No doubt her nocturnal fox skipped sleeping in the morning to ensure she got the food on time. It exemplifies what is perhaps Finch's most sophisticated attempt to master a recurrent problem of the seventeenth-century female poet: how to participate in a discourse in which the poet is defined as a masculine subject. FRANK BIDART Rate answer. Writing during this period intentionally paid homage to classical literature, using allusion to draw parallels between their own world and that of the ancients. She let out a large yawn and rubbed her eye as she closed the door behind her, hanging her bag on the coat rack in the corner. Overall, however, the book is a useful addition to a relatively new field of English studies. Significantly, though, she also seems to recognize that even an honest gaze, a gaze unencumbered or unmediated by the influence of cultural narrativeif such a look could be posited at all, as Finch implies that it could notwould nonetheless be a containing, limiting, even policing one, capable of a form of "controul" over female emotion. During this time, England saw its own Industrial Revolution, major political reform, and the introduction of such philosophical perspectives as Utilitarianism. To most, the idea of a woman writing serious poetry was still a bit far-fetched. As many have noted, Finch's complete oeuvre includes a broad range of poetic forms; Hinnant remarks that it is "one of the most diverse of any English poetencompassing songs, pastorals, dialogues, Pindaric odes, tales, beast fables, hymns, didactic compositions, biblical paraphrases, verse epistles, and satires" (17). How does being outside at night make you feel? The first four opening lines of the poem sets. The speaker is dreading the morning because that is when they must face the stress of the 'real world'. 808 certified writers online. Like the novelists, playwrights, and essayists of the time, Augustan poets observed and commented on the world around them, but often retained a level of detachment. Bird sounds at night are familiar and something to which the reader can readily relate. These are examples of the more common types of figurative language. Today: People are still drawn to the outdoors for recreation and relaxation. Capable of both serious reflection and satirical wit, of tender tributes to marital love and female friendship as well as harsh judgements on the modes and manners of her time, she was clearly a considerable poet, and it is easy to agree with Barbara McGovern's judgement that she has been seriously underestimated. But others see in the poem glimpses of one of the most influential literary movements to comeromanticism. The union of "rapture and cool gaiety" in her poetry, its reliance upon colloquial idiom, and its relative looseness of "texture," may imply a similar demystified rejection of transcendent flightsomething which is asserted explicitly through the thematic concerns of "To The Nightingale.". Mathew Arnold had come to this beach with his young . The wind is not merely a lucky turn of the weather, but an act by the Greek god of the west wind himself. Rebellions against the king did nothing to slow him down in his mission. Of course, in making observations, writers did exert a certain amount of influence, and this was especially seen through the satire that so characterized much Augustan writing. The moon is given a feminine pronoun in line 6, "She, hollowing clear, directs the wand'rer right" (Finch 6). A) The peace and solitude found in the settings of the poems gives both speakers time to arrive at deep insights about life. Alternatively of course, it could be both, happening by night and about night. In this way, Finch's fables are consistent with the Augustan approach to literature; a fable simply relates a story, but the story happens to have a message that the reader may find compelling. In a sense the poem argues that the mind must resist this seduction into illusion and hence must confront the unpleasant fact that "Nature (unconcern'd for our relief) / Persues her settl'd path, her fixt, and steaddy course" (lines 27-28). Brower, Reuben A., "Lady Winchilsea and the Poetic Tradition of the Seventeenth Century," in Studies in Philology, Vol. Following Kathryn's line of thought and looking around, Seven noticed . The speaker is completely enthralled by her experience outdoors, and she appreciates every aspect of it, making sure to include every animal, plant, flower, cloud, river, and glowwormin her telling. But Finch lacks More's faith in the superiority of a divinely inspired human art to nature: while the muse of "To The Nightingale" may inspire, she is finally powerless. In short, how can, and should, a woman write? [LECT. In the following excerpt, Mintz discusses how Finch's nature poems, including "A Nocturnal Reverie," utilize the natural world as a spiritual and political counterbalance to an anti-feminist society. "A Nocturnal Reverie" also boasts highly technical construction. A Nocturnal Reverie - Summary. Source: Susannah B. Mintz, "Anne Finch's Fair Play," in Midwest Quarterly, Vol. While some still enjoy leisurely outdoor activities like walks, many Americans are drawn to rigorous activities like hiking, rock climbing, and white water rafting. XXVI. Examples in "A Nocturnal Reverie" include the owl directing the visitor where to go, the grass intentionally standing up straight, the glowworms enjoying showing off their light, the aromas that choose when they will float through the air, the night sky and the hills having faces, and the portrayal of the entire scene as one in which all of nature celebrates together. The term comes from the rule of Emperor Augustus in Rome, who was known for his love of learning and careful attention to writing. The clandestine letter encouraged William to come to England, overthrow James, and assume the throne. In this essay, Bussey explores in more depth the debate about whether Anne Finch's "A Nocturnal Reverie" is Augustan or pre-romantic. Finch's style in "A Nocturnal Reverie" is also very lush and descriptive, as so much of romantic poetry is, and the experience is described in relation to the speaker's emotional response to it. Reaching the spot between the operations and tactical stations, she stopped. . ." The other winds are characterized as louder; therefore, the speaker is subtly making a comparison. All were under seven years old at the time. //
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