Sonnet 1

Waiting nine months of the year
to finally put the jersey on,
to hear the fans screaming in my ear.
Bringing parents to see their daughter or son,
only to be reminded that three months later I am done.
I am playing for the last time,
I will soon see the clock at zero,
but I play with constant grind,
to finish the climb,
and end up on top.
Feeling like I am in my prime,
making my last jump stop,
in that last moment with the ball.
Knowing I gave it my all.

The Wife of Bath~ April 17th

We have only been on the road a few days and already I am having conflicts with the peasants. They seem to think they have a right to choose before the upper class. The women have been flirting with the men that I want. They talk and laugh with them and try sitting with them at meals, but i have been making sure that they will not make a good impression on them. These peasant girls have been annoying me beyond the point of return. We stopped at the Inn and Rachel tried taking the room next to John, the rich lord that lives next to me back home, but I was not going to let her take the room that I wanted for myself. I made her move, which made her very unhappy with me but why should I care, I have earned my spot in society and won't let skinny peasant girls take it from me. 

When Rachel finally moved her filthy luggage out of my room, my luggage was brought in. My servants seem to think I bring too much when I travel. They always look at how little the peasants bring and some how think that I should pack light as well. I don't pay them to tell me that I bring to much when I travel, they are just being selfish and lazy, not wanting to carry my luggage. They are so selfish and never think that I need everything I pack, it is important to me. They will just have to get over themselves and carry my luggage otherwise I will find some better looking ones that DO NOT complain all the time! Other than everyone thinking they can push me around, this journey might not be so bad if John and I start talking!

The Venerable Bede

St. Bede, a monk, went to a monastery at age 7 in Wearmouth. He spent most  his life in a monastery in Jarrow. He is known as the Venerable Bede because of his works in literature, scientific observations, and music. At 19 he became a deacon, one rank below a priest, and by 30 he was a priest. Bede was the first to write a chronicle about saints, also known as a martyology. He was buried in the Durham Cathedral but where later moved to the Cathedral's Galilee Chapel.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Saint_Bede.aspx

"http://www.bbc.co.uk/." The Venerable Bede (673 AD - 735 AD). BBC, n.d. Web. 23 Sep 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bede_st.shtml>.


"http://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/." The Venerable Bede. Durham Cathedral. Web. 23 Sep 2013. <http://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/history/bede>.

Entertainment~ A Get Away Now and Then

Today there are many forms of entertainment; music, dances, parties, sports, and others. Without entertainment people would go insane. It was the same during the Great Depression, people yearned for something to focus on besides their pain and hunger. The first radio was created in 1927 but did not become very popular until 1930. Radio dramas, news updates, and music were played during this time. 'Talking pictures' were especially popular, some movies had around 90 million viewers. The film makers made $732 million in 1930! Country, Cajun, and Jazz were the most played types of music.

Jule said," These here dances done funny things. Our people got nothing, but jes' because they can ast their frien's to come here to the dance, sets 'em up an' makes 'em proud. An' the folks respects 'em 'count of these here dances. I ast him myself, an' he come. Says we got the only decent dance in the county, where a man can take his girls an' his wife," showing how everyone looked forward to dances to get their mind off their troubles. "Now the girls' hair lost the careful combing. Now perspiration stood out on the foreheads of the boy. Now the experts showed the tricky inter-steps. and the old people on the edge of the floor took up the rhythm, patted their hands softly, and tapped their feet; and they smiled gently and then caught one another's eyes and nodded." Steinbeck captures how important entertainment is and how much everyone enjoys it, in this paragraph. The younger community members dance while the older ones simply tap their feet to the beat. Either way everyone was and still is involved with entertainment to get away from the problems of life just for a little while.

http://pricers.wikispaces.com/1930's+Entertainment
http://star-spangledheart.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html
http://www.fmschools.org/webpages/2websites/index.cfm?subpage=24687

Edgar Allan Poe and Romanticism

http://webpages.csus.edu/~nsweet/page14/page14.html

Poe may be one of the most well known authors of the Romantic time period. He used superstition in his story, giving other Romantic authors another perspective to write from. He was known for his horrific story that had mystery, supernatural elements, and gruesome details. Other Romantic authors wrote mainly about nature and their thoughts on it. Poe did this as well, he was just able to express it in a new way. On the other hand, Romanticism was just what Poe needed. It shaped his writing by giving him the freedom to write his feelings, show his superstitions, and give a new meaning to situations.

"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a clear representation of Romanticism and how Poe used it to the full extent. " It was possible, I reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details o f the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression...," when Poe writes this it expresses Romanticism by saying that the way things appear can always be changed, you just have to look at them with a different perspective. He also shows Romanticism when Madeline, after being in a coffin for seven or eight days and being practically dead, breaks out of her coffin. The details he uses to describe her body put an image in your head that express the basic idea of using imagination in stories. The picture hanging on the wall in the House of Usher has a deeper meaning than just a decoration; the picture represents Roderick's insanity. In Romantic stories, everything represents a bigger part of the story. "...a far more than ordinary wanness had overspread the emaciated fingers through which trickled many passionate tears," uses emotion and gets the readers involved with the story and characters feelings. Like the picture, Poe also puts a song in the story to represent the state of Roderick's mind.

Edgar Allan Poe's style of writing is exactly what Romanticism is all about. He uses supernatural elements, puts emotion into his stories, and uses nature as a theme setter.


This picture represents the mind of Roderick and Madeline Usher. They are insane, and their thoughts are a jumbled mess in their head.

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/confusion-keenya-woods.html

James Fenimore Cooper

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Fenimore_Cooper 

James Cooper was born September 15, 1789 in Burlington, New Jersey.  Out of twelve children, he was the eleventh.  He was sent to be educated at Yale but was kicked out of school for pulling a prank.  After being dismissed from school, his father sent him to the sea. He was in the navy and helped on a merchant ship.  In 1811 he was able to settle down and marry Susan Augusta DeLancey. They lived on a small farm in Winchester County. At 30 his first novel was published. He then started to write about the Native Americans, the sea, and the history of America. Cooper said, "History, like love, is so apt to surround her heroes with an atmosphere of imaginary brightness" reflecting his view on literature. He was a writer during the period of Romanticism when imagination, nature, and the thoughts of humans were becoming a popular subject of literature. One of his most famous novels is "The Last of the Mohicans". This novel represents his views on humans and how they reflect nature. James Cooper died a famous author that will never be forgotten on September 14, 1851, in Cooperstown.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/James_Fenimore_Cooper.aspx

http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/9121.James_Fenimore_Cooper

Thomas Jefferson

The Jefferson Memorial Building

Thomas Jefferson was born on a farm in Virginia on April 13, 1743. He had 9 siblings and was the third oldest. He went to a local school at 9, and by 16 he was attending the College of William and Mary. He studied mathematics, philosophy, law and metaphysics. He took his education very seriously. He was a very laid back person, when president, he made formal dinners at the White House more casual events. His personality gained him the nickname "Man of the People." He had many occupations, 3rd president of America, statesman, teacher, lawyer, philosopher, and many others. His most know accomplishment is he wrote the Declaration of Independence. He also bought the Louisiana Purchase."The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time," shows his view on freedom. It was very important to him and he was willing to fight for it. Thomas Jefferson was a red haired, six foot man, with terrible public speaking skills. Although he is known as the president against slavery, he had slaves of his own. Thomas Jefferson could easily be considered one of the greatest leaders in the history of America.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/facts-on-thomas-jefferson.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=thomas+jefferson+occupations&rlz=1C1ASAC_enUS498US498&oq=thomas+jefferson+occupations&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

http://www.google.com/images