He's Got a Way With Words

"Any yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare."
My mistress' eyes

William Shakespeare really knows how to charm the ladies. After spending 12 lines of a poem seemingly insulting his mistress, he turns it all around in two lines. Those two lines prove that all along he was not insulting her, because he thinks she is wonderful and unique. The first twelve lines, you discover, are not meant to degrade her; they are to create his point that other men exagerrate and make false comparisons to flatter, while he is truthful and heartfelt. I find it ironic that the man who wrote works such as Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream, which contain numerous cliches about love today made fun of others for their cliche comparisons! In retrospect, though, I realize that it was because his words were so epic that they became cliches. Poems like this are what made people fall in love with Shakespeare's writing. He managed to create a loving, caring tone through a stream of "insults"; what skill.

Is this the real world?

"For the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light"
Dover Beach

May I just take a blog to complain about how depressing the subject manner of my senior year has become? I think I will. From economics, where we learn all about the ridiculous debt that America is in, to human geography, where were informed that population explosion is basically going to kill us all, I cannot escape the sadness. Two consecutive poems I just read left me wanting to go jump off a cliff (not really, of course!). First, I read Dover Beach, whose diction screams of hopelessness, using phrases such as "flow of human misery" and "eternal note of sadness". Then, I turned to Getting Out, where a couple goes through a miserable year after splitting up. Although "in the yearly letter, you're sure to say you're happy now," I don't think either part of the couple is truly happy without one another: the final image of the couple crying as they separate and the entire year of trying to work out their differences point towards their caring for one another. One way or another, it seems that their situation is leaving them unhappy. It sure left me feeling sad. Is this hopelessness found in every class? I hope not... although I am getting older and it's making me wonder. Is this the real world?

This just reminded me of the first line of John Mayer's song "No Such Thing". The rest is pretty good too!

Metaphorically Speaking, Don't Be Sad

"I hope to see my Pilot face to face
   When I have crossed the bar."
Crossing the Bar

Crossing the Bar is a poem which acts as an extended metaphor in which many different things represent other things. The speaker uses "crossing the bar" as a symbol for death, and "home" as heaven. The Pilot stands for God, which can be realized most greatly by the fact that it is capitalized. This is similar to in "The Convergence of the Twain," when words such as "Immanent Will" and "Spinner of Years" were capitalized in reference to God. Overall, this extended metaphor is a creative way for the speaker to express his thoughts. The ocean scene creates a peaceful setting for his message that he doesn't wish people to mourn too much when he dies. He is excited about seeing his "Pilot" and hopes there will "be no sadness" when he is gone. The metaphor is a tool that effectively creates a peaceful environment for the speaker's peaceful message.

Me? A Princess?

"an how i can be a princess
me a princess"
Hazel Tells LaVerne

In the above poem, the author creates a light, humorous tone. However, her theme, to me, was a bit more depressing. I believe the poem discussed every person's tendency to have low confidence in themselves. Yes, expecting people to believe we are all princesses is a bit unrealistic. However, the fact that the speaker is so completely shocked by the idea of being a princess shows how she would never expect something so great to happen to her. It reflects both her low self esteem and her low expectancy for her life. The frog being flushed down the toilet creates quite a different ending than in Disney's The Princess and the Frog or even the traditional Frog Prince fairytale. With the frog, the speaker is metaphorically flushing her hopes and dreams down the toilet, writing them off as unrealistic. I think the author is telling us not to flush our dreams away, because we will never know where they could have taken us.

Deep Southern Charm

"But sohelpmegod he starts talkin"
Hazel Tells LaVerne

In this poem, Katharyn Howd Machan presents a perfect example of vernacular being used. The vernacular is that of the deep south in America, with "g"s  omitted and words strung together. It reminds me of the language used in Their Eyes Were Watching God, which took place in the deep south as well.  Occasionally the language got in the way of the readers' understanding of the novel, but it overall created a realistic world that the reader could enter. In this particular poem, I believe the particular vernacular is used not only to create a realistic poem, but to add to the humorous theme. When I read "sohelpmegod", I literally laughed out loud. The language helps the reader imagine the speaker, imagine her jumping and letting out "screams". In my mind, however, the character does fall into the stereotypical southern ma'am, which may or may not be a good thing. It is, I believe, the effect the author was trying to create.

