Sunday, November 15, 2009

Rotation 8, blog 2

“Spring and All” William Carlos Williams
Poem is about spring  the title and lines from the poem: “All along the road the reddish/ purplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy stuff of bushes.”
Visual Imagery: “Under the surge of the blue/ mottled clouds.”
“Lifeless in appearance, sluggish”
Made up of 8 stanzas
-all aren’t the same length  every other stanza is made up of two lines, and then the 6 and 7 ones are made up of two lines, while the last stanza is made up of 4 lines. The pattern changes at the end within the last three stanzas
-punctuation used throughout
-no real rhyme scheme
-sounds more like prose when read aloud, even though the lines aren’t long in the stanzas
-beginning couple stanzas are about the earth before spring comes: “parches of standing water” and “brown with dried weeds”
-these images show how winter has dragged on the earth, and made it unpleasant looking
By the end of the poem you have different images: “one by one objects are defined” and “they/ grip down and begin to awaken.”  talks about plants “awakening” after the winter  personification
Tactile Imagery: “a cold wind”
Euphonic: “They enter the new world naked/ cold, uncertain of all.”
-Uses A LOT of adjectives throughout the poem: “cold, muddy, standing, tall”


“Oh no” Robert Creeley
Sounds like a regular sentence when read a loud
-all one stanza
-barely any punctuation
Seems to be talking about heaven: “and when you get there/ they will give you a place to sit”
“And they will likewise all have places”  makes you think that this means every single person will have a purpose
No rhyming
Poem isn’t exactly clear: refers to “they” as if you are supposed to know who they are
No challenging words
The first line: “If you wander far enough”  even though I think that this poem is about heaven this first line seems kind of strange
-if you die, it doesn’t seem like you would have to wander around to find heaven, I feel that you would just go there right away
-this line gives off a sense that you can choose to go to heaven or not
The second line: “You will come to it”  leaves it as the destination you have found
-calling the destination “it” leaves the option endless as to what the place truly is
Visual Imagery: “and all your friends will be there/ with smiles on their faces”
-makes heaven seem like a very happy, pleasant place to be
-never in the poem is there any indication of religion, or after life directly, but these lines above make me think of heaven
Internal alliteration: “with smiles on their faces”
Could be Euphonic  isn’t hard to read aloud at all, but doesn’t seem poetic enough to be considered euphonic
-the diction seems too simple to be considered “pretty language”


“Piano” D.H. Lawrence
Has rhyme scheme throughout all three stanzas
-each stanza is made up of four lines and the two lines have end rhymes
Stanza one: A
A
B
B
-this is the rhyming pattern throughout the whole poem: “strings, sings” “outside, guide”
-the lines are pretty long  even though the poem looks like prose, it sounds more like a poem when read aloud because of the rhyming
Words that may need to be looked up: insidious, tinkling, vain, appassionato, cast, vista
Tone: he is remembering his childhood, as a woman sings to him
-this singing reminds him of his mother, and makes him miss his childhood: “I weep like a child for the past”  this is also a simile
Uses a great deal of adjectives: “black, poised, small, weeps
Tactile imagery: “with winter outside”
First half of the last line: “Down in the flood of remembrance”  strong line  shows just how much all these memories are coming back to him, and how much they mean to him
Seems cacophonic at times: “in spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song”
But then at other times seems euphonic: “softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me”
-First line is iambic
Punctuation is used at the end of every last line in each stanza
-made up of 3 stanzas
-each stanza has 4 lines
-most of the lines aren’t enjambed lines
Overall, the poem seems to be pretty happy until the end when he starts to cry
-but at the same time, it’s good that this man loved his childhood so much
-will want to make his kids childhoods even better

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Rotation 8, blog 1

“At North Farm” John Ashbery
-the first line is made up of iambs = iambic heptameter
-the lines are pretty long for a poem  almost like prose
-made up of two stanzas
Euphonic: “the streams run with sweetness, fattening fish”
-“that the dish of milk is set out at night”
I’m not sure if this is an understatement or if there’s a hidden meaning behind it: “hardly anything grows here” and then the next line is “yet the granaries are bursting with meal”
-the first line seems like an understatement, but I’m not positive because it seems like there is a meaning behind the line
Visual imagery: “birds darken the sky”  gives off a spooky or chilling feeling
“The streams run with sweetness, fattening fish”
“The sacks of meal piled to the rafters”
Gives an array of settings: “Through blizzards and desert heat, across torrents, through narrow passes”
 Strange that it is such a various number of settings, but I think that here the author is trying to emphasis how far this person is traveling
-no rhyme scheme
-some punctuation
-no words that need to be looked up
-even though there aren’t any challenging words in this poem, it isn’t exactly clear what the author is writing about exactly  did a good job of hiding meaning behind word choice
The last three lines in the second stanza: “That the dish of milk is set out at night, / that we think of him sometimes, / sometimes and always, with mixed feelings?”
-First line makes me think that the author is talking about a car
-then the second line makes me think this cat is dead or lost, but is still thought of sometimes
-then the last line makes me think that maybe when they think about the cat, it isn’t really that important to them sometimes, but other time they really miss the cat, which goes along with the “mixed feelings”


“The Donkey” G.K. Chesterton
Personification: “When fishes flew and forests walked”
Words that needed to be looked up for their multiple meanings: errant, parody, scourge, deride
Has an interesting rhyme scheme:
First stanza: A, A on the 2 and 4 lines  thorn, born
Second stanza: B, B on the s and 4 lines  wings, things
Third stanza: C, C on the 2 and 4 lines  will, still
Fourth stanza: D, D on the 2 and 4 lines  sweet, feet
Simile and visual imagery: “And ears like errant wings”
Shows how this person is strong: “starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb/ I keep my secret still.”
-these two lines show how even if you starve this person, if you torture them, or mock them, they don’t care
-this person won’t tell you their secret
“I am dumb” is showing how even if you do all these things to the person, your degrading them so the author is saying “I am dumb” but really the author doesn’t think this, she is just trying to show how strong she is
Hyperboles: “When fishes flew”
“…when the moon was blood”
-made up of iambs
-First line is iambic tetrameter
-made up of four stanzas
-punctuation is used at almost the end of every line
-chose diction that was more challenging than previous poem, but still had really good imagery overall



“Titanic” David R. Slavitt
This poem is pretty sarcastic
“We all go: only a few, first-class”
-making a joke about how everyone eventually does die, but only a few get to die “first- class,” as in only a few will get to die in a famous tragedy or be well known after they die
Makes dying not seem so bad after all: “We all go down, mostly/ alone. But with crowds of people, friends, servants, / well fed, with music, with lights! Ah!”
-these couple of lines adds to the joke: makes dying seem kind of fun if you’re with a group of people
-who would want to die alone, when you can die with all of these people, and then be famous afterwards
“The cries on all sides must be a comfort”  stating that even if your suffering, you know that everyone else is too so in a way it’s a comfort because you know you’re not going alone
-made up of 5 stanzas
-seems more like a story or prose when read aloud  lines are pretty long for a poem
-no words that need to be looked up
-not vague at all in the sense of what the author is talking about
-does a really good job with diction choice and using this to create the tone of the poem
Tactile imagery: “the cold/ water is anaesthetic and very quick.”
In the beginning of the poem, the author talks about if tickets were to be sold again for the same passage that the Titanic took, people would still most likely want to buy them
 This is kind of a weird assumption, but rings somewhat true
 I can definitely see people buying tickets for this
In the third stanza: “And the world, shocked, mourns, as it ought to do/ and almost never does”
-shows how the author believes that most people don’t mourn over things that are tragic
-author obviously feels that people should be more sympathetic
-the second line shows how the author also feels that people don’t really care much about others, except themselves
Overall, poem seems to be pretty sarcastic, but at the same time seems to have a cold shoulder towards the Titanic

