Unit I – The Creative Dimensions of Literature

Content
Literature is considered as one of the most important forms of art that has ever
been invented. It has helped a lot in the development of early civilizations and the
modernization of the world as a whole. Experts also agree that literature is instrumental
in bridging the gap and differences among nations of different culture.

   
HISTORY OF LITERATURE
Literature began as soon as the different forms of writing were invented by the
early people who put into writing everything that they have observed in their
surroundings. Among the early forms of handwriting are:

 Cuneiform a form of writing made up of wedge-shaped characters.

 Hieroglyphics picture writing which were seen in some pyramids found in
egypt and in other ancient countries.
 Gilgamesh older existing literary work (2700-2000 B.C.) it is an ancient
text from Samaria that is considered to be older than
Greek and Roman Literatures.

AIMS OF LITERATURE

 Inspire and uplift the taste

A person gets to appreciate a literary work if it would inspire him to

become a better person.

 To read for pleasure

Reading is a very good pastime because people could learn a lot

from it. This activity enhances peoples’ perspective and thereby
enables them to think rationally and analyse things critically so
that one could come up with an informed opinion.

 Widens experiences

Experience, as it is said, is the best teacher. By reading these

literary texts, reader get to experience the things which they have
not encountered before.

 Broadens sympathies with other people

By reading certain literary works, we are, inspired to become

better individuals and be more compassionate towards other
people.
VALUES DERIVED FROM LITERATURE
Intellectual – the way how particular works is presented and what are the basic truths
realized.
Emotional – the personal appeal made to the reader. A particular literary work could
touch our soul by the emotional value that it carries and imparts.
Some of the authors define the values of literature as the following:
Aesthetic – concerns with the beauty enclosed in a particular
literary work, in terms of how it has been written, the lines and
most especially the message it conveys.
Didactic – this value of literature which imparts moral aspects in
which it can bring about improvement in the customs and norms of
the society.
Functional – defines the use of literature. Most writers use their
works as avenues in expressing their ideas and thoughts while
other works in order to echo their grievances a social and political
system either presently or in the past.
HOW TO STUDY LITERATURE
Since literature is a complex subject as there are many texts that must be understood
and analysed, the reader must be able to grasp the desired message that each work
tries to deliver. The following steps are the best ways to easily understand such literary
texts:
1. Read the text through once. These text must be read in details so as to
familiarize the reader to all the elements in the story such as the main characters
and plots.
2. Summarize each chapter using bullet points it is because it will be helpful in case
there may be revisions the future.
3. Profiling each main character will be helpful. Make sure to include important
details about the character as well as the things that he says or does and the link
he or she was able to establish with other characters.
4. Make detailed notes. Include in your notes the main themes and the importance
of each of the character in the story.
5. Read the text at least 3 times. This will aid the reader in an exam situation and
can thereby develop familiarity in the story line.
6. Study by heart the poems. It is important to know the basics of the poem such as
the structure, themes with the storyline.
7. Remember the important statements said by some of the main characters in the
story.

LITERARY STANDARDS

The following are the important standards that must be considered in studying
literature.
 1. Artistry - it is a standard which appeals to the sense of beauty.
2. Intellectual value - it is a standard which can stimulate one’s intellect and
can enrich mental activity by realizing the basic
truths in life and human nature.
3. Suggestiveness – a good literary work moves and stirs deeply the feeling
and imaginations.
4. Spiritual value - literature elevates they spirit by bringing out moral values
which can motivate readers to become better
persons.
5. Permanence - a great work of literature endures.
6. Universality - a great literary piece is timeless and timely.
7. Style - it is the unique way in which a particular writer sees life,
forms his ideas, and presents them to the readers.

LITERARY GENRES
There are four literary genres;
1. Fiction - it is defined as narrative literary works whose content is
produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based
on fact.
2. Essay - it is a short literary composition that reflects the author’s outlook
or point of view.
3. Drama - a genre of literature that involve dramatic art in the way it is
represented.
4. Poetry - it is a verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that evokes an
emotional response from the reader.

