Poetry Response #4 "The World Is Too Much With Us''

The World Is Too Much With Us

BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!

This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;

The winds that will be howling at all hours,

And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;

For this, for everything, we are out of tune;

It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be

A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;

So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,

Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;

Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;

Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.

Response: 

Interestingly, the title of this poem could hold a strong variety of interpretations; in addition, I noticed this title specifically has more words than the titles of previous poems I have read and created responses for. I believe more words within the title of the poem gives a larger selection or variety of interpretations. The speaker in the poem starts the poem with the title of the poem. By now, I am familiar with that technique from reading poems where the speaker starts off the poem with the title of the poem. Perhaps the poet did that to restate his thesis/idea that is presented in within the poem. The speaker touches upon various images that bring a vibe of the spring season, or nature, and how we don't see all we can see in nature.

Personification is the first literary technique I noticed in this poem. A few examples of personification are “This sea that bares her bosom to the moon” and “The winds howling at all hours” to show nature reacting to the way it is treated by humans, giving nature the human attributes of having a bosom and howling. There is an example of personification in the poem that could also work as a simile, “And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;” flowers are alive but don't sleep in the same sense that a human might. There are two allusions in this poem, “Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;” and “Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.” both are related to the topic of nature within the world.

The speaker’s tone appears very affected by what he is seeing in the world, and it made me feel very thoughtful about the topic and how we should pay more attention to these beautiful things that happen everyday in nature. Nature has a different tone in the poem; nature is very doubtful of how it is treated which gives me a very somber feeling. Nature could also feel dull and sad. The speaker of the poem sounds sincere and honest about the topic. The sincerity gives me a feeling of hope. We are so close and connected to the world, but fail to appreciate its beauty and intimacy.

Poetry Response #3 “We real cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks

“We real cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks  

The Pool Players.
        Seven at the Golden Shovel.

            We real cool. We   

            Left school. We

            Lurk late. We

            Strike straight. We

            Sing sin. We   

            Thin gin. We

            Jazz June. We   

            Die soon.

Response: 
The title of this poem is very brief and simple; each word in the title seems to have it’s own weight and gravity. Even the way the title is worded is interesting, and that could be a valid example of syntax.  We usually means more than one person, or a group of people. Real cool is being very cool, or chill and very relaxed. Reminds me of the phrase calm, cool, and collective.

The poem is already written very simply so I didn't paraphrase it in my own words, because I couldn't change the poem without changing the meaning of the poem. While reading I noticed alliterations, an interesting use of syntax, internal rhyme, and ambiguity. The examples of alliteration I noticed are lurk late, strike straight, sing sin, and Jazz June. What’s with every stanza having an alliteration except the first one?

The speaker’s tone is very hopeful which emits a light-hearted mood. The characters around the speaker are the same because the speaker says ‘we’. The writer of the poem is more introspective and serious on the topic of the poem. The poems ends with the very dark line of “We die soon.”

There are mini shifts between lines, and then shifts between stanzas, but every sentence in the poem starts with the word we. The only other noticeable shift is possibly in the speaker's attitude towards the topic and the mood emitted from the attitude. My interpretation of the title didn't change from the initial reading to the last reading. The poem seems to capture a meaning related to life being brief but I don't want to simplify the poem to something simple; the theme of the poem could be that life is brief.

Poetry Response #2 When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer

When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer

BY WALT WHITMAN 1819–1892

When I heard the learn’d astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,

Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

Response: 

The title of this poem has an I within it. I’s in poems indicate the specific point of view the poem is told by; in addition, I would paraphrase the title to “When I heard the Astronomer who learned.” My best attempt to paraphrase the poem: When I heard the astronomer who learned, proofs, figures, arranged in columns in front of me, shown charts and diagrams, adding, dividing, and measurements, I heard the astronomer lecture, there was a lot of clapping in the room, I got annoyed fast, left and wandered around, from time to time, I looked up at the perfectly silent starts. A few connotations presented in the poem are imagery, irony, and some personification.

There is imagery because we can somehow see the proofs, figured, column, charts, diagrams, addition, subtraction, division, measurements, and hear the applause coming from the room. There is also the vivid description of the “mystical moist night-air” and the perfectly silent stars. I noticed a slight case of situation based irony where the man preferred to learn and view the stars himself rather than the astronomers mathematical representations. Interestingly, there was personification in how the stars were silent, because stars cannot speak. Therefore, a star can't be “silent”. The speaker appears very annoyed by and detached from the astronomer who is speaking at the conference. However, he/she is appreciative towards the stars in the sky. The audience i the lecture room may have an approving tone towards the astronaut since they are clapping. So their tone is shown in action rather than words. In this poem, the poet may have a very introspective tone. Perhaps he is even respectful towards the observer, and unconcerned by the astronomer.

From the point where the speaker says he hears the astronomer to the part where the speaker becomes tired and sick may be an interesting shift to take a glance at. The speaker isn't completely interested at the beginning of the poem, but we certainly know he isn't midway through the poem. Overall, the poem reflects the topic of experiencing through data versus real sight. The theme could be that beauty in the world should not be quantified; instead, beauty should simply be enjoyed.

