We just discussed Dickinson and Hughes, and explored what types of papers you might write about them. Now, using the internet, please continue looking into these two writers. For each, please locate:
1. A poem that fits in with the themes of their work discussed in class today.
2. Explain how you think it fits that theme.
Then, using the web site www.poets.org , locate another poet you find interesting. Answering the following:
3. Who is it?
4. What drew you to the work? Explain.
This is due by 9 pm tonight!
1a. “It Was Not Death, For I Stood Up” by Emily Dickinson
ReplyDelete2a. The poem doesn’t actually have someone dying in it, but what is happening in the story does relate to death. In the poem, Dickinson talks about something, an “it”, that is disturbing here. It is not death however because she is still standing up and she can hear the midday bells. However, even though she is not dead, she feels like she is because she feels like she is. She also says that she can’t breathe and expresses how lonely she is. The reader can come to the conclusion that the “it” that is troubling here has to be a psychological disorder. Although, no one dies in the poem, the overall theme relates to death because the writer describes how she is feeling and that is morose, gloomy, and depressed, like death.
1b. “Democracy” by Langston Hughes
2b. Some of the themes that we discussed in class were about telling it like it is. Langston Hughes does that very well in all of his poems. In the poems that we first read he talks about the troubles that as an African-American he has to go through. This poem is no different. In this poem he talks about freedom. He says he wants it now, not when he is dead. He wants to have as much freedom as the person standing next to him. However, he knows that it is not going to happen because he is tired of waiting. This relates to the other poems that we have read in that he talks about freedom and about being African-American.
3. Maya Angelou
4. The first thing that attracted me to Maya Angelou is that she breaks a stereotype by becoming a poet and writer. She is African-American. In the time that she wrote, being and African-American poet wasn’t really common. All of the poems that she writes are very powerful and straight to the point. There is not reading in between the lines and trying to depict what she is trying to say. A particular piece of Angelou’s that I really like is “Still I Rise.” This poem is very powerful and inspiring to me.
-Liliana Diaz
Emily Dickinson
ReplyDelete1. For each ecstatic instant
2. The poem fits the theme of the cycle of life. Everyone experiences joy and pain; joy cannot occur if there is no pain and vice versa. In other words, joy is always followed by suffering. In addition, the feeling joy is brief but the feeling of pain lasts longer.
Langston Hughes
1. Dreams
2. The poem fits the theme of defining who you are. Many people identify themselves with their dream or a goal they want to reach. The poem explains that without dreams, life does not have meaning. Many people have felt the pain of losing something they dreamed of but that should be their strength to try even harder and thus keep on living.
William Butler Yeats
His poem, “When You are Old”, caught my attention. The poem made me realize how young people think that they will never get old and that their love will never die. Getting older is hard to accept but it is better to know the truth when we are young. Therefore, people should enjoy their lives because experiences of life will change the perspective of many subjects such as love.
1. The poem, A long long sleep, a famous sleep, by Emily Dickinson relates to what we discussed in class today because the poem also talks about death. It describes death as a sleep, and sleep is tended to be peaceful. In class we discussed how Emily writes the poem, Because I couldn’t stop for death, describes death as a journey and a peaceful calm reality that everyone eventually ends up in. In this poem, A long long sleep, a famous sleep, Dickinson also describes death as a peaceful quite thing. Somewhat like a long sleep, that you do not wake from.
ReplyDelete2. I chose the poem, As I grew Older, by Langston Hughes because it is similar to what we discussed in class. Hughes writes about how it is to be a colored person and how they feel. In his poem, As I grew Older, he talks about the dream that many colored people had back in the day, and that was to be accepted and be treated equally as the other Americans. He relates his poem to the prejudice that was around back then, and he talks about a dream that is being blocked from achieving because of skin color. This is similar to the poems we discussed in class because it is essentially implying the same thing, the freedom that colored people desire and to achieve.
