Poem 246 Page 305
First and foremost I must say that this poem literally made me "LOL." I could envision my own grandmother in her out of style clothing that is intentionally mismatched to keep the busybodies at church gawking. The capturing of lost youth in the speakers near future is evident by the lack of conformity, or rhyme scheme. Jenny Joseph uses neither rhyme nor any particular number of lines in a stanza to get her point across. Joseph is criticising people and their self conscience views in lines 16-19 "But now we must have clothes that keep us dry / and pay our rent and not swear in the street / and set a good example for the children. / We must have friends to dinner and read the papers."
This poem is an interesting piece of satire laced with overstatement. The speaker, who wishes for change and even says that she maybe ought to practice now, criticises others for doing this in her speaking, but ironically is still living this life herself. The very idea that someone would eat "only bread and pickle for a week" is obvious overstatement, which lends to the humor of the poem.
As i mentioned, this was a great peom. I acutally printed a copy for my grandmother. Jenyy Joseph captures the very fun of childhood and shows that older women dont always have to be dignified, but rather can live a little.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
There is no painting in this book... some portrait.
Symbol:
One major symbol in this book was the birds and flight. Birds are discussed in almost every chapter throughout the novel and show Stephen's desire to "take flight" and get away from his situation in life. Stephens last name, and plight are similar to Daedalus. Both want to escape from where they are. Daedalus built wings out of twine, wax, and feathers to fly away and Stephen (and his strikingly similar last name) too wants to fly out of his current situation. Both manage to do so.
Quote:
"Is a chair finely made tragic or comic? Is the portrait of Mona Lisa good if I desire to see it? Is the bust of Sir Philip Crampton lyrical, epical, or dramatic? Can excrement or a child or a louse be a work of art? If not,why not?" Page 232
I found this particular quote interesting. This part in the novel is Stephens true turning point towards his realizations on life. His questioning of things that are, such as a finely made chair, are fascinating. He sees here that things have two sides. The chair, while finely made will see nothing but some one's rear. This could be both tragic (as a lot of work and love has been put into the chair) or comic (which is self explanatory.) The chair itself is, in essence a view of life. He continues this thought by question the value of something based on desire. Again, these are the kinds of questions that lead him to realize himself in his entirety. The idea that anything can be a work of art is showing that he has learned; that beauty of any kind is in the eye of the beholder is a new concept to him, as he has been so oriented around his standing for a good part of his life.
Opinion:
I found that the novel was easier to understand with class discussion. Perhaps a second reading of this book would enable me to further enjoy it, however I did have a rough time with it. I liked the authors use of simple language initially and that the language progressed with Stephen himself, and I found that to be an effective tool in helping me to understand the changes in his life. Joyce's life is exposed throughout the novel, which makes it even more compelling to me. Overall I liked the book but really do feel that to truly appreciate it I need to reread it.
One major symbol in this book was the birds and flight. Birds are discussed in almost every chapter throughout the novel and show Stephen's desire to "take flight" and get away from his situation in life. Stephens last name, and plight are similar to Daedalus. Both want to escape from where they are. Daedalus built wings out of twine, wax, and feathers to fly away and Stephen (and his strikingly similar last name) too wants to fly out of his current situation. Both manage to do so.
Quote:
"Is a chair finely made tragic or comic? Is the portrait of Mona Lisa good if I desire to see it? Is the bust of Sir Philip Crampton lyrical, epical, or dramatic? Can excrement or a child or a louse be a work of art? If not,why not?" Page 232
I found this particular quote interesting. This part in the novel is Stephens true turning point towards his realizations on life. His questioning of things that are, such as a finely made chair, are fascinating. He sees here that things have two sides. The chair, while finely made will see nothing but some one's rear. This could be both tragic (as a lot of work and love has been put into the chair) or comic (which is self explanatory.) The chair itself is, in essence a view of life. He continues this thought by question the value of something based on desire. Again, these are the kinds of questions that lead him to realize himself in his entirety. The idea that anything can be a work of art is showing that he has learned; that beauty of any kind is in the eye of the beholder is a new concept to him, as he has been so oriented around his standing for a good part of his life.
