Sylvia Plath

Black Rook in Rainy Weather About Overall Tone Driving Element The speaker sees a rook in a tree and comments on its meaning Wishful, rational Punctuation, pauses To demonstrate a wishful thinking for miracle despite acknowledging futility On...portent. The speaker sees a rook in a tree and says she does not feel any superstition or expect supernatural action. Two Sisters of Persephone Two women work, one for labor and one for procreation Profound, critical Contrast in diction To illustrate the hopelessness of the position of women Two...frame. The speaker describes the rst woman with a very dark negative tone as she does physical work. Stillborn Poems which do not have life but yet are intact in form saddens her Aggravated, confused Repetition To show the frustration in creating poems which lack meaning These...mother-love. The speaker attributes biological features to her poems but admits to a lack of life about them, not due to a lack of love but an unknown problem. Mushrooms Mushrooms as a passive presence to be reckoned with Sturdy, condent Sentence and line structure To show women as a presence which bears the earth Overnight...room. The speaker establishes the mushrooms as a quiet yet strong force which rmly grasps the environment.

Purpose

Although love. The speaker admits she wishes that occasionally there would be some form of miracle to excite her life. Divisions At...neutrality. The speaker walks wary of supernatural presence although with a facade of politic ignorance, the rook does have an impact on her. With...descent. The speaker hopes for in this weather the rook to mean something, and she waits for some miraculous intervention.

Soft...holes. Forceful nature of words is applied to the mushrooms however they remain quiet. Bronzed...king. The speaker describes the second woman with lush, bright, colorful imagery which only is a facade to a subtly violent and manipulated tone as she bears children. O...start. The speaker shows frustration and confusing towards the poems that seem to tease her with their perfect form but lack of life or meaning.

We...us! The mushrooms are needless and ask for little yet are strong in numbers, an uprising force.

Turned...woman. The speaker addresses the negative position of both women to uncover a futile nature to the womans function in society.

They...her. The speakers grief wishes her poems to be alive even if they were pigs or sh, but they just tantalize her.

We...door. The mushrooms are used as tools as they are meek in spite of their cause, yet they are a growing force to soon have grasp on the earth.

General Stylistic Elements

Plath commonly uses a rational womanly tone as she writes, seemingly seeking something more from her experience through rational means. Her language and form of speaking is generally profound, intense, or sudden through diction and punctuation or sentence structure, exposing lapses of emotion such as hope, confusion, and rm belief. Common themes include motherliness, womanhood, helplessness, and futility or unhappiness in position.

Seamus Heaney
Digging About Overall Tone Driving Element Recalling his fathers and grandfathers skill in gardening Reminiscing Vivid imagery To show a desire to live up to his fathers craftsmanship by pen Between...old man. The speaker remembers his fathers skill in gardening and harvesting, he recalls it in a gloried manner placing much respect upon his father. Mid-Term Break An older sibling is faced with the death of his younger brother Awkward, responsible Mood To demonstrate the awkward grief of being confronted by tragedy I sat...blow. The speaker is sitting alone, thinking of the tragedy as is shown by the knelling go the bells. The Forge The speaker observes the blacksmith from outside his forge Awe, respect Florid/profound language To illustrate the genuine beauty of the creative process All...water. The speaker stands outside the forge and looks into it, however cannot see clearly, only hears and sees sparks, it i mysterious to him. Personal Helicon The speaker remembers looking into wells as a child Reminiscing Imagery, generalizing To give reason for writing and looking in wells: to understand himself As...moss. The speaker recalls his love of wells as a child with vivid imagery in memory.

Purpose

One...bottom. The speaker recalls a specic well in vivid detail, specically the viewing of his reection in the water. Divisions My...it. The speaker then recalls his grandfathers skill in harvesting potatoes, establishing a family tradition. He admits to not having the skills of gardening they did, but he will try to match such skills in penmanship. The baby...sighs. The speaker describes the environment of the house as uninviting and awkward, he is in a new position with his age and situation. The anvilmusic. The speaker draws conclusions regarding the blacksmith and glories his process as an altar of shape and music.

Others...reection. The speaker shifts to a more general description of wells in memory, all different, but still recalls his reection.

At ten...year. The speaker is closest to the corpse of his brother, the mood is most awkward and the nal line symbolizes a distant grieving.

Sometimes...bellows. The blacksmith remembers when his art was practical, however his act is still gloried as a timeless art.

Now...echoing. The speaker criticizes the narcissistic childhood act of looking into arbitrary wells, says the same effect he now seeks in writing.