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

rotation 7, blog 2

“The Man with Night Sweats” Thom Gunn
-made up of 8 stanzas
-every other stanza is made up of two lines
-enjambed lines
-lines 1 and 3 rhyme in some of the stanzas and the couplets all have end rhymes: “shield, healed”
-Personification:
-“wake to their residue,/ sweat, and a clinging sheet.” makes it sound as if it’s the dreams residue
Internal alliteration:
“The given shield was cracked”
“My flesh reduced and wrecked”
Slant rhymes:
“Sorry, hurry”
“Cracked, wrecked”
Tactile Imagery: “sweat, and a clinging sheet”
Euphony: “I grew as I explored/ the body I could trust”
-isn’t straightforward
-no words that would have to be looked up
-diction choice and rhyme scheme makes the poem flow when read aloud
-the line: “where it was gashed, it healed”  has intense imagery of a very deep cut, but doesn’t leave the reader in a disgusted state of mind
-has a way of turning this gash into an okay image by using words such as healed, and then keeping the poem moving
-another line: “the pains that will go through me”  also an intense image standing alone, but the surrounding lines make this image not be so strong
-the diction choice plays a huge role in these two examples above by toning down the images that would normally be more intense on their own

“The Names” Billy Collins
-made up of 8 stanzas
-the stanzas have different numbers of lines throughout the poem
-throughout the poem, names of people are listed throughout in alphabetical order, until the letter Z is reached
Simile: “Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears”
“I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden/ as in a puzzle concocted for children”
-Second example is personification  saying that letters can be tangled up
-no real thyme scheme
-the lines are pretty long
-feels more like prose when read aloud
-lines aren’t enjambed
Tactile Imagery: “In the morning, I walked out barefoot/ among thousands of flowers”
Auditory imagery: “A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze”
Internal alliteration: “Names rising in the updraft and buildings”
“A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.”

-the overall poem makes names seem like such a big deal  writer does a really good job in “exploding” this idea
Words that may have to be looked up: unfurled, boughs, updraft, and swallows
-even though this poem has imagery, similes and other alliteration it’s pretty straightforward
-shows how a writer can incorporate multiple types of alliteration into a poem, but still keep it simple
The last line of the poem seems really strong: “So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.”
-seems to mean that throughout our lives there are so many names of different people that we see constantly
-a lot of people also keep their friends close to them, and if they’re your good friends you don’t forget their names  could take up room on the “walls of the heart”
-kind of seems that there isn’t much room left for anything else but all of these names listed throughout the poem
-this line could maybe be considered a hyperbole since the writer is claiming there isn’t much room for anything else but all these names
-kind of an exaggeration



“Fire and Ice” Robert Frost
-made up of one stanza
-enjambed lines
-some rhyming: “fire, desire” “hate, great”
-not a lot of punctuation
-throughout the poem he’s talking about how he people believe the world will end through either fire or ice
-says he would “hold with those who favor fire” but then “if it had to perish twice…/to say that for destruction ice/ is also great.”
-saying he chooses fire over ice, unless the world got to end twice then he would also choose ice
-makes the end of the world sound like a good thing, and not a big deal: “to say that for destruction ice/ is also great/ and would suffice.”
-here he is saying that ice is a great way for the world to end too along with fire
-kind of sends a weird tone to the reader since Frost makes this scary idea into a light idea
-shows how his use of diction has helped toned down this idea of the world ending
Internal Alliteration: “I hold with those who favor fire”
Euphony: “from what I’ve tasted of desire/ I hold with those who favor fire.”
-claims that he has “tasted desire”  abstract idea
-No similes or metaphors
-some punctuation usage
-when read aloud has a good rhythm
-even though this poem is only one stanza, the idea of the poem is really strong
The lines: “I think I know enough of hate” relates to ice and “From what I’ve tasted of desire” relates to fire
 Makes ice seem more “cold”/less liked and a turn off compared to fire
 Fire is temperature wise warm, but in this poem it makes fire seem like a good thing

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Rotation 7, blog 1

Rotation 7, blog 1
“Final Love Note” Clare Rossini
-made up of three stanzas
-feels more like a story when read aloud
-need the next line for the idea to make sense (enjambed)
-the second line on the poem the letter “e” is repeated (internal alliteration):
“Never touching. Yet your shade commingled.”
-doesn’t seem like there is a real beat in the poem
-has a euphony feel to it:
“Pure – green, wooden – hearted, all your leaves moved/ summer – long, then suddenly caught fire.”
-the last part of this example, “suddenly caught fire” seems to change the vibe to cacophony
-the words before are pretty and light and then the word fire is a drastic change
-“My heart beats. Then a dull thunder shakes the house” – auditory – gives off a sense of a heart beating really hard, as if someone else can hear it
-the thunder you can hear during a storm
-but, it seems contradictory because it says a “dull thunder” yet it shakes the house  a dull thunder couldn’t do something this intense
-“yet it shakes the house” hyperbole
-“dull thunder”  understatement
Tone: seems like lonely and sad
“In winter I endured your silences” and “right out of my lilies, while you, elm, died on –”
-even though in a sense this poem seems like a person is being talked about because there is a line that says, “As human lovers do,” this poem seems to be about a tree in this persons front yard
Simile: “never tiring/ as human lovers do.”
-comparing the sounds this tree makes to a pair of lovers
At the end of the poem: “I hear the chain saw cry out ecstatically.”
-saying how this chain saw is excited about cutting down the tree
“Your many arms are falling”  all the branches on the tree  personification



“Neutral tones” Thomas Hardy page 241
Has a rhyme scheme
First stanza: 1 and 4 lines have end rhymes
-2 and 3 lines have end rhymes
Second stanza: 1 and 3 lines has slant rhymes “rove and love”
-2 and 4 lines has slant rhymes “ago and love”
Third stanza: 1 and 4 lines have end thymes
-2 and 3 lines have end rhymes
Fourth stanza: 1 and 4 line has end rhymes “deceives and leaves”
-2 and 3 lines have end rhymes “me and tree”
-made up of four stanzas
Visual imagery: “And the sun was white”
“And a pond edged with grayish leaves”
“Starving sod”
Assonance: “And a few leaves lay on the starving sod; / they had fallen from an ash, and were gray.”
Good diction choice: “your eyes on me were as eyes that rove”  makes the reader think a lot
-the next line: “Over tedious riddles of years ago”  paints a picture for the reader of how someone is looking at this person with wandering eyes, as if they can’t hold the other persons gaze
-good amount of punctuation usage
-the lines don’t need the next line to make sense
“They had fallen from an ash, and were gray.”
-the sound of the language seems to be euphony
-“and some words played between us to and fro/ on which lost the more by our love.”
-seems to change to cacophony towards the last stanza: “your face, and the god- curst sun, and a tree”
-the line: “Alive enough to have strength to die”  opposites
-makes the reader think a little more about what the writer is exactly talking about
-not a straightforward poem

