The Roman Baths at Nimes Essay - 1369 Words

â€Å"The Roman Baths of Nimes† is written by Henri Cole as a way to express his desire to break free of conformity and social norms established by his environment. Furthermore, it can be regarded as a way to put an end to an internal battle by coming to terms with his true identity. A close reading of the poem helps expose the true message the poet attempts to convey to his reader. â€Å"The Roman Baths at Nimes,† a sonnet, has a unique modified structure which resembeles the main purpose of the poem. Originally, a sonnet was structured as â€Å"one strong opening statement of eight lines, followed by a resolution to the emotional or intellectual question of the first part of the poem† (Strand 56). The contemporary sonnet comes in two forms, the†¦show more content†¦Here, in the first two lines, sight is used as a tool for communication between poet and reader as well as the speaker and his surroundings. Then, we hear sharp sound of someone emptying â€Å"loose change and keys, / into a locker† (3-4). In this set of lines, the speaker uses the sense of hearing, sound, as a means of communication. Furthermore, the speaker is a mere spectator, listening to what is happening around him and avoiding any gestures that would indicate his presence because he fears being noticed by others. We first hear the narrator speak when he says, â⠂¬Å"My god, forgive me† (4) which suggests he is startled by the noise and therefore exclaims, â€Å"my god,† (4) but upon acknowledging the nature of the noise—loose change and keys—he recuperates from the shock and apologizes. Alternatively, this line can be interpreted as a request for god to forgive him for the act that will follow. In this line, the narrator uses speech to express himself, but it is just from within, not a verbal act of speaking. These first four lines are an indication that he is not at ease with himself, his actions, or perhaps even his ideas. The subsequent lines, â€Å"Some say love, disclosed, repels what it sees, / yet if I touch darkness, it touches me,† (5-6) show the narrator’s sudden comfort with revealing his thoughts. Here, the speaker says that in theory, if one discloses his love, it should be strong enough to repel all darkness that may come his way. However, he feels that 2 despiteShow MoreRelatedThe Influence of Roman Engineering and Architecture1573 Words   |  7 PagesThe ingeniousness and beauty of Roman architecture has not been lost on us in the 2000 years since it was built. Even today, we still marvel at what incredible builders the Romans were, and at the sheer scale and integrity of many of their projects. It is hard to argue that today’s architecture will maintain the same lasting grandeur as that which the Romans built. If we can still respect and admire the grandeur of Rome as it was in it’s day, one can only imagine how much of an influence peopleRead More Roman Architecture Essay2647 Words   |  11 PagesRoman Architecture Many centuries before the birth of Christ, the city of Rome grew, prospered, and developed into a thriving Republic. As in most cultures, Romes buildings became more elaborate and impressive. They developed fantastic building technologies and ideas. The feats of Roman engineers were groundbreaking, and many structures built by this culture still stand today. With knowledge borrowed from the Greeks, Rome made impressive architectural achievements, these were namely majorRead MoreIgbo Dictionary129408 Words   |  518 Pagesgá »â€¹ in a polar question Possessives are included under pronouns, for they replace genitive Noun Phrases: e.g. isi yÄ  (his/her/its head): ya replaces a noun (e.g. ewu) and modifies isi as a genitive. U = u or á » ¥, O = o or á » , E = e or a 13 Jakobson, Roman, C. Gunnar M. Fant, and Morris Halle, 1951. Preliminaries to speech analysis: the distinctive features and their correlates. M.I.T. Press xv Igbo Dictionary: KayWilliamson. Draft of Edition II 3. Interrogative (int.): replaces the Noun