Well, this concludes my blogging. I have to say, I enjoyed this assignment more than I thought I would. It was an interesting medium to work in, and I liked the lessened formality. I may continue blogging in the future, but for now I think this will be my final post.Thank you to anyone who read this.
Sincerely,
Sophie
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
In The Waiting Room- Elizabeth Bishop
I'll be perfectly honest, I had never heard of this poet before this poem was reccommended. But after reading it, I think it is definately worthy of analysis. This is a longer poem, so I will post a link to the full text and only use parts of the poem when they come up in the analysis.
The story told by this poem is simple on the surface. The speaker details a time she visited the dentist's office with her aunt. While there, she hears her aunt cry out in pain. This is what sparks the main thread of the poem. Before we get into that though, let's go over the devices and meters of the text.
"In The Waiting Room" is in free verse, so there isn't much in the way of rhyme scheme or meter. However, there are still many devices within the poem. The lines use short words, conveying the childishness of the speaker. because she is seven at the time, this works. It's also an interesting way of conveying the poem's meaning through the eyes of a child. I like this way of looking at an issue, as it brings a new perspective and meaning.
Now, back to the story. The first half of the poem is largely description of the titular waiting room. the speaker tells us about the other people in the room and the magazine she is reading. Around halfway through the piece, the speaker's aunt gasps out in pain. Here is where the poem gets philosophical.
The speaker states that
I wasn't at all surprised;
even then I knew she was
a foolish, timid woman.
I might have been embarrassed,
but wasn't. What took me
completely by surprise
was that it was me:
my voice, in my mouth.
Without thinking at all
I was my foolish aunt,
I--we--were falling, falling,
our eyes glued to the cover
of the National Geographic,
February, 1918
She continues in this vein for the rest of the poem, stating:
But I felt: you are an I,
you are an Elizabeth,
you are one of them.
Why should you be one, too?
I find this interesting, as this poem details the moment that the speaker realized that she was a human, the same as the people sitting around her in the waiting room.
The reason I like this poem is this issue. often, when people talk about humans as a whole, they do not include themselves. I know this happens to me. We do not realize it, but we are all very much the same. This is not often thought about, at least in my experiance. This is also the reason that I think the child's perspective suits this poem. Young children have a different way of thinking than adults (or almost-adults, as the case may be), and I'm not sure a fully-grown speaker would have realized that they were a person, just from a pained cry at a dentist's office
Next post: Conclusion
Full Text: In The Waiting Room, by Elizabeth Bishop
The story told by this poem is simple on the surface. The speaker details a time she visited the dentist's office with her aunt. While there, she hears her aunt cry out in pain. This is what sparks the main thread of the poem. Before we get into that though, let's go over the devices and meters of the text.
"In The Waiting Room" is in free verse, so there isn't much in the way of rhyme scheme or meter. However, there are still many devices within the poem. The lines use short words, conveying the childishness of the speaker. because she is seven at the time, this works. It's also an interesting way of conveying the poem's meaning through the eyes of a child. I like this way of looking at an issue, as it brings a new perspective and meaning.
Now, back to the story. The first half of the poem is largely description of the titular waiting room. the speaker tells us about the other people in the room and the magazine she is reading. Around halfway through the piece, the speaker's aunt gasps out in pain. Here is where the poem gets philosophical.
The speaker states that
I wasn't at all surprised;
even then I knew she was
a foolish, timid woman.
I might have been embarrassed,
but wasn't. What took me
completely by surprise
was that it was me:
my voice, in my mouth.
Without thinking at all
I was my foolish aunt,
I--we--were falling, falling,
our eyes glued to the cover
of the National Geographic,
February, 1918
She continues in this vein for the rest of the poem, stating:
But I felt: you are an I,
you are an Elizabeth,
you are one of them.
Why should you be one, too?
I find this interesting, as this poem details the moment that the speaker realized that she was a human, the same as the people sitting around her in the waiting room.
