Cyrano, like the skipper, was brave and sure. But this story, was not about a 3 hour tour. It is about a fearless man, with friends and foe galore. Who couldn’t get Roxanne, the girl he’d fallen for. He could speak to women like a Casanova but still the girls would just pass him over it was his nose that made him busted and left the females quite disgusted he was a kind man, caring and giving but people still starred, glaring or quivering he was known for his sword, but of course his nose too he was rarely insulted, unless by a fool or maybe Christian, testing his cool but he'd come quick with his comebacks, till their egos were blue he was challenged by hundreds, in sword fights but left his opponents shaking with fright but he wanted nothing more, than to be with Roxanne but he could not have her, she was taken by Christian he spoke for his buddy, to convey his love because Christian was pretty, but dumb as a slug he acted as though he was helping his friend but it was all part, of his master plan he would enlighten Roxanne, on his undying love while hiding behind, Christian’s nice mug but his plan went arry, during a bloody fight when Christian was killed, while in Roxanne’s sight cyrano couldn’t tell her, that it was him who had written, so gracefully, all those beautiful things he would not make her suffer, any more than she had fore he knew that it would make her, even more sad he kept his great secret, for 15 more years all of the while, having no fears until he was hit, on the back of the head he was knocked unconscious, and then he was dead but before cyrano took his great dirt nap his vow of silence would finally snap he confessed to Roxanne all of his lies and then he died, while by her side.
Cyrano Poem
Cyrano Poem
Cyrano Poem
Cyrano, like the skipper, was brave and sure. But this story, was not about a 3 hour tour. It is about a fearless man, with friends and foe galore. Who couldn’t get Roxanne, the girl he’d fallen for. He could speak to women like a Casanova but still the girls would just pass him over it was his nose that made him busted and left the females quite disgusted he was a kind man, caring and giving but people still starred, glaring or quivering he was known for his sword, but of course his nose too he was rarely insulted, unless by a fool or maybe Christian, testing his cool but he'd come quick with his comebacks, till their egos were blue he was challenged by hundreds, in sword fights but left his opponents shaking with fright but he wanted nothing more, than to be with Roxanne but he could not have her, she was taken by Christian he spoke for his buddy, to convey his love because Christian was pretty, but dumb as a slug he acted as though he was helping his friend but it was all part, of his master plan he would enlighten Roxanne, on his undying love while hiding behind, Christian’s nice mug but his plan went arry, during a bloody fight when Christian was killed, while in Roxanne’s sight cyrano couldn’t tell her, that it was him who had written, so gracefully, all those beautiful things he would not make her suffer, any more than she had fore he knew that it would make her, even more sad he kept his great secret, for 15 more years all of the while, having no fears until he was hit, on the back of the head he was knocked unconscious, and then he was dead but before cyrano took his great dirt nap his vow of silence would finally snap he confessed to Roxanne all of his lies and then he died, while by her side.
Cyrano, like the skipper, was brave and sure. But this story, was not about a 3 hour tour. It is about a fearless man, with friends and foe galore. Who couldn’t get Roxanne, the girl he’d fallen for. He could speak to women like a Casanova but still the girls would just pass him over it was his nose that made him busted and left the females quite disgusted he was a kind man, caring and giving but people still starred, glaring or quivering he was known for his sword, but of course his nose too he was rarely insulted, unless by a fool or maybe Christian, testing his cool but he'd come quick with his comebacks, till their egos were blue he was challenged by hundreds, in sword fights but left his opponents shaking with fright but he wanted nothing more, than to be with Roxanne but he could not have her, she was taken by Christian he spoke for his buddy, to convey his love because Christian was pretty, but dumb as a slug he acted as though he was helping his friend but it was all part, of his master plan he would enlighten Roxanne, on his undying love while hiding behind, Christian’s nice mug but his plan went arry, during a bloody fight when Christian was killed, while in Roxanne’s sight cyrano couldn’t tell her, that it was him who had written, so gracefully, all those beautiful things he would not make her suffer, any more than she had fore he knew that it would make her, even more sad he kept his great secret, for 15 more years all of the while, having no fears until he was hit, on the back of the head he was knocked unconscious, and then he was dead but before cyrano took his great dirt nap his vow of silence would finally snap he confessed to Roxanne all of his lies and then he died, while by her side.
Crucible By Miller
Crucible By Miller
John Proctor was the main character in the play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. Will the truth set you free? In Proctor’s case of choosing truth over deceit he was redeemed and set free spiritually. The setting of the play was in the 1690’s during The Salem Witch Trials. During the beginning of the play Proctor was a man filled with hypocrisy but, he changed by the completion of the play into a commendable man. In the beginning of the play, John Proctor was a hypocritical man. By example, Proctor was a Puritan who committed the act of adultery. A Puritan was supposed to be upright and holy. Adultery is not a holy act. Furthermore, he did not attend church consistently. This also was incongruent with the religion he practiced. Although, he did not welcome judgment, he was quick to judge others. For example, in the case of his wife’s penetrating observation concerning the act of adultery he took offense and said, “Judge me not woman”. By the end of the play, John has converted from a hypocritical man to a man to be admired and respected. He then became true to his Puritan beliefs and values and made a turn for the best. After being accused of witchcraft he looked at life differently. John changed because he wanted to incriminate Abigail of deceit, and save his reputation. He also wanted to impact the courts decision on the victims accused of witchcraft. Equally important, he showed courage when he chose not to sign the paper of witchery to save himself. Above all, he admits to adultery and accepts the consequences of his actions. To sum up, John Proctor was a man of integrity, who stood up for himself, and what he believed in. Initially, John was a hypocritical and dishonest man. Consequently, he changes into a admirable and honorable man. Overall, the quote “The truth shall set you free” should be the moral of this play. John takes a courageous stand not only for himself but also for others who have experienced the persecution of witchcraft.
John Proctor was the main character in the play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. Will the truth set you free? In Proctor’s case of choosing truth over deceit he was redeemed and set free spiritually. The setting of the play was in the 1690’s during The Salem Witch Trials. During the beginning of the play Proctor was a man filled with hypocrisy but, he changed by the completion of the play into a commendable man. In the beginning of the play, John Proctor was a hypocritical man. By example, Proctor was a Puritan who committed the act of adultery. A Puritan was supposed to be upright and holy. Adultery is not a holy act. Furthermore, he did not attend church consistently. This also was incongruent with the religion he practiced. Although, he did not welcome judgment, he was quick to judge others. For example, in the case of his wife’s penetrating observation concerning the act of adultery he took offense and said, “Judge me not woman”. By the end of the play, John has converted from a hypocritical man to a man to be admired and respected. He then became true to his Puritan beliefs and values and made a turn for the best. After being accused of witchcraft he looked at life differently. John changed because he wanted to incriminate Abigail of deceit, and save his reputation. He also wanted to impact the courts decision on the victims accused of witchcraft. Equally important, he showed courage when he chose not to sign the paper of witchery to save himself. Above all, he admits to adultery and accepts the consequences of his actions. To sum up, John Proctor was a man of integrity, who stood up for himself, and what he believed in. Initially, John was a hypocritical and dishonest man. Consequently, he changes into a admirable and honorable man. Overall, the quote “The truth shall set you free” should be the moral of this play. John takes a courageous stand not only for himself but also for others who have experienced the persecution of witchcraft.
Convergence Of Twain
Convergence Of Twain
Thomas Hardy experienced great difficulty believing in a forgiving, Christian God because of the pain and suffering he witnessed around him. He also endured some pain, with the loss of his wife and suffering during the five years he spent in London that made him ill. As a young man, Hardy wanted to become a clergyman. This vocation was quite a turn around of what he pursued--a career as a famous agnostic writer. He lost faith in his religious, Victorian upbringing. As such, he shared a belief with many modern poets in the futility and waste of human existence. Hardy did believe in a "supreme being" or as he liked to call him "The Immanent Will," but he did not think of Him as a forgiving God like other Christians. Instead, Hardy believed Him to be portrayed as a vengeful God, which we learn from his poem, "The Convergence of the Twain: (Lines on the loss of the 'Titanic')". Thomas Hardy wrote this poem with a very noticeable chronological disruption midway through the poem. Unlike most poets who keep their poems in chronological order to maintain suspense throughout the poem, Hardy believed that the subject of the Titanic was so well known that there was not any reason to keep the readers in suspense of what impending doom awaited the Titanic. Instead, he commenced his poem with a description of the Titanic at present: "grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent"(st III). Then he proceeds to the "fashioning"(st VI) of the famous ship and continues to that famous April evening where the "consummation"(st XI) of the two "titanic" masses occurred--the grand ship made from human hands and the silent iceberg made by the "Immanent Will"(st VI). Hardy does not confine himself inside the walls of set syllables per verse; every stanza has a different number of syllables in each verse. In the first part of his poem the rhythm is very alluring. With proper uses of caesuras, stresses and slacks, Hardy seems to capture the solitude of the sea that he is describing with his steady, gentle sway of words, a "rhythmic tidal lyre"(st II). While reading this poem, the words seem to move persistently slowly up and down like the tide: I In a solitude of the sea Deep from human vanity, And the Pride of life that planned her, stilly couches she. (lines 1-3) Hardy also numbers all of the eleven stanzas of his poem. The numbering indicates the separation of each one of the stanzas as if to imply that we have to look at this poem as eleven different poems in one. This method gives us a chance to understand the poem more efficiently by studying one stanza at a time. A first reading of the poem would reveal five stanzas describing the "gilded gear"(st V) at the bottom of the sea and six stanzas that refer to the ship and to the iceberg converging at a point so "far and dissociate"(st VII). However, an enjambment occurs between stanza VI and stanza VII, as if these two stanzas were meant to be one: "The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything / Prepared a sinister mate"(lines 18/19). Ironically, these two stanzas describe both the creation of the ship and the creation of the iceberg that are destined to come together later in time. Hardy takes more of an antithetical approach toward the story of the Titanic than most people think of or 'chose' to think of when they hear of the tragedy. Most people want the story to be told through a tragic, yet romantic, point of view that relates the tragedy of the men, women, and children who were lost on that gruesome night. People relate emotionally to the story of the Titanic by watching the movie that was released in the past year because it is from the point of view of the people on the ship. We see a romantic mood portrayed be the people on the ship and the tragedy suffered in the loss of their loved ones. Consequently, Hardy does not want us to share in this travesty that they have experienced. Instead of a tragic poem of the people involved in this tragic event, Hardy distances himself from the picture, far enough just to see the two grand and noble objects, a Godlike view solely focused on the two gigantic entities. Through his poem, Hardy explains to us that it is a vengeful God that planned the collision. In the section of the poem that contrasts both the development of the ship and of the iceberg, Hardy points out some human vanity. The era when the 'Titanic' was built was a time that the production of goods was rapidly evolving. Everything had to be made to be faster, larger, stronger and more efficient thus resulting in the building of the Titanic. This grand and "opulent"(st III) machine represented a spectacular symbol of power that was not a match for God. Humans thought themselves to be so evolved that they were above Him. God, on the other hand, heard these vain remarks and decided to play a game with the people. God challenged the humans creation of the greatest mass on the water with His own. So He played with the humans "gigantic toy" with his own water toy--a great iceberg. Therefore, as a small child would do, He smashed them together with some sort of a destructive nature: VIII And as the smart ship grew In stature, grace, and hue, In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too. (lines 22-24) Hence, "the Spinner of the Years"(st XI), another metaphor used by Hardy to refer to the 'supreme being' as a vengeful God; upon hearing the vain cries of man clamouring, "I'm the king on the world!" as in the movie "Titanic" God responds as in the poem, with the event when God said "now!"(st XI) and render unto mankind the knowledge that He is the ultimate King of everything. Accordingly, God sends this vaingloriousness made by humans down to the bottom of the sea as a symbol of the vanity of the age thereby, indicating his power over human vanity.
Thomas Hardy experienced great difficulty believing in a forgiving, Christian God because of the pain and suffering he witnessed around him. He also endured some pain, with the loss of his wife and suffering during the five years he spent in London that made him ill. As a young man, Hardy wanted to become a clergyman. This vocation was quite a turn around of what he pursued--a career as a famous agnostic writer. He lost faith in his religious, Victorian upbringing. As such, he shared a belief with many modern poets in the futility and waste of human existence. Hardy did believe in a "supreme being" or as he liked to call him "The Immanent Will," but he did not think of Him as a forgiving God like other Christians. Instead, Hardy believed Him to be portrayed as a vengeful God, which we learn from his poem, "The Convergence of the Twain: (Lines on the loss of the 'Titanic')". Thomas Hardy wrote this poem with a very noticeable chronological disruption midway through the poem. Unlike most poets who keep their poems in chronological order to maintain suspense throughout the poem, Hardy believed that the subject of the Titanic was so well known that there was not any reason to keep the readers in suspense of what impending doom awaited the Titanic. Instead, he commenced his poem with a description of the Titanic at present: "grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent"(st III). Then he proceeds to the "fashioning"(st VI) of the famous ship and continues to that famous April evening where the "consummation"(st XI) of the two "titanic" masses occurred--the grand ship made from human hands and the silent iceberg made by the "Immanent Will"(st VI). Hardy does not confine himself inside the walls of set syllables per verse; every stanza has a different number of syllables in each verse. In the first part of his poem the rhythm is very alluring. With proper uses of caesuras, stresses and slacks, Hardy seems to capture the solitude of the sea that he is describing with his steady, gentle sway of words, a "rhythmic tidal lyre"(st II). While reading this poem, the words seem to move persistently slowly up and down like the tide: I In a solitude of the sea Deep from human vanity, And the Pride of life that planned her, stilly couches she. (lines 1-3) Hardy also numbers all of the eleven stanzas of his poem. The numbering indicates the separation of each one of the stanzas as if to imply that we have to look at this poem as eleven different poems in one. This method gives us a chance to understand the poem more efficiently by studying one stanza at a time. A first reading of the poem would reveal five stanzas describing the "gilded gear"(st V) at the bottom of the sea and six stanzas that refer to the ship and to the iceberg converging at a point so "far and dissociate"(st VII). However, an enjambment occurs between stanza VI and stanza VII, as if these two stanzas were meant to be one: "The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything / Prepared a sinister mate"(lines 18/19). Ironically, these two stanzas describe both the creation of the ship and the creation of the iceberg that are destined to come together later in time. Hardy takes more of an antithetical approach toward the story of the Titanic than most people think of or 'chose' to think of when they hear of the tragedy. Most people want the story to be told through a tragic, yet romantic, point of view that relates the tragedy of the men, women, and children who were lost on that gruesome night. People relate emotionally to the story of the Titanic by watching the movie that was released in the past year because it is from the point of view of the people on the ship. We see a romantic mood portrayed be the people on the ship and the tragedy suffered in the loss of their loved ones. Consequently, Hardy does not want us to share in this travesty that they have experienced. Instead of a tragic poem of the people involved in this tragic event, Hardy distances himself from the picture, far enough just to see the two grand and noble objects, a Godlike view solely focused on the two gigantic entities. Through his poem, Hardy explains to us that it is a vengeful God that planned the collision. In the section of the poem that contrasts both the development of the ship and of the iceberg, Hardy points out some human vanity. The era when the 'Titanic' was built was a time that the production of goods was rapidly evolving. Everything had to be made to be faster, larger, stronger and more efficient thus resulting in the building of the Titanic. This grand and "opulent"(st III) machine represented a spectacular symbol of power that was not a match for God. Humans thought themselves to be so evolved that they were above Him. God, on the other hand, heard these vain remarks and decided to play a game with the people. God challenged the humans creation of the greatest mass on the water with His own. So He played with the humans "gigantic toy" with his own water toy--a great iceberg. Therefore, as a small child would do, He smashed them together with some sort of a destructive nature: VIII And as the smart ship grew In stature, grace, and hue, In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too. (lines 22-24) Hence, "the Spinner of the Years"(st XI), another metaphor used by Hardy to refer to the 'supreme being' as a vengeful God; upon hearing the vain cries of man clamouring, "I'm the king on the world!" as in the movie "Titanic" God responds as in the poem, with the event when God said "now!"(st XI) and render unto mankind the knowledge that He is the ultimate King of everything. Accordingly, God sends this vaingloriousness made by humans down to the bottom of the sea as a symbol of the vanity of the age thereby, indicating his power over human vanity.
