Thursday, September 30, 2010

The Apparition

This poem outlines a man's plans of vengeance on his former lover. When he dies, he will come back to haunt her. The speaker has been rejected; therefore, he seeks revenge on the woman who betrayed him. The tone of the essay fluctuates from bitter to a sort of satisfaction that she will have to live with her bad decision. "Jilted lover" means that one has been rejected by someone who's clearly inferior. The speaker wants her to feel his pain. "Solicitation" means pleading and "quicksilver" signifies mercury. The speaker is sophisticated in his language, which proves his superiority to his former lover's new man.

Crossing the Bar

This poem represents life and death. The pilot symbolizes God. I think that the poem is told from the perspective of a boat. The boat is an extended metaphor for a person. The speaker is accepting toward death because he knows that we will all eventually die. The "boundless deep" represents death, the bottom of the ocean. When the speaker says "turns again home," it symbolizes heaven. The speaker desires a peaceful death rather than a harsh and painful death.

Getting Out~#10

This poem includes a lot of imagery. The imagery is showed through flashbacks throughout the poem. The speaker describes the way a couple's life use to be like and how it ends up turning out in the end. From "swimming those laps until the first light relieved us" to listening to "FM and full-blast blues" the speaker gives a sense that the couple was in love, but couldn't stay together. The imagery allows the reader to relate to and understand the characters and the poem. The imagery discusses the trials and tribulations of a failing marriage as well as the heartache that comes with it. The lovers have "matching eyes and hair" which gives the reader the impression that the couple have a deep connection and closeness. Imagery allows the reader to interpret the poem through the tone that the speaker intends.

My Mistress' Eyes~#8

This poem has a satirical and realistic tone. The speaker is mocking other poets who shower their lovers with metaphorical phrases about their beauty. He is not calling his lover ugly in the poem, but praising her in a realistic way. The speaker tells her that her eyes "are nothing like the sun;" he is not saying that she's ugly. No one's eyes are like the sun; therefore, her eyes could not possibly be like the sun. The speaker tells his lover that she is not all those things(unrealistic metaphors), but she is as beautiful and as rare as all those women. He just isn't going to lie to her. The speaker's tone gives the poem a much greater meaning that it may seem on the surface.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

"Much Madness is Dvinest Sense" ~#9

This poem uses a lot of great diction. The speaker presents her point paradoxically and through the use of such words as assent and demur. These two words bring a lot of meaning into the poem. Assent means to agree or go along with. Demur means to disagree or take exception to. Assent in the poem represents Sense, and Demur represents Madness. Because the diction plays such an important role in the poem, the words have many deeper meanings. Assent also refers to the desire of some people to conform to the demands of society, while demur refers to the idea of noncomformity.

"APO 96225" ~ #13

This poem reminded me greatly of The Things They Carried. The poem demonstrates situational irony; however, one could argue that an implied dramatic irony is also included. The irony in this poem allows the speaker to prove an important point. People in general always think they want to know something until they actually gain that knowledge. The mother of the soldier continuously tries to gain knowledge from her son about what its like in the war; however, once she finds out the information, his father scolds him for telling his mother information like that. This situational irony informs the reader that the speaker is portraying the American public as ignorant. There is also an important shift in this poem. The poem begins with the mother speaking to her son, but then later shifts to the father speaking to the young man.

"Ozymandias"

This poem is a sonnet, which consists of fourteen lines. The poem is ironic in that there is a ruined statue in the desert with an arrogant structure. Statue is of some sort of tyrant that left a bad reputation with the land and the people in which he used to govern. Once a great king's works have crumbled, he disappears from history. The poem is a metaphor for power and pride/hubris of humanity. The face of the statue is the only part that remains. Although your works may not remain, your reputation will continue to remain throughout history. No one really cares that the statue even exists out in the desert.

"Barbie Doll"

This poem is mocking society's strain on beauty. When the speaker describes ridding the girl of her giant nose and cutting off her large thighs, this represents plastic surgery. The first stanza of this poem describes how the girl is naive. This in turn represents how society is naive. Society doesn't think about how their actions may result. At the beginning the girl was thick/healthy and strong until society got the best of her. In the poem, a "fanbelt" is also mentioned; fan belts are thick and strong until they are worn out. Just as a fan belt gets worn out, so can a young girl after society continues to point out her flaws.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"

This poem describes death as a journey. The title is symbolic in that valediction means farewell. Death is a farewell to life. The poem says that it doesn't do any good to cry over death because it has already happened. Death is part of the circle of life, in which we begin and end in the same place or way. The speaker refuses to admit that his lover is gone. In this sense, dying is figurative throughout the poem. The poem explains that we cannot live without dying and that death itself is a journey.

"Pink Dog"

In this poem, the speaker is mocking society. He is criticizing the people that live within society. The cruelty that is shown toward beggars is mocked through the idea that the people in society "take and throw them in the tidal rivers." The poem pokes fun at the people in society by criticizing the stress that has been put on physical appearance. People must look acceptable in society in order to be taken seriously. The speaker also brings Rio de Jainero into the poem through the mentioning of Carnival and sambas. I'm not quite sure of the point of this though. The poem outlines the acceptable norms of society.

