Eating Poetry by Mark Strand

In Strand’s poem, “Eating Poetry,” he expresses the ways in which he loves poetry by using an extended metaphor of him eating poetry and becoming a dog hungry for poetry. While in the library, he literally eats all the poetry and the librarian gets upset: “ When I get on my knees and lick her hand,/ she screams./ I am a new man./I snarl at her and bark.” In these lines, Strand creates the image of becoming desperate for more poetry. So desperate that he acts like a dog, barking and licking the librarian’s hands. He depicts haunting images of snarling dogs and crying Librarians, therefore giving the sense that Poetry has a frightening power. Strand depicts the power that poetry has over him and how poetry can literally transform you.

I enjoyed this poem and the metaphor within in to help create an image in my head. Can't believe that this is the last blog of my high school career. Its been great!!

Many Red Devils... by Stephen Crane

While reading this poem I really enjoyed the imagery. I like to picture things in my head and I could imagine exactly what was going on in the poem. Stephen Crane is fabulous at telling a story through imagery.

 I believe that the poem is about many different things.  I interpret it to be about expressing oneself honestly and truly, and maybe they're devils because they're the things about ourselves we've never had the courage to face or admit to, but to struggle to put that "red muck" into words releases, names, and conquers those facets of our self. What a shame to not enjoy this, to miss out on all it says. One would have to know nothing about honest personal writing. I think the poem has a feeling of relief attached to it. While the speaker finds writing that way strange, he also is happy to put his thoughts on paper, or out into the world. They may not be the best of thoughts, but they are his. 

Perhaps this was a telling of when one is beginning to write on a subject, but the words that flow out are reflective of a state of mind the writer was unaware of and was suprised by the change of attitude as he was writing. The mind can become freed as an idea grows while it is being examined and expressed; an idea can also be crushed during examination and expression. The devils could be an idea he wanted to disagree with at the start.  This happens to me when I am writing a timed essay sometime. I start writing one thing and then another idea pops into my head interrupting what i am already writing.

I really liked this poem and it put a new twist on writing and the red devils involved.

A Poison Tree by William Blake

I remember doing this poem during the AP Lit make up session. I really enjoyed this poem and didn't know my exact thoughts on the poem were exactly, but I think I understand the meaning of the poem.

William Blake has also shown that be they friend or foe, harboring a grudge only makes things worse. Imagery was portrayed and has connected with the reader by discussing the deep feeling of a victory over an enemy. He states that the only way, at the time, to releive that pain is by hurting someone else. Many lines have the same basic meaning. One of these shows his anger growing whilst keeping his anger bottled up inside him. \"I was angry with my foe, I told not, My wrath did grow\" Throughout this Poem, Willliam Blake has discussed a situation where a person has had a foe, he has portrayed the \'foe\' as some sort of bully obviously he has been bullied by the same perosn for a long time.
Not only has William Blake portrayed the wrath inside of this person growing on a tree, he has shown that by adding a apple on the poison tree this makes the reader beleive that the boy has made some kind of lure for the bully, for when he is at his weakest, the boy will get his sweet revenge. \"And it grew both day and night, Till it bore an apple bright. And my foe beheld it shine, And he knew that it was mine.\"



My thoughts were kind of jumbled while trying to explain hopefully you can pick your way through them.

This is my Kafkaesque cartoon. The cartoon is based off the movie Twelve, which is very senseless in a way. The movie if kind of all over the place and becomes confusing at times and the cartoon shows pretty much what the movie was about. Pretty senseless!

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer by Walt Whitman

This poem I like probably because it was a little easier to read then some of the others in the packet. I have heard of Walt Whitman but I don't think that I have read any of his stuff before and I like what he write so far. The speaker is talking about how he does not enjoy the way the professor is teaching Astronomy. The teacher uses numbers and data to explain his teaching, and the speaker does not understand his way of teachings. This causes the frustration in the speaker of what he is learning. At the end of the poem he wanders on his own to look at the stars. This is stated in the actual poem. I thought that it was actually pretty cool that he found comfort in the stars, which is originally what Astronomy, looking at the stars. He finds comfort in what originally is Astronomy before all the numbers and confusion happened. Finds comfort in what originally attracted him to Astronomy which can be a little ironic.

