To His Coy Mistress

"Thus, though we cannot make our sun/ Stand still, yet we will make him run."

Time was an important theme in the poem, and the speaker begins by saying that they do not have enough time together. He speaks of what they would do together had they the time, and three of the instances have to do with water. The speaker mentions the Indian Ganges, the Humber, and the Flood. I did not see the connection between them as the Ganges is in India, the Humber in East England, and the Flood an allusion to the biblical event. Another interesting image was the "vegetable love." Love ripens and grows like a vegetable, so that is an apt description. The sun is metonymy for a universe which they cannot make still. Again he mentions that they do not have enough time, but then he urges her to make the most of what time they do have. Time's chariots, eternity, and time's power all are forces that can tear them apart. The poem was more about time than love, however. The poet is saying that we should make the most of our short time.

My mistress' eyes

"And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare/ As any she belied with false compare."

I thought this poem was so insulting when I first read it, but the last two lines dulled the sting of the insults. The speaker spends most of the poem going against many similes associated with one' love or a beautiful woman. His descriptions are ironic and seem very insulting. He says she does not compare to a rose, white snow, the sun, perfumes, music, or a goddess. I think what the speaker was trying to say was that his mistress may not be the most beautiful or perfect thing on this earth, but he thinks she is rare. He says those comparison are "false," and that they misrepresent her. Overall this poem was meant to be a compliment, but that was hard to identify throughout most of the poem. The tone was not as insulting as it originally seemed, and he really is paying respect to his mistress.

Getting Out

"Yet I think of the lawyer's bewilderment when we cried, the last day. Taking hands we walked apart, until our arms stretched between us. We held on tight, and let go."

The poem begins with the use of the pronoun "we," then transitions into "you" and "I." The end of the poem revisits the "we," and the use of the pronouns symbolizes their feelings at different points in their relationship. The we tells of a time when they were a couple, trapped together in an unhappy relationship. When they were apart and "you" tried to leave, the pronouns are solitary. "We" is used again, but it has a different meaning than it did before. They are not together anymore, but they are free and are able to care about each other. The poem is about a divorce as seen in the line about the lawyer. The speaker made it sound like both were to blame, but the partner was the one who tried to leave. I thought that the speaker involved herself in the tightening of the heart. The tone shifts from desperation and unhappiness to acceptance tinged with regret. They are no longer in love, but they still care about one another.

Crossing the Bar

"I hope to see my Pilot face to face/ When I have crossed the bar."

When I read this poem, I interpreted it very literally and thought the speaker was describing his journey across a sandbar into the ocean. Once I got to the line that reads "I hope to see my Pilot...", I realized that crossing the bar stood for something else entirely. The Pilot the speaker is talking about is God, and crossing the bar symbolizes death. His death occurs during the night as shown through all of the terms illustrating nighttime: "evening star," "asleep," "dark", "evening bell," and "twilight." He also asks for no sadness or mourning, saying "may there be no mourning of the bar." The speaker describes death in a variety of ways, saying he is crossing the bar, going to embark, or being put out to sea. The death he is describing sounds very peaceful and I got the impression that he has been preparing for that moment. He contrasts the "boundless deep" with "home." He came from the boundless deep, like the universe, and is returning home to his Pilot, God.

Hazel Tells Laverne

"how i can be a princess/ me a princess/ well my mouth drops/ all the way to the floor/ an he says/ kiss me just kiss me/ once on the nose/ well i screams/ ya little green pervert"

I found the tone of this poem to be humorous. There was no punctuation throughout, but I had no trouble following the poem; it did not run together as one thought. The diction was uneducated, but that added to the understanding of the character. As for the situation, the woman was cleaning out the Howard Johnson's ladies room because she is a maid. She does not think she can be a princess and repeats "me a princess." Perhaps this is because of her life or career, and she does not want to get her hopes up over something so unfathomable. She must look out for herself, so she does not believe the frog. Her actions fit with her character and also add humor to the poem. This is based on the fairytale "The Princess and the Frog," but the ending was very different. The ironic ending also contributed to the humor of the poem. 

