Antony and Cleopatra and the poetry of John Donne Essays

Antony and Cleopatra and the poetry of John Donne Essays Antony and Cleopatra and the poetry of John Donne Paper Antony and Cleopatra and the poetry of John Donne Paper Essay Topic: Donne Poems Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra presents a variety of representations of love, including transcendent and forbidden love. Throughout, Shakespeare expresses an unsurpassed love between them. However through both of their actions, the dramatist creates doubt in the audience’s mind as to whether this love is genuine. Similarly to Shakespeare, John Donne’s poem ‘A Valediction Forbidding Mourning’, explores the idea of transcendental love through separation. In Antony and Cleopatra, Act One, Scene One, Shakespeare introduces us to the protagonists before they appear in the play; here Philo presents the theme of love and politics in his speech, ‘His captain’s heart†¦A gypsy’s lust’. The use of ‘captain’ and ‘gypsy’ denotes the opposites between the two individuals, just how their countries divide the two. ‘Gypsy’ is seen as a derogatory term to brand an individual who does not originate from Rome, almost like an outsider. Here already Shakespeare presents forbidden love. In the play, the countries act as metaphors to love, Rome the political and cultural, and Egypt: sexuality and power, thus to why Cleopatra is referred to Egypt in the play by Antony. The motif of love is automatically introduced with Cleopatra demanding Antony to declare his love to her. The audience is able to establish the relationship Antony and Cleopatra share, with Cleopatra expecting a declaration of affection. ‘If it be love indeed, tell me how much. ’ The use of ‘if’ can depict the doubt Cleopatra has, the uncertainty of whether his love is real or not. Antony’s response suggests that love that can be ‘reckoned’ is not a worthy love, such to why he also responds that if their love could be measured it would be beyond earth and heaven ‘ Then must thou needs find out new heaven, new earth’ . For transcendental lovers they believe their love exceeds the norm. The extravagant language used by Shakespeare to profess their feelings, suggests they believe their love is like no other. Like John Donne, Antony views the love they share spiritual rather than physical. A Valediction of Forbidding Mourning, John Donne illustrates how love can transcend mundane love, through a conceit. A poem written for his wife, he explaining that their separation shouldn’t be an occasion for mourning but almost a celebration of the love they shared and still do. Donne uses metaphors to morph an image in the readers mind, using gold and the earth as a metaphor for love, like Shakespeare who uses Rome and Egypt to symbolise love and politics. John Donne compares their love to the most unlikely examples; the first stanza speaks on how his significant other must accept his leaving like one must accept death. ‘As virtuous men pass mildly away, and whisper to their souls to go ’, Donne is expressing that when men pass away they do not complain nor do they make noise, just like them separating they shouldn’t complain, the use of ‘virtuous’ can connote that their love is righteous and good, like soldiers. Comparing their love to virtuous men, introduces the reader on how much Donne views that his love is superior to all other. John Donne’s metaphysical language is emphasised through his comparisons and points, ‘Twere profanation of our joys to tell the laity our love’, Donne makes a clear division between ordinary lovers and lovers that are beyond ordinary. As by expressing their emotions to the ‘laity’ will devalue any joys they share, if they tell the ‘others’ it would be a profane act, as the love they share is sacred. Donne emphasises that due to the strength of their love, other lovers become fearful when distance separates them, much greater distance than the cracks in the earth after a quake ‘Moving of th’ earth brings harms and fears’, but just like separation can cause fear for ‘normal’ lovers as their love is superior, the moving of planets (when an earthquake occurs) is ‘innocent’ to their love. Their love cannot be disrupted due to separation; they should not be feared by the separation. The fourth stanza concentrates on how different their love is, ‘Dull sublunary lovers’ love whose soul is sense-cannot admit’. With love that is sublunary, physical proximity and attractiveness form the basis of their love, for why Donne says ‘care less, eyes, lips and hands to miss’ telling his wife that these things shouldn’t matter if they cannot touch and see each other, their love is far from being physical but is spiritual, as their love is not like the norm, it’s in the mind. The love that Donne and his wife share is spiritual and no matter how far they part their love is ‘inter-assured of the mind’. For mundane love, lovers’ will use sayings such as ‘I love you to the moon and back’, why Donne may refer to their love as sublunary, transcendent love see their love stretching a further distance than the moon. Donne furthers the idea that their love transcends normal love by explaining to his wife they are connected through the soul, ‘Our two souls therefore, which are one’ wherever one goes the other one will follow unknowingly. He expresses their separation should be seen positively, an expansion of their distance, like gold expanded and beaten into ‘aery thinness’, when gold is stretched it does not break, such like their love and connection shouldn’t break when one moves away. This leads John Donne to describe their souls like a pair of compasses, when one foot moves the other bends, when you bring the other foot in, the other straightens up. In this case his wife is the ‘fix’d foot’ that sits in the centre, Donne departing, the fixed foot leans towards the bent foot and ‘hearkens’ after it. His wife is seen as the stability for him, if she is not in the centre of his ‘universe’ then he is not complete, ‘thy firmness makes my circle just, And makes me end where I begun’ . He ends on a positive note, citing that the separation will lead to his return, as the circle the compass draws will lead him back to her. This metaphor symbolises the unity of the two and that throughout their separation they will forever be connected. Over the centuries, many have criticised John Donne’s metaphysical poems and metaphorical language like ones used in ‘A Valediction Forbidding Mourning’ as being outrageous and too unlikely, to which other people love the idea of the outrageousness and unlikeliest. From gathering sources, one question that arises is that because Donne believes his love is above everyone else’s version, by comparing it to supreme things, is it considered real love or make belief. Through researching how people define their love as transcendent, I came across a quote ‘If we want real, transcendental love, we have to transfer our love to the supreme lovable object’[1]. This relates to the poem, as Donne compares himself to a ‘lovable’ and precious metal, gold. In order for those to achieve the admirable love they must first believe that they are something someone admires. Samuel Johnson pinned the term ‘metaphysical’ to describe John Donne’s style of writing, the use of their cleverness to construct outlandish paradoxes. Aspired by this type of writing poets such as Eliot and Yeats used this to form a basis in some of their own poems, Eliot stated that Donne and Metaphysical poets like him wrote poems that celebrated through emotions the joys, sorrows and dilemmas. Other critics such as Robert Dowling also praised Donne’s style of poetry, In conclusion, Shakespeare and Donne present love through literary devices such as metaphors and the use of extravagant language. Donne’s poem can also be viewed as contradicting to his actions, expressing that they are one soul and she is his stability, yet he is leaving her, the one who makes her complete. This is reflected in Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare portrays their transcendent love, but eventually Antony marries another woman. Both the dramatist and the poet create a sense of doubt, to whether or not all of this was genuine at all, if at the end all they are doing is separating. Both Donne and Shakespeare use metaphysical structure and language to present the love. Although Shakespeare was before Donned time, there is a link between the two styles of writing.

