Short Assignment #4

BOOK I
129   man
130   passed through fire
131   His temple right against
132   The
133   black
134   realm, beyond
135   The flower
136   who, from the bordering flood
137   Dilated or condensed,
138   of love
139   left
140   star 


149   To him no
150   door
151   Exposed
152   the prime in order and in
153   rest
154   seized
155   By
156   measure found; 





 above the rest
183   Stood
184   All
185   : as when the sun
186   Looks through the horizontal
187   behind the moon,
188   eclipse
189   Archangel:
190   heaven's fire
191   From wing to wing, and
192   Words interwove with
193   mortal
194   Matchless, 


197   For who can yet believe
198   to re-ascend,
199   and re-possess
200   in close design,
201   At length from us
202   Space may produce new Worlds 


243   At once
244   to smallest forms
245   their shapes immense, and
246   far within,
247   in their own dimensions
248   silence 




BOOK II
19   Turning 
20   to meet the noise 
21   shall hear 
22   and, for lightning, see 
23   itself 
24   strange fire, 
25   invented 
26   The way seems difficult, 
27   upright against 
28   the sleepy drench 
29   not still, 
30   our proper motion 
31   pursued 
32   and laborious 
33   ascent 
34   The event 
35   unextinguishable 
36   without hope of end 
37   Inexorably, 


54   What if the breath
55   Awaked, should
56   plunge us in the flames; or from above
57   if all
58   were opened,
59   One day upon our heads;
60   Each on his rock transfixed,
61   all things at one view?
62   then, live
63   at the spear
64   in time 


75   We can create,
76   out of pain
77   Of darkness
78   an
79   unobscured
80   round
81   lustre 


92   attention still as night
93   we
94   build up
95   dream,
96   This place
97   Beyond
98   highth or depth, still first and last
99   sit we then projecting
100   ---another World,
101   called Man 


117   The weight of all 
118   transcendent 
119   silence 
120   out of 
121   this huge convex of fire, 
122   Ninefold
123   unknown 
124   in the shape 
125   as of 
126   above the 
127   rose 
128   through 
129   rose 
130   rising 


175   life dies, death lives,
176   on swift wings 


204 "O father, 
205   O son, 
206   head? 
207   and thy words so strange 
208   double-formed, and 
209   phantasm 
210   Surprised 
211   In darkness, 
212   Out of thy head I sprung.

Twice A Year Joys (Archive Assignment #3)

Let me tell you a tale of joy and woe

Where dreams and desires yours sit like a doe.

In fields without cover, they wait exposed

With calm and fear, their praise of God now closed.

Which Gods, you ask?  The Gods of ACES, man!

Class picking time has come once more, and ban

From your mind hope!  The morn is approaching

When down you’ll sit, with nerves  strong enchroaching

Awaiting the tick of seven o’clock.

On time, one queue, and your schedule’s a lock!

If you click last, late! Joy slips out like sands

The desperate grasping of clammy hands, 

Searching for weeks without  math or four labs

Fleeing from horrors like Gross Chem!  Or the jab

Of an eight thirty Monday Friday morn,

Or a teaching assistant from land foiregn.

Alas, one fights with one third of the peers

Attempting to win the War of Next Year.

Short Assignment 3

Paradise has fallen.  The world, shaken at its core, lies in wait for the judgment of those responsible.  God and the Son of Man have had their words.  Nothing can be done.  God sent the archangel Michael to his creations, to reveal the future of man.  Michael’s tales are not filled with joy, but instead of assured pain, suffering, and destruction.  He tells of the great kingdoms of Earth to come, of Adam’s tragic children, of death in all its forms.  He warns of the dangers of indulgence, to be prudent around women, and the destructive quality of war.  He shares the story of Noah’s arc and the depopulation of Adam’s lineage.  Adam has only sorrow when we arrive at the passage from lines 763-786 in Book XI.  Here, Adam laments the loss of his innocence, and resents the forced knowledge of the future.  He pronounces that no man shall ever be all knowing after he.  This is a key passage in the overall analysis of Paradise Lost, as it places Adam, the protagonist, renouncing knowledge, mimicking the ideas of God.  It presents an interesting relationship between God and Adam and Adam and Eve, as Eve also renounces her desire for knowledge after finding that she will have to leave the gardens.

