Henry Timrod - "The Cotton Boll"

I found Timrod's poem to be a classic work of Southern pride and boastfulness. As he describes the beauty of the "crimson hills and purple lawns," I could not help but think that this man was in denial about the ensuing war. But then I went back and read the poem more closely and I understood better where he was coming from. It seems that in his descriptions of the Southern plantation that he sees, Timrod is trying to evoke a certain sympathy from the reader in support of the South. There is an underlying sense that Timrod's descriptions of all the beauties of this scene are meant to invoke a feeling of etherealness and a god-like land. In fact, it seems that Timrod is exclaiming that the South indeed was ordained by God. On page 318 he says "His be the meed whose pencil's trace / Hath touched our very swamps with grace / And round whose tuneful way / All Southern laurels bloom." I think the fact that Timrod feels that the South has been ordained by God is an indication of his feelings toward the war, and that God will be on the side of the South when the fighting commences. I also feel like the highly descriptive passages about the land is in deep contrast with the last page of the poem, and that Timrod is kind of warning his fellow Southerners that their beautiful country will soon be tarnished if they do not seek an end to the fighting. I think it is interesting that while Timrod is sympathizing with the South and describing her glorious beauty, he is also being an advocate for peace. At the time, most Southerners' feelings about the North were far beyond the realm of peace, and most of the Southerners were very conscious that the fight between the North over slavery and states' rights would have to end in bloodshed. I feel like Timrod in a way was one of the first real pacifists (or in his case, a kind of a hippy) in regards to war. While everyone else is off busying themselves for the fight, he sits and contemplates the essence of nature and how to bring peace to his land. It is no wonder the guy fell apart after the war, seeing as how he is so sensitive to beauty and peace.

Melville - Benito Cereno

After going over the text again for Friday's class, I found myself focusing on the last parts of the story, where Don Benito and Captain Delano are talking to one another about the events that transpired on the San Dominick. Specifically, I found it remarkable that Cereno is so downcast at the thought of "The negro." This was obviously a ploy by Melville to show that the Spaniard had witnessed what the negro was capable of in light of severe and hopeless oppression, and in a sense he did not blame Babo or any other slave for the mutiny of his ship because he understood their plight (furthermore, I think he sort of regrets the position of domination he was thrust into as evidenced by the first full paragraph on page2726). When I was finished reading this piece again, I noticed that some of the aspects of the story regarding the hostage situation with Benito Cereno were very similar in nature to aspects of the slave trade itself. That is, Cereno's act that he was forced to put on for Captain Delano so that the latter would not suspect what was really happening on the ship in a lot of ways mirrors the act that slaves and masters had to put on in the presence each other during slavery's reign. I can't assuredly say that this was Melville's intention when he altered the events of the story, but I think it presents an interesting view of slavery as a contrast to domination, but at the same time it can be inferred that in the contrast of a particular subordinate/dominate relationship (in this case, the particular relationship between the slaves onboard the San Dominick and Benito Cereno) that there can exist a lot of similarities between the two groups in the way they dominate. I guess what I am trying to say is that domination in this piece is similar no matter who fulfills the position of the dominator or the subordinate. For instance, the tightly-knit and intricate act put on by Babo and the other slaves on board the ship is reminiscent of the tightly-knit control system that masters used to dominate their slaves. I think the most common thing that both the slaves on the ship and the general masters of slaves employ is the control that they acquire by violence. Overall, for me, the similarities between these two examples serve the function of creating a certain kind of understanding for what Babo and the other slaves did, which I feel Melville seeks to convey to the reader in the last lines of the narrative.

Mercy Otis Warren

To begin, I would like to discuss Warren's use of language and metaphor throughout the play The Group. In class on Wednesday we talked about how her writing was so full of metaphors and specific language that it clouded some of the meanings of the text. I can certainly see this as a valid point, but I would like to offer some suggestions to why I think Warren decided to write this play in the obscure way that she did. First of all, if you look at many of the metaphors in the play, they are generally references to things that existed in the classical world. For instance, she refers to Brutus and Caesar in part of play and uses examples from Plato's works in her dialogue between the characters. In fact, most of her metaphors have a lot to do with the Roman Empire in general. We discussed in class that these metaphors were likely to have resonated most profoundly with a highly educated audience, but after reading the play again I think that the metaphors do much more than get the audience she was writing for interested in the play. For me, the metaphors seem to add a sense of opulence to the play in general, but they also add a sense of grandeur to the events contained within the text. By this I mean that is seems that Warren's references to Rome within the context of a bunch of Tories talking about the American colonies and their actions places the events happening in America into a context of greatness. It is like she is almost equating the possible Revolution in America to the power and glory of the classical Roman world. I thought this was an interesting way to give weight to the struggle in America without actually comparing it to Rome directly within the text. I also thought it was interesting because in modern times, America is often compared to the Roman Empire because of our unyielding dominance and power over the rest of the nations of the world.