grace’s space

Theodore Roethke, “Root Cellar”

IMAGERY:

• Imagery throughout, different variations:
  • Visual:
    • “dank as a ditch”
    • “shoots dangled and drooped”
    • “hung down long yellow evil necks, like tropical snakes”
  • Olfactory:
    • “and what a congress of stinks!—roots ripe as old bait, pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich”
  • Tactile:
    • “leaf-mold, manure, lime, piled against slippery planks”
  • Auditory:
    • “even the first kept breathing a small breath”
    • “bulbs broke out of boxes hunting for chinks in the dark”
• Imagery gives poem emotion/feeling
  • Word choice: “dank” “dangled and drooped” “snakes” “evil”à gives a feeling of a dark, wet location
  • Disgusting and vile- imagery allows us to see exactly what the author means—description of his exact location

DICTION/SOUND ELEMENTS:

• Word choice VERY powerful
  • “dank as a ditch”
  • “chinks in the dark”
  • “lolling obscenely from mildewed crates”
  • “leaf-mold, manure”
  • “nothing would give up life”
• Allows for the imagery to truly describe the subject- gives a disgusting tone
• Alliteration:
  • “dank as a ditch”
  • “bulbs broke out of boxes”
  • “shoots dangled and drooped”
• Figurative:
  • “Hung down long yellow evil necks, like tropical snakes”
  • “even the dirt kept breathing a small breath”

 STRUCTURE: 

• no enjambment: each line has its own clause/idea: 
• “shoots dangled and drooped,/ lolling obscenely from mildewed crates,” 

STYLE:

• Poem seems to be based around description (i.e. not as much about a plot, event, etc.)àdescribes a place
  • “Shoots dangled and drooped, lolling obscenely from mildewed crates”
• Uses imagery to fill the space, gives reader various methods of imagining his subject (i.e. olfactory—“roots ripe”, visual: “bulbs broke out of boxes”, etc.)

William Carlos Williams, “This Is Just to Say”

STRUCTURE/SYNTAX:

• VERY simple- 3 stanzas, 4 lines each
• Very short lines- seemingly so syllabic structure, not organized by rhyming/rhythm
• Structure seems to suggest an apology letter (very simple, concise), along with the title “This Is Just to Say”
• Enjambment: “i have eaten/the plums/ that were in/ the icebox” 
• Simplicity is continued into the syntax:
  • No punctuation: “I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox and which you were probably saving for your breakfast Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold”
  • Where there seems like there should be a punctuation mark (probably a period), the next line is capitalized: “you were probably saving for your breakfast Forgive me…”
  • Simplicity of content and structure is continued into the syntax/sentence structure
  • Creates a simpler tone of the entire poem

DICTION:

• VERY simple word choice:
  • “I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox and which you were probable saving for your breakfast Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold”
• Nothing at all hard to understand—very simple subject followed by very simple word choice
• Is the word choice suggesting a youthful subject? Or just a simple action that needs a simple explanation?
• Causes readers to wonder whether we have the full meaning—is Williams intentionally simple or does he have a deeper meaning (is he being ironic, satirical, etc.?)
• Sounds like a spoken explanation of an event- immature, unthoughtful, very simple and direct:
  • “which you were probably saving for breakfast Forgive me”
  • Very little description:
    • “so sweet and so cold”—very typical, limited, simple

STYLE:

• Very concrete, not abstract at all
  • “I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox”
• Not ambiguous
  • “they were delicious so sweet and so cold”
• Direct and understandable
• Words are taken upon their own merit because they are very simple in meaning and placement:
  • “I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox and which you were probably saving for breakfast”
  • refreshing and direct 

Adrienne Rich, “Women”

LANGUAGE/DICTION:

• Repetition of words:
  • “My three sisters”, “My first sister”, “My second sister”, “My third sister”
  • Why is this repetition so constant?
    • Gives poem structure, lists (opens with subject- “my three sisters” and goes on to explain each)
• Word choice also follows patterns:
  • First line introduces: ex. “My third sister”
  • Second line gives a location: ex. “at a dark-red crust spreading westward far out on the sea”
  • Third line gives a fact/something we can see: ex. “Her stockings are torn but she is beautiful”
• Color imagery:
  • “rocks of black obsidian”
  • “Transparent Lady”
  • “dark-red crust”
  • Not simply colors—evoke feelings that are much stronger (i.e. “black obsidian” vs. black)
  • Works because poem is about seeing her sisters in a new light- “For the first time, in this light, I can see who they are.”
    • Colors relate to this image of light and seeing

TONE:

• Somber yet hopeful tone—sisters have gone through things but have overcome:
  • SOMBER:
    • “all her nerves will be visible”
    • “the seam over her heart which has never healed entirely”
  • HOPEFUL:
    • “At last, she hopes, this tightness in her chest will ease”
    • “Her stockings are torn but she is beautiful”
• Gives a feeling of female power—themes of overcoming, hopefulness (like a more somber version of “I Shall Paint My Nails Red”)

Gwendolyn Brooks, “Southeast Corner”

RHYMING/RHYTHM:

• Every other lines rhymes:
  • “Underground”, “found”, “air”, “there”, “lining”, “shining”
  • Gives poem definite rhythm while there seems to be no other rhythm (syllabically, etc.)
• Poem doesn’t seem organized around the rhyme scheme (words aren’t twisted around to fit into the rhythm):
  • “The School of Beauty’s a tavern now. The Madam is underground. Out at Lincoln, among the graces her own is early found.”

DICTION/SYNTAX:

• Word choice suggests a royal theme with the “Madam”
  • “Madam”, “right red velvet lining”, “shot silk is shining”, “tallest monument cuts grandly in the air”, “her fortune, too, lies there”
  • Making a simple job (beauty school owner?) seem special, luxurious, divine
  • What is Brooks trying to say through this? She mentions Southeast Corner (cemetery where prominent African Americas are buried), is a theme African American pride?)
• What do the last lines mean?
  • “Her fortune, too, lies there, converted into cool hard steel and right red velvet lining; while over her tan impassivity shot silk is shining.”
    • Her fortune and personality will live on even after she’s dead?
• Enjambment:
  • “Out at Lincoln, among the graves/ Her own is early found.”

SOUND ELEMENTS:

• Alliteration:
  • “Converted into cool hard steel”à plosive?
  • “And red right velvet lining”
  • “Shot silk is shining”à sibilant

Bessie Smith with Clarence Williams, “Jailhouse Blues”

REPETITION:

• Because it’s a song, repetition sounds a but redundant (maybe) in poem, but wouldn’t in song:
  • “Thirty days in jail with my back turned to the wall./ Thirty days in jail with my back turned to the wall.”
• First line of every stanza repeated, third line is its own but rhyme with first one:
  • “I don’t mind bein’ in jail but I got to stay there so long./ I don’t mind bein’ in jail but I got to stay there so long./ Well, ev’ry friend I had has done shook hands and gone”
• Because first lines have a lot of meaning/emotion, doesn’t sound too redundant that they’re repeated (some contemporary songs sound more like songs than poems because they repeat stupid/pointless lines that carry no meaning)
• Clear rhythm throughout, as songs most often have regular rhythms throughout (especially older songs)

SYNTAX/DICTION:

• Word choice is very southern sounding (intentional pronunciation in song):
  • “Look here, Mister Jailkeeper, put another gal in my stall”
  • “’Cause if he keep on ticklin’ I’m sure gonna take him in”
  • Probably not as clear when spoken/sung, but seen clearly in the poem form (needed because we cannot hear the accent when reading)
• Title “Jailhouse Blues” is carried/alluded to throughout:
  • “Thirty days in jail”
  • “Mister Jailkeeper”
  • “I don’t mind bein’ in jail”
• Prominent subject/theme throughout

FORMATION/SOUND ELEMENTS:

• Lacks poetic elements because a song, but gains emotion because it’s sung (i.e. what we talked about in class during presentations)
• Repetition, rhyming gives poem enough rhythm to be catchy

Louis Simpson, “American Poetry”

TONE:

• Very confusing tone throughout—seems a bit all over the place because we don’t know the subject (“it”):
  • “Whatever it is, it must have a stomach that can digest rubber, coal, uranium, moons, poems”à what is IT and why must it be able to do these things? What purpose does this line serve? And why are these objects chosen (rubber, moons and poems do not seem to go together)?
  • “Like the shark…it must swim miles through the desert”à Why would Simpson use swimming and desert together (oxymoronic)?
  • Reader gets the sense that he is talking about poetry (title) but this doesn’t seem to fit into the context of what he writes about: “Uttering cries that are almost human”
• Poem alludes to many different objects that do not seem to go together at all: rubber, coal, uranium, moons, poems, shark, shoe, desert—is the reader supposed to be confused? Is this poem supposed to make sense or is it supposed to sound random and ambiguous?

RHYTHM/SOUNDS:

• No real rhythm except for similar line lengths (syllables) in each stanza:
  • Stanza one: line 1- 8, line 2- 7, line 3- 10
  • Stanza two: line 1- 8, line 2- 9, line 3- 10
    • Only different is second line
• Corresponding lines in each stanza seem to have similar end sounds:
  • “have” and “shoe” (this one not as much but) end in –e, similar drop off e sound
  • “digest” and “desert”- strong –t sound (plosive sound, almost)
  • “poem” and “human”- definite n sound
• No rhyming but this aspect connects the poems and the lines together:
  • “Rubber, coal, uranium, moons, poems.”
  • “Utter cries that are almost human.”

