If you read the poem from a couple weeks back, you may already know the poem For The Union Dead by Robert Lowell, for you slackers out there, here is a link:
http://robertlowellandco.blogspot.com/2009/05/for-union-dead.html
Once you've read that, come back, and read the most kick-a*s analytical essay ever written:
The poem, For The Union Dead, begins in a scene from Lowell’s more idyllic youth, with his nose pressed against the glass of the South Boston Aquarium, his hand itching to pop the bubbles, rising from the noses of the ‘cowed, compliant fish’.
In this way, we are given an idea of what Boston was like during his youth, a friendlier, fresh place to live. Lowell brings the reader back to the present with a jolt. The idyllic childhood image is juxtaposed against the new Boston. “My hand draws back. I often sigh still for the dark downward and vegetating kingdom of the fish and reptile.” In this quote Lowell muses about the closing, and subsequent degeneration of the Aquarium, from his childhood, where it was a friendly place to go, when in his mature years it has been forgotten in favour of urbanisation. The Aquarium is also a symbol of change all over the world, after the Second World War the world was in upheaval and global change was taking place, in the same way that the Aquarium is changing and falling apart. The new Boston is urban, galvanized with scaffolding holding up a building against the excavations for a car park going on underneath it, but with only a plank of wood holding up the statue dedicated to Colonel Shaw, one of the great heroes of the American Civil War.
Shaw led his infantry against the Confederacy, and gave his life fighting for what he thought was right, an end to slavery, and equality for Black Americans. Even though he made the ultimate sacrifice, his memorial isn’t valued very highly anymore and the progress of Society and the urbanisation of Boston must go ahead unabated “The Aquarium is gone. Everywhere, giant finned cars nose forward like fish; a savage servility slides by on grease.” This quote is so emotive because of the almost harsh language it uses, ‘savage servility’ and ‘Aquarium is gone’. In the same way even though war was highly glorified at the time, it has been commercialised, and become an almost shameful topic.
“On Boylston Street, a commercial photograph shows Hiroshima boiling over a Mosler Safe, the "Rock of Ages" that survived the blast.” This quote show the shameless, greedy way in which large companies have exploited the horrible end to the war, and used it to sell their product to people. And, despite Colonel Shaw’s best efforts even racism prevails: “When I crouch to my television set, the drained faces of Negro school-children rise like balloons.” Lowell refers to the end of educational segregation in the South, when a number of African American students fought to enter schools with their white peers. I believe this quote is so effective because of the way it invokes emotions for the “Negro” children who are still experiencing repression despite what their fore-fathers and Colonel Shaw gave their life for.
Lowell ensnares the reader in his nostalgic vision of the past and suddenly returns them to a brutal present. In this poem, Lowell makes a statement about his views on urbanisation, racism and commercialisation. What makes this poem so strikingly is the effective use of emotive language and use of emotions that this poem brings out in the reader; this is a great demonstration of Lowell’s ability to use such emotions in this way.
I know, awesome, right?
I bet you're wondering how I wrote this masterpiece, and I have one snippet of advice for you, read over what my fellow "author" has written, it is often a great help.
Thanks for reading,
Sam.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Poetry Analysis 101 – Linking Sentences
Ok, so you’ve written your brilliant poetry analysis and you’ve wrapped it all up with a neat little conclusion? But unfortunately your analysis doesn’t seem to flow from one topic to the other? Did you remember to link your paragraphs together in the form of a linking sentence?
A linking sentence is basically just introducing your next topic while concluding your last topic. It helps if the two topics share some form of common ground. For example you have written two paragraphs; one about the use of vivid imagery in the form of water and the other about rhythmic changes in the poem. A linking sentence could go something like this. The emotive language relating to water in this poem is compounded by the consistent rhythmic changes when discussing it. The rhythm changes from the broken and harsh speaking rhythm to a flowing harmonious rhythm when mentioning water…
They do not, however, have to be connected for this to work. You can always link two paragraphs by merely mentioning the next paragraph in the closing sentences of your current paragraph. For example you could be discussing how rhyming is used within the poem and about to discuss the negative portrayal of a certain character, it could go something like this. As well as the systematic patterns of rhyming words, the poems effectiveness is also helped by the negative portrayal of “______”...
Remember, linking sentences are a very important part of writing a professional sounding poetry analysis.
A linking sentence is basically just introducing your next topic while concluding your last topic. It helps if the two topics share some form of common ground. For example you have written two paragraphs; one about the use of vivid imagery in the form of water and the other about rhythmic changes in the poem. A linking sentence could go something like this. The emotive language relating to water in this poem is compounded by the consistent rhythmic changes when discussing it. The rhythm changes from the broken and harsh speaking rhythm to a flowing harmonious rhythm when mentioning water…
They do not, however, have to be connected for this to work. You can always link two paragraphs by merely mentioning the next paragraph in the closing sentences of your current paragraph. For example you could be discussing how rhyming is used within the poem and about to discuss the negative portrayal of a certain character, it could go something like this. As well as the systematic patterns of rhyming words, the poems effectiveness is also helped by the negative portrayal of “______”...
Remember, linking sentences are a very important part of writing a professional sounding poetry analysis.
Conclusion, The Final Frontier - Memories of West St and Lepke VII
This post is part of my poetry analysis on Robert Lowell's Memories of West Street and Lepke, the poem and original post can be found at: http://robertlowellandco.blogspot.com/2009/05/like-arrr-this-poems-about-like-jail.html
The poems effectiveness lies in Lowell’s ability to evoke an emotive response from the reader. This emotive response is aided by his change of rhythm and prose style writing when describing characters. This helps these aspects of the poem draw the desired ‘thoughtful’ response. The repetition of a theme (in this case fire) reminds the reader of the past verses and how they all fit together to create a meaning that may not be apparent when first read.
Overall it leaves the reader thinking that Lowell, while slightly cynical about his life, is grateful that he has it and while he is almost apologetic about his negligence towards his former morals he feels some redemption and forgiveness in the form of his daughter.
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As you can see, I have condensed, six body paragraphs into a small paragraph of it's own. I have linked my many objective and subjective responses together and used those responses to comment on the peoms effectiveness. I have brought forward no new ideas and have not used quotes.
The poems effectiveness lies in Lowell’s ability to evoke an emotive response from the reader. This emotive response is aided by his change of rhythm and prose style writing when describing characters. This helps these aspects of the poem draw the desired ‘thoughtful’ response. The repetition of a theme (in this case fire) reminds the reader of the past verses and how they all fit together to create a meaning that may not be apparent when first read.
Overall it leaves the reader thinking that Lowell, while slightly cynical about his life, is grateful that he has it and while he is almost apologetic about his negligence towards his former morals he feels some redemption and forgiveness in the form of his daughter.
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As you can see, I have condensed, six body paragraphs into a small paragraph of it's own. I have linked my many objective and subjective responses together and used those responses to comment on the peoms effectiveness. I have brought forward no new ideas and have not used quotes.
