851-0364-00L: V An Introduction to Literaturein English, Part II FS 2014 Mid-Term Test

Jacob Shapiro

April 10, 2014

Abstract

We answer three questions on the midterm with the hopes of passing.Due to the excessive amount of stylistic manure in what follows we havetaken “poetic license” to exceed the prescribed word limit where necessary.

1 Question 4

1.1 Lemma∃ “2 poems” ⊂ “the handout” such that ∀ poem ∈ “2 poems”, poem testifies to theview that Blake skillfully employs “verse foot” and “sound pattern” to underlinethe following two sentiments:

1. Voicing criticism against the repressive institutions of one’s time, such asthe church. (Type I )

2. Praising god, father as the protector and guardian of all living beings.(Type II )

1.2 Proof1. Consider the poem “The Lamb” from “the handout”:

(a) Observe that in Christianity–a sect of which Blake was a memberaccording to historical accounts–lamb is code for Jesus. Thus, itmight be reasonable to assume the poem concerns imaginary friendsin the sky.

(b) Given the above assumption, we might proceed by showing eitherpolarization of sentiments. We will make the case that the sentimentin said poem is of Type II listed above:

i. The word “little” on the first line, juxtaposed with the wordlamb, establish an atmosphere of warmth and tenderness. Hencewe exclude the antagonistic undertones of Type I.

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ii. Incessant questioning by the speaker of the lamb about the gen-erator of the latter. Hence we gather evidence regarding a “pro-tector”: a parental figure, an entity creating and subsequentlyprotecting.

(c) Thus we have established that said poem is of Type II.

(d) We shall show that Blake employs “verse foot” to underline the poembeing Type II :

i. We shall show that the “verse foot” in the poem is predominantlytrochee:A. 1st foot: [LITT][le]B. 2nd foot: [LAMB], [who]C. 3rd foot: [MADE] [thee]D. And so on and so forth. Note: some of the lines done com-

plete the foot unit, and only have the stressed syllable. Thefirst example of which is on the 3rd line on the last (incom-plete) foot. We shall conveniently ascribe that to “poeticlicense” and not let it interfere with framing a brute patternmatching scheme on this innocent stream of human thought.

E. As trochee ≡ a string of feet (units of two or three sylla-bles) where the unit has two syllables, the first stressed (herecapitalized) and the second unstressed, which is exactly thepattern we have identified, we deem the “verse foot” to be oftype “trochee”.

ii. Trochee, being [STRESSED][unstressed], can be linked with TypeII in the following ways:A. A protector of living beings is should be strong in order to

protect from harm. We associate the stressed syllable withthat quality. In contrast, the unstressed syllable provides thetenderness motherly quality of a guardian.

B. Tracing the etymology of the word trochee, we find thattrochee originates is related to such words as wheel, run-ning or flowing, or rolling. But what is that, if not the cycleof live. The embodiment of the creator, in the meter.

C. But where is the praising?

(e) We shall show that Blake employs “sound pattern” to underline thepoem being Type II :

i. The rhyming scheme of the poem is AA BB CC DD. This typeof rhyming scheme establishing continuity and stability, whichhelps to establish a sense of security.

ii. All those rhymes end with the sound “ee”, which is a kind ofjoyful calling of happiness, marking the happiness of speaker.

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iii. An abundance of soft consonants (e.g. “th”, “l”, “d”) through-out the poem help establish a soothing, calming, meditation ofpraise.

2. Consider the poem “The Garden of Love” from “the handout”:

(a) The poem mentions a chapel obstructing his view of the garden. Weinterpret the chapel as the house of indoctrination and reeducation,sometimes referred to as a church, and thus may proceed assumingthe poem concerns the aforementioned institutions.

(b) We claim the sentiment in the poem is of Type I :

i. A chapel built in the middle is clearly part of the speaker’s lamentof the ongoing gentrification of the meadow. What is that if notsubdued criticism?

ii. The gates of the gentrified structure erected in the garden areshut. This is uninviting, in fact it sends an aloof message. Thespeaker is clearly discontent with the state of affairs.

iii. The situation does not ameliorate in the last verse, in which thespeaker puts on a macabre tone. Finally the last line says it all.

(c) We shall show that Blake employs “verse foot” to underline the poembeing Type I :

i. The crude outline of the meter is as follows:A. The meter starts out as iambic ([unstressed][STRESSED]):

[i][WENT] [to][THE] [gar][DEN] [of] [LOVE]B. Then moves to anapest ([unstressed][unstressed][STRESSED]):

[and] [saw] [WHAT] [i] [never] [HAD] [seen]; [a] [cha][PEL][was] [built]

C. The meter breaks with the italicized tough shalt not...D. In the last verse the meter continues with dactylic ([STRESSED][un-

stressed][unstressed]): [AND] [i] [saw] [IT] [was] [filled] [WITH][graves] ?

ii. The beginning marks an ordinary, perhaps leisurely going on,which is suddenly interrupted by the anapest (what he “neverhad seen”). The anapest, a polka dance, marks the speaker’snaivety as if he were queerly dancing forward, which is probablyto create a greater contrast with the church’s malice.

iii. Clearly in order to shock, perhaps even terrorize, we get an in-terruption in the meter with the italic inscription on the door,which metaphorically “screams” out those words.

iv. The interruption of the foot on the first line of the last verse ismeant to place emphasis on the word graves.