The diction in this passage captures how low Adam felt at the time, much more so than the imagery.  He uses strong language like “abortive” and “grievous” to describe his feelings, while pulling “famine,” “anguish,” and “desert” to present the situation facing his progeny.  These words set a tone, presenting a desolate, inescapable future, where even in peace man cannot find happiness.  It also shows a certain similarity between Adam and Satan.  Both will suffer the consequences of their sin for the rest of their existence.  In Satan's case, he himself will burn forever in Hell for his treachery.  Adam, in contrast, will suffer only until he dies, but his lineage will continue his suffering.  It brings up the epic trope of lineage in Paradise, which hasn't been dealt with in the epic thus far.  Like Aeneas's lineage will found Rome, Adam's will go to Hell until the gods will it otherwise.  It also supports the trope of godly interference – people pretend to have control, but in the end, the gods decide the future.  This brings up the interesting question of whether free will in this case is really “free”.  If God knew what was going to happen when he put the tree of knowledge in Paradise, which he claims he did when he claims omnipotence.  If he has control of the situation (in that he has prior knowledge of the events and the opportunity to change them, had he so desired), but doesn’t assert his control, does that give Adam and Eve freedom?

The meter here is quite interesting – Milton ignores his iambic pentameter more than usual here.  Lines 772, 776, 777 – /Abortive to torment me, ere their being,/…/Grievous to bear.  But that care now is past/…/Man is not whom to warn.  Those whom escaped/ – abortive, grievous, and man are all emphasized, which goes against traditional meter.  In particular, “/Peace to corrupt no less than war to waste./” (line 784) is powerful in that it ignores the set meter and is not enjambed.  Milton is flagging this, bringing it clearly to light that man will never find happiness again.  Even in peace, humans will be unable to stay pure, and without a return to purity, they can never return to Paradise.  

Archive #2 - Because I Cannot Think of a Good Title...

Oh how she does allude me, that fickle  
beastly thing.  To have her is a dream, a gift,
to be cherished and held dear, yet in my
life, so rare.  She is not punctual, no,
making and breaking appointments like mad!
If only, just once, the kind Muse could come
approach my desk and delight me in
the sweetness of her presence!  The bliss of
an hour, two, with her alone, inspired, think!
What could be done with Time, that Muse so great?

Short Assignment 2

            In the style of the great spoken epics of old, The Aeneid uses plenty of repetition.  Epithets and phrases are repeated word for word, ideas and motifs echo throughout.  Some are typical to the genre, like similes and epithets, while others are unique to The Aeneid (the unbinding of women’s hair, the motif of fire).  One such example is the use of ekphrasis.  Ekphrasis is an epic figure of speech, in which one form of art is used to describe another, like a book describing a picture, or a picture describing a book.  It is likely the result of oral tradition, which depended on repetitive speech patterns to increase the ability of bards to memorize songs, as well as to make it easier for audiences to remember what has happened and who is who.  Ekphrasis increases the enjoyment of the audience by giving them rich visual descriptions, and in turn allowing them to appreciate the great beauty of art works even without being able to see the art themselves.  In The Aeneid, ekphrasis is used in two powerful ways, in describing the door to Juno’s temple that tells the story of the fall of Troy, and in describing the shield of Aeneas.

            The description of the door is rather short, starting on line 540 of book one, and continuing only to line 598.  It is at the beginning of Aeneas’ journey – Troy has only just fallen, and the Trojans have escaped the threat of death by storm to land on Carthage shores.  He really hasn’t been very far, in the story and in the broader historical sense, before he stumbles upon this temple.  The doors describe the fall of Troy – “/the fame of the Trojan War now known throughout the world/” (Bk. 1, 552).  To see these painful events so soon is cutting to Aeneas, and forces him to cry out, “/…is there anywhere, any place on earth/ not filled with our ordeals?.../…/even here, the world is a world of tears/and the burdens of morality touch the heart/” (Bk. 1, 555-559).  This is his history, bound in the unforgiving medium of bronze.  It illustrates an ending, but symbolizes a beginning. 

            The shield, in contrast, illustrates a beginning but symbolizes an ending.  The shield shows the future triumphs of Rome, but is given to Aeneas at such a time in the story that it is associated with an end.  The instance occurs at the very end of the eighth of twelve books, and just before the epic deciding battle.  However, Venus herself states, “/just forged to perfection by all my husband’s skill:/the gifts I promised!  There’s no need now, my son,/ to flinch from fighting swaggering Latin ranks/or challenging savage Turnus to a duel!/”, thus indicating that now it is the Trojans who have gods behind them, supporting their cause (Bk. 8, 721-724).  At this point, it is clear that though there will be hardship, the Trojans will be victorious and finally the Roman race can settle.  The description begins around line 720 and continues to line 859 – a considerably longer description.  Perhaps the difference in length is a hint at the historical significance of both events.  The fall of Troy is inconsequential when stacked against the greatness of the Roman Empire.  In the historical context, Virgil wrote The Aeneid as a propaganda piece for Caesar Augustus, the ruler of Rome at the time.  It makes sense that Virgil would spend a greater amount of time expounding the future victories of the Romans (where military glory is a community virtue) than focusing on the unfortunate circumstances that brought on the need to found Rome.  Within the story, it is an opportunity to show Aeneas that his toil will come to something, that all his efforts will be worth it due to the great nation that is to come.  It is fated this way. 