Lepke and Lowell, Seperated at Birth? - Memories of West St and Lepke VI
This post is part of my poetry analysis on Robert Lowell's Memories of West Street and Lepke, the poem and original post can be found at: http://robertlowellandco.blogspot.com/2009/05/like-arrr-this-poems-about-like-jail.html
Lowell portrays Czar Lepke as almost his equivalent in the poem but at the same time his polar opposite. They both have had a time of rebellion (albeit Lepke’s was more violent and worse that Lowell’s) and both were forced to remove themselves from their once comfortable lifestyles and into the tough environment of prison. They were then both placed in this over-calm state. Lepke being lobotomized physically (“Drifting in a sheepish calm”) but Lowell being almost mentally lobotomized by the times (“these are the tranquilised fifties”)
Finally they both found an escape from this state; Lowell through his daughter, this is made apparent by the line “Like the sun she rises” which suggests that she is essential to him and his survival. Lepke also finds an escape; through the electric chair (“ Where no agonizing reappraisal jarred his concentration on the electric chair, hanging like an oasis in his air, of lost connections…”).
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I have included this particular paragraph in my analysis because I feel that Lowell identifies with this particular character. The language he uses throughout the early verses and while describing Czar Lepke is very similar and hints at almost some kind of empathy, as if he knows how Lepke feels to some extent. I have backed up this opinoin with many quotes and their interpretations. You may notice I have not included a linking sentence as this is my final paragraph.
Lowell portrays Czar Lepke as almost his equivalent in the poem but at the same time his polar opposite. They both have had a time of rebellion (albeit Lepke’s was more violent and worse that Lowell’s) and both were forced to remove themselves from their once comfortable lifestyles and into the tough environment of prison. They were then both placed in this over-calm state. Lepke being lobotomized physically (“Drifting in a sheepish calm”) but Lowell being almost mentally lobotomized by the times (“these are the tranquilised fifties”)
Finally they both found an escape from this state; Lowell through his daughter, this is made apparent by the line “Like the sun she rises” which suggests that she is essential to him and his survival. Lepke also finds an escape; through the electric chair (“ Where no agonizing reappraisal jarred his concentration on the electric chair, hanging like an oasis in his air, of lost connections…”).
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I have included this particular paragraph in my analysis because I feel that Lowell identifies with this particular character. The language he uses throughout the early verses and while describing Czar Lepke is very similar and hints at almost some kind of empathy, as if he knows how Lepke feels to some extent. I have backed up this opinoin with many quotes and their interpretations. You may notice I have not included a linking sentence as this is my final paragraph.
Monday, May 18, 2009
It's a Rainbow of Colours Man, It's Burning My Eyes - Memories of West St and Lepke V
This post is part of my poetry analysis on Robert Lowell's Memories of West Street and Lepke, the poem and original post can be found at: http://robertlowellandco.blogspot.com/2009/05/like-arrr-this-poems-about-like-jail.html
He uses these references throughout the poem to describe characters and give the reader a feel of their personality. For example he uses the term “Jaundice yellow” to describe Abramowitz, portraying him as sickly, frail and weak. In turn, he used “chocolate brown” to describe the pimps’ suits. What comes to mind when we think of chocolate? Luxury and excess much like what the pimps had in prison. Finally he describes his daughter in “flame flamingo infants-wear” portraying her as bright and bubbly.
He not only uses these terms to describe people he met but also to describe himself. The main use of vivid imagery in the poem is the repeated references to fire. The words “I was a fire-breathing catholic C.O” help signify his fiery passion to the reader. He uses another reference to fire later in the poem, while in prison he references soot (“through sooty clothesline entanglements”). This soot represents the dissipation or ‘burning out’ of his passion, this soot is what is left over. Fire is once again mentioned in the poem right back at the start in the description of his daughter (“Like the sun she rises in her flame flamingo infants-wear”). These lines not only portray her as bright and bubbly but as his renewed passion in life, the phoenix that rose from the soot and ash. This does however come at a price; he seems utterly dispassionate about everything else much like the lobotomized Czar Lepke. This is why his daughter is so important in this poem; she becomes an outlet for his passion in these ‘tranquilised times’, something Lepke did not have.
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This paragraph is used in much the same way as the one about the frequent use of juxtapostion. If a poet uses a particular example of vivid imagery or emotive language it is important to include it. The use of colours and of the element of fire has a deeper meaning that to help the reader visualise the scene at hand. In this paragraph I needed more direct quotations than ever because you cannot simply explain vivid imagery it has to be shown. Finally, I have used the last few sentances to link my paragraph to the next one.
He uses these references throughout the poem to describe characters and give the reader a feel of their personality. For example he uses the term “Jaundice yellow” to describe Abramowitz, portraying him as sickly, frail and weak. In turn, he used “chocolate brown” to describe the pimps’ suits. What comes to mind when we think of chocolate? Luxury and excess much like what the pimps had in prison. Finally he describes his daughter in “flame flamingo infants-wear” portraying her as bright and bubbly.
He not only uses these terms to describe people he met but also to describe himself. The main use of vivid imagery in the poem is the repeated references to fire. The words “I was a fire-breathing catholic C.O” help signify his fiery passion to the reader. He uses another reference to fire later in the poem, while in prison he references soot (“through sooty clothesline entanglements”). This soot represents the dissipation or ‘burning out’ of his passion, this soot is what is left over. Fire is once again mentioned in the poem right back at the start in the description of his daughter (“Like the sun she rises in her flame flamingo infants-wear”). These lines not only portray her as bright and bubbly but as his renewed passion in life, the phoenix that rose from the soot and ash. This does however come at a price; he seems utterly dispassionate about everything else much like the lobotomized Czar Lepke. This is why his daughter is so important in this poem; she becomes an outlet for his passion in these ‘tranquilised times’, something Lepke did not have.
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This paragraph is used in much the same way as the one about the frequent use of juxtapostion. If a poet uses a particular example of vivid imagery or emotive language it is important to include it. The use of colours and of the element of fire has a deeper meaning that to help the reader visualise the scene at hand. In this paragraph I needed more direct quotations than ever because you cannot simply explain vivid imagery it has to be shown. Finally, I have used the last few sentances to link my paragraph to the next one.
Lay Us Down a Sick Beat Bro - Memories of West St and Lepke IV
This post is part of my poetry analysis on Robert Lowell's Memories of West Street and Lepke, the poem and original post can be found at: http://robertlowellandco.blogspot.com/2009/05/like-arrr-this-poems-about-like-jail.html
Lowell begins his poem with a very harmonious and flowing rhythm which helped to create the calm and relaxed mood but this all changed when he began writing about his time in jail. He uses the line “Ought I regret my seedtime?” as a pivot point between these two rhythmic styles; there seems to be a gap mid-phrase when read. The rhythm that follows is both harsher and somewhat broken. For example the words “Given a year” seem like only a fragment of a line.
He also breaks rhythm in this section; when describing people he writes in an almost prose style. For example rhythm is broken when describing Czar Lepke’s cell (“or dawdling of to his little segregated cell full of things forbidden to the common man: a portable radio, a dresser, two toy American flags tied together with a ribbon of Easter Palm”). He does this to create an even greater feel of realism which you can easily get from prose style writing as opposed to flowing poetry. He also helps create this vivid and realistic picture by placing a variety of references to colour and other certain elements.
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Rhythm and Rhyme are both brilliant contributers to a poems effectiveness and any aspects of it that do so should be included. In this instance there is a stark contrast between two sections of the poem and the rhythm is broken occaisionally in favour of prose style writing. Emotive words can be used when talking about rhythm and rhyme to accompany the objective facts given but you need to back them up with quote. As always I have ended the paragraph with a linking sentence.
Lowell begins his poem with a very harmonious and flowing rhythm which helped to create the calm and relaxed mood but this all changed when he began writing about his time in jail. He uses the line “Ought I regret my seedtime?” as a pivot point between these two rhythmic styles; there seems to be a gap mid-phrase when read. The rhythm that follows is both harsher and somewhat broken. For example the words “Given a year” seem like only a fragment of a line.
