The Poetry Pundit

"On the Sonnet" by John Keats: Summary

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 21:08:00 +0000

"On the Sonnet"

Author: John Keats

Written: 1819

Published: 1848

Poem in a nutshell: "If you're going to write a poem, write a sonnet or nothing at all."

Andromeda chained to the rocks as a sacrifice

Original Text:

If by dull rhymes our English must be chained,

And, like Andromeda, the Sonnet sweet

Fettered, in spite of pained loveliness;

Let us find out if we must be constrained,

Sandals more interwoven and complete

To fit the naked foot of poesy;

Let us inspect the lyre, and weigh the stress

Of every chord, and see what may be gained

By ear industrious, and attention meet;

Misers of sound and syllable no less

Than Midas of his coinage, let us be

Jealous of dead leaves in the bay-wreath crown;

So if we may no let the Muse be free,

She will be bound with garlands of her own.

Summary:

Essentially, the speaker of the text states that sonnets are the most superior form of poesy in the art. It is through the crafting of a sonnet that a poet shows his or her true skill, and if you can create a powerful, beautiful sonnet, then you get "bay-wreath" or laurel crown -- the prize. Historically, laurel crowns were awarded to poets of immense skill in small competitions.

"The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" : Translation, Summary, and Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 21:41:00 +0000

Title: "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner"
Author: Randall Jarrell
Published: 1945
Themes:
-War
-The Apathy of the State

Poem in a nutshell: A dead soldier narrating his tragic death.

Image of gunner cramped in a ball turret.

Original Text:

From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Note from author Randall Jarrell:

"A ball turret was a Plexiglas sphere set into the belly of a B-17 or B-24, and inhabited by two .50 caliber machine-guns and one man, a short small man. When this gunner tracked with his machine guns a fighter attacking his bomber from below, he revolved with the turret; hunched upside-down in his little sphere, he looked like the foetus in the womb. The fighters which attacked him were armed with cannon firing explosive shells. The hose was a steam hose."

_________________________________________________________________________________

Summary:

One of the most important elements of the poem is the publication date, 1945 C.E. The date should look familiar since it is significant of the period in which World War II was fought. Thus, the reader can surmise that the setting for the poem will be related to the events surrounding WWII--and it is: a battlefield.

The speaker, a dead gunner pilot, recounts his final battle through a series of disturbing images, including birth, war, and well....death.

Due to the poem's difficulty in ascertaining a literal translation, the analysis of the poem will be broken down line by line below.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Analysis:

Line One

From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,

The word "mother" suggests not only a womb or a safe place but it also serves as a loaded metaphor for the speaker's mother, the universal mother, and Mother Earth, in a sense. The first half of the first line creates a touching scene: a mother and her son. And, from this scene, there is as sense of childlike innocence--until the child falls into the "State."

Notice that the word "State" is capital, implying a sense of menace, and this creates a stark contrast between the previous image of the nurturing mother.

Also, although the image of "mother's sleep" may seem peaceful, it may also be suggestive of parental negligence.
A more literal interpretation of the line might be that the speaker chose to enlist in the army during a moment of parental negligence.

The phrase "I fell" is indicative of the Fall of Man or Original Sin.

Line Two

And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.

Unlike the mother's womb which is warm and inviting, the State is a cold and harsh environment; thus we have the term "freezing."

The phrase "wet fur" is indicative of animal imagery which is connotative of innocence, primal nature, and birth.

Lines One and Two: Summary

From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.

The first two lines of the poem literally describe the gunner's cramped position in the ball turret. Metaphorically, the speaker details his fall from warm, childlike innocence to that of cold violence and war.

Line Three

Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,

The phrase "Six miles from earth" alerts the reader to the fact that the gunner is at a very high altitude. The speaker's life before the war feels like a "dream."

Thus, in the air, the gunner undergoes a sort of fragmented reality.
It is important to note that the line, speaking of dreams, is has a mysterious, dream-like quality to it.

Line Four

I woke to black *flak and the nightmare fighters.

As the speaker snaps back into reality, he describes his existence in the ball turret as a "nightmare."

*Flak is antiaircraft fire.

Lines Three and Four: Summary

Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.

Literally, the gunner is up in the air in the midst of antiaircraft fire fighting for his life.
Notice the contrasting language and imagery between the two lines.

The first line juxtaposes "life" with "dream" while the second line indicates that reality is death.

Line 5

When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

This last line of the poem is almost an inversion of the first. Where the first line of the poem contained imagery of birth, the final line illustrates an image of abortion.
The gunner is dead and his remains are cleaned out of the turret with a hose.

Note that the gunner was originally born of his mother but this last line indicates his rebirth from the State. However, the gunner's rebirth is equal to non-existence. It's infertile. Thus, the nation or the State breeds death.

Like an aborted fetus, the gunner's life is cut short.

The speaker's blatant, harsh depiction of his death lies in direct contrast to the image of the "heroic death" that the State perpetuates.

In essence, there is nothing glorious, dignified, or romantic about a soldier's death.

For more information on this poem, I would recommend visiting the following site:

Schmoops "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner"

If you have any feedback, questions, or comments, please let them below in the comment box!

"We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks: Summary and Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 15:44:00 +0000

Title: "We Real Cool"
Author: Gwendolyn Brooks
Published: 1961
Themes: Urban Hopelessness

The Black Panther Party

Original Text	Analytic notes
We real cool. We Left school. We	The fact that the speaker or speakers are in school implies that they are young.
Lurk late. We Strike straight. We	They are so young, they can’t do anything except play pool, so they brag about it.
Sing sin. We Thin gin. We	Singing about sin hearkens back to Chattel Slavery in America where African slaves would lament about their sorrows through song. This suggests that post-slavery America is little better than before (for the Black community).
Jazz June. We Die soon.	There is a juxtaposition between June and Die. In the literary world and historically, the month of June represents life and rebirth. It is interesting that the writer would pair June, then, with this concept of death, suggesting that life and death for Black youth are closely linked. The line “We Die soon” emphasizes the close relationship of the speakers, indicating that they all regularly hang out.

Analysis/Notes:

The poem was published in 1960.

The poem evokes a sense of urban hopelessness as it is set during a time of radical change. (Circa Civil Rights Era)

The slang of the poem constitutes a deliberate drop in diction, signifying youth.

"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas: Translation, Summary, and Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 15:05:00 +0000

Title: "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night"
Author: Dylan Thomas
Published: 1952
Theme(s): A celebration of the human spirit

Poem in a nutshell: "Don't go down without a fight!"

Braveheart battle scene

Original Text	Modern English Translation
Do not go gentle into that good night, (a) Old age should burn and rave close at day; (b) Rage, rage against the dying of the light (a)	Don’t give in without a fight, Old people on their deathbed should resist, Fight, fight against death.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,(a) Because their words had forked no lightning they(b) Do not got go gentle into that good night. (a)	Though wise men know that death is inevitable, Because their life’s work have not left the significant impact that they desired, they do not accept death.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.	Good men, as they approach death, lament at how great their deeds could have been if they had lived longer, and thus they resist death.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night.	Adventurous, bold men, who captured the world around them only to later realize that the world they loved was slowly dissolving, they fight against the concept of death.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light,	Serious men, dying, realize that even old, blind men have a say in how they die, so they refuse to submit complacently to death.
And you, my father, there on the sad height, (a) Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.(b) Do not go gentle into that good night. (a) Rage, rage against the dying of the light. (a)	And you, my father, on the brink of death, Cry now, passionately, for it will be both a blessing and a curse to me, and I beg you do not submit to death--fight, fight against it.

Note about the author of the poem:

Dylan Thomas wrote this poem in May 1951 during his father's last days, who was suffering for a painful and prolonged illness.

Summary:

In essence, the speaker of the poem suggests that people, at the end of their days, should resist death as much as they possibly can. Even though death is an inevitable part of life, the speaker even goes so far as to argue that old people should leave this world like a warrior, battling against death and furious that they must die. For, even if death is inevitable, people still have a say in how they die: with dignity and defiance.

Stanza One:

The speaker states that everyone should resist death and that old people should go out of this world kicking and screaming.

Stanza Two:

The speaker gets into specifics. He argues that even though the cleverest of men know the simple truth that death is imminent, they will resist the notion, wanting to live a little longer in order to complete their research and impart their knowledge. (They want to know that their life's work had a significant impact, that it had meaning).

Stanza Three:

Good men will resist death, reasoning that if they had more time on Earth, they could do bigger, better deeds.

Stanza Four:

Bold men, who had many adventures in life, will resist death by nature. They are not ready to give up their life of epic discovery.

Stanza Five:

Old men--serious, blind, and near death--will not submit willingly to death, knowing that, even on their death bed, they have the power to decide how they can die.

Stanza Six:

The speaker, an extension of Thomas, begs his father not to give into to death--to keep fighting and go out like a warrior: defiant, heroic, and dignified.

Analysis:

Dylan Thomas's poem is a villanelle:

Villanelle was a form of Italian part-song, originating from Naples in the 16th century.
In poetry, it is a 19 line poem consisting of five tercets (five stanzas of three lines) and one quatrain (one stanza of four lines), with the first and third lines of the opening tercet recurring alternatively at the end of the other tercets and with both repeated at the close of the concluding quatrain.

So, we see that the the lines "Do not go gentle into that good night" (the first line of the first tercet) and "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (seen as the last line of the first tercet) are repeated throughout the poem. (**See above for the pattern).