INGREDIENTS OF LITERATURE
These refer to the important aspects in the literary work that writers must adhere to.
1. Form - it is verbal autistics structuring of ideas in any literary piece.
2. Subject - any work of literature is about something, and for this reason, it
has a subject.
3. Point of view - this referred to the angle of vision of the narrator – first person
omniscient, modified omniscient, etc.

FIGURES OF SPEECH
The use of figures of speech makes writing rich and interesting, it must however
observe four characteristics namely (Bargo, 2012):
1. Generally brief
2. Freshness (original and spontaneous)
 3. Likeness and unlikeness to the original idea
4. Appropriateness and harmony of effect.

BASED ACCORDING TO LIKENESS

1. Simile – comparison of two things using “like/as”
2. Metaphor – word or phrase denoting an idea or object in place of another to
suggest a likeness between the two.
3. Personification – representation of inanimate objects or abstracts ideas as living
being or having human qualities.
4. Apostrophe – a device by which a writer addresses a person who is usually
either absent or deceased, an inanimate object, or an abstract idea.
5. Allegory – expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truth
or generalizations about human experience.

BASED UPON OTHER RELATIONS

1. Metonymy – it is the use of a word or phrase for another to which it bears an
important relation, an effect for the cause, that abstract for the concrete, and
similar constructions.
2. Synecdoche – it is a form of metonymy which shows part representing the
whole, the whole part, and the species for the genus or vice versa.
3. Hyperbole – it is a form of inordinate exaggeration according to which a
person or thing is depicted as being better or worse, larger or smaller than is
the actual case.

BASED UPON SENTENCE AND STRUCTURE

1. Climax – it is the arrangement of words, clauses, or sentence in the order of

importance from least to most.
2. Anti-climax – it is a sequence of ideas that abruptly diminish in dignity or
importance at the end of a sentence or passage used to get a satirical effect.
3. Irony – it is a dryly humorous or lightly sarcastic mode of speech in which words
are used to convey a meaning contrary to their literal sense.
4. Alliteration – it is the sound device in which consonant sounds at the beginning
of two or more consecutive words are repeated.
5. Antithesis – it is the just a position of two words , phrases, clauses, or sentence
contrasted or opposed in meaning in such a way as to give emphasis is to
contrasting ideas.
 Unit II– Journey into the Power of Imaginative Words

6. Paradox – it is a statement that seems contradictory or unbelievable but is

actually true in fact.

Poetry is a type of literature based on the interplay of words and

rhythm. It often employs rhyme and meter (a set of rules governing the number
and arrangement of syllables in each line). In poetry, words are strung together
to form sounds, images, and ideas that might be too complex or abstract to
describe directly (Audio) & Trailer, 2020).
Content

What is Poetry?

Poetry is the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting

pleasure by beautiful, imaginative or elevated thought. It is an expression of the author’s
feelings and thoughts in a figurative language. ("What Is World Literature?", 2020)
Characteristics of poetry

1. It is compact. The poet makes use of devices to project his thoughts, feelings
and emotions in fewer number of words.
2. It is figurative and metaphoric. It makes use of figures of speech and images.
3. It is rich in images. There are a lot words that evoke mental pictures.
4. It is rhythmic. Rhythm is produced by a regular occurrence of beats or stresses.
Ornaments of Poetry
1. Lie or verse : a single of poetry.
2. Stanza : a group of verses forming a single unit.
3. Rhythm : the arrangement of words so that the accented syllables come at
regular intervals,
4. Meter : the regular recurrence of accented and unaccented syllables.
5. Feet : groups of regularly recurring accented and unaccented syllables.
6. Rhyme : similarly of sound, usually at the end of lines. It is a matter of
pronunciation, not of spelling.
7. Scansion : dividing a verse into its feet
 8. Assonance : vowel rhyme or a similarity of vowel sounds
Example: The Groves of Blarney, they look so charming.
And snowy summits old in story.
9. Alliteration : repetition of a sound at or near the beginning of words.
Example: the sun or any shall shaken
Nor any change of light;
Nor sound of water shaken
Nor any sound of sight
10. Onomatopoeia: fitting the sound to the meaning
Example: buzz, roar, howl, splash
11. Free verse : poetry which does not follow a regular pattern of rhythm.
12. Sonnet : a poem of fourteen iambic pentameter lines.

