Hi Pineapple! You are more or less correct, it has the same meaning in this context. The thing to remember about the phrase "they keep good company with" is that whoever wrote the phrase is expressing an opinion or value judgement ("good"). So in their opinion, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Danny Devito are all good people who you would probably want to be in the company of. "They bear a resemblance to" is more of just an observation. You can "keep good company" with people or creatures which you do not resemble. It is more about the writer's opinion.

After this, William Blake describes the imagined process of how the creator of the tiger makes the tiger. He uses very industrial language - "What the hammer? What the chain? In what furnace was thy brain?" This reflects the fact that at the time the poem was written the Industrial Revolution was happening in England and people were re-imaging what it means to create, using big machines and lots of fire. The Industrial Revolution may have helped people to think about their own power of creation and to question if they could really talk about the world as having been made by just one being. Blake's final question to the tiger echoes this, "Did he who made the lamb make thee?" The tiger and the lamb are such different animals - were they really made by the same creator? Can we allow the tiger and the lamb to both be a part of the same world, a world of paradox and yet still somehow one beautiful whole? The poem - 'The Tyger', is from 'Songs of Experience' which is a counterpart to 'Songs of Innocence'. In 'Songs of Innocence' is the counterpart poem to 'The Tyger'; 'The Lamb'. This is another poem where William Blake questions the power of immortal creation. If you want to get more insight into this poem I suggest you also read 'The Lamb', and maybe some more of William Blake's work. I hope my comments have helped you. Please feel free to check out my teacher profile if you are interested in more. :)

Hi Nelson, You are talking about the poem 'The Tyger' by William Blake, right? One thing to remember about poetry is that it is not literal. The words are not usually about physical things, places or events, but point to something beyond the physical world using symbols. Because of this, when you say 'what does he mean?' about a poet, there is never only one correct answer. We all have our ideas about what the poem might mean - what the symbols might be pointing to. However, I can give you my interpretation... In the poem, William Blake speaks directly to the tiger, "What immortal hand or eye Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?" "immortal" means that you do not die; you are eternal. Most things that we speak of which are "immortal" are some kind of god. "frame thy fearful symmetry" - is like asking the tiger, "who could contain you or put you within a frame?" In other words, "who created you?" The implication here is that someone created the tiger. William Blake was from England and he was alive in the late 18th and early 19th century. At that time in England most people believed very strongly in a literal interpretation of the Christian religion, including believing that God was the literal creator of the whole world. His question can be seen as like saying, "Tiger, you are a one amazing animal. You're so scary and also perfect and beautiful. Whoever created you must be really amazing too". The fact that William Blake is asking this question at all shows that he wanted to question the contemporary religious beliefs of his time. But he also uses the cultural images of God and God-like beings. In Christian stories all angels have wings. "On what wings dare he aspire?" , then, can be seen as asking about the creator of the tiger - what kind of wings can an angel have that is strong and amazing enough to make a tiger? "Dare he aspire?" suggests that the angel is "aspiring" - reaching towards a higher goal. To get higher it can be useful to have wings.

A paraphrase of the poem “Naming of Parts” by Henry Reed. Ford.

This poem is about World War 2 and the time when troops from the US army invaded japan. It describes the pure emotion of a soldier whose service has been bound to his compliance.

He says:

"To-day we have naming of parts. Yesterday,

We had daily cleaning. And to-morrow morning,
We shall have what to do after firing. But to-day,
To-day we have naming of parts. Japonica
Glistens like coral in all of the neighboring gardens,
          And to-day we have naming of parts."

He goes on...

I am accumulating all the pieces of my weapon and putting them in their place: this is my gun’s lower pivot, and that one is my upper gun’s pivot whose use you shall see. You would get accustomed to this (gun) as soon as it was handed to you, but in your case, that is something you will never have...

All those branches that I see give their taciturn gesture eloquently - something that I will never have. And yet these safety catches of my weapon can be liberated quite easily. But hold on, don't use your fingers - just as tree blossoms are exquisite and quiescent, never letting anyone see your fragile fingers pull the trigger, Relinquish Right There!

This pin here is for opening the gun, we call this “easing the spring” and yet spring bees are assailing our blooms and again we call this “easing the spring” and it’s utterly easy to exterminate the point of equipoise. But for today we only have to follow our orders, while the almond-blossoms are calm and reserved, and bees are encircling around.

The Last Day at Work

Time flies! Today is my last day at work in Japan. I can still remember clearly the first day I came here. At that time my Japanese was not very good. When I got off the plane at Narita airport, I could feel the air here was so fresh and clean. From that moment, I started to like this country.
Last night I went out drinking with my coworkers, and we had a great time. Everyone was so nice and they said I had changed. There were 25 people in all. To be honest, I cannot remember all of them even though we are in the same department. I feel sorry for that but there are more than 40 people in my department, and we hardly communicate with each other normally. So because of this, it is difficult for me to remember all of them. One of my coworkers told me he was worried about me when he saw me arrive one year ago, as I'd come to Japan for the first time to live and work here, but last night he said his worry was totally unnecessary. He also said my Japanese was perfect. I guess the most praise I got was for my competency (at ...?) and my interpersonal skills.

