My mistress' eyes

"And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare."
"My mistress' eyes"
William Shakespeare


The purpose of this poem is to mock other love poems that describe every detail of their lover. The speaker says that his lover doesn't have any characteristics associated with the traditional love poem; "[her] eyes are nothing like the sun," and he "love[s] to hear her speak, yet know[s] That music hath a far more pleasing sound." He bashes all of her qualities and says everything that she is not. This poem aims to give a different perspective on love; He doesn't love her solely because of her beautiful characteristics and perfect hair, eyes, cheeks, lips, etc. Towards the end-the shift at line 13- we see the speaker's true feelings toward his lover.  In the above quote, he is stating that he is able to accept all of her despite her imperfections; He doesn't feel the need to cover up or sugar coat anything about his lover--he is honest throughout and he loves her and is able to look beyond all of the defects, because no one else can even compare.

Hazel Tells LaVerne

"but so helpmegod he starts talkin
bout a golden ball
an how i can be a princess"
"Hazel Tells LaVerne"
Katharyn Howd Machan


So many love poems...
This particular poem ridicules love with its humorous tone. It's told through the eyes of a janitor in a public bathroom, and it portrays the traditional "Princess and the Frog" story as ridiculous and gross. She calls the frog a "green pervert" whereas in the fairy tale, the princess was surprised by a talking frog, but she agreed to follow its orders. The janitor reveals the sentiment some people have regarding this fairy tale--that the tale is absurd because frogs cannot talk, and anyone willing to listen to a frog would be insane. The janitor reacts how one may expect, by hitting it with the mop and flushing it down the toilet. The theme of this poem is that you shouldn't always be willing to believe whatever people tell you; The woman cleaning the bathroom had no absolutely no intention of believing that she was a princess, mainly because she is a member of the lower class and would never consider herself to be royalty.

To His Coy Mistress

"We would sit down, and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love's day."
"To His Coy Mistress"
Andrew Marvell


I decided to look up the word "coy" because I still didn't really understand what it exactly meant..so dictionary.com says it is "slyly hesitant," and "showing reluctance." This means that the tone of the speaker is urgent toward the coy mistress. The speaker talks about how much he loves her and how there is not even enough time to begin to explain how much this woman means to him. On the other hand, she seems to prefer a slower pace, and she is more reluctant to express undying love for him. I'm guessing that the speaker wants to marry this woman, or run away with her pretty much ASAP. As of now, their relationship is compared to "vegetable love. This most likely means that it's very unchanging and predictable, and it's not really going anywhere. The speaker wants it to grow which is why he urges the mistress to basically give up her virginity. ("that long-preserved virginity") This poem seems to be the opposite of "Getting Out" because this relationship is technically just meeting its beginning, while the other was meeting its end.

Getting Out

"We held on tight, and let go."
"Getting Out"
Cleopatra Mathis


This seems to be the typical "learning how to let go of my significant other" type of poem. The two appeared to have their differences--there is something wrong when you compare waking up next to one another to being in a prison. ("waking like inmates who beat the walls") The whole poem shows the scenes leading up to the final break. There were the little things, "Every night another refusal," that led to bigger things, the "Days were different," and they most likely realized they weren't meant for each other. They started to pack up and blame one another for the problems they were experiencing. As with basically any break-up, someone may have a hard time letting go. The speaker has mixed feelings toward the experience. On one hand, they are free of one another, yet she mentions how she "cried, the last day" and how she has the "last unshredded pictures of our matching eyes and hair." I think she may regret the separation, because she talks about how they both seemed to have a very hard time accepting they weren't meant for each other. They spent weeks mulling over the facts, and even when it came time to accept their fate at the court, they had a hard time doing so. But sometimes, you just have to let go.

Dover Beach

"And here we are on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night."
"Dover Beach"
Matthew Arnold


This poem is an apostrophe that directly addresses "The Sea of Faith." For this poem, I am going to answer some of the questions in the book. Question number 4 talks about how the speaker is lamenting the decline of faith in his time. It asks, "Is he himself a believer?"
The speaker is most likely a believer of faith because he says, "I only hear the [Sea of Faith's] melancholy, long withdrawing roar." He is sad that people's faith these days has declined to the point that it's evident everywhere ("naked shingles of the world"); it was, "once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore," but now it has lessened and people are becoming more materialistic rather than spiritual. He also shows that he is faithful through his pleading to the sea/faith that they will become closer--"let us be true To one another!" He wants to grow in faith so that he may help those around him in a world where everyone struggles and no one seems to be able to make compromises over issues.