Confession In Rhyme
Confession In Rhyme
Colors Charlotte mixing in with the sailors, is like a drop of gold paint in a bucket of gray paint. Under all the pressure she must feel faint. No other drops of gold paint to accompany her. Only a fraud. Gold on the outside, but hateful clear on the inside. A fraud, trying to be a good captain, but less than the sailors. Since the golden drop of paint is all alone, it blends in with the gray. This relates to when Charlotte is coming aboard the Seahawk. Also it relates to how she becomes one with the crew. This poem is modeled after my poet’s work because Molly Peacock would use metaphors in her poems. She would compare two things together to make one. Revenge For each sailor a flag has fallen and surrender was pleaded, for each sailor a country was overpowered, for each and every sailor a kingdom was conquered. Pain was planted into their hearts and minds. A plan for revenge has just been born. Captain Jaggery has made his last wish. His death wish... This relates to what happened after the Rebellion, all reactions that became one. Everyone wants revenge! Rebellion The captain worked them day and night for he had no mercy, because of this they had a fight though hungry and very thirsty. In that fight two men had died or at least it was thought to be when they found out one was alive they went on happily. They tricked the captain and two of the crew into thinking that Zachariah was dead, but all that was thrown overboard was some cloth in a hammock bed. Because the captain thought he was dead his secret was very big. Every day the sailors would bring him food while he was hiding in the brig. This poem relates to the part of the novel when there is a big fight and two are thought to be dead. It tells what happens before, during, and after the fight. Captain’s Triumph The captain’s musket was once useless until the crew became ruthless. Aiming at all insight, he pulled the trigger with all his might After thinking he stole two people’s lives he collected the sailors’ swords, pistols, and knives. Now that he has a scar on his face, he thinks Miss Doyle is a terrible disgrace. The captain’s rage was at a boil, because of the action of Miss Doyle. Since she hated the captain and he hated her too, She became a member of the Seahawk crew. This poem relates to the rebellion. It also relates to the relationship between Charlotte Doyle and Captain Jaggery. Maximum With fire in their eyes, regret in their minds, and doubt on their faces, they put her to the test. Can she climb the royal main mast up and down? In one whole piece. All in one test. Can she sail with the best, live with the men, rough up her hands and try it again. This relates to when she’s becoming one of the crew. Also it relates to the test Charlotte has to pass. Struggle It’s the struggle to get to the top, do not look down or you might drop! Choose to shimmy up the mast or take the ladder, both ways are fine, neither one is faster. I’ve reached the top! I feel like a bird about to fly, either that or a human about to die. This is the test that Charlotte had to take, climb up there and put her life at stake. This relates to the part of the story when Charlotte Doyle has to take the test to become one of the crew. She was Struggling but she made it in the end. Truth On this day a stark truth came to her, she was where no proper young lady should be. With nobody of her proper station here, She had felt very queer. Since the captain was very mean, she knew not from good and bad. So she didn’t sail as a Miss, she sailed as a Lad. The poem relates to when she became part of the crew and became a mister in the captain’s book. Hurricane Brig Charlotte Doyle would never give up, but when the hurricane came, Charlotte took a drop. She hardly got any sleep and was accused of murder, so now she is in the brig talking with Zachariah. Now knowing that her friend was alive, she was very happy, but since she was still mad at the captain, her attitude was very crappie. This relates to he hurricane scene in the book. This also relates to the murder accusation scene in the book. First Night Though the first night she felt very sadly, when offered some tea felt delighted and happy. When given a dirk by the kitchen’s cook, she felt very scared. Although, she soon discovered it was only for her to bewared. After a few days rebellion is what she feared. And to be a part of it she never dared. This poem relates to her first night on the Seahawk. Then goes on to the other days in that week. Murder Query Who had stolen the knife? Who was where at the time of the crime? Who decided to take Mr. Hollybrass’ life? Who is to blame? All suspects are the same. The Captain is to blame. The Captain is an animal untamed. He tried to pin it on Doyle, ‘cause his anger is at a boil! This poem relates to when Charlotte is accused of murder. It also relates to when they have a trial to discover if she is guilty or not. TAKE HEART Poems By: Molly Peacok Blank Paper This poem is about a girl who’s inheritance is just blank pieces of paper. On the paper her name was not mentioned like other names of family members. She said the blank paper has the life she tried to restore after feeling like a nobody. She thinks the true gift of inheritance is to recreate her past. She is going to “re-blanken” her life and fill it in with the right life experiences. I think this poem is fantastic. It is creative and well written and is also realistic. I like the way that the poet expressed so much in such a short poem, she had a problem and a solution. I think it takes a great writer to do something like that. I also liked the way that she entitled her poem because the title “Blank Paper” means the paper might as well be blank to the poet because her name has been excluded, it also means that her life is like a blank slate that she must now fill in. The Valley of the Monsters This poem is about the author’s life experiences. She is comparing a fictional valley of monsters to her childhood. The fictional valley of monsters is a place where rocks form into monsters’ shapes. In her real life experience it was the minds of her family that were formed into monstrous shapes. Both the stone statues and minds of her family were very permanent. When she wrote this she was comparing the monsters to shapes in the clouds that people pointed at and made fun of. She said that the rocks that form the fictional valley of monsters are statues meant for tourist attractions, but the valley of monster she grew up in was tough slice of life that became part of her normal existence. The monsters in her life were “two dinosaurs... guzzling beer and crushing the cans with their scaly thumb-equivalents.” This poet is creative in the way she compared fictional and non-fictional matters of consequence in one poem. I like the way that this poem is partly realistic and partly unrealistic. If you really think about the poem it is very sad, especially since it is partially biographical. I liked the way that she used so many metaphors to compare the two subjects. It was kind of like a mystery to figure out what she was trying to say. That is why I did not understand the poem at first. I have never read a poem that was more original. THE BOOK OF LIGHT Poems By: Lucille Clifton Thel This poem is about a landscape called Thel. The author said that it was her first landscape, probably meaning where she was born. She described it mahogany as the clay of Georgia. This is also about a woman who has sweet attic of a mind, a safe place to keep of old songs. There was music inside her; she would sit down, shy as ever, humming alone among broken promises and among sweet broken bodies of birds. This is the type of poem known as “short and sweet.” This poem is one of the shortest written in The Book of Light. Although this poem is short it is quite sweet. It is as if Lucille Clifton’s words just make you imagine what is happening. Even though this poem is beautiful and short, I bet if she added more details and story line, then she would have just as beautiful a poem. Imagining Bear This is a poem basically about imagining things about somebody. It seems to be a bear, but could possibly be a human. In this poem the author is imagining him too tall and too fat to enter into the parlors. She imagines his hide as tough and his walking clumsy, with his grown filling the wind. “Give him an old guitar, give him a bottle of booze,” she said. The author gets you to imagine his children and his wife sighing and laughing. We imagine him singing and his granddaughter remembering him in poems. The first time that I read this poem I thought that this poem was about a man. I thought this poem was about a man. I thought this because in the poem she always addresses the character as him. Also she would mention his children, his wife and his granddaughter in the poem. She said “Give him an old guitar, give him a bottle of booze.” Those are thing that men use! The second time I read the poem I thought the author was comparing a man to a bear. The words that she used in her poem are what made me think that. She would say things like “imagine his hide gruff, the hair on him grizzly even to his own hand.” Or, “Imagine him lumbering as he moves. I imagine his growl filling the wind.” Alas, the third time I thought it could be a man or bear and that the poet wanted to demonstrate the similarities in both.
Colors Charlotte mixing in with the sailors, is like a drop of gold paint in a bucket of gray paint. Under all the pressure she must feel faint. No other drops of gold paint to accompany her. Only a fraud. Gold on the outside, but hateful clear on the inside. A fraud, trying to be a good captain, but less than the sailors. Since the golden drop of paint is all alone, it blends in with the gray. This relates to when Charlotte is coming aboard the Seahawk. Also it relates to how she becomes one with the crew. This poem is modeled after my poet’s work because Molly Peacock would use metaphors in her poems. She would compare two things together to make one. Revenge For each sailor a flag has fallen and surrender was pleaded, for each sailor a country was overpowered, for each and every sailor a kingdom was conquered. Pain was planted into their hearts and minds. A plan for revenge has just been born. Captain Jaggery has made his last wish. His death wish... This relates to what happened after the Rebellion, all reactions that became one. Everyone wants revenge! Rebellion The captain worked them day and night for he had no mercy, because of this they had a fight though hungry and very thirsty. In that fight two men had died or at least it was thought to be when they found out one was alive they went on happily. They tricked the captain and two of the crew into thinking that Zachariah was dead, but all that was thrown overboard was some cloth in a hammock bed. Because the captain thought he was dead his secret was very big. Every day the sailors would bring him food while he was hiding in the brig. This poem relates to the part of the novel when there is a big fight and two are thought to be dead. It tells what happens before, during, and after the fight. Captain’s Triumph The captain’s musket was once useless until the crew became ruthless. Aiming at all insight, he pulled the trigger with all his might After thinking he stole two people’s lives he collected the sailors’ swords, pistols, and knives. Now that he has a scar on his face, he thinks Miss Doyle is a terrible disgrace. The captain’s rage was at a boil, because of the action of Miss Doyle. Since she hated the captain and he hated her too, She became a member of the Seahawk crew. This poem relates to the rebellion. It also relates to the relationship between Charlotte Doyle and Captain Jaggery. Maximum With fire in their eyes, regret in their minds, and doubt on their faces, they put her to the test. Can she climb the royal main mast up and down? In one whole piece. All in one test. Can she sail with the best, live with the men, rough up her hands and try it again. This relates to when she’s becoming one of the crew. Also it relates to the test Charlotte has to pass. Struggle It’s the struggle to get to the top, do not look down or you might drop! Choose to shimmy up the mast or take the ladder, both ways are fine, neither one is faster. I’ve reached the top! I feel like a bird about to fly, either that or a human about to die. This is the test that Charlotte had to take, climb up there and put her life at stake. This relates to the part of the story when Charlotte Doyle has to take the test to become one of the crew. She was Struggling but she made it in the end. Truth On this day a stark truth came to her, she was where no proper young lady should be. With nobody of her proper station here, She had felt very queer. Since the captain was very mean, she knew not from good and bad. So she didn’t sail as a Miss, she sailed as a Lad. The poem relates to when she became part of the crew and became a mister in the captain’s book. Hurricane Brig Charlotte Doyle would never give up, but when the hurricane came, Charlotte took a drop. She hardly got any sleep and was accused of murder, so now she is in the brig talking with Zachariah. Now knowing that her friend was alive, she was very happy, but since she was still mad at the captain, her attitude was very crappie. This relates to he hurricane scene in the book. This also relates to the murder accusation scene in the book. First Night Though the first night she felt very sadly, when offered some tea felt delighted and happy. When given a dirk by the kitchen’s cook, she felt very scared. Although, she soon discovered it was only for her to bewared. After a few days rebellion is what she feared. And to be a part of it she never dared. This poem relates to her first night on the Seahawk. Then goes on to the other days in that week. Murder Query Who had stolen the knife? Who was where at the time of the crime? Who decided to take Mr. Hollybrass’ life? Who is to blame? All suspects are the same. The Captain is to blame. The Captain is an animal untamed. He tried to pin it on Doyle, ‘cause his anger is at a boil! This poem relates to when Charlotte is accused of murder. It also relates to when they have a trial to discover if she is guilty or not. TAKE HEART Poems By: Molly Peacok Blank Paper This poem is about a girl who’s inheritance is just blank pieces of paper. On the paper her name was not mentioned like other names of family members. She said the blank paper has the life she tried to restore after feeling like a nobody. She thinks the true gift of inheritance is to recreate her past. She is going to “re-blanken” her life and fill it in with the right life experiences. I think this poem is fantastic. It is creative and well written and is also realistic. I like the way that the poet expressed so much in such a short poem, she had a problem and a solution. I think it takes a great writer to do something like that. I also liked the way that she entitled her poem because the title “Blank Paper” means the paper might as well be blank to the poet because her name has been excluded, it also means that her life is like a blank slate that she must now fill in. The Valley of the Monsters This poem is about the author’s life experiences. She is comparing a fictional valley of monsters to her childhood. The fictional valley of monsters is a place where rocks form into monsters’ shapes. In her real life experience it was the minds of her family that were formed into monstrous shapes. Both the stone statues and minds of her family were very permanent. When she wrote this she was comparing the monsters to shapes in the clouds that people pointed at and made fun of. She said that the rocks that form the fictional valley of monsters are statues meant for tourist attractions, but the valley of monster she grew up in was tough slice of life that became part of her normal existence. The monsters in her life were “two dinosaurs... guzzling beer and crushing the cans with their scaly thumb-equivalents.” This poet is creative in the way she compared fictional and non-fictional matters of consequence in one poem. I like the way that this poem is partly realistic and partly unrealistic. If you really think about the poem it is very sad, especially since it is partially biographical. I liked the way that she used so many metaphors to compare the two subjects. It was kind of like a mystery to figure out what she was trying to say. That is why I did not understand the poem at first. I have never read a poem that was more original. THE BOOK OF LIGHT Poems By: Lucille Clifton Thel This poem is about a landscape called Thel. The author said that it was her first landscape, probably meaning where she was born. She described it mahogany as the clay of Georgia. This is also about a woman who has sweet attic of a mind, a safe place to keep of old songs. There was music inside her; she would sit down, shy as ever, humming alone among broken promises and among sweet broken bodies of birds. This is the type of poem known as “short and sweet.” This poem is one of the shortest written in The Book of Light. Although this poem is short it is quite sweet. It is as if Lucille Clifton’s words just make you imagine what is happening. Even though this poem is beautiful and short, I bet if she added more details and story line, then she would have just as beautiful a poem. Imagining Bear This is a poem basically about imagining things about somebody. It seems to be a bear, but could possibly be a human. In this poem the author is imagining him too tall and too fat to enter into the parlors. She imagines his hide as tough and his walking clumsy, with his grown filling the wind. “Give him an old guitar, give him a bottle of booze,” she said. The author gets you to imagine his children and his wife sighing and laughing. We imagine him singing and his granddaughter remembering him in poems. The first time that I read this poem I thought that this poem was about a man. I thought this poem was about a man. I thought this because in the poem she always addresses the character as him. Also she would mention his children, his wife and his granddaughter in the poem. She said “Give him an old guitar, give him a bottle of booze.” Those are thing that men use! The second time I read the poem I thought the author was comparing a man to a bear. The words that she used in her poem are what made me think that. She would say things like “imagine his hide gruff, the hair on him grizzly even to his own hand.” Or, “Imagine him lumbering as he moves. I imagine his growl filling the wind.” Alas, the third time I thought it could be a man or bear and that the poet wanted to demonstrate the similarities in both.
Clouds
Clouds
I`ve opened the curtain of my east window here above the computer, and I sit now in a holy theater before a sky-blue stage. A little cloud above the neighbor's trees resembles Jimmy Durante's nose for a while, then becomes amorphous as it slips on north. Other clouds follow, big and little and tiny on their march toward whereness. Wisps of them lead or droop because there must always be leading and drooping. The trees seem to laugh at the clouds while yet reaching for them with swaying branches. Trees must think that they are real, rooted, somebody, and that perhaps the clouds are only tickled water which sometimes blocks their sun. But trees are clouds, too, of green leaves--clouds that only move a little. Trees grow and change and dissipate like their airborne cousins. And what am I but a cloud of thoughts and feelings and aspirations? Don't I put out tentative mists here and there? Don't I occasionally appear to other people as a ridiculous shape of thoughts without my intending to? Don't I drift toward the north when I feel the breezes of love and the warmth of compassion? If clouds are beings, and beings are clouds, are we not all well advised to drift, to feel the wind tucking us in here and plucking us out there? Are we such rock-hard bodily lumps as we imagine? Drift, let me. Sing to the sky, will I. One in many, are we. Let us breathe the breeze and find therein our roots in the spirit. I close the curtain now, feeling broader, fresher. The act is over. Applause is sweeping through the trees.
I`ve opened the curtain of my east window here above the computer, and I sit now in a holy theater before a sky-blue stage. A little cloud above the neighbor's trees resembles Jimmy Durante's nose for a while, then becomes amorphous as it slips on north. Other clouds follow, big and little and tiny on their march toward whereness. Wisps of them lead or droop because there must always be leading and drooping. The trees seem to laugh at the clouds while yet reaching for them with swaying branches. Trees must think that they are real, rooted, somebody, and that perhaps the clouds are only tickled water which sometimes blocks their sun. But trees are clouds, too, of green leaves--clouds that only move a little. Trees grow and change and dissipate like their airborne cousins. And what am I but a cloud of thoughts and feelings and aspirations? Don't I put out tentative mists here and there? Don't I occasionally appear to other people as a ridiculous shape of thoughts without my intending to? Don't I drift toward the north when I feel the breezes of love and the warmth of compassion? If clouds are beings, and beings are clouds, are we not all well advised to drift, to feel the wind tucking us in here and plucking us out there? Are we such rock-hard bodily lumps as we imagine? Drift, let me. Sing to the sky, will I. One in many, are we. Let us breathe the breeze and find therein our roots in the spirit. I close the curtain now, feeling broader, fresher. The act is over. Applause is sweeping through the trees.
