An Understanding of Rossettis Methods and Concerns in Promises Like Piecrust - Literature Essay Samples

Promises like Piecrust by Christina Rossetti relates a narrative between a speaker and beloved in regards to the other’s romantic attraction towards the speaker. The title of the poem is taken from the expression ‘Promises are like pie crust, they are made to be broken’, likening the difficulty of keeping a promise to the fragility of pie crusts, a thing that is easily broken. The title captures, in essence, the running theme throughout this Rossetti poem, that promises, and perhaps people, are fragile and fleeting. Rossetti structures the poem in an argumentative fashion, acting as a plea to the addressee of the poem. The steady seven-syllable meter reflecting the speaker’s stable emotional and mental state when presenting her argument against her beloved, painting the speaker as reasonable and unencumbered by emotion. The alternating rhyme (ABAB/CDCD) is suggestive of a lack of mutuality between the two parties, with neither of them being able to meet the other in terms of their wants in the relationship. It suggests a sense of wavering in the speaker, who perhaps is not as certain as she seems.The paradoxical opening line in the first stanza of ‘Promise me no promises’ and the following line ‘So will I not promise you;’ suggests the speaker wanting a non-committal relationship between the two parties, with the speaker somehow finding security in the lack of security due to the absence of promises between each other. The line ‘Keep we both our liberties,à ¢â‚¬â„¢ implies a high need for independence on part of the speaker who does not want to be bound to the beloved, which is something of an oddity in the Victorian era where marriage for a woman was a gateway towards financial security, thus the speaker could be read as breaking free of her patriarchal bonds as well. Alternatively it could also be read as the speaker setting the beloved free from possible commitment to her, suggesting a feeling of unworthiness or inferiority, which is supported by the line ‘free to come and free to go’, with the repetition of the word free further highlighting the speaker’s need for freedom from attachment, or freedom in general. The antithesis of ‘false’ and ‘true’ is coloured by the prefix of ‘never’, the negation representing the inability of either party to be able to emotionally affect the other if the beloved takes heed to the speaker’s earlier request in the first two lines. Fur thermore, the ‘die’ is symbolic of chance, thus of the risk that needs to be undertaken in order any outcome in their relationship, with the word ‘uncast’ shows that the speaker is unwilling to take that risk. The final two lines of the stanza begin to develop the theme of the unknowable past of both the speaker and her beloved, for the line ‘for I cannot know your past’ suggests that the beloved might be harbouring past secrets from the speaker. A common method of Rossetti would be her usage of rhetorical questions, which she uses to shroud her poems with a sense of intrigue and mystery, an example of which would be in her poem ‘Winter: My Secret’. The usage of a rhetorical question in the final line (‘And of mine what can you know?’) would achieve a similar effect, drawing in readers to speculate on answers not freely given. On the other hand, it could also be read as the speaker taunting the beloved, implying that h e is unable to fully comprehend the speaker, The second stanza is further development on the pasts of both the speaker and the beloved. An accusatory tone is levied against the beloved in the first line, especially if one were to read phrase ‘so warm’ as sarcastic. There is a trace of jealousy in the speaker in the line ‘warmer towards another one’, impliedly stating that the beloved was more attentive and loving in a past relationship, thus her jealous disposition possibly arising from a lack of clarity about her beloved’s faithfulness. However, the usage of the word ‘may’ adds a degree of speculation towards the speaker’s recount of her beloved is passed, could perhaps be indicative of some form of paranoia, possibly stemming from a sense of insecurity on the speaker’s part. Rossetti seems to further intensify the speculative aspect further in the stanza with the rhetorical question of ‘Who shall show us if it was/Thus indeed in time of old’, indicating the speaker herself is uncertain how the past relationships unfolded. Structurally, the first and third line of the stanza is nearly identical with the same rhythm and caesura placement, forming a mutual bond between the speaker and the beloved. Moreover. the antithesis of ‘You’ and ‘I’, as well as warm and cold, can be inferred as the intrinsic, irreconcilable differences between the two, or their current emotional disposition towards each other. Given the context, ‘Sunlight’ can be taken as a metaphor for a past relationship of the speaker, while ‘felt the sun’ could be read as the speaker being more passionate in the past compared to her ‘coldness’ in the present. Other than that, the repetition of ‘once have’ is representative of the speaker’s clear fixation on the past, indicative of the speaker being unable to move on and perhaps is in a state of emotional limbo, thus being unable to properly commit herself to a new relationship. A juxtaposition of the past and present adds credence to the speaker’s argument that the two parties should not be involved in a relationship with each other, for impliedly their past relationships both ended even though they were apparently (according to the speaker) warmer and more loving back then. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that if they were to enter a relationship with each other in their current states, it would be bound to end in failure. The stanza ends with fading imagery, suggesting the unattainability of their relationship or the unpredictability of the future if they were to involve themselves in one. Critic Jens Kiefer provides some interesting insight on the usage of metaphorical imagery in the stanza, stating ‘Her strategy of representing the past as something that can be reconstructed only in the form of allusions, therefore looks suspiciously like an attempt to divert attention from her real reason for declini ng to enter into a romantic relationship: fear’. Alternatively, the usage of allusion could be representative the speaker clinging too fondly to the past, being unable to describe it in its entirety for fear of dragging old memories back to the surface. The final stanza reintroduces the concept of promises and personal liberty, acting as a continuation of the theme from the first stanza. An antithesis of ‘you’ and ‘I’ echoes the earlier stanza, involving a parallel structure. While the antithesis was earlier used to describe their emotional states in their past relationships, here it serves as a warning from the speaker of the dangers if they were to ‘promise’ each other, which is euphemistic for the consequences emotional commitment towards each other. Commitment is in fact highly negatively slanted by the speaker, claiming that the beloved ‘might grieve for lost liberty’, with the alliteration seemingly emphasising her point, whilst the usage of the word ‘again’ could be referencing his past relationship, where he actually did express negativity towards his former commitment. The speaker also slants herself as being unable to commit, likening a relationship to a â₠¬â„¢chain’, as if treating it as a form of imprisonment on her behalf. A reasonable argument is developed by the speaker, taking into account the consequences a relationship would have on the beloved and herself. It could also, however, be deemed as irrational or overly pessimistic, as the speaker clearly focuses on the negatives of a relationship and has little mention of the positives. Rossetti’s poetry often paints love in a bleak nature, possibly stemming from her own rejection of romantic advances, usually arising from religious differences between herself and the suitor, such as with the case of Charles Bagot Cayley, who she rejected due to agnostic beliefs. However, remained lifelong friends. The idea of friendship is the driving force behind the last half of the final stanza, where reverting to this former state of their relationship (‘Let us be the friends we were,’) would allow them to avoid the sufferance of heartbreak. The line ‘Nothing more but nothing less’ is structurally balanced due to the antithesis of ‘more’ and ‘less’, thus friendship can be interpreted as a happy medium or compromise for the speaker and the beloved. A moralizing dimension is added to the final two lines of the poem The antithesis of ‘thrive’ and ‘perish’ as well as, and in connection to ‘fr ugal’ and ‘excess’ suggests that the speaker is speaking of a universal truth regarding the effects of love on friendship, which is that it would cause friendship to ‘perish’. Conversely, the speaker might be making one desperate, final plea towards the beloved in order to convince him at the frailty of an attempted relationship, or perhaps even to convince herself. Promises like Piecrust is a poem in which relationships are slanted as always doomed to failure, with the constant mention of liberty and an inability to uphold promises as perhaps indicative of a fear of giving up too much in order to gain seemingly marginal benefits. The complicated dance between love and friendship is as common now as it was then. On the basis of Rossettis verses, constant friendship is far better than a slice of temporary perfection.

Diabetes Prevention Programme - Free Essay Example

INTRODUCTION Diabetes is a health problem that affects people despite their age. The program targets the young and working class generation through social media campaigns. The purpose of this project is to spread awareness of what courses diabetes, how to avoid becoming diabetic by living a healthy life and how to live with diabetes. BACKGROUND In the past, diabetes was associated with aging people. However, today its course has changed. It would not be a surprise to hear a case of a five-year child who has diabetes. There are adverse conditions that come along with diabetes, which mostly affects the eyes, kidneys, feet, nerves, heart, and brain. A lot of myths have been formed behind the courses and cures of diabetes. A large population lives at risk of getting diabetes and some already living with diabetes. People have been misguided by theories formulated as to the course of diabetes, and most of them are not aware of the real courses or how they can avoid being diabetic. The young generation needs to be aware of the risk their lifestyle puts them in and how it can affect them in future. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The aim of the project is to bring awareness to the general population on living healthy with diabetes or living healthy to avoid it. The project will focus on correcting mythical concepts that have been instilled in most peoples minds, I being one of them till recently. Most believe that diabetes is coursed by consuming a lot of sugar, which is halfway true. Others believe that only obese people are at risk of becoming diabetic while some think its a disease that only affects the older generation. These some of the myths and misconceptions that we need to bring awareness to fight diabetes effectively. Science has not proved the exact course of diabetes yet, but in most cases, it has been associated with the genetic history of a person. However, by living a healthy life, even people with a diabetic gene history have been able to avoid the disease. The main areas that will be covered by this campaign are nutrition and physical fitness. First of all, theres the theory that I f you are overweight or obese, you will eventually develop type 2 diabetes.