Golden Retrievals
- The speaker in this poem is a canine animal and most likely a dog. The details that show that the speaker is a dog is the fact that the speaker is made to “catch” or “Fetch” whatever is needed by his master. The mention of “bark” is also a good indication that the speaker is a dog.
- In this poem, the dog is on a walk with its master. While the dog is on a jovial state, the master seems in deep emotional thought probably from the past. The dog says “…Either you’re stuck in the past, half our walk…” The master is in this state of mind probably because of what he has lost and one that cannot be recovered “…thinking of what you never can bring back…” the poem used in the poem is happy and playful especially where the dog is considering the distractions on its path such. Like the bunny, the ditch, the pond and squirrel. As the poem progresses, the dog uses a serious tone when it realizes that the master is in deep thought.
- One of the stand put metaphor used is when referring to the bark from the dog is likened to a bronzy gong “…This shining bark, a Zen master’s bronzy gong…” this bark is enough to awaken the master from their thoughts.
- The imagery in the poem is brought out through the actions of the dog. The dog is presented as being in a constant playful and distracted state as can be seen through its detailed awareness of its surrounding “…tumbling leaf, a squirrel…sniff the wind, then I’m off again…” imagery has been used to show the short-lived attention that the dog pays to its master and the surrounding as compared to the master.
- The first six lines follow an organized regular slant rhyme scheme “…attention…so…oh…” in the first three lines and “…then…residue…you…” (Line 4-6). While these lines follow an abb, cdd, pattern, the remaining lines of the poem are disjointed and follow a disorganized pattern. This pattern is used deliberately to show the nature of a dog as the persona in this poem. Its once organized state followed by distractions along its way are apparent in the pattern.
- The title of the poem is “golden retrievals.” Through the dog’s voice, the poem brings out the dog’s master is in deep thoughts about the loss suffered in the past and the thoughts about the future. Irrespective of these problems, the dog whose role in most cases is to retrieve whatever the master deems necessary, seems to think that it is the solution “…my work to unsnare time’s warp (and woof!), retrieve, my haze-headed friend, you…” The title suggests that the dog plays an essential role in bringing the master into reality and out of their world of loss.
- This poem is in the form of a sonnet as can be shown by its 14 lines. This form is used to present a problem within the poem, which in this case is the loss of something or someone dear to the dog’s master. The solution to the loss that the master feels is provided by the dog that is out to “unsnare times warp.”
- The poem is used to bring out what a person feels when they suffer permanent losses of their loved ones. The author uses a dog in a personified manner to show that time is essential, and since everything happens for a reason, it is important to reorganize and face it.
Human Fallibility
Human fallibility is the ability or the behavior in which humans are always involved in making mistakes or poor decisions. This essay presents the instances of human fallibility as presented in William Shakespeare’s “Much a Do about Nothing.” The instances of fallibility depicted by the characters are also connected with real life examples as seen today.
William Shakespeare’s play presents characters who are plagued with conflicts that push them into making wrong decisions based on poor judgement and wrong assumption. One of the characters who pushes others into making mistakes is Don John a person who is out to exact revenge upon his half-brother Don Pedro and Claudio. His revenge is as a result of the fact that Don Pedro who is his younger brother is recognized as the legitimate prince while he is disregarded based on the traditions of Messina, their community. Having tried to plot his way into occupying the prestigious position, he loses to his brother Don Pedro who is assisted by Claudio’s ingenuity.
Having knowledge about Claudio’s impeding marriage to Hero, Don John finds an opportunity of disrupting the marriage. He uses his friends to depict Hero as a promiscuous lady. To make sure that Claudio and Don Pedro have evidence, Don John stage manages a scene and calls Claudio and Don Pedro to witness it through the window that belongs to Hero. A character in Hero’s clothes is clearly seen in company of a male partner and this is enough to make Claudio and Don Pedro have negative views about Hero.
Claudio makes the worst mistake because instead of confronting Hero prior to the wedding, he keeps the secret and decides to use it during the wedding. Claudio manages to publicly embarrass Hero before a gathered congregation that had gone to witness the wedding. He calls her unfathomable names…
Later, the truth comes out that the whole scene that Claudio relied on to embarrass Hero was fake and it was done by Don John and his friends who have since been arrested. Saddened by his fallibility and belief that Hero lost her life following the incident, Claudio is willing to publicly confess that Hero was innocent of the allegations he made against her and that he is willing to do anything to atone for the mistakes. He however later finds out that Hero never died and they are able to be wedded.
The case presented thus far is a clear depiction of what goes on in our world. There are many times we have seen in televisions where people have even killed their partners for suspecting them of infidelity only to learn that it was all lies. The problem with fallibility is that it is done in a hurry and by the time one realizes it is always wrong. It is therefore, important to make sure that caution is taken when making decisions even if the come from people close to us as was the case of Don John, Don Pedro and Claudio.
In conclusion, the suggestion made by Samuel Johnson are very sound. Literary works by Shakespeare mirror our societies as they were in the past and as they are today. The works speak to our morals and characters such as jealous as depicted by Don John. The views about immorality are also presented as having the ability to cause great harm like death.