Romanticism and Classicism Essay Example for Free

Romanticism and Classicism Essay Both Romanticism and Classicism deal with a certain psychological truth – however, they use different techniques to show this truth, and, consequently, show different sides of a persons psychology. The Romanticists take a lyrical stance – they explore a persons emotions and subjectivity. Mostly, this is done in poetry, because poetry generally provides more creative leeway and is more metaphorical. Like any short form, it needs less consistency, but is allowed to focus more on emotion and whatnot. A poem can be created only to portray a feeling or a group of feelings. For instance, Yeats poem â€Å"The Second Coming†, even though its first-person perspective is only seen directly in two lines, the feeling of apocalyptic dread is spread throughout the whole poem, from the first lines ( Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; /Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, ) to the last ( And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,/Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? ). This poem is completely dedicated to showing a single aspect of emotion. It does not require development, but rather elaboration and metaphor, both of which Yeats provides plenty. Moreover, the rhythm and sound of the rhymed word itself is used often to convey an emotion. (Incidentally, Romanticist prose, which is not covered here, also uses these techniques much more than Classicist prose). See Yeats again: â€Å"Turning and turning in the widening gyre† already creates a spinning sensation of something huge, the repetition of the us and is makes the line sound as if it were turning itself. The sounds and rhythm strengthen the feelings the words already evoke, in this case – that of the world turning in on itself – and when in the next line, â€Å"The falcon cannot hear the falconer;† we are faced with a relatively small bird, the illusion of a transition from microcosm to macrocosm is evoked. Portraying subjectivity is easiest to do from a first-person position, because it allows the poet and the reader both to get into the head and soul of the character. This is shown well in most Romantic poetry. For instance, Owens in his descriptions of war depicts the horrors from his own, first-person view, and attempts to make the reader sympathize by creating images that invite a certain empathy, in this case – a feeling of horror at things two people in dialog fear together. An especially powerful example is present in Dulce et Decorum Est (If in some smothering dreams you too could pace /Behind the wagon that we flung him in, /And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, /His hanging face, like a devils sick of sin;). It can be done from the third-person, however. This is generally done from selective omniscient, by showing things from a chosen characters viewpoint. Emotion can also be shown just by writing about the actions of the person, but this is generally used in the dramatical poetry, which is more common in the Classicists. Mostly, narrative is used for the Romantics when there is an actual need to show not just a feeling, but a transition from one emotion to the next. A real master of this is Joyce, who, while not precisely a Romanticist, knows the Romanticist technique well, and utilizes it to his own means. Joyce shows us a change in Gabriels behaviour. Specifically, he utilizes a very interesting technique: in the beginning, he does not give us any insight into Gabriels thought: when we first see Gabriel, he is just one of the characters. There are many others, who may be just as important – although the fact that everyone is waiting for Gabriel and his wife is a certain foreshadowing of the fact that ultimately he will be the main character, it is still far from certain at this point. (â€Å"O, Mr Conroy, said Lily to Gabriel when she opened the door for him, Miss Kate and Miss Julia thought you were never coming. †). As the story progresses, however, we gain gradual insight into Gabriels thoughts as they become more and more mixed in with his deeds, and by the end of it, we are completely in Gabriels mind (â€Å" It hardly pained him now to think how poor a part he, her husband, had played in her life. †) Any outside factor is a symbol for the Romanticists, a tool for self-identification. The difference between them and the Classicists in this case is that for any Classicist the outside world with its obstacles is objective – even when a hero acts or reacts, they are working in an environment. For a Romanticist, environment is optional. In fact, most of them prefer to relate directly to matters such as life and death, to notions which would be deemed abstract, and many avoid the situations in which we face these notions in life. This is well-seen in Tennysons â€Å"In Memoriam†: â€Å"I held it truth, with him who sings /To one clear harp in divers tones, /That men may rise on stepping-stones /Of their dead selves to higher things. † How precisely this stepping is done, Tennyson does not show. But it is these symbolic transitions, the way a human being relates with eternity, that make up the real life of a human being. The situations one faces in life are mere shadows of this real, symbolic life. This is why when the Romanticists use colorful metaphors, and another great lot of textual technique in an attempt to transfer to the reader what can only be felt, to incite an