"My Country tis of thee"

"Shall the voice of liberty be mute?"
next to of course god america i

Whoever heard of taking lovely songs about America's pride and turning them around to have the opposite effect? E. E. Cummings seems to be a master at this, though. From lines such as "land of the pilgrims'" from "My Country tis of thee" to "oh say can you see by the dawn's early" from the "Star Spangled Banner", Cummings is referencing popular American songs left and right. However, the second half of the poem tips the reader off to the fact that Cummings isn't supporting everything about America. The irony of the way songs are constructed to form the line "heroic happy dead who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter" shows that perhaps America is not all it is cracked up to be. Maybe he is pointing out how Americans sometimes pretend to be proud and strong, while truly there are cracks in the system and bad things are overlooked. The last line of the quotations seems to ask a serious, straightforward question, though. "Shall the voice of liberty be mute?" If sometimes all American pride is, is cocky people cheering just to cheer, then should we be mute in support for our country? I don't think so, not at all.

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

"But am betrothed unto your enemy"
Batter my heart, three-personed God

As implyed by the title, I believe the speaker of this poem is talking to God. He references the relationship that many humans seem to have with God; they love him, but are often drawn away. I think that when the speaker talks about being "betrothed unto your enemy," he is talking about the tendency of humans to be drawn to sin and the devil. The speaker "never shall be free" of God, because God is always there for us. Perhaps the speaker is asking for forgiveness, as when he says "make me new." Apparently all three persons are discussed in the poem; I was able to notice the Holy Spirit's presence by the words "breathe" and "blow", but the other two didn't stand out to me as much. Those words in the first quatrain also call to mind royal images, though. Is the speaker comparing God to a ruler? Rulers break and bend their subjects, seek to fix them, make them into new people. If so, I don't particularly like the comparison, because I think of God as loving and rulers as NOT. Maybe, therefore, that it not what the speaker is comparing God to at all.

What a glorious kingdom!

"Nothing beside remains."
Ozymandias

If Ozymandias could see his statue now, I don't think he would be as cocky as he was when it was built. In this poem, the diction the writer uses reveals the irony of the situation that the crumbled statue presents. The "king of kings" who is "mighty" is suddenly "lifeless". Other words such as "shattered", "wrinkled", "cold", and "sneer" seem to mock the words that are later presented in the poem, as well. My main confusion, however, is what significance the "traveler from an antique land" has. Why is he mentioned, and why is this statue sitting in the middle of the desert? I grasped the fact that because it's in the desert, it explains why there is nothing around. The kingdom that Ozymandias looks over is nonexistent- but still i wonder what the traveler has to do with this all.

Just Kidding!

"We want you to tell us everything. Everything!"
APO 96225

The theme of this poem is the same as what I believed to be a central theme of Never Let Me Go; it points out the tendency of humans to want to ignore the things they find uncomfortable in their lives. This is shown as silly and ridiculous. The mother continually says she wants to know everything, but when she does, the son is reprimanded. Sometimes, we aren't ready for the truth, as Jack Nicholson so powerfully lets us know.

During the Vietnam war, the general public seemed to not want to know the truth about what was happening; by ignoring it, it was easier to justify what was going on. Veterans who returned were often alienated, although not many understood what they had to go through. Rottmann points out how people cringed at the thought of the truth about Vietnam through the repetition of the line "Dear Mom, sure rains here a lot." Just as the society liked to forget about the unethical side of clones in Never Let Me Go, so America liked to forget about the horrors of Vietnam.

Folding a Life

"I think of folding you into my life."
Sorting Laundry

An extended metaphor comparing the speaker's lover and life to laundry characterizes Sorting Laundry.  Even though it is never specifically said, I believe the different things she folds represent her life. The towels represent trying to have tradition, and to keep pride and hope. The pillowcases represent the dreams they have strived to have come true. The pockets represent the joys of daily life, and the "strangely tailored shirt" their lives before one another. To me, these all seemed to point towards a life on a budget, as many young couples live. These glimpses into the life that the lovers share all also seem to revolve around the speaker's fear of losing her lover. At the beginning, and again at the end, the speaker talks about the idea of him being gone. Because all of the laundry "could not fill the empty side of the bed," the reader is able to understand that the lover is needed, and is irreplaceable.

Poetry is becoming more and more confusing...

"But I do say it's hard to lose either,
When you have both."
Toads

All in all, I feel as if the poem Toads is a bit of a riddle, attempting to lead you to the right answer through clues. Unfortunately, I've never been good at riddles. Is there an option where I can ask for a hint? So one thing is established- the first toad is work. Work sits ON the speaker's life, but the second toad squats IN the speaker. I believe this means in the speaker's mind. I can't, however, decide if this second toad is a good or a bad thing. One of my thoughs is that the toad is something positive, like his hopes and dreams for the future that need work in order to continue being important. Another idea is that the toad is something negative, like drinking that keeps him from getting "the fame and the girl and the money all at one sitting", but that is present BECAUSE of work. Either could work, or perhaps neither. My track record leads me to believe that latter is true.

