Sample Essays: Q2: From "Lady Windermere's Fan" by Oscar Wilde

Directions:  Read the following essays for Q2: Lady Winderemere's Fan by Oscar Wilde.  Grade the essays on a 9-point A.P. scale.  How does they compare with your work?  Let's explore together.


Sample I

Legendary author Oscar Wilde’s farce of 19th century society criticizes a society where people say everything and mean nothing. The main characters restrict their conversation to harmless flirtation and trivial, though somewhat cruel, gossip. Their society is one where a title of nobility is rewarded more than intelligence, and wealth and material possessions are considered more important than interesting personalities or kindness. Oscar Wilde expertly crafts his characters to reveal the values held by high society in the late 1800’s.

The Duchess of Berwick always has some gossip to share, a name to drop, or a party to talk about. Wilde gives the Duchess a tone of over-confidence and authority that reflects the importance that wealthy, noble women felt about themselves. She describes women as “good,” but quickly adds that only “some” are actually good. This reflects her tendency to glorify her friends and criticize those who are not part of her exclusive clique. The Duchess has very strong opinions and expects everyone to agree with her. These values reflect the expectation that everyone who is part of their society should behave, act and think in a certain way.

Lady Windemere represents the part of society that never leads, but follows established practices rigorously so that they will not lose their social standing. Her character agrees with everything the Duchess says and does not propogate any original, let alone controversial, opinions. This reflects the idea that people especially women, should conform to very trivial and unoriginal standards.

Wilde’s portrayal of the two women conveys important commentary about the role of women in society. Their dialogue is restricted to parties and gossip; although they poke fun at Lord Darlington for being trivial, they never address any serious subject matter themselves. This suggests that women were expected to remain ignorant about politics and business and be experts about tea parties and balls.

Lord Darlington is a foil to the two women and allows the reader to see a man’s role in this society. His innocent flirtations and harmless self-deprecating comments are fodder for the women’s frivolous conversations. Underneath Darlington’s dialogue, there is an air of condescension and sarcasm. Darlington conforms to his society’s view of males by patronizing the women and encouraging them to continue with their ignorance rather than encouraging original thought or individualism.

Oscar Wilde uses humor to point out the flaws of 19th century society. This passage emphasizes the disparity between the roles of women and men. His vivid characters and interesting dialogue show the imbalance between genders and ridicules the frivolity and triviality that is a fundamental part of this society.



Sample M

In the passage from Lady Windermere’s Fan” Oscar Wilde reveals the characters through conversations. Duchess of Berwick, Lord Darlington, and Lady Windermere are all sitting together discussing the ball for Lady Windermere. As these characters talk to each other about this matter, we are able to see what they think their society is about and we see the values that each one of them have.

Duchess of Berwick is the first character introduced. She starts of by introducing her daughter, Agatha, then states who can and can’t meet her. She states to Lord Darlington, “I won’t let you know my daughter, you are far too wicked.” By doing this, we see that Berwick isn’t afraid to express her opinions. She also says, “We have just had tea at Lady Markby’s. Shuch bad tea, too.” Berwick is prideful. She is constantly puting others down so she can rise above the rest. Although she is prideful, she cares for her daughter by expressing her concerns about the “most dreadful people.”

Lady Windermere is completely opposite from Duchess of Berwick. Rather puting herself above others, she wants the attention to be on everyone else rather than her. She says, “You musn’t think it is going to be a ball, Duchess. It is only a dance in honor of my birthday. A small and early.” But doing this she imediately turns the attention away from her. She expresses her concern for the society when she says, “I will have no one in my house about whom there is any scandal.” Windermere wants to be safe and protected from the outside world. She seems scared of society.

Lord Darlington talks highly of himself, but everyone else put him down. “Why, there are lots of people who say I have never really done anything wrong in the whole course of my life.” He is wrong. People say right to his face that you can’t trust anything he says. You can tell he is a foolish man by what others say about him. “You are not to say foolish, insincere things to people.” When this is said to him he takes it as a joke and blows it off.

Oscar Wilde is able to show us the values of each of the characters by how they respond to questions and by the way others talk about them. All these characters are different, but they all agree that the outsid world is bad. They think this because they are all Lords, ladies, or duchess’ and they put themselves above the rest. We can learn from these characters that we shouldn’t set ourselves above the rest because pride has the power to ruin us.



