His loss my gain

I thought the message of the poem "The Apparation" was one every teenage girl should read. We live in a society today in which women feel that their men feel so highly regarding them and they can never be replaced. However, in this poem, the woman approaches the situation with the attitude of "his loss my gain." I think this attitude should be applied to all girls when they break up with their boyfriends. They should have the attitude that they deserve better than that relationship anways. In the society in which we live, I feel like everyone is so concerned with what other's think about them, instead of how they think about themselves. If everyone could get a grasp of this idea, then the world would be such a better place for everyone. And the quicker they learn this, the better off women will be in the long run!

The Oxyen

Wow what a crazy poem. When I first read this, I was convinced that the speaker must be athiest. In th poem, the speaker talks about the magic of Christmas Eve. With winter being my favorite season, I could realate to this poem. I could see my whole family sitting around the couch and opening white elephant gifts. I then began to recall how much more magic was felt when I was a child and believed in (spoiler alert) Santa Clause. I believe that the way the speaker feels about Jesus is the same way that I once felt about Santa. Once the magic of of this goes away, so to does all the excitement surrounding the holiday.

Getting Out while you can!

The tone of the poem, "Getting Out" is somber and peaceful. In the poem, Mathis uses words such as refusal, silent, startled, tightening the heart, bewilderment. Mathis worked effectively to achieve a tone of bittersweet remorse. In the poem, the couple tried their hardest to make love between them work. They tried to leave, but couldn't, due to the piles of clothes and tennis rackets. At the end of the poem, the couple hold hands and then let go. In my head, all I could do was to think about "The Breakup" when Vince Vaughn an Jennifer Aniston look back at each other and then go on their merry way. It seems to me that the couple are still in love and just can't work it out.

My mistressess' theme

The theme of the poem of titled, "My Mistresses' eyes is conveyance of reality. In the poem, the speaker chooses to show the flaws of his lover instead of saying her "eyes are as bright as the sun" like some some men would. Instead, the speaker points out her flaws and imperfections. For instance, he says "...perfumes is ther more delight than in the breath that from my mistress reaks". Here, he is saying despite her bad breath and cheeks that really aren't that rosy, he still loves her. He always has loved her and always will. Wow! I wish every man in the world could be like this. In today's world it always seems that men are just concerned with the outward appearances of women, not their inner beauty, like this speaker is!

I am actually starting to catch onto this whole poetry thing...

I am not going to lie, when we started reading this poetry unit, I was convinced I was going to hate every minute of it. Up until this point, the only type of poetry I have experienced in literature is annoying poems I have never understood. However, the poem that really made me realize how much I am liking this stuff is APO 96225. This poem had a relatable sense about it. After reading the poem, I really felt what the mother was going therough with her son gone at war. After studying Vietnam last year, what the man was experiencing at war is something he could never describe to anyone at all. The other element of the poem brought out, was the fact that the war not only messes with a man physically, but mentally as well. The soldier was almost brainwashed and will never be the same. It is amazing what war can do to our young American boys.

I'm a barbie girl in a barby world (I'm assuming I am not the only one with a blog title as this)

The poem titles, "Barbie Doll" is the anthem of our society today. Many girls undergo this same issue today, just maybe not in the same way. It is crazy that such words can be put into a poem. Everywhere we look, there are pictures of models that are unruly thin. Being around such photos al the time forces young people around the country to feel they need to look the same way. I think we often always say that if a girl is overweight, as long as she has a good personality, it doesn't matter. To me, this is rather inappropriate. What mother wants their daughter to be talked about in such a way. I think that weight in any sense does not matter. And no matter the circumstance, weight does not matter in the least bit. Personality does.

Sense is madness is sense

The central theme of the poem, "Much madness is divinest sens" is that people who conform to societal norms is mad. Along with that, the speaker also says that the person who does not conform and in a sense has their own individual vibe has sense. To me, this idea actually does have some truth behind it. In history, people like Martin Luther King, who spoke out against the societal norm of civil rights, was put in jail and criticized. Most people at the time felt he was crazy in what he was asking, but now looking back, it is very apparent that he had a lot of sense. I would like to take the words of Emily Dickinson a bit farther and say those who go against conformity at the time are often considered mad, but in retrospect, they are considered to have sense. People such as George Washinton fit into this category because when he stepped down as President after two terms, he was considered to be crazy to give up such a prestigious position. However, looking back he was sensible to give up the position and not hold it strictly to himself.

Paradox

"Batter My Heart, Three Personed God" has many instances of paradox present in the poem. First off, the speaker requests to be broken. This stems from the fact that the speaker feels without being broken down, they would not be able to live in union with God. Along those same lines, the speaker also wants to be broken down before being built back up. Drug addicts have to go through a simular proccess when they are trying to recover from the addiction. They must hit rock bottom before recovering to their origional state. The main character of the poem also feeds into the theme of paradox because he wants to be imprisoned by God in order to be free. The author feels that the only way they could live a chaste life and a life pleasing to God would be to be imprisoned by God. The character wants to be free from the devil.

