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Endymion, And Elementary School Classroom In a Slum



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Thu Jan 22, 2009 8:21 am
Lava says...



In Endymion: A Poetic Romance by John Keats,
1.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,


Can you explain what this line means?

2.
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All the lovely tales that we have hear d or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink


I don't get this bit either. Also, there's this question I got:
Why is 'grandeur' associated withethe 'mighty dead'?


Elemetary School Classroom In A Slum by Stephen spendor,

1.
Surely Shakespeare is wicked, the map a bad example,
With ships and sun and love tempting them to steal


Why is Shakespeare said to be wicked in this?

Please help, I reaaaallly need it.


Thanks,
~Lava

P.S. Here's a link to Endymion, entire Book 1: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/endymion-a-poetic-romance-excerpt/
I couldn't find anything on Stephen Speder's poem.
~
Pretending in words was too tentative, too vulnerable, too embarrassing to let anyone know.
- Ian McEwan in Atonement

sachi: influencing others since GOD KNOWS WHEN.

  





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Thu Jan 22, 2009 8:24 pm
Mars says...



Hi lava! I'll try and help you out with some of it-I haven't studied either of these before, so I'll just give you my take on what they mean.

1. So, I read the poem from the link you provided, and it starts out with Keats saying how "a thing of beauty is a joy for ever" and "it will keep...a sleep full of sweet dreams." What I get from that is that a thing of beauty can hold us so entranced, and so enchanted by its loveliness, that one should be careful not to get too lost in it. That would be we make "the flowery wreath to bind us to earth"--a sort of anchor to keep us grounded, to keep reality.

2. This makes me think about how many of us are afraid of death, and of what (if anything) comes with and after death. The "grandeur of the dooms we have imagined for the mighty dead," then, is not associating grandeur with death so much as it is associating grandeur with humans' fear of death. To put it another way, we have given death its grandeur-by being so scared of it, we have made it something to be scared of. I hope that makes sense. It does in my head. And so then the poem says "all the lovely tales we have heard or read; an endless fountain of immortal drink." So many myths and stories are about finding immortality-the one that comes to mind is Ponce de Leon, who searched for the fountain of youth in Florida. Immortality is like the ultimate goal, and death is like the ultimate failure.

3. I found the Steven Spender poem and read the whole thing. The excerpt really doesn't make sense by itself. In the passage before the "Shakespeare is wicked" line, Spender describes a map on the wall of the classroom, along with a picture of Shakespeare. The map is of the Tyrolese valley, which I assume is a beautiful place. It is "awarding the world its world." And then he says that this world is not the children's world-their world is "a narrow street sealed in with a lead sky, far far from rivers, capes, and stars of words." So then when he says that Shakespeare is wicked, I think what he means is that Shakespeare, from his place on the wall, is taunting the children with a life that they cannot have. The same with the map "with ships and sun and love tempting them to steal."

Hopefully this helps you. I don't know what your teacher is looking for, but at least this should give some idea of its meaning. Good luck!
-Mars
'life tastes sweeter when it's wrapped in poetry'
-the wombats


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Fri Jan 23, 2009 7:45 am
Lava says...



Thanks a LOT Mars. Thse have surely helped me out, I mean with these basic ideas, I can develop on them
~
Pretending in words was too tentative, too vulnerable, too embarrassing to let anyone know.
- Ian McEwan in Atonement

sachi: influencing others since GOD KNOWS WHEN.

  








The best books... are those that tell you what you know already.
— George Orwell, 1984