Victoria Eugenia Quiroga

• …everything was still curtained and shuttered in a way that stifled the children, made them feel that their lungs were stuffed with cotton wool and their noses with dust…

This quote belong to the first paragraph of the story, is the introduction. In the paragraph we are told that the children’s mother wouldn’t let them go outside to play in the hot day, they were stuck inside the house, all of the blinds were shut, windows were closed, and they felt as “their lungs were stuffed with cotton wool and their noses with dust”. This phrase is to describe how the children were feeling in the hot day, they were dying basically, it was disgusting to feel the heat up their nose and down their lungs.

• “His voice broke with rage and pity at the disgrace of it all and he felt himself flooded with tears and misery.”

This quote represents the moment at which Ravi realized he has been forgotten. He went out of the shed and saw his friends playing another game, while he was hiding. This quote shows the exactly feeling of loneliness and disappointment, the misery and pain of not having won and being forgotten.

• …he had been forgotten, left out and he would not join them now.

This quote is from the final paragraph of the story. Ravi is feeling the ignominy of being forgotten. He cannot face it. He refuses to play with the other children to the funeral game, he wanted a victory, but he was so blinded by the feeling of it, that he actually forgot what he had to do to achieve it. Now he won’t play with the other children, he just laid on the grass, seeing his triumph fade away like a bad memory.

• It took them a minute to grasp what he was saying, even who he was. They had quite forgotten him.
  
  Ravi had been forgotten. Alone in the shelter after long hours of being hided in the dark he was still playing the game, but his friends didn’t, they were already starting to play another game. As he came out of the shed and shouted that he had won and the other children stared at him in amazement, the fantasy that he had created crushed and he ended up humiliated.

• All this time no one had remembered Ravi.

This is when we are told that throughout the long hours that Rvi had been hiding in the shed, thinking about how to claim his victory, his family had moved on with their lives as any other ordinary afternoon, and no one had even noticed that he was missing. The children had ended and started many games, the parents had come back from work, washed their car, watered the plants. And when Ravi came out from his hiding to realize that no one had even noticed him gone, he couldn’t believe it. That moment is where this quote is taking us, to when Ravi realized he had been forgotten by his family.

• “…his success had occupied him so wholly that he had quite forgotten that success had to be clinched by that final dash to victory…”

This quote represents the feelings of Ravi throughout all the story. First,  he wanted to succeed and for that reason he was happy and enthusiastic. He felt as if he was the best hide and sick player. But then, when he realized that for succeeding he needed to finish the game, that was the moment he realized he was not the best player because he had not touched the wall to be a winner.

• He hugged his knees together and smiled to himself almost shyly at the thought of so much victory, such laurels.

In this quote he imagine the sensation of winning this war in hide and seek and because of it he started feeling the adrenaline of the victory. He also thought about overcome his opponents specially Raghu who was the oldest one and this is why he started feeling this excitement and was very anxious about it. All that he wanted at this part of the story was to try that taste of victory and feel superior to others by showing his abilities in this game which was very important for him. He wanted to prove that he could do it!

• He wanted victory and triumph- not a funeral.

In this quote we can see that the narrator is describing Ravi’s thoughts. He didn’t want to be a loser. He wanted to win this game. When you are a kid games like hide and seek are taking very seriously, in this case the protagonist saw this game as if it was life or death. If Ravi wins he will be safe and with triumph and honor but if he lose this game he will be death and having a “funeral”. This thoughts helped him to continue playing.

• “Silence by a terrible sense of his insignificante”

In this quote Ravi is going through a moment of accepting reality and how disgusting it is to be forgotten by your own friends. When someone remembers you is because he cares about you and you are significant for that person, this means Ravi wasn’t neither remembered or significant to his friends.

•  He…wondered how many more creatures were watching him, waiting to reach out and touch him, the stranger. 
  
  The following quote shows how Ravi was feeling when hiding on the shelter, afraid of the dark and all the animals that could be hiding with him. He saw Raghu as the stranger who was trying to catch and touch him and the animals and creepy things he imagined were the creatures.

Overview

This is a beautiful and moving poem filled with the romance of a woman who feels she has truly found her soul mate.

Read the poem

Thou who dost all my worldly thoughts employ,
Thou pleasing source of all my earthly joy,
Thou tenderest husband and thou dearest friend,
To thee this first, this last adieu I send!
At length the conqueror death asserts his right,
And will for ever veil me from thy sight;
He wooes me to him with a cheerful grace,
And not one terror clouds his meagre face;
He promises a lasting rest from pain,
And shews that all life’s fleeting joys are vain;
Th’ eternal scenes of heaven he sets in view,
And tells me that no other joys are true.
But love, fond love, would yet resist his power,
Would fain awhile defer the parting hour;
He brings thy mourning image to my eyes,
And would obstruct my journey to the skies.
But say, thou dearest, thou unwearied friend!
Say, should’st thou grieve to see my sorrows end?
Thou know’st a painful pilgrimage I’ve past;
And should’st thou grieve that rest is come at last?
Rather rejoice to see me shake off life,
And die as I have liv’d, thy faithful wife.