Types of Poetry

1. Narrative Poetry – a narrative poetry tells a story.

I. Epic – a long narrative kind of poem which deals with the
adventures and the heroic deeds of men.
II. Ballad – a narrative poetry which focuses on a person’s personal
feelings such as love, hate, jealousy, and revenge, more often it is
considered to be tragic.
III. Metrical romance – a narrative poetry that is shorter in form and
is less dignified in style.
IV. Metrical tale – a short narrative poem that tackles any subject.
2. Lyric Poetry – is the expression of the ideas and thoughts of the author with his
reflection and feelings.
I. Ode – a majestic type of lyric poetry, has an exalted mood in
which expresses restrained feeling, enthusiasm and deep
reflection a particular person or thing.
II. Elegy – a lyric poetry which has death as its subject and
expresses deep lamentation of the author.
III. Sonnet – a lyric poetry characterized by fourteen iambic
pentameter lines that come into an octave (8 lines), a sestet (6
lines), or into three quatrains (4 lines) a couplet (2 lines).
IV. Song – lyric poems which are meant to be sung.

3. Dramatic Poetry – is made up of poetic plays like tragedy, comedy, farce or

melodrama, dramatic monologues, and masques.
 I. Dramatic monologue – a combination of drama and poetry which
presents the speech of a single character in a specific situation at
a critical moment.
II. The Soliloquy – it is a poem which the writer’s concern is focused
more on the individual rather than the matters of story.
III. Character Sketch – it is a poem in which the writer’s concern is
focused more on the individual rather than the matters of story.
The difference between the character sketch and the usual poem
written about people, is the “elements of suspense, conflict, or
tension incorporated in the former.

What Is Imagery in Poetry?

In poetry and literature, imagery is the use of figurative language to evoke a
sensory experience in the reader. When a poet uses descriptive language well, they play
to the reader’s senses, providing them with sights, tastes, smells, sounds, internal and
external feelings, and even internal emotion (2020).

What Is the Difference Between Blank Verse and Free Verse Poetry?
Free verse poetry has been popular from the nineteenth century onward and is
not bound by rules regarding rhyme or meter. Blank verse poetry came of age in the
sixteenth century and has been famously employed by the likes of William Shakespeare,
John Milton, William Wordsworth, and countless others. Unlike free verse, it adheres to a
strong metrical pattern (2020).
What Is Mimesis in Poetry?
Copying is something writers usually strive to avoid. And yet, the literary theory of
mimesis says that artists copy constantly, as a matter of necessity. Does this make their
art bad? Centuries of thinkers from Plato and Aristotle onwards have attempted to
answer this question by debating the nature of mimesis (2020).
What Is Enjambment in Poetry?
Poetry is a structured literary form, with patterns and rhythms that dictate the flow
of verses. Lineation in poetry is how lines are divided and where they end in relation to a
clause or thought. Having a line break at the end of a phrase or complete thought is a
regular and expected pattern in poetry. Poets subvert this expectation by using a
technique called enjambment (2020).
 Unit III – Poetry Selections

Content

A poetry selection is often a compilation of several poems by one poet

to be published in a single volume or chapbook. A collection can include any
number of poems, ranging from to a several hundred poems. Typically the
poems included in single volume of poetry, or a cycle of poems, are linked by
their style or thematic material. Most poets publish several volumes of poetry
through the course their life while other poets publish one.