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Rotation 6, blog 1

“Embrace” Billy Collins
-made up of two stanzas
-no real rhyme scheme
-uses a good amount of punctuation in both stanzas
Visual imagery: “wrap your arms around your own body/ and from the back it looks like/ someone is embracing you”  also tactile imagery because you can feel this when you do it to yourself
-a lot of little kids do this jokingly when they are younger
“Her hands grasping your shirt/ her fingernails teasing your neck”  Tactile imagery
-very sexual, but in this sense it’s more on the light –hearted jokingly side
-all of the examples above are from the first stanza
-tone: has a jokingly, sexual connotation
-changes in the second stanza to lonely
-“You never looked so alone/ your crossed elbows and screwy grin.”
 Shows how when you do this, you look completely different from the front
-Second stanza seems ironic towards the end: “one that would hold you really tight.”  talking about how “you could be waiting for a tailor/ to fit you for a straightjacket”
-straightjackets are really tight  would hold you really tight
-the poem is called “embrace” seems ironic that the writer would bring in a straightjacket because this is something that can hold you tighter than a human being ever could
-the line, “your crossed elbows and screwy grin” makes me think of my childhood because I remember watching people do it all the time and joke about it
-realistic poem

“The Runner” Walt Whitman
-One stanza
-punctuation throughout whole stanza
-no rhyming
-a lot of visual imagery but also auditory imagery
Visual: “he is thinly clothed”
“He is lean and sinewy, with muscular legs”

Auditory imagery: “on a flat road he runs the well – train’d runner”  visual imagery as well but the sound of this man running on the flat road contributes to the auditory imagery
-after reading this poem, I don’t think of a runner on a track, I think of a messenger running somewhere
-even though in the first line it says, “well-train’d runner” the other descriptions throughout the poem don’t make him sound trained or professional
-“he is thinly clothed” makes him seem maybe poor, but he also may be thinly clothed because it is hot outside
-“he leans forward when he runs”  seems kind of weird because when you run you don’t lean forward
-at the same time puts the image of him running really fast in your mind, the more he leans forward, almost like he’s lunging
-“with lightly clothed fists”  imagery and tactile
-visual imagery because you can picture someone running like this
-tactile: when I used to run track I used to always make my hands into fists  by the end of the race I would have nail marks in my hands because I closed them too tightly but I would always run the sprinting events  maybe this person is running long distance if he hands are lightly closed fists
-Poem is mainly visual imagery, but there are other aspects of imagery hidden throughout it


“Driving to Town Late to Mail a Letter” Robert Bly
-One stanza
-each line is its own sentence
-no rhyming
-no difficult words
-lines are to the point, and simple
Imagery:
“It is a cold and snowy night”  visual because you can picture this in your mind but also tactile because you can feel the cold when you walk outside, and you can feel the snow
“The only things moving are swirls of snow”  visual imagery
“Snow night”  visual imagery
“I feel its cold iron” --> can feel the coldness of the mailbox door  tactile imagery
Tone: pleasant and peaceful
“There is a privacy I love in this snowy night.”
-no one is out but him, and he loves the silence that comes with the falling of the snow
“Driving around, I will waste more time.”
-driving around in the snow makes him relaxed
-the winter usually soothes people compared to the summer
-in the summer, you are usually out doing things, and swimming, etc…
-in the winter, people tend to stay inside, sit by the fire and talk with their friends or family  “the main street is deserted”  shows how no one is out, this allows him to have this privacy with the snowy night

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Rotation 5, blog 2

Rotation 5, blog 2

“Desert Place” Robert Frost
-each stanza has four lines
-end rhymes: “fast, past” “snow, last” “theirs, lairs”
-a lot of punctuation
-has a pretty good beat when read aloud  rhyming helps with this
-slant rhyme: “count, unawares”
-each first word of each line is capitalized
-the word “lonely” is repeated a good number of times
-word that may need to be looked up: benighted
Visual imagery: “and the ground almost covered smooth in snow”
-makes you think of a wide open field covered
“But a few weeds and stubble showing last”  makes this field see more realistic
-shows how there are still some grass or weeds sticking out the snow
Tone: peaceful but lonely at the same time
-“with no expression, nothing to express”
-talks about how the snow is so white that there isn’t any feeling left
-everything is quite and hidden now  but the next line changes this tone:
“They cannot scare me with their empty spaces”
-shows how he doesn’t let this vast open field and the animals hiding away scare him
-has his own places that are closer to home that can scare him, compared to this open field
-didn’t notice any metaphors but the diction choice makes this poem kind of hard to understand
-not exactly straightforward the whole time

“When you are old” William Butler Yeats
-made up of three stanzas
-each stanza has four lines and the 2 and 3 lines rhyme while the 1 and 4 lines rhyme
-this rhyming pattern occurs in each stanza
-visual imagery: “when you are old and grey and full of sleep”
“and slowly read, and dream of the soft look”
-in the third stanza the word “loved” is repeated multiple times
-tone: starts out as realistic (old people sitting by a fire) then trails back in time to when the person was younger and talks about lost love  tone changes to a sadder note
“and nodding by this fire, take down this book”  from the beginning of the poem
“but one man loved the pilgrims soul in you,/ And loved the sorrow of your changing face.”  in the second stanza – incorporates a man into the poem and how he loved this girl and the things about her
-makes his love sound like it’s in the past
“Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled/ And paced upon the mountains overhead”  shows that the love this man had for her is gone
-makes it seem like he left her  change in the tone to a sadder note
-the last line really stood out to me: “and hid his face amid a crowd of stars”  makes me think that he tried to hid from this woman, maybe he didn’t want her to find him
*or this could also mean that he died and is now up in heaven
-this is why his love is gone, because he dead so this woman feels that his love is in the past
-the stars = tend to represent heaven
-when read, it feels more like a prose or a story
-has a good beat to make it seem like a poem, but the punctuation also makes it seem more like prose

“Rites of Passage” Sharon Olds
-made up of one stanza
-good amount of punctuation used
-Seems more like prose than an actual poem  the beginning of a new sentence starts on the same line as the end of a previous sentence
-no rhyme scheme
-opens with a little boys birthday party but then compares these young boys to older men  “short men, men in first grade/ with smooth jaws and chins.” These descriptions make the young boys sound older
-words that may need to be looked up: turret, balsa, keel
Metaphor: “the dark cake, round and heavy as a/ turret, behind them on the table.”
“they clear their throats/ like Generals, they relax and get down to”
Visual imagery: “My son,/ freckles like specks of nutmeg on his cheeks”
-gives off a sweet image of her young boy, and makes all the other boys seem “bad”
Auditory imagery: “They clear their/ throats a lot, a room of small bankers”
-the clearing of the throat is auditory
Tone: very light hearted and funny
-makes these young boys seem older and is comparing them to bankers, and talks about them fighting one another cause some are “older” (seven years old compared to six years old)
-shows how even when you are this young, the older you are still gives you the right to be have power over someone younger
-weird how this trait shows up in young kids
-not too surprising that it’s showing up in young boys though
-a real light hearted poem, but at the same time has parts that shine through real messages to the reader

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Blog 5, rotation 1

Rotation 5, blog 1

“Unholy Sonnet: Hands Folded” Mark Jarman
-all one stanza
-whole poem is two sentences
-lines aren’t too long, but need the next line to make sense
-comparing hands to a church
-the last two lines are a couplet
-last two words: “withstand and hand”
-no exact rhyme scheme, some end words rhyme but it seems to be by chance “skin, within” and “light, tight”
-tactile imagery: “if that will ease your grip and let them go”
-metaphor: “the nails like welders’ masks”
-weird to compare hands to something not living (a church)
-doesn’t have any words that would need to be looked up
-has a little beat, but nothing too strong
-feels a little more like prose when read aloud
-tone: dark
-talks about trapped people: “among them you can hear their half- choked cries”
-talks about people trying to get out of something  not very happy
-“but stuck now they are willing to confess”  makes you feel like once these people have been greatly punished then they will tell everything they know
-seems realistic to me  until someone is greatly punished then there is a greater chance that they will tell whatever information they know