Clod And Pebble By Blake
Clod And Pebble By Blake
In William Blake’s “The Clod and the Pebble,” the Clod of Clay and the Pebble have opposing views of love. The Clod sees love from an optimist’s view while the Pebble sees love from a pessimist’s point of view. The Clod of Clay sings his verse about love; “So sung the Clod of Clay” (347). This gives a sense of jubilation. The idea of song is associated with happiness and glee. This gives the impression that the Clod is happy and that the things of which he is singing are also happy. The Clod of Clay is also described as “Trodden with the cattle’s feet” (347). The Clod has been stepped on, though he does not seem to mind. The Clod is very optimistic. He knows that his purpose is to be stepped on. He doesn’t resent his place in the world. He can see past his purpose and find meaning in his life beyond his job. The Clod’s song about love says love is a wonderful and beautiful thing. He says “Love seeketh not itself to please, / Nor for itself hath any care” (347). The Clod is saying love is selfless. When a person is in love, he or she desires only to make his partner happy. A person in love wants only the things that his partner desires. The Clod sings, “But for another gives its ease” (347). This means someone in love is willing and does give up his simple life of being alone and dealing only with his own needs to share his life with the one he loves. When the Clod says “And builds a Heaven in Hell’s despair” (347) he means that love can overcome anything. Love, in the midst of pain and suffering, can build a grand palace of happiness and hope. The Pebble in the brook has a totally different opinion of love. He sees love in the opposite way the Clod sees love. The pebble warbles his verse about love, “But a Pebble in the brook / Warbled out these metres met” (347). This means, in general, to sing, but it is more like a yodel. This does not sound like the song of the Clod. It is not nearly as jubilant. The Pebble lives in the brook. He lives in clear, fresh, moving water. The Pebble enjoys a life that is more peaceful than the Clod’s. The Pebble, though living a life of comfort, is a pessimist. He resents his place in the world. He does not understand that being a pebble in a brook is his purpose in life and is his position in the universe. The Pebbles warble about love says love is a dismal and dreary thing. He says “Love seeketh only Self to please, / To bind another to its delight” (347). The Pebble is saying love is selfish. When a person is in love, he or she desires only to be made happy by his partner. A person in love is only looking for the ways in which his partner could fulfill his desires. The Pebble warbles, “Joy in another’s loss of ease” (347). This means someone in love expects his partner to give up her simple life of being alone to share it with him. He expects to have an undisturbed life. When the Pebble says “And builds a Hell in Heaven’s Despite” (347), he means that love disturbs a peaceful life. He is saying that love, in the midst of happiness and hope, brings pain and suffering. The Pebble only sees how love can break hearts when they are so vulnerable. Love can make a person helpless, weak, and powerless. The Clod of Clay is an optimist who sees love as a wonderful thing that brings happiness and joy to a couple. The Pebble is a pessimist who sees love as a dismal illusion that only brings heartache and pain.
In William Blake’s “The Clod and the Pebble,” the Clod of Clay and the Pebble have opposing views of love. The Clod sees love from an optimist’s view while the Pebble sees love from a pessimist’s point of view. The Clod of Clay sings his verse about love; “So sung the Clod of Clay” (347). This gives a sense of jubilation. The idea of song is associated with happiness and glee. This gives the impression that the Clod is happy and that the things of which he is singing are also happy. The Clod of Clay is also described as “Trodden with the cattle’s feet” (347). The Clod has been stepped on, though he does not seem to mind. The Clod is very optimistic. He knows that his purpose is to be stepped on. He doesn’t resent his place in the world. He can see past his purpose and find meaning in his life beyond his job. The Clod’s song about love says love is a wonderful and beautiful thing. He says “Love seeketh not itself to please, / Nor for itself hath any care” (347). The Clod is saying love is selfless. When a person is in love, he or she desires only to make his partner happy. A person in love wants only the things that his partner desires. The Clod sings, “But for another gives its ease” (347). This means someone in love is willing and does give up his simple life of being alone and dealing only with his own needs to share his life with the one he loves. When the Clod says “And builds a Heaven in Hell’s despair” (347) he means that love can overcome anything. Love, in the midst of pain and suffering, can build a grand palace of happiness and hope. The Pebble in the brook has a totally different opinion of love. He sees love in the opposite way the Clod sees love. The pebble warbles his verse about love, “But a Pebble in the brook / Warbled out these metres met” (347). This means, in general, to sing, but it is more like a yodel. This does not sound like the song of the Clod. It is not nearly as jubilant. The Pebble lives in the brook. He lives in clear, fresh, moving water. The Pebble enjoys a life that is more peaceful than the Clod’s. The Pebble, though living a life of comfort, is a pessimist. He resents his place in the world. He does not understand that being a pebble in a brook is his purpose in life and is his position in the universe. The Pebbles warble about love says love is a dismal and dreary thing. He says “Love seeketh only Self to please, / To bind another to its delight” (347). The Pebble is saying love is selfish. When a person is in love, he or she desires only to be made happy by his partner. A person in love is only looking for the ways in which his partner could fulfill his desires. The Pebble warbles, “Joy in another’s loss of ease” (347). This means someone in love expects his partner to give up her simple life of being alone to share it with him. He expects to have an undisturbed life. When the Pebble says “And builds a Hell in Heaven’s Despite” (347), he means that love disturbs a peaceful life. He is saying that love, in the midst of happiness and hope, brings pain and suffering. The Pebble only sees how love can break hearts when they are so vulnerable. Love can make a person helpless, weak, and powerless. The Clod of Clay is an optimist who sees love as a wonderful thing that brings happiness and joy to a couple. The Pebble is a pessimist who sees love as a dismal illusion that only brings heartache and pain.
Clarities
Clarities
"The Clarities" I choose the word clarity for this OED Essay. It seemed to fit rather well and piqued my interest as well. After reading the poem, I began to wonder what different meanings there were for this word. The author could have intended a less obvious meaning for the word clarities. So I decided to look it up. There were several definitions listed. One of which was brightness, lustre, brilliancy, splendour. I thought this definition was really interesting, because it wasn't the one I thought of orginally, and yet it was still the first one listed. It also was interesting because, considering what the poem is about, it adds a new light or tone to the poem. It adds a new way to describe love. It says how brilliant love is. This is also interesting because most historically this was the accepted definition of this word. Over the years the word must have changed meanings slightly. In that time the word was also used to mean clear, as in: the water is clear. Only more recently was it seen as clear meaning: clearness of thinking. This definition of this word became obsolete in the sixteenth century. The word than came to it's present spelling. This spelling almost became obsolete in the seventeenth century, but was revived more recently. Other definitions of clarity have been light in the literal sense. Clarity was used briefly around the 1650's to mean light referring to the sun. Another definition was glory and divine lustre. This definition was more permanent. It was used from the 1300's through the 1600's. This definition however has not been used in recent times. There also was one other definition other than the one accepted today. This definition was illustrious quality; lustre of renown. This is also an interesting definition to apply to this poem. The thought of love as being renown sheds new light. If one were to go through this poem with that definition in mind it would probably turn out to be a very different poem. The last and final definition is the one that still stands today. Clearness is now what we uses clarity to mean. We can use it to mean clarity of mind or clarity can involve seeing something. This definition of this word has been in use since the early 1600's and it still holds today. This is the longest standing use of this word. It will be interesting to see if this word continues to change meaning.
"The Clarities" I choose the word clarity for this OED Essay. It seemed to fit rather well and piqued my interest as well. After reading the poem, I began to wonder what different meanings there were for this word. The author could have intended a less obvious meaning for the word clarities. So I decided to look it up. There were several definitions listed. One of which was brightness, lustre, brilliancy, splendour. I thought this definition was really interesting, because it wasn't the one I thought of orginally, and yet it was still the first one listed. It also was interesting because, considering what the poem is about, it adds a new light or tone to the poem. It adds a new way to describe love. It says how brilliant love is. This is also interesting because most historically this was the accepted definition of this word. Over the years the word must have changed meanings slightly. In that time the word was also used to mean clear, as in: the water is clear. Only more recently was it seen as clear meaning: clearness of thinking. This definition of this word became obsolete in the sixteenth century. The word than came to it's present spelling. This spelling almost became obsolete in the seventeenth century, but was revived more recently. Other definitions of clarity have been light in the literal sense. Clarity was used briefly around the 1650's to mean light referring to the sun. Another definition was glory and divine lustre. This definition was more permanent. It was used from the 1300's through the 1600's. This definition however has not been used in recent times. There also was one other definition other than the one accepted today. This definition was illustrious quality; lustre of renown. This is also an interesting definition to apply to this poem. The thought of love as being renown sheds new light. If one were to go through this poem with that definition in mind it would probably turn out to be a very different poem. The last and final definition is the one that still stands today. Clearness is now what we uses clarity to mean. We can use it to mean clarity of mind or clarity can involve seeing something. This definition of this word has been in use since the early 1600's and it still holds today. This is the longest standing use of this word. It will be interesting to see if this word continues to change meaning.
Childhood
Childhood
We were then Children with nothing but Childhood. We played kiss Tag and suicide which Was merely a game with Throwing, and running, and Touching the side of the School house before the thud Of the ball. You became The rumor of a girl Who missed high school English And dated the boys who Would have, should have, will have Been in jail. They said You fought with your parents And even ran away At Christmastime. I became The sweetheart of the high School staff with "Excellents," Ivy League potential, A chance to do great deeds And late nights alone in My room, worrying if A ninety was an "A" Or a "B." What we became Was friends for life who ran And then walked naked on The dunes of Moody Beach And talked of God and life As we shot our shots of Kamikaze and I Carried you out of the Bar with love. What they saw Was the saver in me And the savee in you The lost girl who was back On track after all of That trash and even has A shot at college now Which means all the tea in China you know. What I see now Is the girl who saved me From torching my path through The sky. At breakneck speeds Towards oldness and deadness And all the monsters we Fought in youth, who wore ties, Breathed fire, and who worked more Than played. What you are now Is dropped out and free As you scheme to tag whales Off the coast of Wales or Study the Earth in New Zealand. But you still crashed Your car twice last week On the ice of Tatnic Road and I worry. What I am now Is learning, achieving, Interning. Taking notes, Gaining knowledge, looking At the future and all I could be, and grad school, Careers and how much I could Make and B.A.'s and b.s. And you worry. Rightly so.
We were then Children with nothing but Childhood. We played kiss Tag and suicide which Was merely a game with Throwing, and running, and Touching the side of the School house before the thud Of the ball. You became The rumor of a girl Who missed high school English And dated the boys who Would have, should have, will have Been in jail. They said You fought with your parents And even ran away At Christmastime. I became The sweetheart of the high School staff with "Excellents," Ivy League potential, A chance to do great deeds And late nights alone in My room, worrying if A ninety was an "A" Or a "B." What we became Was friends for life who ran And then walked naked on The dunes of Moody Beach And talked of God and life As we shot our shots of Kamikaze and I Carried you out of the Bar with love. What they saw Was the saver in me And the savee in you The lost girl who was back On track after all of That trash and even has A shot at college now Which means all the tea in China you know. What I see now Is the girl who saved me From torching my path through The sky. At breakneck speeds Towards oldness and deadness And all the monsters we Fought in youth, who wore ties, Breathed fire, and who worked more Than played. What you are now Is dropped out and free As you scheme to tag whales Off the coast of Wales or Study the Earth in New Zealand. But you still crashed Your car twice last week On the ice of Tatnic Road and I worry. What I am now Is learning, achieving, Interning. Taking notes, Gaining knowledge, looking At the future and all I could be, and grad school, Careers and how much I could Make and B.A.'s and b.s. And you worry. Rightly so.
Celebration Of The Lizard
Celebration Of The Lizard
| "Celebration of the lizard" by James Douglas Morrison is a helpless labyrinth of insanity. The poem is a murder that results in insanity. The speaker is the murderously insane madman. In this outrageous maze, the poet is running from his chaotic problems. In the first three stanzas, it starts out as a bad dream that eventually causes the speaker to drive himself to a temporary insanity. During his state of temporary insanity, he murders a man out of jealousy that he cannot control. After the murder, he runs to a hideout on a hill far away. He describes the hideout as a mansion to give you the picture in your mind of how appreciative he is to have a place to hide. The journey is a long and monotonous one but ends in the disappointment of having to turn back. In the last stanza he announces, "Tomorrow we enter the town of my birth, I want to be ready". In this poem, James Morrison is taking you with him on a frantic, frightening roller coaster. The poet's tone is dark and eerie. The dream in the beginning becomes a reality, which is an example of foreshadowing. When he describes the mansion on the hill, it puts a picture in your mind, which is an excellent example of alliteration. This poem is interesting and frustrating at first because it makes you think about every phrase. To read it requires keeping an open mind because there are a lot of metaphors. I had to read it over 20 times just to get a vague understanding. Please do not let the length and metaphorical contents of this poem discourage you from reading this intriguing poem. This is definitely a poem that you will not find in a schoolbook. If you like this poem, I recommend that you read the work of other dark poets such as Edgar Allen Poe. |
Carol Anne Duggys Adultery
Carol Anne Duggys Adultery
Carol Anne Duffy’s poem “Adultery” is structured in a traditional and straightforward way. It is comprised of eleven verses - each with the common four lines, which consist of between four and nine words. This makes the poem not particularly striking at the first look, before it is read. The typography does not attract the readers attention, this is probably because Duffy wants the reader to concentrate on the language, and is not concerned with the shape that the lines form, or how they relate to the themes of the poem. RHYME AND RHYTHM Duffy does not seem particularly interested in rhyme in this poem, and probably decided before writing it that she did not want any. Therefore rhyme has been avoided, as has a regular, repetitive rhythm. I think that Duffy wants to allow the language to speak for itself, without getting tangled up in rhyme and rhythm schemes, and having to change what she wants to say in order to make it fit these limitations. She also wants to avoid losing the impact of the poem. This has much to do with the language used, poetic devices, and very often, the lack of rhythm, seen clearly in the first verse when she writes: “Guilt. A sick, green tint” The caesura breaks up the line, splitting it into two. If she were writing within the barriers of a specific rhythm, she would probably be tempted, and perhaps compelled to, split this line exactly in half, in order to balance it and keep the structure. This would not have the same effect. The caesura is used as dramatic device, implying that the poem is intended to be read out loud. The break makes the reader pause, giving the first word a larger impact as it is isolated from the rest of the text. It also does the same for the following sentence, and as it is on the end of the verse, there is a natural pause here as well, giving this line impact and power. Seeing as it also highlights a key theme in the poem, guilt, it is also an important line as it tells the reader a little about what to expect, and also raises their interest and expectations, Guilt? Why? Who? LANGUAGE Duffy uses language very effectively in this poem. She wants to create a specific atmosphere and then build on it, creating characters, situations and emotions as she does so. She wants an atmosphere of sleaziness and seediness, but wants it to sound exciting, dangerous and seductive. She also examines the harm that the situations cause. The first verse (or stanza) is packed with intrigue, mystery, excitement and questions. “Wear dark glasses in the rain”, demands the first line, and the reader gets ideas of disguise. It goes on to mention “unhurt” and “bruise” - dark glasses to hide a black eye? Maybe not, another glance at the title, “Adultery”, suggests something else - sado-masochism? Then comes the “guilt”, as mentioned above, and reader knows she is talking about a sexual affair - but who? What? Where? We want to know more. The second verse builds on the sexual intrigue with mentions of “hands can do many things”, and “money tucked in the palms” suggests prostitution, as well as “wash themselves” maybe implying that they feel dirty? Duffy is building an atmosphere which is sexually charged and filled with riddles and ambiguous comments, daring the reader to assume a sexually link. The next verse features the line: “You are naked under your clothes all day...”, another sexual connotation, perhaps implying that the clothes are a disguise, and all day the character does something which is not really them, and underneath they are different, “naked” suggests vulnerability. There is also “...brings you alone to your knees...” and “...more, more...”, which could suggest oral sex, while the repetition shows that Duffy considers this the most important word of the line, demanding it stands out, and it could suggest an unsatisfied sexual appetite, or description of the frequency of the couple’s meetings. Dishonesty is mentioned with “deceit” and “Suck a lie with a hole in it”. This could be a more explicit reference to oral sex, or more obscurely, Polo mints, the mint you suck with a hole in it. Duffy could be saying that the lies are sweet, addictive and refreshing compared with a mundane life, like Polo mints; she could mean that the lies come as easily as sweets from a packet, although probably not. Or perhaps the key is in the next line: “On the way home from a lethal thrilling night.” Maybe the character is mulling over what the excuse will be to the spouse, how he/she will lie their way out of where they have been, but the lie will always be flawed as it is not true - hence the hole. The “lethal” also brings a touch of danger to the atmosphere. Duffy does not want the reader to be comfortable with this deceit or the situation as a whole. We know it is sordid, and now we know it could be a bit hazardous. Duffy continues with “up against a wall, faster”, an obvious reference to the e night they’ve just had, with fast exciting sex - quick gratification. The last line of this verse: “unpeels to a lost cry. You’re a bastard.” The caesura breaks up the line, balancing it, and giving greater impact and significance to the second half. The colloquialism “bastard” is used for several reasons. It has a big impact, surprising the reader, and shocking a minority, who aren’t used to taboo words in poetry. This gives it more power - it is swear word, and is offensive. Duffy could have said “You’re a bad person”, but this is dead, lame, and ineffective. It is also more emotional, as “bastard” is more dramatic than “bad person” and so has more feeling in it. It is likely that Duffy is revealing what the spouse’s reaction would be to the news that his/her wife/husband is having an affair. If not then the adulterer is imagining what their spouse would say, and is calling him/herself a bastard. It is unlikely that Duffy herself is calling the adulterer a bastard. Firstly Duffy does not appear to pass judgment on the characters in the rest of the poem, she lets their actions and feelings speak for themselves. Secondly, Duffy would probably realise that it is more interesting to hear another character’s opinion, than her own, especially when she has focused on what the characters are thinking in the rest of the poem. Altogether, Duffy is revealing some of the emotions involved with adultery. There is also the matter of whether the adulterer is male or female. “Bastard” is traditionally an insult towards men, and it is unlikely that Duffy would purposely confuse the reader in regard to the gender of the main character, especially when their actions and thoughts are so vital to the poem. This does not necessarily mean that the adulterer is male. The references earlier to oral sex implied that the adulterer was female, but I could be wrong about those, or maybe Duffy is saying that person the adulterer is having an affair with is a bastard - hence a female adulterer. With the oral sex references in mind, presuming they are correct, it suggests that the affair is homosexual, but if this were the case then Duffy would almost certainly say it in more explicit terms, as on first read this is not apparent, and Duffy cannot want her poem to be that misunderstood. The next verse begins: “Do it do it do it. Sweet darkness” Duffy is using poetic devices to convey the mood and atmosphere she wants to create. The caesura again breaks the line in two giving a big impact and significance to both halves as the readers pauses for effect. The repetition shows that the phrase “do it” is important and needs to be emphasized again and again, or perhaps it is describing how they “do it” again and again - a possible sexual reference. The lack of punctuation conveys the speed and urgency. “Sweet darkness” is almost an oxymoron; we are used to thinking of darkness as spooky, scary and hiding dangers, and to think of it as sweet seems to be a contradiction in terms, it isn’t really, but Duffy knows that this impression will be given. She could be talking about the lovers meeting in the darkness, or darkness hiding their sins, but either way, the fact that it appears to be an oxymoron draws the readers attention to it, as does the caesura. Duffy then returns to sexually ambiguous phrases like “how you are wanted, which way, now”, and “pay for it in cash” this must be referring to desire in the former quotation and probably prostitution in the latter. However, Duffy never explicitly writes about prostitution, just hints at it in order to increase the sexual tension and condense the atmosphere of seediness. Duffy goes on to describe how the affair is taking it’s toll on the marriage and conscience of the adulterer. “...The life which crumbles like a wedding cake.” - Duffy uses a simile to describe how the life is being eroded, by comparing it to a crumbling wedding cake, reminding that the adulterer is married, and that the marriage must also be splintering. The seventh verse is interesting: “Paranoia for lunch; too much to drink, as a hand on your thigh tilts the restaurant. You know all about love, don’t you. Turn on your beautiful eyes” The annotations show all the poetic devices that Duffy uses, mostly in order to increase the mood of the poem and convey the theme. In the next verse Duffy uses an interesting image: “the slicing of innocent onions scalds you to tears”. I do not know what Duffy is trying to say to the reader here, but there are several possibilities. The adulterer has returned to the household chores for the family, and is crying because he/she feels bad about how he/she has betrayed the family, and is reminded of this by the return to the old routine; or possibly the “innocent onions” represent the innocent members of the family that the adulterer has hurt - this would be the “slicing” - and the realisation of this has made the adulterer cry, just like cutting onions would. Duffy is telling the reader that the adulterer feels remorse that the family has suffered for her affair, and this changes the atmosphere. It appears that in these verses the poet is describing what happens when the adulterer returns to the family home, he/she sleeps in a “marital bed”, Duffy is pointing this out so deliberately to highlight the fact that he/she has recently been sharing another bed, an extra-marital one. “The tarnished spoon of your body stirring betrayal” - Duffy uses a metaphor to explain that the adulterer feels dirty due to his/her actions, and is acutely aware of how he/she has let down the family and betrayed the spouse. The reader feels that the adulterer regrets their actions, and is now dealing with the consequences, which could be severe as he/she has to send “dumb and explicit flowers on nobody’s birthday” to try to win over the partner again and apologise. If the partner hasn’t found out then the adulterer is probably sending the flowers just out of guilt. However, the last verse implies that the partner does know what’s been going on, as they appear to have an argument about it: “...You did it. What. Didn’t you. Fuck. Fuck. No...” Duffy does not explicitly show that it is dialogue by using inverted commas, but the language suggests it is. The partner has just discovered what is going on and is confronting the adulterer. The colloquialism is again used to give the line power, impact, and the ability to shock, as “*censored*” is generally considered to be the most taboo word in the English language. It is shows that the this is very emotional. The characters are using “strong language” because they have very strong feelings and are very upset. They both want to get across the power of what they are feeling, and the lack of question marks-?- show that they are not calmly asking each other questions, but are speaking in statements - “You did it, didn’t you.”, rather than “You did it, didn’t you?”. This also implies that they are shouting at each other. This is usually shown in either capital letters, italics, or bold type, but Duffy again does not want to be so explicit. She wants the reader to have to read the verse a few time through to understand it, as this will make them concentrate more and focus on what is being said. Throughout this poem Duffy is building up atmosphere. She uses language and poetic devices to create a mood, and then changes the mood, thereby moving the story on.
