Test
Prompt:
2009B
Poem: “Terence, This is Stupid Stuff”
The following poem makes use of the story
of Mithridates VI, King of Pontus, who developed an immunity to poison. Read
the poem carefully. Then write an essay in which you analyze how Housman
employs literary devices in adapting the story to address concerns of the late
Victorian period.
First
Essay:
In
"Terence, This is Stupid Stuff", A.E. Houseman alludes to the story
of Mithridates as well as "Paradise Lost" in order to assert that
"poison" or alcohol cannot truly kill or heal man as the presence of
these harmful entities are irrevocable in the human world and that man must
survive the dangers that "poison" pose. Pathetic fallacy, irony, and
narrative pace help to reinforce the late Victorian concern about the
oppression of the working class through the frequent references to
alcoholism.
The poem
begins with addressing the "stupid stuff". This reveals the irony in
the accessibility of alcohol, which makes it so temping for tired, working
class individuals worn-out from grueling factory work during the end of the
1800s. The more an individual seeks "ale", "the stuff to
drink" (27), the more they crave it. Houseman states, "Pints and
quarts of Ludlow beer / Then the world seemed none so bad" (32-33) to
reiterate the numbing effects of alcohol. The temptation of alcohol is
articulated through the references to Burton on the River Trent and Ludlow
fair, as it seems to be inevadable. Essentially, no matter how dramatic the
numbing effects, "'twill not last" (28) and that is the greatest
"mischief" of it all. That, as the wealthier become wealthier, the
poor working class is deteriorating eternally as alcoholism overtakes them
because it is truly a cycle that cannot be broke. The oxymoron, "lovely
muck" contrasts the wonderful feeling that alcohol brings in the moment it
is consumed with the "muck" that follows the next morning when a
hangover overtakes everything. In line 42, Houseman states, "But begin the
game anew" to restate that the cycle of being a drunkard will cease to end.
The
cumulative rhyming couplets throughout the poems adds to the quickening of the
narrative pace with alliterations like "livelier liquor" (20) and
"smiling seasoned sound" (67) as the poem ends with the allusion to
the myth of Mithridates to assert the final conclusion that though Mithridates
died old, he experienced the evil of those who wanted to poison him which
parallels to the evil that alcohol poses for its victims. "Many-venomed
earth" (65) and other instances of pathetic fallacy help to reflect the
evil and malicious intentions of "poison" as it threatens to harm the
delicate and oblivious nature of man.
Ultimately,
“the world has…much less good than ill” (43-44), so the wisest decision for man
is to “train for ill and not for good” (48), to be prepared for the presence of
poison as Mithridates did because without this knowledge, any individual would
fall victim to the evil of “poison”, regardless if it is tempted or inflicted.
Score:
4-5 (C)
1.
Structuralism: Any language system that utilizes signs, symbols or physical
gestures to allow humans to socially interact and communicate with one another.
It should include the "sign" which is anything that shows meaning,
the "signifier" (word or image) which provides meaning to
the audience, and the "signified" which is developed and derived in
the mind of the individual. There is a connotation which encompasses the
emotions, thoughts, and cultural implications associated with the object such
as an icon and denoation which is the literal dictionary defintion of the word.
The structure of language can be broken down into: pragmatics, semantics,
syntax, morphology, phonology, and phonetics (morphemes are the smallest units
of a word that contain meaning). Structuralism includes the affirmation of the
ambiguity of using certian words to represent a definitive idea and the
polarization that may frequently (intentionally or unintentionally) appear in
literature.
2. Binary
Opposites: smart v. stupid, ambiguity v. clarity, solitude v. friendship, sadness
v. happiness, sobriety v. drunkenness, past v. present, reality v. abstract
concept, faith v. mischief, old v. anew, good v. ill, sun v. moon, luck v.
trouble, chance v. sure, brisk v. weary, day v. dark, birth v. destruction,
tell v. heard, and "lovely muck" (oxymoron)
3. In
"Terence, This is Stupid Stuff", A.E. Houseman alludes to the myth of
Mithridates to parallel Terence's argument for sad poetry that serves to build
a similar numbness or immunity, as Mithridates developed to poison, in order to
"train" for the inherent evil and sadness in the world. The frequent
use of binary opposition including oxymoron and the reversal of man's idea of optimism,
placing "ill" before "good", reinforces Terence's argument
for sad poetry.
4.
"stupid stuff", "livelier liquor", "pewter pot",
"brisker pipes", "brisk a brew", "smiling, seasoned
sound"
5. In
"Terence, This is Stupid Stuff", A.E. Houseman justifies Terence's
solution to become numb and immune to evil and sadness by using soft, melodic
phonemes to capture the momentary euphoria that alcohol can bring in contrast
to harsh cacophony to capture the bitter, ever-present sadness that will always
return. Alliteration, consonance, and assonance help to create cacophonic
and euphonic sounds to contrast the struggle between softness and harshness and
to ultimately support Terence's argument for numbness through sad poetry.
