Week Two

Wilfred Owen's "Dulce Et Decorum Est" relives his war experiences as a soldier. He tells the truth about death and reality that I am sure he would rather forget. The soldier who is gassed haunts the speaker at night in his dreams. I do not know if there were not enough gas masks, or the poor soldier did not have time to get his on. The reaction is immediate as the speaker watches the soldier's "white eyes," "his hanging face," and "the blood / come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs." The soldier also breaks out in "incurable sores on innocent tongues." This would be a grim memory to live with. Owen wrote this poem to show the gruesome experiences of soldiers on the battle field. In the end, Owen was also shot and killed. It must have been awful for the parents at home who anxiously wait for a letter from their child in battle, but instead they receive a telegram reporting their son's death.

I enjoy reading Edith Sitwell's "Aubade." The Norton Antholgy mentions that Sitwell's mother was upset with her daughter, Edith, because she had such unusual features and great height. The poem seems to echo some of the feelings a girl might have. Perhaps, Sitwell drew on her childhood experiences to write this poem. Typical of aubade poems, the lover has left and the girl is now alone. Although the speaker tries to motivate Jane to come down the stairs, comb her hair, and "seize the day," the girl has no desire to do any of these actions. I like the sounds and images that Sitwell creates. The rhymes are lyrical and have been set to music, I understand. The first and last line: "The morning light creaks down again" suggests that Jane remains in bed as the days slip by. No amount of coaxing will entice her to get up and do her chores. Apparently, she is lonely and sad. I can relate to this poem during the stressful times I have had in my own life. I think most people can as well. No matter whether we are rich or poor, old or young, there are days that we would rather just stay in bed, similar to Jane.

W.B. Yeats incorporates mythology in "Leda and the Swan" to make a point about power. Mythology plays a huge role in literature. I am so glad that I took the class because it helps me to understand particular stories and characters in literature. It seems the Olympian gods mirrored the Greek qualities of being quarrelsome, unforgiving deities who enjoyed warring, banqueting, and fornicating. They were always depcited in human form with beautiful, powerful bodies; however, their beauty went beyond ordinary mortals. The gods had grand and intense passon. They could embody and impose the loftiest moral values in the universe. But these same gods also mirrored the physical and spiritual weaknesses of humans; they might be lame and deformed or vain, petty, and insincere. They could also steal, lie, and cheat in a most divine way! I learned that mortals who infringed the rights of the gods suffered terrible punishments.
In "Leda and the Swan," Yeats portrays Leda as helpless when Zeus violently rapes her. At the end of the poem, the speaker asks if Leda gains some form of divine knowledge and power, due to her experience. This question suggests that Leda may have received supernatural insight from the powerful Zeus during their sexual union. I find it interesting that Zeus takes the form of a swan. When I think of swans, pictures of beauty, elegance, and innocence come to mind, which seems to contradict a violent act of rape. This is a complex poem, full of Greek mythology and history. I enjoy its lyrical quality, and it reminds me of a fairy-tale.