Elegy for my Father, Who is Not Dead

This poem outlines the feelings of a living man toward death. The speaker is not very comfortable with the thought of death; however, his father couldn't be more comfortable with the idea. The speaker's has no fear for what will eventually consume us all, death. He realizes that it is going to happen regardless, so he has a realistic or even an optimistic attitude toward death. I think that the poem represents many older people's attitude toward death. They know that it is coming soon and have coped with the idea. Their death may not be so comforting to the ones around them, such as the speaker in this case, but they know that everyone is going to die eventually. The father of the speaker is not necessarily waiting for death to fall upon him, but he is certainly fearful of the final day of his life.

Delight in Disorder

In this poem, the speaker is describing a girl he likes. The speaker is saying that perfection isn't that important. Things look better when they're not too precise. The poem also includes an oxymoron, wild civility. The oxymoron demonstrates that the theme of the poem seems to be backwards just as wild civility seems to be backwards. The speaker also mentions the word wantonness which means without restraint or indulgence. The poem itself and the title are paradoxes. One may not think that there could be delight in disorder or that its better not to be perfect, but the speaker supports his idea with solid points.

Edward~#17

This poem is full of pattern. The poem is based off a question-answer pattern. First, the mother poses a question, and then the son responds with an answer. At the beginning, the son continuously lies to his mother, which his mother senses. Eventually, the speaker gives in and tells his mother the truth. This occurs after the mother pokes and prods through various questions. This pattern gives the impression of a mother's intuition. The poem's pattern is effective in that it embodies the idea that a mother always knows when her child is lying.

Lonely Hearts~#13

This poem includes irony and allusions. The speaker is desperate to get a date. He has very low standards for the person that he would date because he is so desperate. The poem brings out the irony of dating ads. Today, there are so many dating ads and companies including: eharmony, match.com, and many more. This poem is satirizing these ads. The speaker also makes an allusion to Shakespeare. The speaker lives in North London and is desperately searching for a person that will date him.