-T.S. Eliot's

From the book of Psalm 23

1. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still
waters.
 3. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his
name's sake.
4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou
anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will
dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

David (1010-965 BCE)

The psalms were written over a period of hundreds years,
beginning with the time of King David, and ending before
the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the
subsequent Babylonian exile. The word “psalm” derives
from a Greek word that means “to pluck at screen”,
indicating that some of the psalms were chanted to the
accompaniment of a small harp-like instrument called the
lyre. “Psalm 23” is the best known-psalm in the Bible.

Literary Term Focus: PSALM

A Psalm is a sacred song or lyric poem. Most psalms were originally set to music
and performed during worship services in the temples of ancient Israel. In the Bible, the
Book of Psalm contains 150 sacred psalms.
Psalm 23 is one of the most well-known and beloved Bible chapters. Its contents
have been known to inspire people to remember God’s grace and guidance in times of
turmoil and difficulty. The scriptures held within are a powerful reminder that we have a
loving God who journeys alongside us as we navigate life’s many ups and downs.

THE MEANING OF PSALM 23: GOD GUIDES US

Psalm 23, which was penned by King David, opens by telling believers that God is a
“shepherd” who guides us along both green pastures and still waters, while restoring us
along the way.
“It should be the subject of grateful admiration that the great God allows himself to be
compared to anything which will set forth his great love and care for his own people,” he
wrote. “David had himself been a keeper of sheep, and understood both the needs of the
sheep and the many cares of a shepherd. He compares himself to a creature weak,
defenceless, and foolish, and he takes God to be his Provider, Preserver, Director, and,
indeed, his everything.”
Now, let’s dive into the scripture to see how these descriptions are presented.
Psalm 23: 1-3 (KJV) reads:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths
of righteousness for his name's sake.”
These opening verses in Psalm 23 offer up important meaning about God’s power to
guide us no matter what circumstances we face. Often times, people call upon the Lord
when something is troubling them, but the first three verses make it clear that God is
always journeying with us.

PSALM 23 MEANING: DO NOT FEAR

Psalm 23 tells us to “fear no evil” and that God is with us, even when life gets
difficult. The final three verses are yet another powerful reminder of the goodness
of God and His love in our lives. Verses 4-6 (KJV) read:
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou
art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in
the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord for ever.”
In a chaotic and uncertain world, it’s easy to fear, especially when evils rage. But God
reminds us that, even in the shadow of death, the Lord offers comfort.When we seek the
Lord, we can find His will and live in the midst of His love. It is through seeking that we
find a loving God who is always willing to sustain us. This is the meaning of Psalm 23.
These verses provide comfort even in the midst of the storm, and it’s something that
Spurgeon also emphasized in his own writings on Psalm 23.
In a chaotic and uncertain world, it’s easy to fear, especially when evils rage. But God
reminds us that, even in the shadow of death, the Lord offers comfort.
When we seek the Lord, we can find His will and live in the midst of His love. It is
through seeking that we find a loving God who is always willing to sustain us. This is the
meaning of Psalm 23.
These verses provide comfort even in the midst of the storm, and it’s something that
Spurgeon also emphasized in his own writings on Psalm 23. (2020)
  Japan
A haiku poem has three lines, where the first and last lines have five moras, and
the middle line has seven. The pattern in this Japanese genre is 5-7-5. The mora is
another name for a sound unit, which is like a syllable, though there is a difference. As
the moras cannot be translated into English, they are modified, and syllables are used
instead. The lines of such poems rarely rhyme with each other
Features of Haiku

 It contains three lines.

 It has five moras (syllables) in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the
last line.
 It contains 17 syllables in total.
 A Haiku poem does not rhyme.
 Haiku poems frequently have a kigo, or seasonal reference.
 Haiku poems are usually about nature or natural phenomena.
 The poem has two juxtaposed subjects that are divided into two contrasting
parts.
 In English, this division between two parts can be shown by a colon or a dash.

