Edna St Vincent Millay (1930)

1.      Read the following sonnet by Edna St Vincent Millay (1930)

I dreamed I moved among the Elysian fields,

In converse with sweet women long since dead;

And out of blossoms which that meadow yields

I wove a garland for your living head.

Danae, that was the vessel for a day

Of golden Jove, I saw, and at her side,

Whom Jove the Bull desired and bore away,

Europa stood, and the Swan’s featherless bride.

All these were mortal women, yet all these

Above the ground had had a god for guest;

Freely I walked beside them and at ease,

Addressing them, by them again addressed,

And marvelled nothing, for remembering you,

Wherefore I was among them well I knew. (Millay, 1956: 645)

2.     Assuming that the speaker of the poem is a woman addressing her male lover, try to work out what he is saying about him (one of the clues is that in the final couplet she seems to compare him to Jove).

Answer: The last four lines (‘wherefore . . .I knew’) add a subtle touch of ambiguity, which not only underlines the speaker’s affiliation with the women she mentions, but also excludes the man from their special bond. The speaker’s admission that ‘freely I walked beside them and at ease’ provides a sharp contrast to the turbulent relationship with the man and the constant antagonism between the two partners.  The thematic transparency of the sequence is not a simple matter. Millay cleverly inserts elements that highlight the complexity of her project, a project which is as much concerned with the redefinition of female power and creativity as it is with rewriting the tradition of love poetry And the

first step towards this redefinition of power lies in the speaker’s willing ness to consider alternative forms of psychological support, and thus disrupt the traditional dominance of the heterosexual couple in love sonnets. A female speaker who constantly questions the specifics of her relationship, resists popular stereotypes of eternal love and loyalty and sees other women as potential advisors, rather than competitors.

3.      Identify as many cases of illusion as you can by:

(a)   Circling all the word and phrases (including names) which you think may be allusions;

Answer:

Ø  I moved among the Elysian field

Ø  sweet women long since dead

Ø  living head

Ø  for a day

Ø  Europa stood

Ø  Freely I walked beside them and at ease

Ø  Addressing them, by them again addressed

(b)   Finding out what they are allusions to by looking them up in appropriate sources (see below or see unit 2: using information sources).

Answer: The presence of these dead women suggests a continuity across time, and the speaker’s assertion that she walked beside them ‘freely’ and ‘at ease’ reinforces the feeling of solidarity. Millay seems to be equally interested in surveying the field of women’s inscription in literature, as well as in the lives of the women she deploys in her work. Her repeated references to these figures are meant to alert the reader to Millay’s revisionary intention – the creation of an original female persona whose attitude towards sexuality sees the vindication of other women’s experiences as a necessary step for the eradication of silence and prejudice.

4.      Having done 3, you should now have discovered what the ‘Elysian fields’ are, and have found out about Jove’s relationships with three ‘mortal woman’. Using this information, try answering question 2 again. Is your answer any different from what you gave earlier?

Answer:  Edna St. Vincent Millay’s in “I Dreamed I Moved among the Elysian Fields.” For instance, the scenarios in which a woman is tortured by a man who she perceives as a God. Moreover, the authors use Greek mythology–especially mythological folklore involving male deities– to discuss their positions.  Aside from using Greek mythology simply to illustrate their points aesthetically, she makes such references to display her intellectual competence. After all, each poem discusses the power that a man has over a woman in intimate relationships; perhaps showing intellectual competence is a way for each woman to reclaim a sense of dignity. Millay writes: “And out of blossoms of that meadow yield/I wove a garland for your living head” (lines 3-4). Thus, even as she walks the beautiful fields of heaven, she wants to do something special for her loved one. Essentially, the author expresses a yearning and desire for a man that they are not with. In Millay’s work, she mentions various women in Greek mythology who have been left, abandoned, or wronged by men they loved–men that were perceived as God. Her works reads: “Danai, that was the vessel for a day/Of golden Jove, I saw, and at her side/Whom Jove the Bull desired and bore away/Europa stood and the swan’s fearless bride” (lines 5-8).

