Thursday, March 19, 2020

The ways in which poets make use of form and language to present their views on love and marriage Essays

The ways in which poets make use of form and language to present their views on love and marriage Essays The ways in which poets make use of form and language to present their views on love and marriage Essay The ways in which poets make use of form and language to present their views on love and marriage Essay Essay Topic: Poetry The two poems studied from the nineteenth century on love and loss give a very different view on love and marriage. A woman to her lover, by Christina Walsh gives a view of a woman wanting co-equal love, whereas in My Last Duchess by Robert Browning, there is a view of patriarchal love and dominance by man. These are both very different views on love, however in A Woman To Her Lover, the views expressed in these days would be seen as rational and what is accepted. In the days which it was written it would be seen as discordant. This essay will focus on comparing the form and language of both poems and how these techniques help to present their views on love and marriage. Along with form and language, this essay will also comment on the use of rhetorical questions, personal pronouns, the use of exclamation marks, imagery and repetition. In A Woman To Her Lover the poem is based on a four-stanza reply to a question, If that be what you ask. We can see that she has been asked to marry and she is setting out the guidelines. The poem also has no set rhyme scheme or rhythm; it also rejects traditional conversion and rules. In the nineteenth century there were rules which women had to follow and what was expected of them, but this freedom in which the poem is written expresses the freedom that the writer is asking for in the relationship between her and her lover. The freedom in the poem represents the freedom asked for in marriage. My Last Duchess is written as a dramatic monologue, the speakers personality is revealed through what he is saying. It is written in iambic pentameter and rhyming couplets, which gives the effect of strictness, with a patriarchal and restrictive view of love. There is also enjambement in this poem, which gives it a natural flow, this suggests that what he is saying comes naturally and it is the only way that he thinks. The language in both poems is archaic and of the time but Christina Walsh uses an unusual word order, no servant will I be. This makes the statement more direct with a suggestion of harshness. It also emphasises her disgust at the traditional view of love. In My Last Duchess the duke has an ostentatious voice, worked busily a day. This shows that he has high expectations of his employees and he will also have high expectations of his wife. The Duke also tries to make people fear him, if they durst. This would show that he feels that people should be scared of him, which would include his wife, so he would not be very close to his wife if she were scared of him. The use of questions and rhetorical questions are used in both of the poems. The woman in A Woman To Her Lover uses questions in a reply to an assumed proposal of marriage, Or if you think to wed. These questions are the theme for the whole poem. This can show that he has asked her a question, but before she can answer she has to know things about him. This makes us feel that she is not rushing into marriage but is thinking carefully about if she wants to marry him. The duke, on the other hand, answers his own question, whod stoop to blame. He wants the envoy to agree with his anger and disgust at his disobedient wife. He expects correct answers and is single minded about other views. Along with this he always expects people to agree with him. He would not expect his wife to have her own views, even her view of if she wanted to marry him. Cristina Walsh uses the words we, you and I a lot in her poem, A Woman To Her Lover. This shows that the woman wants co-equal love as she involves the man in the poem. She says what we want rather than I want. It shows partnership in the relationship and togetherness. My Last Duchess has a lot of the personal pronoun, I. This shows that he sees love as ownership and will see his wife as a possession rather than a partner. Love does not account for his choice of wife and will only have a trophy wife, someone who will look good to other people. Cristina Walsh uses exclamation marks in her poem to emphasize her disgust in patriarchal views of love at the end of the stanza, I refuse you! If the exclamation mark were not there we would not be able to see how much she despised the view of patriarchal love she is talking about. Robert Browning uses the exclamation mark also to emphasize his disgust but it is when he remembers his wife having her own views, Sir, t was all one! We can see that he is very dominant and gets angry when she does what she wants. Once again the exclamation marks lets us see how angry he gets and how much he hates her having her own views. A Woman To Her Lover uses quite a lot of parallel structure throughout the whole poem If that be what you ask. This use of parallel structure gives the effect that she is ranting and raving about her disgust of the ideas that she is talking about. The parallel structure also gives the effect that she is shouting very fast and gives fluidity to it. My Last Duchess does not have any parallel structure as I think that the duke is trying to give a note of dignity to himself. Therefore the use of parallel structure will give the effect that he is shouting and getting excited. He tries to make himself sound better than he really is which makes him sound fake about love and that women dont see him for what he is. Christina Walsh uses repetition at the beginning of a sentence to try to get a lot of points through. There are three sentences one after the other all beginning with And. This tells us that the woman has a lot of conditions and points for her love to her lover. Robert Browning uses repetition further apart in his poem; that spot of joy, this gives us the feeling that he is wrapped up in one thing only and can only think about that one thing. This repetition makes us think that he is obsesses with the bad behaviour of his wife and cannot let simple things drop. This makes us think that he is strict with his wife and is not caring or forgiving. These two poems both give very different views of love and marriage in the nineteenth century. Christina Walsh gives a modern view of a relationship, which is what most couples try for today. She lists the conditions for her love. These conditions however are not biased but things that will balance the relationship. Whereas in Robert Brownings, My Last Duchess the Duke talks about a relationship where he has complete dominance over his wife. He also expects her to look up to him at all times and be thankful of everything he has and for her to not acknowledge any other men. Robert Brownings patriarchal view of love, which he talks about in My Last Duchess, was seen as acceptable in the nineteenth century, especially by men. Women yearned for the view of Christina Walsh, but nothing was done about it, we can now see that this view is now a reality in todays world and any other view, i.e. Robert Brownings view, would be unacceptable.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Profile of Serial Killer Richard Cottingham

