"My Body"
http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/shape.html
(Example #3)
Overall, I thought this poem had a negative tone. The speaker describes their body as "an outward visual caption". I agree that looks do not define who a person is, but their is a negative undertone in this description. It leads me to believe he or she does not like their body or the way people see them.
This thought is later backed up when the speaker admits they "sometimes hide." It is possible that the speaker has appearance issues. I also found this line ironic because it is hard to hide from everyone. Sooner or later, you have to converse with strangers and it will be impossible to hide forever.
The last lines confused me. "What you see is what you will get" could mean that the speaker has given up complaining about their body or that they have accepted the way they look. Besides the fact that this poem is in the shape of a body, I do not think it lends any meaning to the poem as a whole.
After analyzing the literary terms for this poem, I understood it better. The cacophony of "walking representation" and "outward visual caption" shows the discordance the speaker has with their body at the beginning of the poem. However, the euphony of "what you see is what you will get" shows the acceptance the speaker has with their body.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sesperian Sonnet --> Edmund Spenser
"One Day I Wrote Her Name Upon the Strand"
One day I wrote her name upon the strand
One day I wrote her name upon the strand,
But came the waves and washed it away:
Again I wrote it with a second hand,
But came the tide and made my pains his prey.
Vain man (said she), that dost in vain assay
A mortal thing so to immortalise;
For I myself shall like to this decay,
And eke my name be wiped out likewise.
Not so (quod I); let baser things devise
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame;
My verse your virtues rare shall eternise,
And in the heavens write your glorious name:
Where, whenas death shall all the world subdue,
Our love shall live, and later life renew.
The Sesperian Sonnet has three quatrains and a concluding couplet written in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme abab bcbd cdcd ee.
The first thing I noticed about this poem was the repition of the first line. This anaphora shows that the speaker feels attached to this memory and values this woman. He later goes on to say that the tide "made my pains his prey." This shows that he is angry with God for enjoying his pain. This may represent the discontent Spenser has with his religion.
The dialogue between the man and woman shows that they will love each other forever. The woman says she shall "like this decay", meaning she will soon grow old. The man replies that she shall "live by fame" and their love shall live in the heavens forever.
The enjambment between lines nine and ten shows the fascination the speaker has with his lover. He does not want to speak to soon. Instead, he wishes to take time in order to respond correctly.
The purpose of this poem is to show that true love lasts forever.
One day I wrote her name upon the strand
One day I wrote her name upon the strand,
But came the waves and washed it away:
Again I wrote it with a second hand,
But came the tide and made my pains his prey.
Vain man (said she), that dost in vain assay
A mortal thing so to immortalise;
For I myself shall like to this decay,
And eke my name be wiped out likewise.
Not so (quod I); let baser things devise
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame;
My verse your virtues rare shall eternise,
And in the heavens write your glorious name:
Where, whenas death shall all the world subdue,
Our love shall live, and later life renew.
The Sesperian Sonnet has three quatrains and a concluding couplet written in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme abab bcbd cdcd ee.
The first thing I noticed about this poem was the repition of the first line. This anaphora shows that the speaker feels attached to this memory and values this woman. He later goes on to say that the tide "made my pains his prey." This shows that he is angry with God for enjoying his pain. This may represent the discontent Spenser has with his religion.
The dialogue between the man and woman shows that they will love each other forever. The woman says she shall "like this decay", meaning she will soon grow old. The man replies that she shall "live by fame" and their love shall live in the heavens forever.
The enjambment between lines nine and ten shows the fascination the speaker has with his lover. He does not want to speak to soon. Instead, he wishes to take time in order to respond correctly.
The purpose of this poem is to show that true love lasts forever.
"The Chimney Sweeper" by William Blake --> Dramatic Monologue
"The Chimney Sweeper"
When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!
So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.
There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said,
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."
And so he was quiet; and that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight, -
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.
And by came an angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins and set them all free;
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.
Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind;
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.
And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;
So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.
The first thing I noticed about this poem was the contrasting images of dark and light. The speaker and Tom work in dark conditions, covered in soot. However, when they die, they will be "naked and white". Although the coffins are black, the key is "bright" and they will find happiness in heaven.
These images of clouds, angels, and god allude to religion. Through this, Blake says that although one may suffer in life, heaven will bring internal peace and happiness.
There is a use of figurative language in the line "curled like a lamb's back". This simile connects Tom's hair to a baby animal, which shows his innocence and exposes the innocence of all child laborers. This innocence is also exposed by the euphemism used in the line "locked up in coffins of black." Instead of saying that the children died, Blake puts it in kinder words.
Through this poem, Blake is saying that dreams are what make the hardships of life tolerable.
When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!
So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.
There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said,
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."
And so he was quiet; and that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight, -
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.
And by came an angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins and set them all free;
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.
Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind;
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.
And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;
So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.
The first thing I noticed about this poem was the contrasting images of dark and light. The speaker and Tom work in dark conditions, covered in soot. However, when they die, they will be "naked and white". Although the coffins are black, the key is "bright" and they will find happiness in heaven.
These images of clouds, angels, and god allude to religion. Through this, Blake says that although one may suffer in life, heaven will bring internal peace and happiness.
There is a use of figurative language in the line "curled like a lamb's back". This simile connects Tom's hair to a baby animal, which shows his innocence and exposes the innocence of all child laborers. This innocence is also exposed by the euphemism used in the line "locked up in coffins of black." Instead of saying that the children died, Blake puts it in kinder words.
Through this poem, Blake is saying that dreams are what make the hardships of life tolerable.
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