Poetry+Journal

Poetry Journal

1. __Coffee in the afternoon by Alberto Rios__ A short poem about a meaningful encouter between two people. 2. __End of April by Phillis Levin__ - Nostalgic feeling 3. __Biscuit by Jane Kenyon__ - Describes the trust and loyalty of a dog. 4. __**Refugee Mother and Child** by Chinua Achebe__ - An extremely sad poem about the death of a beloved one. Shocking images and word choices. 5. __Upon the Arid Lakes by Mark R Slaughter__ - War poetry; Dark reality portrayed by strong diction (Death and decaying imagery) 6__. Not to keep by Robert Frost__ - Destroyed Hopes Checked 18 September 15/15-25 KBoyce Collection and commentary need to be expanded. 7.__Love's Secret by William Blake__ - Man is left confused and heartbroken after being rejected. The mysterious traveler who took his lover away may be the personification for death. 8.__Carving a Name by Horatio Alger__ - Written in an organized structure [4 lines in each stanza. Total of 5 stanza]. the transitions from carvings in the sand, wood, marble to "deeds and actions" serves to emphasize that history will only be recorded by the things one does. 9. __**The Korean memorial at Hiroshima** by Andrew Motion__ - A poem which depicts the narrator's journey in Japan to the Korean Memorial at Hiroshima. Throughout the poem, the indication of time, movement and transportation (such as the "Bullet Train", "shuffling of the feet") suggest that it is difficult for an individual to find a personal connection or response to such visits because of the lack of time on a traveller's schedule. 10.__Poem at Thirty Nine by Alice Walker__ - Reminiscence 11. __Crabbit Old Woman__ The narrator attempts to give out a clear and insisting message by adopting a harsh and rough tone throughout the poem. She emphasizes on the importance that a person should not be judged based on his/her age. The poem is written in first person perspective, and the structure is divided so that each stanza represents a stage of the narrator's life. 12. __A Reminiscence by Anne Bronte__ - Unlike all the other poems about reminiscence of the dead, the narrator adopts quite a positive tone instead of a depressing one. The opening left a very strong impression - "YES, thou art gone !" illustrates acceptance. 13. __Darling, Would you Please Pick Up Those Books by Kathryn Maris__ - Exaggerated anger creates a comedic tone. 14. __**Mending Wall** by Robert Frost__ - Images of the disintegrating/rebuliding walls are used to depict the paradox created by our desire to protect ourselves and our desire to connect with other people at the same time. 15. __The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost__ - Message of this poem: 16. __**Dream-Land** by Edgar Allan Poe__ - The speaker describes his adventure in a strange and new land filled with fascinating, spooky and mysterious creatures. The first sentence sets the heavy and dark mood for the entire poem ("By a route obscure and lonely"). Poe uses repetition of words and prhases to emphasize certain sounds and to create rhythm - lulling readers into a trance. 17. __Africa by Maya Angelou__ - Woman as the personification of Africa. Arranged in 3 stanzas : Each stanza represents a stage of Africa, with the last one representing the present stage. ("Now she is rising") suggests things are going to become different. 18. __**The Great Figure** by William Carlos Williams__- A very interesting poem - it has an almost art/photographic feel to it. Words such as rain, lights, gold, red, fireturck and city, may be simple, but when placed together, they create a vibrant and lively scene. (I'd love to draw this!) 19. __The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop__ -. Bishop uses seemingly beautiful language to describe the appearance of the fish- such as "fine rosettes of lime" and äncient wallpaper", but later shifts to describe the fish's vulnerability using graphic images. 20. __The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe__ - Poe emphasizes the "O" sounds to underline the melancholy and lonely sound of the poem, establishing the melodic and dramatic qualities in the poem. 21. __Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll__ - Carroll creates his fantasy world through the use of clever sonic devices, onomatopoeia and portmanteau (the mash up of two words). 