Throughout chapter 11, Austen uses a variety of techniques in order to create her characters. For example, Mr Collins is portrayed as a silly individual, who appears quite boring and stupid, because Austen doesn't allow him to narrate any part of the book. However, she allows the character Elizabeth to have a shared position of narrator, as she is the main character, and her thoughts and feelings are similar to Austens. They are often on the same side, and in the right, which shows the reader how important Elizabeth is, and what type of character she is.
Mr Darcy is shown to be controlled by Elizabeth, as he "unconsciously closes his book" and looks up at her as she walks by. This demonstrates how powerful a character Elizabeth is, and how responsive to love Mr Darcy is. Austen also allows Mr Darcy to have long talks with Elizabeth and the readers, which shows he is of some intelligence.
Austen also b
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Maude Clare and the character
Hmmm... Character in a poem...
Firstly, the title of the poem is the main characters name, Maude Clare, which immediately states who's centre of attention throughout the poem. However, the poem is set on Nell and Thomas' wedding day, which seems odd as the title is not Nell and Thomas, but another woman's name. This could be foreshadowing of what is yet to come. That there is an affair of some kind going on, or a secret involving Thomas and Maude Clare. Also, using a woman's name in the title suggests that the poem will be about a dominant female, which in Rossetti's eyes, probably equates to women prevailing over men. Having women's names as a title is quite a re-occurring thing for Rossetti... Could that mean that she was a women's rights activist? Who knows.
Secondly, the stanzas are arranged according to which character is speaking, and how important they are. For example, the first few stanzas are spoken by Maude Clare, so is the most important character, and the one who the poem revolves around. Then the next stanza is by the groom, Thomas, who is the one responsible for the rantings of Maude Clare. Rossetti clearly marks each stanza with either "My Lord", which means Maude Clare is addressing him, or "Maude Clare" which shows how significant this character is.
Nell is a quiet character throughout the poem, as she is only given one or two stanzas to talk in. During of which she speaks to Maude Clare and keeps calm about the fact that she knows her new husband loves Maude more than her. She says "I'll love him til he loves me best", which could show that she is stubborn and won't quit until she gets her way, or that she is powerful and is not bothered by Maude Clares immature comments regarding her husband. Nell is the admirable character throughout the poem, because she rises above her enemy and seems to know her position in life, which I can imagine was a highly respectable quality to have at the time. However, Nell is also presented as a weaker character, as at the end of her stanza, in fact, the last two words of the whole poem, Nell says "Maude Clare", which leaves the reader thinking only of her, and so enforces the fact that Maude Clare is the most important character.
Maude Clare is a spiteful character, who seems to be very self centred and bitter. In the first line of the poem, Maude Clare is described to be following them out of the church, which shows that he comes before even the bride and groom. She is also shown to think she has possession of Lord Thomas, as she says "take my share of a fickle heart", and "I have a gift for you" which was her half of Thomas' heart. There are also hints that maybe the reason Maude Clare is so bitter might be because she once had a relationship with Thomas, and that has now broken down. This is proven in lines 21, 22, 23 and 25, where she says "my half of the golden chain", (which indicates it was broken violently) and where she says "we waded ankle-deep", (which could signify the relationship only being a half-hearted attempt at love). Then she goes on to say that she has half of the faded leaves from that day, an leaves signify spring and the start of a new beginning, which could be their love. The fact that they are faded exercises the thought that the new beginning of their love has died, and the passing on of them to Nell, suggests a spiteful gesture that she was the one who ruined it for her. Another thing that Maude Clare says to Nell that struck me as an unpleasant thing to say was "take it or leave it as you will", because that equates to Maude Clare giving Nell the chance to deny Thomas, so that (presumably) she can take Thomas back for her own use.
Even though the man, Thomas, speaks in one stanza, his words are a line of stutters and when he does eventually get the words out, he can only say "Maude Clare" and then hide his face again. This shows that men are weak and that the women are stronger and more influential than the men. also, at his only point of speaking, the words he says are "Maude Clare" which shows that the poem is all about her still. The characterisation of Thomas stuttering says a lot about the way Rossetti thought of men at that point in time, and that men were a lot more passive than the opposite sex.
I feel that the flowers play an important role in the poem, and are a character themselves, as the use of lilies in the pond where Thomas and Maude were paddling implies a start of new love that could turn deadly. This is because lilies symbolise death, and are common in funerals, but they aren't described as dead lilies, so I'll presume they are in full bloom, in which case that symbolises life, and a new start, e.g: a relationship. Then, there are the faded leaves that Maude Clare gives to Thomas as a wedding gift. Now, because the leaves are faded, this means that their relationship is dead, or long forgotten about, but the fact that she has kept them and is now giving them to Thomas, means that she still thinks about the relationship a lot, and she wishes that it would pick back up. Also, she doesn't want Thomas to forget about their time together, and is angry at him for ending it. I can tell that there is anger between him and her because otherwise she wouldn't be presenting him with this "gift" on his wedding day. If she truly loved him she wouldn't want to ruin this for him, and so we know that her love is false.