emotional state, this is not only to evoke a feeling – feelings are the meat and drink of life, like actions are to the Classicist. It is this sensual experience that is real, and a transition in feeling, its ennoblement is seen as a more valuable – a more ontologically real, if you will – change than any actions that change ones material status. For an example, let us turn to Yeats once more, and how he describes this spiritual transmutation upon his death, in â€Å"Sailing to Bysantium†: â€Å"Once out of nature I shall never take/My bodily form from any natural thing,/But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make/Of hammered gold and gold enamelling†. In essence, Romanticism submerges us in the characters subjective viewpoint, and attempts to make us believe the characters actions by placing us in the characters place. They externalize the characters feelings by projecting them unto our own. For instance, Coleridge in his â€Å"Kubla Khan†, gives an image and a feeling which it evokes in his lyrical hero, and attempts to reproduce that same relationship within the readers own soul: â€Å"A damsel with a dulcimer In a vision once I saw :/It was an Abyssinian maid,/And on her dulcimer she played,/Singing of Mount Abora. Could I revive within me/Her symphony and song,/To such a deep delight twould win me,† The Classicists attempt to portray objective reality as far as they are able – be it by directly addressing real-world issues, or by exploring them through story-telling. A direct discussion on a real problem is shown in Mills essay, where the narrator steps as much away from any personal arguments as possible, and attempts to appeal only to objective facts, and even if his own experience is used, it it always as de-personalized as possible. Nearly any quote from his essay is demonstrative. â€Å"The generality of a practice is in some cases a strong presumption that it is, or at all events once was, conducive to laudable ends. This is the case, when the practice was first adopted, or afterwards kept up, as a means to such ends, and was grounded on experience of the mode in which they could be most effectually attained. † As we can see, he speaks in the third person as much as humanly possible, making general observations about the nature of humanity and society. The Classicists who work in fiction generally work in the narrative, because it is easier to portray outside factors from the neutral point of view of a narrator, rather than from the subjectivity of one character. The preferred mode is pure omniscient. We can see this if we return to Joyce, who in the beginning uses a fully omniscient mode , to show us a multitude of people and detail, to give us a panoramic view and a feeling of objectivity before he begins to focus on the internal evolution of Gabriel. â€Å"Lily, the caretakers daughter, was literally run off her feet. Hardly had she brought one gentleman into the little pantry behind the office on the ground floor and helped him off with his overcoat, than the wheezy hall-door bell clanged again and she had to scamper along the bare hallway to let in another guest. †) Joyce uses this technique to set the stage, to give the mood in which the transformation happens. I believe (though I am not sure whether this is the view your professor has on the subject) that the difference between Joyces story and the â€Å"classic† Classicists is that for him the objective world is neither a place to act in nor a tool of transformation: it is just a backdrop, a setting in which interaction occurs. However, selective omniscient can be used, as well – as long as one gives enough detail that the character notices, but does not classify as important, while, in truth, they play out their part, and a reader – always from his birds eye view – can notice this. A good example is Mansfields â€Å"The Garden†, which utilizes a selective omniscient point of view. Mansfield uses both details that are general, that create the mood both for the character and the reader, (â€Å" That really was extravagant, for the little cottages were in a lane to themselves at the very bottom of a steep rise that led up to the house. A broad road ran between. True, they were far too near. They were the greatest possible eyesore, and they had no right to be in that neighbourhood at all. †), and those that are exlusively thoughts of Laura (â€Å"Is mother right? he thought. And now she hoped her mother was right. Am I being extravagant? †) Some of Mansfields most interesting technique is how she shows the transition of moods through the difference in details Laura notices. Compare the beginning of the story (â€Å"Then the karaka-trees would be hidden. And they were so lovely, with their broad, gleaming leaves, and their clusters of yellow fruit. They were like trees you imagined growing on a desert island, proud, solitary, lifting their leaves and fruits to the sun in a kind of silent splendour. ) and near the end of the story, when she learns about the death (â€Å"Now the broad road was crossed. The lane began, smoky and dark. Women in shawls and mens tweed caps hurried by. Men hung over the palings; the children played in the doorways. A low hum came from the mean little cottages. †) It is still a beautiful sunny day, however, Laura is in no shape to notice it. This is the kind of subjectivity that is allowed in Classicist literature: a subjectivity that is a reaction to the objective world. Classicism is versatile enough