The overall tone of this poem (question 6) is a reflective one. The speaker is listening to the sea, remembering the history of "human misery" that has caused a decline in faith, and he is reflecting on how he wishes he could fix the reality of people's "confused alarms of struggle and flight."

Madness

"Much Sense-the starkest Madness-
'Tis the Majority
In this, as All, prevail-"
"Much Madness is divinest Sense"
Emily Dickinson


I swear Emily Dickinson's poems get odder and odder each chapter. I think the purpose of this poem is to say that those who are mainstream are supposedly sane, yet those who stray away from mainstream things are dangerous, "And handled with a Chain." "Handled with a Chain" is an overstatement because I doubt that people are literally whipped with a chain; It's moreover trying to say that those who stray from common will be judged by others.

This poem contains many paradoxes throughout it; one is that "Madness is divinest Sense." To say that madness is a 'divine' or good sense sounds insane, but the speaker is claiming that madness is good because you are your own leader. "Madness" allows you to be yourself, be courageous, and stand up for what you believe in. You don't need to follow others--you go your own way. Madness is a divine sense because it involves independence, freedom, and it allows you to think for yourself. Sometimes we all need a little madness..That sounds weird

Amurica

"why talk of beauty what could be more beaut-
iful than these heroic happy dead"
"next to of course god america i"
e.e. cummings


The lack of capitalization, punctation, and just coherent sentences in this poem is distressing. But I have come to understand it's similar to the song, "God Bless America." This poem praises the goodness that America has and how we all glorify its name "in every language even deafanddumb." The above quote is rather paradoxical because it says that it's beautiful that men are dead- and not just dead-happy dead. It means to say that 'these men have not died in vain.'(Abraham Lincoln: Gettysburg address...Thank you for making us memorize that Mrs. Helbing.) The death of those who fought for America is beautiful because they died so that we could be protected from danger.

Another use of figurative language would be the simile, "who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter." The lions in this phrase are the soldiers; the soldiers are compared to lions because they are brave in that they run into the slaughter, or combat/warfare. One of the last few lines, "then shall the voice of liberty be mute?" may mean that patriotism would not be present if it weren't for the courageous men that fought in battle to protect us all.

Batter My Heart

"Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free"
"Batter my heart, three-personed God"
John Donne


This poem is a prayer of repentance to the "three personed God," or the Trinity. The man (or woman) praying may have committed a very bad sinful deed--possibly even a mortal sin. I'm not sure what exactly the man has done, but he does say, "betrothed unto your enemy," which means he most likely gave into the Devil's work/temptation. Also, he states, "Divorce me, untie or break that knot again," so maybe the man has cheated on his wife? Well anyway, throughout this entire poem the man pleads to God for forgiveness for his actions. He feels as though he will not be properly forgiven if he is not punished for his sins first.

Since this poem is addressed to the Trinity, there are separate parts that directly speak to Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. I'm going to guess that "knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend" address God because he presents challenges to us, gives us life, and helps to guide us and seek to forgive one another. "That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend" may be addressed to Jesus, because He rose from the dead, and he was overthrown, or crucified. Throughout his suffering, he was able to "rise and stand" and recover from the pain. Finally, the portion "Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new" may be addressed to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit appeared in the form of tongues of fire at Pentecost, so that's why I think the burn reference may have been made. Also, the symbol for the Holy Spirit is the dove, and the dove is a sign of new life, which makes sense with the part of "make me new." I could be totally wrong as to whether or not these inferences are right, but they seem logical.

And finally, there are lots of paradoxes in this poem:

• "That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me"
• "Imprison me, for I, Except you enthrall me, never shall be free"
• "Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me"

None of these make sense particularly, but these paradoxes reveal the man's desire to go through whatever steps that are necessary so that he may be healed of his wrongdoings and sin.

Ozymandias

"Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
"Ozymandias"
Percy Bysshe Shelley


Ozymandias seems like the kind of character that tried to overtake an entire society/government and change it according to how he wanted it to be organized. He calls himself "king of kings" which may imply he felt like he was superior and that he possessed power over others. Throughout the poem, I noticed that Ozymandias was not particularly well-liked, mainly from the negative diction. I saw words like "frown," "lifeless," "mocked," and "cold." I think Ozymandias attempted to ignite change in society, but ending up failing. The poem's very ironic because the pedestal of the sculpture of his head it says "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" when around that stone there was basically nothing but miles of sand a desert. The speaker outright states, "Nothing besides remains," and that it is "boundless and bare." Ozymandias's legacy did not live; only his ironic words etched in stone remained in the middle of the desert. There is no one for miles to appreciate his 'great works.'

