In analyzing the poems by Garcilaso de la Vega and Ana Rossetti, it is clear that they express desire in very different ways. To what extent do Renaissance sensibilities and the Renaissance image of women affect the relatively more restrained expression of desire in Garcilaso's poem? What aspects of post-dictatorship 1980s culture are reflected in the overtly sexual nature of Rossetti's poems?
In Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz's sonnet, she critiques a portrait of a poetess. In what ways does her word choice and her message relate to her belief and experiences that women were inferior to men and that they were limited in what they could do?
In comparing the poems of Garcilaso de la Vega, a Renaissance poet, compared to Ana Rossetti, a postmodern poet, the object of desire is very different. What did the context of their respective historical times influence about their objects of desire, and how did it affect the ways in which the poets were able to describe them?
In Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz's sonnet, she hints at the inevitability of trying to fight the ravages of time. Does she equate beauty with youth? To what extent does she believe that painted art deceptively depicts beauty and perfection? In regards to the biography of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, where do we see how her personal life (being a nun and trying to transgress strict gender boundaries to establish herself as an intelligent writer) influences her sonnet 145?
When reading the works by Garcilasco de la Vega and Ana Rossetti, I was surprised at the highly sexualized nature of the works. However I was questioning the meaning behind the first. I believe that it could be argued that the work by de la Vega could as much be talking about a women as it could be discussing a love for mother nature. How could the work by de la Vega be looked at as an ode to mother nature?
In reference to the works by Rossetti; I question as to what the motivation behind these works were. Were these short poems to be included in advertisements along with the photographs? Or were they in a larger compilation of modern works which highlighted the change in accepted sexual imagery.
Garcilaso de la Vega was a Spanish poet, famous for his tragic poems. In his Sonnet 23 he expresses the urgency of “now” and “beauty and youth that is today” – beauty and youth that will fade with time and one day be forgotten. His message is powerful because of his descriptive ways of ‘painting’ a beautiful woman in readers’ minds. At first, enjoying these descriptive details of the sonata one could get lost and forget the purpose for its creation.
He uses roses and lilies, and a spring team - (and these symbols’ respective meanings which are typical for Renaissance period)– to set the stage:
“While the roses and lilies show their colors in your face”,
He uses adjectives to capture the attention of his audience and create a drama to show an effect of the subject’s beauty:
“and your ardent, chaste gaze inflames the heart and restrains it;
and while your hair, selected from veins of gold, in a flutter about your lovely neck, so long and white, is blown, scattered and disarranged by the wind”
And then, he reminds his readers that all that beauty could vanish:
“gather the sweet fruit of your joyful springtime before the cold weather in its anger, covers with snow your lovely peak”
He continues with the harsh reminder that:
“The icy wind will shrivel the rose, fleeting time will change everything”
Everything will change and the change is inevitable:
“in order not to change its usual custom.”
How much freedom could the poet express in his poems during his era? Was he able to express all of his ideas and feelings that he wanted to while writing it? How would his work be different if he lived in our time?
Now, on the other hand we have representation and influences of another era that inspired explicit and sexually charged Rosetti’s poems. She plays with a visual presentation of erotic teams so freely - unlike Garcilaso. Her audience may feel that there is no restrain in her expression. It is clear that woman is an object of desire, and ‘her’ existence is serving one major purpose: to serve ‘him’ and give ‘him’ wants.
Although both poets have different teams in their poems, they are both emphasizing on a female as an object of beauty and desire at somebody’s disposal (lets not forget, her beauty and youth has an expiration date). I wonder, if women are to blame for this … however, some women don’t see this as a negative, which could be the root of the issue…
Although there are many differences between Sonnet 23 by Garcilasco de la Vega and "Calvin Klein, Underdrawers" by Ana Rossetti, I want to focus on the difference in tone in correlation with the time period each was written in. Garcilaso de la Vela uses flower descriptions in a soft and smooth tone while Ana Rossetti potrays a dark, dirty, sexual mood through short, declarative lines. How does the use of tone or mood help portray the theme or contort the reader's view on the overall message? Grace Huang.
