Punk Pantoum

??? The poem sounds like the speaker either wants his lover to commit suicide with him or the relationship is abusive and he is going to kill her, then realizes that he can't live without his lover and decides to kill himself as well. I'm not sure how the Punk Movement of the 70s ties in. I researched it and I already had a Sex Pistols album. =(  Help!

God's Grandeur

1. The theme of the poem is the relationships between man, the natural world, and God. Hopkins's poem follows the traditional Italian sonnet form, though the sections are separated into stanzas. The first stanza, octave, is about that even though God's world is full of life and energy, it is only temporary. While the second stanza, sestet, gives us the insight that 'nature is never spent' because it lives beneath us as well as all around us. The speaker asks "Why do men then now not reck his rod?" (Line 4). What the speaker is asking is 'why can't people ever recognize the power that God has over the world?' In the first stanza, the speaker seems to be less than impressed with the way people are treating the world, saying that people have corrupted it so much that the planet has begun to smell like people. The second stanza takes a more positive approach to looking at the world. "And though the last lights off the black West went Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —" (Lines 11-12) The usage of West and East is important because it symbolizes the sun setting and rising. The sun sets in the West which would bring darkness. The sun rises in the East which brings light to the world. The lines also symbolize the changing of the seasons with the use of the word 'black' meaning the transition between fall and winter and the use of 'brown' meaning spring. "Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings." (Lines 13-14) These lines mean that like a mother bird would watch over her chicks, the Lord is watching over the chaotic world. The theme of the poem backs up the religious idea that God is watching over us no matter how bad we screw up our lives or how bad we destroy the world that he worked so hard to create. 
2. The usage of the word 'charged' in line one suggests electricity, which would mean that the world is full of life and energy. The simile in line two, “It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;” furthers the knowledge that the world is full of vitality by comparing the energy to "the shining of shook foil,” which refers to the noise, light, and reflection of tinfoil. The simile also states that though the world is thriving right now, it will slowly die like the flame of a candle.
1. "And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod." (Lines 7-8) These lines symbolize that for many generations, man has walked the earth, and whether doing so on purpose or not, has begun to destroy nature. "And wears man's smudge" refers to the defilement of beauty through 'trade' and 'toil'. By saying "shares man's smell" the author is saying that the natural smell of nature has been replaced by the smell of man. "the soil Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod" refers to the fact that because the soil has been worked and walked on since the beginning of time, it is now 'bare' and can no longer support crops, and the pollution of the environment from the city has killed off any plant life left.  It also accredits that because man has been corrupted by society, his feet can no longer feel bare soil "being shod", by wearing shoes.
2. "And though the last lights off the black West went Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —" This symbolizes that though the situation is certainly dark, rebirth is imminent. These lines may also represent the changing seasons "the last lights off the black" symbolizing fall turning into winter and he 'brown brink' suggesting the potential fertility of the soil, spring.
3. “Reck his rod” (Line 4): ‘Reck’ can be seen as the root word for recognize. The term ‘rod’ refers to a staff or scepter which is a symbol of authority or power. The speaker wants to know why people don’t acknowledge and uphold the power that God has in the world and the environment.
1. “Spent” (Line 9):  Spent is used when the poem shifts tones. It’s one of the first encouraging terms used in the poem to encourage that nature will be around forever because it is ‘never spent’. Even though it could seem like its gone, it’s still hiding underneath us. 
2. “Bent” (Line 13): Bent, meaning dishonest or corrupt has a different meaning than its connotation, meaning a curved angle. However, both connotations can be used when describing the world that the author is describing. Hopkins has made it apparent that the world is a corrupted place, but it could also be seen as curved. Being ‘curved or bent’ could mean something is askew or abnormal, while straight could mean governable or ordinary.
4. I'm a little confused on this question, so bare with me here.

Alliterations ~

Grandeur of God

Flame, Foil 

Shining, Shook

Gathers, Greatness

Ooze, Oil

Not, Now

Reck, Rod

Smudge, Shares, Smell, (Soil?)

Last, Lights

Brown, Brink

Assonance ~ 

Seared, Bleared, Smeared

Consonance ~
Seared, Bleared, Smeared

Internal Rhyme ~
Seared, Bleared, Smeared 

The examples of these different literary elements help backup the meaning of the poem, especially when factoring in the stressed and unstressed syllables. Gerard Manley Hopkins tries to express each of his speaker’s opinions by using alliterations and different rhyme schemes to get the full idea of the poem’s theme.