Sorting Laundry

I have never experienced such a deep reflection of life while sorting laundry, but I can see how the speaker could assign parts of her life to articles of laundry. Perhaps that makes laundry not so much of a chore, since I thought the speaker did not resent her role as the housekeeper. The hyperbole at the end of the poem, the "mountain of unsorted wash," is built throughout the preceding stanzas. Every article of clothing she describes is thrown onto the bed, adding to the height with each description. The clothes are folded and arranged neatly to make a single pile. This is comparable to how the speaker had to arrange her life to incorporate her lover to make one cohesive life together. Since she is so reflective when sorting laundry and sees so much more than clothes and loose objects, I think she enjoys doing the laundry. That gives her time to see her life laid out before her in the form of everyday laundry.

Barbie Doll

This poem was so depressing, although it's message was true and applicable to today's society. The author immediately establishes the fact that this girl is not a Barbie doll, and she has "a great big nose and fat legs." Even though the girl focuses on these differences, she has other traits not found in the plastic doll. She has intelligence, "strong arms and back," "abundant sexual drive," and "manual dexterity." These distinctions are so important because they show that even though the girl is not physically perfect like Barbie, she has other enviable traits that Barbie never will have. Unfortunately, the girl never focuses on her positive features. The author describes the girl as a "girlchild" in the first line to establish her innocence and vulnerability, and the reader sees that eroded as society corrupts her view of herself and the world. The irony at the end is especially bitter because the girl achieved her perfect look, but she cannot enjoy her "beauty." This was not a happy ending, and the author targets the society that pressures girls to strive to be like a plastic, lifeless doll.

APO 96225

Even though I change my favorite poem every time we have a new set, I am almost certain that this one will continue to be my favorite. I cannot really describe why I am so drawn to this poem, but I think the message is incredibly powerful. The author presents his message in a subtle way, disguised in a story. This poem exemplifies the attitude of the American public about the Vietnam War. The public was not ready to know all of the horrible details, yet this war was the most exposed to the public. The mother begs her son for details but is unable to handle the harsh realities of war which it true for many people. I thought the irony is dramatic because the reader knows about the conditions the son hesitated to tell his mother as she pleads for more details. The author did not write this poem objectively; he was putting the public's views into words. He really highlights how the majority of people felt, and I felt like he had a personal tie to war, like this topic was close to him. The speaker's attitude is almost sarcastic, and I think the last stanza shows his lack of respect for the public's reaction. The son must keep the horrors of war to himself because his mother finds them "upsetting" which seems like an understatement considering the experiences of the soldiers. 

Mr. Z

Usually when I read a satirical poem, I do not immediately understand the message. Mr. Z's message seemed more obvious and not hidden by metaphors. The poem did contain metaphors such as "matched chameleon" and "an airborne plant, flourishing without roots." In regards to the first metaphor, the author is saying that Mr. Z and his bride so not have one skin that identifies them. Instead, they change their colors to match what they perceive to be what society expects of them. It also implies that they can change their colors easily, that they have adapted to blending into society. The other metaphor about "flourishing without roots" means that the pair create their own success without reflecting on their past. They are not connected to their history and their heritage; in fact, they try to avoid such connections. The author was criticizing society that caused Mr. Z to be ashamed of his heritage, and he illustrated this point through the life of Mr. Z. The man of the poem is not given a name because the message does not apply to just one person; it is almost like an "insert name here."

