... altered appearance probably was caused by his insanity. He had once been an attractive man and "the character of his face had been at all times remarkable" (667). However, his appearance deteriorated over time. Roderick had changed so much that "[the narrator] doubted to whom [he] spoke" (667). The narrator notes various symptoms of insanity from Roderick's behaviors: "in the manner of my friend I was struck with an incoherence -- an inconsistency...habitual trepidancy, and excessive nervous agitation...His action was alternately vivacious and sullen. His voice varied rapidly from a tremulous indecision...to that...of the lost drunkard, or the irreclaimabl ...

... to be cut, and leaves a much clearer, less cluttered version of his feelings. Often, he has to sum up in one line of the poem what he would normally have written a paragraph or more on. For example, "Shake hands forever, cancle all our vows" sums up very concisely the idea of the break being forever, with no possibility of a reconciliation, whilst also adding to the ease of understanding and therefore also to the meaning of the poem. Another constraint of the sonnet is the length of the lines themselves. In a sonnet, the rythem is always iambic pentameter, which means that there must always be ten syllables per line, with each second syllable being stressed. Wh ...

... spirituality in the first section seem to disappear in the second section's focus on lust (the loss of it in death) and the third section's focus on intercourse. The third section does contain the "philosophical" proposal that, as lovers, the couple will turn the tables on time, but it's not clear if this idea is, again, empty rhetoric. A variation on this interpretation is that the speaker wants not only sex, but also to develop the spiritual aspects of their relationship--the two go together. In this view, his high-flown speech (especially in the first section) expresses the extremeness of his commitment to her. From this perspective, the speaker's final proposal ...

... to be cut, and leaves a much clearer, less cluttered version of his feelings. Often, he has to sum up in one line of the poem what he would normally have written a paragraph or more on. For example, "Shake hands forever, cancle all our vows" sums up very concisely the idea of the break being forever, with no possibility of a reconciliation, whilst also adding to the ease of understanding and therefore also to the meaning of the poem. Another constraint of the sonnet is the length of the lines themselves. In a sonnet, the rythem is always iambic pentameter, which means that there must always be ten syllables per line, with each second syllable being stressed. Wh ...

... of puberty. The word "magic" can be used to symbolize good or bad, but in this poem it signifies the stage of puberty in terms of developing a child's identity. It holds a negative meaning for it marks the beginning of the character's downfall. With one comment from a classmate, all her beauty, intelligence and all that she believed to be slowly faded under the standards of society. In the second paragraph, her true identity & characteristics are further described in more detail. She had everything a "normal" happy girl could have; yet she didn't meet the norms of society. She was not what society expected a girl to look like so she slowly became a victim o ...

... questions the necessity for human isolation. Walls whether physical or psychological represent isolation and imprisonment. In “Mending Wall” we find the persona interrogating his neighbour as to whether a wall is necessary between them “If I could put a notion in his head”. Frost in this poem uses a simple rural activity, that is the mending of a wall, to conjure a much more universal theme that is isolation. The persona ponders at the fact why man can not live without walls, boundaries, limits and particularly self-limitations. “There where it is/ We do not need a wall”. Isolation of the individual links to our desire for barriers and boundaries as a form of separ ...

... the speaker ponders “going past” into the field, the reader is able to see the landscape darkening around “the ground that is almost smoothed in snow” (line 3), and picture the inky blackness as it covers everything except for a “few weeds and stubble showing last” (line 4). The image of him standing alone on the barren snowy landscape with weeds as his only companions, creates a lasting picture in the mind of the reader, of a man just beginning to reveal his inner “darkness”. As the second stanza begins, the speaker has reached the borderline of the quickly darkening woods, and it seems as though he has paused in his walking, as if to stop and ponder his own v ...

... or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,..." These lines seem to refer to an aged, balding man, bundled unsuccessfully against the weather. Perhaps, in a larger sense, they refer to that time in our lives when our faculties are diminished and we can no longer easily withstand the normal blows of life. He regards his body as a temple- a "Bare ruined choir[s]"- where sweet birds used to sing, but it is a body now going to ruin. In Sonnet 116, love is seen as the North Star, the fixed point of guidance to ships lost upon the endless sea of the world. It is the point of reference and repose in this stormy, troubled world, "an ever-fixed ...

... have more honor and courage than the rest of Arthur's Court by coming forward. "Would you grant me the grace,' said Gawain to the King, 'To be gone from this bench and stand by you there." (Gawain, lines 343-344) "I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest; And the loss of my life would be least of any;" (Gawain, 355-356). The poem is full of instances in which Gawain was forced to face difficult decisions. Gawain could have simply left Camelot never to return. He instead chose the option of keeping his word and searching for the Green Knight, even though he knew he had to take what was coming to him. "Now, liege lord of my life, my leave I take; ...

... wanted to share his fascination with the people he enjoyed writing about. Carl Sandburg is so greatly remembered because his writing was considerably different from the writing of his contemporaries. He let his mind travel, and be free. His works included the use of free verse, colloquialisms, an original type of rhythm, and oddly structured, prosaic poetry that emphasized key phrases and images.(clc 35, 338) Sandburg was the first of a long line of poets and authors to use the words and phrases that he created in his poetry. Sandburg's style of writing is what changed the course of American poetry. Before Sandburg, most poetry and other literary works were c ...