Spring is like a perhaps hand
(which comes carefully
out of Nowhere)arranging
a window,into which people look(while
people stare
arranging and changing placing
carefully there a strange
thing and a known thing here)and
changing everything carefully
spring is like a perhaps
Hand in a window
(carefully to
and fro moving New and
Old things,while
people stare carefully
moving a perhaps
fraction of flower here placing
an inch of air there)and
without breaking anything.
by:E. E. Cummings
Speaker: I think that the speaker may be a window installer in the spring. This person may be looking through the
window at spring out side and wanting to be out there. I think that this is valid because of the way the author writes
the poem in parenthesis.
Diction: The word choice in this poem is very selective and i thought that it was very weird. I did not like the way
the author wrote the poem at all. It was hard for me to decipher exactly what was going on.
Imagery: The imagery that this poem painted in my mind was of a window with flashing pictures of the spring on
the other side.
Figurative Language: Simile between spring and a perhaps hand.
Meaning: I think that the meaning of the poem is that a viewing something through a window is never as good as
viewing it first had such as something like spring.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Spring is like a perhaps hand
Friday, January 15, 2010
My Life
Somehow it got into my room.
I found it, and it was, naturally, trapped.
It was nothing more than a frightened animal.
Since than I raised it up.
I kept it for myself, kept it in my room,
kept it for its own good.
I named the animal, My Life.
I found food for it and fed it with my bare hands.
I let it into my bed, let it breathe in my sleep.
And the animal, in my love, my constant care,
grew up to be strong, and capable of many clever tricks.
One day, quite recently,
I was running my hand over the animal's side
and I came to understand
that it could very easily kill me.
I realized, further, that it would kill me.
This is why it exists, why I raised it.
Since then I have not known what to do.
I stopped feeding it,
only to find that its growth
has nothing to do with food.
I stopped cleaning it
and found that it cleans itself.
I stopped singing it to sleep
and found that it falls asleep faster without my song.
I don't know what to do.
I no longer make My Life do tricks.
I leave the animal alone
and, for now, it leaves me alone, too.
I have nothing to say, nothing to do.
Between My Life and me,
a silence is coming.
Together, we will not get through this.
There are many examples of figurative language in this poem. One example is apostrophe. This is used throughout the entire poem because although the animal is not present, it is being talked about. I believe the poem is a metaphor in itself. It sounds like he's raising an animal, but he's really talking about himself and how he took care of himself, but it turned out that it could all go wrong. The metaphor is pretty much the meaning of the poem.
The speaker of this poem is a person who has pretty much given up all hope in life. The author i using a description of taking care of an animal as taking care of himself. He starts off talking about how it was frightened, about how he was frightened, but he took care of himself. Recently, he realized that hecould very well kill himself. He stopped taking care of the animal (himself), but he stil stays strong and healthy. He does not know what to do with his life now.
The meaning of this poem is that he has taken care of himself all of his life and is now realizing that he will die. He has given up hope and doesn't feel that there is any reason to take care of himself anymore. He can't fight anymore, but he still keeps going. The way he describes taking care of an amnimal is a good way to show how someone take cares of oneself.
I found it, and it was, naturally, trapped.
It was nothing more than a frightened animal.
Since than I raised it up.
I kept it for myself, kept it in my room,
kept it for its own good.
I named the animal, My Life.
I found food for it and fed it with my bare hands.
I let it into my bed, let it breathe in my sleep.
And the animal, in my love, my constant care,
grew up to be strong, and capable of many clever tricks.
One day, quite recently,
I was running my hand over the animal's side
and I came to understand
that it could very easily kill me.
I realized, further, that it would kill me.
This is why it exists, why I raised it.
Since then I have not known what to do.
I stopped feeding it,
only to find that its growth
has nothing to do with food.
I stopped cleaning it
and found that it cleans itself.
I stopped singing it to sleep
and found that it falls asleep faster without my song.
I don't know what to do.
I no longer make My Life do tricks.
I leave the animal alone
and, for now, it leaves me alone, too.
I have nothing to say, nothing to do.
Between My Life and me,
a silence is coming.
Together, we will not get through this.
There are many examples of figurative language in this poem. One example is apostrophe. This is used throughout the entire poem because although the animal is not present, it is being talked about. I believe the poem is a metaphor in itself. It sounds like he's raising an animal, but he's really talking about himself and how he took care of himself, but it turned out that it could all go wrong. The metaphor is pretty much the meaning of the poem.
The speaker of this poem is a person who has pretty much given up all hope in life. The author i using a description of taking care of an animal as taking care of himself. He starts off talking about how it was frightened, about how he was frightened, but he took care of himself. Recently, he realized that hecould very well kill himself. He stopped taking care of the animal (himself), but he stil stays strong and healthy. He does not know what to do with his life now.
The meaning of this poem is that he has taken care of himself all of his life and is now realizing that he will die. He has given up hope and doesn't feel that there is any reason to take care of himself anymore. He can't fight anymore, but he still keeps going. The way he describes taking care of an amnimal is a good way to show how someone take cares of oneself.
Football
Football by Louis Jenkins
I take the snap from the center, fake to the right, fade back...
