[What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why]

This poem is one of my favorites. I say that a lot, but it doesn't make it any less than the truth. The way this was written just... Pardon the cheesiness, but it kind of just spoke to me--I understood it and I understood what was being said because, in a way, this relates on a personal level. 

Edna St. Vincent Millay didn't write this to be positive, that much is obviously clear within the first line we read: "What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why." I automatically think of multiple partners that didn't mean much, because of the what, where, and why. If the partners meant anything to the speaker, she (presumably) would remember who she shared the kisses with. She would remember where, and why. But she doesn't. 

"I have forgotten, and what arms have lain / Under my head till morning; but the rain / Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh / Upon the glass and listen for reply."

My favorite part. It's depressing, it's heartbreaking and just screams loneliness and possibly regret, but it's beautifully worded at the same time, and almost seems to level out the dreariness. However, we once again get nearly the same message as the first line. She doesn't remember who she's been with, and perhaps she's regretting that, and wishing that the loneliness will wash away with the rain pattering against the window. Or maybe that's just me. An underlying message that we get is that she wants to forget her past lovers. They haunt her like ghosts and they remind her of all the mistakes and the regrets she has in her life.

The last parts of the poem is where we get a sense of finality to it all.

"Thus in the winter stands the lonely tree, / Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one." 

In other words, she's not as young as she used to be, and because of that she's all alone. The vanishing birds symbolize how all of her past company have simply left, presumably because she's just old. And at the very end, it's almost as if she's reminiscing; a bit nostalgic, even. She remembers everybody that's come and gone, though not in detail. She remembers what it was like, but she doesn't have that anymore. "I cannot say what loves have come and gone; / I only know that summer sang in me / A little while, that in me sings no more." 

This poem is so devastating and heartbreaking, but it also tells us a story about this woman who basically used up her time with people who didn't matter, whom she wouldn't remember later on in her life. I think that there's a lesson to be learned from this--to find somebody you'll remember. Build a relationship that will last, instead of building ones that will only last for a short while. 

In an Artist's Studio

In an Artist's Studio

by

Christina Rossetti

This poem is about how an artist portrays a woman, how a man interprets a woman. Canvases of the same woman, “one face looks out from all his canvases.” (Page 1029, line 1) These canvases of a woman’s appearance, her external form is what he has made and he has made them mulitple types trying to incorporate a woman. They are all exactly like a woman, like a mirror image, “that mirror gave back all her loveliness.” (Line 4) All of his canvases portray the same meaning, which is the appearance of a woman, “the same one meaning, neither more nor less.” (Line 8) He tries to interpret a woman with every canvass, he tries many times to recreate the outer beauty of a woman. He is obsessed with the outer form of a woman, he tries over and over to get it exact, “he feeds upon her face by day and night, and she with true kind eyes looks back on him.“ (Line 9) Making these creations leads him with joy, he is making a masterpiece. He has accomplished his recreation of a woman’s external form.

In this poem there is plenty of imagery for example, “A queen in opal or in ruby dress.” (Line 5) There is also rhyming in this poem such as, “him” at the end of line 10 and “dim” at the end of line 12. This poem is a Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet, because it uses the rhyme scheme abbaabba cdecde.

I really like this poem, it was interesting to see how an artist portrays the external form of a woman from a man’s view and the poet is a woman. So I wonder if a man was the poet if the poem would alter a lot or little at all. I liked how I could imagine some of the images in my head, and lastly I liked the use of language in this poem. This poem is different and unique, that is why I enjoyed reading and analyzing it.

Blog Assignment Part Deux!

 Instructions:
          Write a thesis-based argument (of at least 300 words) in which you advocate for your favorite sonnet from Chapter 19 (1022-1035).[Yes, our reading says 1022-1031 & 1035, but I figure this will give you more options to chose from...plus it is only like 5 more poems]

           In addition to explaining why you believe this sonnet is notable, you should describe the ways in which it adheres to (or varies from) the basic Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnet structures, explain the rhyme scheme of your chosen sonnet, and discuss the sonnet's use of figurative language.

As always, don't forget to make comments on the blogs of at least two other students.


Your blog and comments are due by 8 pm on Thursday (12/6).