The poem has a distinct form and rhyme scheme:

Villanelle
aba (for the five tercets) , abaa (for the last quatrain) **see poem above

Imagery:

Stanza two has imagery of failure.
Stanzas three and four's imagery suggest that humans are fallible.
Stanza five and six, as previously stated above, indicate that there may not be much choice in death, but there is the choice to fight and there is something innately heroic about facing death with a sense of dignity.

For more information on this poem, please visit the following links:

Schmoop

Schmoop has a wealth of information on the poem and clearly presents the reasons why "Do Not Go Gentle" is a prime example of a villanelle!

"London" by William Blake : Translation, Summary, and Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 02:24:00 +0000

Title: "London"
Author: William Blake
Written: 1794 CE
Themes:
-hypocrisy, infidelity
-commentary of prostitution
-commentary on the shunning of women

Poem in a nutshell: "I walked the streets of London one night and saw misery all around"

William Blake

Original Text

Modern English Translation

I wander thro' each charter'd street,

Near where the charter'd Thames does flow,

A mark in every face I meet

Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every Man,

In every Infants cry of fear,

In every voice; in every ban,

The mind-forg'd manacles I hear.

How the Chimney-sweepers cry

Every blackening Church appalls;

And the hapless Soldiers sigh

Runs in blood down Palace walls.

But most thro' midnight streets I hear

How the youthful Harlots curse

Blasts the new-born Infants tear,

And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse

I stroll through each street,

near the Thames river, and I found expressions of pain and misery on every face that I saw.

In every man's woeful cry,

In every child’s cry of fear,

In every voice,

I hear the self-inflicted restraints of the people.

How the chimney-sweepers cry,

their soot blackening the church walls,

And the dying soldier’s blood runs down the walls of the elite.

But especially during the midnight hours, in the red district, I hear prostitutes cursing their newborn babies

And destruction of marriage.

SUMMARY

Stanza One:

In the first stanza, the speaker is walking through the streets of London, and, everywhere he turns, he sees the downtrodden faces of the poor. They look weak, tired, unhappy, and defeated.

Stanza Two:

In the second stanza, as the speaker continues his travels, he hears the people's voice everywhere. He hears the same pain and suffering in the cry of an infant to that of a grown man. To him, the people and their minds are not free. They are restrained or "manacled" by their various situations--mostly economical. (***Notice the acrostic HEAR in stanza III).

Stanza Three:

In the third stanza, the speaker reflects on and emphasizes how the wealthy or the elite take advantage of the poor. During Blake's time, much money went into the church while children were dying from poverty. Forced to sweep chimneys, the soot from the children's efforts would blacken the walls of the white church. This image symbolizes not only the Church's hypocrisy but the Christian religion (according to Blake).

Furthermore, during the time frame of the poem, the wealthy/elite/royals were considered responsible for the wars that broke out, resulting in the death of many innocents and soldiers. Because of this, many women were widowed, and, without some one to support them, many families starved. (Remember that women were not in a position to gain many respectable jobs during this era.) Thus, the unfortunate solider's blood is on the hands of the wealthy.

Stanza Four:

In the last stanza, midnight streets is a direct reference to prostitution and the red district. Here, the speaker ruminates on how the young prostitutes' curse--referring to both profanity and her child out of wedlock--their children. Also, the oxymoron of "marriage" (to join) and "hearse" (to depart) suggests the destruction of marriage. Here, men are using prostitutes (who are more than likely children doing a dirty job out of necessity), impregnating them, and then possibly spreading diseases to their wives--thus "marriage hearse." This last stanza drives home the theme of society's moral decay.

What are your thoughts on the poem?

"I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed" by Edna St. Vincent Millay: Translation and Summary

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 23:26:00 +0000

Title: "I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed"
Author: Edna St. Vincent Millay
Written: 1923 C.E.

Poem in a nutshell: "Dude, it was a one-night stand--get over it!"
Themes: Societal Double Standards, Women's Equality

Edna St. Vincent Millay. Winner of Pulitzer Prize 1923.

Original Text

Modern English Translation

I, being born a woman and distressed

By all the needs and notions of my kind,

Am urged by your propinquity to find

Your person fair, and feel a certain zest

To bear your body's weight upon my breast:

So subtly is the fume of life designed,

To clarify the pulse and cloud the mind,

And leave me once again undone, possessed.

Think not for this, however, the poor treason

Of my stout blood against my staggering brain,

I shall remember you with love, or season

My scorn with pity, -- let me make it plain:

I find this frenzy insufficient reason

For conversation when we meet again.

I, having been born a fragile and delicate woman, with all of the trivial wants and needs of my sex, am excited by your proximity and find you deeply attractive. I yearn to feel your naked body against mine: So subtle is the aura of sexual attraction that it quickens the heartbeat and clouds the mind with lust, leaving me in a state of confused passion.

But do not think that this one time where my desires overpowered my better judgement that I will give into you again--either out of lust or pity. Let me be clear: the physical passion that I felt during our encounter is not reason enough to form any kind of relationship much less deal with you in the future.

Summary:

In the first line of the poem, the speaker tone is sarcastic. With an almost sardonic mirth, the speaker states that she is a woman by birth rather than choice and that she is also troubled. She is also playing up society's belief (at the time) of woman's fragility and triviality. In lines three and four, the reader learns that the speaker is distressed due to the fact that she is attracted to a man near her but she is expected by society to act "as a lady."

Naturally, she has an urge to admire his features and experience a strong physical desire to have sex with him (lines 4-5). Her lust overpowers her better judgement, and, in a moment and weakness and lost inhibitions, she loses her self-control and makes love to the man (lines 6-8). Even though the woman's temptation triumphs over her rationality this time, the speakers says that the man has no reason to believe that she will ever give into him again; she does not love him (lines 9-12).

In the last two lines, the speaker makes it clear that their passionate tryst was simply a one-night stand and not reason enough to engage in any kind of relationship thereafter.

Leda and the Swan: Translation and Summary

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 14:46:00 +0000

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and prominent figure of the 20th century who heavily focused on the Romantic as well as mythology. As such, one of his most famous poems, often taught in high school and college, is the graphic "Leda and the Swan." The poem has gained much controversy as it depicts the brutal rape of Leda by Zeus in a very ambiguous manner. Before we get started on the poem, let's look at some of the background info:

Author: William Butler Yeats
Written: 1924 C.E.
Published by: the Dial

Poem in a nutshell: "Zeus, in the form of a giant swan, rapes Princess Leda; as a result, their daughter Helen becomes the catalyst for the Trojan War."

Original Text

Modern English Translation

A sudden blow: the great wings beating still

Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed

By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,

He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.

How can those terrified vague fingers push

The feathered glory from her loosening thighs?

And how can body, laid in that white rush,

But feel the strange heart beating where it lies?

A shudder in the loins engenders there

The broken wall, the burning roof and tower

And Agamemnon dead.

Being so caught up,

So mastered by the brute blood of the air,

Did she put on his knowledge with his power

Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?

The swan delivers a sudden blow to Leda’s head as he hovers in the air above her. He looms over, his webbed feet pinning her thighs as he captures her neck in his bill. He holds her helpless, quivering body to his.

How can Leda’s terrified, confused fingers push the swan’s manhood away from her spreading thighs? And how, in all of this horror, could Leda help but feel and focus on the strange beating heart of the swan?

The swan’s orgasm begets the Trojan War which results in the death of Agamemmnon.

So enraptured and overpowered by her assailant, did Leda know that this swan was a god? Did Zeus, before coldly releasing Leda, know that their future daughter would start the Trojan War.

Summary

Stanza I: In the first stanza, Zeus (the King of the Greek Gods, Lord of Thunder and Lightning) strikes Leda, making her stagger and stumble. The reader is not given the specifics of the brute blow, such as where he hits her, but it is clear that the blow was enough to unbalance her. (Also, please note that Yeats never specifies the two subjects of his poem as Zeus or Leda. They, in fact, remain unnamed). As Leda attempts to gather her bearings, the swan takes this opportunity to pin Leda's legs with his feet and capture her neck in his bill.

Stanza II: In the second stanza, Yeats makes it clear that Zeus, in swan form, means to ravage Leda. For, the narrator questions how Leda, weak in comparison to her assailant and terrified, can push away the swan's "feathered glory" (penis) as he forcefully pries open her legs. In addition, the narrator questions how Leda, despite her situation, can focus on and appreciate the swan's beating heart.

Stanza III: In the third stanza, the reader learns that the swan does, in fact, manage to ravage Leda as he orgasms. In doing so, Zeus impregnates Leda. And, as some of you may or may not know, Leda and Zeus's daughter will be the infamous Helen of Troy--the face that launched a thousand ships. The narrator suggests that Zeus's violent sexual encounter with Leda was really the beginning of the Trojan War and the act that sealed Agammemnon's fate. (Agammemnon was killed by Clytemnestra, Leda's daughter by another man and Helen's half-sister).

Stanza IV: In the last stanza, the speaker wonders if Leda knew that she was being ravaged by a god. (There is also a question if Zeus knew that this act would be the indirect cause of the Trojan War.) However, the speaker notes that Leda did not have too much time to ponder on things as Zeus coldly and indifferently drops her/releases her after he has had his way with her.

For more information and in-depth analyses, please visit:

Leda and the Swan summary

Leda and the Swan: Shmoop Poetry Guide

Please feel free to leave your own opinions or analyses of the poem below!

