Poor lads

"Getting Out." I LOVE THIS POEM! Number one, because I think it is romantic and heartwrenching at the same time. Number two, because I believe there is more to the poem than what everyone sees! (Except period 8, because we are AWESOME.)

Anyway! In the beginning of the poem, the speaker continuously uses the term "we." Every task completed in the first stanza, is completed by the couple TOGETHER at nighttime. However, all of the words have a negative connotation. For example, "inmates," "beat," "refusal," "escape," all imply some sort of imprisonment and the feeling of being trapped. Then, as one reads the second and third stanzas, the couple begins to do things without each other, during the day. At the end of the poem, the speaker suggests that the couple's departure at their divorce hearing ended in tears, while holding hands, hestitating to let go. In my opinion, I think this couple was truly in love, and continues to have very strong feelings towards one another. I think the problem between the two of them, since never stated directly in the poem or elsewhere, is their inability to have children. They "work" at night and "hardly [sleep]," but decide that it is best not to be together because they both want children. This theory/interpretation may be way outside the cone of meaning, but it is the only thing that makes perfect sense to me! This theory also made me interpret the tone as reminiscent or sorrowful, due to the fact that they had to give up someone they love, for something else. Nothing can ever work out the way one wants it to, I swear! The poor lads!

Haunting

I found the poem, "The Apparition" to be interesting, but eerie. At first, my small group had troubles on deciding whether or not the woman was LITERALLY killing him. However, we came to the conclusion that he was not actually dead, just growing tired of "it." I do not know exactly what "it" is supposed to represent, or the reasoning behind his punishment for her. Although, in the second stanza, line 5, when the speaker says, "and thee, feigned vestal, in worse arms shall see," I thought this may be his reasoning.

My interpretation of "feigned vestal" was a person pretending to be a virgin; therefore, I thought that the speaker would haunt his ex-lover because she tell her new partner that she had never been with anyone physically before then. Toward the end of the poem, the speaker talks about how he wanted to wait to haunt her when he is dead, but he grew tired of waiting so he haunts her now. In line 9, where the speaker is referring to a "calling" for more, I assumed that speaker was calling for more from the woman. At that point in time he would be haunting her, so he was asking for more trouble of some sort?? I don't know. Too many questions with this one!

Go Will!

The imagery in the poem, "My Mistress' Eyes," is really significant in order to understand the ending. Here are several comparisons used in the poem:

• "eyes are nothing like the sun" (the mistress has dark eyes)
• "coral is far more red than her lips' red" (colorless lips)
• "if snow be white, why then her breasts are dun" (her chest's color is dull and drab)
• "if hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head" (her hair is unhealthy and stringy)
• "but no such roses I see in her cheeks" (her cheeks are colorless)
• "in the breath that from my mistress reeks" (she has bad breath)
• "that music hath a far more pleasing sound" (her voice is not soothing)
• "when she walks, treads on ground" (not light-footed)

However, even after all of these negative comparisons describing all of his mistress' faults, he proclaims his rare love for her. According to the speaker, nobody could ever love her in the great way that he loves her. The way he accepts her as a whole, flaws and all, is really romantic. (Sorry, I love this stuff!) If it were my way, women would only wear make up on special occasions, and every man would appreciate a woman the way she looks naturally. Although he spends the majority of the poem focused on her flaws, he ends the poem on a positive note. Go Will!

Crossing the Bar

In the poem, "Crossing the Bar," the poet uses a metaphor to describe death. He compares death to a journey at sea, and wants to leave this earth without sorrow and mourning from his friends and family. The manner in which the poet refers to it, led me to believe that he was optimistic and comfortable with the idea of dying. For example, in the last couple lines of the poem, "I hope to see my Pilot face to face when I have crossed the bar," hints at hopefulness for bigger and better things; I interpreted the Pilot to be God. Also, "may there be no mourning of the bar when I set out to sea," represents the speaker hoping for a non-painful death. In that line, the bar signifies the process of crossing into the afterlife.

Personally, I enjoy this poem and the topic of "farewell" in general. Most of the time, it is an easy concept for the audience to relate to, and it allows room for interpretation. Even though it may not be the correct way or the way the author intended it to be, someone could also see this as a literal journey instead of death.

