Author Archives: eharris2210

The Call for Paper I found that most interested me was titled “Romantic Women and Their Books:” Studies in Romanticism special issue. The prompt wants papers addressing the recent movement of feminist scholars in “recovering the neglected writing of Romantic-era women” (Stauffer). The prompt asks modern scholars to explain “how our understanding of these womenContinue reading “Call for Papers Prompt”

While reading Phillis Wheatley, I became interested in her poem “To The King’s Most Excellent Majesty” and the historical context surrounding its publication. The poem was written in 1768, but it wasn’t published until 1773 (90). These dates are near the beginning of the American Revolution. At this time, Wheatley was living in Boston, andContinue reading “A Revolutionary Poet: Wheatley and The American Revolution”

I’m thinking about possible essay topics and I’m leaning towards Mary Wollstonecraft and her impact on literature. I have some prior knowledge of Wollstonecraft, but I’m looking forward to reading her works in class. With Wollstonecraft, I would like to compare other female writers we have been talking about like Barbauld, More, and Smith. WollstonecraftContinue reading “Final Essay Thoughts”

Hannah More’s “The Hackney Coachman: Or, The Way to Get a Good Fare,” is a lively poem compared to what we have been reading. The coachman takes pride in his work and wants to give his riders an enjoyable trip. He prides himself on being able to work saying, “To work all the week IContinue reading “The Coachman and The City”

While reading John Clare’s “Written in a Thunder Storm July 15th, 1841,” I didn’t realize it was written before he escaped the asylum. I hadn’t looked at the footnote for the title, but once I did and I reread the poem, it changed my perspective. At first I thought the poem was strictly a natureContinue reading “The Escape of John Clare Through his Poetry”

Focusing on Wordsworth, I’ve found that hi poetry is different because he thinks differently than other writers. Some writers seem to hide behind the objectivity of their works because they want to sell to more consumers; however, Wordsworth uses subjectivity to make himself the center of attention. His prelude is based upon his life, writtenContinue reading “Christian Prophecy: Wordsworth and Tradition”

I returned to Wordsworth’s preface to Lyrical Ballads because he explains poetry in a unique way. He says, “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings,” and though I understand what he means I don’t know if this is necessarily true (340). Wordsworth implies that the poet is trying to express an overwhelming amount ofContinue reading “From the Heart: The Poet and Reader Relationship”

I found Wordsworth’s preface to Lyrical Ballads an interesting piece because he describes the current poetry style as a contract between the author and reader, suggesting that the reader is expecting to see certain aspects of poetry and the author is meant to fulfill this agreement. Contradictory to these ideas, Wordsworth claims his poetry differsContinue reading “Wordsworth: Forming Poetry”

Reading Collett’s article about Godwin’s utopian theory helped me to understand his novel better. By this I mean I understand why he created an immortal character, but comparing his theory with the novel leaves some questions. If reaching immortality somehow creates the perfect human, why does Reginald suffer from the same mistakes he made inContinue reading “A Helping Hand for the Children”

In the last section of Godwin’s St. Leon, prophecy is evident through Reginald’s thoughts as he reaches the end of his story. Section four is where Reginald understands the cost of immortality is losing the one’s you love. He celebrates that he is young again through the power of the elixir, but he realizes heContinue reading “Forever Alive, Forever Alone”