked agrees to use Sartorius' money when
the latter promised him to give him enough money to make him happy living
with Sartorius ' daughter after they get married. → a partner to Mr. Sartorius in
his crime because Harry uses Mr. Sartorius 's money that is collected from those
poor people
William de Burgh Cokane
Knows how to deal with money and appearances, money and power
Blanche Sartorius has no real opinion about refusing or accepting the marriage
between herself and Trench ,and thus she becomes a helpless young girl who
cannot fight the strong stream of greed generated by the three men
Money has the power of magic Mr. Sartorius and Lickcheese practice their
meanness and greed on the poor dwellers Harry Trench, knowing the real
source of Mr. Sartorius's future, refuses to take the money and makes us believe
that he is a man of morals But he disappoints us when he accepts the money and
participate in the project suggested by Lickchesse he becomes a partner in the
moral crime
4. Social Realism in Widower’s Houses: Slum-landlordism
• The exploitation of the destitute and homeless by the mercantile and the
upper classes
• Its avowed intention is to implicate every member of the audience in that
social crime Slum-landlordism was a burning problem in London towards the
close of the nineteenth century.
The problem of Slum-property still exists in some developing and
undeveloped countries
III. Revision:
1. Why did Shaw classify “Widowers’ Houses” as an Unpleasant? The ending,
Lickcheese decided to do the business.
2. What was Harry Trench’s reaction when he learned from Lickcheese where the
money of the Sartorius came from? Why?
3. Why did Trench say: “We are all in the same swim”?
4. Why do you think Trench changes his mind at the end of the play?
5. How do you think Shaw intends us to react to his decision? If you were in
Trench’s position, what decision would you have made?
6. Is there any difference between Lickcheese and Sartorius by the end of the
play?
7. What are your thoughts about public housing in Vietnam?
Summary
Time passes. Mr. Earnshaw's health deteriorates, and he becomes even less
accepting of Hindley's behavior toward Heathcliff. He sends Hindley away to
college, allowing Catherine and Heathcliff to grow closer.
As Mr. Earnshaw nears death, he becomes interested in Joseph's harsh and rigid
religious beliefs. Meanwhile, to her father's dismay, Catherine is constantly going
on adventures with Heathcliff and getting into trouble. Though she teases her
father about this, she loves him deeply and is the one holding him when he dies.
On the stormy night of Mr. Earnshaw's death, Catherine and Heathcliff console
each other. They talk of heaven, imagining it as a beautiful place.
IV. Literary Analysis
2. Describe the major characters
Lockwood
Lockwood's narration frames Nelly's; he acts as a mediator between Nelly and the
reader. He is an arrogant and presumptuous guy who deals clumsily with the
residents of Wuthering Heights. Lockwood is from a more domesticated part of
England, and he is perplexed by the odd household's disregard for the social
standards that have traditionally governed his society. As a storyteller, his ego and
unfamiliarity with the plot cause him to misinterpret events on occasion.
Ellen "Nelly Dean
Nelly Dean (known formally as Ellen Dean) serves as the chief narrator of
Wuthering Heights. A sensible, intelligent, and compassionate woman, she grew
up essentially alongside Hindley and Catherine Earnshaw and is deeply involved
in the story she tells. She has strong feelings for the characters in her story, and
these feelings complicate her narration. Catherine/Cathy Earnshaw
The daughter of Mr. Earnshaw and his wife, Catherine falls powerfully in love
with Heathcliff, the orphan Mr. Earnshaw brings home from Liverpool. Catherine
loves Heathcliff so intensely that she claims they are the same person. However,
her desire for social advancement motivates her to marry Edgar Linton instead.
Catherine is free-spirited, beautiful, spoiled, and often arrogant. She is given to fits
of temper, and she is torn between her wild passion for Heathcliff and her social
ambition. She brings misery to both of the men who love her.
Hindley Earnshaw
Catherine’s brother, and Mr. Earnshaw’s son. Hindley resents it when Heathcliff is
brought to live at Wuthering Heights. After his father dies and he inherits the
estate, Hindley begins to abuse the young Heathcliff, terminating his education
and forcing him to work in the fields. When Hindley’s wife Frances dies shortly
after giving birth to their son Hareton, he lapses into alcoholism and dissipation.