“Drinking alone by Moonlight” Yueh Hsia Tu Cho
-not a good beat when read aloud
-a lot of punctuation usage
-made up of one stanza  pretty long
-personification: calls the moon a her
-“yet with the moon as friend and the shadow as slave”
-tone: seems peaceful at first, but then towards the end seems lonely
-“a cup of wine, under the flowering trees”  makes you feel peaceful, makes you think of the people sitting on the bayou in the evening
-“I drink alone, for no friend is near”  could be seen as lonely, but I feel that this line is leaning more towards the fact that he likes to be alone
-everyone needs some alone time  this could be his
-towards end of the poem: “now we are drunk, each goes his way.”  makes you feel like he is lonely now because he feels that once he’s drunk he has no friends
-sense that maybe the wine makes him depressed
-visual imagery: “for he, with my shadow, will make three men”
-only one word that I had to look up: inanimate  lifeless  contributes to the loneliness tone at the end of the poem

“One Art” Elizabeth Bishop
-the words disaster and master is repeated
-the last two lines of the poem: a couplet using these two words as the ending rhyme words
-made up of six stanzas
-each stanza has three lines except for the last one  the last word in the first line rhymes with the last word in the third line in each stanza: “fluster, master” “faster, disaster”, “vaster, disaster”
-poem starts out with talking about losing little things, like a key
-each stanza builds up to larger objects lost, things such as a city and then even a continent
-the last stanza talks about losing someone  bigger than anything
-people are what affect you the most, not material items
-tone seems a little sarcastic at the end: “Even losing you…it’s evident/ the art of losing’s not too hard to master.”
-has a good rhythm when read aloud  I think the rhyming helps with this beat
-words that may need to be looked up: intent, fluster, realms, shan’t (older than every other word in the poem)
-the poem has a light feeling the whole way through even though it’s talking about a serious topic: losing things
-poem makes a point though  everything will be lost one day “so many things seem filled with the intent/ to be lost that their loss is no disaster.”
-the lines are pretty simple, and straightforward
-no metaphors
-the line “the art of losing isn’t hard to master” is repeated a couple of times
 I think this helps the poem because it’s used as the poem builds up on losing bigger and bigger things/places

Friday, September 25, 2009

Rotation 4, blog 3

“Triolet” Robert Bridges
-has a good rhythm
-the name of the poem itself means: a poem that has eight lines and there is repetition of certain lines throughout the poem
-the name of this poem doesn’t have anything to do with what the poem is about
 I find this really weird that someone would name a poem like this
 Maybe she wanted to show that she was exaggerating certain parts of the poem
-slant rhymes: “guess, mater” “friendliness, guess”
-comparing love to master  controlling
-personification: “That Love would prove so hard a master”
-love is also capitalized as if it were a person’s name
-gives love the characteristics of a person in control
-made up of 2 stanzas
-some punctuation usage
-the line “we did not guess” is repeated three times and the line “Love would prove so hard a master.”
-makes you feel like love is very controlling
-makes you feel like it can also happen unexpectedly: “of more than common friendliness”
-“Irretrievable disaster”  makes love sound horrible
-the opposite of what most people say about love
-most people think of love and think it’s a great thing but this poem shows the opposite
-tone: not very upbeat
-“irretrievable disaster”
-no metaphors
-makes you turned off towards love in a way  makes it seems so horrible that you wouldn’t want to venture out into that area


“Ancient stairway” Denis Levertov
-One stanza
-made up of two sentences
-needs the next line to make sense: “footsteps like water hallow”
 That example is also a metaphor
-no real rhyme scheme
-reads like a poem more than a story
-short lines
-tone: ancient, adventurous
-“the broad curves of stone”  makes me think of England and back in the day when dungeons and castles were very common
-“century by century”  shows that even after all this time, this stone is still here
-the last four lines of the stanza make me feel that this stairs will never be dissembled
-talks about the last person on these stairs may either being going up or down
-weird to think though that the last person using them would be going up
-would need another way down  “century by century”  by this time elevators could be invented so the person wouldn’t need the stairs to get down
-over time maybe the stairs may not be used anymore but they are still there
-because each line is broken up  allows for more emphasis on each line
“The broad curves of a stone” – makes you think of stones and how they must curve along the wall
-emphasis on each line also helps with imagery
-allows you as the reader to take the poem line by line and paint a picture in your mind


“I Shall Paint My Nails Red” Carole Satyamurti
-Each line starts with the word “because”
-all one stanza but a space between each line and each line is its own sentence
-each line is a reason why she wants to pain her nails red
“Because it is quicker than dyeing my hair.”  this is very true
-women want to make changes about themselves but want them to be quick
-most people are impatient and want fast results
-“Because it will remind me I am a woman”  red can be considered a feminine color
-usually if you wear a red dress it is thought of as “sexy” and this may be why red nail polish will remind her that she is a woman
-but another line: “because I will look like a survivor”  red is known for being a strong and bright color  shows that red has two sides to it
-word that I looked up: Moratorium – to freeze/ stop
-the last line in the poem really stood out to me: “Because it is reversible.”
-this line seemed the strongest because it is shorter than all the other ones
-but also because of the last word in the line
-if there is something we don’t like about ourselves we wish we could change it
-this is a minor part of our body that we can quickly change if it turns out badly
-tone: light hearted, not very serious
-each line just basically stands for a reason why she wants to paint her nails red
-Very straight forward poem – doesn’t use any complicated words or metaphors
-she isn’t trying to explain a hard idea  she can use more simple diction
-still a good poem even though it’s still simple

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Rotation 4, blog 2

“End” Langston Hughes
-made up of three stanzas
-One stanza equals one sentence
-each line could not stand on its own without the next line
-no rhyming
-has somewhat of a beat/ rhythm
-no metaphors
-Kind of bland poem – not much excitement and doesn’t really make me think
-some imagery: “No shadows that move/ from dawn to dusk.”
-makes you think of an empty room with no windows
-tone: feels like you are lost
-no direction in life  confused or in a daze

“The World Is Too Much With Us” William Wadsworth
-One big stanza
-a little bit of rhyming but I think it’s coincidental: “hours, flowers” “boon, moon”
-words that may need to be looked up: sordid, boon, Pagan, creed, forlorn, wreathed, lea
-metaphor: “And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers.”
-only metaphor in the poem
-Tone: starts out that we have abused the naturalness of our world and have abused our power
-all of these bad things are occurring and if he/she could just see something happen that wouldn’t make him so sad
-would want to see Triton or Proteus  put him in a happier mood
-a lot of punctuation is used
-stanza is more than one sentence
-has a rhythm but not a definite one
-feels more like a story rather than a poem  the lines are pretty long  feels like all prose but is just broken up into short lines
-personification: “the winds that will be howling at all hours”
-gives the wind an animal/person characteristics
The line “For we are out of tune” makes me feel that we have changed the world itself
-we have changed the movement of the sea, and the direction of the wind
-even though we are “out of tune” it doesn’t really bother us
-this makes me think of Global Warming  we have ruined our earth for the worse, and even though we have done this horrible deed a lot of people don’t really care/ don’t want to change their habits for the better

