"Whispers of Immortality" by T.S. Elliot
Obviously since the first line of this poem is "Webster was much possessed by death" (Line 1), you can assume this man is some what crazy and irregular. I got the notion that this poem was comparing different poets and their outlooks on death itself. In this poem, he contrasts Webster and Donne as he portrays Webster to be this evil minded man who sees life through the eyes of death and Donne on the contrary to be a perceptual man who sees life just as it is. In the second half of the poem, I thought it really took a turn because I felt like I was beginning to understand what the writers point of view was, but this part honestly just made my mind spin. I realize that he is speaking and describing the Russian woman, Grishkin; however, I couldn't pin particularly why he was describing her. This poem, in my eyes was very mysterious and is definitely not one of my favorites.
Week 6: Thursday, Feb. 23rd
"Who's Who" by W.H. Auden
This poem shows great diversity because I saw it as a poem that describes both the times of good and bad in this man's life. I also liked how this poem went along with the key terms we have been talking about in class. The first grouping of lines is an octave and the last is a sestet. I felt like this poem was describing how even the most successful and well looked upon people have their downsides. I enjoyed how Auden expressed that things go unseen, and showed how this man had a cover that didn't reveal his true pages. He showed this very well when he said, "How Father beat him, how he ran away, / What were the struggles of his youth, what acts / Made him the greatest figure of his day:" (Lines 2-4). I also found the rhyme scheme to be quite interesting as the first octave went A-B-A-B-C-D-C-D, and the last sestet went A-B-C-C-D-D.
This poem shows great diversity because I saw it as a poem that describes both the times of good and bad in this man's life. I also liked how this poem went along with the key terms we have been talking about in class. The first grouping of lines is an octave and the last is a sestet. I felt like this poem was describing how even the most successful and well looked upon people have their downsides. I enjoyed how Auden expressed that things go unseen, and showed how this man had a cover that didn't reveal his true pages. He showed this very well when he said, "How Father beat him, how he ran away, / What were the struggles of his youth, what acts / Made him the greatest figure of his day:" (Lines 2-4). I also found the rhyme scheme to be quite interesting as the first octave went A-B-A-B-C-D-C-D, and the last sestet went A-B-C-C-D-D.
Week 6: Tuesday, Feb. 21st
"The Negro Speaks of Rivers" by Langston Hughes
Equal rights have always been a very interesting topic to me because it has always been so controversial. In Hughes poem he really emphasizes how this topic has shaped him into the person he is today, and he does a lot of this throughout many of his poems. When Langston says, "I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young." (Line 5) he is saying that even when he was a young boy this controversy was affecting his life. He then goes on to mention other times in his life by referring to other rivers, "I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. / I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it." (Lines 6-7). This part of the poem shows how throughout his lifetime he dealt with the way society made the norms and he tried to push through the things segregation caused him to face. He talks about he knows there is light at the end of the tunnel when he says, "I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, / and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset." (Lines 8-9). This shows how he knows that sooner or later all of the expenses they are paying will be paid off in the end. At the end of this poem he expresses how this has shaped him by saying, "My soul has grown deep like the rivers." (Line 12). The shaping of the life he lived in made him who he is no matter what the circumstances.
Equal rights have always been a very interesting topic to me because it has always been so controversial. In Hughes poem he really emphasizes how this topic has shaped him into the person he is today, and he does a lot of this throughout many of his poems. When Langston says, "I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young." (Line 5) he is saying that even when he was a young boy this controversy was affecting his life. He then goes on to mention other times in his life by referring to other rivers, "I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. / I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it." (Lines 6-7). This part of the poem shows how throughout his lifetime he dealt with the way society made the norms and he tried to push through the things segregation caused him to face. He talks about he knows there is light at the end of the tunnel when he says, "I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, / and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset." (Lines 8-9). This shows how he knows that sooner or later all of the expenses they are paying will be paid off in the end. At the end of this poem he expresses how this has shaped him by saying, "My soul has grown deep like the rivers." (Line 12). The shaping of the life he lived in made him who he is no matter what the circumstances.
