Poems for the Eye Are Not Merely for the Sake of Eye :: English Literature Essays

Poems for the Eye Are Not Merely for the Sake of Eye What is poetry? Pressed for an answer, Robert Frost made a classic reply: â€Å"Poetry is the kind of thing poets write.† In all likelihood, Frost was not trying merely to evade the question but to chide his questioner into thinking for himself. A trouble with definitions is that they may stop thought. The nature of poetry eludes simple definitions. Definitions will be of little help at first, if we are to know poetry and respond to it. We have to go to it willing to see and hear. To a particular poem, thousands of readers will have thousands of understandings. A poem can please us in many aspects. We usually concentrate our attention on its sound, wording, and figure of speech. In fact, a poem in stanzas can please us by its visual symmetry. This kind of poems is usually called the poems for the eye including spatial free verse and picture poems. Though many poets seem hardly to care about it, enough importance should be given to the visual element of poetry. At least some of our pleasure in silently reading a poem derives from the way it looks upon its page. Poems for the eye can be divided into two types. One kind is the visual quality predominates the whole poem; the other is the visual remains subordinate to the aural and other elements of the poetry. There are indeed some spatial poems that can bring us pleasure through their words arrangement. And far from being merely decorative, the visual devices of a poem can be meaningful, too. For examples: This is William Carlos Williams’ poem that describes an energetic bellhop runs downstairs. Beside the words sound like that man is running downstairs, the appearance of the whole poem is like the stairs. This is not only good onomatopoeia and an accurate description of a rhythm; the steplike appearance of the lines goes together with their meaning. This kind of appearance or words arrangement makes the common words â€Å"ta tuck a† vivid. The same with the following Kenneth Patchen’s (1911-1972) poem: The ball bumps down the steps†¦ In the two poems above, the visual quality dominates the meaning of the whole poems. You can say that the shape of the words arrangement overweighs the meaning of the words. But it does bring us pleasure. It is more interesting and meaningful and stronger than just say, â€Å"ta tuck a†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"The ball bumps down the steps†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Maybe this is one of the great charms of this kind of poems.