3. I chose the poet, Edgar Allan Poe, because I have read some of his poems back in high school and I think he is an interesting poet. Most of his poems are about mystery and suspense. I tend to find that exciting because when you use poems and symbols to create a mysterious scene it can be intense. In particular his poem, a dream within a dream, although it is hard to interpret I think Poe is trying to get across the difference between reality and fantasy. For example he states, “my days have been a dream” by that I believe he is trying to say that how do we really know if what we live through is a reality or is it just a fantasy.
1.The poem Still Here by Langston Hughes reflects on the themes we were talking about in class. It reminded me of the poem I too sing America because they both relate to racial oppression. Both refer to their skin being dark one stating they are a dark brother, and the other stating that the sun has baked them. Still Here talks about the oppression a person has faced and has been able to overcome. They say that they have been “battered and scared” yet that has not stopped them from still standing there. This poem is related to the previous one because the dark brother is sent to the kitchen to eat alone, but that doesn’t bother him. He laughs it off and continues to eat and “grow strong.” No matter who has oppressed them or made them feel unwanted, both characters were able to over come the challenge and still be strong.
ReplyDelete2. A long, long sleep, a famous sleep, by Emily Dickinson reminded me of the poem about her journey with death. I believe that the ways she personifies death, makes it seem less scary and more natural. In this poem Dickinson refers to death as sleep. Sleep is something soothing and inevitable. Its something that can happen throughout the day just like death. Both poems describe death as something that will eventually have to happen, and its best to be warned positively before.
3. An interesting poet that caught my attention was Shell Silverstein, because he brings back memories from my childhood. One of my favorite poems by him was Sister for Sale because I always thought it was funny and a good depiction of how children feel about their siblings. As I looked for new poems about him I found one called The Little Boy and The Old Man, I thought this poem was interesting because it brought up the point that although people have different ages, they can always be able to relate to many things. A person should never feel too young or too old to have friends or to be heard. Both this boy and old man were able to communicate and find similarities.
Oops, Sorry the previous post @ 5:37 was by me!
ReplyDeleteCRYSTAL ARELLANO
-Emily Dickenson
ReplyDelete1. My life closed twice before its close
2. This poem is speaking about death. She is describing a loss in her life that is so terrible that she has experienced death twice. Literally she hasn't experienced physical death yet but she says that she cannot imagine how much worse death will feel compared to her loss.
-Langston Hughes
1. Will V-Day Be Me-Day Too?
2. This poem is about the terrible irony of WWII. While we fought against fascism in Europe and Asia, African-americans were still facing segregation. The writer felt that he was not treated equally and that he is doing is country a favor but yet he feels like when the war is over he will be treated as an outsider.
3. Spencer Reece
4. The poem that I read is called "The Clerk's Tale" which is about a thirty three year old gay man who is experiencing loneliness. This poem is really sad at first because it describes how this man has this usual routine at work and he does the same thing everyday. He seems bored with this routine since he has nothing else to do with himself. He also doesn't seem to be happy with himself either since he has not found acceptance. This poem made me see that people who are homosexual experience the same emotions as do many other people that are not. I really like this poem because it gives you a different view and allows you to be in someone else's world.
Emily Dickinson:
ReplyDelete-"The Last Day that She Lived"
-This poem is similar to the poem "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" because they both speak of the last few steps of life that are leading to a slow death. Both poems show how helpless they are in controlling their own lives because it is sure enough coming to an end. In the poem "Because I Could Not Stop for Death," the speaker shows how she does not want to die but she calmly accepts it. In the Poem "The Last Day that She Lived," the speaker is jealous at the fact that "others could exist" while she fades away. Both poems show it's readers that death is natural and it does create helpless emotions that can only be accepted.