LINES/DICTION:

• Enjambment throughout (usually I notice enjambment when the poet is trying to fit into a rhythm but here it is still present without a structured rhythm- why?)
  • “Whatever it is it must have/ A stomach that can digest/ Rubber, coal, uranium, moons, poems.”
• Short lines, containing short and simple diction—overall very to the point: “Like the shark it contains a shoe.” (reader can understand this diction, but we don’t know exactly what Simpson means by it)

Langston Hughes, “Mother to Son”

LANGUAGE/DICTION:

• Begins with “Well, son, I’ll tell you:” so that we know that the mother is speaking to her son for the rest of the poem and is having a grave conversation with him (obviously explaining something)
• Language very obviously portrays the speaker (because the poem is entitled mother to son, we assume that the mother is Hughes’ mother—or someone like her—and the son is Hughes himself—or something like him)- southern, black woman:
  • “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair…But all the time I’se been a-climbin’ on, and reachin’ landin’s, and turnin’ corners”
    • Reflects unrefined language but gives us a strong feeling of setting and character of speaker
• Language reflects hardships/struggle yet perseverance and hopefulness—gives advice to the son in the poem but also to the reader:
  • “So boy, don’t you turn back. Don’t you set down on the steps ‘cause you finds it’s kinder hard.”
  • Is the poem entitled “Mother to Son” because this is advice we all hear from our parents? Message provided is that life is tough but you have to keep going—something we all learn at some point.
• Word choice reflects themes that Hughes often touches on:
  • “I’se… sometimes goin’ in the dark where there ain’t been no light. So boy, don’t you turn back”
    • Light and dark imagery (is he talking, here, about race?) Often reflects on differences or similarities between the two and here draws it out by putting the words close to each other and opposites.
  • “And places with no carpet on the floor—Bare.”
    • Bareness, nakedness, vulnerability is another theme I’ve noticed in many of Hughes poems thus far (what does the mean? Making it even harder to live in a world where you are vulnerable and unprotected)
• Repeated words/phrases accentuated:
  • “climb”
  • “I’se still climbin’”
  • “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”—is there a reference to a fairytale (something like Cinderella here?)
    • Perfection vs. imperfection: “crystal stair” vs. “it’s had tacks in it, and splinters, and boards torn up”
  • “And”—gives lists of things to accentuate the difficulty of the subject

RHYTHM:

• No structural rhythm in terms of syllables or rhyme scheme but repeated words give the poem some variation of a rhythm when read aloud:
  • “And reachin’ landin’s,/ And turnin’ corners,/ And sometimes goin’ in the dark” (repetition of “and”) 
  • “Don’t you set down on the steps/ ‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard./ Don’t you fall now” (repetition of “don’t”)
  • “For I’se still goin’, honey,/ I’se still climbin;” (repetition of “I’se”)
    • Repeated words connect the lines and therefore offer some rhythm to the story-like poem 

Stephen Crane, “The Heart”

TONE:

• Odd and unrealistic/fantastical tone: “I saw a creature, naked, bestial…Held his heart in his hands, and ate of it”
• Unrealistic themes point to a bigger theme being made of a story: “’Is it good, friend?’ “It is bitter—bitter…But I like it because it is bitter, and because it is my heart.’”
  • Seems as though author has something to say about hearts (what exactly is he trying to say? That hearts will always seem good to the beholder of them? That all hearts are bitter? It’s a creature he’s talking to but calls him his “friend”)

SYNTAX/DICTION:

• Very conventional word choice and diction:
  • “In the desert I saw a creature, naked, bestial, who, squatting upon the ground, held his heart in his hands, and ate of it”
    • A lot of punctuation (commas) but in order to make stanza one sentence?
    • Although the author is discussing a fantastical creature, we know exactly what he’s talking about
• Uses dialogue—seems odd in such a short poem (he could have just stated what he said)
  • Makes the characters more personable, relatable, understandable because words are coming from their mouths
• Calls creature his “friend”—is this to say that this issue of the heart (being always bitter but good to the beholder) applies to all people?
• Poem made up of only 2 stanzas, 3 sentences (very short) but author seems to get a lot across to the reader in such a short time (is this because of the dialogue or because he gets right to the chase?)