My World of Studies Essay

Haya, which literally means shame, bashfulness, and refraining from saying or doing anything improper or indecent, to describe one who, out of fear and awe of God, seeks to avoid displeasing Him. It urges one to be more careful, self-possessed, and self-controlled, for such restraint, if originating in feelings of modesty, result in paying God the respect He deserves. Combining the instinctive feeling of shame with modesty based on Islam forms the greatest safeguard against shameful or indecent acts. Alone, each one may be diminished or utterly lost. The words haya (modesty or feeling of shame) and hayat (life) come from the same root. This signifies that modesty is a sign of a lively heart, and that a heart’s liveliness depends on its owner’s belief and knowledge of God. If a heart is not fed continuously with belief and knowledge of God, it is almost impossible for it to remain lively and give rise to modesty. Narrated by Abu Huraira (ra): The Prophet said, â€Å"Faith (Belief) consists of more than sixty branches (i.e. parts). And Haya is a part of faith.† (Bukhari) The good Hayà ¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ is to be ashamed to commit a sin or a thing which Allah and His Messenger (saws) has forbidden, and bad Hayà ¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ is to feel ashamed to do a thing, which Allah and His Messenger (saws) ordered to do. DIFFERENT TYPES OF HAYA ∞Firstly, to talk about the types of Good haya. For example, anyone who is a believer, he/she should build their personalities and their character with the good dimensions of haya. The most important is that he/she must be shy of doing ANYTHING displeasing to Allah (swt), with the belief that he/she will have to answer for all their deeds. If one develops a sense such as this one, it will help the believer to obey all of Allah’s command and to stay away from sins. Once the believer realises that Allah (swt) is watching us all the time and we will have to answer to every move we make in this dunya, he/she would not neglect any order from Allah or His Messenger (saws). So the stronger this sense of haya becomes, the more it motivates one to make sure that Allah (swt) doesn’t see him/her doing anything prohibited. The way to develop this haya is that one must keep learning and absorbing more knowledge and applying it to their lives. ∞Another type of haya is more of a social aspect concerning others besides Allah (swt). Normally these things often come in regard with ones relationship with family. For instance, a child not wanting to do something displeasing to his mother, or a wife not wanting to do something displeasing to her husband or even a student who is careful about saying something incorrect in front of his teacher.. ∞Last but not least is the type of haya in which the believers become shy of themselves. This is when they have reached the peek of their Iman. What this means is that if they do, or say, or see, anything wrong or even commit the tiniest sin, they start to feel extremely bad and embarrassed or they feel extreme guilt in their heart. This builds a high degree of self-consciousness and that is what strengthens the believer’s commitment to Allah (swt) People will go out an get degrees in law schools, or science, or engineering and they will put four to six years of their lives studying for this stuff that will only benefit them in this world. In this society people including Muslims, choose their careers according to how much money they will make and what status they will have in this society as to being a lawyer or a doctor etc. They do not realize that in Islam the BEST stature of a Muslim is that of a â€Å"dai’i† or a teacher of Islam. Another proof of bad haya is that which is extremely popular amongst many sisters in this western society. One of the most important aspects of haya, for women, is that of guarding their chastity and their modesty. . They are shy of the opposite gender in this society because of what they might experience if strange men look at them and lastly they have haya because they are ashamed of going out in public and committing this grave sin of displaying their beauty is public. There are many women in this society who claim that they have haya but to follow the order of hijab is backwards and that women in this society shouldn’t have to cover is obviously disbelief. There are many verses in the Qur’an and many ahadith explaining the reasons behind observing Hijab. The Islamic Shariah has not stopped at giving the Commandments of Hijab, it has also clarified every such thing which directly relates to these commandments and, with the slightest carelessness, may result in vulgarity and immodesty. This is why modesty has been called the ornament of a woman, which protects her from many sins and which prevents ill-intentioned men from daring to have bad thoughts about her. This haya has been made a part of her nature to safeguard her from being abused by immoral men. Narrated Aisha (ra): â€Å"I used to enter my house where Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) was and take off my garment, saying that only my husband and my father were there; but when Umar was buried along with them, I swear by Allah that I did not enter it without having my clothes wrapped round me owing to modesty regarding Umar.† (at-Tirmidhi and Ahmed) In conclusion we must understand that Haya is important for both men and women. Men are to control themselves by getting married as young as possible or if they cannot afford that, they should fast. Women are told to conceal themselves so that the men will not be over taken by the whispers of Sheytan and will not disrespect or take advantage of the women. There are many verses in the Qur’an that have clearly explained how we have to behave and Allah is All-Knowing therefore He knew that we would face these problems living in this society, and that is no excuse to change Islam and only practice what we feel is right. Allah (swt) has told men how to guide their modesty and has told women how to guide their modesty. If either one of them refuse to follow the commandment of their Lord, may Allah have mercy on them and may He guide them to the straight path. â€Å"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.† (Qur’an Nur, 30-31) ALL PRAISE BE TO ALLAH, AND MAY HIS PEACE AND BLESSINGS BE UPON MUHAMMAD (SAW), HIS FAMILY, HIS COMPANIONS AND HIS TRUE FOLLOWERS UNTIL THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT.

Essay on the Double Meanings of The Odyssey - 995 Words

The Double Meanings of The Odyssey Throughout Homers The Odyssey, there are a number of tangible symbols that are used to represent abstract ideas. I would like to suggest that each symbol that Homer uses within The Odyssey has two clear meanings. The double meanings of these symbols are used to represent Odysseus and Telemachus as they strive to meet each other. While each symbol has a meaning that represents the growth of Telemachus, each one also represents, by another meaning, the growth and development of Odysseus. When they meet for the first time, the symbols, and the character traits that they represent confluence, and the resemblance between Odysseus and Telemachus becomes complete. One of the main ideas running†¦show more content†¦Telemachus is unmistakably represented by this type of meaning of the cave. He is sheltered all his life, until he comes closer and closer to meeting Odysseus. Fatherless, his mother has safe-guarded and protected him. However, when he meets his father, the safe-guard is taken off completely and he helps Odysseus take care of the suitors. Focusing back on Odysseus, when he reaches home, his adventures are sure to be over. He will no longer have to withstand the harsh reality that the cave of Polyphemus symbolizes. He becomes more sheltered as Telemachus becomes more exposed by their reunion. These symbols are used throughout The Odyssey to represent different facets of the characters of Odysseus and Telemachus. Each interpretation of the symbols exemplifies either Odysseus or Telemachus. As the two characters grow and develop, and the father-son reunion occurs, the two meanings converge into one, and Odysseus and Telemachus become more similar. Works Cited and Consulted Bloom, Harold , Homers Odyssey: Edited and with an Introduction, NY, Chelsea House 1988 Heubeck, Alfred, J.B. Hainsworth, et al. A commentary on Homers Odyssey. 3 Vols. Oxford PA4167 .H4813 1988 Jones, Peter V. 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