Jessica Umana 

Professor Rumore 

ENG 302 

12 May 2020 

Community Blog Post

I’ve been living in New York my whole life but I actually moved to New York City about two years ago. I am completely disappointed in the world and how society has become. Living in the city has really been an eye opener for me. Not because I don’t like it, but because it seems as if everyone is living their own rushed life and doesn’t care about anyone but themselves. There’s not much of any appreciation towards nature and its beauty anymore. Instead, people live their lives working and thinking about themselves. 

In the poem, “The World is too Much for Us” by William Wordsworth, the speaker is angry at the world and its lack of appreciation towards nature. He accuses the modern age for losing connection with nature and forgetting its meaning. I completely agree with Wordsworth and that is why this poem impacted me the most. I strongly believe that everyone is so focused on their own life that they tend to forget the real meaning of the world.  He says, “ Little we see in Nature that is ours; / We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!” In this quote, the reader is able to feel the speaker’s tone and it is evident that he is angry at what the world has become. He is disappointed on how it has given away its heart to the things that don’t matter such as technology.  

Furthermore, I was able to connect with this poem because everyday, I see how the world disconnects more and more from its natural environment and it’s upsetting to see that happen. Now that we are in quarantine, it has given us the opportunity to love nature around us more and appreciate the things we don’t normally appreciate when we are free. However, I don’t think that a pandemic like the one we are currently living in should have to take place for people to change their selfish actions. Moreover, the speaker says something very essential. He states, “The world…getting and spending.” Once again, I thought of NYC when I read this line of the poem. They call it the “city that never sleeps.” That is because everyone is so focused on getting money and working all the time. Everyone is always rushing to get to work and become something in this world. It reminds me of a competition.

Overall, although before there was more crime in the U.S, I do believe that there was a greater appreciation towards nature. Back then, technology wasn’t as advanced as it is today and that is one of the reasons why people had to use the environment around them in order to make useful resources to survive. Now that technology has taken over the world, people are relying on it to the point that they can’t live without it and it should be the other way around. Nature should be appreciated more in order to make the world a better place.

Jessica Umana 

Professor Rumore 

ENG 302

12 May 2020

Critical Annotation 

Quotes from Oroonoko by Aphran Behn

1. “This old dead hero had one only daughter left of his race; a beauty that, to describe her truly, one need say only, she was female to the noble male; the beautiful black Venus to our young Mars; as charming in her person as he, and of delicate virtues. I have seen an hundred white men sighing after her, and making a thousand vows at her feet, all vain, and unsuccessful; and she was, indeed, too great for any, but a prince of her own nation to adore.”

• In this passage of Oroonoko, the author focuses on racism. Behn specifically emphasizes how this young beautiful woman is black and how she is considered to be noble to any man. She then goes on and states that even white men have not been able to captivate her attention because she is too good for them. I found this quote to be very interesting because it contradicts what black females are known for. During the 1800’s, they were very few black females who were noble and beautiful. Instead, they were known for being slaves and not looked at by white men. 

2. “The King of Coramantien was himself a man of an hundred and odd years old, and had no son, though he had many beautiful black wives: for most certainly there are beauties that can charm of that color.”

• In this passage of Oroonoko, Behn uses characteristic in order to describe the King of Coramantien. I wouldn’t consider it so much imagery although when the author states that he is one hundred odd years old, the reader definitely creates an image of an old person in their head. However, I believe that characterization takes over  especially since it’s not so common for a man to be over 100 years old nowadays. Also, it describes how noble of a King he was since he has plenty of beautiful wives. 

3. “His face was not of that brown rusty black which most of that nation are, but of perfect ebony, or polished jet. His eyes were the most awful that could be seen, and very piercing; the white of ’em being like snow, as were his teeth. His nose was rising and Roman, instead of African and flat. His mouth the finest shaped that could be seen; far from those great turned lips which are so natural to the rest of the negroes.”

• In this passage of Oroonoko, the author uses imagery. It is evident when the author begins to describe Oronookos features. Everything about this quote is clearly emphasising imagery. For instance, the author says that his mouth was the finest shape that has been ever seen and his lips were natural. This allows the reader to create a better picture in their head of the character. The more intense the description is, the better the imagination. 