Simile, Metaphor, and Personification

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:30:00 +0000

You will be hard pressed to find a poem that does not contain either simile, metaphor, or personification. In fact, you might just find all three. It's actually more common than you might think. One of the reasons for this is that these literary devices help the fluidity of a poem, making it flow easily and sound melodic. Another reason for the usage of these devices is that, whether we like it or not, we generally tend to use them without even thinking. Yet, for beginners, identifying the differences between the three can be quite a challenge. Let's take a look:

Simile

A simile is a comparison between two unlike objects using the words "like" or "as."
For example:

Her eyes are like diamonds.

In this example, eyes are being compared to diamonds--two very unlike things. However, by bridging the two nouns together with "like," the sentence suggests that a woman's eyes resemble two beautiful, sparkling diamonds.

Metaphor

A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike objects WITHOUT using the words "like" or "as."

For example:

He was a lion in battle.

In this example, we aren't saying that this warrior was like a lion. No, he was a lion (figuratively speaking). Using metaphors can strengthen a comparison. In this sentence, the ferocity of the subject is heightened through the usage of metaphor. To turn the sentence into a simile, you could say, "He was like a lion in battle" or "He was a fierce as a lion in battle".

Personification

Personification is when an inanimate object (or objects) are given human like qualities. For example:

The leaves danced in the wind.

In reality, leaves cannot dance; however, humans can. By using personification in this sentence, the line suggests that the leaves were blowing in the wind with all the grace and delicacy of a dancer, making it a beautiful sight.

A Glossary of Literary Terms ( (Google Affiliate Ad)

Guide to Literary Terms, the ( (Google Affiliate Ad)

Any questions? Please feel free to drop a message below or in my inbox!

Cross: Summary and Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:38:00 +0000

"Cross" by Langston Hughes: Summary and Analysis

Author: Langston Hughes
Date: Written and Published in 1926
Poem in a nutshell: "I'm both White and Black; yet I am neither. I don't belong."

Original Text	Modern Engish Translation
My old man's a white old man And my old mother's black. If ever I cursed my white old man I take my curses back. If ever I cursed my black old mother And wished she were in hell, I'm sorry for that evil wish And now I wish her well My old man died in a fine big house. My ma died in a shack. I wonder where I'm going to die, Being neither white nor black?	My father’s white And my mother is black. If I ever wished my father ill, I take it back. If I ever cursed my mother and wished she Would go to Hell, I’m sorry for that I did so. Now, all I wish is that she were well. My rich white father died in a nice big house, And my poor old mother died in a shack. I wonder where I am going to die, Since I’m not accepted as white or black?

For me, this is the best poem that I have ever read. In fact, it is my favorite poem (and you read a lot of poems when you're an English major!). What makes this poem so intoxicating is the fact that it's simplicity is an illusion. To the untrained eye, the poem may seem both short and simple, but I assure you that the latter assertion is false. The poem is anything but simple.

It is rich is meaning--encompassing a plethora of connotations and duality.

Summary

The narrator of the poem is a young mulatto, expressing his frustration at being both black and white but never fully belonging to either of the two races. He is not accepted by blacks because he is half white, and he is shunned by whites because he is half black. The historical significance of this is that, during the 1920s (in the U.S.), the cultural and racial segregation of African Americans and Caucasians were very defined and apparent. As such, the narrator is stuck in a sort of purgatory/gray area/limbo, for he is deprived of the chance to be immersed in either race due to racial pride. Thus, he is left in a state of confusion, suffering an identity crisis. He has no one with which he can identify.

As the narrator matures, he realizes that he can't blame or hate his parents for who he is. It doesn't make any sense. At the end of the day, he'll still be who he is, so why hate?

The last stanza emphasizes the poverty of the Blacks versus the wealth of the Whites during this time period. For, the narrator says that his father died in a big house while his mother died in a shack. He still doesn't know how to categorize himself in terms of identity, but he accepts the issue as it is. Once he decides which path to lead--life as a black man or life as a white man--then he'll know where he'll die.

Analysis:

Connotation

Connotation, in literary terms, describes the association that are attached to certain words. For example, the word "gun" has a negative connotation. Instead of associating guns with a positive thing like "protection," most people associate the word "gun" with death, blood, murder, etc. Connotation is what separates two identical words. So, we all know that "house" and "home" are both places of dwelling and their definitions are almost entirely identical. However, what separates the two words are their meanings. When you say "house," it is impersonal and objective, but when you say "home," we associate things like family, warmth, safety, with it. Get it?

In "Cross," the word cross has many connotations. It can mean practically anything. Although it is not directly written in the poem, the word encompasses the entire essence of the poem.

The young narrator of the poem is:

-multiracial, multicultural, mulatto, cross-breed.

-His hybridity is a burden--a cross to bear. This brings about the image of the crucifix, making the narrator or subject of the poem somewhat of a Jesus figure. For, like Jesus, he suffers from constant persecution.

-He is at a cross-roads. Which world does he fit into: white or black?

-He makes a crossover from his previous emotions. At first, the narrator admits that he was angry or cross at both of his parents, but, he later lets go of that hatred and forgives them both.

Who is the Poem Really About?

Some critics argue that the poem is about Mr. Hughe's ethnic roots, reflecting the life of African Americans during the 1920s. The stark poverty of the black population in comparison to the white community showcases the intensity of the racial tensions of the time as well as the injustice of the persecution of blacks.

On the other hand, some literary scholars insist that the poem may be a commentary of the slavery and the long lasting effects that it may have on future generations. As we well know, white slave owners often took advantage of their black female slaves, resulting in mulatto children. Thus, the narrator could easily be the child of a former slave.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides4/cross.html
http://www.eliteskills.com/c/5294
http://rahmadpoertyassignment.blogspot.com/2008/03/cross-analysis.html

What are your thoughts on the poem?

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Fun Fact About Your Favorite Authors

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 May 2013 17:08:00 +0000

Here is a complilation of fun facts about literature taken from the website "Literature Fun Facts" (http://www.bestfunfacts.com/literature.html):

Jane Austen

Jealousy

July 1814, when Sir Walter Scott’s first novel Waverly was published, Jane Austen was a bit jealous. She wrote the following in a letter to her niece:

“Walter Scott has no business to write novels, especially good ones.—It is not fair.—He has fame and profit enough as a poet, and should not be taking the bread out of other people’s mouths.—I do not like him, and do not mean to like Waverly if I can help it—but fear I must.”

Ironically, today Jane Austen is a much more popular author than her contemporary Sir Walter Scott.

Geoffrey Chaucer

The pilgrim Chaucer on his way to Canterbury

Most Expensive Book

The news of an original copy of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales made it to the Guinness Book of World Records in 1998. The original copies of Canterbury Tales were printed in 1477 by William Caxton, the first printer to introduce the printing press in England. Only one of these first copies is still in private hands and was sold in an auction on July 8, 1998, for £4,621,500, making it the most expensive book ever sold.

Fat Monks and the Sin of Gluttony

Chaucer’s Monk in the Canterbury Tales was described in the Prologue as “a lord ful fat and in good point” (line 200). A new study finds that Chaucer’s description of the Monk as a person who loves to eat and is overweight is accurate. A 2004 study by archaeologists at University College London found that monks during medieval days were actually gluttons. Archaeologists studied one hundred monk skeletons at 3 abbeys dating from the medieval period. The bones were thick; joint problems from obesity were evident; and there were signs of arthritis—all of these proved that monks were actually overweight, as portrayed in paintings and literature of medieval times. Another study estimates that some monks consumed about 6,000 calories a day. Eating was a physical pleasure monks could enjoy!

Poets' Corner

Chaucer was the first poet to be buried in Westminster Abbey—initiating the Poets’ Corner. Today there are 29 poets buried and 55 poets commemorated in the Poets’ Corner.

Daniel Defoe (Foe)

The famous author of Robinson Crusoe changed his name in 1703 from Foe to Defoe. He believed that Defoe is “more socially and upward sounding” than Foe is.

Benjamin Franklin

Achievements

Writer, politician, scientist, Benjamin Franklin’s accomplishments were numerous. His great literary works are Poor Richard’s Almanack, Father Abraham's Sermon or The Way to Wealth, and Autobiography. Besides his literary and political accomplishments, the following are several more of his achievements:

He proved that lightening is electricity.
He invented the lightning rod.
He invented a special cast iron stove—the Franklin stove.
He invented a special rocking chair.
He invented a carriage odometer.
He discovered the gulf stream, or ocean current.
He invented the bifocals, which cost in 1785 around $100, just about how much they cost today.
He invented a glass harmonica.
He founded a fire department.
He founded the first lending public library (with a book lending system similar to our modern public libraries’ system).
He founded the first fire insurance company.
He helped to open a hospital.
He helped to create the first efficient postal system in America.
He helped found the University of Pennsylvania.

Proverbs

Franklin was famous for his proverbs, mostly published in Poor Richard’s Almanack. The following are a few of his proverbs:

To find out a girl’s faults, praise her to her girl friends.
If Jack is in love, he is no judge of Jill’s beauty.
Kill no more pigeons than you can eat.
To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals.
Plough deep while sluggards sleep.
Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it is.
Genius without education is like silver in the mine.
A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats.
Never confuse motion with action.
Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.
If you would persuade, you must appeal to interest rather than intellect.
Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain, and most fools do.

J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter

Harry Potter sold about 400 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 65 languages.

