The poems I Am Learning to Abandon the World by Linda Pastan and Still Life in Landscape by Sharon Olds are relatively similar in context. In both poems, the persona is the author, and the persona communicates directly with the reader. By using personas, the poems do not have to inform the readers about the narrative or the situation the speaker is in. Nonetheless, these poems differ in appearance and length of lines, number of lines and the poems’ entire apparition. Sharon Olds and Linda Pastan employ a similar tone in their poems; they both employ reflective and melancholic tones. These authors present their thoughts using understandable language and a relatively simple diction. The two poems are relatively similar in that they both address important aspects of life (meaning of life and mortality) and also use imagery and similar tones.
Sharon presents Still Life in Landscape on a confessional tone. The speaker of the poem is a kid. The child recounts an accident incident she witnessed; the accident happened to be a result of drunk driving. The poem’s opening line, “It was night, it had rained,” (Olds) informs the reader that the crash occurred on a rainy night. This poem portrays the reality as is in the contemporary society, and it can be explicated and looked at from different
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The poem is structured in 21 lines and one stanza (Padilla). In her poem, Pastan makes use of easy descriptive language and a straightforward diction to present the poem’s theme, just as Sharon did. Pastan employs symbolic figures of speech in poetry such as similes, figurative language and metaphors. In the poem, the word “world” is a metaphor that symbolizes death. She states, “And the world has taken my father, my friends,” (Pastan, lines 6 and 7) implying that she lost her father and friends to
The essay will consider the poem 'Practising' by the poet Mary Howe. It will explore how this poem generates its meaning and focus by analysing its techniques, metaphorical construct and its treatment of memory. The poem can primarily be seen to be a poem of missed opportunity. In this way is comes to form, alongside other poems of Howe's a study about a certain kind of loss and the recuperative efforts of memory, alongside the certainty of the failure of this recuperation. The paper will begin by giving a context to the poem with regard to Howe's life and work and will then proceed to analyse it directly, drawing attention to how it can be seen to fulfil this thesis about its content and meaning.
In the Spoon River Anthology series, two of Edgar Lee Masters’ poems are about two characters named Lucinda Matlock and George Gray. In these poems, Masters describes Lucinda Matlock as being vivacious and lively while describing George Gray as dull and monotonous; despite differences, both characters seem to have the same philosophy on life. These two characters are similar and different in many ways, including tone and characterization. Although these characters differ throught the ways they live their lives, both Lucinda and George share the tone of reflection by the way they describe their past.
This particular poem is about parents that have no idea what's going on in their kid's daily life and what they go through. With this type of action, the parents act as if all is good and make little to no effort to get involved in their day to day activities. This shows the kid that the parent does not care or seems like it. The kid will be influenced to do things they normally wouldn't do. If the parent would at least make an attempt to get involved, it may influence them for the better but until then it will not happen.
The image my friends see me as, how I look, how I act… it is not who I am. I am different. I put on an act. My friends gave me the nickname “Heartbeat”, but that is not who I am either. Then, who am I?
Poetry Analysis Once the poem “History Lesson” was written numerous poetry foundations celebrated it for many reasons. “History Lesson” not only makes an impact on literature today it has also impacted people also. This poem inspires people and moves them to the point to where they can find a personal connection to the poem itself and to the writer. Not only does it hold emotional value for those who were victimized and those whose family were victimized by the laws of segregation, but the poem is also celebrated for its complexity. The poem uses many techniques to appeal to the reader.
In “The Trouble with Poetry”, and “Introduction to Poetry” Billy Collins focuses on the issue of forced inspiration, and the lack of appreciation readers, and aspiring poets have for the feel of poetry. In “Introduction to Poetry”, Collins mentions that some poetry enthusiasts try too hard to find the meaning of a poem; to try and decipher it like some ancient hieroglyphics, that they forget that poetry is not an essay and does not necessarily have to have a distinct message. In stanza’s seven and eight, the speaker states that poetry should be felt, and that what one poem means to a group of people could have a completely different effect on another group. In stanza eight “Feel the walls” is the speaker’s ways of saying that one should feel a poem and let the poem speak to them, instead of searching for what they believe to be its true meaning.
as in her final moments the narrator recalls her earliest connection to the landscape. A key theme throughout the poem is the importance of embracing nature, emphasized by the metaphor of the “fine pumpkins grown on a trellis” which rise in towards the “fastness of light”, which symbolizes the narrators own growth, flourishing as a fruit of the earth. Through her metaphors and complex conflagration of shifting perspectives, Harwood illustrates the relationship that people can develop with landscapes, seeing both present and past in
Alice Walker uses imagery and diction throughout her short story to tell the reader the meaning of “The Flowers”. The meaning of innocence lost and people growing up being changed by the harshness of reality. The author is able to use the imagery to show the difference between innocence and the loss of it. The setting is also used to show this as well.
Always Something More Beautiful “Always Something More Beautiful” is a poem by Stephen Dunn, born in Forest Hills, NY. I got attracted to this poem, because it reminded me when I was at the Regionals for a Cross-Country race and reflected how humans’ life can be fair or beautiful. The cluster “time, clock, finish” clarifies for a measurement that refers to a competitive race.
In the poem “For Poets”, by Al Young, the theme is the challenge of stepping out of your comfort zone and seizing moments in life. Young expands and argues his theme through the literary devices used in the poem. These literary devices include symbolism, hyperbole, and metaphor. Al Young portrays life’s obstacles, our society’s attitude towards self expression, and experiencing nature. In conclusion, life is a big obstacle and in order to live it, you must go out of your comfort zone and try your best to give it all you’ve
Through the words reflecting melancholy and sorrow, we can sense the narrator's self destruction due to the death of the woman he loved. As one examines the figurative language of the poem, one finds that its form and
All people have their good days and bad days. In the poems “Piano” by D.H. Lawrence and “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden, the speaker's experience both good memories and bad. Both speakers lived a simple life but what they as a individual were going through was not so simple. The poems each show love even if it's hard to tell. In the two poems “Piano” and “Those Winter Sundays” it shows that the conflict, setting and speaker reveal their own hardships and blessings.
Long Island, New York has cultivated many hip-hop talents in creating masterpieces of hip-hop songs. For example, rap crew Public Enemy’s Fight the power, hip-hop trio De La Soul’s Me, Myself and I, and Eric B and Rakim’s Follow the Leader. All of these songs had great influence over the future hip-hop generations, yet the ones that stood out to me were Public Enemy’s Fight the Power and De La Soul’s Me, Myself, and I. Fight the Power was produced by Public Enemy’s production team The Bomb Squad, and Me, Myself and I was produced by De La Soul and Prince Paul. Although two songs were both released in 1989, they offered different insights for listeners.
Noted literary critic, Brian Alger, describes depicts the meaning of the poem “The Buried Life”. He clearly explains the mechanics used by Mathew Arnold, and how each line relates to overarching theme of the poem. Offers insight on how to analyze the poem and the symbolism of Nature and the life humans have created.
Because Pastan is known for writing stories and poems regarding family life, domesticity, motherhood, the female experience, aging, death, loss and the fear of loss, as well as the fragility of life and relationships, it is no surprise that this one including many of the previously mentioned topics. To name a few, motherhood, the female experience and relationships were the three most relevant topics I saw in the poem. These three topics are extremely important, because not only are they significant in this story, but in all families across the globe. I also noticed the historical importance of this poem, as back during the 1970’s, few people considered being a wife and mother a full-time job, and it is not uncommon for a woman who take on both of these roles to feel overworked and unappreciated. Interestingly, Marks was written in 1978, which took place during the March for the Equal Rights Amendment.