"next to of course god america i"

This poem, written by E. E. Cummings was difficult for me to follow due to the lack in punctuation. I went through several understandings of the poem, before deciding on what I believed the speaker was trying to convey. The way he rambles on about American pride and patriotism is much like the way I am at Church. I say things, and have no idea what they mean or why I am saying them, I just participate because that is what I have always done. It is not that I don't believe in what I am saying, I just do not comprehend the meaning during the Mass. I guess I could say the same thing about America. There has not been a time in my life, besides September 11th, that I have truly understood what patriotism is all about. I know that I should be proud of my country, and everyone that has worked for our freedom, but freedom has always existed for me; therefore, I take freedom for granted. I respect those who serve for our country, but I know next to nothing about politics and where I stand. I almost think it is unfair for those who do not register what they are saying, to be able to sing the national anthem and recite the pledge of allegiance.

The Mailing Address Poem

Funny enough, the title of the poem is the mailing address "APO96225". I"m probably the only one who thinks the title of my blog entry is humorous. Atleast I can laugh at myself.

Anyway, getting back on track, this poem reminds me a lot of The Things They Carried! The ignorance of society amazes me; not to mention, how selfish everyone can be. We ask for the truth, and the shun those who actually listen to our demands. Yes, I know, nobody wants to hear about torture, death, murder, and bombings, but if we cannot handle the truth we should not ask in the first place! Maybe it seems like the curteous thing to do, to show interest in our loved one's lives, but I am sure that the soldiers do not want to have to explain all of the terrible things they see to their family members, anyway.

The entire poem is an understatement. Even in the line where the speaker tells his mother that [he] killed a man and...dropped a napalm on women and children," he is understating what actually happened. He provided no detail as to why, when, how, and with who, he just left it at that. The poem also refelcts situational irony because the response the speaker gives is different from the expected response, and the same can be said for his mother. In addition to the speaker's parents' reaction, the rest of the world during Vietnam was responding the same way. Nobody acknowledged the soldiers, and nobody celebrated when they returned home. Everyone put Vietnam to the side, and pretended like the "war" did not exist.

Barbie Doll

Majority of the poems in this unit reflect the views and opinions of society. In "Barbie Doll," one can see the materialistic and superficial personality of society as a whole. To me, the poem was an example of a satire because society appreciated the girl, who had many appealing qualities to begin with, when she was transformed into society's image of the "perfect girl." In the end, they were not pleased with the girl herself, but with the body parts she had replaced using plastic surgery.

One of the symbols I noticed (and questioned at first) in this poem was the reference to "the casket displayed on satin she lay with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on." At first, I thought it may represent a literal casket, as though she had committed suicide due to her imperfections. However, after a group discussion, I am almost positive the casket referred to the doctor's operation table that she laid on during her plastic surgery. The speaker refers to it as a casket because she is putting an end to her original nose and legs; she is putting an end to herself and becoming something she is not. It drives me crazy to think that society would place this kind of pressure on a girl. Where did this "perfect girl" image come from in the first place!?

Going a Little Mad

Out of all the Emily Dickinson poems we have read so far in class, "Much Madness is Divinest Sense" is my favorite! Actually, it is in my top five poems from all of the units. I really love the point that she is trying to prove , and the continuous paradox she uses to describe it. For example, demur is madness to society; however, demur is sense to the speaker. In my opinion, this paradox is entirely true! Conforming to society is insane; individuality is divine.

The line "Demur--you're straightaway dangerous--And handled with a Chain," located in the last few lines of the poem, caught my eye. At this point in time, the speaker is describing society's point of view on what is right and what is wrong. They say that those who DO NOT conform to society are dangerous and need to be handled with a chain. In other words, they need to be restrained, so that they do not corrupt the people and turn them against the idea's of society. Those who stand out, are a threat to those who want everyone to fit in.

Drunk off Nature

Emily Dickinson needs to cool it off with her use of unnecessary capital letters and dashes...it is rather annoying. She's a strange, strange woman.

Anyway! For the first part of my blog I am going to define all of the words I did not know in this poem. Pretty much every other word.

