One of the contemporary poems that we did not go over in class, but that I really enjoyed is "The History Teacher" by Billy Collins. In this poem, the speaker describes a situation in which a history teacher attempts to protect his students from tragic events in history and wants to preserve their innocence. Instead of displaying the gruesome details of the events, he sugar coats each one into a less intimidating version of the story. Even though he means no harm, by doing this he accidentally damages them by not informing them of the true events that make up the world in which we live in. History revolves around the concept of action and reaction, a vital study in order to further understand the way the world works and to prepare ourselves for life's more unexpected events. By not learning about consequence and punishment of actions, the students are unprepared for life outside of the classroom and therefore engage in aggressive and cruel behaviors, "to torment the weak/ and the smart mussing up their hair and breaking their glasses." The outside people are described as "weak" or "smart," demonstrating how a child is either smart and educated in history, or is the alternative, weak and uninformed.
The diction in the story is not complex, but is rather simple and casual, telling the story how it is, the way the speaker thinks all stories should be told. The tone of the story is somewhat accusatory and views the teacher in a negative light. The lack of a rhyme scheme and randomness of the structure of the poem, could be looked at as the way the author views life itself, random and without an order that just sounds nice. By simply describing teacher, Collins seems to be sending a larger message about the education of children, and even further about life in general. Learning about the problems that the world has to deal with is part of life. It is part of growing up. Sparing the gruesome details of life fails to teach them how to work together and act in the modern day world.
The end of the poem tells of the infamous teacher walking home and innocently "wondering if they would believe that soldiers/ in the Boer War told long, rambling stories/ designed the make the enemy nod off,"showing how he is either oblivious to what he is really doing, or too "weak" to showcase and educate on the cold, hard truth.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Friday, January 30, 2015
A Song in the Front Yard.
One of my favorite poems from the packet that we did not go over in class was A Song in the Front Yard by Gwendolyn Brooks. I like this poem because of the perspective it gives to the reader of how children view the world. The first two lines of the poem read "I've stayed in the front yard all my life/ I want a peek at the back ." The front yard and backyard in these two lines act as symbols for higher and lower social status. Later in the poem it reads "I want to go in the back yard now/And maybe down the alley,/ To where the charity children play/I want a good time today." The speaker of the poem wants to go play in the "back yard" regardless of the social class of the people who live there. This demonstrates how children often do not care about social class but instead care about other things such as having fun and being adventurous. This is one of many examples in the poem that gives the reader perspective into how children view the world.
In the Eye of the Beholder
When looking for a song to put as poetry last week, I had a really difficult time. I found myself scrolling through my iTunes library looking for any songs whose lyrics went beyond just telling a story, and it took me a really long time to come across what I did. Those parameters I set up are worth discussing.
What is poetry exactly, and why does music count? Most people would assume that music is poetry thanks to its separated verses and rhyme scheme. But the article we read at the beginning of the unit talked a whole lot about content but not a lot about structure, implying that words don't have to be a certain form or laid out a certain way to be a poem. The article said that poetry doesn't always tell a story, which is why I skipped over songs that didn't go beyond that, but I really didn't have to. Under that rule even prose qualified.
Poetry is the most condensed form of literature. It doesn't matter what it's condensed from, whether it's a story or a moral or just words that sounds nice together; it only matters that it's condensed at all. I think poetry is any bit of written or spoken word that means more than what the word's literal definitions say on their own. But that hidden meaning is up for the reader to decipher and decide. One of the best things about poetry is that it's in the eyes of the beholder; if I could argue that "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" has all kinds of hidden meanings (within certain bounds of reality, no aliens around here) then it's poetry. If I argued that an English translation of "Gangnam Style" had more meaning than its ridiculous video suggested, then it's poetry too.
And I think that's fantastic.
What is poetry exactly, and why does music count? Most people would assume that music is poetry thanks to its separated verses and rhyme scheme. But the article we read at the beginning of the unit talked a whole lot about content but not a lot about structure, implying that words don't have to be a certain form or laid out a certain way to be a poem. The article said that poetry doesn't always tell a story, which is why I skipped over songs that didn't go beyond that, but I really didn't have to. Under that rule even prose qualified.
Poetry is the most condensed form of literature. It doesn't matter what it's condensed from, whether it's a story or a moral or just words that sounds nice together; it only matters that it's condensed at all. I think poetry is any bit of written or spoken word that means more than what the word's literal definitions say on their own. But that hidden meaning is up for the reader to decipher and decide. One of the best things about poetry is that it's in the eyes of the beholder; if I could argue that "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" has all kinds of hidden meanings (within certain bounds of reality, no aliens around here) then it's poetry. If I argued that an English translation of "Gangnam Style" had more meaning than its ridiculous video suggested, then it's poetry too.
And I think that's fantastic.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Dr. Seuss
I don't know anyone who doesn't like Dr. Seuss books. Most kids, in my experience at least, learned to read with Dr. Seuss books. Ted Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, wrote the Cat in the Hat for the purpose of getting kids more interested in reading. Geisel is a widely celebrated and acclaimed children's author. He has sold over 220 million copies and his works have been translated in 15 languages.In 53 years of writing Seuss wrote and illustrated 44 books several of which have been best sellers. Books such as The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Green Eggs and Ham, and the Christmas classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Geisel's books are not just children's first exposure to reading of literature but their first exposure to poetry as well.
Some may argue that Dr. Seuss's books aren't true poetry because they are made for children and sometimes contain to rand moral lesson. However as it is written in "What is Poetry" A poem does not have to have a moral. Dr. Seuss goes well beyond simply using poetic devices such as rhyme scheme and anapestic tetrameter. His poems inspire wonder and imagination in more than just there target audience. It is for this reason that they have achieved such success. They literally ad figuratively paint out an entirely new world to step into wrought entirely from imagination. A world of wonder that most themselves could not imagine. In the words of Perrine "It enlarges our perspectives and breaks down some of the limits we may feel". This is the perfect definition for how Seuss books make people feel.The world they paint is so unique and original that stepping into it dissolves many of the limitations that exist in our world that is bland in comparison. The books of Dr. Seuss fit Perrine's definition of poetry perfectly. These are my favorite poems.