Though before the book's popularity, Joanne Rowling had some difficulty finding a publisher that believed her book could amount to anything. Finally Bloomsburry Press agreed to publish the first edition of Harry Potter, but only printed 500 copies for the first edition for fear of them not selling. Also the publisher requested that the author would not use her first name (Joanne) but rather her initials to make it less obvious that the author is a woman assuming that the book's main audience young boys would not want to read a wizard book written by a woman. Since Joanne Rowling did not have a middle name, she chose K for Kathleen.

Harry Potter, First Edition

Those who bought a first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stonecould could make a fortune today! Harry Potter's first edition copies are worth thousands.

A hardback first edition copy was sold for £10,575 at a Sotheby's auction in 2002.
Another soft cover first edition copy was sold at the Dallas Auction House for $19,120.
In August 2005, AbeBooks.com sold a first edition for £20,000.
Another anonymous bidder paid $40,326 for a first edition at Christie’s auction house in London.

William Shakespeare

For 2004, the US defense budgeted $1 million to bring productions of William Shakespeare’s Othello to several military bases.

All of Shakespeare’s plays (Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies) were first published in a volume called First Folio in 1623 (seven years after his death). In 1685, the Fourth Folio was printed. With fewer than 80 copies left today of the Fourth Folio, one copy was up for sale by Argosy Book Store, New York, a few years ago for $185,000.

Go to Bible to learn about a possible subliminal message that Shakespeare inserted in the King James translation of the English Bible.

Mark Twain

Mark Twain was the first notable American author who placed black and white Americans on the same social rank—Huckleberry Finn and Jim.

“All modern literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. If you read it, you must stop where Jim is stolen from the boys. That’s the real end. The rest is just cheating.” Ernest Hemingway

Mark Twain’s Sayings

Honesty is the best policy—when there is money in it.
The serpent should have been forbidden, not the apple—because they would have eaten the serpent.
Habit is not to be thrown out of the window, but it is to be coaxed down the stairs, one step at a time.
I never smoke more than one cigar–*pause*—at a time.
Everyone is a moon and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.
There are two times in a man’s life when he should not speculate—when he can’t afford it and when he can.
The secret source of humor itself is not joy, but sorrow.
Everything in human is pathetic.
I have seen slower and lazier people [than Mark Twain], but they were dead.
Clothes make the man; naked people have little or no influence in society.
Don’t go to sleep; so many people die there.

For more information, please visit http://www.bestfunfacts.com/literature.html

Have any fun facts of your own? Let us know by using the commenting feature down below.

Thanks!

Mother's Day Sonnet

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:40:00 +0000

"Sonnet to My Mother"

Title: "Sonnet to My Mother"
Author: Edgar Allen Poe
Published: Boston, MA
Publish Date: July 7th, 1849
Poem in a nutshell: "You were the best mother-in-law ever"

Because I feel that, in the heavens above,

The angels, whispering to one another,

Can find, among their burning terms of love,

None so devotional as that of 'mother' —

Therefore by that sweet name I long have called you —

You, who are more than mother unto me,

And fill my heart of hearts, where Death installed you,

In setting my Virginia's spirit free.

My mother — my own mother — who died early —

Was but the mother of myself; but you

Are mother to the one I loved so dearly,

And thus are dearer than the mother I knew;

By that infinity with which my wife

Was dearer to my soul than its soul-life.

For more information on this poem, please visit:

http://www.eapoe.org/geninfo/poef012.htm

http://www.eapoe.org/works/poems/tomthra.htm

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I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died: Translation and Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:29:00 +0000

"I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died"

Author: Emily Dickinson

Written: 1863

Published by: Emily's sister in 1896 (after Emily Dickinson died).

Poem in a nutshell: "The Devil dragged my ass to Hell"

Original Text

Modern Translation

I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air—
Between the Heaves of Storm—

The Eyes around—had wrung them dry—
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset—when the King
Be witnessed—in the Room—

I willed my Keepsakes—Signed away
What portions of me be
Assignable—and then it was
There interposed a Fly—

With Blue—uncertain—stumbling Buzz—
Between the light—and me—
And then the Windows failed—and then
I could not see to see—

I heard a fly buzzing when I died
and the silence in the room was like
the silence that you hear during the “in-between” breaths people take when they are crying.

People cried until they couldn't anymore and were catching their breath when I saw the Devil.

I had willed everything away—at least what I could—when a fly came into the room.

Blue and buzzing, it got in the way between Heaven and me, and then my eyes closed and I could not see.

Poem Summary: Original Text

In the first stanza, the narrator states that she heard a fly buzzing when she died. (Pretty straight-forward). She then describes the stillness or silence in the room to be comparable to the tension in a room filled with mourners. The pause between the drawing of breath emulates this stillness/silence.

In the second stanza, the narrator states that the mourners have cried until their eyes have become dry (they can't cry anymore) and they are regaining their composure. This is when the narrator, dying but not dead, sees the King aka Beezlebub aka the Devil (I'll explain this later).

In the third stanza, the narrator says that she has willed everything away when a fly comes buzzing into the room.

The final stanza describes how the fly (aka the Devil) comes for the narrator as she dies.

Analysis:

In order to understand why the "King" in line 7 is the Devil and not God, you must first understand the significance of the fly.

The fly is significant in the poem because, generally speaking, flies eat rotten/dead meat and the narrator will soon be dead.
From a Biblical lens, the King of Flies was Beezlebub, a demon who was often associated with the Devil or as the Devil.
So, when the line reads "And then the Windows failed..." this is a reference to the Window to Heaven/ the Gate to Heaven. As the narrator dies and her eyes (windows to the soul) close, she becomes shut out of Heaven as the Devil takes her soul to Hell.

Another important aspect of the poem is Onomatopoeia

Dickinson creates the effect of a fly buzzing--the thrumming "b" and "zzz" sound--by using words like: buzz, eyes, blue, heaves

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Therigartha: 6th Century Buddhist Poetry

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:37:00 +0000

The Therigartha is the earliest known writings of women's spirituality. Below is an informative excerpt taken from Susan Cahill's Wise Women:

"Buddhism finds Truth and peace not in ritual observance or abstract authority but in experience. Truth must be tried out, as gold is tried by fire...The earliest-known anthology of women's literature consists of songs...composed by Buddhist nuns, or theris, collected into the Therigartha. The poets were contemporaries of Buddha, though their lyrics were not written down until 80 BC. They testify to their lives transformed by the Buddha's teaching and celebrate the spiritual freedom--nirvana--achieved by the release of the soul from some anxiety of everyday life."

Below, I have listed one of the many poems of the Therigartha with a summary, translation, and analysis.

THERIGARTHA

(Sixth century B.C.)

Song of the Nuns

MUTTA

[So free am I, so gloriously free]

Original Text	Modern Translation
So free am I, so gloriously free Free from three petty things— From mortar, from pestle and from my twisted lord, Freed from rebirth and death I am, And all that has held me down is hurled away	I am free, gloriously free, I am free from three stupid and trivial things-- the mortal, the pestle, and my evil lord, I am free from reincarnation, And all that has ever held me back is now gone.

Poem in a Nutshell: Buddhism has freed me from being a housewife.

Summary:

This poem is a celebration of identity, spirituality, and freedom. The speaker exalts the belief that Buddhism has set him/her free. Through their spirituality, the narrator believes that Buddhism has freed them from an oppressive male authority and domestic atmosphere.

Analysis:

Patriarchy

The title "Mutta" suggests an air of oppressive male authority/patriarchy.

Mutta refers to the Punjab regions in India and Pakistan where "the warrior" is celebrated. As such, the culture holds men in a much higher regard than women. Traditionally, the Mutta are either followers of the Hindu or Islamic faith--both of these being steeped in male values.

In the third line of the text, the phrase "twisted lord" comes into play. The phrase may contain several possible meanings.

One is that "twisted lord" is referring to the speaker's husband or father. If that is the case, then the line may mean that the speaker no longer harbors ill-will towards her husband or father by walking the path of peace. Another interpretation may be that the speaker has physically left her husband or father's house in order to follow Buddhism.
In another sense, "twisted lord" may be referring to the male gods of Hinduism or Allah of Islam. Since Mutta is derived from a Hindu/Islamic context, it is possible that the speaker was a follower of the Hindu or Islamic faith before converting to Buddhism.

Gender roles: Labor, domesticity, and healing

In the third line of the original text, the speaker mentions the items "mortar" and "pestle." This serves as an image of "the kitchen"--of domesticity--as well as the repetitive nature of the manual labor encouraged by women in the sixth century. (Imagine the repetitive motion of grinding the pestle and mortar for hours on end...)
The image of the mortar and pestle also serves as a symbol of healing since herbs were ground using the instrument for medicinal purposes. In this sense, the image of the mortar and pestle becomes a representation for the healing powers that Buddhism has had on the speaker.

For more information on the Therigatha, Susan Cahill's Wise Women: Over 2000 Years of Spiritual Writing by Women offers a plethora of knowledge on the subject.

Tropes vs. Rhetorical Figures

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 03:52:00 +0000

In poetry, there are two branches of figures of speech: rhetorical figures and tropes. From the Greek tropos, meaning "turn, direction, way," tropes twist or play on the meanings of words and phrases. On the other hand, rhetorical devices are more straight forward. While they do not play on the meanings of words, they do play on the sounds. The goal of the rhetorical device is to persuade one towards a particular point of view or emotion; therefore, sentences employing rhetorical figures are used to provoke a emotion and/or action.