All About Red Maple Trees and Where to Plant Them

All About Red Maple Trees and Where to Plant Them Red maple is the state tree of Rhode Island and its Autumn Blaze cultivar was selected 2003 Tree of the Year by the Society of Municipal Arborists. Red maple is one of the first trees to show off red flowers in the spring and displays a most magnificent scarlet fall color. Red maple is a fast grower without the bad habits of fast growers. It quickly makes shade without the compromise of becoming brittle and messy. The most endearing ornamental characteristic of red maple is fall color including red, orange, or yellow which  sometimes on the same tree. The color display is long lasting over several weeks and often one of the first trees to color up in autumn. This maple puts on one of the most brilliant displays of any tree in the landscape with a great variety of  fall colors with variable intensities. Nursery developed cultivars are more consistently colored. Habit and Range Red maple transplants easily at any age, has an oval shape and is a fast grower with strong wood and grows into a medium-large tree of about 40 to 70. The red maple occupies one of the largest eastern north-south ranges in North America- from Canada to the tip of Florida. The tree is very tolerant and grows in nearly any condition. These trees are often much shorter in the southern part of its range unless growing next to a stream or on a wet site. This maple tree is far superior to its Acer cousins silver maple and boxelder and just as fast growing. Still, when planting the species  Acer rubrum, you would benefit by  selecting only varieties which have been grown from seed sources in your area and this maple may not do well in the southernmost USDA Plant Zone 9. The beginning of  leaf buds, red flowers, and unfolding fruits indicate that spring has arrived. The seeds of red maple are quite popular with squirrels and birds. This tree can sometimes be  confused with red-leaved cultivars of Norway maple. Strong Cultivars Here are some of the best cultivars of  red maple: Armstrong: Grows in all 50 states, has attractive silver-gray bark, columnar  in shape, spectacular  red to orange to yellow leaf color.Bowhall:  Grows in all 50 states,  somewhat pyramidal shape, very similar to Norway maple, red to orange to yellow leaf display.Autumn Blaze: Plant zones 4-8, hybrid of silver maple and red maple. Identification of Red Maple The leaves: deciduous, opposite, long-petioled, blades 6-10 cm long and usually about as wide, with 3 shallow short-pointed lobes, sometimes with two smaller lobes near the base, dull green and smooth above, lighter green or silvery beneath and more or less hairy. The flowers: pink to dark red, about 3 mm long, the male flowers are fascicled and the female flowers are in drooping racemes. The flowers are functionally male or female, and individual trees may be all male or all female or some trees may have both types, each type on a separate branch (the species technically polygamodioecious), or the flowers may be functionally bisexual. Fruits: winged nutlets (samaras) in a pair, 2-2.5 cm long, clustered on long stalks, red to red-brown. The common name is in reference to the red twigs, buds, flowers, and fall leaves.   From the  USDA/NRCS Plant Guide Expert Comments It is a tree for all seasons that develops into an attractive yard specimen under a great range of soil and climatic conditions. -Guy Sternberg, Native Trees for North American LandscapesThe red, red maple. Native to the wet soils of Americas eastern half, it has become one of the Nations favorite- if not the hardiest- street trees. -Arthur Plotnik, The Urban Tree BookReddish flowers appear in early spring and are followed by red fruit. The smooth gray bark is quite attractive, particularly on young plants. -Michael Dirr, Dirrs Hardy Trees and Shrubs P