He also breaks rhythm in this section; when describing people he writes in an almost prose style. For example rhythm is broken when describing Czar Lepke’s cell (“or dawdling of to his little segregated cell full of things forbidden to the common man: a portable radio, a dresser, two toy American flags tied together with a ribbon of Easter Palm”). He does this to create an even greater feel of realism which you can easily get from prose style writing as opposed to flowing poetry. He also helps create this vivid and realistic picture by placing a variety of references to colour and other certain elements.
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Rhythm and Rhyme are both brilliant contributers to a poems effectiveness and any aspects of it that do so should be included. In this instance there is a stark contrast between two sections of the poem and the rhythm is broken occaisionally in favour of prose style writing. Emotive words can be used when talking about rhythm and rhyme to accompany the objective facts given but you need to back them up with quote. As always I have ended the paragraph with a linking sentence.
Juxtapose This! - Memories of West Street and Lepke III
This post is part of my poetry analysis on Robert Lowell's Memories of West Street and Lepke, the poem and original post can be found at: http://robertlowellandco.blogspot.com/2009/05/like-arrr-this-poems-about-like-jail.html
Juxtaposition is the act of putting two contrasting words, phrases, characters or ideas together in the aim of making a contrast. Lowell does this by juxtaposing himself against a common criminal (“A Negro boy with curlicues of marijuana in his hair”) to accent how by being a conscientious objector (C.O) had brought him down to the level of a common criminal and the fact that this is what he wanted, casting away the easy life he once had.
In fact the entire poem juxtaposes his life now with his life in prison, aided by the melancholy, wistful air and his musing which seems to scream ‘what if?’. He mentions that the entire exercise yard in prison was only as large as his school soccer court and how disrespected he is in jail compared to the respect he had in his former life and his life after prison.
He emphasised this contrast by adding several other juxtapositions in the poem. The line “I yammered metaphysics” does not accurately portray prison life at all but that is where he is. That line also serves a secondary function; it tells the reader that Lowell feels he has an equal companion in prison that he can ‘yammer’ with. He also juxtaposes Ambramowitz (“Fly weight pacifist”) with the ‘Hollywood pimps’ Bioff and Brown (“Hairy, muscular, suburban”). Czar Lepke’s lobotomized state is contrasted against his former power when Lowell mentions the special items in his cell. The electric chair is also described as an escape for Czar (“Hanging like an oasis in his air”). These juxtapositions are made even more obvious by the rhythmic changes in the poem.
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This paragraph in the analysis is used to point out the frequent use of juxtapostion in the poem. It is important to point out (in an analysis) a particular technique if it is used numerous times throughout the poem and if it alters it's effectiveness. Once again, backing up your opinion with evidence in the form of direct quotations is invaluable and if the technique is somewhat obscure it is best to explain it. Finally, I have again used my last sentance as a link to my next paragraph.
Juxtaposition is the act of putting two contrasting words, phrases, characters or ideas together in the aim of making a contrast. Lowell does this by juxtaposing himself against a common criminal (“A Negro boy with curlicues of marijuana in his hair”) to accent how by being a conscientious objector (C.O) had brought him down to the level of a common criminal and the fact that this is what he wanted, casting away the easy life he once had.
In fact the entire poem juxtaposes his life now with his life in prison, aided by the melancholy, wistful air and his musing which seems to scream ‘what if?’. He mentions that the entire exercise yard in prison was only as large as his school soccer court and how disrespected he is in jail compared to the respect he had in his former life and his life after prison.
He emphasised this contrast by adding several other juxtapositions in the poem. The line “I yammered metaphysics” does not accurately portray prison life at all but that is where he is. That line also serves a secondary function; it tells the reader that Lowell feels he has an equal companion in prison that he can ‘yammer’ with. He also juxtaposes Ambramowitz (“Fly weight pacifist”) with the ‘Hollywood pimps’ Bioff and Brown (“Hairy, muscular, suburban”). Czar Lepke’s lobotomized state is contrasted against his former power when Lowell mentions the special items in his cell. The electric chair is also described as an escape for Czar (“Hanging like an oasis in his air”). These juxtapositions are made even more obvious by the rhythmic changes in the poem.
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This paragraph in the analysis is used to point out the frequent use of juxtapostion in the poem. It is important to point out (in an analysis) a particular technique if it is used numerous times throughout the poem and if it alters it's effectiveness. Once again, backing up your opinion with evidence in the form of direct quotations is invaluable and if the technique is somewhat obscure it is best to explain it. Finally, I have again used my last sentance as a link to my next paragraph.
Two Shots of Valium for Lowell - Memories of West St and Lepke II
This post is part of my poetry analysis on Robert Lowell's Memories of West Street and Lepke, the poem and original post can be found at: http://robertlowellandco.blogspot.com/2009/05/like-arrr-this-poems-about-like-jail.html
In his first verse Lowell creates a relaxed mood. The line; ‘Book-worming, in pyjama’s fresh from the washer each morning’ creates an image of him pottering around his house, reading a
book here and there and generally being catered to his every need. It also indicates that he has a very easy life; in fact, everyone around him has an easy life. This is emphasised by lines three to five ("where even the man, scavenging filth in the back alley trash cans. Has two children, a beach wagon, a helpmate and is a ‘Young Republican").
Lowell also manages to vividly portray his daughters awakening as a harmonious and relaxed event ("Like the sun she rises"). The verse as a whole flows beautifully from one line to the next. There are however tones of cynicism and even a slight apologetic tone which he uses as a segway into the second verse. For example the lines "I hog a whole house on Boston’s, “Hardly Passionate Marlbough Street”" inject the first subtle impressions of cynicism and use of the word hog makes the reader feel that he is sorry for taking up the whole house with just himself and his daughter. He addresses this in his second verse by stating that "I was a fire-breathing Catholic C.O" as if to say 'I haven’t always lived this drudgery, am I better off for that?' which further highlights the musing feel of the poem. This is also compounded by the start of the second verse.
The line "These are the tranquilised fifties" suggests that Lowell is feeling like he has been forced into this tranquil life and in fact the whole country has. This second verse also contains the first use of juxtaposition.
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This paragraph in my poetry analysis is used to highlight the calm beginings of the poem and portray the musing air of the author. It includes various examples of Lowells easy life and point out the first subtle hints of his cynicism. The last sentence is also used as a linking sentence to my next discussion point.
In his first verse Lowell creates a relaxed mood. The line; ‘Book-worming, in pyjama’s fresh from the washer each morning’ creates an image of him pottering around his house, reading a
book here and there and generally being catered to his every need. It also indicates that he has a very easy life; in fact, everyone around him has an easy life. This is emphasised by lines three to five ("where even the man, scavenging filth in the back alley trash cans. Has two children, a beach wagon, a helpmate and is a ‘Young Republican").
Lowell also manages to vividly portray his daughters awakening as a harmonious and relaxed event ("Like the sun she rises"). The verse as a whole flows beautifully from one line to the next. There are however tones of cynicism and even a slight apologetic tone which he uses as a segway into the second verse. For example the lines "I hog a whole house on Boston’s, “Hardly Passionate Marlbough Street”" inject the first subtle impressions of cynicism and use of the word hog makes the reader feel that he is sorry for taking up the whole house with just himself and his daughter. He addresses this in his second verse by stating that "I was a fire-breathing Catholic C.O" as if to say 'I haven’t always lived this drudgery, am I better off for that?' which further highlights the musing feel of the poem. This is also compounded by the start of the second verse.
