Tone 5: The Apparition

"And that thou thinkst thee free." line 2

This poem has an eerie sense to it. The speaker seems to have been murdered by a former lover. In a source  of revenge, the man is going to haunt his murderess while she sleeps. "And that thou thinkst thee free," displays the mans intent to haunt and torture the woman's mind. "Bathed in a cold quicksilver sweat," implies that the woman will suffer from the mans ghostly presence. By killing the man, she thought she would be rid of him. She never thought he would come back to haunt her when she is with other men at night. Through the line, "wilt lie a verier ghost than I," shows that the man is willing to go to extraordinary measures to get back at this woman. He wants her to suffer more than he did. I wonder what this man did for the woman to murder him and why he so diligently seeks revenge.

Tone 4: Hazel Tells LaVerne

"ya little green pervert an i hitsm with my mop"

There were two things I noticed right away about this poem. The first was that there was no punctuation, like "next to of course god america i." But, this one was much easier to follow based on the structure. The second thing I noticed was that the speaker was uneducated. It is clear through her diction. One of the questions at the end of the poem is, "What creates the poems humor?" Personally I didn't find this poem humorous at all, besides when she refers to the frog as a "little green pervert." I thought that this poem was incredibly sad. I just pictured this poor uneducated young girl cleaning toilets and thinking to herself that she will never be worthy enough to be a princess. I think that is why she develops such a harsh tone with the frog. She sees it as a joke, or as if the frog is mocking her. She cannot even fathom the idea that kissing the frog would actually make her a princess. She puts on a rough exterior to mask the pain she feels in knowing she will never be anything more than she is. If she lets herself hope, then she will be seen as a fool. Her doubtful attitude towards the frog is simply a wall of protection, so she doesn't get hurt.

Tone 3: Getting Out

"We held on tight, and let go." line 24

The poem begins with the simile, "walking like inmates." This immediately implies confinement and unhappiness. It seems that this couple was once very much in love, but when they began living together, tension grew. Its like they couldn't adjust to living in each others lives daily. This is reflected by the tone, which is one of stress and unhappiness. After awhile of trying to coexist, "exhausted, we gave up." The end of this poem is rather sad. The couple seems to have rushed their relationship to quickly. Maybe they didn't know everything they needed to know about each other before getting married. Despite the way the couple treated each other, I think they deeply cared for one another. I thought this from the line, "Yet I think of the lawyer's bewilderment when we cried, the last day." By the way the couple acted, the lawyer was shocked they had any feelings for each other at all. I think their parting was bittersweet. Even though they loved each other, they needed to be apart.

Tone 2: Crossing the Bar

"And may there be no sadness of farewell" line 11

I found this poem to be an extended metaphor for death. The line "and may there be no moaning of the bar" and line 11 reflect the image of death. The speaker is telling people not to mourn over his passing. By the description of the sunset and tides in the poem, it seems that the speaker wants a peaceful death. Perhaps he hopes to die in his sleep. I think that he sees a peaceful passing as a reason for people not to mourn. Maybe he hopes that if people realize he didn't suffer, they would have no reason to grieve. The last stanza provides the speaker's hope in afterlife. The speaker wants to "see his Pilot face to face." His Pilot is God. A pilot is someone that steers a ship in the right direction. God is the Pilot that steered the speakers life in the right direction. "Crossing the bar" seems to be the ultimate task, which is getting into heaven.

Tone 1: My mistress' eyes

"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun." line 1

I find this poem to be very sweet and romantic. The speaker describes his lover in a very unattractive manner. His tone while doing this seems to be satisfied and nonchalant. Its as if he doesn't care and is almost pleased that she isn't  attractive. However, despite her unfortunate looks, the man loves her. It seems that he doesn't care that society would describe her "eyes nothing like the sun" and "black wires grow[n] on her head" as unattractive. Despite everything, this woman is perfect in his eyes. This is shown in the last line, "she belied with false compare." This basically means that all her imperfections make her perfect to him.