Heathcliff
An orphan brought to live at Wuthering Heights by Mr. Earnshaw, Heathcliff falls
into an intense, unbreakable love with Mr. Earnshaw’s daughter Catherine. After
Mr. Earnshaw dies, his resentful son Hindley abuses Heathcliff and treats him as a
servant. Because of her desire for social prominence, Catherine marries Edgar
Linton instead of Heathcliff. Heathcliff’s humiliation and misery prompt him to
spend most of the rest of his life seeking revenge on Hindley, his beloved
Catherine, and their respective children (Hareton and young Catherine). A
powerful, fierce, and often cruel man, Heathcliff acquires a fortune and uses his
extraordinary powers of will to acquire both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross
Grange, the estate of Edgar Linton.
Catherine Earnshaw Linton
The daughter of Edgar Linton and the first Catherine as “young Catherine.” The
first Catherine begins her life as Catherine Earnshaw and ends it as Catherine
Linton; her daughter begins as Catherine Linton and, assuming that she marries
Hareton after the end of the story, goes on to become Catherine Earnshaw. The
mother and the daughter share not only a name, but also a tendency toward
headstrong behavior, impetuousness, and occasional arrogance. However, Edgar’s
influence seems to have tempered young Catherine’s character, and she is a
gentler and more compassionate creature than her mother.
3. Questions
a. What happens to Catherine Earnshaw?
When Mr. Earnshaw dies, Catherine and Heathcliff console one another with
talk of heaven. The bond between Catherine and Heathcliff grows stronger as
Mr. Earnshaw grows weaker. The extent of their love is shown as they console
each other with talk of heaven the night Mr. Earnshaw dies.
b. How does Hindley treat Heathcliff when he returns?
d. Social class and class ambiguity play a vital role in Wuthering Heights.
Describe.
In the story, social class inequalities and class ambiguity nearly always become
impediments to true love. Heathcliff and Catherine, for example, are unable to
marry due to Heathcliff's low social standing. Class serves as a significant
impediment, keeping real lovers apart until the novel's conclusion.
e. How does the theme of death develop the work of Wuthering Heights?
7. The following question has two parts. Answer part A and then answer part B.
Part A: Which statement best expresses the main theme of “Whitewashing the
Fence”?
A Friends make sacrifices to help each other.
B People often value things that seem hard to get.
C Work can be enjoyable if one has the right attitude.
D Time is more precious than money or material goods.
Part B: Which lines from the passage does the author provide to best illustrate
this theme?
A Tom surveyed his last touch with the eye of an artist, then he gave his brush
another gentle sweep and surveyed the result, as before.
B “Say—I’m going in a-swimming, I am. Don’t you wish you could? But of
course you’d druther WORK— wouldn’t you? Course you would!”
C He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—
namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only
necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.
D He had besides the things before mentioned, twelve marbles, part of a jew’s-
harp, a piece of blue bottleglass to look through, a spool cannon, a key that
wouldn’t unlock anything, a fragment of chalk, a glass stopper of a decanter,
a tin soldier, a couple of tadpoles, six fire-crackers, a kitten with only one
eye, a brass doorknob, a dog-collar—but no dog—the handle of a knife, four
pieces of orange-peel, and a dilapidated old window s
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
Story: A Clean, Well-lighted Place
QUESTIONS & PRACTICAL EXERCISES
I. Summary of the story
1. The setting
The main setting is a spotless Spanish cafe where two unidentified servers — one old
and one young — are talking about an old man (also unnamed) who comes every night,
sits alone, and drinks brandy until it's past closing time.
2. The plot
In a Spanish café late at night, an elderly guy drinks brandy. A young server is
enraged; he wishes the old man would go so that he and an older waiter could close
the café and go home. He taunts the deaf elderly man and is terribly oblivious to
the older waiter's feelings when he comments, "An old gentleman is a dreadful
thing." The older waiter, on the other hand, sees that the elderly guy consuming
brandy after brandy is not evil; rather, he is lonely. Without a doubt, this is why the
old man tried suicide last week. The servers close the cafe when the old guy leaves.
The young waiter goes home, and the elder waiter travels to an all-night café,
where he orders a cup of nada from the server, thinking about the dreadful
emptiness of the old man's existence, with which he strongly relates. Nothing in a
cup. The man taking the order believes the old waiter is just another eccentric old
man, so he brings him coffee. After finishing his coffee, the older waiter begins his
journey home. Sleep is still several hours away. Until then, he must bravely face
the dark nothingness of the night.
