Thursday, February 18, 2010

Percy Bysshe Shelley

17 comments:

  1. Megan Mattson -
    Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Stanzas Written in Dejection – December 1818, Near Naples” showcases romanticism, in that the speaker finds solace that “any heart now share in” his “emotion”. This heart is within the nature “round” him, a connection that makes “despair itself” mild after realizing all that is missing from his life. This is a sweet and solitary reaction, that one always has the beauty of nature despite what may happen in life. The romantic thought of associating moods with nature was comforting in this poem. The imagery Shelley used is what created this, through the sensory description of Italy, the audience understands and relates to his connection to his surroundings.

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  2. Stanzas Written in Dejection - December 1818, Near Naples:
    This poem focuses on the Nature and its calming qualities, in accordance with the Romanticist movement. Shelley praises the "warm" sun, the "clear" sky, and the waves "dancing fast and bright." Personally, I enjoyed this poem very much. The structure of the rhyme scheme lends the piece an organized characteristic, which I find refreshing. When admiring Nature and its magnificence, it can be all too easy to slip into cliches and the rhyme scheme prevents Shelley from succumbing to this.

    (In case you're wondering, Quan = Katie)

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  3. Stanzas Written in Dejection-December 1818, Near Naples:

    This poem follows romanticism because it personifies nature in order to connect with it, expressed in how "the sea breath[es]" and "the waves are dancing." This piece also gives an enamored and optimistic view of nature by how "the sky is clear," "the waves ... bright," and"the breath of the moist earth is light." Juxtaposition is used between the serene feeling and happiness with nature and the sadness and void of the narrator, putting an emphasis on the speaker's sad state. Symbolism is used, for instance with the cup a representation of pleasure, to show how the narrator was once happy, but that life is not always a party and does not always end well. This piece leaves the reader feeling sad by how the narrator now only wants to die and is alone, like a lost child.

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  4. Judging by the title, "Stanzas Written in Dejection-December 1818, Near Naples", Shelley was writing these while in a state of depression. This four-stanza poem is divided into two parts, each containing two stanzas. The first half of the poem is Shelley describing his surroundings in vivid detail, and to me, at least, it seems like an idyllic place to live, an easy place to avoid dejection surrounded by the beautiful scenery. The tone of this first half is soft, quiet, as Shelley describes things around him with poetic clarity. However, this does not bring happiness to the unfortunate author. The third stanza begins with "Alas! I have nor hope nor health,/ Nor peace within nor calm around..." And carries on through the fourth stanza to describe his condition, and how he hopes for death. Sympathy arises when I hear of this poor soul's anguish, while he is surrounded by natural beauty, he can not find happiness anywhere and prays for his own death.

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  5. "Stanzas Written in Dejection-December 1818, Near Naples"

    The poem begins with imagery. Line after line describes the surroundings. Shelly is as acutely aware of the world around her as only a person in the midst of ecstasy or the depths of depression can be. Judging from the title,i would say Shelly was the latter. However, the scenery does not match the mood suggested by the title. However, the blue, clear sky in the context of the depression leads falls into the confusion and beautiful disorder that is prevalent in romanticism

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  6. Stanzas Written in Dejection:

    This poem is Romantic because of the growing interest in the scenery, like the blue isles, and snowy mountains. It also give human moods to nature, like the “breath of the moist earth”. This poem also includes the need for spontaneity in thought and expression of thought because of what is said at the end, “sage in mediation found” through the thought of nature. The author gives life to nature through the personification of the city that made it seem sad, and lonely. I was evoked an emotion of happiness, because it talks about the happiness found in nature, and although it talks about the burden of life. This poem also evokes more feelings to me because of my love of nature, that sort of seems like this.

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  7. "Stanzas Written in Dejection..."