Profile of Serial Killer Richard Cottingham Richard Cottingham was a serial rapist and killer that used the streets of New York and New Jersey as his hunting ground in the 1970s. Known for being particularly cruel, Cottingham earned the nickname The Torso Killer because he would sometimes mutilate the body of his victims, leaving just their torso intact. Early Life Relocating to a new school in the seventh grade proved to be socially challenging for Cottingham. He attended St. Andrews, a co-ed parochial school, and spent a lot of his after-school time friendless and at home with his mother and two siblings. It was not until he entered Pascack Valley High School, that he had friends. After graduating from high school, Cottingham went to work as a computer operator at his fathers insurance company, Metropolitan Life. He stayed there for two years and then moved to Blue Cross Blue Shield, also as a computer operator. First Kill and The Family Man Cottingham abducted Carr  from her apartment parking lot, took her to a hotel where he raped, tortured, and murdered her, and left her body at Ledgewood Terrace. In 1974, Cottingham, who was now the father of a baby boy, was arrested and charged with robbery, sodomy, and sexual assault in New York City, but the charges were dropped. Over the next three years, Janet gave birth to two more children- a boy and a girl. Soon after their last child was born, Cottingham began an extramarital affair with a woman named Barbara Lucas. The relationship lasted for two years, ending in 1980. Throughout their affair, Cottingham was raping, killing and mutilating women. Killing Spree March 22, 1978: New York City- Kidnapped, drugged and raped Karen Schilt, age 31.October 13, 1978: Hackensack, New Jersey- Drugged, tortured and raped prostitute Susan Geiger who was pregnant.December 2, 1979: New York City- Tortured and murdered Deedeh Goodarzi, 23, and â€Å"Jane Doe,† an unidentified woman in her 20s. The two women were found in a room at the Travel Inn Motel Hotel, bound together, raped, tortured and murdered. Cottingham mutilated their bodies, removed their hands and heads, then set fire to the hotel room.May 4, 1980: Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey- Valerie Ann Street, 19, was found at the Quality Inn Motel, naked, beaten, and with multiple cuts on one of her breasts.May 12, 1980: Teaneck, New Jersey- Drugged, beaten, and with several bite marks on her body, Pamela Weisenfeld was found in a parking lot.May 15, 1980: New York City- Jean Reyner, 25, was raped, stabbed, mutilated and strangled to death in a room at the Hotel Seville in New York City.May 22, 1980: Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey- Feeling invincible, Cottingham returned to the Quality Inn Motel with Leslie O’Dell, 18, where he raped, beat, tortured and tried to kill her, however, he was interrupted by hotel security. Finally Busted A search of a private room in Cottinghams home turned up various personal items linking him to his victims. The handwriting on hotel receipts was also matched to his handwriting. He was charged in New York City with a triple homicide (Mary Ann Jean Reyner, Deedeh Goodarzi and â€Å"Jane Doe†) and on 21 counts in New Jersey, plus additional charges for the murder of Maryann Carr. Courtroom Drama and Sentence During the New Jersey trial, Cottingham testified that since he was a child he was fascinated with bondage. But this monster who often demanded that his victims call him master showed no backbone when faced with the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison. Three days after he was found guilty of the New Jersey murders he attempted suicide in his cell by drinking liquid antidepressants. Then a few days before the New York verdict he attempted suicide by cutting his left forearm with a razor in front of the jury. Ironically, this master of mutilation could not master his own suicide Cottingham is currently housed at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, New Jersey.