6. "And
while the sun and moon endure / Luck's a chance, but trouble's sure"
(45-46). This line is significant as it introduces the entire thrust of
Terence's argument which is to "train for ill and not for good" (48).
Luck may be something that is attributed to good, which is rare because
sadness is inevitable.
7. I
selected the word "luck". My question: is luck synonymous to good as
trouble is synonymous to ill? Does luck always have a positive connotation?
This is significant to the argument of reversing optimism. Definition: success
or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own action.
Etymology: From Middle Dutch ("luc"-shortening of "gheluc"
meaning happiness and good fortune) of unknown origin. It has cognates in Dutch
conveying "good luck". It was perhaps borrowed in English as a
gambling term. "Lukken" was a verb in Middle English meaning "to
happen fortunately". In the 1900s, "to luck out" became an
American English colloquial term meaning "to succeed through luck".
This clarifies the meaning of luck to almost always signify a fortunate occurrence.
Furthermore, the phrase "to luck out" in a colloquial setting is very
fitting in the setting of the pub in the poem. It is evident that Terence is
trying to relate to the more casual vernacular of his friends in the pub, and
uses "luck" as being attributed to something good, yet extremely
rare, which justifies Terence's argument that becoming immune to
"ill" (something that is certain) is the most optimal solution.
8. Rhyme
Scheme: rhyming couplets
Meter/rhythm:
iambic tetrameter
Thesis:
In
“Terence, This is Stupid Stuff”, A.E. Houseman captures Terence’s deep
understanding of the language and the rhythm of the barroom through the use of
conventional iambic tetrameter and rhyming couplets which reveals his ability
to comfortably assimilate into the drunken environment of the barroom, but also
justifies the validity in his pretentiousness through delivering an eloquent
argument that demonstrates his mastery of sad poetry. His efforts are
juxtaposed in that he delivers a complex argument that reverses man’s idea of
optimism in the midst of a jesting, lighthearted pub.
9.
Parallelism:
Definition:
When the writer establishes similar patterns of grammatical structure and
length.
Effect: Allows
speakers and writers to maintain a consistency within their work and create a
balanced flow of ideas as well as persuasion.
Alliteration:
Definition:
Repetition of a sound in multiple words
Effect:
Creates a musical effect in the text that enhances the pleasure of reading a
literary piece
Antithesis:
Definition:
Contrary ideas expressed in a balanced sentence.
Effect:
To emphasize the idea of contrast by parallel structures of the contrasted
phrases or clauses.
Anastrophe:
Definition:
Inverted word order from what one expects.
Effect:
To emphasize a word or draw attention to its inverted phrasing.
Anaphora:
Defintion:
Repetition of beginning clauses.
Effect:
Gives prominence to ideas, adds rhythm, and for persuasion.
10. In
"Terence, This is Stupid Stuff", A.E. Houseman uses schemes to
stress Terence's assertion of the lapse in judgment of the weak-minded,
drunkards as they use alcohol as a temporary escape to distort reality, yet
reality is something that cannot be escaped. Anastrophe and anaphora,
especially, emphasize Terence's argument of the importance of accepting
"muck" and "ill" by placing it before good through the
purposeful use of syntactical devices.
11. "The cow, the old
cow, she is dead" (7).
The Semantic meaning is
that the cow is literally dead. However, the dead cow is a metaphor and a
mocking joke at the same time. The Pragmatic meaning for the dead cow is that
the friends see sad poetry as pointless as a random cow dying. They are using this
line to mock Terence's affinity for sad poetry and to state its pointlessness.
This ultimately shows that a cow is only a cow for those who cannot see it for
its complexity. However, for the less simple-minded (Terence), the pain of the
dead cow will carry on in the future and make him more immune to the future
pains of life.
12.
Terence's friends structure their argument deductively. For instance, their
reasoning for calling sad poetry "stupid stuff" is revealed when they
say to Terence, "you eat your victuals fast enough...to see the rate you
drink your beer"(2-4). They believe that all people enjoy eating and
drinking when they are happy; since Terence appears to be partaking in these
actions, they conclude he must also be happy. Terence structures his argument
by appealing primarily to ethos and pathos. Ethos is evident through the fact
that Terence is a well-educated man; he is extremely well versed in sad poetry
and his mastery in this poetry grants him the credibility for his argument.
Pathos is well utilized by Terence as he shapes his argument around the role of
his audience (his friends) as he acknowledges the blissful, temporary happiness
that alcohol can bring, but shifts towards its lack of longevity in dealing
with sadness. By addressing his friends' feelings sympathetically (using a
concession and rebuttal), he can then build his more logic-based argument
(logos) to "train for ill and not for good" as the most optimal,
longstanding solution.
