Literature Help Needed NOW!
Here's what I have so far....
Emily Dickinson and Elizabeth Bishop both lived in Massachusetts but in different centuries. Most of Bishop’s writings were inspired by travel. Conversely, Dickinson’s poetry was inspired by her self-seclusion. Dickinson’s poem, "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain" and Bishop’s poem, "In the Waiting Room" will be the subjects compared and contrasted. Although different in mode, both poems describe transformations through knowledge.
Location is the key difference in these two poems. The setting in Dickinson’s poem takes place in a funeral procession while in Bishop’s a waiting room. The figurative implication that the different settings convey is very apparent. Dickinson’s transformation is a death. This signifies a conclusion or an end. But death can be also be a release. In this case, a release from a rational way of thinking. A waiting room, however, points to a new beginning. Life is a new beginning. However, if this new beginning is filled with an acute awareness of the world’s harsh realties, then it is not always pleasant.
The idea of transformation through knowledge is central to both poems. "I – we – were falling, falling" (Bishop) and "And I dropped down, and down – " (Dickinson) are lines in each work that signifies this tumbling into knowledge. Both authors give the impression that this sudden descent couldn’t be stopped. This illustrates the power of knowledge over innocence. Once knowledge is gained, falling from artlessness is inevitable and unstoppable. One cannot stop seeing and understanding life and the world. When Bishop’s character underwent her transformation, she was suddenly aware of the "night and slush and cold" that she did not notice all that much before. Dickinson’s character was unable to hold on to reason.
The poems have different results from the transformation. Dickinson’s poem leaves us falling. The audience is not sure what is next if there is anything at all. The last stanza in Bishop’s poem describes a return to the physical world, but now with more understanding of humanity and the world. The knowledge gained transformed the character into a less innocent child more aware of her surroundings. But in Dickinson’s poem there is no return to reality. Knowledge gained transformed the character with the inability to grasp the world and reason with it, death. The character does not know what happens after death. What is one to do without somewhere to go? Fall and wait for the bottom.
It lack a conclusion. Any tips or ideas to make this longer would be great!
Emily Dickinson and Elizabeth Bishop both lived in Massachusetts but in different centuries. Most of Bishop’s writings were inspired by travel. Conversely, Dickinson’s poetry was inspired by her self-seclusion. Dickinson’s poem, "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain" and Bishop’s poem, "In the Waiting Room" will be the subjects compared and contrasted. Although different in mode, both poems describe transformations through knowledge.
Location is the key difference in these two poems. The setting in Dickinson’s poem takes place in a funeral procession while in Bishop’s a waiting room. The figurative implication that the different settings convey is very apparent. Dickinson’s transformation is a death. This signifies a conclusion or an end. But death can be also be a release. In this case, a release from a rational way of thinking. A waiting room, however, points to a new beginning. Life is a new beginning. However, if this new beginning is filled with an acute awareness of the world’s harsh realties, then it is not always pleasant.
The idea of transformation through knowledge is central to both poems. "I – we – were falling, falling" (Bishop) and "And I dropped down, and down – " (Dickinson) are lines in each work that signifies this tumbling into knowledge. Both authors give the impression that this sudden descent couldn’t be stopped. This illustrates the power of knowledge over innocence. Once knowledge is gained, falling from artlessness is inevitable and unstoppable. One cannot stop seeing and understanding life and the world. When Bishop’s character underwent her transformation, she was suddenly aware of the "night and slush and cold" that she did not notice all that much before. Dickinson’s character was unable to hold on to reason.
The poems have different results from the transformation. Dickinson’s poem leaves us falling. The audience is not sure what is next if there is anything at all. The last stanza in Bishop’s poem describes a return to the physical world, but now with more understanding of humanity and the world. The knowledge gained transformed the character into a less innocent child more aware of her surroundings. But in Dickinson’s poem there is no return to reality. Knowledge gained transformed the character with the inability to grasp the world and reason with it, death. The character does not know what happens after death. What is one to do without somewhere to go? Fall and wait for the bottom.
It lack a conclusion. Any tips or ideas to make this longer would be great!
posted by The Light Fantastic at
4:41 PM
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