The Telephone

1. In the summer. The two speakers are in a new relationship, perhaps a relationship that hasn't yet evolved into a romantic one. (Even though thats the direction they both want to head in)
2. The telephone is what connects the two speakers. The telephone has very few limitation as to what it can do, it makes distances between people seem miniscule. It may relate to the lengths at which the first speaker is willing to go through to get to the second speaker. The second speaker is also willing to go far to interact with the first speaker but she is less likely to shout out her feelings from a roof top like the first speaker would. 
3. The first speaker is very confident, perhaps a little arrogant. He tries to get the woman to admit her feelings for him. He seems to know that she has feelings for him. He interrupts the woman because he thought she finally admit that she loved him. He doesn't tell her what he thought she said because he want's her to say it. He wants to hear her actually say 'I love you'. If her were to say it and she agreed than who knows if she actually means it or if she felt pressured to say it.  THe poem switched to 'someone' because he is still trying to get her to say it so she won't be able to deny anything. He states that someone had to have said something and that someone had to have been the woman.  
4. The second speaker is a shy woman. She is very hesitant when admitting her feelings. She doesn't want to let her guard down, maybe she has been hurt by someone in the past. When the man asks her what she said, she is afraid to confess that she likes the man because she doesn't know if the feelings will be retaliated. The man makes it kind of obvious that he likes her, but by being overly conspicuous, the woman may think that he is just trying to make fun of her. 
5. The poem is all about communication. The communication between the two speaker is ironically not the best. The man is so overbearing that the woman is almost afraid of her feelings.The tone of the poem through the man's part is sort of playful and light, whereas the tone through the's woman's side is timid, shy and calm.

Traveling Through The Dark

1. The speaker's dilemma is whether or not to push the doe over the canyon into the river below. He is a moral person. Before he gets out of the car he weighs the pros and cons, but his conscience tells him the right thing to do. He does make the right decision. He moved the dear from the middle of the road so no one else would have an accident. "I dragged her off; she was large in the belly." (Line 8) He also made the right by not trying to save the baby. Without guidance from its mother, the fawn would never have survived the harsh conditions of the wild; it probably would have been hit bay a car as well or eaten by a coyote. He refers to his hesitation as 'my only swerving' because he deviates from his initial plan. He sets out to just remove the dear from the road and deposit her in the canyon. He "swerves" when he realizes she is pregnant and stops to think about his actions. "...that road is narrow; to swerve might make more dead." (Line 4) The use of swerve in this line refers to the fact that if the speaker were to veer away from the doe and leave her on the road, it may create more accidents because people may not see the dear and would swerve away from her which would result in a crashed vehicle. This connects with the use of the swerve in line 17 in ways such as in line 4 he states that "to swerve might make more dead", meaning that leaving the dear in the road would cause more accidents. In line 17 he says "I thought hard for us all- my only swerving-" he hesitates to think if his actions were right, had he decided that they weren't and left her there it would have caused her more accidents. They connect because his moral dilemma is the same in both lines: whether or not to leave the dear in the middle of the road.
2. "Traveling though the dark..." (Line 1) Stafford uses this line to evoke the sense of sight. By saying that the speaker is traveling through the dark obviously mean that it is night time, but the word dark's connotation may mean that it is very late, perhaps between 10 and 5 in the morning. "...around our group I could hear the wilderness listen" (Line 20) It is completely silent, not even a cricket chirping. The world is watching to see what the speaker will decide to do. "I thought hard for us.." (Line 21) The speaker could be with a group of people, most likely returning home from some sort of social event. It may also just mean that the speaker is traveling home and alone and 'us' refers to himself and the dear. 
3. In the first stanza the word road and dead are both only one syllable. In stanza two, there is consonance between the words killing and belly, repetition of the double 'l'. In the forth stanza engine and listen both end in the same sound. 

The Man He Killed

1. Half-a-crown ~ A British coin, equivalent to two and a half shillings (30 pennies), or one-eighth of a pound.
2. The speaker uses the word because twice as a way to justify his actions. The speaker had to kill the man because they were enemies of war. He indubitably feels regret for his actions. He killed a man, that had they met under any other circumstances, would still be alive and possible friends with the speaker. The fact that he isn't comfortable taking another man's life may mean that this was his first kill and he is an inexperienced soldier. He reiterates himself and restated his reasons for killing the man solely for himself. He wants to make everything okay for his own peace of mind. The use of although symbolizes the second thoughts that the speaker is having about murdering the other soldier.
3. The elevated thought in The Man He Killed is that when people are at war; it is their obligation as a soldier to fight for their country, and most of the time this involves killing other people. It is their job as a soldier to listen to their commanders and not ask stop to think, 'What if this person and i could have been friends?'. Hardy's poem is about a man who kills an enemy soldier and wonders if they had met under a different situation, if they would be friends

