Eloquent Feelings and Safe Places Stephen Dunn 's poems makes sure to let the reader stop and think, and as a creative writing teacher he knows how to do just that. Winner of awards such as the “Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, “The James Wright Prize”,and the “Paterson Award for Sustained Literary Achievement”, his work “The Sacred”, published back in 1989, shows off his literary genius in normal experiences and captures the vehement thought in his writing that has captured many hearts of the readers. “The Sacred” speaks about what a student believes is his sacred space, and what it means to him. Dunn uses three core poetic devices to not only show that everyone needs an escape from reality, but also the herd mentality of youth when one has confidence. The nihilistic ending and the free form moderate style add to the ideals that Dunn tries to present and helps add a twist ending to the poem when you see the lack of desire for social interactions in the young man who was the first to speak up. The contrast between his outer presentation and his inside emotions are shown strongly between the first and second half, as if he only spoke up to “get it over with”. The enjambment that pushes through the whole poem create a string of consciousness feeling, as if a person in the class is slightly nervous to share his response. In the beginning of the poem, Dunn shows how much this student takes his
The poet’s role is to challenge the world the see around them.’ How far is this true for the poetry of Bruce Dawe? How (ie through what techniques) Does Dawe achieve this? Discuss a maximum of 2 poems.
When I think of a poet, images of scowling, mustached men whose 19th century wardrobe could use an update spring to mind—a somber Edgar Allen Poe type whose ink strokes inquire of unrequited love interests and dreary days alone in the snow. I certainly do not imagine modern, multi-ethnic women who live in the same state as me. However, as soon as I read Natasha Trethewey’s poetry, I immediately admired the way her words so effortlessly danced on the page, my mind’s eye watching the elegant choreography with each syllable read. Moreover, when I learned of her tragic history, and the strength and resilience she possessed to carry on, I could not help but to respect the way she turned pain into beautiful art. The right words carry great power
To some people, poetry may not seem to be very applicable or entertaining. Poetry is a way to express one’s feelings and ideas and to inspire its readers. To understand poetry and to get a sense of what the poet is trying to convey, one must analyze the poem to see why and how it is compelling to the reader. In her poem “Eagle Poem,” Joy Harjo appealingly writes about the spiritual connection to the circle of life and prayer. The poem “The Street” by Octavio Paz is about life and the choices one makes. In this poem, there is a deeper meaning presented through the theme of isolation, identity, and the choices one makes in life. The last poem to be analyzed is “Remember” by Joy Harjo which accentuates the importance of nature and where
Construct a close reading of this poem that demonstrates your awareness of the poet’s body of work.
BibliographyRomantic Writings: An Anthology, edited by W.R. Owens and Hamish Johnson (1998), The Open UniversityApproaching Poetry, Sue Asbee (2001), The Open UniversityRomantic Writings, edited by Stephen Bygrave (1996), The Open University
The poem suddenly becomes much darker in the last stanza and a Billy Collins explains how teachers, students or general readers of poetry ‘torture’ a poem by being what he believes is cruelly analytical. He says, “all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it”. Here, the poem is being personified yet again and this brings about an almost human connection between the reader and the poem. This use of personification is effective as it makes the
The books and reading materials we read and encounter can have an impact in our education and in who we are. This is because our ideas, beliefs, imaginations and way of thinking can change based off how we react to the material. In Julia Alvarez’s poem “On Not Shoplifting Louise Bogan’s The Blue Estuaries” the author uses various literary devices, such as tone, imagery and selection of detail to convey the speaker’s intriguing and suspenseful discoveries of her voice and her talents.
Ross Gay’s book Against Which, portrays his poetry to readers allowing them to gain understanding of the cruel world that one lives in. Moreover, the unusual brutalities that people are inevitable confronted with in life. The common denominators within Gay’s poems such as violence, love, fear, and loss allows the reader to visualize characters’ transformation within his poems. In a world of calamity, Gay has created poems that portray the corporal conforming to gender and sex but also human development. Using a reader-response criticism lens, I will be demonstrating my interpretation of Ross Gay’s poems and the meaning that I believe to be a common interpretation of his work. Within, Gay’s poems, “It Starts at Birth” and Angels Out of Reach” one is able to see a pattern of human transformation. By experiencing pain, love, loss, fear, and wisdom one is able to see Gay’s characters evolve through the narrators and readers gaze. In doing so, one is able to reflect on Gay’s poems and gain wisdom themselves.
In conclusion, every poet creates different style poems. This essay was for the reader to learn more about Daniel Halpern and to analyze 3 poems that he wrote called, Scars, The Storm, and Careless Perfection. Daniel Halpern has a unique way of writing poems that catches the
So we ask ourselves, how does poetry gain its power? To answer this question, we examine the work of poets Harwood and Plath. ‘The Glass Jar’, composed by Gwen Harwood portrays its message through the emotions of a young child, while the poem ‘Ariel’, written by Sylvia Plath, makes effective use of emotions to convey artistic creativity and inspiration.
Poetry has a role in society, not only to serve as part of the aesthetics or of the arts. It also gives us a view of what the society is in the context of when it was written and what the author is trying to express through words. The words as a tool in poetry may seem ordinary when used in ordinary circumstance. Yet, these words can hold more emotion and thought, however brief it was presented.
Throughout the poem, the speaker uses a reverent tone to communicate the sacredness of the places mentioned. His understanding of the situation filters through the calmness of the scene and is exhibited through neutral word choice. The most descriptive words are only used at the beginning. “Fidgeted,” “shrank,” and “serious” build up an intense mood, which dissipates when the mention of a car as a sacred place steps in. While other hiding places and rooms are mentioned, the car keeps coming back as a savior, the thing that frees the
It is the juxtaposition of this old, highly rigid, formulated, classical style with this very modern, personal subject matter that continues to intrigue readers of Robinson's works to this day. This next poem, considered by some to be Robinson's finest work, is a perfect example of this conflict of form and content, and how it melds to form Robinson's singular poetic style.
poem is not merely a static, decorative creation, but that it is an act of communication between the poet and
He transitions the tone of the poem from one of despair and hopelessness to one of encouragement which adds a realistic effect to the poem while still encouraging the reader. There is a thin line between being completely discouraging and being realistic; the speaker in the story seems to keep the perfect balance between these two lines. With the skillfully organized tone, the author helps the reader better understand the mood of the story as well as the difficult