What do toads have to do with it?

Of all the poems in this unit, "Toads", by Philip Larkin gave me the most confusion. After reading the poem, I have come to the conculsion that is deals with life. However, I am confused as to how toads fit into it. The only thing I can come up with is toads are notoriously lazy and known to just bask in the sun. So, is Larkin comparing toads to the society of today? In the first stanza, the speaker is questioning why one would have to do physical work to make money, when instead they could just use their intellect to do the same. The more I analyze this, the better sense it makes. Furthermore, the speaker is wondering how it is possible to work so hard during the week only to make a couple dollars to pay the bills. Sounds like a pretty lonely and empty life to me!

Standing out like a sore thumb

Of all the poems this unit, this is by far my favorite. Elizabeth Bishop's "Pink Dog" should be plastered on the wall of every teenager's bedroom wall. By equating a pink dog as one who is scantily clothed, young people are able to get a sense of what they actually look like. In my opnion, if someone is dressed inappropriately in public, they desserved to be stared at. It really bothers me when people look at me as if I have no right do be doing so. Yes, I do, and if you do not want me to stare at you, then dress appropriately and assimilate into the society in which you live. I am tired of people trying to show their individuality by standing out from the crowd, just to be their own person. It is all well and good to be your own person, but please do it modestly.Bishop was brilliant when formulating this poem, for this timeless piece will always be relevent no matter what the era.

Love Struck

First off, of all the poems in this unit, "February" by Margaret Attwood would have to be the least identifiable of all. With the tone being cynical, I was not a fan of her pessimistic personality. The speaker of the poem did however convey his/her feelings toward winter/February/love to the audience effectively. By being so graphic with her diction, the audience is able to identify with the reader and their attitude toward humans as a whole. Attwood placed humans on the same level as cats, which is the worst possible comparrison! At the beginning of the poem, the readers felt the speaker was rather crazy in her accusations toward humanity as a whole. But, by the end, they almost begin to side with the speaker and their feelings. Even if the poem was perverted and had numerous hidden sexual refrences, I applaud you, Ms. Attwood!

Star Night, Star bright (I think that is how it goes)

"Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast.." Wow, quite the image eh? The diction John Keats used in this poem is impeccable. Throughout the entirety of the poem, Keats chose words that work together with the overall theme, being what he would do to be with his lover. By using such soft words when describing the lover, the readers gets a sense of tenderness and heartfelt love that he feels. By sending such signals to the reader, Keats was able to effectively convey to them that the speaker of the poem would even give up being an eternal star just to temporarily be with his wife (or husband?). He/she would give up being able to look at the earth from every view possible for as long as eternity allows to instead sleep with his wife until the love fades away. The message of the poem is what every loved one out there hopes their lover would say about them. Why can't we all have a significant other like John Keats?

What an inspiration...

The theme of the Poem, "Dreams Deferred" by Langston Hughes can be summed up in one sentece. Chase after your dreams, for if you don't they will haunt you infinitely. To me, the theme of the poem regarded the fact that one must chase after their dreams and aspirations, for if you don't the only one to blame is yourself. This poem could not be any more appropriate for me life right now. I hold many aspirations about what I want to do with my life; however, I am not always sure if they are attainable or not. After reading this poem, I have realized that I will never know until I go after them. Just like the African Americans of the Harlem Reniassance, I too must chase after my dreams, for you just never know what could come out of them. As I grow older, this will be my anthem as I go through the trials and tribulations I know are ahead of me.

Those tedious days

Of all the poems I can relate to most, "Those Winter Days" would take the title. My mother was the first person to pop into my mind when reading the poem. I know mothers are historically to be the child bearers and care givers of the family and this job is looked down upon by many; however, Amy Richardson is my definition of a superhero. She's the first one awake to make my buttered then peanut-buttered toast and the last one to put the dogs up after everyone is asleep. This week as she is in Florida with a friend, I have taken over the role as mother for the week. At this point while my father is at a meeting and I am here with all my sisters, I am almost to my breaking point due to the amount of stuff needing to be done around the house! Now I have a taste of this thankless job and a lot more respect for my mother! The respect that the father in the poem did not have.

After reading "After Apple Picking"

Of all the poems thus far, I can honestly say this poem is by far my favorite. I love the divine element brought into the piece paints vivid images into the readers's mind. While reading the poem, I couldn't help but think about the heavens being opened to this one person whose earthly journey has come to an end. I am big on experiencing life to the fullest potential and the empty apple baskets represent life experiences yet to be had. Because of this aspect, the poem has a rather bittersweet element to it. When the character talks of doing too much apple picking, I felt this directly applied to me. In life, we will not remember all the homework we stayed up hours completing, but we will remember the relationships and experiences had throughout our lifetime!