Opinion:
I found that the novel was easier to understand with class discussion. Perhaps a second reading of this book would enable me to further enjoy it, however I did have a rough time with it. I liked the authors use of simple language initially and that the language progressed with Stephen himself, and I found that to be an effective tool in helping me to understand the changes in his life. Joyce's life is exposed throughout the novel, which makes it even more compelling to me. Overall I liked the book but really do feel that to truly appreciate it I need to reread it.
Spring Forward
Poem 214 Page 281
The human speaker, who never identifies themselves, is not the important part of this poem. The true speaker of this poem is in Mother Nature herself. Dickinson lovingly describes nature as the speaker, "or noons report away." This is not the only point in the poem where nature, or something of god is speaking. The lack of consistent rhyme in this poem gives it a free feel, but the opening stanzas has a distant and melancholy feel. The use of words like, "scarcely" and "solitary" hint at this feel.
The use of personification gives Mother Nature life through spring. Dickinson uses words like "reports", "waits", "speaks" and "passes" to make spring come to life. This personification makes it easier to connect spring with youth. Wholly Dickinson is showing that youth must follow nature in its changing. "It passes, and we stay-" is telling us that youth, like the seasons will pass but who we are will remain, merely altered.
I am a huge fan of Emily Dickinson, and this poem is one of my favorites. My favorite lines are "That science cannot overtake / But human nature feels" and this is because I feel a very close connection to nature, and am not a 2+2=4 kind of person, as Mr. Ripley would say. There are just somethings in life that one feels that science will never capture. Youth is one of those things.
The human speaker, who never identifies themselves, is not the important part of this poem. The true speaker of this poem is in Mother Nature herself. Dickinson lovingly describes nature as the speaker, "or noons report away." This is not the only point in the poem where nature, or something of god is speaking. The lack of consistent rhyme in this poem gives it a free feel, but the opening stanzas has a distant and melancholy feel. The use of words like, "scarcely" and "solitary" hint at this feel.
The use of personification gives Mother Nature life through spring. Dickinson uses words like "reports", "waits", "speaks" and "passes" to make spring come to life. This personification makes it easier to connect spring with youth. Wholly Dickinson is showing that youth must follow nature in its changing. "It passes, and we stay-" is telling us that youth, like the seasons will pass but who we are will remain, merely altered.
I am a huge fan of Emily Dickinson, and this poem is one of my favorites. My favorite lines are "That science cannot overtake / But human nature feels" and this is because I feel a very close connection to nature, and am not a 2+2=4 kind of person, as Mr. Ripley would say. There are just somethings in life that one feels that science will never capture. Youth is one of those things.
I ran. I ran so far away.... -sings to self-
Poem 250 Page 311
The speaker of the poem is a black male. This is insinuated by the diction of the word "Suh" and as it is stated in line four "why come the black boys don't run off." There is only one rhyme in "The warden said to me" and it is the fourth and eighth line. The rhyme there is distinctly masculine which helps the reader understand that the speaker is male; the use of the term "boy" says also, that the speaker is male, but the masculinity in the rhyme in comparison to the childish connotation provides a clear divide between the speaker and the warden. The parenthesis help show what the speaker is thinking but would not dare to say out loud because of his social status. However the words "innocently, I think," show that while the speaker is merely thinking these words he is also questioning they way that things are in his life. He is unsure if the answer he is providing is simply an automatic response or if he genuinely means what he says.
Poems like this disturb me but always seem to catch my attention. I liked that Knight used the masculine rhyme only once so that the reader got the sense that the masculinity is present, but dimmed by the use of the word "boy." These subtle hints are, for me, what makes a poem truly excellent.
The speaker of the poem is a black male. This is insinuated by the diction of the word "Suh" and as it is stated in line four "why come the black boys don't run off." There is only one rhyme in "The warden said to me" and it is the fourth and eighth line. The rhyme there is distinctly masculine which helps the reader understand that the speaker is male; the use of the term "boy" says also, that the speaker is male, but the masculinity in the rhyme in comparison to the childish connotation provides a clear divide between the speaker and the warden. The parenthesis help show what the speaker is thinking but would not dare to say out loud because of his social status. However the words "innocently, I think," show that while the speaker is merely thinking these words he is also questioning they way that things are in his life. He is unsure if the answer he is providing is simply an automatic response or if he genuinely means what he says.