“Acquainted With the Night” Robert Frost
-made up of five stanzas
-the last word in the first line rhymes with the last word in the third line of each stanza, “night, light, “lane, explain” “feet, street” “good-bye, sky”
-the last stanza is a couplet: “right, night”
-has a really good rhyming when read  I think the rhyming helps this rhythm
-The lines are end- stopped even though they all don’t have periods or punctuation at the end of them:
“I have been one acquainted with the night”  no punctuation but can still be end- stopped
-all three lines in the first stanza start with “I have”
-good imagery: “I have looked down the saddest city lane.”
 Makes you think of a really dirty, grimy street that has trash everywhere and the houses are pretty dumpy looking
Another example: “I have walked out in rain – and back in rain.”
-makes me think of a huge storm
-a little twist  saying he’s walked out in rain and back in  this diction plays off each other
-Tone: a little depressing  all dark adjectives: “night, rain, saddest, dropped my eyes, not to call me back or say good-bye”
-the line: “And further still at an unearthly height,/ one luminary clock against the sky.”
-makes me think of the moon
-the moon is really far away from earth, and it is a pretty bright source of light
-could be considered a “clock” because it can be used to tell time  depending upon its position in the sky, how much of the moon is showing, how high or low it is in the sky
-interesting poem  makes you think
-the lines seem pretty straight forward but I feel that you have to kind of read beyond what’s written on the page
-trying to paint a picture and I don’t think this one is very simple
-words that may need to be looked up: proclaimed, unearthly, luminary
-the last line: “I have been one acquainted with the night.”
 Makes me feel that this person may go on adventures at night or may just take walks at night
-also kind of gives me a bad feeling  vampires, dark/scary

Monday, September 21, 2009

"Perfect Dress"

“Perfect Dress” Marisa de los Santos

What is it about each underlined word or phrase that appeals to you?
-All suggest beauty
-make me think of celebrities in a way  known to be beautiful
-the adjectives are very feminine

How does the word or phrase relate to the other lines? What does it contribute to the poem’s effect?
“Most elegant neck” relates to other lines because it’s talking about runway models and how they are lone and lanky  showing how they’re so pretty
The phrase “Perfect Evening” relates to the rest of lines in the poem because that’s what this poem is about  finding a dress for the Perfect Evening and being a beautiful person
-These phrases add a touch of feminism to the poem  makes me think of fashion too because of the descriptions: “I reached for polyester satin,/ machine – made lace, petunia – and Easter egg - colored.”
-adds more color to the poem and makes it a little more light hearted instead of concentrating on this girls image problem the entire time

How does the sound of a word you’ve chosen add to the poem’s mood?
The word “sublime” makes the poems mood feel not as down about her looks
-makes the poem seem a little more encouraging because she believes that one day someone will refer to her using this word
-helps to uplift the mood from the beginning of the poem

What would be lost if synonyms were substituted for your favorite words?
I feel that synonyms would take away some of the grace that the feminine words have added to the poem
-the words “Sublime, incandescent, elegant” all help the poem so if they were substituted I feel that the poem would lose its sense of beauty of grace

What sort of diction does the poem use?
This poem uses conversational diction for sure.
“Today in the checkout line, I saw a magazine/ claiming to know…” this is definitely something I would say to one of my own friends

How does diction contribute to the poem’s flavor and meaning?
The diction makes the poem seem a lot more realistic
-makes you think of a lot of teenagers across America
-feel a little more connected to the writer
-gives the poem more flavor in the sense of realistic situations and things that girls actually do say and think to each other

Rotation 4, blog 1

Rotation 4, blog 1

“The Heart” Stephen Crane
-when read aloud, it has a certain rhythm but no definite pattern
-tone: starts out somewhat creepy  “I saw a creature, naked, bestial”
-tone changes  very weird “It is bitter – bitter,” he answered.” This quote is talking about the way his heart tastes when eaten
-may make some people feel uncomfortable
-very different because the heart is mostly thought of to be a pleasant object, and usually the heart is involved with love
-only consists of two stanzas
-good usage of punctuation
-One word that may need to be looked up: bestial
-no metaphors or similes
-the guy eating his heart says “it is bitter – bitter,” he answered/ “but I like it/ because it is bitter/ and because it is my heart.”
Somewhat ironic because when something is bitter most people don’t like it
Because it is his heart, his possession  could be why he likes it even though it’s bitter
 Maybe he is a bitter or evil person therefore he likes this
-this poem starts out with the setting “In the desert” which shows that this “creature” is rare
-not many animals live in the deserts that are common in other areas
-but the tone of the poem makes the act of eating your heart sound normal

“The Road Not Taken” Robert Frost
-has a good rhythm when read aloud
-slant rhymes: “claim, wear”
-ending rhymes: “wear, there”
-last line and second line in the second stanza rhyme: “claim, same”
-made up of four stanzas
-Pretty good usage of punctuation – all four stanzas doesn’t make up one sentence
-last two lines: “I took the one less traveled by,/ And that has made all the difference.”
-after reading these last two lines, it makes me want to do something different
-you always hear the usual things that people do after high school or the usual colleges that people go to  this makes you feel like you should branch out and something different with your life because it obviously has helped this person for the better
-lines aren’t too long
-tone: adventurous, courageous  do something out of the norm
-Good lines that gives imagery: “because it was grassy and wanted wear.”
-makes me think of a road out in the west that hasn’t been traveled on a lot and is surrounded by nature
-Each first word in all the stanzas is capitalized  some of the lines are end- stopped  “I shall be telling this with a sigh”
-It doesn’t have punctuation at the end of the line but I believe this is an end – stopped line
-another example: “I took the one less traveled by”
-this one doesn’t have punctuation at the end either

“The Mother” Gwendolyn Brooks
-after reading this poem I felt a little sad and disturbed  tone
“It is just that you never giggled or planned or cried.”
-this quote gives abortion of a horrible light/view
-makes you think of a little boy or girl running around, but this idea is crushed by the fact that the young child never got to do these things
-the last word in each stanza rhymes with the one below (couplets)
-“forget, get” “hair, air” “beat, sweet”
-lines are really long and a lot of punctuation is used
-feels more like a story somewhat  I believe this because there is a more of a sense of prose in this poem
-“I have heard in the voice of the wind the voices of my dim killed children.”
-really depressing line  makes tone really dark here
-the first line “abortions will not let you forget”  shows that the rest of the poem is about the thoughts and ideas that will always haunt you if you have an abortion
-you think you’re problems are solved by getting rid of the child, but they are still mentally present
-the last line: “Believe me, I knew you, though faintly, and I loved you, I loved you/ All.”
-because the word “all” is on a line by itself and it’s the last word of the poem  huge emphasis
-makes me feel that there’s been more than one abortion
-or it could mean that the mother loved all of the child, even though she didn’t actually get the chance to know her child
-towards the end of the poem the writer starts to talk about how it is her fault that the baby was created and that she decided to kill it, but at the same time she cannot complain and feel bad for her decision
“Believe that even in my deliberateness I was not deliberate./ Though why should I whine,/ Whine that the crime was other than mine?” This really makes you feel opposed to abortions  really biased writer
-at the same time makes you think that the pregnant mother shouldn’t complain that she has a baby because it’s her fault even if she thinks she tried to stop it from happening
-cannot blame anyone else for this incident
-Overall this poem is really good
-makes me feel more connected to my mom in a way  know how she feels about when I was a little girl and all the things she loved that she got to do with me

Friday, September 18, 2009

Rotation 3, blog 4

Rotation 3, Blog 4

“Anger” Cesar Vallejo
-made up of 4 stanzas
-good amount of usage of punctuation
-each stanza starts out with the word “anger”
-then from the first line the big object is broken down into more little pieces throughout the stanza
I.E.: “Anger which breaks a tree into leaves/ and the leaf into unequal buds/ and the bud into telescopic grooves.”
-as you can see each line is broken down into a smaller and smaller object from the bigger object in the first stanza
-no rhyming but has a good beat when read aloud
-the line “The poor man’s anger” is repeated in every stanza as the fourth line
-the “poor man’s anger” line is used after the big object in the first stanza has been broken down all the way into something that is useless
-words that may need to be looked up: octave, steel, arcs, dissimilar
-compares anger à tree
From good à doubts
From soul à bodies à organs
-really interesting word choice when comparing anger to objects/ideas