Sample P

In the excerpt from “Lady Windermere’s Fan”, the three characters revealed are very different. Although all of them are from a high society, the values of each of them are opposite from the other one.

The Duchess of Berwick is revealed as woman who values money and being proper. This is shown from the beginning when she won’t let Lord Darlington know her daughter because he is “far too wicked.” It is also shown when she is complaining about parties and how they let “the most dreadful people” in. This is significant because it shows that the Duchess values class and does not agree with the way people in her society are changing.

Lord Darlington is the mischievious one of the three characters. He is viewed as being wicked and trivial. His values are more relaxed than the Duchess. He seems like the kind of person who doesn’t care about status, unlike the Duchess who does. This is significant because it was unusual for a man during that time to not care about being proper or respected.

The last character is Lady Windermere. She is portrayed as the kind and gentle figure. She also is the humble one out of the group. An example is when she is talking to the Duchess and tells her that it’s going to be small party, not a ball. This is significant because most women during that time would have exaggerated and made the party seem extravagant, but instead Lady Windermere was humble and told the truth.

The three characters have different values and that is clearly shown. Although they are form the same society, each one values totally different things. The Duchess values money, Lord Darlington values mischief, and Lady Windermere values kindness..



Sample R



In this excerpt from Lady Windermere’s Fan Oscar Wilde illustrated the attitudes of the people as well as the standards of their society. He showed the snobbishness of the people and their views of others as inferior. They act very proper but behind that one can see the attitudes behind their words.

The characters in this play all have an attitude that they’re better than others. They insult each other and brag about themselves. They insult a woman for where she gets her tea. They get mad that certain people go to their balls. They then go on to insult men in general. They value a person social status more than their character. This attitude reveals a lot about their own character.

It also shows a bit about the character of society. These are the upper class people. These people are the ones that others admire. If this is the upper crust, then what is important to this society?

In a society that values propriety and attiquette, many of the upper class does become snobbish. People are told that they’re good because of certain reasons, and it gets to them. These people don’t realize what’s important, or at least what should be.



Sample U

The era of dukes and lords ended long ago but memories of their time live on in history and literature. History focuses on the oppression of the peasants and succession of the royal family while literature questions the practices and culture of the time. In Lady Windermere’s Fan, Oscar Wilde reveals the upper class mindset through dialogue and a normal social situation.

The best hostess could balance propriety and entertainment perfectly at any event. The Duchess of Berwick manages just that. Her guests are equally concerned with social order. It is clear that this society is consumed by propriety. The Duchess of Berwick greets her guests but makes sure to introduce her daughter in hopes of getting Agatha into good social standing. Berwick is entirely consumed by other people’s opinions and by her opinions of others as evidenced by her conversation. Berwick deflates Lady Markby and her tea then procedes to puff Lady Windermere’s ego by expressing Agatha’s excitement about the ball. This continues throughout the passage notifying the reader that this behavior is typical and almost expected in this society. Wilde also uses dialogue to show the shallowness of his characters’ world. To balance the complements and gossip, all three characters engage in a volley of lighthearted insults similar to modern day sarcasm and putdown jokes. Their words do not cut deep or even offend any character. The characters do not stay on one topic for long soon move to marriage. Even this monumental institute is not taken seriously for long. Soon Lord Darlington is lightly ridiculed for his commentary on the subject and then departs.

One gathers that this situation is normal and expected because no character is surprised or disgruntled by it. The shallowness of the conversation may be due in part to the brevity of the meeting or the lack of a deep relationship between the characters; however, words and topics of conversation are good indicators of a person’s true values. Berwick is entirely obsessed with social status and pleasing others to get in their good graces as evidenced by her gossip about Lady Markby and complementing of Lady Windermere. Lady Windermere is also engrossed in the fancies of her culture but is not as manipulative as her hostess. Lord Darlington on the other had is a ham who wishes to please and entertain. However his movies are different than the Duchess of Beriwck’s motives; he enjoys teasing the ladies and being in their company.

Oscar Wilde presents these three as normal specimens of their society; thus it can be assumed that propriety and light humor consume the world in which they live.