• tankards- large drinking cups
• vat-a large container where wine is fermented
• inebriate- to be drunk
• debauchee- a person addicted to self-indulgence in pleasure
• reeling- a device that turns an axis
• drams- a small quantity
• seraphs- a member of the highest order of angels
• tippler- person drinking liquor
• foxglove- plant

Now onto a little breakdown of my opinion of the poem. Honestly, I had a really difficult time trying to interpret the meaning or the point that Emily Dickinson was trying to convey. However, this is my theory: the entire poem is about being drunk...on nature! Ding ding ding! There are several lines from the poem that made me think this way. For example, there is a reference to the "Rhine" which is a river, "air," "dew," "summer days," "Molten Blue," (which I am assuming is the sky), "bee," "foxgloves," "butterflies," "the sun," etc. Although the extended metaphor comparing alcohol and nature is clever and original, it is odd. Most of the time, being drunk is looked upon as something negative; however, she refers to "being drunk off nature" a good thing. In my opinion, she should have chosen another comparison.

Toad Action

I really like the point the poet, Philip Larkin, is trying to make in "Toads." From what my group understood during our discussion in class, there are two toads in the poem. One toad symbolizes work, and the other toad symbolizes pride; the work toad is revealed directly and the pride toad is inferred by the reader. In the poem, the speaker questions why he cannot use his "wits" to get paid, instead of working a job he hates. His point made complete sense to me! I mean, who wants to work six out of the seven days a week, in a job they find a burden? Nobody. However, toward the end of the poem in stanza six, there is a shift in which he admits that his pride (toad #2) overcomes his desires, and he wants to work for what he earns, whether it be in a job he enjoys or not. I understand where he is coming from in this stanza, too. Although my job is insignificant and I do not hold a position of admiration, I like to work hard for the paycheck I receive every week. In fact, it bothers me when I am at work and see people slacking off, or slowing down when it is a time to stay on one's feet. In the very last stanza of the poem, I like how he admits that losing both pride and work would be hard, after he complains for the entire first half of the poem about how he dislikes it. It seems to me as though he is arguing with himself throughout the entire work, which makes it easier for the audience to relate. I get in heated arguments with myself all the time, and it is nice to know I am not crazy.

Love for Cats

Okay, "February" was definitely the oddest poem in the unit by far. I know I mentioned that Langston Hughes' diction was disturbing, but Margaret Atwood has him beat! Lines such as "small pink bumhole" and "burped up meat and musty sofas" made me want to hurl. The funny thing is, this poem is all about the downfall of love...for the most part.

From the standpoint I took of the poem, due to the discussion in class, the central theme of "February" is how the display of love affects the lonely. Throughout the poem, Atwood uses comfortable lines followed by uncomfortable lines, bringing the audience back and forth. For example, "He settles on my chest, breathing his breath of burped-up meat and musty sofas." This line starts out by describing a cuddly cat, followed by a nasty action of the cat. In my opinion, the variations of lines used represents the speaker's opinion of love. At first, it is warm and comforting, and then it "does [one] in." Also, February is seen as a month of the celebration of love and relationships. So, for those who are lonely, or for those who don't believe in love, February can be a rough three weeks; this is similar to the feelings of the speaker. However, at the end of the poem, the speaker shifts into a positive outlook on love where the speaker calls the "cat" to action (which is really the speaker talking to themself), advising it to "celebrate" and "make it be spring." I do not think that the speaker is actually optimistic about love, I think they are trying to convince themselves it is for the better.

Similes galore!

"Dream Deferred" was my favorite poem out of this unit! It was fairly simple to break down, and I enjoyed the imagery that was described through figurative language. This entire poem is composed of several similes and one metaphor.

• "Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" - The comparison between the dream and a raisin sort of grossed me out! When I picture a dried up raisin, I see a puny, squishy piece of old fruit. Ew. But looking at it through the eyes of a speaker, I think he was comparing the dryness to the lost of interest in the dream. Over time, a raisin dries up; over time, a dream dries up.
• "Or fester like a sore-and then run?"- This simile is gross, too. I immediately pictured an infected, open wound that was easily visible. When a sore festers, it bothers the person who has the wound, and could possibly grow to be more painful or it could spread to other parts of the body.
• "Does it stink like rotten meat?"-The disgusting use of details that Langston Hughes uses repulses me. Could he not use a different comparison to describe the dream? I mean, come on! Anyway, when something stinks, it turns others away from it. It becomes a repellent. Or, perhaps, maybe the dream has always been there, but one can no longer find it (similar to Mr. Costello and his lost meat issues).
• "Or crust and sugar over-like a syrupy sweet?"-In my opinion, Langston was trying to convey that when a dream crusts over, it has been sugar-coated, or has been made to seem better than it really is because it has been put off for so long.
• "Maybe it just sags like a heavy load."-This phrase brought me to believe that when one has been carrying a dream around for so long, it has almost become a burden.
• "Or does it explode?" - This is the first and last metaphor used in the poem! It is also the most important line. I interpreted it as the dream is going to gain momentum and evolve into violence. Also, I think that this is what Hughes predicted to actually happen; hence, that is the reason why he used a metaphor for the comparison instead of a simile.
  