Some may argue that Dr. Seuss's books aren't true poetry because they are made for children and sometimes contain to rand moral lesson. However as it is written in "What is Poetry" A poem does not have to have a moral. Dr. Seuss goes well beyond simply using poetic devices such as rhyme scheme and anapestic tetrameter. His poems inspire wonder and imagination in more than just there target audience. It is for this reason that they have achieved such success. They literally ad figuratively paint out an entirely new world to step into wrought entirely from imagination. A world of wonder that most themselves could not imagine. In the words of Perrine "It enlarges our perspectives and breaks down some of the limits we may feel". This is the perfect definition for how Seuss books make people feel.The world they paint is so unique and original that stepping into it dissolves many of the limitations that exist in our world that is bland in comparison. The books of Dr. Seuss fit Perrine's definition of poetry perfectly. These are my favorite poems.
The History Teacher
After going through and analyzing or at least reading most of the poems in our packet, I decided my favorite and most memorable is The History Teacher. All of the poems and even sonnets tend to have a deep and intense vibe on the shell, beginning with the Colonel. which concluded with cut off human ears lying on the floor. Continuing through the packet, there was always something thought provoking but also intense about the poems. But when I came across The History Teacher by Billy Collins, it gave me a different feel than all the other poems. At first read, it made me chuckle at the outrageous examples the teacher would give the children: from dropping a single atom on Japan to the ice age being times in which you needed a sweater. The poem really had no meaning or effect at first, the last stanza about him wondering whether the kids believed him or not seemed like an interesting thought, but only for a brief period of time. Then I thought about the first line of the poem, "Trying to protect his students' innocence". After thinking about it for a while, it made me realize the significance to that poem as a whole and also culture as we know. It made me question, is it necessary to take measures like this? Do children need people to control their innocence? Is their even a right time for innocence to be 'lost'? What even fits into the criteria of losing innocence? Addressing the first question in my head, I thought that this was in fact doing too much to help protect young students. I think it is necessary for people to take in information that could be 'harmful' to their innocence even at a younger age. I know for myself, I did not process the entire meaning and effect of hearing they dropped an atomic bomb on a city. But, later on learning about it at an older age, it helped to have some knowledge of what it was. If you are protected from all things 'evil' and are then exposed to them, which is inevitable, all at once, I think the harm is much greater. I also think that their is no real time of 'loss of innocence'. I do not remember a time when I felt exposed and vulnerable because of information I learned, but maybe that is just me. Overall, the poem gave me a good laugh, a change of mood, but also a deeper insight after thinking and reading it over.
Where the Sidewalk Ends
When asked to pick my favorite poem, I had to admit to myself that outside of the poems we read in the packet, I didn't know many poems off hand that I loved. So I dug into my reservoir of knowledge of poetry from elementary school, and remembered the beautifully silly poems of Shel Silverstein. I distinctly remember having books of his poetry, one entitled, "Where the Sidewalk Ends." This blog will be a testament not only to the wonderful poem with the same name, but also the work that Silverstein has done in making poetry appealing to children.
The poem itself is wonderful. It speaks to the power of a child's imagination in the place where the sidewalk ends. The kids escape the place where "the smoke blows black/ and the dark street winds and bends/ past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow." And in this magical place where the sidewalk ends they will find that, "there the grass grows soft and white/ and there the sun burns crimson bright/and their the moon-bird rests from his flight/ to cool in the peppermint wind." Although the description may be nonsensical, the diction and imagery create a lighter, happier world where the children can play and enjoy themselves. Maybe it is in their imagination, maybe they are stuck in the asphalt flowers, but as Silverstein writes, "for the children they mark, and the children they know/ the place where the sidewalk ends." The children's imaginations are the strongest, and they will always be capable of finding these enchanting escapes, we just have to follow.
I'll admit, I never analyzed the poem "Where the Sidewalk Ends" that closely until I started this blog post. Yet, I've known and admired the poem for years, and therein lies the genius of Shel Silverstein's poetry. He succeeds in getting children excited about poetry. I think it is incredibly important to form this interest in poetry at a young age because without early exposure, its too easy to be apathetic towards poetry, when it really can do wonderful things. And even though kids might not understand the meanings of the poems at the time, the poems are generally straightfoward, and applicable to their lives. They are silly, they rhyme, and they're fun to read at bed time. Because kids like these books they will be excited about poetry, or at least more open to learning about it, in their future academic careers. So I highly encourage you all to think back on all those silly poems you read as a child, and consider their affect on you.
The poem itself is wonderful. It speaks to the power of a child's imagination in the place where the sidewalk ends. The kids escape the place where "the smoke blows black/ and the dark street winds and bends/ past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow." And in this magical place where the sidewalk ends they will find that, "there the grass grows soft and white/ and there the sun burns crimson bright/and their the moon-bird rests from his flight/ to cool in the peppermint wind." Although the description may be nonsensical, the diction and imagery create a lighter, happier world where the children can play and enjoy themselves. Maybe it is in their imagination, maybe they are stuck in the asphalt flowers, but as Silverstein writes, "for the children they mark, and the children they know/ the place where the sidewalk ends." The children's imaginations are the strongest, and they will always be capable of finding these enchanting escapes, we just have to follow.