Sample V

In a short conversation between three characters, the Duchess of Berwick, Lady Windermere, and Lord Darlington, Oscar Wilde reveals the entertaining arrogance of the members of upper class society. The blunt, cynical insults toward the lower class and sardonic language between the three illuminates the attitudes of the characters and the structure of their society including gaps between lower class and high class and men and women.

Wilde’s language is continuous quick witted and sardonic. Upon introducing her daughter, The Duchess of Berwick sates that she will not let Lord Darlington meet her daughter because he is “far too wicked.” Clearly, she does not mean this literally because she continues to have an engaged conversation with Lord Darlington, she therefore uses the insult sardonically and playfully. Furthermore, Lord Darlington’s quick response includes that he has “failed” at wickedness and that men and women say he has not “done anything wrong” in his entire life—a humorous hyperbole. The characters seem to enjoy slightly insulting one another, but the dialogue turns rather more disgusting and unadmirable than humorous when the women begin to insult those that are not similar to them, particularly the poor and scandalous. The Duchess of Berwick comments that the “most dreadful people seem to go everywhere” and Lady Windmere encourages the prejudice by assuring her there will be no such scandalous people at her party. These insults reveal the women’s arrogant attitude. They seem to feel superior to others and Wilde gives no reason for why they should be. Thus their superiority complex is unadmirable and unappealing.

Lord Darlington, with his humor, seems to illuminate these prejudiced attitudes. He does not indignantly speak against them, but Wilde uses this characters to provoke the arrogance of the women in regards to the lower classes and to reveal other injustices of society—such as the women’s lack of power. In response to the women’s insults toward the scandalous, Lord D humorously replies “I should never be admitted.” This comment ends the serious problem of the poor with a glaringly, insulting light note and then serves as a transition to talk of women’s roles.

Oscar Wilde uses the Duchess of Berwick to discuss the small roles women play in society, which from the conversation, seem to be limited to throwing parties. The Duchess of Berwick insists “we are positively getting elbowed into the corner.” This statement of passion and indignation throws the first positive light on her characters, and reveals women’s inferior position to men. Also to be noted, Agatha her daughter who was introduced does not speak a word throughout the conversation and this could attest to the disregard of women, especially younger women. In addition, because the women sincerely talk of teas and parties, Wilde gives the impression that these are women’s main activities and that they are kept out of the political sphere and pushed into the domestic one. This situation is much like the one of Mrs. Dalloway in Virginia Woolf’s novel which similarly comments disapprovingly on women’s inferior roles.

It is Oscar Wilde’s wit, engaging & blunt language, and disapproving tone that reveals the values of his characters and their society. The characters speak honestly and bluntly, and as a result, a clear character description can be gain of them merely by analyzing their dialogue. The women are arrogant & disregard the lower class, yet they desire themselves to be disregarded by men no longer. Oscar Wilde’s placing of these two topics side by side reveals its situational irony, and only adds his own disapproval of the social situation. At times Wilde seems to speak through Lord Darlington, especially as LD mocks Lady Windermere about her party (“very small, very early, very select”). Thus Wilde creates a scenario which is used as a microcosm of the macrocosm of society and integrates his own social commentary.



Sample JJ

In the excerpt of his play Lady Windermere’s Fan, Oscar Wilde creates two opposing values in the characters Duchess of Berwick and Lord Darlington. Along with Lady Windermere, these three characters represent a high class society and convey the triviality of their time. Wilde employs diction, dialogue and irony to suggest the pettiness of the scene.

We know right away that we are reading about wealthy people due to their titles. The Duchess of Berwick is a well of woman who places high importance on money and reputation. She gives in to the gossipy nature of society and believes everything she hears (“you are far too wicked”). She values the material things in life, such as the “ball” and “tea” parties she regularly attends. Her assumption of the bad tea at Lady Markby’s is one of judgement and slight cruelty. She expects only the best and when its not given to her she has something to say about it. The duchess exceeds the acceptable rules of talking about others; she is a gossip. She claims that “men don’t matter” and only some women are good. She is too trivial to realize that she is breaking her own rules of nobility.