Here's a look at the most commonly used figures of speech:

Figures of Speech

Rhetorical figures

alliteration - two or more words in close proximity begin with the same sound. (example: He's one cool cat).
assonance - two or more words in close proximity contain the same vowel sounds.(example: He's one cool dude).
consonance - two or more words in close proximity that end in the same sound. (example: He struck a streak of bad luck).
onomatopoeia - The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named. The word tries to imitate the sound. (example: "boom" "sizzle" "cuckoo")
apostrophe - An address to an absent person or an abstract element. (example: "o, wind!" or "O western wind, when wilt thou blow/ That the small rain down can rain?")
pun - A play on words by exploiting the different possible meanings of a word. (example: "Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight" [grave here means "serious" but also hints to those who are marked for death.]).

Tropes

metaphor - comparison between two seemingly unlike things that have something important in common. (example: He was a lion in battle).
simile - comparison between two unlike things using the words "like" or "as." (example: Her eyes are like diamonds.)
metonymy - An idea or word is substituted with a concept closely associated with it. (example: We use the term "Hollywood" when referring to the U.S. cinema industry.)
synecdoche - Parts of something represent a whole. (example: "All hands on deck."
personification - Giving inanimate objects human-like qualities. (example: "The leaves danced in the wind.")

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"Leda and the Swan" and "This Be the Verse" comparison

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 21:57:00 +0000

The Inconsistency of the Human Mind in Leda and the Swan and This Be the Verse

William Butler Yeats's Leda and the Swan depicts the dubious consensual sexual encounter between a shape-shifting Greek god and a woman.

Philip Larkin's This Be the Verse, on the other hand, describes how generations of tradition and family can affect one's life for years to come.

On the surface, both poems could not be more different. However, on a fundamental level, the two poems subtly illustrate a single, common theme: how larger forces can unbalance the human psyche, causing psychological distress.

Yet, where Leda and the Swan conveys a heightened level of distress within a certain moment, This Be the Verse illustrates distress that has been compounded over a lengthy period of time.

Leda conveys a level of psychological distress stemming from the fear of one quick, isolated, and overwhelming experience. The linguistic inconsistency in the poem suggests an ever-shifting, confused mind.

In contrast, This Be the Verse illustrates a degree of distress that has been slowly compounded over a lengthy period of time and ultimately stemming from a sense of anger. Here, the carefully composed language is riddled with intermittent bursts of crass language, indicating an underlying or subconscious furious mentality.

These seemingly different but equally powerful portrayals of distress are expressed through the inconsistencies within the structure, imagery, and language of the two poems. Yeats and Larkin achieve this effect by being contrary in their utilization of various forms or aspects of prosody, tropes, and rhetorical figures.

In Leda and the Swan and This Be the Verse, opposition between the thoughts of the subject or speaker and the structure of the poems illustrate the psychological distress of the human mind.

The uniform stanzaic structure of each poem runs contrary to the noncommittal thoughts or actions of the primary subject and subject matter. For instance, in Leda and the Swan, the poem takes the form of a fourteen-line Petrarchan sonnet. Usually, such poems express romantic notions of love.

In Leda and the Swan, however, the subject matter is quite the opposite. Rather than pure, true love, the poem depicts a violent, possibly non-consensual sexual encounter.

The strict, regular metric pattern of the poem comes in opposition to the shifting descriptors of the speaker, leading to the poem's ambiguous atmosphere. For example, the poem's first line begins with a violent descriptor: “a sudden blow.”

This would indicate a level of brutality and oppression, labeling the sexual encounter as rape. Yet, this belief is stricken when the Swan's genitals is almost exulted, described as “feathered glory” (line 6). Therefore, the poem's deliberate ambiguous nature lies in direct contrast to its rigid, set metrical pattern.

Like Leda and the Swan, Larkin's This Be the Verse also conveys the psychological distress of the human mind through the inconsistencies between its structure and subject matter.

For example, the title of the poem assumes an archaic yet sophisticated Old English style that is in complete contrast to the lower level of diction found throughout the body of the poem.

Furthermore, the poems stanzaic unity and strict iambic tetrameter collides with its bipolar language.

For instance, the first line of the poem commences with a very harsh “They fuck you up” but ends with “mum and dad”—an ironic and biting sentimental expression.

The composed sarcasm here contrasts with he outbursts of “fuck” throughout the poem. Had the speaker truly believed his parents to be completely horrible, he might have substituted “mum and dad” for “mother and father.” The connotation behind “mum and dad” indicates a level of affection that lies in opposition to the speaker's belief that parents “fuck you up.”

This trend of inconsistency continues throughout the poem as the speaker changes his mind, stating that parents “may not mean to” negatively impact a child's life “but they do” (line 2) because “they were fucked up in their turn” (line 5) by “fools in old-style hats and coats” (line 6), or, in other words, their own “soppy-stern” (line 7) parents.

The speaker's biting tone in the usage of the phrase “old-style hats and coats” suggests an acerbic anger resulting from the hypocrisy of the appearance of manners and grace, so prevalent in his grandparents time, and the reality of household affairs—usually those of abuse, whether physical or verbal.

Also, The fact that the speaker uses the term “soppy-stern,” an oxymoron, is a clear indicator of the speaker's conflicted thoughts.

Furthermore, in both poems, a series of oppositional elements within the usage of tropes convey the psychological distress of the subject or speaker

.In Leda and the Swan, the utilization of abstract and concrete language through various instances of synecdoche depicts the erratic instability of the human mind when overwhelmed.

Language serves as one of the primary devices to reinforce the ambiguity of the poem. Like the reader, the speaker of the poem seems unwilling to put a definite label on the sexual encounter.

For example, at first glance, Leda is initially described using concrete words (Simon, Jessica). She is referenced to as “the staggering girl” and the poem refers to “her thighs,” “her nape,” “her helpless breast,” and “her loosening thighs” (lines 2-6).

However, the Swan is never called Zeus or even referred to as the Swan (Simon, Jessica). The Swan is described through synecdoches such as “great wings,” “dark webs,” “that white rush,” indifferent beak,” and “feathered glory” (lines 1-14).

Yet, a second, closer reading of the poem clearly illustrates that ambiguities are, indeed, present as the concrete and abstract merge (Simon, Jessica). Generalized terms are used later on to describe Leda, such as “terrified vague fingers”—another synecdoche (line 5) and concrete terms are used to reference the Swan, such as “his bill” (line 3), “his breast” (line 3), “his knowledge” (line 13) and “his power” (line 13).

In this poem, the speaker appears to assume the position of Leda and partake in her mentality.

As Leda’s mind shifts erratically in the face of this one particular taxing moment, the speaker’s language reflects that state of mind, evidenced through the phrase “terrified vague fingers.”

The word “terrified” seems to suggest that Leda's state of being—and, by extension, her though process—is being consumed by an all-encompassing fear. The abstract and concrete nature of the synecdoches within the poem is one of the prime examples of inconsistency throughout.

Similarly, the usage of metaphor in This Be the Verse serves to express psychological instability, as well.

For instance, in lines 10 and 11, the speaker states that man “hands on misery to man” which continually “deepens like a coastal shelf.”

The peaceful, vibrant imagery embedded within the metaphor of a coastal shelf lies in contrast to the speaker's dark message.
As the image of the coast invokes a sense of vibrancy and abundance of life, the fact that the speaker encourages the reader to escape the cycle of misery by not having any children is ironic.
Like Leda, the trope used here acts as a mirror to the speaker’s state of mind. Yet, where the distress in Leda was the result of one singular quick and overpowering situation, the distress in This Be the Verse results from a slow and gradual culmination of anger.
The metaphor of the coastal shelf suggests a gradual yet structured erosion, mirroring the state of mind of the speaker.
The direct opposition between the imagery of the metaphor and speaker's message indicates a level of psychological distress.

Lastly, the two poems contain a series of oppositional elements within the utilization of rhetorical figures which coveys the psychological inconsistency of an overwhelmed, fractured psyche.

In Leda and the Swan, there is an opposition between the hard alliterative sounds and soft consonance found within the poem.

For example, Leda and the Swan is riddled with the hard, alliterative “b” sound which can be found in the words “blow” (line 1), “beating” (line 1 and 8), “bill” (line 3), “breast” (line 4), “body” (line 7), “broken” (line 10), “burning” (line 10), and “brute blood” (line 12).

More than half of these “b” sounding descriptors are connotative of violence. In contrast, however, consonance within words like “still” (line 1), “bill” (line 3), “breast” (line 4), and “caressed” (line 2) have a softer ending or flow and invoke a sense of serenity and peace.

In a similar manner, Larkin's This Be the Verse contains alliteration, as well.

However, in this case, the rhetorical figure lies in opposition to the poem’s level of diction.

For instance, words like “fuck” (line 1), “fill” (line 3), “faults” (line 3), and “fools” (line 6) add a musicality to the poem that is in direct contrast to the poem's drop in diction.
In order to counteract the drop in diction, the poem also contains a series of contrasting hard consonants and soft vowels.

For example, the harsh ending in “fuck” is balanced out by words such as “do” (line 2) and “you” (lines 3 and 4).
The opposition found within these elements seems to reinforce both poems’ subtle themes of psychological distress in the face of an overwhelming situation, person, or society.

Shakespeare's Sonnet 130: Translation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 00:09:00 +0000

Author: William Shakespeare aka "The Bard"

Written: Between 1564 C.E and 1609 C.E.

Published by: Thomas Thorpe, 1609 C.E.

Poem in a nutshell: "You're a Plain Jane and I love you all the same."