Langston Hughes:
-"Daybreak in Alabama"
-This poem is similar to the poem "Theme in English B" because the speaker explains how everyone of America should be equal. Regardless of race, everyone shares the same common status, which is citizenship. There is no white and there is no black because there should not be a division. In the poem "Theme in English B," the speaker shows how he is normal and that he should be treated as an equal. In the Poem "Daybreak in Alabama," the speaker shows how he wants to combine all races together in order to unite as one. Both poems also show personality traits of the speaker. They explain his personal likes and what he wants done in the future. The themes of self-expression in both poem show that a colored person is no more different than a white person.
Sara Teasdale:
- I was interested in her poetry because it is very easy to understand. Each sentence is clear and comprehendible. There is also a hidden mystery as she ends her poems with the last line. She speaks of love that could relate to any other woman who has been in love. In her poem “After Love” it contains symbols that are identifiable, and I realize the significance of each metaphor or simile. They are very interesting and enjoyable to read.
"Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes
ReplyDeleteLangston Hughes recalls upon the early years of America's settlement, a time where life was free, where no "man be crushed by one above." Hughes emphasizes the theme, similar to his other works, of equality, not just for African Americans but for all people of color. He wishes for freedom, an America where moral character, decency between individuals, and an absence of oppression exists.
"The Soul selects her own Society" by Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson presents an ominous yet private atmosphere. The ideas is that the soul wishes to prevent anyone from entering her domain, that solitude and exclusiveness is her sole objective. The mood of the poem conveys a dark ambience, one that is similar to some of her other poems relating to death.
Edgar Allen Poe: What draws me to this poet is his ability to illustrate a story, in some cases a poem, with a true sense of terror. The fact that he does this without the use of actual images or special effects proves intriguing.
Emily Dickinson-
ReplyDelete"My life closed twice before its close"
Emily Dickinson wrote this poem explaining how she felt about the cycle of life. Emily seems to have a recurring theme about life and death, and is interested about life after death. By saying her life closed twice before its close, I think shes saying that she does indeed believe in the after life. Possibly even reincarnation.
Langston Hughes-
"Dreams"
Langston Hughes was a man all about dreams. He dreamed of days like today without segregation, dreamed of love, jazz music...In the poem he says that when dreams die it is like a bird with a broken wing. He's saying that without dreams to accomplish, life can be very meaningless.
Poet I chose, Billy Collins.
I chose Billy Collins mostly because he was #1 on poets.org. That's gotta mean something. I took a gander at his poem "introduction to poetry." In this poem, he attempts to describe to someone new to poetry what to do. Many new people try to read it and make sense just by literal terms, but the key of poetry is that everything can be taken in so many ways, you kinda just have to explore the words and their usages.
1A)“Merry-Go-Round,” by Langston Hughes
ReplyDelete1B)In the poem “Merry-Go-Round,” by Langston Hughes, he once again talks about oppression. This time he compares segregation to a merry-go-round. I think he does a great job in using the bus and the merry-go-round to get his point across. As we know during the Jim Crow laws African Americans were forced to sit in the back of buses, so Langston Hughes brings forward the question, where do African Americans sit in a merry-go-round? Even though there is no exact answer for the question, it is just another way in which he protests segregation.
2A)"I'm nobody! Who are you?" by Emily Dickinson
2B)As discussed in class Emily Dickinson takes a three dimensional approach to the topics she writes about. We saw how she approached death by calling it a gentleman, and also referred to it in the manner of a grotesque fly. In "I'm nobody! Who are you?" by Emily Dickinson she does the same, but instead of death this time it is being a outsider. The narrator enjoys being an outsider and feels it would be a dread to be somebody, because she would have to worry about what people think and what they say. Instead she prefers being nobody, where she can be herself and not worry about what the other think about her.
3)I chose the translated version of Pablo Neruda’s “La Reina.”
4)I chose Neruda for two reasons: I am not too familiar with poetry, and second I remember reading some of his Spanish works when I was growing up so I thought it would be interesting to read them now and see if they seemed the same. After having read “La Reina,” I feel that the message he is trying to get across is that while others may not see the beauty within you, there is always that one person who holds you in high regard. No matter what you do this person finds you beautiful, even when to others you may seem like a regular person.
