T.S. Eliot

T.S. Eliot was born on Sept. 26, 1888 in St. Louis, Missouri. He died Jan. 4, 1965 at the age of 76 in London England. Eliot came from a prominent family and was very well educated. Eliot was a poet, dramatist, and literary critic. His best known poems are "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," "The Waste Land," "The Hollow Man," and "Ash Wednesday." He also wrote a few plays and essays. He won the Noble Prize in Literature in 1948. Eliot moved to England in 1914 and became a British subject in 1927. Eliot marriage was a struggle, and he had contemplated leaving his wife. They separated after he accepted a teaching job at Harvard Univ. She was later admitted to a mental hospital and he never saw her again until her death. He later married again to a woman 38 years his junior. They were married until he passed away.

Unfortunately this past weekend I got in a car accident. Luckily, it was not my fault. Unluckily, my car looks terrible, I feel terrible, and worst of all I've been taking meds for all the pain and I totally spaced and forgot to post on my blog this past weekend. I did all of my homework for this class and my essay but forgot the blog. This week I will post twice to make up for last week's blog.

This post is going to talk about Charles Dickens. Who doesn't love Charles Dickens? He's written A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and many other great fiction, non-fiction, and children's books. Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on Feb. 7, 1812 and died June 9, 1870. His pen-name was "Boz." He was an English novelist during the Victorian Period. He is considered one of the English language's best writers. Dickens was able to gain worldwide popularity during his lifetime, unlike many of the writers of that time period and the time period before-most were not recognized until after their deaths. Dickens was best known for his rich storytelling and memorable characters. Charles Dickens was influenced by authors suck as William Shakespeare and Victor Hugo. But he influenced Edgar Allen Poe, Tom Wolfe, G.K. Chesterton, George Gissing, and many more. Dickens has had a huge impact on the world of reading and writing.

William Blake (My Romantic Poet For The Team Project)!

The poet I chose to do for our team project is William Blake. Blake was born November 28, 1757 and died August 12, 1827. Blake was not only an English poet but a visionary, painter, and printmaker. Unfortunately, Blake was not recognized during his lifetime. Today he is known for being on of history's greatest poets, painters, and printmakers.

This piece of artwork to the left is a famous work of Blake's. The archetype of the Creator is a familiar image in his work. Here, Blake depicts his demiurgic figure Urizen stooped in prayer, contemplating the world he has forged. The Song of Los is the third in a series of illuminated books painted by Blake and his wife Catherine, collectively known as the Continental Prophecies.

Frankenstein...

Did you know that Mary Shelley first published Frankenstein when she was only 19? When Frankenstein was first published it was published anonymously in London. She wrote this novel with elements from both Gothic novel and the Romantic movement. She also made it a warning for over-reached modern man in the industrial revolution. Mary always said that she came up with the name "Frankenstein" from a dream/vision. Many believe this isn't true. In German, Frankenstein means stone of the franks. "Franks" also means free. She drew Frankenstein's premises from the nature of life from the work of some Europe's premier scientists and thinkers. During the industrial revolution, many scientist were making huge discoveries. Many think that this story was an imagination of what could come of science in the future. If they would make scientific advances that they would later regret.

A Short Biography On the Poet John Keats

John Keats was born near London on October 31, 1795. When he was 8 years old, his father passed away. His mother remarried that same year. Then, a few years down the road she left her husband and took the kids to go live with John's grandmother. His mother died when he was 15 years old. His grandmother couldn't really take care of all the kids so she got two guardians to look over the children. The guardians took him from school and made him an apprentice to a surgeon. He later become a student of the hospital. After being in the medical field for a while, and stilling have a great love for poetry, he gave the medical field up for poetry. He became friends with some of the most widely known poets of his time. Leigh Hunt, actually help Keats get his poetry published in a well know magazine at the time. Keats unfortunately did not get a lot of great feedback after the publishing. He then had to care for his consumptuous brother Tom, and began writing "Endymion." His brother Tom later died. Tom moved away and rented his home out to a lady and her daughter. Which later, he fell in love with Miss Fanny Brawne. But then in 1820 John came down with consumption. Doctors ordered him to move south for the winter to Italy. But even there he finally collapsed and died Feb. 23, 1821. He was buried on the Protestant Cemetery, near the grave of Caius Cestius. On his tombstone he wanted these lines engraved: "Here lies one whose name was writ in water." He was only 25 when he died. Unfortunately he was not recognized as a great poet until later after his death.

I just decided to write a short bio on John Keats since this past week we had to read a poem of his. A good way to get to know the author a bit more. And maybe see why he wrote some of these poems!