Isolation in Hardys poems Nobody Comes and The Darkling Thrush Essay Example for Free

Isolation in Hardys poems Nobody Comes and The Darkling Thrush Essay In the poems â€Å"The Darkling Thrush† [‘TDT’] and â€Å"Nobody Comes† [‘NC’], Hardy presents two similar images of isolation. In both poems, the personae are isolated from human company, whilst Hardy explores this using imagery of ghosts and the supernatural in both also. However, individually there are differences in tone; although NC ends upon as dire a note as it begins, Hardy engineers an optimistic outlook in TDT and suggests that the persona’s isolation may not Hardy ensures that the persona of ‘TDT’ is isolated from any other human presence or, until the poem’s third stanza, any living organism. Whilst leaning against â€Å"a coppice gate†, he notes that â€Å"all mankind had sought their household fires†. Although this is an indication of the low temperature, it is noticeable that the rest of humanity are seeking light in an otherwise dark environment; reciprocally, the persona is deprived of both warmth and living company. To further this point, Hardy personifies non-human entities, such as frost and winter – â€Å"Winter’s dregs†, for example. In this way, Hardy makes the reader personal not with living creatures but with inanimate entities, isolating the animate persona even more. Indeed, Hardy makes such a division more striking by picturing the persona’s surroundings as very extreme. Surrounded by deathly imagery, the persona imagines the landscape as â€Å"the Century’s corpse/ His crypt the canopy,/ The wind his death lament†. Even Hardy’s animate entities seem ghostly; â€Å"Frost was spectre-gray† and â€Å"mankind haunted nigh†. Such is the state of decay that even â€Å"the ancient pulse of germ and birth was shrunken† – the regenerative power of life has itself died, leaving the persona as the sole animate existence. A similar loneliness can be seen in ‘NC’, especially towards the end of the poem. In the aftermath of the car passing, the persona observes, â€Å"mute by the gate†, that he â€Å"stand[s] again alone.† The sudden silence and soft, finite ‘t’ sound of â€Å"mute† – in contrast to the onomatopoeic â€Å"whangs† – amplifies the persona’s loneliness; as does the empty assonance in the repeated ‘a’ sound, in â€Å"alone† and â€Å"again†. Equally, the present tense verb â€Å"stands† and â€Å"again† emphasizes that this is an ongoing and repeated state of isolation. However, the persona in ‘Nobody Comes’ is not simply isolated in terms of being physically alone or the sole living creature – he is also isolated from modernity. Hardy again uses ‘supernatural’ imagery to explore this. The persona notes that â€Å"The telegraph wire intones like a spectral lyre/ Swept by a spectral hand†. Rather than see the telegraph wire as a means of communication, the persona rejects it in presenting an image of disassociation; the vagueness of the verb â€Å"intones† summons an image of faceless voices. He also creates negative supernatural connotations; there is an innate ghostliness about the archaic lyre – juxtaposed to contrast with the innate modernity of the telegraph wire – which is reinforced by the wraithlike â€Å"spectral†. Hardy repeats this for emphasis in â€Å"spectral hand†. In this phrase, he also creates an incongruity between the concrete verb â€Å"swept† and noun â€Å"hand† and the abstract concept of â€Å"ghostliness† – the ‘hand’ does not exist. Its invisible presence and visible effects are unnerving, making the modern telegraph wire an unpleasant image. The persona’s rejection of modernity can be seen also in the depiction of â€Å"a car com[ing] up†. Having shone its aggressive lamps at â€Å"full glare† – which Hardy emphasizes by placing at the end of the line –the persona states that â€Å"it has nothing to do with me†. This maxim, in being so blunt, is very powerful. It operates to present a rift between the persona and the modern world and, given the unusually colloquial verb â€Å"whangs†, it indicates that the car is viewed as a callous representation of modern life from which the persona wishes to isolate himself. It leaves â€Å"leaving a blacker air†, which may indicate either a corruption of nature (in terms of polluting the otherwise fresh air) or a darkening in the persona’s emotions. Indeed, the poem concludes with the same negativity, with the word â€Å"nobody† in both the title and the last line. The persona is left â€Å"again alone† and isolated, prompting a large amount of sympathy from the reader. By contrast, ‘TDT’ concludes with a hopeful note. At the appearance of the thrush, in the third stanza, the reader notes that the bird is similarly isolated and surrounded by death. In truth, the reader’s initial reaction to the â€Å"aged frail, gaunt and small† thrush is to question whether the creature will survive the bleak conditions. There is a sense of desperation present â€Å"fling[ing its] soul/ Upon the growing gloom.† However, the persona notices â€Å"some blessed Hope† in the bird’s â€Å"happy good-night air†. Although â€Å"unaware† of why this may be – such â€Å"joy illimited† is unintelligible to the persona – this leads the poem to end in an optimistic fashion. Although both the persona and the thrush remain isolated from any other company (the persona fails to deeply associate with the bird) and the anxiety about the future lingers, Hardy does much to suggest that such deep rooted â€Å"fervourlessness† may change in TDT’s persona, as opposed to the ongoing isolation present in NC.