Poetry Response #1 [in Just-] BY E. E. CUMMINGS

E. E. Cummings, “In Just—”

Poem-

in Just-

spring          when the world is mud-

luscious the little

lame balloonman

whistles          far          and wee

and eddieandbill come

running from marbles and

piracies and it's

spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer

old balloonman whistles

far          and             wee

and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's

spring

and

         the

                  goat-footed

balloonMan          whistles

far

and

wee

Response:

Before reading the poem I attempted to analyze the very brief but interesting title. The title of the story is only two words. However, the words end with a dash and are enclosed by square brackets. Square brackets clarify a situation and dashes are a kind of break in a sentence (according to the Oxford Dictionaries website). Why are these used as the title of the poem? What kind of meaning do they convey? In just could be defined as, or changed to “In reason..” but in reason to what? My first step towards analyzing the poem was to paraphrase it in my own words: The poem starts with the title of the poem. The season is spring, and the world is described as mud. There is a little lame balloonman who is “luscious”. He whistles far and close. Eddieandbill come, they are running from marbles and piracies. It is still spring. The world is “puddle-wonderful’. There is a queer, and the old balloonman whistles again. bettyandisbel come dancing. They hop-scotch and jump rope. Its still spring. The balloonman is described as goat-footed and he whistles again. There is a bit of ambiguity in the world being mud and puddle-wonder; there is one word associated with these two words. I also analyzed the diction and the choice the writer made to use the words eddieandbill and bettyandisbel instead of eddie and bill and betty and isbel, what was the purpose of this? Did the writer try to combine them in order to show that they are one unit, or character? There is repetition in the old balloonman’s whistling and the children coming. Another thing repeated is that the season is spring. The theme in this poem could be: Spring is a beacon for the youthful and innocent..

Spring Break Work Task 2

Reflection

Poem:  "Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers" Emily Dickinson

Safe in their Alabaster Chambers -

Untouched by Morning - 

and untouched by noon -

Sleep the meek members of the Resurrection, 

Rafter of Satin and Roof of Stone - 

Grand go the Years, 

In the Crescent above them -

Worlds scoop their Arcs - 

and Firmaments - row -

Diadems - drop -

And Doges surrender -

Soundless as Dots, 

On a Disk of Snow.

First Read:
The first thing I noticed in the poem was the dashes used at the end of some of the lines. I remember briefly hearing about Dickinson's use of the dashes in her poetry but hopefully doing the TP-CASTT will allow me to have a better understanding of the poem and how they're used. I also noticed the word choice is different than what I am used to in today's version of the English language.

Second Read:
Who is safe in these chambers? Alabaster is a type of material and a chamber is a place where something or someone can be  held. The people who are safe in the chambers are untouched bu morning and night, meaning they don't get to see morning or night. The meek members of the resurrection sleep. The rafter is made of of satin and the roof is made up of stone. I couldn't decipher the second stanza and the only thing I could figure out was that there are shifts in the poems because of the breaks, but I cant seem to get any further than this. 

Spring Break Work Task 1

Reflection 

Poem: "Since there's no help" 

Prompt:  Write about your experience was like reading it the first time (what was the initial experience like) and then the second time around (what changed, if anything.) 

First Read: 

Reading this poem for the first time, I first noticed it is written in a different style than I am used to with words such as Nay, thou, and brow. Interestingly, after that I noticed the topic of the poem was love and I read the poem a few more times.

Second Read: 

The TP-CASTT helped me attain a better understanding of the poem because I analyzed the title and noticed it begins with the word since, indicating a period where there is cause and effect. Then, I could paraphrase the poem and translate it into my own words. Understanding the connotations of the poem became essential because then I could understand the use of personification and Point of view of the poem. I still don't understand how attitude works but I am trying to get a better grasp of the concept. I also never knew about shifts in a poem and how they could be used in terms of meaning. 

With an initial reading there are many components of the poem I miss. The first way I tackled any of the poems was by reading the poem in my head, out-loud, and then once more in my head (I try to do this without letting my pen touching the page to annotate it but that is fairly challenging. After the reading I begin annotating and trying to notice the things that jump out at me by reading at different paces to capture what the poem is trying to say, or what the speaker in the poem is trying to say. I've noticed that the poems become easier as I read them more. Working with the TP-CASTT allows me to wrap up the poem and capture the key parts all on a single sheet of paper. The TP-CASTT exercises become easier the more they are done because I have practice with the exercise even if the poem is new to me. 

"Spring and Fall" by Gerard M. Hopkins

Notes From Spring and Fall Poem

• The First thing I noticed was the title of the poem. The poem must have something to do with the seasons of spring and fall. 

Line 1:  Golden grove is unleaving, and Margaret is asked if she is grieving because of it? 

Vocabulary & Diction: The first words noticed are Golden Grove and unleaving. Is golden grove a person, or a place given the physical properties of a person? Does unleaving relate to the leaves in the fall? 

Line 2: You is Margaret. Can she care for the leaves, similar to the things of man.

Vocabulary & Diction: The words in these lines relate to the unleaving in the previous line. There is a connection between the leaves, leaves falling, and the nature of man.

Line 3: As we grow older, we will see things worse than the falling of leaves. Winter comes after the leaves fall.

First impressions: Speaker starts with the word "Ah." showing they had a thought, or an idea of some sort. 

Line 4: What is leafmeal? Something about singing words of wanword? Is Wanword another location?

Discerning patterns: There is a different pace in this line. "By and by", "nor spare a sigh."

Line 5: Margaret will know why she cries.

Discerning patterns: The idea of crying relates to grieving; both usually go together. 

Line 6: Sorrow is the same, no matter what name is pinned on it.

Symbolism, schemes, tropes: Spring's sorrow could be a metaphor for the sadness Margaret feels. 

Line 7: The mind cannot express what the heart feels, or the mouth. 

Discerning Patterns: What the heart desires to express is left out. 

Line 8: Man was born for death, and someone mourns for Margaret.

  Point of View: In line 2, we assume You is Margaret, but you cannot mourn for Margaret if you is Margaret.