4. “He was adorned with a native beauty, so transcending all those of his gloomy race that he struck an awe and reverence even into those that knew not his quality; as he did into me, who beheld him with surprise and wonder, when afterwards he arrived in our world.”

• This passage is another example of imagery. The author is stating that his beauty was better than those of any other race, basically allowing the reader to comprehend how beautiful he was and ranking him better than any other normal men. The point of incorporating this literary element is to allow the reader to grasp a vivid imagery and comprehend why Oroonoko differed from everyone else. 

5. “I do not pretend, in giving you the history of this Royal Slave, to entertain my reader with adventures of a feigned hero, whose life and fortunes fancy may manage at the poet’s pleasure; nor in relating the truth, design to adorn it with any accidents but such as arrived in earnest to him.”

• This passage in Oroonoko,gives the reader historic context. At the beginning of the story, the author presents what they story is going to be about and uses “Royal Slave” allowing the reader too understand that it will be from the 1800’s and about slavery.  However, this quote also allows the reader to grasp the idea that a kingdom will be involved aside from slavery which also brings it back a couple centuries ago. 

Work Cited Behn, Aphran. Oroonoko. Penguin Books, 2016.

 Critical Annotations on Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

1)

A damsel with a dulcimer

In a vision once I saw:

It was an Abyssinian maid,

And on her dulcimer she play’d,

Singing of Mount Abora.

The abrupt change in rhythm and obvious disjointed juxtaposition between the previous stanzas and this one may be attributed to the infamous Person from Porlock. Coleridge said that he awoke from an opium-induced dream with perhaps 200 lines of this poem in his head. However, while he was transcribing the words in his head, a visitor knocked on his door and so distracted him that he lost the thread of the dream. I always imagined when he returned to the poem that he could only produce these last lines. Various scholars have doubted the story, but the Porlock has become a metaphor for any distraction, procrastination or impediment to completing a work.

2)

IN Xanadu did Kubla Khan

A stately pleasure-dome decree:

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran

Through caverns measureless to man

Down to a sunless sea.

Both Xanadu and Kubla Khan existed in history. Kubla Khan was the grandson of Genghis Khan and united the Mongolian and Chinese kingdoms when he became emperor of China in 1263. Xanadu was built near the Mongolian steppes and was Kubla Khan’s first capital. The remains of the city exist today. The city’s listing on Unesco.org’s site states, “the site was a unique attempt to assimilate the nomadic Mongolian and Han Chinese cultures.”  This merging and respect for both cultures was a characteristic of Kubla’s reign. Though there was no pleasure dome, nor was there a river Alph—one exists in Antarctica, but not China—the symbolism Coleridge uses in the poem is a tribute to the panacea Kubla Khan was attempting to create.

3)

So twice five miles of fertile ground

With walls and towers were girdled round:

And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills

In a preface to the poem, Coleridge wrote that he had been unwell and had taken a prescribed dose of opium while reading this sentence, from Purchas’s Pilgrimage: “Here the Khan Kubla commanded a palace to be built, and a stately garden thereunto. And thus ten miles of fertile ground were inclosed (sic) with a wall.” Though Coleridge takes great poetic license in describing the city, the basis of the geography is confirmed by multiple historical sources. The explorer Marco Polo visited the city, then named Shangdu, and wrote of it that Kubla Khan

“caused a palace to be erected, of marble and other handsome stone, admirable as well for the skill displayed in its execution. The halls and chambers are all gilt, and very handsome…Within the bounds of the royal park there are rich and beautiful meadows, watered by many rivulets…”

4)

By woman wailing for her demon-lover!

And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,

As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,

A mighty fountain momently was forced;

Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst

Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,

Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail:

And ‘mid these dancing rocks at once and ever

It flung up momently the sacred river.

The passage here strongly evokes a birth. The woman wailing could be Gaia, goddess of the earth, panting in labor as she births this paradise. The dark chasm, filled with “ceaseless turmoil,” is the world’s womb, the crucible of life itself. The fact that the chasm is “seething” evokes the molten core of the earth. Coleridge reinforces the primordial imagery with his use of the word “grain,” which symbolically represents fertility and the earth.

5)

For he on honey-dew hath fed,

And drunk the milk of Paradise.

