Anne Russell Assignment 3

1) In his poem "London, 1802," Wordsworth addresses the late John Milton to describe the fallen London of 1802. It is easy to get lost in the poem's meaning and skip over his reference to Milton, as he is only explicitly mentioned in the first word of the poem, but it is this allusion that captures the essence of the poem itself. John Milton is perhaps best known for his epic poem "Paradise Lost" detailing the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden- aka Paradise- as well as the origins of Satan. This directly parallels Wordsworth's reference to the "fall" of London if you will. He refers to her as a "fen of stagnant waters," having "forfeited [her] ancient English dower of inward happiness" (ll. 2, 3, 5). He also refers to the people of London as "selfish men" (l. 6). Similarly, in an act of selfishness Adam and Eve caved in to the serpent's taunting, and thereby relinquished their dower of sorts, being their right to life in paradise in the Garden of Eden. His tone is very regretful and somber when referring to London, but very reverent when referencing Milton himself. Wordsworth seems to have a deep level of respect for Milton as he very earnestly refers to his virtues, even to the level of elevating him to a Christ figure, calling his voice "pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free" (l. 11). This again ties into Milton's "Paradise Lost" because just as Wordsworth calls on Milton to "raise us up, return to us again," so God was the only one who could have helped Adam and Eve out of their stupor (l. 7). It is Wordsworth's powerful allusion to John Milton that adds so much meaning to his lament of London's state of disrepair, clarifying his regretful tone towards London and his respectful tone towards Milton himself.

2) "Art is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in."  --Amy Lowell

For me, music is what connects me most to art. As Lowell mentioned in her quote, song writing is my way of expressing myself. I haven't been writing songs for very long, but I can already tell that my best songs come not from sitting down and deciding to write one, but from being so overwhelmed by a flood of emotions that I have no choice but to pour them out through the chords, the melodies, and of course the lyrics. The second half of the quote I found particularly interesting, because it has a lot to do with what it is that causes that flood of emotion that drives you to write a song. Different things resonate with different people, and thus inspiration depends on the personality of each artist and musician. The first song I ever wrote came after a lovely night out to dinner with my youth minister, his wife, and the interns (including myself). We were planning for an upcoming retreat, and ideas were just flowing so freely and bouncing off one another, excitement was filling the air and joy was filling my heart. To everyone else at the table, perhaps it was just a productive meeting, but to me, it was a night that made me aware of how truly blessed I was to be surrounded by these people and how thankful I was to be a part of their community and to be able to give back to the younger kids through this retreat. In that way, you can see how my personality reacted differently to the situation, as I immediately came home and wrote almost an entire song in one sitting to express my gratitude. I love being able to sing my songs and play along with my guitar because the music and the melody allow me to express more passion than just my words could, and my personality is able to show through the emotion behind my words and my interaction with the guitar. In that way, I really understand and resonate with what Lowell is saying in her quote.