5.      Is the poem making a compliment to the man or is it doing something else? How do the allusions support your answer?

Answer: Millay concludes with “And marvelled nothing for remembering you/wherefore I was among them, well I knew” (lines 13-14). Millay’s ending truly captures how much she identifies with the woman of the Greek mythological world; she says that she belongs in the same afterlife as them because they have experienced identical situations on Earth.  Millay incorporate the knowledge of Greek mythology in order to create their masterpieces and express the experience of feeling powerless over a man perceived as a God.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17^th 1706. He was the tenth son of soap maker, Josiah Franklin. Benjamin's mother was Abiah Folger, the second wife of Josiah. In all, Josiah would father 17 children.

Josiah intended for Benjamin to enter into the clergy. However, Josiah could only afford to send his son to school for one year and clergymen needed years of schooling. But, as young Benjamin loved to read he had him apprenticed to his brother James, who was a printer. After helping James compose pamphlets and set type which was grueling work, 12-year-old Benjamin would sell their products in the streets.

CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

A.    Apprentice Printer

When Benjamin was 15 his brother started The New England Courant the first "newspaper" in Boston. Though there were two papers in the city before James's Courant, they only reprinted news from abroad. James's paper carried articles, opinion pieces written by James's friends, advertisements, and news of ship schedules.

Benjamin wanted to write for the paper too, but he knew that James would never let him. After all, Benjamin was just a lowly apprentice. So Ben began writing letters at night and signing them with the name of a fictional widow, Silence Dogood. Dogood was filled with advice and very critical of the world around her, particularly concerning the issue of how women were treated. Ben would sneak the letters under the print shop door at night so no one knew who was writing the pieces. They were a smash hit, and everyone wanted to know who the real “Silence Dogood.” was After 16 letters, Ben confessed that he had been writing the letters all along. While James's friends thought Ben was quite precocious and funny, James scolded his brother and was very jealous of the attention paid to him.

Before long the Franklins found themselves at odds with Boston's powerful Puritan preachers, the Mathers. Smallpox was a deadly disease in those times, and the Mathers supported inoculation; the Franklins' believed inoculation only made people sicker. And while most Bostonians agreed with the Franklins, they did not like the way James made fun of the clergy, during the debate. Ultimately, James was thrown in jail for his views, and Benjamin was left to run the paper for several issues.

Upon release from jail, James was not grateful to Ben for keeping the paper going. Instead he kept harassing his younger brother and administering beatings from time to time. Ben could not take it and decided to run away in 1723.

B.     Escape to Philadelphia

Running away was illegal. In early America, people all had to have a place in society and runaways did not fit in anywhere. Regardless Ben took a boat to New York where he hoped to find work as a printer. He didn't, and walked across New Jersey, finally arriving in Philadelphia via a boat ride. After debarking, he used the last of his money to buy some rolls. He was wet, disheveled, and messy when his future wife, Deborah Read, saw him on that day, October, 6, 1723. She thought him odd-looking, never dreaming that seven years later they would be married.

Franklin found work as an apprentice printer. He did so well that the governor of Pennsylvania promised to set him up in business for himself if young Franklin would just go to London to buy fonts and printing equipment. Franklin did go to London, but the governor reneged on his promise and Benjamin was forced to spend several months in England doing print work. Benjamin had been living with the Read family before he left for London. Deborah Read, the very same girl who had seen young Benjamin arrive in Philadelphia, started talking marriage, with the young printer. But Ben did not think he was ready. While he was gone, she married another man. Upon returning to Philadelphia, Franklin tried his hand at helping to run a shop, but soon went back to being a printer's helper. Franklin was a better printer than the man he was working for, so he borrowed some money and set himself up in the printing business. Franklin seemed to work all the time, and the citizens of Philadelphia began to notice the diligent young businessman. Soon he began getting the contract to do government jobs and started thriving in business.