James Stephens, “The Wind”

STRUCTURE/SYNTAX:

• Very short and simple in structure:
  • 3 stanzas
  • Each stanza 2 short lines
  • Each line 8 syllables except 3^rd (7 syllables—why does he do this? Is this style intentional or was in coincidental that each like was 8 syllables except one?)
• Enjambment of lines and stanzas:
  • “The wind stood up and gave a shout./ He whistled on his fingers and/ (new stanza) Kicked the withered leaves about/ And thumped the branches with his hand”
• Two sentences- very repetitious:
  • “He whistled on his fingers and kicked the withered leaves about and thumped the branches with his hand and said he’d kill and kill and kill, and so he will and so he will”
    • Odd syntax
    • Repetition of “and” “kill” and “will”

TONE/DICTION:

• Personification of wind as a negative force: “thumped the branches with his hand and said he’d kill and kill and kill”
• Angry tone—deathly and dark
  • Angry word selection to push tone:
    • “gave a shout”
    • “kicked the withered leaves about”
    • “thumped the branches with his hand”
    • “he’d kill and kill and kill”
• Personifying wind but still employs wind imagery:
  • “He whistled on his fingers”à sounds humanlike and windlike
  • Makes the wind sound like a character, not a thing

Ronald Gross, “Yield”

STYLE/STRUCTURE/SYNTAX:

• VERY odd structure/syntax—doesn’t seem to have any strong structure or rhythm, instead seems like random words put together:
  • “Yield./ No Parking./ Unlawful to Pass./ Wait for Green Light./ Yield.”
  • Sounds like author just put together words he saw on the street
• Repetition of “yield”
  • Does this symbolize anything about yielding or is this just what the author saw? (poem entitled “Yield”)
• No sentences but periods: “Narrow Bridge.”
• Unconventional capitalization: “Merging Traffic Ahead”—is this because traffic signs are capitalized or because the author is trying to say something through his punctuation?
• Common theme throughout (traffic signs) but no apparent meaning, depth, etc.
• Appears very structured:
  • 3 stanzas:
    • 1^st- 5 lines—1^st line one word, 2^nd line 2 words, 3^rd line 3 words, 4^th line 4 lines, 5^th line one word
    • 2^nd- 4 lines- same pattern as the first stanza
    • 3^rd- 1 line 
    • The first and last line is always repeated: “Yield.”

TONE:

• Very light

• No real tone because reader gets no feeling from the words (feels like I’m reading a grocery list not a poem)
• Is this tone intentional? Are we supposed to find a meaning in the collection of words or is it supposed to be abrupt, meaningless and random?
• Very unconventional—I’ve never noticed this style/tone in any other poem (seems very modern) 

Langston Hughes, “Song for a Dark Girl”

REPETITION:

• One line repeated in first line of each stanza: “Way Down South in Dixie”
  • Highlights this as an important aspect of the poem (is this important to the poem because it highlights the southern setting? Is that important to what the author is trying to say?)
• Repetition of punctuation also—second line of every stanza is in parenthesis:
  • “(Break the heart of me)”
  • “(Bruised body high in air)”
  • “(Break the heart of me)”—this one is repeated from first stanza to third (once again, is Hughes highlighting this as an important theme to the poem?)
  • More emotion in parenthesis- gives us Hughes thoughts

SYNTAX/DICTION:

• Unconventional capitalization in first line: “Way Down South in Dixie”à first line made important via repetition, also through capitalization
• Lines in parenthesis seem unnecessary to sentences, but add to the tone of the poem: “Way Down South in Dixie (Break the heart of me) They hung my black lover To a cross roads tree”
  • Accentuates emotion in poem—Hughes seems to be telling a story through the poem but parenthesis add his own emotions
• Word choice very blunt: “They hung my black young lover/ To a cross roads tree”, “bruised body high in air”, “love in a naked shadow on a gnarled and naked tree”
• Interesting word choice and pairings of words- “I asked the white Lord Jesus”
  • A lot of color imagery and allusions:
    • “Love is a naked shadow”
    • “Black young lover”
  • Mentions of nakedness:
    • “Love is a naked shadow”
    • “On a gnarled and naked tree”
      • What does nakedness have to do with the poem? How does it help push the themes?

Lucille Clifton, “Homage to my hips”

REPETITION:

• “these hips are big hips…they don’t fit into little petty places, these hips are free hips”
• Repeats “these” as if accentuating that the hips are hers
• Repetition adds flare to the poem—shows right from the start what the meaning is and what is most important
• Gives somewhat of a rhythm (even though I don’t see a true rhythm in the poem in terms of syllables or rhyming)

SYNTAX/DICTION:

• Unconventional capitalization (no capitalization): “these hips are big hips”
• Sentences sound normal, but simple: “they don’t fit into little petty places, these hips are free hips. they don’t like to be held back”
• Word choice very powerful, strong and meaningful:
  • “these hips are mighty hips. these hips are magic hips. i have known them to put a spell on a man and spin him like a top!”
  • Very blunt but powerful language—calling her hops magic and mighty—but refreshing
• Alludes to outside themes (slavery? African American rights? Via “hips”)
  • “they don’t like to be held back. these hips have never been enslaved, they go where they want to go they do what they want to do”
  • This line seems to be alluding to female power over males (which it definitely does), but maybe also this theme of the power of African American women: “I have known them to put a spell on a man and spin him like a top!”