Love in Brooklyn

1. The speakers appear to be having a casual conversation in a bar sometime around WWII, because the man references a tank he saw in World War II, and the woman uses a typewriter to type. "Like once, in World War II, I saw a tank slide through some trees at dawn like it was a god." (Lines 12-13). Neither one of them is completely sober, which would explain why a man like the speaker is able to admit his feelings for the woman. In line 1 we get the first impression that the gentleman doesn't have very good luck with the ladies, "...he said, and blew his nose." The two people are colleagues. The woman has been recently transferred from Payroll to her current department. The man has been watching her since her relocation and has developed feelings for her. 
2. The gentleman is very unsure of himself. At the end of the poem we discover that the man is overweight. "A fat man, wordless, staring at the floor." (Line 22) With the help of a little liquid courage, the gentleman has the opportunity to tell the woman how he feels. He is clearly lusting after the woman. 
3. The beautiful woman is used to getting hit on by lots of man. She thinks this man is just like all the others, so when he tells her that he loves her she doesn't believe him. "Not love. You don't love me. You like my legs..." (Line 4) The man convinces her that he is different. The tone of the whole poem changes along with the woman's feelings toward the man. She realizes that he isn't just another drunk guy trying to take her home; he legitimately cares for her. 
4. The man in Love in Brooklyn is very insecure and unsure of the woman's feelings. He doesn't know whether or not she shares the same feelings as he does. The man in The Telephone is overly confident. He continuously tries to get the woman to admit that she loves him. 

Lit. Terms - Oct. 24

Point of View ~ The narrator's position in relation to the story being told; the position from which something or some one is observed.


Example: Beowulf's point of view is Third-person omniscient 




Point of view is the set of methods that an author uses to convey the plot to the audience/reader. The point of view includes not only who tells the story, but also how the story is described or expressed. 








Personification ~ The attribution of a person, nature, or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form


Example: Oreo: Milk’s favorite cookie.  (slogan for Oreo cookies)




Personification is used in all types of literature, but it commonly found in poetry. This technique makes it possible to describe something that was otherwise ineffable. Personification makes it easier to imagine a particular thing or object because it creates a picture in the mind. It enables the reader to relate to the subject.

The Road Not Taken

1. The speaker regrets not being able to take both paths. He takes the path less traveled, which could be the more dangerous path or the more adventurous path. The two paths symbolize a big decision in life. The speaker doesn't regret taking the path less traveled because he is able to make his own path.
2. All actions have consequences. By choosing the path less traveled, the speaker decides that he is not going to follow in the footsteps of others and is going to make his own choices. He is writing his own history, not copying the history of others.
3. The Road Not Taken is about making life decisions and not letting other people's choices and actions dictate what you think is right for you. Don't take the well traveled path just because it is easier, take it because it is appropriate for your life. Or, take the less traveled path and make your own history. Don't let what other people did stand in your way of making the decision that is right for you.

Lit Terms - Oct. 18th

Dramatic Irony ~ Irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play.

Example- Romeo and Juliet

When Romeo finds Juliet in a drugged sleep, he assumes she is dead and kills himself. Upon awakening to find her dead lover beside her, Juliet then kills herself.

Authors use dramatic irony to help the reader/audience member plummet headfirst into the book/play and involve themselves in the literature. Dramatic irony makes reader/audience feel special knowing something that the characters/actors don't so they pay attention to the plot closely to see if the characters ever figure it out.

Dramatic Monologue ~ a poetic form in which a single character, addressing a silent auditor at a critical moment, reveals himself or herself and the dramatic situation.

 

Example- Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet

 

Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio are going to the Capulet's party. While wondering how to get into the party since they are all Montagues he states that he will not dance. Mercutio begins to mock Romeo, and Romeo responds by saying that he had a dream that going to the party was a bad idea. Mercutio delivers a monologue about Queen Mab, the queen of the fairies who visits peoples dreams. 