5. next to of course god america i

"He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water" line 14

This poem was definitely hard for me to comprehend, and I probably still don't have an analysis close to what it is supposed to be. But, I'm going to make an attempt. The quotation in the poem and the last line imply that the speaker is talking directly to an audience. To me, God seems to be the most prominent thing in the speakers life, and America is a close second. He recites a small part of the national anthem as well as praises the nation. This leads me to believe that he is very patriotic. He seems to sarcastically say, "these heroic happy dead," meaning the soldiers and then compares them to "lions rushing into roaring slaughter they did not stop to think they died instead." I think the speaker is criticizing the mindset of the soldiers here. Being so patriotic himself, he thinks everyone should posses that same national pride that he had. He is saying that the soldiers basically went in fighting without knowing what it was they were fighting for. Also, the lack of punctuation really confused me.

4. Sorting Laundry

"Folding clothes, I think of folding you into my life." line 1

In this poem, I think sorting laundry is an extended metaphor for the woman trying to figure out what she wants. As she is folding the laundry, she is sorting the details of wanting to be with a man. The speaker uses many similes and metaphors to express that what the woman wants is the man in her life. It seems to me that this couple has had a pretty rocky relationship, and the woman is fighting to keep it together. Each simile/metaphor is an argument for why she wants to be with him. "All those wrinkles to be smoothed" refers to the issues they need to work out. "is tough to discard" is representing how hard it would be for the woman to let him and their memories together go. "In pockets, surprises" is the connection that will grow between them in time. As they continue to get to know each other, there will be surprises that will bring them closer. In the end, the woman realizes that what she wants is for them to be together. But, through the line, "left by a former lover. . . ." we see the woman is afraid the man will leave her. The end of the poem ties the metaphor of laundry together. Not being with this man will be like "a mountain of unsorted wash."

3. Barbie Doll

"Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs." line 11

This poem expresses the shallow nature of society.  The ironic, "magic of puberty," makes all people go through awkward phases. But, this "healthy, tested intelligent," girl was being compared to the "perfect" body image of a plastic barbie doll. It is clearly unrealistic to expect all women to look like an unproportioned plastic doll. This poor girl, despite her good personality and intelligence, was only seen for her looks. Society was unable to see past her ordinary looks and discover who she was as a person. This pressure to be "perfect" led the girl to suicide. She "cut off her nose and her legs" in order to live up to the perfect body image. The pressure this girl, as well as many others, face is what is wrong with our society. As a society, we need to be able to find the good qualities within people to prevent the deadly paths women take in order to become "perfect." I think this poem is cautionary to young girls. The drastic overstatements throughout the poem  convey to girls that it is normal to not look like a barbie doll. The poem encourages women not only to accept the way they look, but also like it. It also warns society what dangers come from criticizing the looks of others. It can lead to anorexia, bulimia, depression, and in this case, suicide.

2. APO 96225

"Today I killed a man. Yesterday, I helped drop napalm on women and children." lines 14-15

This poem by Larry Rottmann possesses situational irony. A young man writes to his mother while he is away serving in the Vietnam war. Anticipating his mothers reaction to the truth, the young man writes generic letters describing unrelated topics. However, the mother pleaded, wanting to know the truth. This is what is ironic. Once the young man conveys the truth to his mother, he received a letter from his father saying, "Please don't write such depressing letters. You're upsetting your mother." Even though the mother wanted to know the truth, once she found out, it was too much for her to bare. She wished she wouldn't have discovered the true horror going on where her son was. I think this irony expresses the feelings of most Americans. They wanted to know every detail that was going on in the war, but when endless deaths and killings were reported daily, the pain and sorrow was uneasy to take in. In result, the Americans turned their heads to the hardships and despair in Vietnam and pretended not to know the truth.