The line "These are the tranquilised fifties" suggests that Lowell is feeling like he has been forced into this tranquil life and in fact the whole country has. This second verse also contains the first use of juxtaposition.
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This paragraph in my poetry analysis is used to highlight the calm beginings of the poem and portray the musing air of the author. It includes various examples of Lowells easy life and point out the first subtle hints of his cynicism. The last sentence is also used as a linking sentence to my next discussion point.
Poetry Analysis 101 - The End is Near...
So you've begun to write a poetry analysis? You've written a captivating introduction and quite a few brilliant body paragraphs. You're almost there but like a Jump-Racing Horse you fall short at the last hurdle, the conclusion.
The trick with a poetry conclusion is to sum up your five or six body paragraphs in one paragraph. Focus not on the form or what it is saying but on its effectiveness. In one sentence, mention an aspect of the poem and how it has helped to make the poem more or less effective. For example; "The poems stark, realistic descriptions evoke a feeling of realism in the reader and thus make the subject matter more believable." Or: "The flowing rhythm gives the poem an almost dreamlike quality and therefore helps set the poem in a fantasy world." Remember, you do not have to give quotes or evidence in your conclusion and it is important not to include any new ideas as you could confuse the reader by doing so.
The trick with a poetry conclusion is to sum up your five or six body paragraphs in one paragraph. Focus not on the form or what it is saying but on its effectiveness. In one sentence, mention an aspect of the poem and how it has helped to make the poem more or less effective. For example; "The poems stark, realistic descriptions evoke a feeling of realism in the reader and thus make the subject matter more believable." Or: "The flowing rhythm gives the poem an almost dreamlike quality and therefore helps set the poem in a fantasy world." Remember, you do not have to give quotes or evidence in your conclusion and it is important not to include any new ideas as you could confuse the reader by doing so.
Friday, May 15, 2009
It’s Like Watching TV in My Head
This poem is one of Yeats’ most famous works of poetry and is also an excellent example of how vivid imagery is used and can be interpreted in a poem.
The Second Coming -- W. B. Yeats
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all convictions, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of 'Spiritus Mundi'
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
The poem starts with a falcon flying further and further away from its falconer in a widening spiral until it can no longer her instructions from its master. The repetition of the word turning and use of other words indicating motion help the reader to actually visualise the falcon spiralling into the sky (“Turning and turning in the widening gyre”). Yeats uses this as a metaphor for humankind and how it has spiralled out of control and so far from it’s origins that it can no longer hear the word of god.
The line “Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold” is used as more of a transition line to the lines following but also points out the inevitability of things falling apart. The phrase “the centre cannot hold” is a warning that the current climate cannot stay like this and that humanity (the falcon) cannot hold together so far away from God (the falconer); something has got to give. The lines 4, 5 & 6 (“Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere, The ceremony of innocence is drowned ;”) are the results of humanity not taking stock of this warning, this is vivid visual imagery at it’s best. It also uses many references to water, for example: tide and drowned. This makes reference to the great flood and Noah’s Ark, but without a Noah who can save us now?
The following lines (“The best lack all convictions, while the worst, Are full of passionate intensity.” ) make another broad social comment. Yeats says that the good (best) people who can do something about the state of the world lack the motivation while those that wish for the worst have all the passion and intensity. He calls for a revelation and indeed a second coming, he uses the repetition and he structures the lines in a semi-speech tone to help the reader visualise him calling for help. While calling for the second coming of his lord he experiences a prophetic vision from Spiritus Mundi or ‘Spirit of the World’ (Yeats believed that everyone was spiritually connected and could connect to this spirit and visualise the past and possible futures). This vision takes him to a far off desert and he envisions the sphinx of Ancient Egypt (“A shape with lion body and the head of a man,”) as Christ at his second coming, but more importantly not the actual statue of the sphinx but the inspiration it caries along with it.
He describes the sphinx’s attitude very vividly in his next line, (“A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,”) this describes Christ as callous and indifferent to humanities plight as he had made the ultimate sacrifice before and we have thrown it away. This is why he used the sphinx as it has a very indifferent facial expression already. Yeats also uses more imagery to build suspense as the sphinx is moving slowly across the desert while the opportunistic and destructive birds circle overhead as if waiting to scavenge the remains of humanities hope as it dies with the coming of this cold, indifferent Christ. One again he uses the bird as a metaphor for society and humanity. This stanza is written to vividly depict the scene at hand and further build suspense and anxiety in the reader much like the foretelling of the apocalypse in the earlier stanza.
The vision ends quite obviously (“The darkness drops again; but now I know”), making sure the reader can tell that he is once again back in reality but enlightened by the experience. The next lines (“That twenty centuries of stony sleep, Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,”) refer to the time elapsed since Christs last visit to earth and how, through his rest he has been changed from a saviour to a nightmare.
The last lines are a question to the reader, (“And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?“) which further helps to vividly portray a feeling of uncertainness in the author even though he is certain that a Christ will come because he is uncertain of the form it will take.
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This is a very good example of why being able to interpret vivid imagery is an important part of a poetry analysis. A bulk of your writing may very well be on this subject and it is this language that forms the basis for all manner of subjective responses such as the visual appeal, tone and mood. It is also a great link to discussion about other aspect that alter a poems effectiveness (rhythm, rhyme and figurative language).
The Second Coming -- W. B. Yeats
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all convictions, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of 'Spiritus Mundi'
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
The poem starts with a falcon flying further and further away from its falconer in a widening spiral until it can no longer her instructions from its master. The repetition of the word turning and use of other words indicating motion help the reader to actually visualise the falcon spiralling into the sky (“Turning and turning in the widening gyre”). Yeats uses this as a metaphor for humankind and how it has spiralled out of control and so far from it’s origins that it can no longer hear the word of god.
The line “Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold” is used as more of a transition line to the lines following but also points out the inevitability of things falling apart. The phrase “the centre cannot hold” is a warning that the current climate cannot stay like this and that humanity (the falcon) cannot hold together so far away from God (the falconer); something has got to give. The lines 4, 5 & 6 (“Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere, The ceremony of innocence is drowned ;”) are the results of humanity not taking stock of this warning, this is vivid visual imagery at it’s best. It also uses many references to water, for example: tide and drowned. This makes reference to the great flood and Noah’s Ark, but without a Noah who can save us now?
The following lines (“The best lack all convictions, while the worst, Are full of passionate intensity.” ) make another broad social comment. Yeats says that the good (best) people who can do something about the state of the world lack the motivation while those that wish for the worst have all the passion and intensity. He calls for a revelation and indeed a second coming, he uses the repetition and he structures the lines in a semi-speech tone to help the reader visualise him calling for help. While calling for the second coming of his lord he experiences a prophetic vision from Spiritus Mundi or ‘Spirit of the World’ (Yeats believed that everyone was spiritually connected and could connect to this spirit and visualise the past and possible futures). This vision takes him to a far off desert and he envisions the sphinx of Ancient Egypt (“A shape with lion body and the head of a man,”) as Christ at his second coming, but more importantly not the actual statue of the sphinx but the inspiration it caries along with it.
He describes the sphinx’s attitude very vividly in his next line, (“A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,”) this describes Christ as callous and indifferent to humanities plight as he had made the ultimate sacrifice before and we have thrown it away. This is why he used the sphinx as it has a very indifferent facial expression already. Yeats also uses more imagery to build suspense as the sphinx is moving slowly across the desert while the opportunistic and destructive birds circle overhead as if waiting to scavenge the remains of humanities hope as it dies with the coming of this cold, indifferent Christ. One again he uses the bird as a metaphor for society and humanity. This stanza is written to vividly depict the scene at hand and further build suspense and anxiety in the reader much like the foretelling of the apocalypse in the earlier stanza.
