Beautiful Things Essay Example for Free

Beautiful Things Essay The poem A Thing of Beauty by John Keats conveys the message that Beauty is everywhere, and upon examination may be found. The theme of this work is largely centered on nature, as were many of Keats works. In this particular poem Keats describes the affects that beauty can have on a person. Some shape of beauty moves away the pall / from our dark spirits (12-13). According to Keats this beauty never diminishes and its affect is felt long after it is gone. Keats emphasizes that beauty is, Made for our searching, meaning that some people may find beauty in places that others may not (10). The theme of this poem is that beauty can be found anywhere, and when appreciated can be used to raise your spirits in times of gloom. One of the poetic elements Keats uses to express his theme is rhyme. One example of how rhyming can be helpful in conveying the meaning of the poem to the reader is found in the very first two lines of the poem. A thing of beauty is a joy forever: / its loveliness increases; it will never (1-2). Not only do these lines help the reader to understand the theme of the work, the fact that they rhyme makes them even more meaningful. Another example of how Keats used rhyme to express his theme can be found in the very last line of the poem. The poem was written using rhyming couplets; however the last line does not have another line after it with which to rhyme. They always must be with us, or we die (33). This line stands out due to the fact that every other line in the poem is part of a rhyming couplet. By purposely having this line is the last line and by stopping the rhythm that had flowed throughout the poem Keats emphasizes his theme of a need for beauty. Keats used many other poetic elements in this poem. One other poetic element used by Keats in this poem is imagery. Since the poem is about beauty it is important for imagery to be present in order to give the reader a mental picture of what the speaker feels is beautiful. Such the sun, the moon, / trees old, and young sprouting a shady boon / for simple sheep; and such are daffodils / with the green world they live in; and clear rills (13-16). Within these lines the speaker describes things which he finds beautiful. It is imperative that these lines be present so that the reader can imagine  this beauty and begin to relate with the speaker. Enjambment was also used by Keats in the poem. Through the use of enjambment Keats is able to keep his rhyme scheme in tact while still conveying his theme. [un]till they become a cheering light / unto our souls (30-31). The meaning of these lines are very important to the theme of the poem, however, without the use of enjambment Keats would ha ve either had to sacrifice his rhyme scheme, or change the lines which could have potentially altered their meaning. Although much of the world has changed in the time between now and when the poem was originally written, the poems theme still holds true today. With the growth of cities, and urban areas it has become much more difficult to appreciate nature and its beauty. However, even in cities today people can find places to get away and appreciate the nature around them. Such is the case in New York City where residents can travel to central park to immerse themselves in the beauty of nature and open up their souls to the, cheering light. Although it is still possible for people to appreciate nature as Keats did years ago, many people today are lost in the hustle and bustle of the city. The communicative power of nature will always be present for those who wish to observe it, as Keats did, however many people have become oblivious to nature, taking it for granted, and becoming overly obsessed with technology and the man made world in which they live. It is understandable that this has happened in the almost two hundred years since Keats has lived because of the evolution of our society. Although much of nature may go overlooked by some people it will always be there for those who wish to immerse themselves in its beauty.

Reality of War in Cranes War is Kind and Tennysons Charge of the Ligh

Reality of War in Crane's War is Kind and Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   An overwhelming tendency to fight and battle has plagued humankind since the dawn of the written word. Countless wars have been fought since the dawn of man and most times such conflict exists simply for its own sake with no productive end. Immense human suffering and death can be caused by conflicts that hold little logical justification. Since the birth of the written word, criticism and discussion have persistently followed the topic of war. In exposing the grim reality of war, two works of literature stand out as being both vivid and compelling. Through similar uses of graphic imagery and forceful diction, both Stephen Crane in his "Do Not Weep, Maiden, for War is Kind" and Alfred, Lord Tennyson in his "The Charge of the Light Brigade" evoke strong sentiment on the reality of war. "The Charge" offers a slightly more glorified view of war while still portraying its harsh essence.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Stephen Crane in his "Do Not Weep, Maiden, for War is Kind" uses several methods to convey his perception of war; most strikingly, stark imagery. As the poem begins, a woman cries over the death of her lover who, while left to die on the battlefield, "threw wild hands toward the sky" (2). His posture illustrates the physical pain he experienced as well as the longing he felt for his lover and his lost life (Cady 102). He threw his hands toward the sky in a vain effort to reach out to her and the life that had been taken from him. Crane's next stanza portrays an image of troops marching to their death, men "born to drill and die" (8). Crane endeavors to show the blind trust that soldiers are forced to place in their leaders. The soldiers knew li... ... popular phenomenon when it forces people to make great sacrifices that lead to no sufficiently important goal.       Works Cited    Cady, Edwin H. Stephen Crane. Twayne Publishers. 1980: 100-160 Foltinek, Herbert. "'Their's Not to Reason Why': Alfred Lord Tennyson on the Human Condition." A Yearbook of Studies in English Language and Literature 80 1985-1986: 27-38 Knapp, Bettina L. Stephen Crane. New York: Ungar Publishing Company, 1987. 136-140 Lowell, Amy. "Introduction" in The Black Riders and Other Lines. Vol. VI Russel & Russel. 1963: ix-xxix Pinion, F. B. A Tennyson Comparison: Life and Works. The Macmillan Press Ltd. 1984 Saintsbury, George. "Tennyson." Corrected Impressions: Essays on Victorian Writers. Dodd, Mead and Company. 1985: 21-30. Whitman, Walt. "A Word about Tennyson." The Critic 10 Jan. 1987: 1-2      

