In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling, Harry becomes engrossed by the Mirror of Erised. A mirror that would show the viewer their true desires, by doing so capturing their attention. Men and women would slowly begin to fade away from their everyday lives, enthralled by the mirror. This is an example of the dangers of desire and how controlling it could be, also shown in “Thou Blind Man’s Mark” by Sir Philip Sydney. With the use of diction to institute the evils of desire, repetition to accentuate certain expressions, and personification, Sydney expresses the wrongdoings brought to him by his own desire. Many people say that when speaking, it is not what you say but how you say it. In poetry, to convey certain moods and tones, the word choice or diction is essential. Beginning with a title and first line filled with irony, “Thou blind man’s mark”, thou fool’s self- chosen snare” (line 1), Sir Philip Sydney discusses the absurdity of the subject matter of this poem. Using terms such as “bands of all evils” and “ thy worthless ware” in lines 3 and 6, the …show more content…
Fearing that Harry could possibly become obsessed with his desires, Dumbledore had the mirror placed elsewhere in the castle. In Sir Philip Sydney’s “Thou Blind Man’s Mark”, Sydney presents the high risks of desire and how it could dominate our lives. Sydney’s use of diction, repetition, and personification function perfectly together to articulate the speakers dismal attitude towards desire. “Thou Blind Man’s Mark” ends with the words, “For virtue hath this better lesson taught- / Within myself seek my only hire / Desiring naught but to kill desire” (lines 12-14). Contrary to Sydney’s views, the extinction of desire is not the solution to a person’s problem, but could possibly have a harmful effect. Contrarily from desire comes passion and change. Do not kill desire instead change the
In the poem “Thou Blind Man’s Mark” by Sir Philip Sidney, the speaker is struggling with his desire for someone or something. They are fighting this feeling for control over his thoughts and mind. It is shown that both the speaker and desire are constantly fighting, with neither fully able to take control. This fact is evident through Sidney’s use of violent diction, personification of desire, and oxymorons.
George Szirtes article “Formal Wear: Notes on Rhyme, Meter, Stanza, and Pattern” from the Poetry Foundation opens with opinions which focus on limitations of poetic form. As a counter to these common arguments, Szirtes claims, “Verse is not decoration: it is structural. It is a forming principle and words at depth” ("Formal Wear: Notes” 2). He then develops an argument explaining, “the constraints of form are spurs of the imagination: that they are in fact the chief producers of imagination” ("Formal Wear: Notes” 2). Taking these ideas into consideration Szirtes incorporates the idea of language explaining how language connects to memory and imagination which come together to form poetic images. Additionally, when poets use form it develops
In the poem, Thou Blind Man’s Mark, the speaker, Sir Philip Sidney, conveys his complex attitude toward desire by using irony, rhyme scheme and metaphors in his writing style. The speaker first tells how awful having desire is, bashing all of those who have these wants, calling them ignorant “blind” fools and defining desire to be worthless. Eventually the speaker himself ironically craves desire himself.
There were a few similes, such as in stanza 1, line 1 – ‘like old beggars under sacks’ that emphasised the description made. There were several instances of alliteration; one of them in the last stanza, line 3, with the words ‘watch the white eyes writhing’. They all help to stress the meaning and importance of these lines, bringing a vivid picture to mind. We noticed the use of internal rhyme in stanza 2 lines 3 and 4, ‘stumbling/flound’ring’, drawing attention to the description. The rhyme scheme of alternating rhyming end-lines, with 10 syllables per line, gives the poem rhyme, metre, structure and order, making the words flow; making it easier to read, more memorable, and drawing attention to the sounds of the words. There are some disruptions to this, such as the short, sharp, last line, which makes the reader more aware, and places emphasis on, the meaning and importance of those words. We both noticed that stanza 2 appeared to be shorter than verse 1 with a shorter, 2 line stanza following it. I interpreted this as another disruption to the scheme of the poem to place importance on the words of the 2 line stanza. The final verse is longer than the others, again a disruption for effect. It also contains a Latin quote that, at that time, would have been taught in grammar schools, so Owen would have expected his readers to understand the Latin quotation at the
In "Thou Bland Mans Mark", by Sir Philip, he uses poetic devices such as alliteration, repetition, and symbolism to show how he feels about desire. The speaker of this poem thinks that desire is the "band of evils,"therefore the speaker thinks desire is the beginning of evil. He expresses "with price of a mangled mind". Desire can take over your mind and destroy it. Using a repetition of vain, he tries to get his point across about the awful things of desire. We should not desire things and take what we have in vain. Vain can ruin our thoughts. Symbolism is seen when he speaks about the "blind man." the term "blind man" is also used as an example to the bible. This shows that you can be 'blind' and get led into the sin of desire. Tn the end
It is considered more difficult for a poet to grab the attention and imagination of an audience than it is for an author. The use of metaphor and symbol in poetry means that the poet can say one thing and invoke a whole range of possibilities, be it love, anger, jealousy or envy; an old memory or a new wish. The use of metaphors and symbols enables the audience to see what they believe Dunn meant, by imaging his true meaning of a word. The three poems I have chosen to study are: ‘’The Kaleidoscope’’, ‘’Sandra’s Mobile’’ and ‘’Second Opinion’’. These are all part of the
While reading the poems “Richard Cory” and “Ezra Farmer”, it is almost immediately evident which poem is an original and which is a parody. Both poems are clearly about men that are popular among those he meets, but once the reader looks beneath the surface, they notice how the diction plays an important role in relaying the theme to the audience it is presented to. In the poem “Richard Cory” written by Edwin Arlington Robinson, the theme being portrayed is that people are not always as how they seem.
