I have a lot of favorite books, so I'm just going to talk about a couple I've read recently. Whoever reads this- I implore you to check these out. Well, some of them.
I'll start with Christmas break. I first read The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot. It was amazing! I loved, loved, loved it! I could really relate to the main character- Maggie Tulliver. Maggie was a truly human character who made mistakes and had to live with them. A large part of it is the relationship between Maggie and her brother Tom, and how their decisions affect how they treat one another. As someone with an older brother, it cast a new light on our relationship and how easily we could misunderstand eachother. And George Eliot expounded on issues and themes that I really felt were pertinent even to modern life for me. Anyway, it was fantastic. Five stars.
After TMOTF, I read Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky. Equally amazing, but very different. Completely different. The style of writing was more abrupt, but dove into the depths of more characters in less time. It's about the aftershock of the German occupation in France. Irene Nemirovsly died in the horrors of WWII, and after reading this, well I got more of an idea of the talent that was tragically lost because of what happened during that time.
As far as "Young adult" literature goes, I either love it or hate it. Two years ago, I read A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels by Libba Bray. They were pretty good. So I naturally wen out to ge the third of the trilogy The Sweet Far Thing. These books are a little bit of a guilty pleasure for me. They're quick reads that don't take a lot of focus, but they're a nice break from life. If you're a girl who loves historical fiction as I do, I highly recomment these.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Poetry
At Castle Wood
by Emily Bronte
The day is done, the winter sun
Is setting in its sullen sky;
And drear the course that has been run,
And dim the hearts that slowly die.
No star will light my coming night;
No morn of hope for me will shine;
I mourn not heaven would blast my sight,
And I ne'er longed for joys divine.
Through life's hard task I did not ask
Celestial aid, celestial cheer;
I saw my fate without its mask,
And met it too without a tear.
The grief that pressed my aching breast
Was heavier far than earth can be;
And who would dread eternal rest
When labour's hour was agony?
Dark falls the fear of this despair
On spirits born of happiness;
But I was bred the mate of care,
The foster-child of sore distress.
No sighs for me, no sympathy,
No wish to keep my soul below;
The heart is dead in infancy,
Unwept-for let the body go.
2. I wrote a paper on the poetry of Emily Bronte in 9th grade, and I really liked it. I haven't had any of the truly unhappy expreiences she had to cause her to write her more melancholy poems, but I still like the sad ones the best. I share a morbid streak with Emily Bronte. I also have a mild obsession with the Brontes in general.
3. The title, At Castle Wood, must be a place where Emily Bronte has known sadness. The only other thought that occurred to me was that it was the name of a cemetery.
4. I love the use of internal rhyme in this poem- it makes it seem hurried and desperate. The narrrator of the poem know that her end is coming, and is calm about it, but still feels hurried. This occurs in lines like "Through life's hard task I did not ask" (line 9) "The grief that pressed my aching breast" (line 13). Bronte also uses consonance a lot in this poem with the "s" sound. This created a tone of hurriedness and the end of the narrators life.
5. The tone of the poem is melancholy and lonely. She uses the post heart-wrenching phrases such as "foster-child of sore distress". This just evokes a feeling of utter loneliness. She uses the metaphor of the end of life to both winter and the end of the day. Winter is bare, with no feeling or cushioning happiness. All in all, it's depressing but also very independent. She is unsympathetic even towards herself, and although she uses phrases that are emotional, they aren't self pitying.
by Emily Bronte
The day is done, the winter sun
Is setting in its sullen sky;
And drear the course that has been run,
And dim the hearts that slowly die.
No star will light my coming night;
No morn of hope for me will shine;
I mourn not heaven would blast my sight,
And I ne'er longed for joys divine.
Through life's hard task I did not ask
Celestial aid, celestial cheer;
I saw my fate without its mask,
And met it too without a tear.
The grief that pressed my aching breast
Was heavier far than earth can be;
And who would dread eternal rest
When labour's hour was agony?
Dark falls the fear of this despair
On spirits born of happiness;
But I was bred the mate of care,
The foster-child of sore distress.
No sighs for me, no sympathy,
No wish to keep my soul below;
The heart is dead in infancy,
Unwept-for let the body go.
2. I wrote a paper on the poetry of Emily Bronte in 9th grade, and I really liked it. I haven't had any of the truly unhappy expreiences she had to cause her to write her more melancholy poems, but I still like the sad ones the best. I share a morbid streak with Emily Bronte. I also have a mild obsession with the Brontes in general.
3. The title, At Castle Wood, must be a place where Emily Bronte has known sadness. The only other thought that occurred to me was that it was the name of a cemetery.
4. I love the use of internal rhyme in this poem- it makes it seem hurried and desperate. The narrrator of the poem know that her end is coming, and is calm about it, but still feels hurried. This occurs in lines like "Through life's hard task I did not ask" (line 9) "The grief that pressed my aching breast" (line 13). Bronte also uses consonance a lot in this poem with the "s" sound. This created a tone of hurriedness and the end of the narrators life.
5. The tone of the poem is melancholy and lonely. She uses the post heart-wrenching phrases such as "foster-child of sore distress". This just evokes a feeling of utter loneliness. She uses the metaphor of the end of life to both winter and the end of the day. Winter is bare, with no feeling or cushioning happiness. All in all, it's depressing but also very independent. She is unsympathetic even towards herself, and although she uses phrases that are emotional, they aren't self pitying.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Yet Another Post
2. I love to read pretty much any writing. My favorite books are classic novels, but I also enjoy some contemporary works, especially historical fiction. I like poetry a lot, but I tend to seek out books rather than poetry. I enjoy reading poetry a lot, and I should look to read it more.
I would love to one day write a major work. It's one of my major goals in life. For now, I like to write short stories, but soon I think I'm going to try to write a much longer work. I wish I wrote more outside of school, but it's hard to find time. This is shy I signed up for creative writing- I wanted to take the time to practice and improve and motivate myself to write more.
Since the sixth grade, I've been rather enamoured with the early 19th century. It's a disease that comes from reading Pride and Prejudice a couple too many times. I've moved on a little, but I still find it very interesting. I find many things fascinating. Grammer, for one. I love grammar. I'm known to correct all my friends' grammer constantly. The rules and exceptions are so cool! I've done Mock Trial for the past two yers. I love that activity, too. It's full of passion and knowledge at the same time. I just love it!
3. Oreos- The very lame poem
Milk's favorite cookie,
But I don't like them with milk.
The chocolate cookie's crunchy,
And the cream as soft as silk.
I would love to one day write a major work. It's one of my major goals in life. For now, I like to write short stories, but soon I think I'm going to try to write a much longer work. I wish I wrote more outside of school, but it's hard to find time. This is shy I signed up for creative writing- I wanted to take the time to practice and improve and motivate myself to write more.
Since the sixth grade, I've been rather enamoured with the early 19th century. It's a disease that comes from reading Pride and Prejudice a couple too many times. I've moved on a little, but I still find it very interesting. I find many things fascinating. Grammer, for one. I love grammar. I'm known to correct all my friends' grammer constantly. The rules and exceptions are so cool! I've done Mock Trial for the past two yers. I love that activity, too. It's full of passion and knowledge at the same time. I just love it!
3. Oreos- The very lame poem
Milk's favorite cookie,
But I don't like them with milk.
The chocolate cookie's crunchy,
And the cream as soft as silk.
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