Carol Anne Duffy’s poem “Adultery” is structured in a traditional and straightforward way. It is comprised of eleven verses - each with the common four lines, which consist of between four and nine words. This makes the poem not particularly striking at the first look, before it is read. The typography does not attract the readers attention, this is probably because Duffy wants the reader to concentrate on the language, and is not concerned with the shape that the lines form, or how they relate to the themes of the poem. RHYME AND RHYTHM Duffy does not seem particularly interested in rhyme in this poem, and probably decided before writing it that she did not want any. Therefore rhyme has been avoided, as has a regular, repetitive rhythm. I think that Duffy wants to allow the language to speak for itself, without getting tangled up in rhyme and rhythm schemes, and having to change what she wants to say in order to make it fit these limitations. She also wants to avoid losing the impact of the poem. This has much to do with the language used, poetic devices, and very often, the lack of rhythm, seen clearly in the first verse when she writes: “Guilt. A sick, green tint” The caesura breaks up the line, splitting it into two. If she were writing within the barriers of a specific rhythm, she would probably be tempted, and perhaps compelled to, split this line exactly in half, in order to balance it and keep the structure. This would not have the same effect. The caesura is used as dramatic device, implying that the poem is intended to be read out loud. The break makes the reader pause, giving the first word a larger impact as it is isolated from the rest of the text. It also does the same for the following sentence, and as it is on the end of the verse, there is a natural pause here as well, giving this line impact and power. Seeing as it also highlights a key theme in the poem, guilt, it is also an important line as it tells the reader a little about what to expect, and also raises their interest and expectations, Guilt? Why? Who? LANGUAGE Duffy uses language very effectively in this poem. She wants to create a specific atmosphere and then build on it, creating characters, situations and emotions as she does so. She wants an atmosphere of sleaziness and seediness, but wants it to sound exciting, dangerous and seductive. She also examines the harm that the situations cause. The first verse (or stanza) is packed with intrigue, mystery, excitement and questions. “Wear dark glasses in the rain”, demands the first line, and the reader gets ideas of disguise. It goes on to mention “unhurt” and “bruise” - dark glasses to hide a black eye? Maybe not, another glance at the title, “Adultery”, suggests something else - sado-masochism? Then comes the “guilt”, as mentioned above, and reader knows she is talking about a sexual affair - but who? What? Where? We want to know more. The second verse builds on the sexual intrigue with mentions of “hands can do many things”, and “money tucked in the palms” suggests prostitution, as well as “wash themselves” maybe implying that they feel dirty? Duffy is building an atmosphere which is sexually charged and filled with riddles and ambiguous comments, daring the reader to assume a sexually link. The next verse features the line: “You are naked under your clothes all day...”, another sexual connotation, perhaps implying that the clothes are a disguise, and all day the character does something which is not really them, and underneath they are different, “naked” suggests vulnerability. There is also “...brings you alone to your knees...” and “...more, more...”, which could suggest oral sex, while the repetition shows that Duffy considers this the most important word of the line, demanding it stands out, and it could suggest an unsatisfied sexual appetite, or description of the frequency of the couple’s meetings. Dishonesty is mentioned with “deceit” and “Suck a lie with a hole in it”. This could be a more explicit reference to oral sex, or more obscurely, Polo mints, the mint you suck with a hole in it. Duffy could be saying that the lies are sweet, addictive and refreshing compared with a mundane life, like Polo mints; she could mean that the lies come as easily as sweets from a packet, although probably not. Or perhaps the key is in the next line: “On the way home from a lethal thrilling night.” Maybe the character is mulling over what the excuse will be to the spouse, how he/she will lie their way out of where they have been, but the lie will always be flawed as it is not true - hence the hole. The “lethal” also brings a touch of danger to the atmosphere. Duffy does not want the reader to be comfortable with this deceit or the situation as a whole. We know it is sordid, and now we know it could be a bit hazardous. Duffy continues with “up against a wall, faster”, an obvious reference to the e night they’ve just had, with fast exciting sex - quick gratification. The last line of this verse: “unpeels to a lost cry. You’re a bastard.” The caesura breaks up the line, balancing it, and giving greater impact and significance to the second half. The colloquialism “bastard” is used for several reasons. It has a big impact, surprising the reader, and shocking a minority, who aren’t used to taboo words in poetry. This gives it more power - it is swear word, and is offensive. Duffy could have said “You’re a bad person”, but this is dead, lame, and ineffective. It is also more emotional, as “bastard” is more dramatic than “bad person” and so has more feeling in it. It is likely that Duffy is revealing what the spouse’s reaction would be to the news that his/her wife/husband is having an affair. If not then the adulterer is imagining what their spouse would say, and is calling him/herself a bastard. It is unlikely that Duffy herself is calling the adulterer a bastard. Firstly Duffy does not appear to pass judgment on the characters in the rest of the poem, she lets their actions and feelings speak for themselves. Secondly, Duffy would probably realise that it is more interesting to hear another character’s opinion, than her own, especially when she has focused on what the characters are thinking in the rest of the poem. Altogether, Duffy is revealing some of the emotions involved with adultery. There is also the matter of whether the adulterer is male or female. “Bastard” is traditionally an insult towards men, and it is unlikely that Duffy would purposely confuse the reader in regard to the gender of the main character, especially when their actions and thoughts are so vital to the poem. This does not necessarily mean that the adulterer is male. The references earlier to oral sex implied that the adulterer was female, but I could be wrong about those, or maybe Duffy is saying that person the adulterer is having an affair with is a bastard - hence a female adulterer. With the oral sex references in mind, presuming they are correct, it suggests that the affair is homosexual, but if this were the case then Duffy would almost certainly say it in more explicit terms, as on first read this is not apparent, and Duffy cannot want her poem to be that misunderstood. The next verse begins: “Do it do it do it. Sweet darkness” Duffy is using poetic devices to convey the mood and atmosphere she wants to create. The caesura again breaks the line in two giving a big impact and significance to both halves as the readers pauses for effect. The repetition shows that the phrase “do it” is important and needs to be emphasized again and again, or perhaps it is describing how they “do it” again and again - a possible sexual reference. The lack of punctuation conveys the speed and urgency. “Sweet darkness” is almost an oxymoron; we are used to thinking of darkness as spooky, scary and hiding dangers, and to think of it as sweet seems to be a contradiction in terms, it isn’t really, but Duffy knows that this impression will be given. She could be talking about the lovers meeting in the darkness, or darkness hiding their sins, but either way, the fact that it appears to be an oxymoron draws the readers attention to it, as does the caesura. Duffy then returns to sexually ambiguous phrases like “how you are wanted, which way, now”, and “pay for it in cash” this must be referring to desire in the former quotation and probably prostitution in the latter. However, Duffy never explicitly writes about prostitution, just hints at it in order to increase the sexual tension and condense the atmosphere of seediness. Duffy goes on to describe how the affair is taking it’s toll on the marriage and conscience of the adulterer. “...The life which crumbles like a wedding cake.” - Duffy uses a simile to describe how the life is being eroded, by comparing it to a crumbling wedding cake, reminding that the adulterer is married, and that the marriage must also be splintering. The seventh verse is interesting: “Paranoia for lunch; too much to drink, as a hand on your thigh tilts the restaurant. You know all about love, don’t you. Turn on your beautiful eyes” The annotations show all the poetic devices that Duffy uses, mostly in order to increase the mood of the poem and convey the theme. In the next verse Duffy uses an interesting image: “the slicing of innocent onions scalds you to tears”. I do not know what Duffy is trying to say to the reader here, but there are several possibilities. The adulterer has returned to the household chores for the family, and is crying because he/she feels bad about how he/she has betrayed the family, and is reminded of this by the return to the old routine; or possibly the “innocent onions” represent the innocent members of the family that the adulterer has hurt - this would be the “slicing” - and the realisation of this has made the adulterer cry, just like cutting onions would. Duffy is telling the reader that the adulterer feels remorse that the family has suffered for her affair, and this changes the atmosphere. It appears that in these verses the poet is describing what happens when the adulterer returns to the family home, he/she sleeps in a “marital bed”, Duffy is pointing this out so deliberately to highlight the fact that he/she has recently been sharing another bed, an extra-marital one. “The tarnished spoon of your body stirring betrayal” - Duffy uses a metaphor to explain that the adulterer feels dirty due to his/her actions, and is acutely aware of how he/she has let down the family and betrayed the spouse. The reader feels that the adulterer regrets their actions, and is now dealing with the consequences, which could be severe as he/she has to send “dumb and explicit flowers on nobody’s birthday” to try to win over the partner again and apologise. If the partner hasn’t found out then the adulterer is probably sending the flowers just out of guilt. However, the last verse implies that the partner does know what’s been going on, as they appear to have an argument about it: “...You did it. What. Didn’t you. Fuck. Fuck. No...” Duffy does not explicitly show that it is dialogue by using inverted commas, but the language suggests it is. The partner has just discovered what is going on and is confronting the adulterer. The colloquialism is again used to give the line power, impact, and the ability to shock, as “*censored*” is generally considered to be the most taboo word in the English language. It is shows that the this is very emotional. The characters are using “strong language” because they have very strong feelings and are very upset. They both want to get across the power of what they are feeling, and the lack of question marks-?- show that they are not calmly asking each other questions, but are speaking in statements - “You did it, didn’t you.”, rather than “You did it, didn’t you?”. This also implies that they are shouting at each other. This is usually shown in either capital letters, italics, or bold type, but Duffy again does not want to be so explicit. She wants the reader to have to read the verse a few time through to understand it, as this will make them concentrate more and focus on what is being said. Throughout this poem Duffy is building up atmosphere. She uses language and poetic devices to create a mood, and then changes the mood, thereby moving the story on.
Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg was unique compare to many other poets. All of the poems that he wrote were short and straight to the point. You would not find any poems that he had written that are over a page, yet still; his poems are very easy to understand. Sandburg lived through a lot of historic events, so all of his poems were about those historic events. As you know, history isn’t always exciting or easy to learn. Yet, Sandburg was able to write about those times in a way that an average high school student can understand, unlike other poets like Emily Dickinson or Edgar Allen Poe. Carl Sandburg should be included in an anthology of American poetry because of his writing technique and experience. Sandburg used a lot of the generalization methods to make his poems simpler to understand. Even though we know that sometimes-generalizing things are not good, Sandburg did a great job of it and was still able to write out everything he wanted to. Like I said, Carl Sandburg lived through some of the most famous historic events in the United States of all time. He had seen events like World War I, the roaring 1920s, the Depression, World War II, the New Deal, and the Cold War. The anthology of American poetry needs more poets with his kind of experience. I’ll bet you that he never had trouble trying to figure out what to write about. The poem I chose by Carl Sandburg was a poem called JAWS. It’s a poem about World War I, and it talks about how the countries that were involved in the war had a chance to prevent war, but they ignored it. This poem should be included as an example of the poets’ work because it’s saying what we think and feel. When we learn about how World War I was started, we would be thinking don’t these countries realize what they’re getting themselves into and don’t they have consciences. The poem JAWS talks about all these things so we can relate to it. Another reason why I think this poem should be included as an example of the poets’ work is because it’s short and straight to the point. If you were to give a high school student a choice of either reading a page long poem or a paragraph long poem, most chances are that student will pick the paragraph long one. And just because the poem JAWS is short doesn’t mean it’s not well written or incomplete with information. It has enough information for that certain type of poem and probably even an elementary student can understand it. This poem can be included in the canon because it’s about history and history is being taught on for all generations. It also should be included in the canon because not many poems in the canon are as short yet still contains so much information.
Carl Sandburg was unique compare to many other poets. All of the poems that he wrote were short and straight to the point. You would not find any poems that he had written that are over a page, yet still; his poems are very easy to understand. Sandburg lived through a lot of historic events, so all of his poems were about those historic events. As you know, history isn’t always exciting or easy to learn. Yet, Sandburg was able to write about those times in a way that an average high school student can understand, unlike other poets like Emily Dickinson or Edgar Allen Poe. Carl Sandburg should be included in an anthology of American poetry because of his writing technique and experience. Sandburg used a lot of the generalization methods to make his poems simpler to understand. Even though we know that sometimes-generalizing things are not good, Sandburg did a great job of it and was still able to write out everything he wanted to. Like I said, Carl Sandburg lived through some of the most famous historic events in the United States of all time. He had seen events like World War I, the roaring 1920s, the Depression, World War II, the New Deal, and the Cold War. The anthology of American poetry needs more poets with his kind of experience. I’ll bet you that he never had trouble trying to figure out what to write about. The poem I chose by Carl Sandburg was a poem called JAWS. It’s a poem about World War I, and it talks about how the countries that were involved in the war had a chance to prevent war, but they ignored it. This poem should be included as an example of the poets’ work because it’s saying what we think and feel. When we learn about how World War I was started, we would be thinking don’t these countries realize what they’re getting themselves into and don’t they have consciences. The poem JAWS talks about all these things so we can relate to it. Another reason why I think this poem should be included as an example of the poets’ work is because it’s short and straight to the point. If you were to give a high school student a choice of either reading a page long poem or a paragraph long poem, most chances are that student will pick the paragraph long one. And just because the poem JAWS is short doesn’t mean it’s not well written or incomplete with information. It has enough information for that certain type of poem and probably even an elementary student can understand it. This poem can be included in the canon because it’s about history and history is being taught on for all generations. It also should be included in the canon because not many poems in the canon are as short yet still contains so much information.
