Langston Hughes, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” Blog #12

I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
     flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln 
     went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy 
     bosom turn all golden in the sunset.
I’ve known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

     Throughout this poem the speaker is comparing rivers to himself and the world around him. They are all ancient and have lived throughout important history. All of these rivers I have heard about in my history classes which were important and since he's comparing it to himself I assume his culture is important to him. From the title I can tell there is African American culture and that the speaker wants to preserve this culture. It's been around for many years and will continue to, just like the rivers. He must really have a connection to rivers because of how natural and old they are. He imagines such great images of these rivers like the Mississippi river singing and turning into a golden color. 

     The last line he compares his soul to the rivers, the African American culture is very deep and he wants to keep those traditions. I believe it may also have something to do with slavery taking away from the African American culture. He wants to make sure it stays for years and years, he's keeping it together by making this connection between his soul and the rivers. As long as the rivers are alive so will the African American culture. 

William Carlos Williams, “This Is Just to Say” Blog #11

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

     I was surprised at how simple this poem was. It was so simple that it was challenging to find a meaning behind it. I kept reading this poem over and over again, but maybe I was looking for a meaning that was too deep. This poem could just simply be about a sweet mistake. The attitude of this poem is so nonchalant. The author is basically like "Yeah, I was hungry so I ate your plums, oh well, sorry." He doesn't show any kind of regret or sorrow for eating these plums that the person wanted for later on in the day. I know I would feel bad eating someone else's food, but this guy just doesn't really care. To me, his "forgive me" doesn't sound meaningful because he then goes on to explain why he ate them, because they must have looked delicious. 

     This poem is so different from the rest that I have read. It's actually kind of funny to me how much this guy doesn't seem to care. It's like eating someone's food and then texting them like "hey by the way I ate your food, sorry love ya". I can just imagine if this were a poem in this time period it probably would have been a text. 

Walt Whitman, “When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer” Blog #10

When I heard the learn’d astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,

Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

     I feel like I can really relate to this poem. The way I understand this poem is that

Whitman is sitting in a class, most likely a college class because it is a lecture and the person

speaking is an astronomer. Whitman just wants to see the stars, that is what he is most 

interested in, but the astronomer was just showing the class "diagrams, to add, divide, and 

measure them". He finds it boring that instead of seeing the stars and talking about stars 

that all he's seeing is mathematical work. 

     I feel like I can relate to this poem because I've found myself plenty of times being 

uninterested in what I am learning in class because we first have to learn the history or

 background behind the topic. For example, in physics sometimes I would find myself 

bored and uninterested but then when we got to the lab where we could actually see what 

was happening instead of doing theoretical equations for the events that happened I was 

more interested. 

     When Whitman finally left the lecture and felt relieved at looking at the stars is how I feel 

when we finally get to do a lab or when I get to leave a class and relax. It's good to relax and 

take a break and just get away from all the stress.

     This poem shows that leaving something for a little to make yourself feel better is okay. 

Putting down some work or letting go of the stress is something you need in life just like Walt 

Whitman left the class in order to make himself feel better.

Seamus Heaney, “The Forge” Blog #9

All I know is a door into the dark.

Outside, old axles and iron hoops rusting;

Inside, the hammered anvil’s short-pitched ring,

The unpredictable fantail of sparks

Or hiss when a new shoe toughens in water.

The anvil must be somewhere in the centre,

Horned as a unicorn, at one end and square,

Set there immoveable: an altar

Where he expends himself in shape and music. 

Sometimes, leather-aproned, hairs in his nose,

He leans out on the jamb, recalls a clatter

Of hoofs where traffic is flashing in rows;

Then grunts and goes in, with a slam and flick

To beat real iron out, to work the bellows. 

     This poem reminds me of medieval times because of the darkness and iron described in the beginning of this poem. Then I believe there is a shift after the eighth line. Heaney starts to talk about "he" in the lines after the eighth and that was confusing to me. I do not really know who that "he" is. But I'm guessing it is most likely a worker that works with the anvil. When I looked up the word "forge" in the title I saw that it meant someone who works with metal, so I guess that is who it is about. In the lines before the shift the setting is described as dark and words like hammer and tough are used. This has a relation to the worker and it seems to be masculinity. "He" is used with the words "grunts" and "slam" as well which represents strength and power. Something like an anvil is very sturdy and tough as well. 

     This poem might be saying that men are designed to do this type of work in that time era. Possibly that these types of jobs are more masculine and therefore only for men.
     When I compare those thoughts to today's world, it is totally different. Today, there are men and women who work in the same fields whether they are considered masculine or feminine jobs. Many women can work with metals, just like men could. A woman can easily be replaced in this poem just by adding "she" instead of "he" and I believe it would be of no shock in this time era, but back when "The Forge" was written it probably would have been abnormal and a huge deal. 

Shelley, “Ozymandias” Reflection Blog #8

    From the title of this poem I guessed that it meant a name. Other than that I did not know what else it could mean, I never saw a word like that before so I didn't know what to think about it other than it being a name and most likely in a different language other than English. 
     When I began to read this poem I connected it to history. This poem was like a small little story that told about Shelley talking to a traveler. The traveler was in a place filled with sand, a desert and saw something standing in that desert. As I read on it was mentioned that it was a statue and from the word antique mentioned in the first line that the traveler came from a place that was antique I figured that this statue was old and crumbled. Though it was old, you could still tell that it expressed a lot of emotion according to this line "Tell that its sculptor well those passions read".
     By the end of this poem I knew the statue was a King and must have had some importance. What I got from this poem was that though something may be old and crumbling it can still stand tall and represent power if it is strong enough. This statue was of an old King in a desert with nothing else around it, but must have meant something to the traveler the traveler was talking about it. It must have been interesting. It reminds me of visiting an old historical land mark and wondering about the background of a sculpture or figure and trying to figure out its significance to the place it is in and to the people who built it. Usually sculptures of people are built to represent some sort of importance that that person held and to remember them for years to come. This specific one of "Ozymandias" must have held great power and importance if it is still standing. 