The vision ends quite obviously (“The darkness drops again; but now I know”), making sure the reader can tell that he is once again back in reality but enlightened by the experience. The next lines (“That twenty centuries of stony sleep, Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,”) refer to the time elapsed since Christs last visit to earth and how, through his rest he has been changed from a saviour to a nightmare.
The last lines are a question to the reader, (“And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?“) which further helps to vividly portray a feeling of uncertainness in the author even though he is certain that a Christ will come because he is uncertain of the form it will take.
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This is a very good example of why being able to interpret vivid imagery is an important part of a poetry analysis. A bulk of your writing may very well be on this subject and it is this language that forms the basis for all manner of subjective responses such as the visual appeal, tone and mood. It is also a great link to discussion about other aspect that alter a poems effectiveness (rhythm, rhyme and figurative language).
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Like.... arrr..... this poem's about like jail and stuff... you know, it's like Juvie for adults
Over A fair few posts I will be analysing Robert Lowell's "Memories of West Street and Lepke", you may need to re-read the poem in later posts to re-familiarise though, I'll link if I can. I'll also take you through it step by step, linking in with our 'Poetry Analysis 101 Posts'
Memories of West Street and Lepke - Robert Lowell
Only teaching on Tuesdays, book-worming
in pajamas fresh from the washer each morning,
I hog a whole house on Boston's
"hardly passionate Marlborough Street,"
where even the man
scavenging filth in the back alley trash cans,
has two children, a beach wagon, a helpmate,
and is "a young Republican."
I have a nine months' daughter,
young enough to be my granddaughter.
Like the sun she rises in her flame-flamingo infants' wear.
These are the tranquilized Fifties,
and I am forty. Ought I to regret my seedtime?
I was a fire-breathing Catholic C.O.,
and made my manic statement,
telling off the state and president, and then
sat waiting sentence in the bull pen
beside a negro boy with curlicues
of marijuana in his hair.
Given a year,
I walked on the roof of the West Street Jail, a short
enclosure like my school soccer court,
and saw the Hudson River once a day
through sooty clothesline entanglements
and bleaching khaki tenements.
Strolling, I yammered metaphysics with Abramowitz,
a jaundice-yellow ("it's really tan")
and fly-weight pacifist,
so vegetarian,
he wore rope shoes and preferred fallen fruit.
He tried to convert Bioff and Brown,
the Hollywood pimps, to his diet.
Hairy, muscular, suburban,
wearing chocolate double-breasted suits,
they blew their tops and beat him black and blue.
I was so out of things, I'd never heard
of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
"Are you a C.O.?" I asked a fellow jailbird.
"No," he answered, "I'm a J.W."
He taught me the "hospital tuck,"
and pointed out the T-shirted back
of Murder Incorporated's Czar Lepke,
there piling towels on a rack,
or dawdling off to his little segregated cell full
of things forbidden to the common man:
a portable radio, a dresser, two toy American
flags tied together with a ribbon of Easter palm.
Flabby, bald, lobotomized,
he drifted in a sheepish calm,
where no agonizing reappraisal
jarred his concentration on the electric chair
hanging like an oasis in his air
of lost connections. . . .
Robert Lowell, in his poem ‘Memories of West Street and Lepke’ reflects upon his passionate youth and where it has led him . He muses with melancholy about whether or not he has made the right choices. He invites the reader to empathise & muse along with him by creating a thoughtful almost sad air.
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More to come on this at eleven! (not really cause I'll be in bed but I will continue this analysis step by step and explain what I'm saying and why I'm saying it)
Memories of West Street and Lepke - Robert Lowell
Only teaching on Tuesdays, book-worming
in pajamas fresh from the washer each morning,
I hog a whole house on Boston's
"hardly passionate Marlborough Street,"
where even the man
scavenging filth in the back alley trash cans,
has two children, a beach wagon, a helpmate,
and is "a young Republican."
I have a nine months' daughter,
young enough to be my granddaughter.
Like the sun she rises in her flame-flamingo infants' wear.
These are the tranquilized Fifties,
and I am forty. Ought I to regret my seedtime?
I was a fire-breathing Catholic C.O.,
and made my manic statement,
telling off the state and president, and then
sat waiting sentence in the bull pen
beside a negro boy with curlicues
of marijuana in his hair.
Given a year,
I walked on the roof of the West Street Jail, a short
enclosure like my school soccer court,
and saw the Hudson River once a day
through sooty clothesline entanglements
and bleaching khaki tenements.
Strolling, I yammered metaphysics with Abramowitz,
a jaundice-yellow ("it's really tan")
and fly-weight pacifist,
so vegetarian,
he wore rope shoes and preferred fallen fruit.
He tried to convert Bioff and Brown,
the Hollywood pimps, to his diet.
Hairy, muscular, suburban,
wearing chocolate double-breasted suits,
they blew their tops and beat him black and blue.
I was so out of things, I'd never heard
of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
"Are you a C.O.?" I asked a fellow jailbird.
"No," he answered, "I'm a J.W."
He taught me the "hospital tuck,"
and pointed out the T-shirted back
of Murder Incorporated's Czar Lepke,
there piling towels on a rack,
or dawdling off to his little segregated cell full
of things forbidden to the common man:
a portable radio, a dresser, two toy American
flags tied together with a ribbon of Easter palm.
Flabby, bald, lobotomized,
he drifted in a sheepish calm,
where no agonizing reappraisal
jarred his concentration on the electric chair
hanging like an oasis in his air
of lost connections. . . .
Robert Lowell, in his poem ‘Memories of West Street and Lepke’ reflects upon his passionate youth and where it has led him . He muses with melancholy about whether or not he has made the right choices. He invites the reader to empathise & muse along with him by creating a thoughtful almost sad air.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More to come on this at eleven! (not really cause I'll be in bed but I will continue this analysis step by step and explain what I'm saying and why I'm saying it)
What Could You Do With A Poe Bio?
(Born: January 19, 1809. Died: October 7, 1849)
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, and is considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.
He was born as Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts; his parents died when he was young. Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia, but they never formally adopted him. After spending a short period at the University of Virginia and briefly attempting a military career, Poe parted ways with the Allans. Poe's publishing career began humbly, with an anonymous collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), credited only to "a Bostonian".
Poe switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals, becoming known for his own style of literary criticism. His work forced him to move between several cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. In Baltimore in 1835, he married Virginia Clemm, his 13-year-old cousin. In January 1845, Poe published his poem "The Raven" to instant success. His wife died of tuberculosis two years later. He began planning to produce his own journal, The Penn (later renamed The Stylus), though he died before it could be produced. On October 7, 1849, at age 40, Poe died in Baltimore; the cause of his death is unknown and has been variously attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, and other agents.
Poe and his works influenced literature in the United States and around the world, as well as in specialized fields, such as cosmology and cryptography. Poe and his work appear throughout popular culture in literature, music, films, and television. A number of his homes are dedicated museums today.
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, and is considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.
He was born as Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts; his parents died when he was young. Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia, but they never formally adopted him. After spending a short period at the University of Virginia and briefly attempting a military career, Poe parted ways with the Allans. Poe's publishing career began humbly, with an anonymous collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), credited only to "a Bostonian".
