Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Because I Could Not Stop For Death
Because I could not stop for Death,He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.
We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.
Or rather, he passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle.
We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.
Since then 'tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.
By Emily Dickinson
Obviously this is a poem about death. Dickinson portrays death as a companion in the carriage as she passes previous places from her past such as the school. I didn't quite understand the meaning of the poem except for the fact that while she travels, it seems to me that her final destination is inevitably towards her grave. What I enjoyed about this poem was the aspect of being near immortality. Death takes life but at the same time he is immortal and has no idea how long it has been or rather he doesn't even care. I enjoyed the casual feeling of the poem even though it revolves around the fearful idea of being with death. I also felt as though the poem centers around the theme of the journey towards death. When we die it's said that your life flashes before your eyes and the school is the narrators life flashing by her. Usually we would see this as a shocking and somewhat terrifying moment but in this case it is a leisurely stroll.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Eldorado
Gaily bedight,
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.
But he grew old--
This knight so bold--
And o'er his heart a shadow
Fell as he found
No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.
And, as his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow-
"Shadow," said he,
"Where can it be--
This land of Eldorado?"
"Over the Mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied--
"If you seek for Eldorado!"
By Edgar Allen Poe
Edgar Allen Poe is known for all of his dark work and when I read this poem I was somewhat surprised that unlike his other poems, he wasn't outright with his somber details. In Eldorado he "covered" the dark details with an adventure where a man seeks fame and fortune in a mythical place. The poem becomes even lighter in the sense that it can be seen as a cheery song. Poe usually has some sort of rhyming pattern in his poems and I enjoy that however what made this poem more appealing then the others was that it told a tale that anyone could relate to. Eldorado brings out the adventurous and mythical side in all of us. I enjoyed this poem because although Gaily Bedight meets his fate in the end, the poem is still upbeat and happy.
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.
But he grew old--
This knight so bold--
And o'er his heart a shadow
Fell as he found
No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.
And, as his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow-
"Shadow," said he,
"Where can it be--
This land of Eldorado?"
"Over the Mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied--
"If you seek for Eldorado!"
By Edgar Allen Poe
Edgar Allen Poe is known for all of his dark work and when I read this poem I was somewhat surprised that unlike his other poems, he wasn't outright with his somber details. In Eldorado he "covered" the dark details with an adventure where a man seeks fame and fortune in a mythical place. The poem becomes even lighter in the sense that it can be seen as a cheery song. Poe usually has some sort of rhyming pattern in his poems and I enjoy that however what made this poem more appealing then the others was that it told a tale that anyone could relate to. Eldorado brings out the adventurous and mythical side in all of us. I enjoyed this poem because although Gaily Bedight meets his fate in the end, the poem is still upbeat and happy.
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
By Robert Frost
When I analyzed this poem I started off by looking at it's form. Oddly enough it puts a small twist to the idea of a sonnet. Instead of a four by four, meaning four stanzas and four lines in each stanza, it consists of four stanzas with five lines in each. The sonnet is most noticeably attributed to Shakespearian poetry and with Shakespeare we usually attach iambic pentameter however Frost uses another twist to this. Instead of iambic pentameter he seems to use iambic tetrameter. Another interesting aspect that caught my eye was how Frost used and unusual rhyming pattern of ABAAB. The reason why I found it important to state those poetic styles is because the poem is overall about taking the path less traveled. Not only does Frost talk about that theme in his poem, it is also present in his writing style. Instead of looking for a deeper meaning within the diction, we can look for it in his actual structure style which made me personally enjoy the spin he puts on his poetry. I knew this was a famous poem before I chose it which is why I was initially interested however after reading it the first time I didn't quite understand what it was saying. Yes of course it's about a man looking at two different paths to take and sure it can be related to the everyday choices we make but the idea that the structure was also connected made this all the more worth while for me to read. I didn't need to completely understand it to get where he was going. In the end though, it was the search for the quirky structures that made it the most interesting. I love Robert Frost poems by the way...
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
By Robert Frost
When I analyzed this poem I started off by looking at it's form. Oddly enough it puts a small twist to the idea of a sonnet. Instead of a four by four, meaning four stanzas and four lines in each stanza, it consists of four stanzas with five lines in each. The sonnet is most noticeably attributed to Shakespearian poetry and with Shakespeare we usually attach iambic pentameter however Frost uses another twist to this. Instead of iambic pentameter he seems to use iambic tetrameter. Another interesting aspect that caught my eye was how Frost used and unusual rhyming pattern of ABAAB. The reason why I found it important to state those poetic styles is because the poem is overall about taking the path less traveled. Not only does Frost talk about that theme in his poem, it is also present in his writing style. Instead of looking for a deeper meaning within the diction, we can look for it in his actual structure style which made me personally enjoy the spin he puts on his poetry. I knew this was a famous poem before I chose it which is why I was initially interested however after reading it the first time I didn't quite understand what it was saying. Yes of course it's about a man looking at two different paths to take and sure it can be related to the everyday choices we make but the idea that the structure was also connected made this all the more worth while for me to read. I didn't need to completely understand it to get where he was going. In the end though, it was the search for the quirky structures that made it the most interesting. I love Robert Frost poems by the way...
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Vintage
I will mix me a drink of stars, --
Large stars with polychrome needles,
Small stars jetting maroon and crimson,
Cool, quiet, green stars.
I will tear them out of the sky,
And squeeze them over an old silver cup,
And I will pour the cold scorn of my Beloved into it,
So that my drink shall be bubbled with ice.
It will lap and scratch
As I swallow it down;
And I shall feel it as a serpent of fire,
Coiling and twisting in my belly.
His snortings will rise to my head,
And I shall be hot, and laugh,
Forgetting that I have ever known a woman.
By Amy Lowell
I enjoyed this poem because of the use of double meanings that Lowell uses. Instead of feeling as though I was beating it with a hose I felt that I could easily pull out a meaning from the poem. Throughout the poem the writer talks about mixing a drink however you realize slowly that it is about forgetting. The unusual imagery seems confusing at first but then becomes clear as it is easily related to drinking. The pain, the fire in his stomach, and the fact of forgetting is portrayed in a beautiful way that I really enjoyed. The poem is straightforward yet at the same time an allusion which I enjoyed.
Large stars with polychrome needles,
Small stars jetting maroon and crimson,
Cool, quiet, green stars.
I will tear them out of the sky,
And squeeze them over an old silver cup,
And I will pour the cold scorn of my Beloved into it,
So that my drink shall be bubbled with ice.
It will lap and scratch
As I swallow it down;
And I shall feel it as a serpent of fire,
Coiling and twisting in my belly.
His snortings will rise to my head,
And I shall be hot, and laugh,
Forgetting that I have ever known a woman.
By Amy Lowell
I enjoyed this poem because of the use of double meanings that Lowell uses. Instead of feeling as though I was beating it with a hose I felt that I could easily pull out a meaning from the poem. Throughout the poem the writer talks about mixing a drink however you realize slowly that it is about forgetting. The unusual imagery seems confusing at first but then becomes clear as it is easily related to drinking. The pain, the fire in his stomach, and the fact of forgetting is portrayed in a beautiful way that I really enjoyed. The poem is straightforward yet at the same time an allusion which I enjoyed.
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