A distinguished sense of hollowness, and darkness is discernable in George Elliot Clarke’s poem “Blank Sonnet”. This poem expresses, the author’s difficult and awkward communication with a lover through a broken relationship. word choice and imagery is imperative to the overall effect and tone of the poem. The usage of an atypical sonnet stylization, broken sentences, forms of metaphors, symbolism, sensory language, and alliteration form strong imagery, and a sense of disconnect. The overall effect leaves the reader with a resonating feeling of emptiness.
Poetry has a role in society, not only to serve as part of the aesthetics or of the arts. It also gives us a view of what the society is in the context of when it was written and what the author is trying to express through words. The words as a tool in poetry may seem ordinary when used in ordinary circumstance. Yet, these words can hold more emotion and thought, however brief it was presented.
The character Miss Havisham serves as the prime example of self-swindling and explores the negative effects of it. Desperate for love, Miss Havisham swindles herself into believing that Compeyson’s romantic interest in her is genuine despite his “systematic” affection that obviously depends on her wealth (Dickens 161). Similarly, Miss Havisham’s devastating heartbreak leads her to trick herself into believing that genuine love does not exist. Because of this self-swindling, Miss Havisham ironically secludes herself from friendship and companionship, the only “natural and healing influences” that could have saved her from the eventual decay of her character (Dickens 356). Likewise, Satis House, from which “daylight was completely excluded,” reflects the lack of growth and enlightenment caused by
The absence of meaning in both Carroll and Lear’s poems is significant, even though it may seem like the opposite. When reading these poems for the first time, the reader may be
Envy is a sin that poisons the sinner and is self-destructive in nature. The common perception of envy is that it is an emotion that, much like jealousy, that comes from a desire to possess something that someone else has. However, envy goes a step further and causes an individual to not only desire what someone else has, but to also wish that the other person did not have it at all. Spenser uses the conventional view of envy stated above in conjunction with some unconventional imagery in order to elaborate on the nature and implications of being an envious person. In doing this Spenser is able to teach to reader an aspect of envy that they may not already know or understand. In his portrayal of envy in book one of The Faerie Queene, Spenser is trying to convey to his readers that people who are envious are trapped in and endless cycle of envy that leads to nothing but unhappiness and misery. Spenser’s interpretation of envy, like the other deadly sins in the house of pride, can be broken down into 4 images: the animal that he rides, his appearance, how he behaves, and the ailment he has. This paper will use the first three of these images to show how Spenser’s depiction of Envy is meant to teach the reader that the sin of envy can only lead to perpetual unhappiness and misery.
My book report is on the book 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone' by J.K.
The poem suddenly becomes much darker in the last stanza and a Billy Collins explains how teachers, students or general readers of poetry ‘torture’ a poem by being what he believes is cruelly analytical. He says, “all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it”. Here, the poem is being personified yet again and this brings about an almost human connection between the reader and the poem. This use of personification is effective as it makes the
Wycherley shows how jealousy can make people lose their moral standards and commit acts with little regard for others. Harcourt’s jealousy causes him to go to extremes. He disguises himself as a parson with the intent to deceive Sparkish into believing he has been married to Alethea. Wycherley reveals Harcourt’s real plan to marry himself to Alethea to the audience through the use of irony: “nobody else / shall marry you, by heavens; I’ll die first, for I’m I should die / after it” (IV.i.148-150). Harcourt is propelled by jealousy, resorting to deceit and manipulation while holding little regard for others. Through Harcourt we witness jealousy’s corruption of society, making people superficial and selfish.