1. Mr. Z

"Taught early that his mother's skin was the sign of error." line 1

Through the first line of this poem, we learn that Mr. Z is an African American man. At a very early age, he discovered the racial discrimination he would face his entire life. I really feel bad for Mr. Z. It seems like all he wants to do is fit in with the white community, but it seems almost impossible. He had to come to the realization that society can't get past physical characteristics. He did his best to behave properly by, "[Winning] scholarships, and [attending] the best schools," hoping to blend in with the over powering white society. Despite his efforts, he was unsuccessful. Later in life, he married a Jewish woman. At his wedding, the pastor sarcastically "proclaimed them matched chameleon." I think that this sarcastic comment influences the entire tone of the poem. It is really sarcastic. The speaker is almost criticizing Mr. Z for thinking he had a chance at fitting in with the white population. I applaud Mr. Z's desire to fit in; however I criticize the fact that he didn't embrace his own culture. That is why I think the speaker is passing judgement on him.

Figurative Language 5- A Valediction: Forbbiding Mourning

"Our two souls therefore, which are one." line 21

This poem by John Donne seems to be written to his significant other. The title, like many of the other poems in this unit, exhibits the main concept of the poem. The speaker is about to embark on a journey, and he tells his wife not to mourn their separation. The reason they are not to mourn their separation is because their love for one another is deeper than just a physical relationship. Mourning separation is a sign of a "lover's love" as Donne puts it. The speaker knows that his connection to his wife well exceeds physical intimacy since they are spiritually linked. Because the couple is connected at the soul, there is no need to cry over the loss of touch. In their hearts they know they are together. Donne uses an analogy to the Church. The laity's relationship with God simulates the relationship of the lovers, and the clergy's relationship with God mirrors the speaker and his wife. The clergy has a much closer and deeper connection to God, just as soul mates have deeper connections than physical lovers.

Figurative Language 4- I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed

"Inebriate of air--I am--" line 5

This poem by Emily Dickinson has very similar format to "I Felt a Funeral in my Brain." So, in analyzing this poem, I took the same approach that we did in class. Literally, the speaker is describing intoxication. In the poem she is drunk. Many words lend themselves to this literal meaning such as; liquor, Tankards, Vats, alcohol, Inebriate, drunken, and several others. However, following the analysis of the previous Emily Dickinson poem, I searched for an alternate meaning. I found that the description of intoxication is an extended metaphor for the speakers overwhelming love of summer and nature. The speaker is expressing that she will love summer nature until the day she dies. The title in itself exhibits the metaphor. "I taste a liquor never brewed" refers to the pleasurable intoxicated feeling without having had a sip of alcohol. The sense of summer and nature cause the speaker to feel elated as if she were intoxicated. Words such as "air, dew, foxglove, bee, butterflies, and endless summer days" led to my conclusion that the speaker wanted to take in all the summer nature she could.

Figurative Language 3- Toads

"But I do say it's hard to lose either, When you have both." line 35

In Philip Larkin's, "Toads," the speaker describes two toads or hardships in his life. One of these struggles is material and superficial, where as the other is spiritual and within himself. The first toad is material. The speaker describes his inability to attain material possession. He often refers to the shortcomings he is faced with financially. He describes this through lines such as "Eat windfalls and tinned sardines--They seem to like it." and "Their nippers have got bare feet." The speaker claims to work diligently but is forced to spend his earnings on necessity items. However, I think the speaker is lacking in quality education, making him unable to earn a sufficient salary. I came to this conclusion from the speaker's diction. He fails to use proper English lines such as, "Their nippers have got bare feet," and "Ah, were I courageous enough." Besides the speaker's material hardships, his spiritual relationship is challenged. I think the speaker is asking God why he isn't satisfied with what he's been given, when many others in his situation are seemingly content.

Figurative Language 2- The Joy of Cooking

"I have prepared my sister's tongue." line 1

The first time I read through Elaine Magarrell's, "The Joy of Cooking," I was completely disgusted! But all grotesque details aside, I saw the speaker was indirectly characterizing her siblings.The tone that was implemented was very negative and condescending. The brother and sister seem to have opposite personalities with the same core issue. Neither of them can properly communicate with others. The sister often says too much, and some of what she says causes issue. I determined this from the line, "I have prepared my sister's tongue, scrubbed and skinned it." This implies that the speaker is attempting to change the way her sister speaks. The way in which her tongue is prepared simulates a punishment. It is "trimmed and gristle" and topped with spices. To me, this seems to be torturous like a punishment. The brother on the other hand seems to have no emotion. "[His] heart, which is firm and rather dry," expresses a guarded, emotionless soul. The way it is prepared seems to try to be evoking a reaction. "An apple-onion stuffing" and "sour sauce" are attempts to stimulate the brother's heart. The end of this poem seems to reflect an inevitable lack of change. The speaker sees that no matter how they are prepared, their personalities will never change.