Lord Darlington, on the other hand, is a man full of life. He too participates in the society which he mocks, but he sees right through it. He lives as he wants and doesn’t care what others think or say about him. He is very observant and values a good intelectual conversation, which unfortunately cannot be attained while talking to the Duchess. He believes that the ball is “very small, very early, and very select.” This is somewhat satirical as he blatanly mocks the womens before him. Lord Darlington wants to be accepted into the high society while still maintaining his intellect and unique mind (“nowadays to be intelligible is to be found out”).

This high class society places values on reputation and wealth. Through Wilde’s diction of the preceeding characters, we see however interprets and lives out the values they maintain. One is a phony, while the other pretends to be, a phony way to live life anyway.



Sample VV

“Lady Windermere’s Fan” analyzes the conversation of three ladies and one lord. The conversation carries on about what type of values the ladies and lord have, and what kind of society they live in.

The type of values all the characters have, and the kind of society the characters live in is a high class value and society. The author explains this by, having the characters argue about how Berwick doesn’t want Agatha to associate with the lord. She says that he is a rude person.

Later on the three ladies start talking about how Agatha can’t wait to go to the ball, the characters are very picky with little saying form the other characters. They will go at it over simple suggestions and ideas.

The high class high value society is shown in this play on the talk of the characters conversations. They are very picky and rude, to a certain amount of people. Some characters pretend to like others. In which they really despise them.



Sample XX

Lady Windermere’s fan, by Oscar Wilde, conveys the characters high class attitudes towards each other and shows the values of morals and money in their society.

The shortness and the contradictory statements mark the satire that Wilde wished to convey. The argument between Duchess and Lord give insight in this satire also.



Sample XXX



In the play “Lady Windermere’s Fan,” by Oscar Wilde the playwright reveals the values of the characters and the nature of their society.


Sample N

One of the great ways for authors to reproach their audience while simultaneously keeping them interested and entertained is satire. In Oscar Wilde’s 1892 play Lady Windermere’s Fan, Wilde successfully portrays the Victorian upper class as completely ridiculous without becoming offensive.

The Duchess of Berwick has the most dominating personality. As a duchess, she is more highly ranked in society than a lord or lady, and clearly takes her role very seriously. She is so conceited she presumes to tell the lord and lady about their companions—both specifically and generally—in society as if they are half-wits and could not draw their own conclusions. The duchess has all of the long lines with Lord Darlington and Lady Windmere only able to fit a word in when she pauses for breath. Perhaps if she did not love to hear herself talk so much, the audience could be introduced to a fourth character in the seen, Agatha. The duchess refers to and addresses her daughter numerous times without ever allowing her a moment to formulate a response. Her snobbery is apparent when she tells not only how her “friend” Lady Markby’s tea was “quite undrinkable,” but goes on to banish any thoughts of loyalty by commenting that she wasn’t surprised because she disapproves of her supplier. The duchess then goes on to make her class look very elitest and condescending toward the rest of the people when she remarks that there are no more good houses in London and that the society is becoming to common and uncivilized.

If the Duchess of Berwick makes the patronizing upper-class look awful, Lady Windermere does nothing to salvage the picture. Actually taking the duchess’s self-important attitudes seriously, she represents the ladies of London as simpering sycophants, ready to do the beck and call of their betters to be approved by and invited among the “right people.” Lady Windermere not only reforms herself to fit the duchess’s standards, she ends up imitating her attitude toward men, specifically Lord Darlington, and society. She immediately humbles herself before the duchess, making her ball seem smaller to become a mere dance and vowing that she will only invite the proper company of which the duchess approves. Towards the end she teases Lord Darlington in a similar manner to the duchess’s, calling him trivial, and lightly reprimanding him about his “foolish insincerity” in a playful tone.

Lord Darlington is exactly what his name denotes—a darling. He is the character that would be favored by the audience. Obviously more intelligent than any of the present company, the audience would smile in sympathy as both he and they are forced to listen to the duchess’s diatribes about the current society. They would laugh, pleased and amused, at his clever remarks when comparing husbands and wives to card games and at his careful flattery of the duchess when informing her the ball would be “very select.” They would thoroughly appreciate his discreet mockery of the women’s intelligence with his paradox on the importance of life being too serious for discussion. The audience would also understand why, despite his amused mockery and slight contempt for the women, he appeals to their egos in the end to stay in their and society’s good graces.