Phillis Wheatley, “On Being Brought from Africa to America”

     While reading this poem I had to look up several words. I had to look up the words pagan, benighted, redemption, sable, & refin'd. This poem was a little challenging for me because I had to keep looking up what these words meant and trying to fit them in with the poem so I could actually understand it. Once I gathered all of this information together I could then understand what the poem meant.
     I knew this poem was about African American struggles by the title and from the word "sable" as well as "Negros" being mentioned and also from the overall author, Phillis Wheatley who was an enslaved African American herself.
     All together I got from the poem that Wheatley is trying to tell readers that religion saved her. She talks about her Pagan land which has to do with religion and also about Christianity in the second to last line in the poem. She explains that mercy brought her from Africa to American, hence the title. Then that being in American she learned about God and religion. She then goes to say that even though her race is not viewed in a good way she can still be saved with religion.
     Christianity has basically brought something good within her life and out of her long journey she found something she can hold on to. She is able to have something of her own, which has made her feel a lot better about her life and gives her life purpose.

"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden

    This poem is very confusing with how it is broken up in each stanza. You have to read this poem how it is with the commas and not by how it ends at each line. The end of each line isn't really where the end of the sentence is. I found the attitude of this poem to be pretty laid back and cool toned. I think the last two lines is what interested me the most in this poem. They read, “What did I know, what did I know of love’s austere and lonely offices?” It makes me question why Hayden repeated “what did I know”. I believe it may be because he is really trying to figure out why his father is so strict. He questions and is not sure if it is because he loves him. This poem is about Hayden’s father and how he did a lot even though no one thanked him and he struggled physically sometimes. Hayden is saying how love is so strict and actually causes him to be lonely, the way his father expresses his love is the reason why he feels this way towards love. I feel like the author of this poem is depressed and unhappy with his life. He seems emotional and like he doesn’t have a good connection with his father. This poem just gives off a very emotional vibe once it comes to the last two lines and I actually like how it leaves off in that way. I like how it starts of simple by describing his father and his duties then ends on his own thoughts.

Linda Pastan, “Pass/Fail” Reflection

I felt that this poem was very powerful and really spoke to me..just not at first. At first the poem seemed to have a negative connotation because the poem literally says “You will never graduate from this dream of blue books.” That is the first line in this poem and I took that as the poem telling me that I will never succeed. As I continued reading the poem I realized it said that the poem was telling me that I can succeed while awake, but that I may not while I am asleep. After this, I analyzed the poem more in depth and found that what Pastan was trying to say is that everyone has dreams and these dreams may not be realistic and set up harsh situations. I also thought about it meaning that you can’t always learn from books, the real world can teach you just as much as you learn in books and that learning never stops. Even once you reach success you’re still learning and still have a lot more to learn.

After analyzing I now see that this poem actually is not negative, but motivational and moving. Though we may build dreams up for ourselves that are too difficult to pass we can still keep learning and reaching for success, since it really never ends. This poem makes me want to reach for my dreams, not run away from them because of how difficult they seem. In real life there are limits, but in your dreams there are none. That does not mean you can’t still have it in mind, so I believe this poem is great for motivation.

"We Real Cool" Poem Reflection

     The poem "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks is very short, but it is easy to understand and it really brings out the personality of the author. I can tell that this poem is true and reflects the experiences Brooks most likely had while growing up going to school. While going through the list of poems, I saw the title of this one and it drew me in. I picked it because I could tell from the language that it would be an old African-American cultured poem, most likely from around the jazz era. It reminds me of the same language that was used in the short story we read "Miss Moore". I really love the realness of this poem and it is relatable to teens. It shows rebellion and curiosity and carelessness that a lot of teens display. The last line says "We Die Soon." and to me, that really shows how careless teens were and they pretty much just wanted to have fun. Back in those days they just had fun and lived life. I really loved how short, simple, to the point, and real this poem was. 

"Mirror" poem reflection

     When I initially read the poem "Mirror"  by Sylvia Plath I was confused with what the main theme of the poem was. The language of the poem was pretty modern and easy to understand, so I liked that aspect of it. When I went through it a second time and used the TPCASTT chart ti analyze the poem better then I could understand the theme. When I paraphrased each line of the poem, I started to understand the meaning better and realize that this poem was about growing old. The theme that I got from Plath's poem was that it is inevitable to grow old, even if you try to lie and convince yourself you still look young regardless you are still growing older each and every day. Also, when I read this poem a second time I interpreted the title better and figured out that the word "mirror" did not just refer to an actual mirror, but anything that shows a true reflection of an image. The lake in this poem was used to reflect the woman's aging face, so it was considered a mirror because it was mirroring her image. I found that after close reading it helped my understanding a lot better for when I answered the questions.

     When I got to answering the questions, for me it was more difficult answering the form and structure questions. Asking about the shifts in the poem and also specific words. One of the questions asked what the antecedents of the pronoun "us" in line 9 were and I did not quite understand that question. I feel like I need more practice in word analysis and grammar.

     Some questions that I did understand were questions more along the lines of theme and what the poem meant as a whole. I've had a lot of practice in that area so I feel more confident in those type of questions.