Wish Upon A Star

Compared to many of the other poems in this unit, "Bright Star," by John Keats was easier for me to interpret. Personally, I find the poem romantic. We have all heard of the cliche first date where the boy and girl lay under the stars, discussing higher powers and infinite universes; John Keats uses this imagery to compare his feelings toward a woman he intends to stay with forever. The way he describes the two ultimatums--spending the rest of his life with this lover, or "else swoon to death"--reflects a positive connotation, even when speaking about the death of him; the speaker finds death easier than a life without his lover.

The form, or pattern, of this poem is significant in the way that it is structure. In the first line, the speaker describes a positive star quality. However, the next seven lines state qualities of the star that the speaker does not like, and does not want to resemble. Finally, at the end of the poem, the speaker reflects back on the qualities he likes. In the end, the reader can infer that he would rather "have loved and lost than to never have loved at all." Cliche, but cute. I wonder if this poem was written about someone special to Keats. Hm...

Ahh...the light!

In my opinion, the central purpose of the poem, "Those Winter Sundays," is to recognize the poet's father and all of the hard work he has endured throughout his lifetime. It seems as though when the poet was young, he never appreciated the labor and love his father displayed, so this is his tribute to his father as an adult. Throughout the poem, Robert Hayden's tone seems guilty. For example, in the line "No one ever thanked him" (line 5) Hayden reflects on his behavior and gratitude toward his father when he was a child, feeling ashamed at how he took his father's love for granted. Now, Hayden has the opportunity to recognize him and to thank him.

At first glance of the poems in this unit, I interpreted them better than poems in the past. They were easier to relate to, and I did not have as much trouble finding the meaning behind the symbols and figurative language. Also, working within the groups opened up my mind to other interpretations and showed me how poems can have more than one meaning. For example, "I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain," was interpreted in two different ways within my group, and both interpretations were determined valid. One way said that the author was being literal and describing an actual imagined funeral; the second way was interpreted as a swim meet. Furthermore, neither interpretation had contradicting qualities, so they were both in the cone of light.

What a Creep!

The poem "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain," was such a WEIRD poem!! Emily Dickinson is a creep. Who writes about imagining their own funeral?! Anyway, Emily consistently uses her senses throughout the work, except for one: the sense of sight. Frequently one imagines the various sounds that she is hearing ("And then I heard them life a Box...") or the way that she feels while lying still; however, she never describes what she sees. The absence of sight is what revealed the image of her lying in her own coffin. I love that she ends the poem with a dash, leaving the reader to develop their own ending and ideas of what might have happened. I am assuming that this is the point where she is moving on to the afterlife, or to Heaven depending on her beliefs. When she hears the people walking by her casket in "Boots of Lead," it automatically gave me an eerie feeling. I am still confused as to why she is imagining her own funeral, and also, I want to know how she was picturing her death taking place. I cannot tell if the poet is suicidal, or just enduring a painful event that led to these thoughts. Another point that confused me was the use of random capital letters throughout the poem. It is used in other works, too, but usually it is because those particular words are of more importance; however, the only thing I notice about the capitalized words in "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain," is that they all are nouns. Does anybody have any answers or theories?