Here Coleridge is using both biblical and mythological imagery and also alluding to the inspiration for the entire poem. In Norse and Germanic mythology, honeydew is said to be produced by the sacred ash tree, Yggdrasil, which is the same tree the god, Odin hung on for nine days to gain the knowledge of the world. Honeydew is also synonymous with “manna,” which in the bible is food sent by god to sustain the Israelites during their exile in the desert.

The milk of paradise is a nickname for opium, the allegedly prescribed medication whose influence he was under when he fell into the dream that inspired the poem.

Works Cited

Cartwright, Mark. “Xanadu.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 9  

May 2020, www.ancient.eu/Xanadu/.

Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. “Site of Xanadu.” UNESCO World Heritage Centre,

whc.unesco.org/en/list/1389/.

Colerid.html, web.suffieldacademy.org/english/english4h/colerid.html.

DomainOptions, Inc. “Synonyms for HONEYDEW.” Thesaurus.net, 10 May 2020,

www.thesaurus.net/honeydew.

Kubla Khan, knarf.english.upenn.edu/Coleridg/kubla.html.

Historical and literary elements have been present long throughout the long eighteenth century especially within eighteenth century literature. Through the lens of Aphra Behn’s Ooroonoko, WordsWorths The world is too with us, and Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, an overview of some of the historical and literary elements will be discussed.

The best part about eighteenth century literature is its connection with history. Aphra Behn gives us insight on what is occurring through this time period in which colonizers are going to different countries and attempting to fuel the slave trade but also give us the colonial perspective od a culture that is vastly different from their own. Aphra Behn states, “he had only left him for his successor one grandchild, son to one of these dead victors, who, as soon as he could bear a bow in his hand, and a quiver at his back, was sent into the field to be trained up by one of the oldest generals to war; where, from his natural inclination to arms, and the occasions given him, with the good conduct of the old general, he became, at the age of seventeen, one of the most expert captains and bravest soldiers that ever saw the field of Mars: so that he was adored as the wonder of all that world, and the darling of the soldiers.” This is important because Behn is giving an outside perspective on what would’ve been observed at that time using terminology such as ‘generals’ or ‘successors’ to a societies traditions to be able to make sense of what is going on but in reality this is only to help make sense to the readers that Behn is intending to reach in her work.

When looking at eighteen century literature we can see parallels from that previous age to occurences that are happening in our modern day world. Especially through Wordsworth work we can see and empathize with what he writes.Using Wordsworth’s work of The World is Too Much With Us, which is about how Wordsworth critiques the industrial revolutions at the time and its parallels with humanity and more. For example Wordsworth writes, “The world is too much with us; late and soon, / Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;  / Little we see in Nature that is ours; / We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon.” So the importance of this quote is that we feel that modern technology has detached humanity from nature. This is important because Wordworth wants that connection again with humanity and nature even so to take it a step forward and saying that humanity does not appreciate nature in any way shape or form. 

Jane Austen uses her fiction to display metafiction throughout her novel which is important because metafiction is when the author knowingly parodies or breaks the fourth wall to allude from normal novelistic conventions. Through Janes coming of age story Northanger Abbey which tells us a tale of a Young Woman named Catherine we see a lot of this metafiction take place and its importance to understanding how these subtle conventions help us understand the time period even further. Jane states, “The company began to disperse when the dancing was over… and now was the time for a heroine, who had not yet played a very distinguished part in the events of the evening, to be noticed and admired.” This piece is important because Jane is pointing out how Catherines personality is changing and transforming right in front of us by telling us what we would probably already know by the context of what is going on, which makes the reader focus not on the exact actions the character is taking in the event but the subtle conventions that are taking place and that the author wants the readers to notice. 

The world is too with us, and Jane Austens Northanger Abbey, an overview of some of the historical and literary elements that has been discussed.Historical and literary elements have been present long throughout the long eighteenth century especially within eighteenth century literature.

