The Romantic Age
The Romantic Period (789-1850)
The Romantic Period began in the late eighteenth century. During these times an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement started, which originated from Europe. Many say that it was partly a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, which also was a revolt against norms of the Enlightenment. Most of the Romantic Period peak was related to liberalism and radicalism. It also began the effect of the growth of nationalism. This was very significant during these times. The Romantic Period was not necessarily a time of romance or love. It had to do more with the change in people's thoughts and their new view of the world. Video Source: Literature Launchers. "The Triumph of Romanticism." DVD. Glencoe 2012. The Victorian Period (1850-1900)
The Victorian Period was the period of Queen Victoria's reign that lasted from 1837 to 1901. Her reign lasted over 64 years, more than any other British monarch. This era lasted twice as long as the Romantic Period. This period was a long period of peace and prosperity. Some say that the beginning of the period was in the time of sensibility and political concerns. This was also a time of new thought and technological advances. The drive for social advancement appeared frequently in literature. Many saw this time to set standards and codes of conducts for the populations. Video Source: Literature Launchers. "The Victorian Age." DVD. Glencoe 2012. |
I. Analyzing
a Poem Through Annotation Adieu, Adieu! My Native Shore Analysis |
II. Analyzing a Poem through Essay Imitation
An Analysis of George Gordon Byron’s “Adieu, Adieu! My Native Shore”
Poems in English literature, particularly those from the Romantic Age, contain a variety of heavily-used rhetorical devices in order to convey the meaning intended by the author. In Byron’s “Adieu, Adieu! My Native Shore,” for instance, the reader finds a number of devices that aid in conveying the tone and, ultimately, the theme of this poem. Concepts such as loneliness, friendship, betrayal and positivity pervade the poem in the poet’s attempt to convey the theme that there are times when it is felt as though you are alone in life due to betrayal or abandonment and although it is tragic, there is hope and positivity in welcoming new things. To begin to understand a poem, one must deal with the basics. These involve knowing general information about the speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, and subject. The speaker of “Adieu, Adieu! My Native Shore” reveals himself (or herself) to be a man speaking to the Native Shore. The occasion is summer, and the time is during the evening, closer to night time. The speaker’s audience does not seem to be anyone in particular, except for the shore, and his/her purpose involves depicting a scene. The Native Shore, a lonely ocean, acts as the subject of the poem. To paraphrase the events of the poem, one might say that a man watches the shore and sees it as a place where he can relate to. It is lonely, yet people surround it. He feels as though he is alone in life with only his dog as a friend. He eventually finds that his dog betrays him. The character finds himself back at the lonely spot where he was before. In terms of tone, the poem begins with a sorrowful or depressed mood or atmosphere but ends up positive and hopeful. Some diction that suggests this involves the speaker first using the words “fades,” “night,” “farewell,” and “roar,” but then later in the poem by employing words like “rise,” “birth,” “hail,” “good,” and hope, the speaker reveals a more positive tone by the end. This suggests that the man, although feeling lonely and betrayed, saw positivity when thinking about welcoming the next day. The speaker’s attitude also becomes apparent in the poem. The speaker’s tone first reveals a betrayed attitude with the use of the word “vain,” but his/her attitude becomes positive with the use of diction like “morrow” and “rise.” The three most significant rhetorical devices that the poet uses to convey the theme in the poem involve the use of personification, apostrophe, and imagery. The poet uses imagery to help the reader get a sense of the cold, empty surroundings with words and phrases like “water blue” and “wild weeds.” S/he also uses personification as a way of giving human qualities to nature, specifically with phrases like “night-winds sigh,” “breakers roar” and “He will rise,” referring to the Sun. Finally, the poet uses apostrophe’s to give deeper meaning to the poem by having the speaker talk to nature. Thus, the devices used by the author give the reader the idea that man can find hope in the midst of despair, particularly in nature. Essentially, this poem is about finding hope in new things after a large disappointment. To create this meaning, the author uses numerous devices of rhetoric and the effects of tone to create an atmosphere that changes from depressed to hopeful. As a result, we can see how the use of rhetorical devices and tone give meaning to poetry and other forms of literature. |
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My Poem PRESENTED |