The winged images in Romantic Poetry

The images of birds are recurrent in Literature. In fact, the symbolism associated to wings and birds is ancient and throught the history of literature new different meanings have been added, attaching new meanings to the words. In Romantic Poetry, birds usually elevate the lyric speaker and take him/her to another world - A Platonic world of pure ideas where the ethereal trascends the earthly world of mortality and decay.

Compare and contrast the images of the raven and the nightingale in the poems by Edgard Allan Poe and John Keats, What symbolism has tradition attached to these two birds? And how do these two romantic poets recreate and give new meaning to these images?

Why did the Mariner kill the albatross?

The ancient mariner sails away together with the rest of the crew. There is this bird, the albatross, that goes together with the sailors and helps them move all along. It's a bird of good omen. Suddenly the Mariner shoots the albatross and everything changes, the rest of the sailors are doomed and so is the mariner who will be chased for eternity by the spiritis of the supernatural world...

Why would the Mariner have done something like that? Why did he kill the Bird of Good omen?

Metaphysical Death?

XVII century England inherited the richness and complexity of Elizabethan times. Politically and religiously, England experienced dramatic changes during the XVII century. Wars of succession, Religious intolerance, economic crisis, Puritan revolution among others. Death was something natural and recurrent in this century and poets reacted towards this in different ways. John Donne's aesthetic response as it appears in "Death be not Proud" seems to be of quiet acceptance because of his complete belief in the after life, suggesting actually that Death is no more than a transit to real life in God. How has this conception changed through the ages? How do people face Death today? Interview two professors of the English Department and two students and then compare and contrast their opinions and Donne's poem. Make reference to Donne's poem in order to support your point. You are also welcome to make reference to other XVII century poets like John Milton, Andrew Marvell or Robert Herrick. You may also use well developed, deep critical analysis provided by critics and serious scholars about this poem or about XVII century poetry as a whole. 

Visit: http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/

This is a very good web page that contains the poets' orginal works and also there are also some essays you may browse. There are songs and music from those times as well. Please read the Blogging Rubrics I have uploaded at University Intranet as you will learn there what I expect from this task.

Best wishes,

Miss Erika