Literary Analysis
1. Character List
The Old Man
Features
The Old Man is a dignified, elderly deaf man who spends his late evenings at the
café where the two servers work. He like to sit in the electric light beneath the
tree's shadow since the setting is conducive to drinking and resting. The elderly
man formerly had a wife and possibly a family, but he is now alone with his niece,
who spared him from committing himself.
Analysis
The old alcoholic tried suicide the week before because, as the older waiter
points out, he is depressed about the meaninglessness of life. When the old
drunk talks, it is merely to beg the young waiter for more brandy. Otherwise,
he drinks with the intention of becoming inebriated. More crucially, as the
old waiter observes, the old man does not choose to become inebriated in a
reckless or undignified manner. In fact, despite being inebriated enough to
walk "unsteadily," he never loses his cool, demonstrating that, despite his
sorrow over the meaninglessness of life, he remains committed to a life of
pleasure and dignity.
The Older Waiter
Features
The old waiter, the story’s protagonist, is the older of two waiters at a clean, well-
lighted café.
Analysis
The old waiter, the story’s protagonist, is the older of two waiters at a clean, well-
lighted café. Hemingway depicts the old waiter as kind, dignified, and wise in his
belief that, since life is meaningless, one must prioritize being comfortable and
dignified above all else. Because the old waiter understands the importance of
small pleasures, he is sympathetic toward an old drunk who likes to stay up late
drinking at his café. While the younger waiter hurries to get home, the older waiter
is unrushed; he doesn’t want to be anywhere else because he recognizes that
lingering at the café is a pleasure. The old waiter is shown to be empathetic, since
he carefully considers what led the old drunk to attempt suicide the week before,
imagining what it must be like to be 80 and without a wife. He decides that
“nothing” was the cause for the attempted suicide—life’s meaninglessness, in other
words. He then recites a version of the Lord’s Prayer that replaces many words
with “nada,” suggesting that he, too, thinks there is no reason for anything. The old
waiter’s own actions mirror the old man’s; when he goes for a drink at the nearby
bar after his shift, for example, he quickly leaves because its shabbiness fails to
provide him with the atmosphere necessary to feel comfortable and dignified,
which are his priorities in life.
The Younger Waiter
Features
The story's antagonist, the young waiter, works as a server at the café alongside the old
waiter. He is arrogant and insensitive with the old alcoholic (a café patron) because he
wants to get home to his family rather than stay at work. He even tells the old drinker
(who is deaf) that he should have committed suicide the week before. He has a wife
waiting for him at home, and he can't wait to see her after work.
Analysis
Unlike the older waiter and the old man, he thinks that life is full of value. Also unlike
them, he has a wife waiting at home, and he can't wait to get back to her after work. He
values time highly – in his view, every hour is precious and ripe with promise.
During conversations with the old waiter about the old drunk, the young waiter betrays
his naive attitudes about growing old, saying that an “old man is a nasty thing” and
suggesting that the old waiter is simply talking nonsense by trying to empathize with
the old drunk’s suicide attempt. The young waiter thinks that his time is more valuable
than the two older characters’ time because he spends it on things that he thinks matter.
Thus, after refusing the old drunk another drink and reducing the old waiter’s
conversation points to “nonsense,” the young waiter exits the café and goes home.
2.Analysis – The Café
The café represents the tiny joys that, despite life's meaninglessness, make it feel
dignified and comfortable to live. The old waiter and the old drunk both enjoy
sitting and drinking at the café since it is quiet and the shadow of its electric lights
creates a wonderful refuge to rest in. In contrast, the young server can't wait to
leave the café and get home to his wife; he derives his meaning from external
sources of validation, such as his wife, rather than from the present.
The server does not comprehend the café's environment; he proposes that the old
alcoholic go for a dirty bar or bodega, where he may also get drunk, but this
misunderstands the joy and dignity of the café itself. The young waiter's goal-
oriented viewpoint is revealed to be at odds with the way of life that the café
represents, a worldview that realizes that everything save dignity and comfort is
irrelevant.
3. Analysis – Narrator point of view
The narrator presents the story in third-person point of view. The point of view
becomes omniscient toward the end of the story in relation to the older waiter,
allowing the narrator to present his thoughts. These thoughts flow quickly and
disjointedly. To reflect his jumbled thinking—his stream of consciousness—the
narrator ignores some grammatical rules and runs words together.