Firstly, the title of the poem is the main characters name, Maude Clare, which immediately states who's centre of attention throughout the poem. However, the poem is set on Nell and Thomas' wedding day, which seems odd as the title is not Nell and Thomas, but another woman's name. This could be foreshadowing of what is yet to come. That there is an affair of some kind going on, or a secret involving Thomas and Maude Clare. Also, using a woman's name in the title suggests that the poem will be about a dominant female, which in Rossetti's eyes, probably equates to women prevailing over men. Having women's names as a title is quite a re-occurring thing for Rossetti... Could that mean that she was a women's rights activist? Who knows.
Secondly, the stanzas are arranged according to which character is speaking, and how important they are. For example, the first few stanzas are spoken by Maude Clare, so is the most important character, and the one who the poem revolves around. Then the next stanza is by the groom, Thomas, who is the one responsible for the rantings of Maude Clare. Rossetti clearly marks each stanza with either "My Lord", which means Maude Clare is addressing him, or "Maude Clare" which shows how significant this character is.
Nell is a quiet character throughout the poem, as she is only given one or two stanzas to talk in. During of which she speaks to Maude Clare and keeps calm about the fact that she knows her new husband loves Maude more than her. She says "I'll love him til he loves me best", which could show that she is stubborn and won't quit until she gets her way, or that she is powerful and is not bothered by Maude Clares immature comments regarding her husband. Nell is the admirable character throughout the poem, because she rises above her enemy and seems to know her position in life, which I can imagine was a highly respectable quality to have at the time. However, Nell is also presented as a weaker character, as at the end of her stanza, in fact, the last two words of the whole poem, Nell says "Maude Clare", which leaves the reader thinking only of her, and so enforces the fact that Maude Clare is the most important character.
Maude Clare is a spiteful character, who seems to be very self centred and bitter. In the first line of the poem, Maude Clare is described to be following them out of the church, which shows that he comes before even the bride and groom. She is also shown to think she has possession of Lord Thomas, as she says "take my share of a fickle heart", and "I have a gift for you" which was her half of Thomas' heart. There are also hints that maybe the reason Maude Clare is so bitter might be because she once had a relationship with Thomas, and that has now broken down. This is proven in lines 21, 22, 23 and 25, where she says "my half of the golden chain", (which indicates it was broken violently) and where she says "we waded ankle-deep", (which could signify the relationship only being a half-hearted attempt at love). Then she goes on to say that she has half of the faded leaves from that day, an leaves signify spring and the start of a new beginning, which could be their love. The fact that they are faded exercises the thought that the new beginning of their love has died, and the passing on of them to Nell, suggests a spiteful gesture that she was the one who ruined it for her. Another thing that Maude Clare says to Nell that struck me as an unpleasant thing to say was "take it or leave it as you will", because that equates to Maude Clare giving Nell the chance to deny Thomas, so that (presumably) she can take Thomas back for her own use.
Even though the man, Thomas, speaks in one stanza, his words are a line of stutters and when he does eventually get the words out, he can only say "Maude Clare" and then hide his face again. This shows that men are weak and that the women are stronger and more influential than the men. also, at his only point of speaking, the words he says are "Maude Clare" which shows that the poem is all about her still. The characterisation of Thomas stuttering says a lot about the way Rossetti thought of men at that point in time, and that men were a lot more passive than the opposite sex.
I feel that the flowers play an important role in the poem, and are a character themselves, as the use of lilies in the pond where Thomas and Maude were paddling implies a start of new love that could turn deadly. This is because lilies symbolise death, and are common in funerals, but they aren't described as dead lilies, so I'll presume they are in full bloom, in which case that symbolises life, and a new start, e.g: a relationship. Then, there are the faded leaves that Maude Clare gives to Thomas as a wedding gift. Now, because the leaves are faded, this means that their relationship is dead, or long forgotten about, but the fact that she has kept them and is now giving them to Thomas, means that she still thinks about the relationship a lot, and she wishes that it would pick back up. Also, she doesn't want Thomas to forget about their time together, and is angry at him for ending it. I can tell that there is anger between him and her because otherwise she wouldn't be presenting him with this "gift" on his wedding day. If she truly loved him she wouldn't want to ruin this for him, and so we know that her love is false.
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