Original Text

Modern Day Translation

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.

My lover's eyes aren't as bright as the sun;
And her lips aren't as red as coral;
Her breasts are a brownish gray in comparison to pure white snow.
If hairs are like wires, hers are black and not golden.
Her cheeks are not as colorful as the red and white streaked damask roses;
And my lover's breath stinks.
I like when she speaks but, let's face it, music is more pleasing to the ear than her voice.
I don't claim that my lover is a goddess--she's just a plain old regular mortal.
And yet, for all the things that she is not, I find that the love I have for my woman is far more true than those lies found in ridiculous poetry.

The 10 Most Quoted Lines of Poetry

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 03:17:00 +0000

We often hear quotes like "O Romeo, Romeo; wherefore art thou Romeo?" satirized and parodied in comedy sketches and such, but did you ever stop to wonder just how often we hear poetry on a daily basis? Here's a look at the top ten most quoted lines of poetry, courtesy of InkyFool (Click here for link to list on Inky Fool ):

To err is human; to forgive, divine
- Poet: Alexander Pope
- From: “An Essay on Criticism”
I am the master of my fate
- Poet: William Ernest Henley
- From: “Invictus”
The child is father of the man
- Poet:Wordsworth
- From: “My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold”
I wandered lonely as a cloud
- Poet: Wordsworth
- From: “The Daffodils”
And miles to go before I sleep
- Poet: Robert Frost
- From: “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
Not with a bang but with a whimper
- Poet: T.S. Eliot
- From: “The Hollow Men”
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams
- Poet: W.B. Yeats
- From: “Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven”
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield
- Poet: Tennyson
- From: “Ulysses”
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair
- Poet: P. B. Shelley
- From: “Ozymandias”
Tis better to have loved and lost/Than never to have loved at all
- Poet: Tennyson
- From: “In Memoriam A.H.H.”

Surprisingly, Emily Dickinson and Shakespeare did not make it into the top ten but they are included in the top 100 most quoted lines of poetry.

What do you think is the most quoted line of poetry?

Poetry Terms to Know

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 23:44:00 +0000

Parataxis

a series of phrases that aren't connected by the syntactic elements that preserve grammar. Basically, it is a piling up of phrases without the usage of the following connectives: "and," "or," "but."

Hypotaxis

the opposite of parataxis. A series of phrases with conjunctions. A normal paragraph or compound sentence.

Verbs

Transitive - These verbs take an object. "I kicked (verb) the ball (object).

Intransitive - These verbs do not need an object; they do take on a subject. "I (subject) grow (verb).

Speech Act

A speech act performs or accomplishes something through the use of language. For example, the phrase "I do" literally completes a marriage ceremony.

Meter

- Definition: measured rhythm with is indicated through a number of syllables and the organization of stress in speech.

- 5 types of feet:

iamb - unstressed syllable, stressed syllable (Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?)

troche - stressed syllable, unstressed syllable (Tiger)

anapest - unstressed syllable, unstressed syllable, stressed syllable. (Understand?)

dactyl - stressed syllable, unstressed syllable, unstessed syllable. (strawberry)

spondee - stressed syllable, stressed syllable. (football , heartbreak)

- Types of meter

dimeter - 4 syllables in a line. (2 feet).

trimeter - 6 syllables in a line. ( 3 feet).

tetrameter - 8 syllables in a line. (4 feet).

pentameter - 10 syllables in a line. (5 feet).

"Shall I / compare / thee to/ a su/ mmer's day?" (This line contains ten syllables. Because the predominant pulse is "unstressed, stressed," the feet is iamb. This makes the line iambic pentameter. * One foot = 2 syllables.)

hexameter - 12 syllables in a line. (6 feet).

Caesura

A caesura is a pause within a line. This is designated by a period, comma, question mark or exclamation mark.

Example:

O,ll wind,

if winter comes,ll can spring be far behind?

When marking or labeling a line of poetry, we use a double "el" or ll.

Masculine Ending vs. Feminine Ending

Masculine ending - a line ends in a stressed syllable.

Feminine ending - a line ends in an unstressed syllable.

Masculine Rhyme vs. Feminine Rhyme

Masculine Rhyme - line of poetry ends in one syllable. (i.e. "head")

Feminine Rhyme - line of poetry ends in two syllables. (i.e. "painted")

Catalectic ending

A metrically incomplete line of verse, lacking a syllable at the end or an incomplete foot. (Remember that 1 foot = 2 syllables, so the line of a poem would have an odd number of syllables).

Example:

"Tyger! Tyger! burning bright " (unstressed syllable missing after "bright")

Notice that there are only seven syllables in this line. We call this a catalectic ending. (We would round up the syllables to eight, making the meter: trochaic tetrameter.)

Promotion

When a syllable that is normally unstressed is stressed for meter.

Here are two lines taken from "The Tyger" by William Blake in example:

"What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful *symmetry?"

Usually, the word "symmetry" would be a dactyl (stressed, unstressed, unstressed) like symmetry. But for the poem, the author emphasizes the "try" to go with the flow of the poem. This is like when a person with an accent stresses certain parts of a word than others; it's noticeable but not unusual.

Wrenched Accent

When you drastically change a word due to its pronunciation to go with the flow of a poem.

For example: in the word "body" the stress falls on the first syllable. In the following poem, you might be inclined to put the stress on the last syllable, making it sound awkward.

"And many's the good gift, Lord Sands,

You've promised oft to me;

But the gift of yours I keep today,

Is the babe in my body."

(Nobody says "body" like that, but it is done for effect in the poem)

Rhyme

End rhyme - when words rhyme at the end of two or more verses.

Never was there a tale of more woe

Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

Internal rhyme - When two or more words rhyme within a line of verse.

I lost my dog within a fog.

Perfect rhyme - when the words at the end of two or more lines of verse rhyme perfectly.

Never was there a tale of more woe

Than this of Juliet and her Romeo. (*"woe" and "Romeo" are exact rhyme)

Slant rhyme - when the words at the end of two or more line of verse sort of rhyme. (For example, the words "roaming" and "coming" are close in speech but not exact.)

Site rhyme or eye rhyme - When two words look like they would rhyme. (i.e. behind and wind [as in a breeze])

Stanza

Definition - a poetic paragraph

Can be regular (such as three sets of 4 line stanzas) or irregular (four sets of paragraphs containing various lines).

Common types of stanzas:

two lines : a couplet
three lines : a tercet
four lines : a quatrain

Ballad Stanza - a quatrain that alternates between four and three line stresses. The rhyme pattern (end rhyme) is a, b, c, d.

Example:

All in a hot and copper sky! (four feet = eight syllables)

The bloody Sun, at noon, (three feet = six syllables)

Right up above the mast did stand, (four feet = eight syllables)

No bigger than the Moon. (three feet = six syllables)

Common Meter (Stanza) - a quatrain alternating between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. The rhyme pattern is a, b, a, b.

Modes of Poetry

Lyric - Poetry that expresses personal or emotional feelings. It does not portray a story or characters. (i.e. Emily Dickinson's Dying: http://www.types-of-poetry.org.uk/31-lyric-poetry.htm )

Elegy - A poem of serious reflection, typically a lament to the dead. (i.e. "Elegy for Jane" or "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" http://www.types-of-poetry.org.uk/18-elegy.htm )

Ode - A lyric poem in the form of address to a particular subject. Usually written in elevated style and set structure. (i.e. "Ode to a Nightingale" http://www.types-of-poetry.org.uk/34-odes.htm )

Narrative - Poetry that has plot. (i.e. Homer's The Iliad.)

Allegory - A narrative poem having a second meaning behind the surface one. The poem has a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.

Forms of Poetry

Sonnet - a fourteen line poem (usually in iambic pentameter.) Two types: Italian and English.

Villanelle - a nineteen line poem consisting of five tercets and a quatrain. The first and third lines of the first tercet recur alternately at the end of each subsequent tercet and both together at the end of the quatrain. (i.e. "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night : http://www.webexhibits.org/poetry/explore_classic_villanelle_examples.html )

Sestina - A poem of six stanzas with six lines and a final triplet. The end words of the first stanza are repeated are repeated in varying combinations in the following stanzas.

For example (excerpt from a longer poem by Ezra Pound):

Damn it all! all this our South stinks peace.
You whoreson dog, Papiols, come! Let's to music!
I have no life save when the swords clash.
But ah! when I see the standards gold, vair, purple, opposing
And the broad fields beneath them turn crimson,
Then howl I my heart nigh mad with rejoicing.

In hot summer have I great rejoicing
When the tempests kill the earth's foul peace,
And the lightnings from black heav'n flash crimson,
And the fierce thunders roar me their music
And the winds shriek through the clouds mad, opposing,
And through all the riven skies God's swords clash.

Figures of Speech

Rhetorical figures

alliteration - two or more words in close proximity begin with the same sound. (example: He's one cool cat).
assonance - two or more words in close proximity contain the same vowel sounds.(example: He's one cool dude).
consonance - two or more words in close proximity that end in the same sound. (example: He struck a streak of bad luck).
onomatopoeia - The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named. The word tries to imitate the sound. (example: "boom" "sizzle" "cuckoo")
apostrophe - An address to an absent person or an abstract element. (example: "o, wind!" or "O western wind, when wilt thou blow/ That the small rain down can rain?")
pun - A play on words by exploiting the different possible meanings of a word. (example: "Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight" [grave here means "serious" but also hints to those who are marked for death.]).