Mary Monck (?-1715)

Work in pairs and include:

-data about the writer and context of production

-whether this poem is based on her  life or not

-themes and tones

-literary devices used by the poet to put across her message

-personal conclusion on the poem 

Virtual Period

-choose a song that deals with the same topic, find a video and analyse it.

-Post it in your blog

She was the second daughter of Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth, and Letitia, third daughter of Richard, Lord Colooney, and sister of Richard, Earl of Bellamont. She became the first wife of George Monck of Saint Stephen’s Green, Dublin, and died at Bath in 1715. They had two daughters, the eldest, Sarah Monck died in 1739 and one son Henry Stanley Monck of St. Stephen’s Green who died in 1745.

By her own application she acquired a knowledge of the Latin, Italian, and Spanish languages, and read much English literature. Some poems by her appeared shortly after her death under the title of Marinda.

On her deathbed she wrote some very affecting verses to her husband, which are not included in her works, but which were printed in Barber’s collection Poems by Eminent Ladies.

The poem was written in 1715 in the end of enlightenment and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The poem is based on her life. She writes it in her death bed, as a farewell to her husband in 1715. However the poem was not published in that year, only after her death was any of her poetry published. The themes are companionship and friendship, rather than lust and passion since the poem is about true love. Also we see the impact of aging and mortality. The tone is generally soothing and gentle, with occasional emotional outbursts.

As for literary devices, the repetition of ‘all’ emphasises the fact that the husband is the only person in her life. We have an analogy presenting her struggle with illness as a war with death personified as a ‘conqueror’. She contrasts the ‘fleeting joys’ of life with the ‘eternal scenes of heaven’ in an attempt to convince herself and her husband that death should hold no fear and thus be welcomed.

Mary writes this poem to show all the love she felt for her husband, her best friend and companion. The poem is a farewell to the love of her life. She is writting this poem in sadness about leaving and being mortal, but at the same time the poem is a way to demonstrate to her husband how she loved him.

«Walking The Wire»

Do you feel the same when I’m away from you?

Do you know the line that I’d walk for you?

We could turn around and we could give it up

But we’ll take what comes, take what comes

Oh, the storm is raging against us now

If you’re afraid of falling then don’t look down

But we took the step, oh, we took the leap

And we’ll take what comes, take what comes

Feel the wind in your hair

Feel the rush way up here

We’re walking the wire, love

We’re walking the wire, love

We couldn’t be higher, up

We’re walking the wire, wire, wire

There’s nights we had to just walk away

And there’s tears we’ll cry but those tears will fade

It’s a price you pay when it comes to love

And we’ll take what comes, take what comes

Feel the wind in your hair

Feel the rush way up here

We’re walking the wire, love

We’re walking the wire, love

We couldn’t be higher, up

We’re walking the wire, wire, wire

So look out down below

Look out down below

Look out down below

Walking the wire, wire, wire

So look out down below

Oh, I’ll take your hand when thunder roars

And I’ll hold you close, I’ll stay the course

I promise you from up above

That we’ll take what comes, take what comes

Love

We’re walking the wire, love

We’re walking the wire, love

We couldn’t be higher, up

We’re walking the wire, wire, wire

So look out down below

Look out down below

Look out down below

Walking the wire, wire, wire

So look out down below

We’re walking the wire

We’re walking the wire

We’re walking the wire, wire, wire

I chose this song because I believe it shows exactly what true love and companionship is, which is overcoming things together and loving each other despite their flaws and I believe that is what what Mary Monck was trying to say in her poem to her husband. She is trying to say thank yo to her husband for all the things they went through together and I truly believe that this song and music video represent that.

In Literature, we were given as a virtual period task, the following:

I Find no Peace BY SIR THOMAS WYATT

I find no peace, and all my war is done.

I fear and hope. I burn and freeze like ice.

I fly above the wind, yet can I not arise;

And nought I have, and all the world I season.

That loseth nor locketh holdeth me in prison

And holdeth me not—yet can I scape no wise—

Nor letteth me live nor die at my device,

And yet of death it giveth me occasion.

Without eyen I see, and without tongue I plain.

I desire to perish, and yet I ask health.

I love another, and thus I hate myself.

I feed me in sorrow and laugh in all my pain;

Likewise displeaseth me both life and death,

And my delight is causer of this strife.

Answer

1-What situation is the speaker reflecting on?

The speaker is reflecting on his feelings about love. We can clearly notice that he had his heart broken by someone and that he hasn´t yet figure it out how he feels about the situation.  He has a mixture of feelings thats why he uses a lot of paradoxes, words that contrast each other such as peace and war to show the turmoil inside him.