General Stylistic Elements

Heaney generally uses a reective tone on his own experiences, writing, and memories. He often comments on writing as a way of expressing himself or uses it as the mechanism carry out such a deed. He characterizes the mood of the environments he creates in his poems with orid language and vivid descriptions of memories and other reections.

Othello by Shakespeare
A general in the Venetian military appoints Cassio to a position over Iago who becomes jealous, Iago then falsely leads Othello to the conclusion that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona, his wife. Othello takes action and kills Desdemona for being unfaithful and appoints Iago to kill Cassio, wrongfully. Othello then learns of the framing only after killing Desdemona, he stabs himself. Iago is taken away to be tortured. To demonstrate the human vices of jealousy and lust for reputation as they lead to ill natured manipulation and revenge Othello Major Characters Venetian general who is manipulated by Iago, protagonist Act I Rodrigo is jealous of Desdemona and Othello, Iago and he tell Brabantio who provokes Othello into stating his love aloud, Desdemona confirms their love, Iago reveals his plan to make Othello jealous Reputation Iago, Cassio, and Othello all concern their reputation; Cassio worries for his reputation after making a fool of himself drunk, Iagos makes him manipulate Othello, Othello kills himself Othello In the progression of the play Othello begins good natured but becomes distrustful and destructive through Iagos manipulation Iago Othellos ensign, pleasures in manipulation and destructiveness, antagonist Desdemona Othellos wife, pure and meek but flirtatious, defensive and dignified Act II The characters arrive in Cyprus, Othello is reunited with Desdemona, Iago reveals his motives for his plan, a celebration causes Cassio to act up and lose position, Iago tells Cassio to ask Desdemona to speak to Othello, Iago rejoices his wit Manipulation Iagos manipulation of Othello is ultimately what leads to the downfall of the protagonist, as he plays upon the traits of Othello and Cassio to herald untrusting conclusions Iago Iago initially is a well composed antagonist however as his plot unfolds and obstacles become apparent he becomes ruthless and destructive Cassio Othellos appointed lieutenant, truly devoted to Othello Roderigo A jealous suitor of Desdemona who conspires with Iago Emilia Iagos wife, cynical and worldly, does not trust her husband Act IV Iago continues to tantalize Othello with ideas of an affair, this causes Othello to treat Desdemona badly, Emilias suspicions are raised and her conversation with Desdemona shows she is faithful at heart Revenge Iago acts against Othello to for revenge of his position appointment, Othello kills Desdemona for revenge of her supposed affair with Cassio, revenge is the motive from jealousy Bianca A prostitute whom Cassio messes with the idea of marriage with Brabantio Desdemonas father and high ranking individual in Venice Act V Iago instigates Rodrigo into attacking Cassio and ends up wounding him, then kills Rodrigo himself, Iago tells Emilia to tell Othello, Othello smothers Desdemona who cries against the guilt of Othello and dies, Iago is shown guilty, Othello dies

About

Purpose

Act III Cassio demands to speak to Desdemona, Iago and Othello see the conversation and Iago raises Othellos suspicions of an affair, Iago receives a handkerchief lost by Desdemona from Emilia, he then convinces Othello who decides to kill C and D Jealousy Othello begins to become jealous of Cassio and Desdemona by Iagos manipulation, Iagos jealousy of Cassio leads him to manipulate Othello, jealousy leads to rash actions Cassio Cassio begins as a loyal soldier to Othello, however as the play goes on he becomes engrossed in his reputation, which makes him easy for Iago to exploit with other flaws

Act by Act Plot

Theme

Character Progression

Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand

A day in the life of an Untouchable boy in the Indian caste system and his emotional and physical struggles and enlightenments, he is confronted by physical and emotional abuse as he tries to seek comfort in clothes and friends, and he is confronted by new groundbreaking ideas which give him hope for his position to be one day abolished To demonstrate the need for India to modernize to promote an end to the caste system Bakha Major Characters The protagonist, he is 18 years old and is in charge of sweeping the streets Ghandi Ghandi comes to visit the city and gives a speech H. C. Singh High caste member who gives Bakha a hockey stick and trusts him Water Water represents both Bakhas hardships as what he must constantly clean, as well as Hindu purification and defecation, the duality shows a paradox in the society that causes Bakhas abuse, grief, and unhappiness Poet & Co. Bakha overhears their conversation regarding Indian modernization Man in Market Beats Bakha for touching him, enrages Bakha and plays over through his day Lakha Bakhas abusive father who forces him to wake and clean the streets Sohini Bakhas beautiful sister who is molested by the priest in the temple Col. Hutchinson Advertises Christianity to Bakha but is unable to answer questions