Captivity By Erdrich
Captivity By Erdrich
Louise Erdrich, the author of the famous poem titled Captivity, tells a story about a married mother who has been held captive by a tribe of Indians. The poem uses a wide variety of literary elements such as sympathy, guilt, submissiveness, and tentativeness. The two main themes of this first person, six-stanza poem, are love and fear. Erdrich also uses tricksters, which are supernatural characters found in the folklores of various primitive peoples. They often function as culture heroes who are given acts of sly deception. In this poem, the narrator’s captor takes on the role of a trickster. In most of Erdrich’s writings, she uses multiple characters as tricksters and this reflects on her Native American Heritage (Smith 23). One of Erdrich’s main writing tactics is the use of “historical ‘captivity narratives’” (Wilson and Jason 2716). One of the interesting facts about this poem is that it is based upon a true story. Erdrich gives us that feeling of truth and captivity before the poem begins. “He (my captor) gave me a bisquit, which I had put in my pocket, and not daring to eat it, buried it under a log, fearing he had put something in it to make me love him,” (Erdrich, 26). This quote came “from the narrative of the captivity of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson,” (Erdrich 26). Mrs. Mary was held captive by the Wampanoag Indian Tribe in 1676, when Lancaster, Massachusetts was demolished (Erdrich 26). The first stanza brings a strong feeling of some sort of imprisonment or captivity. “But he dragged me by the ends of my hair,” (Erdrich 26). The narrator at this point is experiencing fear from her captor, however she also feels passion and love when she looks into his face. “I could distinguish it from the others… I feared I understood his language, which was not human,” (Erdrich 26). Also, there is irony in this stanza when her captor saves her from the cold waters of the stream (Wilson and Jason 2715). In the second stanza, the tribe is pursued by white men who have “guns loaded with swan shot,” (Erdrich 26). However, the tribe is put in danger because of her child’s cries, which are from starvation. In my interpretation of the poem, she cannot “suckle” her own child because she is so nervous and confused (Erdrich 26). Luckily for the tribe and captives, there is a woman who feeds the child “milk of acorns,” (Erdrich 26). In the third stanza, the narrator is to the point of starvation as she tells herself not to take food from his hands. “I told myself that I would starve/ Before I took food from his hands,” (Erdrich 26). I believe that Louise is trying to reflect the quote used before the poem taken from Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, trying to give the reader a sense of hidden desire. However, going against her will to not give in to her captor, she eats the fetus of a deer that her captor gave to her. “He had killed a deer with a young one in her/ And gave it to me to eat of the fawn,” (Erdrich 26). The way that the narrator describes her meal is delicate, however Erdrich tells us that it is a fetus; that paints a distasteful picture for the mind of the reader. At the end of the stanza, Erdrich is very vague about what happens and leaves it up to the reader to decide the outcome. I felt that the narrator was tentative when she said, “That I followed where he took me./ … He cut the cord that bound me to the tree,” (Erdrich 27). In my interpretation, this is where Erdrich uses the literary element of submissiveness. I personally think that she slept with her captor because the next and last stanzas of the poem she feels guilty. In the fourth stanza, the narrator is frightened and hides herself in fear from God because she knows in her heart that she has sinned. “After that the birds mocked./ Shadows gaped and roared/… He did not notice God’s wrath./ God blasted fire from half buried stumps./ I hid my face… fearing that he would burn us all,” (Erdrich 27). Perhaps she is in a bad lighting or thunderstorm in this stanza. She also notices “her captor neither notices or fears God’s wrath,” (Wilson and Jason 2715). The last two stanzas take place at her house later in her life after being held captive. This indicates that the climax of the poem is in the fourth stanza. Although she is home and doing well, the element of guilt is present when she longs for her captive experience and her husband. She also does not feel at home when she says that she sees, “no truth in things,” even though she has food for her child (Wilson and Jason 2715). The narrator says, “‘I lay myself to sleep’ and ‘I lay to sleep’, two lines that echo the prayer taught to children,” (Wilson and Jason 2715). In the last stanza, she is perhaps in a dream taking her back to her captivity with the Indian tribe. She feels that she is “outside their circle,” however she then finds herself as a part of their chants and lives (Erdrich 27). “And he led his company into the noise/… I could no longer bear the thought of how I was./ I stripped a branch and struck the earth/ To admit to me/ And feed me honey from the rock,” (Erdrich 27). Louise Erdrich uses her native history and background to describe some of the elements in the narrative poem. I agree with Claudia Egerer, author of Fiction (In)betweenness, when she describes the way that Erdrich writes fiction. “First person voices are construed as subjective, implicated as they are in the telling of their own story… their double function as narrators and narratees,” (59). Captivity reflects this exact statement. Without a doubt, Louise Erdrich creates life and history through Captivity and it’s complexity.
Louise Erdrich, the author of the famous poem titled Captivity, tells a story about a married mother who has been held captive by a tribe of Indians. The poem uses a wide variety of literary elements such as sympathy, guilt, submissiveness, and tentativeness. The two main themes of this first person, six-stanza poem, are love and fear. Erdrich also uses tricksters, which are supernatural characters found in the folklores of various primitive peoples. They often function as culture heroes who are given acts of sly deception. In this poem, the narrator’s captor takes on the role of a trickster. In most of Erdrich’s writings, she uses multiple characters as tricksters and this reflects on her Native American Heritage (Smith 23). One of Erdrich’s main writing tactics is the use of “historical ‘captivity narratives’” (Wilson and Jason 2716). One of the interesting facts about this poem is that it is based upon a true story. Erdrich gives us that feeling of truth and captivity before the poem begins. “He (my captor) gave me a bisquit, which I had put in my pocket, and not daring to eat it, buried it under a log, fearing he had put something in it to make me love him,” (Erdrich, 26). This quote came “from the narrative of the captivity of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson,” (Erdrich 26). Mrs. Mary was held captive by the Wampanoag Indian Tribe in 1676, when Lancaster, Massachusetts was demolished (Erdrich 26). The first stanza brings a strong feeling of some sort of imprisonment or captivity. “But he dragged me by the ends of my hair,” (Erdrich 26). The narrator at this point is experiencing fear from her captor, however she also feels passion and love when she looks into his face. “I could distinguish it from the others… I feared I understood his language, which was not human,” (Erdrich 26). Also, there is irony in this stanza when her captor saves her from the cold waters of the stream (Wilson and Jason 2715). In the second stanza, the tribe is pursued by white men who have “guns loaded with swan shot,” (Erdrich 26). However, the tribe is put in danger because of her child’s cries, which are from starvation. In my interpretation of the poem, she cannot “suckle” her own child because she is so nervous and confused (Erdrich 26). Luckily for the tribe and captives, there is a woman who feeds the child “milk of acorns,” (Erdrich 26). In the third stanza, the narrator is to the point of starvation as she tells herself not to take food from his hands. “I told myself that I would starve/ Before I took food from his hands,” (Erdrich 26). I believe that Louise is trying to reflect the quote used before the poem taken from Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, trying to give the reader a sense of hidden desire. However, going against her will to not give in to her captor, she eats the fetus of a deer that her captor gave to her. “He had killed a deer with a young one in her/ And gave it to me to eat of the fawn,” (Erdrich 26). The way that the narrator describes her meal is delicate, however Erdrich tells us that it is a fetus; that paints a distasteful picture for the mind of the reader. At the end of the stanza, Erdrich is very vague about what happens and leaves it up to the reader to decide the outcome. I felt that the narrator was tentative when she said, “That I followed where he took me./ … He cut the cord that bound me to the tree,” (Erdrich 27). In my interpretation, this is where Erdrich uses the literary element of submissiveness. I personally think that she slept with her captor because the next and last stanzas of the poem she feels guilty. In the fourth stanza, the narrator is frightened and hides herself in fear from God because she knows in her heart that she has sinned. “After that the birds mocked./ Shadows gaped and roared/… He did not notice God’s wrath./ God blasted fire from half buried stumps./ I hid my face… fearing that he would burn us all,” (Erdrich 27). Perhaps she is in a bad lighting or thunderstorm in this stanza. She also notices “her captor neither notices or fears God’s wrath,” (Wilson and Jason 2715). The last two stanzas take place at her house later in her life after being held captive. This indicates that the climax of the poem is in the fourth stanza. Although she is home and doing well, the element of guilt is present when she longs for her captive experience and her husband. She also does not feel at home when she says that she sees, “no truth in things,” even though she has food for her child (Wilson and Jason 2715). The narrator says, “‘I lay myself to sleep’ and ‘I lay to sleep’, two lines that echo the prayer taught to children,” (Wilson and Jason 2715). In the last stanza, she is perhaps in a dream taking her back to her captivity with the Indian tribe. She feels that she is “outside their circle,” however she then finds herself as a part of their chants and lives (Erdrich 27). “And he led his company into the noise/… I could no longer bear the thought of how I was./ I stripped a branch and struck the earth/ To admit to me/ And feed me honey from the rock,” (Erdrich 27). Louise Erdrich uses her native history and background to describe some of the elements in the narrative poem. I agree with Claudia Egerer, author of Fiction (In)betweenness, when she describes the way that Erdrich writes fiction. “First person voices are construed as subjective, implicated as they are in the telling of their own story… their double function as narrators and narratees,” (59). Captivity reflects this exact statement. Without a doubt, Louise Erdrich creates life and history through Captivity and it’s complexity.
Bruce Dawe
Bruce Dawe
Bruce Dawe, a well renowned Australian poet was born in 1930 in Geelong. Who was once portrayed as “an ordinary bloke with a difference”. Bruce Dawe writes about ordinary Australian people in the suburbs confronting their everyday problems. He observes and records the sorrow and hardships of average people struggling to survive back in the 1940’s. Mr Dawe emphasises his views by composing three of his great simple poems Home Suburbiensis, Drifters and my favourite Life-Cycle. Poem “Homo suburbiensis”-Latin term for humans that live in the suburbs. The poem shows a classical suburban household set on a quarter-acre block with a flower garden and lawn in front and a vegetable garden (lawn) at the back. Dawe maintains that there is one constant value in a unstable world where politics play a major role. The man is a suburban householder standing alone in his backyard on a quiet evening among his vegetables. Dawe's captures humorous terms like it’s "not much but it's all we've got." The imagery suggests that Dawe is both celebrating suburbia, while in some ways puts down the suburban householders dreams: The rich smell of “compost” and “rubbish”. The space taken vastly by overcrowds dry land with drying plants represent the overcrowding of suburbia. His thoughts are lost escaping the pressures that comes with life. The traffic unescapable to his mind. Dawe shows a sympathetic look towards this person “lost in a green confusion”, as even in the retreat of his backyard he still cannot escape the lifestyle of suburbs. This is a good example of an ordinary life, as this particular person needs to escape the pressures, which highlight “TIME, PAIN, LOVE, HATE, AGE, EMOTION, and LAUGHTER”. All which are present and Dawe makes that aware of an "ordinary life". Being achieved in his back yard. Dawe proposes that ordinary lifestyles are not just eat, work, sleep but the strains people have to face everyday. He goes into depths of people’s lives and makes their problems obvious to the readers. Dawe faces people’s problems that is not bought up everyday and are ignored Another poem in which Bruce Dawe tackles the issue of ordinary people was “Drifter’s” this poem represents family who move from place to place, as the father needs to move by the demand of his job. The young children are growing up to learn no other way of life, as they are all waiting for the day they shall move again. The children get very excited about moving from place to place “and the kids will yell truly”. The eldest, she is seeing what she is missing out on and is becoming aware that there roaming lives may never change “the oldest girl is close to tears because she was happy here”. She realises she can not lead a normal teenage life as she is not stationed long enough, to become friends with people her own age. She is becoming frustrated with her life. From the above Dawe shows compassion for the wife, as she has to go through this more than once “ she won’t even ask why they’re leaving this time”. In addition, the young children are going to grow up to realise they will too go through the same thing. Dawe also shows a serious side in the poem, as the mother just wants to settle down and have a peaceful future. Dawe has a sympathetic outlook towards the mother, by outlining her hopes and dreams, also asking her husband Tom to make a wish in the last line of the poem “Make a wish, Tom, make a wish.’ The ten-verse poem “life- cycle” was probably the best known poem that Dawe wrote it foresees the football fans in Victoria it describes the poem as “something like a religious believe and salvation” This poem is based on Australian invention of Aussie Rules Football. It confirm football is portrayed as a religion and food for many people in Victoria “hot pies and potato-crisps they will eat”. It also shows football sustains the young and replenishes the old. Its tradition is life sustaining with no other thing better to do than support football. The poet uses the language of football freely “ barracking…carn…streamers …scarfed… Demons… saints…ladder… final term …three- quarter-time”. The slang that he uses is very catchy and easy to understand what he went to say to the readers. Dawe’s manner is ever so slightly disrespectful but gently so. He respects the strength of football’ life and the life sustaining qualities it offers. The point he tries to state is the power and passion of Victorian football in its homeland is wonderful to watch. In conclusion Bruce Dawe’s skill in using appropriately simply word structure and rhythm, to re-create his earliest memory of ordinary lifestyles people sustained in the late 1940’s is brilliantly contracted. He’s work is to be admired by people it can be said his a poet of the people, because he writes about the problems of life in a language that everyone can understand. From all three of his varied poem’s it can be observed that Bruce Dawe was very concerned about ordinary people since his child hood. His poems are very emotional and sympathetic to Australian society past and present. The great simple poems Home Suburbiensis, Drifters and my favourite Life-Cycle is very ordinariness in deed. Overall, Dawe’s poems are very appealing his concerns to point out injustice and those aspect of society that need to be changed is well delivered.
Bruce Dawe, a well renowned Australian poet was born in 1930 in Geelong. Who was once portrayed as “an ordinary bloke with a difference”. Bruce Dawe writes about ordinary Australian people in the suburbs confronting their everyday problems. He observes and records the sorrow and hardships of average people struggling to survive back in the 1940’s. Mr Dawe emphasises his views by composing three of his great simple poems Home Suburbiensis, Drifters and my favourite Life-Cycle. Poem “Homo suburbiensis”-Latin term for humans that live in the suburbs. The poem shows a classical suburban household set on a quarter-acre block with a flower garden and lawn in front and a vegetable garden (lawn) at the back. Dawe maintains that there is one constant value in a unstable world where politics play a major role. The man is a suburban householder standing alone in his backyard on a quiet evening among his vegetables. Dawe's captures humorous terms like it’s "not much but it's all we've got." The imagery suggests that Dawe is both celebrating suburbia, while in some ways puts down the suburban householders dreams: The rich smell of “compost” and “rubbish”. The space taken vastly by overcrowds dry land with drying plants represent the overcrowding of suburbia. His thoughts are lost escaping the pressures that comes with life. The traffic unescapable to his mind. Dawe shows a sympathetic look towards this person “lost in a green confusion”, as even in the retreat of his backyard he still cannot escape the lifestyle of suburbs. This is a good example of an ordinary life, as this particular person needs to escape the pressures, which highlight “TIME, PAIN, LOVE, HATE, AGE, EMOTION, and LAUGHTER”. All which are present and Dawe makes that aware of an "ordinary life". Being achieved in his back yard. Dawe proposes that ordinary lifestyles are not just eat, work, sleep but the strains people have to face everyday. He goes into depths of people’s lives and makes their problems obvious to the readers. Dawe faces people’s problems that is not bought up everyday and are ignored Another poem in which Bruce Dawe tackles the issue of ordinary people was “Drifter’s” this poem represents family who move from place to place, as the father needs to move by the demand of his job. The young children are growing up to learn no other way of life, as they are all waiting for the day they shall move again. The children get very excited about moving from place to place “and the kids will yell truly”. The eldest, she is seeing what she is missing out on and is becoming aware that there roaming lives may never change “the oldest girl is close to tears because she was happy here”. She realises she can not lead a normal teenage life as she is not stationed long enough, to become friends with people her own age. She is becoming frustrated with her life. From the above Dawe shows compassion for the wife, as she has to go through this more than once “ she won’t even ask why they’re leaving this time”. In addition, the young children are going to grow up to realise they will too go through the same thing. Dawe also shows a serious side in the poem, as the mother just wants to settle down and have a peaceful future. Dawe has a sympathetic outlook towards the mother, by outlining her hopes and dreams, also asking her husband Tom to make a wish in the last line of the poem “Make a wish, Tom, make a wish.’ The ten-verse poem “life- cycle” was probably the best known poem that Dawe wrote it foresees the football fans in Victoria it describes the poem as “something like a religious believe and salvation” This poem is based on Australian invention of Aussie Rules Football. It confirm football is portrayed as a religion and food for many people in Victoria “hot pies and potato-crisps they will eat”. It also shows football sustains the young and replenishes the old. Its tradition is life sustaining with no other thing better to do than support football. The poet uses the language of football freely “ barracking…carn…streamers …scarfed… Demons… saints…ladder… final term …three- quarter-time”. The slang that he uses is very catchy and easy to understand what he went to say to the readers. Dawe’s manner is ever so slightly disrespectful but gently so. He respects the strength of football’ life and the life sustaining qualities it offers. The point he tries to state is the power and passion of Victorian football in its homeland is wonderful to watch. In conclusion Bruce Dawe’s skill in using appropriately simply word structure and rhythm, to re-create his earliest memory of ordinary lifestyles people sustained in the late 1940’s is brilliantly contracted. He’s work is to be admired by people it can be said his a poet of the people, because he writes about the problems of life in a language that everyone can understand. From all three of his varied poem’s it can be observed that Bruce Dawe was very concerned about ordinary people since his child hood. His poems are very emotional and sympathetic to Australian society past and present. The great simple poems Home Suburbiensis, Drifters and my favourite Life-Cycle is very ordinariness in deed. Overall, Dawe’s poems are very appealing his concerns to point out injustice and those aspect of society that need to be changed is well delivered.
