Shelley by D.J. Wojcik

After reading the works of Mary Shelley, I was intrigued to find out more information about the author. After doing some research online, it became obvious her dark and tragic works seem to be the result of an even darker past. With the sudden death of her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, the author of Vindication of the Rights of Women, she was left with only her father, William Godwin, another great intellect. Shelley soon became very close to her father and her half-sister. In fact, it was through Godwin that she met her soon to be husband, Percy Bysshe Shelly. With the loss of her half-sister, three of her children, and the unfortunate death of her husband she was left lonely and deranged. A great tragedy at such a young age obviously impacted her literary style. Suffering from paralysis and a brain tumor at the age of 53 she was unable to read and write which eventually lead to her death. After having a miserable and hard life, her last wish was to be buried next to her mother and father. Even this did not go as planned, ending this dark life in despair.

http://www.biography.com/people/mary-shelley-9481497

Poe by Cassidy St John

Edgar Allen Poe was born on January 19, 1809. He was the middle of three children. From an early age death and loneliness surrounded him. By the time he was three years old he would suffer the loss of both of his parents. As a result he and his two siblings were separated. Poe was sent to live with the Mr. Allen, a successful tobacco farmer and his family, while his brother and sister were sent to live with other families. As a young man he excelled academically, but struggled to survive through college with less than a third of the funds he needed to get by. His resources were so depleted that he resorted to burning his furniture for warmth. Having now been humiliated socially by his financial disability a discouraged Poe returned home to his betrothed only to find that she was now engaged to another man! With this at the young age of eighteen he left the comforts of the Allen estate and joined the army in search of adventure when he published his first book. The theme of Poe completing a work after experiencing a tragedy is one that would follow him throughout his life. His second volume was completed shortly after hearing of his sergeant mother's untimely death. His third compilation was finished following the learning of his sergeant father's rapid recovery from the death of his wife as he had taken a new wife. Poe hadn't been invited to the nuptials, let alone properly informed. He lashed out violently in a letter expressing the wrongs done to him by Allen in their entirety. About this time after only eight short months at West Point Poe was expelled. It should be no surprise that his next work was then completed shortly after. Now thoroughly broken Poe returned to his late father's estate with an assortment of family members in tow. One cousin robs him blind in the middle of the night while another becomes the new object of his affection. He married his Virginia and experienced a blissful marriage for a few short years after which tuberculosis claimed her life as it had his mother, brother, and sergeant mother's. It was then that Poe had truly lost the two loves of his life, his two reasons for existence, his wife and his writing. He did not write for several months. He himself only continued to live for two additional years. During these years he spent what was left of his life traveling and engaging in what seemed to be frivolous relationships here and there with women from all over the place. Searching for what he had lost with the death of his Virginia. Poe died at age forty far away from home and among strangers. He ended his life just as it had begun alone.

http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php

"Barbie Doll" by Cassidy Park

                I happened to write a research paper over eating disorders once, and I happened to use Barbie dolls as an unexpected cause. Piercy’s poem, “Barbie Doll” completely proved my point a hundred times over. We live in a beauty conscience world, and for women it happens to be extremely tough. Perfection is already highly desired by each individual, and growing up with iconic Barbie the strive for perfection only exceeds. “Barbie Doll” completely mimic’s societies hypocritical behavior: While alive, society knocks down girls for not living up to desired standards, and constantly critiques those who take desperate measures to be perfect, by labeling them as “attention seeking”; however, in death, society mourns, and genuinely wonders why the child didn’t ask for help; for they were just so beautiful in their own way—right!?

            Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” is a heavily sarcastic poem, which insults society and portrays the irony of life faced by every teenage girl.

            To read Piecy’s “Barbie Doll”, visit http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/barbie-doll

For more information concerning the Barbie Doll image, see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/galia-slayen/the-scary-reality-of-a-re_b_845239.html (The picture included also came from this site.