Dryden's Satire

1. According to the first paragraph of "Of Satire," what is the purpose of satire? What does Dryden say in the second paragraph is the type of satire he admires most and to what does he attribute one's ability to use this type of satire successfully? What words does he use to show his disapproval of harsher forms of satire?

According to the first paragraph of “Of Satire,” the purpose of satire is to make examples out of the wicked, to teach them and others a lesson Satire, constructive ridicule in literature, is, according the Dryden, a constructive force in society. In the second paragraph, Dryden declares that the best of satire touches on gentle mockery, attributed to the wit of the individual. He also goes on to say that it is a true skill that one cannot simply obtain. Dryden sincerely looked down upon harsher forms of satire. He used words such as sloppy and messy to show his disapproval of such forms, which would easily call a person a villain, but was dull and not at all exquisite in comparison to the most admirable of satirical forms (Horton 382).

Dryden, John. “Of Satire.” British Literature. Ed. Ronald H. Horton.

    Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 2003. 382-383. Print.

Pilgrim's Progress

"SparkNotes: The Pilgrim's Progress: Plot Overview." SparkNotes:  Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 13 Nov. 2010. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/pilgrims/summary.html>

Bunyan, John. “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” British Literature. Ronald A. Horton. 2^nd ed. Greenville: BJU, 2001. 345-363. Print.

Pictures:

Pilgrim's-Progress. Photograph. Http://stuffcalvinistlike.com/wp-

     content/uploads/2010/03/Pilgrims-Progress.png. Web. 12 Nov. 

     2010.

 Lot's Wife Salt Statue. Photograph. 2005. Web. 12 Nov. 2010.

    http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pilgrim's_progress_ed.

    _Henry_Altemus,_1890,_p._47.jpg.

Pilgrim's Progress. Photograph. 2007. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. 

    <http://thecurriculumchoice.com/2009/10/inspiration-from-

    pilgrims-progress/>.

A One Day Diary

November 10, 2010

I woke up late today, and then pondered the probability of having one of those brothers who spends an insane amount of time in the bathroom to get ready.  Not long afterwards, I left for school. I had a quiz in Spanish, in which every verb looked exactly like the one in the previous question. That was followed by a test in history. Yearbook class was interesting; we discussed Miss Conner’s theory of the young preferring chaos in life. We also talked about Alice in Wonderland and growing up. I was reminded of this later in the day at a college fair, which started at six, as I was filling out forms to receive more information about Azusa and my generic Valentine’s Day pen, which is covered in hearts and is quite embarrassing to use, wasn’t working. It made me feel rather nostalgic.

Milton Video

http://www.masher.com/player.jsp?key=62246605-a069-394e-b469-000047de6bf7&adscheme=0

Baxter and Rutherford Letter

Dear Friend,

There is not a single sparrow that falls to the ground that our Lord does not know about. Just think of how much he cares for us, the very reasons for which he died! And even if we are not falling to the ground, sometimes, to our over exaggerating selves, it might seem like we could at any moment. We certainly are blessed to know that the great and awesome Creator of the universe cares for us.

Even though it is so easy to forget, Jesus is our true peace. When life gets busy and hectic, we tend to get stressed. As carpenters of our time, it can get hard to carve out enough time for everything when life is busy. The Lord is our rock and our lighthouse in the storm. It is only in the quiet of our minds can we hear God’s voice clearly and in the stillness of our hearts can we truly see Him working in our lives. I hope this can give you hope.   

Sometimes life can feel like a very long tunnel, the kind that children try to hold their breaths through but never can because they burst out in laughter right before they reach the other side. And although I know sometimes it might seem like the light at the end of the tunnel is a train, it is not. Persevere! Continue to follow Christ and keep being an amazing encouragement to others.

God Bless,

Ariana

Rutherford, Samuel, and Richard Baxter. “Letter.” British Literature. Ronald A. Horton. 2nd ed. Greenville: BJU, 2003. 313-314. Print.

Carmen Figuration

'On My First Son' Analysis

Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy ;

    My sin was too much hope of thee, lov'd boy.

Seven years thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay,

    Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.

Oh, could I lose all father now ! For why

    Will man lament the state he should envy?

To have so soon 'scaped world's and flesh's rage,

    And if no other misery, yet age !

Rest in soft peace, and, asked, say, Here doth lie

    Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry.

For whose sake henceforth all his vows be such

    As what he loves may never like too much.

Ben Jonson’s son died at the mere age of seven. In the first two lines, “Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; my sin was too much hope of thee, lov'd boy,” we see that Jonson held Benjamin close to his heart. He loved his son dearly, and he had very high hopes of him in the future. In fact, he states that it was a sin for him to have so much hope of his son. He realizes that putting anything so high that it might be higher than God on his List of Importance is in fact a sin, and a very dangerous one at that. Then he says that, “Seven years thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay, exacted by thy fate, on the just day.” This is how we knew his son was seven when he died. Here Jonson is admitting that life is a gift from God, something to be cherished and appreciated while we have it. Next, he says, “Oh, could I lose all father now! For why will man lament the state he should envy?” No parent should ever have to burry their child. Line five truly embodies Jonson’s grief over the loss of his young boy. In the next few lines Jonson talks about how death is something to be envied, and escape from the pains of life. “Rest in soft peace, and, asked, say, Here doth lie Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry. For whose sake henceforth all his vows be such As what he loves may never like too much.” Jonson ends this poem by saying that if anyone asks who is in the grave, he would answer that in it lays the best thing he has ever had a part in making, better than any of his poetry and that he will not like anything too much anymore. This could be due to the grieving process that he was going through after the loss of his son, the realization that putting anything so high in his life is wrong, or a combination of the two.

This epigram holds great literary worth. It is unlike the many other poems that Jonson and many other poets wrote due to the fact that it had a more somber tone, rather than lighthearted or merry. I think that it is an amazing poem that shows grief in a beautiful way. I also think that this particular work of Jonson can be used to show how short life can be, and we should make the most of what we have been given while we still have it. That is definitely something that I know I struggle with, remembering that what I have has been given to me as a gift from God, every day, every moment, and every breath.

 Jonson, Ben. "On My First Son." British Literature. Ed. Ronald H. Horton. Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 2003. 303. Print