4. Analysis – Genre
Modernism
Hemingway is something of an uneasy modernist. While he certainly broke
through a lot of conventions, and dealt with some of the themes that we often
associate with the genre of Modernism (post-WWI disillusionment, alienation –
you know, stuff like that), some of his novels and short stories are actually fairly
conventional, especially when compared to the more experimental writings of
some of his buddies, like Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound. This story, however,
lives up to the modernist name; it is an unconventional, super-short, psychological
portrait of three characters. The inner monologue of the older waiter briefly dips
into stream of consciousness mode, a technique made particularly famous by
Hemingway's contemporaries James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. The story doesn't
attempt to do anything we expect a short story to do – there is no real conflict, and
certainly no resolution. Rather, it simply depicts a series of moments in everyday
life..
5. Analysis – Tone
Objective, Matter of Fact
Hemingway was not exactly a fan of high drama; in fact, even some of his most
thrilling and adventurous stories are told in his signature deadpan fashion.
Sometimes this is funny – heck, a lot of the time it's hilarious – but at other times,
it's also devastatingly direct and striking. Here, the latter is true.
The unemotional narration of "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" allows us to really
digest what the characters are saying. After all, most of the story is just dialogue,
punctuated by a long paragraph of "nada nada nada" – we have nothing else to
focus on but the character's words and thoughts, and Hemingway doesn't attempt to
interfere with our interpretation of these things. He very rarely places any
judgment on his characters; for example, when the younger waiter tells the old
man, "You should have killed yourself last week" (7), another author might have
been tempted to add some stern adjective in there to show how rude the waiter is –
perhaps "he said cruelly" or "he said unsympathetically." Hemingway, however,
just leaves it as it is, clean, simple, and unapologetic: "'You should have killed
yourself last week,' he said."
6. Analysis – Writing Style
Sparse, Simple, Unornamented
This super-short story is a fantastic illustration of Hemingway's famous literary
style. His writing is journalistic and straightforward; he reports dialogue in a clear
and plain manner, without froufy adjectives or fancy-pants descriptions. This
sparse, tight economy of words is one of the characteristics that made Hemingway
so renowned in the 1920s, and his distinct style is still highly regarded today. This
story's Hemingwayness contributes to its dismal outlook — instead of hearing
about the elderly man's sadness, worded beautifully and lyrically over a range of
pages, we just get a punch to the gut in this story. Its brevity emphasizes its
argument, and the direct reportage of dialogue and inner monologue is far more
effective here than any amount of descriptive language could possibly be. The
most detailed sentence, in fact, is the story's opening line, which gives us almost
nothing: "It was late and everyone had left the cafe save an old guy who sat in the
shadow the leaves of the tree produced against the electric light."
7. Analysis – What’s up with the tittle?
According to the main character of this novel, we all need one thing in life – you
guessed it, "a clean, well-lighted place," preferably a clean, well-lighted café. The
image of the café is essential to the plot; we get the impression that the world
outside of this clean, well-lit space is nothing but chaos. That's how we feel about
our favorite coffee shop, come to think of it.
8. Analysis – What’s up with the ending?
The ending of this story always gets us – it's so simple! So classy! It's so
Hemingway! Essentially, the protagonist (the older waiter) tries in vain to dismiss
his profound discontent with the world around him as "only insomnia" (19).
Furthermore, he convinces himself that "many must have it" (19), implying that
many individuals in the world must suffer from the nebulous sense of nothingness
that afflicts him. In a word, Hemingway's thesis here is that we all wind up in the
same spot of spiritual "insomnia," unable to make sense of a senseless world.
9. Analysis - What is the plot?
Maybe we're just being thick-headed, but dissecting "A Clean, Well-Lighted
Place" in terms of plot analysis just looks flat-out impossible to us. The kicker is,
the story is nothing but a sequence of situations – we don't ever get any kind of
action, nor do we really "learn" about the motivations of all of our characters in
depth. We're not sure what they're looking for or hoping to accomplish, and the
best we can do is come up with our own reasons for why they are how they are.
Hemingway leaves us wondering a lot at the end of the story, but doesn't come out
and resolve anything for us.
10. Analysis – What do the characters stand for?
These three characters have no names at all. Essentially, we have three men that
symbolize various periods of life. The old guy and the older waiter represent the
elderly, who see life as meaningless. The young man, on the other hand, represents
those who believe that life is valuable.