Haiku
By Matsuo Basho

Spring
A hill without a name
Veiled in morning mist

On a bare branch
A rock roosts:
Autumn dusk

Clouds now and then

Giving men relief
From moon-viewing.
  India
The Ramayana is an
ancient Indian epic, composed
sometime in the 5th century BCE,
about the exile and then return of
Rama, prince of Ayodhya. It was
composed in Sanskrit by the sage
Maharshi Valmiki, who taught it to
Rama's sons, the twins Lava and
Kush. At about 24000 verses, it is
a rather long poem and, by
tradition, is known as the Adi
Kavya (adi = original, first; kavya
= poem). While the basic story is
about palace politics and battles with demon tribes, the narrative is interspersed with
philosophy, ethics, and notes on duty (Basu & Basu, 2020).

While in that other Indian epic, the Mahabharata, the characters are presented
with all their human follies and failings, the Ramayana leans more towards an ideal state
of things: Rama is the ideal son and king, Sita the ideal wife, Hanuman the ideal
devotee, Lakshman and Bharat the ideal brothers, and even Ravana, the demon villian,
is not entirely despicable.

Maharshi Valmiki, the author of the great

Indian epic Ramayana, was a Hindu sage who
lived around the beginning of the first millennium
B.C. he is referred as the “adikavi,” the original
creator of the Hindu “sloka”—a verse form in
which most of the great works such as Ramayana,
Mahabharata, Puranas are composed.

Note: Please read the Indian epic the “Ramayana”

  China
The Analects meaning "Selected
Sayings", also known as the Analects
of Confucius, is an ancient Chinese
book composed of a large collection
of sayings and ideas attributed to the
Chinese philosopher Confucius and
his believed to have been compiled
and written by Confucius's followers.
It is believed to have been written
during the Warring States period
(475–221 BC), and it achieved its
final form during the mid-Han dynasty
(206 BC–220 AD). By the early Han
dynasty the Analects was considered
merely a "commentary" on the Five Classics, but the status of the Analects grew to be
one of the central texts of Confucianism by the end of that dynasty ("Analects", 2020).
Confucius believed that the welfare of a country depended on the moral
cultivation of its people, beginning from the nation's leadership. He believed that
individuals could begin to cultivate an all-encompassing sense of virtue through ren, and
that the most basic step to cultivating ren was devotion to one's parents and older
siblings. He taught that one's individual desires do not need to be suppressed, but that
people should be educated to reconcile their desires via rituals and forms of propriety,
through which people could demonstrate their respect for others and their responsible
roles in society.
Confucius taught that a ruler's sense of virtue was his primary prerequisite for
leadership. His primary goal in educating his students was to produce ethically well-
cultivated men who would carry themselves with gravity, speak correctly, and demo
nstrate consummate integrity in all things.
Who Was Confucius?
Confucius, also known as Kong Qui or K’ung Fu-
tzu, was a Chinese philosopher, teacher and
political figure. His teachings, preserved in the
Analects, focused on creating ethical models of
family and public interaction and setting
educational standards. After his death,
Confucius became the official imperial
philosophy of China, which was extremely
influential during the Han, Tang and Song
dynasties ("Confucius", 2020).
  Greece

Who wrote the Iliad?

“The Iliad“ is an epic poem by the ancient Greek poet Homer, which recounts
some of the significant events of the final weeks of the Trojan War and the Greek siege
of the city of Troy (which was also known as Ilion, Ilios or Ilium in ancient times). Written
in the mid-8th Century BCE, “The Iliad” is usually considered to be the earliest work in
the whole Western literary tradition, and one of the best known and loved stories of all
time.

The story covered by “The Iliad” begins nearly ten years into the siege of Troy by
the Greek forces, led by Agamemnon, King of Mycenae. The Greeks are quarrelling
about whether or not to return Chryseis, a Trojan captive of King Agamemnon, to her
father, Chryses, a priest of Apollo. When Agamemnon refuses and threatens to ransom
the girl to her father, the offended Apollo plagues them with a pestilence ("THE ILIAD -
HOMER - POEM: STORY, SUMMARY & ANALYSIS", 2020)
Although attributed to Homer, “The Iliad” is clearly dependent on an older oral
tradition and may well have been the collective inheritance of many singer-poets over a
long period of time (the historical Fall of Troy is usually dated to around the start of the
12th Century BCE).