To conclude, Oscar Wile effectively uses ironic humor and mockery to reproach the Victorian upper-class about their elitest attitudes in his play Lady Windermere’s Fan. He manages to make fun of them and entertain them at the same time with his enjoyable wit.



Sample DD

In the excerpt from the play Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde, three characters are introduced, Duchess of Berwick, Lord Darlington, and Lady Windermere. The values of all three characters and the nature of their society is revealed by their conversation and how they say it.

The Duchess of Berwick is the first character that is introduced in the excerpt. Immediately the reader can tell what type of person she is. She comes to very harsh conclusion of people as seen in the line “I won’t let you know my daughter, you are far too wicked.” Even though she may know Darlington well, she doesn’t allow her daughter to come to her own conclusions. It is prevelant that the Duchess values wealth and status in society with the saying of the lines “I don’t know what society is comming to. The most dreadful people seem to go everywhere.” The Duchess obviously does not like poorer people and thinks very highly of herself. Lady Windermere is not as self-rightious as the Duchess. Lady Windermere values her friends and isn’t as snobby as the Duchess is. Lady Windermere values her friends as seen in the line “I will, Duchess. I will have no one in my house about whom there any scandal.” because she is complaiant with the Duchess to make her happy. Lady Windermere also does not think of herself as or put herself on a pedestal as the Duchess does as seen in the lines “Oh, you musn’t think it is going to be a ball, Duchess, it is only a dance in honor of my birthday. A small and early.” Lady Windermere doesn’t value her wealth as much as the Duchess.

Lord Darlington values how he is viewed by others. This is prevelent in the lines “…lots of people who say I have never really done anything wrong in the whole course of my life of course they only say it behind my back.” This shows that Lord Darlington is proud of how he is viewed by others for being a wicked man. He values how other people see him to be.

The second half of the excerpt reveals the nature of the three characters society. The women of the society are pushed back while the men are always in the foreground. “But we are positively getting elbowed into the corner.” Also, it seems as if they believe that divorce is getting popular by the statement, “—‘the wives hold all the honours and invariable lose the old trick.’ ‘The old trick? Is that the husband. Lord Darlington?’” It is percieved that the socities women are the ones who cause the divorce.

The excerpt from Lady Windermere’s Fan reveals the values of the Duchess, Lay Windermere, and Lord Darlington. The Duchess valued wealth and status because of how she talked about others as well as herself. Lady Windermere valued her friends because of how she agreed with them to make them happy. Lord Darlington valued how others percieved him because he became happy when thought about it. Women being under men and divorce was a big part of the nature of their society. From this excerpt Oscar Wilde reveals the characters’ values and the nature of their society.

Exam Information (8:00 - 9:30 am) & Message from Mr. P.

Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde

Directions: Students will compose two essays. It is a Question 1 prompt for the poems “Hawk Rooting” and “Golden Retrievals” as well as a Question 2 with a dialogue exchange from the play Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde.

Message from Mr. P.

Do your best on these essays. It is not an easy task. If you need a little more time after the exam period, you are welcome to work longer, if you feel it would make for a better essay. Remember, when I evaluate these essays, I will be taking into account the time constraints. This is a test of your ability to think on the spot. 

Helpful hint: Make a quick thesis. Do not waste time composing a sophisticated introduction. Think about how much analysis you can fit into the essay. Also, do not obsess about organization.  Find a simple way to convey your ideas and compose.  You all did a wonderful job on the “Barred Owl/History Teacher” essays. Trust yourselves to analyze the poems. Think about form. Relax and read them carefully before you begin writing. Mark up the texts. Make a quick outline. Again, if you want a little more time, that is fine. Do not worry about it being “late” on Turnitin. As long as two essays show up, I am satisfied. Good luck, and I promise when term 3 begins we will return to reading plays and blogging. Hopefully, we can perform?  Or I could take multiple parts and do a one man show?

Best,

Mr. P.

Due Thursday, January 17th at the end of the block - Q3 Essay: Secrets in "The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde"

Directions: Often in literature, a character's success in achieving goals depends on keeping a secret and divulging it only at the right moment, if at all. Choose a novel or play of literary merit that requires a character to keep a secret. In a well-organized essay, briefly explain the necessity for secrecy and how the character's choice to reveal or keep the secret affects the plot and contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. Use Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest as your work of choice.  You should use last night's blog response as your rough draft.