I've got protection. I've got a receiver open downfield...
What the hell is this? This isn't a football, it's a shoe, a man's
brown leather oxford. A cousin to a football maybe, the same
skin, but not the same, a thing made for the earth, not the air.
I realize that this is a world where anything is possible and I
understand, also, that one often has to make do with what one
has. I have eaten pancakes, for instance, with that clear corn
syrup on them because there was no maple syrup and they
weren't very good. Well, anyway, this is different. (My man
downfield is waving his arms.) One has certain responsibilities,
one has to make choices. This isn't right and I'm not going
to throw it.
Analysis:
Speaker: The speaker is the quarterback. He is the king on the playing field in charge of everything that happens from passing to running. His unique perspective is that he can see the entire field in front of him and make responsible decisions. We know the speaker is the quarterback because he is the one taking the snap and he is the one deciding who to throw to.
I take the snap from the center, fake to the right, fade back...
I've got protection. I've got a receiver open downfield...
What the hell is this? This isn't a football, it's a shoe, a man's
brown leather oxford. A cousin to a football maybe, the same
skin, but not the same, a thing made for the earth, not the air.
I realize that this is a world where anything is possible and I
understand, also, that one often has to make do with what one
has. I have eaten pancakes, for instance, with that clear corn
syrup on them because there was no maple syrup and they
weren't very good. Well, anyway, this is different. (My man
downfield is waving his arms.) One has certain responsibilities,
one has to make choices. This isn't right and I'm not going
to throw it.
Analysis:
Speaker: The speaker is the quarterback. He is the king on the playing field in charge of everything that happens from passing to running. His unique perspective is that he can see the entire field in front of him and make responsible decisions. We know the speaker is the quarterback because he is the one taking the snap and he is the one deciding who to throw to.
Diction: The words in the poem are very quick and to the point. They all have to do with ultimately making the final decision. The author makes it very easy to see an image but just as fast as it comes into your mind it slips away.
Imagery: The imagery the author gives of the entire field and everything that is happening leads up to the quarterback's final decision. Like said previously the imagery is very to the point and quick to understand. It is also fast paced, but the imagery get slower around line 8. "I have eaten pancakes, for instance, with that clear corn syrup on them because there was no maple syrup and they weren't very good. Well, anyway, this is different." The speaker's mind drifts away from the fast paced action, but jumps right back in when his man downfield is waving his hands.
Figurative Language: The figurative language is the imagery. This poem has lots of it. It is also metaphors in the middle of the poem like when the author compares having to make do, with corn syrup instead of maple syrup.
Meaning: I think the meaning of the poem is that in a difficult situation you must not give up, instead persevere and make good decisions with what you got.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Some thoughts on Reading
"One way to look at reading: as the lifelong construction of a map by which to trace and plumb what it has ever meant to be in the world, and by which to gain perspective on that other, ongoing map—the one that marks our own passage through the world as we both find and make it."
From "Another and Another Before That: Some Thoughts on Reading," by Carl Phillips
Speaker: We believe that the speaker of the poem is a life long reader who has formal education. We believe this because to know about books and reading one must read books and be of the knowledge to write books yourself. The speaker of the poem relates books to maps of life, the speaker may have either been a hiker at one point or perhaps a sailor because both use maps.
Diction: The diction in the poem relates books to maps. The choice of words that the author uses is much about direction and following a path. This is important because books are full of knowledge and life is all about knowledge. The other aspect of books is that they are full of logic and reasoning, thus a map has a logic and reasoning aspect to it. The choice of words in this poem all relates back to path ways and maps.
Imagery: The imagery in this poem is all about reading a book and reading a map. The author describes a map by using a finger tracing a path, the book is described by using the insight and perceptiveness of another person. The imagery in this poem is not all that important but it is relevant.
Figurative language: "look at reading: as the lifelong construction of a map" is a simile because of the comparison of reading and a map.
Meaning: Through our analysis of the speaker, diction, imagery, and figurative language we have deduced that the meaning of the poem is that a book is a map that can lead you through life. We believe that to read a book is to find another piece of the map thus you are a fuller more enlightened person.
From "Another and Another Before That: Some Thoughts on Reading," by Carl Phillips
Speaker: We believe that the speaker of the poem is a life long reader who has formal education. We believe this because to know about books and reading one must read books and be of the knowledge to write books yourself. The speaker of the poem relates books to maps of life, the speaker may have either been a hiker at one point or perhaps a sailor because both use maps.
Diction: The diction in the poem relates books to maps. The choice of words that the author uses is much about direction and following a path. This is important because books are full of knowledge and life is all about knowledge. The other aspect of books is that they are full of logic and reasoning, thus a map has a logic and reasoning aspect to it. The choice of words in this poem all relates back to path ways and maps.
Imagery: The imagery in this poem is all about reading a book and reading a map. The author describes a map by using a finger tracing a path, the book is described by using the insight and perceptiveness of another person. The imagery in this poem is not all that important but it is relevant.
Figurative language: "look at reading: as the lifelong construction of a map" is a simile because of the comparison of reading and a map.
