Reading Reponse #3

Shelley and the Utility or the Arts
Tom O' Brien

Tom O’ Brien introduces Percy Bysshe Shelley as a romantic poet who is not entirely sane. Shelley had ideas of defending the arts against narrow minded utilitarianism, meaning people who no longer care about what nature has to offer. The utilitarianism's care about big business and money and only look at gross domestic product. Shelley’s prose poem “The Defense of Poetry” states his ideas about mixing education and art together. He strongly believed that art was one of the greatest things a child could know. Schools began teaching children science and math to promote factories and business, while the schools stopped promoting the creativity. Educators asked “Do the arts have to offer of comparable educational value?” To Shelley the answer was yes, but to modern day engineers and educators the answer was no. Even though Shelley appreciated art, he did take science seriously to a certain extent. After his wife created the horror story “Frankenstein” they realized that science could also be very destructive to mankind. Science could literally create a monster. A friend of Percy Shelley claimed there was two cycles in the history of the arts. The “bronze” age was a time where literature was in a more primitive form. Then there was Neoclassicism in literature, which was a way to create visual arts. After the neoclassicism period, a new age of literature was made. Romanticism was claimed as the new age of “brass”. Shelley explained that art contributes to society and social progress. It lets other see a different view point and learn in new ways. He claimed that whatever purified the affections and adds spirit to sense is very useful. “Arts are supremely useful because they can perhaps heal the disconnect between technical and human process” Percy Shelley quoted. He strongly believed that there was a gap growing between human beings and the natural world. He claimed that science and industrialization did not match for the social well being for all. Shelley’s rhetoric questions are still relevant to this day, such as “smart growth” in our time. He is talking about the movements in environmental science and life quality.

I believe that O’ Brien added the rhetoric question about “smart growth” because it’s still relevant to this day. Shelley worried about the destiny of mankind in his day, and the future. Has our social growth gone downhill since Percy Shelley’s time? If Shelley was able to see our society’s growth, I think that he would have mixed emotions. Our society has continued to use machines, but our factories are better managed. In our modern day, we have the science to create Eco-friendly products, bio degradable bags and better cars. Shelley would probably be more satisfied with our new inventions, but the contradicting part is that science helped innovate our new products. When budgets cuts hit a school, the first things to go are sports, music and art programs. Just like Shelley, I also disagree with that fact that schools are cutting programs that help children express themselves. A educational system should never have to cut any programs. While children are in school every day forced to learn about the Pythagorean Theorem or the Vietnam War, students have nothing to look forward to except another day learning something that has absolutely no interest to them. With any kind of sport or art program, a child has the chance to be free and just be themselves. When an educator asked if art had the same education value as other subjects, Percy agreed. I like that O’ Brien added this quote because it shows Percy Shelley’s true feelings toward the educational system. O’ Brien wrote a great article that reflects Shelley’s views in an interesting way because he used quotes that explained his personality well. Though he mainly talked about Shelley’s views on art, he also explained a little bit on his positive views of science. It showed me that even thought he was a Romantic poet; he knew that science was needed to an extent. Science is an important part of society, and it always will be, but so is art and literature. Tom O’ Brien portrayed Percy Bysshe Shelley ‘s view’s in a respectable way that shows why he was such a great poet of his time and till this day.

-Lauryn Hartung

A Prose Poem; The Greed and Fear

The Greed and Fear

Greed and Fear were brothers whose parents were mankind. Mankind had raised them early on, only then to find that these two specters had in them greedy appetites for spreading lies and hurting family and giving them the frights. At first they did not run the world, as they do today for people were much simpler then and had more time for play. As time went by they got on well with priests and knights and kings but still to most of common folk they were but little things. Then came a time when man matured and put off simple ways he sailed away to foreign country with Greed and Fear. Into the ocean haze, they came to an unspoiled land with people brave and true. They killed them like animals and left them black and blue. Killing all in their path, Greed and Fear brought on a nation to be formed. A nation home of the free, a nation that lives in lies and secrecy. The brothers did great things for those who liked them, and those who did were treated with dignity. The followers of the brothers were told to kill all in their path and they would climb to the top and rule the world. They did as they were told and a new government was formed. A government where the finest of people were rich and dirtiest were poor. Where art and there language were the least important things and the children were force feed information and had to regurgitate it every day. This was what the brothers had always been looking for. Something they could control and anyone who opposed would never be found again. Greed and Fear had good intentions when they were first born, but their minds were slowly corrupted and did that same thing to anyone who disagreed.