About

Purpose

Fuel/Flame The abuse Bakha receives throughout the day parallels an extended metaphor of him as a flame, he continually burns the abuse inside as fuel and creates heat in a form of continued thought and depression on his position

Clothing Bakha wears the clothes of the Sahibs to feel transcended from his position as untouchable but it does not work, he chases the idea of clothing however towards the end of the novel it shows to be unnecessary as he is unnoticed and surrounded by diversity Lunchtime Bakhas abuse continues as he is forced to clean a childs defecation as he watches it, he yells posh posh as he runs through the marketplace

Touch Touch gradually loses its meaning as the novel progresses, initially Bakha is beaten and attacked for touching the man in the market but as the day goes on his untouchability is forgotten or unnoticed thus does not matter Afternoon Bakha receives the hockey stick and goes to play with his friends, his untouchability becomes lost in his playing and his friends support his struggles Sunset The ideas Bakha was presented with earlier from the poet and Ghandi and the colonel parallel the majestic hope of the sunset as he goes home

Motifs/Shifts

Early Morning Bakha is awoken abruptly by his father in his cramped little house who forces him to work the latrines and sweep the streets

Morning In the marketplace Bakha is beaten by a man for touching him, Bakha is angered by this and the molestation of his sister in the temple he defiles

Setting

Bakha Bakhas anger and frustration is fueled throughout the day by abuse, however towards the very end of the novel he reaches a resolve in a sense of hope

Character Progression

Orwell
Such, Such Were The Joys Thesis The weakness of children is that they start with a blank slate, and thus can be infected by others The system of education is corrupted and unt to raise children in their vulnerable state of mind England Your England England is run by incompetent traditional British, but it works well with the British traditional society Britain should move further towards a social welfare state to function in the new age Nationalism in England is similar to Germany, but England is too characteristically English England is a nation of contradiction between its society and its barbaric imperialism, it is gentle yet hypocritical in its policy England is essentially a dysfunctional empire with a sense of patriotism and place or duty which maintains its class order The English ruling class has decayed in use yet remains an unteachable authority, however is morally sound The English intelligentsia is separated from English patriotism in a manner counterproductive to society in wartime Class barriers are becoming obsolete in the war, but England will never change from tradition Shooting An Elephant The reputation of an individual can force it to act in manners against self ideals Imperialism is a false sense of power which drives authority to commit vain acts in the name of power Orwell is a representation of imperialist Britain in Burma as a police ofcer, yet he is harassed by the natives and dislikes his position Why I Write Looking back on work, it was the ones that lacked political purpose which were lifeless Writing is a struggle to balance aesthetic desire and political meaning for successful books

Implied Thesis

Beating of children works however not without a price A child accepts the codes of behavior presented to it even when it breaks them Despite temporary emotional lapses from small favors, a child only feels hatred to those who do it harm Chapters/Divisions Contradictions exist easily in the mind of a child because of discrepancies between the physical world and the word of elders

Orwell criticizes his writing as a child as narcissistic and purely esthetic, burlesque and lacking meaning to verbose description; he describes this as the origin of his development as a writer

Describes the incident as enlightening to the ways of despotic governments, treated in a manner of respect upon seeking the elephant

Sees the elephant and describes it in a majestic respect worthy manner, however is backed by an innite crowd, conict in thought

Orwell generally establishes a set of reasons for writing: egoism, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse, political purpose; he describes the rst three to be character of his nature and the latter to come with maturity

Failure is the deepest conviction taken away from situations of futility for children

Pressured into shooting elephant to achieve state of respect and authority, however regrets the action as a mere manner to avoid looking the fool, hatred towards his position

Orwell describes writing as a personal muse between political motives and desire for aesthetic appeal

Common Style

Common themes include personal conict, conformity, identity, hypocrisy, and the individual shaped by environments; style is dehumanizing or ironic with clever metaphors and allusions; voice is reective and critical, passive aggressive; structurally Orwell guides to conclusions in a somewhat deductive fashion, arriving at the thesis as an end Orwells techniques include rhetorical questioning, asking and answering questions, stopping mid clause, lack of or added conjunctions, repetition of key phrases or terms, irony, exposes contradictions as an illustration of wit, uses personal anecdotes to demonstrate more profound political purpose or idea, writing around the point to achieve a subtle or subliminal purpose without appearing a heretic

Rhetorical Techniques