As well as this, they also said I had become more beautiful after I dyed my hair. I was really happy though I was not sure if they were telling the truth.

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Notes

This is a great piece of writing showing you have a lot of skill in using the English language. Just a few points:

1. 'drinking party' is not correct English, probably because in most English-speaking cultures, drinking is expected at any party so you don't need to say it is a drinking party. The act of going to a bar or club where you consume alcohol is 'to go out drinking'.

2. 'in this case' is to talk about a particular situation as a comparison to others. If you are explaining something as the cause of something else you have to say 'because of this'.

3. 'Competency' means ability to do something well, but you need to say what it is you are competent at.

4. You might want to revise using the past simple, past perfect and past continuous tenses.

:)

I'm a Booklover-What about you? =D

If there's one thing I love, it's reading books, and more than this, talking about them and recommending them to other people. I'm especially passionate about romance books, but four years ago some fantasy ones started to enter my bookshelf and, now, I have many fantasy books as some of my all-time favorites! (Examples??) And, since I'm a blogger, I write about them every day, in general with positive reviews. Sometimes there are some negative ones too, but, well, that's okay. (Why is it ok?)

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Notes

This is a good piece of text which shows you are quite confident and skilled at writing in English. Just a few notes:

1. When we talk about things we like or love, we need to use 'ing' to create a gerund noun - 'I like reading books'.

2. If you are writing about books you like, it is better to give example of the names of the books to show which ones you are talking about. So you could say, "I have so many fantasy books as some of my all-time favourites, like 'The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' and 'The Hobbit'."

3. Blogging is an activity where we write, not speak.

4. 'There is' is correct English for 1 thing; if you are talking about more than 1 thing you have to say 'there are'.

5. When you say, 'that's ok', you need to explain why you think this. 

Well done, please keep writing!

The Frog and the Ox: A Summary

Once, there was a young frog, who one day said to her father:

"I have seen such a big monster! It was as big as mountain. There were horns on its head, and it had a long tail, and hooves divided in two, on each of its four legs."

"Tush,* child, tush, that is only Farmer White's ox. it isn't big at all. He may be a little taller than I. I could easily make myself quite as broad, "

the father frog replied.

So he blew himself out, and blew himself out again.

"Was he as big as this?" he asked his child.

The young child said,

"He is bigger than that. "

Then the old frog blew himself out and blew himself out.

The young child said,

"Bigger, bigger!"

and the frog breathed in,  blew and blew, swelled and swelled.

 The young frog said

"I am sure the ox is not as big as--"

Before the final word could be completed, the old frog burst.

Self conceit may lead you to self destruction.

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Notes

This is a great piece of writing, showing you have a lot of creativity and confidence with storytelling in English. Some things to remember:

When we tell a story in English, we usually begin with 'once', or 'one day': 'once there was', 'once upon a time' (if it's a fairytale/myth). This is to show that the story took place some time in the past but it is not important when.

When characters speak in a story, you have to make a new line and use quotation marks: " "

Remember to keep the tenses the same in the same sentence.

*"Tush!" is correct English but a very out-of-date word. To be more up-to-date you could say "Nonsense!" or "Don't be silly!"

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was a Gothic writer from the nineteenth century. His style is very unique, with a meticulous focus on life phenomena. My point of interest in this text is, specifically, one of his short stories called 'The Masque of the Red Death'.

In this story he paints a picture of a prince who is negligent regarding his realm. The 'Plague of Red Death', an infectious disease, has spread extensively through the nation - and as if this wasn't enough, the prince also has to plan a masquerade party.  <-- (see comment).He personally himself designs every detail of the decorations and gives instructions for the costume theme.

What is quite exclusive about this story is the way Poe describes each item in harmony with the story motifs. He is a of choosing excellent words which represent a very Gothic style. Another major (skill/talent) he shows is in his combination of rythm and word stress which contributes to the horrific, Gothic ambience of the text.

Back to the story: Poe narrates a series of seven rooms in which different colors are prominent elements; these colors are accompany all the objects within each room. (You could also just say here: 'Poe narrates a series of seven different-colored rooms, each filled with objects all of the same color.')

My original perception as the reader was that each of these rooms in the palace (? - abbey) represents a sin, and together they comprise the seven deadly sins. Guests,  who are members of the elite class of the society, come and spend time in each room during the party.

There is a pendulum clock in the palace that, at each hour, rings. As soon as this clock starts to ring everyone becomes frozen in their thoughts as if they are reminded of something painful and revealing.

The guests are negligent; inconsiderate of any of the other members of society. They are sinful as a result of keeping themselves busy with absurd acts and trivialities.