Tropes

metaphor - comparison between two seemingly unlike things that have something important in common. (example: He was a lion in battle).
simile - comparison between two unlike things using the words "like" or "as." (example: Her eyes are like diamonds.)
metonymy - An idea or word is substituted with a concept closely associated with it. (example: We use the term "Hollywood" when referring to the U.S. cinema industry.)
synecdoche - Parts of something represent a whole. (example: "All hands on deck."
personification - Giving inanimate objects human-like qualities. (example: "The leaves danced in the wind.")

Here are some great websites to help you on your poetry exam:

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_R.html

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Examples%20of%20Iambs.pdf

If You Were Coming in the Fall: Translation & Summary

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 23:14:00 +0000

"If You Were Coming in the Fall"

Author: Emily Dickinson

Written: Between 1860 and 1866 CE

Published by: It was not until 1955 CE that all of Dickinson's work was published in one collection.

What is the poem about? Love, separation, anxiety, doubt, and dread. The poem explores how the absence of a loved one can take a psychological toll on someone.

Tone: Uncertainty, doubt, anxiety, distress, yearning/longing

Poem in a nutshell: "I don't care how long you will be gone, as long as you will return to me and we can be together forever."


Melancholy lady awaiting her the return of her lover.

Original Text	Modern Day Translation
If you were coming in the Fall, I'd brush the Summer by With half a smile, and half a spurn, As Housewives do, a Fly.	If you were coming back to me in the Fall, I'd go through Summer happy, with a smile on my face like when a housewife kills a fly.
If I could see you in a year, I'd wind the months in balls -- And put them each in separate Drawers, For fear the numbers fuse --	If you were to return to me in a year, I'd compartmentalize the months into smaller units like balls of yarn and place them each I separate draws, in fear that the our time apart would somehow become larger.
If only Centuries, delayed, I'd count them on my Hand, Subtracting, till my fingers dropped Into Van Dieman's Land.	If you were coming back to me in a matter of centuries, I'd count the centuries on the fingers, subtracting them one by one until they all fall to Tasmania (or Australia).
If certain, when this life was out -- That yours and mine, should be I'd toss it yonder, like a Rind, And take Eternity --	If I were certain that we could be together in death, I'd take my own life.
But, now, uncertain of the length Of this, that is between, It goads me, like the Goblin Bee -- That will not state -- its sting.	But, as I'm not sure of when you will come back to me, the doubt of your return taunts and hurts me like the sting of a bee.

Poem Summary

The poem is about a woman in distress as she awaits the return of her lover. As her lover's absence increases, so does the woman's doubt increase. She contemplates suicide, briefly, but brushes it aside when she realizes that her reunion with her lover can never be certain.

Break Down by Stanza

STANZA ONE

The speaker dismisses the importance of how long her lover may be absent by trivializing it. She brushes off his absence for the duration of summer as a housewife would shoo away or kill a fly.

STANZA TWO

The speaker breaks down time to be more manageable. A year is reduced to months—a smaller unit—and those are compared to balls of yarn to be stored separately. Storing them separately is like counting off individual units, making them more manageable and giving her a sense of control.

STANZA THREE

She minimizes the length of a century by using the word “only” with it. Also, she uses her fingers instead of balls of yarn as another way to handle time in smaller, more manageable units. She calls his absence “delayed,” implying he will eventually return. The reference to Van Diemen's Land indicates someplace far away. It is the old name for Tasmania.

STANZA FOUR

The fourth stanza introduces the concept of eternity/timelessness. She would willingly die if her reunion with her beloved was certain. She compares her mortal life to a rind. As a rind is the skin that protects the fruit, so does her body protect or encase her spirit/soul—the essence which would continue after death.

STANZA FIVE

The previous stanzas were hypothetical—indicated by the word “if” in the beginning of each line. In this stanza, the speaker is in the present. She deals with her reality which is frightening. She calls time “uncertain” because she doesn't know what it is or what is is going to bring (in regard to her and her lover) in the future.

Her ignorance or unawareness concerning time “goads” her. She claims that a bee threatens with it's sting but time's threat is even greater because it is unstated. It leaves her in uncertainty, doubt, and distress. The degree of threat which time presents is suggested by the word “goblin,” implying a sense of mischief or evil.

Important Notes

Four of the stanzas begin with "if," indicating uncertainty.

We assume that the speaker is a woman due to domestic metaphors, such as the housewife and fly as well as the balls of yarn.

The time of absence in regard to the speakers lover becomes larger as the poem progresses: FALL --> YEAR ---> CENTURIES ---> ETERNITY. As a result, the speaker's doubt increases progressively from brushing it off to thinking that she might possibly never see her beloved again.

In the fourth stanza, there is a tension and irony in the juxtaposition of "If" and "certain."

Dickinson varies the poem to avoid a metronomic effect. She uses enjambment and punctuation (the dashes) to achieve this.

Need More Help or Information?

Here are two VERY helpful websites for those of you who are looking for a bit more information or need a little extra help in deciphering the poem:

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/fall.html

http://www.eliteskills.com/c/4608 (Look to the comments section for help/info).

What is your take on the poem?

Connotation vs. Denotation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:44:00 +0000

If you have taken or ever plan on taking a poetry class, you are more than likely to come across these two terms. Let's make sure that you know what they mean and how to tell the difference between the two.

Denotation

In poetry, the term "denotation" means the literal meaning or "book definition" of a word. Basically, the meaning of the word is found in the dictionary.

For example, let's look below at some words and their denotative meanings:

Rose - A type of red-colored flower.

Dismember - To divide into parts; to cut to pieces; to take apart.

Dismantle - To divide into parts; to cut to pieces; to take apart.

Mother - A female parent.

House - A building where people live.

Home - A building where people live.

Father - A male parent.

Dad - A male parent.

Connotation

In poetry, the term "connotation" means the secondary attributes--such as feelings, emotions, and/or symbols--associated with a word. Basically, "connotation" is when you hear a word and your mind automatically associates something with it. For instance, when you hear the word "city," your mind automatically thinks of a large, vivacious population. In reality, the literal definition of a "city" is an incorporated municipality governed by a mayor (in the U.S.)

For example, let's look below at the same words from above with their connotative meanings:

Rose - Love, romance, Valentine's Day.

(These are the symbols or feelings we think of when we hear or see the word rose).

Dismember - The tearing of limbs. The ripping of body parts.

(We tend to think of body parts when we hear the word dismember, even though it has the same meaning as "dismantle").

Dismantle - The breaking down of a solid object such as a fireplace or a chair.

("Dismantle" is more associated with electronics or furniture. While you could theoretically use "dismember" and "dismantle" interchangeably as synonyms, you would want to use "dismember" when talking about humans/animals and "dismantle" when talking about furniture/inanimate objects.)

Mother - Motherly, affectionate, caring, loving, nurturing.

(Even though a mother is simply a female who gives birth to offspring, we tend to associate feelings of great nurturing and love with the term mother. Unless you had a traumatic past, you don't tend to think of the Evil Queen from Snow White when you hear the word "mother." In fact, "step-mother" has a negative connotation to it due to all the portrayals of evil step-mothers in the media.)

House - A place of living. A hovel, shack, estate, mansion, palace, castle, etc.

(House has a very detached, clinical feeling to it. It sounds hollow or empty. You associate different kinds of abodes with house but there really is no emotion attached to the word.)

Home - A place of warmth, affection, happy memories, childhood, and comfort.

(Though "house" and "home" have the same definition, the feelings attributed to each word is very different. A house is simply where you live. A home is the place where you start a family, raise children, make memories, etc.).

Father - A detached authority; the man who sired you.

(When you hear the word "father," you think of the man in very clinical, emotionally detached terms. In other words, a "father" is simply a sperm donor.)

Dad - The man you raised you, affection, an association with children.

(More often than not, you hear the phrase "He may be my father but he's not my dad." That's because the term "dad" is really a word of affection. A dad is someone who has taken an active hand in raising his children. He's a fond parent. He's the one that takes the kids to the park or plays baseball with them. Where the term "father" has a strict, detached, authority-like emotion attached to the word, "dad" has a sort of fondness and association with happy children attached to it.)

For more help or information of the difference between connotation and denotation, here are some helpful links:

http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/connotation-vs-denotation-41
http://classweb.gmu.edu/bhawk/101/semiotics/decon.html
http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/English_Literature/terms/denotation.htm

Alliteration, Assonance, and Consonance

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 12:38:00 +0000

Poets often use alliteration, assonance, and consonance to help with the fluidity of a poem. Thus, making it more pleasing to the ear and easier to speak aloud. For beginners, however, the problem is identifying the differences between the three devices.

Alliteration

Alliteration refers to the repetition of consonants in words of close proximity. It generally refers to the sounds at the beginning of the adjacent words. For example:

                                               The black bat sat on the back porch.

In this sentence, the words "black" and "bat," which are right next to each other, both begin with the letter "b." Also, though not right next to the "black" and "bat," three words down is the word "back," beginning with the letter "b" as well.

Therefore, you could say that this sentence contains alliteration with the letter "b."

Assonance

Assonance refers to the repetition of vowel sounds within a series of words. For example:

                                             The black bat sat on the back porch.

In this sentence, notice that the vowel sound for the letter "a" is consistent in the words "black," "bat," "sat," and "back."

Consonance

Consonance refers to the repetition of consonant sounds at the end of and within words of close proximity. For example:

                                            The black bat sat on the back porch

Notice that, in this sentence, we have two forms of consonance. The words "black" and "back" both end it "-ck" while "bat" and "sat" end in "-t."

