851-0364-00L: V An Introduction to Literature in English, Part II FS 2014 Mid-Term Test

Jacob Shapiro April 10, 2014

Abstract We answer three questions on the midterm with the hopes of passing. Due to the excessive amount of stylistic manure in what follows we have taken poetic license to exceed the prescribed word limit where necessary.

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Question 4
Lemma

2 poems the handout such that poem 2 poems , poem testies to the view that Blake skillfully employs verse foot and sound pattern to underline the following two sentiments: 1. Voicing criticism against the repressive institutions of ones time, such as the church. (Type I ) 2. Praising god, father as the protector and guardian of all living beings. (Type II )

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Proof

1. Consider the poem The Lamb from the handout: (a) Observe that in Christianitya sect of which Blake was a member according to historical accountslamb is code for Jesus. Thus, it might be reasonable to assume the poem concerns imaginary friends in the sky. (b) Given the above assumption, we might proceed by showing either polarization of sentiments. We will make the case that the sentiment in said poem is of Type II listed above: i. The word little on the rst line, juxtaposed with the word lamb, establish an atmosphere of warmth and tenderness. Hence we exclude the antagonistic undertones of Type I. 1

ii. Incessant questioning by the speaker of the lamb about the generator of the latter. Hence we gather evidence regarding a protector: a parental gure, an entity creating and subsequently protecting. (c) Thus we have established that said poem is of Type II. (d) We shall show that Blake employs verse foot to underline the poem being Type II : i. We shall show that the verse foot in the poem is predominantly trochee: A. B. C. D. 1st foot: [LITT][le] 2nd foot: [LAMB], [who] 3rd foot: [MADE] [thee] And so on and so forth. Note: some of the lines done complete the foot unit, and only have the stressed syllable. The rst example of which is on the 3rd line on the last (incomplete) foot. We shall conveniently ascribe that to poetic license and not let it interfere with framing a brute pattern matching scheme on this innocent stream of human thought. E. As trochee a string of feet (units of two or three syllables) where the unit has two syllables, the rst stressed (here capitalized) and the second unstressed, which is exactly the pattern we have identied, we deem the verse foot to be of type trochee.

ii. Trochee, being [STRESSED][unstressed], can be linked with Type II in the following ways: A. A protector of living beings is should be strong in order to protect from harm. We associate the stressed syllable with that quality. In contrast, the unstressed syllable provides the tenderness motherly quality of a guardian. B. Tracing the etymology of the word trochee, we nd that trochee originates is related to such words as wheel, running or owing, or rolling. But what is that, if not the cycle of live. The embodiment of the creator, in the meter. C. But where is the praising? (e) We shall show that Blake employs sound pattern to underline the poem being Type II : i. The rhyming scheme of the poem is AA BB CC DD. This type of rhyming scheme establishing continuity and stability, which helps to establish a sense of security. ii. All those rhymes end with the sound ee, which is a kind of joyful calling of happiness, marking the happiness of speaker.

iii. An abundance of soft consonants (e.g. th, l, d) throughout the poem help establish a soothing, calming, meditation of praise. 2. Consider the poem The Garden of Love from the handout: (a) The poem mentions a chapel obstructing his view of the garden. We interpret the chapel as the house of indoctrination and reeducation, sometimes referred to as a church, and thus may proceed assuming the poem concerns the aforementioned institutions. (b) We claim the sentiment in the poem is of Type I : i. A chapel built in the middle is clearly part of the speakers lament of the ongoing gentrication of the meadow. What is that if not subdued criticism? ii. The gates of the gentried structure erected in the garden are shut. This is uninviting, in fact it sends an aloof message. The speaker is clearly discontent with the state of aairs. iii. The situation does not ameliorate in the last verse, in which the speaker puts on a macabre tone. Finally the last line says it all. (c) We shall show that Blake employs verse foot to underline the poem being Type I : i. The crude outline of the meter is as follows: A. The meter starts out as iambic ([unstressed][STRESSED]): [i][WENT] [to][THE] [gar][DEN] [of] [LOVE] B. Then moves to anapest ([unstressed][unstressed][STRESSED]): [and] [saw] [WHAT] [i] [never] [HAD] [seen]; [a] [cha][PEL] [was] [built] C. The meter breaks with the italicized tough shalt not... D. In the last verse the meter continues with dactylic ([STRESSED][unstressed][unstressed]): [AND] [i] [saw] [IT] [was] [lled] [WITH] [graves] ? ii. The beginning marks an ordinary, perhaps leisurely going on, which is suddenly interrupted by the anapest (what he never had seen). The anapest, a polka dance, marks the speakers naivety as if he were queerly dancing forward, which is probably to create a greater contrast with the churchs malice. iii. Clearly in order to shock, perhaps even terrorize, we get an interruption in the meter with the italic inscription on the door, which metaphorically screams out those words. iv. The interruption of the foot on the rst line of the last verse is meant to place emphasis on the word graves. (d) We shall show that Blake employs sound pattern to underline the poem being Type I : 3