Barbie Doll

"She cut off her nose and her legs
and offered them up."
"Barbie Doll"
Marge Piercy


This poem shows the negative effect that dolls can have on children early in their life. They play with these perfect looking flawless figurines, and believe that this is what they are supposed to look like. When they see someone that isn't a model of that image, they are made made fun of and laughed at. This poem shows that children are taught an unattainable model of perfection at a young age, and this affects them throughout their lives, as well as those other children around them.

The sad part about this poem is that the girl portrayed is perfectly healthy--"She was healthy, tested intelligent, possessed strong arms and back," but none of this is important to her because she has "a great big nose and fat legs." I think the phrase 'inner beauty' should really apply to this poem. I know it sounds really cliche, but sometimes it's not all about having the best physical features; when people focus too much on the outer beauty, they forget to acknowledge someone's inner beauty, and that person is not even appreciated for their talents or other beauties they possess.

This poem also reminded me of that show on TLC "Toddlers and Tiaras" because the parents give the girls this idea that they have to be so pretty and perfect. Mainly the show disgusts me because I feel like the girls are just all going to grow up to be brats, like the one that called the girl in the poem fat. But, it's not really their fault that their parents tell them this is what's right, or they let them play with these dolls that can affect their way of viewing others.

Back to the poem. The quote I used above is an overstatement because I doubt the girl literally cut up her nose and her legs to get rid of them. I think the words "cut up" are almost like a euphemism to say that she became anorexic and it took over her life. The very last sentence of the poem said, "To every woman a happy ending." I think this was contradictory because the girl had a very twisted happy ending--she died, but at the same time she was supposedly 'happy' because her anorexia may have gotten rid of her defects. The poem demonstrates the extreme measures some girls take just to fit it and be a pretty barbie doll.

February

"February, month of despair
with a skewered heart in the centre."
"February"
Magaret Atwood


February is just about the middle of winter, when everyone is getting tired of the cold weather and lack of green plants and trees. The speaker in the poem focuses on both the positive and the negative aspects of winter. The cat represents a negative aspect, because it is a symbol of sex and greed. However, he finds love amidst all the lifelessness and negativity around him during February (I mean it is is the month of Valentine's Day...) He says, "It's love that does us in." Love helps us to see the good in things, when everything else seems hopeless and miserable. It provides comfort during times of insecurity. I think Atwood is trying to say that a world with a little more love and optimism will help "Get rid of death" and "Make it be spring," or help us to have a more positive outlook on parts of our life. It can always be spring in our minds if we change our negative perception in life.

Dream Deferred

"What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?"
"Dream Deferred"
Langston Hughes


This poem asks a lot of rhetorical questions--six to be exact. Hughes main point is..."What happens to a dream deferred?" What happens to a dream that we just put off and push aside? Hughes uses multiple similes to answer this question. He finds many possibilities as to what occurs when a dream is forgotten about. His first thoughts are that the dream will still remain present in someone's mind "fester like a sore," "stink like rotten meat" etc. but after time, it will "crust and sugar over," or it will start to fade. The dream may "sag" like a burden in one's mind. Once a dream has had sufficient time to fade from our lives, it may just "explode." The word explode implies that the dream will permanently be destroyed from our thoughts; it will cease to exist because it's been ignored for too long. At some point in time, a lifelong dream may eventually die off on its own, even if we may not realize it.

Pink Dog

"Ash Wednesday'll come but Carnival is here.
What sambas can you dance? What will you wear?"
"Pink Dog"
Elizabeth Bishop


When I first saw the title of this poem, I assumed it would be about a pink dog. But it's really not about that so much. The central purpose of this poem is to convince people to have fun and be carefree, before the season of lent. I'm not sure if my interpretation is correct, but I think the speaker doesn't want people to be beggars, or someone that "lives by their wits." The speaker is instead encouraging spontaneity- to just let go of anything that's bothering you, otherwise you'll be "where there is no light," meaning, where there is no livelihood and happiness. Bishop uses a hyperbole by saying, "They take and throw them in the tidal rivers," to show the community does not appreciate the beggars disrupting the Carnival festivities. The speaker wants the beggars to participate in the event along with the rest of the community. At Carnival, you do not want to be an eyesore, similar to how a pink dog is an eyesore on the street, so dress up and dance and go with the flow.

