Stephen Duck's Poems on Several Subjects (1730) are interesting, because he was a common labourer and a self-educated man in the fields of poetry, reading, and writing. His poem "The Thresher's Labourer" is unique in its portrait of life for the working class, because it presents a mundane cycle of labour, hardship, and repetition.
From the outset of the poem, there is a circular nature of the speaker (the titular Thresher) and his colleagues (hint hint-cycle) in their daily laborers. They must rise early, leave the barns in which they reside, work in the fields under the sun, return to their lodgings, and wait to repeat the process on the following morning. The Master calls them to prepare for the coming harvest, and he intends to rouse them from their slumber each day (except for the Day of the Sabbath). At one point, the speaker compares the situation with Hercules' Twelve Labours by noting that the tasks of the peasants are long, tiresome, and never-ending.
Despite eventually gaining success and pleasing the master, the labourers are told by their employer (or the "Cheat") that they must repeat their toils to ensure the next harvest of corn, which will not be for another year. Duck inserts a small Greek reference to the myth of Sisyphus, which indicates that the work of the labourers is a never-ending cycle that will continue to take place. This is made evident with the speaker noting "Now growing Labours still succeed the past,/And growing always new, must always last." Although the workers will not last forever, the labours of threshing will go on.
For a working class man, Stephen Duck was quite articulate and vivid in depicting the struggles of the common labourer. Considering his mental health problems and eventual suicide, it is evident that he endured a great deal of suffering and hardship in his life. "The Thresher's Labour" is a significant poem in the presentation of commoners in the 18th Century.
Sunday 27 November 2011
Monday 14 November 2011
The preparations of the essay- planning and coming up with argument
For the upcoming essay, I've been hunkered down in research and writing over the past few weeks. I'm gonna make it easy for everyone to follow.....
Prior to the November 10th class, I have always been fascinated with Jonathan Swift and his use of satire in his essays and poems. Specifically, I will be focusing on how the satirical elements were incorporated into the texts and who/what they lampooned. The intent is to understand how Swift used satire on certain themes and provoked his reading audience. I am examining satire in Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" and "The Lady's Dressing Room", because these two works show his sense of humour and way of critiquing society for its faults. In "Modest Proposal", Swift uses the extreme notion of cannibalism to control the growing Irish population, provide for the upper and middle class, etc. Ironically, the speaker of the essay claims to have learned about cannibalism from an American (possibly Native American, riffing on the 'Indian eaters of men'?). By using such extreme notions, he is satirizing England and Ireland for their role in the predicament of the Irish.
"The Lady's Dressing Room" concerns the satirization of narrow-minded men, their romantic notions of idealized women, and women themselves. Swift depicts his protagonist Strephon as a foolish man who sees females as something other than human beings. Upon snooping in the dressing room of the woman he is courting, he is bothered by the pile of dirty clothes, brushes, make-up, and ointments/powders which she takes to accentuate her appearance (Swift pokes fun at her taking five hours to get dressed). After discovering a chamber pot, Strephon is horrified at the notion of his beloved having bodily functions, and henceforth he views all women as being disgusting. However, it should be noted that the poem could be a defence of women, because Swift satirizes the 18th Century male's romantic notions of women.
Overall, it should make for an interesting essay.
Prior to the November 10th class, I have always been fascinated with Jonathan Swift and his use of satire in his essays and poems. Specifically, I will be focusing on how the satirical elements were incorporated into the texts and who/what they lampooned. The intent is to understand how Swift used satire on certain themes and provoked his reading audience. I am examining satire in Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" and "The Lady's Dressing Room", because these two works show his sense of humour and way of critiquing society for its faults. In "Modest Proposal", Swift uses the extreme notion of cannibalism to control the growing Irish population, provide for the upper and middle class, etc. Ironically, the speaker of the essay claims to have learned about cannibalism from an American (possibly Native American, riffing on the 'Indian eaters of men'?). By using such extreme notions, he is satirizing England and Ireland for their role in the predicament of the Irish.
"The Lady's Dressing Room" concerns the satirization of narrow-minded men, their romantic notions of idealized women, and women themselves. Swift depicts his protagonist Strephon as a foolish man who sees females as something other than human beings. Upon snooping in the dressing room of the woman he is courting, he is bothered by the pile of dirty clothes, brushes, make-up, and ointments/powders which she takes to accentuate her appearance (Swift pokes fun at her taking five hours to get dressed). After discovering a chamber pot, Strephon is horrified at the notion of his beloved having bodily functions, and henceforth he views all women as being disgusting. However, it should be noted that the poem could be a defence of women, because Swift satirizes the 18th Century male's romantic notions of women.
Overall, it should make for an interesting essay.
Saturday 12 November 2011
William Hogarth- Satirist and the First Comic Book Artist
During the last lecture, we focused on the use of satire in the Victorian era (on which I'm doing my essay), specifically with artists and writers such as Jonathan Swift, William Hogarth, Daniel Defoe, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. The presentation given at the start of class was interesting, because it focused on Hogarth and his work with engravings (painted drawings depicting life in society). Satire was a focal point of his work, because it criticized certain institutions and people in societies by lampooning them. Specifically, Hogarth's 1735 engravings of "The Rake's Progress" brilliantly satirize the wasteful, self-indulgence of the rich in Victorian society.