In these two poems from different eras, there are some prominent differences. The language used to express desire, women and sexuality has a different tone and subconscious meaning. I wonder if the different eras provided different levels of acceptance about what could be expressed in the subjects? In the renaissance time did people condone speaking open mindedly and freely about sexuality and women, and even desire?
In the Sonnet, Garcilaso de la Vega uses very soft and beautiful words to describe the feminine beauty of his object of desire. It includes words that describe the seasons like roses, the wind, sweet fruit, joyful springtime, cold weather, and snow to indicate the passing seasons and changing weather. It suggests that beauty and youth, like the seasons and the weather, are always changing and fleeting. In Ana Rossetti’s poem, she uses words such as “molded around your stomach” and “the hardest travertine marble” to describe the sculptural features and decorations (acanthus leaf, cotton-plant flower, cloth) of a man. In “Wrangler Boy”, she uses the senses and more sculptural, anatomical descriptions such as “sharp shield of his chest”, “strong arm…protrudes”, and “pair of legs” to indicate her physical attraction. Ana Rossetti’s poems are more erotic and sexualized, while the sonnet is more focused on beauty and nature. What do these poems suggest about desire in men and women and the expression of desire in different time periods?
In Ana Rosseti's, "Calvin Klein, Underdrawers" the language is very soft and isn't very direct, but it seems to be somewhat sexual. Yet, somewhat romantic - kind of like the brand is depicted in commercials. Was this poem used in the advertisement of the brand?
The two poems were extremely different even though they both expressed desire. Why was there such a difference in the language used to describe the same thing? Garcilaso de la Vega's poem is from the Renaissance and Ana Rossetti's poem is from the 1980s so did the times in which they were composed play a role in the huge difference of expression?
I feel like in Garcilaso de la Vega's poem is more subtle than Ana Rosseti's "calvin Klein, Underdrawers" because of the choice of symbols and comparisons. Why do Vega's symbols and comparisons like "veins of gold" and the symbols of flowers make Vega's poem seem more subtle than Rosseti's descriptions?
The two poems written by Ana Rossetti seem to be implying a message of sexual desire, particulary towards the individuals who wear the designer items (calvin klein underwear and wrangler). So were these poems originally intended as advertisements, or were they written to describe the sexual liberalism that occured in the postmodern period?
Both Garcilaso and Rossetti's poems are two representations of sexual desire from very different time periods. How does the pacing and rhythm of each poem reflect the the specific time period's attitude towards sexual desire? How has it or how has it not changed?
Despite the drastically different time periods between Garcilaso de la Vega and Ana Rossetti's poems, they both highlight gender stereotypes that are still present today. Sonnet 23 employs imagery that speaks to feminine beauty, softness, and passion, while Calvin Klein Underdrawers emphasizes the strength of the masculine body and the narrator's lust to fulfill her sexual longing by catering to his pleasure as well. What are the specific terms or phrases in each poem that represent male/female stereotypes, and how do these contribute to our reading/interpretation of the poems?
When comparing Garcilasco's poem to those of Rosetti, it appears that both are talking about sexual desires. However, different styles are present for the different authors as the first one is from the Renaissance and the second writes from the 1980's. The Renaissance poem uses natural images to convey beauty while the recent poems use direct visual cues to evoke a certain emotion. How else do the poems differ in their portrayal of desire? Are there other factors involved in the different styles besides the time periods?
Comparing the Vega's poem with that of Rossetti's is almost like comparing a textbook with a Playboy magazine. The tone and diction of Vega's poem resonates with the renaissance idea of carpe diem, the emphasis on the richness of life, while at the same time its romantic elements are subtle yet provoking. Fast forward a couple hundred years to Rossetti's and you see a sharp contrast in its explicitness, especially in Wrangler Boy. This begs the question of what motivated and influenced society to evolve away from subtlety and towards explicit, visual representations in the portrayal of romance and sexual desires?
In analyzing the poems by Garcilaso de la Vega and Ana Rossetti, it is clear that they express desire in very different ways. To what extent do Renaissance sensibilities and the Renaissance image of women affect the relatively more restrained expression of desire in Garcilaso's poem? What aspects of post-dictatorship 1980s culture are reflected in the overtly sexual nature of Rossetti's poems?
