"Clocks and Lovers" Essay

            In W.H. Auden’s poem, “Clocks and Lovers,” it is evident by the title that the major argument of the speaker will be whether or not his love can endure time. This is expressed to a great degree in the fact that the speaker has little dialogue, because it is conquered by his lover speaking and the clocks around him. The speaker’s lover seems to be intent on the fact that their love will last forever. She states that she will love him “until China and Africa meet…until the ocean is folded up and hung to dry.” This theme of never-ending love is common throughout romantic literature, and the diction proves that her love is the most important thing. By comparing it to oceans and mountains, it is obvious that her feelings towards her partner are incredibly high. The imagery of flowers and rabbits tend to be cliché in love poems, and is seen as innocence, which is what the lover would want.

            However, the clocks constantly interrupt the idea that he and his lover will have a perfect relationship. For instance, the clock says, “And coughs when you would kiss,” to show that there will never be a moment that time will not pass them by and make it more difficult to hold onto the relationship. The clock’s imagery includes glaciers, deserts, and lands reserved for the dead. This is obviously completely opposite to the tone of the lovers’. Glaciers and deserts are extremities that most people would not enjoy, and he commands the reader to look in the mirror and notice his own distress.

            By having two speakers in the poem, it is clear to make the distinction between the tones of the lover and the clocks. While the lover has hope for the future, the clock denies the fact completely.

"Clocks and Lovers" Essay

            In W.H. Auden’s poem, “Clocks and Lovers,” it is evident by the title that the major argument of the speaker will be whether or not his love can endure time. This is expressed to a great degree in the fact that the speaker has little dialogue, because it is conquered by his lover speaking and the clocks around him. The speaker’s lover seems to be intent on the fact that their love will last forever. She states that she will love him “until China and Africa meet…until the ocean is folded up and hung to dry.” This theme of never-ending love is common throughout romantic literature, and the diction proves that her love is the most important thing. By comparing it to oceans and mountains, it is obvious that her feelings towards her partner are incredibly high. The imagery of flowers and rabbits tend to be cliché in love poems, and is seen as innocence, which is what the lover would want.

            However, the clocks constantly interrupt the idea that he and his lover will have a perfect relationship. For instance, the clock says, “And coughs when you would kiss,” to show that there will never be a moment that time will not pass them by and make it more difficult to hold onto the relationship. The clock’s imagery includes glaciers, deserts, and lands reserved for the dead. This is obviously completely opposite to the tone of the lovers’. Glaciers and deserts are extremities that most people would not enjoy, and he commands the reader to look in the mirror and notice his own distress.

            By having two speakers in the poem, it is clear to make the distinction between the tones of the lover and the clocks. While the lover has hope for the future, the clock denies the fact completely.

"Storm Warnings" Essay

            In the poem, “Storm Warnings” by Adrienne Rich, the author successfully alludes to a literal storm that will soon captivate her house while subconsciously referring to a storm of problems in her life. The structure of the poem allows the reader to notice that the situation quickly elevates; in the first stanza, the speaker is simply aware that a storm is near. However, in the second and third stanzas, the speaker is confused and mystified as to what the storm will hold, and the fourth stanza is simply a wait for the storm.

            While speaking in the literal sense of the storm that is approaching, Rich says, “What winds are walking overhead, what zone of gray unrest is moving across the land,” and “I draw the curtains as the sky goes black, and set a match to candles sheathed in glass.” These phrases indicate that the narrator is physically doing everything that she speaks of, and this diction is chosen so the reader can obtain a sense of insecurity. However, perhaps more noticeable than the literal meaning of the poem is the psychological aspect of how the reader is unsure as to what will happen in her life. She speaks of change that time cannot even change, and it the storm of grey clouds overhead are the problems in her life.

            The speaker may feel guilty over something she has done, and now notices that her problems are catching up with her as fast and severe as a storm approaches. The effect of using a storm as a metaphor is powerful in the sense that it directly relates with the struggles of life.

Question Essay

Anthony Scalia

Question Essay

Is it inevitable that the protagonists of existential literature are placed carefully in order to show the reader that life is not as extreme as one might think? Are these authors trying to persuade others into believing that life is filled with anxiety, so it does not matter what happens? Is the character Mersault, in “The Stranger,” always a man who does not bother caring about anything, or is it his mother’s death that brings him to this point? Is Gregor in “The Metamorphosis” always a lesser being, or does he quickly realize that his existence does not matter? Does it matter if something brings the characters to this point, or is it simply their nature?

Why does Gregor laugh when he becomes a bug, and not begin to weep? Is it because this is the final way of having it said to him that he does not matter? And why does Mersault’s drinking and smoking in front of his mother’s casket affect the priest so much? It is not his mother, and can he not see that the woman is dead anyway? Why do we continue to believe such childish ways of bringing up people in society? If this is truly existentialistic literature, it should be noticed that no one cares about what happens in everyday life with such trivial matters; should it?  If these people are supposedly “flies on the walls” and observe the attitudes of people, whether it be from a window, or from watching peoples’ reactions, does this not show that they are of possible higher thinking capabilities. For if they were not, the thought of being an observer would not cross their mind, would it? What would the world be without such observers?