P.S. Here is the link to the a copy of the rubric for your blog reactions and responses. Please look over it so you are aware of what it is I am now looking for; this includes responses.

Blog Rubrics

English 175: Introduction to Literary Genres Literature Blog Rubric

Literature Blog Rubric

Weekly total: ______/7 pts | Original Blog entry: ______/5 pts | Blog responses: ______/2 pts

Score	Content	Organization	Development	Conventions	Word Count
5	Content demonstrates a very clear and solid understanding of the text and the question/prompt.	Entry is logical and organized. Contains a strong thesis or topic sentence. Supporting points are presented in a logical progression.	Develops each point with specific details and credible supporting evidence. Answers the question/prompt completely.	No major grammatical or spelling errors. No more than two minor errors.	Entry meets or exceeds the 300 minimum word count.
4	Content demonstrates a full understanding of the text and the question/prompt.	Clear sense of order. Contains a good thesis or topic sentence. Supporting points are presented in a logical progression.	Each point supported with details and evidence. Answers the question/prompt completely.	No major grammatical or spelling errors. No more than five minor errors.	Entry is between 250 and 299 words.
3	Content suggests a lack of full understanding of the text and/or the question/prompt.	May lack a thesis sentence, but points are presented logically.	Each point supported with some details and evidence. All important points included.	Some major and minor errors that don’t necessarily impair communication.	Entry is between 200 and 249 words.
2	Content suggests lack of preparation or comprehension.	Logic of argument is hard to follow. Points seem random and unfocused.	Sparse details or evidence. Question/prompt only partially answered.	Major and minor errors significantly weaken quality of communication, although still comprehensible.	Entry is between 150 and 199 words.
1	Content only marginally related to the question/prompt.	Lacks clear organization. The reader is confused.	Statements are unsupported by details, evidence, or explanation. Question/prompt only partially answered.	Communication seriously impaired by multitude of spelling/grammatical errors.	Entry is between 100 and 149 words.
0	Content fails to meet the basic requirements of the task.	Entry is not organized in a coherent way.	No details or supporting evidence. Question/prompt is not answered or acknowledged.	Multitude of major and minor errors make entry incomprehensible.	Entry is under 99 words.

For blog responses (which are one point each), the following rubric is used:

Score	Content	Word Count
1	Response demonstrates appropriate, constructive engagement with the original blog post.	Response is 100 words or more.
0	Content is unconstructive, inappropriate, or fails to meet the basic requirements of the task.	Response is under 100 words.

Mr. Flood's Party

Poor Mr. Flood and his party of one... I was sad when Mr. Flood said to himself, '"Well, Mr. Flood, we have the harvest moon / Again, and we may not have many more.'" (Line 9-10) All I could think about was why Mr. Flood was having his party all alone. Especially because he was so close to home and Mr. Flood doesn’t expect to stay around much longer. Then it talked about his "friends of other days" (Line 22) and I was once again sad because all of his friends are dead. When I'm old, like Mr. Flood, I don't want to be the last of my friends, BUT I will probably have parties of one like Mr. Flood if I am.

Also the line 27 and 28 "He set the jug down slowly at his feet / knowing that most things break" made me think that Mr. Flood has gone through a lot. It's probably getting to him. What had happened to Mr. Eben Flood that made him worry about everything breaking? I’m guessing it’s because of the loss he’s going through, with his friends most likely and probably more of it because he is getting to such and old age. Lines 30-31 “It stood, as the uncertain lives of men / assuredly did not, he paced away” suggest this. Also, I think he’s thinking about himself passing away and how little reassurance he has. Well, if you are ever reflecting your own life, and what the future may hold, I guess a good way to do that is to sit on a road and sing to yourself.

ANYWAYS, this chapter was about internal structure. Mr. Flood's Party has a very simple narrative structure, to the point and in chronological order. It doesn’t follow it exactly; it does go reflect back to Mr. Flood's life a bit, with his friends and past home life. But mainly, it tells the story of Eben Flood as he drinks and reviews his life.