Homer was probably one of the first generation of authors who were also literate,
as the Greek alphabet was introduced in the early 8th Century BCE, and the language
used in his epic poems is an archaic version of Ionic Greek, with admixtures from certain
other dialects such as Aeolic Greek.

However, it is by no means certain that Homer himself (if in fact such a man ever
really existed) actually wrote down the verses.
 “The Iliad” was part of a group of ancient poems known as the “Epic Cycle”, most
of which are now lost to us, which dealt with the history of the Trojan War and the events
surrounding it. Whether or not they were written down, we do know that Homer‘s poems
(along with others in the “Epic Cycle”) were recited in later days at festivals and
ceremonial occasions by professional singers called “rhapsodes“, who beat out the
measure with rhythm staffs.

The main theme of the poem is that of war and peace, and the whole poem is
essentially a description of war and fighting. There is a sense of horror and futility built
into Homer‘s chronicle, and yet, posed against the viciousness, there is a sense of
heroism and glory that adds a glamour to the fighting: Homer appears both to abhor war
and to glorify it. Frequent similes tell of the peacetime efforts back home in Greece, and
serve as contrasts to the war, reminding us of the human values that are destroyed by

fighting, as well as what is worth fighting for.

 Note: Please read the epic “Iliad” by Homer
 Greece
The Odyssey of Homer is a Greek epic poem that tells of the return journey of
Odysseus to the island of Ithaca from the war at Troy, which Homer addressed in The
Iliad. In the Greek tradition, the war lasted for ten years. Odysseus then spent a further
ten years getting home in the face of hostility from Poseidon, god of the earth and sea
("Guide to the Classics: Homer's Odyssey", 2020).
Odysseus’s return to his island, however, is
not the end of his woes. He finds that 108 young
men from the local vicinity have invaded his house
to put pressure on his wife Penelope to marry one
of them. A stalemate exists, and it is only resolved
by a bow contest at the end of the poem, which
then leads to a slaughter of all the suitors by
Odysseus and his son Telemachus. Peace on the
island is eventually restored through the
intervention of Athena, goddess of wisdom, victory
and war.
The quest of Odysseus to get back to his
island and eject the suitors is built on the power of
his love for home and family. This notion of love
conquering fear and hatred is a common theme in
Greek quest mythology.
The Odyssey, like the Iliad, is divided into
24 books, corresponding to the 24 letters in the
Greek alphabet. Within the middle section of the
poem (Books 9-12), Odysseus describes all the Penelope, waiting on Ithaca. Painted
challenges that he has faced trying to get home. by Domenico Beccafumi circa 1514.
These include monsters of various sorts, a visit to
the afterlife, cannibals, drugs, alluring women, and
the hostility of Poseidon himself. These challenges resemble those of earlier heroes like
Heracles and Jason. In the Iliad, the hero Achilles faces no such challenges, indicating
that the Odyssey has a very different idea of heroism.
The Greek poet Homer is credited with being the first to write down the epic
stories of 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey,' and the impact of his tales continues to
reverberate through Western culture.

Who
Was Homer?
The Greek poet Homer was born sometime between the 12th and 8th centuries BC,
possibly somewhere on the coast of Asia Minor. He is famous for the epic poems The
Iliad and The Odyssey, which have had an enormous effect on Western culture, but very
little is known about their alleged author (2020).

Note: Please read the epic “Odyssey” by Homer

 France

The Ballad of Dead Ladies

François Villon (1431–1463?)

