Archaic Folklore Analysis

Explore any primitive culture and you are likely to unearth taboos about death. Whether universal or not, there appears to be a propensity for not saying aloud those thing that will attract the attention of bad spirits, the evil eye, or the grim reaper. Looking away from evil is believed to keep one safe from harm. It is no wonder then, that the superstitious behavior of humans extends to death as if it were an unnatural event instead of a completely natural milestone albeit, the final one in a life. Doubtless, there are times when people could be more sensitive to the harbingers of death, as John Updike intimates in his poem Dog's Death. Fiction, fantasy, and film are chock-a-block full of images representing death. Even the beloved The Christmas Carole tells the story of a present in which Marley is dead and spirits escort Scrooge to a season in the future in which Scrooge is absent. So, too, Jean Rhys takes her character into the future. In analyzing, comparing, and contrasting these two literary works, we can see that the human tendency is not to acknowledge mortality, but rather to live with the incomprehensibility of death by ignoring it as fervently, studiously, and deliberately as we are able to, right up until the point when death is irrefutably imminent or has irrevocably occurred. This paper will analyze the content, form, and style of Dog's Death by John Updike and I Used to Live Here Once by Jean Rhys.

Great Myths are never merely silly or superstitious tales. Great myths give us insights into the nature of our world. David Leeming believed these statements are true. In The Wooden People myth these statements are true. Myths don’t give humans good insight from our history. Myths are just passed on stories and the stories get mixed up too much to know the truth.

The critical loss of an extremely close family member is detrimental to most. Individuals cannot evade death and reality always catches up to them. However, everyone has their own methods of subduing the weight of the inevitable loss within our lifetimes. Within George Bernard Shaw’s letter “She Would Have Enjoyed it”, regarding his mother and her cremation, his attitude shifts from ominous to light-hearted and nostalgic using key details, imagery, and diction in order to convey his feelings and cope with his loss.

Death is inevitable. At a point in everyone’s lives they will face death, whether it’s falling face first into it or witnessing it. The power of death changes a person, especially the power surrounding the death of a loved one. In this excerpt from ‘The Crossing’, by author Cormac McCarthy, he presents the reader with an anonymous man who is dealing with the death of a wolf, which the reader can only assume was dear to the character, which explains his beleaguered disposition. The man carries the wolf's bloodied body through the forest terrain in search of a proper place for burial. In searching for a burial space he openly shows his emotions for the wolf. In this excerpt, the author uses imagery, paradox, and diction to convey the profound

To begin, the speaker of the poem “Thou famished grave” presents a resentful and aggressive attitude towards death. The poem, addressed to a “ famished grave” (1), personifies a grave as a starving beast that can “roar” (2), “gnaw” (3), and has “dismal jaws” (7). This represents death in a negative way because the description of the beast make it seem unpleasant and to be feared. Furthermore, the poem includes words and phrases when addressing the grave that follow the theme of starvation, such as, “famished grave” (1), “Gnaw thine own sides, fast on” (3), and “I cannot starve thee out: I am thy prey” which emphasizes that the beast of death is starving to take someone’s life. This animal-like aggressiveness adds to the already negative image of the beast. This imagery also shows how the speakers thinks of death since it comes from her words which shows that she sees death in a very negative way. Due to this, the speaker is angry and does not want to give death what it wants, which is to take someone’s life. Additionally, although death is something normally feared, the speaker shows that she is not fearful by saying “I have no fear / of thy dark project” (3-4) when speaking to the grave. She expresses that she does not want to die and her “heart is set / On living” (4-5), which explains her resentfulness towards death. She also understands that death is inevitable as she says, “I cannot starve thee out: I am thy prey / And thou shalt have me; but I dare defend / That I can stave thee off” (6-8). This shows that even though she knows that she will one day die, she still doesn’t want to give death what it wants and will fight as long as she can

“The man’s ultimate response to death is to try “meeting [it] with dignity.” His final words—“You were right, old hoss; you were right”—are part of a conversation that he imagines having with the old-timer who had warned him not to travel alone. They are also an acknowledgment of nature’s power over the individual.” (Gale).

As a student engaged in the American Education System the only time I was exposed to Native American folklore was when I was fortunate enough to take an American History course or read their stories in English class as examples to analyze. What we often times did not read, however, were the roles these folktales played as crucial to the customs of Native American society. Although, as I have begun to read more Native folktales within my undergraduate English course I can analyze the impact of folklore on the Native American Culture.

Death perception is what sets apart the wise from the foolish and the sensitive from the weak minded; this statement is both true within life and the epic poem Beowulf. Many statements within the spectrum of death in the current world relates and dates back to this one poem, even more so now through the translation of Seamus Heaney. Passed along as a folk tale from as early as the 5th century to the 9th century, and then composed in about the 10th century, Beowulf creates a solid base for many of today’s present and worldly ideals. Countless themes are taken from this poem, but one theme that many people may glaze over is the extremely morbid tone of death and its purpose. Used as an archetype for the audience, the purpose of this morbid theme of death is to help understand and cope with mortality, especially during that time period. Accepting/ understanding is wiser than foolishly attempting to escape or cheat death as the poem blatantly proves after closely analyzing its purpose of discussing fate and death before the battles; choosing to always stand by good morals and actions; and the major significance of the main character’s death along with a couple counterarguments. By examining each aspect, the reader will gain the realization as to why Seamus Heaney decided to create this theme that he did with the direction from “The Beowulf poet [that] was captivated by the imagery of death” (Tanke 356).