Sound and Sense by Alexander Pope--WHITNEY'S POST

Sound and Sense by Alexander Pope

I am not a fan of too much rhyme in poetry, but this poem was actually a little interesting to me.
 While reading it I noticed that Alexander was portraying different ways of creating a poem. Even though this poetry unit is teaching us all these different characteristics of poems like sound, it seems like this particular poem is telling us about all types as if all the characteristics of a poem are in this poem including sound itself by the pattern of vowels and rhythm. 
I personally thought it was kind of neat how this was done. While reading a second time, I noticed that there was a connection to music. 
Poetry in a way already has a connection to music, but “Sound and Sense” shows that a poet’s work is like their own song. Or at least that’s what I got out of it. It was cool how towards the end of the poem Greek tradition, a Greek hero, and the Trojan war was mentioned because when I read the information it said that we can thank the Greeks for systemizing a metered poem which obviously what this poem is.
 I know my response isn’t too long, but this is what I got out of it and it wasn’t really a poem to make a personal connection with.   ヽ(ー_ー )ノ

Foolproof Loofah by Lee Ann Brown

       Can we all please accept that this poem is the best there is so far? The deep wonderful meaning it has..... joking. This poem is just a jumble of words, does one try to find meaning in this? No because there isn't any, zip, nada, and nonsense. But all this nonsense makes sense, contradiction? Get used to it. I tried to try and maybe see if there was some hidden message using pig Latin, holding it up to a mirror, nothing. Still the gibberish that makes this poem the winner for this section of reading. This woman is now my second favorite poet, true wonder! Applause I give to you Lee Ann, you saved poetry for me! Let's just throw in a simple "Lo, I fill prol pills!" Wasn't that just wonderful! No meaning, but true mastery of the poet form! Maybe someone of refined poetry taste actually see something from this wonderful thing.
       But alas I do NOT. I just love the fact this poem wasn't about love or death, which seems to be the only two writing prompts in poetry. But Lee Ann grew weary of this, she said " no! I will not become that type of poet! Nevermore? Summer day? Tambourine? No it shall be; Poof! I rail pro lolls!" The message of this poem? Just proof that not all poems are boring and repeating! Let's just say I might have fallen in LUB today. In reality I just loved the change of pace this poem gave me. Out of 18 poems, this one was an individual and just stayed in my mind, well atleast in the top three. I just thank you little Lee Ann for changing the beat, I was drowning in sadness and icky gushy mushy love poems. Thank you Lee and good night to you.

Sir Patrick Spens by Anonymous

Just by the way it is written, I feel like it should be read out loud using a very thick or noticeable Scottish accent just so that the poem can stick into your brain more then it would if it was just read in your normal voice. I kind of liked this poem even though it took me a while to realize what some of the words translated into and also a while to remember that there are footnotes explaining some of the words. I kind of feel like it was a bit of a story but in poem form. The king wants a sailor to sail his ship so an “eldern knicht” (Pg. 1008 Line 5), which I'm guessing is translated into “older knight” says that Sir Patrick Spens is the best sailor. 

The king then writes to Sir Patrick basically asking him to sail his ship. I'm guessing he agrees since line 35-36 says “Or ere they see Sir Patrick Spens/ come sailing to the land”. The last stanza makes me think that Sir Patrick died on his way there because of what the last two lines say. “And there lies guid Sir Patrick Spens/ Wi' the Scots lords at his feet.”. I feel like maybe he was sick and wasn't sailing anymore even though he was described as “the best sailor/ that sails upon the sea.” (lines 6-7). 

But when he got the letter from the king, he decided to sail again just for the sake of the king but on the way he ended up dying from his sickness. Lines 33 and 37 both start with the words “O lang, lang” I don't get if the word lang is supposed to mean something or if it's just there to fill the spot or if it's supposed to have something to do with the fact both lines refer to the ladies that are waiting in some way. 

I really do love what is said about the time it was written "probably 13th century". I just find that a little funny. 

Emily Dickinson- Wendy Cope

I loved this poem; it made me laugh the first time I read it because the meaning behind it is true. After reread it to gain a deeper meaning I was giving the impression that the speaker in this poem was one of a younger person, a teenager even. I got this idea because, as younger readers, we view what use to be the norm as something strange, unusual and even a tad annoying. Also the phrase “Higgledy-piggledy Emily Dickson” has a more bright and upbeat tone- more youthful- as oppose to a more stoic or deep tone.

