Jessie Pope Poetry Essays

Jessie Pope Poetry Essays Jessie Pope Poetry Paper Jessie Pope Poetry Paper stand? , gun? , run? . The insistence seems impossible to resist, like a constant drum beat inside the soldiers minds making the soldiers feel like they have no alternative but to go to war. Dulce et Decorum est has an accusatory tone; this tone is directed mockingly at my friend, particularly in the last stanza. The poets anger builds and the use of the direct and accusatory tone excels. The poet gives his description impact by speaking in the present tense guttering, choking, drowning, this gives a sense of immediacy and desperate warning to the soldiers to believe the happy stories of war. The language in Whos for the game? is crude as the poet has never before experienced war: she creates a false image to young, nai ve boys of what war might be like. The poet has a target audience of young men similar to Wilfred Owens poem though he tries to put across to true image of war. Wilfred Owen uses powerful imagery to describe the horror of the war, guttering, giving images of a candle about to flicker out. He uses the image of a devil like a devils sick of sin; the soldiers are sick of sin but ironically devils should never be sick of sin. Similes used near the beginning of the poem such as bent double like old beggars under sacks suggest that the soldiers are now on the fringes of society. In theory the soldiers should be young and brave, but Owen reduces them to old, forgotten about hags. In Whos for the game? Pope uses an enthralling rugby game to describe the war, to her readers. This quite contradicts Owens views that war has made the soldiers old like hags. The two poems have quite different messages. Whos for the game? has a clear propaganda message as it tricks young, nai ve men into thinking war is something its not, whereas Wilfred Owen has a definite anti-war message, conveying the truth to men and soldiers that have been in, or are considering going to war. The town poems are very different in their form. Jesse Pope uses a very regular rhyme and rhythm: a strong beat is felt particularly at the end of each line, emphasising the patronising question words to the soldiers. The last beat falls at the end of the last stanza on you as if the poet is physically pointing their finger at the juvenile solider or reader. This is very personal and direct. In contrast to this simple poem, Wilfred Owens is quite complex. It does have rhyme such as sacks and backs though in between lines 1 and 3, is sludge, slowing the poem right down, these awkward sounding consonants conveying an onomatopoeia effect. In the second stanza lines 1 and 3, and 2 and 4 rhyme, though 5 and 6 dont creating struggle as the poem doesnt flow, again emphasising the struggle and nightmares of the soldiers that are intruding on the present. Both poems had a very strong and powerful though different impact on the reader. In Whos for the game? we feel angry and frustrated at Jesse Pope for giving the soldiers a false illusion of what war was. Being young and nai ve the young men still look for guidance and this sort of poetry we feel is unethical. In comparison, Dulce et De Corum Est makes us feel encouraged that someone was fighting for the truth to be told. The fact that the soldiers were only young and nai ve was clearly recognised and emphasised: children ardent for some desperate glory Wilfred Owen had the true picture of how wrong Jesse Pope was to spread poems full of lies. However, the reader does finish the poem feeling proud that young soldiers were prepared to fight for our country until they were no longer able. Disabled by Wilfred Owen is an anti-war poem, describing in much detail the story of a naive, young man going into war to impress, unaware of the full detail of what he was signing up to, in fact throwing away his life. Does it matter by Siegfried Sassoon, similarly, this is an anti-war poem putting across his views in a very patronising manor making his strong anger against war very clear. Where the poem Disabled is a sad, detailed story, Does it matter? is an angry, but simple poem, filled with sarcasm. Where disabled subtlety portrays the anti-war feeling of the poet, Does is matter? is again anti-war, but filled with the poets anger and fury. Disabled uses heavy, detailed description to gain the audiences attention, though Does it matter? uses simple language in good writing techniques such as the use of clichi s and sarcasm in order to entertain and again get the audience listening. Both poets have a clear anti-war message, and both seem strongly against Jesse Pope, who wrongly, wrote poems about a war which she had never experienced poets such as Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, along with many others, aimed to convince the public that wars were far from sweet and decorous. The mood of Disabled reaches for the sadness and pity of the audience by going into great depth about a young soldier, where Does it matter wastes no time in unmistakably putting across his outrage of trying to trick young, nai ve soldiers to the reader. The poem Disabled changes the tense of the poem frequently, alternating from present to past to future, giving the reader full knowledge of the exciting history, sad situation the young man is in, and what destroyed future the man has ahead of him. He is described presently as legless, sewn short at elbow as if he is now not a whole human, not a real man. Ironically, he was legless when signing up for the war: when hed drunk a peg, He thought hed better join, and on completing the job, he is now permanently disabled, and has lost the admiration he once had for signing up to go to war, before he threw away his knees it ironically seems he intended to through them away, though now he is lonely and in self-pity as he has no legs and foreshortened arms. The young man feels destroyed by the loss of his limbs, the young man