CHARLOTTE BRONTE “LIFE” Belen Francia Blanca Reyes Per. 1 Biography • Charlotte Brontë (21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855). He was a British novelist, the oldest of the three famous Brontë sisters whose novels have become standards of English literature. In August 1824 Charlotte was sent with three of her sisters to the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge. • Charlotte maintained, permanently affected her health and physical development and hastened the deaths of her two elder sisters. Angria and Emily and Anne wrote articles and poems about their country. The sagas were elaborate and convoluted (and still exist in part manuscripts) and provided them with an obsessive interest in childhood and early adolescence, which prepared them for their literary vocations in adulthood. Charlotte continued her education at Roe Head, Mirfield where she met her lifelong friends and correspondents, Ellen Nussey and Mary Taylor. During this period, she wrote her novella The Green Dwarf under the name of Wellesley. • In May 1846, Charlotte, Emily and Anne published a joint collection of poetry under the assumed names of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. Although the book failed to attract interest the sisters decided to continue writing for publication and began work on their first novels. • Charlotte is also the central figure in the play The Gales Of March which tells the story of the Brontë family. In 1853 Charlotte’s Villette was published with similar themes to Jane Eyre and Shirley; the struggles of a strong independent woman and her need for love. • After some months of correspondence, on 29 June 1854 Charlotte married Arthur. Her father came to agree that he was worthy of his daughter and approved. They started their very short but happy marriage with a month- long honeymoon in Ireland, then returned to Haworth. • On 31 March 1855, after a long illness, Charlotte Bronte died while pregnant. “Life” • Life, believe, is not a dream So dark as sages say; Oft a little morning rain Foretells a pleasant day. Sometimes there are clouds of gloom, But these are transient all; If the shower will make the roses bloom, O why lament its fall? Rapidly, merrily, Life's sunny hours flit by, Gratefully, cheerily Enjoy them as they fly! What though Death at times steps in, And calls our Best away? What though sorrow seems to win, O'er hope, a heavy sway? Yet Hope again elastic springs, Unconquered, though she fell; Still buoyant are her golden wings, Still strong to bear us well. Manfully, fearlessly, The day of trial bear, For gloriously, victoriously, Can courage quell despair! Modern Song Lyrics “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life” • Some things in life are bad, • Always look on the bright side of death, They can really make you mad, [whistle] Other things just make you swear and Just before you draw your terminal curse, breath. When you're chewing life's gristle, [whistle] Don't grumble, Give a whistle Life's a piece of shit, And this'll help things turn out for the best. When you look at it. And... Life's a laugh and death's a joke it's true. You'll see it's all a show. Always look on the bright side of life. Keep 'em laughing as you go. [whistle] Just remember that the last laugh is on Always look on the light side of life. you. [whistle] And... If life seems jolly rotten, Always look on the bright side of life. There's something you've forgotten, Always look on the right side of life. And that's to laugh and smile and dance [whistle] and sing. When you're feeling in the dumps, Always look on the bright side of life! Don't be silly chumps. [whistle] Just purse your lips and whistle. Always look on the bright side of life! That's the thing. [whistle] And... Always look on the bright side of life! [whistle] Always look on the bright side of life. [whistle] Repeat to fade... Always look on the right side of life, [whistle] For life is quite absurd And death's the final word. d a bow. Forget about your sin. Give the audience a grin. Enjoy it. It's your last chance, anyhow. So,... The Victorian Era • The Victorian Era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 to January 1901. This was a long period of prosperity for the British people. There were industrial improvements at home, allowed a large, educated middle class to develop. A great deal of change took place during this period brought about because of the Industrial Revolution; so it's not surprising that the literature of the period is often concerned with social reform. It was a time of prosperity, broad imperial expansion, and great political reform. Without a doubt, it was an extraordinarily complex age that has sometimes been called the Second English Renaissance. It is, however, also the beginning of Modern Times. It was a tremendously exciting period when many artistic styles, literary schools, as well as, social, political and religious movements flourished. The era was preceded by the Georgian period and succeeded by the Edwardian period. In 1901was the death of Queen Victoria. Also there was the ascension of her eldest son, Edward, saw the beginning of the Edwardian era which was another time of great change. Synopsis Of Poem • This poem contrasts the difficult part of life with the joyous parts of life. • Lines 1 through 12 contrast the rain, dark, gloomy day which can represent life's trials and problems with the sunshine, pleasant and wonderful day that can also come in this world, even right after the gloomy day and brings with it flowers . So why worry about the darker, hard times, but understand that it will change and things will brighten up. • Lines 16 to the 32 continues this theme and says how hope can spring back from despair and all in all is victorious over the hard things of life. Analysis Of Text • Theme: What the author is trying to say in this poem is that things could be get really hard in your life, but that there’s always a solution or that things are going to get better. • Characterization and Plots: In this poem, it looks like the author is expressing her feelings. Maybe she wrote this when she was going through something really hard for her. But it looks like after all those problems she was going through, things got better and she was feeling better each day and her days would brighten up. The poem is an advise to other to look at the brighter side of life rather than the worst .the poem estates that life is not a dream there always rough difficult times “What though Death at times steps in, and calls our best away? What though sorrow seems to win, O'er hope, a heavy sway? “ even do there’s problems in life people have to go on not paying to much attention to problems and looking at the brighter side. The narrator wants a change. • Feeling of change. • Setting: The effect on the characters is how time goes by. One day rains, and the other’s sunny. Just one thing can change our life: The key to the problems. What if we can’t find them? The poem reflects those life transitions which effects can have a radical change. • Plot: “Life is not a dream”. After much thought, we get to that conclusion. Why? Just when you least expect it, nothing’s ok. The poem explains life as "order-from-disorder." Problems are a sign of life. The secret is not to solve all of our problems; rather it’s to learn to see them as gifts, an opportunity to learn, grow and give more to those around us. After all, it’s how to deal with our problems that ultimately determines the quality of our lives. Death is not the best solution for them, if we use it as a “dead end” we’re running away and giving up. • The theme: The problem with happiness and how we go through it. • The poem gets into sages. They go over darkness of life. I think life is not that way. When we think about life, we have to think about problems, happiness, sadness, mistakes, etc. What if we have a life with no problems? They are transient. Particularly I have to live each second, each minute, each hour. If the sun shines I definitely smile and if not, just go through with bad experiences. Being strong is one of the keys we have to follow and to persist in. Despair can’t win, Optimism can! • Defining happiness is something that is not so easy, but what’s more important is that you have already experienced it. One raining day seems to be like the last day of your life, problems and defeats. Clouds of gloom can lead you to a bad decision. But what I learned is that everything is not for ever. It’s true there are a lot of bad days; days when you just want to die or disappear, but a ray of light can change everything. Sorrow is a transient thing, maybe we do not expect it but it appears. Each day your hope may get down. Some days are easiest. What I get from this poem is that life is not the worst thing, problems either. We can smile or cry. Both are part of our lives. I’m not perfect, I have a lot of defects and mistakes, I have tears and one heart that beats everyday.