to allow it, but it never allows this subjectivity to take completely first place. At best, like in Mansfields works, it has an almost equal role to objective actions. Classicism can even work from completely a first-persons view, as Virginia Woolf shows. But here it is emphasized that the author is subjective but trying to transcend this subjectivity: even in the first person, she attempts to step out of conventional social roles – even those she takes on herself and look at things rationally and reasonably, and, possibly, with irony. It is a curious fact that novelists have a way of making us believe that luncheon parties are invariably memorable for something very witty that was said, or for something very wise that was done. But they seldom spare a word for what was eaten. † Woolf takes many liberties with her texts, and experiments often with styles and conventions – such as the listing of various foods, or the ironic descriptions of conversations, or unconventional views on known topics. Like a philosopher, she brings to attention things that are rarely noticed (â€Å"Have you any notion of how many books are written about women in the course of one year? Have you any notion how many are written by men? Are you aware that you are, perhaps, the most discussed animal in the universe? †). But all of these are things that exist in the real world. You will find few abstractions in her works, and even those have a grounding in some sensual experience that she has. She is very skeptical indeed of any matter of pure spirit, indeed, she does not believe in them in the common sense of the word. (â€Å"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. The lamp in the spine does not light on beef and prunes. We are all probably  going to heaven, and Vandyck is, we hope, to meet us round the next corner—that is the dubious and qualifying state of mind that beef and prunes at the end of the day’s work breed between them†) This is what attempted objectivity from the first person looks like. Mixed modes work well, too. Conrads â€Å"Heart of Darkness† is a great example of this: he often gives descriptions which could be both from the third person and the first person (â€Å"The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails ), and even those he gives explicitly from the first person are always shown as attempting to step away from direct emotional perception, such as in the scene where the hero thinks about the reason why the savages are cannibals. (â€Å"I would no doubt have been properly horrified, had it not occurred to me that he and his chaps must be very hungry: that they must have been growing increasingly hungry for at lea st this month past. †) This is very typical of Classicism, to look for outside solutions to ones feelings, and, instead of feeling something directly, to attempt to reach feeling throughout experience and logical thought. A Classicist cannot emphasize directly; Conrad could not have written something like, â€Å"I saw the hunger in his eyes and realized with a sharp jab of the conscience that, had I been so hungry, I would have been no different. † A Classicist will only portray the internal logic of his heroes, he cannot attempt to have them experience something they did not, even in the imagination. They remain captured by their own lives. What is important about Classicism is that it is almost always in prose. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, such as Browning, but they are few and far between. Poetry adds an extra, undesirable dimension to a text. It is the dimension of subconscious influence – by the sound of the words, by the rhythm. Classicism, of course, cannot step completely away from using techniques that influence not so much by meaning, as by style – so long as the work is a work of literature – but they do their best not to emphasize on the technical style of things. Even if they use technique, it is as simple as possible. The Classicists wish the text to be transparent, as opposed to the many colors of Romanticism. Conrad is, once again, a good example here: his descriptions are dynamic, yet very simple: â€Å"One evening as I was lying flat on the deck of my steamboat, I heard voices approachingand there were the nephew and the uncle strolling along the bank. † Complete contrast to the falling and raising of the Romantic worlds, Classicism uses Occams Razor as much as possible. Classicism likes to use a dramatic stance: it generally does not tell us about what the person is feeling, but rather attempts to allow us to see for ourselves from the persons actions. For instance, Browning in his poetry – a rare example of a dramatic approach in it – does not give us feelings directly. Instead, he gives us actions and thoughts related to those actions, not self-reflection: like when he writes about the painter Fra Filippo Lippi (Or Lippo Lippi, as he calls his hero))(â€Å"/Zooks, whats to blame? you think you see a monk! What, tis past midnight, and you go the rounds,/And here you catch me at an alleys end/Where sportive ladies leave their doors ajar? †) This says more about the character of the frater than any self-reflection upon the nature of necessity to go out at night would have. For the Classicists, it is an emphasis on that only the deeds of a person are actually real, and the thoughts essentially matter only as stimuli towards action . This is an externalization of the characters psychology by projecting it upon the world.