 

 

 

Play writes use dramatic monologues as a means of characterization. Dramatic monologues are used to express the views of a character and offers the audience a greater insight into the character's feelings

 

After Apple-Picking

1. The imagery in  Frost's poem, After Apple-Picking, allows the reader to see apple-picking through the eyes of the narrator. Organic Imagery allows you to know what the narrator is feeling inside, "For I have had to much Of apple-picking: I am overtired Of the great harvest I myself desired." The narrator is overworked and tired of doing the job that he once loved. He no longer looks forward to the harvest because it is so much work and he has grown old. Kinsthetic Imagery allows the reader to know how the narrator feels externally, "My instep arch not only keeps the ache, It keeps the pressure of the ladder-round." After many years of spending long hours climbing up and down ladders, the narrators feet ache every time he ascends the ladder. He has climbed the latter so many times that he feet have kind of molded to the curve of the ladders steps. Frost evokes the sense of sight by describing what the narrator sees around him as he is at the top of the ladder. 
2. The speaker used to love him job. He has done it for so many years that he has grown tired and no longer enjoys it. He doesn't do the best that he can do, "And there's a barrel that I didn't feel Beside it, and there may be two or three Apples I didn't pick upon some bough." He finds apple-picking monotonous, annoying, and tiring. He feet can't handle climbing up and down the ladder anymore. The speaker doesn't seem to be dissatisfied with his work, he just accepts his results so he can move on. 
3. The speaker may know that he will be dreaming of apple-picking because it surrounds his life and he dreams about it every night. The tense of the poem may shift because the speaker wants to show how much apple-picking governs his life. Dreaming and real life experiences don't seem to be that different.
4. The author uses sleep to not only literally mean the speaker is physically tired but also to symbolize that the narrator is overworked and tired of his job. The speaker may also be afraid of sleep because he dreams about apple-picking. The speaker just wants to get away from the redundant tendencies of his life. 
5. a.) The ladder may symbolize the speakers life. He is now at the top of the ladder meaning he is old. b.) Harvest time is usually in the fall right before winter. "Essence of winter sleep is on the night," Winter is usually a symbol of death, leaves fall off trees, crops die, grass dies, etc. The fact that the season is winter may symbolize that the speaker may die c.) Harvesting may symbolize that by picking the apples off the tree, the speaker is slowly picking his life away. With each apple he picks, he 'picks' a year off his life. d.) Looking through the pane of glass may symbolize that the speaker 'looked' out on himself picking apples, sort of like an out-of-body experience. e.) The essence of winter may symbolize that the speaker's soul will be at rest during the winter sleep, meaning that the speaker will die in the winter.
6. Woodchucks hibernate, meaning that they sleep all winter and awaken in the springtime, whereas humans sleep only for a night and awaken when the sun comes up. 
7. I believe that Frost's poem is about the speaker coming to terms with his death. The harvest is coming to an end just like his life. The speaker is looking through the glass pane at his old life and realizes that he has wasted his whole life picking apples. He is coming to terms with his death even though apple-picking had consumed his life. And he will death will support the harvesting season of the apples. Once the harvest is over, the speaker will die. 

Notes on Imagery:
Imagery is the representation of sense experience it evokes the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. It is the only way a writer can create an experience for the reader. A reader needs to live a poem.

Lit Terms - Oct. 10

Flashback ~ a device in the narrative of a motion picture, novel, etc., by which an event or scene taking place before the presenttime in the narrative is inserted into the chronological structure of the work


Example:

When Beowulf chooses to fight Grendel in hand-to-hand combat; the narrator then explains that this is a good decision because man-made weapons can’t defeat Grendel.

Authors use flashbacks to further explain events in the story. 




Oxymoron ~ A figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in “cruel kindness” or “to make haste slowly.”




Example:

O heavy lightness, serious vanity,

Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms!

Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health,

Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is! 




Oxymorons are commonly used to create and ironic sense of humor or puns. They are also used to emphasize certain qualities or ideas.OR to confuse the reader.

Lit. Terms - Oct. 2

Paradox ~ A statement whose two parts seem contradictory yet make sense with more thought.

Example ~

"Cowards die many times before their deaths."
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: Act II, scene ii : line 32


Cowards "die" many times before their deaths. They are often humiliated and cause dishonor to whomever they serve. They aren't useful in a fight and might as well be counted as a fallen warrior.



Onomatopoeia ~ The formation of a word, as cuckoo, meow, honk, or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent.
OR
The use of sound in such a way that echoes or suggests the meaning

Example ~ 

“A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch
And blue spurt of a lighted match.”
 Robert Browning - “Meeting at Night”


An onomatopoeia is used to enhance the feeling of the text. Its used to help the reader understand the text better by adding a dramatic or poetic effect.