My brain senses a stressed senior girl right now...

Wow, what an amazing poem! Upon first glance of the poem, I was fairly lost as to what approach to take when tackling it. However, once I read each stanza carefully, I realized the poem was telling a story and the central theme was one's decent into mental insanity. Even though many feel the character of the poem is not aware he/she is mentally unstable, I beg to differ! In the first stanza, the character is trapped inside a wooden box (or a casket). Since the character is trapped, but still alive, he/she is rather a prisoner in their on body. Throughout each stanza, there is a reference to the character being helpless to the happenings outside the wooden box in which they are trapped. At the end, when the poem reads, "and then a plank of reason broke", this is referencing how a plank in the bottom of the casket broke and then the character was able to escape the imprisonment of their own body!

The Lamenting Widow

"A Widow's Lament" by William Carlos Williams is filled with rich details of vivid images painted for the reader. These images are also very abstract and many are symbols representing other things. For example, the yard the widow lives in represents comfort and safety. On the contrary, the meadow her son speaks of represents unchartered territory never before sought out. The motif of white flowers is another symbolism that is reoccurring throughout the work. The white color represents purity, happiness, and innocence. In the beginning when the widow says how the flowers are white that day, she is reminiscing of the days when she and her husband would walk the garden together. Similarly, when the widow talks of falling into the white flowers, this is a symbolism for wanting to become one with the leaves by falling into them and joining in union with her deceased husband. This poem is an allegory, for every element such as the ones mentioned represent another element in the telling of the widow's story.

Innocent Innocence

Innocent minds will one day be clouded with the harshness of reality.

If I had to describe the poem "Spring" by Gerard Manley Hopkins in a nutshell, the sentence above encompasses every aspect. Before deeply analyzing this piece, I was under the impression that it was just an allegory regarding the innocence of young children. However, the last two lines of the poem struck a cord with me personally. As I have gotten older, it seems I look back on the days when controversial issues were not addressed and sensitive topics were not discussed, and I think about how I did not realize how innocent I was at the time. The last lines of the poem hit on this idea as well. The "innocent minds in Mayday in girl and boy" have no idea that their way of life will soon be changed to include a multitude of grim occurrences.

Let's try this again

Poetry in and of itself is very difficult for me to grasp. I have always been under the impression that poetry can mean anything that a reader wants it to. When we were in grade school, as long as the words rhymed, it was accepted. Once I entered the tenth grade and wrote poetry in my World Literature class, I was still not completely sure what poetry was and was still just fishing around in an attempt to receive a good grade. Now, as a twelth grade AP Literature student, I am not only bound and determined to get an exceptional grade in the class, but am also ready to tackle the real world of poetry- the one educated scholars work with.

Mr. Perrine's article, "The Nature in Proof of the Interpretation of Poetry" left me rather eager to start learning about poetry. I have always been turned off by the fact that poetry leaves the readers with a rather gray matter. Interpretations could mean one thing, or polar difference. I am the kind of person who looks at things as either black or white and gray is not in my vocabulary. However, after reading this article, I was comforted by the fact that he feels there IS a right and a wrong interpretation of a poetic piece. However, this does come with the challenge of finding that right interpretation of the piece- the exact thing I struggle with.

Upon reading a poem, I develop my own interpretation of it in my head. Once I do so, I have a difficult time accepting anything other than the one I developed. For example, when I read the poem by Emily Dickinson, my interpretation was the exact expample he used as being false. Upon reading his interpretation, I saw how it could work, but I felt my interpretation was no better than his. However, being the enthuased learner I am, I am going to follow Perrine's advice this quarter, and accept other's interpretations and seek the CORRECT one, and not just one formulated in this little brain of mine.

Good readers do what?!

First off, I would like to touch on an aspect of Mr. Perrine's speech that left me rather miffed. In his lecture to his students, he said students should not relate to characters in the story. In other words, readers should not compare and contrast their personalities with those found in the readings. I completely disagree. When I open the first page of a book, the first thing I think about is what I like and dislike of the character's personalities. By doing this, I feel connected to the reading at a whole other level. Reading between the lines in an attempt to figure out the deeper motives of the characters is what brings me personal joy in a reading.

On the other hand, when someone reads for a simply scholastic purpose, this approach may not be the best. In this regard, when tackling a piece of literature, one must addresss the piece with an unbisased attitude. The minute that a person favors one character over another due to personal reasons, many things the character engages in over the course of the literature will go unoticed by the reader due to personal reasons. I just realized that I am writing about the wrong reading; however I will still publish the post.