I'll admit, I never analyzed the poem "Where the Sidewalk Ends" that closely until I started this blog post. Yet, I've known and admired the poem for years, and therein lies the genius of Shel Silverstein's poetry. He succeeds in getting children excited about poetry. I think it is incredibly important to form this interest in poetry at a young age because without early exposure, its too easy to be apathetic towards poetry, when it really can do wonderful things. And even though kids might not understand the meanings of the poems at the time, the poems are generally straightfoward, and applicable to their lives. They are silly, they rhyme, and they're fun to read at bed time. Because kids like these books they will be excited about poetry, or at least more open to learning about it, in their future academic careers. So I highly encourage you all to think back on all those silly poems you read as a child, and consider their affect on you.
The Distinction Between Poetry In Music and Poetry In Literature
Referring to the discussion we had in class where some argued that today's music has no poetic value because of its repetitive verse and simplistic language, I'd like to delve into my own opinion of the matter.
When I read the posts from two weeks ago about everyone's form of poetry, I noticed that a majority if not all the posts were about the lyrics of the song, as if that alone made it poetic. This is the problem with analyzing music as poetry. The whole point of music is that there is so much more than the lyrics. Isn't that the obvious separation between music and literature? One of the songs I really wanted to talk about was "Two Weeks" by FKA Twigs, because the fluidity of her electropop sound and the raspy drum progression creates a song that is kind of elegiac and induces a lot of emotion, however the lyrics themselves are no prize (and also NSFW). Nonetheless, are we to diminish the quality of that song because it doesn't fit our concept of poetry, a concept that should strictly refer to literature? When I think of music as a form of poetry, the multidimensional language does not stem from the lyrics alone, but rather the chord progressions and other musical elements that layer on the nuances that lyrics alone cannot express.
Dear Viewers, I love poetry *heart symbol*
It's really easy to make a superficial appraisal of poetry as a whole.
"I hate poetry," half the people you talk to will say. "It's so boring and vague, and I'm horrible at writing it."
"I love poetry!" the other half will respond. "It's so beautiful and meaningful." But how much does either group really know about or invest in poetry? How much true thought have they put into their respective answers? Maybe some students like poetry because it involves less assigned reading material. Perhaps some dislike it because it requires a more thorough, deeper reading process - or a high level of introspection in both the case of reading and writing. To be honest, I've probably fallen into each group at some time or other.
Whichever side of the poetry-appreciation line someone belongs to, poetry is actually pretty hard. That's because good poetry has depth; it has multiple layers and oftentimes some of those layers are covered. To reach those lower layers, the reader has to dive through the gleaming surface to an even deeper level of understanding. That process isn't always the most enjoyable without dedication and an ability to draw joy from the mental exercise. And sometimes after doing that, all that's been uncovered just seems like BS, or perhaps over-speculation on the part of readers who find the Aliens of Huskinania buried within a poem about desire by Sidney. But in good poetry, the deeper layers, once successfully uncovered, have a clear and meaningful purpose in the poem - that makes poetry worth it. Developing the skill to fully enjoy poetry, yes, is hard work, but that end result of being able to enjoy great poetry is what makes the process worth it. It's a process that, myself and even some poetry aficionados I'm sure, have to continually work at because poetry is worth it.
"I hate poetry," half the people you talk to will say. "It's so boring and vague, and I'm horrible at writing it."
"I love poetry!" the other half will respond. "It's so beautiful and meaningful." But how much does either group really know about or invest in poetry? How much true thought have they put into their respective answers? Maybe some students like poetry because it involves less assigned reading material. Perhaps some dislike it because it requires a more thorough, deeper reading process - or a high level of introspection in both the case of reading and writing. To be honest, I've probably fallen into each group at some time or other.
Whichever side of the poetry-appreciation line someone belongs to, poetry is actually pretty hard. That's because good poetry has depth; it has multiple layers and oftentimes some of those layers are covered. To reach those lower layers, the reader has to dive through the gleaming surface to an even deeper level of understanding. That process isn't always the most enjoyable without dedication and an ability to draw joy from the mental exercise. And sometimes after doing that, all that's been uncovered just seems like BS, or perhaps over-speculation on the part of readers who find the Aliens of Huskinania buried within a poem about desire by Sidney. But in good poetry, the deeper layers, once successfully uncovered, have a clear and meaningful purpose in the poem - that makes poetry worth it. Developing the skill to fully enjoy poetry, yes, is hard work, but that end result of being able to enjoy great poetry is what makes the process worth it. It's a process that, myself and even some poetry aficionados I'm sure, have to continually work at because poetry is worth it.
Around My Head
Cage the Elephant is a band from Kentucky. Their lyrics and musical style are both very unique. The song "Around My Head," off of the album Thank You Happy Birthday,is somewhat hard to interpret. The first verse has the speaker questioning himself, trying to figure out how to interpret some of his feelings. The lines, "I don't know why I got these feelings, yeah/ I just can't seem to get away from/ Can you dig it?" show how confused the speaker. The line "Can you dig it?" makes the speaker seem young almost like teenager asking a friend for help.
Later in the song the listener learns a little more. It is revealed that the speaker has a love interest. It seems as if he is in love with her but she doesn't notice him or is playing with his emotions. In the chorus the speaker says, "I don't think it's very nice/ to walk around my head all night." Thoughts of his love interest and the feelings they create are so strong that he cannot sleep.
The speaker talks about revealing his love to his crush but quickly dismisses the idea thinking that she'll never feel the same way about him. He says, "But even still at times I wonder/ What you're thinking of me/ You're probably sure I lost my mind." He is too afraid to show his feelings for her because he thinks that she is going to think he is crazy. If you take the time to listen to this song the yelling in between versus also plays a role in the developement of the songs meaning.
The music itself creates a sort of off beat crazy feeling. You start to feel as if you are actually in the speaker's head, hearing his actual choppy thought process. The screaming shows momentary loss of control and a true inability for the speaker to express himself. He is so flustered by his predicament he feels the need to scream to vent.