“O Moon, when I gave on thy beautiful face” Anonymous
-the end lines rhyme:
“Face, space” “mind behind”
-only one stanza à one whole sentence but commas are used also throughout the poem
-word that may need to be look up: careering
-has a really good rhythm
-for consisting of only one stanza à a really good/interesting poem
-good word choice
-makes the moon seem real à “o moon, when I gaze on thy beautiful face (first stanza)”
-even though the writer is talking about the face of the moon à in a way sounds like the face of a person
-really good imagery:
“Careering through the boundaries of space”
-makes you think of space as a huge place but it does have boundaries still
-also makes you feel that the moon has a “job” in a way
-the last line in the stanza: “if I ever shall see thy glorious behind.”
-this line by itself can be taken as the bottom of a girl
-therefore this line needs the rest of the poem to make sense
-in this poem though the writer is talking about the other side of the moon, and maybe even to the extent of what is behind the moon itself
-maybe another world

“I’m Nobody! Who are you?” Emily Dickinson
-made up of two stanzas
-a lot of punctuation
-no specific rhyme scheme
-metaphor: “How public – like a frog”
-Words that may need to be looked up: bog, livelong, dreary
-tone: really happy à wouldn’t think that a poem about being a “nobody” would have a happy tone
-this poem shows the side of a person who likes being a “nobody” and doesn’t like being in the spotlight a lot
-this poem could also be taken as a joke à “Are you – Nobody – too?/ Then there’s a pair of us!/ Don’t tell! They’d advertise – you know!”
- These three lines really stand out in the poem
à showing that the person likes to be a nobody
-also funny or light hearted in a way because she says “They’d advertise” and I have a feeling that she means people would talk about this pair of “nobodies”
-this actually does happen in some schools
-ironic in a sense à poem is about someone who is a nobody and enjoys it but then at the same time is happy that someone else is a nobody with them
à I feel like if you were a nobody you wouldn’t want to be with others
-pretty good poem overall à I like the tone, choice of words, and how the main idea of the poem has a twist to it

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Rotation 3, blog 3

Rotation 3, blog 3

“To Waken an Old Lady” William Carlos Williams
-no rhyming
-Short lines – only four times is punctuation is
-each line has emphasis because it’s only a couple of words:
“Skimming/ Bare trees/ above a snow glaze.”
-compares old age and waking an old woman to a flight of birds
-pretty good imagery: “oh harsh weedstalk”
-“the snow/ is covered with broken/ seedhusks.”
-some words that may need to be looked up: buffeted, tempered, piping
-this poem doesn’t particularly make me think after I’ve read it
-isn’t very interesting
Tone: somewhat calm, but at the same time made me feel a little sad or empty
-“gaining and failing”
-“dark wind”
-“is covered with broken/ seedhusks”

“Mother to Son” Langston Hughes
-has a definite rhythm but no actual rhyming
-sometimes seems like slant rhymes: “climbin and landin”
-uses words in a southern accent: “For I’se still goin’, honey”
-uses this type of language as an advantage for the rhyming
-also makes poem have an older feel to it
-isn’t how we would speak today even though we’re from the south
-adds character to poem
-pretty good usage of punctuation
-End – stopped:
“I’se still climbin”
-Uses the line: “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” in the beginning and end of the poem
-tone: never give up
-keep pushing the hard times à courage and strength to move on
-Uses items such as tacks and splinters to compare her life to
à Some of the things she has run into really hurt her life, and had to get over these obstacles
-Emphasis on the line with one word: “Bare.”
à Makes you feel alone à change in tone at this one point in the poem
-only a couple of lines are longer than the others, but all pretty much short lines
-makes you want to keep going with your life, and be thankful for the things you do have

“Life” Grace Treasone
-Only one stanza and one whole sentence
-every other line rhymes
-metaphor: “Life is like a jagged tooth.”
-good beat to it
-End – stopped
“Fix the tooth and save the root”
-tone: inspiring, starts out as a little depressing and by the last stanza and a half the tone feels a lot more lifted and happy
-makes you realize that how your life turns out is up to you
-your everyday attitude affects how your day is in general à good attitude can lead you to a better life
-life can be tough but you can get move on and instead of staying upset, you can be happy about your life
-even though this poem is only one stanza, I feel that it is very moving
-it’s talking about life which is a hard concept to grasp sometimes à harder to form into poetry
-Treasone did a good job explaining her view of life in such a short poem
-doesn’t feel like a philosophical point of view on life
-just a general moral that can help to guide others
-when I read the phrase, “cuts into your heart” it made me think that life really is “sharp”
-life really is hard at times
-the tooth that represents life cuts into your heart, and you must fix it
-to think of fixing your life sounds really complicated, but this poem makes it sound like a simple task à good word choice
-there aren’t any words you would have to look up
-pretty straight forward even though life is compared to a jagged tooth and how you must fix it

Rotation 3, blog 2

Rotation 3, blog 2

“Fork” Charles Simic
-a very short point but pretty creative
-gets to the point, but uses personification and a metaphor is used within
-compares a fork à bird
“It’s head which like your fist/ is large, bald, beakless, and blind.”
-the first line keeps you reading: “This strange thing must have crept.” Leaves you thinking, what strange thing?
-the next line: “Right out of hell.” With this being on its own line in the stanza really adds emphasis to it
-makes you think that the “strange thing” must be horrible
-no rhyming at all
-the first stanza doesn’t have much of a beat compared to the second stanza
-weird thing that I noticed: compares the bird’s head to a person’s fist à says the bird is “large, bald, beakless, and blind.”
-how could a bird be beakless? This really caught me off guard
-the word “Blind” make me think of how a lot of Americans eat anything à putting your fork into whatever is put on your plate à not really conscientious of what we eat
-the tone starts out a little strong à makes you think of a monster “worn around the cannibal’s neck”
-each line could not stand on its own
-needs next line à keeps you reading

“To See a World in a Grain of Sand” William Blake
-a very short poem: only on stanza and the whole stanza is one sentence
-a lot of imagery and use of metaphors
Metaphors: “to see a world in a grain of sand”
Every other last word in each line ends with each other: “sand, hand” flower, hour”
-leaves room for imagery because the ideas in this poem are abstract:
“Hold infinity in the palm of your hand”
-since you can’t really hold infinity in your hand, this leaves space for you think what a symbol for infinity may be à may be a watch
-even though this poem is really short à leaves you feeling inspired
Tone: not dark at all, more creative and deep
“and a heaven in a wild flower” à makes me think of a huge field of flowers that are over grown yet still look beautiful
-also makes me feel warm inside à a pretty spring day where the air feels weightless
-each line couldn’t be its own sentence à needs the next line
-definitely has a beat to it when read aloud, and the rhyming helps to keep this beat
-for such a small poem it has it is VERY moving
-shows that a poem doesn’t have to be long to be good
-it depends a lot upon the author’s word choice

