Nov 08, 2009 10:23
The Lanham Method in practice. Emphasis on practice.
This is the second page of a paper I wrote for English 302.
The second stanza implicitly introduces the titular tree. It starts with the line, “and I water’d it in fears / Night & morning with my tears.” Satan tells of his device with which he will seduce his foe, which is a poison tree. He lets it grow in his image; in his fears and evil smiles, until the tree truly is a reflection of himself. The last line, “and with soft deceitful wiles,” is a very important one. The devil is well known as a being that lures his victims by way of appealing trickery. By describing this narrator as someone who would use this type of deception, it further asserts his malevolence.
The introduction of the apple is an important place to note, which happens in the third stanza. Within the story of Adam and Eve, the forbidden fruit is perhaps the most important element. This is also true of Blake’s poem. The apple is the instrument, in both stories, that leads to the downfall of the chosen victims. The poem states “and my foe beheld it shine / and he knew that it was mine.” The foe, or Adam, knows of the apple and of the fact that it is Satan’s. He knows that if he were to give in to the apple, that he would be giving into the devil. Just as Adam was warned by God that he, nor Eve, was allowed to take from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
In the final stanza of Blake’s poem, Satan finally succeeds. In the biblical story, the snake, who represented Satan, was able to seduce Eve into taking fruit from the tree. She passed this tainted apple onto Adam, and the idea of Original Sin was introduced. When they awoke, their nudity brought an all-new feeling of shame, and they were cast away from the Garden of Eden. This conclusion to the poem follows the biblical version of Adam and Eve very closely. “And into my garden stole,” which is the first line of the stanza, perfectly parallels how Eve snuck to the tree in the garden and finally succumbed to Satan’s temptations.
And now, here is the same excerpt Lanhamified.
The second stanza implicitly introduces the titular tree. It starts with the line, “and I water’d it in fears / Night & morning with my tears.” Satan tells of his device with which he will seduce his foe, which is a poison tree. He lets it grow in his image; in his fears and evil smiles, until the tree truly is a reflection of himself. The last line, “and with soft deceitful wiles,” is a very important one. The devil is well known as a being that lures his victims by way of appealing trickery. By describing this narrator as someone who would use this type of deception, it further asserts his malevolence. Depicting the narrator as deceptive further asserts his malevolence.
The introduction of the apple is an important place to note, which happens in the third stanza. Within the story of Adam and Eve, the forbidden fruit is perhaps the most important element. This is also true of Blake’s poem. Blake's poem stays true to this theme. The apple is the instrument, in both stories, that leads to the downfall of the chosen victims. The poem states “and my foe beheld it shine / and he knew that it was mine.” The foe, or Adam, knows of the apple and of the fact that it is Satan’s. He knows that if he were to give in to the apple, that he would be giving into the devil. Just as Adam was warned by God that he, nor Eve, was allowed to take from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
In the final stanza of Blake’s poem, Satan finally succeeds. In the biblical story, the snake, who represented Satan, was able to seduce Eve into taking fruit from the tree. She passed this tainted apple onto Adam, and the idea of Original Sin was introduced. When they awoke, their nudity brought an all-new feeling of shame, and they were cast away from the Garden of Eden. This conclusion to the poem follows the biblical version of Adam and Eve very closely. “And into my garden stole,” which is the first line of the stanza, perfectly parallels how Eve snuck to the tree in the garden and finally succumbed to Satan’s temptations.
This is the best I could find... apparently I already use the Lanham method a lot.
the lanham method