                But moving on from my initial random thought about tone and speaker, let’s talk about meaning. I believe this poem reveals how opinions and writing styles evolve over time. Emily Dickinson is still a world renowned poet even after her death in 1886 but (obviously) things have changed; some of her stylist techniques have not withstood the test of time. If someone, nowadays, attempted to write a poem chalked full of dashes such as Emily did, it would be considered mediocre and a weak writing.

For example: Emily Dickinson’s piece

 [I dwell in Possibility-]

I dwell in Possibility--
A fairer House than Prose--
More numerous of Windows--
Superior--for Doors--
Of Chambers as the Cedars--
Impregnable of Eye--
And for an Everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky--
Of Visitors--the fairest--
For Occupation--This--
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradise-- 

It’s a beautiful piece, really, but if I tried to publish a poem that looked like that, it wouldn’t work.

I love everything—

Red, ti's wickedly rich—

I’m not really that good—

At writing this poem—But—

I’m not really trying—

See how that doesn’t really gel? Granted the poem is horrid, dashes or no, but without the dashes I’d still be considered a better and cooler poet according to today’s standards. But over all I loved Cope’s poem; it was sweet and light-hearted… My favorite part had to be the second verse “Nowadays, faced with such idiosyncrasy, critics and editors send for the cops.” But the first verse was pretty awesome too. ;)

Spring and Fall by Gerard Manley Hopkins

            Right in the beginning the author tells you what is happening, a young girl named Margaret is sad about the leaves falling and the trees “dying”. Hopkins goes on and tells Margaret that her heart will become numb to these events and will soon become meaningless to her, but she will cry only for different reasons. But line 11 (which is my favorite) says, “Sorrow’s springs are the same”, which means that no matter what your reason of crying is it has the same source as all of your other reasons. The last line is what shows the true reason of her sadness though, “it is Margaret you mourn for”. Poor Margaret’s soul (line12 & 13) knew what she was sad about the whole entire time, which is of Margaret’s aging and death.

            The reason why I say this is because the title made it so obvious, Margaret is the spring in the poem She’s full of life and energy like how the trees are in spring. Soon she will grow old and then die like the trees in fall.

            I read this poem in an upbeat tone, like if Hopkins was so content and accepting of what will happen to Margaret and the rest of the human race. It felt that he was sitting next to her and trying to comfort Margaret but only scared her for life. It did confuse me when he began to add his own accents to words (lines 1,3, and 5). The poem did get to me like a few poems we have read all ready did, especially with such a memorable line as “sorrow’s springs are the same”! Lines twelve and thirteen were also pretty to me; I loved the sound the three h’s made even though they were so far apart. The rhyme at the end also seemed fitting to me, it went with the upbeat tone I heard in my head.

[Why Can't Shakespeare Title His Poems?]

I've had a distaste for Shakespeare since reading Romeo and Juliet in Freshman year. Typically, I read his name and skip over the work that follows. But this time the title (or the first line, because he didn't title so many of his poems) intrigued me.

Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end, 

I tend to think of time in open landscapes: the desert or the hills, or--as in this case--a lake. Something endless, lapping, and continuous. There is always more of it to see, but you will only see it to an extent, because you will move on.

This is particularly poignant during senior year. This poem is not about death, exclusively, but any growing up and any parting. It makes me think of the many people I will not see after the end of this year. Even the ones I see will be different. Once we leave, we will never come back to who we are now. Out of the whole potential span of our lives and the monumental, unfathomable span of time, we only have so much time to spend together, and the minutes are so short. It is something different to know you will be going away, and to have that end fixed in sight. You are called away, and must go, but the end of the time you had is bittersweet. There was a flash of beauty there, and even to know that you are moving towards something greater, it is sad to watch beauty fade. So this is how we leave, wistfully hoping that we are remembered.

And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.

Spring

I love Shakespeare, which is partially the reason why I decided to choose this one. It's a little tricky at first. The vocabulary used and the general way of how it was written made me confused a little, but reading it over and over helped to break things down. 

This starts out by giving us a rather lovely scene: 

"When daisies pied and violets blue
And ladysmocks all silver-white
And cuckoobuds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight"

And then we get the first glimpse of something a little darker:

"The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men; for thus sings he
Cuckoo;
Cuckoo, cuckoo: Oh word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!"