In 1728, Benjamin fathered a child named William. The mother of William is not known. However, in 1730 Benjamin married his childhood sweetheart, Deborah Read. Deborah's husband had run off, and now she was able to marry. In addition to running a print shop, the Franklins also ran their own store at this time, with Deborah selling everything from soap to fabric. Ben also ran a book store. They were quite enterprising.

C.    The Pennsylvania Gazette

In 1729, Benjamin Franklin bought a newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin not only printed the paper, but often contributed pieces to the paper under aliases. His newspaper soon became the most successful in the colonies. This newspaper, among other firsts, would print the first political cartoon, authored by Ben himself. During the 1720s and 1730s, the side of Franklin devoted to public good started to show itself. He organized the Junto, a young working-man's group dedicated to self- and-civic improvement. He joined the Masons. He was a very busy man socially.

D.    Poor Richard's Almanack

But Franklin thrived on work. In 1733 he started publishing Poor Richard's Almanack. Almanacs of the era were printed annually, and contained things like weather reports, recipes, predictions and homilies. Franklin published his almanac under the guise of a man named Richard Saunders, a poor man who needed money to take care of his carping wife. What distinguished Franklin's almanac were his witty aphorisms and lively writing. Many of the famous phrases associated with Franklin, such as, "A penny saved is a penny earned" come from Poor Richard.

E.     Fire Prevention

Franklin continued his civic contributions during the 1730s and 1740s. He helped launch projects to pave, clean and light Philadelphia's streets. He started agitating for environmental cleanup. Among the chief accomplishments of Franklin in this era was helping to launch the Library Company in 1731. During this time books were scarce and expensive. Franklin recognized that by pooling together resources, members could afford to buy books from England. Thus was born the nation's first subscription library. In 1743, he helped to launch the American Philosophical Society, the first learned society in America. Recognizing that the city needed better help in treating the sick, Franklin brought together a group who formed the Pennsylvania Hospital in 1751. The Library Company, Philosophical Society, and Pennsylvania Hospital are all in existence today.

Fires were very dangerous threat to Philadelphians, so Franklin set about trying to remedy the situation. In 1736, he organized Philadelphia's Union Fire Company, the first in the city. His famous saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," was actually fire-fighting advice. Those who suffered fire damage to their homes often suffered irreversible economic loss. So, in 1752, Franklin helped to found the Philadelphia Contribution for Insurance against Loss by Fire. Those with insurance policies were not wiped out financially. The Contributionship is still in business today.

F.     Electricity

Franklin's printing business was thriving in this 1730s and 1740s. He also started setting up franchise printing partnerships in other cities. By 1749 he retired from business and started concentrating on science, experiments, and inventions. This was nothing new to Franklin. In 1743, he had already invented a heat-efficient stove — called the Franklin stove — to help warm houses efficiently. As the stove was invented to help improve society, he refused to take out a patent. Among Franklin's other inventions are swim fins, the glass harmonica (a musical instrument) and bifocals. In the early 1750's he turned to the study of electricity. His observations, including his kite experiment which verified the nature of electricity and lightning brought Franklin international fame.

G.    The Political Scene

Politics became more of an active interest for Franklin in the 1750s. In 1757, he went to England to represent Pennsylvania in its fight with the descendants of the Penn family over who should represent the Colony. He remained in England to 1775, as a Colonial representative not only of Pennsylvania, but of Georgia, New Jersey and Massachusetts as well. Early in his time abroad, Franklin considered himself a loyal Englishman. England had many of the amenities that America lacked. The country also had fine thinkers, theater, witty conversation — things in short supply in America. He kept asking Deborah to come visit him in England. He had thoughts of staying there permanently, but she was afraid of traveling by ship.

In 1765, Franklin was caught by surprise by America's overwhelming opposition to the Stamp Act. His testimony before Parliament helped persuade the members to repeal the law. He started wondering if America should break free of England. Franklin, though he had many friends in England, was growing sick of the corruption he saw all around him in politics and royal circles. Franklin, who had proposed a plan for united colonies in 1754, now would earnestly start working toward that goal.