The reason I like this poem is this issue. often, when people talk about humans as a whole, they do not include themselves. I know this happens to me. We do not realize it, but we are all very much the same. This is not often thought about, at least in my experiance. This is also the reason that I think the child's perspective suits this poem. Young children have a different way of thinking than adults (or almost-adults, as the case may be), and I'm not sure a fully-grown speaker would have realized that they were a person, just from a pained cry at a dentist's office
Next post: Conclusion
Full Text: In The Waiting Room, by Elizabeth Bishop
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
Send In The Clowns, Stephen Sondheim
Once again, it seems my favourite composer has found his way onto this blog. Today we look at a song from the 1973 musical, A Little Night Music. As with my other posts involving copyrighted material, I will provide a link to the text of the poem at the bottom of the page.
"Send In The Clowns" is a slow, elegant piece of music. The song itself is arranged into five verses, most of which follow the same scheme as the example below:
Don't you love farce? A
My fault I fear. B
I thought that you'd want what I want. C
Sorry, my dear. B
But where are the clowns? D
Quick, send in the clowns. D
Don't bother, they're here. B
My fault I fear. B
I thought that you'd want what I want. C
Sorry, my dear. B
But where are the clowns? D
Quick, send in the clowns. D
Don't bother, they're here. B
However, each verse varies slightly, mostly near the end. Verse Three is an interesting exception to this, but we'll get to that later. The meter also varies quite a bit. The first two lines are Iambic Dimeter, with the third switching to Iambic Trimeter and one left over syllable, before going back to Dimeter for line four. Lines five through seven are in Amphibrachic-Iambic Dimeter.
This song laments the loss of love. The speaker, Desiree, has just learned that the man she loves doesn't want to leave his wife for her. Throughout the song, she compares her feelings to a joke in a show. She repeatedly asks to "Send in the clowns", before realizing that in the end, she is the fool, stating "Don't bother, they're here". The poem ends with her saying "Well, maybe next year", a statement reminiscent of what a sad child might be told after missing clowns.
Desiree's heart is broken, that much is certain. But there is definitely more to this song than heartbreak. It laments the ridiculousness of loving someone who doesn't love you back. It is a tragically beautiful poem, and combined with the music, it makes for a sad and stunning piece. I'd highly recommend giving it a listen through.
Up Next: TBA
Monday, 8 April 2013
How Do I Love Thee? Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Once again, it seems I have chosen a poem whose author I have no prior experience with.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
This is a sonnet, although not a Shakespearean one. It's rhyme scheme is:
A A D
B B E
B B D
C C E
D
E,
Meaning it is closest to a Petrarchan sonnet, although it really doesn't fit that category either. The lines are in Iambic Pentameter.
This is a straight-up love poem. It certainly lives up to it's title, as all the lines are proclamations of love, each one grander than the last. The speaker begins by saying that she "loves thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach", and goes on to say that she "loves thee freely", "purely" and "with all the passion put to use In my old griefs". The poem ends with the speaker stating that her love will survive past death, and even will grow stronger posthumously.
This poem is very beautiful. The language is stunning, and it's a lovely image of idealistic romance. This is a piece that clearly believes in true love.
Up Next: Send In The Clowns, by Stephen Sondheim
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
This is a sonnet, although not a Shakespearean one. It's rhyme scheme is:
A A D
B B E
B B D
C C E
D
E,
Meaning it is closest to a Petrarchan sonnet, although it really doesn't fit that category either. The lines are in Iambic Pentameter.
This is a straight-up love poem. It certainly lives up to it's title, as all the lines are proclamations of love, each one grander than the last. The speaker begins by saying that she "loves thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach", and goes on to say that she "loves thee freely", "purely" and "with all the passion put to use In my old griefs". The poem ends with the speaker stating that her love will survive past death, and even will grow stronger posthumously.
This poem is very beautiful. The language is stunning, and it's a lovely image of idealistic romance. This is a piece that clearly believes in true love.
Up Next: Send In The Clowns, by Stephen Sondheim
Sunday, 7 April 2013
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, Dylan Thomas
Like with my post on "You're", I'm not especially familiar with the works of Dylan Thomas. I've never read any of his poems, including this one, so this will be another case of going in blind.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light
This poem is a villanelle, meaning it has 19 lines, arranged into five tercets and ending with a quatrain. The rhyme scheme is very simple, with the only variation at the very end. it runs:
A
B
A
with an extra B at the end of the quatrain. The lines are in Iambic Pentameter.