11. Analysis – The Differences between the Older Waiter and the Younger
Waiter
The Young Waiter The Old Waiter
Insensitive Sensitive
- Doesn’t seem to care that others - See his own future
say the same - Is aware that he not young or
- Doesn’t recognize (the café is a confident and one day just be
refuge for the lonely) like the old man – unwanted,
Immature alone and in the despair.
- Unaware that he won’t be young Sympathetic
forever - Stands up for the old man
- Doesn’t really understand against the younger waiter’s
himself criticism
Impolite - Tries to explain it to younger
- Says rude things to the old man waiter
- Demonstrates a dismissive - Is relucant to close the café
attitude toward human life
general
For him, money can solve all problem
- There is absolutely no reason to
commit suicide if one has money
2. The plot
The short story One Thousand Dollars by O. Henry is about a young Gillian that must be
providing the report how to use money one thousand dollars. Gillian has a rich uncle but her
uncle died. From this will, he’s uncle want a report of how Gillian can use this one thousand
dollars if Gillian have this money. Gillian meets some people, he want to know and ask of
them if they have one thousand dollars. He went to Old Bryson at his club to ask how to use
one thousand dollars. After that, he also met Miss Lauriere in theater stage. She also gave an
answer as to how to spend a thousand dollars. Mr. Gillian asked the taxi driver to answer the
same questions but the answers he is also not the way he wanted to spend the money.
However, no one can help him. Then, he saw the blind man had more than one thousand
dollars in the account. Gillian made a sudden decision to give all the inheritance money to
Miss Hayden. Finally, he visited Miss Hayden at the library. He also told her that he loved
and gave one thousand dollars. Miss Hayden refused to love the Giilian but received the
money. Then, he wrote the account shows how he spent one thousand dollars and are ready
to provide a report on the accounts to the lawyer Tolman. Then he discovered that there are
conditions of his uncle who said that if he used the money prudently, fifty thousand clear
would be given to him. However, he was not concerned with conditions set forth. Giilian tore
the reports before read by the lawyer Tolman and left happily.
B. Questions
1. Where did the young Gillian get $1,000 from? What was he required to
do as soon as he had ‘disposed of it’?
The lawyer gave the money to Gillian because it was the share of the will of
his uncle who died.
2. Did he report the manner of his disposal of the money to the lawyer? Why?
Comment on the young man’s decision.
3. What impression of the young man do you have? Give your comments
on this character.
Young Gillian was a unique character. He is a man of free will and careless
life. He does not care for money. His uncle’s one thousand dollars has no
much importance for him. He does not like keeping account of his expenses.
He had been careless about his expenses. So his uncle had willed to give him
the amount only if he submitted the detailed account of expenditure. He
consults Bryson for his suggestions on his expenses. He suggests a number
of options. Gillian does not like them as they involve itemizing when he
hates. He wanted to spend it in one tump. Finally he gives the entire amount
to Miss Hayden, a ward of his uncle Old Gillian.
He is full of emotion. He feels compassion for Hayden. In spite of Hayden’s
dislike for himself he again and again expresses his love for her. Finally he
submits his account to Tolman where he finds another trap for him. His
account is to be examined. He takes his account back and tears it into bits to
save him from the money. After all he is good man with qualities of a man
of free will.
If I had $26000, I would use those money for my parents. I would tell them
to go to the best hospital to check their health condition. I would do anything
to make sure that they could live healthy and stay with me forever.
Write a few sentences telling your opinion of this story. Did you like it? Why
or why not? Do you agree with its message? Why or why not?
I believe the author has a literary mind and understands how to escalate the conflict
after learning more about the plot and realizing what the author is attempting to
communicate. I was most taken with the scenario in which the main character
fought with his thoughts, partly because he wished to survive, but finally because
he accepted the law of life.
Despite the fact that I am aware that everyone will perish, I prefer humanity, which
will fight to survive regardless of how bad the weather or how nasty the monsters
are. I value determination to live, interpersonal affection, and contentment with
one's things in life..