ReplyDeleteIn Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz's sonnet, she critiques a portrait of a poetess. In what ways does her word choice and her message relate to her belief and experiences that women were inferior to men and that they were limited in what they could do?
ReplyDeleteIn comparing the poems of Garcilaso de la Vega, a Renaissance poet, compared to Ana Rossetti, a postmodern poet, the object of desire is very different. What did the context of their respective historical times influence about their objects of desire, and how did it affect the ways in which the poets were able to describe them?
ReplyDeleteIn Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz's sonnet, she hints at the inevitability of trying to fight the ravages of time. Does she equate beauty with youth? To what extent does she believe that painted art deceptively depicts beauty and perfection? In regards to the biography of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, where do we see how her personal life (being a nun and trying to transgress strict gender boundaries to establish herself as an intelligent writer) influences her sonnet 145?
When reading the works by Garcilasco de la Vega and Ana Rossetti, I was surprised at the highly sexualized nature of the works. However I was questioning the meaning behind the first. I believe that it could be argued that the work by de la Vega could as much be talking about a women as it could be discussing a love for mother nature. How could the work by de la Vega be looked at as an ode to mother nature?
ReplyDeleteIn reference to the works by Rossetti; I question as to what the motivation behind these works were. Were these short poems to be included in advertisements along with the photographs? Or were they in a larger compilation of modern works which highlighted the change in accepted sexual imagery.
Garcilaso de la Vega was a Spanish poet, famous for his tragic poems. In his Sonnet 23 he expresses the urgency of “now” and “beauty and youth that is today” – beauty and youth that will fade with time and one day be forgotten. His message is powerful because of his descriptive ways of ‘painting’ a beautiful woman in readers’ minds. At first, enjoying these descriptive details of the sonata one could get lost and forget the purpose for its creation.
ReplyDeleteHe uses roses and lilies, and a spring team - (and these symbols’ respective meanings which are typical for Renaissance period)– to set the stage:
“While the roses and lilies
show their colors in your face”,
He uses adjectives to capture the attention of his audience and create a drama to show an effect of the subject’s beauty:
“and your ardent, chaste gaze
inflames the heart and restrains it;
and while your hair, selected from veins
of gold, in a flutter
about your lovely neck, so long and white,
is blown, scattered and disarranged by the wind”
And then, he reminds his readers that all that beauty could vanish:
“gather the sweet fruit of your joyful springtime
before the cold weather in its anger,
covers with snow your lovely peak”
He continues with the harsh reminder that:
“The icy wind will shrivel the rose,
fleeting time will change everything”
Everything will change and the change is inevitable:
“in order not to change its usual custom.”
How much freedom could the poet express in his poems during his era? Was he able to express all of his ideas and feelings that he wanted to while writing it? How would his work be different if he lived in our time?
Now, on the other hand we have representation and influences of another era that inspired explicit and sexually charged Rosetti’s poems. She plays with a visual presentation of erotic teams so freely - unlike Garcilaso. Her audience may feel that there is no restrain in her expression. It is clear that woman is an object of desire, and ‘her’ existence is serving one major purpose: to serve ‘him’ and give ‘him’ wants.
Although both poets have different teams in their poems, they are both emphasizing on a female as an object of beauty and desire at somebody’s disposal (lets not forget, her beauty and youth has an expiration date). I wonder, if women are to blame for this … however, some women don’t see this as a negative, which could be the root of the issue…
Although there are many differences between Sonnet 23 by Garcilasco de la Vega and "Calvin Klein, Underdrawers" by Ana Rossetti, I want to focus on the difference in tone in correlation with the time period each was written in. Garcilaso de la Vela uses flower descriptions in a soft and smooth tone while Ana Rossetti potrays a dark, dirty, sexual mood through short, declarative lines. How does the use of tone or mood help portray the theme or contort the reader's view on the overall message? Grace Huang.