"Do Not Go Gentle..." is a plea against the acceptance of death. The speaker's father is dying, as evidenced in the quatrain (And you, my father, there on that sad height). The speaker is begging his father to keep fighting his fate. He repeats the lines "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "Rage, rage against the dying of the light", pleading with the listener to never stop living. The piece starts by saying that "Old age should burn and rave at close of day", and ends with a prayer that the father of the speaker will rail against his inevitable end.
Up Next: How Do I Love Thee, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light
This poem is a villanelle, meaning it has 19 lines, arranged into five tercets and ending with a quatrain. The rhyme scheme is very simple, with the only variation at the very end. it runs:
A
B
A
with an extra B at the end of the quatrain. The lines are in Iambic Pentameter.
"Do Not Go Gentle..." is a plea against the acceptance of death. The speaker's father is dying, as evidenced in the quatrain (And you, my father, there on that sad height). The speaker is begging his father to keep fighting his fate. He repeats the lines "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "Rage, rage against the dying of the light", pleading with the listener to never stop living. The piece starts by saying that "Old age should burn and rave at close of day", and ends with a prayer that the father of the speaker will rail against his inevitable end.
Up Next: How Do I Love Thee, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Thursday, 4 April 2013
Marry Me A Little and Being Alive, Stephen Sondheim
This post will be a little different than my others. For one, it will be a compare and contrast style analysis. This is also a study of two songs, both from the musical Company, by Stephen Sondheim. The songs share the same subject matter, and are from the perspective of the same character, but they are very different.
When listened to, "Marry Me A Little" is the more upbeat song. But this isn't a music blog, it's a poetry blog, so let's look at the meter and rhyme scheme.
Marry me a little
Love me just enough
Cry, but not too often
Play, but not too rough
Keep a tender distance
So we`ll both be free
That`s the way it ought to be
I`m ready!
Looking at this excerpt, which reflects the majority of the piece, the basic rhyme scheme is
A
B
C
B
D
E
E
F
The lines are in alternating Dactylic-Amphibrachic Dimeter and Dactylic-Iambic Dimeter, with the "I'm ready" (which ends each verse) as an exception.
In contrast, "Being Alive" is slower, and more dramatic when listened to. The following excerpt represents the majority of the verses, although this is more varied than the last song
Somebody, need me too much,
Somebody, know me too well,
Somebody, pull me up short
And put me through hell
And give me support
For being alive,
Make me alive
The meter is more complicated than "Marry Me A Little". The first three lines of the verse start with a Dactyl, and transition into two feet Iambic Pentameter. The three lines after are comprised of one Dactyl and one Iamb, and the last line is simply two Iambs. The rhyme scheme runs something like:
A
B
C
B
C
E
E
Structurally, these two pieces are pretty similar. It is in their treatment of their subject matter that they differ.
Both songs are about relationships, specifically marriage, and the way people view them. "Marry Me A Little" has an idealistic opinion of how a relationship should function. The speaker, Bobby, who is considering marriage, talks about how marriage "ought to be". He believes that a functional relationship involves keeping all the messy, painful bits hidden, and only displaying the perfect image he has seen in the married couples he has interacted with througout his life. He is willing to have "Just the simple stuff" in a relationship, but does not want to recognize any difficulty that may occur.
"Being Alive" appears later in the musical. In this song, Bobby, the same narrator from before, discusses the problems he sees in his friend's marriages. The piece starts with him complaining about everything that could be wrong or uncomfortable in a relationship, saying that all they get you is "Someone to hold you too close", "Crowd you with love" and "Force you to care". Through the course of the song, however, Bobby realises that all these apparent flaws are what he really wants from a relationship. Here, we have a Bobby who understands that in order for a relationship to function, he needs to accept that not everything will be absolutely perfect.
I chose these two songs, not just becausee they are from my favourite musical, but also because they illustrate the growth of the speaker over time. They do address the same subject, but their meaning arises from the perspective each song has. I think it's an interesting look at how a character can develop and change, even within the context of just two poems.
Up Next: Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, by Dylan Thomas
Full Lyrics: Marry Me A Little Video:Marry Me A Little
Full Lyrics: Being Alive Video: Being Alive
When listened to, "Marry Me A Little" is the more upbeat song. But this isn't a music blog, it's a poetry blog, so let's look at the meter and rhyme scheme.
