Perfection Wasted by John Updike
From the title I thought the poem was going to be about how unappreciative or true beauty and worth most humans are. Through the poem, Updike says that when someone dies we lose their "own brand of magic" and that no one will ever be able to produce it the same again. The majority of the poem is a description of this "magic." Indirectly the poem compares those who know a person through their life with an audience watching a magic show. I gathered this from "those loved ones nearest the lip of the stage, their soft faces blanched in the footlight glow" and "their response and your performance twinned." He speaks of developing and marketing one's magic near the beginning of the poem. Memories are also referred to as something that can be stored in a "rapid-access file." He refers to everything about a person as "The whole act." Updike wants his readers to feel sorrow that in one death all those things are gone. He himself feels amazed at everything that one life holds. The title speaks of what a shame it is that so much is lost when one dies and what a shame it is that we may not have even realized what all that person possessed until they passed. The theme of the poem is that everyone is unique in their own way and that makes everyone of us perfect in some way.
This seemed like the easiest poem I have, as of yet, analyzed. I really like the metaphor between the life and the magic show. The opening line, "And another regrettable thing about death," shows that Updike feels sorrow for many reasons at someone's death. It's cool how the line gives the feel that he is starting the poem in mid-conversation. I also really enjoy the last line as well. "Imitators and descendants aren't the same." It says that no one, not even your own seed will ever be you. You are the only you.
I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman
Just reading the title, I believed the poem to be about the different voices America has. Through the poem Whitman lists different professions and says how that as the workers go about their job they each sing "what belongs to him." America is personified throughout the poem as it "sings." It represents its hardworking citizens that labor day after day. As Whitman goes through the different professions he states how they are singing what belongs with them and fits their job. This represents how each of us have a work to do and a lot to bear. It shows how all Americans are unique individuals that have unique joys and sorrows. The reader feels respect for the men and women the poet writes about. Whitman feels pride in what America is. The shift comes in line ten where it stops speaking of how each is singing their own song and says that at night there is "strong melodious songs." The title is saying how Whitman and others see each playing their role in America. The theme of the play is that if we all do our part and "sing our song" America's song won't falter.
I found this poem easier to write about than several of the previous ones. It seemed very encouraging and inspirational to me. The professions he used as examples represented everyday people well. I can tell it was written in the nineteenth century because masons, shoemakers, and wood cutter's are very rare now, at least by those names. I had a strong sense of patriotism after reading it. It aroused that within me without mentioning soldiers or flags, showing that everyone has an important role to play in this great country. Singing is usually associated with happiness and liveliness so one can infer that the Americans are happy with their lives and jobs.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Poems #4
Burying an Animal on the Way to the New York by Gerald Stern
The title made me think this poem was going to be a narrative. I was entirely wrong. The poem says to keep driving and not swerve when you see road kill in your path because you are helping to bury it. Stern gives a descriptive account of the dead animal, but not in a disgusting way. The description is subtle in such lines as "brown flesh", "crushed limbs", and "dark spot." He compares motorists that drive over road kill to mourners. His reference to the "first suffering" creates the image of the actual act of running over the animal in the mind of the reader. The shift takes place when the poem stops describing the scene and tells you to respect and learn from it. While reading the poem the reader begins to feel pity for the animal. The author's tone shows he respects the circle of life. The poem seems to remind us that death is simply part of life and we should respect it.
Stern did a good job of writing about what most of us consider a disgusting subject in a not disgusting way. I doubt there are few who can write about road kill with such grace. For some reason the poem makes me picture a squirrel. Maybe I get that from the line "crushed limbs," since squirrels do a lot with their hands. I like the first eight or so lines because they seemed to to concentrate on the awareness of a life lost. However when he talks about "shreds of spirit and little ghost fragments," in the last lines, I kept seeing little squirrels' ghosts floating through the air and it killed the mood for me.
Question by May Swenson
From the title I thought that Swenson was going to ask some of life's profound questions. While she did ask questions, they were narrower than I originally imagined. Swenson ask what she is going to do when her home, horse, and hound are gone. She uses no punctuation in the poem save a question mark at the very end. That is where the title comes in. The whole poem is one big question. In the the first stanza she addresses the objects she is worried about losing. Then she changes and refers to them asking the audiences what she will do when they are gone. She gives specific details as to what each one of them gives to her life. The author wants the reader to feel the anxiety that she is going through when she considers losing these things. She herself feels very insecure. The shift comes at the very end when the true feelings of the author come out. She asks "With cloud for shift how will I hide?." She isn't just speaking about her house, horse, and hound, but of the security she has being surrounded by familiar things in life. The poem's theme is that everyone can't be certain of things in life and things can be taken away at any time.