I enjoyed this poem and kind of like Walt Whitman's work so far even though I have only read one poem. :)

This is a photograph of me by Magaret Atwood

Reading this poem a first and second time I thought that this is a poem that can put a bad day into the worst day. Just don't read the poem when you are in a good mood.

My first thought to the poem is that in the beginning she starts by creating  an image in your head about a possible tree branch, but she never describes herself in the picture about herself, which is interesting. It seems like she wants you to guess where she is in the picture and what this mean. I think the "drowned in a lake" has something to do with the photo also. My thoughts are that in the first 14 lines confused me in my first reading, but reading it a second time with emphasis on the parathesis part did I see the meaning of the photograph.

I think the picture described in the first 14 lines is just the result of the distortion.

I believe that there is no branch or the frame of a house halfway up the slope because of the lines:
'At first it seems to be
a smeared
print: blurred lines and grey flecks
blended with the paper;' 

I believe that is not a branch because it says "a thing that is like a branch: part of a tree", which keeps you asking what is it? If it is not a branch then what is part of  the tree.

She tells you that she is in the lake in the centre of the picture just under the surface of the water. Then we are given the hint that it is the distorting effect of water that makes it difficult to discern what is there in the photograph. But if we looked long enough we'd see her eventually.

The Day Milicent Found the World by William Stafford

This poem seemed to tell a story, the journey Millicent took to find herself and realize that she has a place in the world. The beginning of the poem says she started out staying "near light, the edge where bushes grew, where her way back appeared in glimpses among dark trunks behind her." This tells me she was curious to explore the world, or "the woods," but that she was not yet prepared to get lost and completely separate herself from the comfort of home and the life she has always known. However, one day she finally ventured her way far enough through "openings where giant pines had fallen" and reached her destination: Lost. Now she was lost, everything she would encounter would be new and surprising. I particularly liked the end of the second stanza where it talks about Millicent first realizing "she was part of the world and that it would follow wherever she went." That epiphany is something I think we all experience at some point, often in childhood.

As I was reading this poem, I really thought of myself and how I am still trying to find my place in this world among all these people. Millicent reminded me of the person I am now, being a Senior and trying to figure out where I want to attend college and what I want to become after college and really just the person I want to be in life. I’m scared to death to think about venturing out on my own and taking on this world, but at the same time. Millicent did not find out that she had a certain place in this world or what that certain place is until she ventured out on her own and became “Lost”, which in my opinion meant being around things foreign to her or being out of her comfort zone. When people are put into situations where they are uncomfortable and out of place, I believe this is really when they find out just how strong they are and what they can make of themselves in that situation. Stafford described Millicent as being a part of the world’s breath, she was a part of the world, a piece of the puzzle, and not just a bystander watching the puzzle being pieced.

Questions we have About Women??

Sorry this is late, but last night I was having technical difficulties with my computer and wouldn't allow me to post anything or get on the internet.

Questions we have About Women

Why were women chosen to give the beautiful gift of birth?
Why do women have to care so much?
How come women become overwelmed with life?
Why can the be so terrifying?
Why do women feel inferior?
How come there is so much pressure to be a mother?
Why do women want to escape the kitchen?
When will women have the upperhand?
When don't they?
Why do women want the upperhand?
And what dows it take to be a women?

Poem we did in class, I really like this poem and was an awesome activity.

Of Mere Being by Wallace Stevens

This poem was interesting. I love the imagery that the author shows throughout the poem. Along with the imagery though comes the confusion and misunderstanding of the poem. My first thoughts on the poem was that the structure of how the poem is made up of four tercets and no evidence of meter or rhyme scheme.

I think that the author is trying to explaing that you don't need a deep reason to enjoy life. Steven uses the bird to explain this reason. Using the bird by saying that the birds sing happily  without a reason for and proves the point that there doesn't need a reason to be happy. I thought that this was interesting because it is the opposite of when people are sad, everybody wants to know the reason for the saddness, that there has to be a reason for sadness, but from Wallace Stevens you don't need a reason to be happy. I wonder if he believes this for other emotions or just hapiness? Goinga along with the imagery aspect I really enjoyed when he talked about the imagary of what the bird looks like, I don't understand why the author put the color of the bird into the poem, does it have meaning or does it just add to the poem.? What most confuses me about the poem is the word "palm" at first i thought that he was talking about a hand, but if he is, it doesn't really fit with poem. I wonder if palm has a different meaning?