    It seems like the poem has two separate thoughts -- the first two stanzas and the last three. I can relate to both: I have enjoyed nature and seen many of the beautiful things Shelley describes and written about them like he has. I have also felt like there was no hope and that no one would mourn me if I died right then and there. I have yearned to "lie down like a tired child" and have "death like sleep steal on me." It seems strange to me that Shelley can delight in nature's beaties and find sweet things in it, yet at the same time experience misery and despair, hoping for death. For me, it would be either one or the other, but not both at the same time. But maybe that's what the romantics were trying to do -- find a connection between experiencing the joys of nature and feeling down and hopeless.

    Hanna Dornhofer

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  8. The poem “Stanzas Written in Dejection- December 1818, Near Naples” by Percy Bysshe Shelley capitalizes on the idea of beauty in nature. Shelley not only believes that nature is beautiful but that it posses the power to heal. Shelley feels he has no, “hope nor health, / Nor peace within nor calm around.” His life is given to him with no privileges and he feels there is nothing good about it. The only place he can find refuge is in nature. With all of the beauty around him he says he, “could lie down like a tired child/ And weep away the life of care.” I enjoyed this poem because I could relate to what he was saying. When I feel things are just not going right I go outside and sit on my deck and just try to clear my mind.

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  9. Nathan Bendich
    Shelley's "Stanzas written in Dejection near Naples" include themes of nature, scenery, human emotions relating to nature, and imagination. The lines "Blue isles and snowy mountains wear the purple noon's transparent might" show the natural, scenic themes that personify nature, giving it human feelings to relate to. His vividly descriptive personifications and comparisons of the natural bring the beginning of the poem to life, providing a platform of good emotion from which the poem spirals down into depression. At the start, "The waves are dancing fast and bright", but by the end Shelley moves on to "this sweet day is gone" and the movement between the two caused evoked more glumness than I thought possible in myself. By the end Shelley's lovely "warm suns and clear skies" are but a "joy in memory".

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  10. "Stanzas Written in Dejection Near Naples" by Percy Bysshe Shelley (Jes)
    In the first two stanzas, Shelley describes this perfect natural untainted world. It is "untrampled," and untouched by all things harmful. But Shelley sees reality in the third stanza, in that life does bring despair and pain. However in the fourth stanza, "despair itself is mild," because one always has the happiness from the simple things on earth such as the sun's warmth and "the clear sky." This made me feel very relieved and happy because I sometimes forget the happiness I get from the simple things of life such as nature. The emphasis of nature makes the poem romantic.

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  11. Stanzas Written in Dejection epitomizes what the Romantic Movement sought to prove on the subject of emotion, its expression, and its connection to the world. Shelley begins the poem by describing vivid and verdant vistas of the natural world, emphasizing the way in which they are untouched by humankind. These both serve as a reflection on the importance of a pure world that isn't convoluted by over analysis, and work to further emphasize the feelings of emptiness and melancholy that Shelley begins to describe. One of the key elements of the Romantic movement was the personification of nature, and Shelley's poem is a great example of this. The poem leaves the reader with feelings of both wonder and sorrow at the beautiful nature imagery which contrasts with the dark feelings described by Shelley.

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  12. Perccy Bysshe Shelley’s “Stanzas Written in Dejection— December 1818, near Naples” exemplifies romanticism through the growing interest of Nature, as well as the increasing usage of scenery relating to a type of feeling or mood. Right from the start, the reader bathes in “The Sun” and sees that “the sky is clear”. Then the beauty of scenery sparkles and glistens “Like light dissolved in star-showers”. Emotions swirl, but despite the “how sweet” the moment lives, Shelley begins a repetition not of more beautiful scenes, but of negativity. The words “grow cold” as neither “fame, nor power, nor love, nor leisure” can stop The End as it begins to sneak into the poem “like sleep might steal” the “tired child”. Once bright, the poem turns grey. Yet to me, after the very end of the poem, even if moments as beautiful as Shelley described “too soon grow old” those moments will forever remain beautiful like “stainless glory set…/ joy in memory”.

