Historical Poems of Social Protest and Revolution

Nearly 175 years ago Percy Bysshe Shelley said, in his Defence of Poetry, that â€Å"poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.† In the years since, many poets have taken that role to heart, right up to the present day. They’ve been rabble-rousers and protesters, revolutionaries and yes, sometimes, lawmakers. Poets have commented on the events of the day, giving voice to the oppressed and downtrodden, immortalized rebels, and campaigned for social change.   Looking back to the headwaters of this river of protest poetry, we’ve gathered a collection of classic poems regarding protest and revolution, beginning with Shelley’s own â€Å"The Masque of Anarchy.†Ã‚   Percy Bysshe Shelley:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Masque of Anarchy† (published in  1832; Shelley died in 1822) This poetic fountain of outrage was prompted by the infamous Peterloo Massacre of 1819 in Manchester, England. The massacre began as a peaceful protest of pro-democracy and anti-poverty and ended with at least 18 deaths and over 700 serious injuries. Within those numbers were innocents; women and children. Two centuries later the poem retains its power. Shelleys moving poem is an epic 91 verses, each of four or five lines a piece. It is brilliantly written and mirrors the intensity of the 39th and 40th stanzas:     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  XXXIX.What is Freedom?—ye can tellThat which slavery is, too well—For its very name has grownTo an echo of your own.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  XL.’Tis to work and have such payAs just keeps life from day to dayIn your limbs, as in a cellFor the tyrants’ use to dwell, Percy Bysshe Shelley:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Song to the Men of England† (published by Mrs. Mary Shelley in The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley in  1839) In this classic, Shelley employs his pen to speak specifically to the workers of England. Again, his anger is felt in every line and it is clear that he is tormented by the oppression he sees of the middle class. Song to the Men of England is written simply, it was designed to appeal to the less educated of Englands society; the workers, the drones, the people who fed the wealth of the tyrants. The eight stanzas of the poem are four lines each and follow a rhythmic AABB song-like format. In the second stanza, Shelley tries to wake up the workers to the plight they may not see: Wherefore feed and clothe and saveFrom the cradle to the graveThose ungrateful drones who wouldDrain your sweat—nay, drink your blood? By the sixth stanza, Shelley is calling the people to rise up much like the French did in the revolution a few decades prior: Sow seed—but let no tyrant reap:Find wealth—let no imposter heap:Weave robes—let not the idle wear:Forge arms—in your defence to bear. William Wordsworth:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Prelude, or, Growth of a Poet’s Mind† Books 9 and 10, Residence in France (published in 1850, the year of the poets death) Of the 14 books that poetically detail Wordsworths life, Books 9 and 10 regard his time in France during the French Revolution. A young man in his late 20s, the turmoil took a great toll on this otherwise home-bodied Englishman. In Book 9, Woodsworth writes passionately: A light, a cruel, and vain world cut offFrom the natural inlets of just sentiment,From lowly sympathy and chastening truth;Where good and evil interchange their names,And thirst for bloody spoils abroad is paired Walt Whitman:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"To a Foil’d European Revolutionaire† (from  Leaves of Grass,  first published in the 1871-72 edition with another edition published in 1881) One of Whitmans most famous collections of poetry, Leaves of Grass was a lifetime work that the poet edited and published a decade after its initial release. Within this is are the revolutionary words of  Ã¢â‚¬Å"To a Foil’d European Revolutionaire.† Though its unclear whom Whitman is speaking to, his ability to spark courage and resilience in the revolutionaries of Europe remains a powerful truth. As the poem begins, there is no doubting the poets passion. We only wonder what sparked such embroiled words. Courage yet, my brother or my sister!Keep on—Liberty is to be subserv’d whatever occurs;That is nothing that is quell’d by one or two failures, or any number of failures,Or by the indifference or ingratitude of the people, or by any unfaithfulness,Or the show of the tushes of power, soldiers, cannon, penal statutes. Paul Laurence Dunbar,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Haunted Oak† A haunting poem written in 1903, Dunbar takes on the strong subject of lynching and Southern justice in The Haunted Oak. He views the matter through the thoughts of the oak tree employed in the matter. The thirteenth stanza may be the most revealing: I feel the rope against my bark,And the weight of him in my grain,I feel in the throe of his final woeThe touch of my own last pain. More Revolutionary Poetry Poetry is the perfect venue for social protest no matter the subject. In your studies, be sure to read these classics to get a better sense of the roots of revolutionary poetry. Edwin Markham,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Man With the Hoe† -  Inspired by Jean-Franà §ois Millet’s painting Man with a Hoe,† this poem was originally published in the San Francisco  Examiner in  1899. Upton Sinclair noted in The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest that Markhams poem  became  Ã¢â‚¬Å"the battle-cry of the next thousand years.