Abstract
This paper discusses the triangular relationship between father, son and land, which Wordsworth eulogizes in "Michael." The paper states that Wordsworth is expressing an imagined nostalgia for a time when strong men, such as Michael, toiled on their own land for their livelihoods but halfheartedly accepted that the changes in society have been unavoidable. The author feels that Wordsworth seems to be making a connection between himself and future generation of poets, a connection similar to the relationship between Michael and Luke.

From the Paper
"In order to avoid selling his lands, Michael suggests that he should send his son Lucas to work with a well-to-do relative, so that Lucas can send money back home and Michael can keep from parting with his property. Michael's idea was that "[h]e quickly will repair this loss, and then/He may return to us." Thus, he would send Luke away to work off his own debts, and then have his son to help him in the field, once again. But when Michael speaks to Luke about his impending journey, he senses that Luke will in all likelihood not return. He tells Luke: "This was a work for us; and now, my Son, /It is a work for me." "

Tags:father, son, land, nostalgia, society

Abstract
This paper examines the highly complex and patterned language used in T.S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" which discusses the struggle of an ordinary man to break through the confines of a judgmental society. The paper also discusses the use of imagery throughout the poem.

From the Paper
"The poem,'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock', was written in 1911 by T. S. Eliot. This poem appeals to the intellect and the aesthetic sense of the reader because of the highly patterned language as well as the rich aural and visual imagery used. The heightened language used is different from the language of everyday life. However, Eliot uses the situation of a man trapped within routine of everyday life within the conventions of society as a means of discussing the aridity of modern civilization and the lack of faith and conviction in anything modern man does."

Tags:repetitive, civilization, Michelangelo

Abstract
This paper discusses Anne Bradstreet's poem "Upon Burning of Our House" written in 1666 about a burning house and the loss of all material goods. It analyzes how the work is based on the Puritan theological concepts of the time which tended reveal a sense of hopelessness and despondency as far as life was concerned. It shows how the willingness of the poet to shun the world and its possessions for bigger rewards is a purely Puritan concept which seems to lack substance. Material accomplishments were viewed as selfish desires, which had to be abandoned if a man sought to achieve happiness in the world thereafter.

From the Paper
"Bradstreet is exploring a very simple Christian concept in this poem. However if the poem is studied in historical context, we can unearth many significant messages, which speak volumes about the times of the poet. For example, the willingness of the poet to shun this world and its possessions for bigger rewards is a purely Puritan concept, which upon close examination seems to lack substance. The poet it appears was writing this poem to please the society of her times and thus failed to make any significant original contribution to this cliched idea. Christianity has been preaching the same thing since time immemorial and it has been extensively discussed. "

Tags:fire, puritan, material, life

Abstract
This paper discusses the poem "Crowds" by Charles Baudelaire about an idle man who roams through the Parisian crowd and while moving through the crowd, notices and ponders over everyone and everything. It analyzes the three main themes of the prose namely, individuality, egoism and conformity. It examines how the basic notion is that each human being like the character in the prose sees himself as a unique individual of society and how the qualities, which truly make a person an individual in its right meaning, are his sorrows, happiness, obstacles, triumphs and experiences.

From the Paper
"It is this very concept of individualism, which enables the audience to discard Baudelaire's argument as a result of egoism. No matter how one sees himself above others or how distinguished, he eventually is the same as anyone else as far as his origination or orientation is concerned. All men possess some similar attributes and as a result are not completely unique from others. Even though they might think they are but in reality they are not and will eventually be described as humans, having the same human nature, which in some ways possesses the same qualities as others. Since each person recognizes himself as incomparable to others, to accept this notion may prove to be somewhat a matter of self-pride and egoism."

Tags:individuality, egoism, conformity, paris

Abstract
This paper discusses the poem "The Emperor of Ice-Cream" by Wallace Stevens which describes a funeral scene. It shows how although the poem is based on the story of an old woman's wake, Stevens delves into the deeper meanings of life, death and reality in the poem. It examines how the title also symbolizes the primacy of physical, sensual pleasures, which is one of the themes of the poem. Although a funeral is about to take place, the narrator and the funeral attendants are more concerned with mundane details such as ice cream. It looks at how the poet ends each stanza with the line, 'The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream', which emphasizes that sensual pleasures are more important than thoughts of religion or the hereafter.

From the Paper
"However, Stevens isn't just trying to startle his readers. The poet presents a complex attitude toward death with "The Emperor of Ice-Cream." Death is treated by the funeral-goers as an unimportant, inconsequential, even distracting part of life. The funeral-goers, who cannot properly be called mourners because they show no signs of mourning, are not as concerned about the dead woman as they are with mundane things. Ice cream is the main symbol of these mundane considerations. Other minute details that distract the attendants, including the narrator, from the matter at hand are the "three glass knobs" missing from the deal dresser and the embroidery on the woman's cloth."