Carole Satyamurti, “I Shall Paint My Nails Red”

REPETITION:

• “Because” repeated in the front of each line as if the entire poem is giving the reader reasons why she paints her nails red
• Repetition of ideas also: proud to paint her nails because it means something bigger to her womanhood and her individuality:
  • “Because I am proud of my hands./ Because it will remind me I’m a woman./ Because I will look like a survivor.”
  • Poem has no set rhythm/rhyme so repetition of the first word gives it some structure and rhythm
• Also repetition of the fact that she wants to show that she isn’t scared to be who she is:
  • “Because my daughter will say ugh./ Because my lover will be surprised”
• Repeated themes seem to be located in chunks

SYNTAX/DICTION:

• Very simple and word choice: “Because it is reversible”à but causes reader to think about what she means and how to extend her words
• Written in free verse and very simply but reader takes her simple sentences and applies them to life and specifically the author’s life (causes us to wonder why she’s writing a poem like this)
• Demonstrates the subtle daringness of women and their desire to show their power
• Title gives action, poem gives motives- interesting set up
• Very casual tone of words, as if she’s telling us

TONE:

• Very simple and blunt yet prideful:
  • “Because it will remind me I’m a woman. Because I will look like a survivor.”
• Very easy to tell that author feels proud to be a woman and wants to show everyone her power as such (daughter, lover)
• Last line shows the lastingness and influence of her power: “Because it is reversible”
  • Leaves a hopeful tone for the reader 

“London”, William Blake

RHYMING/RHYTHM:

• Abab rhyme scheme:
  • “street”, “flow”, “meet”, “woe”
  • “man”, “fear”, “ban”, “hear”
• Very conventional rhyme scheme- can hear the rhyme and rhythm throughout
• Seems to be a rhythm too but cannot find it syllabically:
  • First stanza syllables by line: 8, 8, 8, 7
  • 2^nd: 8, 8, 8 (9 maybe? “Every”), 8
  • 3^rd: 7, 7, 7, 7
  • 4^th: 8, 7, 7, 8
  • All similar in length/syllables

SYNTAX/DICTION:

• Twisted to fit the rhyme scheme/rhythm:
  • “in every cry of every man, in every infant’s cry of fear, in every voice, in every ban, the mind-forged manacles I hear”
• Blake uses ambiguous words on purpose to give the poem deeper meaning than face value (does he do this because he can only fit so many words into the syntax/rhyme scheme/rhythm but wants to say more?)
  • i.e. “chartered” can mean limited/restricted or charters given to crown colonies by the King
• Very dynamic because words leave the reader wanting to know more about Blake’s walk through the town—stylistically important
• Words/phrases bring up bigger themes- “church appals”, “soldier’s sigh”
• Explodes a moment- walk through town made important and connected to bigger ideas
• Language seems old fashioned- “chartered” “blights” “Thames”
• Very gruesome/eerie imagery: every other line (lines 2 and 4, 6 and 8, 10 and 12) seem more gruesome than the others (is this because Blake wants to end each stanza with a gruesome thought?)
  • “In every infant’s cry of fear…The mind-forged manacles I hear”
  • “Every black’ning church appalls…Runs in the blood down palace walls”

SOUND ELEMENTS:

• Alliteration:
  • “mind-forged manacles”
  • “Marks of weakness, marks of woe”
  • “soldier’s sigh”
• These sound elements work with the harsh meanings of the words/themes presented to make a beautiful poem

Robert Bridges, “Triolet”

RHYMING/RHYTHM:

• In know this rhythm is a certain type but I can’t put my finger on it:
  • 8 lines
  • Lines 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 rhyme: “guess” “friendliness” “guess” “distress” “guess”
  • Lines 2, 6, 8 rhyme “master” “disaster” “master”
  • Just learned at the end of the poem that this style is called a triolet! (French style)
• Some internal slant rhyme too:
  • “When we first met we did not guess”
  • This line is repeated in line 4
• Rhyme scheme is definitely audible
• Very strict and obvious form of rhythm/rhyming

SYNTAX/DICTION:

• Sentences sound normal at first but definitely twisted to fit this style of poem:
  • “when we first met we did not guess that Love would prove so hard a master; of more than common friendliness when we first met we did not guess”
• Entire phrases or sentences repeated: “When we first met we did not guess” and “That Love would prove so hard a master”
  • Highlights important aspects of the poem- themes:
    • Unable to foresee the hardships of love that seem so easy on the outside but are so complicated
    • Love is so hard to “master”—deal with
• Sounds very forced into a style, not normal
• Portrays heavy themes: we couldn’t predict that love would be so hard to deal with, describes it as a “sore distress”
• The style seems lighthearted (like a limerick, almost) and is usually used as so (according to the book) but Bridges uses it to portray heavy themes
• This syntax illuminates what is important to the author and what the reader should be pulling out of it

Grace Treasone, “Life”

RHYME/RHYTM:

• Regular rhyme scheme-abab—very consistent throughout
• Regular end rhyme:
  • “heart” and “start”
• Slant end rhyme, also:
  • “tooth” and “root”
• Very regular sounding rhythm:
  • First line and third line (lines that slant rhyme) have 7 syllables
  • Second and fourth line (lines that rhyme) have 6 syllables
  • Can hear this rhythm when poem is read aloud
• Third line rhymes within itself:
  • “fix the tooth and save the root”à why does she do this in the structure?

LANGUAGE:

• Figurative:
  • “Life is like a jagged tooth/ that cuts into your heart;/ fix the tooth and save the root,/ and laughs, not tears, will start.”
• Entire poem is a simile- related life to a jagged tooth
• Very contemporary sounding—no old fashioned language
• Uses severe word choice to illustrate a strong comparison:
  • “jagged”, “cuts”, “root”, “tears”

SYNTAX:

• Surprisingly normal for such a short poem with such a strong structure
• Regularly punctuated, capitalized
• Sounds like could be spoken
• All one sentence: “Life is like a jagged tooth/ that cuts into your heart;/ fix the tooth and save the root,/ and laughs, not tears, will start.”

Paul Laurence Dunbar, “We Wear the Mask”

RHYMING/RHYTHM:

• I know there has to be some rhyme scheme (and this is probably a general form of poetry) but I can’t put my finger on what it is:
  • 1^st stanza: aa, bb, c
  • 2^nd stanza: aa b c
  • 3^rd stanza: aa bb a c
• Can hear definite rhyming throughout, sounds rhythmic
• Some rhythm:
  • Stanza 1:
    • First 4 lines 8 syllables, last line 9 syllables
  • Stanza 2:
    • First 3 lines 8 syllables, last line 4
  • Stanza 3:
    • First 5 lines 8 syllables, last line 4
• Don’t know what rhythm this is! But know it’s some kind! (I think I’ve heard it before)

LANGUAGE/DICTION:

• Old-fashioned sounding:
  • “O great Christ, our cries/ To thee from tortured souls arise”
• Repeated words:
  • “We wear” “We sing” “We smile” “We wear” “We wear”

SYNTAX:

• Twisted sentences to fit the rhyme:
  • “We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries/ To thee from tortured souls arise”
• Extended sentences, little punctuation in each stanza:
  • “We wear the mask that grins and lies,/ It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,–/ This debt we pay to human guile;/ With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,/ And mouth with myriad subtleties”

Arthur Guiterman, “On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness”

RHYME/RHYTHM:

• 4 stanzas, 2 lines each, each stanza has aa rhyme scheme:
  • “The tusks that clashed in mighty brawls/ Of mastodons, are billiard balls.”
• Each line has 8 syllables, definite rhythm
• Can hear rhythm when read aloud—very structured

LINES:

• Lines very similar in length, sound, rhyme
  • First line in each stanza is a bit longer than second:
    • “The sword of Charlemagne the Just/ Is ferric oxide, known as rust.”

LANGUAGE:

• Many proper nouns for such a short poem: “Charlemagne”, “Great Caesar”
• Odd word choice: “”The grizzly bear whose potent hug/ Was feared by all, is now a rug”
• Contemporary word choice, although alludes to older themes/nouns- “Charlemagne”, “Caesar”, “mastodons”—gives the poem an interesting tone

SYNTAX:

• Odd capitalization: “The sword of Charlemagne is Just”–> is Guiterman trying to accentuate this? Maybe capitalized because a title?
• Normal sounding sentences, although ideas are odd (not twisted around):
  • “The sword of Charlemagne the Just/ Is ferric oxide, known as rust.” 