Bright Star

"Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite"
"Bright Star"
John Keats


This poem is an apostrophe praising the beauty of stars. The writer is admiring her gleaming "splendor" that lights up the night sky. Throughout the poem, there is a certain pace associated with the location of the stars. Lines 5-8 show how stars are shining above the water, or on the snow, depending upon the season. The pace is moving, there are "moving waters," and the stars are "steadfast." Lines 2, 4, and 10 show that the star's position, though, remains "unchangeable," "in lone splendor," and "patient." Stars remain in fixed positions and I found that the words "sweet unrest" accurately convey this point. The phrase "sweet unrest" is contradictory because usually unrest is not considered sweet--It's rather bothersome and annoying. Keats portrays stars to be in a sweet unrest to show how he feels in his own life. He wants to be constant, like a star, but he would prefer being with his lover over being trapped in the same place.

Toads

"Lots of folk live on their wits:
Lecturers, lispers, losels, lobolly-men, louts-
They don't end as paupers;"
"Toads"
Philip Larkin


The poem "Toads" was in fact, not about toads. The central purpose of this poem was to convey a sentiment of many people in the world today. The speaker in this poem is unhappy with the way his life has turned out. He is stuck in a boring job he doesn't really enjoy;  he only works to pay the bills. Meanwhile, the rich and even the poor, as seen in the above excerpt, lead a happier life than he. Larkin uses alliteration to describe the different groups of people: the lecturers and lispers are most likely the 'witty' ones, while the losels, lobolly-men, and louts are the less witty people. (Maybe?) The speaker feels like he is stuck in the middle, while the others have "their unspeakable wives," "with fires in a bucket," and "eat windfalls and tinned sardines." I'm not exactly sure what "fires in a bucket" or "eat[ing] windfalls" refers to but he is trying to show how much better off that those people are than him, because "They don't end as paupers."

The speaker also seems to be torn between spiritual truth, and material goods, and how to attain both of them. He cannot understand why the world around him is filled with these two toads that unfairly influence his life. The two toads are his work life, as well as internal conflicts he experiences--like "The fame and the girl and the money." This man speaks in a bitter tone regarding work, with "its sickening poison." His point may be that he feels trapped in a life of work he isn't particularly fond of, and he is realizing there is no way out, because he's too far in, it's too late. He also has conflict internally because he feels like he's unable to succeed in getting the girl, or being the rich guy, on top of all his other troubles. He constantly feels bogged down by these two toads.

London

"In every cry of every man,
In every Infant's cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
the mind-forged manacles I hear."
"London"
William Blake


The primary purpose of this poem is to portray the dark side of London. Despite the breath-taking sites like Big Ben and Buckinghman Palace, London also has a not so glamorous side. Blake is showing us that during the day, London may appear beautiful, but "through midnight streets" [at night], the underlying problems will begin to creep out. This poem has an overall tone of hopelessness. There is the notion that the Soldiers are always left in charge of taking care of the "blood down the Palace walls" or the conflicts occurring within the government. There are "Harlot's" or prostitutes roaming the city, causing plagues upon marriage as well as new-borns. The man walking through London seems to feel that the cause of all these issues are "marks of weakness." The man recognizes despair in every cry of every man, infant, and and in every voice he hears. All of these recognitions make his mind feel overwhelmed, and he concludes that the city surrounding him has numerous issues, which may sometimes be obscured during the day.

Panther

"An image enters in,
rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles,
plunges into the heart and is gone."
"The Panther"
Rainer Maria Rilke


This poem emphasizes a constant feeling of imprisonment for the panther. The words "curtain," and "ritual dance," hint that the panther may be contained as an act for a circus. In the quote above, it is evident that the panther may possess a sliver of hope when he opens his eyes that he may be roaming free, but the feeling quickly escapes him when he looks up and sees the bars still surrounding him. Rilke is most likely trying to convey the idea that caging animals is cruel. No animal should live a confined life in which it cannot run freely as it pleases. As we see through the panther's perspective, the vision grows weary, and all optimism is lost when animals are deemed to a life imprisoned in a cage.

I also cannot help but wonder why Rilke chose to use a panther to emphasize the evil of caging animals. Why not a lion or a tiger? The only conclusion I can come up with is that a panther is a very sleek, beautiful feline, so he found it to be even more persuasive in his argument against animal cruelty--His point is to say, "How could anyone cage up such a beautiful animal?", as opposed to giving us a rather commonplace perspective through the tiger or lion's eyes. (No offense to tigers and lions)

Autumn

"To bend with apples the mossed cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core"
"To Autumn"
John Keats

This poem is rather fitting, considering it's almost autumn right now. It is full of imagery about the fall season. The "winnowing wind," the "twined flowers," and the "mellow fruitfulness" create vivid images of the sights of autumn. Besides the sights of autumn, we also get a feel of the sounds of fall as well. The "hedge-crickets sing," and the "red-breast whistles." These sounds lead to the conclusion that fall is a bustling season filled with activity before the hibernation season of winter sets in. The birds flutter about and prepare for the coming dormant season; the bees stock up on what pollen remains; the plants are reaching their final blooms, and the clouds hover over the sky and create a "rosy hue." Autumn is our last chance [before winter] at appreciating the beauty of nature with its colored leaves, apples, and cool temperatures. I'd have to say autumn is one of my favorite seasons because of the cider and leaf piles, and this poem seems to praise the season of autumn as well.