Marry me a little
Love me just enough
Cry, but not too often
Play, but not too rough
Keep a tender distance
So we`ll both be free
That`s the way it ought to be
I`m ready!
Looking at this excerpt, which reflects the majority of the piece, the basic rhyme scheme is
A
B
C
B
D
E
E
F
The lines are in alternating Dactylic-Amphibrachic Dimeter and Dactylic-Iambic Dimeter, with the "I'm ready" (which ends each verse) as an exception.
In contrast, "Being Alive" is slower, and more dramatic when listened to. The following excerpt represents the majority of the verses, although this is more varied than the last song
Somebody, need me too much,
Somebody, know me too well,
Somebody, pull me up short
And put me through hell
And give me support
For being alive,
Make me alive
The meter is more complicated than "Marry Me A Little". The first three lines of the verse start with a Dactyl, and transition into two feet Iambic Pentameter. The three lines after are comprised of one Dactyl and one Iamb, and the last line is simply two Iambs. The rhyme scheme runs something like:
A
B
C
B
C
E
E
Structurally, these two pieces are pretty similar. It is in their treatment of their subject matter that they differ.
Both songs are about relationships, specifically marriage, and the way people view them. "Marry Me A Little" has an idealistic opinion of how a relationship should function. The speaker, Bobby, who is considering marriage, talks about how marriage "ought to be". He believes that a functional relationship involves keeping all the messy, painful bits hidden, and only displaying the perfect image he has seen in the married couples he has interacted with througout his life. He is willing to have "Just the simple stuff" in a relationship, but does not want to recognize any difficulty that may occur.
"Being Alive" appears later in the musical. In this song, Bobby, the same narrator from before, discusses the problems he sees in his friend's marriages. The piece starts with him complaining about everything that could be wrong or uncomfortable in a relationship, saying that all they get you is "Someone to hold you too close", "Crowd you with love" and "Force you to care". Through the course of the song, however, Bobby realises that all these apparent flaws are what he really wants from a relationship. Here, we have a Bobby who understands that in order for a relationship to function, he needs to accept that not everything will be absolutely perfect.
I chose these two songs, not just becausee they are from my favourite musical, but also because they illustrate the growth of the speaker over time. They do address the same subject, but their meaning arises from the perspective each song has. I think it's an interesting look at how a character can develop and change, even within the context of just two poems.
Up Next: Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, by Dylan Thomas
Full Lyrics: Marry Me A Little Video:Marry Me A Little
Full Lyrics: Being Alive Video: Being Alive
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
You're, Sylvia Plath
Of the group of poets I have been analysing, Sylvia Plath is
the one I am the least familiar with. Her work is also considerably darker than
my usual fare. However, this poem is one of her less depressing ones. Because
Plath’s work is still copyrighted, this will be the same deal as last time. I
will post a link to the full text and only quote certain sections. So, without
any further ado, let’s get right into “You’re.”
This poem is in free verse, meaning it does not rhyme, and
has no discernible meter. It reads a lot like something that might be in a
journal. The main focus of the poem is a fetus that the speaker is talking to.
Most of the lines are a series of metaphors describing said fetus.
Now would be a good time to discuss Plath’s linguistic style.
Her poetry does not use especially romantic phrases or syntax. Instead, the
words she has chosen are much more visceral than the floral language used in
the previous poems on this blog. It changes the dynamic of the poem a lot,
making it feel vivid and more real. Romantic poems make you feel like you’re
looking at a painting, while Plath’s poems make you feel like you’re actually witnessing
the thing actually happening. For example, diction such as “gilled like a fish”
or “a creel of eels” or “bent-backed atlas” contain sharp, concentrated
consonants and shorter vowels, which give the words more of an edge when spoken
aloud. Try it.
Plath’s language has a way of breaking apart ideals and
bringing the realistic out of a situation. Other poems have a habit of romanticising
and objectifying things, particularly women, and can be very impersonal. Plath,
on the other hand, is very personal in her writing style. Plath takes something
that is often romanticised, like pregnancy and mother-child dynamics, and adds
depth and emotion. She takes ideals and strips them, exposing the real
situations beneath the polished artifice. It’s as if she digs her nails into
beautiful surfaces, and tears them away until she finds something real.