Meaning: Through our analysis of the speaker, diction, imagery, and figurative language we have deduced that the meaning of the poem is that a book is a map that can lead you through life. We believe that to read a book is to find another piece of the map thus you are a fuller more enlightened person.
Vocabulary 1
Anthropomorphism- The willows danced in the wind.
This is anthropomorphism because it gives willows the human like quality of dancing.
Apostrophe- We talked about Billy's work in class, even though he wasn't there.
This shows an apostrophe because billy was not present when he was talked about.
Irony- Jerry said he hates to kill animals, yet he is a hunter.
This show irony because a hunter does not mind killing animals thus it is the opposite of what Jerry thinks.
Metonymy- The professor gave a lecture, the next day the teacher asked to see our notes from his lecture.
This example shows metonymy because you use the word professor and teacher as representing the same person.
Paradox- School is fun!
This is a paradox because the idea of school is not fun in itself but it could be.
Personification- A set of scales represents justice.
This shows personification because in American society scales represent the idea of justice because of past experiences with government pictures.
Synecdoche- You can use a soccer ball to represent a soccer game.
This is an example of synecdoche because when thinking of the one idea of a soccer ball one might think, also of, a soccer game.
Tautology- The sun illuminates the world, and it gives off light.
This shows tautology because the idea of the sun shining is repeated twice without the need for repetition.
This is anthropomorphism because it gives willows the human like quality of dancing.
Apostrophe- We talked about Billy's work in class, even though he wasn't there.
This shows an apostrophe because billy was not present when he was talked about.
Irony- Jerry said he hates to kill animals, yet he is a hunter.
This show irony because a hunter does not mind killing animals thus it is the opposite of what Jerry thinks.
Metonymy- The professor gave a lecture, the next day the teacher asked to see our notes from his lecture.
This example shows metonymy because you use the word professor and teacher as representing the same person.
Paradox- School is fun!
This is a paradox because the idea of school is not fun in itself but it could be.
Personification- A set of scales represents justice.
This shows personification because in American society scales represent the idea of justice because of past experiences with government pictures.
Synecdoche- You can use a soccer ball to represent a soccer game.
This is an example of synecdoche because when thinking of the one idea of a soccer ball one might think, also of, a soccer game.
Tautology- The sun illuminates the world, and it gives off light.
This shows tautology because the idea of the sun shining is repeated twice without the need for repetition.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Introduction
Hi, we're Kathryn, Woody, and David!
The reason we started this blog was to showcase our knowledge of poetry from Ms. Hart's English class.
We hope to communicate a deeper understanding of poetry via this blog.
Woody: I enjoy reading poetry, but I do not enjoy writing poetry. While studying poetry I liked the meanings because I thought they were insightful, although I did not like writing about it.
David: Poetry is a very interesting topic to me. I enjoy glancing at a few poems once in a while. Writing it on the other hand is different. I do not enjoy this as much as reading it.
Kathryn: I enjoy reading poetry a lot. I really like getting into the emotion of the poem and reciting it aloud. I enjoy writing it, as long as I'm not forced to write it. I have to be inspired. I enjoy studying it a little bit, but I don't like taking notes or analyzing it on paper.
We've learned how to analyze diction, speaker, connotation, and other aspects of a poem. We've also learned how to figure out the meaning of a poem. This year we've drawn pictures, taken notes, and even changed words in the poem to figure out and help us better understand them. We are definitely learning a lot more about poetry than we have in past years.
There are many things we hope to learn about poetry in the remaining 2 weeks of our poetry lesson.
Kathryn: I want to learn a little bit more about how to read a poem out loud. I enjoy reading it so much that I want to learn to time it correctly.
David: I want to learn how to analyze poems a little better in the remaining time we have in poetry.
Woody: I would also like to learn how to better read poems out loud.
The reason we started this blog was to showcase our knowledge of poetry from Ms. Hart's English class.
We hope to communicate a deeper understanding of poetry via this blog.
Woody: I enjoy reading poetry, but I do not enjoy writing poetry. While studying poetry I liked the meanings because I thought they were insightful, although I did not like writing about it.
David: Poetry is a very interesting topic to me. I enjoy glancing at a few poems once in a while. Writing it on the other hand is different. I do not enjoy this as much as reading it.
Kathryn: I enjoy reading poetry a lot. I really like getting into the emotion of the poem and reciting it aloud. I enjoy writing it, as long as I'm not forced to write it. I have to be inspired. I enjoy studying it a little bit, but I don't like taking notes or analyzing it on paper.
We've learned how to analyze diction, speaker, connotation, and other aspects of a poem. We've also learned how to figure out the meaning of a poem. This year we've drawn pictures, taken notes, and even changed words in the poem to figure out and help us better understand them. We are definitely learning a lot more about poetry than we have in past years.
There are many things we hope to learn about poetry in the remaining 2 weeks of our poetry lesson.
Kathryn: I want to learn a little bit more about how to read a poem out loud. I enjoy reading it so much that I want to learn to time it correctly.
David: I want to learn how to analyze poems a little better in the remaining time we have in poetry.
Woody: I would also like to learn how to better read poems out loud.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)