The examples of ekphrasis in The Aeneid bring up a comparison between history and fate.  In both cases, the events described were fated to be, and in the broader historical context, both sets of events were history.  How inevitable, then, is history?  Is fate?  In story, it seems both are inescapable – certainly in the epics, where actions are controlled by the whims of the gods.  It would be curious to compare the happenings of The Aeneid and The Odyssey with other epics where the gods (and therefore fate) play a lesser role.  Do such epics exist? Interference by gods is a trope of epic, but it seems the trope could be satisfied with god’s playing a lesser role.  In other genres, it seems the trope is that fate is escapable, that the characters have the ability to be whomever they desire.  Why did the omnipotent gods take a place of importance in these ancient epics, but not in more modern genres? 

History is a little more cut and dry – once something happens, it is truly inescapable.  That series of events occurred; nothing can be done to undo them.  However, how history is passed down could have an effect on “what happened”.  The phrase, “History is written by the victors,” is not without truth.  Those who have control over the oral tradition decide what is important to pass down and what can be swept away.  Consider the case of the treatment of Native Americans by the United States federal government.  The harsh, cruel, and unconstitutional actions of the government against Native Americans have been documented, but are still not taught to the population at large.  It has been deemed by the government (“the victors”) a piece of history we do not need to acknowledge, and as such that portion of history is falling away.  The government, for example, has yet to offer an official apology to the Native Americans, nor reimbursed their people for the land and goods effectively stolen from them as a result of the government ignoring treaties and agreements.  In The Aeneid, the fall of Troy, in all its glory, is entrenched in a bronze door.  The rise of Rome is embossed in a golden shield.  The story of the victors, told once again.  

Archive #1

His adviser’s words filled the air as the limousine pulled into the Capitol Building.  “You know they are going to be there today, hovering outside your office.  You know that they’re going to sing your praises and offer you fantastic deals.  But you have to resist them, Abe, you have to, because if you start taking orders from them, they will drag you down to their filthy depths.  It’s an election year.  If you’re to make it go back home to any sort of love or affection, you cannot, I repeat cannot, get stuck listening to these men.  Make sure that none of your aids, none of your scribes, nobody is paying attention to your guests, and tell your secretary to keep the door to your office locked up tight.  Let none of their oratory affect this bill passing.  Now, I will be back later to brief you on the best way to deal with Representative Scylla and Chary in session today.  Until then, good luck” 

The limousine slowed to a stop as Jason finished his script, as it had every morning for the nineteen years Abe had been on the hill.  Abe could see the vultures coming into work themselves, and looked warily back at Jason, “How many want to meet with me?” Jason replied coolly, “Just three, but oh yes, they are powerful.  Nothing your ears can’t block out though, Congressman” 

Pushing the door open and stepping out, leather-bound briefcase in hand, Abe stepped out and surveyed the scene.  Certainly, there were many perils on the way to a Congressman’s office, but the three he despised most of all were nowhere in sight.  Up the back stairwell, through a corridor, three right turns.  As he hurried down the final hallway, Abe could feel the stares coming from the walls, zealously decorated with portraiture of illustrious former Congressmen.  It gave him the creeps, like gods watching over him, changing his fate at their whim.  Closing the black oak door behind him was a relief.  Finally, the day was beginning.  At the end, session would be over, and he could set out for his homeland, Ithaca, NY.  What a glorious homecoming it would be, finally reunited with wife, son, and dog.

Surveying the crew, already at work in their ranks, Abe began to speak.  He thought it unfair that they should go into such a hectic day unaware of the threats at hand.  As he explained the dangerous expected visitors, a light breeze ruffled papers from an open window.  “The lobbyists are coming, guys.  We knew the day would come that we would have to face them.  I don’t want you paying them any mind, you hear?  We aren’t budging on this bill; it is what the people want.  Let them in to see me.  I owe them some of my time as is, but if I seem tempted, waste no time in reminding me of my commitments.  We cannot afford to let love of money or promises of future support cloud our vision and lead us, and this bill, to an early grave.”