The lack of punctuation made reading it the first time difficult because I never felt like I could pause. That in itself gave off the feeling of anxiety cause the lines seem to rattle on and on. If Body is her hound, which is what I gather from the third stanza, why does she put, "Body my house my horse my hound" at the beginning? The stanza describing what her horse and hound do for her was easy to understand. I didn't fully understand the stanza about her house. I gathered that the reference to lying in the sky was talking about being exposed without her house.
The title made me think this poem was going to be a narrative. I was entirely wrong. The poem says to keep driving and not swerve when you see road kill in your path because you are helping to bury it. Stern gives a descriptive account of the dead animal, but not in a disgusting way. The description is subtle in such lines as "brown flesh", "crushed limbs", and "dark spot." He compares motorists that drive over road kill to mourners. His reference to the "first suffering" creates the image of the actual act of running over the animal in the mind of the reader. The shift takes place when the poem stops describing the scene and tells you to respect and learn from it. While reading the poem the reader begins to feel pity for the animal. The author's tone shows he respects the circle of life. The poem seems to remind us that death is simply part of life and we should respect it.
Stern did a good job of writing about what most of us consider a disgusting subject in a not disgusting way. I doubt there are few who can write about road kill with such grace. For some reason the poem makes me picture a squirrel. Maybe I get that from the line "crushed limbs," since squirrels do a lot with their hands. I like the first eight or so lines because they seemed to to concentrate on the awareness of a life lost. However when he talks about "shreds of spirit and little ghost fragments," in the last lines, I kept seeing little squirrels' ghosts floating through the air and it killed the mood for me.
Question by May Swenson
From the title I thought that Swenson was going to ask some of life's profound questions. While she did ask questions, they were narrower than I originally imagined. Swenson ask what she is going to do when her home, horse, and hound are gone. She uses no punctuation in the poem save a question mark at the very end. That is where the title comes in. The whole poem is one big question. In the the first stanza she addresses the objects she is worried about losing. Then she changes and refers to them asking the audiences what she will do when they are gone. She gives specific details as to what each one of them gives to her life. The author wants the reader to feel the anxiety that she is going through when she considers losing these things. She herself feels very insecure. The shift comes at the very end when the true feelings of the author come out. She asks "With cloud for shift how will I hide?." She isn't just speaking about her house, horse, and hound, but of the security she has being surrounded by familiar things in life. The poem's theme is that everyone can't be certain of things in life and things can be taken away at any time.
The lack of punctuation made reading it the first time difficult because I never felt like I could pause. That in itself gave off the feeling of anxiety cause the lines seem to rattle on and on. If Body is her hound, which is what I gather from the third stanza, why does she put, "Body my house my horse my hound" at the beginning? The stanza describing what her horse and hound do for her was easy to understand. I didn't fully understand the stanza about her house. I gathered that the reference to lying in the sky was talking about being exposed without her house.
Poems #3
Dreamers by Siegfriend Sassoon
The word dreamers makes me think of optimists and encouragement. I was not expecting war. The author describes how far away a soldier's thoughts are when he is in combat. The writer uses a lot of description to portray two very different pictures. He describes the horrible conditions of war and in the same breathe creates a pleasant view of home inside the soldier's mind. The author arouses empathy from the reader and he himself is saddened by the state of the soldiers and their longing for home. After looking back at the title I realized that there isn't a more fitting subject for it. Who has more reason to dream than those surrounded by death and destruction? The author's point is that no matter their surroundings, anyone can dream.
I really didn't understand the first two lines of the poem that reference the "death's grey land" and "no dividend from time's to-morrows." Why is tomorrow written like that? I assume that the author is British due the the use of "bank holiday." I like poems that rhyme. They always seem easier to read to me. I really couldn't see a shift. There is an equal balance between descriptions of war and of home through the entire poem. The last stanza is bit more dramatic than the rest so that works as the build.
