Analysing An Essay On Criticism Poem English Literature Essay

Analysing An Essay On Criticism Poem English Literature Essay In the world of seventeenth century poetry, no poet exists in isolation. Not simply by being part of a club, such as Pope’s membership of the Scriblerus Club, but as being members of a particular class, a particular religion or a particular political outlook. Born into a Catholic family at a time when being Catholic meant being denied educational and political opportunities, may not have significantly influenced Pope worldview, but neither can such a fact be completely ignored. In this essay I shall argue that An Essay on Criticism is not a straight-forward treatise of writing poetry or indeed criticism, but rather a strong political and religious polemic. In a time of societal and political flux the intelligentsias of an age are often heavily influenced by the events which surround them. With the beginnings, albeit faltering beginnings of the industrial age, with many swapping traditional rural lifestyles to more urban settings, not least due to the ‘enclosure’ laws (a prohibition for rural dwellers from use of common acreage fodder (1), and the ever growing demand for workers in cities, coupled with new religious philosophies emerging from Europe from Luther and Calvin, in turn affecting political philosophies, the poets of the day could not remain immune to this change of landscape. That self same ‘landscape’ lay at the heart of early seventeenth century poets concerns expressed in poetry referred to a ‘pastorals’. But the approach to these poems, which attempted to define the new landscape and man’s role in it, could not have been more different. Two distinct factions emerged, one led by Ambrose Philip, the other by Alexander Pope. The former an adherent of the view of man as an individual, the latter, of the view that man’s role is primarily as a societal being, rather than an individual being. And what lay at the center of these views was no less than the future of mankind, at least as far as th ese two protagonists were concerned. Pope had already distinguished himself with the publication of Pastorals in 1709 before writing An Essay on Criticism at the relatively young age of twenty three. In this poem, which follows the Epic form, albeit in apparently less somber fashion than the Golden Age of Homer, Virgil and Ovid which influenced it, Pope offers his opinion on what exactly is or is not the essence and significance of poetry. Or at least, it may seem so at first glance. His opening four lines from part one:                      Tis hard to say, if greater want of skill                      Appear in writing or in judging ill;                      But, of the two, less dang’rous is th’ offence                      To tire our patience, than mislead our sense. (3) offers in many ways a synopsis of his entire treatise. That is, it’s one thing to read or write bad or annoying poetry, it’s a n entirely different affair to ‘mislead our sense’. Immediately what’s at stake is presented. An Essay on Criticism is not simply a dig at bad poets or bad poetry, but a real concern of what thinking, or what ‘sense’ may result from such work if left unchallenged. His lines 7 & 8, reiterate what is at stake:

Critical Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Critical Reflection - Essay Example More importantly, the book showed me that it is possible that it was not only me to blame, and gave me a sense of hope that other students feeling this way now, can be helped more than I was. Rose looks at the foundations of such feelings, starting from the effects of labeling children: â€Å"The designation remedial has powerful implications in education – to be remedial is to be substandard, inadequate† (Rose, 1989, p. 209), and I recognized my own sense of myself, throughout school, in this. When teachers publicly separated me from the rest of my classmates, with good intentions, I am sure, because of the learning difficulty I have, it was devastating. As a Third Grader, my need to belong to the group was great, and the challenges I experienced were not only with the learning difficulty, but equally significantly, with the teachers’ and other children’s perception that I was different. I internalized their view of me and became unconfident and negative about myself and my abilities. At school, my classmates called me names, and I was no longer a â€Å"cool† friend. At home, my mother was supportive, but I could not get away from the feeling that I was disappointing her, because I could not so well at school. This isolation is another aspect of my life that I identified with in Rose’s book – a boy â€Å"Harold† writes: â€Å"I am lost in the woods. I cannot find my way out. I yell and yell. No one answered me. I climbed a tree then I fell out of the tree and broke my arm† (Rose, 1989, p. 119). While my situation was perhaps not as bad as Harold’s, I did see many of my classmates, struggling more than I did, even more isolated from the mainstream. Mike Rose realized that this boy was a lonely child, feeling rejected, and that it was these feelings, more than the boy’s learning challenges that caused him to not be able to perform well academically. This is

Employment Law for Managers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Employment Law for Managers - Essay Example However, this does not occur at the company since the employees consider Sam too young to manage them and therefore make it hard for Sam to operate (Emir & Selwyn, 2014). Failing to control the employees is not just a portrayal of Sam’s incompetence but also a breach of a contract he signed with the Frills and Spills Lingerie Company. Creation of a contract is always voluntary but binds both parties legally. Sam accepted the job after understanding the challenges he would meet. Furthermore, the position gives him authority over the employees. As such, he must control his team thus enhance the productivity of the company as he promised to by signing the contract. Among the implied terms of the contract that Sam beaches is his basic role at the company, which is to control the team of twenty employees thus ensuring the productivity of the company. Sam refuses to handle the employee despite the presence of appropriate ways of dealing with uncooperative employees. The twenty employees just as Sam are employees of the company. This gives the company direct authority over the employees. The company must therefore create a conducive environment for Sam to operate. Organizations have organizational cultures, which help harmonize the behavior of the employees. Through the organizational culture, an organization sets effective values to guide the behavior and interactions of the employees. Sam alone cannot create the culture. Such is a function of the company. By creating an effective organizational culture, the employer would create a favorable environment for Sam to carry out his duties. This implies that the employer is partially responsible for Sam’s predicament. Failing to instil discipline in the employees is a breach of the contract between the company and Sam since this results in a hostile environment, one in which Sam cannot operate thus meet his obligations. Key among the major defenses in a