The essay is due at the end of the block.  Please post the essay to Turnitin.com.  Good luck

IMPORTANT EXAM INFORMATION

Exam - Tuesday, January 22nd - 8:00 - 9:30 am

Directions: You will engage in a skills based exam. There will be one Q2 prose passage essay and one Q1 poetry piece. The exam will not be completely “blind,” as I have selected pieces that will directly draw upon works and authors you explored this past semester. You should plan to spend roughly 40 minutes on each essay.  Please bring a charged computer, and be ready to post the essays to Turnitin.com during the allotted time.

NOTE:  I will be formally grading blogs beginning Monday, January 21st.  This is your last opportunity to get your work completed before the end of the term.  Please use the weekend to get caught up.  Also, make sure you completed and posted your in-class essays to Turnitin.com for "Q1: Barred Owl & History Teacher" and "Q3:  Secrets in The Importance of Being Earnest."

Due Thursday, January 17th - Reflection on "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde

Directions:  Please use this space to comment on your experience reading The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.  Specifically, explore the way Wilde uses this idea of secrecy in order to keep up appearances, while living freely under an assumed name.  Think about the following exchange from the play:

Lady Bracknell:  Algy, I hope you are behaving very well.
Algernon:  I am feeling very well, Aunt Augusta.
Lady Bracknell:  That is not quite the same thing.  In fact, the two rarely go together.

How does Wilde divulge the secret at just the right comedic moment?  How does everyone react?  How does the idea of being "earnest" tie back to the idea of secrecy AND the overarching themes?  How does this idea tie into the concept of Aestheticism? 

Use direct examples from the text in your responses.  Read you classmates blogs, and see what explore other possibilities.

If you would like to study the play one more time, please check out this classic version of the play:

Due Monday, January 14th - "A Barred Owl" and "The History Teacher"

Directions: Please read and respond to the two poems below. Think about your first gut reactions to each piece. Next, read the poems again...and again...and again.  Notice how much more you see.  Explore the authors’ use of literary devices and poetic form. How does our work with sonnets help inform how we read modern poetry?  Then, compare and contrast the poems in terms of both thematic elements and form. I look forward to your responses.  Engage with each one another.

"A Barred Owl"
By Richard Wilbur

The warping night air having brought the boom
Of an owl’s voice into her darkened room,
We tell the wakened child that all she heard
Was an odd question from a forest bird,
Asking of us, if rightly listened to,
“Who cooks for you?” and then “Who cooks for you?”

Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear,
Can also thus domesticate a fear,
And send a small child back to sleep at night
Not listening for the sound of stealthy flight
Or dreaming of some small thing in a claw
Borne up to some dark branch and eaten raw.

Richard Wilbur, "A Barred Owl" from Mayflies: New Poems and Translations. Copyright © 2000 by Richard Wilbur.



"The History Teacher"
By Billy Collins

Trying to protect his student’s innocence
he told them the Ice Age was really just
the Chilly Age, a period of a million years
when everyone had to wear sweaters.

And the Stone Age became the Gravel Age,
named after the long driveways of the time.

The Spanish Inquisition was nothing more
than an outbreak of questions such as
“How far is it from here to Madrid?”
“What do you call the matador’s hat?”

The War of the Roses took place in a garden,
and the Enola Gay dropped one tiny atom 

on Japan.

The children would leave his classroom
for the playground and torment the weak
and the smart,
mussing up their hair and breaking their glasses,
while he gathered his notes and walked home
past flower beds and white picket fences,
wondering if they would believe that soldiers
in the Boer War told long, rambling stories
designed to make the enemy nod off.

“The History Teacher” from Questions About Angels Copyright ©1991 by Billy Collins

Due Friday, January 11th - Metaphysical Poetry & Modern Sonnets

Directions:  Read the material below on metaphysical poetry, as well as the three poems by John Donne.  Next, read the modern sonnets. In this blog space, please select a poem from below or from the link provided.  Cut and paste the sonnet into your post and comment on the poem in making comparisons to the various sonnet forms we have analyzed thus far.