Figurative Language 1- Dream Deferred

"Or does it explode?" line 11

"Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes uses a combination of similes and a metaphor to describe the loss of an aspiration. In each simile, a deferred dream is compared to something unpleasant or with a negative connotation. The similes seem to represent individually negative aspects of a lost dream. The metaphor on the other hand, seems to encompass the similes into one. The metaphor compares the dream to an exploding bomb. When I think of a bomb exploding, I hear the ticks that count down to the explosion. To me, each simile seems to represent one tick, and the metaphor is the explosion itself. I think this makes sense because the metaphor has the most emphasis in the poem. A lost dream is an utter explosion to the person who lost it. The dried raisin, festering sore, rotten meat and heavy load are merely branches that build up the suspense of the ultimate explosion or loss of the dream.

Imagery Poetry 5- The Convergence of the Twain

"And consummation comes, and jars two hemispheres."  line 33

I don't think this poem takes place in chronological order. It begins with the ship, the Titanic, already sunken below the sea and ultimately ends with the devastating collision. When many people think about the tragic Titanic shipwreck, they think about all the lives that were lost. But, in this poem, it seems that the author is more concerned and hurt by the loss of the ship itself. I think that this author must have had some sort of connection to the ship. Perhaps he was a staff member or craftsman. I highly doubt he was a passenger due to his judgement of them, "Deep from human vanity." Either way, he had some passion about the ship. His tone seems distraught when saying, "The sea worm crawls--grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent." As the poem progresses, I feel like the author saw some sort of inevitability to the crash. Based on my background knowledge of the Titanic, maybe he knew about the ignored ice warnings. Lines such as "A Shape of Ice, for the time far and dissociate." and "In shadowy silent distant grew the Iceberg too," support my thinking of inevitability. I think that this poem is reflective upon the popularity and status of the ship. Looking back, the author can see how unimportant vanity was, because ultimately, the ship ended up under the sea.

Imagery Poetry 4- The Widow's Lament in Springtime

"Sorrow is my own yard." line 1

In this poem, the woman is clearly grieving the loss of her husband. In her mourning, she fails to see the beauty in her garden. It is like without her husband, nothing is as it was. I really feel bad for this woman; she seems to be very distraught over the situation. Because of her misery, she is unable to take pride in her garden like she used to. The bright yellow and red flowers appear bland to her now. I think this poem is sort of ironic in a way, because of the way the poet so vividly describes her garden. But, the women can only see a bland memory that has escaped from her. The beauty in her garden is masked by sorrow. Then, the woman's son makes some suggestion about "heavy woods in the distance." the poet doesn't describe this setting near as vividly as the garden. However, the woman sees this meadow as a clear path she must take. It seems to be the only thing she knows for sure. I think that the "distant meadow" represents the woman going to be with her husband. She thinks that it would be better not to live than to live without her husband. I think the irony is that what we, the readers, see so vividly is what is so unclear to the woman, but what is unclear to us, is what seems to be clear to her.

Imagery Poetry 3- I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

"My Mind was going numb--" line 8

To me, this poem seems to possess ambiguity. When I first read this poem, I thought that the author was describing her own funeral. Lines like, "And Mourners to and fro" and "And I dropped down, and down," lend themselves to the idea of an actual funeral. However, lines such as, "My Mind was going numb--" and "And creak across my Soul," make me think differently, like it isn't a physical thing. Perhaps it is a conflict within her mind. I feel like certain aspects of the poem seem one way and others seem the opposite. This is why I believe it is ambiguity. Physically, it seems as if her soul is watching as the funeral proceeds. Then, when silence embarks, she is placed either at the gates of Heaven or Hell, described by, "And hit a World, at every plunge." Heaven or Hell is the other world she is about to take part in. On the other hand, I feel like this is also a funeral for her mind, almost as if she is going insane. It seems like she couldn't escape her mind. Noises of, "A Service, like a Drum--Kept beating--beating..." appear to be such a disturbance, and then once there is silence, its as if she has completely lost her sanity. The other World would be the world in the eyes of the insane. She has buried what was left of her sanity, and is now left with a new outlook on life.