ReplyDeleteIn these two poems from different eras, there are some prominent differences. The language used to express desire, women and sexuality has a different tone and subconscious meaning. I wonder if the different eras provided different levels of acceptance about what could be expressed in the subjects? In the renaissance time did people condone speaking open mindedly and freely about sexuality and women, and even desire?
ReplyDeleteIn the Sonnet, Garcilaso de la Vega uses very soft and beautiful words to describe the feminine beauty of his object of desire. It includes words that describe the seasons like roses, the wind, sweet fruit, joyful springtime, cold weather, and snow to indicate the passing seasons and changing weather. It suggests that beauty and youth, like the seasons and the weather, are always changing and fleeting. In Ana Rossetti’s poem, she uses words such as “molded around your stomach” and “the hardest travertine marble” to describe the sculptural features and decorations (acanthus leaf, cotton-plant flower, cloth) of a man. In “Wrangler Boy”, she uses the senses and more sculptural, anatomical descriptions such as “sharp shield of his chest”, “strong arm…protrudes”, and “pair of legs” to indicate her physical attraction. Ana Rossetti’s poems are more erotic and sexualized, while the sonnet is more focused on beauty and nature. What do these poems suggest about desire in men and women and the expression of desire in different time periods?
ReplyDeleteIn Ana Rosseti's, "Calvin Klein, Underdrawers" the language is very soft and isn't very direct, but it seems to be somewhat sexual. Yet, somewhat romantic - kind of like the brand is depicted in commercials. Was this poem used in the advertisement of the brand?
ReplyDeleteThe two poems were extremely different even though they both expressed desire. Why was there such a difference in the language used to describe the same thing? Garcilaso de la Vega's poem is from the Renaissance and Ana Rossetti's poem is from the 1980s so did the times in which they were composed play a role in the huge difference of expression?
ReplyDeleteI feel like in Garcilaso de la Vega's poem is more subtle than Ana Rosseti's "calvin Klein, Underdrawers" because of the choice of symbols and comparisons. Why do Vega's symbols and comparisons like "veins of gold" and the symbols of flowers make Vega's poem seem more subtle than Rosseti's descriptions?
ReplyDeleteThe two poems written by Ana Rossetti seem to be implying a message of sexual desire, particulary towards the individuals who wear the designer items (calvin klein underwear and wrangler). So were these poems originally intended as advertisements, or were they written to describe the sexual liberalism that occured in the postmodern period?
ReplyDeleteBoth Garcilaso and Rossetti's poems are two representations of sexual desire from very different time periods. How does the pacing and rhythm of each poem reflect the the specific time period's attitude towards sexual desire? How has it or how has it not changed?
ReplyDeleteDespite the drastically different time periods between Garcilaso de la Vega and Ana Rossetti's poems, they both highlight gender stereotypes that are still present today. Sonnet 23 employs imagery that speaks to feminine beauty, softness, and passion, while Calvin Klein Underdrawers emphasizes the strength of the masculine body and the narrator's lust to fulfill her sexual longing by catering to his pleasure as well. What are the specific terms or phrases in each poem that represent male/female stereotypes, and how do these contribute to our reading/interpretation of the poems?
ReplyDeleteWhen comparing Garcilasco's poem to those of Rosetti, it appears that both are talking about sexual desires. However, different styles are present for the different authors as the first one is from the Renaissance and the second writes from the 1980's. The Renaissance poem uses natural images to convey beauty while the recent poems use direct visual cues to evoke a certain emotion. How else do the poems differ in their portrayal of desire? Are there other factors involved in the different styles besides the time periods?
ReplyDeleteComparing the Vega's poem with that of Rossetti's is almost like comparing a textbook with a Playboy magazine. The tone and diction of Vega's poem resonates with the renaissance idea of carpe diem, the emphasis on the richness of life, while at the same time its romantic elements are subtle yet provoking. Fast forward a couple hundred years to Rossetti's and you see a sharp contrast in its explicitness, especially in Wrangler Boy. This begs the question of what motivated and influenced society to evolve away from subtlety and towards explicit, visual representations in the portrayal of romance and sexual desires?
ReplyDelete