(Diabetes Myths) Thats not factually true. Its true that overweight people are at risk of developing diabetes, but statistically, most of them dont, and a lot of people with normal weight are living with diabetes. It is advisable that people should live a healthy life and maintain a normal body weight, but that should not be the only factor to consider as a way to prevent diabetes. Then theres the saying that Eating too much sugar causes diabetes.(Diabetes Myths.) When it comes to health, not everything is in black and white. While diabetes is an effect of the body being unable to regulate the levels of sugar in the blood, sugar will always be necessary whether someone has diabetes or not. However, lifestyle behaviors do matter a lot when determining when a lot of sugar is too much sugar. The American Diabetes Association recommends that people should avoid intake of sugar-sweetened beverages to help preve nt diabetes. Most American food and beverages manufacturers now offer non-fat options on of their products. This is mainly due to a campaign by scientists in the 1960s that fat was the main course of obesity and heart disease (OConnor, Anahad). To date people hold the same believe and companies opted to add more sugar to their products while reducing fat. This sweetening greatly increases the level of blood sugar which eventually leads to diabetes. From the above incident, we see a situation where people consume too much sugar even without their knowledge. For example, Just one 12-ounce can of regular soda has about 150 calories and 40 grams of carbohydrate. This is the same amount of carbohydrate in 10 teaspoons of sugar. (Grains and Starchy Vegetables.) Bringing awareness to the amount of sugar we consume in products would be a great step towards combating diabetes. Then theres a myth that People with diabetes should eat special diabetic foods.(Grains and Starchy Vegetabl es.) The answer to this is that everyone should practice a healthy diet. The recommended diet for everyone should be low in saturated and trans fat, moderate in salt and sugar, with meals based on lean protein, non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and fruit. Diabetic foods do not mainly hold any special benefit, and they tend to be more expensive than standard food. THE INTERVENTION The myths are many, but the sure way to live healthy with or without diabetes is the right diet and keeping your body fit. The aim is not to drastically change peoples lifestyle to suit a documented version of healthy living. The objective is to teach people to change their diet and lifestyle for better health gradually. Regarding fitness it the campaign would recommend simple exercises as we go through our day to day activities. Most people consider exercises as going to the gym and burning as many calories as you can, but the truth is that act as simple as walking is a form of exercise. The main message about fitness should be anything that gets you moving, such as walking, dancing, or working in the yard. The major focus of this proposal has been on a diet. The myths behind it and what to avoid and what to add. The message will still be the same if you want to eat grains, eat whole grains, and if you have to take a beverage, take a non-sweetened drink. These messages might be simple but would go a long combat the ever-growing risk of diabetes. As said, the main focus of the project is to bring awareness to people on how they can avoid or live with diabetes by practicing a healthy living. The main target is the younger and working class generations who interact with new technology on a daily basis. The target group has the highest population, and its more active in other things in the society. However, a large number in this group interact with the internet on a daily basis, and some are using social media as their main form of interaction with the society. Its easier, faster and cheaper to provide targeted campaigns through social media than any other platform. EVIDENCE THAT THIS WILL WORK Like HIV/AIDS diabetes has no cure. However, in the last three decades, we have seen increased effort added in creating awareness to the public about HIV/AIDS, how to live with it and how to avoid getting infected. This has seen the number of infections reduce by over 10% between 2010 and 2016. The number of deaths for those infected has also reduced, and theres an increased life expectancy. This is due to healthy living even if the virus does not have a cure (HIV in the United States | Statistics Overview | Statistics Center | HIV/AIDS | CDC.). If the equal amount of effort is directed to creating awareness about HIV/AIDS is directed to creating awareness about diabetes. There would be a significant fall in diabetic cases since unlike AIDS, diabetes is not contagious. In the long run, this would save the world approximately 245 billion dollars spent annually on diabetes cases in the United States alone (Type 2 Diabetes Statistics and Facts.). Work cited Diabetes Myths.? American Diabetes Association, 2017, https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/myths. Grains and Starchy Vegetables.? American Diabetes Association, 2017, https://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/making-healthy-food-choices/grains-and-starchy-vegetables.html. HIV in the United States | Statistics Overview | Statistics Center | HIV/AIDS | CDC.? Cdc.Gov, 2017, https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/overview/ataglance.html. OConnor, Anahad. How The Sugar Industry Shifted Blame To Fat.? Nytimes.Com, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/well/eat/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.html. Type 2 Diabetes Statistics And Facts.? Healthline, 2017, https://www.healthline.com/health/type-2-diabetes/statistics.