Aphra Bhen uses the literary element of setting to give us a sense of not just where we are but how the people in their settings correlate. This can be seen in the quote, “With these people, as I said, we live in perfect tranquillity and good understanding, as it behoves us to do; they knowing all the places where to seek the best food of the country, and the means of getting it; and for very small and unvaluable trifles, supply us with that ’tis impossible for us to get: for they do not only in the woods, and over the savannahs, in hunting, supply the parts of hounds, by swiftly scouring through those almost impassable places, and by the mere activity of their feet run down the nimblest deer and other eatable beasts; but in the water, one would think they were gods of the rivers, or fellow-citizens of the deep; so rare an art they have in swimming, diving, and almost living in water; by which they command the less swift inhabitants of the floods.” This is important because we see that the type of setting that their in is very desert like but also how this brings clarity to the reader in which the people in this setting survive off the setting and value this setting to a certain degree which gives a clear perspective to their way of life and the disconnect to the lives of the non natives that aphra bhens narrator and other colonists are.
While this could be confused with setting, in reality aphra bhen is using the literary element of point of view to give a perspective on the traditions of this said culture. This is stated as, “They have plurality of wives; which, when they grow old, serve those that succeed ’em, who are young, but with a servitude easy and respected; and unless they take slaves in war, they have no other attendants.” The literary element use of point of view is important because just like the use of setting, it gives a clear distinction of not just what the narrator finds surprising about the customs of this new culture but also because of the simple fact that what they find surprising speaks volumes of what the narrator’s own culture is like and how distinctly different their cultures are.
It is important how aphra behn uses the literary element of character to create an image of someone that through the lens of the value of a different culture, to seem very extravagant and over the type which could still seem somehow appealing to the audience in which she is attempting to reach by stating, “The King of Coramantien was himself a man of an hundred and odd years old, and had no son, though he had many beautiful black wives: for most certainly there are beauties that can charm of that color.” Seeing that this is a man that lived far longer than the expected age of that time as well as having a far more polygamist relationship compared to the narrators monogamist counterpart brings a sense of extravagance that the culture and lifestyle of the colonists potentially did not live by or have as often.
The literary technique used by aphra bhen in this piece is figure of speech in which she relays the difference in social standing and bravery. Aphra states, “He replied, he would not give himself the trouble- but wished ’em to choose the bravest man amongst ’em, let his quality or birth be what it would: “for, O my friends!” said he, “it is not titles make men brave or good; or birth that bestows courage and generosity, or makes the owner happy.” This is important because the figure of speech is expressing that titles do not dictate how brave or courageous a person is, rather than the actions taken by the person is what makes them so. Which is important because the colonists within the story view it as title means everything especially their titles as masters over other humans.
The literary technique of narration is heavily important throughout this novel because not just was it written by a woman but the author herself uses the narrator as a woman to not just express how she was in the forefront of the situation but using a voice that at the current time frame would not have normally have been heard or payed attention to. Aphra states,”This Jamoan afterwards became very dear to him, being a man very gallant, and of excellent graces, and fine parts; so that he never put him amongst the rank of captives, as they used to do, without distinction, for the common sale, or market, but kept him in his own court, where he retained nothing of the prisoner but the name, and returned no more into his own country; so great an affection he took for Oroonoko, and by a thousand tales and adventures of love and gallantry flattered his disease of melancholy and languishment: which I have often heard him say, had certainly killed him but for the conversation of this prince and Aboan, and the French governor he had from his childhood, of whom I have spoken before, and who was a man of admirable wit, great ingenuity, and learning; all which he had infused into his young pupil.” This is important because this i the narrator stating just how excellent the graces where, or how the melancholy and languishment of the specific moment was. The fact that she was there to describe that someone was a gallant in a way gives a far more impreshionable feelings to the reader compared to if it where said by a man in which it could be taken or seen or comprehended in any other way.

As we began exploring last week, Northanger Abbey follows the heroine in training Catherine Morland, a young, unworldy girl obsessed with reading Gothic novels. In the excerpts from Part I, we see her introduction to polite society and, later, in Part II, her visit to a supposedly “Gothic” locale, the titular Northanger Abbey. In the portions of the novel set at Northanger Abbey, Catherine constantly misrecognizes her surroundings, expecting to find herself within a Gothic novel. By the end of the excerpt, Catherine’s “Gothic” flights of fantasy are shattered nd she comes into a more “realistic” consciousness. What are some of the ways we see Catherine’s misrecognition in the excerpts? Does Catherine’s initial naivety and coming into knowledge as a character connect to the “metafictional” aspects of the novel we discussed last week? For the asynchronous assignment, write a few paragraphs reflecting on these questions.