“The Wind” James Stephens
-rhyme scheme: every other end word rhymes and the last stanza is a couplet
“Shout, about” “and, hand”
-personification: “the wind stood up and gave a shout.”
“And thumped the branches with his hand”
-Needs each line – not end stopped rhymes
-not a whole lot of punctuation
-the ending couplet makes the tone suddenly very dark: “And said he’d kill and kill and kill/ and so he will and so he will.”
-a lot of repetition in the last couplet
-the killing part is what makes the tone dark and him being determined to do this à even darker
-the tone starts out as strong and noble in the first stanza à second stanza: shows the winds actions and what “he’s” capable of à third stanza shows his final plan
-reminds me of what it feels like outside right before a storm
-maybe even a little of Katrina “And said he’d kill and kill and kill”
-has a good beat
-rhyming helps to keep this beat
-a lot of room for imagery à makes you think of the wind as something you can actually see
-this imagery helps the poem
-not any words that would be hard to understand, maybe the worth withered but that’s it
-lines are a good length – not too long

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Rotation 3, blog 1

Mattie Cannon
15 September 2009


Rotation 3 blog 1:
“London” William Blake

-at time has a musical flow
“In every infant’s cry of fear,/ in every voice, in every ban”
-but other times it doesn’t have much of a flow
“But most through midnight streets I hear/ how the youthful harlot’s curse”
-has ending rhymes in each stanza, but every other line rhymes
“Street and meet” “flow and woe”
-some words that you may need to look up: hapless, chartered, manacles, blights
-a fair amount of punctuation and each stanza is its own sentence
-a dark tone: “how the chimney- sweeper’s cry/ every black’ning church appalls.”
-Pretty hard to read out exactly what Blake is trying to say – not straightforward



“Root Cellar” Theodore Roethke
-longer lines than most poems
-a lot of punctuation
-metaphors: “dank as a ditch”
-“hung down long yellow evil necks, like tropical snakes.”
-roots ripe as old bait”
-personification: “even the dirt kept breathing a small breath.”
-“bulbs broke out of boxes hunting for chinks in the dark.”
-some words that might need to be looked up: rank, lolling, obscenely, chinks
-more straightforward than the poem “London” but still leaves room for interpretation
-good imagery:
“Leaf- mold, manure, lime, piled against slipper planks.”
-the tone seems to be dark because it’s describing a root cellar and how the roots are growing through crates and every nook and cranny
Dark tone: “And what a congress of stinks!/ roots ripe as old bait.”




“Neutral Tones” Thomas Hardy
-end rhymes:
“God, sod” “day, gray”
-switches from first line in the stanza rhyming with last line in the stanza to à first line in stanza rhyming with third line in stanza
-metaphors:
“Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove”
“And a grin of bitterness swept thereby/ like an ominous bird a-wing”
-starts off the poem talking about standing by a pond with grey leaves, and ends the poem around a pond with grey leaves
-some words that may need to be looked up: Chidden, rove, tedious, ominous, keen
-tone: a little sad
-makes me feel that something happened to the one he loved and that love changed him for the worse
“Since then, keen lesson that love deceives/ and wrings with wrong, that have shaped me.”
-this makes me feel as if love has shaped him for the worse instead of the better
-you tend to hear love making you a better person, but I feel he has had the opposite experience
-a fair amount of punctuation
-At the end of each stanza is a period – no periods within any of the stanzas
-Lines aren’t too short, but not too long – a good length
-has a beat when read but at some points feels more like a story

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

"Naming of Parts"

Mattie Cannon

Waddington

“Naming of Parts”

9 September 2009

Henry Reed, “Naming of Parts”

1.The language in the first half of the stanzas isn’t as pretty as the second half of the stanzas. First half, “And this/ is the upper sling swivel, whose use you will see.” Compared to the language in the second half of the stanza, “The branches/ hold in the gardens their silent, eloquent gestures.” As you can see, the language in the second half of the stanza leaves a lot more room for imagery, and it sounds a lot more beautiful.
The language in the first half of the stanzas is also a lot more direct than the second half. First half, “And this you can see is the bolt.” Compared to the second part of the stanza, “The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers.” The second line leaves more room for different interpretations compared to the example from earlier in the stanza. The first three and a half lines of the stanzas also seem a lot more colloquial compared to the last two and a half lines.

2. In the first half of the stanza, he is describing how to use a gun, and the soldiers in World War II. The way that Reed “names” things, he makes it sound like a very simple poem in the first three and a half lines. Compared to the last two and a half lines in the stanzas, he is describing nature: the bees, branches, flowers, and blossoms. Then in the last stanza he combines all of these into the last two and a half lines.
These two descriptions show differences in language by using two different tones. The first half of the stanzas isn’t very touching, or deep. Whereas the second half of the stanza make these objects seem real. Example: “The branches/ hold in the gardens their silent, eloquent gestures.” Branches don’t make gestures but the way Reed structures his lines, he makes it sound normal. The first lines in the stanzas also don’t feel as emotional as the last two and a half, since they are direction about how to use a gun. They seem a lot more dull, and straightforward, and I think the last two and a half stanzas really help to keep the poem moving.

3. In the first stanza, the phrase “and today we have naming of parts,” shows up twice. But the word “parts” is what caught my eye. In the first half of the stanza, “parts” is leaning towards the side of naming parts of an object (the gun), whereas the second “parts” seems to be more towards naming parts of a garden, or objects in a garden.
In the third stanza, the word “finger” appears twice. In the first half of the stanza, it’s relating to a persons actual finger on their hand. Compared to the second time it is used, it’s relating to the blossoms.
In the fourth stanza, “backwards and forwards” is used twice. In the first half of the stanza, it is referring to the bolt that helps to open up the breech. Whereas in the second half of the stanza, “backwards and forwards” is referring to the bees, and how they are quickly moving backwards and forwards between flowers to pollinate them. The bees have to fight for their own flowers, which is why they must move quickly.

4. I think Reed is trying to point out that a poem can consist of almost anything. One poem can have more than one type of language in it, and still sound/move well. Even if part of the poem is colloquial, and the other half of the poem isn’t, it doesn’t matter. As long as the writer finds a way to keep the poem moving, he can write whatever he/she wants.


Work Cited
Reed, Henry. “Naming of Parts.” An Introduction To Poetry. 12th ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy,
Dana Gioia. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. 500. Print.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Blog Entry 2

Red Kooser, “Abandoned Farmhouse”

Consider the words used. Are they simple, straightforward words or unfamiliar? Does the poem feel modern and contemporary or old fashioned?
The words are very straightforward and simple, as well as modern. “He was a big man, says the size of his shoes.” This example shows how there isn’t really any difficult metaphor to decipher, or a phrase that could have more than one meaning.

Does it give straightforward description or is there a lot of figurative language?
It’s very straightforward, and examples of objects are used to help the descriptions. “A woman lived with him, says the bedroom wall/ papered with lilacs and the kitchen shelves/ covered with oilcloth, and they had a child,/ says the sandbox made from a tractor tire.” The object such as the tractor tire allows you to form an image in your head. These are simple descriptions, but they allow you to have pretty detailed pictures in your mind. I only found one metaphor: “Its toys are strewn in the yard like branches after a storm…” This metaphor is definitely a strong one though; it makes you think something bad happened.

What about the sentences? Simple? Direct? Long and complex? Twisted around unusually?
The actual sentences in this poem are pretty long in the first two stanzas. The first stanza is eight lines, and its one sentence, whereas in the third stanza it is made up of four sentences. But, the sentences aren’t unusual or complex.

Are the lines long or short? Is the poem divided into stanzas or not?
The lines aren’t too long, and it’s divided into three stanzas. Each line gives a pretty good description that adds to the overall sentence.