Week 5: Thursday Feb. 16th
"Poem" by Valentine Ackland
In this poem, I believe Valentine is speaking to a previous love that still holds on to a part of her heart. Furthermore, she intends for the audience to be her ex-love, so the narrator is obviously her. I took this poem in a symbolic way because literally she is talking about a letter that is speaking of a storm and wind, but symobolically she is actually speaking of a letter from her previous love and her emotions for this lover. When she says "But I cannot take it." (Line 5) she is saying that she doesn't wan't to be connected to this love anymore. "A sharper storm had blown / Us apart already, the wind will not slacken but rise" (Line 5-6) She is saying that until they are "parted completly" there will still be terror and feelings of hurt and pain because of what they have already gone through. I thought this was a good poem to write about since it deals with love and obviously there is plenty of loved feeled emotions in the air this week.
In this poem, I believe Valentine is speaking to a previous love that still holds on to a part of her heart. Furthermore, she intends for the audience to be her ex-love, so the narrator is obviously her. I took this poem in a symbolic way because literally she is talking about a letter that is speaking of a storm and wind, but symobolically she is actually speaking of a letter from her previous love and her emotions for this lover. When she says "But I cannot take it." (Line 5) she is saying that she doesn't wan't to be connected to this love anymore. "A sharper storm had blown / Us apart already, the wind will not slacken but rise" (Line 5-6) She is saying that until they are "parted completly" there will still be terror and feelings of hurt and pain because of what they have already gone through. I thought this was a good poem to write about since it deals with love and obviously there is plenty of loved feeled emotions in the air this week.
Week 5: Tuesday Feb. 14th
"The English Are So Nice" by DH Lawrence
After reading many of Lawrence's poem it is obvious that he uses poetry as a symbol for something else. Many times he is speaking about politics and the norm that everyone is tending to go by. DH is a very unique person because he goes completely against the norm of his time. In this poem I immediately picked up a sense of sarcasm in his tone. After getting to know poetry a little better, I have realized that there is definitely a number of possible meanings for every poem. There is usually a literal meaning and a symbolic. In most of Lawrence's poems I believe in the symbolic; however, in this poem I agree with both the symbolic and the literal. My reasoning behind the literal side is for his ability to make sarcasm his literal point. On the contrary, my reasoning behind the sybolism would be him trying to describe the English government and the way they make other outsider's view them.
After reading many of Lawrence's poem it is obvious that he uses poetry as a symbol for something else. Many times he is speaking about politics and the norm that everyone is tending to go by. DH is a very unique person because he goes completely against the norm of his time. In this poem I immediately picked up a sense of sarcasm in his tone. After getting to know poetry a little better, I have realized that there is definitely a number of possible meanings for every poem. There is usually a literal meaning and a symbolic. In most of Lawrence's poems I believe in the symbolic; however, in this poem I agree with both the symbolic and the literal. My reasoning behind the literal side is for his ability to make sarcasm his literal point. On the contrary, my reasoning behind the sybolism would be him trying to describe the English government and the way they make other outsider's view them.
Week 4: Thursday Feb. 9th
"Oread" by Hilda Doolittle
This is a short poem that seems to be very straight forward. Personally it takes me awhile to understand a poem, so I was rather pleased when I read this one because it actually made sense to me. This poem expresses H.D.'s ability to paint such great pictures in the reader's mind, which is one of the reasons why she is considered one of the great imagist. In this poem she is talking into nature as if there is some type of God or spirit in the mountains. When she says, "Whirl up, sea" (Line 1) you initially get a feeling that she is demanding and shouting out. I wasn't sure exactly what an "Oread" was so I did some researching on it and found out that it is a type of greek nymph which is like a spirit in nature or in this example, the mountains. I realized that she was praising to the mountains because she says, "Whirl your pointed pines. / Splash your great pines" (Lines 2-3). This led me to believe that she was praying to her "Oread" for rain, and for it to turn the mountains "green."
