Under Ben Bulben by William Butler Yeats

Irish Nobel laureate poet William Butler Yeats penned Under Ben Bulben as the last poem he would ever write. It is fitting that he wrote the last three lines to be the epitaph inscribed on his gravestone. The poem is a last will and testament for Yeats artistic and spiritual vision. His uses the legendary women and horsemen of the area to embody the spiritual wholeness and immortality. He calls on humanity, artists, and poets to continue to produce their art. Ben Bulben is the rock formation in County Sligo, Ireland, where Yeats is buried as he foretells in this poem. Ben, or binn means peak or mountain. Bulben comes from ghulbain, which means jaw or beak. The mountain is a destination for those following the passport trail of Yeats life. The last line of Under Ben Bulben is used as the title for Larry McMurtrys first novel, Horseman, Pass By.   Under Ben Bulbenby William Butler Yeats (1938)   Ã‚        I Swear by what the sages spokeRound the Mareotic LakeThat the Witch of Atlas knew,Spoke and set the cocks a-crow. Swear by those horsemen, by those womenComplexion and form prove superhuman,That pale, long-visaged companyThat air in immortalityCompleteness of their passions won;Now they ride the wintry dawnWhere Ben Bulben sets the scene. Here’s the gist of what they mean.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  II Many times man lives and diesBetween his two eternities,That of race and that of soul,And ancient Ireland knew it all.Whether man die in his bedOr the rifle knocks him dead,A brief parting from those dearIs the worst man has to fear.Though grave-diggers’ toil is long,Sharp their spades, their muscles strong.They but thrust their buried menBack in the human mind again.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  III You that Mitchel’s prayer have heard,â€Å"Send war in our time, O Lord!†Know that when all words are saidAnd a man is fighting mad,Something drops from eyes long blind,He completes his partial mind,For an instant stands at ease,Laughs aloud, his heart at peace.Even the wisest man grows tenseWith some sort of violenceBefore he can accomplish fate,Know his work or choose his mate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  IV Poet and sculptor, do the work,Nor let the modish painter shirkWhat his great forefathers did.Bring the soul of man to God,Make him fill the cradles right. Measurement began our might:Forms a stark Egyptian thought,Forms that gentler Phidias wrought.Michael Angelo left a proofOn the Sistine Chapel roof,Where but half-awakened AdamCan disturb globe-trotting MadamTill her bowels are in heat,Proof that there’s a purpose setBefore the secret working mind:Profane perfection of mankind. Quattrocento put in paintOn backgrounds for a God or SaintGardens where a soul’s at ease;Where everything that meets the eye,Flowers and grass and cloudless sky,Resemble forms that are or seemWhen sleepers wake and yet still dream.And when it’s vanished still declare,With only bed and bedstead there,That heavens had opened.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gyres run on;When that greater dream had goneCalvert and Wilson, Blake and Claude,Prepared a rest for the people of God,Palmer’s phrase, but after thatConfusion fell upon our thought.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  V Irish poets, learn your trade,Sing whatever is well made,Scorn the sort now growing upAll out of shape from toe to top,Their unremembering hearts and headsBase-born products of base beds.Sing the peasantry, and thenHard-riding country gentlemen,The holiness of monks, and afterPorter-drinkers’ randy laughter;Sing the lords and ladies gayThat were beaten into the clayThrough seven heroic centuries;Cast your mind on other daysThat we in coming days may beStill the indomitable Irishry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  VI Under bare Ben Bulben’s headIn Drumcliff churchyard Yeats is laid.An ancestor was rector thereLong years ago, a church stands near,By the road an ancient cross.No marble, no conventional phrase;On limestone quarried near the spotBy his command these words are cut:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cast a cold eye  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On life, on death.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Horseman, pass by!

Music, Childood, and Growth Essay - 1159 Words

As children, we are exposed to many new and intriguing elements. One of those new items of exploration is the element of music. When children are brought home from the hospital and are crying without end, mothers and fathers sing to them in order to calm them down. Before putting them down to sleep, a lullaby is a common practice of parents. Songs are also very evident in children’s television shows, movies, and even books that have buttons that make music while reading the book. At a young age music enters into the grasp of children and as they grow and mature music has an even bigger impact on their life. Three pieces of music that are examples of childhood music are â€Å"Brahms’ Lullaby,† â€Å"Tse Tse Kule,† and â€Å"Nobody’s Perfect.† â€Å"Brahms’†¦show more content†¦As the harmonies are sounding together, it forms a smooth and peaceful song that reaches its purpose of lulling a child to sleep. The harmonies are also very consonant and pleasing to the ears. If the tones were harsh or dissonant, children of western cultures would have a difficult time falling asleep. An example of a worldly children’s song is â€Å"Tse Tse Kule.† It was recorded by Ivan Annan and Folkways Records. Folkways Records is owned by the Smithsonian and is a record label that seeks to bring forth folk, world, and children’s music. â€Å"Tse Tse Kule† is a Ghanaian children’s song and it expresses the importance of music in Ghanaian culture. In Ghana, children’s songs are mainly of the call and response style. They are used to help teach children certain concepts and also help the children learn their school lessons. Music is a large part of Ghanaian culture and in order for music to continue throughout time, it must be taught and instilled into a person’s life during childhood. It is for that reason that songs are incorporated into the schooling of children. Songs are pre sented during games and even during recreational activities. Usually the teacher or song leader has a more elaborate part and the children follow with their parts. In â€Å"Tse Tse Kule,† the song leader starts off singing her part and then the others repeat after her. When the children sing, they are all singing the exact same thing at the same time and that is an example