Poem: The Soul selects her own Society
Present no more —
Choose One —
Like Stone —
1. The setting
3. The plot
This poem is about the decision the soul made about the society she
wanted to be a part of. The Soul Selects her Own Society first describes that the
soul made her decision then “shuts the door;” on all her other choices and what the
majority wanted her to do. Others had attempted to persuade her, but she paid no
attention; “Unmoved, she notes the chariot’s pausing At her low gate; Unmoved,
an emperor is kneeling Upon her mat.” To her, others inputs did not matter. She
chose to “close the valves of her attention Like stone.” The Soul Selects her Own
Society stresses that you don’t need others consent to make a decision, it is your
soul, so it is your choice. You set your own standards and choose what you take
part in, and no one else can convince you to do otherwise.
2. Analyzing Stanzas
Stanza 1:
Present no more —
The speaker begins the first short verse of 'The Soul Selects Her Own Society' with
the sentence that later became the poem's title. Because all of Emily Dickinson's
poems remained unidentified after she penned them, this is a typical practice when
it comes to her poetry. In the first lines, she tells how "The Soul," whether hers or
someone else's, chooses the person or persons she wishes to become close to and
then "closes the Door." No one is permitted to enter her "divine Majesty" at this
time. Only a chosen few, or one, are permitted to genuinely and completely
understand her.
Stanza 2:
In the second verse of 'The Soul Selects Her Own Society,' the soul's strength and
determination are stressed. Dickinson's speaker observes that it makes no
difference who comes knocking on her soul's door. It could be an Emperor
"kneeling" on the Chariots' mat, "pausing— / At her humble Gate." None of this
would persuade her to open the figurative door to her heart. This should
demonstrate to the reader that the individual at the door is of the sort described
(their statue, wealth, grandeur). The soul only opens its doors to people it chooses
for reasons other than the banal.
Stanza 3:
Choose One —
Like Stone —
The speaker zooms back in the final four words of 'The Soul Selects Her Own
Society,' speaking about the soul's exclusive selection process. She has known
"her" to pick "one" from the "ample nation" of people who desire to enter her
innermost life. Then she shuts the "Valves of her attention— / Like Stone." As a
result, no one will ever open the "valve" or door again. The valve metaphor, along
with the stone imagery, aids in firmly concluding the poetry. This is how things
are, the speaker says, and no one can persuade the soul to change her opinion.
4. Poetic/Literary devices
a. Style of poetry
b. Form:
Like many of Dickinson's poems, "The Soul selects her own Society"
doesn't use an existing form (like the sonnet), but invents its own. This brief
poem uses three quatrains (four-line stanzas), almost every line of which ends
in one of Dickinson's favorite punctuation marks: the dash. (See the Poetic
Devices entry on end-stopped lines for more on those dashes.) Dickinson's
unusual choices around meter and rhyme here also contribute to the poem's
idiosyncratic effect; read more about that in the Meter and Rhyme Scheme
sections.
There's a simplicity to these three punchy quatrains that mirrors the
personified soul's matter-of-fact rejection of the "divine Majority." The soul
gives no explanation for her choices: she simply makes them. The poem's
brief and unusual form reflects this soul's unapologetic independence.
c. Tone
The tone of this poem is serious, authoritative, and a bit rebellious. This
reflects Dickinson's Transcendental nature of individuality. Our poem connects
with the essay on Dickinson's life in many ways.
d. Punctuation
Dickinson is noted for her unusual handling of punctuation. In this
poem, she uses dashes both at the ends of lines and between words. This
peculiar technique has been the subject of much critical study, but it is
generally believed that Dickinson, who did not typically follow the standard
rules of grammar, used dashes to indicate how words, phrases and clauses
should be interpreted. Note, for instance, how the first dash in line two alters
the reading rhythm of the formal iambic structure.
e. Alliteration: Alliteration is used in the first line, “The Soul selects her own
Society”.
f. Rhyme.
The first stanza is more or less in harmony with full rhyme, which
reflects familiarity and certainty, a counterbalance to the syntax which is full
of uncertainty due to all the dashes: Society/Majority and Door/more.
