"Desperate- Party of one"

At first glance this poem was vey odd. After all who would put an ad in a paper for a date/girlfriend? Then after reading it closer, I realized that maybe they aren't looking for someone new, but maybe someone old. Maybe the speaker is describing his former love and is seeking advice as to where she may be. Perhaps he is talking of all the experiences they used to encounter and is reminisscent of all those days in the past. Obviously the speaker already has someone in mind about who they are seeking out, because they keep saying, "is it you?" The speaker has hit rock bottom and this is his last resort to try to find the woman he let go. In a way I thought it was very desperate, but then again I would love if someone put an ad in the paper for me!

Oh how I love this one!

Society as a whole can learn a great deal from "Delight in Disorder". Just like the Barbie Doll poem, this one glorifies imperfections. I have said it once, and I shall say it again, our society's infatuation with perfection and high standards will be the demise of us as a whole. All we have to do is take a look at the many things in our world that are not perfect. The Leaning Tower of Pisa being the most perfect. If this tower were to be just an upright, mundane tower, millions of tourists would not be attracted to it every year. The cookie-cutter lifestyle we are all acustomed to and feel we must lead is actually the the one we must avoid. Dare to be different. Be the person who calls the mole on their face a "beauty mark", or the bump on their ear an "angel kiss".

Hang in there a little longer!

The poem, "Do Not go Gentile into that Good Night" has a theme of perserverence. The speaker is talking to someone who is obviously old of age and suffering from an illness. Throughout the poem the speaker keeps telling the person to hold on and not give up quite yet. He says, "Rage, rage against the dying of the light." Once again in this poem as well, light represents the disppearing sun at the end of the day. Toward the end of the poem, the reader figures out that the speaker is actually talking to his father. He is telling him that you may hate/curse me know, but you will be glad you put up a fight. I can only pray that I never have to have this conversation with my father someday.

Death and Winter

In the poem, "That Time of year" by William Shakespeare is a metaphor for death. In the poem, the speaker talks about how after the sunset fades in the west, dark takes over by night. This is a metaphor of how death is taking over the speaker's life just like how darkness is taking over the land. At the same time, the speaker is not talking of a literal death. Instead, he is talking about the death of youthfulness. For, he says "That on the ashes of his youth doth lie", meaning he is lying by the lying flame of his youth. At the end of the poem, the speaker talks of how since he is giving up his youthfull bliss, it causes him to love it that much more. This is kind of a case of you don't know what you have 'til it's gone.

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!