Bruce Dawe
Bruce Dawe
Homo Suburbiensis, Drifter’s and Life-Cycle, Bruce Dawe, a well renowned Australian poet was born in 1930 in Geelong. Who was once portrayed as “an ordinary bloke with a difference”. Bruce Dawe writes about ordinary Australian people in the suburbs confronting their everyday problems. He observes and records the sorrow and hardships of average people struggling to survive back in the 1940’s. Mr Dawe emphasises his views by composing three of his great simple poems Home Suburbiensis, Drifters and my favourite Life-Cycle. Poem “Homo suburbiensis”-Latin term for humans that live in the suburbs. The poem shows a classical suburban household set on a quarter-acre block with a flower garden and lawn in front and a vegetable garden (lawn) at the back. Dawe maintains that there is one constant value in a unstable world where politics play a major role. The man is a suburban householder standing alone in his backyard on a quiet evening among his vegetables. Dawe's captures humorous terms like it’s "not much but it's all we've got." The imagery suggests that Dawe is both celebrating suburbia, while in some ways puts down the suburban householders dreams: The rich smell of “compost” and “rubbish”. The space taken vastly by overcrowds dry land with drying plants represent the overcrowding of suburbia. His thoughts are lost escaping the pressures that comes with life. The traffic unescapable to his mind. Dawe shows a sympathetic look towards this person “lost in a green confusion”, as even in the retreat of his backyard he still cannot escape the lifestyle of suburbs. This is a good example of an ordinary life, as this particular person needs to escape the pressures, which highlight “TIME, PAIN, LOVE, HATE, AGE, EMOTION, and LAUGHTER”. All which are present and Dawe makes that aware of an "ordinary life". Being achieved in his back yard. Dawe proposes that ordinary lifestyles are not just eat, work, sleep but the strains people have to face everyday. He goes into depths of people’s lives and makes their problems obvious to the readers. Dawe faces people’s problems that is not bought up everyday and are ignored Another poem in which Bruce Dawe tackles the issue of ordinary people was “Drifter’s” this poem represents family who move from place to place, as the father needs to move by the demand of his job. The young children are growing up to learn no other way of life, as they are all waiting for the day they shall move again. The children get very excited about moving from place to place “and the kids will yell truly”. The eldest, she is seeing what she is missing out on and is becoming aware that there roaming lives may never change “the oldest girl is close to tears because she was happy here”. She realises she can not lead a normal teenage life as she is not stationed long enough, to become friends with people her own age. She is becoming frustrated with her life. From the above Dawe shows compassion for the wife, as she has to go through this more than once “ she won’t even ask why they’re leaving this time”. In addition, the young children are going to grow up to realise they will too go through the same thing. Dawe also shows a serious side in the poem, as the mother just wants to settle down and have a peaceful future. Dawe has a sympathetic outlook towards the mother, by outlining her hopes and dreams, also asking her husband Tom to make a wish in the last line of the poem “Make a wish, Tom, make a wish.’ The ten-verse poem “life- cycle” was probably the best known poem that Dawe wrote it foresees the football fans in Victoria it describes the poem as “something like a religious believe and salvation” This poem is based on Australian invention of Aussie Rules Football. It confirm football is portrayed as a religion and food for many people in Victoria “hot pies and potato-crisps they will eat”. It also shows football sustains the young and replenishes the old. Its tradition is life sustaining with no other thing better to do than support football. The poet uses the language of football freely “ barracking…carn…streamers …scarfed… Demons… saints…ladder… final term …three- quarter-time”. The slang that he uses is very catchy and easy to understand what he went to say to the readers. Dawe’s manner is ever so slightly disrespectful but gently so. He respects the strength of football’ life and the life sustaining qualities it offers. The point he tries to state is the power and passion of Victorian football in its homeland is wonderful to watch. In conclusion Bruce Dawe’s skill in using appropriately simply word structure and rhythm, to re-create his earliest memory of ordinary lifestyles people sustained in the late 1940’s is brilliantly contracted. He’s work is to be admired by people it can be said his a poet of the people, because he writes about the problems of life in a language that everyone can understand. From all three of his varied poem’s it can be observed that Bruce Dawe was very concerned about ordinary people since his child hood. His poems are very emotional and sympathetic to Australian society past and present. The great simple poems Home Suburbiensis, Drifters and my favourite Life-Cycle is very ordinariness in deed. Overall, Dawe’s poems are very appealing his concerns to point out injustice and those aspect of society that need to be changed is well delivered.
Homo Suburbiensis, Drifter’s and Life-Cycle, Bruce Dawe, a well renowned Australian poet was born in 1930 in Geelong. Who was once portrayed as “an ordinary bloke with a difference”. Bruce Dawe writes about ordinary Australian people in the suburbs confronting their everyday problems. He observes and records the sorrow and hardships of average people struggling to survive back in the 1940’s. Mr Dawe emphasises his views by composing three of his great simple poems Home Suburbiensis, Drifters and my favourite Life-Cycle. Poem “Homo suburbiensis”-Latin term for humans that live in the suburbs. The poem shows a classical suburban household set on a quarter-acre block with a flower garden and lawn in front and a vegetable garden (lawn) at the back. Dawe maintains that there is one constant value in a unstable world where politics play a major role. The man is a suburban householder standing alone in his backyard on a quiet evening among his vegetables. Dawe's captures humorous terms like it’s "not much but it's all we've got." The imagery suggests that Dawe is both celebrating suburbia, while in some ways puts down the suburban householders dreams: The rich smell of “compost” and “rubbish”. The space taken vastly by overcrowds dry land with drying plants represent the overcrowding of suburbia. His thoughts are lost escaping the pressures that comes with life. The traffic unescapable to his mind. Dawe shows a sympathetic look towards this person “lost in a green confusion”, as even in the retreat of his backyard he still cannot escape the lifestyle of suburbs. This is a good example of an ordinary life, as this particular person needs to escape the pressures, which highlight “TIME, PAIN, LOVE, HATE, AGE, EMOTION, and LAUGHTER”. All which are present and Dawe makes that aware of an "ordinary life". Being achieved in his back yard. Dawe proposes that ordinary lifestyles are not just eat, work, sleep but the strains people have to face everyday. He goes into depths of people’s lives and makes their problems obvious to the readers. Dawe faces people’s problems that is not bought up everyday and are ignored Another poem in which Bruce Dawe tackles the issue of ordinary people was “Drifter’s” this poem represents family who move from place to place, as the father needs to move by the demand of his job. The young children are growing up to learn no other way of life, as they are all waiting for the day they shall move again. The children get very excited about moving from place to place “and the kids will yell truly”. The eldest, she is seeing what she is missing out on and is becoming aware that there roaming lives may never change “the oldest girl is close to tears because she was happy here”. She realises she can not lead a normal teenage life as she is not stationed long enough, to become friends with people her own age. She is becoming frustrated with her life. From the above Dawe shows compassion for the wife, as she has to go through this more than once “ she won’t even ask why they’re leaving this time”. In addition, the young children are going to grow up to realise they will too go through the same thing. Dawe also shows a serious side in the poem, as the mother just wants to settle down and have a peaceful future. Dawe has a sympathetic outlook towards the mother, by outlining her hopes and dreams, also asking her husband Tom to make a wish in the last line of the poem “Make a wish, Tom, make a wish.’ The ten-verse poem “life- cycle” was probably the best known poem that Dawe wrote it foresees the football fans in Victoria it describes the poem as “something like a religious believe and salvation” This poem is based on Australian invention of Aussie Rules Football. It confirm football is portrayed as a religion and food for many people in Victoria “hot pies and potato-crisps they will eat”. It also shows football sustains the young and replenishes the old. Its tradition is life sustaining with no other thing better to do than support football. The poet uses the language of football freely “ barracking…carn…streamers …scarfed… Demons… saints…ladder… final term …three- quarter-time”. The slang that he uses is very catchy and easy to understand what he went to say to the readers. Dawe’s manner is ever so slightly disrespectful but gently so. He respects the strength of football’ life and the life sustaining qualities it offers. The point he tries to state is the power and passion of Victorian football in its homeland is wonderful to watch. In conclusion Bruce Dawe’s skill in using appropriately simply word structure and rhythm, to re-create his earliest memory of ordinary lifestyles people sustained in the late 1940’s is brilliantly contracted. He’s work is to be admired by people it can be said his a poet of the people, because he writes about the problems of life in a language that everyone can understand. From all three of his varied poem’s it can be observed that Bruce Dawe was very concerned about ordinary people since his child hood. His poems are very emotional and sympathetic to Australian society past and present. The great simple poems Home Suburbiensis, Drifters and my favourite Life-Cycle is very ordinariness in deed. Overall, Dawe’s poems are very appealing his concerns to point out injustice and those aspect of society that need to be changed is well delivered.
Bradstreet Heritage
Bradstreet Heritage
Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672), although born in England, is considered to be the first American poet. She is also revered as the first woman to be published. Married to Simon Bradstreet at age sixteen, she ventured with her family to the Massachusetts colony. Simon, the governor of Massachusetts colony, served a major role in her life and her literary career. He was the subject in many of the poems included in the two volumes Bradstreet had published. A Puritan all her life, Bradstreet led a simple life guided by principles of grace, plainness, and divine missions. In “To My Dear and Living Husband”, she shows her devotion to her husband in a smooth and simple manner. We can see from the poem the strong feelings she has for her husband. However, she contradicts some of her Puritan beliefs at certain points in the poem. To Anne Bradstreet, her husband is exactly what he should be; the love of her life. Over and over again she expresses her devotion to him with a repetition of images. One such image is presented in lines 5-7. She states... “I prize my love more than whole mines of gold Or all the riches that the East doth hold. My love is such that rivers cannot quench,...” She states here that she would accept nothing in return for the love that she shares with her husband and that no power, great or small, could destroy it. Love is a tricky subject to many, and to some: a fictional thing. On a personal note, I hope to one day find this love that she speaks of. Bradstreet’s love for Simon is untouchable and eternal. “To My Dear and Living Husband” is a beautiful and well-written poem. In breaking apart the structure, we see that the poem contains twelve lines, each containing ten syllables. Since each line is write in the iambic fashion of alternating unstressed syllables and stressed syllables, we can conclude that the poem is a sonnet. However, since the rhyme scheme is AA BB CC DD EE FF, we see that it does not fit in as one of the more famous Shakespearean or Petrarchian sonnets. In the first line, we see the togetherness Anne and Simon share as she says the two of them are one. Physically, this is a paradox. No two people can be united as one. But, however, spiritually, the two complete each others’ life , so that, in marriage, they are one. Throughout lines 1-3, Bradstreet gives their relationship as an example to others with phrases like, “If ever two were one”, “If ever one were loved by wife”, and “if ever wife was happy in a man.” In lines 1 and 3, we see two sound examples of alliteration. The “w” sound is repeated in the phrases “two were one” and “ever wife was”. In line 4, the author seems boastful of her relationship. But I will address that subject later. As I mentioned earlier, lines 5-7 present images which show her love for Simon. Some may view these three lines as a hyperbole, but love can completely change a person. And as a Puritan, Bradstreet has no desire or need for “mines of gold” or eastern riches anyway. In lines 7-8, we see an insignificant fault in the poem. The rhyming pattern throughout the entire poem is exact rhyme. Lines 7-8 are a forced rhyme (quench & recompense. In the 9th line, she says that his love for her can in no way be repaid. This can be seen as a symbol of how great her love is, or as an example of synaesthesia; for there is no way to purchase or pay for true love. Metonomy is seen in line 10 with the word “heavens”. When the author speaks of the heavens repaying him, heaven is symbolic of God or life. Soundwise, line 11 is one of the most beautiful and flowing lines of the poem. When the author says, “while we live, in love let’s so persever”, we see alliteration of the “w” sounds, alliteration and consonance of the “l” sounds, and alliteration and consonance of the “s” sounds. This allows for the words to flow well and just roll of your tongue. Lines 11 and 12 each contain a ceasura. These pauses in the middle of the line make the statement seem to add emotion to mere printed words. Finally, in line 12, we reach what I consider to be the strongest statement in the poem: “That when we live no more, we may live ever.”. This line is a paradox. Although Anne Bradstreet insists that their love is eternal and that after they die, they shall continue loving one another, it is physically impossible to be dead yet still living. The poem is written in a 17th century, old-English style. We can base this on the use of words such as “thee”, “ye”, “thy”, and “doth”. Although Anne Bradstreet was a Puritan for the entirety of her life, “To My Dear and Loving Husband” may or may not be a reflection of Puritan life. The Puritans were Protestants who sought to be simple, yet religiously and morally strict. One other Puritan belief is that one should not become too emotionally attached to anything. Throughout the poem, we see that Bradstreet is attached to Simon to the point that she’d love him after their death. Also, as I mentioned earlier, in line 4 she seems boastful of their love for each other. She calls out to other women in a bragging manner, “Compare with me...if you can”. However, she redeems herself in the last three lines. Here she prays to the heavens and speaks of the afterlife. It is a difficult to decide whether this poem is a reflection of Puritan life. That is left open to opinion. In conclusion, we can plainly see the great love Anne Bradstreet had for her husband Simon. She expresses this through imagery, symbolism, and many other poetic devices. A devout Puritan, it is left to opinion whether or not she reflected the Puritan lifestyle, but one thing is for sure. Anne Bradstreet had a love for her husband that could not be matched by anything on this world.
Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672), although born in England, is considered to be the first American poet. She is also revered as the first woman to be published. Married to Simon Bradstreet at age sixteen, she ventured with her family to the Massachusetts colony. Simon, the governor of Massachusetts colony, served a major role in her life and her literary career. He was the subject in many of the poems included in the two volumes Bradstreet had published. A Puritan all her life, Bradstreet led a simple life guided by principles of grace, plainness, and divine missions. In “To My Dear and Living Husband”, she shows her devotion to her husband in a smooth and simple manner. We can see from the poem the strong feelings she has for her husband. However, she contradicts some of her Puritan beliefs at certain points in the poem. To Anne Bradstreet, her husband is exactly what he should be; the love of her life. Over and over again she expresses her devotion to him with a repetition of images. One such image is presented in lines 5-7. She states... “I prize my love more than whole mines of gold Or all the riches that the East doth hold. My love is such that rivers cannot quench,...” She states here that she would accept nothing in return for the love that she shares with her husband and that no power, great or small, could destroy it. Love is a tricky subject to many, and to some: a fictional thing. On a personal note, I hope to one day find this love that she speaks of. Bradstreet’s love for Simon is untouchable and eternal. “To My Dear and Living Husband” is a beautiful and well-written poem. In breaking apart the structure, we see that the poem contains twelve lines, each containing ten syllables. Since each line is write in the iambic fashion of alternating unstressed syllables and stressed syllables, we can conclude that the poem is a sonnet. However, since the rhyme scheme is AA BB CC DD EE FF, we see that it does not fit in as one of the more famous Shakespearean or Petrarchian sonnets. In the first line, we see the togetherness Anne and Simon share as she says the two of them are one. Physically, this is a paradox. No two people can be united as one. But, however, spiritually, the two complete each others’ life , so that, in marriage, they are one. Throughout lines 1-3, Bradstreet gives their relationship as an example to others with phrases like, “If ever two were one”, “If ever one were loved by wife”, and “if ever wife was happy in a man.” In lines 1 and 3, we see two sound examples of alliteration. The “w” sound is repeated in the phrases “two were one” and “ever wife was”. In line 4, the author seems boastful of her relationship. But I will address that subject later. As I mentioned earlier, lines 5-7 present images which show her love for Simon. Some may view these three lines as a hyperbole, but love can completely change a person. And as a Puritan, Bradstreet has no desire or need for “mines of gold” or eastern riches anyway. In lines 7-8, we see an insignificant fault in the poem. The rhyming pattern throughout the entire poem is exact rhyme. Lines 7-8 are a forced rhyme (quench & recompense. In the 9th line, she says that his love for her can in no way be repaid. This can be seen as a symbol of how great her love is, or as an example of synaesthesia; for there is no way to purchase or pay for true love. Metonomy is seen in line 10 with the word “heavens”. When the author speaks of the heavens repaying him, heaven is symbolic of God or life. Soundwise, line 11 is one of the most beautiful and flowing lines of the poem. When the author says, “while we live, in love let’s so persever”, we see alliteration of the “w” sounds, alliteration and consonance of the “l” sounds, and alliteration and consonance of the “s” sounds. This allows for the words to flow well and just roll of your tongue. Lines 11 and 12 each contain a ceasura. These pauses in the middle of the line make the statement seem to add emotion to mere printed words. Finally, in line 12, we reach what I consider to be the strongest statement in the poem: “That when we live no more, we may live ever.”. This line is a paradox. Although Anne Bradstreet insists that their love is eternal and that after they die, they shall continue loving one another, it is physically impossible to be dead yet still living. The poem is written in a 17th century, old-English style. We can base this on the use of words such as “thee”, “ye”, “thy”, and “doth”. Although Anne Bradstreet was a Puritan for the entirety of her life, “To My Dear and Loving Husband” may or may not be a reflection of Puritan life. The Puritans were Protestants who sought to be simple, yet religiously and morally strict. One other Puritan belief is that one should not become too emotionally attached to anything. Throughout the poem, we see that Bradstreet is attached to Simon to the point that she’d love him after their death. Also, as I mentioned earlier, in line 4 she seems boastful of their love for each other. She calls out to other women in a bragging manner, “Compare with me...if you can”. However, she redeems herself in the last three lines. Here she prays to the heavens and speaks of the afterlife. It is a difficult to decide whether this poem is a reflection of Puritan life. That is left open to opinion. In conclusion, we can plainly see the great love Anne Bradstreet had for her husband Simon. She expresses this through imagery, symbolism, and many other poetic devices. A devout Puritan, it is left to opinion whether or not she reflected the Puritan lifestyle, but one thing is for sure. Anne Bradstreet had a love for her husband that could not be matched by anything on this world.