Destruction of Vanity

"The Convergence of the Twain," is a deceiving poem because it is introduced as a work based on the loss of the 'Titanic,' a prominent ship that sunk in 1912. This statement encourages the reader to believe it will be a non-fictional poem. However, the poem does not only retell the events that took place the day the ship sank, but its theme reflects the destruction of human vanity. Similar to the wealthy people of that time, the ship was the pinnacle of engineering, holding high respect in the eyes of the world. It was meant to be great, but ended up at the bottom of the sea, just as human vanity took the people down. Now, the ship lies in the same spot it has for almost one hundred years, and nobody pays mind to it anymore. In the end, nobody cares how much money or fame the wealthy have, it is all irrelevant. In the poem, the terms "Immanent Will" and "Spinner of Years" are capitalized; therefore, I assumed they served as symbols. "Immanent Will" represents fate, or the decision made by God; the "Spinner of Years" represents God himself, the one who controls everything and everyone. These symbols add to the theme "destruction of vanity" because it was God who destroyed the world with a flood in order to abolish human arrogance.

A New Form

The form of the poem "After Apple-Picking" is different compared to the other poems in this unit. In my opinion, the poem was a progression from hard work to retirement to death. Instead of telling a short story or a particular feeling, this piece of literature described a journey using very few words. The apple-picking represents the hard work, the decision to stop picking apples and take time to rest represents retirement, and "long sleep" represents eventual death. The character in the poem is tired of working hard and wants to move onto something else.

There is one aspect of the story that I am confused about. Do the apples have a negative connotation? Or are they the fruit of life? History of the Bible describes apples as a fruit of a corrupted life; however, modern-day teachings never use the apple as a poisonous fruit, but as something positive. Somebody help me out!

Lament in Springtime

In the poem, "The Widow's Lament in Springtime," the tone of the poem is depressing and desperate. Throughout the work, the author expresses the Widow's broken heart by using negative words such as "sorrow", "cold", and "grief" which implies that the widow is mournful and reflective on her husband's death. The voice and diction used in the poem allow the reader to feel the sadness that the woman feels, and come to terms with the pain she is enduring. Although she still has a lot of life ahead of her, she wishes to skip life without her partner, and arrive at her final destination. This desire led me to believe that she was unhappy with her life now, even though beauty still surrounded her.

The colors and descriptive words used in this poem could be considered symbols. For example, "color some bushes, yellow and some red...he saw trees of white flowers," (lines 13-24). In these particular lines, the choice of colors the poet used signify individual emotions. "Red" usually represents passion, "Yellow" represents love, and "White" is usually seen as purity. These words describe the emotions felt by the widow after the loss of her husband. Another device used in this poem is an oxymoron. In the fifth line, Williams uses the phrase "cold fire" which implies a contradiction. Different from the norm, the fire is no longer warm and comforting, but it is cold and uncomfortable. Instead of providing comfort, it provides pain.

Yikes...

Okay, so I was completely unaware that this blog assignment was due before 11:00 p.m. tonight! Reflecting on the title of my blog...this is completely inconvenient considering I just arrived at my crib about a half an hour ago. Mr. Costello, I beg of you, show some mercy and change the time that it is due!! And as for the assignment...

Prior to reading the article, I would not have agreed with Perrine's argument. I have always had the idea that poetry could be interpreted in whatever way one chose to see it. However, when Perrine describes how a reader's image of a poem cannot have contradiciting qualities in order to be a correct interpretation, I realized that most of my interpretations were incorrect. For example, when addressing the poem written by Emily Dickinson, I would have never, in a million years, guessed that it was written about a sunset. I took the descriptions literally, and I saw it as a ship on a sea with sailors that mingle. The way that poets dive into abstract details amazes me! Although, verb usage confuses me. I can never picture the noun performing the act of the verb that is attached to it. I think if I allowed myself to use my imagination more, I could develop theories on the various meanings of a poem without giving up and being rational.

“'A symbol,' writes John Ciardi, 'is like a rock dropped into a pool: it sends out ripples in all directions, and the ripples are in motion.'" I think that the simile used to compare the meanings of symbols to the ripples of water is perfect. Symbols are another reason why I find interpreting poetry so difficult. I do not understand how the thought's of the poet are supposed to magically be understood by the audience. Everyone should be allowed to view the symbol as they wish; in my opinion, it is the purpose of poetry. Poetry seems more philosophical than logical, which gives permission to the audience to conform their own interpretations. In the article, it says that no poet wants to explain the meaning behind his work. Therefore, how can there be wrong or right answers when it comes to poetry? If the writer intends for a person to find their own meaning in a poem, who is Perrine to say they are wrong?