Poe switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals, becoming known for his own style of literary criticism. His work forced him to move between several cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. In Baltimore in 1835, he married Virginia Clemm, his 13-year-old cousin. In January 1845, Poe published his poem "The Raven" to instant success. His wife died of tuberculosis two years later. He began planning to produce his own journal, The Penn (later renamed The Stylus), though he died before it could be produced. On October 7, 1849, at age 40, Poe died in Baltimore; the cause of his death is unknown and has been variously attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, and other agents.
Poe and his works influenced literature in the United States and around the world, as well as in specialized fields, such as cosmology and cryptography. Poe and his work appear throughout popular culture in literature, music, films, and television. A number of his homes are dedicated museums today.
Lowell, Have You seen this Guy's Biography?
For the next couple of posts we're going to be focusing on some of the Authors behind the poetry. First, we start with Robert Lowell, the author who wrote many of the poems we analyse.
Robert Lowell was born in 1917 into one of Boston's oldest and most prominent families. He attended Harvard College for two years before transferring to Kenyon College, where he studied poetry under John Crowe Ransom and received an undergraduate degree in 1940. He took graduate courses at Louisiana State University where he studied with Robert Penn Warren and Cleanth Brooks. His first and second books, Land of Unlikeness (1944) and Lord Weary's Castle (for which he received a Pulitzer Prize in 1947, at the age of thirty), were influenced by his conversion from Episcopalianism to Catholicism and explored the dark side of America's Puritan legacy. Under the influence of Allen Tate and the New Critics, he wrote rigorously formal poetry that drew praise for its exceptionally powerful handling of meter and rhyme. Lowell was politically involved—he became a conscientious objector during the Second World War and was imprisoned as a result, and actively protested against the war in Vietnam—and his personal life was full of marital and psychological turmoil. He suffered from severe episodes of manic depression, for which he was repeatedly hospitalized.
Partly in response to his frequent breakdowns, and partly due to the influence of such younger poets as W. D. Snodgrass and Allen Ginsberg, Lowell in the mid-fifties began to write more directly from personal experience, and loosened his adherence to traditional meter and form. The result was a watershed collection, Life Studies (1959), which forever changed the landscape of modern poetry, much as Eliot's The Waste Land had three decades before. Considered by many to be the most important poet in English of the second half of the twentieth century, Lowell continued to develop his work with sometimes uneven results, all along defining the restless center of American poetry, until his sudden death from a heart attack at age 60. Robert Lowell served as a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets from 1962 until his death in 1977.
Robert Lowell was born in 1917 into one of Boston's oldest and most prominent families. He attended Harvard College for two years before transferring to Kenyon College, where he studied poetry under John Crowe Ransom and received an undergraduate degree in 1940. He took graduate courses at Louisiana State University where he studied with Robert Penn Warren and Cleanth Brooks. His first and second books, Land of Unlikeness (1944) and Lord Weary's Castle (for which he received a Pulitzer Prize in 1947, at the age of thirty), were influenced by his conversion from Episcopalianism to Catholicism and explored the dark side of America's Puritan legacy. Under the influence of Allen Tate and the New Critics, he wrote rigorously formal poetry that drew praise for its exceptionally powerful handling of meter and rhyme. Lowell was politically involved—he became a conscientious objector during the Second World War and was imprisoned as a result, and actively protested against the war in Vietnam—and his personal life was full of marital and psychological turmoil. He suffered from severe episodes of manic depression, for which he was repeatedly hospitalized.Partly in response to his frequent breakdowns, and partly due to the influence of such younger poets as W. D. Snodgrass and Allen Ginsberg, Lowell in the mid-fifties began to write more directly from personal experience, and loosened his adherence to traditional meter and form. The result was a watershed collection, Life Studies (1959), which forever changed the landscape of modern poetry, much as Eliot's The Waste Land had three decades before. Considered by many to be the most important poet in English of the second half of the twentieth century, Lowell continued to develop his work with sometimes uneven results, all along defining the restless center of American poetry, until his sudden death from a heart attack at age 60. Robert Lowell served as a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets from 1962 until his death in 1977.
So, flicking up and down my poetry book…
… I picked a poem but decided it was way to long, so I picked another.
Ozymandias – Percy Bysshe Shelly
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
This little poem can be (very basically) taken in two ways, either
A) As a reminder that everybody forgets or
B) to serve as a warning that everything you do is remembered.
It seems hard to believe that this poem could mean one of two things that seem to be total opposites.
The statue of the once mighty Ozymandias is broken now and nothing remains beside it. It isn’t visited very often and its surrounds seem to be decaying away. It is referred to as a wreck but yet….
His passions still live on in those lifeless things and they few that do visit remember. Also, the line; "The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed". Can also be taken in two ways. This could be talking about visitors that mocked his memory therefore beginning to destroy it and those who still kept it in their heart feeding the memory. It could also be about Ozymandias himself.
So you can plainly see how it is all up to your interpretation and as long as you have enough evidence to back up your claims you are always right.
Ozymandias – Percy Bysshe Shelly
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
This little poem can be (very basically) taken in two ways, either
A) As a reminder that everybody forgets or
B) to serve as a warning that everything you do is remembered.
It seems hard to believe that this poem could mean one of two things that seem to be total opposites.
The statue of the once mighty Ozymandias is broken now and nothing remains beside it. It isn’t visited very often and its surrounds seem to be decaying away. It is referred to as a wreck but yet….
His passions still live on in those lifeless things and they few that do visit remember. Also, the line; "The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed". Can also be taken in two ways. This could be talking about visitors that mocked his memory therefore beginning to destroy it and those who still kept it in their heart feeding the memory. It could also be about Ozymandias himself.
So you can plainly see how it is all up to your interpretation and as long as you have enough evidence to back up your claims you are always right.
For The Union Dead
"Relinquunt Omnia Servare Rem Publicam."
The old South Boston Aquarium stands
in a Sahara of snow now. Its broken windows are boarded.
The bronze weathervane cod has lost half its scales.
The airy tanks are dry.
Once my nose crawled like a snail on the glass;
my hand tingled
to burst the bubbles
drifting from the noses of the cowed, compliant fish.
My hand draws back. I often sigh still
for the dark downward and vegetating kingdom
of the fish and reptile. One morning last March,
I pressed against the new barbed and galvanized
fence on the Boston Common. Behind their cage,
yellow dinosaur steamshovels were grunting
as they cropped up tons of mush and grass
to gouge their underworld garage.
Parking spaces luxuriate like civic
sandpiles in the heart of Boston.
A girdle of orange, Puritan-pumpkin colored girders
braces the tingling Statehouse,
shaking over the excavations, as it faces Colonel Shaw
and his bell-cheeked Negro infantry
on St. Gaudens' shaking Civil War relief,
propped by a plank splint against the garage's earthquake.
Two months after marching through Boston,
half the regiment was dead;
at the dedication,
William James could almost hear the bronze Negroes breathe.
Their monument sticks like a fishbone
in the city's throat.
Its Colonel is as lean
as a compass-needle.
He has an angry wrenlike vigilance,
a greyhound's gentle tautness;
he seems to wince at pleasure,
and suffocate for privacy.
He is out of bounds now. He rejoices in man's lovely,
peculiar power to choose life and die--
when he leads his black soldiers to death,
he cannot bend his back.
On a thousand small town New England greens,
the old white churches hold their air
of sparse, sincere rebellion; frayed flags
quilt the graveyards of the Grand Army of the Republic.
