Poetic Forms

Social Standings in The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

In The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Wharton presents a critique of the upper-class New York society of her day. At the time, women of a higher class did not have their own identity. A woman’s status was defined by her father’s family until she was married, at which point she was defined by her husband. The main character of The House of Mirth, Lily Bart, does not have a father, and while she’s a part of the upper class, she has almost no money. This gives her a relatively ambiguous social standing—one that can only be rectified by marriage, preferably to a rich man. One privilege awarded to married women is the responsibility of decorating a home. This acts as a means of expression for women, and it is something that Lily desperately yearns to do. However, doing so without a husband would be improper in high society, and impractical considering her lack of wealth. Because of her desire to decorate, and her inability to do so, she has strong reactions t o specific interiors. In this novel, Wharton uses interiors as a way of expressing Lily’s feelings of imprisonment as an unmarried woman, thereby critiquing a society by which women can only attain identity and social standing through marriage. Lily’s father died when she was very young and when her mother died she was left with nothing. Her aunt, Mrs. Peniston, begrudgingly took her in, because she had nowhere else to go. Lily is unhappy there; she finds the atmosphere to be oppressive and prisonlike. Mrs. Peniston’sShow MoreRelatedCriticism by Imprisonment1110 Words   |  5 Pages Francis Scott Fitzgerald and Edith Wharton authored novels that take place in America around the beginning of the nineteenth century. In both This Side of Paradise and The House of Mirth, the authors paint the protagonists as imprisoned. This is a criticism of the society that they live in and is represented in the authors’ use of imagery, characterization, and the motif of social standing. Wharton uses a great deal of imagery to reflect Lily Bart as imprisoned, while Fitzgerald uses less imageryRead MoreThe House of Mirth and the Gilded Age971 Words   |  4 PagesNovelist Edith Wharton wrote her defining work, 1905s the House of Mirth, on a subject she knew all too well: the style-over-substance realm of New Yorks upper-crust society during the Gilded Age. Having been raised in this fashionable society, Wharton knew both its intricacies and cruelties firsthand. The triumphant rise and tragic fall of protagonist Lily Bart demonstrate both the sunshine and shadow of the Gilded Age. The House of Mirth not only exposes the reality of how the otherRead More Edith Whartons The House of Mirth as Satirical Commentary on Society 2116 Words   |  9 Pages      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Edith Whartons The House of Mirth creates a subtle, ironic, and superbly crafted picture of the social operation of turn-of-the-century New York. In her harsh expression of community, she succeeds in portraying a world of calculation operating under the pretenses of politeness. The characters become competitors in the highly complex game of social positioning with an amorphous body of socially formed laws. Through her presentation of Lily Bartons ongoing struggles to recover her footing-eachRead MoreTheme Of Objectification In The House Of Mirth1361 Words   |  6 PagesWomen in society are subject to objectification, meaning they are treated as a mere object; unequal to men. In the novel, The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton, this holds true as men bring home the money and women have the decorative purpose in society. The heroine, Lily Bart, is a woman who is destroyed by her own society. Lily resides in a New York society where appearances are everything and even her name, Lily, suggests that she is a flower of femininity meaning she is a decorative object inRead More Jane Eyre vs House of Mirth Lily Essay2044 Words   |  9 PagesJane Eyre vs House of Mirth Lily The novels, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, and House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton, contain many similarities and differences of which I will discuss in this essay. The focus will be on the main characters of each book, Jane Eyre, and Lily Bart and will include important points and ideas demonstrated in these novels. To begin, Jane, from Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre, was an orphan who was raised by an upper-class family who resented her and did not

Rap takes a bum rap free essay sample

Rap Takes a Bum Rap is to convey the positive message of rap songs in this society. As Herschel mentioned, this music has been the blame for almost every problem thats been happening around us throughout the years. However, like any other form of entertainment, this is an art of expressing of oneself. Guru, a rapper, says Rap is musical, cultural, expression based on reality. For people who creates this type of music, Its something they draw from within and their experiences.Indeed, its foundation Is based In creativity and Innovation. As It became popular, it separately formed Into gangs rap and hip hop. Although both represent different style and message, still the positive Influence It brings Is what truly matters. There are also rap artists such as the Delegable Planets, and the Approached that tell stones In their music In a way It gives optimism and hopeful messages to the listeners. We will write a custom essay sample on Rap takes a bum rap or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page On the other hand, there are still rap music that Is said to be violent and riotous. They say that these kids look up to them as their role model.The truth Is, It has existed In the streets before the rap had begun. The Judgment toward the violence of rap music is overrated, not even giving too much attention to other forms of violence in cinema and televisions. For instance, the violent scene in Reservoir Dogs movie where it shows a cop is being tortured. Still, some people think its an acceptable form of violence that rides the audiences emotions. In contrast to the rap artist that has a song titled as cop killer where he was forced arrest to remove the song from the album.Furthermore, looking at the bigger picture, both have nothing to differ at all. Both have demonstrated some act of aggression, but still rap music receives more unreasonable Judgment. Rap music is the reflection of the real life. It is said to be violent because it portrays the struggle in the inner cities. It tells a story that deserves some attention. As well as, some kind of release of emotions of the artists. If we started listening without any mix of misjudgment, we started learning to appreciate the song behind the violence.

