Charles II- Protestant King. Country seen as Protestant country, although there were many Catholics
The state church was dominant
Charles had some interest in Catholicism
Charles- Protestant, James- Catholic
1678- Popish Plot
Titus Oates- spreads rumor there’s a plot to kill the king to make it a Catholic country with James as King when Charles dies
1679-1681- Exclusion Crisis
Attempt by Parliament to exclude James from being king incase Charles died without an air to the throne. Try to get Monmouth- the illegitimate son, to be heir to the throne- this was blocked in the house of lords
1681- Charles II dissolves Parliament- locks up wig leaders
The poem is about this crisis
Uses the language of the Old Testament
Allegorical
1685- Charles dies- James II takes power
Monmouth is excluded- power goes to Catholic James
James appoints Catholics to high power position & tries to dissolve Parliament
2 wives- Anne (2 daughters) and Mary (1 son- James)
1688- William & Mary claim power
James Flees & William and Mary take power. It goes from Catholic heir to Protestant rule
Bill of Rights is produced by Parliament- limited monarchy, still used today.
Mary & William die without kids- no heir. The crown passes to Anne- Mary’s sister. She dies without kids as well.
Jacobite= people who followed James. Think succession should stay with Catholics.
Jacobites- with death of Anne, power should go back to James
The people in Parliament said they didn’t want a Catholic king
George I- very German, becomes king
Hanoverian Succession- German, Protestant
Series of revolts against Hanoverians
Jacobites uprising
What matters-
There was a fight if succession should be by blood- biological vs. political
Catholic vs. Protestant
First 20-40 years King George on the throne was threatened. England & Britain were threatened & unsettled
British Government was threatened by outside pressure & continually in crisis
1745- Everything was over. Britain becomes greatest power in the world.
By Gunnar Johnson
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Irish Incognito By Edgeworth
The Irish Incognito
Piece can be read as exploiting Irish stereotypes- debatable!
Positive- he’s charming, no one has a problem with him when they know he’s Irish.
He’s confident- not a victim
He’s a flake- everyone is. Everybody is a swindler
Irish bull- “I’d rather die than be a Protestant”
By Gunnar Johnson
Piece can be read as exploiting Irish stereotypes- debatable!
Positive- he’s charming, no one has a problem with him when they know he’s Irish.
He’s confident- not a victim
He’s a flake- everyone is. Everybody is a swindler
Irish bull- “I’d rather die than be a Protestant”
By Gunnar Johnson
Aphra Behn and Oroonoko- By Chris Ponzi
The country to which the fictional Oroonoko belongs to is Surinam, but scholars aren't entirely sure if Behn actually visited Surinam or not, bust most likely she did, but it is generally regarded that the narrator of Behn's story Oroonoko, Or The Royal Slave, is not Behn herself. It's interesting however that most of the white characters in the colony in Surinam in the story were actually present in real life according to records. Aphra Behn, who was a fierce Royalist and actually a spy for Charles II, usually bases her fictional characters from political sentiments, usually portraying Republicans/Parliamentary individuals in a negative light; in this story, however, Byam and Bannister, who in real life were actual Royalists, are very evil and awful people, especially to Oroonoko. This might suggest that Behn wasn't in Surinam at this time and just knew the names of these men, or that she just didn't factor in her political sentiments.
Models for the character of Oroonoko could come from several sources, and one thought is that the colonial Oroonoko is based off of a white settler in Surinam named John Allin, who was a disgruntled alcoholic desiring independence, wounded the Surinam governor, and was then taken to prison where he killed himself of an overdose. If and when Behn was in Surinam, she would have seen African slaves from Ghana being transported to the colony, and that is where she would have received her inspiration regarding the physical aspects of Africans, though Oroonoko has a roman nose and straight black hair. Oroonoko could also be influenced by a fictional character named Oroondates from the novel Cassandra, who was a Prince that had his his wife taken by an older king, like with Oroonoko. The name "Caesar" for Oroonoko could also be based off the novel Cleopatra , where a captured slave named Juba is given the name Coriolanus by his captors.