"February" ~ #8

The speaker has a grumpy and sort of dismal tone. The poem takes place during winter, which tends to bring out a grumpy and dismal attitude in people. The poem speaks of the idea that procreation is bad. I'm not sure what idea could be much more grumpy or dismal. For some people, February (being the month of Valentine's Day)is a month of despair. The poem includes a sort of tone that says, "maybe we shouldn't bother with it." At the end of the poem, the speaker calls the reader to action. The reader is called to go do something, and get out of bed.

"Dream Deferred" ~ #10

This poem uses lots of imagery to describe different types of dreams. The speaker warns people not to put off their dreams. A dream can "dry up like a raisin in the sun" if you do not act on it while you have the opportunity. They can fester, which means that it can leak into and infect other parts of the lives of other people. A dream can run; meaning, if you don't take advantage of your dreams while you have the opportunity, they will go away and you will be unable to attain them. They can "stink like rotten meat," which means that some dreams will not be desirable and cause an after effect on surrounding people. Some dreams can "crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet;" in many the good outweighs the bad. And some dreams "just sag like a heavy load," weighing you down like a burden on your shoulders. On the other hand, some "explode." They go and spread to everyone and the dream spreads everywhere.

"Bright Star" ~ #11

Bright star personifies a star through the use of apostrophe. The speaker speaks to the star as a way to communicate his feelings about his love. The star is a metaphor for how he desires his love to be and what he doesn't want his love to be. The speaker doesn't want to be lonely like a star. He does want his love to be unchangeable though. The speaker wants to live forever like a star. These metaphors and personification are appropriate because they relate the speaker's abstract idea of love to a well-known object, a star. The speaker accurately gets his point across by describing his wants and desires through his conversation with the star. Figurative language gives the poem the ability to relate to the reader and give a better understanding to the audience.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Spring

This poem describes the wonders of springtime. Spring has always been a symbol of growth which is no different than today. "Weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely lush," demonstrate the life that comes back through spring. After the deadness of winter, spring brings "juice and joy." Hopkins also includes a religious effect. She includes "Christ, lord" and "Eden garden," in her poem. Adam and Eve had a life full of luxury and lush, similar to spring before they sinned. Spring brings a sort of "richness" to our lives. The diction Hopkins' uses is symbolic of joyous, fresh, and the growth of spring.

After Apple-Picking

This poem describes a person who has too much going on in their life. The work they have piled on their shoulders is overwhelming. They feel themselves wearing down and they will eventually not be able to carry the weight on their shoulders anymore. When this happens, they will be ultimately worthless. In our society, one who cannot perform the tasks give to them, is seen as ultimately worthless. They are thrown into "the cider-apple heap." Although they may not have failed physically, they have failed mentally or emotionally. Frost gives us the impression that many who are sleep deprived have too much stress in their lives that weighs them down and counteracts their success.

Those Winter Sundays~#10

Hayden includes detailed imagery throughout the poem. "The blueblack cold" and "cracked hands that ached from labor" give the reader the sense of something dark, cold, negative. "Chronic angers" give the sensation of an unhappy lifestyle. "The cold splintering, breaking," makes the reader see a lifeless and painful home. The cumulative effect of this imagery paints a picture for the reader. The reader can imagine a cold, dark, and unhappy lifestyle of a man, who in turn inflicts fear on his children. Hayden allows the reader to experience the man's loneliness and anger. This imagery also demonstrates this lonely and angry tone.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain~#2

Dickinson includes allegory in this poem. The title is a metaphor for a migraine, which can make one feel like death. "Mourners" refers to those who have this destructive pain. "Beating, beating" refers to the constant pounding within the skull. Dickinson explains, "my mind was going numb." This phrase symbolizes the idea that after a day full of awful pain, you are unable to think straight. "Then space began to toll," describes the sensation that everything seems to drag out and on throughout a migraine. "Wrecked, solitary" are symbolic of the physical destructiveness and loneliness that takes over those suffering with this super headache.

The Widow's Lament in Springtime~#8

This poem had a sorrowful and negative tone. The woman in the article represents a widow that has no optimism for the future. She only demonstrates sadness for the past. The tone is displayed through the womans, thoughts, words, and actions. She wishes to "sink into the marsh." I don't believe that most happy or mentally sound people want to "sink" into a muddy and swampy marsh. The woman tells us that the "grief in my heart is stronger than they [the masses of flowers]." This gives me a great sense of the sorrowful and negative tone.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Perrine's "The Nature of Proof in the Innterpretation of Poetry"

This article brought up some very good points. I am inclined to agree with Perrine due to his successful persuasion. I found that I had different interpretations than him on the poems; however, I feel that he was able to explain himself in a way that made him correct. I found the poem by Emily Dickinson to signify a field of flowers like Perrine's students. After reading his article, I am inclined to believe that his thoughts are correct and mine are not significant. I also lacked the knowledge to know that "The Night March" was not about an army, but rather the stars. Perrine's explanation was able to win me over again. My explanation lacked the detail and knowledge needed to properly decode the poem.
I agree with Perrine. I feel that there is an incorrect way to interpret a poem. If one lacks the knowledge or background information, one cannot properly interpret a poem. It is possible for some interpretations to be completely off and wrong. This is able to happen in the case that factual information or strong explanation is able to prove an interpretation unlikely. I especially agree with Perrine when describing "The Sick Rose." If one is able to simply describe the rose with certain characteristics and the worm with certain characteristics, then their interpretation will more than likely be correct. Perrine has convinced me that their are correct and incorrect ways of interpreting even the most abstract symbolism in poetry.