† Truly, it speaks to hard labor and the working man.Ella Wheeler Wilcox, â€Å"Protest† - From Poems of Purpose, published in 1916, this poem embodies the spirit of protest no matter the cause. To speak up and show your bravery against those who cause suffering, Wilcoxs words are timeless.Carl Sandburg,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I Am the People, the Mob† -  Also from a 1916 collection of poetry,  Chicago Poems, Sandburg reinforces the thoughts of Wilcox. He speaks of the power of the people — the mob — the crowd — the mass and the ability to remember wrongs while learning a better way.Carl Sandburg,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Mayor of Gary† -  A free-form verse that appeared in 1922s Smoke and Steel, this poem looks at the Gary, Indiana of 1915. The 12-hour day and the 7-day week of the workers drew a sharp contrast to Garys trim and proper mayor who had time for a shampoo and shave.

Dantes Inferno and The Afterlife Essay - 1819 Words

For centuries humans have been drawing parallels to help explain or understand different concepts. These parallels, or allegories, tell a simple story and their purpose is to use another point of view to help guide individuals into the correct line of thought. â€Å"The only stable element in a literary work is its words, which if one knows the language in which it is written, have a meaning. The significance of that meaning is what may be called allegory.†(Bloomfield) As Bloomfield stated, it is only how we interpret the words in an allegory that matters, each person can interpreted it in a slightly different way and allegories are most often personalized by a reader. Dante’s Inferno allegory is present throughout the entire poem. From the†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Writers use allegory to add different layers of meanings to their works. Allegory makes their stories and characters multidimensional, so that they stand for something larger in meaning than what they literally stand for. Allegory allows writers to put forward their moral and political point of views. A careful study of an allegorical piece of writing can give us an insight into writer’s mind as how he views the world and how he wishes the world to be.†(Bavota) This passage, like the â€Å"up on your feet† lines from this poem, works to motivate and to help learn the value of the world around them. It works, like the passage in canto twenty four, the uplift and to see a more positive side of the battles we may face in life. Another example of Dante’s punishment is expressed in the following circle of hell where the heretics are punished for the sins they committed while living. The poets spend more time in this circle than in the previous circles, they stay in this portion of Dante’s hell throughout the ninth, tenth, and eleventh cantos of the poem. The heretics are those who believed the soul and the body passed away together and noShow MoreRelatedDepictions of the Afterlife1060 Words   |  4 PagesThe afterlife as a residence for souls after death has long been a topic of discussion and debate. This idea intrigues many. As Christians we believe that heaven is a place where believers go where life there will be a continuation of their present life, while hell is a place of judgment and punishment where many experience severe treatment. Direct experience is the only way individuals can experience these concepts, but once we obtain the experience it cannot be shared. This ultimately makes usRead MoreDante Alighieri s Inferno, And The Book Of Revelation1584 Words   |  7 PagesDante Alighieri’s epic poem, Inferno, and the Book of Revelation as told by John in the Bible each regale the natural curiosity of humans involving manifestations of endings and possibilities of new beginnings in the afterlife. The purpose of informing God’s people of these manifestations and possibilities is mutual and key to the preparedness of humans for life after death. Still, justice is surely delivered appropriately in Inferno and Revelation, due to God’s brilliant arrangements. DivergenceRead MoreScaring The Hell Out Of People1429 Words   |  6 PagesScaring the Hell Out of People Defining the Threat of Hell