Models for the character of Oroonoko could come from several sources, and one thought is that the colonial Oroonoko is based off of a white settler in Surinam named John Allin, who was a disgruntled alcoholic desiring independence, wounded the Surinam governor, and was then taken to prison where he killed himself of an overdose. If and when Behn was in Surinam, she would have seen African slaves from Ghana being transported to the colony, and that is where she would have received her inspiration regarding the physical aspects of Africans, though Oroonoko has a roman nose and straight black hair. Oroonoko could also be influenced by a fictional character named Oroondates from the novel Cassandra, who was a Prince that had his his wife taken by an older king, like with Oroonoko. The name "Caesar" for Oroonoko could also be based off the novel Cleopatra , where a captured slave named Juba is given the name Coriolanus by his captors.
Monday, March 17, 2008
In case you havent read everything about Persuasion by Jane Austen
You guys awake and still checking this thing?
I am sure somebody has already written this exact post. Oh well. I’ll be anonymous.
Persuasion by Jane Austen deals with a shift in importance from the vestiges of the old landed gentry to the individuality and judgment of the professional class who works for their own living. Anne’s mistake is not only that she IS persuaded but that she is persuaded by the “class” from which her father and Lady Russell come. She finds genuine love with Wentworth and this is very unique in an Austen novel because as we know Wentworth is professional military class. At the end of the book the narrator confesses that it’s ok to follow your individual judgment, you don’t have to follow established morality. As was said this book deals with all these shifts from the old to the new period that we have dealt with throughout the quarter. So let’s step back and explore some of these shifts in relation to persuasion.
Britain as aristocratic. It’s about who you are, not how much money or success you attain by your own endeavors,--> Britain becomes essentially a middle class country.
(Persuasion= the crises threaten this class, increasingly critical of money and wealth given to those who do not work i.e husbands and elder born sons. The eldest son was allowed to be lazy)
Monarchic TO democratic
Massive religious conflicts, as in church and state--> Smaller religious conflicts, Catholics are hated on , protestants, etc etc.
Nature changes from huge unfathomable thing -->smaller microcosm, able to be reflected upon and examined by man and in relation to man
Human self image and imagination changes from a collective group identity focus on “me” the individual self becomes the focus.
Love/Sex/Marriage from a theatrical performance, marriage was for appearances and propriety-->Individual love and depth of feeling and connection
Persuasion= The fate of women in the familial social system changes. The “ pretty, silly fashionable woman” with external brilliance and pomp is exchanged for the inner emotion and depth of Ann.
( Although I really can’t say that “silly pretty women” aren’t still alive and well and preferred by many)
The Nation changes from focus places on family and religion (Hanoverians/Jacobites) Nationality didn’t matter so much --> an increasing interest on how you relate to people instead of who is on top. ( See Burns: Auld Lang Syne/Such a Parcel of Rogues” . This can lead us into thinking about the relationship between Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Britain as well as the abolishment of the slave trade in 1807 and orientalism
Orientalism changes from a utilitarian method of erotizing and exoticizing in order to sell goods and ideas -->a whole new way of looking at the world. Everything in comparison (contrast) to Europe.
I am sure somebody has already written this exact post. Oh well. I’ll be anonymous.
Persuasion by Jane Austen deals with a shift in importance from the vestiges of the old landed gentry to the individuality and judgment of the professional class who works for their own living. Anne’s mistake is not only that she IS persuaded but that she is persuaded by the “class” from which her father and Lady Russell come. She finds genuine love with Wentworth and this is very unique in an Austen novel because as we know Wentworth is professional military class. At the end of the book the narrator confesses that it’s ok to follow your individual judgment, you don’t have to follow established morality. As was said this book deals with all these shifts from the old to the new period that we have dealt with throughout the quarter. So let’s step back and explore some of these shifts in relation to persuasion.
Britain as aristocratic. It’s about who you are, not how much money or success you attain by your own endeavors,--> Britain becomes essentially a middle class country.
(Persuasion= the crises threaten this class, increasingly critical of money and wealth given to those who do not work i.e husbands and elder born sons. The eldest son was allowed to be lazy)
Monarchic TO democratic
Massive religious conflicts, as in church and state--> Smaller religious conflicts, Catholics are hated on , protestants, etc etc.
Nature changes from huge unfathomable thing -->smaller microcosm, able to be reflected upon and examined by man and in relation to man
Human self image and imagination changes from a collective group identity focus on “me” the individual self becomes the focus.
Love/Sex/Marriage from a theatrical performance, marriage was for appearances and propriety-->Individual love and depth of feeling and connection
Persuasion= The fate of women in the familial social system changes. The “ pretty, silly fashionable woman” with external brilliance and pomp is exchanged for the inner emotion and depth of Ann.