Whatever happened to dreaming?

"Or does it explode?"
Dream Deferred

Sometimes, I think asking questions can be insightful in itself. Therefore, I believe this poem is very insightful in allowing the reader insight into what happens to a "dream deferred" by asking questions. It continuially uses similies to compare what happened to the dream deferred. These similies give many options as to what it was like. "A raisin inthe sun" implies that the dream shriveled up slowly, to nothing. "Like a sore" implies that the act of the dream being deferred was drawn out and painful. "Crust and sugar over" makes the reader think that perhaps losing the dream was actually a pleasant thing. I believe that a dream being lost or changed can be any of these things. If you wanted to accomplish the dream, but it was not possible, it would probably be one of the negative things. However, sometimes old dreams are simply put aside because our desires change, possibly to move onto bigger and better dreams. I was questioning the last line though- does the dream exploding imply something positive or negative? I believe only the author knows the answer to that question.

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." Harriet Tubman

Just dress up!

"Now look, the practical, the sensible
solution is to wear a fantasia."
Pink Dog

Irony is very prevalent in the poem; the speaker, through an apostrophe to a dog, points out the discrepancy between the appearance of Rio de Janeiro and the reality. It appears that Rio de Janeiro is a pleasant, happy place where nothing unpleasant is seen. In reality, there are many beggars and down-trodden people in the city. The reader, through his poem to the dog, points out that there are these sad, desperate people in the city, but that they are simply ignored. The irony of the people celebrating in the streets while people are starving makes their treatment of the beggars all the more horrific. The fact that the poem ryhmes also shows an attempt to make the matter light-hearted, just as the people of Rio de Janeiro do. The suggestion of putting the dog in the costume also attempts to do the same thing. The absurdity of dressing up a dog seems downplayed when compared with the idea of throwing beggars in tidal rivers. Rio de Janeiro doesn't seem like a pleasant place to be poor (are there any pleasant places to be poor? doubtful.)

No Need to Focus

"Get rid of death. Celebrate increase. Make it be spring."
February

My initial thought at the end of this poem was that the speaker is quite scatterbrained. She goes from winter, to her cat, to frustrations about too many cats, to population pressure, to random food cravings,  back to the cat and his bumhole, and then the whole poem is finished off with a straight-to-the-point final line. Overall, though, I believe it speaks of her frustrations about the month of February and winter in general. She doesn't like it, and seems to be taking out her anger on every subject that comes to mind instead. I can't help but relate lines 16-24 to what I am studying right now in AP Human Geography; population growth and the problems it causes. The speaker seems to recognize these problems, although not in as serious a manner as I've noticed geographers do. Again, it seems to just be a frustration that she randomly voices in her despair about it being February. Although I may seem to be criticizing the randomness of the poem, I don't think it's a bad thing. Rather, I think it adds to the effect of the speaker's frustration and help to convey the overall contained, frustrated tone of the poem.

Elaine Magarrell is no Irma Rombauer

"I will have my brother's heart,
which is firm and rather dry,
slow cooked."
The Joy of Cooking

While reading this poem, I couldn't help but think of the cookbook The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer, which became a phenomenon in America during the 20th century. The poem and book don't exactly have the same tone, now do they? Anyways, I don't believe Elaine Magarrell was a sick person who cooked her sibling's body parts. Rather, I believe she cooked FOR her sibling's body parts.

The first stanza talks about the ways she must cook foods in order to please her sister's tongue. The second explains what needs to be done to win her brother's heart. Therefore, this poem uses a synecdoche, in which the feelings and whole person of the siblings are referred to as the tongue and heart. This has the effect of causing the reader to realize that the speaker cares greatly about winning over her siblings, and knows what must be done to do so. It also creates a light, amusing manner for the poem as the reader is questioning the sanity of the speaker until the true meaning is discovered.

Autumn Imagery

"Where are the songs of spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,-"
To Autumn

Of all of the poems in the unit of imagery, To Autumn has the most vivid imagery. Not only is it the most vivid, but it paints a picture using all five senses, which none of the other poems do. "A wailful choir" serenades the sense of hearing; a "sweet kernel" appeals to the sense of taste. "The fume of poppies" tantalizes the sense of smell, "warm days" welcome the sense of touch, and "a brook" attracts the sense of sight. Not one part of the body is neglected, which creates an all-over experience while reading the poem. Because fall is my favorite season, I relate to this poem greatly, as it points out many exciting things about fall. It recognizes that spring has its positive attributes, but basically says that the sounds of spring are nothing compared to the sounds of fall. What would my sounds of fall be? The crowds at football games, the crackling of bonfires, and the rustling of trees in the apple orchard. But, I digress. What's important here is that due to Keats' employment of every sense, I can truly picture the fall day that he creates.