Blake`s Songs Of Innocence
Blake`s Songs Of Innocence
In William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, the gentle lamb and the dire tiger define childhood by setting a contrast between the innocence of youth and the experience of age. The Lamb is written with childish repetitions and a selection of words which could satisfy any audience under the age of five. Blake applies the lamb in representation of youthful immaculateness. The Tyger is hard-featured in comparison to The Lamb, in respect to word choice and representation. The Tyger is a poem in which the author makes many inquiries, almost chantlike in their reiterations. The question at hand: could the same creator have made both the tiger and the lamb? For William Blake, the answer is a frightening one. The Romantic Period’s affinity towards childhood is epitomized in the poetry of Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience. "Little Lamb who made thee/ Dost thou know who made thee (Blake 1-2)." The Lamb’s introductory lines set the style for what follows: an innocent poem about a amiable lamb and it’s creator. It is divided into two stanzas, the first containing questions of whom it was who created such a docile creature with "clothing of delight (Blake 6)." There are images of the lamb frolicking in divine meadows and babbling brooks. The stanza closes with the same inquiry which it began with. The second stanza begins with the author claiming to know the lamb’s creator, and he proclaims that he will tell him. Blake then states that the lamb’s creator is none different then the lamb itself. Jesus Christ is often described as a lamb, and Blake uses lines such as "he is meek and he is mild (Blake 15)" to accomplish this. Blake then makes it clear that the poem’s point of view is from that of a child, when he says "I a child and thou a lamb (Blake 17)." The poem is one of a child’s curiosity, untainted conception of creation, and love of all things celestial. The Lamb’s nearly polar opposite is The Tyger. It’s the difference between a feel-good minister waxing warm and fuzzy for Jesus, and a fiery evangelist preaching a hellfire sermon. Instead of the innocent lamb we now have the frightful tiger- the emblem of nature red in tooth and claw- that embodies experience. William Blake’s words have turned from heavenly to hellish in the transition from lamb to tiger. "Burnt the fire of thine eye (Blake 6)," and "What the hand dare seize the fire (Blake 7)?" are examples of how somber and serrated his language is in this poem. No longer is the author asking about origins, but is now asking if he who made the innocuous lamb was capable of making such a dreadful beast. Experience asks questions unlike those of innocence. Innocence is "why and how?" while experience is "why and how do things go wrong, and why me?" Innocence is ignorance, and ignorance is, as they say, bliss. Innocence has not yet experienced fiery tigers in its existence, but when it does, it wants to know how lambs and tigers are supposed to co-exist. The poem begins with "Could frame thy fearful symmetry (Blake 4)?" and ends with "Dare frame thy fearful symmetry (Blake 11)?" This is important because when the author initially poses the question, he wants to know who has the ability to make such a creature. After more interrogation, the question evolves to "who could create such a villain of its potential wrath, and why?" William Blake’s implied answer is "God." In the poems, innocence is exhilaration and grace, contrasting with experience which is ill-favored and formidable. According to Blake, God created all creatures, some in his image and others in his antithesis. The Lamb is written in the frame of mind of a Romantic, and The Tyger sets a divergent Hadean image to make the former more holy. The Lamb, from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience is a befitting representation of the purity of heart in childhood, which was the Romantic period.
In William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, the gentle lamb and the dire tiger define childhood by setting a contrast between the innocence of youth and the experience of age. The Lamb is written with childish repetitions and a selection of words which could satisfy any audience under the age of five. Blake applies the lamb in representation of youthful immaculateness. The Tyger is hard-featured in comparison to The Lamb, in respect to word choice and representation. The Tyger is a poem in which the author makes many inquiries, almost chantlike in their reiterations. The question at hand: could the same creator have made both the tiger and the lamb? For William Blake, the answer is a frightening one. The Romantic Period’s affinity towards childhood is epitomized in the poetry of Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience. "Little Lamb who made thee/ Dost thou know who made thee (Blake 1-2)." The Lamb’s introductory lines set the style for what follows: an innocent poem about a amiable lamb and it’s creator. It is divided into two stanzas, the first containing questions of whom it was who created such a docile creature with "clothing of delight (Blake 6)." There are images of the lamb frolicking in divine meadows and babbling brooks. The stanza closes with the same inquiry which it began with. The second stanza begins with the author claiming to know the lamb’s creator, and he proclaims that he will tell him. Blake then states that the lamb’s creator is none different then the lamb itself. Jesus Christ is often described as a lamb, and Blake uses lines such as "he is meek and he is mild (Blake 15)" to accomplish this. Blake then makes it clear that the poem’s point of view is from that of a child, when he says "I a child and thou a lamb (Blake 17)." The poem is one of a child’s curiosity, untainted conception of creation, and love of all things celestial. The Lamb’s nearly polar opposite is The Tyger. It’s the difference between a feel-good minister waxing warm and fuzzy for Jesus, and a fiery evangelist preaching a hellfire sermon. Instead of the innocent lamb we now have the frightful tiger- the emblem of nature red in tooth and claw- that embodies experience. William Blake’s words have turned from heavenly to hellish in the transition from lamb to tiger. "Burnt the fire of thine eye (Blake 6)," and "What the hand dare seize the fire (Blake 7)?" are examples of how somber and serrated his language is in this poem. No longer is the author asking about origins, but is now asking if he who made the innocuous lamb was capable of making such a dreadful beast. Experience asks questions unlike those of innocence. Innocence is "why and how?" while experience is "why and how do things go wrong, and why me?" Innocence is ignorance, and ignorance is, as they say, bliss. Innocence has not yet experienced fiery tigers in its existence, but when it does, it wants to know how lambs and tigers are supposed to co-exist. The poem begins with "Could frame thy fearful symmetry (Blake 4)?" and ends with "Dare frame thy fearful symmetry (Blake 11)?" This is important because when the author initially poses the question, he wants to know who has the ability to make such a creature. After more interrogation, the question evolves to "who could create such a villain of its potential wrath, and why?" William Blake’s implied answer is "God." In the poems, innocence is exhilaration and grace, contrasting with experience which is ill-favored and formidable. According to Blake, God created all creatures, some in his image and others in his antithesis. The Lamb is written in the frame of mind of a Romantic, and The Tyger sets a divergent Hadean image to make the former more holy. The Lamb, from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience is a befitting representation of the purity of heart in childhood, which was the Romantic period.
Blake`s Lamb And Tyger
Blake`s Lamb And Tyger
The Tyger and The Lamb reveals Blake's interest in the opposites. Each symbolize things that are the opposites The Lamb represents good and peace, while The Tyger represents evil. Many people will find The Tyger the more interesting poem. The Tyger is repeatedly asking one question, "What would dare to make such a creature?" Blake is expressing what type of being would make such an evil creature. God made the creature, not because he wanted evil, but everything has a touch of evil. Blake's poems are tied to the Romanitic age. They examplify mystery and beauty of life.
The Tyger and The Lamb reveals Blake's interest in the opposites. Each symbolize things that are the opposites The Lamb represents good and peace, while The Tyger represents evil. Many people will find The Tyger the more interesting poem. The Tyger is repeatedly asking one question, "What would dare to make such a creature?" Blake is expressing what type of being would make such an evil creature. God made the creature, not because he wanted evil, but everything has a touch of evil. Blake's poems are tied to the Romanitic age. They examplify mystery and beauty of life.
Blake Poetry
Blake Poetry
Verily I say unto you, Whoseover shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein. [S Luke, 18 (17)] The words are those of Jesus, who was neither unaware of reality, nor indifferent to suffering. The childlike innocence referred to above is a state of purity and not of ignorance. Such is the vision of Blake in his childlike Songs of Innocence. It would be foolish to suppose that the author of ^ÑHoly Thursday^Ò and ^ÑThe Chimney Sweeper^Ò in Songs of Innocence was insensible to the contemporary social conditions of orphans or young sweeps, and that therefore the poems of the same names in Songs of Experience are somehow apologies or retractions of an earlier misapprehension. For the language and style of Songs of Innocence are so consistently naïve compared to Songs of Experience, that it is clear that the earlier poems are a deliberate attempt to capture the state of grace described in the Biblical quotation above - a celebration of the triumph of innocence in a world of experience. Often the words of the poem are spoken by a child. It would be impossible to imagine a modern child using language such as: Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice. and it is most unlikely that children spoke thus even in Blake^Òs day. Yet this is the language of children^Òs hymns. I was personally acquainted with all the words in ^ÑThe Lamb^Ò, through Sunday School hymns, long before reaching school age. By using the vocabulary of the hymnals, Blake emphasises for us the connection of which the child is instinctively aware: I, a child, and thou a lamb, We are called by his name. The syntax and tone, however, have the authentic simplicity of children^Òs speech. The first verse is a series of questions addressed to the lamb. The second stanza begins with the child^Òs triumph at being able to answer those questions: Little Lamb, I^Òll tell thee. Typically the questions are asked purely for the satisfaction it gives the child in answering. There is a great deal of repetition in all the songs: in ^ÑThe Lamb^Ò this takes the form of a refrain repeated at the beginning and the end of each stanza, once more reminiscent of children^Òs hymns. In contrast, ^ÑThe Tyger^Ò has an incantatory rhythm, far more like a pagan chant than a childish hymn. And the vocabulary is no longer within the understanding of a child: What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? This song also asks questions. But in the world of experience, unlike the world of innocence, there are no longer any reassuring answers. The world of Innocence is a world of confident answers; in Experience the answers remain. Indeed, the questions themselves become more threatening. The slightly incredulous question above alters subtly during the progress of the poem until the word ^ÑCould^Ò is finally replaced by the far more menacing ^ÑDare^Ò. There is no such progression in Songs of Innocence. Each song captures the ^Ñmoment in each day that Satan cannot find^Ò [Milton, II, Pl.35, 1.42]. Blake^Òs innocence does not develop: it exists. If we compare Songs of Innocence with Songs of Experience we see that this pattern is constantly repeated. The moment that the concept of Experience is introduced the simplicity of the language disappears. As affirmation gives way to doubt, the unquestioning faith of innocence becomes the intellectual argument of experience. In ^ÑInfant Joy^Ò the baby is free even of the bonds of a name. In ^ÑCradle Song^Ò it is the mother who speaks, not with the simplicity of ^ÑInfant Joy^Ò yet with a naivete emphasised by the repetition of key alliterative words - sweet/sleep/smile - with their connotations of joy. In Songs of Innocence moans are ^Ñsweet^Ò and ^Ñdovelike^Ò [Cradle song] whereas in Songs of Experience the babies cry in ^Ñfear^Ò [London}. In Songs of Innocence the narrative is as simple as the direct speech. The verbs are straightforward and unambiguous; God ^Ñappeared^Ò , He ^Ñkissed^Ò the child, ^Ñled^Ò him to his mother. And although the bleaker side of life is portrayed - poverty and discrimination for example - the overall vision is positive. 1. Blake believed that without contraries there could be no progression. In Songs of Experience we see Blake ^Ñwalking naked^Ò, to use Yeats^Ò phrase, as he shouts angrily against social evils and religious manacles and hypocrisy. Songs of Innocence are far more carefully controlled, for all their apparent artlessness. In Songs of Innocence Blake^Òs voice never falters: the language is consistently naïve, and when images of a less childlike nature do intrude they are always absorbed into the security that is innocence. Innocence is a state of faith that must preclude doubt. Blake^Òs language is naïve and unambiguous. It is deliberately adopted to suit the subject and discarded later in the prophetic books. He may have considered experience as a necessary part of life, but Blake remained, supremely, a poet of Innocence.
Verily I say unto you, Whoseover shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein. [S Luke, 18 (17)] The words are those of Jesus, who was neither unaware of reality, nor indifferent to suffering. The childlike innocence referred to above is a state of purity and not of ignorance. Such is the vision of Blake in his childlike Songs of Innocence. It would be foolish to suppose that the author of ^ÑHoly Thursday^Ò and ^ÑThe Chimney Sweeper^Ò in Songs of Innocence was insensible to the contemporary social conditions of orphans or young sweeps, and that therefore the poems of the same names in Songs of Experience are somehow apologies or retractions of an earlier misapprehension. For the language and style of Songs of Innocence are so consistently naïve compared to Songs of Experience, that it is clear that the earlier poems are a deliberate attempt to capture the state of grace described in the Biblical quotation above - a celebration of the triumph of innocence in a world of experience. Often the words of the poem are spoken by a child. It would be impossible to imagine a modern child using language such as: Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice. and it is most unlikely that children spoke thus even in Blake^Òs day. Yet this is the language of children^Òs hymns. I was personally acquainted with all the words in ^ÑThe Lamb^Ò, through Sunday School hymns, long before reaching school age. By using the vocabulary of the hymnals, Blake emphasises for us the connection of which the child is instinctively aware: I, a child, and thou a lamb, We are called by his name. The syntax and tone, however, have the authentic simplicity of children^Òs speech. The first verse is a series of questions addressed to the lamb. The second stanza begins with the child^Òs triumph at being able to answer those questions: Little Lamb, I^Òll tell thee. Typically the questions are asked purely for the satisfaction it gives the child in answering. There is a great deal of repetition in all the songs: in ^ÑThe Lamb^Ò this takes the form of a refrain repeated at the beginning and the end of each stanza, once more reminiscent of children^Òs hymns. In contrast, ^ÑThe Tyger^Ò has an incantatory rhythm, far more like a pagan chant than a childish hymn. And the vocabulary is no longer within the understanding of a child: What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? This song also asks questions. But in the world of experience, unlike the world of innocence, there are no longer any reassuring answers. The world of Innocence is a world of confident answers; in Experience the answers remain. Indeed, the questions themselves become more threatening. The slightly incredulous question above alters subtly during the progress of the poem until the word ^ÑCould^Ò is finally replaced by the far more menacing ^ÑDare^Ò. There is no such progression in Songs of Innocence. Each song captures the ^Ñmoment in each day that Satan cannot find^Ò [Milton, II, Pl.35, 1.42]. Blake^Òs innocence does not develop: it exists. If we compare Songs of Innocence with Songs of Experience we see that this pattern is constantly repeated. The moment that the concept of Experience is introduced the simplicity of the language disappears. As affirmation gives way to doubt, the unquestioning faith of innocence becomes the intellectual argument of experience. In ^ÑInfant Joy^Ò the baby is free even of the bonds of a name. In ^ÑCradle Song^Ò it is the mother who speaks, not with the simplicity of ^ÑInfant Joy^Ò yet with a naivete emphasised by the repetition of key alliterative words - sweet/sleep/smile - with their connotations of joy. In Songs of Innocence moans are ^Ñsweet^Ò and ^Ñdovelike^Ò [Cradle song] whereas in Songs of Experience the babies cry in ^Ñfear^Ò [London}. In Songs of Innocence the narrative is as simple as the direct speech. The verbs are straightforward and unambiguous; God ^Ñappeared^Ò , He ^Ñkissed^Ò the child, ^Ñled^Ò him to his mother. And although the bleaker side of life is portrayed - poverty and discrimination for example - the overall vision is positive. 1. Blake believed that without contraries there could be no progression. In Songs of Experience we see Blake ^Ñwalking naked^Ò, to use Yeats^Ò phrase, as he shouts angrily against social evils and religious manacles and hypocrisy. Songs of Innocence are far more carefully controlled, for all their apparent artlessness. In Songs of Innocence Blake^Òs voice never falters: the language is consistently naïve, and when images of a less childlike nature do intrude they are always absorbed into the security that is innocence. Innocence is a state of faith that must preclude doubt. Blake^Òs language is naïve and unambiguous. It is deliberately adopted to suit the subject and discarded later in the prophetic books. He may have considered experience as a necessary part of life, but Blake remained, supremely, a poet of Innocence.