"The Rake's Progress" depicts the rise and fall of young heir Tom "Rake" Rakewell as he goes from prominence to debt, from gambling to debauchery, and from prison to the madhouse. Although receivng a large inheritance from his late father, Rakewell During the early part of the story, the engravings depict cariactures of everyday characters in society from musicians, fencing/dancing instructors, and prositutes. Hogarth presents the upper class as foppish and over-dressed in a French style, while the prostitutes are crafty individuals to steal from Rakewell while covering all traces of syphillis. These themes of having no values, displaying unseemingly behaviour, drinking, and adultery were set against the rich, privileged backdrop of an aristocratic setting. Due to his excessive lifestyle, "Rake" is nearly charged for amassing debt, from which he narrowly manages to escape. In an effort to secure himself and his wealth, he decides to marry an elderly spinster (or 'Old Maid'), but he proceeds to squander his new fortune after gambling it away at a gentleman's club. Finally, the law catches up with Rake and places him in debtors' prison. Later, he becomes insane and gets sent to a mental hospital for the rest of his days. Despite being delivered from ruin by both his rejected finance and new wife, he has failed to change his lifestyle and then pays the price.
Hogarth satirizes the frivilous, wastefulness of the upper class by depicting its members drink, gamble, and engage in sex with prostitutes. Rakewell himself is a young male archtype who foolishly spends his inheritance, piles up debt, falls from grace, and ends up losing his sanity. The satire depicted here is mocking the rich and criticizing their moral faults. I found it interesting that the term "Rake" itself refers to a reckless, immoral individual, which makes the name Rakewell appropriate. In a sense, William Hogarth was the first artist of comic books, but rather than superheroes, his stories focused on what was wrong with society by satirizing it.
"The Rake's Progress" depicts the rise and fall of young heir Tom "Rake" Rakewell as he goes from prominence to debt, from gambling to debauchery, and from prison to the madhouse. Although receivng a large inheritance from his late father, Rakewell During the early part of the story, the engravings depict cariactures of everyday characters in society from musicians, fencing/dancing instructors, and prositutes. Hogarth presents the upper class as foppish and over-dressed in a French style, while the prostitutes are crafty individuals to steal from Rakewell while covering all traces of syphillis. These themes of having no values, displaying unseemingly behaviour, drinking, and adultery were set against the rich, privileged backdrop of an aristocratic setting. Due to his excessive lifestyle, "Rake" is nearly charged for amassing debt, from which he narrowly manages to escape. In an effort to secure himself and his wealth, he decides to marry an elderly spinster (or 'Old Maid'), but he proceeds to squander his new fortune after gambling it away at a gentleman's club. Finally, the law catches up with Rake and places him in debtors' prison. Later, he becomes insane and gets sent to a mental hospital for the rest of his days. Despite being delivered from ruin by both his rejected finance and new wife, he has failed to change his lifestyle and then pays the price.
Hogarth satirizes the frivilous, wastefulness of the upper class by depicting its members drink, gamble, and engage in sex with prostitutes. Rakewell himself is a young male archtype who foolishly spends his inheritance, piles up debt, falls from grace, and ends up losing his sanity. The satire depicted here is mocking the rich and criticizing their moral faults. I found it interesting that the term "Rake" itself refers to a reckless, immoral individual, which makes the name Rakewell appropriate. In a sense, William Hogarth was the first artist of comic books, but rather than superheroes, his stories focused on what was wrong with society by satirizing it.
Monday 7 November 2011
The Problem with Coffee Houses
During last week's class, I learned a great deal about coffee houses and periodicals.
For instance, the second presentation focused on the popularity of coffee houses in the 18th Century, because they acted as social outlets for various social cliques and businessmen. In fact, they were used as office space and meeting centers for barristers and insurance agents. London became one of the cities with the largest number of coffee houses within its layout. However, housewives began speaking out in opposition to these establishments, because their husbands spent more time there instead of being at home. There were lobbying attemps to get coffee houses shut down, but there were counter-petitions drawn up in response. Despite the mixed reactions about coffee houses, they subscribed to journals, which were quite expensive for the common individual to purchase. Instead of buying them, people gathered with their peers to read them. Unlike magazines and newspapers of today, these journals consisted of essays, social commentary, philosophical topics, and discussion of current events. It was a shared love of diverse knowledge; the purpose of these journals was to move debates away from the classroom and into coffee houses, tea tables, or closets for further study.
Coffee houses were a major social area for 18th Century men, but they proved to be a problem towards women (and to a degree, the taverns and ale houses). Apparently women had a bigger issue with their husbands hanging out in coffee houses rather than getting drunk. However, the coffee houses were important in getting academic/literary discussions out of schools and universities and into the public setting.
For instance, the second presentation focused on the popularity of coffee houses in the 18th Century, because they acted as social outlets for various social cliques and businessmen. In fact, they were used as office space and meeting centers for barristers and insurance agents. London became one of the cities with the largest number of coffee houses within its layout. However, housewives began speaking out in opposition to these establishments, because their husbands spent more time there instead of being at home. There were lobbying attemps to get coffee houses shut down, but there were counter-petitions drawn up in response. Despite the mixed reactions about coffee houses, they subscribed to journals, which were quite expensive for the common individual to purchase. Instead of buying them, people gathered with their peers to read them. Unlike magazines and newspapers of today, these journals consisted of essays, social commentary, philosophical topics, and discussion of current events. It was a shared love of diverse knowledge; the purpose of these journals was to move debates away from the classroom and into coffee houses, tea tables, or closets for further study.
Coffee houses were a major social area for 18th Century men, but they proved to be a problem towards women (and to a degree, the taverns and ale houses). Apparently women had a bigger issue with their husbands hanging out in coffee houses rather than getting drunk. However, the coffee houses were important in getting academic/literary discussions out of schools and universities and into the public setting.
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