Poems like this disturb me but always seem to catch my attention. I liked that Knight used the masculine rhyme only once so that the reader got the sense that the masculinity is present, but dimmed by the use of the word "boy." These subtle hints are, for me, what makes a poem truly excellent.
Before TV? Poem 295 Page 343
"There once was a poet named Will
Who tramped his way over a hill
And was speechless for hours
Over some stupid flowers
This was years before TV, but still." -Some Idiot on the Internet. =)
Published first in 1807, and revised in 1815 "The Daffodils" or "I wandered Lonely as a Cloud" was written about an experience Wordsworth had while out with his sister. Wordsworth recalls this experience of pleasure when he is "in vacant or in pensive mood..." The speaker is able to convey the reality of this moment in his life by stating that he himself is the poet, "A poet could not but be gay" and this authenticates the tranquility of the experience for both the reader and the speaker. The lyrical nature of this poem is added to by the quatrain-couplet rhyme scheme ( a b a b c c) that lends itself to a singsong/childlike nature. In this childlike innocence the speaker feels "the bliss of solitude" and while at the time of the viewing the speaker had "but little thought/ what wealth the show to me had brought:" he is able to later bring forth in his mind the free-ness that he had experienced.
By beginning the poem with a simile " I wandered lonely as a cloud" the author denotes the freedom of both the moment and the poem; the speaker is both physically free (in an open space and alone) as well as mentally and emotionally free. By describing himself as a cloud he is telling the reader that this journey is celestial or transcendental in that he is beyond what he troubling him in life and allowing himself to enjoy the true nature of God, and through God, nature.By singling himself out and insinuating a distance between himself and the dancing daffodils the speaker shows both his present loneliness and his loneliness at the time. The personification of the "host, of golden daffodils;" adds to the solitary nature of the speaker's transcendental and innocent experience.
This poem I happened to enjoy immensely. The imagery of the daffodils is reminiscent of my favorite time of year, and the experience of the the speaker makes me want to go out and find my own band of daffodils to gaze upon. Wordsworth's unusual take on the daffoils "dance" makes this poem particularly outstanding in that the common description of "waves" (such as that seen in "America The Beautiful") is not applied to the daffodils but instead to the outdoing of the waves of the bay nearby, "The waves beside them danced; but they / Outdid the sparkling waves in glee."
Who tramped his way over a hill
And was speechless for hours
Over some stupid flowers
This was years before TV, but still." -Some Idiot on the Internet. =)
Published first in 1807, and revised in 1815 "The Daffodils" or "I wandered Lonely as a Cloud" was written about an experience Wordsworth had while out with his sister. Wordsworth recalls this experience of pleasure when he is "in vacant or in pensive mood..." The speaker is able to convey the reality of this moment in his life by stating that he himself is the poet, "A poet could not but be gay" and this authenticates the tranquility of the experience for both the reader and the speaker. The lyrical nature of this poem is added to by the quatrain-couplet rhyme scheme ( a b a b c c) that lends itself to a singsong/childlike nature. In this childlike innocence the speaker feels "the bliss of solitude" and while at the time of the viewing the speaker had "but little thought/ what wealth the show to me had brought:" he is able to later bring forth in his mind the free-ness that he had experienced.
By beginning the poem with a simile " I wandered lonely as a cloud" the author denotes the freedom of both the moment and the poem; the speaker is both physically free (in an open space and alone) as well as mentally and emotionally free. By describing himself as a cloud he is telling the reader that this journey is celestial or transcendental in that he is beyond what he troubling him in life and allowing himself to enjoy the true nature of God, and through God, nature.By singling himself out and insinuating a distance between himself and the dancing daffodils the speaker shows both his present loneliness and his loneliness at the time. The personification of the "host, of golden daffodils;" adds to the solitary nature of the speaker's transcendental and innocent experience.
This poem I happened to enjoy immensely. The imagery of the daffodils is reminiscent of my favorite time of year, and the experience of the the speaker makes me want to go out and find my own band of daffodils to gaze upon. Wordsworth's unusual take on the daffoils "dance" makes this poem particularly outstanding in that the common description of "waves" (such as that seen in "America The Beautiful") is not applied to the daffodils but instead to the outdoing of the waves of the bay nearby, "The waves beside them danced; but they / Outdid the sparkling waves in glee."
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