next of course god america i

I had to read this poem a couple of times because I had difficulty piecing together the sentences due to the lack of punctuation. While reading the beginning of the poem, I noticed the different parts from various patriotic songs, like "land of the pilgrims'," "oh say can you see by the dawn's early," and "my country 'tis of." The next set of phrases that caught my attention were "by gorry by jingo by gee by gosh by gum." The author was incorporating and paying tribute to the various regional dialects of America, and it may have related to the author's reference of "every language." I thought the "heroic happy dead" were the soldiers that fought during the Revolutionary War, and they rushed into "the roaring slaughter" because no one thought the Americans could actually win the war. I have the impression that both the speaker and the author admire the soldiers not stopping and thinking before entering the war. Had they done so, they probably would not have entered into the fight for freedom and won our independence. The speakers says "next of course to god" in the first line of the poem to illustrate the depth of his love for America; his love is second only to God. I did not even notice the quotation marks until I read the last line, and then I realized the speaker was telling this to an audience. I could not figure out who the speaker is or what the purpose is of the last line. I thought of professional speakers drinking from water during pauses in the presentation, and this speaker maybe in a formal situation, addressing a certain crowd. He offers a thought provoking question at the end of his dialogue, perhaps to challenge the group.

Toads

This poem uses toads as a metaphor for certain aspects of life. One toad, work, "squats" on life, soiling with its "sickening poison." The other toad is the complete opposite of the previous toad. As much contempt as the speaker has for the first toad, he has this second toad to combat the work toad. This toad, which I thought to be motivation, sits inside of him. I think it is not explicitly identified so the reader can draw his or her own conclusions about this second toad with haunches as "heavy as hard luck and cold as snow." This cold drive allows the speaker to tolerate the work toad. He says "it's hard to lose either, when you have both," and I agree. When one has motivation, the do not lose their work ethic. Although the speaker expresses his apparent distaste for work, I find it ironic; I think he is actually a hard worker who appreciates the toil of labor. He probably truly does not appreciate those he mentioned avoiding the work toad.

Bright Star

This apostrophe was interesting since it directly addressed both the appealing and unappealing characteristics of a star. The speaker longs to be as "steadfast" as the star, but he does not envy all of the star's traits. For instance, the speaker does not wish to be alone, forever watching the world from the night sky. The star watches the changing of the earth but never changes itself. The speaker does not wish for this trait because he is in love. He wished to feel, to change, to sleep, and to be with his love, not suspended in the sky, patiently remaining there for eternity. He wants these things, to "so live ever- or else swoon to death." The repetition of the word "still" ("still steadfast, still unchanging") implies a sort of finality. The star has always been this way, and still has not changed; it will never change. The speaker wants "sweet unrest," not this certainty of never changing.

I taste a liquor never brewed

I had to read this poem a couple of times before I began to understand the figurative language and its intended meaning. When I first read it, I mainly focused on the words associated with alcohol: "tankards," "vats," "inebriate," and "drunken." Taken literally, the poem creates a convincing scenes of drunkenness. I read of a drunk getting turned away by his landlord, and people watching from their windows as a drunkard leans against the light post. During my next readings, I altered my focus to the nature words: "air," "dew," "summer days," "bee," "foxglove," and "butterflies." This led me to believe that the poem could be about drinking in nature or being intoxicated by nature's beauty. I thought the "inns of Molten Blue" could be the sky and the "snowy Hats" could be the clouds, but I am not sure what the "Tankards scooped in Pearl" could be. When discussing this nature, the speaker says "I shall but drink the more!" as if he or she cannot get enough of the scene of the bee, foxglove, and butterflies. This extended metaphor offers a unique look at the powerful appeal of nature.

Dream Deferred

I really enjoyed this poem, even though it was relatively simple and straight forward. The author uses many similes while pondering the fate of a dream deferred. He uses images of "a raisin in the sun," "a sore," "rotten meat," "a syrupy sweet," and "a heavy load" to create different possibilities for this dream cast aside. Although all of these similes are effective in their ability to conjure images of this withering dream, the most powerful line was the last. "Or does it explode?" This is the only metaphor in the poem, and its placement at the end gives it a much stronger effect. The previous instances of figurative language were unpleasant, but relatively calm images. This last line, especially with the emphasis from the italics, adds almost a violent power to the ending. The word explode has so much more destructive force than "dry up," "fester," "stink, "crust," or "sags." Knowing a little of the author's background makes me wonder if this poem has a personal connection to him, if he was writing from experience.

