Poetry Assignment! Lewis Carroll

Poetry Assignment!

Dream Land
By: Lewis Carroll


When midnight mists are creeping,
And all the land is sleeping,
Around me tread the mighty dead,
And slowly pass away.
Lo, warriors, saints, and sages,
From out the vanished ages,
With solemn pace and reverend face
Appear and pass away.
The blaze of noonday splendour,
The twilight soft and tender,
May charm the eye: yet they shall die,
Shall die and pass away.
But here, in Dreamland's centre,
No spoiler's hand may enter,
These visions fair, this radiance rare,
Shall never pass away.
I see the shadows falling,
The forms of old recalling;
Around me tread the mighty dead,
And slowly pass away.


Connection to Poetry (biography)


Lewis Carroll grew up and was raised in a very isolated little town. He had many siblings, but they were mainly girls (seven) and him being the eldest of the 4 boys left him responsible for the youngs entertainment. Because the town was so dull, he had to create his own fun, and it was then that he discovered his passion for poetry. Because of his childhood past of creating games rhymes, he had become a fictional sort poet; writing rhythmic nonsense about mythical creatures, and spilling his imagination onto paper.


As a young boy, Lewis had suffered from a terrible fever. The fever was so unkind that it left him deaf in one ear. Approaching adult hood, Lewis began to suffer from a “stammer”. Everyone thought this was a side-effect to his loss of hearing. This was something he was self-conscious of for his entire life. This showed in his work (including dreamland) by implying that people are evil. He hated how people were so judgmental about it; he In lots of his poetry, he makes humans the “bad guy. In Dreamland, this shows by him saying that his dreamland is perfect because nobody else can be in it and spoil it.




Biography


LEWIS CARROLL (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898)
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, otherwise known as Lewis Carroll is a very creative poet who likes to write about "nonsense”. His poetry is very childish and fun, and it involves a lot of mythical creatures. He was described as a rather stiffly and awkward guy. Lewis Carroll was born in Warrington, Cheshire and later moved to Croft-on-Trees in Yorkshire. He, as well as his other siblings, suffered from a speech impediment causing him to studder while trying to talk which had an influence on his social life.


Lewis started to attend a literary school, Rugby School, and he became very unhappy there. He never really worked too hard, but he had such a natural talent that everything always worked out for him. Lewis also had a passion for photography and made a small living from it in his earlier years. He later found out that in order to get anywhere in life he had to study, so he buckled down and eventually received a First in Honours in Mathematics; which lead him to his new job: Christ Church Mathematical Lectureship. The work wasn't "him", it was very restricted and he found himself bored all the time.
Ever since he was little Lewis always wrote poems and short stories to keep him occupied since he lived in an isolated community. There wasn't much for him to do so he took his imagination and got creative. Throughout his growing wealth and fame, he didn't change very much. He continued teaching at the Christ Church and passed away on January 14, 1898 in his sisters home.


Analysis


"When midnight mists are creeping," - When the skies turn dark, and everything is covered in fog. This line has imagery because it paints a picture in your head of the dark night skies and misty fog. Example of alliteration: "midnight mists".


"And all the land is sleeping," - Everybody else is asleep. There is a rhyme scheme: "creeping, sleeping".




"Around me tread the mighty dead," - All around me, everyone are zombies. You can imagine how Lewis may be feeling, surrounded by boring people. Internal rhyme: "tread, dead".



"And slowly pass away." - And slowly disappear. States that everything is disappearing.


"Lo, warriors, saints, and sages," - Hero's of all kinds. Possibly the people Lewis looks up to, and is fascinated with. People he may only dream about seeing.




"From out the vanished ages," - From the times that go by quickly. There is a rhyme scheme: "sages, ages"




"With solemn pace and reverend face" - Walk around seriously, they are respected. Imagery: you can imagine what these peoples faces would look like, depressed and unhappy. Internal rhyme: "pace, face".




"Appear and pass away." - Appear, then disappear. Relates to the fact that everything is disappearing.


"The blaze of noonday splendour," - The incredible glow of the afternoon. Imagery: you can envision how the glow of the sun makes the daytime pretty.




"The twilight soft and tender," - The night time soft and tender. Imagery: the twilight is soft and tender, you can see how the night time is gorgeous. There is a rhyme scheme: "splendour, tender".
"May charm the eye: yet they shall die," - Could fool you, but everything always dies. Internal rhyme: "eye, die".
"Shall die and pass away."- They will die and disappear. Relates to the fact that everything is disappearing.


"But here, in Dreamland's centre," - But here in my Dreamland




"No spoiler's hand may enter," - nobody can spoil the fairy tale. There is a rhyme scheme: "centre, enter".