“You’re,” like some of Plath’s other works, is about a thing
that is specific to women, in this case pregnancy. It’s also less like a story
than the other poems I’ve analysed. Plath’s style is very confessional, meaning
that her works are about her experiences rather than grand sweeping concepts,
although that’s not to say she doesn’t address important ideas in her
poetry. Her style is just more like
someone speaking, and has less of the romantic, ballad-like forms that appeared
in my previous entries.
Saturday, 30 March 2013
The Lady Of Shalott, Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Unlike my previous two posts, The Lady Of Shalott is a longer narrative poem. I've read this one previously, so unlike I Felt A Funeral..., , I'm not going in blind. This is a beautiful poem, and again, one of my favourites. However, since it is pretty long, instead of posting the entire thing, I will quote the stanzas that refer directly to what I am discussing, and add a link to the entire poem at the bottom of the page
The rhyme scheme runs something like this:
A
A
A
A
Camelot
B
B
B
The Lady of Shalott.
This form doesn't really have a name. Most of the lines are in iambic tetrameter. The poem is very song-like, which, considering the subject matter, is very appropriate.
This poem tells the tragic tale of the titular lady. The first section of the poem sets up her existence. To the people of Camelot, the Lady is a fairytale, no more real to them than they are to us. She lives on an island, not really that far from Camelot, yet no one has seen her. You'll notice that the Lady has no name. Throughout the poem, she is only referred to as the Lady of Shalott. She is forgotten to the people of Camelot, and by extension to us. The very people she wants to connect with have no connection to her. I find this only adds to her tragedy.
The second section goes more into the Lady's day-to-day life. All she does is weave. The Lady is cursed, so that she can never look at Camelot, but she doesn't know what will happen if she does. It's this fear that keeps her in her tower. Besides weaving, she can look into a mirror to see what happens down in Camelot. However, the Lady is bored and lonely. It's stated in the third verse of Part II that she "hath no loyal knight and true", and that she spends her time watching the people down below her. It is here we have one of the more famous quotes from this poem:
"I am half sick of shadows,"
said The Lady of Shalott.
The Lady wants to interact with the people she has only watched for years, and it is in part this desire for companionship that drives her to leave the tower in Part IV
In Part III, we meet one of the other things that drive the Lady to her fate: Sir Lancelot. Part III is largely descriptions of how handsome he is. As he is riding towards Camelot, the Lady notices him, and this drives her to leave her loom and look out on Camelot. This is one of my favourite verses.
She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces through the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She looked down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror cracked from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott.
I think it's a beautiful representation of exactly what drives the Lady to fulfill her curse and die. It's tragic, but also joyful in a way. By giving in to her curse, she will be free at last.
Part IV is where the Lady will meet her end. She climbs into a boat and sails herself down to Camelot. This section is beautiful, both from the poetry and the imagery. The Lady dies singing, revelling in her freedom despite the fact that she knows that she is dying. The last image left by the poem is Lancelot hoping that the Lady will be happy in heaven.
I like this poem very much. The imagery is beautiful, and the story is romantic, tragic and sweet. It discusses the value of freedom as much as it tells a love story. It has beautiful language, and it is a wonderful read.
Full Text: The Lady Of Shalott
Up Next: You're, Sylvia Plath
The rhyme scheme runs something like this:
A
A
A
A
Camelot
B
B
B
The Lady of Shalott.
This form doesn't really have a name. Most of the lines are in iambic tetrameter. The poem is very song-like, which, considering the subject matter, is very appropriate.
This poem tells the tragic tale of the titular lady. The first section of the poem sets up her existence. To the people of Camelot, the Lady is a fairytale, no more real to them than they are to us. She lives on an island, not really that far from Camelot, yet no one has seen her. You'll notice that the Lady has no name. Throughout the poem, she is only referred to as the Lady of Shalott. She is forgotten to the people of Camelot, and by extension to us. The very people she wants to connect with have no connection to her. I find this only adds to her tragedy.
The second section goes more into the Lady's day-to-day life. All she does is weave. The Lady is cursed, so that she can never look at Camelot, but she doesn't know what will happen if she does. It's this fear that keeps her in her tower. Besides weaving, she can look into a mirror to see what happens down in Camelot. However, the Lady is bored and lonely. It's stated in the third verse of Part II that she "hath no loyal knight and true", and that she spends her time watching the people down below her. It is here we have one of the more famous quotes from this poem:
"I am half sick of shadows,"
said The Lady of Shalott.