Travels Abroad with Goethes Italian Journey :: Traveling Goethe Analysis Essays Papers

Travels Abroad with Goethe's Italian Journey Foreign travel, I think, is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have in life. You never really get a chance in life to explore who you really are and what you believe until you're able to leave your daily life and spend time in a place where everything's drastically different. Of course, not all travel is mind opening and horizon broadening. Some people just go abroad in a tourist frame of mind. The only thing they want to do when they visit somewhere else is visit famous sites, eat local food, and buy presents for those back home. Tourists really have no interest in local cultures and ways of life, and don't want to think about these things while on vacation. I admit: I've been both a traveler and a tourist in my life. Who hasn't? When I went to Disneyland, I wasn't interested in the local cultural structure and values of the inhabitants of Anaheim; I just wanted to get my picture taken with The Little Mermaid. And being a tourist is fine in its time and place, but when one goes places as a travel, ah that's when the really life changing experiences begin. This past week, my group did a presentation on the Italian Journey of Johann Wolfgang van Goethe, and while I didn't do the hardcore analysis of the literary text (I did the biography and web encoding), the topics my group discussed are still an interesting look into the character of a traveler and his discoveries abroad. What I've gathered from his diary entries is that Goethe went as a traveller and tried his best to understand the spirit of the Italian people, not just savour local wines and see the works of great Renaissance artists. He seems to be staying with Italian friends and trying to experience the daily life of inhabitants in Rome and Naples and other places he stayed. I myself have had two major experiences at being a traveler. In November 2000, I was lucky enough to be accepted on a homestay in Japan. This meant that for a week and a half I got to visit Sapporo, Japan while living with the Suzuki family and attending Nishi High School with their daughter who was about my age. Much like Goethe who had been told about Italy all his life by his father and

Kite Runner Pomegranate Tree Essay

In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, the changing depiction of the pomegranate tree symbolizes the changes in Amir and Hassan’s relationship, and is woven into the novel’s central theme of sin and redemption. Throughout the novel Hosseini depicts Amir’s struggle to redeem himself ever since he witnessed the rape of Hassan and stood by as a silent bystander. Amir and Hassan shared a very close friendship doing everything together yet the loyalty between each other was lopsided. Amir could never match Hassan’s unconditional love and loyalty towards him and this sets up the internal struggle in Amir’s mind, because he was sensitive enough to realize the unfairness of the situation. Hosseini uses the pomegranate tree throughout the book as the backdrop for describing key events that influence Amir and Hassan’s relationship. The first depiction of the tree portrays a safe haven but subtle details in the passage point to the events that unfold later. As children, Amir and Hassan spent many hours under the shade of a pomegranate tree up on a hilltop where Amir would read stories to Hassan. Here the pomegranate tree is a symbol of comfort, a place where he and Hassan could be alone sharing the simple pleasure of storytelling. Amir’s description of the â€Å"shadows of pomegranate leaves dancing† on Hassan’s face depicts the protective aspect of the tree, a sanctuary for the two friends (28). The tree and hill are symbolic of Amir and Hassan’s friendship; the tree is rooted in the hill but as the seasons change both the hill and the tree change and so does their friendship. The mention of seasons foreshadows how over time Amir and Hassan’s friendship will be destroyed, in the same way that the rain had turned the â€Å"iron gate rusty† and caused the â€Å"white stone walls to decay† (27). When Amir and Hassan return to the pomegranate tree after the rape, Amir says to Hassan he will read him a new story as they walk up the hill and a sense of hopefulness is conveyed. Amir points out that the â€Å"grass was still green†. Here the green is symbolic of hope and renewal and it connotes Amir’s effort to fix his damaged relationship with Hassan (91). However, when Amir describes that the green grass atop the hill will soon be â€Å"scorched yellow† it also foreshadows Hassan and Ali’s abrupt departure from Kabul, and the devastating impact this has on Amir and Baba (91). Hosseini’s use of the word scorched connotes an event that happens suddenly and is a premonition of worse things to come. Amir is not able to deal with his memories of their happier days under the tree, and instead of storytelling he decides to provoke Hassan to reproach him for his own inaction when the rape occurred. Amir’s ulterior motives – to provoke Hassan and not tell stories – are revealed when he â€Å"picked up an overripe pomegranate† (92) and throws it at Hassan. The overripe, rotting pomegranate is symbolic of a wound that has been left alone too long, the guilt of Amir not helping Hassan when he was raped. The pomegranate fruit itself represents the complexity of their relationship; it is a fruit with a hard skin that is difficult to peel and inside there are beehive-like segments hiding hundreds of red pulpy seeds. Amir is not able to come to terms with his guilt and tries to avoid Hassan at first, but later when he tries to make amends he realizes that for Hassan it will never be the same. The pomegranate also