Tell me now in what hidden way is

 Lady Flora the lovely Roman?
Where’s Hipparchia, and where is Thais,
Neither of them the fairer woman?
Where is Echo, beheld of no man,
Only heard on river and mere,—
She whose beauty was more than human?
But where are the snows of yester-year?
Where’s Heloise, the learned nun,
For whose sake Abeillard, I ween,
Lost manhood and put priesthood on?
(From love he won such dule and teen!)
And where, I pray you, is the Queen
Who willed that Buridan should steer
Sewed in a sack’s mouth down the Seine?
But where are the snows of yester-year?

White Queen Blanche, like a queen of lilies,

With a voice like any mermaiden,—
Bertha Broadfoot, Beatrice, Alice,
And Ermengarde the lady of Maine, —
And that good Joan whom Englishmen
At Rouen doomed and burned her there,—
Mother of God, where are they then?
But where are the snows of yester-year?

Nay, never ask this week, fair lord,

Where they are gone, nor yet this year,
Except with this for an overword,—
But where are the snows of yester-year?

Who was François Villon?

François Villon named his poem "Ballade." His editor, Clément Marot (1496-
1544), lengthened the title to "Ballade des dames du temps jadis" in a 1533 edition of
Villon's poems (Les Oeuvres de Françoys Villon). One may translate the title of the
poem in many ways, including “Ballad of the Ladies of Bygone Days," “Ballad of the
Ladies of Times Past," and “Ballad of the Ladies of a Distant Age." In the nineteenth
century, English poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti—who himself wrote many famous poems,
such as "The Blessed Damozel"—translated the title as "Ballad of the Dead Ladies,"
taking the liberty of rendering temps jadis as dead. Literally, temps jadis means a remote
or distant age or a time long ago. As used by Villon, the term can include the ancient age
of mythology, as well as the historical past.

But Rossetti's use of the word dead works well in his translation of the title: It is
brief and to the point, and the historical ladies of the poem are, after all, quite dead.
Rossetti's translation of the entire poem, which appears on this page, is probably the
finest rendering of it in English. His translation of ballade as ballad may be justified
because of the presence of the refrain.
THE BALLAD OF THE DEAD LADIES "Ballade des dames du tempsjadis“ in a 1533
edition of Villon's poems (Les Oeuvres de Françoys Villon). ... But Rossetti's use of the
word dead works well in his translation of the title: It is brief and to the point, and the
historical ladies of the poem are, after all, quite dead (Saculo, 2020).

 U.S.A

To Helen
By Edgar Allan Poe

Helen, thy beauty is to me

Like those Nicéan barks of yore,
That gently, o'er a perfumed sea,
The weary, way-worn wanderer bore
To his own native shore.
 On desperate seas long wont to roam,
Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,
Thy Naiad airs have brought me home
To the glory that was Greece,
And the grandeur that was Rome.

Lo! In yon brilliant window-niche

How statue-like I see thee stand,
The agate lamp within thy hand!
Ah, Psyche, from the regions which
Are Holy-Land!

‘To Helen’ is one

confusingly, Poe went on to write another poem
with the same title. The ‘To Helen’ we
reproduce below is, however, the famous and
celebrated one. It was first published in 1831 in
Poems of Edgar A. Poe, which appeared when
Poe was still in his early twenties, although Poe
made a few tweaks to the poem in 1845 – it is
the final version that appears below. In this
post, we offer some notes towards an analysis
of ‘To Helen’ in terms of its form, metre,
language, and meaning ("A Short Analysis of
Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘To Helen’", 2020).

"To Helen" is
Poe. The 15-line poem was written in honor of
Jane Stanard, the mother of a childhood friend.

 Philippines
God said, "I made a man
Jose Garcia Villa

Out of clay—
But so bright he, he spun
Himself to brightest Day

Till he was all shining gold,

And oh,
He was lovely to behold!
But in his hands held he a bow
 Aimed at me who created
Him. And I said,
‘Wouldst murder me
Who am thy Fountainhead! '

Then spoke he the man of gold:

‘I will not
Murder thee! I do but
Measure thee. Hold

Thy peace.' And this I did.