15 September 2009

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “Break, Break, Break”

LINES

• Every other line is indented, making the poem appear very organized and structural
  • “Break, Break, Break/ (indented) On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!”
• Lines are generally the same length, although they vary in number of syllables
• The way the lines are organized makes the reader want to find a rhythm in it (count syllables, etc.) but I can’t seem to be able to
• Reads somewhat like Sir Thomas Whyatt’s “With serving still” but doesn’t carry the same syllabic rhythm
• Enjambment: “And the stately ships go on/ To their haven under the hill;”

LANGUAGE:

• Seems old fashioned: “thy” “O” “sailor lad” “thy crags, O Sea!”
• Capitalization of “Sea” makes it an important word, almost as if it’s a person

SYNTAX:

• Sentences seem twisted around to fit into some kind of meter: “And I would that my tongue could utter/ The thoughts that arise in me” (BUT WHERE IS THE RHYTHM?)
• First and last stanzas similar:
  • Begin with “Break, break, break”
  • End rhymes: “Sea” and “me”

RHYMING:

• Ab rhyme scheme: in each stanze, the 2^nd and 4^th line contain end rhymes:
  • “Sea” and “me”
  • “play!” and bay!”
  • “hill” and “still!”
  • “Sea” and “me”

OVERALL STRUCTURE:

• Poem reads very normally overall
• Rhyme scheme is very basic and the lines/stanzas are very orderly throughout

April Lindner, “Low Tide”

LINES:

• At first, it seems that there is a rhythm of syllables: lines 1-5 all contain 8 syllables:
  • “More tease than strip, the surf slips back/ and though the show runs twice a day” etc.
• But then lines get longer with syllables: “for all they might gather, periwinkles clustered” in the middle (lines 8 and 9 of 16)
• Get shorter again in the end: “At nightfall, the ride unfurls” (line 14)
• Is this on purpose? Does the author mean to use this structure?
• Definite enjambment throughout: “Our hands itch/ for all they might gather, periwinkles clustered/ on wet underledges, the rich nether tangle/ of rockweed and knotted wrack”
• No stanzas, 16 lines

SYNTAX/DICTION:

• The sentences are not completely simple in structure and subject matter but simple in words (only word I had to look up was undulates)
  • Is this on purpose? Maybe like Joyce—uses simple words to illustrate something bigger?
• Reads more like prose than poetry (minimal line breaks, normal punctuation, no stanzas, no rhyming)

LANGUAGE:

• Some figurative language: “Shallows webbed with gold/ ripple, then draw back to expose/ crinkles tender as the lines a bedsheet/ etches on skin”

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “The Eagle”

RHYMING:

• Two stanzas, three lines each, end rhymes throughout each stanza:
  • “hands”, “lands”, “stands”
  • “crawls”, “walls”, “falls”
• Sounds very rhyme oriented when read

RHYTHM:

• All six lines contain 8 syllables:
  • “He clasps the crag with crooked hands;/ Close to the sun in lonely lands,/ Ringed with the azure world, he stands.” Etc.

SYNTAX:

• A lot of punctuationà each stanza is one sentence long:
  • “The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;/ He watches from his mountain walls,/ And like a thunderbolt he falls.”
• Pretty normal sounding sentence structure—nothing too twisted or odd besides a lot of punctuation (makes each line like a statement about the subject)

LANGUAGE:

• Very simple—poem is old but language is not old fashioned
• Adds to the succinctness of the poem—short, structured, concise—so too are the words

SOUND ELEMENTS:

• Alliteration:
  • “clasps the crag with crooked”
  • “lonely lands”
  • “Ringed with the azure world” 

William Carlos Williams, “The Term”

SYNTAX:

• Very normal sounding syntax—sentence does not sound odd or written twisted:
  • “A rumpled sheet/of brown paper/about the length/and apparent bulk/of a man/was rolling with the/wind slowly over/and over in/the street…” (1-9)
• Sounds like it could be spoken normally if not for odd line breaks and stanzas

LINES:

• Very short and minimal
• 6 stanzas, 3 lines each
• Enjambment: “A rumpled sheet/ of brown paper/ about the length/ and apparent bulk…” (1-4)
• No clear reason for moving to next line or stanza besides similar lengths throughout (no progression of ideas from one line/stanza to another)

DICTION:

• Very simple word choice—author discusses a seemingly simple topic with simple words “brown paper bag” “like a man”, etc.
• Very contemporary sounding

LANGUAGE:

• Figurative, yet simple
• Entire poem is relating paper bag to a manà metaphor runs throughout

RHYMING:

• No rhyming whatsoever (internal, slant, end)

SOUND ELEMENTS:

• Some alliteration:
• “drove down”
• “it rose/again rolling”
• “slowly…in the street”

Sir Thomas Wyatt, “With serving still”

RHYMING:

• Definite end rhymes running throughout (ab ab)
  • “With serving still/ This have I won,/ For my goodwill/ To be undone”
• Rhythm also-each line has 4 syllables
• Can hear the rhythm when spoken aloud