The day wore onward, people coming and going, advocates and constituents slowly giving the Congressman a headache.  Abe poked his head into the main office, and all fell still.  Even the breeze froze.  The lobbyists knocked. “Stick your fingers in your ears guys, and keep me honest,” was all Abe managed to get out before the old black door swung wide and in stooped three lobbyists.  “Good morning, Representative Achaea, how do you do today?  We have a small matter of interest in a recent bill you are sponsoring in the Senate, and we’d love to cut a deal.   No one has refused us this one – each and every one of them has returned to the House for years to come.  We know you’re struggling with the voters at home…perhaps we can be of some assistance…” 

The longer the lobbyists spoke, the greater the tale they spun, and the softer Abe’s resolve became.  The bill was the will of the people, he knew, but the words of the men in his office sounded like music in his ears.  Money to campaign with, support in future bills…Abe looked for approval of the deal in the eyes of his aides, but got only hard looks of reproach.  Yuri, his secretary, saw the danger in proceeding, and hurried the meeting to a close, citing a campaign event, a revision session, a lunch break, anything and everything to remove these snakes from Abe’s ears.  Once the lobbyists had left, taking their smooth talk and viperous intentions with them, the harsh, abrasive faces relaxed.  “We made it through that one, guys.  Thanks for keeping me aboard…there was a minute there I almost jumped ship,” Abe droned wearily.  A look at the clock.  Scylla and Chary, so soon after such a tiresome meeting, he thought?  Indeed, it nearly was time for session to begin.  But survive this strait, and Ithaca, beautiful Ithaca, lies in wait.  The congressman, looking as old and tired as a man lost many years at sea, stood, organized his notes, and strode out into the stormy Senate floor.

Short Assignment 1

                        “…as a woman weeps, her arms flung round her darling husband,

            a man who fell in battle, fighting for town and townsmen,

trying to beat the day of doom from home and children. 

Seeing the man go down, dying, gasping for breath,

she clings for dear life, screams and shrills –

but the victors, just behind her,

digging spear-butts into her back and shoulders,

drag her off in hard bondage, yoked to hard labor, pain,

and the most heartbreaking torment wastes her cheeks. 

So from Odysseus’ eyes ran tears of heartbreak now.” Book VIII, lines 588-597

There is no doubt about it – Odysseus, like the current Speaker of the House, is a crier.  On several occasions thus far, several important occasions within the story, the reader finds Odysseus sobbing, grieving painfully for all the world to see.  This goes against his image as a man “like the god of war” (Bk. VIII, 580).  Here, Odysseus is feminized, compared to a woman who has just lost her husband in battle.  Loss of a spouse is certainly a reason for immense grief, but Odysseus’ reputation would indicate that he would not mourn like some fragile woman, but fight, destroy those who had taken something so dear from him! 

Homer’s portrayal of a more sensitive, effeminate man does not match up with what the reader knows of Odysseus so far.  His friends and family herald his bravery and courage, and the bard’s song presents him as a god-like man.  Perhaps this feminization of Odysseus is simply an insight into another side of the great man’s personality – Odysseus as a fair, emotionally driven man.  However, generally, “deft” (521), “tactful” (459) and “wily” (191) are not used to describe men easily swung by pathos and emotional appeal.  To be wily is to be cunning and logical in analysis of situations.  These traits do not mix together simply. 

Another potential outcome of this simile is to show a lack of control over Odysseus’ emotions.  He hears his tale of victory from the bard, and breaks down, sobbing uncontrollably.  At Calypso’s island, Odysseus spends countless hours bemoaning his fate, unable to deal with the situation and come up with an appropriate plan.  Menelaus speaks confidently of the horrors Odysseus would unleash upon the suitors were informed of his domestic happenings, and during the celebration of his arrival in Phaeacia, he explodes at Broadsea for insulting his abilities.  To accomplish his great deeds, Odysseus often refers to needing to “wake his fighting spirit”.  Without it, he is just an ordinary man with exceptional muscle mass and a gifted tongue.  Odysseus does not know how to be in control of himself when things go wrong, when he is either threatened or when he is at a loss.  This disability appears to be what he is most famous for, these blind rages that lead to great feats.  Yet they also lead him to great fits of misery.

The language used helps bring about a sense of hopelessness and despair.  Words like “weeps,” “torment,” and “waste”, combined with phrases like “clings for dear life,” and “drag her off in hard bondage” are chosen to maximize emotional impact on the reader.  The asyndeton used in the simile provides the desperate, rushing feeling that such a situation would create, a battle to keep something while being forcible dragged away.  The words rush together; they get harsher as the soldiers arrive to drag the woman off.  The patterning is part of the impact of the scene, and the impact is why the simile is included.  Homer could have just as easily said, “Odysseus sobbed hard and long, wringing his body of water, lost in his loss,” and gotten the same point across, that Odysseus was extremely upset by the song of his conquests in Troy.  By using the simile, and the twists that the simile employs, Homer is able to create an atmosphere of loss equal to that of Odysseus, thus allowing the reader to feel more closely Odysseus’ pain.  In bringing the reader to the same emotional place as Odysseus, Homer can manipulate the reader’s feelings towards Odysseus, to make him a more likeable protagonist.  It can be viewed to some extent as an appeal to pity.