Link to poetry.org.


Part I  -  Overview of Metaphysical Poetry & John Donne

John Donne was born in 1572 in London, England. He is known as the founder of the Metaphysical Poets, a term created by Samuel Johnson, an eighteenth-century English essayist, poet, and philosopher. His wife, aged thirty-three, died in 1617 shortly after giving birth to their twelfth child, a stillborn. The Holy Sonnets are also attributed to this phase of his life.

The term "metaphysical poetry" is used to describe a certain type of 17th century poetry. The term was originally intended to be derogatory; Dryden, who said Donne "affects the metaphysics," was criticizing Donne for being too arcane. Samuel Johnson later used the term "metaphysical poetry" to describe the specific poetic method used by poets like Donne.

Metaphysical poets are generally in rebellion against the highly conventional imagery of the Elizabethan lyric. The poems tend to be intellectually complex, and (according to the Holman Handbook), "express honestly, if unconventionally, the poet's sense of the complexities and contradictions of life." The verse often sounds rough in comparison to the smooth conventions of other poets; Ben Jonson once said that John Donne "deserved hanging" for the way he ran roughshod over conventional rhythms. The result is that these poems often lack lyric smoothness, but they instead use a rugged irregular movement that seems to suit the content of the poems.

For an example of metaphysical rebellion against lyrical convention, one can look at Donne's Holly Sonnet VI, below.

"Holy Sonnet VI"

by John Donne, 1610
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so,
For those, whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's deliverie.
Thou'rt slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then ?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more, Death thou shalt die.


The poem personifies death through an extended metaphor. It speaks to death as if poking fun at its history of being known as “mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so” according to the narrator. The speaker even goes so far as to say “nor canst thou kill me.” This ends the first stanza and is much more interesting and off putting than “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” or Let me not to the marriage of true minds” by Shakespeare.

That the punctuation is just as vital to the meaning of the work. In addition to challenging the conventions of rhythm, the metaphysical poets also challenged conventional imagery. Their tool for doing this was the metaphysical conceit. A conceit is a poetic idea, usually a metaphor. There can be conventional ideas, where there are expected metaphors: Petrarchan conceits imitate the metaphors used by the Italian poet Petrarch. Metaphysical conceits are noteworthy specifically for their lack of conventionality. In general, the metaphysical conceit will use some sort of shocking or unusual comparison as the basis for the metaphor. When it works, a metaphysical conceit has a startling appropriateness that makes us look at something in an entirely new way.

In the sonnet above, he last line is what does it for me, though and it was utilized brilliantly in Maraget Edison’s Wit.

Some editions of the text present the last line as follows:

And Death shall be no more; Death thou shalt die!

In the Gardner edition, it is presented as follows:

And death shall be no more, Death thou shalt die.

As stated in Edison’s play “Nothing but a breath. A comma separates life from eternal life.” Therefore, the metaphysical conceit of the sonnet is that when you die you live forever.


"Holy Sonnet IV"

by John Donne, 1610

If poysonous minerals, and if that tree,
Whose fruit threw death on else immortal us,
If lecherous goats, if serpents envious
Cannot be damn'd, Alas ! why should I be?
Why should intent or reason, born in me,
Make sins, else equal, in me more heinous?
And, mercy being easie, and glorious
To God, in his stern wrath why threatens hee?
But who am I, that dare dispute with thee?
O God, Oh! of thine only worthy blood,
And my teares, make a heavenly Lethean flood,
And drown in it my sinnes blacke memorie.
That thou remember them, some claime as debt,
I thinke it mercy if thou wilt forget.


"Holy Sonnet X"

by John Donne, 1610

This is my play's last scene; here heavens appoint
My pilgrimage's last mile, and my race
Idly, yet quickly run, hath this last pace,
My span's last inch, my minute's latest point,
And gluttonous death will instantly unjoint
My body and soul, and I shall sleep a space,
But my ever-waking part shall see that face,
Whose fear already shakes my every joint.
Then, as my soul to heaven her first seat takes flight,
And earth-born body in the earth shall dwell,
So fall my sins, that all may have their right,
To where they're bred and would press me to hell.
Impute me righteous, thus purged of evil,
For thus I leave the world, the flesh, the devil.