Chinese Attitudes Toward Nature, Time, Good and Evil Essay

As for the attitude of Chinese people toward nature, it is undisputed that it is marked by a strong feeling of harmony, for example, oneness of nature and man. According to Dong Zhongshu, who was the most important philosopher of the Western Han, Heaven had its will and purpose. It was Heaven that made the sun, the moon, and the stars move, the four seasons change, and all animals and plants grow and die. Heaven was kindhearted, so it made things produce one another; Heaven was also severe, so it made things overcome one another. Moreover, Heaven created a ruler to rule over the people. This meant that Heaven wanted the people to be ruled. When a ruler did something wrong, Heaven would be angry and would give the ruler warnings by causing strange natural phenomena to happen, such as eclipses, earthquakes, floods and droughts. This theory——the interaction between Heaven and man——had a clear purpose. On the one hand, it was intended to show that the ruler’s position and power were given to him by Heaven, and should not be questioned; on the other hand, the ruler should be virtuous and benevolent, and govern well, so as not to incur Heaven’s anger. Dong had a well-known saying: â€Å"The Way is great because it originates in Heaven. Heaven does not change; nor does the Way. † I would like to explain the idea clearly by an example. That is Feng Shui. Feng Shui (also known as â€Å"geomancy†) is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to use the laws of both Heaven (astronomy) and Earth (geography) to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. Maybe many people think it is superstition, but I consider it can reflect the pursuit of harmonious life of Chinese people. There are four purposes in Feng Shui, seeking the harmony of human body; the harmony between people and people; the harmony between people and society; the harmony between people and nature. Let me give a small example about placing a bed. The bed shall be slightly higher than the knee and not near the door. And it shall face to the south and back to the north in order to adjust duxhlt, the aorta and large veins direction of the blood circulatory system, so that people can fall a sleep easily, and have a high quality sleep. The bed can’t facet the west, because the rotation of the earth is from east to west, making the blood rush toward the head, and people can’t sleep soundly. Beam presses which mean air conditioners hang above the pillow, or the lights suspend above the bed, bring about oppression, and cause adverse effect of body and mind. Mirrors can’t face the bed, if not people may be startled easily in midnight, and can’t be peace. It really can express the attitude toward nature, uniting of heaven and humanity. As for the attitude of Chinese people toward time, three features will be mentioned about. The first is round- type time outlook. In the oriental world, farming is the major way of carrying out material and exchanging goods dominates all the economic life of the whole society. This pastoral civilization treats human and the nature as interrelated and interacted,the world as an integer organically linked. So in oriental society the round-type time outlook is that nature and human is integrate. This kind of time outlook holds the view that time is like a circle and all the things in the world return to its origina1 state after a cycle of time, for example, the alternation of day and night, the come and go of the four seasons,the turning of the twelve months, the increase of the age and the growing of plants. This kind of time view makes the Orientals handle the time at their disposal and do things at ease. For instance, when a teacher has not finished an important point in his class,he can prolong his class. At the Chinese wedding feast, few people will come at the time which is written on the invitation card. Moreover, Chinese use time very casually and intangibly. Chinese prefer to say some uncertain words 1ike â€Å"at once†, â€Å"sometimes†, â€Å"a short while†, which a1ways confuse the westerners. Chinese students who are studying English tend to misuse the tense when communicate with foreigners. In a word, Chinese don’t have clear differentiation concept of time. The second is polychromic time system. Polychromic time system means people are very casual in using time. In other words, being punctual is important, but not strict. Polychromic time system is the heritage of traditional agricultural society. People are used to do severa1 different things at the same time and do things emphasizing prime time. Chinese think that everything in