as a Result of Morality Dante’s Inferno documents the epic journey that Dante and Virgil take into the afterlife, particularly the afterlife that involves the morally corrupt. They take a journey to hell, and see all of the people who have been damned because of the actions they did, or didn’t do, during their lifetimes. A question is posed when the topic of hell is brought up: Does the threat of hell cause people to act more or less moralRead MoreDeath in What Dreams May Come and Dantes Inferno Essay1086 Words   |  5 PagesDeath in What Dreams May Come and Dantes Inferno Death and what comes after has always been a subject of great interest and uncertainty. Many have tried to depict their own vision of the afterlife, be it heaven or hell, paradiso or inferno. Here, I will discuss the similarities and differences in the hell represented in the movie What Dreams May Come and the Inferno of Dante Alighieris Divine Comedy. What Dreams May Come is a movie about two soul mates, Chris (Robin Williams) and Annie (AnabellaRead MoreAnalysis of Dante ´s Inferno Essay1606 Words   |  7 PagesDante’s Inferno is a very important piece of literature. There are many things to be learned from it, from the face value knowledge that Hell is a bad place, to a deeper understanding of how God intended us to live; but the most important lesson to be learned here is the power of allegory. Nancy Thuleen says this about it. â€Å"Dantes portrayal of Hell in the Inferno is an undisputed masterpiece of visual and allegorical imagery, enriched not only by extensive use of figurative language, but by concreteRead MoreAfterlife, Heaven, and Hell Essay1107 Words   |  5 Pagesdown from generations. The view of an afterlife is what provokes people’s immense fear and concern about the concept of death in which they express that fear in different forms. Salvation means we receive eternal life if we have a person al relationship with God. In modern day society, most people go to church to show their faith to God in thinking they get â€Å"saved†. These ancient literature goes into elaborate detail about the horrors Hell provides. The Inferno of Dante goes into detail that thereRead MoreAnalysis Of Over The Garden Wall 970 Words   |  4 Pagesrather dark subject: a visit to the afterlife. The show focuses on two brothers, Wirt and Greg. Unaware of their true plight, Wirt and Greg navigate their way through unfamiliar territory in search of a way home, and meet other unusual characters along the way. The show resembles Dante’s own trip to the afterlife in many ways. Over the Garden Wall alludes to Dante’s Commedia through its settings, the characters, and the aspects that the two versions of the afterlife share, all of which implies thatRead MoreA Literary Look at the Afterlife Essay1029 Words   |  5 Pagesindividuals have all asked themselves the same question at on e point or another: Is there a Heaven or a Hell? Where will my body go? Will my soul follow? The Bible has many passages in which it describes its specific thoughts and claims on the â€Å"afterlife†. The afterlife as noted in the Bible, is divided into two different places, Heaven and Hell. Under this notion, everyone will continue their life after death eternally either in Heaven or Hell based on the type of life they lived. Where one spends theRead MoreThe Influence of Dantes Inferno Essay1380 Words   |  6 Pages Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy is an epic poem that begins with the Inferno. The Inferno is an extremely influential part of European literature. The structure of story is for many people a piece of the vision of Hell. Religiously, this poem has had great prevalence. Dante paints a picture of the Hell that is both unsettling and justifiable. A whole world is created through his poem. The levels and intensity of sin is pondered. Crime is put to a level of small to large scale. ThoseRead MoreAnalysis of Dantes Inferno Essay748 Words   |  3 PagesIn Dante’s Inferno, Dante is taken on a journey through hell. On this journey, Dane sees the many different forms of sins, and each with its own unique contrapasso, or counter-suffering. Each of these punishments reflects the sin of a person, usually offering some ironic way of suffering as a sort of revenge for breaking G od’s law. As Dante wrote this work and developed the contrapassos, he allows himself to play God, deciding who is in hell and why they are there. He uses this opportunity to strike

10 guiding principles free essay sample