that were whole ironically, he feels emasculated due to him loosing his limbs. He will no longer never feel again how slim girls waists are, or how warm their subtle hands; it seems he was extremely nai ve into what he was actually signing up to, which was in fact throwing away his youth and even life. Its almost a lifetime ago, as war has matured him so much, from the quote and that he had a girlfriend his Meg it would seem he was popular with the ladies. This would probably be due to his extremely good looks, there was an artist silly for his face it would now be such a contrast, as all the colour and excitement has drained out of his life, shivered in his ghastly suit of grey, his life has gone from colour quickly to black and white. It would seem ironic, that he signed up to war to impress the girls, though now he is touched like some queer disease by girls, he wanted to impress though he is now only being repulsed at and some are even quite afraid of him. On going to receive admiration, pity they may dole he receives none, only little pity. The young man was tricked into war by people such as Jesse Pope, and it can be easily understood from this why poets such as Siegfried Sassoon wrote with such power, and anger not holding back as they wanted the soldiers to know the real truth. Does it matter? loosing your legs? it seems for the young man in Disabled it did considerably, ruined his life in fact. For people will always be kind Sassoon writes, we have learnt that this is definitely not always the case, as the man from war was felt he was touched like some queer disease even though the simple reason he was in that state was due to him fighting for their country, putting his life on the line. He is described presently as waiting for dark as if there is nothing to do but simply wait for death, drowned in his own sadness and blood, a leap of purple spurted from his thigh when to impress was what he signed up for, what he received is so mething unimaginably different. The insensitiveness and greed of the people left at home is more clearly shown in Does it matter: need not show that you mind others come in after hunting, to gobble their muffins and eggs there is a sense of ignorance and lack of sympathy to the injured coming back from war. When ironically, if the soldiers hadnt of gone, the whole country may have been at risk, and the ones left at home would be unable to go hunting and gobble their muffins and eggs. The poem Disabled ends with repetition on the end of the last two lines, Why dont they come? Why dont they come? Calling out and emphasising to the reader the desperate situation the soldiers have landed themselves into. There is no longer anyone there for him, no one to look at him. This once more, all agrees with Siegfried Sassoons poem Does it matter and people wont say that your mad his strong sarcasm has backed up evidence after reading the story of Disabled. Sassoon writes mockingly at what comfort may be given theres such splendid work for the blind this is platitude, trying to make someone feel better, when really it is simply an empty comfort as how could that make up for losing your sight. Does it matter? also disdains the poem Dulce et Decorum est: Do they matter? those dreams from the pit? for the soldiers being described in this poem their sleep is far from dreams, its nightmares, phantasmagorical, re-living the times of the pit, as they are intruding on the soldiers present lives: before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning having a horrific impact on the soldiers lives. Both poems have a clear anti-war message, though where Sassoons has writes in a youthful idealistic way about war, Owen writes in a very satirical manor though has a serious moral purpose underneath with many other feelings and emotions attached such as bitterness and anger, disillusioning the reader. Where, the young man in disabled is a clear victim of Jesse Popes propaganda Told it was like a game, similar to her poem Whos for the game the young man thought it would be like football, and the injuries were good, a blood smear down his leg carried shoulder-high, it was after football though war is no comparison to a game of football or even rugby as it was likened to by Jesse Pope the young man was robbed of his disillusions. The poem Disabled has regular rhyming; each stanza has a different pace creating different moods for the reader. For example stanza 4 has is quick paced showing the excitement in the young mans life before he went to war: someone said hed look a God in kilts, thats why; he may be, too, to please his Meg; his life was so exhilarating and fast. This then contrasts to the present and future tense stanzas which are slow and dont flow easily for the reader, particularly the last stanza which has no rhyming, this is difficult for the reader to read similar to what a difficult life the young man now leads. Similarly the poem does it matter has a very regular rhyming pattern, lines 1 and 5, 2 and 3 rhyme, the forth line always not. This creates what could seem a very simple poem for the reader to read, though it has a very complex meaning inside quite different to disabled, where most of the poets opinions are detailed, and on the surface. Adding to this, the consistent repetition of Does it matter? at the beginning of each stanza brings obvious sarcasm, and the true effects of war on the soldiers. From reading and analysing these poems I have become open minded about my view of the different poets forms of writing. At first I was extremely against the crude way of writing that Jesse Pope did, though I now release that if the truth had been revealed all along, there is a possibility no one would of wanted to fight and our country would have been quite different from what it is today. I thought the propaganda poetry, especially Wilfred Owens Disabled was particularly emotional as the situation can still be related to today.