i. The rhyming scheme starts with AB CB. This can be seen as an argument where the rst speaker asks: A? the second uncompromisingly answers: B! the second speaker tries to reconcile, oering a C? NO! the second speaker remains unmoved with his B! ii. The rhyming continues with A B B B, a sort of cycle of fatal blows by the church. iii. The lack of rhyming on the last two lines marks the victory of death and the church. 3. In conclusion, we have shown the original claim to hold, albeit relying on dubious claims of questionable validity. Further research is necessary to validate our ndings.

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Question 5
Formulation

Joyce said that in Dubliners he wanted to write about the moral history of Ireland and chose Dublin because it was the center of paralysis. Discuss the presentation of Mr Duy and his environment in A Painful Case and relate why he is unable to escape his loneliness and isolation.

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Attempt at Solution

Mr Duy is perhaps the epitome of paralysis: he chooses a desolate place to live because he is unhappy with society in Dublin. Why doesnt he instead attempt to engender change? The walls on his room are naked, his books are arranged according to bulk, which suggests no interest in the actual content but rather in the prosaic qualities of these objects. As mentioned in class, Joyce is not unequivocal, giving his characters a chance at redeeming themselves: Mr Duys desk is always covered writing materials, hinting at incessant activity. But what kind of activity? Mere translation (not to belittle any translator readers, but perhaps this is an implicit statement as to the nature of Duys produce: a regurgitation and never a candidly novel work). It seems that Duy hates that which he is himself: he abhors mental disorder, but the exposition clearly indicates Duy suers from at least one form of personality disorder (anal retentive). As was discussed in class, his features are rather unappealing, yet, again we nd a redeeming quality, his eyes, looking out into the world for something, anything, ever disappointed. The quintessential phrase of the whole work is: He lived at a little distance from his body, which is, in a way, another manifestation of paralysis. Instead of living life, moving, marching forward, he is waiting on the platform, at a certain distance from body, the vehicle of life. This last statement is perhaps the very reason why Duy is unable to escape his pit. Despite his alleged observational excessive activities, he fails to recognize 4

reality as it unravels in front of him: he ascribes Mrs. Sinicos (is Joyce hinting at cynico? Duys relation to the lady?) death to his own doing, which wouldnt have been such a sin if it had only bore some fruitif he had let that pseudo event wake him up from his dormancy. This almost happens, as he faces the river he is shaken, he receives a message from the world: nobody wants me. Perhaps he was on the verge of suicide by jumping into the river. He could have done that, perhaps that would have at least shown some courage for once in his life: it would have been a last act of non-paralysis. He couldve also woken up from his slumber and have decided to change his ways, open his heart. Yet instead he relapses again to his state of nothingness, at least now feeling that he was alone: The prisoner nally awakes only to nd himself in an isolated oubliette.

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Question 6
Formulation

Joyce has often been called an author of despair. Do you think the story A Painful Case might justify this epithet and why?

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Answer

Yes. Given that I just had to look up what epithet means, I am perhaps not the best authority on the topic, but lets start from the very title, which sets the stage for something painful. The word case refers to a clinical setting, as if in a hospital, where despair is usually found in abundance. In the story itself, we are exposed to the abysmal love story between Duy and Sinico. Such a story, which ended with the physical death of the latter and the ultimate spiritual death of the former, swells with misery and melancholia. Just reading the description of Duys surrounding, rituals and habits, one would need some SSRIs. Duy is without hope, going on about life, as if awaiting his death. He very quickly does away with any political aspirations, writing o any potential readers of his words as unworthy. Mr. Sinico is without hope, having written o any pleasure associated with his wife. Mrs. Sinico ended in suicide, she couldnt have been too content. Young Frauline Sinico is perhaps as well a problem case: if her father was so happy that Duy was around so much, hoping that he was going to ask for his daughters hand, that means there couldnt have been too many courters for the daughter. We only hear about Duys family when they die: he merely escorts them in their funerals. He reads Nietzsche, adding fuel to the re. At the end, Duy is on the verge of suicide and even that he cannot accomplish for his paralysis. There is only one tinkle of hope: he can feel.