Patrick Ness masterfully grants his readers not only a beautiful story of loss, but also a compelling example that displays the truth of the grieving process. Although denied by the protagonist, his story is that of grieving his mother, who while still alive, is undeniably going to die. Some may wonder that it is possible to grieve for someone who is still alive. However, according to Okun and Nowinski, prolonged deaths are in many ways replacing quick ones, drawing out the process of a loved one dying. “...Death has become less and less a sudden and unexpected event. In its place has come a process that... ends eventually in death. This process means that… the family (is) increasingly confronted with the need to ‘live with death’...”(Okun

The raw emotion present in the poem can be felt immediately as the speaker describes the nature of the woman’s death. The speaker is clearly close to the dying woman, and is impacted by her deteriorating health as he/she describes how this situation alters his/her outlook of the world in lines two through four. Not only do these lines illustrate how the speaker is affected by the death of the woman, but the lines 19 and 20 also show this as the speaker says how his/her soul is “too jostled… to speak at length.” These lines exemplify the speaker’s disbelief at the death of the elderly woman and show, through his/her silence, how affected he/she really is. Death renders most in a state of sorrow and guilt for the continuation of life after death;

Grief and bereavement are worldwide phenomenon but they are conceived differently according to the culture and society. The process, that people need to elaborate the loss and to reconcile with it, is related with how they perceive death, their beliefs about immortality, their historical and religious background, and their cultural traditions. In each culture, rituals and customs surround death helping people mourn and grieve. Rituals help people express their grief and proved opportunities for family members, friends, and community members to support the bereaved. Death can crate sadness, chaos and confusion and rituals provide a sense of normalcy, and a set of directions that help structure the time around death, people’s roles, and expectations. The ancient Greek religion had a tradition and rituals that helped them with the mourning process of a deceased loved one. Whether the average Greek believed in the soul or not, they at least believed that certain rites were due to the dead. Death was a passage to be marked with ceremony, and despite the lack of a universal doctrine about the nature of the soul, actual funeral and mourning customs were highly prevalent. The living needed a way to acknowledge the strangeness of death and a way to comfort each other. With this said, the Greeks held certain burial rituals to be quite important and despite the varying attitudes toward the possibility of an afterlife, there existed a widespread belief that if the dead weren 't properly

She is somewhat prepared to meet her demise. Although the tone of the poem is mainly calm, it does change as the speaker becomes closer to death. It is also very ironic because the speaker is referring to death in blithesome imagery. “We paused before a house that seemed a swelling of the ground the roof was scarcely visible the cornice in the Ground “ (5.1-4) the speaker refers to her grave as her home. The fact that she characterizes her grave as her home shows how comfortable she is with the idea of death. In the first three stanzas the poem is very relaxed. The usage of words such as “kindly” (1.2), “slowly” (2.1) and “civility” (2.8) give off an attitude of comfort. Furthermore in the 4th stanza the reader can recognize the speaker growing cautious as she begins to question her life and what exactly are the intentions of her companion. As the poem reaches the last stanzas the tone shifts from the once calm and casual tone to a more sad and serious resonance. The speaker is coming to the realization of her inevitable destiny.

Many people today can associate with the classic tale of leprechauns and a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. This tale is a recurring myth within the realm of Celtic mythology. Celtic mythology was an integral part of ancient history throughout the British Isles especially Ireland. Authors of this magnificent form of literature have created stories that were based on the events of that time period and their works have transcended to future generations up until today. Overall, Celtic mythology and folklore has had a magnanimous impact on the world in lending itself for priceless amusable, educational, and historical excellence.

Poetry is an art form that has often been highly regarded. It brings together some of the most complex forms of writing in the English language. Two poems that focus on the same topic may sometimes, have completely different views and provide perspectives that may not have been considered by the other. Two of these Poems are Let Me Die A Youngman’s Death by Roger McGough and On Death by Anne Killigrew. The former poem by Roger McGough talks of how the speaker does not wish to die the peaceful death of an elderly person but rather the chaotic death of a young man. In death is nothing at all the speaker proposes that all should be as happy as before his death, and not view it in such a negative and secretive light.

William Shakespeare, a name renowned in all circles of English literature, when mentioned inspires recollections of writing and wit, of plays and poetry, and of love and loss. While his sonnets and plays have garnered most of his fame, Shakespeare’s talents extended to other forms of poetry; however, form does not curb his enthusiasm for addressing death. In his poem “Fear No More,” William Shakespeare wields repetition to not only uphold the ineluctable nature of death but also to establish the persistence and will of human nature.