"Lines Written in Early Spring"

I chose to analyze "Lines Written in Early Spring", a Romantic poem written by English author, William Wordsworth. I have to say that I actually do like this poem, as it portrays nature in a very beautiful way, letting us know that the world is worth saving; he also displays the effect of industrialization and urbanization that it can have on the world, both positive and negative.
This poem is about a person, most notably known as William Wordsworth, who is lost in his train of thought, thinking about the beauty of life in nature. Using very descriptive words to portray his vision and what he saw, we can visualize the image in our own minds, or at least I am able to. The words, phrases, and metaphors that he uses, gives a sense of feeling and sight that conveys this atmosphere created by William Wordsworth in his poem, especially his use of personification towards the parts of nature, such as plants and wind. Because everything is so descriptive, it's easier to visualize, making it a poem that would appeal to everyone, including myself.
As I read this poem, I was definitely able to relate to his opinions, which makes me like this poem a lot. It's very easy to connect to his thought, as what he describes is pretty relevant to the present day. The problem of industrialization and urbanization is very common in our world today. We are constantly building new things, whether they're factories, business buildings, or just simply... houses. We constantly see nature disappearing because of this technological progress, which is beneficial for us to a ceratin degree. Yes, it makes our lives much easier compared to the "old days"; however, it also takes away from the experience of living in pure nature and breathing in the views of trees, flowers, birds, wind... the list could go on and on. The world is constantly changing.

The message that William Wordsworth is trying to get across in his poem is the fact that humans are slowly beginning to destroy what was once there- a beautiful landscape filled with nature and its beauty. Even though he wrote this hundreds of years ago, his message is still accurate today, displaying the fact that people should be more aware of what they do to this world, as in the long run, it may turn out really good or really bad. Nature is not being respected for all that it's worth and this really upsets William Wordsworth, making him think twice about the pleasure he sees in the nature around him. To him, man continues to ignore nature and tends to make it disappear, without thinking it through. His focus is on the beauty in life- in nature.

In order to convey this message in "Lines Written in Early Spring", he uses many Romantic qualities and traits. For example, he uses "I" in order to display his thoughts, feelings, and emotion. Because of this, he also relates to the reader- to us. He makes us connect to his opinions about the situation, providing a self-reflection upon what man has done in our world, if anything beneficial. He's surrounded by nature, which he displays in his poem by glorifying the beauty found in it. This is another quality of Romantic poems- the glorification of nature. To him, nature is an important aspect in our lives, one that we should treasure, as it may disappear before we know it... By using his imagination and what he sees, and the way he puts his thoughts into his poems using Romantic qualities, William Wordsworth is a true Romantic author- very well-known in England for his works.

Our Field Trip!

Our trip to the Irish Heritage Museum not only helped us learn some interesting facts, but it also helped us prepare for our trip to Europe, which is not that far away...!
While we were here, what surprised me was the fact that the museum was built inside a high school, where there are performances in the theatre and special ceremonial events in the gym. I thought this was pretty neat, as the history of the school was an important part of the museum's cultural pieces. There was also a library, in which hundreds if Irish books were stored for reference, with only some being in English... Our tour guide showed us the art that they have inside and seemed to have a story for everything, starting from how it got there and what the piece was made of. Culture seems to be a big part of Ireland, whether it's art, music, or literature and history, and is definitely something we'll notice while we're in Ireland!
From the very beginning, from the train rides down to Chicago and back, staying within our groups was an important aspect of our traveling experience. Our class is divided into smaller groups, each group having a name- my group being "The Royal Queens". By being aware of the number of people in our group that are present, it's much easier to know where everyone is. Whether it's going shopping or to eat, going to the bathroom, or just stopping by a place, we're expected to be in groups of at least 4 or 5 people, always having a buddy by our side. This will help with only safety, but also being on time to our meeting places. Our upcoming trip expects us to be ALWAYS on time, if not 10 minutes earlier, as if we're late, we'll hold up the entire group, and therefore, shortening our time of sightseeing and messing up our daily plans. If we simply follow this, there will never be any problems and we'll be given more freedom to enjoy our free time around the cities! Walking long distances with a very fast pace is also something we'll be doing all day long, every day of our trip, and it's essential to be prepared for this. In order for everything to run smoothly, we'll need to be all eyes and ears and ready for directions, and this way, our traveling experience will be the best it can be!!! :)

The Celtic Tiger

Ireland is now most notably known for its economic boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s, an era reffered to as The Celtic Tiger. During this time period, the Irish Economy became more open to the global markets, lowered tax rates to 12.5% (more profit for the economy), and focused greatly on investment in education (creating competitive and relatively affordable university education systems). By 2006, because of these increasing economic growths, population numbers increased by at least 15% between 1996 to 2005, which was all influenced by the thousands of people immigrating to Ireland for more job and work opportunities. Because Ireland had this social and economic advantage, employment rates increased by 5%, keeping this pace for nearly 5 years into the future. The unemployment rates ranged around 4.4%, which was a tiny bit lower compared to the United States with 4.6%- this was seen as a success, as Ireland was always struggling with economy problems before, unlike the United States, who was constantly improving. Thanks to The Celtic Tiger, Ireland surpassed the United Stated economically and immediately attracted the attention of millions of people from other countries during the 2000s. Now, Ireland transformed from one of the most poorest countries in all of Europe, to one of the wealthiest, pretty much in the blink of an eye. This was by far one of the best things that has ever happened to Ireland in all of history!

However, by 2007, Ireland began to face struggles again, marking a dramatic economic downfall by 2008. Europe stepped into a financial crisis, along with other countries around the world, hurting Ireland's economy greatly. Ireland's rising prices and over-reliance on industries for jobs and tax breaks were some of the major causes of the downfall of The Celtic Tiger, along with the world-wide banking scandals. The bank crisis was one of the most evident problems that led to this issue... Banks were loaning too much money to the people living in Ireland, which was mostly everyone, eventually making it hard for the individuals to pay back what they borrowed. This created a major problem, and in order fix some of these issues, the government stepped in; however, this action just made things worse- the economy dug an even deeper hole concerning the crisis that was already happening. The banking crisis started with the inviduals, dragging in the banks and the government later on (the Anglo-Irish Bank was one of the most struck banks in the nation), and in the end, it ended up in the hands of the IMF (International Monetary Fund), as well as the European Union. Ireland's economy evolved from a small-scale problem to an enourmously large-scale crisis, creating problems all over the nation. Northwest Ireland was most effected, as the property sale prices decreased and houses were being built more often. In addition, gas prices increased by a whopping 270% and unemployment rates increased greatly, making it hard for day-to-day tasks in society. Ireland's unemployment rates today are about 14.2%, compared to the 8.3% of the United States- imagine our financial crisis now... times two!... Ireland, by far, faced one of the greatest economic hardships in the world!

My three curiosities about the Irish and/or International economy...
1) How much does our country's debt effect other economies around the world?
2) Will Ireland's economy ever be like it was during the Celtic Tiger? How will it do that?
3) What will happen if huge economies fail in Europe? How will it affect us?