                        I have lived in New York City my whole life. Of course, I visited a lot of other places and visited family in different states, but I never lived anywhere else. One of the biggest things about living in the city is that we do not have an opportunity to always engage with each other or even the world around us. I think that with everything going on with the pandemic and the lockdown, it really gives us a chance to appreciate what is around us. When I think about our current situation, I am reminded of Wordsworth poem The World is Too Much with Us. The speaker in the poem is angry that people do not know how to connect with the world anymore. Our society is solely focused on technology and making money. I think that this is part of our history but also a part of current state and the future. In our history, the world was focusing on advancing that I don’t think that appreciated the world around them much. Given our world today, I am trying to appreciate what’s around me because I never realized it “existed” before. 

            Wordsworth writes “The world is too much with us; late and soon, / Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;— / Little we see in Nature that is ours; / We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon.” I think the speaker is saying that we have lost touch with the world around us and we don’t see anything anymore. I agree with him because New York is known as a place that is constantly on the move and no one interacts with other anymore. We as people, have lost our connection to nature and what it truly means to live in the moment. This poem sits heavily with me because I live in a city where people are too busy to create relationships with others. I think people are blinded by material things that we can’t find the beauty in what life has to offer us. I understand why the speaker is angry in the poem, we lost what it means to be a human being and we are not fully loving and caring about what is around us. 

            This is very broad, but the poem also reminds me of a movie I watched called P.S. I Love You. The story focuses on a widowed woman who receives letters from her late husband during different times in her life to help her rebuild her life. Each letter she receives in summary, tells her to appreciate what is around and to not be afraid of making connections or building relationships. She wants to close herself and focus on his death and she forgets that there is still a world out there, a beautiful one that is waiting for her. I think that is also what our relationship is like with technology. We are so consumed by it that we forget what it means to build a meaningful connection and have the physical interaction. Unfortunately, we are not able to make that connection with the pandemic, but I think that it allows us to appreciate more of what we don’t have. Reading these poems and books have really meant something to me as a student living in New York City and I’m really glad I had the opportunity to read it.

Reading Communities  

I was born and raised in New York City.  New York City was known as the rotten apple. New York City was more corrupt than what is now. Around the ’90s New York City was more dangerous, there were a number of crimes. Throughout the years, New York City has improved and a lot of changes have been made. What remains the same is the human’s relationship with material things. Humanity is isolated from nature. Willam Wordsworth’s poem “The world is too much with us” is a perfect example of the way people live. William Wordsworth opens up the poem with these words “The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay our powers” the poet expresses his sadness with humanity. The speaker reveals how disappointed he is with human behavior wasting their energy. Wordsworth makes a connection with humans and nature. Wordsworth’s emphasizes the world shouldn’t be seen as a one but as a whole. Humans don’t appreciate the beauty of nature. Humans waste their time working and spending money. Wordsworth uses the word “world” is too much for humans to have because humans don’t realize its value. Humans replaced nature with materialistic things. Humanity is too concentrated on social status. Human beings put their wealth before connecting with nature. The impact of people’s daily living has affected their relationship with nature. Humans live in a world controlled by superficial things. Wordsworth’s emphasizes human behavior and its isolation from Nature. Humans are dominated by society; this is seen today. Especially in New York City where people live day-to-day. People don’t take the time to connect with nature. Nature is important for a human’s wellbeing. “Little we see in Nature that is ours.” the world is too much for all humans because nature it’s not appreciated. Wordsworth emphasizes how humans don’t deserve the world and its natural beauty. The tone of the sonnet is disappointing in human behavior. People are characterized by economic status. Humans have always competed to see who is wealthier. Wordsworth illustrates in his poem what the world looks like today. Nature has a lot of benefits; nature improves physical health and mental health. Nature provides a lot of benefits tranquility, increases pleasant emotions. Wordsworth believes humans are giving to much importance to money, materials, and superficial things. People should cherish the natural things of life. For instance, plants, the moon, animals the ocean.  At the end of the poem, Wordsworth says “Great God! I’d rather be A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.” What Wordsworth means is he rather be pagan and enjoy nature. By being a Pagan, he could look over the ocean and be less sad. In William Wordsworth’s he shares his vision and argues humanity should connect with nature. Reading Woodsworth’s poem I learned how fortunate we are to enjoy nature.  