This poem for some reason really stumped me. I decided to do a response on it to here you thoughts on the poem Mrs. White and also because i really enjoyed the poem. The imagery portion of the poem really stuck out to me.

Song of the Powers by David Mason

My first thought was that this is one intense game of rock paper scissors. From this poem I feel so much more meaning in the words of Rock, Paper and Scissors. I thought that Rock, Paper, and Scissors was a simple game of deciding who has to do something, a game that you will probably play the rest of your life because lets face it, it is the fairest way of deciding. What I get from the poem is that when talking about Rock, Paper, and Scissors I kind of get the feeling as if you can not get though life without the other two. I get this from the lines,
 "So heap up your paper
and scissor your wishes
and uproot the stone
from the top of the hill.
They all end alone
as you will, you will."

I thought that was interesting because in the game that is not the case. You use one to try and beat another. Each stanza before the last elaborates on each object. I get the feeling that the author is saying what each object means to him, describes the object in his own words. The Rock is brutal, but can be knocked when uprooted from a top a mountain. The paper are wishes and ethereal lives, and also pen is mightier than the sword or smothers the rock, and crazy thought you use pen to write on paper. The Scissors leave tattering wishes. Each object has a certain purpose and without the other two, you may not be successful. I believe that this is what the author is trying to say, but if I am wrong I did try.

Another thought about this poem, is that I really enjoyed it and just brings up those memories of who goes and gets the crayons for the group, I don't know lets play rock, paper, scissors to find out. They are not just old memories either I even do that now, as a senior in high school. :)

I started looking at the poems structure and notice that there was a ryhming sequence to the poem. ABCBCA. He does this ryhming sequence for the 3 stanzas then that kind of gets shot when the last stanza comes around. I don't completely understand the meaning of thie writing style.

It was a dream by Lucille Clifton

This poem I think is my favorite out of all the poems in the packet. Not exactly sure why that is but it really gets to me. I think part of that is because of the imagery in the poem. I may like this poem, but it doesn't mean I understand it. So, the first thing I thought was that this person, possibly the author is not happy with her life at all. It is like her alternate reality telling her that her life is a waste and a complete failure. If it was me, my self-esteem would be in the sinker. The imagery in this poem is awesome and really adds to the whole failure aspect. "She twisted her wild hair and sparked her wild eyes." This tells the anger the alternate self has with the life that the narrator is living. I also get dissapointment from this alternate self. If the poem is about the author, the good thing that the title of the poem is It was a dream because it turns out that the author has had a really successful career as a writer and a person.

Sorry this blog is not very good, but I have been working on my Independent Reading Assignment and i think my fingers have carpal tunnel syndrome, but I did enjoy the poem at least.

Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins

My first thought on this poem is that I liked it a lot. The flow of the poem was done really well and also makes the poem more understandable. The poem has awesome imagery and you can really feel what the author is trying to portray through his poetry. I believe that the Billy is trying to say that many people need to stop over analyzing poetry, stop trying to always derive a meaning from the words. Billy wants us to just enjoy the words, feel them, and just love the way poetry feels and sounds. I also think that each stanza could be maybe a different point of view of poetry from different poeple. These are the poeple that don't over analyze the poetry and just feel the poetry. Billy says to enjoy poetry, because when you start analyzing the poetry loses value. I think he is trying to say that maybe poets don't write for people to analyze the poem, they write for the enjoyment. This is how poets probably want people to view their poem through enjoyment, not over analyzation.

I really enjoyed this poem and I think that it is a little ironic that I am analyzing a poem that says not to analyze poetry.

Cottonmouth Country by Louise Gluck

Fish bones walked the waves off Hatteras.
And there were other signs
That Death wooed us, by water, wooed us
By land: among the pines
An uncurled cottonmouth that rolled on moss
Reared in the polluted air
Birth, not death, is the hard loss.
I know. I also left a skin there.


