The stately Homes of England,
How beautiful they stand!
Amidst their tall ancestral trees,
O'er all the pleasant land.
(pg 412, lines 1-4)
This poem by Felicia Hemans has to be the biggest case of patriotism, loyalty, and love for one's country that I have ever witnessed. Hemans' entire poem is about the beauty that she sees in England and the love that she has for England. Hemans writes of England as if she's the proudest citizen to ever live there. She writes as if she feels as though England and the beauty that it possesses is the most wonderful thing ever to be created by God.
And green for ever be the groves,
And bright the flower sod,
Where first the child's glad spirit loves
Its country and its God!
(pg 412, lines 37-40)
I definitely believe that Hemans' love for England is terrific. I love where I am from just as much as she loves England. I am proud to be a citizen of the United States, for better or for worse. I also strongly believe that everyone should have a great love for their country. There are far worse places to live on Earth, with far worse conditions might I add. Every citizen of the United States should be appreciative of all that we have because many other countries do not have the luxuries that we have. Likewise, many other countries do not have the funds or the accessories to possess half of what we have in the United States.
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5 comments:
I do agree with you that Felicia Hemans poeom, "The Homes of England" is one of the biggest case of patriotism, loyalty and love for one's country as she explains the various homes in England at that time. What was also of interest to me in this poem was how she described the various homes unbiasly, only featuring the positive aspects of these homes.
However, I tend to disagree with you a little with regards to your comment that, "you strongly believe that everyone should have a great love for their country" because some people are living under entreme poverty and deplorable conditions in their country. So they might not have a great love for their country and are trying all means possible to get out in order to go to a different country. On second thought, while I was thinking about your comment I could be interpreting what you have said incorrectly. I think you might have wanted your readers to be proud of being in the United States and so they should be proud of their country.
Great blog.
I agree that Felicia Hemans proves to be very proud of her country and you mention it very well, however; if you don t mind me telling you, "The soldier" by Rupert Brooke would be great for you to read as I believe that was the text the more intense I have read as far as patriotism is concerned!
What makes "The homes of England" a patriotic poem is the fact that she describes the "good side" of every single homes of England, from the worst to the best ones... She loves everyone of them with no exceptions because all of them contributes to the beauty of her country that she so dearly appreciates. I agree with you about the fact that people in the US should think the way she does about America because you are lucky to live in such place. Not much to complain about compared to some third-world country (Actually people in those countries are sometimes happier than people in the US which is a sad thing to notice). You could maybe have gone a little more in depth on the poem itself but I thought it was good.
Mishawn,
Good focus and insightful comments on Hemans's poem in this post. You use the quotations very effectively, and make some good points about them. Do you think your own view of patriotism is rooted, like Hemans, in people's homes? Or somewhere else?
Mishawn,
By the way, I forgot to say congratulations on completing your blog!
Heman's Poem "The Homes of England" do give vivid sense of what it is like to love your country. I often feel patriotic when I travel the country sides of America. There is so much to see, so much diversity.
I find it funny that a woman is showing much appreciation for her country. It seems to me that a man would have taken it upon himself to prove his manhood by showing his devotion to his country. Do you think this patriotism gives Hemans a masculine quality?
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