Imagery Poetry 2- Those Winter Sundays

"Sundays too my father got up early." line 1

I think that Robert Hayden's poem, Those Winter Sundays, is written in a retrospective point of view. It seems like a man is recalling all the laborous things his father did for him as a child, and realizing the extent of what he did. Hayden uses vivid imagery to describe how burdensome the work of the father was. In lines such as, "with cracked hands that ached" and "who had driven out the cold," we see that the father would do all he could for his family. The line "Sundays too my father got up early," implies that the father never rested or took a day off. The too provides special emphasis on his work ethic because Sundays are known as the day of rest. I think the author of this poem is feeling regret for not appreciating all that his father did for him. He is remorseful because he never exhibited any gratitude, even though he really did love his father. Maybe this poem is a warning to children to be greatful for all their parents do for them. It almost seems like the man no longer has the opportunity to express his sorrow to his father. Maybe the father passed away before he was able to thank him, so he is writting this to tell others to show gratitude towards your loved ones before it is too late. 

Imagery Poetry 1- London

"Marks of weakness, marks of woe." line 4

William Blake's poem, London, conveys a very depressing tone. It seems that all the citizens of London are imprisoned by something. Based on the first two lines, "I wander through each chartered street, Near where the chartered Thames does flow," I think the government is controlling and oppressing all of its' people. By using the word chartered in reference to the streets and the Thames river, I think this demonstrates the range of control possessed by the government.  Blake uses imagery to describe the emotions and feelings of despair the people posses. Through lines such as "In every cry of every man" and "Marks of weakness, marks of woe," we can feel the unhappiness in their hearts. I think Blake is trying to convey the hardships of living in London at every level, regardless of social class. From the "Runs in blood down Palace walls," to "How the youthful Harlot's curse," it is evident how class isn't a factor. I think that the "Marks of weakness" represent the fear the citizens possess about the powers hanging over them. As a result to the control, all the citizens live an unhappy and oppressed life.

Perrine Poetry

"These two criteria I ask you to notice, are not different from those we bring to the judgment of a new scientific hypothesis."

Poetry has always been an intimidating aspect of literature for me, so when Perrine referred to the interpretation of poetry as a scientific process, I felt relieved. When I would consider the meaning behind a poem, I typically looked for a hidden and often "far-fetched" meaning. Now having read Perrine's view in interpreting poetry, I realized why I was always wrong in my view of each poem. I agree with his idea that the meaning of a poem "relies on the fewest assumptions not grounded in the poem itself." It just makes sense. Perrine's example of the thief presented a clear path in intpretation. Poetry is going to be logical. The poets don't set out to confuse the readers. They are trying to convey an image they picture. When I look at poetry now, I will be sure to consider the connections between details. In Melville's poem, I assumed that it was about an army, but if I would have really analyzed it, I would have seen all the star references. I think details are very pertainent in discovering the meaning of a poem.

Even though this essay has provided me with some insight, I do not agree with evey aspect of it. I don't think that there is only one true meaning of a poem. Who's to say one interpretation is more correct than the other, within reason. I think that studying the details within a poem will lead you down the right direction, but there is not only one correct answer. Take the William Blake poem for instance. Perrine tells us that it is really about a rose and a worm, but how do we know that there isn't some deeper meaning within it that matches the critera he proposes to us? For some poems, I believe there is a set meaning, but when it comes to symbolism, how do we know what is right? The details can be thought of and interpretated in many ways. Symbols are not as concrete as a description. Overall, I think Perrine is right, but I feel like some poems don't lend themselves to just one interpretation.