The Joy of Cooking

This poem was not at all what I had anticipated to read, to say the least. The figurative language of preparing the sister's tongue and the brother's heart for a meal is quite grotesque but also somewhat humorous. Descriptions of the tongue and heart characterize the brother and sister, and that is done so in a way that complements the style of the poem. When mentioning the sister's tongue, the speaker "trimmed the roots, small bones, and gristle," saying "it probably will grow back." These descriptions of the tongue correlate to the sister's personality; perhaps she is quite loquacious and has a sharp tongue. The brother's heart is "firm and rather dry" and needs "stuffing to make it interesting at all." Her brother's heart "barely feeds two," and this description is much harsher than the speaker's criticism of the sister. Saying that the brother's heart is too small, not interesting, and dry certainly conveys the speaker's feelings about the brother's lack of love. The tone seemed bitter, and it provided an interesting way to complain about one's siblings.

The Panther

I immediately felt the tense tone of this poem, created by the imagery of the bars and the panther's pacing. The bars form the panther's small prison in which he paces, and I felt his restlessness. The simile "like a ritual dance around a center in which a mighty will stand paralyzed" contributes to the overall tone of anxiousness and intensity. I had difficulty interpreting the image that enters into the panther's heart. Perhaps it is some sort of symbol, as is the panther. Maybe the image was one of freedom, or a scene from his life outside of the cage. Whatever the image, it held significant meaning since it "plunged into the heart." It must not have been something the panther cared to dwell in because it promptly disappeared. The line "it seems to him there are a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world" was incredibly desperate and lonely which contributes to the previous mentioning of weariness. The panther's actions speak of his inner weariness and struggle.

Those Winter Sundays

Even though this poem was short and straight forward, I really enjoyed "Those Winter Sundays." Some lines were especially powerful to me, and I felt the subtle emotion in the words. The imagery was painful in places, like the "blueblack cold" and "with cracked hands that ached from labor." Paired with lines like "No one ever thanked him" makes me think that the speaker is not only expressing gratitude but also shares his regret. Now the speaker realizes the sacrifices and labor the father endured for his son, and he did not properly express the appropriate gratitude. I sympathized the most with the father, going out on Sundays in the freezing cold so his son would be warm when he got up. The author's imagery when describing the cold made me understand the magnitude of the father's actions, warming a house of people that never expressed thanks. For most of the poem, the speaker details the events of those Sunday mornings, but at the end he says "What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices?" I think that something may have happened to the father that makes the son reflect back on his indifference those Sunday mornings. The speaker's emotions peak at those very last lines, strengthening this sense of regret and reflection.

The Widow's Lament in Springtime

When I read this poem, I noticed the use of nature and colors, all creating the image of spring. This spring, however, was tainted with grief. Her obvious depression seemed to be a contrast to the vibrant whites, yellows, and reds of the flowers around her. She used to be able to appreciate the beauty that surrounded her, but now she is unable to cast aside her grief to revel in the colors of spring. When I read the line "sorrow in my own yard," I thought that perhaps that yard held to many memories of her husband, so it only added to her sadness. She is confined in her yard just as she is confined by her sorrow. Maybe going to that meadow to fall into the flowers would be her way of not only escaping her yard but also escaping her sorrow. I got the impression that she was contemplating suicide when she says she wants to "sink into the marsh" near the flowers. I see the marsh surrounding her, enveloping her, and giving her a sense of comfort and peace. The flowers no longer are beautiful to her without her husband, and that represents her outlook of life, how her sorrow has erased life's beauty. Her grief seemed so strong and consuming, even though the poem describes the beauty of spring.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