This is a short poem that seems to be very straight forward. Personally it takes me awhile to understand a poem, so I was rather pleased when I read this one because it actually made sense to me. This poem expresses H.D.'s ability to paint such great pictures in the reader's mind, which is one of the reasons why she is considered one of the great imagist. In this poem she is talking into nature as if there is some type of God or spirit in the mountains. When she says, "Whirl up, sea" (Line 1) you initially get a feeling that she is demanding and shouting out. I wasn't sure exactly what an "Oread" was so I did some researching on it and found out that it is a type of greek nymph which is like a spirit in nature or in this example, the mountains. I realized that she was praising to the mountains because she says, "Whirl your pointed pines. / Splash your great pines" (Lines 2-3). This led me to believe that she was praying to her "Oread" for rain, and for it to turn the mountains "green."
Week 4: Tuesday Feb. 7th
"The Pike" by Amy Lowell
Amy Lowell defines Imagists. This poem is a great example of how she puts a whole new meaning to poetry. This poem isn't all about just rhyming; however, it stills flows so fluently. The difference in her poetry is her ability to paint such a detailed picture as you read her lines. When I first read the title "The Pike", I thought this poem going to be about a sword or some kind of weapon, but I soon found out that this is about a fish in a pond. Once I figured this out, I saw the story in a whole new way. In this poem she uses descriptive words that illustrate a shiny fish in dirty water. She finds the beauty in this brown pond by conveying "And a green-and-copper brightness / Ran under the water." (Lines 8-9). I believe this shows her ability to find beauty within the darkness of the nasty water, and how beauty can spread. She shows this by saying that once the fish she was seeing "flicked his tail" and swam more beautiful fish began to make a school of gorgeous colors. "Out from under the reeds / Came the olive-green light, / And orange flashed up / So the fish passed across the pool / Green and copper, / A darkness and a gleam," (Lines 10-16) The last three lines of this poem are my favorite because I think she's interpreting that the allure of the fish bring grace and charm to the "darkness".
Amy Lowell defines Imagists. This poem is a great example of how she puts a whole new meaning to poetry. This poem isn't all about just rhyming; however, it stills flows so fluently. The difference in her poetry is her ability to paint such a detailed picture as you read her lines. When I first read the title "The Pike", I thought this poem going to be about a sword or some kind of weapon, but I soon found out that this is about a fish in a pond. Once I figured this out, I saw the story in a whole new way. In this poem she uses descriptive words that illustrate a shiny fish in dirty water. She finds the beauty in this brown pond by conveying "And a green-and-copper brightness / Ran under the water." (Lines 8-9). I believe this shows her ability to find beauty within the darkness of the nasty water, and how beauty can spread. She shows this by saying that once the fish she was seeing "flicked his tail" and swam more beautiful fish began to make a school of gorgeous colors. "Out from under the reeds / Came the olive-green light, / And orange flashed up / So the fish passed across the pool / Green and copper, / A darkness and a gleam," (Lines 10-16) The last three lines of this poem are my favorite because I think she's interpreting that the allure of the fish bring grace and charm to the "darkness".
Week 3: Thursday Feb. 2nd
After putting Sassoon's biography and this poem together, I came to the conclusion that he was showing a lot of annoyance and grief. I believe he was trying to say that he was frustrated with the laughter and ridicule that this show was interpreting. I thought it was "ironic" that we were talking about irony in class Tuesday, and coincidentally this poem actually has some great examples of irony in it. "We're sure the Kaiser loves the old Tanks!" (Line 4). He obviously is showing irony here by sarcastically stating that they love the tanks. When in reality, he really means that he wishes one would come through to turn their laughter into fright. He says, "I'd like to see a Tank come down the stalls," (Line 5). He verifies how annoyed and infuriated he is with this "Show" by implying he wishes this would come through the orchestra seats in the theater to shock the "crammed" hall. He knows from first hand that this would end their cheer. "And ther'd be no more jokes in Music-halls" (Line 7).
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)