Franklin's big break with England occurred in the "Hutchinson Affair." Thomas Hutchinson was an English-appointed governor of Massachusetts. Although he pretended to take the side of the people of Massachusetts in their complaints against England, he was actually still working for the King. Franklin got a hold of some letters in which Hutchinson called for "an abridgment of what are called English Liberties" in America. He sent the letters to America where much of the population was outraged. After leaking the letters Franklin was called to Whitehall, the English Foreign Ministry, where he was condemned in public.

H.    A New Nation

Franklin came home. He started working actively for Independence. He naturally thought his son William, now the Royal governor of New Jersey, would agree with his views. William did not. William remained a Loyal Englishman. This caused a rift between father and son which was never healed. Franklin was elected to the Second Continental Congress and worked on a committee of five that helped to draft the Declaration of Independence. Though much of the writing is Thomas Jefferson's, much of the contribution is Franklin's. In 1776 Franklin signed the Declaration, and afterward sailed to France as an ambassador to the Court of Louis XVI.

The French loved Franklin. He was the man who had tamed lightning, the humble American who dressed like a backwoodsman but was a match for any wit in the world. He spoke French, though stutteringly. He was a favorite of the ladies. Several years earlier his wife Deborah had died, and Benjamin was now a notorious flirt. In part via Franklin's popularity, the government of France signed a Treaty of Alliance with the Americans in 1778. Franklin also helped secure loans and persuade the French they were doing the right thing. Franklin was on hand to sign the Treaty of Paris in 1783, after the Americans had won the Revolution. Now a man in his late seventies, Franklin returned to America. He became President of the Executive Council of Pennsylvania. He served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and signed the Constitution. One of his last public acts was writing an anti-slavery treatise in 1789.

Franklin died on April 17, 1790 at the age of 84. 20,000 people attended the funeral of the man who was called, "the harmonious human multitude." His electric personality, however, still lights the world.

I.       Literary Works

·           Franklin, Benjamin, "The Way to Wealth". Applewood Books; November 1986. ISBN 0-918222-88-5

·           Franklin, Benjamin, "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin". Dover Pubns; June 7, 1996. ISBN 0-486-29073-5

·           Franklin, Benjamin, "Poor Richards Almanack". Peter Pauper Press; November 1983.ISBN 0-88088-918-7

·           Franklin, Benjamin, "The Poetry of Minor Connecticut Wits". Scholars Facsimilies & Reprint; September 2000. ISBN 0-8201-1066-3

·           Franklin, Benjamin, "Writings". ISBN 0-940450-29-1

·           Franklin, Benjamin, "On Marriage".

·           Franklin, Benjamin, "Satires and Bagatelles".

J.      Analysis Message of Literary Works

After The Pennsylvania Gazette, Poor Richard was the most profitable enterprise that Franklin undertook as a publisher. It sold about 10,000 copies a year. Given the now indissoluble connection between “Poor Richard” and Benjamin Franklin, it should be emphasized that most of the material in Poor Richard was not actually written by Franklin. This was especially true of the aphorisms, their most famous feature. Franklin could have had no idea that the brief sayings he used, taken from “many Ages and Nations,” would become the primary basis for his international fame as an author. He never pretended they were his own. He wrote in Poor Richard for 1746,

“I know as well as thee, that I am no poet born; and it is a trade I never learnt, nor indeed could learn. . . .Why then should I give my readers bad lines of my own, when good ones of other people’s are so plenty? ’Tis methinks a poor excuse for the bad entertainment of guests, that the food we set before them, though coarse and ordinary, is of one’s own raising, off one’s own plantation, etc. when there is plenty of what is ten times better, to be had in the market.”

Intellectual property, the ownership of ideas, was not what mattered. The point was not where the ideas had come from but the uses to which they could be put.