the world develops with the cycling of time, so people catch the time that is ripe for acting, which means each step of our action is determined temporarily by our surroundings. So action is poorly planned by Chinese. In some occasions, people can do many things in the same time. A Chinese salesman can check out with the first customer on the one hand,and show the goods to a second one on the other hand, even greet a third One at the same time. However, westerners can hardly accomplish them and also can not accept them. The third is past time orientation. Time orientation is a relatively stable factor in cultural difference. It is connected to the historical background of the. Generally speaking, people who have too heavy tradition, look up to history and past, so their time orientation is past-oriented. Chinese belong to past-oriented. People show great respect to the past. The past experience and 1esson are important reference for today’s success and failure. Chinese show respect to ancestors and teachers. They like to say things by referencing to the old books and stories. That is why Chinese call teachers â€Å"lao shi†. â€Å"lao† means old. People attach importance to age and experience, because they are symbols of power and wisdom, so words like â€Å"lao† and â€Å"da† always mean respect in Chinese. As for the attitude of Chinese people toward good and evil, perhaps the most extreme view of goodness is found in the Buddhist tradition. Buddhism maintains that we are born pure and are closest to what is called â€Å"loving kindness† when we enter this world. Hence, people are good, and our culture is what makes us evil. The view of goodness is also found in Confucianism. Meng Zi made the original goodness of human nature the keynote to his system. To him, the virtue of humanity together with the accompanying virtues of righteousness, rites and wisdom arises from the inner springs of the human heart. These four cardinal virtues come in their seed form—the â€Å"four beginnings†, as the feeling of compassion, shame, modesty, and of the distinction between right and wrong. Such feelings are universal among mankind and they come as naturally ad taste for food, and sight for beauty. This, Meng Zi argued, can be seen in the fact that a child naturally loves his parents and that a man will instinctively experience a feeling into a well. Therefore, human nature is originally good, and will be good if it is guided by its innate feelings, just as water is inclined to flow downward. In contrast to the concept of the goodness of human nature advocated by Meng Zi, Xun Zi declared that human nature is originally evil because human desires inevitably lead to greed and strife if left untrained. Believing that goodness can only be acquired, Xun Zi stressed the value of education and environment. To him it is environment and authority that make the man, and it is obedience of the precepts of the sage-kings that produces the goodness that is in him. In the end, however, not only is the life of virtue a possibility but even sage-hood is within reach. Therefore, Xun Zi said, â€Å"Every man on the street can become like the sage-king Yu†, a perfect orthodox Confucian note. What mentioned about are viewpoints from the ancients. Nowadays Chinese attitudes toward good and evil are very wide and vague, not like Christianity which has a â€Å"ten commandments†, making the general public even those without much cultural literacy has some certain standards, ruling what can do and can not do, their attitudes toward good and evil are absolutely clear. But to Chinese, nothing must been done and nothing can not be done. The boundary between good and evil is obscure, in some condition something is good but in other condition it may be bad. To Chinese the boundary is always about degree, whether it is excessive or not. For example, talking between Chinese friends sometimes contains abusive language, but it doesn’t mean they hate each other, most of time, it is just joking. That behavior is not really evil, but if it is overdone, it will be. Chinese People’s attitude toward nature, time, good and evil have been formed gradually, and they are relatively stable in a long time, but they are not without changes. The better living conditions, the development of the economy, the improvement of the society and the increase of the interaction of people from different cu1tural backgrounds will undoubtedly have subtle effects on their views, although it is also a long process. What I talking about is some basic attitude of Chinese, it will help foreigner to understand Chinese better, but not always apply to every Chinese at every time.