Aside from absolutely loving that stanza, it brings in something negative. Like, the most obvious, of married men being unhappy. But with what? Their wives? Their lives? Their choices they made? 

A footnote at the bottom of the page made me stop, and I had to look it up to understand, and then the meaning behind the poem was clear. Or at least clearer than before. 

Shakespeare uses the word "cuckoo" repeatedly, and it's meant--to be blunt--to be used as a sex joke. "Cuckoo" sounds like "cuckold", which the dictionary tells me is the husband of an unfaithful wife. "Unpleasing to a married ear" now makes more sense, because a husband--no matter what time period--doesn't want to hear that his wife is cheating on him. 

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man

Let's just start out with this; I LOVE Bob Dylan, so that explains the choice easily. Now, the poem;

The second stanza, I adore it. It's a nice little picture being painted in the lines. It has a fun bounce when you read over it, and the rhyming isn't an excruciatingly blatant punch-to-the-face like it is in some other poems, it's subtle, is nice, yes?

Easily, of the whole thing, I absolutely fell in love with the line in the end of the second stanza; "And the ancient empty streets too dead for marrying." Just the image of that, decrepit streets rotting away under your feet, not an ounce of life anywhere to be seen… Morbidly beautiful in its ways. I adore it, and the work put in by Dylan. Though, for him it probably didn’t take that long (darn talented lyricists, why must you taunt me so!?! GIVE ME YOUR POWERS)

Ahem. But in all seriousness.

Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin’ ship,
My senses have been stripped, my hands can’t feel to grip,
My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels
To be wanderin’.

Ah, curse you, Mr. Dylan, and your Mr. Tambourine Man. Curse your lyrical abilities that I have longed for for years of my life. Curse you.

The words are beautiful in their ways, giving pleasant (if you could call it pleasant) imagery with every hop-skip-and-jump, with every little detail. Perhaps it’s just me, but I could actually see the ship, bobbing in the water, the deck hand (Our dear Mr. Dylan) gripping onto the side as the waves crash against the ship, waiting for his legs to gather strength again, for his boots to move. 

Then take me disappearin’ though the smoke rings of my mind,
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.

Again, images. The entire work sends images burning through my mind like nobody’s business. His work is just… Spectacular to me. Can you picture it? The cold day, the smoke rings disappearing into the fog? The dying, twisted and mangled trees and the cold, abandoned beach, hiding away from the pains of the world, keeping themselves safe, for what little safety is worth in this world.

Then again, considering the time it was written, I could just be completely overdoing this and it may just be one giant drug trip.

Maybe I need to sleep on this one.

123rd Street Rap

Life on a daily basis is chaotic. "Automatic bullets bounce off stoop steps".(lines 6-7) saying guns are being shot at houses, drive-bys maybe."It's about time to pay all my debts"(lines 8-9), people getting back at him for the things he has done. Probably something illegal, but the law seems too scared to get involved or maybe they aren't informed because people are to scared to say anything for fear of their life. "Church bells bong for drunken mourners" (line 10-11). Those who drink, drink to numb the pain of those lost to bullets or criminal behavior, or drank to forget the evil going on around them. "Baby men growing on all the corners" (line 12-13), saying guys grew up dealing, hustling with drugs which typically sold in corners. "Money that ain't mine" (lines 14-15), is obviously stolen or 'borrowed' money from someone who doesn't know it. I'm thinking he either robbed a bank or stole from his mother. "Sun that don't shine, Trees that don't grow" (lines 16-19). Gives a visual description on how gloomy and dark the environment is. "Ceilings starting to crumble" (lines 24-25), gives off the impression that he is poor, maybe drug dealing is the only way to get money to provide a roof over their heads, an unstable roof. "Abuelas close eyes and pray, While they watch the children play" (lines 26-29), is contradicting because how can someone watch children if they have their eyes closed? I think what it is trying to get across is that even the children are in danger because of how wild that place is. "Not much I can say, Except day turns to night, And I can't tell what's wrong from what's right"( lines 30-35). This is daily routine, it is part of his life now, he has seen it since he was young. He is so used to seeing all this that he doesn't know if it is that bad anymore. This person has tried to defeat all this bad influence but is now giving up. They don't see why they should be good anymore if nothing is being good to them.