22. __Meeting at Night by Robert Browning__ - Detailed descriptions of the scene where the narrator has an encouner with the woman he loves. Theme: Man vs. the Natural World and perseverance - in some instances, nature is clearly an obstacle that the narrator has to go overcome in order to meet up with the love of his life. 23. __Musee des Beaux Arts by W.H. Auden__ 24. __Mirror by Sylvia Plath__ - A poem written from the P.O.V of a mirror about appearances. It explores the importance and transience of appearances. 25. __**A Noiseless Patient Spider** by Walt Whitman__ - Spider = metaphor for the soul. 26. __If We Must Die by Claude McKay__ - (Reminded me of TFA) One of the underlying themes present in this poem is Masculinty. The poem focuses a great deal on nobility, bravery and honor, which are stereotypical masculine features. There are also indications that death is an opportunity to show strength, nobility and purpose. 27. __In Just- by E.E. Cummings__ - Springtime as a metaphor for childhood. Cummings uses different sonic devices to direct the pace of the poem. 28. __**The Second Coming** by W.B. Yates__ - The language is blunt and direct, but the rhythm of the poem is complicated and musical. The lines seem to sum up an entire period of history. Indications of chaotic and biblical events in the poem. 29. __Silence by Marianne Moore__ - "The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence" 30. __She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron__ - Lots of comparisons to nature (metaphors,similes) to emphasize the beauty of the woman being described. E.g. "night, starry skies" - natural beauty. 31. __Spring and All by William Carlos Wiliiams__ - Another short yet beautiful poem filled with simple images. 32. __Spring by Gerard Manley Hopkins__ - The poem follows the form of an Italian Sonnet. Total of 14 lines and has a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA/CDCDCD. 33. __To Autumn by John Keats__ 34. __Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost__ - The narrator seems to be transfixed by the beauty of the woods. He describes them as "lovely, dark and deep" as if he were hypnotized. 35. __**Psalm-23**__ - Speaker refers to God as a sheperd, which sets up an explicit metaphor in which the believers, is a flock of sheep tended by God. Sheperds = protects and guides the sheep, the same way that God = protects and guides humanity. 37. __Portrait d'un femme by Ezra Pound__ - Interesting message: People's interactions and actions tells us much more about their personalities than what they say. 38. __Skunk Hour by Robert Lowell__ - An interesting spin - skunks are taken on a stranger and darker light. Mood of the poem is extremely disturbing and scary. 39. __The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes__ - Extremely long poem describing the beauty of eternal love. I particularly liked the strong start of the poem - //"The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusy trees, the moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas, the road was ribbon moonlight over the purple moor".// The metaphors nicely described the setting of the poem. 40. __**One Art** by by Elizabeth Bishop__ - Last summer in Emily Carr, our studio class did a project based on the theme "misplaced, displaced" - we created a mini-gallery, where we placed all kinds of lost and found items in it. This poem greatly reminded me of that project. The poem begins rather boldly by claiming that "The art of losing isn't hard to master". The stanza transitions between less important losses to significant losses. 41. __I felt a Funeral, in my Brain by Emily Dickinson__ - The final stanza does not rhyme - indicates the world falling apart. Iambic meter. 42. __Pied Beauty by Gerard Manley Hopkins__ - The speaker provides us with reasons and examples as to why we should glorify God. God's relationship to creation is compared to that of a father and his child. 43 __Deathfugue by Paul Celan__ - This is such a sad poem... Describes the experience of life in the Nazi concentration camps. "Black milk of daybreak, we drink you at night" = symbol for life in camps -> crude and unhealthy. As opposed to white milk (which would be the ultimate symbol for health and nourishment. Milk could also be a biblical reference. 44. __The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot__ - Everything seems to be broken or incomplete... probably to symbolize the fragmented spiritual condition of the hollow/stuffed men. <- reminded me of J.Conrad's depictions of the african men ; empty and dead. 45. __When I was One-and-Twenty by A.E Housman__ - Intriguing title and message and clever structure. The wise man takes up the heart of each stanza, while the young man gets the first and last two lines. Lesson Learned!

5 December 2011 45/45-75