Victorian Period Essay

Anna Ebaugh

Mrs. Wilson

British Literature B

May 14, 2013

Victorian Period Essay

The Victorian Period lasted between 1832 and 1901 and it was a period of industrialization and the theory of evolution. Charles Darwin was a British scientist who established the theory of evolution (http://www.christs.cam.ac.uk). The theory of evolution is that all species of life descended from generation to generation all from a common ancestor (http://www.christs.cam.ac.uk). Evolution changed the way people thought out God and religion. In “De Profundis” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, she uses nature motif, repetition and religion to express the speaker’s grief about the death of her brother and to indicate the sudden realization she has about her mortal grief.

A nature motif is used in this poem to emphasize the fact that her grief is ongoing. Browning uses the whole idea of nature and all the four seasons throughout her poem to show how long her grief is going on for. Browning talks about her grief and she says, “This Nature, though the snows be down, / Thinks kindly of the bird of June: / the little red hip on the tree/ is ripe for such. What is for me/ whose days so winterly go on” (IX)? This quote is showing winter is coming to an end and then will go into spring and how her grief continues to go on all throughout the seasons. Browning continues throughout the poem expressing her sorrow and feeling bad for herself when she then says, “God’s Voice, not Nature’s” (XVI). This quote is saying that “nature”, which is her grief, has been calling out to her all this time and she finally hears and recognizes God’s voice. When she hears God’s voice, she stops talking about nature because she doesn’t feel the need to grieve anymore since she is now able to talk to God. God is her savior and he relieves her from this grief she is feeling about her brother’s death. She says, “A voice reproves me thereupon, / more sweet than Nature’s…” (XV). This quote is saying that God’s voice is better than Nature’s, God is better than the grief she is feeling and he can help her through the grief. The theme of nature in this poem really shows how nature symbolizes her grief and reminds her of it because it keeps going on and on.

The use of repetition in the last line of every stanza show the reader how depressed the author feels about her ongoing grief. The repetition shows how much she is grieving and it emphasizes that she has been grieving for a long time. Browning repeats a single line throughout her entire poem and it says, “And yet my days go on, go on” (III). This quote shows that her long days of grieving still go on every day and they don’t end. The fact that it says “go on, go on” shows the reader that she is grieving every single day and her life is not getting any better. In the middle of the poem she then goes on to say, “Whose desolated days go on” (VII). The use of the word “desolated” shows the reader how she really feels, lonely. In the beginning of the poem, she only said “and yet my days go on, go on” but then she started to add words like desolated and vacant to really express to the reader how she is really feeling but still show the reader how long she is grieving for. Towards the end of the poem she starts to say, “I praise Thee while my days go on” (XXII). This quote is showing that she will now praise God while her days go on, instead of grieving from the loss of her brother. Her days do still go on and she is still living her life but instead of grieving, she has found a new resolution and turned to God to relieve herself from the grief.

The talk of religion and the allusion to Jesus shows that not only is she going against the theory of evolution, but she is also creating a sudden realization with the depth of her grief. She is going against the theory of evolution because in the Victorian Period, the theory of evolution was introduced by Charles Darwin and that made everyone shift away from religion and God as the creator of the earth, to beginning to think more about evolution. She remembers that Jesus sacrificed himself and died on the cross for every single person in this world and that remembrance makes her realize that she should not be grieving this hard because Jesus sacrificing himself is so much bigger than her grieving. Browning says, “Take from my head the thorn-wreath brown! / No mortal grief deserves that crown” (XX). This quote is showing that her grief doesn’t even come close to what Jesus did for us and she shouldn’t even be able to compare herself to him. She says that she doesn’t deserve the crown of thorns because she did not nearly go through as much pain and grief as Jesus went through. She realizes that she does not need to be grieving as much as she is because it’s not worth it. In the last stanza of the poem she wraps up her sudden realization and she says, “As a child drops his pebble small/ down some deep well, and hears it fall/ smiling-so I” (XXIV). This quote symbolizes her grief and sorrow and how small it is compared to other things. Her grief is just one small pebble in life and she realizes that it is only one bad thing in her life and it’s not worth grieving for an ongoing period of time. Jesus plays an important role in this poem for when she realizes the tremendous depth of her grief and when she realizes that it is immoral.

In “De Profundis” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, she uses nature motif, repetition and religion to express the speaker’s grief about the death of her brother and to indicate the sudden realization she has about her mortal grief. All of those three tools aid in showing the reader the depth of her sorrows and aid in helping the speaker come to a resolution about her grief in the end. Religion may not be a big role in the Victorian Period but it plays a huge role for Elizabeth Browning and in her poem. Browning feels great sorrow about her brother’s death but with the help of God and the remembrance of Jesus, she realizes that her grief is just one small pebble in a giant well.

Romantic Essay

Anna Ebaugh

Mrs. Wilson

British Literature B

May 12, 2013

Romantic Period Essay

The Romantic Period lasted between 1798 and 1832. During this period, their agricultural society turned into an industrial nation, which then created desperate living conditions and increased child labor (Henry 711). The Romance of the Romantic Period signifies a fascination with a child’s sense of wonder and their innocence (Henry 713). In “Chimney Sweeper: Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience” by William Blake, he uses symbolism, children’s imagination, and irony to emphasize how the harsh child labor in the Romantic Period is destroying children’s innocence.