Not Waving But Drowning by Stevie Smith
The title made me believe there was going to be some sort of mistake nmotive. The poem is about a man who died because he was much farther out in life in general than anyone thought. He uses "not waving but drowning" to describe how he felt. The poem keeps changing from third to first person which keeps it interesting. I see the changes in views as mini shifts. Would "the dead on lay moaning" be personification since the dead are dead and really can't moan? The second to the last line, "I was much too far out all my life" brings out the deeper meaning and theme. The speaker was away from others in reality and no one came to his aid. They thoughts, or made themselves belief, he was waving when he was really being dragged under. The title sounds humorous to the reader at first, but as they move through the poem they feels the seriousness and truth in the accusation that we ignore those in need.
So when writing above I thought the different views were referring to the same person, but now rereading I'm not so sure. Each time I read it, it seems to make more sense (if I'm on the right track at all). The middle stanza has a rhyme scheme, but the first and last do not which made me reread to see if I missed the rhyme. I like the repetition of the title for the final line.
The word dreamers makes me think of optimists and encouragement. I was not expecting war. The author describes how far away a soldier's thoughts are when he is in combat. The writer uses a lot of description to portray two very different pictures. He describes the horrible conditions of war and in the same breathe creates a pleasant view of home inside the soldier's mind. The author arouses empathy from the reader and he himself is saddened by the state of the soldiers and their longing for home. After looking back at the title I realized that there isn't a more fitting subject for it. Who has more reason to dream than those surrounded by death and destruction? The author's point is that no matter their surroundings, anyone can dream.
I really didn't understand the first two lines of the poem that reference the "death's grey land" and "no dividend from time's to-morrows." Why is tomorrow written like that? I assume that the author is British due the the use of "bank holiday." I like poems that rhyme. They always seem easier to read to me. I really couldn't see a shift. There is an equal balance between descriptions of war and of home through the entire poem. The last stanza is bit more dramatic than the rest so that works as the build.
Not Waving But Drowning by Stevie Smith
The title made me believe there was going to be some sort of mistake nmotive. The poem is about a man who died because he was much farther out in life in general than anyone thought. He uses "not waving but drowning" to describe how he felt. The poem keeps changing from third to first person which keeps it interesting. I see the changes in views as mini shifts. Would "the dead on lay moaning" be personification since the dead are dead and really can't moan? The second to the last line, "I was much too far out all my life" brings out the deeper meaning and theme. The speaker was away from others in reality and no one came to his aid. They thoughts, or made themselves belief, he was waving when he was really being dragged under. The title sounds humorous to the reader at first, but as they move through the poem they feels the seriousness and truth in the accusation that we ignore those in need.
So when writing above I thought the different views were referring to the same person, but now rereading I'm not so sure. Each time I read it, it seems to make more sense (if I'm on the right track at all). The middle stanza has a rhyme scheme, but the first and last do not which made me reread to see if I missed the rhyme. I like the repetition of the title for the final line.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Poems #2
Advice to Young Ladies by A.D. Hope
This title makes me think of either an etiquette lesson from days of old or a feminist radical's views, quite contrasting I know. The poem begins with the story of Postumia, the vestal virgin, being charged of a sexual misdemeanor, but then cleared. It then speaks of the unreasonable restrictions of females throughout history and how it has effected the world. The comparison of Postumia's life after her trial and being buried alive is very true. They took away her spirit and freedom of mind which made life hardly more than being dead. The poem is full of imagery and comparisons. "Husbands...rank next to God." That was the feeling of the time and the last stanzas are filled with examples of the human's belief that the man is more important. The author wishes young ladies to be aware of their imprisonment and to fight against it and she herself feels indigination at the injustice of it. The focus of the poem shifts off from Postumia's story to young ladies in general in line twenty five. The general content of the theme wasn't too far off my original assumption from looking at the title. The theme of the poem is a timeless one. Women are no less in mind than men, but are under valued.