The song is about teenage love and how if you want anything to come of your feelings you have to make a move or the missed opportunities will torment you.
Later in the song the listener learns a little more. It is revealed that the speaker has a love interest. It seems as if he is in love with her but she doesn't notice him or is playing with his emotions. In the chorus the speaker says, "I don't think it's very nice/ to walk around my head all night." Thoughts of his love interest and the feelings they create are so strong that he cannot sleep.
The speaker talks about revealing his love to his crush but quickly dismisses the idea thinking that she'll never feel the same way about him. He says, "But even still at times I wonder/ What you're thinking of me/ You're probably sure I lost my mind." He is too afraid to show his feelings for her because he thinks that she is going to think he is crazy. If you take the time to listen to this song the yelling in between versus also plays a role in the developement of the songs meaning.
The music itself creates a sort of off beat crazy feeling. You start to feel as if you are actually in the speaker's head, hearing his actual choppy thought process. The screaming shows momentary loss of control and a true inability for the speaker to express himself. He is so flustered by his predicament he feels the need to scream to vent.
The song is about teenage love and how if you want anything to come of your feelings you have to make a move or the missed opportunities will torment you.
This Generation's Poetry
After four years at this high school, I have become accustomed to the annual poetry unit in English. It hasn't always been a favorite unit of mine, but I can appreciate any alternative way to approach poetry rather than the normal poetry analysis that students usually do with the help of shmoop. With last week's focus on defending poetry as a type of music, I realized that the same lessons we learned in class about poetry can be applied to our music and how it has the power to change the way we see things or connect with how we feel. I would say, for the most part, that our generation's poetry is music. Although there is certainly many poets of our time, I think we often perceive poetry in its old form- written by poets like Shakespeare- but when Mr. Heidkamp introduced the music assignment, poetry become a more dynamic art form.
Choosing a song was difficult because I think much of the music I listen to can be defended as poetry- even though my parents would definitely disagree at times- and "I Know Places" by Lykke Li was one song I felt comfortable defending because of the meaning behind the lyrics and her ability to create a song that many people, involved in many types of relationships, could relate to. I think songs like this help to reinforce the idea that everyone experiences hardship and that the love you may feel for someone is powerful enough to bring that person comfort. What I like the most about the song is the idea that although you may not know how you plan to help someone, or how long it will take to help them, you know that there is a reason why you want to help them- because you love them- and that because of that reason, you will ultimately find a way.
Because of this assignment, I started paying more attention to the music I listen to and what the lyrics really mean and how that impacts me as the audience. Taking this more alternative route to tackling the annual poetry unit certainly made it more enjoyable and different, but also more powerful considering students could see poetry in more than just the standard way we view, but in a way that connects to our personal lives on a daily basis.
Choosing a song was difficult because I think much of the music I listen to can be defended as poetry- even though my parents would definitely disagree at times- and "I Know Places" by Lykke Li was one song I felt comfortable defending because of the meaning behind the lyrics and her ability to create a song that many people, involved in many types of relationships, could relate to. I think songs like this help to reinforce the idea that everyone experiences hardship and that the love you may feel for someone is powerful enough to bring that person comfort. What I like the most about the song is the idea that although you may not know how you plan to help someone, or how long it will take to help them, you know that there is a reason why you want to help them- because you love them- and that because of that reason, you will ultimately find a way.
Because of this assignment, I started paying more attention to the music I listen to and what the lyrics really mean and how that impacts me as the audience. Taking this more alternative route to tackling the annual poetry unit certainly made it more enjoyable and different, but also more powerful considering students could see poetry in more than just the standard way we view, but in a way that connects to our personal lives on a daily basis.
"Rite of Passage"
One of my favorite poems that was in our poetry packet was sadly one that we didn't reserve time to analyze together as a class. After conversing in class with my beloved friend Patrick (aka P Shawn), he encouraged me to read "Rite of Passage" by Sharon Olds for that night's homework. Being a good friend I obliged him and analyzed it for homework. And since we were unable to talk about it as a class I would like to share my analysis of "Rite of Passage"
To start it all off lets begin with speaker, audience, and occasion. The speaker is a parental figure, possibly the mom of the kid, as she is thinking to herself, while she is supervising her son's birthday party. Now what is this poem about? Well, the title starts to lead the reader in the right direction, because rite of passage is a celebration for one who, in this case the young boys at the birthday party, moves from one position to another. In this case it is the boys turning into men. Through the rite of passage that Sharon Olds is addressing human nature destructive and violent tendencies through a young boy's birthday party. As the kids are walking into the house, the speaker describes them "with smooth jaws and chins" starting off with an innocent and somber tone. The tone suddenly flips when she alliterates, "jostling, jockeying for place, small fights/ breaking out and calming." This is where we get the first glimpse of the kids violent nature. The boys try to size themselves up to one another by comparing age, similar to adults who do the same thing rather than age they use their salaries or jobs to do this.
Now that the boy's true nature is apparent to the reader, the speaker then uses a metaphor by comparing her boy's birthday cake to a turret, giving the living room a war-zone feel to it. In doing this, the speaker is adding to the violent nature of human beings and how they can turn anything into a violent war-zone. The speaker then turns to her son, "freckles like specks of nutmeg on his cheeks," This is the description of a innocent boy, how could he ever be as the other heathens in the room? "We could easily kill a two-year-old,/ he says in his clear voice." Suddenly the boy's innocence is gone, she continues to say "The other/ men agree, they clear their throats. like Generals, they relax and get down to/ playing war, celebrating my son's life." More war references add to the feeling that its human nature to be violent. This boy's birthday party is his rite of passage into the real world of violence, not where he is no longer that innocent nutmeg freckled boy but rather he is a human being.