The Lady wants to interact with the people she has only watched for years, and it is in part this desire for companionship that drives her to leave the tower in Part IV
In Part III, we meet one of the other things that drive the Lady to her fate: Sir Lancelot. Part III is largely descriptions of how handsome he is. As he is riding towards Camelot, the Lady notices him, and this drives her to leave her loom and look out on Camelot. This is one of my favourite verses.
She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces through the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She looked down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror cracked from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott.
I think it's a beautiful representation of exactly what drives the Lady to fulfill her curse and die. It's tragic, but also joyful in a way. By giving in to her curse, she will be free at last.
Part IV is where the Lady will meet her end. She climbs into a boat and sails herself down to Camelot. This section is beautiful, both from the poetry and the imagery. The Lady dies singing, revelling in her freedom despite the fact that she knows that she is dying. The last image left by the poem is Lancelot hoping that the Lady will be happy in heaven.
I like this poem very much. The imagery is beautiful, and the story is romantic, tragic and sweet. It discusses the value of freedom as much as it tells a love story. It has beautiful language, and it is a wonderful read.
Full Text: The Lady Of Shalott
Up Next: You're, Sylvia Plath
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day, William Shakespeare- Analysis
Those of you who know me will know that I love Shakespeare. This is one of his more popular and better known sonnets. Like my last post, I've never analysed this particular poem, although I'm very familiar with the author's other works. So, without further Ado, let's dive right in!
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st.
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee
Like its 153 fellows, this is a Shakespearian sonnet, which means that its rhyme scheme runs something like this:
ABAB
CDCD
EFEF
GG
Like most of Shakespeare's poetry, Shall I Compare Thee... is in Iambic Pentameter (this means the meter contains five iambs per line, an iamb being two syllables the first unstressed, the second stressed). The flow of the poem is very much like speaking. Shakespeare used iambic pentameter for most of the dialogue in his plays, largely for noble characters. This says something about the class of the speaker.
The subject matter of this poem is, in my opinion, lighter than my previous choice. It's a love poem, although the main subject matter is less Love and more the concept of Beauty. The speaker is comparing the looks of his lover to the beauty of summer. Through the first two quatrains , he discusses the flaws of a summer day. In the third one, there's a volta, a turn in the subject matter, where the speaker tells us about why his lover is better than summer, because her beauty will outlast the summer (a volta is a leftover from an earlier form, the Petrarchan sonnet, which were literally all love poems). Despite said lover being a human, and thus doomed to die eventually, the poem immortalizes her, keeping her features alive forever.
This poem is a good example of courtly love. Courtly love is a concept of romance that revolves largely around worship from afar. In most examples of courtly love, the worshipper views the object of their affection as an idol, to be admired and adored, but not interacted with. Earlier, I pointed out that, in Shakespeare, iambic pentameter is commonly used for noble characters. Following this, the speaker could be seen as a young gentleman, writing a poem about the object of his distant affection.
Up Next: The Lady Of Shalott, Alfred, Lord Tennyson
ABAB
CDCD
EFEF
GG
Like most of Shakespeare's poetry, Shall I Compare Thee... is in Iambic Pentameter (this means the meter contains five iambs per line, an iamb being two syllables the first unstressed, the second stressed). The flow of the poem is very much like speaking. Shakespeare used iambic pentameter for most of the dialogue in his plays, largely for noble characters. This says something about the class of the speaker.
The subject matter of this poem is, in my opinion, lighter than my previous choice. It's a love poem, although the main subject matter is less Love and more the concept of Beauty. The speaker is comparing the looks of his lover to the beauty of summer. Through the first two quatrains , he discusses the flaws of a summer day. In the third one, there's a volta, a turn in the subject matter, where the speaker tells us about why his lover is better than summer, because her beauty will outlast the summer (a volta is a leftover from an earlier form, the Petrarchan sonnet, which were literally all love poems). Despite said lover being a human, and thus doomed to die eventually, the poem immortalizes her, keeping her features alive forever.