Reusing classmates’ paper is wrong because the instructor might not know who the paper originally belongs to. Using inappropriate language in the Discussion Board area is rude and not professional because you have to use appropriate language when talking to your instructor and classmates. Providing critique of a classmate not the content of the classmate’s work might offend the classmate and could cause a confusion or argument between the two. Not submitting work as instructed could result in a grade penalty from your instructor. Knowingly giving incorrect information only hurts yourself because this penalizes your grade. Failure to stand by a commitment to other classmates could create a bad relationship within the classroom for example if you are engaged in a group project and you do not do your part that makes everyone in the groups grade drop. 1. Action- if you don’t take action you will not get anything done in life. We will write a custom essay sample on 10 guiding principles or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page You have to take action for your own life. 2. Awareness- if you are aware of your goals in life and stay determined you can accomplish anything. 3.Confidence- you have to be confident in everything you do because without confidence you will never believe in yourself. 4. Growth- you should always leave room for improvement. 5. Motivation- when you stay motivated you are more likely to do your best in everything you do. 6. Passion- my passion for my family keeps me going in whatever I do. 7. Respect- when you have no respect for others how do you expect for someone else to have respect for you. 8. Positivity- you should always think positive so you can expect the best results. 9. Inspiration- My daughter is my biggest inspiration because she pushes me to do everything. 10. Success- I want to be successful in life even though I have postponed my education I am now more than ever determined in what I do. I use all of these principles in a professional workplace (classroom) but especially respect. I have always been taught to give respect to everybody. I can do better in future work environment by abiding by these principles. I should always have a positive outcome in a professional workplace.

Death and Dying for Constructivist Grounded Theory- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theDeath and Dying for Constructivist Grounded Theory. Answer: Speakers Point of View The Physician of the Australian Intensive Care, Peter Saul talks about the process of dying in the twenty-first century and the increase in the number of people dying in the Intensive Care. According to him, majority of the people who are suffering from chronic diseases that have no proper treatment prefers dying in the Intensive Care Unit tan dying at home. As per the recent study, it has been shown that one ten people prefers dying in the intensive care, where in the United States, the number is one in five and three in five in Miami (Saul, 2018). He further explained that when a person dies in the intensive care, the stress levels of the families are greater than that of people dying somewhere else, because of high cost of the advanced machines. Peter Saul also explained four types of death that includes sudden death, terminal illness, organ failure and frailty and stated that death related to organ failure is associated with more stress than in any other kind of deaths. Ethical Issues and Reasoning In case of ethical issues Peter Saul talked about legalising Euthanasia, as he firmly supports Euthanasia, as it provides power to the individuals over how they prefer dying. Furthermore, he also stated that Euthanasia should be legal, so that people get the right to die. In Australia, the law related to Euthanasia lies in between terminal sedation and the double effect that is in order to kill the person for the benefit of that person, sometimes opiates and sedation are being used in order to end the life of the hospitalised person (Anaf, 2017). This has been accepted in the law of Australia, as this does not come under the crime of killing. Therefore, to give people the chances for right to die, Saul firmly supports Euthanasia. Personal Thought As per the Sauls point of view, I supported the speaker point of view as, in the recent days people prefers to die in the intensive care than at home, this increases the stress of the family members because of the high cost of the advanced machines (Belgrave Charmaz, 2014). According to me, supporting Euthanasia would provide chances to the patients the right to die and they can die peacefully. As per the ethics and the Kubler- Ross theory, when patients are being aware of their critical illness, they pass through various stages and sometimes prefers to death in a peaceful, natural and loving way. Therefore, Euthanasia should be legalised so that the ill person can receive a peaceful death as per their right. References Anaf, J. M. (2017). Voluntary euthanasia laws in Australia: are we really better off dead?.The Medical journal of Australia,206(8), 369-369. Belgrave, L. L., Charmaz, K. (2014). Studying Illness and Dying through Constructivist Grounded Theory. InThe Social Construction of Death(pp. 34-51). Palgrave Macmillan, London. Saul, P. (2018).Let's talk about dying.Ted.com. Retrieved 22 March 2018, from https://www.ted.com/talks/peter_saul_lets_talk_about_dying