I really enjoyed this poem. The rhyme scheme was easy and fun to follow and the content was extremely true. The charges presented against Postumia at the beginning can be seen in similar instances through time. A boy would never be charged of being "too witty" or walking "too lively". The poems speaks of quenching the last spark of her mind. While females today do have more freedom, some places still strive for that. The line "Of being a woman made genius a crime" really speaks puts the idea behind all the accusations in simple terms. I wish I better understood the end of the poem. I'm not positive what it means by "Trusted the servile womb to breed free men?". I like the stanza before that where it talks about how crushing these female's spirits is as serious as crushing Socrates, Galileo, and Bruno.
wahbegan by Jim Northrup
I had no idea what to think when I first saw this title. It made me think vaguely of maybe an African language. I was extrememly wrong. The poem is about all those who survived Vietnam, but were permanently affected by it. The short choppiness of the lines makes it interesting to read. The use of the word "didja" in the first line changed the way I read the entire poem. Wouldn't that be considered colloquial language? The author uses a lot of imagery to help the reader perceive some of what they went through. The lines "He died in the war but didn't fall down" and "Some can find peace only in death" are oxymorons. The author is mourning for his brother and all the others who came back, but were never the same. He wants the audience to feel sympathy and respect for those men. The theme of the poems is that some things make us welcome death.
The only reason I took the time to read this poem was the use of colloquial language in the first line. It turned out not to be what I expected at all, but I really liked it. I don't understand how the title related at all. I really thought the author should have used other words like "didja" throughout the entire thing or repeat it more than just once. It sets up a pattern at the beginning, but doesn't follow it. The content of the poem is really good. America does do so much to honor our dead and sometimes forgets about those who made it through.
This title makes me think of either an etiquette lesson from days of old or a feminist radical's views, quite contrasting I know. The poem begins with the story of Postumia, the vestal virgin, being charged of a sexual misdemeanor, but then cleared. It then speaks of the unreasonable restrictions of females throughout history and how it has effected the world. The comparison of Postumia's life after her trial and being buried alive is very true. They took away her spirit and freedom of mind which made life hardly more than being dead. The poem is full of imagery and comparisons. "Husbands...rank next to God." That was the feeling of the time and the last stanzas are filled with examples of the human's belief that the man is more important. The author wishes young ladies to be aware of their imprisonment and to fight against it and she herself feels indigination at the injustice of it. The focus of the poem shifts off from Postumia's story to young ladies in general in line twenty five. The general content of the theme wasn't too far off my original assumption from looking at the title. The theme of the poem is a timeless one. Women are no less in mind than men, but are under valued.
I really enjoyed this poem. The rhyme scheme was easy and fun to follow and the content was extremely true. The charges presented against Postumia at the beginning can be seen in similar instances through time. A boy would never be charged of being "too witty" or walking "too lively". The poems speaks of quenching the last spark of her mind. While females today do have more freedom, some places still strive for that. The line "Of being a woman made genius a crime" really speaks puts the idea behind all the accusations in simple terms. I wish I better understood the end of the poem. I'm not positive what it means by "Trusted the servile womb to breed free men?". I like the stanza before that where it talks about how crushing these female's spirits is as serious as crushing Socrates, Galileo, and Bruno.
wahbegan by Jim Northrup
I had no idea what to think when I first saw this title. It made me think vaguely of maybe an African language. I was extrememly wrong. The poem is about all those who survived Vietnam, but were permanently affected by it. The short choppiness of the lines makes it interesting to read. The use of the word "didja" in the first line changed the way I read the entire poem. Wouldn't that be considered colloquial language? The author uses a lot of imagery to help the reader perceive some of what they went through. The lines "He died in the war but didn't fall down" and "Some can find peace only in death" are oxymorons. The author is mourning for his brother and all the others who came back, but were never the same. He wants the audience to feel sympathy and respect for those men. The theme of the poems is that some things make us welcome death.
The only reason I took the time to read this poem was the use of colloquial language in the first line. It turned out not to be what I expected at all, but I really liked it. I don't understand how the title related at all. I really thought the author should have used other words like "didja" throughout the entire thing or repeat it more than just once. It sets up a pattern at the beginning, but doesn't follow it. The content of the poem is really good. America does do so much to honor our dead and sometimes forgets about those who made it through.
Poems #1
Days by Billy Collins
Just looking at the title makes me think of repetition and consistency. Collins speaks of how each day is given to us in the morning and we use it and then stack it with all the rest. A day is compared to a gift in an extended metaphor throughout the first stanzas. In the last stanzas a day is compared to a dish like the ones entertainers stack on stage. The very first stanza has a day being placed "in your waking hand or set upon your forehead". The author wishes us to reflective on how special each day is and he feels appreciative for the days he is given. If there is a shift in this poem it occurs at line 11. Here the author switches to speaking of how new each day is to how we stack the days together. After reading the poem I can see that the title is just a reflection of the subject of the poem. The theme I get from the poem is that we should appreciate each day we are given.
