I have a research paper that needs revising and some criticism from autorized sites... and stuff..
If i post what ive done so far.. could i get help on it.. I have most of it done.. except for the criticism.
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A semi revised version.... some critique and errors fixed... and one citation removed due to one of them having the other one in it...
Daryl Valle
English IV 12.3
Ah, you dug on my grave.
Thomas Hardy was born in Higher Brock Hampton, England on June 2, 1840, in a seven-room cottage. He was the eldest of his siblings, one brother and two sisters. His father was also named Thomas Hardy and he was a master-mason and a builder. His mother Jemina was a cook, an energetic woman who loved reading. At the age of eight Thomas began his schooling in Brock Hampton. He was a quick learner and transferred to a Non Conformist Latin School. At sixteen he was apprenticed too the architect John Hicks. Around that time he started writing verses. He quit his apprenticeship at the age of twenty one (Angyal 1385-1397).
In the spring of 1862, Hardy arrived in London where he was looking too continue his architectural studies; instead he found part time work with John Blomfield, a friend of his teacher, Hicks. Later on his confinement to London life was eating away at his health. The doctor had hardy sent back to Bock Hampton to recuperate. In the time he spent recuperating he worked on his first book. In 1870 he finished his first book, The Poor Man and the Lady. He sent it too a London publisher but was rejected. Soon he finished his second novel Desperate Remedies which was also rejected. He wrote five more novels and short stories, adding too his reputation as a major writer. During that the time of his life after having wrote the some of his last novels Thomas Hardy released a lot of poetic material, one of which is Ah, are you digging on my grave?. Hardy fell ill with pleurisy in December 1927 and died in Dorchester, England on January the 11th, 1928 (Duane 6-11).
Hardy published poetry until his death in 1928. His poetry ranged from the topics of love and life to death, and even to questions about moral standards. The poem, Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave? emphasizes life and death with humor and irony. In Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave? Thomas Hardy uses shifting tones to lessen the seriousness of the conversation between "a digger" and a "dead woman."
In the introductory verse the deceased shows a curious tone. The dead woman asks "Are you digging on my grave?" Her question shows a demonstration of the deceased still clinging on to life. The "digger" provides a partial answer, "No: yesterday he went to wed...'It cannot hurt her now'..." The partial answer suggests that the deceased has been forgotten. "Though the poem contains a humorous tone, the picture Hardy paints is bleak; the dead are almost completely eliminated from the memory of the living and do not enjoy any form of contentment" (Gale 1 of 4). The continuing questions posed by the deceased demonstrate her discontent.
The dead speaker shifts in the second verse from a curious tone to a concerned tone in her question. The "dead speaker" asks "then who is digging on my grave, my nearest dearest kin?" Once again the "dead speaker" clings on to a life that has ended. The "digger" again leaves her with an incomplete answer, "Ah, no: they sit and think, 'what use! What good will planting flowers produce?" Again demonstrating that the living continue to live onward, leaving the "dead speaker" asking another question in the following verse.
In the third verse the deceased shifts again this time from a concerned tone to a frustrated one. In lines 13-14 the "dead speaker" says "But someone digs upon my grave? My enemy? - prodding sly?" The "dead speaker" shows frustration. "The speaker is more hesitant, as if she doubts herself" (Gale 3 of 4). The "dead speaker" hangs on to life, showing a concern in whether or not the "dead speaker" is remembered. In lines 15 & 17, the "digger" gives another partial answer to the question in lines 13-14 saying, "Nay: when she heard you had passed the Gate...she thought you no more worth her hate." Once again, the dead speaker shows that the living continue to live. "Here, the unknown voice presents one of the most direct, and most chilling, statements of the poem's central idea: the deceased woman has been forgotten by the living and does not concern them at all" (Gale 3 of 4).
In verse four, the dead speaker resorts to a desperate tone. The deceased shows desperation in lines 19-20 she says "Then, who is digging on my grave? Say - since I have not guessed!" The desperate tone shows that although deceased, her concern for the living still caring for her strengthens as time goes by. "As the woman attempts to guess who the digger is, she reveals her desire to be remembered by various figures she was acquainted with when she was alive" (Gale 1 of 4). The "digger" finally reveals himself as the "dead speaker's", still quite alive, "little dog". The "little dog" answers her in lines 21-24. "O it is I, my mistress dear..."
Subsequently in the fifth verse the deceased woman demonstrates relief in line 25. She says "Ah, yes! You dig upon my grave..." In line 26 the "dead speaker" says "Why flashed it not on me." This relief in words like 'ah' and the sentence 'Why flashed it not on me." She was so concerned in the first four verses to finally be answered in the second half of the fourth verse and has been relieved by knowing who is digging. She compliments her relieved response by speaking about the "little dog" in lines 27-30. In those lines "That one true heart has left behind! What feeling do we ever find to equal among human kind A dogs fidelity!" she shows huge interest in the living and by clinging to it proves that she doesn't want to be forgotten.
In the final verse the "little doggy" reveals an ironic and humorous tone. In the lines 31-34 hardy says uses the dog's bone to implement that the bone is more important then his mistress. He does that to add humor the serious topic. The burying of the bone on accident over her grave shows that if even a dog forgets then that mean absolutely no one has importance for her after she has passed away. So there would be no need to remember her, but if she is remembered like in verses 1-3, they have other things to do not just morn for her for the rest of there lives. The irony is that even when at one point the deceased thought she was remembered by her "little doggy", the deceased was forgotten by everyone she once knew.
Thomas Hardy used shifting tones to seamlessly integrate humor, irony, and the topic of life and death and still manages to explain that "The living continue to live while the dead are forgotten." This poem is enjoyable, and can easily reach the hearts of its readers, using satire and its strong point of view.
Citations to Text
Andrew J Angyal - Frank N. Magill - Critical Survey of Poetry - Pasadena, California:
Salem Press, Inc. 2003. Volume 3 1596-1604
Duane, O.B. Thomas Hardy - Pastoral Muse. Great Britain:
Brock Hampton Press, 1998.
Citations to the Web
"Plot Summary: "Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave? "." Discovering Authors. Online Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - Gold. Thomson Gale. JOHN ALEXANDER HIGH SCHOOL
Works Cited
Hardy, Thomas. Ah, are you digging on my grave? Reprinted in Glencoe Literature, the Reader's Choice, British Literature. City: Publishing Co, Date. Page-Page.
Greetings!
I don't know if you'll get this in time, but here are some editing tips:
At sixteen he was apprenticed too the architect John Hicks. - It's "to"
he was looking too continue his architectural studies; - again, "to"; "too" means "also."
He sent it too a London publisher but was rejected. - to
During that the time of his life after having wrote the some of his last novels Thomas Hardy released a lot of poetic material, - During that time of his life, after having written some of his last novels, Hardy released...
This relief in words like 'ah' and the sentence 'Why flashed it not on me." - this is a sentence fragment
In the lines 31-34 hardy says uses the dog's bone to implement that the bone is more important then his mistress. - Hardy says uses...? I'm not sure what you were trying to say; also, it's "more important than his mistress."
they have other things to do not just morn for her for the rest of there lives. - they have other things to do besides mourn for her for the rest of their lives.
Thomas Hardy used shifting tones to seamlessly integrate humor, irony, and the topic of life and death - this sounds like it might be a direct quote; be sure to use a citation if you use another author's words.
Best of luck in your studies!
Thanks,
Sarah, EssayForum.com
