Blog 8

“Ulysses and Calypso” by Edward Robeson Taylor


For that they slew the cattle of the Sun
Ulysses' comrades sank to death while he,
Borne on the billows of the friendly sea,
Calypso's lovely isle in safety won;
Where filled with soothing rest his days did run
To murmurous music's luring notes as she
Bound him in coils of such captivity,
That but for Zeus his soul had been undone.
The God's decree the enamored nymph obeyed,
And helped the hero as his raft he made,
While brimmed her heart with desolation's tears.
His glimmering sail she watched till in the sea's
Great void 'twas lost, then moaned because her years
Were not as mortal as Penelope's.

Edward Robeson Taylor was born on September 24, 1838 in Springfield, Illinois. He was the only son of Henry West Taylor and Mary Thaw of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the 28th Mayor of San Francisco serving from July 16th, 1907 to January 7th, 1910. Before his office in mayor, he was a lawyer, physician, and a poet in California. Taylor died in San Francisco, California on July 5, 1923.

The poem is consisted of 14 lines and a single stanza. The rhyme scheme of the first 6 lines in the poem can be interpreted as ABBAAB; from lines 7 and 8 there are no connections in the rhyme scheme of the poem so it is CD. Throughout lines 9 to 14 the rhyme is read as EEFGFG.

“Ulysses and Calypso” is actually about the mythological story of Ulysses’ journey home to his kingdom in Ithaca. He is washed ashore on Calypso’s island after his ship was destroyed by a thunderbolt and becomes the sole survivor of his crew. Ulysses' comrades sank to death while he (line 3) Borne on the billows of the friendly sea (line 4) Calypso's lovely isle in safety won (line 5). When Ulysses is in the island he The voice in this poem belongs to the narrator or the author himself, Edward Robeson Taylor. The story itself and the events of Ulysses being held captive at Calypso’s island are told in this poem.

The symbols shown in the poem are sun, death, sea, zeus, soul, god, nymph, hero, heart, great void, and mortal. The sun is according to the Dictionary of Symbolism, “the absolute cosmic power; it represents knowledge, warmth, glory, and splendor.” Death is internationally associated with pain, sorrow, grief, despair, darkness, and the end of life. The sea is symbolic for being the “known quantities of life”, according to the Dictionary of Symbolism.

Works Cited Sources:

"Edward Robeson Taylor." Wikipedia.org Web. January 26, 2010. April 19, 2010.

"Edward Robeson Taylor." Freebase.com Web. November13, 2008. April 19, 2010.

Hunter, James. "Odysseus." Pantheon.org Web. March 3, 1997. April 19, 2010.

Dictionary of Symbolism. University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Website. 2001. Web. April 19, 2010.

Taylor, Robeson Edward. "Ulysses and Calypso." BlackCatPoems.com Web. 2007. April 19, 2010.

Blog 7: Hero's Quest and Film

Azumi is a historical Japanese fiction film based on the original manga created by Yu Koyama. The film was directed by Ryuhei Kitamura and released in 2003. The setting takes place after the battle of Sekigahara in the 1600s and Tokugawa Ieyasu being the victor, created the Edo period of Japan later. The hero's story begins during the beginning period of Tokugawa. 'Azumi' is a female assassin raised and trained by an old man along with 9 other orphaned children of war (all male). In her journey, she faces many trials and challenges that tests her ability as an assassin. In time she begins to truly understand the importance of the task given to her by her master. 'Azumi' and her companions must eliminate 3 warlords who are in the midst of planning a war against Ieyasu. It is her ultimate destiny as an assassin to eliminate this threat and save Japan from destruction.

Departure- 'Azumi' and her 9 comrades finish their training and is given a final test before they leave the mountain and start their true mission. The final test of the chosen 10 assassins: pair up with a close comrade or friend and slay each other. An order that the master himself had announced. This test was one of many beginning hardships that the remaining 5 had to face. An assassin is unable to choose whom he must kill and completing the mission is far above anything else.

Initiation- Once they leave the mountain, Azumi, her friends and the master come across a nearby village. There they witness the killing and deaths of the villagers as the bandits mercilessly take the lives of anyone standing in their way. Azumi and her companions cannot bear to watch but they endure and are told to not save the villagers. On their way to meet a fellow assassin, the master tells the group that their primary mission is to exterminate three warlords planning on creating a war against the current rule of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Azumi and her comrades face other assassins and swordsmen hired by warlords. In the beggining of their mission, they succeed in taking the life of one warlord and the second becomes much harder to pursue and kill. The group becomes targeted yet knowing that their mission increases in difficulty, they accept to fulfiill it as their master had ordered.