-Lauryn Hartung

Percy Bysshe Shelley's The Moon

ND, like a dying lady lean and pale,

Who totters forth, wrapp'd in a gauzy veil,

Out of her chamber, led by the insane

And feeble wanderings of her fading brain,

The moon arose up in the murky east

A white and shapeless mass.

II.

Art thou pale for weariness

Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth,

Wandering companionless

Among the stars that have a different birth,

And ever changing, like a joyless eye

That finds no object worth its constancy?

This video clip explains a little bit about Percy Shelley’s life and some of his greatest accomplishments. It also gives examples of his best work, such as "To a Skylark", "Ozymandias", and "The Revolt of Islam". The poem is comparing the moon's characteristics to an old dying woman. Shelley compares the moon's pale coloring to the color of the old woman’s skin tone. Stanza one says; who totters forth, wrapp'd in a gauzy veil.” Stanza three states; “And feeble wanderings of her fading brain,”A gauzy veil is representing a cloudy night. The veil is covering over the moon, making it unclear. Just like the woman’s brain is fading and is becoming uncertain. The moon is arising from the murky east. I believe that the murky East is representing the woman’s insanity. Murky is a good example to explain an unclear situation. I think that Shelley is trying to portray the moon in a human related way. Every night millions of human beings see the moon; large and bright in the sky. They do not know the moon’s true emotions. It lies in the starry night, with the other stars, but they all have different births, different destinies and a different purpose for why there were created. The poem mentions that that moon is lonely and companion less. The woman who is dying may be joyful because she is going on to a better life, but she is doing it alone. The fragile woman is talking on a new afterlife alone without her family. The feeling of loneliness is taking over. The moon is having the same emotions way every night. He is surrounded by his familiar stars, but they are not facing the same struggles. The moon is become weary and pale while it sits lonely in the million starry night. He can either gaze the beauties of heaven above, or view the hells of earth below him. His joyless eye is watching the changes of earth and the faithfulness of heaven. The moon and the dying women are extremely similar. Shelley is showing that even something so well known and strong, such as the moon, can feel as lonely and weak as a dying woman.

-Lauryn Hartung

This Blog Really is "The Best of Blake"!

Do you want to understand William Blake better? Do you want to know his work, his paintings and ways that he has influenced the modern world? Then click on this! This blog, written by Becca Gaulke, Kendal Kern and Pang Thao explains everything you need to know about William Blake! The blog itself is very appealing to me. Its colors and organization catches my eye. The introduction to the pages really reels me in and makes me want to learn more about their poet. On the side column of their blog, they have a “missions” list with their goals for the blog. All of their goals have been made. Yes they have made a creative, interactive blog, and yes they really showed their knowledge of William Blake in their blog! The poems that were chose to go on the blogs were something that I enjoyed reading. “Little Boy Lost/Found” was one of my favorites. Pang Thao had the great idea of putting a sad poem with a happy poem. She made a great connection between the poem of “Little Boy Lost/Found” and the song “Amazing Grace”. Her reactions to the poem lead her to create a really great and detailed analysis. Becca Gaulke had posted pictures that William Blake and painted. I was glad that she had posted them because I was interested to see what kind of master piece a poet could make not only with his words, but with images! I also thought that the section where Blake’s only painting pallet was still around was very interesting. Kendal Kern posted a video of a modern day Blake. The video shows a woman talking about William Blake’s famous quote “The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom”. I really like that Kendal was able to find a video clip of how a romantic poet was able to make a dent in Hollywood. Over all, this blog was colorful, interesting and had great poems to read! I would recommend this blog site to anyone who is interested in learning more about William Blake. Great job everyone! This blog really is, The Best of Blake!