Numerous poets explore the emotional challenges faced by teenagers today. Poems can often be written about the internal conflicts of a teenager, for example: issues in their life such as divorce, difficulties growing up, or troubles with their identity, like coming out as homosexual. “Beyond Pastel” by Katherine Lawrence and “I Perform All My Duties” by Greg Hynes both revolve around the emotional issues faced by adolescents. Poets quite commonly develop their theme or message through the use of figurative language; metaphors, symbolism, etc. “Beyond Pastel” and “I Perform All My Duties” are examples of how poems can develop a theme through the uses of figurative devices.
For my IOP I will be comparing the novels The Electric Koolaid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe and Ceremony by Leslie Silko. In this comparison I will be analyzing how these author’s writing styles portray the character development between Silko’s main character Tayo, and the minor characters which Wolfe documented. In both pieces, the reader can see that the characters are presented with internal and external conflicts that shape their realities as well as affect the decisions they make. In order to convey this character progression, both Silko and Wolfe illustrate the ways that their characters gain their acceptance of their social standings in society through the use of figurative language, as well as their fragmented writing styles which include
She spins amazing oil paintings in my mind with each carefully crafted word. Whether she is referring to the velvet lawn or the acrid smells of rotting garbage, we can feel each opposing life. Her poem speaks to the injustice of race and class inequality. The vast wealth of the upper class white people in contrast to the inferior standards of living the black commoners must endure are worlds apart, yet she can imagine every little detail of the life she would love. It is ironic that the bourgeois are not able to do the same and have no desire to try with rare exceptions.
In poems, authors pay close attention to specific things, such as the number of lines, syllables, rhymes, rhyme, word placement, and figurative language. In Andrew Shield’s “Your Mileage May Vary” the structure of the poem creates a story about a family moving out of their beloved home. One of the most distinctive and unique forms of structure used in this poem is the implantation of song lyrics after every line. By adding relevant song lyrics to the end of each line, readers can draw connections between the meaning of the line and the lyric that matches. Besides drawing connections, song lyrics can affect the reader’s mood.
Poetry is an effective means used to convey a variety of emotions, from grief, to love, to empathy. This form of text relies heavily on imagery and comparison to inflict the reader with the associated feelings. As such, is displayed within Stephen Dunn 's, aptly named poem, Empathy. Quite ironically, Dunn implores strong diction to string along his cohesive plot of a man seeing the world in an emphatic light. The text starts off by establishing the military background of the main protagonist, as he awaits a call from his lover in a hotel room.
In Anna Bradstreet’s poem, “The Author to Her Book,” the speaker is a woman whose book has been stolen by her friends to be published. Since she is not proud of the writing, she tries to fix it, but to no avail, and eventually she gives up her efforts. Bradstreet illustrates the complex relationship of this author and her book through the use of an extended metaphor that demonstrates a mother’s relationship with her child throughout time. With this metaphor, Bradstreet conveys the speaker’s shifting tones and negative attitudes towards her book that culminate in a feeling of resignation.
Different Types of Loss Great writers can impact a reader’s emotion. Short stories like “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer, and “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry influences the reader’s emotions due to the loss the characters of each story experience. In “Gwilan’s Harp,” Gwilan loses not only her husband, but also things that she cherishes the most. However, even if Gwilan did lose some of the things that she loves, she later learns to appreciate other things in her life. Also, in “The Washwoman,” the author reveals a loss of a faithful and persevering servant and friend.
The Poem “The Poet” by Tom Wayman is a poem that takes the reader through the physical characteristics of your average poet. The entirety of the “The Poet” consists of a list of 14 descriptors that could be used to describe the typical poet. Each of the descriptive phrases seems to be negative towards the unknown poet that he is talking about. Although the poem seems quite literal, a figurative message is portrayed though text, tone, structure and the literary devices used in the poem. To start off, the specific word usage that Wayman chose to use gives off the impression that poets have their drawbacks.
Shel Silverstein’s books of poetry are often found in classrooms because of the sheer accessibility of his words and their meanings. The poem Where the Sidewalk Ends from the book of the same name is a testament to this point as he uses the simplest words to get his point across, he spells his message out so that anyone can absorb the information they read or hear. Silverstein’s consideration of his audience is what I believe gave myself and my friends our first conscious appreciation for poetry. It was conscious because we chose to read all of Silverstein’s work after having our teacher read Where the Sidewalk Ends from a poster in our school library.
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.
Every individual experiences internal struggles in one way or another. Sara Teasdale shows these inner struggles throughout her poems. The literary devices incorporated in her poems help demonstrate this. Throughout Sara Teasdale 's poems, literary devices, including diction to change tone, juxtaposition, and personification are used to help convey the consistent theme of facing and overcoming an inner conflict. Of these literary elements, many are used in conjunction with one another.
Mayes writes well-written book with good examples and solid advice. Her goal is to encourage people to read and write poetry and not to be intimidated by it. Mayes talks about rhyme, free verse, choice of subject, and style, she explains how poetry works. She includes hundreds of examples of poetry from different time periods including student samples. Students and teachers benefit from being able to view several of the examples.
The first poem in the collection is Collins’ own “Introduction to Poetry,” a humorous description of how people treat poems and a useful technique to explore poems. Tania Runyan wrote How to Read a Poem based on “Introduction,” and “poetry how-to” books are useful for a teacher who wants to move beyond exposure, or for a teacher whose students have read poems and are now demanding answers regarding them. Although her list is slightly dated now, Colleen Ruggieri’s favorite books and websites are interesting and useful to other teachers. An educator should not hail these books like Bibles, but students should be taught to explore poems while reading. Runyan’s guide is a great model because she explains the techniques thoroughly, provides her
Poems leave it all up to interpretation; the reader can decide what they think or feel about it. Poets often have a connection or reason to write poetry; the topic they’re writing about is usually something they can strongly relate to. In order to know what the poet is writing about, we have to look into their background and how they grew up. Sylvia Plath grew up in the 1930s, around the time of the Great Depression. Reflecting on how she grew up, she wrote about the struggles of depression.
How Is A Poem With other types of literature, poems often have profound or unclear meanings, but with in-depth analysis, poems can turn up somewhat unique. Many people may think that poems take the definition of a short piece of writing where feelings and emotions flourish, but in reality, poems confront more with the “how” factor, how can a poem express feelings or how can a poem turn up unique. From long poem books to two words shortest poem in the world, they all have something in common to make them exclusive to every other type of literature. Poems truly uniqueness comes mainly from the four areas of structure, musical character, language, and the reading of poems. First of all, poems can take very outstanding structures, including the