To start it all off lets begin with speaker, audience, and occasion. The speaker is a parental figure, possibly the mom of the kid, as she is thinking to herself, while she is supervising her son's birthday party. Now what is this poem about? Well, the title starts to lead the reader in the right direction, because rite of passage is a celebration for one who, in this case the young boys at the birthday party, moves from one position to another. In this case it is the boys turning into men. Through the rite of passage that Sharon Olds is addressing human nature destructive and violent tendencies through a young boy's birthday party. As the kids are walking into the house, the speaker describes them "with smooth jaws and chins" starting off with an innocent and somber tone. The tone suddenly flips when she alliterates, "jostling, jockeying for place, small fights/ breaking out and calming." This is where we get the first glimpse of the kids violent nature. The boys try to size themselves up to one another by comparing age, similar to adults who do the same thing rather than age they use their salaries or jobs to do this.
Now that the boy's true nature is apparent to the reader, the speaker then uses a metaphor by comparing her boy's birthday cake to a turret, giving the living room a war-zone feel to it. In doing this, the speaker is adding to the violent nature of human beings and how they can turn anything into a violent war-zone. The speaker then turns to her son, "freckles like specks of nutmeg on his cheeks," This is the description of a innocent boy, how could he ever be as the other heathens in the room? "We could easily kill a two-year-old,/ he says in his clear voice." Suddenly the boy's innocence is gone, she continues to say "The other/ men agree, they clear their throats. like Generals, they relax and get down to/ playing war, celebrating my son's life." More war references add to the feeling that its human nature to be violent. This boy's birthday party is his rite of passage into the real world of violence, not where he is no longer that innocent nutmeg freckled boy but rather he is a human being.
My Favorite Poem In The Packet
My favorite poem from the poetry packet is Traveling through the Dark by William E. Stafford. Its power lies in its ability to reveal the perpetrations we commit in the name of convenience. The speaker is driving along a dark, windy, canyon road, when he notices a deer, laying on its side, dead. He stops, examines the deer, finding it pregnant, and noticing the baby still alive in the mother's belly. But he is standing in the road, and the road is narrow. He pushes the deer over the edge of the cliff and drives away.
The speaker shows the reader that he's under pressure to push the deer over the edge in the last paragraph. He describes the rumbling exhaust purring at him, the wilderness watching his every move, and the headlights pointing down the road.
The last two lines are the most crucial:
"I thought hard for us all—my only swerving—, /then pushed her over the edge into the river."
When the speaker adopts the group-think mentality, he strays from the right course. So this poem is a relatable example of the psychology that breeds conformity and the bystander effect. The speaker takes action when he pushed the deer over the edge, but what he's really doing is avoiding it. By shoving the deer over the edge, he avoids having to deal with the mess. And he even avoids having to live with a dirty conscience: he justifies his action by framing himself as a hero, the savior of those who drive on dark, windy roads.
Stafford has a strong message for us all: we need to all consider situations like these and take a firm stance so that want for convenience and the effects of fear don't sway us into taking the "easy way out."
The speaker shows the reader that he's under pressure to push the deer over the edge in the last paragraph. He describes the rumbling exhaust purring at him, the wilderness watching his every move, and the headlights pointing down the road.
The last two lines are the most crucial:
"I thought hard for us all—my only swerving—, /then pushed her over the edge into the river."
Stafford has a strong message for us all: we need to all consider situations like these and take a firm stance so that want for convenience and the effects of fear don't sway us into taking the "easy way out."
Good Music /= Good Poetry
Heading into college, I hope to have my own radio show where I play common/well known music, but have one show every week or two that is strictly new or uncommon music. I've gotten this idea from the radio station 101.1 WKQX where they play newer music Sunday nights on a program called Queued Up. Therefore, I've been setting a standard for myself where I find at least one new song a day and add it to my Spotify account. I've set up a quick way for myself to scroll through copious amounts of bands and songs to find one that I enjoy.
First step, the rhythm/music. It's the most important factor to a good song. If you don't like how the instruments work with each other, then nothing will make you really like the song. Personally, I look for songs with a faster pace, so I scavenge the song to see if there is a faster rhythm, and if not, then I move onto the next one. Next step is the singer. Although less important, the voice and how it works with the music can change the song as a whole. If it all sounds good, then I listen to the song straight through, and add it to a list, but I never actually look deep into the lyrics of the song.
For example, some of my newer additions to my music and the meanings of the lyrics were unknown to me until i actually focused on the lyrics themselves. One of these songs is Sondre Lerche's song "Bad Law." The sound of the song was interesting with a solid singing, so I would just enjoy the sounds and rhythms instead of what the lyrics are. Only recently, I noticed that the whole song is about the murder of a wife and going through the court systems to a guilty verdict. So instead of focusing on words as a whole, taking pieces from the song are all that can be taken from how good it is.
Also, I've been listening to more foreign music, most notably from the Scandinavian area. From the Finnish Satellite Stories to the Swedish Oh My!, the music, although sung in English, works well for what I'm looking for. This hasn't really caused any issues between music and poetry, until I added the song "Låt Det Blöda" by Boris och The Jeltsins. This is a Swedish band that sings in Swedish, making any interpretation of the lyrics impossible, yet the song is still great to listen to.
So while originally I thought that it was malarkey to say music isn't poetry, it can be considered depending on the way you listen to it. Are you listening to music for the story it tells or what the words mean to you, or by the way the song sounds? If it's the atter, like myself, then i don't think music can qualify as being poetry.
First step, the rhythm/music. It's the most important factor to a good song. If you don't like how the instruments work with each other, then nothing will make you really like the song. Personally, I look for songs with a faster pace, so I scavenge the song to see if there is a faster rhythm, and if not, then I move onto the next one. Next step is the singer. Although less important, the voice and how it works with the music can change the song as a whole. If it all sounds good, then I listen to the song straight through, and add it to a list, but I never actually look deep into the lyrics of the song.
For example, some of my newer additions to my music and the meanings of the lyrics were unknown to me until i actually focused on the lyrics themselves. One of these songs is Sondre Lerche's song "Bad Law." The sound of the song was interesting with a solid singing, so I would just enjoy the sounds and rhythms instead of what the lyrics are. Only recently, I noticed that the whole song is about the murder of a wife and going through the court systems to a guilty verdict. So instead of focusing on words as a whole, taking pieces from the song are all that can be taken from how good it is.
Also, I've been listening to more foreign music, most notably from the Scandinavian area. From the Finnish Satellite Stories to the Swedish Oh My!, the music, although sung in English, works well for what I'm looking for. This hasn't really caused any issues between music and poetry, until I added the song "Låt Det Blöda" by Boris och The Jeltsins. This is a Swedish band that sings in Swedish, making any interpretation of the lyrics impossible, yet the song is still great to listen to.
So while originally I thought that it was malarkey to say music isn't poetry, it can be considered depending on the way you listen to it. Are you listening to music for the story it tells or what the words mean to you, or by the way the song sounds? If it's the atter, like myself, then i don't think music can qualify as being poetry.
The Albums I Did Not Choose Last Week But Could (Should?) Have
Last week when we defended songs as poetry, I felt obligated to write about a modern song because Mr. Heidkamp asserted that music has been steadily getting less complex and interesting (one student attributed this trend to the use of formulaic structures which seemed wrong headed to me at the time and even more so now that we have studied form poems), and I wanted to choose something that would contradict that. This meant that some of the artists I would have chosen to do were out of the question (Bjork, David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Love, and Neutral Milk Hotel), but I also had to chose a song rather than an album which seemed more natural to me. I suppose if a song were a poem then an album would be a collection of poetry, but I think that many of the songs I listen to lose much of their power when not heard in the context of the album. If these rules had not been in place, I would have chosen either Bjork's Homogenic, almost any of David Bowie's albums, Joni Mitchell's Blue, Love's Forever Changes, or Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane over the Sea. And if I wanted to keep it a recent album I would have chosen TuNe-YaRdS's Whokill, FKA Twigs's LP1, or Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavillian.
I could have just as easily chosen Vampire Weekend's Modern Vampires of the City, but I would have been worried that I would not get credit because Mr. Heidkamp used it as an example of modern lyrics that were not poetic. He explained that he did not consider them poetic because they seemed to be more a collection of unrelated lines than a story. As I said in class, I think that is too narrow a definition of poetry and disregarded the poetry that did not tell a clear story. Someone else suggested that some songs are too repetitive to be poetic, which also seemed obviously wrong to me. Upon hearing both of these comments dismissing song lyrics I thought of one of my favorite poems, "Howl." Part 1 of the poem is a list of the things the narrator has seen the best minds of his generation do. It is in no way a clear, conventional story with a three act structure. Part 2 of the poem includes the word "molloch" 39 times which is more than ten percent of the words in the part. Does that mean that the poem considered by many to be the best poem of the Beat Generation is not poetic? I think more likely it means that we have to avoid thinking of poetry as one fixed thing. The definition of poetry in the article we read was very fluid, but somehow over the course of studying it, the definition we used became more rigid.
I could have just as easily chosen Vampire Weekend's Modern Vampires of the City, but I would have been worried that I would not get credit because Mr. Heidkamp used it as an example of modern lyrics that were not poetic. He explained that he did not consider them poetic because they seemed to be more a collection of unrelated lines than a story. As I said in class, I think that is too narrow a definition of poetry and disregarded the poetry that did not tell a clear story. Someone else suggested that some songs are too repetitive to be poetic, which also seemed obviously wrong to me. Upon hearing both of these comments dismissing song lyrics I thought of one of my favorite poems, "Howl." Part 1 of the poem is a list of the things the narrator has seen the best minds of his generation do. It is in no way a clear, conventional story with a three act structure. Part 2 of the poem includes the word "molloch" 39 times which is more than ten percent of the words in the part. Does that mean that the poem considered by many to be the best poem of the Beat Generation is not poetic? I think more likely it means that we have to avoid thinking of poetry as one fixed thing. The definition of poetry in the article we read was very fluid, but somehow over the course of studying it, the definition we used became more rigid.
So maybe I Like Poetry...
A lot of people I know shy away from the thought of poetry. Poetry can be sad, depressing, complicated, and impossible to decipher. However, I think that because of it's depth it is that much more interesting and relate-able. When I read poetry (that I understand of course) it is captivating. I love how the words lay a path to guide you through the emotions of the poet. I like to observe the metaphors used to explain their situations in pragmatic ways that we, as the reader, can understand. That's what I think is one of the cool things about poetry. You can read a poem that talks about being lonely but instead of saying it sucks and it's no fun a poem can portray the feelings one might have by saying:
The Hole- MC Smith
As I inched toward the hole in the ground,
my toes lining the edge of the deep darkness before me,
the diameter stretched for miles
The drop was endless
I gazed around the rim
and no one was there
but me.
Gazing down at this dark dim gut wrenching drop.
You can tell by the tone that the speaker is unhappy and you still get the sense that they are alone. No one is with them and they seem almost hopeless. They aren't saying I'm lonely and I hate it because they don't have to, you can just feel it. You can especially physically see it as the lines "but me" stand alone. It's just so much cooler to say it without actually saying it. I get that sometimes it doesn't make sense reading a poem that is confusing and won't get to the point is frustrating, but honestly I think that it is so much more interesting to try to find the point yourself instead of being handed the point on a plate. Yes I'm the girl in the back of the auditorium tearing up during the spoken word competition, but hey in my defense words can be powerful and I'm just an easy target.
The Hole- MC Smith
As I inched toward the hole in the ground,
my toes lining the edge of the deep darkness before me,
the diameter stretched for miles
The drop was endless
I gazed around the rim
and no one was there
but me.
Gazing down at this dark dim gut wrenching drop.
You can tell by the tone that the speaker is unhappy and you still get the sense that they are alone. No one is with them and they seem almost hopeless. They aren't saying I'm lonely and I hate it because they don't have to, you can just feel it. You can especially physically see it as the lines "but me" stand alone. It's just so much cooler to say it without actually saying it. I get that sometimes it doesn't make sense reading a poem that is confusing and won't get to the point is frustrating, but honestly I think that it is so much more interesting to try to find the point yourself instead of being handed the point on a plate. Yes I'm the girl in the back of the auditorium tearing up during the spoken word competition, but hey in my defense words can be powerful and I'm just an easy target.
psht
People often judge you immediately when a person says, "I don't like poetry". They think, she's unintelligent, she has few emotions, she doesn't enjoy life as one should.
I do not love poetry. I appreciate it- I understand that it's a powerful medium for translating a person's emotions. I understand that it can lead to discovering greater human truths.
Doesn't mean I have to enjoy it.
I tend to be a straightforward person- I don't play games when it comes to practically anything in life; from boys to literature. I like my facts cold, hard, and straight to the point. That is probably the reason I am a math and science person; I lean away from subjects that have grey area and opinions.
While poetry may not be practical, it is certainly common in our daily lives.
We hear it in our music, in our speech. We see it in our writing, in our classrooms. But what would you consider poetry? Can one word be poetry? Can one line, one sentence, a book, a picture? Is poetry strictly written and spoken? Can poetry be drawn?
This is one of the few reasons I enjoy poetry- its flexibility. Though it is full of grey area, poetry has loosely defined rules that leaves anyone a poet if they want to be one. They might not be a very good one, but they still are one. Children forced to write poetry in kindergarten are poets, just not very talented.
Why are children taught poetry at such a young age? They aren't capable of understanding the deeper meanings in the vast majority of poems, such as Dulce et Decorum Est, which is just a gruesome description of wartime. 1st graders aren't going to know how mustard gas boils skin, or that men with no legs are left behind in trenches, or how when a soldier returns home, his home is no longer home.
I do not love poetry. I appreciate it- I understand that it's a powerful medium for translating a person's emotions. I understand that it can lead to discovering greater human truths.
Doesn't mean I have to enjoy it.
I tend to be a straightforward person- I don't play games when it comes to practically anything in life; from boys to literature. I like my facts cold, hard, and straight to the point. That is probably the reason I am a math and science person; I lean away from subjects that have grey area and opinions.
While poetry may not be practical, it is certainly common in our daily lives.
We hear it in our music, in our speech. We see it in our writing, in our classrooms. But what would you consider poetry? Can one word be poetry? Can one line, one sentence, a book, a picture? Is poetry strictly written and spoken? Can poetry be drawn?
This is one of the few reasons I enjoy poetry- its flexibility. Though it is full of grey area, poetry has loosely defined rules that leaves anyone a poet if they want to be one. They might not be a very good one, but they still are one. Children forced to write poetry in kindergarten are poets, just not very talented.
Why are children taught poetry at such a young age? They aren't capable of understanding the deeper meanings in the vast majority of poems, such as Dulce et Decorum Est, which is just a gruesome description of wartime. 1st graders aren't going to know how mustard gas boils skin, or that men with no legs are left behind in trenches, or how when a soldier returns home, his home is no longer home.
Smell the Roses
The more we study poetry the more it becomes apparent to me that there are two ways of reading it: one as literature and one as art. I think the distinction is important to make, and maybe I'm being Nabakovian about this but when we try to blend the technical with the artistic in analysis, things get messy.
I think we need to be clear in discussions if we are coming at analysis from an artistic or technical view, because truly artful poetry includes both, but if we let our search for meaning inhibit our enjoyment of the poem, then we have to acknowledge it.
This rings the same in other art forms. I'm partial to dance, and have experienced the same struggle. Ballet in particular is incredibly technical, with details and choreography worked out in as much depth as a Faulkner sentence. Within this technique, though, is the necessity for artistry. There are many dancers whose technique is incredibly precise but they aren't as enjoyable to watch; other dancers possess artistry that draws the viewer's attention despite many technical flaws. When I go to see dance shows I have to tell myself not to get wrapped up in the technical criticisms and sit and enjoy the artistry. However, if I were to critique the company as a whole, I would have to pay attention to the fine details of their technique.
It's similar in music. I can spend hours finding grammar errors in lyrics or counting chords, and if I were to formally critique it, I would need to. But the overarching goal is for it to be enjoyed.
I guess this is just a mini-PSA to say that in spite of all of this poetry analysis and deep thinking about meaning, poetry is still an art and art is meant to be enjoyed above all, not just scrutinized to within an inch of its life. Maybe as we drift away from essays we can stop to smell the roses and just appreciate writing for how it makes us feel and not why it makes us feel that way.
Conversely, "This poetic device enhances the meaning of the poem because it entertained me," isn't usually a valid analysis in an essay. Just saying.
Thoughts on Life in Poetry
Poetry allows people to express emotions, experiences, and basically anything they feel like in a creative way and share their thoughts with others. But if you can write about almost anything in poetry, why does it seem like everyone writes about the same thing?
Shakespearian and Petrarchan sonnets are typically about love. Sonnets describe different types of relationships and varied ideas about love but they all still revolve around love. The more contemporary sonnets that we read did vary more in topics, and there are even examples of the parodies of sonnets, but they are still about some important aspect about life.
There are also numerous poems written about suffering and death, or overcoming some major obstacle in life. There is nothing wrong with the poems having similar topics but poetry is an art form that encourages freedom of expression and writing about the same thing doesn't really seem to fit that idea.
The fascinating thing about poets and their poetry is that they all be writing about the same topic but as people are free to express their opinions and ideas in creative and various ways, no two poems are alike except for the topic. Perrine wrote that poetry is central to existence. When I first read this, I was skeptical; I am pretty confident that I can survive life without poetry. But when you look at the central and common topics of love, death, and overcoming suffering, I can see Perrine's point.
Maybe that is why poems all seem to be about the same thing. Poems describe some aspect of existence because then there is always some reader who can connect with their poem and it can be central to their existence.
Shakespearian and Petrarchan sonnets are typically about love. Sonnets describe different types of relationships and varied ideas about love but they all still revolve around love. The more contemporary sonnets that we read did vary more in topics, and there are even examples of the parodies of sonnets, but they are still about some important aspect about life.
There are also numerous poems written about suffering and death, or overcoming some major obstacle in life. There is nothing wrong with the poems having similar topics but poetry is an art form that encourages freedom of expression and writing about the same thing doesn't really seem to fit that idea.
The fascinating thing about poets and their poetry is that they all be writing about the same topic but as people are free to express their opinions and ideas in creative and various ways, no two poems are alike except for the topic. Perrine wrote that poetry is central to existence. When I first read this, I was skeptical; I am pretty confident that I can survive life without poetry. But when you look at the central and common topics of love, death, and overcoming suffering, I can see Perrine's point.
Maybe that is why poems all seem to be about the same thing. Poems describe some aspect of existence because then there is always some reader who can connect with their poem and it can be central to their existence.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
www.thesaurus.com
Okay, so this topic might be only tangentially related to poetry, but I think it's something that needs to be addressed. We all have used thesaurus.com before when writing a paper. We realize that we've already used five variations of the word "flee" in one paragraph, so we end up scavenging the list of synonyms on the site until we finally come to the consensus that "absquatulate" is our best bet. Would most of us know how to use the word "absquatulate" off the top of our heads? The answer is most likely no. But in the fury of attempting to finish a history paper the night it is due at 11:59 p.m., we blindly incorporate the word into our sentence without even bothering to check its real definition. But hey, it makes us seem smarter, no?
I have been using thesaurus.com for as long as I have been writing papers: I feel great anxiety if the tab is not open on my internet while I am writing one. But over the weekend, I did something I don't think I've done before: I used thesaurus.com to assist me in writing a poem. Since it was a form poem, I had to stick to the rhyme scheme, and it was difficult to do so at some points. I was trying to find a word to fit into the rhyme scheme starting with "way." However, the line I was trying to fit into the rhyme scheme was giving me difficulty. The line sounded perfect as "Fears of trimming ran laps around my mind" (I was talking about the fear I once had of getting my hair cut), but, clearly, it did not fit into the rhyme scheme. I was stuck after trying over and over again to rearrange the words, so I finally gave in an turned to good ol' thesaurus.com. I looked up synonyms for so many words that I can't remember any of the things I searched. I wanted to keep the meaning of the original line the best I could, but I knew I needed to stick to the rhyme scheme. After searching and searching, I finally landed upon the word "astray" (I don't remember exactly what search I found it under, but I'm sure the word wasn't even closely related to any of the words in my original line), so I decided to just go ahead and use it. I ended up changing the line to "Fears of scissors and trimming run astray," which didn't really articulate my original point. I obviously knew the meaning of "astray" before I found it on the website, but it didn't really fit in with the more colloquial diction I used elsewhere in the poem. It just sounded really awkward. But it doesn't matter, right? Because I got the rhyme scheme correct, so I'll get full credit.
Using thesaurus.com for a poem felt weird to me. In a poem especially, I think it's important that the words be the poet's own so that he or she can showcase a unique style. I don't think I have or ever will use "astray" in a regular conversation.
I guess this is my problem with form poetry. If poetry is supposed to be such an open-ended, global form of writing, why must we force our work to model something that has already been done? While there are some great and powerful form poems out there, I just think they are a little bit cliche and limiting. The threshold for my dislike of the form poem assignment? Reverting to thesaurus.com in order to stick to a specific form.
Fix You
Coldplay has been revered for its popular music and meaningful songs for the last decade and a half. When we had to find a song and argue that it is poetry, the first lyrics that came to my mind were by Coldplay. Their song Fix You is one of their older but most popular and meaningful songs. At first, it was the lowest charting single from the album, but has since become on of its most well known and played song behind Viva la Vida. It has been played at Steve Jobs memorial service and parts of it are used as introduction of players at hockey games. The theme or meaning of the song can be taken in a few different ways, but it is most easily conveyed that everyone goes through tough times and events, but that does not mean you should hide away from people and help. The song signifies that life is going to be tough and bad things can happen, whether it is losing a loved one or battling a disease, but there should always be hope, something that can fix you. The song was said to be written for someone close to the band who lost a loved one. In the song lyrically, there are multiple pieces of literary devices that help enhance the meaning. In the second line of the song "When you get what you want, but not what you need", there is alliteration with the w's. This alliteration fits in nicely with the feel of the song and also engages the listener. The stanzas that go "Lights will guide you home / and ignite your bones / and I will try to fix you" have many significant devices and meanings to the song as a whole. First, it is a hyperbole when it talks about igniting your bones. The exaggeration is meant to show the power the lights will have on you. Their is a lot of reassurance and encouragement in that line, letting the listener know that people will help you out and save you from your despair. It is also a symbol, because the lights can represent us as bystander, we are willing to help fix the person in need. The line "When you love someone, but it goes to waste / could it be worse?". They are posing a rhetorical question within the song, making the listener think deeper on their situation. It helps the overall meaning because it can be taken that their are other people feeling just as bad or worse, and it is not impossible to be helped.
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