Ancient Egypt :: Ancient Egypt Egyptian History

Ancient Egypt One of the most interesting aspects of ancient Egypt is its religion. The depth of Egyptian thinking and rich imagination displayed in the creation of ideas and images of the gods and goddesses is beyond compare. On elaborating their beliefs, the Egyptians were working on the cosmic plane searching for an understanding of the most basic laws of the universe (Religion). The ancient Egyptians instilled their religion into every aspect of life including their art and architecture. The Egyptians were humanistic, naturalistic and polytheistic in their ardent faith. They were humanistic in that they worshiped man, particularly the pharaoh; naturalistic in that they deified the forces of nature; and polytheistic in that they believed in thousands of gods and goddesses (Thompson). These gods were responsible for all aspects of their existence (Cunningham). The Egyptians saw no distinction between the creator and his creation. They believed the gods to be powers, which could be manipulated by man for his own benefit (Thompson). Because they believed in so many gods, the Egyptians invented rituals to praise them all. The rituals in turn affected the daily life of every Egyptian (Soul). These deities included Hathor, the goddess of beauty and love; Bes, the god of war; Anibus, the god of death; and Hapi, the god of the Nile. The Egyptians also praised animals such as, the jackal and the cat (Cunningham). The Egyptians treasured life in this world and did everything in their power to ensure immortality in the next life (Thompson). The ancient Egyptians attitude towards death was influenced by their belief in immortality. They regarded death as the beginning of life, instead of the end (Life). All Egyptians were offered the hope of survival in the next world as a reward for a good life in a form that was thought of in literal, physical terms (Cunningham). The funerary customs and beliefs of the Egyptians called for the preservation of the body and ample provisions for the afterlife (O'Brien). Of the provisions provided for the afterlife were food, drink, clothing, and boats. They buried two boats with the deceased so that they would have a smooth sail into their after life (Soul). The funeral rites with their meaning were described in a series of sacred text known collectively as the Book of The Dead (Cunningham). Osiris was the god who presided over the ceremonies (Cunningham). The Egyptians further conjectured that the deceased would go before the god Anibus, and if they passed a series of sacred test they would eventually move on to live with the gods for all eternity (Hieronimus).

A Cultural Event I Ever Witnessed Essay

Kenyatta University is known beyond African continent for its annual culture week, an event during which activities that reflect diverse African culture are performed. The much awaited cultural week is characterized by songs, drama, poems, drama among other topical activities. I was privileged to attend the cultural week organized during the month of September, 2007 and held both at the universities cultural village and the finals held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Kenya. The most interesting was a traditional song presented in one of the native languages reflecting the manner with which the interest of others present and could not understand the local languages were catered for. Most of the songs were presented by groups composed of members from different communities, a clear indication of the cooperation and sharing within the communities at that time. A great artistic skill was depicted in the manner in which the singing group combined the different sounds to produce an enjoyable song, with coming in at different times and parts. It was accompanied by both traditional and modern instruments, stringed, drums, the piano and projected by the loud speakers for many to be able to hear. The performing group wrapped a lesso on their bodies. However, most of the traditional costumes were missing, enough to predict that the communities were moving away from the traditional dressing codes. The song was introduced by two of the performers, who played different parts in turn, the dance was in pairs and the group also left the stage in pairs. Through out the song though at different points, tonal variation was employed and this caught interest of the audience. All these reflected a great style. The lead singer who happened to be a lady demonstrated a great ability in tonal variation and dancing more than others in the team. Others could be heard whispering that â€Å"she is genius†, and actually she was and in all her performances, none matched her. It was a fact that the song described above had a lot in common with other forms of cultural expression at that time. Other forms as well included more than one performer, and involved the use of sound to communicate. Many forms of expression adhere to a specific style during performance and involve some degree of individual inherent exceptional ability, even though training also efficiently enhance success of such forms. They are performed during a cultural event and need audience. However, in contrast, most of the forms of cultural expression at that time were in a common language (that is English language) and did not involve cultural accompamyments neither was dance a common characteristic even though some element of demonstration were evidenced. REFERENCES Cook, N (1990) music imagination and culture. New York: Oxford University Press. Bratton, J. S (Ed. ) (1986) music Hall: Performance and Style. Philadelphia: Open University Press. Sloboda, J. A (1985) The Musical Mind: The cognitive Psychology of Music. New York: Clarendom Press.

Cultural Values - 1321 Words

Each person develops in some type of culture. It is the environment that we live in that determines what we learn, how we learn it, and the rules for living with others. My family and I are Peruvian. That would make me Hispanic in the United States. My origins are straight from Peru. I came to the United States when I was 12 years old, so my beliefs and traditions haven’t changed from when I was still in Peru. There are rules that are transmitted from one generation to the next and are often adapted to the times and locations, and these rules are absorbed by children as we develop and learn about home country traditions, customs and beliefs. These customs will still follow us throughout your life. Although a person can be broken down into†¦show more content†¦I knew everything was going to change. But it was then when I came to know my culture values. It took perhaps the combination of being in another, foreign culture and being away from my own to make clear to me the impact of culture on my life. I began to know the value of Familismo. I started to value more than before the close relationship I had with my relatives. I even realized that being a country that gives many opportunities could allow me and my family to aid my members of the family experiencing financial problems, unemployment, or other issues. When I came to the United States I also came to put in practice the value of Simpatia (â€Å"kindness†) as well as the value of Respeto. I was taught to value respect, and be kind to others. For example when my parents, elders or other relatives need care I am responsible to care for them as just as they took care of me in my earliest stages of life. I was taught to never answer back to not only elders, but to anyone who’s older than I. I had the privilege of having experienced both Hispanic and American cultures; however growing up with mainly Hispanic culture values has shaped me to be the person I am today. Once my family and I were living here, one of the cultural values that we put in practice within my family was the eating habits. While I lived in Peru, it was customary for my dad to come home from work for about two hours to be together for lunch. But once we settled inShow MoreRelatedCultural Value And Cultural Values Essay2952 Words   |  12 Pagesunique and require a lot of understanding and comprehension. To do this, different cultural value dimensions should be studied and applied to a culture. Applying this to the business environment will be more complicated especially in a multinational company. To be a successful leader or manager in a company, one must fully understand each member of his team as well know his team’s cultural background. 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