William Blake uses symbolism in these two poems to show the contrast between the chimney sweeper’s innocence and their excruciating child labor. Blake uses the colors white and black throughout both of his poems to symbolize their innocence and their miserable lives. White symbolizes innocence and the childhood that children are supposed to have. Black symbolizes their miserable lives working as a chimney sweeper and everything bad about child labor. In “Songs of Innocence”, Blake says, “’Hush, Tom!’ never mind it, for when your head’s bare, / you know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair” (ll. 7-8). Blake mentions the “white hair” instead of just “hair” because it shows that they are still children and that they are innocent. The fact that his white hair is being shaved off, shows that their innocence is being taken away by child labor. In “Songs of Experience”, Blake says, “because I was happy upon the heath, / and smiled among the winter’s snow...” (ll. 5-6). The whiteness of the snow symbolizes nature and naturalness which contrasts with the unnaturalness of a chimney sweeper. The fact that the snow is white symbolizes that there is much better things outside of their world as chimney sweepers. The use of “black” in these poems symbolizes the awful lives of the chimney sweepers and what they have to go through. In “Songs of Innocence”, William Blake talks about black and he says, “That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack, /were all of them locked up in coffins of black” (ll. 11-12). In this quote, locked up is meaning that they feel trapped, coffins mean that they feel like they are already dead, and black is referring to their soot covered bodies and their miserable lives. In “Songs of Experience”, Blake says, “A little black thing among the snow” (l. 1). This quote shows that “the little black thing” is unrecognizable and doesn’t even look like a little boy. The boy is completely covered in soot that the adult doesn’t even know that “the little back thing” is a little boy. In these two poems, white and black contrast completely about how the boys lives should and shouldn’t be.

Imagination is all these boys have left of their childhood and even that is starting to be taken away by child labor. In “Songs of Innocence” the narrator talks about his fellow chimney sweeper, Tom Dacre, and Tom has a very different imagination compared to the narrator. Blake talks about a dream Tom is having and he says, “And by came an angel who had a bright key, / And he opened the coffins and set them all free; / Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,/ And wash in a river, and shine in the sun. /Then naked and white, all their bags left behind (ll. 13-17). Tom is dreaming about heaven and where he will go once he dies from being a chimney sweeper. Being naked and white shows that they are clean and innocent again. This quote shows that Tom still has hope because he is imagining a perfect heaven but we can’t say the same for the speaker. We can conclude that the speaker does not feel the same way that Tom does and does not have any hope for himself because the speaker has a negative tone throughout the poem and only talks about how Tom is happy, not himself. In “Songs of Experience”, the narrator has no imagination and absolutely no hope at all for the afterlife. The narrator now realizes that his own parents made him become a chimney sweeper and that ruined his innocence and his imagination. Imagination is being destroyed by child labor and what these kids have to go through.

Irony is being portrayed in these poems to express how the chimney sweepers feel about their horrible lives. In “Songs of Innocence” the narrator talks about Tom and how Tom is dreaming of heaven. William Blake says, “Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm” (l. 23). This quote is ironic because Tom is a chimney sweeper and he experiences very harsh child labor, yet he is happy and he still has hope. It is ironic that Tom could still be happy and overlook everything bad around him because he still has his imagination and innocence. In “Songs of Experience”, Blake says, “They clothed me in the clothes of death, / and taught me to sing the notes of woe” (ll. 8-9). It is ironic that his own parents contributed to making him a chimney sweeper and they were the ones who clothed him in the “clothes of death”. Parents are supposed to take care of their child, so it is ironic that they are the ones making their child miserable. In the last stanza of the poem “Songs of Experience”, he says, “and because I am happy and dance and sing, / they think they have done me no injury” (ll. 9-10). His parents think that he is happy when he is really not. He talks about singing “notes of woe” which shows that he is not singing happily, he is singing out of misery and his parents don’t even know. It is ironic that his parents think he is okay and that they are in church praising God because they think their son is happy when really he is completely miserable.

In “Chimney Sweeper: Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience” by William Blake, he uses symbolism, children’s imagination, and irony to emphasize how the harsh child labor in the Romantic Period is destroying children’s innocence. All three of these tools show that the children’s innocence and childhood is slowly degrading through their times as a chimney sweeper. Child labor has greatly increased because of the Industrial Revolution which creates a loss of innocence and a loss of the children having a childhood because of child labor. 

neoclassical essay

Anna Ebaugh

Mrs. Wilson

British Literature B

May 8, 2013

The Neoclassical Period was the period of the “Haves” and the “Have-Nots”, also known as the wealthy English and the poor Irish. In the Neoclassical Period satire is the main literary device used in this period by the authors and poets. In the pamphlet, “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathon Swift, he uses ethos, pathos, and logos to express his use of juvenalian satire and his view on the economic downfall in Ireland.