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  13. "Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples"

    Shelley uses nature to show his emotions, as do many Romantic poets. The poem implies that Shelley believes he is nearing the end of the cycle of life. He often uses imagery when he is describing scenes in nature. He says that the "sun is warm, the sky is clear, the waves are dancing fast and bright," which is meant to show his early life, when he was young. It exudes joy and delight, with more unexplored life to come, "around its unexpanded buds," like a bloom not yet opened - a life not yet fully lived. The ocean with the mysteries of the deep, and the emotion he speaks of exemplifies the mid-life years. His later years are represented by the "mild...winds and waters," and Shelley speaks of the sounds of the sea pouring over his brain in "monotony." His celebration of nature wanes as his health and enchantment with life and the world around him diminish.

    Shelley uses similes and metaphors to describe himself and the natural elements surrounding him. Often these comparisons involve the sea, possibly because the sea can be wild and violent (much like a person in their youth) or it can be serene and peaceful (like a person in their later years). He also uses a simile to describe himself in his later years, saying, "I could lie down like a tired child." When young, people are child-like, but grow into adulthood. But, as they age, they begin to become more self-centered again, and become more child-like, and Shelley captures this in his poem.

    The poem makes the reader realize that everyone must grow old, and Shelley's expression of regret gives the reader the impression that getting older is a sad journey. The reader feels sorry for Shelley, who shows a great longing to be young again.
    Katie Jakovich

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  14. Percy Shelley voices his uneasy hopelessness in his poem, Stanzas Written in Dejection. He approvingly describes scenes of nature in the first three stanzas, dreamily comparing waves with, “light dissolved in star-showers”. There is also a tone of comfort in these stanzas, as the waves are “in measured motion” which is generally perceived to have a soothing effect on listeners. The lines, however, quickly turn sour with chaos when he reveals how greatly he contrasts with these tranquil scenes. He has neither, “hope nor health” and discovers that he, unlike other people, cannot call himself happy or satisfied with his urbanized existence. He only wishes to be by the sea, immersed in nature, until his “cheek grow[s] cold”. These characteristics comply with the Romantic literature movement. He speaks approvingly of nature, but looks down on man-made existences and deals with the thought of death without fear.

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  15. Stanzas written in Dejection near Naples:

    Stanzas written in Dejection near Naples clearly exemplifies Romanticism in many ways. Shelley conveys parts of the poem's meaning through her descriptions of nature--showing how "the sun is warm, the sky is clear/ [and] the waves are dancing fast and bright." Additionally she writes in a peculiar style--one in which she shows why she "ha[s] no[] hope nor health" but then tells the reader that "despair itself is mild." Thus, her poem creates a confusing and ambiguous idea where she conveys her problems and then shows why they are not problematic. However, through the conclusion and title, one can concluded that Shelley intended for this poem to create sorrow and dejection--one where one should simply "weep away the life of care."

    -Akshay Jotwani

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  16. Shelley uses “Stanzas Written in Dejection—December 1818, Near Naples” to compare a civilized “life of care” to the wild beauty of the sea. Clearly, the ocean and the sunset are more beautiful and more important than things society deems is important, like fame, power, love, or leisure. The ocean is also something that is constant, unlike humans who can change quickly and without warning. I enjoyed this poem because of the imagery Shelley used to describe the ocean. He also managed to personify the ocean so that it was comforting, and I felt that, while a tad a melancholy, “Stanzas Written Dejection” was calming.

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  17. For "Stanzas written in Dejection", Shelley talks about how nature can be beautiful and comforting, yet at the same time be wild and untamed like how he feels inside. At first it seems quiet and peaceful, but then turns to a surrounding full of tumult. He says that other people feel the pleasure of their lives, but it's not his turn to feel it now. And although he could just sit there and cry and mope about his miserable life, instead he decides to enjoy the memories of his good times. It's almost like a criticism on people who mope around while others are enjoying what life really brings.

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