"Bermudas"

"To His Coy Mistress"

I believe that the argument in this poem is straightforward. The speaker in the poem is arguing with his mistress and tries to persuade her to have sex with him. He begins by saying that if he had eternity and wealth he would spend enormous amount of time courting her and praising her. However, he says that if lovers do not consume their love, then they would only grow old and die, and so the theme of "Carpe Diem" is introduced. Also, if their love wouldn't be consumed, instead of being penetrated by her lover (lose her virginity) she would instead be penetrated and eaten by worms in a tomb where there is no love. Therefore, the speaker says they should combine all of their strenght into a single act of violent lovemaking and then they could at least make the most of the time they had.

Giuseppina ScottoDiCarlo

Bermudas

I find that I like this poem a lot better than To His Coy Mistress because I think it makes more sense and is different from the previous ones we have read that have been about love and sex and men trying to have sex which gets pretty old when reading about it during the sixteen hundreds. I think this poem makes sense becuase it's easy to understand how these sailors have just survied some sort of unexpected event and they are praising God and his will to make sure they get through it. They thank him for providing them with furit and shelter and an island to live on and for making the fruit taste so good and for providing the seas that give them life. They hope that their song reaches God's ear's and is then echoed throughout the sea for all to hear and gain inpiration and faith in God. I think that this makes sense to the reader and delivers the messge in a creative way by placing it in a song and giving a story to give the reader some context as to who and why the song is being sung. It is inspriring and could give people hope who have not only been shipwrecked but to anyone who has been in dark time and can't find a way out of it.
unespied- to not see or catch sight of.
Prelate- bishop or high figure in the chruch.
ambergris- a waxlike substance that originates as a secretion in the intestines of the sperm whale, found floating in tropical seas and used in perfume manufacture.

John Milton

I don't really understand why Milton is so famous for his epic poem "Paradise Lost". I understand it was the first time anything like that had been done but when Laz explained it in class today it seemed to me that all he really did was retell the bible. It doesn't make sense why he got credit for retelling a story that had been written down hundreds of years before.

Katherine Parsons

To His Coy Mistress

First some background on Andrew Marvell, lived 1621-1678 who supported the Puritans along with John Milton. The poem was written before serving for Cromwell and he died before it was published.
The poem's main topic is "carpe diem" => seizing the day....it is said to be one of the finest poems of this topic ever put into verse. What I like about the poem is that it is very straight forward, the speaker is simply trying to persuade his mistress into having sex with him. A metaphysical conceit is presented stating that if he were wealthy he spend alot of time courting her. If she weren't to love young and lose her viginity she'd grow old and eventually die without love and be in a tomb full of worms. The speaker believes they should combine all their strength in making love toward one another, and to make the most of the time they have.

Discussion in Class : Marriage

I think that the times have changed, where before marriage was all there was to look forward to in life, especially for women since their only purpose in life was to serve their husbands and make babies. Now instead, there is a lot more to expect out of life, and everyone wants to at least try if not reach their goals in life before settling down and forming a family. I believe that mid 20s to about 30 is the perfect age to marry and form a family because by that time he/she would have definitly enjoyed youth , and also because it is better and easier to have children at a young age so that he/she can definitly see his/her children grow up and become full matured adults.

Giuseppina ScottoDiCarlo