This isn't one of my favorites, but I like it well enough. I like the comparison of days to the stacked dishes. We all want to be able to stack one more and we all know that one day it's all going to fall down. I wonder if there is any particular reason he used Wednesday in the poem or if it was chosen at random. The way that one sentence carries over between the third and fourth stanzas bugs me because I never could read it right.
Woman by Nikki Giovanni
The title is so broad it's hard to have any conception of what it is going to be about. In the poem a female is trying to find her place but the male refuses to be her other half. She eventually decides to be woman despite the male's lack of cooperation. Giovanni refers to the protagonist as "she" throughout the entire poem which allows her to lead up to the reference of "woman" at the end. It is an extended metaphor but you can't name just one thing Giovanni is comparing "she" to. The mood I get from the poem is probably different from 50 percent of the world's population, but as a female I feel encouraged by it. At the end when "she" decides it's alright even if he won't be her man is kind of empowering to the female. Giovanni feels satisfied at the end of the poem. The shift comes at line 19 when she realizes it's ok even if he won't be her counterpart. The theme is rather feminist in that females shouldn't feel that they have to rely on the other sex.
The name Nikki Giovanni sets off some bell in my head. Did she write a poem about drums? I really like this poem. I don't think I did a good job analyzing it. My problem with poems is that I can break them down in my head, but can't seem to get them on paper, or on screen, whichever be the case. This is definitely a girl poem. All women at some point have felt let down and that he was refusing to "be a man", but they learned to get over it and move on. While it sounds pessimistic, it is also encouraging in knowing that we can make it without them.
I'm not sure what you wanted, Mrs. Leffler, since you changed the instructions so please comment and let me know if I'm doing these right.
Just looking at the title makes me think of repetition and consistency. Collins speaks of how each day is given to us in the morning and we use it and then stack it with all the rest. A day is compared to a gift in an extended metaphor throughout the first stanzas. In the last stanzas a day is compared to a dish like the ones entertainers stack on stage. The very first stanza has a day being placed "in your waking hand or set upon your forehead". The author wishes us to reflective on how special each day is and he feels appreciative for the days he is given. If there is a shift in this poem it occurs at line 11. Here the author switches to speaking of how new each day is to how we stack the days together. After reading the poem I can see that the title is just a reflection of the subject of the poem. The theme I get from the poem is that we should appreciate each day we are given.
This isn't one of my favorites, but I like it well enough. I like the comparison of days to the stacked dishes. We all want to be able to stack one more and we all know that one day it's all going to fall down. I wonder if there is any particular reason he used Wednesday in the poem or if it was chosen at random. The way that one sentence carries over between the third and fourth stanzas bugs me because I never could read it right.
Woman by Nikki Giovanni
The title is so broad it's hard to have any conception of what it is going to be about. In the poem a female is trying to find her place but the male refuses to be her other half. She eventually decides to be woman despite the male's lack of cooperation. Giovanni refers to the protagonist as "she" throughout the entire poem which allows her to lead up to the reference of "woman" at the end. It is an extended metaphor but you can't name just one thing Giovanni is comparing "she" to. The mood I get from the poem is probably different from 50 percent of the world's population, but as a female I feel encouraged by it. At the end when "she" decides it's alright even if he won't be her man is kind of empowering to the female. Giovanni feels satisfied at the end of the poem. The shift comes at line 19 when she realizes it's ok even if he won't be her counterpart. The theme is rather feminist in that females shouldn't feel that they have to rely on the other sex.
The name Nikki Giovanni sets off some bell in my head. Did she write a poem about drums? I really like this poem. I don't think I did a good job analyzing it. My problem with poems is that I can break them down in my head, but can't seem to get them on paper, or on screen, whichever be the case. This is definitely a girl poem. All women at some point have felt let down and that he was refusing to "be a man", but they learned to get over it and move on. While it sounds pessimistic, it is also encouraging in knowing that we can make it without them.
I'm not sure what you wanted, Mrs. Leffler, since you changed the instructions so please comment and let me know if I'm doing these right.
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