Further examples:

Let's look at a few lines of poetry from "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allen Poe.

It was many and many a year ago,
     In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
     By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
     Than to love and be loved by me.

Notice that the letter "m" is repeated at the beginning of several words. (Alliteration).

Notice that the short vowel sound of "i" is repeated within several words. (Assonance).

Notice that the "m" sound is found at or towards the end of "kingdom," "whom," and "name." (Consonance).

For more examples and further explanation, go to:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Alliteration,-Assonance-and-Consonance&id=675686

Metonymy vs. Synecdoche

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 18:23:00 +0000

Metonymy

Metonymy is a figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated.

For exmaple, Hollywood is usually used to refer to the United States Cinematic Industry. However, Hollywood is actually a section of Los Angeles, California. Because many films are produced in Hollywood, we associate Hollywood with the Movie Industry.

More Examples:

Word	Actual Meaning	Metonymic Usage
Hollywood	A section of Los Angeles, CA.	The American Film Industry
Broadway	The avenue running the length of Manhattan Island in New York City	The live theater in New York
Wall Street	A street in lower Manhattan, NY.	The American Financial and Banking Industry
The White House	The official President's residence in Washington, D.C.	The U.S President, his staff, representatives, and advisers.
The Pentagon	A large government office building in Arlington, Virginia	The U.S. Dept. of Defense
Cloth	a pliable material made usually by weaving, felting, or knitting natural or synthetic fibers and filaments	Priesthood/ Church
Newspaper	A printed publication consisting of folded unstapled sheets and containing news, feature articles, advertisements, and correspondence.	Journalism/ Reporting Industry

Synecdoche

Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa. A synecdoche may also refer to an object by the material it is made from or refer to the contents in a container by the name of the container.

For example, in the phrase “All hands on deck,” hands is used to represent a person's whole being or body.

More Examples:

“A head of cattle” (Head if referring to a part of the whole.)

“All eyes on you” (Eyes are a part of the entire body)

“Lend me your ear” (Ears are a part of the entire body and is referencing attention).

“Sails” (Sails is often used to refer to a whole ship)

“Wheels” (Wheels is used to refer to a vehicle. Ex. “Check out my brand new set of wheels.”)

“Plastic” (A term used to refer to credit cards as they are made out of plastic)

“Rubber” (A term used to refer to condoms because they were originally made out of rubber.)

Difference Between the Two?

Metonymy refers to an idea closely associated with a word.

“Hollywood” is used to describe the American movie industry because that's where most films are produced in the U.S.

Synecdoche refers to a physical portion of a person or object or the material that the object is made out of.

With “All hands on deck,” hands are physically part of the person. It's not an idea or abstract thought. They are physically connected. The same with the phrase “A head of cattle.”
With “Wheels,” “Rubber,” and “Plastic,” each of these phrases are materials that make up a larger object. Wheels are physically a part of automobiles. Condoms used to be made out of rubber. Credit cards are made out of plastic.

Need Help?

When trying to figure out if a phrase or word is a Metonymy or Synecdoche, ask yourself this:

Is the word/object/phrase physically attached to a larger object/person? (or vice versa)

Is the word/object/phrase part of the make up of something larger?

If you answer “no” to these two questions, it is probably not a synecdoche but most likely a metonymy.

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To His Coy Mistress: Themes, Meter, and Symbols

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 01:42:00 +0000

Now that you have the modern day translation and summary of the poem, here are some important concepts that you should know:

Themes

Time

The speaker of the poem thinks that time is against both him and his lady love. He desires to control time through sex, using it to make the day speed up or slow down. This generates a sort of carpe diem (“seize the day”) feel to the poem.

Sex
- As time is the antagonist in Marvell's poem, sex is the tool the speaker needs to gain control over his nemesis. However, getting sex whenever you want it is no easy task.
Mortality

The issue of death comes up in the poem, once again adding a sense of urgency to the atmosphere. It is clear that the speaker fears that time is moving too quickly, thus bringing forth old age and, eventually, death.

Form and Meter

The poem's meter is iambic tetrameter.

Iambic refers to the fact that, in each line of the poem, the syllables follow the patten of: unstressed followed by stressed.

For example, in the following first line of the poem, notice that, when speaking the words aloud, there is an emphasis on the second syllable (noted by the bold):

“Had we but world enough, and time/”

Each pair of unstressed and then stressed syllables is considered an iamb. Each pair of syllables is also called a “foot.”
Since there are four pairs of iambs or four feet, we give it the numeric name “tetra.”
Therefore, the form is “Iambic” and the meter is “tetrameter.” So we say that the poem is written in Iambic Tetrameter.

Rhyme
- Each of the three stanzas are comprised of couplets: aa, bb, cc...

Symbols, Imagery, and Word Play

“Thou by the Indian Ganges' side/ Shouldst rubies find...”

Here, rubies is a symbol for feminine chastity or virginity. It was widely believe that rubies preserved a woman's honor.

“And the last age should show your heart/”
- Here, the heart symbolizes love but also refers to the vagina.

“Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound/'

Since it is assumed that the lady is question is Caucasian, therefore her “marble vault” again refers to her vagina.

“And your quaint honour turn to dust/”

It is commonly held that “quaint” is play on the word “cunt”—a vulgar word used to describe the female sex organ.

“And now, like amorous birds of prey/”

Sensing that he is coming off as quite desperate, the speaker softens his ardor by placing the ideas of ravenous, carnivorous animals—like hawks, for example—and passionate love side by side.
- He does this to illustrate the point that having raw, passionate sex is a natural event—as it is found in the animal kingdom—and nothing to be ashamed of.

To His Coy Mistress: Translation and Summary

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:30:00 +0000

"To His Coy Mistress"

Author: Andrew Marvell

Written: 1650 C.E. - 1652 C.E.

Published by: Marvell's housekeeper several years after his death.

Poem in a nutshell: "Life's too short; let's bang."

This poem is, perhaps, the most elaborate pick-up line ever created:

Original Poetic Text Modern English Translation

Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, Lady, were no crime.
We would sit down and think which way
To walk and pass our long love's day.
Thou by the Indian Ganges' side
Shouldst rubies find: I by the tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the Flood,
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow;
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes and on thy forehead gaze;
Two hundred to adore each breast,
But thirty thousand to the rest;
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.
For, Lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate.

But at my back I always hear
Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
Thy beauty shall no more be found,
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
My echoing song: then worms shall try
That long preserved virginity,
And your quaint honour turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust:
The grave 's a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace.

Now therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing soul transpires
At every pore with instant fires,
Now let us sport us while we may,
And now, like amorous birds of prey,
Rather at once our time devour
Than languish in his slow-chapt power.
Let us roll all our strength and all
Our sweetness up into one ball,
And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Thorough the iron gates of life:
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.

If land and time were no issue, this teasing, my Lady, would be of no consequence. We would sit down, relax, and think different ideas for dates. I would find you by the side of the Ganges' of India and romance you with the sweetest compliments. I would court you ten years before the Great Flood of Noah till the conversion of all Jews to Christianity. My love, like a vegetable garden, would grow to cover as much territory as the greatest empire—only more slowly. I would praise your eyes and forehead for one hundred years; two hundred years to admire each of your breasts; and, for thirty thousand years, I would worship and adore every other inch of your body. It would take at least one age for me to fully appreciate every feature that you possess, but, in the last age, I would look upon your heart. For, my Lady, you deserve nothing but the best and I would not have it any other way.

But, alas, we do not have all the time in the world. I can hear Time's chariot quickly drawing near and it brings old age and death with it. Your beauty will soon fade and you will die. Then, as you lay buried, only the worms will have a go at your virginity. Your chaste honor will be reduced to dust, and with your death shall be the death of my lust. The grave is great and everything but there is no romance and intimacy there.

So, let's have sex while we are still young, healthy, and attractive. We shouldn't be wasting time; we should be having raw, animalistic sex right now like those birds during the mating season. We can't make time stand still but we can make him run. Because you know what they say: “Time flies by when you're having fun.”

Poem Summary:

"To His Coy Mistress" is divided into three stanzas. The narrator is an anonymous man speaking to an anonymous woman.

In the first stanza, the narrator tells the mistress—not a woman on the side but simply a lady—that if they had had more time and space, her "coyness" or teasing/shyness wouldn't be an issue. He goes on to describe how much he would compliment and admire her if time permitted. He would focus on every inch of her body until he got to the heart—(a metaphor for her sex organ and love.)

In the second stanza, the narrator basically tells her: “But we don't have time and we're about to get old and die.” He says that life is short but death is eternal and time is running out. In addition, the speaker warns the woman that when she’s buried in her coffin, the worms will take her virginity if she doesn’t have sex with him before they die. And, if she refuses to sleep with him, all his sexual desire will burn up into ashes for all time.

In the third stanza the speaker begs the lady to have sex with him while they are still young. He points out a pair of birds mating and suggest that that is how their lovemaking should be—raw, passionate, and primal.

In the final couplet, the narrator says that they can’t make time stop, but they can exchange places with it. According to him, whenever have sex, they pursue time, instead of the other way around. Thus, sex makes the day more pleasurable and it makes the day go by much faster.

Please read 'To His Coy Mistress' - a Critical Analysis for a more in-depth summary. It is a very helpful tool for essays and such!

Please feel free to add your own interpretations and reviews of this poem in the comments section!