-Isidoro Medrano
1.A) My life closed twice before its close- Emily Dickinson
ReplyDelete2.A) This poem, like the rest of Dickinson’s poems are about death. You know this poem is about death, because the opening line is “My life closed twice before its close-” However this poem is different then the poem “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, in this poem a person’s life from start to finish its vaguely described through imagery, where as “My Life closed twice before its close” describes what occurs after death and what is yet to come. I got this from Dickinson’s usage of Heaven and Hell in the last stanza of the poem. This fits the theme because it is dealing with the death process, as are most of her poems. This is however what is yet to come then the actual death process itself.
1B.) Dream Variation
2.B) In this poem by Langston Hughes an African American, and his dream is portrayed. This is similar to his themes because Hughes was known for writing about the inequality of the African American people. Hughes through this poem describes the desire for an African American person to be out in public and be as free as the white man. Usage of the line “till the white day is done” made it seem that he was waiting for a time when white oppression would end.
3. Robert Frost
4.I remember reading Robert Frost in high school and really enjoying the usage of his imagery through his poems. For me the usage of imagery paints a picture in my head,that I can relate to as I read. I like this style especially because it makes the poetry more clear for me and easier to understand.
Cody Bills
ReplyDeleteEmily Dickinson:
1. "I died for Beauty—but was scarce"
2. This poem fits the theme of Emily Dickinson's opinions of eternal life and
after death.The poem is about a
man and a woman who are having a conversation while dead about their previous
lives and about their failures. This poem is similar to "I heard a fly buzz"
because dead people are speaking and she uses a single symbol of life in the
poems. In this one the symbol is the moss.
Langston Hughes:
1. "Let America be America America Again"
2. The poem fits because it talks about the freedom and equality that every
immigrant hoped for but never achieved. Hughes represents not only African
Americans but the minorities as well. He criticizes the unfair life in America
but he proposes a hope that the American dream will soon be applicable to all
Americans.
3. Edgar Allan Poe
4. Edgar Allan Poe is a popular poet. His infamy speaks for itself. As i was
skimming through the website I ran across he title "Dream Within a dream" and
that drew me in because of the movie "Inception." After reading the poem I
really enjoyed it and found it interesting.
“I felt a Funeral in my Brain” by Emily Dickinson ties into the recurring theme of death which is evident in many of her literary pieces. This poem describes death in different phases from experiencing death, to being carried to the grave, and eventually hearing the bells of an afterlife.
ReplyDelete“Let America be America Again” by Langston Hughes is an example with a theme of unity and solidarity for Americans. Many of his poems deal with the theme of letting go of segregation and discrimination towards diverse people. In this poem, he exposes his discontentment with the way in which America proclaims to be the land of the free, but is hypocritical in its actions by rejecting the people that make America. The people that work hard, and withstand inequality. He voices that we need to recognize the diverse mix of people, and appreciate who they are in character because America is not homogenous. It’s beauty is portrayed in the hardworking people who hold ideas, dreams, and aspirations driven by a desire to be independent.
For the third poet, I decided for E.E. Cummings because I have never read his work before. I have heard various opinions about his poems, and was curious to see for myself. “Maggie and Milly and Molly and May” relates to how we endure through struggles and pain in this world alone. We should appreciate what nature provides and learn from its offerings. However, we should do it in communion with others because we all have problems, and listening to each other would ease the troubles presented to us.
1.The poem, "A soul unto itself," by Emily Dickinson embraces the idea that the human soul, is left alone. This idea is seen in her previously analyzed poem, such as "I heard a fly buzz."
ReplyDelete2. "Dreams" is a poem by Langston Hughes that encourages the reader to keep his or her dreams and never let go. This poem is similar to the previously discussed since the idea of maintaining something valuable is present. In previous poems, such as "Theme for English B," Hughes shares his beliefs that maintain his own thoughts and in "Dreams," he embraces the idea again by asking the readers to keep their dreams and never let go.