The stone statues of the abstract Union Soldier
grow slimmer and younger each year--
wasp-waisted, they doze over muskets
and muse through their sideburns . . .
Shaw's father wanted no monument
except the ditch,
where his son's body was thrown
and lost with his "niggers."
The ditch is nearer.
There are no statues for the last war here;
on Boylston Street, a commercial photograph
shows Hiroshima boiling
over a Mosler Safe, the "Rock of Ages"
that survived the blast. Space is nearer.
When I crouch to my television set,
the drained faces of Negro school-children rise like balloons.
Colonel Shaw
is riding on his bubble,
he waits
for the blessèd break.
The Aquarium is gone. Everywhere,
giant finned cars nose forward like fish;
a savage servility
slides by on grease.
An analytic essay and a analysise of the poem will be coming up soon, I just wanted to post this and let you read through it to get your own opinion before we analyse it.
The old South Boston Aquarium stands
in a Sahara of snow now. Its broken windows are boarded.
The bronze weathervane cod has lost half its scales.
The airy tanks are dry.
Once my nose crawled like a snail on the glass;
my hand tingled
to burst the bubbles
drifting from the noses of the cowed, compliant fish.
My hand draws back. I often sigh still
for the dark downward and vegetating kingdom
of the fish and reptile. One morning last March,
I pressed against the new barbed and galvanized
fence on the Boston Common. Behind their cage,
yellow dinosaur steamshovels were grunting
as they cropped up tons of mush and grass
to gouge their underworld garage.
Parking spaces luxuriate like civic
sandpiles in the heart of Boston.
A girdle of orange, Puritan-pumpkin colored girders
braces the tingling Statehouse,
shaking over the excavations, as it faces Colonel Shaw
and his bell-cheeked Negro infantry
on St. Gaudens' shaking Civil War relief,
propped by a plank splint against the garage's earthquake.
Two months after marching through Boston,
half the regiment was dead;
at the dedication,
William James could almost hear the bronze Negroes breathe.
Their monument sticks like a fishbone
in the city's throat.
Its Colonel is as lean
as a compass-needle.
He has an angry wrenlike vigilance,
a greyhound's gentle tautness;
he seems to wince at pleasure,
and suffocate for privacy.
He is out of bounds now. He rejoices in man's lovely,
peculiar power to choose life and die--
when he leads his black soldiers to death,
he cannot bend his back.
On a thousand small town New England greens,
the old white churches hold their air
of sparse, sincere rebellion; frayed flags
quilt the graveyards of the Grand Army of the Republic.
The stone statues of the abstract Union Soldier
grow slimmer and younger each year--
wasp-waisted, they doze over muskets
and muse through their sideburns . . .
Shaw's father wanted no monument
except the ditch,
where his son's body was thrown
and lost with his "niggers."
The ditch is nearer.
There are no statues for the last war here;
on Boylston Street, a commercial photograph
shows Hiroshima boiling
over a Mosler Safe, the "Rock of Ages"
that survived the blast. Space is nearer.
When I crouch to my television set,
the drained faces of Negro school-children rise like balloons.
Colonel Shaw
is riding on his bubble,
he waits
for the blessèd break.
The Aquarium is gone. Everywhere,
giant finned cars nose forward like fish;
a savage servility
slides by on grease.
An analytic essay and a analysise of the poem will be coming up soon, I just wanted to post this and let you read through it to get your own opinion before we analyse it.
Poetry Analysis 101 – Conor’s List of Super-Cool Things to Mention in a Poetry Analysis
So, Sam has filled you in on the basics, now for some more in depth study. When citing how effective a poem is there are many more aspects to consider.
1) Figurative language or images; simile, metaphor or alliteration. Say why you find these particular words or images vivid, effective or striking.
2) Rhythm; Is it; Strong and even? Close to the rhythm of speech? Unobtrusive? Flowing? Variable? If it contrasts, what is the effect? Does it appeal to the ear? If a poem flows well it often puts the reader in a more comfortable state than a jerky, uneven rhythm. Often an author specifically chooses the rhythm to suit the meaning of the poem. A war ballad may be start flowing easy but degenerate into a broken rhythm to imitate gunfire or draw out the tension or emotion in the scene.
3) Rhyme; Does this poem rhyme and if so does it add to the effectiveness of the poem? Is it obvious or subtle? Does it always rhyme or only sometimes? Is this rhyming appropriate for the poem? It can be used to compliment the mood of a poem or it can be used to distract from the meaning of the poem. Rhyming often makes it seem less serious or more distant from reality. Rhyming also takes us back to the good ol' days when all poems rhymed, in other words, it creates nostalgia for the reader.
4) Visual Appeal; Does the visual image the poem creates add to its effect? Does it contain colours, movements, sounds, smells? Do any other descriptions jump out at you and create a clear picture in your mind? Do any of them support the meaning of your poem? This is extremely important as most writers will appeal to all senses.
5) Tone and Mood; What is the atmosphere created? What does the author’s attitude appear to be on the subject? Do either of these change? Nostalgia, anger, bitterness, joy, envy and other emotive language can be used here. This is all up to your interpretation and as long as you can back up your opinion you are right.
1) Figurative language or images; simile, metaphor or alliteration. Say why you find these particular words or images vivid, effective or striking.
2) Rhythm; Is it; Strong and even? Close to the rhythm of speech? Unobtrusive? Flowing? Variable? If it contrasts, what is the effect? Does it appeal to the ear? If a poem flows well it often puts the reader in a more comfortable state than a jerky, uneven rhythm. Often an author specifically chooses the rhythm to suit the meaning of the poem. A war ballad may be start flowing easy but degenerate into a broken rhythm to imitate gunfire or draw out the tension or emotion in the scene.
3) Rhyme; Does this poem rhyme and if so does it add to the effectiveness of the poem? Is it obvious or subtle? Does it always rhyme or only sometimes? Is this rhyming appropriate for the poem? It can be used to compliment the mood of a poem or it can be used to distract from the meaning of the poem. Rhyming often makes it seem less serious or more distant from reality. Rhyming also takes us back to the good ol' days when all poems rhymed, in other words, it creates nostalgia for the reader.
4) Visual Appeal; Does the visual image the poem creates add to its effect? Does it contain colours, movements, sounds, smells? Do any other descriptions jump out at you and create a clear picture in your mind? Do any of them support the meaning of your poem? This is extremely important as most writers will appeal to all senses.
5) Tone and Mood; What is the atmosphere created? What does the author’s attitude appear to be on the subject? Do either of these change? Nostalgia, anger, bitterness, joy, envy and other emotive language can be used here. This is all up to your interpretation and as long as you can back up your opinion you are right.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Writers Block?
The Circus Animals' Desertion – W.B Yeats
I
I sought a theme and sought for it in vain,
I sought it daily for six weeks or so.
Maybe at last, being but a broken man,
I must be satisfied with my heart, although
Winter and summer till old age beganMy circus animals were all on show,
Those stilted boys, that burnished chariot,
Lion and woman and the Lord knows what.
II
What can I but enumerate old themes,
First that sea-rider Oisin led by the nose
Through three enchanted islands, allegorical dreams,
Vain gaiety, vain battle, vain reply,
Themes of the embittered heart, or so it seems,
That might adorn old songs or courtly shows;
But what cared I that set him on to ride,
I, starved for the bosom of his faery bride.
And then a counter-truth filled out its play,
'The Countess Cathleen' was the name I gave it;
She, pity-crazed, had given her soul away,
But masterful Heaven had intervened to save it.