Reminders of the Past

"I feel that I would like
to go there
and fall into those flowers
and sink into the marsh near them."
"The Widow's Lament in Springtime"
William Carlos Williams


The tone of this poem was rather sad and depressing. It was filled with dismal diction such as "sorrow" "cold," "grief," "sink," etc. This tone was used to convey the feelings of the wife. The white flowers remind her of her husband whom she loved, and when she sees them bloom in the spring, she remembered how much she missed him.

In this poem, an example of an oxy moron is used. The phrase "with the cold fire that closes round me this year," is contradictory. Usually a fire is not cold, but the purpose of having a cold fire shows the internal conflict the wife is experiencing. She has a raging fire of emptiness inside her. Instead of a hot fire that is passionate and strong, she senses a great feeling of coldness and weakness.

The white flowers have a sort of conflicting image as well. On one hand, they are beautiful and signs of spring life. On the other, they are a reminder of the past, and what joy once existed in the wife's life. The white flowers represent life to most people, while the wife views them as a symbol of death and mourning.

Springtime

"Before it cloud, Christ lord, and sour with sinning,
Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy"
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Spring


The central purpose of this poem is to portray how spring is like a clean slate to nature. It's like Eden's garden "before it cloy," meaning, before it is overused and spoiled. The quote above compares springtime to Christ, who is pure. When there are clouds though, there is sin, and the innocence/cleanliness that once existed is lost. In a way, this poem reminds me of the complete opposite season, winter. When it snows, the ground is pure white, and untouched. But once the animals come scurrying around through it, it soon becomes dirty, messy, and uneven. In springtime, the trees are blooming, the sky is a pretty blue, and it's just the beginning of the life that is to come. Spring symbolizes a new beginning, and new life, similar to how Jesus symbolizes new life. After a long harsh winter, spring is welcomed and seen as a fresh new start. But as the clouds set in and the novelty wears off, the mood soon changes and the 'innocence' of it is lost. It can be compared to how Jesus symbolizes life for us, but when we disregard His ways, we sin, and lose sight of the blessings He brings to us.

Perrine's Perspective on Poetry

"That all interpretations of a poem are equally valid is a critical heresy, but one which perennially makes its reappearance in the classroom."

For the most part, I do agree with what Perrine says about the way in which we are to interpret poetry. We cannot allow different facts to contradict each other when interpreting poetry nor can we make wild assumptions that are out of context in nature of the poem. When he said, "...though it too accounts for all the facts, it rests on too many additional assumptions. It is, as we would say, too 'farfetched,'" I couldn't help but think of Jimmy's interpretation of the Emily Dickinson poem-that it was about a washing machine. Perrine certaintly would not agree with that assumption. As for my interpretation of the Emily Dickinson poem, I was not too far off. I did conclude that the daffodils represented the sun in some way, so maybe I didn't do too bad.

At the same time, I disagree with Perrine when he says we are not to be "farfetched" in our interpretation of a poem. Everyone is going to have a different take on what a poem means. Some may have a more creative outlook on it, while other have a more literal outlook on it. As for me, I usually have a pretty literal and concrete interpretation of poetry. I literally interpreted the "fantastic sailors mingle"in the Emily Dickinson poem to be sailors sharing stories with one another. I'm going to have to work around my habit of literal interpretation. Also, as I read further into this piece, I found that Perrine said the Melville poem posed the question of the existence of God. What? I don't think I would ever be able to come up with that. I still do not even understand where he got that from to be honest. Although I may not be able to interpret poetry as confidently as Perrine is able to, I have picked up a few tips from him. I realize that I am going to need to pay more attention to word choice and diction. I never realized the Night March Poem was about stars, because I didn't closely look at the words, like "twinkling," "bright", "beaming" etc. I also need to look for symbols, and I need to be able to differentiate them from metaphors.  Lastly, I will try not to make out of context conclusions to a poem.  I think I'm ready to analyze poetry now that I know what to look for..