The Lucinda Matlock poem was written by amazing author name Edgar Lee Masters. Edgar Lee Masters had a successful career as a lawyer in his Chicago firm. He wrote many of him poems, plays, and essays in his firm, but when one of his friends gave him a copy of Selected Epitaphs from the Greek Anthology, which is a collection of Epitaphs that captured the essence of people’s personal lives. Edgar Lee Masters used the advice from the Epitaph to disregard conventional rhyme and meter, to produce a series of poems about lives of people in rural southern Illinois. He used the advice he was given the poem of Lucinda
I have chosen the poem titled Oxygen by Mary Oliver, found on page 373 in the Meyer text for first analysis. This poem is essential about someone who is seriously ill, however, the tone is rather appreciative and hopeful. In line 5-6, the individual–might be the author herself– kneels by the fire, and this may connect to the fuel that is keeping her partner alive. The burning logs correlates to the life within her partner, that as long as they burn, he will be kept alive. The oxygen fuels the fire burning and also keeps her man alive; however, he is ill and “in his usual position, leaning on his shoulder.”
Welty emphasizes her “dragon eyes” that would stare down the girls skirts as they entered the door from the bright outside. She utilizes alliterations by displaying the “big black letters” tacked on
The Minefield by Diane Thiel is about a man who is haunted by his past. The first half of the poem is the speaker (who we assume is Diane Theil) telling us what her father told them very non-chalantly during dinner once. He was running from one town to another with a friend and they decided to take a short cut through a field that had lettuce growing in it. His friend was faster than he was so he ran ahead. The short cut ended up being a minefield and his friend was blown up, “his body scattered across the field.”
Roughly “15% of life is spent at school” in the United States (“What percentage of”). Humans are in school during the early years of development, thus the education system impacts their thoughts, choices, and overall wellbeing. It promotes discovery, but still confides the students to certain rules. This concept is explored throughout many poems including “Pass/Fail,” “Trouble with Math in a One-Room Country School,” “Zimmer’s Head Thudding against the Blackboard,” “The School Room on the Second Floor of the Knitting Mill,” and “Fork.” An overall negative attitude emerges from the themes that discusses how education and schooling impact you, for better or for worse.
Within her poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” Phillis Wheatley takes a rather unique stance regarding the concept of slavery, a topic that was controversial during her time. Wheatley begins by stating that it was “mercy” that had brought her from her native “Pagan” land to the world of God and Salvation. With her embedded passion within the poem, a reader can easily infer that Phillis truly appreciates that she was able to learn the notions of Redemption and Heaven from her gruesome travels. This is a rather ironic situation a former slave could be in, for her physical pain would drastically outweigh her spiritual revelation. Later on, Wheatley proceeds to address the racial issue that was prevalent in America.
I am from the grass fields to busy roads, from tracks to trails. (Rough, Twisty, covered with many tiny stones) I am from the empty parking lots and sidewalks. The swift, fast-moving kid whose neon green and black kicks I remember as if they were my own. I am from the cushioned, leather couches to hard, wooden stools, from the flat screen tvs to projectors.
Bradstreet uses an AABBCC rhyme scheme which makes the poem seem to be written in a calm and relaxed state. It is also important to notice that she uses end rhyme which makes it seem as if she was trying to have some control over her life, probably because she lost it due to the fire. The style of the text is really simple because Anne Bradstreet uses what is known as “Puritan Plain Style” makes clear and direct statements and meditate on faith and God with simple sentences and words. It usually contains few elaborate figures of speech.
To start off, the third and fourth lines of the first stanza illustrate how the flag of the ship appears to the American people. In the poem, explains the people watching the banner’s movement in the air stating, “many an eye has danced to see/ The banner in the sky.” The banner, in the poem, was a representation of the reassurance of the people. It seems to be that the flag of the ship has waved for a number of years and so the people looked onto the flag for comfort during the War of 1812.
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.
Furthermore, by using end rhyme, Bradstreet symbolically shows restraint. In the same way that a poet controls oneself by specifically using end rhyme, the poet is controlling her emotions when dealing with a sad experience and accepts her mortality. Similarly, in “Verses Upon the Burning of our House,” proof of Bradstreet’s faith is indisputable. After being initially distraught at her house burning down and losing all of her belongings, Bradstreet recounts how she reorients herself and blesses “His name that gave and took,
I. Introduction A. Lisa Parker is snapping beans with her grandmother on the porch, but she is in the process of being changed by her college experience. B. The poem is “Snapping Beans” by Lisa Parker C. Lisa is a Southern girl, who is home from college in the North; she is going through struggles that are bringing about questioning and changing. D. Lisa is letting go of her safe past so that she can move forward into her own life. II.
such as her use of detailed imagery when describing how she resembled a wriggling beetle to put a comical image in the reader's mind. Her use of positive diction to make light of her serious situation, and her different uses of tone, help educate her readers about the difficulties of living with a
In the poem “Just as the Calendar Began to Say Summer”, Mary Oliver analogizes two distinct tones. The first tone of voice Oliver uses reflects her negative ideas about the regimented school system. At the beginning of the poem there is a strong sense of what the speaker is going through. Oliver states, “I went out of the school house fast and through the gardens and to the woods,” (ln 1-2).
“Poetry Is Not a Luxury” (1982) intertwines feminism and poetry together. Author Audre Lorde says that for women, “poetry is not a luxury, but a necessity of our existence” (Lorde, 1982, pg. 281). In today’s society, women’s opinions aren’t really expressed, because it’s not widely accepted in this man-built world. Lorde’s quote “poetry is not a luxury, but a necessity of our existence” means that women should use their voices and channel their energy into poetry. Since poetry is accepted, women aren’t being deviant.