The second stanza contrasts sharply with the first because a pair of lines
that should rhyme does not at all : pausing/kneeling whilst Gate/Mat - is
pararhyme, that is, the consonant sounds are the same.
g. Personification:
The soul is personified in this poem, referred to with the pronouns
"she" and "her". This " she" performs the human behaviors associated with
determining with whom she desires to associate. The “soul " selects her own
Society," meaning that she chooses with whom she wants to interact; she
carefully selects her own few friends from among a great many choices. The
speaker describes the soul as " shutting the Door" on the majority of people
and as being "Unmoved" by those who come in chariots. “At her low Gate,"
even including " an Emperor" who comes to kneel before her. In other
words, the soul is not impressed by people who are rich (and drive chariots)
or powerful (like heads of empires) and is unmoved by status and wealth;
these things do not compel her to choose a person. She must value other
qualities that have nothing to do with these things. The speaker says that she
has known the soul to select only one person from among an "ample nation,"
or fairly large group of people, and then close herself off again and pay no
more attention to anyone else. Ultimately, then, the human action that the
soul performs is an intangible one, though the soul's decisions are so final
that they feel almost tangible, like closing a door or turning to stone.
h. Metaphor
The metaphor (describing one thing as another) of "closing the valves
of her attention" is an unusual one: taking us right into the heart where such
allegiances (or rejections) of others' are made.
i. Repetition:
The repetition (repeating a word) of "unmoved" illustrates the firmness with
which the female soul chooses her associations and sticks with them.
j. Simile:
The simile (comparing one thing to another using like or as) of "Like stone"
shows the determination of the soul in establishing her relationships, and the
stubbornness with which she retains her position.
4. Symbols
A. The Emperor
Unmoved — she notes the Chariots — pausing —
At her low Gate —
Unmoved — an Emperor be kneeling
Upon her Mat —
The imagined "Emperor" who comes to beg for the soul's favor (together
with the "Chariots" that herald his coming) represents worldly power and
success. When the emperor comes calling, the soul doesn't give a hoot,
implying she has little time for the things the outer world considers
important: wealth, prestige, and acclaim are little to her. Perhaps there's a
message here that love gestures don't move the soul either: the kneeling
emperor could be asking (unsuccessfully) for her hand in marriage.
While the world has no power over the soul, the soul appears to have
some power over the world! After all, the "Chariots" and "Emperor" are
prostrating themselves in front of the soul's humble house, with its everyday
"low Gate" and "Mat." Perhaps the sovereign soul possesses power both
beyond and in contrast to the worldly.
B. The Soul's House
“shuts the Door, her low Gate, her Mat”
The speaker uses an extended metaphor in which the soul is compared
to a mansion. More specifically, the soul appears to have a house, complete
with doors, a gate, and a doormat, but the soul also appears to be that house,
with the ability to both let people into and keep them out of her inner world.
This house metaphor, in turn, reflects the speaker's perception of the
soul: as something locked off and self-contained, with the ability to keep
unwanted guests out. The thought of the soul being/having a dwelling also
conjures up images of the symbolic comfort and intimacy of the home.
Also note that this house isn't fancy: it has only a "low Gate," not a
drawbridge, and there's a perfectly ordinary "Mat" out in front for visiting
emperors to kneel on. But its normalcy is also part of its power. While the
soul's house isn't anything special, it's also completely her own.
5. The Theme of the poem
The theme of The Soul Selects her Own Society is it doesn’t matter
what others want or expect of you, only what you want and expect of
yourself.
This poem is about the decision the soul made about the society she
wanted to be a part of. The Soul Selects her Own Society first describes that
the soul made her decision then “shuts the door;” on all her other choices
and what the majority wanted her to do. Others had attempted to persuade
her, but she paid no attention; “Unmoved, she notes the chariot’s pausing At
her low gate; Unmoved, an emperor is kneeling Upon her mat.” To her,
others inputs did not matter. She chose to “close the valves of her attention
Like stone.” The Soul Selects her Own Society stresses that you don’t need
others consent to make a decision, it is your soul, so it is your choice. You
set your own standards and choose what you take part in, and no one else
can convince you to do otherwise.
6. Moral Lessons
The message of "The Soul selects her own Society" is that the soul has a
capacity to connect deeply with a few people and then close itself off from
everyone else. The soul seems to know with certainty what it wants, and once a
decision has been made, the soul cannot be moved to open up again, even for
emperors—or those in positions of authority and societal rank.
1. From the poem, the attitude of the soul toward the rest of the word can best be described as
a. Uncharitable
b. Friendly
c. Indifferent
d. Cautious
b. very impressed
d. rebels in fury
a. hurt people
b. become royalty
c. end relationships
4. What can be inferred from the writer’s use the word “Valves” as an image?
a. Individualism
b. The soul reigns supreme
c. Wealth and power rule
d. Self-knowledge
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