Let's just say I don't understand the poem exactly, so I had to do some research on some keyword throughout the poem. The first word I looke up was Hatteras, I assumed that this was a place near a patch of water, and I was correct Hatteras is a little town in North Carolina near the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. This is why fish bones are laying across it. The next word that I looked up was Cottonmouth, not exactly sure what that was and discovered that it is a snake, not just any snake but the only poisonous water snake in North America (Snakes our my greatest fear in my life, so I don't like this poem because of the snake!!) From looking up those words I tried putting the pieces together. I know most of the poem is about death, just by it talking about death, but what meaning is she trying to convey throught death and what does it mean to her. The title of the poem Cottonmouth Country which in translation means deadly snake. So i am going to make some assumptions about the poem by the poem saying that where ever the Cottonwood Snake goes, so does death. I don't if that is actually what the poem is saying, but that is my prediction for the poem.

I also know that this poem is octave strusture with a rhyming scheme. I believe that the rhyming scheme is ABABCDCD so it is pretty simple. This poem is a lyric poem, where the poem has a reflective tone and also has a subject to it. This poem is not a ballad because it is not written in quatrains, basic rhyme scheme, and not very songlike quality.

Much madness is divinest sense by Emily Dickinson

Much madness is divinest sense
To a discerning eye,
Much sense, the starkest madness
'Tis the majority'
In this, as all, prevail:
Assent, and you are sane;
Demur, you're straightway dangerous
And handled with a chain

For this poem I looke up a whole bunch of words, for some reason the way she uses the words together just doesn't click with my brain. I first looked up "discerning" which means showing a good understanding. When talking about divinest usually means in a biblical reference of pertaining to god. Demur means objecting to something. When looking up these definitions I definently think I understand the poem better. I believe that Emily is talking about how "Madness" is a gift from God. She says this by saying Madness is the divinest sense. Then saying that having the sense about "Madness" is the "starkest Madness", meaning complete madness. Then she talks about that if you believe, you are sane and will possibly go to heaven, because of the biblical reference of divenest. Then if you "Demur" something of objection and this is dangerous if you don't believe in madness. What has me stumped  is the last line in the poem. "And handled with a chain" to me this line just seems random and don't really knows how it connects. I guess that it could possible be a biblical reference also. My problem is that I don't know much about the bible or being Christian for that matter. I like this poem and how it shows that if you think you are sane, that is wrong, and if you believe in madness, it means you are sane. I don't know if this makes sense, I kind of wrote about what was going on inside my head while reading this poem and looking up definitions.

Alone by Edgar Allan Poe

I enjoy Edgar Allan Poe and his poetry, I have only read a some of his work, but I still enjoy what I have read. When reading this poem I believe that Edgar is putting a personal approach to this poem. What I got from this poem is that it is about growing up, being lonely and different at the same time. i think that the poem is talking about how being alone in the world, you are not the only one that is like you. They would understand what the other lonely person is doing.  In the poem this lonely person is I believe to be his personal experience of being lonely and different. Possibly his hope that he is not the only one in the world who is lonely and different in the world. I also believe that with this loneliness is what created the man known as Edgar Allan Poe. The loneliness created the person who he is today and the obstacles he has overcome. This poem is depressing but also shows a story of the of a man and his loneliness. If this is not about Edgar Allan Poe than this is about a random person, or a person he used to know.

Untitled by Stephen Crane

My first thought that came tomy mind when I read this poem the first time was GROSS!!, but don't worry I believe that this poem as different and deeper meaning. The eating the heart part was what grossed me out even though it shouldm't because we read about eating dead babies which isn't even that worse. With this poem I believe that the most two important words are HEART and BITTER. So the first thing I did was get a formal definition of Bitter, the best definition that I believe the author uses in the poem is being resentful or cynical. This is used in the poem to show that possibly the "creature" in the poem is eating away his heart which is resentful and cynical. This can also be derived into putting a bitter taste in the mouth literally. I enjoy the visual affect the poem brings, even if it kind of grosses me out. Through such a short poem the author brings a visual affect to what is going on in the creatures life. By getting rid of the bitterness in the creatures heart by eating it, the only way the creature knows how because he is just a creature not a human. I don't know if the creature is trying to gain his humanity back by eating his heart ti get rid of the thing that makes him a creature, the bitterness in the heart he is eating.

I don't know if this blog makes sense my thoughts kind of jumbled together and I don't even know if they are correct, or if that is what the poem is about. So sorry if you don't understand my blog.