Part II - Modern Sonnets

"Sonnet XLIII"

by Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1956

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,

 I have forgotten, and what arms have lain 

 Under my head till morning; but the rain 

 Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh 

 Upon the glass and listen for reply, 

 And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain 

 For unremembered lads that not again 

 Will turn to me at midnight with a cry. 

 Thus in winter stands the lonely tree, 

 Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one, 

 Yet knows its boughs more silent than before: 

I cannot say what loves have come and gone, 

 I only know that summer sang in me 

 A little while, that in me sings no more.

"Florida Doll Sonnet"
by Denise Duhamel, 1961

I love Fresh Market but always feel underdressed
squeezing overpriced limes. Louis Vuitton,
Gucci, Fiorucci, and all the ancient East Coast girls
with their scarecrow limbs and Joker grins.
Their silver fox husbands, rosy from tanning beds,
steady their ladies who shuffle along in Miu Miu’s
(not muumuus) and make me hide behind towers
of handmade soaps and white pistachios. Who
knew I’d still feel like the high school fat girl
some thirty-odd years later? My Birkenstocks
and my propensity for fig newtons? Still, whenever
I’m face to face with a face that is no more real
than a doll’s, I try to love my crinkles, my saggy
chin skin. My body organic, with no preservatives.


"The Harlem Dancer" 

by Claude McKay, 1922

Applauding youths laughed with young prostitutes 

And watched her perfect, half-clothed body sway; 

Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes 

Blown by black players upon a picnic day. 

She sang and danced on gracefully and calm, 

The light gauze hanging loose about her form; 

To me she seemed a proudly-swaying palm 

Grown lovelier for passing through a storm. 

Upon her swarthy neck black shiny curls 

Luxuriant fell; and tossing coins in praise, 

The wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys, and even the girls, 

Devoured her shape with eager, passionate gaze; 

But looking at her falsely-smiling face, 

I knew her self was not in that strange place.


"Ever"

by Meghan O'Rourke, 2015

Never, never, never, never, never.
—King Lear

Even now I can’t grasp “nothing” or “never.”
They’re unholdable, unglobable, no map to nothing.
Never? Never ever again to see you?
An error, I aver. You’re never nothing,
because nothing’s not a thing.
I know death is absolute, forever,
the guillotine—gutting—never to which we never say goodbye.
But even as I think “forever” it goes “ever”
and “ever” and “ever.” Ever after.
I’m a thing that keeps on thinking. So I never see you
is not a thing or think my mouth can ever. Aver:
You’re not “nothing.” But neither are you something.
Will I ever really get never?
You’re gone. Nothing, never—ever.


"Superheroes as 2004 Volkswagen Passat: A Double Sonnet"
by Bruce Covey, 2012

The Invisible Woman is the windshield.

Mr. Fantastic is the wiper fluid. 

The Thing is the tire. 

The Human Torch is the spark plug. 

Spiderman is the antenna. 

Storm is the ignition coil. Rogue is the crank shaft. 

The Punisher is the exhaust pipe. 

Captain America is the hub cap. 

Quicksilver is the oil. 

Rogue is the gasoline. 

Psylocke is the catalytic converter. 

The Hulk is the cylinder block. 

She Hulk is the mount. 

Mantis is the manifold. 

Ms. Marvel is the muffler. 

The Scarlet Witch is the instrument panel. 

Iceman is the cooling system. 

Wolverine is the hood. 

Colossus is the camshaft. 

Banshee is the horn. 

Polaris is the voltage regulator. 

 Silver Surfer is the rearview mirror. 

Powerman is the bearing. 

Phoenix is the powertrain. 

Emma Frost is the hinge pillar. 

The Vision is the fuse box. 

Black Widow is the brake.

Exam - Tuesday, January 22nd - 8:00 - 9:30 am

Directions: You will engage in a skills based exam. There will be one Q2 prose passage essay and one Q1 poetry piece. The exam will not be completely “blind,” as I have selected pieces that will directly draw upon works and authors you explored this past semester. You should plan to spend roughly 40 minutes on each essay.  Please bring a charged computer, and be ready to post the essays to Turnitin.com during the allotted time.