The Rise and Fall of Lady Macbeth Essay Example For Students

The Rise and Fall of Lady Macbeth Essay Lady Macbeth began in the play as a fairly sane woman and a strong character but, begins loosing her mind and becoming crazier from the murders she helped to commit. Lady Macbeths desire to feel evil and ruthless had its effect for a while but, eventually her natural emotions came into play and she cracked. In the beginning of the play, when the witches tell Macbeth of his future, Lady Macbeth is the first person he writes to. When hearing the witchs prophecy, Lady Macbeth wishes the prophecy to be true hoping that she will become queen and her husband the king. Immediately Shakespeare had the reader imagine the thoughts going through Lady Macbeths head as she realized that the prophecy was to take place in the future and not the present because Duncan was a great king. Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to unsex her here and fill her from the crown to the toe top-full of Direst Cruelty! (Act I, Scene v, Lines 41-43) Lady Macbeth wants to become brave enough to persuade her husband to kill Duncan. Once Lady Macbeth puts the idea of murdering the King in Macbeths head, she begins to plan the murder. Lady Macbeth seems to be very intelligent so she must have thought everything out. She planned what looked like a perfect murder. Even though she appears to be rather brave, it is obvious to the a udience that she is not very brave. She wants to be crowned just as much as Macbeth, but she doesnt have the guts to stab the King. Lady Macbeth could not kill the king herself, because she claimed, Duncan, whilst asleep, resembled her father.(http://aurora.komvux.norrkoping.se/oxford) Once the King arrives at Macbeths castle, Lady Macbeth does what she tells her husband to do. She is a good actress and Looks like thinnocent flower but be the serpent under t.(http://tqd.advanced.org/2000) When Macbeth thinks further about killing the King, he decides that he has too many reasons not to do it. Macbeth believes that the only good reason to murder the King is his goal to become king. His goal is also Lady Macbeths only reason for wanting to become queen. When Lady Macbeth hears of Macbeths change in plans she thinks of a way to get him to change his mind. Lady Macbeth gets Macbeth to act by appealing to his manhood and courage.(.Igs.net/chrisharr/macbeth) She calls him a coward and say s that she would murder her own baby if she had promised to do so. Lady Macbeth uses a very smart method here in trying to persuade Macbeth. She goes for the one thing she knows would affect a man his manhood. When Macbeth does less than she planned she attacks him again, telling him to screw your courage to the sticking place, and well not fail.(http://aurora.komvux.norrkoping.se/oxford or Act I, Scene vii, line 61) This method was successful in persuading Macbeth to murder the king. This scene shows that Lady Macbeth is very powerful in this relationship. She is able to change the thanes mind even when he clearly stated, We will precede no further in this business. (http://aurora.komvux.norrkoping.se/oxford or Act I, scene vii, line 32) In the scene after the killing is done, the audience sees how calm and clear Lady Macbeth is. After the murder of Duncan this is when you see most of the changes begin, first of all it all started with Macbeth he started to become nervous and began to see things that werent really there like the ghost of Duncan. This was the beginning of the couples problems when Macbeth started to see things that only existed in his mind. This was most likely what started Lady Macbeth off. This got her a bit paranoid about ghosts and other spirits coming to get her and was when you could start to notice a difference in Lady Macbeths attitude. It was partly because she was a bit worried about Macbeth and his problems with his seeing things. The murder of Duncan doesnt seem to affect Lady Macbeth very much but, her husband, on the other hand, is the total opposite. He forgot to place the daggers in the drunken guards hands and refused to go back which showed he was afraid. Lady Macbeth grabs the daggers and returns them, which showed that she had no fear at that point. He says strange things about his bloody hands and doesnt think rationally. Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to wash his hands and tells him that they must put on their nightgowns and go to bed. Lady Macbeth also shows how responsible she is in the banquet scene after the murder of Banquo. She calmly tells the lords that Macbeth is simply ill and tells them to leave when she sees that things are getting out of hand. After the scene when macbeth sees Banquos ghost, Lady Macbeth doesnt seem to have much power anymore. This is because of the change in the relationship of her and her husband. Macbeth is acting on his own now. He decided on his own to kill Banquo. Macbeth also doesnt consider her when he decides to return to the witches and to kill Macduffs entire home family, servants, and all. From what has happened in the play so far, there has been no real good in the character of Lady Macbeth. Later in the play the murders start to have an affect on Lady Macbeth and thats as close as she gets to be good. As the murders affect her she begins to sleepwalk and pictures the blood on her hands saying Out damn spot! Out, I say! (http://aurora.komvux.norrkoping.se/oxfor d or act V, scene I, line 33). Lady Macbeth was no longer able to stand it so she killed herself. Lady Macbeth is a major character in this play. She is Macbeths other half. Without her, Macbeth wouldnt have become king of Scotland. She was able to change the whole play because of her authority over Macbeth. Lady Macbeth began in the play as a fairly sane woman and a strong character but, began loosing her mind and becoming crazier from the murders she helped to commit. Lady Macbeths desire to feel evil and ruthless had its effect for a while but, eventually her natural emotions came into play and she cracked. .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8 , .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8 .postImageUrl , .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8 , .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8:hover , .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8:visited , .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8:active { border:0!important; } .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8:active , .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8 .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .udfbf11ac51a143ba1ddb98618e5753d8:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Legal - Law Reform and Web Quest Essay We will write a custom essay on The Rise and Fall of Lady Macbeth specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Bibliography: