Blog #12

WHEN I heard the learn’d astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;	5
Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars. ------------------------------------------------------------------- This poem uses many literary techniques, including alliteration, assonance, consonance, end-rhyme, imagery, metaphor, and repetition. An example of alliteration would be, "mystical moist." An example of assonance would be, "rising and gliding." Consonance, "mystical moist" I think that would be consonance, because they bot have "st" myst, moist... I'm not sure about that one. End-rhyme, "heard the learn'd." Imagery, "moist night air," "much applause." A metaphor in the poem is , "rising and gliding out." A person can't really glide. Repetition is big one. "When I" was said a lot. Just the word "when" was used at the beginning of 4 lines. Also, "time to time." The poet also repeats the ending " 'd" multiple times: "wander'd, learn'd, look'd."

Blog #11

We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.

This poem is so short, but still so meaningful. It includes end-rhyme, assonance, consonance, and alliteration. "We real cool. We left school" is an example of end-rhyme and assonance. "Sing sin... Jazz june" are examples of alliteration. So, this poem is a great example of using literary techniques. It is also meaningful. People often aspire to be cool. The opposite of cool is supposedly lame, and no one wants to be lame, so really, cool is the only way to go, right? No. This poem illustrates the true meaning of the term cool, which is not something one should aspire, too. According to the poem, cool kids drop out of school, stay out late, participate in activities that are bad for one's spiritual and physical self, and eventually die. Everyone dies, but based on the author's tone, I, as a reader, believe that these "cool" kids are dying prematurely. I wonder what "jazz june" means... what is that? I really want to know. Is jazz for bad kids? Smooth jazz, cool cats? Hmmm...

Blog #10:

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

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Okay, I have no idea what this poem is about. Alright, wait, maybe I do. Daisy, Aan, and I read this poem and let's just say they had much better ideas than I did. So, after some thoughtful discussion, we came to the conclusion that it was about a soldier, a gunner, most likely getting bombed. First, Daisy thought it might be about an abortion, which I didn't get at all, but I don't know. 

Blog #9, Poem #5:

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,	5
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,	10
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, I think the narrator wants to die. Or, at least, he's not against death/dying. "Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me." If death dies, the narrator can't die; therefore, he wants death to live, which is quite paradoxical. Or is it an oxymoron? I think it's a paradox. Life is hard. The narrator describes that in saying, "Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men." Is he saying that all of people/beings get in the way of Death's work. At first, I thought the narrator was saying that people are "slaves" to "Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men," but now I think he is talking about death being controlled by them. But, wouldn't Fate and Death work together? I guess Fate over rules Death, so in that case, Death could be Fate's slave. "Death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die." When a person dies, death is no longer in their future. So, in a way, the only way to defeat death is to die. That is when one is totally free, not only from death, but from "Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men." "Death thou shalt die." That is very ironic. The narrator has completely defeated death at that point. He's saying, "Death you shall die, and I will be forever free."

An Iraqi Evening:

I found the rhythm of this poem to be a little awkward. The first half of it, in my opinion, seemed to lack flow. By the second half, however, I understood it more. While reading it, the rhythm reminded me of a hiccup. That sounds really weird, but that's what I thought of. *2 minutes later* Okay, I just read it again. I don't think it's hiccuping anymore. Now it seems much more like breathing. Long line, short line *breath* Long line, short line, *breath* Three long line in a row, with an accelerando and crescendo, then a short line and a breath. It's very organic and natural.
This poem reminded me a lot of A Thousand Splendid Suns. I loved that book. It was terrifying and tragic, but still, somehow, hopeful. I remember reading it in Ms. Nicol's class, 10th grade, and I could not put it down. The poem and book are both set in similar areas, war-torn, middle eastern countries, brothers, sister, parents, war, devastation, but still underlying hope.

“...I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire...I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools.” (Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury) Whenever I hear or see the word hope, I always, ALWAYS think of this quote. It is something that has stuck with me since reading The Sound and the Fury last year. I honestly don't think I will ever forget this quote, it is always fresh in my mind. It is so beautiful. The wording is so perfect and the sentiment is amazing. I just love it so much.

Sonnet 130, Shakespeare:

I felt like I really understood this poem, surprisingly. I haven't done so well on the other ones. What's funny is, when I'm reading the poems, I feel like I understand it completely. Then, when I get to the questions my brain's like, *explosion*. I hate them! This poem I actually understood and I got most of the questions right. YAY! It's funny, Shakespeare is so mean, but it's the sweetest thing ever. This poem reminded me of the difficulty I had with Mr. Feldman's satire unit. We read Slaughterhouse 5, which I was fine with, but when it came to writing a satire I was done....DONE. It was so hard. I realize now, that I was thinking about it too much, and trying to exaggerate and be as hyperbolic as possible. That isn't always the case, though. This sonnet is a satire, and while reading it I knew that, but it's not just an exaggeration, it's a juxtaposition. He's satirizing the Petrarchan ideal by mirroring it with his opposite mistress. It was interesting that Shakespeare never talks about her inner beauty, but I guess he does. His last two lines must be about her inner beauty, because he tore apart her physical appearance. I found the questions to be very debatable. You could argue so much about pretty much every question.

Wordsworth: "The World is Too Much With Us"

"For this, for everything, we are out of tune." I loved this poem. The assonance, end-rhyme, and rhythm was so pleasant to read. It is very clear why his name is Wordsworth. He is a real craftsman. I think I really understand what he's trying to say. Humans do not match the planet we're inhabiting. It seems we are not built physically to withstand our environments. Why else would we have to steal skins from other animals? And seek unnatural shelters? It makes me think sometimes that originally we were not from earth. Perhaps, we came from another planet... it's super weird to think about. I believe Wordsworth is saying the same thing, or at least domething along those lines. Obviously, he is stating it in a much more beautiful and mature and artistic way.

To My Dear and Loving Husband

I found this poem to be very beautiful. I, surprisingly, expected this poem to go in a completely different direction. When I first read the title, I initially thought that their relationship would be opposite of "Dear" and "Loving". I assumed he was going to be oppressive and controlling and abusive. It's sad, really... Abuse and oppression seems, in my mind and experience, to be the norm. True love is rare. It was refreshing, to hear the poet speak in such a way. Their relationship is beautiful, if it is reality. I wonder if the poet's reality is that wonderful.
My favorite line from the poem is, "If ever two were one, then surely we." It reminds of the annoying phrase that people in relationships like to say, "he/she's my better half." That makes no sense. That saying implies that you are incomplete without the other person, which is really bad. You need be whole with or without your love. The way Bradstreet words it is much better. They are one, a unit.
I had to re-read the poem multiple times. I was having a hard time with the rhythm of the poem. It seemed a little off to me, in regard to flow. I had to keep reading it, over and over, and then it finally clicked. Now, when I read it, the rhythm is obvious and clear, but at first I was having a hard time.

Spring Break Poems Response:
I just want to say, the TP chart actually is helpful. At first, I was like, "Ugh...I really don't want to fill this chart out. So unnecessary." Boy, was I wrong. Before starting this unit, I thought I was good at analyzing and understanding poetry. I realize now that I thought that because I had never really "analyzed" a poem before. I mean, I have, but rarely. I've read a lot of poetry, well not a lot, but a good amount. I've obviously thought about themes and structure, but informally. The chart forces you to think thoroughly and come up with an actual answer in the end. You can think about what a poem is about forever, the chart forces you to actually say what it's about. That seriously aids in understanding.

I had a really hard time understanding the first poem. I'm still really confused. The second one, "Mirrors" was a little easier for me to understand. I was actually able to answer the questions in the packet. "Othello" I thought, was the easiest to understand, which surprised me. That was the one I was originally most worried about.