In 1732 I first published my Almanack, under the name of Richard Saunders; it was continu’d by me about 25 Years, commonly call’d Poor Richard’s Almanack. I endeavor’d to make it both entertaining and useful, and it accordingly came to be in such Demand that I reap’d considerable Profit from it, vending annually near ten Thousand. . . . I consider’d it as a proper Vehicle for conveying Instruction among the common People, who bought scarcely any other Books. I therefore filled all the little Spaces that occur’d between the Remarkable Days in the Calendar, with Proverbial Sentences, chiefly such as inculcated Industry and Frugality, as the Means of procuring Wealth and thereby securing Virtue, it being more difficult for a Man in Want to act always honestly, as (to use here one of those Proverbs) it is hard for an empty Sack to stand upright. (Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography)

CHAPTER III

CONCLUSION

Franklin sought to cultivate his character by a plan of 13 virtues, which he developed at age 20 (in 1726) and continued to practice in some form for the rest of his life. His autobiography lists his 13 virtues as:

1.     "Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation."

2.     "Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation."

3.     "Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time."

4.     "Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve."

5.     "Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing."

6.     "Industry. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions."

7.     "Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly."

8.     "Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty."

9.     "Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve."

10. "Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation."

11. "Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable."

12. "Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation."

13. "Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates."

REFFERENCE

·         Infamous Practices: Risk-Taking in Franklin's Early Journalism.

·         The Journalist as Man of Letters"; recorded relevant items from bibliography in Reappraising Benjamin Franklin

·         http://www.librarycompany.org/bfwriter/poor.htm

·         http://www2.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/16071783/lit/franklin/

·         http://media.isnet.org/iptek/100/Franklin.html

·         http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Autobiography_of_Benjamin_Franklin_(buku)

SOCIOLOGY OF LITERATURE IN "NORTH AND SOUTH"

1.      From chapter 17 “What is a strike?”

Answer: Higgins explains that the strike has failed. He credits this to the workmen's false premises and miscalculations. They did not expect the masters to bring in Irish hands, nor did the Committee men expect "passions getting the better of reason, as in the case of Boucher and the rioters" (225). These Milton workmen were the cruelest blow to the cause. Higgins was now out of work; he knew that Hamper would never give him his job back and he chafed at asking Mr. Thornton, even though he eventually would agree to do this at Margaret's insistence. The strike thus ended the way Bessy predicted it would –the masters appeared to have triumphed and the workers would need to return to work for the same wages –but as the novel progresses, the reader discovers that this strike was in fact unique. Mr. Thornton was affected; his business fails (until Margaret rescues it) and he eventually learns that a more humanitarian way of conducting business is personally and professionally profitable.

2.      Make a list of all the words and phrases which Higgins uses to describe: (a) the mill owners; (b) the workers; (c) himself; (d) the mill owners’ action; (e) the workers’ action; (f) his own actions. From this evidence, try to describe Higgins’ view of the strike (e.g. by considering who does what to whom).

Answer: Higgins, in particular, who Thornton considers among "mere demagogues, lovers of power, at whatever costs to others,"(Gaskell, 1855, chapter 38) assumes the responsibility for raising the Boucher children and embodies the values of maternal tenderness ( lacking in Mrs. Thornton) and strength (not possessed by Mrs. Hale) with great dignity. Gaskell endows John Thornton with tenderness in his heart, a soft spot according to Nicholas Higgins. Thornton's pride hides this capacity from public view but shows it in his affection for his mother and his quiet attention towards the Hales . He expresses it later more obviously when he develops good relations with his workers beyond the usual "cash nexus" and builds a canteen for factory workers (meal preparation, a domestic sphere), where he sometimes shares meals with them. Margaret's and Thornton's individual evolution eventually converges and, learning humility, they are partly freed from the shackles of separate spheres: he has known friendly relations at the mill and she asserts her independence from the kind of life that her cousin leads. She initiates their business meeting which he chooses to interpret as a declaration of love (Stoneman, 1987, pp 137–138). In the final scene, it is she who has control of the financial situation and he who reacts emotionally. They now meet as just man and woman and no longer the manufacturer from the North and the lady from the South (Gaskell, 1855, chapter 52). The blurring of roles is also evident among the workers where many like Bessy are women.