This poem is a good example of courtly love. Courtly love is a concept of romance that revolves largely around worship from afar. In most examples of courtly love, the worshipper views the object of their affection as an idol, to be admired and adored, but not interacted with. Earlier, I pointed out that, in Shakespeare, iambic pentameter is commonly used for noble characters. Following this, the speaker could be seen as a young gentleman, writing a poem about the object of his distant affection.
Up Next: The Lady Of Shalott, Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Sunday, 10 March 2013
I felt a funeral in my brain, Emily Dickinson- Analysis
Let's start with one of the easier (in my opinion) poems in my list, Emily Dickinson's I felt a funeral in my brain. While I have analysed Dickinson before, I've actually never read this poem, so these are my first impressions. I am a huge fan of her works, though, so this will definitely be a fun one to look at.
Let's get through the poem's mechanics first, before we tackle themes and ideas.
The rhyme scheme runs in an A,B,C,B rhythm.
The lines mostly alternate between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter, with a few exceptions. The poem is, like most of Dickinson's poetry, is in the same rhythm format as most hymns, which is why you can sing this poem to "Amazing Grace" and the theme from Gilligan's Island.
Now, let's look at the themes of the poem. Many of Dickinson's poems, including this one, are about death. This one seems to me to be more of a death of the mind than a physical one. The fact that it is called I felt a funeral in my brain certainly contributed to this theory. The speaker frequently talks about her mind, describing it as numb. It seems to me that this mental funeral is the death of the speaker's sanity. The first line of Stanza Four mentions a Plank of Reason breaking beneath the speaker, and dropping her, possibly into her own delusion. The poem ends with the speaker alone in her head, wrecked and solitary.
The last two lines of the third stanza are the part that I find relates to Dickinson's life. The lines are "And I and silence some strange race, Wrecked, solitary, here". Dickinson was notoriously reclusive. The lines, in my opinion, reflect on the speaker's loneliness. This is what could have, perhaps, driven her (the speaker) mad.
Up Next: Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day, William Shakespeare
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,
And Mourners to and fro
Kept treading – treading – till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through –
And when they all were seated,
A Service, like a Drum –
Kept beating – beating – till I thought
My Mind was going numb –
And then I heard them lift a Box
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again,
Then Space – began to toll,
As all the Heavens were a Bell,
And Being, but an Ear,
And I, and Silence, some strange Race
Wrecked, solitary, here –
And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down –
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing – then –
|
The rhyme scheme runs in an A,B,C,B rhythm.
| A I felt a funeral in my brain, B And mourners, to and fro, C Kept treading, treading, till it seemed B That sense was breaking through. |
Now, let's look at the themes of the poem. Many of Dickinson's poems, including this one, are about death. This one seems to me to be more of a death of the mind than a physical one. The fact that it is called I felt a funeral in my brain certainly contributed to this theory. The speaker frequently talks about her mind, describing it as numb. It seems to me that this mental funeral is the death of the speaker's sanity. The first line of Stanza Four mentions a Plank of Reason breaking beneath the speaker, and dropping her, possibly into her own delusion. The poem ends with the speaker alone in her head, wrecked and solitary.
The last two lines of the third stanza are the part that I find relates to Dickinson's life. The lines are "And I and silence some strange race, Wrecked, solitary, here". Dickinson was notoriously reclusive. The lines, in my opinion, reflect on the speaker's loneliness. This is what could have, perhaps, driven her (the speaker) mad.
Up Next: Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day, William Shakespeare
Friday, 1 March 2013
Bienvenue a Ma Blog
Hey Y'all! Welcome to my poetry blog! This is an English project, where I will analyse 10 different poems. I've chosen these so far:
- You're, Sylvia Plath
- I felt a funeral in my brain, Emily Dickenson
- The Lady of Shallot, Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- The Passionate Shepard to his Love, Christopher Marlowe, combined with The Nymph's Reply to the Shepard, Sir Walter Raliegh
- Shall I Compare Thee To a Summer's Day, William Shakespeare
- A post devoted to the lyrics of several of the songs of Stephen Sondheim, the specifics of which are yet to be determined
The order I listed them in is most likely not the order I will post in. If you have any recommendations or comments, please share the with me. However, please keep criticism constructive! This is a project, after all.
Thank you for reading!
-Sophie
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