Differences and Similarities of Greek and Roman Gods free essay sample

There are also tales of how the roman counterparts came to be. Such tales as how Cronus the Greek God became Saturn the Roman God of Agricultural and Fertility. When studying Mythology it is easy to see that the Ancient Greeks and Romans did not idealize their Gods, their Gods felt the same emotions as mortals, they just felt them stronger and their reactions’ where greater than a mere mortals. They welded their powers and strengths to the benefit of themselves and anyone they felt obliged to or favored. They thought little of what their actions aused for the mortals only how it affected them. Cronus was the youngest so of mother earth and father heaven, also known as Gaea and Uranus. Mother Earth had six sons originally but they were so hideous that father heaven imprisoned them in a deep hole. After mother earth gave birth to six more children she challenged them to punish their father for his evil. Her youngest son Cronus took the challenge. He dismembered his father’s manhood and tossed it into the sea. After this he too kept his older hideous siblings locked up and with his other siblings became the titans. He ruled for a time until his sister and also wife bore him six children. He feared the same fate as that of his father and so he swallowed all but the last, the youngest again stood alone. When the last child was born Rhea his wife and sister went to mother earth and asked for help to protect her child. Mother earth agreed and raised Cronus and Rhea’s youngest, Zeus, hidden from his father. Rhea in turn took a rock wrapped in a baby blanket and gave it to Cronus and told him it was his child. He believed her and swallowed it too, leaving Zeus to grow up and one day defeat his father. When Zeus grew up and Cronus discovered he was still alive they fought, Cronus was forced to regurgitate his five other children and the rock. With his siblings and older Uncles, Zeus fought Cronus and the other Titans and in the end forced Cronus to flee. Cronus fled to Latium and here he became known as Saturn, the Roman God and ruler of Latium through marriage. He taught his people to tend the land and became known as the agricultural and fertility god. The era of his rule was known as the Golden Age and they still celebrate Saturn every December during a festival called Saturnalia. The actions of Cronus cut off his fathers manhood resulted in one story of how Aphrodite and Venus came to be. When Cronus removed his father’s manhood and tossed it into the sea, it is said that Aphrodite rose from the sea and came to shore on a conch shell. She is said to be from the mixing of the foam of the sea and the blood of father earth. Being the goddess of love and beauty made her desirable to all men, gods or mortals and at times caused wars, between mortals and between gods and goddesses. She is said to be the mother of Eros, the god of love, Cupid in Roman mythology. As a goddess she possessed many powers and as said earlier, these gods and goddesses did not think anything of wielding their powers in way they pleased. When it was said by others that the mortal, Psyche, was more beautiful than Aphrodite she set out to punish her, (this is just one version of the story as there are many). This tale is told with for both Aphrodite and Venus and their sons Eros and Cupid, the mortal in question Psyche has the same name in all tales. Being jealous or wanting to teach her a lesson, Aphrodite/Venus sent Eros/Cupid to shot her with an arrow and make her fall in love with the first man she saw no matter how ugly. When Eros/Cupid went to do this there was a mess up and he ended up falling for the lovely Psyche, not wanting his mother to know he flew her off to his secluded home and kept her there. He told her she could not lay eyes on him and only visited her at night in the dark. She either got curious on her own or was influenced by her jealous sisters, and one night took her oil lamp and looked at Eros/Cupid while he slept. He woke to find her staring at him and angry at her lack of trust and betrayal left her. She went to his mother Aphrodite/Venus and asked for help to get him back. Aphrodite, still angry, sent Psyche on four dangerous and perceivably impossible tasks to prove her worth as a wife to Eros . She was first required to sort a room of grain in a day’s time, with the help of some ants she succeed. Next she had to get water from a water fall; she passed this test with the help of an eagle. She was challenged to get the fleece from a ferocious. Last she was told to go down to the underworld and retrieve a potion from Persephone. She accomplished all these tasks, Eros/Cupid went to Zeus/Jupiter missing his love and asked for help. Zeus/Jupiter listen to the tale and granted him his wish and made Psyche an immortal Goddess and they lived happily ever after. Venus has her own tales as well. She is viewed in one version, as the mother of Rome. In this story her son Aeneas, fathered by Anchises, flees from Troy after the Greeks gained control and founds Rome. This is another link between the Greeks and Romans in mythology. Eros/Cupid is in most cases, is thought of as the son to Aphrodite/Venus, fathered by Ares/Mars, the God of War, who Aphrodite/Venus had an affair with and in some tales was married to. Eros/Cupid was the God of Love and fertility. Some tales say he is responsible for Heaven/Uranus and Earth/Gaea coming together. His arrows were of two types and could either make a mortal or God for in love with one type or make them indifferent with another arrow. He was often seen as mischievous as he dealt his arrows as he saw fit and sometimes as his mother Aphrodite/Venus saw fit. He finally fell victim to his own arrow, while on an errand for his mother and fell for Psyche. These Gods though mythical have had influence on people since their conception through verbal tales and literature used to explain how things came to be. The tales told of how ancient Greeks, while they were respective of the gods powers, did not see them as role models, yet symbols and figures to effect life. The Greek Gods seem to carry over to the Romans some with different names and different tales. Some were just borrowed as is and praised similarly. The Roman Gods of mythology as many other things the Romans developed have leaked into present day society. Noting the names of the gods and the names of the present day solar system planet names and how each planet is represented by a god’s name, right down to tiny Pluto (no longer considered a planet).