( Although I really can’t say that “silly pretty women” aren’t still alive and well and preferred by many)
The Nation changes from focus places on family and religion (Hanoverians/Jacobites) Nationality didn’t matter so much --> an increasing interest on how you relate to people instead of who is on top. ( See Burns: Auld Lang Syne/Such a Parcel of Rogues” . This can lead us into thinking about the relationship between Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Britain as well as the abolishment of the slave trade in 1807 and orientalism
Orientalism changes from a utilitarian method of erotizing and exoticizing in order to sell goods and ideas -->a whole new way of looking at the world. Everything in comparison (contrast) to Europe.
The Sea View
Yessica Astorga Discussion 10 B
Charlotte Smith p. 42
The Sea View
This poem is reminiscent of Religion and of war. The images of the waves crashing and war ships make the poem less about nature and more about the effects of war. The Shepard sits reclined on a turf while all this is going on below him. There are two different scenes here, the poem begins very tranquil and serene and drastically changes to a bloody and death struck image. Man is the key player, as he is the one who takes both these elements of Religion and War and desecrates all the God has created. “Ah! Thus man spoils Heaven’s glorious works with blood!” (42). The Shepard is creating the serene scenery and as you get closer down to earth you witness what man does with it.
Charlotte Smith p. 42
The Sea View
This poem is reminiscent of Religion and of war. The images of the waves crashing and war ships make the poem less about nature and more about the effects of war. The Shepard sits reclined on a turf while all this is going on below him. There are two different scenes here, the poem begins very tranquil and serene and drastically changes to a bloody and death struck image. Man is the key player, as he is the one who takes both these elements of Religion and War and desecrates all the God has created. “Ah! Thus man spoils Heaven’s glorious works with blood!” (42). The Shepard is creating the serene scenery and as you get closer down to earth you witness what man does with it.
The Human Abstract
Yessica Astorga Discussion 10 B
The Human Abstract
p. 95 1794
The poem shows a contrast in Humans, this is a response to The Divine Image in Songs of Innocence. Where God and the human are linked together and are essentially said to be one. Here Blake shows the evil or the “realistic” carnal side of humanity, whereas before he was trying to show the “divine” side. The poem picks up on hypocritical humility and the fear of consequence. “He sits down with holy fears/ And water the ground with tears/ Then Humility takes its root/ Underneath his foot” (95). He also mentions the fruit of deceit that grows from the tree dwelling with the Human brain, which can be interpreted as humans being the root of all evil.
The Human Abstract
p. 95 1794
The poem shows a contrast in Humans, this is a response to The Divine Image in Songs of Innocence. Where God and the human are linked together and are essentially said to be one. Here Blake shows the evil or the “realistic” carnal side of humanity, whereas before he was trying to show the “divine” side. The poem picks up on hypocritical humility and the fear of consequence. “He sits down with holy fears/ And water the ground with tears/ Then Humility takes its root/ Underneath his foot” (95). He also mentions the fruit of deceit that grows from the tree dwelling with the Human brain, which can be interpreted as humans being the root of all evil.
William Wordsworth: Lines Written in Early Spring
Lines Written in Early Spring p. 250
1798
This is not like other poems by Wordsworth where the speaker finds sanctuary or pleasure with in nature. This poem shows disconnect between the human and nature. The speaker finds no pleasure in his surroundings and does not understand why he should find any. “The budding twigs spread out their fan/ To catch the breezy air/ And I must think, do all I can/ That there was pleasure there” (250). He is trying to convince himself that he sees and understands what should be there. In reality he sees nothing. This is very unlike other poems i.e. Tintern Abbey where the speaker finds himself in nature. He uses the scenery as a link to his youth. In this poem there is no connection made between the speaker and his surroundings.
1798
This is not like other poems by Wordsworth where the speaker finds sanctuary or pleasure with in nature. This poem shows disconnect between the human and nature. The speaker finds no pleasure in his surroundings and does not understand why he should find any. “The budding twigs spread out their fan/ To catch the breezy air/ And I must think, do all I can/ That there was pleasure there” (250). He is trying to convince himself that he sees and understands what should be there. In reality he sees nothing. This is very unlike other poems i.e. Tintern Abbey where the speaker finds himself in nature. He uses the scenery as a link to his youth. In this poem there is no connection made between the speaker and his surroundings.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)