3.      Make a list of all the words and phrases which Margaret uses to describe: (a) the mill owner’s possible actions; (b) Higgins’ description of his own role; (c) the actions of workers in a strike. From this evidence, to describe Margaret’s view of the strike.

Answer: There are many things Margaret does not understand when she moves to Milton, and the strike is one of them. Bessy's opinions on the strike are unwavering -she feels that it is painful and useless. Despite the fact that there might be a valid reason behind it, she cannot help but perceive a strike as a loathsome thing that eradicates a man's hope and confidence. She has seen too many of them fail to be optimistic. The masters always have won and they always will win. Bessy's predictions turn out to be true, for Boucher and men like him feel too frustrated to hold out for diplomacy and thus turn to violent means. Irish hands are brought in and the Committee fails to secure any negotiations. Things return to their normal mode of operation. However, one thing Bessy does not live to see is the change within Mr. Thornton that leads to his better treatment of his workers and a more progressive, humanistic way of conducting business.

4.      What is the difference between Margaret’s suggestion that ‘the state of trade’ might not allow the owners to give the workers the same ‘remuneration’, and Higgins’ response that he is not talking about the state of trade but ‘rate o’ wages’? How, in Higgins’ view, do the owners use term ‘state o’ trade’?

Answer: Margaret once again shows her strength by protecting Mr. Thornton by her "womanly weakness". She sees, first hand, the suffering and starvation of the workers who have chosen to strike. She also sees the desperation brought on by this suffering. For me, it seemed that the work kills the bodies and the spirits of the workers. No work seemed to do the same in a different way.

It was against this background of agitation for worker's rights that Gaskell wrote in both N&S and Mary Barton about industrial relations in Manchester which was both a centre of trade unionism and a centre of exploitation by unscrupulous employers. We must remember that although communism has been discredited in our era it was seen as a lifeline to workers struggling under the most appalling working conditions the world had ever seen. The idea that by 'combining' in large groups they could force employers and governments to improve working conditions and pay, and to better living conditions generally, was a novel one, to which thousands enthusiastically subscribed despite the cruel strike-breaking methods exerted upon them by employers and the police. People in this area were also well aware that in 1819 Manchester had been the scene of the infamous Peterloo Massace where a peaceful assembly of men, women and children was mown down by soldiers on horseback and armed police, murdering 18 and injuring 700.

Even wages (and benefits) can be a large part of moral responsibility issues, alongside working conditions, layoff considerations, and any rights that may or may not exist to share in profitability. And, there are probably other major areas that we should name, such as an industry's impact on the environment in which it operates, even perhaps on the environment into which it provides products and services (e.g., Walmart's recent efforts to require its suppliers to reduce packaging wastes associated with their products).

5.      What is the effect of the fact that Higgins speaks in a working class northern dialect, while Margaret speaks in Standard English? Does it make his view of the strike more incredible? Less incredible? More authentic? Less authoritative?

Answer: The revival of social paternalism was a dominant feature of the Victorian effort to counteract the consequences of a competitive market economy. Paternalist ideology reasserted a belief that relations between employers and workers should be constituted in moral as well as economic terms and that society was properly seen as a hierarchical order in which the wealthy and powerful would protect the poor in return for their deference and duty.

It occurs to me that this is another contrast between the North and the South, and perhaps accounts for Margaret's views. In farming community, the farmer and the workers would necessarily have to work together for a common goal that would benefit both, that is to say, the crops. If the workers and the farmer shared the food, then that would constitute some or all of the workers' pay and would motivate both sides to cooperate for the best outcome. Perhaps part of the problem in the mills is that the only compensation is monetary.