Leah Johnney

ENG 302

Critical Annotations

1. I have chosen a work from Selected Poems by Phyllis Wheatley (1773). The poem I selected was On being brought from Africa to America and the line, “Some view our sable race with scornful eye,”. I choose those this sentence because I was unsure what the word “sable” meant. According to a 19^th Century British Poetry student at Marymount University, sable is “just another world that means the color black, it is important because it creates alliteration with the world scornful.” This is interesting to me because when this word is used to describe a carnivorous mammal.

“The Spokesperson of Her Community.” The Power of Poetry, commons.marymount.edu/onbeingbroughtfromafricatoamerica/close-reading/.

• Another area I choose from Phyllis Wheatley was, “Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain”. Wheatley reference in this biblical allusion comes from the book of Isaiah in the Bible. According to Scheick the use of Cain allows the reader to “remember that in a spiritual sense, both white and black people are the skin-darkened descendants of Cain.” (Scheick) Scheick continues to state that some individuals negate that thought and see Cain as the descendant only to the black race. The positioning of the comma is also significant. Scheick states the comma, “creates a trace of syntactic ambiguity that quietly instates both Christians and Negros as the mutual offspring of Cain who are subject to refinements by divine grace.” (Scheick)

Loving, MaryCatherine. “Uncovering Subversion in Phillis Wheatley’s Signature Poem: ‘On Being Brought from AFRICA to AMERICA.’” Journal of African American Studies, vol. 20, no. 1, 2016, pp. 67–74.

Scheick, William J. “Phillis Wheatley’s Appropriation of Isaiah.” Early American Literature, vol. 27, no. 2, 1992, pp. 135–140. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25056895. Accessed 30 Apr. 2020.

• I choose another work from Selected Poems by Phyllis Wheatley (1773) entitled A farewel to America. To Mrs. S. W.From the beginning the writer is biding a farewell to her surroundings and in stanza five she mentions the name “Susanna”, who can be assumed to be Mrs. S.W. The writer states, “Not unregarding can I see, Her soul with grief opprest: But let no sighs, no groans for me, Steal from her pensive breast.” Susanna is portrayed as sad but the word “pensive” confuses me. After researching I saw it meant “musingly or dreamily thoughtful”. (Pensive) This still led some questions to why this specific word was used in this place.  

“Pensive.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam webster.com/dictionary/pensive.

• The book, The Interesting Narrative of The Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789) has several historical references to the slave trade. In this narrative the first stop was in Barbados as they stated, “At last we came in sight of the island of Barbadoes, at which the whites on board gave a great shout, and made many signs of joy to us.” I did more research and to find out information on the slave trade regarding areas on the Caribbean. According to Koot, “In addition to their exhortations for free trade, colonists pressed for the ability to control the local value of coin and to purchase slaves from private traders.”

Koot, Christian J. “A ‘dangerous principle’: free trade discourses in Barbados and the English Leeward Islands, 1650-1689.” Early American Studies, vol. 5, no. 1, 2007, p. 132+. Gale Academic OneFile,https://link-gale com.lehman.ezproxy.cuny.edu/apps/doc/A160592850/AONE?u=lehman_main&sid=AONE&xid=b2cecdc5. Accessed 1 May 2020.

• Lastly, I choose a word from Oroonoko by Aphra Behn in 1688. This slave narrative had many terms and words in it that I was not familiar with. One of the words I remembered not knowing was “rabble”. Oroonoko wanted a life of freedom and even after attempting to kill himself the slave owners keep him alive only to punish him. The gruesomeness on the scene is noticed by the daughter as she states, “My mother and sister were by him all the while, but not suffered to save him; so rude and wild were the rabble…” According to Webster, rabble can be defined as “the lowest class of people”. It is interesting to read it in this context.

“Rabble.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam webster.com/dictionary/rabble.

Lili Whalen 

Professor Micheal Rumore

English Literature II Restoration through Revelations 

Critical Annotation

April 22, 2020

1. “He was pretty tall, but of a shape the most exact that can be fancied: the most famous statuary could not form the figure of a man more admirably turned from head to foot” (Behn). 