2-What metaphors and similes does he use to express his feelings?

“I find no peace, and all my war is done.” By saying this, the war is a metaphor of his love or life problems which are a  battle he had to fight as everybody else does when having a problem, but in this case although he fought and won, he hasn´t found peace so something else is missing in his heart to feel complete.

“I fear and hope. I burn and freeze like ice”. He does not know exactly what to feel, he is confused and he uses a simile to exress it.

3-How many separate paradoxes are in the poem?

There are 15 different paradoxes in the poem, which portray and contrast the speaker´s opposed and confused feelings.

4-What is the cumulative effect of so many paradoxes?

All together, these paradoxes show the clear effect that love has on the speaker, as it “plays” with him, and as a consequence it is left clear the power it has over him. The speaker has no real idea of what he has to do, as he does not understand his feelings.

Although paradoxes in this case are used to show the conffusion on the speaker, they also create a turmoil on the readers because we are not able to completly understand what he feels, so we end up as confused as the speaker is. The poet put us, the readers, at the same level of the persona so that we can truly understand what he feels.

5-What is the general topic of the paradoxes in lines 1-4?

In these lines, the topics are in my opinion, overcoming problems , confusion and lack of tranquility.

6-What is the general topic of the paradoxes in lines 5-8?

In these lines, the topic is in my opinion, trapped by his own feelings.

7-Why does the speaker in line 11 declare that hating himself is the consequence of loving another?

I believe he says that because If he is prepared to put himself in danger for his love, he must not care enough about himself to prevent his own destruction. And iin my opinion someone who thinks that hating hating himself is the consequence of loving someone, is a mentaly unhealthy person or was in a toxic relationship because on the contrary loving someone and that person loving you back makes you love yourself even more if you are happy.

8-Why is it ironic that his “delight” is the “causer of this strife”?

I believe this is ironic because delight is not a cause of strife, in fact is a cause of pleasure and joy. So it makes no sense that being happy can cause him problems.

9-To what extent do you think the paradoxes are an accurate expression of the feelings of a person in love, particularly in light of the fact that in the 16th century the completely free and unchaperoned meetings of lovers were not easily arranged?

10-To what extent do the paradoxes capture the agonies of the speaker?

In my opinion, the paradoxes in the poem fully capture the agonies of the speaker because they transmit us at the perfection the confusion the speaker is going through and uses a lot of metaphors and images that help us picture his feelings.

Here I did an Animoto describing the poem

Rooms
BY CHARLOTTE MEW
I remember rooms that have had their part
In the steady slowing down of the heart.
The room in Paris, the room at Geneva,
The little damp room with the seaweed smell,
And that ceaseless maddening sound of the tide—
Rooms where for good or for ill—things died.
But there is the room where we (two) lie dead,
Though every morning we seem to wake and might just as well seem to sleep again
As we shall somewhere in the other quieter, dustier bed
Out there in the sun—in the rain.

1. Read about the writer.
Make notes about her life and about what may have influenced her writings. Why is it said that the life of the writer was a tragedy?
She was born in London on November 15, 1869. She took her own life on March 24, 1928. Haunted by unrequited passion and tormented by fears of madness she, nevertheless, produced poems of unique beauty and passion.
She lived her life for the most part in poverty and despair.
After the death of her sister from cancer in 1927, she descended into a deep depression, and was admitted to a nursing home where she eventually committed suicide by drinking Lysol.
One author calls Charlotte «almost certainly chastely lesbian. Through most of her adult life, Mew wore masculine attire and kept her hair short, adopting the appearance of a dandy (elegant man).

2. Read the poem: how are “rooms” described?
The rooms are described as wet and humid with bad odor “The little damp room with the seaweed smell,” also the room was dirty full of dust.

3. “The poem offers us a poignant account of loss as qualified through the depiction of abandoned rooms. Rooms are the physical means to which relationships are developed and consecrated. It entails intimacy and love, as well as abandon and death. It shelters individuals, as well as couples, from the harshness of the natural elements outside, providing them with a private and cosy space. There is also a sense of shifting dependence as the couples travel from room to room, leaving their trails behind and simultaneously having images of the abandoned rooms imprinted upon their memories.”
Account for this with quotation from the poem
4. The poem begins “I remember”. What does this tell you about the voice? And the tone?
The voice is having a flashback about the rooms she describes later on. She feels melancholic about something from her past so she starts the poem with a memory from another time. This tells us also the tone is a melancholic and cheerless one that reflects what she felt after her sister died and what drove her to suicide.

5. What is the theme in your opinion? What is the tone?
Themes:
It focuses on the different types of love experienced in life and how they impact upon our lives. However, it ends with particular emphasis on the love realised with age and wisdom that puts all prior experiences in the shade.

Tone:
Nostalgic