But I was curious
Of this so regal head.
‘Give thy name! '—‘Sir! Genius.'"

What does the poem "God said, I made a Man" is implying?

The poem "God said, I made a man", is all about how the beautiful creature that
God made, turned into something indifferently (brainly.ph/question/1031081). The
creature or the man changed drastically that he failed to appreciate God
(brainly.ph/question/2609134). It can also be understood in the poem how God created
the man, out from a clay and in his image and likeness. More so, it implies that we
should always be thankful to God, the creator (2020).

Who wrote or authored the poem "God said, I made a man"?

The author of the poem is Jose Garcia Villa. Jose Garcia Villa has a collection
of prominent works, from poems to stories (brainly.ph/question/822992).Jose Garcia
Villa is the one who introduced the comma poems and reversed consonance rhyme
scheme. Hence, he was known for his poems containing lots of punctuations. It was
injected in the poem in an innovative and poetic way (2020).
Who was José Garcia Villa?
José Garcia Villa was born in Manila in 1908. He attended
the University of the Philippines, but he was suspended in
1929 after publishing a series of erotic poems, titled “Man-
Songs,” in the Philippines Herald Magazine. That same
year, he won a short story contest through the Philippines
Free Press and used the prize money to travel to the United
States, where he studied at the University of New Mexico.
From New Mexico, Villa moved to Greenwich Village in
New York City. There, he became the only Asian poet in a
community that also consisted of E. E. Cummings, W. H.
Auden, and other modernist poets. In 1933 his Footnote to
Youth: Tales of the Philippines and Others (Charles
Scribner’s Sons) became the first book of fiction by a Filipino author published by a
major United States-based press.
Villa also continued to publish in the Philippines, and his poetry collections Many
Voices (Philippine Book Guild) and Poems (The Philippine Writers’ League) appeared in
1939 and 1941, respectively. In 1942 he published his first poetry collection in the United
States, Have Come, Am Here (Viking Press), which was a finalist for the 1943 Pulitzer
Prize. He went on to publish several more poetry collections in the Philippines, including
Poems in Praise of Love (A. S. Florentino, 1962), and two in the United States, Selected
Poems and New (McDowell Obolensky, 1958) and Volume Two (New Directions, 1949).
Villa was the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including a Guggenheim
Fellowship, a Philippines Heritage Award, a Poetry Award from the American Academy
of Arts and Letters, a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, and a Shelley Memorial Award.
In 1973 he was named a National Artist of the Philippines, and he also served as a
cultural advisor to the Philippine government. He died in New York City on February 7,
1997. ("About José Garcia Villa | Academy of American Poets", 2020)

 Nigeria

FUTURE PLANS
Wole Soyinka
Two for Mc'iavelli, Three~
The meeting is called Breaking speed
To odium: Forgers, framers Of the truth barrier by a
Fabricators Inter- swooping
National. Chairman detention decree
A dark horse, a circus nag turner
blinkered Sprinter
Projects in view:
Mach three Mao Tse Tung in league
We rate him~~one for the knife With Chiang Kai. Nkrumah
Makes a secret
 Pact with Verwood, sworn by
Hastings Banda

Prove:Arafat
In flagrante cum
Golda Mier. Castro drunk
With Richard Nixon
Contraceptives stacked beneath
the papal Bunk
....and more to come.
POETRY BEYOND EVERYTHING 24

Who was Wole Soyinka?

Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian writer, political activist, and the first African to
receive a Nobel Prize in Literature. In this lesson we'll learn about his history,
works, and influence. Some writers are driven by their imagination to write
fiction or fantasy. Other writers, like Wole Soyinka, write because they are
driven to make a statement about their culture or circumstances.

Born in Nigeria in 1934, Wole Soyinka lived on a mission compound

where he learned the Christian ways of his parents and the Yoruba ways of
his paternal grandfather. The culture and language of the Yoruba is the basis
for much of Soyinka's writing. These cultures played a large role in the work
that would be the mainstay of his social and political voice .