As strange as this poem was, I consider it to be one of my favorites out of the group. When read literally, the poem may not be perfectly clear. Even though the poem contains realistic details about a funeral, it seems to revolve more around the mind. I considered the details of the funeral to be a metaphor for the speaker's loss of sanity. The line "And then a Plank in Reason, broke, And I dropped down, and down-" was the strongest piece of evidence I have for my interpretation. The speaker compares her loss of reason to a funeral, mourning the loss of her sanity. When that plank of reason broke, that was his or her breaking point, and the speaker completely lost his or her mind. The tone is somber which is appropriate for the funeral setting. The phrases "my mind was going numb" and "Wrecked, solitary hear" seemed melancholy, like the speaker was all alone in his or her descent into insanity. I got the impression that the speaker struggled against going crazy, but in the end the speaker could not retain his or her sanity.

London

This poem by William Blake used imagery in a way that I found to be rather unique. Instead of appealing to the reader's sense of sight, smell, or touch, Blake almost exclusively engaged the reader's sense of hearing. The most predominant sound in the poem was crying which I thought symbolized the desperation of the people. Institutions of corruption, like the Church, the monarchy, and prostitution, all caused the people suffering. Blake pairs the source of the wails, the chimney-sweeper, soldier, and infant, with the instigator that prompts these cries. My favorite line was "In every voice, in every ban, the mind-forged manacles I hear." The citizens of London are caught in their daily struggles, trapped by powerful rulers like the king and the Church. Another strong piece of imagery was "how the youthful Harlot's curse blasts the new-born Infant's tear, and blights with plagues the Marriage hearse." This shows that even things as sacred as marriage cannot avoid the poison of corruption in London; the sacrament has been poisoned by prostitution. Blake paints a bleak, troublesome picture of London with his sounds, using the cries and wails of the people to tell his story.

The Nature of Proof in the Interpretation of Poetry

Perrine's concept of incorrect and correct poetry interpretation was entirely new to me, and when I began to read the article, I was hesitant to accept his theory. I had always thought the poetry could mean many things to many people, and that was one of the unique quirks of poetry. With Perrine's explanation in mind, I now realize that poetry cannot mean everything to everyone, and that is a significant difference. Although poems may have more than one right interpretation, they cannot have an infinite number of meanings. Taking that into consideration, I agree with Perrine's method of determining the right interpretations, especially the second point that the explanation must be the most "economical." The idea that most stuck out to me and was perhaps was one of the most convincing points was Thomas Huxley's concept of the missing silverware. To me that point best summarized what Perrine was saying about the economical approach to interpreting poetry. With that illustration in mind, I better understand Perrine's point and the correct way to evaluate poetry's meaning. I had never thought of looking at the details in the poem and seeing if my interpretation is contradicted by any of those details. Now that I have an actual method for evaluating poetry, hopefully I will not produce as many "farfetched" or incorrect interpretations that Perrince mentioned.

Although I agreed with Perrine's approach to interpreting poetry, I was not in agreement with some of the comments he made concerning the poems he used as examples. When he explained the correct meaning behind the poems, he made the true interpretation seem so obvious. The interpretations are obviously not obvious; otherwise, he would not have to explain them. On the fourth page, when describing Melville's poem "The Night-March", Perrine commented, "The five words together form a constellation whose reference, once the pattern is recognized, is almost immediately clear." I do not think we need to have references in mind in order to interpret poetry, nor should we need to be familiar with other works by the same poet. Perrine mentions other works by Dickinson and references Whitman's life, suggesting the reader should have some background knowledge when reading poems. I do not necessarily agree with that; a reader should be able to correctly interpret a poem using just the poem itself. After the various explanations of poems I would have never correctly interpreted, I was back to agreeing with Perrine once he began to explain symbols in poetry. A concept I really liked was that "the areas of greatest meaning are created by symbolical poems...but even a symbol does not have unlimited meaning." I also understood the difference between metaphors in poems, like the poems by Dickinson and Melville, and symbolical poems like "The Sick Rose" by William Blake.