(d) We shall show that Blake employs “sound pattern” to underline thepoem being Type I :

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i. The rhyming scheme starts with AB CB. This can be seen as anargument where the first speaker asks: A? the second uncom-promisingly answers: B! the second speaker tries to reconcile,offering a C? NO! the second speaker remains unmoved with hisB!

ii. The rhyming continues with A B B B, a sort of cycle of fatalblows by the church.

iii. The lack of rhyming on the last two lines marks the victory ofdeath and the church.

3. In conclusion, we have shown the original claim to hold, albeit relying ondubious claims of questionable validity. Further research is necessary tovalidate our findings.�

2 Question 5

2.1 Formulation“Joyce said that in Dubliners he wanted to write about “the moral history” ofIreland and chose Dublin because it was “the center of paralysis.” Discuss thepresentation of Mr Duffy and his environment in “A Painful Case” and relatewhy he is unable to escape his loneliness and isolation.”

2.2 Attempt at SolutionMr Duffy is perhaps the epitome of paralysis: he chooses a desolate place tolive because he is unhappy with society in Dublin. Why doesn’t he insteadattempt to engender change? The walls on his room are naked, his books arearranged according to bulk, which suggests no interest in the actual content butrather in the prosaic qualities of these objects. As mentioned in class, Joyce isnot unequivocal, giving his characters a chance at redeeming themselves: MrDuffy’s desk is always covered writing materials, hinting at incessant activity.But what kind of activity? Mere translation (not to belittle any translatorreaders, but perhaps this is an implicit statement as to the nature of Duffy’sproduce: a regurgitation and never a candidly novel work). It seems that Duffyhates that which he is himself: he abhors mental disorder, but the expositionclearly indicates Duffy suffers from at least one form of personality disorder(anal retentive). As was discussed in class, his features are rather unappealing,yet, again we find a redeeming quality, his eyes, looking out into the world forsomething, anything, ever disappointed. The quintessential phrase of the wholework is: “He lived at a little distance from his body”, which is, in a way, anothermanifestation of paralysis. Instead of living life, moving, marching forward, heis waiting on the platform, at a certain distance from body, the vehicle of life.

This last statement is perhaps the very reason why Duffy is unable to escapehis pit. Despite his alleged observational excessive activities, he fails to recognize

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reality as it unravels in front of him: he ascribes Mrs. Sinico’s (is Joyce hintingat cynico? Duffy’s relation to the lady?) death to his own doing, which wouldn’thave been such a sin if it had only bore some fruit–if he had let that pseudoevent wake him up from his dormancy. This almost happens, as he faces theriver he is shaken, he receives a message from the world: “nobody wants me”.Perhaps he was on the verge of suicide by jumping into the river. He could havedone that, perhaps that would have at least shown some courage for once in hislife: it would have been a last act of non-paralysis. He could’ve also woken upfrom his slumber and have decided to “change his ways”, “open his heart”. Yetinstead he relapses again to his state of nothingness, at least now feeling thathe was alone: The prisoner finally awakes only to find himself in an isolatedoubliette.

3 Question 6

3.1 Formulation“Joyce has often been called an “author of despair”. Do you think the story “APainful Case” might justify this epithet and why?”

3.2 AnswerYes. Given that I just had to look up what epithet means, I am perhaps notthe best authority on the topic, but let’s start from the very title, which setsthe stage for something painful. The word “case” refers to a clinical setting,as if in a hospital, where despair is usually found in abundance. In the storyitself, we are exposed to the abysmal love story between Duffy and Sinico. Sucha story, which ended with the physical death of the latter and the ultimatespiritual death of the former, swells with misery and melancholia. Just readingthe description of Duffy’s surrounding, rituals and habits, one would need someSSRIs. Duffy is without hope, going on about life, as if awaiting his death. Hevery quickly does away with any political aspirations, writing off any potentialreaders of his words as unworthy. Mr. Sinico is without hope, having written offany pleasure associated with his wife. Mrs. Sinico ended in suicide, she couldn’thave been too content. Young Frauline Sinico is perhaps as well a problem case:if her father was so happy that Duffy was around so much, hoping that he wasgoing to ask for his daughter’s hand, that means there couldn’t have been toomany courters for the daughter. We only hear about Duffy’s family when theydie: he merely escorts them in their funerals. He reads Nietzsche, adding fuelto the fire. At the end, Duffy is on the verge of suicide and even that he cannotaccomplish for his paralysis. There is only one tinkle of hope: he can feel.

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