LANGUAGE:

• Old-fashioned sounding—uses older words: “Lo” “Wherefore all ye”, “Thus for her sake”

SYNTAX:

• Sentences for the most part are twisted around to fit the rhythm or rhyme:
  • “Wherefore all ye/ That after shall/ By fortune be,/ As I am, thrall”

LINES:

• 5 stanzas, 4 lines in each
• Some enjambment: “And for reward/ Of all my smart/ Lo, thus unheard,/ I must depart!”
• All stanzas similar length because of constant rhythm/ rhyme scheme

James Joyce, “All day I hear”

SOUND ELEMENTS:

• Alliteration:
  • “Making moan”
  • “Sad as the sea-bird”
  • “…winds cry to the waters’”

RHYTHM:

• Very distinct rhythm throughout:
  • Every other line: 9 syllables
  • Every other line (besides those): 3 syllables
• Easy to hear when spoken/read
• Gives the poem a very structured sound

RHYMING:

• All long lines (every other line) have abab rhyme scheme 
  • “All day I hear the noise of waters” (1), “Sad as the sea-bird is, when going” (3), “He hears the winds cry to the waters’” (5), “The grey winds, the cold winds are blowing” (7)
• All short lines (every other line) rhyme
  • “Making moan” “Forth alone” “Monotone”—Slant rhyme or maybe new rhyme here (?) “Where I go” “Far Below” “To and fro”

DICTION:

• Get the feel that Joyce is talking about something bigger here, but diction seems simple enough
• Simple words to illustrate big idea (like Joyce often does!)

LANGUAGE:

• Figurative throughout:
• “Sad as the sea-bird is, when going”

Gerard Hanley Hopkins, “The Windhover”

LANGUAGE:

• Unusual language, very uncontemporary sounding
  • “I caught this morning morning’s minion, kind-/dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon” (1-2)
  • Gives an older sounding feel throughout with strong, old language

SYNTAX:

• Sentence structure is not usual—twisted
• “My heart in hiding/ Stirred for a bird,–the achieve of, mastery of the thing” (8)!
• Twisted to make rhymes fit

RHYMING:

• Rhymes throughout (fits in with old fashioned rhyming poetry)
• No internal rhymes, all end rhymes:
  • “king” “wing” “swing” “thing”____”riding” “striding” “gliding” “hiding”
  • All end rhymes in the same stanza
  • Not slant rhymes—perfect rhyming words (continues throughout poem)

E.E. Cummings, “anyone lived in a pretty how town”

RHYMING:

• Interesting rhyme scheme:
• 9 4-lined stanzas, first 4 and last 2:
  • End rhymes for first two lines:
    • “anyone lived in a pretty how town/ (with up so floating many bells down)” (1-2)
  • No end rhymes for last two lines:
    • “Spring summer autumn winter/ he sang his didn’t he danced his did” (3-4)
• Stanzas 5-7 loose end rhymes:
  • “someones married their everyones/ laughed their cryings and did their dance” (16-17)
• But end rhymes come back for last 2 stanzas

SYNTAX:

• Sentences do not completely make sense—not normal sounding
• Barely any punctuation (two periods)
  • “children guesses (but only a few/ and down they forgot as up they grew/ autumn winter spring summer)/ that noone loved him more by more” (9-12)

LINES:

• Line breaks down seem to be based off of rhythms or syllables (rhymes in the beginning) but thoughts aren’t complete in each line
• Similar length but only structure seems to be that lists (i.e. “Autumn winter spring summer” and “stars rain moon sun” ) stay in one line by themselves always
• Repeated lines throughout poem

Emily Dickinson, “I dwell in Possibility”

SYNTAX:

• Very punctuated but no periods
• Sentences are not proper—no periods, just dashes
  • “I dwell in Possibility–/A fairer House than Prose–/More numerous of Windows–/Superior—for Doors—“ (1-4)
• Oddly capitalized:
  • “Of Chambers as the Cedars–/Impregnable of Eye” (5-6)
  • For accentuation? Stress on certain words?

RHYMING:

• Slant rhymes every other line
  • “Prose” “doors”
  • “eye” “sky” (better rhyme)
  • “this” “paradise”

SOUND ELEMENTS:

• Some alliteration:
  • “I dwell in Possibility–/A fairer House than Prose” (1-2)
  • “Impregnable of Eye” (6)

SENTENCE STRUCTURE:

• Each stanza has 4 lines
• 1 line: 8 syllables, 1 line: 7 syllables, 2 lines: 6 syllables in every stanza
• Not in the same order (in fact every stanza has a different order of lines) but each stanza has 4 lines composed of these number of syllables