"These visions fair, this radiance rare," - There is no evil, you don't come across this beauty very often. Example of alliteration: "radiance rare". Internal rhyme: "fair, rare".




"Shall never pass away." - It will never disappear. Everything stops disappearing suddenly.


"I see the shadows falling," - I see darkness approaching. Imagery: the shadows falling.




"The forms of old recalling;" - Going back to the way things were before this dream. There is a rhyme scheme: "falling, recalling".




"Around me tread the mighty dead," - The zombie-like people come back. Imagery: you can imagine the people "treading" around. Internal rhyme: "tread, dead".




"And slowly pass away." - And everything slowly disappears again. Relates back the the fact that everything is disappearing.


- At the end of each stanza, it always relates back to the fact that everything passes away.


- The last stanza connects back to the first stanza because they both talk about the "dead" people and dull reality.


By reading the poem Dreamland by Lewis Carroll, you can tell that it's a fantasy place that he had created by using his imagination. Lewis has grown up in an isolated place so he escapes the real world through poetry. In 'Dreamland' he describes how everything is dying, and creepy. All the great things in life never last, everything always dies and you are always left with disappointment. This poem demonstrates that Lewis created his own happy place, so that even in the darkest of times, this new world can still bring happiness; which is a huge reason why he is so successful in his work.


His poetry is interesting. In his Dreamland nobody dares to spoil the dream, because your mind controls the whole world. The only time that the dream ever has to end is when the real world comes around and sucks up all the enchantment. This poem is an example of the fact that no matter how bad things may seem to be, you can always go to a new exciting world where you are in charge of everything. You are as powerful as you let yourself to be.


The poem is written in Lewis's point of view because he is talking about a new land where anything is possible and how he holds the power to everything and he uses direct words such as "me" and "I". The audience he is directing this poem to would be anybody who feels like reality is too difficult to handle sometimes and that there is an escape from it all. This poem includes hopeful and positive attitude that this Dreamland could come to life and all the good things come true. There is also a playful tone in the poetry because everything Lewis talks about is imaginary and it keeps the reader hooked and wanting to read on, it's interesting and very different from other poetry.


At the same time, the poem can be depressing since at the end of the poem is talks about how everything goes back to reality. This poem really connects with readers who are going through similar problems in their life because it allows other to venture off to another world.

MULTIMEDIA YEAH!



Poetry Collection


Coffee


Not a house.
But instead a pyramid of crystal,
that's surrounded by a motionless fog,
that floats above a sea of black gold.
Within this pyramid
footsteps sound like "Informal Gluttony"
that leave prints of blood
on the floor
but only on the glass tiles.
Atop this residence shines a light;
a frosty viridian flame,
that maintains the heat beneath a vat
of boiling human flesh
And this is where we make sacrifice.
Here, the only creatures are that of the sea
which grow larger with every vigil.
Here, only the stars speak
and mermaids possess the power of love
within their swords.
Rain tastes like tears
and lightning brings life to the undead.
The undead will one day breach this pyramid
but the mermaids, and their swords
will pull it deep into the sea
and will drown all that was.
For me,
this is what coffee tastes like.


GENERAL M.F.G

Dressed in the armour of a boy,
lays the heart of a soldier.
His every breath full of determination,
yet combat keeps getting colder.

Though showing only alleviation,
his dismayed battle cry is still heard.
Though the beat of his soul is at odds,
his courage is a lesson to be learned.

If each cadet his own,
then HIS is his own to each;
for within each awakened day of this cadet,
his own, is to teach.


HOW I BECAM THE SEA


How did I become the sea, you ask?

It really was a simple task.

I dug and dug and dug real deep,

Deep into the sandy heap.

At the bottom there was a great surprise,

I couldn't believe my very own eyes!

Because in the ground there lay a moon-beam,

I could have swore it was a dream.

But when I touched the warm, safe light,

Something happened and I squeezed my eyes tight.

The white waves crashed in,

They changed the colour of my skin.

The water sucked me in and I nearly drowned,

And that's when I heard a sound.

It all was quite a mystery,

but that is how I became the sea.


Harden


The day you evolved,
Into the great Steelix.. it was,
quite onix-pected!


Onix the ground/rock pokemon.


Unfamiliar


How did this strange creation come to be?
Our sweet familiar disposition,
has vastly changed to formal and empty.
'Twas no need to undergo transmission.


My mind declared war, against what was right.
My craving for change soon turned to regret,
Because my heavy heart never turned light.
Thank you for promising to never forget.


I miss my everything I used to know,
but the unfortunate choice was made.
Although there's now room for us both to grow,
It hurts to know I'm the cause of your pain.

Even though we are now not forever,
Best of luck with your future endeavours.