Dickinson is a Mystery!

"Kept beating- beating- till I thought
My Mind was going numb-"
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

This is going to be one of those question blogs. You know, the kind where I can't seem to figure out anything so I ask questions. The first being- why are all of these random words capitalized??!! I see nothing important about them. Let's try to form a poem of just the capitalized words.
Funeral Brain Mourners Sense Service Drum Mind Box Soul Boots of Lead Space Heavens Bell Being Ear I Silence Race Plank in Reason World Finished.
They still make no sense to me. Although I will notice that the words are composed mostly of nouns- perhaps each capitalized words stands for something else?

Well, I would next like to ask what everything stands for. Obviously, this poem involves a great metaphor. However, I am baffled as to what everything represents. Someone in our class discussion pointed out that Emily Dickinson had a fear of open spaces- maybe the poem is about her own death or entrapment alone in her house. Lastly, where is the speaker of the poem located? I believe that she is not below the floor or anything of that sort, but rather the speaker IS the floor. This is supported by the emphasis of sound and beathing rather than sights, as the floor feels steps and actions rather than sees them. Ohhhh, what a confusing poem.

Sweet, Sinless Spring

"long and lovely and lush"
Spring

The word for this poem is alliteration! Repeated consonant sounds, one after another, are all over the first stanza in the poem. Examples include "look little low", "when weeks, in wheels", and "hear him". This has the effect of making the descriptions of spring interconnect and flow. Due to the alliteration and imagery, spring comes off as exciting and rich. The second half of the poem, however, doesn't describe all of the different sights, noises, and touches of spring. Instead, it talks about spring's innocence and how it will most likely be ruined- "before it cloy, before it cloud." What is it that clouds spring's freshness? Is it the summer's heat, changing of the leaves, the growing of the newborn animals? I think it's a little bit of everything. However, this poem perfectly captures the sweet innocence that spring brings to the world every year.

Spring=Sorrow?

"But the grief in my heart
is stronger than they"
The Widow's Lament in Springtime

When the season of spring comes to mind, common thoughts are renewal, life, and happiness. This poem, therefore, is a paradox because spring is assocaited with grief instead. The fact that the two normally not connected words are put together stirs interest in the reader: they want to figure out how grief and sorrow connect. Soon, we are able to learn that before, spring was a wonderful, warm time for the widow. Now, however, her husband has died and spring creates "cold fire" and "forgetting". Even though the poem has a dark versus light theme, it leaves end with a hopeful note. The "white flowers" could symbolize renewal for the widow. White is a color that means fresh- perhaps all the widow needs is a fresh start with spring, to stop associating it with grief.

Titanic vs. The Iceberg

"The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything
Prepared a sinister mate"
The Convergence of the Twain

I think the interesting thing about this poem is the form/pattern. Who ever heard of three line stanzas, with the first two lines short and the last one long? It's interesting, to say the least. I also noticed that (at least, most obviously, in the II, III, and IV stanzas) the first two lines tended to be positive- "jewels , ravish, joy" and the third line was negative- "lightless, bleared, black". The author most likely did this to show how the Titanic was thought to be such a grand ship, but was actually not indestructable and perfect.

The structure was also organized by rhyming, and repetition of rhyming sounds. Stanzas I and IX used words that rhymed with be, stanzas III and X used words that rhymed with -ent, and stanzas V and XI used words that rhymed with -ear. Do these corresponding stanzas relate in any other ways? Not that I am aware of. Which makes me wonder- did the author have a purpose in coordinating rhyming sounds, or was it random? This also brings me to a bigger question of poetry- is anything random in it?

Perrine Argues Poetry

"The poet is eager to be understood."

I must admit, Laurence Perrine makes a fantastic arguement. At the beginning of his essay, I believed that every poem has 100 different interpretations, and while some may seem outlandish, they are all right. Now, however, I see why he believed that for any given poem there is a correct and incorrect reading. I don't necessarily completely agree, but I understand his arguement.

I now agree that some interpretations can be disproved, and that interpretations of symbols must fall within a certain area. I believe, however, that this all goes back to what the author wrote the poem to be about. And I myself believe that poetry is mainly worth reading BECAUSE the reader and the writer may read the poem and see different things. I guess what I'm trying to say is that yes, a poem may be about something particular. But is poetry really about finding the right meaning, or is it about finding personal meaning and emotion in different works? I believe that people read poetry to feel something, not to hear a story or learn about the past as they may with prose literature.

From a literature professor's standpoint, the arguement is solid. But if I can't interpret poety myself and therefore express my creativity in it, I personally don't see the point in reading it at all.