Betrayed
Betrayed
Lying here alone, thinking of you. Dreaming of the love we shared. You told me you'd be forever true, broken promises unable to be repaired. Thinking back to the night we met, my heart still skips a beat. We'd be together forever, I bet. So many things I'd like to repeat. Your love encaptured me night after night. You mended my heart, gave back my sight. You brought me out of the darkness, into the light. I thought it would be you and me forever, I guess you had a different idea in mind. Now we can never be together. Another like you I never will find. You told her the same things you told me, and made her fell special too. You can't play people like that, can't you see? And you wonder why we don't want you. You played with our emotions, but we took away your fame. And now you're in a huge commotion, because we beat you at your own game!
Lying here alone, thinking of you. Dreaming of the love we shared. You told me you'd be forever true, broken promises unable to be repaired. Thinking back to the night we met, my heart still skips a beat. We'd be together forever, I bet. So many things I'd like to repeat. Your love encaptured me night after night. You mended my heart, gave back my sight. You brought me out of the darkness, into the light. I thought it would be you and me forever, I guess you had a different idea in mind. Now we can never be together. Another like you I never will find. You told her the same things you told me, and made her fell special too. You can't play people like that, can't you see? And you wonder why we don't want you. You played with our emotions, but we took away your fame. And now you're in a huge commotion, because we beat you at your own game!
Best Friend
Best Friend
You used to be my best friend, Homie to the end. To think we were like sisters at times. You knew me better than I knew myself, *censored*!! that's funny . One day I woke up to find our friendship was at an end. Was it by choice or was it a voice. Voice of outside people? Or that of a inner you. Whatever it was it done, and our friendshhip is at an end. But I can tell you one thing Ms."H", you got some nerve.To think just because I have no craves or to put in your words no ass!! Let me tell you Ms. "H" I have much class!! I don't need to flaunt my ass to get attention, because what I'm lacking in parts I have in brains and I'm not a shame. I'm a woman Ms. "H" and that's all I have to say.
You used to be my best friend, Homie to the end. To think we were like sisters at times. You knew me better than I knew myself, *censored*!! that's funny . One day I woke up to find our friendship was at an end. Was it by choice or was it a voice. Voice of outside people? Or that of a inner you. Whatever it was it done, and our friendshhip is at an end. But I can tell you one thing Ms."H", you got some nerve.To think just because I have no craves or to put in your words no ass!! Let me tell you Ms. "H" I have much class!! I don't need to flaunt my ass to get attention, because what I'm lacking in parts I have in brains and I'm not a shame. I'm a woman Ms. "H" and that's all I have to say.
Beowulf
Beowulf
The epic poem Beowulf describes the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times. The hero, Beowulf, is a seemingly invincible person with all the extraordinary traits required of a hero. He is able to use his super-human physical strength and courage to put his people before himself. He encounters hideous monsters and the most ferocious of beasts but he never fears the threat of death. His leadership skills are superb and he is even able to boast about all his achievements. Beowulf is the ultimate epic hero who risks his life countless times for immortal glory and for the good of others. Beowulf is a hero in the eyes of his fellow men through his amazing physical strength. He fought in numerous battles and returned victorious from all but his last. In his argument with Unferth, Beowulf explains the reason he “lost” a simple swimming match with his youthful opponent Brecca. Not only had Beowulf been swimming for seven nights, he had also stopped to kill nine sea creatures in the depths of the ocean. Beowulf is also strong enough to kill the monster Grendel, who has been terrorizing the Danes for twelve years, with his bare hands by ripping off his arm. When Beowulf is fighting Grendel’s mother, who is seeking revenge on her son’s death, he is able to slay her by slashing the monster’s neck with a Giant’s sword that can only be lifted by a person as strong as Beowulf. When he chops off her head, he carries it from the ocean with ease, but it takes four men to lift and carry it back to Herot mead-hall. This strength is a key trait of Beowulf’s heroism. Another heroic trait of Beowulf is his ability to put his peoples welfare before his own. Beowulf’s uncle is king of the Geats so he is sent as an emissary to help rid the Danes of the evil Grendel. Beowulf risks his own life for the Danes, asking help from no one. He realizes the dangers but fears nothing for his own life. After Beowulf had served his people as King of the Geats for fifty years, he goes to battle one last time to fight a horrible dragon who is frightening all of his people. Beowulf is old and tired but he defeats the dragon in order to protect his people. Even in death he wished so secure safety for the Geats so a tall lighthouse is built in order to help the people find there way back from sea. The most heroic of traits within Beowulf is that he is not afraid to die. He always explains his death wishes before going into battle and requests to have any assets delivered to his people. “And if death does take me, send the hammered mail of my armor to Higlac, return the inheritance I had from Hrehtel, and from Wayland. Fate will unwind as it must! (18)” He is aware of the heroic paradox; he will be glorified in life or death for his actions. He knows that when he fights an enemy like Grendel or Grendel’s mother he will achieve immortality as the victor or the loser. “When we crossed the sea, my comrades and I, I already knew that all my purpose was this: to win the good will of your people or die in battle, pressed in Grendel’s fierce grip. Let me live in greatness and courage, or here in this hall welcome my death! (22)” Even with the enormous amount of confidence Beowulf possesses, he understands that Fate or Wyrd will work its magic no matter what and he could be killed at any point in his life. He faces that reality by showing no fear and preparing for a positive or a fatal outcome. Beowulf is the prime example of an epic hero. His bravery and strength surpass all mortal men; loyalty and the ability to think of himself last makes him reveared by all. Beowulf came openly and wholeheartedly to help the Danes which was an unusual occurrence in a time of war and wide-spread fear. He set a noble example for all human beings relaying the necessity of brotherhood and friendship. Beowulf is most definitely an epic hero of epic proportions
The epic poem Beowulf describes the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times. The hero, Beowulf, is a seemingly invincible person with all the extraordinary traits required of a hero. He is able to use his super-human physical strength and courage to put his people before himself. He encounters hideous monsters and the most ferocious of beasts but he never fears the threat of death. His leadership skills are superb and he is even able to boast about all his achievements. Beowulf is the ultimate epic hero who risks his life countless times for immortal glory and for the good of others. Beowulf is a hero in the eyes of his fellow men through his amazing physical strength. He fought in numerous battles and returned victorious from all but his last. In his argument with Unferth, Beowulf explains the reason he “lost” a simple swimming match with his youthful opponent Brecca. Not only had Beowulf been swimming for seven nights, he had also stopped to kill nine sea creatures in the depths of the ocean. Beowulf is also strong enough to kill the monster Grendel, who has been terrorizing the Danes for twelve years, with his bare hands by ripping off his arm. When Beowulf is fighting Grendel’s mother, who is seeking revenge on her son’s death, he is able to slay her by slashing the monster’s neck with a Giant’s sword that can only be lifted by a person as strong as Beowulf. When he chops off her head, he carries it from the ocean with ease, but it takes four men to lift and carry it back to Herot mead-hall. This strength is a key trait of Beowulf’s heroism. Another heroic trait of Beowulf is his ability to put his peoples welfare before his own. Beowulf’s uncle is king of the Geats so he is sent as an emissary to help rid the Danes of the evil Grendel. Beowulf risks his own life for the Danes, asking help from no one. He realizes the dangers but fears nothing for his own life. After Beowulf had served his people as King of the Geats for fifty years, he goes to battle one last time to fight a horrible dragon who is frightening all of his people. Beowulf is old and tired but he defeats the dragon in order to protect his people. Even in death he wished so secure safety for the Geats so a tall lighthouse is built in order to help the people find there way back from sea. The most heroic of traits within Beowulf is that he is not afraid to die. He always explains his death wishes before going into battle and requests to have any assets delivered to his people. “And if death does take me, send the hammered mail of my armor to Higlac, return the inheritance I had from Hrehtel, and from Wayland. Fate will unwind as it must! (18)” He is aware of the heroic paradox; he will be glorified in life or death for his actions. He knows that when he fights an enemy like Grendel or Grendel’s mother he will achieve immortality as the victor or the loser. “When we crossed the sea, my comrades and I, I already knew that all my purpose was this: to win the good will of your people or die in battle, pressed in Grendel’s fierce grip. Let me live in greatness and courage, or here in this hall welcome my death! (22)” Even with the enormous amount of confidence Beowulf possesses, he understands that Fate or Wyrd will work its magic no matter what and he could be killed at any point in his life. He faces that reality by showing no fear and preparing for a positive or a fatal outcome. Beowulf is the prime example of an epic hero. His bravery and strength surpass all mortal men; loyalty and the ability to think of himself last makes him reveared by all. Beowulf came openly and wholeheartedly to help the Danes which was an unusual occurrence in a time of war and wide-spread fear. He set a noble example for all human beings relaying the necessity of brotherhood and friendship. Beowulf is most definitely an epic hero of epic proportions
Because I Could Not Stop For Death
Because I Could Not Stop For Death
Because I Could Not Stop For Death
Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death” is a remarkable masterpiece that exercises thought between the known and the unknown. Critics call Emily Dickinson’s poem a masterpiece with strange “haunting power.” In Dickinson’s poem, “Because I could not stop for Death,” there is much impression in the tone, in symbols, and in the use of imagery that exudes creativity. One might undoubtedly agree to an eerie, haunting, if not frightening, tone in Dickinson’s poem. Dickinson uses controlling adjectives—“slowly” and “passed”—to create a tone that seems rather placid. For example, “We slowly drove—He knew no haste / …We passed the School … / We passed the Setting Sun—,” sets a slow, quiet, calm, and dreamy atmosphere (5, 9, 11, 12). “One thing that impresses us,” one author wrote, “is the remarkable placidity, or composure, of its tone” (Greenberg 128). The tone in Dickinson’s poem will put its readers’ ideas on a unifying track heading towards a boggling atmosphere. Dickinson’s masterpiece lives on complex ideas that are evoked through symbols, which carry her readers through her poem. Besides the literal significance of —the “School,” “Gazing Grain,” “Setting Sun,” and the “Ring”—much is gathered to complete the poem’s central idea. Emily brought to light the mysteriousness of life’s cycle. Ungraspable to many, the cycle of one’s life, as symbolized by Dickinson, has three stages and then a final stage of eternity. These three stages are recognized by Mary N. Shaw as follows: “School, where children strove”(9) may represent childhood; “Fields of Gazing Grain”(11), maturity; and “Setting Sun” (12) old age” (21). In addition to these three stages, the final stage of eternity was symbolized in the last two lines of the poem, the “Horses Heads” (23), leading “towards Eternity” (24). Dickinson fathomed the incomprehensible progression of life by unraveling its complexity with figurative symbols. Emily Dickinson dresses the scene such that mental pictures of sight, feeling, and sound come to life. The imagery begins the moment Dickinson invites Her reader into the “Carriage.” Death “slowly” takes the readers on a sight seeing trip where they see the stages of life. The first site “We” passed was the “School, where Children strove” (9). Because it deals with an important symbol, —the “Ring”—this first scene is perhaps the most important. One author noted that “the children, at recess, do not play (as one would expect them to) but strive” (Monteiro 20). In addition, at recess, the children performed a venerable ritual, perhaps known to all, in a ring. This ritual is called “Ring-a-ring-a-roses,” and is recited: Ring-a-ring-a-roses, A pocket full of posies; Hush! hush! hush! hush! We’re all tumbled down. (qtd. in Greenaway 365) Monteiro made the discovery and concluded that “For indeed, imbedded in their ritualistic game is a reminder of the mortal stakes that the poet talks about elsewhere”(21). On this invited journey, one vividly sees the “Children” playing, laughing, and singing. This scene conveys deep emotions and moods through verbal pictures. The imagery in the final scene, “We passed the Setting Sun,” proved very emotional (12). One can clearly picture a warm setting sun, perhaps, over a grassy horizon. The idea of a setting sun, aftermath a fact of slumber in a cold dark night. When Dickinson passed the “Setting Sun,” night drew nigh and it was time to go home and sleep. Symbolically, Her tour of life was short; it was now time for “Eternity”—death. While sight seeing in the carriage, one can gather, by the setting of the sun, that this ride was lifelong. It is evident that death can creep up on His client. In example, often times, when one experience a joyous time, time seems to ‘fly’. In the same respect, Emily Dickinson states “Or rather—He [the Setting Sun] passed Us—” (13). In this line, one can see how Dickinson, dressed for the “Day,” indicates that a pleasant time was cut short (15,16). Before She knew it, the cold “Dews drew quivering and chill”(14). The imagery in this transcendent poem shines great light on some hidden similarities between life and death. This poem exercises both the thoughts and emotions of its reader and can effectively change one’s viewpoint of an eternal future. Eternity and Death are two important characters in Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death.” In fact, eternity is a state of being. Dickinson believed in an eternity after death (24). Agreeably, one can say that Emily Dickinson’s sole purpose in this poem is to show no fear of death. Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Because I could not stop for Death,” will leave many readers talking for years to come. This poem then, puts on immortality through an act of mere creativity. Indeed, creativity was captured at all angles in this striking piece.
Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death” is a remarkable masterpiece that exercises thought between the known and the unknown. Critics call Emily Dickinson’s poem a masterpiece with strange “haunting power.” In Dickinson’s poem, “Because I could not stop for Death,” there is much impression in the tone, in symbols, and in the use of imagery that exudes creativity. One might undoubtedly agree to an eerie, haunting, if not frightening, tone in Dickinson’s poem. Dickinson uses controlling adjectives—“slowly” and “passed”—to create a tone that seems rather placid. For example, “We slowly drove—He knew no haste / …We passed the School … / We passed the Setting Sun—,” sets a slow, quiet, calm, and dreamy atmosphere (5, 9, 11, 12). “One thing that impresses us,” one author wrote, “is the remarkable placidity, or composure, of its tone” (Greenberg 128). The tone in Dickinson’s poem will put its readers’ ideas on a unifying track heading towards a boggling atmosphere. Dickinson’s masterpiece lives on complex ideas that are evoked through symbols, which carry her readers through her poem. Besides the literal significance of —the “School,” “Gazing Grain,” “Setting Sun,” and the “Ring”—much is gathered to complete the poem’s central idea. Emily brought to light the mysteriousness of life’s cycle. Ungraspable to many, the cycle of one’s life, as symbolized by Dickinson, has three stages and then a final stage of eternity. These three stages are recognized by Mary N. Shaw as follows: “School, where children strove”(9) may represent childhood; “Fields of Gazing Grain”(11), maturity; and “Setting Sun” (12) old age” (21). In addition to these three stages, the final stage of eternity was symbolized in the last two lines of the poem, the “Horses Heads” (23), leading “towards Eternity” (24). Dickinson fathomed the incomprehensible progression of life by unraveling its complexity with figurative symbols. Emily Dickinson dresses the scene such that mental pictures of sight, feeling, and sound come to life. The imagery begins the moment Dickinson invites Her reader into the “Carriage.” Death “slowly” takes the readers on a sight seeing trip where they see the stages of life. The first site “We” passed was the “School, where Children strove” (9). Because it deals with an important symbol, —the “Ring”—this first scene is perhaps the most important. One author noted that “the children, at recess, do not play (as one would expect them to) but strive” (Monteiro 20). In addition, at recess, the children performed a venerable ritual, perhaps known to all, in a ring. This ritual is called “Ring-a-ring-a-roses,” and is recited: Ring-a-ring-a-roses, A pocket full of posies; Hush! hush! hush! hush! We’re all tumbled down. (qtd. in Greenaway 365) Monteiro made the discovery and concluded that “For indeed, imbedded in their ritualistic game is a reminder of the mortal stakes that the poet talks about elsewhere”(21). On this invited journey, one vividly sees the “Children” playing, laughing, and singing. This scene conveys deep emotions and moods through verbal pictures. The imagery in the final scene, “We passed the Setting Sun,” proved very emotional (12). One can clearly picture a warm setting sun, perhaps, over a grassy horizon. The idea of a setting sun, aftermath a fact of slumber in a cold dark night. When Dickinson passed the “Setting Sun,” night drew nigh and it was time to go home and sleep. Symbolically, Her tour of life was short; it was now time for “Eternity”—death. While sight seeing in the carriage, one can gather, by the setting of the sun, that this ride was lifelong. It is evident that death can creep up on His client. In example, often times, when one experience a joyous time, time seems to ‘fly’. In the same respect, Emily Dickinson states “Or rather—He [the Setting Sun] passed Us—” (13). In this line, one can see how Dickinson, dressed for the “Day,” indicates that a pleasant time was cut short (15,16). Before She knew it, the cold “Dews drew quivering and chill”(14). The imagery in this transcendent poem shines great light on some hidden similarities between life and death. This poem exercises both the thoughts and emotions of its reader and can effectively change one’s viewpoint of an eternal future. Eternity and Death are two important characters in Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death.” In fact, eternity is a state of being. Dickinson believed in an eternity after death (24). Agreeably, one can say that Emily Dickinson’s sole purpose in this poem is to show no fear of death. Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Because I could not stop for Death,” will leave many readers talking for years to come. This poem then, puts on immortality through an act of mere creativity. Indeed, creativity was captured at all angles in this striking piece.
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