Politics and the Political System of the Ancient Maya

Politics and the Political System of the Ancient Maya The Mayan civilization flourished in the rainforests of southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, reaching its apex around A.D. 700–900 before falling into a swift and somewhat mysterious decline. The Maya were expert astronomers and traders: they were also literate with a complicated language and their own books. Like other civilizations, the Maya had rulers and a ruling class, and their political structure was complex. Their kings were powerful and claimed to be descended from the gods and the planets. The Mayan City-States The Mayan civilization was large, powerful, and culturally complex: it is often compared to the Incas of Peru and the Aztecs of Central Mexico. Unlike these other empires, however, the Maya never unified. Instead of a mighty empire ruled from one city by one set of rulers, the Maya instead had a series of city-states that only ruled the surrounding area, or some nearby vassal states if they were powerful enough. Tikal, one of the most powerful Mayan city-states, never ruled much farther than its immediate borders, although it did have vassal cities such as Dos Pilas and Copn. Each of these city-states had its own ruler. Development of Mayan Politics and Kingship The Mayan culture began around 1800 B.C. in the lowlands of the Yucatan and southern Mexico. For centuries, their culture slowly advanced, but as of yet, they had no concept of kings or royal families. It wasnt until the middle to late preclassic periods (300 B.C. or so) that evidence of kings began to appear at certain Mayan sites. The founding king of Tikals first royal dynasty, Yax Ehb Xook, lived sometime in the Preclassic period. By A.D. 300, kings were common, and the Maya began building stelae to honor them: large, stylized stone statues that describe the king, or Ahau, and his accomplishments. The Mayan Kings The Mayan kings claimed descent from the gods and planets, laying claim to a quasi-divine status, somewhere between humans and gods. As such, they lived between two worlds, and wielding â€Å"divine† power was part of their duties. The kings and royal family had important roles at public ceremonies, such as the ball games. They channeled their connection to the gods through sacrifices (of their own blood, of captives, etc.), dance, spiritual trances, and hallucinogenic enemas. Succession was usually patrilineal, but not always. Occasionally, queens ruled when no suitable male of the royal line was available or of age. All kings had numbers that placed them in order from the founder of the dynasty. Unfortunately, this number is not always recorded in the king’s glyphs on stone carvings, resulting on unclear histories of dynastic succession. Life of a Mayan King A Mayan king was groomed from birth to rule. A prince had to pass through many different initiations and rites. As a young man, he had his first bloodletting at the age of five or six. As a young man, he was expected to fight and lead battles and skirmishes against rival tribes. Capturing prisoners, particularly high-ranking ones, was important. When the prince finally became king, the elaborate ceremony included sitting on a jaguar pelt in an elaborate headdress of colorful feathers and seashells, holding a scepter. As king, he was supreme head of the military and was expected to fight and participate in any armed conflicts entered into by his city-state. He also had to participate in many religious rituals, as he was a conduit between humans and the gods. Kings were allowed to take multiple wives. Mayan Palaces Palaces are found at all of the major Mayan sites. These buildings were located in the heart of the city, near the pyramids and temples so important to Maya life. In some cases, the palaces were very large, multistoried structures, which may indicate that a complicated bureaucracy was in place to rule the kingdom. The palaces were homes to the king and the royal family. Many of the king’s tasks and duties were carried out not in the temples but in the palace itself. These events might have included feasts, celebrations, diplomatic occasions, and receiving tribute from vassal states. Classic-Era Mayan Political Structure By the time the Maya reached their Classic Era, they had a well-developed political system. Renowned archaeologist Joyce Marcus believes that by the Late Classic era, the Maya had a four-tiered political hierarchy. At the top were the king and his administration in major cities like Tikal, Palenque, or Calakmul. These kings would be immortalized on stelae, their great deeds recorded forever. Following the main city were a small group of vassal city-states, with lesser nobility or a relative of the Ahau in charge: these rulers did not merit stelae. After that were affiliated villages, large enough to have rudimentary religious buildings and ruled by minor nobility. The fourth tier consisted of hamlets, which were all or mostly residential and devoted to agriculture. Contact with Other City-States Although the Maya were never a unified empire like the Incas or Aztecs, the city-states nevertheless had much contact. This contact facilitated cultural exchange, making the Maya much more unified culturally than politically. Trade was common. The Maya traded in prestige items like obsidian, gold, feathers, and jade. They also traded in food items, particularly in later eras as the major cities grew too large to support their population. Warfare was also common: skirmishes to take slaves and victims for sacrifice were common, and all-out wars not unheard of. Tikal was defeated by rival Calakmul in 562, causing a century-long hiatus in its power before it reached its former glory once again. The powerful city of Teotihuacan, just north of present-day Mexico City, wielded great influence on the Mayan world and even replaced the ruling family of Tikal in favor of one more friendly to their city. Politics and the Decline of the Maya The Classic Era was the height of the Mayan civilization culturally, politically, and militarily. Between A.D. 700 and 900, however, the Maya civilization began a swift and irreversible decline. The reasons the Mayan society fell are still a mystery, but theories abound. As the Maya civilization grew, warfare between city-states grew as well: entire cities were attacked, defeated, and destroyed. The ruling class grew as well, placing a strain on the working classes, which may have resulted in civil strife. Food became a problem for some Maya cities as the population grew. When trade could no longer make up the differences, hungry citizens may have revolted or fled. The Mayan rulers might have avoided some of these calamities. Source McKillop, Heather. The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives. Reprint edition, W. W. Norton Company, July 17, 2006.