I thought my dear must her own soul destroy
So did fanaticism and hate enslave it,
And this brought forth a dream and soon enough
This dream itself had all my thought and love.
And when the Fool and Blind Man stole the bread
Cuchulain fought the ungovernable sea;
Heart-mysteries there, and yet when all is said
It was the dream itself enchanted me:
Character isolated by a deed
To engross the present and dominate memory.
Players and painted stage took all my love,
And not those things that they were emblems of.
III
Those masterful images because complete
Grew in pure mind, but out of what began?
A mound of refuse or the sweepings of a street,
Old kettles, old bottles, and a broken can,
Old iron, old bones, old rags, that raving slut
Who keeps the till. Now that my ladder's gone,
I must lie down where all the ladders start
In the foul rag and bone shop of the heart.
Stuck for ideas about writing a poem? How about writing a poem about being unable to write?
In ‘The Circus Animals’ Desertion’ Yeats is unable to find a theme for a poem (I sought a theme and sought for it in vain) and feels like a failure (Maybe at last, being but a broken man,) even though he can clearly see the success he has garnered for himself from such humble beginnings.
In search of this theme he casts himself back, remembering three of his great works and how he came to love and nurture them. The first great work mentioned ‘The Wanderings of Oisin’ features a gallant warrior (Oisin) and details his adventure in three mystical islands of Gaiety, Victory, and Forgetfulness. This is important to the poem as it is also used as a metaphor for Yeats’ career in general. The second great work ‘The Countess Cathleen’ was a play about a kindly lady selling her soul to save her fellow people. He says he was inspired by fanaticism and anger to write the poem. It was his first successful play and one of the most enjoyable, (Island of Gaiety). This was followed by ‘The Wanderings of Oisin’ on of his most popular (Island of Victory). The third and final great work mentioned is ‘On Baile’s Strand’, he mentions that he lost his way and ‘sold out’ almost (Players and painted stage took all my love, And not those things that they were emblems of) he had forgotten where he had come from and what he had set out to do (Island of forgetfulness).
In his third section he talks about starting again out of humble beginnings or ‘tearing down his ladder’ (Now that my ladder’s gone, I must lie down where all ladders start).
For anyone following our ‘How to Analyse Poetry’ entries this ‘mini-analysis’ covers what I think the poem is saying and to some degree how effective it is, by using quotes and explaining them in more depth I have been able to explain to the reader my thoughts on the poem better. I have not, however, included the form of the peom or mentioned any in depth elements .
I
I sought a theme and sought for it in vain,
I sought it daily for six weeks or so.
Maybe at last, being but a broken man,
I must be satisfied with my heart, although
Winter and summer till old age beganMy circus animals were all on show,
Those stilted boys, that burnished chariot,
Lion and woman and the Lord knows what.
II
What can I but enumerate old themes,
First that sea-rider Oisin led by the nose
Through three enchanted islands, allegorical dreams,
Vain gaiety, vain battle, vain reply,
Themes of the embittered heart, or so it seems,
That might adorn old songs or courtly shows;
But what cared I that set him on to ride,
I, starved for the bosom of his faery bride.
And then a counter-truth filled out its play,
'The Countess Cathleen' was the name I gave it;
She, pity-crazed, had given her soul away,
But masterful Heaven had intervened to save it.
I thought my dear must her own soul destroy
So did fanaticism and hate enslave it,
And this brought forth a dream and soon enough
This dream itself had all my thought and love.
And when the Fool and Blind Man stole the bread
Cuchulain fought the ungovernable sea;
Heart-mysteries there, and yet when all is said
It was the dream itself enchanted me:
Character isolated by a deed
To engross the present and dominate memory.
Players and painted stage took all my love,
And not those things that they were emblems of.
III
Those masterful images because complete
Grew in pure mind, but out of what began?
A mound of refuse or the sweepings of a street,
Old kettles, old bottles, and a broken can,
Old iron, old bones, old rags, that raving slut
Who keeps the till. Now that my ladder's gone,
I must lie down where all the ladders start
In the foul rag and bone shop of the heart.
Stuck for ideas about writing a poem? How about writing a poem about being unable to write?
In ‘The Circus Animals’ Desertion’ Yeats is unable to find a theme for a poem (I sought a theme and sought for it in vain) and feels like a failure (Maybe at last, being but a broken man,) even though he can clearly see the success he has garnered for himself from such humble beginnings.
In search of this theme he casts himself back, remembering three of his great works and how he came to love and nurture them. The first great work mentioned ‘The Wanderings of Oisin’ features a gallant warrior (Oisin) and details his adventure in three mystical islands of Gaiety, Victory, and Forgetfulness. This is important to the poem as it is also used as a metaphor for Yeats’ career in general. The second great work ‘The Countess Cathleen’ was a play about a kindly lady selling her soul to save her fellow people. He says he was inspired by fanaticism and anger to write the poem. It was his first successful play and one of the most enjoyable, (Island of Gaiety). This was followed by ‘The Wanderings of Oisin’ on of his most popular (Island of Victory). The third and final great work mentioned is ‘On Baile’s Strand’, he mentions that he lost his way and ‘sold out’ almost (Players and painted stage took all my love, And not those things that they were emblems of) he had forgotten where he had come from and what he had set out to do (Island of forgetfulness).
In his third section he talks about starting again out of humble beginnings or ‘tearing down his ladder’ (Now that my ladder’s gone, I must lie down where all ladders start).
For anyone following our ‘How to Analyse Poetry’ entries this ‘mini-analysis’ covers what I think the poem is saying and to some degree how effective it is, by using quotes and explaining them in more depth I have been able to explain to the reader my thoughts on the poem better. I have not, however, included the form of the peom or mentioned any in depth elements .
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Poetry Analysis 101 - The Basics
There are three main questions we ask ourselves when we analyse poetry:
What is the poem saying?
Does it speak to us? Does it have a theme or message? Does it tell a story? Does it reveal emotion?
How is it said?
In what form is the poem – several verses? Written to a pattern? Does it rhyme or is it in blank verses? How does the author use language?
How effective is it?
Give evidence for your opinions, usually in the form of direct quotations.
Aspects we may have to consider:
Figurative language or images; simile, metaphor or alliteration. Say why you find these particular words or images vivid, effective or striking.
Rhythm; strong and even? Close to the rhythm of speech? Is it unobtrusive? Flowing? Variable? If it contrasts, what is the effect? Does it appeal to the ear?
What is the poem saying?
Does it speak to us? Does it have a theme or message? Does it tell a story? Does it reveal emotion?
How is it said?
In what form is the poem – several verses? Written to a pattern? Does it rhyme or is it in blank verses? How does the author use language?
How effective is it?
Give evidence for your opinions, usually in the form of direct quotations.
Aspects we may have to consider:
Figurative language or images; simile, metaphor or alliteration. Say why you find these particular words or images vivid, effective or striking.
Rhythm; strong and even? Close to the rhythm of speech? Is it unobtrusive? Flowing? Variable? If it contrasts, what is the effect? Does it appeal to the ear?
Welcome
Welcome to Robert Lowell & Co. a forum for poetry that I enjoy reading and anaylysing.
I will be mainly focusing on Robert Lowell, but will also discuss other poets that interest me, such as Edgar Allen Poe and W.B. Yeats.
I will be mainly focusing on Robert Lowell, but will also discuss other poets that interest me, such as Edgar Allen Poe and W.B. Yeats.
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