      The narrator in the novel, Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave describes in vivid detail in how she remembers meeting Prince Oroonoko. When the narrator describes how he looks, she uses the word, statuary, but how can she explain Oroonoko as a statue if he is a person? There are many ways to use the word statuary. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, statuary derives from the time period, 1759, and is referred to as something or someone looks similar to a statue. In other words, Oroonoko possesses qualities of a statue since he is tall and appears to be handsome in the narrator’s opinion. 

2. “So that having made his first compliments, and presented her an hundred and fifty slaves in fetters” (Behn).

      This line in Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave symbolizes irony because Oroonoko is gifting his lover, Imoinda, slaves that are in chains, where him and Imoinda eventually end up as well. This line makes me wonder if Behn is foreshadowing on what is going to happen to Oroonoko and Imoinda since he presents her with slaves in order to show his love for her. However, the love that they have for one another eventually gets them in trouble when Oroonoko’s grandfather sells them as slaves. When Oroonoko murders Imoinda and their unborn child in order to save them from living a life without freedom, does he finally understand the brutality of owning slaves? After killing the love of his life, he then ends his own life using the same knife. 

3. “At length, the travellers began to ascend among the Apennines. The immense pine-forests, which, at that period, overhung these mountains, and between which ten road wound, excluded all view but of the cliffs aspiring above, except, that, now and then, an opening through the dark woods allowed the eye a momentary glimpse of the country below” (Radcliffe).  

         In The Mysteries of Uldolpho, Ann Radcliffe captivates the readers’ attention by setting the tone of the story by painting a picture in the readers’ minds in the beginning of chapter five when she goes into elaborate to detail to discuss the scene. The setting appears dark and gloom, almost as if it is foreshadowing that something bad is going to happen. After Radcliffe places descriptive images of the setting, the readers see Emily, the main character, who is surrounded by the vivid scenery. In Eveline van der Lans’ work of literature, “Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho and the Function of Landscapes in Gothic Fiction” states, ” … Radcliffe provides the reader with a specific aesthetic experience, one that involves emotions of terror and suspense” (Van der Lans 12). Since Radcliffe provides a sequence of pictures throughout this novel, she invites readers on her toes imagining they are there in the story with the characters. 

4. ” ‘The colour is a diabolic die’ ” (Wheatley 6).

      Phyllis Wheatly, who is known for being the first African American woman to be a published writer, draws attention to her poem, “On Being Brought From Africa To America” as she discusses her journey from Africa to America. she places this line in quotes because she is recalling what she has heard people say about her race. The word diabolic is referred to as ” … belonging to, or involving the Devil or a devil” (Oxford English Dictionary). People are referring to African Americans as diabolic because of the color of their skin. 

5. “We were now landed upon the continent of Africa, the most desolate, desert, and inhospitable country in the world” (Defoe).

      In Daniel Defoe’s excerpts of “Captain Singleton,” the narrator refers to Africa as being as deserted and unwelcoming. Both the narrator, Captain Singleton and Defoe are taking the continent for granted. While Captain Singleton is on his journey, it seems that he is complaining about the hot desert, lack of food, and have come across in what he refers to as savages. As Captain Singleton continues on his voyage, he decided to ” … quarrel with some of the negro natives, take ten or twelve of them prisoners, and blinding them as slaves, caused them to travel with us, and make them carry out baggage; which I alleged would be convenient and useful many ways as well to show us the way, as to converse with other natives for us” (Manifold). By Captain Singleton coming to Africa and taking African citizens against their will is taking advantage of the continent. Captain Singleton seems selfish and only does what is best for him. 

                                                      Works Cited

Behn, Aphra. Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave. Manifold, January 2007. 

Defoe, Daniel. “Captain Singleton.” Captain Singleton, Manifold, 1720.

            “Statuary.” Oxford English Dictionary.

Radcliffe, Ann. “Chapter 5.” The Mysteries of Udolpho , vol. 2, Manifold, 1794.

Van der Lans, Eveline. “Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho and the Function of   Landscapes in Gothic Fiction.” Leiden University, Leiden University, 13 June 2016, 

            openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/45784/MA%20Thesis%20Eveline%20va            n%20der%20Lans%20s1146947%20final.pdf?sequence=1.

Wheatley, Phyllis. “On Being Brought From Africa To America.” Manifold, 1773.