The Birth Mark By Nathaniel Hawthorne - 821 Words

The Birth-Mark was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the story follows of a scientist who is named Aylmer, and the scientist retires in the field of science for the search of marriage and love. When Aylmer finds a suitable wife that he would fancy for himself, the scientist notices that his wife had a birthmark on her face that represented a tiny hand print. This birthmark actually makes Aylmer becomes obsessive about the mark itself to the point of confronting Aylmer’s wife. Aylmer eventually convinces the woman about experimentation towards her face and the experiment works but the wife had succumbed towards a fatal side effect which was death. Ending the story with a dreadful lesson, â€Å"If you love your own, then you will accept their facial flaws and birthmarks with no pain or regret for they are everything to you even in death† The story itself was actually a realistic setting in the time that the main protagonist was in. Since the story could not pick a time, it actually gave the reader a form of date. It was a time from last century seeing how the scientist was now learning facial cream and dermatology against the form of birthmark. It struck me not only accord but actually offended that the husband was that much concern over a tiny speck which was the wife’s birthmark. The constant theme that was placed underlining of the protagonist was the foolishness of striving for perfection. An example is shown by the protagonist’s desire to get rid of the wife’s birthmark inShow MoreRelatedThe Birth Mark By Nathaniel Hawthorne1730 Words   |  7 PagesHawthorne illustrates an awe-inspiring example of how human imperfection is natural and the way we are created is how we shall remain, perfectly imperfect. It is difficult not to consider the world today and how much plastic surgeons profit and customers pay, just to reflect an ideal image. This story is published in the eighteenth century, which depicts a mad scientist (Aylmer ) who claims to have the ability to create perfection in the imperfect, Godly creation of his wife (Georgiana). The marriageRead MoreAnalysis Of Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Birth Mark 1784 Words   |  8 Pages Nathaniel Hawthorne was seen as â€Å"a major figure in the American romantic movement† (Constantakis 1). Additionally, â€Å"Hawthorne created allegories of the dark, irredeemable human condition, a point of view most likely traceable to the author’s New England Puritan roots† (Constantakis 2). Concerning Hawthorne’s writing style, he often focused on â€Å"concrete particulars his tales elevate into symbols,† and his works â€Å"speak from and to the unconscious that people dream their way into every nightRead MoreNature in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Birth-Mark and Wilfred Owens Disabled1428 Words   |  6 PagesFreedom is an entity that people desire to have in life. 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He is known for his â€Å"penetrating explorations† of the conflicts within one’s conscience and the consequences thatRead MoreHawthornes Quest for Perfection761 Words   |  4 Pagesand not what is on the outside. While critics argue that Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Birth Mark,† â€Å"Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment,† and â€Å"Rappaccinni’s Daughter† stand as an overt commentary on nature vs. science, Hawthorne actually uses these works to explore personal familial connections. First of all, these three short stores deal with nature and science, but when one delves deeper into the stories, it becomes apparent that Hawthorne actually explores relationships among family members. These three works ofRead MoreBirthday Mark by Nathaniel Hawthorne1146 Words   |  5 Pageschallenged scientists of the nineteenth century. Nathaniel Hawthorne writes of some challenges that man could run into during the exploration and application of new technology in The Birthmark. These challenges are not entirely physical but they are more so about an internal struggle within Victorian mindsets. In The Birthmark there are only three characters: Aylmer, a scientist, Georgiana, Aylmer’s wife, and Aminadab, Aylmer’s lab assistant. Hawthorne isolates the characters in their caste to presentRead More Romanticism in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown, The Birthmark, and Rappaccinis Daughter1065 Words   |  5 PagesRomanticism in Young Goodman Brown, The Birth-Mark, a nd Rappaccinis Daughter  Ã‚  Ã‚      Nathaniel Hawthorne gives his own definition of romanticism in the preface to The House of Seven Gables. According to Hawthorne, the writer of a romance may claim a certain latitude and may deepen and enrich the shadows of the picture, as long as he does not swerve aside from the truth of the human heart. The writer of a romance will be wise...to mingle the Marvelous as long as he does it to a slightRead MoreThe Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne1175 Words   |  5 Pages Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer who was born in Salem, Massachusetts July fourth 1804. When Hawthorne was a young man he served as the editor of the American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge. That job introduced him into the world of writing and at that point he decided what he wanted to do until the day he died. â€Å"I do not want to be a doctor and live by men’s diseases, nor a minister to live by their sins, nor a lawyer and live by their quarrelsRead More Analysis Of Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Salem Witch 1328 Words   |  6 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne was an American writer known for his part in the transcendentalist literary movement. Born July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts, to Nathaniel Hathorne Sr and Elizabeth Manning, he later chose to alter his last name in an attempt to distinguish himself from the history his family held in the Salem witch trials. His father died at a very young age, so Nathaniel was raised solely by his mother. In a quote kept from his adolescent years, Hawthorne states, â€Å"I do not want to be a doctorRead More Alienation and Moral Dilemma as Portrayed by Nathaniel Hawthorne1869 Words   |  8 PagesAlienation and Moral Dilemma as Portrayed by Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorn was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804 during Puritan times. He created many stories that reflect his life experiences growing up as a Puritan. He writes stories that end with a moral that was learned through the struggles of the characters. These characters are almost always faced with a dilemma where they must choose what is right versus what is wrong. Another common theme in his writing is alienation