The use of ethos in this piece, aid in the credibility that the author is trying to establish about the Irish economy. Since Jonathon Swift is trying to persuade the reader to make a change in the Irish economy, he uses ethical appeal to increase credibility in the point he is trying to make. Swift talks about children who are being used as food and he says, “I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food…”  (Swift 584). The fact that this quote was “a very knowing American” creates credibility to what he is saying; it makes the reader believe that it is true. This quote relates to the juvenalian satire because it is bitter since they are talking about eating the children and it is persuading the reader into believing the Irish economy is bad because Swift creates “credibility” in what he is saying. Swift wraps up his piece and explains his real purpose in writing this piece, he says, “I profess, in the sincerity of my heart, that I have not the least personal interest in endeavoring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the public good on my country…” (Swift 589). Swift creates credibility in this quote because he says “I profess, in the sincerity of my heart” and that shows how strongly he feels about the Irish economy and it shows that he really does not want people to eat the children, he just wants to help his country. The word choice assures the reader that he is only worried about the Irish economy and it makes the reader realize how strongly he feels about the situation. Ethical appeal creates believability so the reader can believe what he is proposing and it makes the reader want to aid in supporting the economy. Not only is ethos used throughout the piece to create credibility, pathos is also used to make the reader feel sympathetic for the Irish economy.

Pathos is used in “A Modest Proposal” to draw the reader in and make them feel deep sorrow for the Irish. The author is trying to persuade the reader to help make a change to the Irish economy and by doing that, he uses emotional appeal to make the reader sympathetic to the situation. Jonathon swift discusses what he sees when he walks the streets of Ireland, he says, “it is a melancholy object to those, who walk through this great town, or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads and cabin-doors crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms” (Swift 582). This quote shows the reader what the streets of Ireland look like and it shows the life of a poor Irish family. The way that quote is written and the word choice that is in it, really makes the reader feel sympathetic for the women on the streets with their children. This quote pulls the reader into the direction to want to make a change in Ireland. In order to make a change in Ireland, Swift comes up with a proposal and he claims there are many advantages to this proposal, he says, “there is likewise another great advantage in my scheme, that it will prevent those voluntary abortions, and that horrid practice of women murdering their bastard children…” (Swift 584). The use of the words “horrid”, “murdering”, and “bastard” really puts emphasis on the way Swift feels about abortion and it draws the reader to believe that abortion is in fact murderous. The fact that these two quotes persuade the reader into feeling sympathetic for the Irish and makes us have an urge to help the Irish economy; demonstrates that this story is satirical because Swift is wanting a change and he is reaching out to the reader by using emotional appeal. The use of pathos makes the reader feel sympathetic and want to make a change; logos is also used to make the reader want to make a change but that is achieved by the use of statistics and calculations.

                Jonathon Swift’s use of logos uses statistical facts to support Swift’s desire to help the Irish economy. “A Modest Proposal” is told by an economic planner and because of that, Swift uses statistics and numbers that may or may not be true, to make his story persuade someone to contribute in helping out the struggling Irish economy. Swift creates some numbers and calculations to calculate the number of children who are born into a poor family, he says, “The number of souls in this kingdom being usually reckoned one million and a half, of these I calculate there may be about two hundred thousand couple whose wives are breeders; from which number I subtract thirty thousand couple, who are able to maintain their own children, but this being granted, there will remain a hundred and seventy thousand breeders. I again subtract fifty thousand for those women who miscarry, or whose children die by accident, or disease within the year. There only remain a hundred and twenty thousand children of poor parents annually born” (Swift 584). The fact that this quote uses numbers and “facts” makes the reader believe what he is concluding. He uses these calculations to support his position on the poor economy and since he is using numbers, it makes the piece more persuasive because people are always persuaded when there is numbers involved. Swift resolves the low economy problem by saying that the rich can eat the poor children so the streets are not overcrowded and the Irish economy gets better. He uses the way of eating the children as a resolution because this is his last resort to get people’s attention about the trembling Irish economy. He talks about the children for food and he says, “I do therefore humbly offer it to the public consideration, that of the hundred and twenty thousand children, already computed, twenty thousand may be reserved for breed, whereof only one fourth part to the males; which is more than we allow to sheep, black cattle, or swine…” (Swift 584). This quote uses numbers which backs up his claim. This quote is very exaggerated and satirical because Swift doesn’t actually want to eat the children, he just wants to create a call to action and have someone help out the Irish economy. The fact that the children are being compared to animals shows that the children lack innocence in the eyes of the citizens. The calculations and numbers that is used in this pamphlet make the piece more persuasive and makes people want to make a change and it aids in the appearance of the poor economy.

In the pamphlet, “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathon Swift, he uses ethos, pathos, and logos to express his use of juvenalian satire and his view on the economic downfall in Ireland. Ethos creates credibility which makes the reader believe what Jonathon Swift is saying and then therefore believe in what he is saying about the Irish economy. Swift uses pathos by using certain word choices that make the reader feel emotional and grab their attention about the Irish poor and their economy. The use of logos creates calculations and “facts” which help persuade the reader into believing what Swift is portraying is true. People believe numbers and calculations which would make the readers believe Swift. The use of these three appeals grab the reader's attention to make them want to make a change.