Return- At this point most of Azumi's comrades had been slain and she witnessess the passing of her own master which was like the father figure who had raised her. After the final battle against an insane narcisstic killing swordsman named Bijoumaru, Azumi understands that preserving the peace of Japan is what really mattered to her and not just senseless slaughter of what an ordinary assassin would do. She has not just become an assassin but a protector of the people who are suffering during this era. As, the second warlord escapes by boat, it's not long until Azumi finds and kills him. To her surprise only one of her comrades remains alive, Nagara, both assassins realize that the price to be paid for their success was too high but their mission was not over just yet, they had one final warlord to take care of. Thus, this is the end of the first film in Azumi.


Image Link: http://www.tvfun.ma/film_gharbi/img/azumi-1.jpg

Blog 6: Essay 3

“Ulysses and Calypso” by Edward Robeson Taylor

For that they slew the cattle of the Sun
Ulysses' comrades sank to death while he,
Borne on the billows of the friendly sea,
Calypso's lovely isle in safety won;
Where filled with soothing rest his days did run
To murmurous music's luring notes as she
Bound him in coils of such captivity,
That but for Zeus his soul had been undone.
The God's decree the enamored nymph obeyed,
And helped the hero as his raft he made,
While brimmed her heart with desolation's tears.
His glimmering sail she watched till in the sea's
Great void 'twas lost, then moaned because her years
Were not as mortal as Penelope's.

Edward Robeson Taylor was born on September 24, 1838 in Springfield, Illinois. He was the only son of Henry West Taylor and Mary Thaw of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the 28th Mayor of San Francisco serving from July 16th, 1907 to January 7th, 1910. Before his office in mayor, he was a lawyer, physician, and a poet in California. Taylor died in San Francisco, California on July 5, 1923.

The poem is consisted of 14 lines and a single stanza. The rhyme scheme of the first 6 lines in the poem can be interpreted as ABBAAB; from lines 7 and 8 there are no connections in the rhyme scheme of the poem so it is CD. Throughout lines 9 to 14 the rhyme is read as EEFGFG.

“Ulysses and Calypso” is actually about the mythological story of Ulysses’ journey home to his kingdom in Ithaca. He is washed ashore on Calypso’s island after his ship was destroyed by a thunderbolt and becomes the sole survivor of his crew. Ulysses' comrades sank to death while he (line 3) Borne on the billows of the friendly sea (line 4) Calypso's lovely isle in safety won (line 5). When Ulysses is in the island he  The voice in this poem belongs to the narrator or the author himself, Edward Robeson Taylor. The story itself and the events of Ulysses being held captive at Calypso’s island are told in this poem.

The symbols shown in the poem are sun, death, sea, zeus, soul, god, nymph, hero, heart, great void, and mortal. The sun is according to the Dictionary of Symbolism, “the absolute cosmic power; it represents knowledge, warmth, glory, and splendor.” Death is internationally associated with pain, sorrow, grief, despair, darkness, and the end of life. The sea is symbolic for being the “known quantities of life”, according to the Dictionary of Symbolism.

Works Cited Sources:

"Edward Robeson Taylor." Wikipedia.org Web. January 26, 2010. April 19, 2010.

"Edward Robeson Taylor." Freebase.com Web. November13, 2008. April 19, 2010.

Hunter, James. "Odysseus." Pantheon.org Web. March 3, 1997. April 19, 2010.

Dictionary of Symbolism. University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Website. 2001. Web. April 19, 2010.

Taylor, Robeson Edward. "Ulysses and Calypso." BlackCatPoems.com Web. 2007. April 19, 2010.

Blog 5: Essay 3 Preview

For this third paper, it seems to me that I must carefully analyze the poem or song into detailed depth of its meaning. The general outline for this third essay is helpful and informative of how we should organize this paper. What's unclear to me about this assignment is that if essay 3 can be a continuation for a further analysis of essay 2? There are still many things about this third essay that I'm not familair with such as the punctuation and syntax of a song or poem. I had thought that songs and poems were free from the rules of ordinary literature that you would read in books and articles. I find that songs and poems are a way for the author or artist to self-express their thoughts and feelings without having the limits of proper syntax or grammar. Reading the sample essay and the outline, ideas for particular songs and poems came to my mind. It'll be a challenge to deeply go into a full analysis of a song or poem but I think it' ll be a fun experience that we can all learn from.