Tags:funeral, wake, death, religion

Abstract
This paper examines the different moral values presented in the epic poem, "The Odyssey" by Homer and the ways in which these values are presented through some of the characters. It shows that while the "Odyssey" is indeed a moral epic, the moral position of the main characters themselves, namely Odysseus and the Gods, can at times be questionable. It evaluates how the "Odyssey" seems to portray the idea that obstacles and hardship arise out of moral weakness, self-control is overwhelmingly important and sufferings come about when a person gives in to temptation as well as love and the importance of family and home.

From the Paper
"Another moral element present in the poem is "dike". Justice. In the end, evil will be punished. Good will triumph. Odysseus murders all the suitors and his disloyal servants. It has often been debated whether his actions were justified. Based on the moral value of "dike", the poet obviously meant the murders to be justified. Evil must be punished, and what better way than to have evil punished by good. The suitors had broken many moral laws. They courted the wife of a great hero, made themselves at home in his palace, ate his food, slept with his servants and conspired to kill his son. They had to receive their punishment, their "nemesis"- retribution from the Gods. "

Tags:epic, odysseus, odyssey, god, evil, temptation

Abstract
This paper argues that any text is a source of endless speculation, argument and debate in relation to three poems by William Butler Yeats: "Sailing to Byzantium", "Easter 1916" and "Wild Swans at Coole". Each poem is analysed through two critical approaches, namely New Critical, which focuses on the specific devices used by the poet in the actual poems and Marxist, which looks at the context of the poet and poem to extract meaning.

From the Paper
""Sailing to Byzantium" is not an exception to the fact that any text is a source of endless speculation, argument and debate. The debate in this poem arises over the interpretation of the golden bird that is "set upon a bough to sing". A New Critical reading of the golden bird holds that it is a symbol of the "artifice of eternity" and the ideal world of art. The golden bird defies all change and, as apart of art, comments on life and the natural world which is subject to mutability and transformation. A Marxism, however, argues that the golden bird along with the "holy city of Byzantium" represent aristocratic values, and the stability and immutability of the aristocracy is what Yeats yearns for. To a Marxist, nature symbolizes a society that changes."

Tags:new, critical, marxist

Abstract
A paper contrasting "The Chimney Sweeper" poems from William Blake's "Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience" with "The Ecchoing Green" and "London". The paper focuses on the portrayal of the contrary states of innocence and experience, but the paper suggests that in a greater thematic sense all poems carry Blakes social criticism of the hypocritical Romantic society.

From the Paper
"William Blake, from a young age, displayed a vivid imagination which was not looked upon favorably during the pre Romantic period. He continued throughout his writing to radically question religion and politics, especially critical of the church, putting forth his views on the world. Perhaps what Blake is most famous for are his contrasting Songs of Experience and Songs of Innocence poems, which have either been paired by Blake himself, or by critics in their interpretations. In plate three of "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" Blake wrote, "Without contraries is no progression", this statement defining the contrary states of Innocence and Experience, regarded as necessary to both human existence and human progress."

Tags:chimney, exploitation, hypocrisy, london, religion

Abstract
This paper examines Shakespeare's use of the theme of time-as-destroyer, in three of the sonnets: No's 64, 65, and 73. Shakespeare's poetic techniques are analyzed in detail. Some of these include meter, alliteration, antithesis, syllogism, personification, ploce, and chiasmus. In order to demonstrate these different techniques, the author makes extensive comparisons between the three sonnets.

From the Paper
"The poem is an apostrophe, addressed to the absent (or at least voiceless) lover. It says these things you may see in me: that I am aging, that I am like a setting sun, that I must soon die. But because you see this impermanence, this fading or deterioration, you only love me more. Now, impermanence has become a positive thing, fueling the love his beloved has for him.
"The imagery in this sonnet is gentler than that of the two others. There, we had raging, engulfing oceans, and battering days, and rocks and brass and hard, indomitable things. Now, the imagery is of yellowing leaves, and boughs that once had sweet singing birds on them. The giving over to inevitable death is not one raged against, but is a sweet thing like the setting of a sun. His late stage of life is being compared with fading light, and with night which is "death's second self that seals up all in rest." We are being eased into death here, being made to think of it as slumber."

Tags:alliteration, beauty, chiasmus, courtly, elizabethan, literature, love, personification, ploce, poetry, shakespeare, sonnets, theme, time, life, imagery, repetition, couplet, technique, contrast

Abstract
This paper examines Michael Drayton's sonnet "Since There's No Help" which describes the uncertainty associated with ending a relationship. It analyzes how Drayton begins by asserting that the relationship is ending and by trying to convince himself that he is glad of this. Then he surrenders to his real feelings and offers the real sadness of the situation. It looks at how, overall, the poem shows the process of being powerless to another person, fighting this power because of pride and then eventually admitting true feelings and begging for love to continue.

From the Paper
"The first eight lines set up the problem, with these lines focusing on the confusion of the individual. The first line introduces the fact that the relationship is ending, "Since there's no help, come let us kiss and part." This line expresses the certainty that the relationship is ending. There is no question in this line over whether or not the relationship will end. Instead, it is clear that the two will part. This introduces a tone of needing to accept the situation. This is important because the following seven lines all suggest uncertainty. This assurance that the relationship will ends means that the poem is not focused on whether or not they are parting, but on how the individual feels about their parting."

Tags:relationship, love