Imagery/Figurative Language

In the poem, Ozymandias, both figurative language and imagery are portrayed to demonstrate the destructive nature of time. Most prominently, imagery of ancient ruins depicted in the poem portray the deterioration caused by time’s ceaseless progression; “Two cast and trunkless legs of stone / stand in the desert. Near them… / Half sunk, a shatter’d visage lies, whose frown  / and wrinkled lip, … Tell that its sculptor well those passions read / Which yet survive, stamp’d on these lifeless things.” The statue’s corporeal remnants are illustrated vividly while the language appears to mimic this fragmented state of the statue. The physical wreckage of the statue and the specific word patterns that interrupt the flow of each line are key elements that Shelley uses to establish a representation of destruction. Furthermore, while the words apparently describe a withered and slightly demolished statue, they truly serve to communicate the capacity for time to destroy the glory of the past.  In fully understanding this poem one must analyze the imagery literally and figuratively to grasp the poem’s final conclusion about time. 

Sounds of Poetry

Poetry is often composed of literary devices that place emphasis on certain words and sound with a particular arrangement as to create a musical effect. A defining element of good poetry is a poems rhythm.

            Edward Hirsch’s poem Fast Break exemplifies this type of rhythmic poetry. The poem, communicating a certain message about the game of basketball, is organized so that each the syllables seem to alternate between stressed and unstressed similar to iambic pentameter. The rise and fall between each word’s syllables develops cadence, the rise and fall of the voice, within the poem when read aloud. The rising and falling rhythm of Fast Break seems to mimic the movement of a basketball being dribbled down the court as if on a fast break. In this case sound devices relate closely to the central idea and overall rhythm of the poem.

Symbol

In a drama like “Hamlet” symbols are not expressed as greatly as they are in a fiction novel like “Pride and Prejudice.” Hamlet uses several small symbols that relate to one of the major themes of the play: Death. Yorick’s skull can be viewed as a symbol in hamlet because it communicates that death’s unrelenting nature; even the jester, the liveliest person in the play is a subject to death. Because of Yorick’s skull, Hamlet comes to face the truth that death is inevitable. While symbols in Hamlet relate to certain themes such as death, symbols in “Pride and Prejudice” relate more closely with setting as well as major themes of the novel. Pemberly is an element of the setting, which establishes an English cultural environment. Additionally, Pemberly can be viewed as a symbol pertaining to the theme of class diversity. This is so because Pemberly is so highly acclaimed for its beauty and upper-class nature while no explicit mention of any other place in the novel can be found. The difference between Pemberly and all of the other estates in the novel reflects the rigid class system established in England during the time period. Ultimately symbol is connected to themes and in certain cases develops elements of the setting.  

Setting

Setting provides the background elements essential to any story.  In Hamlet, the setting is vital to the progression of the play. Increasingly through out the play Hamlet’s behavior becomes more insane. As Hamlet’s behavior becomes less tame, so does the behavior of those around him, thus creating a psychotic scene in Denmark. This element of the setting effectively builds up to the climax of the play in which King Claudius is finally slain. While chaotic elements of the setting reflect the mental states of the characters in Hamlet, Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice makes use of the setting to describe how the cultural environment within the novel functions. Pemberly, the magnificent estate is an important aspect of the setting, which attributes to the cultural environment of 19^th century English high society. Furthermore, the characters in the novel further develop the cultural environment. For example, characters such as Mrs. Bennet act foolishly through gossip, which stereo types certain characters in the novel such as Darcy and Bingly. Proof of the cultural environment exists because Elizabeth realizes that her preconceptions about Darcy are actually false after she truly gets to know him. 

Character Blog #2

In drama developing character is very formulaic and is tied closely to the conflict of the plot. In fiction the way in which characters are presented is less structured and more creative. However, characters in works of fiction operate with less connection with the plot. In Hamlet each character serves a common purpose of attributing to the development of the plot. Alternatively, characters in “Pride and Prejudice” may operate individually and even create sub-conflicts that loosely tie into the novel with lesser importance. Therefore, drama is more likely to have a definite protagonist and antagonist while fiction may involve several main characters involved in a shared conflict without an antagonist. Ultimately, characters in drama and fiction differ because of their relationship to the plot. 