A Prayer, Living and Dying by Augustus Montague Toplady

      Okay, this poem reminded me of my grandma because this is exactly how she sounds when she prays, I  kid you not.She even agreed with me when I read it to her. I felt like this person (a) was dying or (b) just got saved because he was asking forgiveness. It says "Thou must save, and Thou alone"(line 12). At the same time, he thinks he has too many sins to forgive, ("All for sin could not atone", line 11).
      I guess I'm attracted to religious things because I grew up in a religious environment and it speaks to me more. That's why I liked this poem. It made me want to pray and ask God for forgiveness for anything bad I've done, which I do every day. Of course, religion was stricter in the 1700's than it is now, and nobody really prays like this anymore(except my grandma, apparently).
      My favorite part of the poem is the whole last stanza. "While I draw this fleeting breath- When my eye-strings break in death- When I soar to worlds unknown- See Thy judgement-throne- ROCK of ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee!" (lines 19-24)   The words flow wonderfully together, and they just sound so beautiful. It was like music in my ears.
     There's also the line "Nothing in my hand I bring; Simply to thy Cross I cling"  which tells me the narrator wants to be closer to God, feels unworthy to even be in His presence, but still worships and "clings" to the Word and follows it best he can. This is dumb in my opinion, because I was under the impression that God forgives everything and loves everyone, no matter what.
     I hope it doesn't seem like I'm preaching, because I'm not. I just get really into poems like this one.

Side note: This poem was written the same year the Declaration of Independence was signed. Did anyone notice that besides me? Hmm...
    

Dear John, Dear Coltrane by Michael harper

This was amazing; it kind of opened my eyes to how spiritually people can be. How small acts can mean more to them, these people hold themselves close to this church, but yet it seems to me that they have defied their spiritual believes and now they hold shame for it. (Lines 1-9) “Sex fingers toes, in the marketplace, near your father’s church in hamlet, north Carolina-, witness to this love, in this calm fallow, of these minds, there is no substitute for pain: genitals gone or going,” their love may have not been true, you notice in the first three words it doesn’t mention anything about love just about the act of sex and that it caused more pain than good, which I take it was suppost to take the pain away. But then three lines down it, says “witness to this love” now it’s just not sex its love and nothing will be able to change that right?

It seems that the man and the women, can conceive, (the lines 10, and 18) 10, “Seed burned out”18, “in mute change, the seed is gone” this man is in cable of having children, and it seems that the women is taking the blame for it. But it seems that there is a big difference in the families that one is of a higher stander in society and the other isn’t as high, I feel a lot of conflict right there between the author and the other people of the town, it seems like their love isn’t accepted by the higher people of society that they have. But this man, doesn’t seem to be bothered by it because I think he has been down to rock bottom, and he have “A love supreme” which is a spiritual experience that changed who he use to be, and now he’s getting back to regular life.

I loved this poem, it was wonderful.

translation of "To My Dear and Loving Husband"

 

Boy you my one

 

Boy I be so obssessed wit chu

 

 

Boy so glad I with you

 

 

Try to get another bad girl like dis

 

 

Your love, better then the ring you put on it

 

 

Da rich folks money can't compare to you boy

 

 

You be dis girls numbah one

 

 

Thank God almighty for you my boy

 

 

We gunna stay in love 5EVA

 

 

Jack and Rose aint got nothin on us.

After a Death by Roo Borson

       My first thoughts to this poem was that this was going to be one of our many typical sad poems. But I actually really liked one of these sad little poems for once, so much is said in its little 9 lines. I see the narrator as a younger women who has lost her husband/boyfriend not a old widow who has lost a husband after a lengthy time.
      
       She is clearly hiding the fact to the outside world that she is in that amount of pain," I can do what I do best and then go out into the world and I can return then with my useless love" (Lines 5-7) she is shelling up her feelings as do most people when they lose someone, but typically I have seen that it is not usually the female who shells up to the world. She seems a tad bit crazy to me in the end, when she is starting to call the chair her love, well at least she confesses to the fact that the chair is a useless love. To rest with her love that is a chair, I can get what she means by this, when losing a loved one you or at least I have found something I can use to not think about this person, an object to "replace" them in my life. Whether it be her chair or my new obsession with Dr. Pepper(my grandmother's favorite soda) to replace your lost love.