3.Margaret Atwood
4. In her poem, "Morning in the Burned House," Atwood talks about her tragic loss and goes back to the location of her burned down house to remember her daily routines.
- Jorge Perez
1. Death Sets a Thing Significant By Emily Dickenson
ReplyDeleteDickinson explores the strange way in which death transforms the otherwise insignificant objects a deceased loved one leaves behind into something of great value. Major theme is also death.
2. Life is Fine by Langston Hughes
I think this poem is explaining that no matter what troubles you may face in life, your life is still worth living. I actually came to the conclusion that this poem may be payback to his lover saying that she is not worth his giving up his life and that he will not give her that satisfaction.
3. Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angeluo
The poet explains that a womens own attractive personality that is the reason men "stand or fall down on their knees" before her.
The poem is called, “Color-Caste-Denomination”, by Emily Dickinson.
ReplyDeleteThe poem stood out to me because the words color, caste and denomination made it suspicious as to what the theme of the poem might be. The poem is about death and how death is not concern of the race or religion of a person, everyone must face death. Dickinson’s theme of death is portrayed in this poem as her two other poem, “I heard a fly buzz” and “Because I could not stop for death“. Death is a theme in these two poems. It shows that death will take anyone regardless of their social status in society and so forth.
The poem, “Let America Be America Again”, by Langston Hughes
This poem stood out because of simply the title. The poem, “I too sing America talks about the hopes and dreams of an African American. He believes everyone is the same. Racism is one of the themes in the poem and inequality. It foreshadows the uprising black movement toward freedom and equality within the country and discusses the shame whites will experience after realizing their treatment toward blacks. The quote, “Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed”, proves the shame Americans will experience in the future. Looking closely at the poem, “Let America Be America”, it talks about freedom. It relates to the dreams of everyone and having freedom once again.
Abigail Chaidez
E.E Cummings
ReplyDeleteThe poem "9" talks about the affair of two adults. I was not expecting the poem to be on a theme of lust but rather or time, by looking at the title.
Abigail Chaidez
We just discussed Dickinson and Hughes, and explored what types of papers you might write about them. Now, using the internet, please continue looking into these two writers. For each, please locate:
ReplyDelete1. A poem that fits in with the themes of their work discussed in class today.
As I Grew Older by Langston Hughes
2. Explain how you think it fits that theme.
This poem illustrates the effect of the oppression that Hughes received throughout his life. The theme of oppression is also present in "I Too Sing America" The narrator strives to crush the wall standing in the way between him and his dreams, the wall being the racial boundaries placed on colored people in Langston Hughes's era. The narrator early in his life had dreams and goals just like any other person but as he grew older (the title suggests) a wall blocked out the light of his dream and covered him in darkness. The darkness represents his skin color which has ultimately made his dream unachievable. It is evident his skin color is blocking his dream because he says before him are his dark hands following him saying before him is the wall and the shadow. He wants to "shatter this darkness," meaning his skin color's boundaries and
"To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of sun,
Into a thousand whirling dreams,"
eluding to breaking his dark skin color into a skin color as light as the sun is the only way of achieving his dreams would ultimately allow him to achieve his dreams.
Forever at HIs side to walk by Emily Dickinson
Dickinson first speaks of the bonds of marriage for better or worst. Then she comes back to the popular theme of death among her poems, recognizing that death will eventually split a married couple and ultimately it is the one that has lived on that will suffer from the death.
Then, using the web site www.poets.org , locate another poet you find interesting. Answering the following:
3. Who is it?
Billy Collins
I chose the opem "Some Days" by Bill Collins because he was among the popular poets listed on the website. In his poem the narrator describes a setting in which he controls the people at the dinner table and can position them as he pleases, then in the following stanza he describes a scenario where he is being controlled. The poem illustrates that without a moments notice life can be turn around. I thought it gave an interesting point of view on life.
-Randy Ou