Can you describe the tone? Dark? Cheerful?
The tone starts out a little creepy. The poem starts out talking about a big man, which gives me the idea that maybe he was abusive. “…and a good, God – fearing man, says the Bible with a broken back/ on the floor below the window…” This line especially makes me think of those crazy country families that are very religious, but at the same time believe in killing people. By the end of the poem the tone is sad and also a little unsettling: “And the child? Its toys are strewn in the yard/ like branches after a storm – a rubber cow,/ a rusty tractor with a broken plow,/ a doll in overalls. Something went wrong, they say.” The last line: Something went wrong, they say,” completely freaks me out, and makes me think of a horror movie filmed in the middle of nowhere.

Do you notice any “musical” effects – rhymes, rhythms, etc?
I didn’t notice many musical elements in the poem, but it did carry very well as a story. Even though this is written as a poem, I felt like I was more so reading a story. It seemed to have a little beat, but not any major rhyming.

Is there anything else you’d like to say about the way this poem is written?
The title of this poem kind of gives away the rest of the poem, but the descriptions are what really got to me. For some reason, this poem kind of creeped me out, which you wouldn’t expect a poem to do to someone. Regardless, I thought the description was very good, and it allowed me to create a great, detailed picture in my mind.





Lucille Clifton, “Homage to my hips”

Consider the words used. Are they simple, straightforward words or unfamiliar? Does the poem feel modern and contemporary or old fashioned?
The words are simple, and the poem is very modern. To show you how simple the words are, “these hips are big hips.” I don’t think it gets any simpler than that. The only word that I had to look up was petty because I didn’t understand it in the context in which it was used.

Does it give straightforward description or is there a lot of figurative language?
The poem is straightforward, and I think that this helps the poem. Sometimes metaphors and other figurative language helps a poem, but this poem doesn’t need that. “these hips have never been enslaved,/ they go where they want to go.” I think the straightforwardness makes this poem what it is, and also helps to not make it so serious.

What about the sentences? Simple? Direct? Long and complex? Twisted around unusually?
The sentences are very short. There is a total of seven sentences, and none of it weird sounding. Each sentence is simple and direct: “These hips are mighty hips./ these hips are magic hips.” She is stating that her hips have a “magical” power, and they are strong. In a way I feel that she is using her hips to symbolize women and their strength. She mentions in the poem, “they don’t fit into little/ petty places, these hips/ are free hips.” I feel that she is stating her hips are free to do what they please, and she feels content. And hips are connected to women because of image, and how we view ourselves. Therefore I think she views herself as a strong, free woman, and wants others to feel the same about themselves.

Are the lines long or short? Is the poem divided into stanzas or not?
The lines are very short, the longest one is made up of six words, while the shortest one is made up of three. The poem is not divided into stanzas, and I don’t think it needs to be. It flows well as one stanza.

Can you describe the tone? Dark? Cheerful?
The tone is very light-hearted, and it makes me laugh. There is a sense of power when she says, “these hips have never been enslaved.” This makes me think of how good she feels to be alive, and I think this makes the whole tone of the poem stay up beat all the way through, even to the last line: “I have known them/ to put a spell on a man and/ spin him like a top!” I think the tone stays the same throughout the poem, and focuses on her being happy with her hips, and who she is.

Do you notice any “musical” effects – rhymes, rhythms, etc?
There really isn’t any rhyming, but I feel that the poem still flows pretty well. She does repeat the lines, “these hips” but I don’t think that that brings down the poem at all. At one point she uses the same word twice in two lines, “they go where they want to go. / they do what they want to do.” I’m not sure if this use of the same word in the same line means anything, but when I read the poem out loud, I felt that it kind of kept a rhythm. Also, “these hips are mighty hips./ these hips are magic hips.” These two lines are right after each other, and there is only a one word difference in the two lines, like in the previous example. The different word starts with an “m” in both lines, which I also thought helped to keep a rhythm.

Is there anything else you’d like to say about the way this poem is written?
I really liked this poem, and I think it’s funny. It’s one that I would definitely read when having a bad day.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Blog 1

Blog 1:

Anne Sexton, Her Kind
Consider the words used. Are they simple, straightforward words or unfamiliar? Does the poem feel modern and contemporary or old fashioned?
The words in this poem are simple, but seem to be listed: “filled them with skillets, carvings, shelves, closets, silks, innumerable goods.” Overall the poem feels modern, but it seems to be describing an idea that’s somewhat old.

Does it give straightforward description or is there a lot of figurative language?
She compares herself to a witch at one point (metaphor), but it’s a little weird in the way in which she uses descriptions in the poem. “fixed the suppers for the worms and the elves: whining, rearranging the disaligned.”

What about the sentences? Simple? Direct? Long and complex? Twisted around unusually?
The sentences aren’t too long, and they definitely break at the right time. Example, “I have gone out, a possessed witch,
Haunting the black air, braver at night.”
The words aren’t in any weird order to the point where they sound misplaced. But, the sentences aren’t exactly direct. You can come up with many explanations as to what Anne is talking about in this poem.

Are the lines long or short? Is the poem divided into stanzas or not?
The poem is divided into stanzas, and the lines are short, but not as short as some other poems.
Example: “I have ridden in your cart, driver.” Here this shows that the lines aren’t very long.

Can you describe the tone? Dark? Cheerful?
The overall tone of the poem is dark. “dreaming evil, I have
done my hitch.”
The tone isn’t cheerful or happy at one point in the poem at all. The first line sets the tone for the rest of the poem, “I have gone out, a possessed witch.”

Do you notice any “musical” effects – rhymes, rhythms, etc?
At the end of each line there is a word that rhymes with the last word in every other line.
Example: “I have ridden in your cart, driver,
Waved my nude arms at villages going by,
Learning the last bright routs, survivor.”

Is there anything else you’d like to say about the way this poem is written?
This poem is really weird, and it doesn’t give off a good vibe. I do like her rhyming pattern though, and I think the story behind this poem would be really interesting to learn about.



Aftermath, Henry Longfellow
Consider the words used. Are they simple, straightforward words or unfamiliar? Does the poem feel modern and contemporary or old fashioned?
The words are very simple and modern, but it feels like it’s describing an older time.
Example: “when the summer fields are mown.” This line reminds me of a farm, and even though there are still many farms today, I think of many families owning farms, and having that lifestyle.

Does it give straightforward description or is there a lot of figurative language?
It’s pretty straightforward in the way of description: “And the dry leaves,
Strew the path.”
There aren’t really any metaphors.

What about the sentences? Simple? Direct? Long and complex? Twisted around unusually?
The lines in the poem are very direct and simple. When I read the poem out loud to myself, nothing sounded out of place or weird.
“With the falling of the snow,
With the cawing of the crow.”

Are the lines long or short? Is the poem divided into stanzas or not?
The lines are about the same length as the ones in Her Kind. The poem is divided into stanzas, but only two. Example: “And gather in the aftermath.”
*break for new stanza
“Not the sweet, new grass with flowers”

Can you describe the tone? Dark? Cheerful?
The tone of this poem starts out pretty cheerful, but by the last line the tone seems to have gone to the dark side. First line, “When the summer fields are mown.” Last line, “In the silence and the gloom.” It seems that by the end of the poem, the tone is supposed to show you how it feels when the summer harvesting season is over. Everything starts to look dull. Winter is coming soon and everything is silent.

Do you notice any “musical” effects – rhymes, rhythms, etc?
The last words of each line rhymes with the word below it. This is the only real musical effect that I found in the poem. “Now the sweet, new grass with flowers,
In this harvesting of ours.”
These ending rhyming words do keep the poem going.

Is there anything else you’d like to say about the way this poem is written?
I personally really like the poem because it’s not the usual happy, go-lucky poem about farmers/farming. It shows afterwards, all the work that is to be done, and how the feeling in the air is different.