       After a death people usually have two different roads they take, public or personal grieving. Public you can really tell that this person is hurting and then personal when this person has retreated back into themselves so that no one can see that they are quite cearly in pain. We see that this woman is the second option. When she goes out into the world she has put on a mask so that other people are not allowed to see the pain, while she is grieving in her own way.

       I loved/hated this peom. Loved because there is so much more feelings and depth then this 9  line showing, Hated on the other hand because ONCE again we have another sad death story where happiness is once again absent.

Anonymous (Is this it's name?)

Is it bad that I adored this poem? I mean I know it was sad and tragic, but I kind of liked that fact. When read aloud the words blended together to make it something beautiful and happy, at least that's how I took it as. It made her death this beautiful thing, something she probably wasn't used to. I mean, the author didn't even bother naming her. Making her death this beautiful thing gave her a sort of respect that she should have gotten before she died.

My first reaction when I read it was this girl was a poor girl, she wore and most likely made a dress of newspaper (Line 2) because these were the only materials she was able to get a hold of. But I imagined the dress being this beautiful thing and no one had been able to realize she was this no named poor girl. I think at that ball she felt accepted somewhere, despite her class, she was beautiful and people noticed. Even if it was when she was catching fire, they still noticed her and she was the center of attention for that short while. Looking down from wherever she went afterward, she was probably happy for that moment of being noticed.

Most girls today like attention, but the ones who don't ask for it, need it the most in my opinion. This girl was one of the ones that didn't speak it, but she needed the attention. I think she honestly died happy. She felt cared about for once, even if it was just a strangers care, it was still probably more than she had had. My favorite line had to be "Front page, sporting section and all." (Line 6) I loved this line because it just flows so well, the rhyme in this poem is not forced at all. I really liked how whoever wrote this used the word 'front page' and newspaper, because this girl needed the attention that a newspaper would give her. The only thing I wondered was how in the world did she catch on fire?

The girl was a tragic loss, but she died happy.

"Song" by Sir John Suckling

   I really enjoyed this poem. First off this guys name caught my attention along with the very simple title: "Song" by Sir John Suckling. I am still trying to understand how the title connects to the poem itself. My thought that makes the most sence is that maybe this Sir serenaded his lover with these words of questioning and confusion to music.
   And I have never heard of the name Prithee. Weird. That name stuck out like a sore thumb the first few times I read it; for me it disrupted the flow. So I inserted the name Penny making the poem move with less disruption for me. I loved how it moved together in a stressed unstressed pattern and I felt that the repetition of his most important questions: "Prithee why so pale?" and "Prithee why so mute?" made his longing for answers more urgent creating a very confused and almost distraught tone for the poem.
   Again, considering this poem rhymes, I thought it went okay with the theme and of course it would sound better rhyming if it were an actual song. This brings me to my thoughts on this theme.
   I think we can all relate to my connection of the super pretty, talented and blessed girl that can't seem to grasp how lucky and beautiful she really is. She's hard on herself and simply won't realize how happy and satisfied she can feel. The vision of herself is so warped in her mind that she never sees the brightness to her life.
   Sir John Suckling seems utterly confused at why his lover is "pale... mute [and] wan" when he obviously sees beauty and a prized life. He seems angry at the fact that the lover is so disatisfied and shamefull of herself dispite all that he has done for her.  
   I especially love the whole last stanza: "Quit, quit, for shame, this will not move,/ This cannot take her;/ If of her self she will not love,/ Nothing can make her,/ The Devil take her." It reminds me of the one phrase that goes something like, if you cannot love yourself first how can you love another. This Sir has probably tried all that he could to try to bring about enlightenment to the girl of her beauty that he knows is there. But now he can't take anymore of her sulking and depressing stanz, he has tried everything to show her what she really is but she won't absorb his words or actions. He is now declaring that he will leave her; he loves her, but needs to leave her.
  The whole thing is pretty, depressing but I still liked it.