Plot Blog #1

The plot serves a similar purpose in fiction and drama. The purpose that the plot serves is simply establishing events that present character relationships and conflicts that are worked out by resolutions. However, differences concerning plot structure exist between a fictional plot and a dramatic plot. In Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” the climax occurs when Elizabeth realizes that she is attracted to, Mr. Darcy, the person she was originally disgusted by. In Hamlet the climax occurs when Hamlet takes revenge for his fathers murder and finally kills King Claudius. While the climax of “Pride and Prejudice” occurs near the middle of the novel, the climax in “Hamlet” occurs on the second to last page. “Pride and Prejudice” has many pages to explain the resolution and walk the reader through the falling action. Conversely, “Hamlet” has a few lines devoted to the resolution of the play. This abrupt ending in “Hamlet” is a key element concerning plot that characterizes it as a Drama. 

Essay Comments

I believe that my Hamlet essay shows good signs of improvement in my writing. There were very few errors in my essay; however, I could have read through my essay a few more times to improve my essay even more. One thing that would help me improve my writing would be to start drafting my essay earlier. And another would be to connect my body paragraphs through topic and closing sentences. Also in my next essay I will consider using a topic based rather than character based organization for each body paragraph. Finally, including a more specific analysis that connect more closely with the prompt will help me improve my writing.

Creator and Destroyer of Legends

Time is an immutable element of existence. This certainty, concerning the matter of time, has been manifested in many noteworthy poetic works. The two poems “To an Athlete Dying Young” by A.E. Housman and “Ozymandias” by Percy Shelley use time as a means to communicate distinct themes involving the effect that time has on the concept of veneration and honor. Both poems appear to meet a consensus that time, especially the passing of time, has an immense effect on the identification of greatness. Alternatively, the messages of these poems are far different in that while “Ozymandias” focuses solely on the forgotten glory of the past, “To an Athlete Dying Young” focuses on the prestige, which has been frozen in time as the rest of the world progresses. Both poems outline their primary intentions through an indirect assessment of the effect that time has on the magnitude of precedence and virtue. 

Basketball Poems

Edward Hirsh's poem, Fast Break, portrays a quick and highly detailed sequence in a basketball game through the use of vivid imagery exemplifying both powerful actions contrasted by graceful movements. The powerful verbs such as "exlodes" and "racing" used to describe the players convey the fast paced movment of the game. In contrast, expressions such as "kisses the rim" and "laying it gently against the glass" demonstrate the artful quality of the game. The constant transition between these two types of language mimics the beatiful yet highly physical elements of a Fast Break.

Yusef Komunyakaa's "Slam Dunk, & Hook" describes a different type of basketball; one which is less syncronized and beatiful, yet has deep emotional value. Backyard basketball in this poem is described through the author's use of greek allusion and expressions that describe a clash of forces such as "tangled up in a falling" and "we knew we were beatiful and dangerous." While Hirsh's poem illustrates the syncronization of two opposite qualities, Komunyakaa's poem identifies two different qaulities of the game of basketball and leaves them in a contrasting state.

Ozymandias and ponder, darling,these busted statues

Percy Shelly’ Ozymandias, focuses on how time outlives the world and everyone in it. Time is never specifically mentioned in the poem; however, imagery conveys the destructive nature of time. Most prominently, indications of an extensive progression of time are portrayed by the ancient runes in the poem. The words read off of a pedestal “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: - Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” present the destruction caused by time. The pedestal, a faint token of the past, is all that remains of what can be assumed a once magnificent statue. The pedestal and the words read off of it serve to signify the existence of an extraordinary past, while the fact that the actual statue has been destroyed signifies the ruinous nature of time. Ozymandias expresses a cynical view of time's destructive effect on the ever-fading glimmer of the past.