alludes to the forbidden apple from the Bible, symbol of the original sin, and thus it serves to foreshadow the events that are just about to unfold. As Amir hurls pomegranates at Hassan, he repeatedly calls Hassan a coward, but in reality he is letting out his own frustration in the hopes that Hassan will retaliate. He is trying to cover up his guilt for not intervening when Hassan was raped, almost as if Amir is trying to justify that Hassan is the coward and not himself. Once Amir stops pelting the pomegranates he sees Hassan â€Å"smeared in red like he’d been shot by a firing squad† (93). The imagery here represents how deeply Amir’s actions and words had wounded Hassan. Ironically, it also foreshadows the eventual death of Hassan, later in the novel, when he is shot by a Taliban firing squad. When Amir returns to Afghanistan after receiving Rahim Khan’s letter, he finds Kabul under the Taliban regime totally changed. As Amir walks up the old â€Å"craggy hill† from his past he realizes that nothing is the same (264). The craggy hill now represents the destroyed Afghanistan. Amir describes that while walking up the hill every breath felt â€Å"†¦like inhaling fire† (264). This simile illustrates how much pain walking up the hill causes an lder Amir now, although it was something he did almost every day with Hassan when they were carefree children. When he reaches the pomegranate tree, he recalls Hassan’s letter saying â€Å"the pomegranate tree hadn’t borne fruit in years† (264). The barren tree is symbolic of how their friendship was ruined twenty years ago in the winter of 1975. But when Amir locates the faded carving of his and Hassan’s name on the tree, the fact that â€Å"it was still there† makes the pomegranate tree a symbol of hope once again and shows Amir a way to atone for his sin (264). After so many years and so many struggles their friendship was tattered but upon seeing it, Amir finally resolves to redeem himself for the guilt of betraying Hassan; a betrayal that became a heavy burden on his shoulders for twenty long years through his silence and inaction. The changes of the pomegranate tree depict the changes in Amir and Hassan’s relationship. We first see it as the lush shady tree from Amir’s childhood where he and spent countless hours reading stories. Next it appears as the scene where Amir destroys his friendship with Hassan. And finally, it is at the same but now barren pomegranate tree where Amir returns and locates the fading reminder of his long lost friend. Each conflict in Amir and Hassan’s friendship was always on Amir’s part. It was Amir who stayed silent when Hassan was assaulted, it was Amir who tried to provoke Hassan’s reproach by throwing pomegranates at him, but it was also Amir who made the effort at the end to rescue Hassan’s son and his nephew, Sohrab. Like the faded carving, Amir’s friendship with Hassan had faded but never completely disappeared. Amir made the worst mistake of his life but he still had an opportunity for redemption, and that was by rescuing Sohrab from the Taliban and acknowledging him as his own flesh and blood If he didn’t, he knew he would go to his grave with the guilt of the sin he committed in the winter of 1975. While atonement for one’s sin is the central theme of The Kite Runner, the pomegranate tree is one of the main symbols used by the author to show Amir’s journey for atonement and redemption in the book. Hosseini’s repeated use of the pomegranate tree serves as a useful symbol to understand the evolving relationship of Amir and Hassan.

The Expansion Of Professional Baseball - 1553 Words

How Did the Expansion of Professional Baseball Relate to the Time Period? Perry Wilson Geography I Baseball has evolved from a regional sport in the 1850’s to a national sport today. In this paper I will discuss the expansion of baseball and how the challenges of various time periods relate to the number of teams and their location. There are three main reasons that baseball’s history relates strongly to the geographical theme of location. First, when baseball was an emerging sport in the late 1800’s, most travel was limited to train. If a team was imagined in the west, then it would be a three day train trip to get there just to play a game, and then all the way back. For this reason, all of the original baseball teams were†¦show more content†¦The people living there wanted to enjoy Major League Baseball (MLB), and the cities had the money to support a team, so the National League eventually recognized this opportunity and baseball expanded to the west, covering all of United States. Baseball around the time of the Civil War was based on amateurism and played by club members. As popularity grew, paid players began to sneak in although not openly. Eventually this changed. the CIncinnati Red Stockings were the first openly professional club and used pay to attract the best players. Soon many clubs were â€Å"professional† and pro leagues began to form. There were many leagues at first, the National Association of Professional Baseball Players (1872) which became the national league, the Western League (1893) which became the American League in 1901, the Union Association, and others. But the National League became dominant and signed all the best players. â€Å"Organized baseball had a monopoly, they didn’t want any rival leagues to be formed.† The original teams were in boston, Brooklyn, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St Louis, and this area remained within the reach of overnight train travel. A huge factor for early professional baseball s limited expansion was that teams travelled by train. â€Å"This meant that there could not be any teams very far away from each other, because it would take too long to travel there for an