"When to Her Lute Corinna Sings"

When to Her Lute Corinna Sings

by Thomas Campion

This poem is very sorrowful, and elegant to me. This poem strikes sorrow to me with these lines, "Her voice revives the leaden strings." (Page 989, Line 2) In other words singing relieves her well being. I think this line also means that the man who watches her sing goes to hear her sing, because it makes him less stressful. He can listen to her sing and be at ease with himself and all around him. Her voice is a very powerful tool to him. When she tries to reach the highest notes, it is a challenge and when she sings them there is a dead silence, "And doth the highest notes appear as any challenged echo clear." (Page 989, Line 3) The audience is noisy or however and as she sings the high notes, the noise disappears. I think singing is what she longs to do, her singing is her passion, it is her way of life, it is who she is. Her passion, is her drive for life, to live. The man who watches her sing is awestruck by her voice, by her passion. He feels joy from her singing, “For when of pleasure she doth sing, my thoughts enjoy a sudden spring.” (Page 989, Line 10) This poem is of love, and muse. The voice of the woman is a muse to the man who watches her. He is hypnotized, he can’t stop listening to her sing, he can’t stop watching her. When she sings of sorrow or is in sorrow, the man’s heart is broken. He cannot bear to see her in that way, “But if she doth of sorrow speak, Ev’n from my heart the strings do break.” (Page 989, Line 11) This poem you have to read more than once, after the few first times of reading this poem I kept analyzing each line, and this is how I responded to it. This poem can get very deep, you just have to be willing to dig for it.

The Victim

I felt that the main message in this poem is that a divorce is difficult and how it is for the people affected by the divorce to deal with it. In the beginning of the poem, the speaker appears to be a young child telling his/her experience with the divorce. The speaker seems very angry towards the father, "when mother divorced you, we were glad" (line 1). The "we" I think referrers to the other family members maybe her siblings who experienced the same hardships. The line "she took it and/ took it, in silence, all those years" (lines 1-2)  is I think really talking about maybe an act of abuse from the father whether it be physical or verbal. The poem then talks about the father's job which made me believe that the father was possibly a workaholic and was never home to spend time with his family. Another aspect that made me think that the father was a workaholic is that the speaker mentions of his suits in line 11. “Would they take your suits back, too”. The speaker seems to only see her father's identity as being tied into the suits. I thought that it also meant that it would be end to the years of silence. The mother of the family is kind of out to destroy the father's image. She turns the children against him, "She had taught us to take it, to hate you and take it until we pricked with her for your annihilation" (lines 15-17). I thought it was interesting how there was a sort of twist toward the end with the speaker wondering who really was the victim. I felt sad and sympathy towards the father by the end of the poem, because his life is pretty much completely ruined. I believe in second chances and I felt that the father really deserves one. I also felt bad for the children because they are being raised by the mother who tries to brain wash them and tries to turn them against their father. The mother is acting childish by getting his own children to hate him. I don’t see the point to doing that, he will always be their father no matter what.

The Leap by James dickey

This is a beautiful poem, how graceful and delightful this girl Jane was to watch and see.  She was like the goddess above the masses. (line44) “I and the other slow-footed yokels” what does yokels mean? An uneducated and unsophisticated person from the countryside. I love how the author idolizes, Jane, how he pays so much attention to her, almost like he is stalking her. Because he is so obsessed with her, he can’t help but keep her on this high petal stole in his mind. But even after Jane kills herself, when she is finally brought down to everyone else stamina. He still wants to keep her high about in his head, (line 42) “Jane, stay where you are in my first mind:” He holds her in his mind of this thought of her being perfect and not having problems, but her death, her suicide is clear proof of her flaws but to him. She had none and her death shatters his reality to pieces, which now he finds that he wasn’t really in love with her; he was in love with the thought of her, not the actual thing. This poem has a lot with symbols, the girl, Jane is a symbol of everything he wants and needs in his life. The man he loved her, but the feeling I thought was not the same for her, she didn’t love him the way he loved Jane. But to her Jane and herself were not the same, she saw flaws within herself and she could fix them, she couldn’t be perfect. So she killed herself, and in her mind it was the only way for her to be perfect. (Line 28) “Mother of four, leapt to her death from a window” Him and her, were both the same but not both wanted perfectness in their minds but couldn’t reach it.