8/8/2019 Quotations for the English Literature Final Exam: #11 through #20

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11. Bacon Of Studies Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.

Bacon uses parallel structure here and throughout the essay. The essay discusses the value of reading and learning, and Bacon

uses his own eloquence through literary devices as an example of the power of reading.

12. Orwell Why I Write It is his job, no doubt, to discipline his temperament and avoid getting stuck at some

immature stage, or in some perverse mood: but if he escapes from his early influences altogether, he will have killed

his impulse to write.Orwell summarizes his view of writers motivations. He argues that all writers have a certain context and a background

behind their works, and that a good writer must temper his/her subjective views, but not lose all sense of origin.

13. Orwell Why I Write Serious writers, I should say, are on the whole more vain and self-centered than

journalists, though less interested in money.

As part of the Sheer Egoism section of the essay, this passage reveals Orwells disdain of journalists by differentiating

them from serious writers. Orwell also suggests that serious writers have a greater ego than journalists: serious writers seek

respect and reverence whereas journalists seek a living.

14. Gray Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard where heaves the turf in many a moldring heap, each in his

narrow cell forever laid, the rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep.

This passage introduces the country churchyard, where the poorer people were buried (as the rich were generally buried

inside the church). The dead are related to prison inmates as their graves are described as narrow cells.15. Tennyson Ulysses We are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven, that which we are,

we are; one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find,

and not to yield.

This conclusion of Ulysses suggests that Ulysses (Odysseus) is aging and that he no longer has physical stamina to seek

adventure, but that his mental drive can make up for it. The poem is suggested to be autobiographical, since Tennyson wrote

the poem during a personal crisis in which he needed to take up immense responsibilities.

16. Robert Browning My Last Duchess She had a heart how shall I say? too soon made glad, too easily

impressed; she liked whateer she looked on, and her looks went everywhere.

In this poem, the presumed titular subject, Lucrezia de Medici, was the wife of the fifth Duke of Ferrara, who is presumed to

be the speaker. Lucrezia was considered to be of lower social class than the Duke and uneducated; she was also materialistic,

as suggested by this passage.17. Robert Browning Porphyrias Lover only, this time my shoulder bore her head, which droops upon it still;

the smiling rosy little head, so glad it has its utmost will, that all it scorned at once is fled, and I, its love, am gained

instead.

At this point in the poem, the speaker has already killed his lover. He states that she wanted his love, and he gave it to her and

took away all the things she did not like in the world, a clearly lunatic statement.

18. Hardy Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave? I am sorry, but I quite forgot it was your resting place.Hardy suggests that people are not remembered after they die, even by their closest friends, relatives, and enemies. This line,

spoken by the speakers dog, truly shows that there is no hope for remembrance.

19. Housman To an Athlete Dying Young Eyes the shady night has shut cannot see the record cut, and silence

sounds no worse than cheers after earth has stopped the ears.

This passage implies that glory is short-lived. Housman says that it is better to die young, after achieving glory, because once

one dies, he/she will live on in peoples memories, and he/she will not have to experience losing his/her glory to somebody

else.