So here is the sonnet I wrote...
I've fallen from the saving light of day
In dismal deep, my feeling's fallen short
Now numb I sit, awaiting slow decay
A mocking drink serves steward to my sport.
The liquid's bitter with the taste of ash,
With every sip, another shard of glass
That cuts my tongue and leaves a telling lash.
Oh heart, don't fear the cuts to come to pass
For surely there is still a ways to fall.
And though this drink goes down with burning ache,
There's one more cup, most bitter of them all.
Though prone to doubt, with fear about to break,
Take, heart, this cup will prove they saving grace,
and let the holder lift your weary face.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Poems In the English Major
So to find out a little bit more about poems in the English major I asked my sister-in-law, Heather, to help me out. Heather had an English Teaching minor, which is exactly what I'm planning on doing, so I thought it would be a good idea to ask someone in a situation similar to mine. This is the message Heather sent me:
I know we read "Red, Red, Wheel Barrow" and "This is just to say" both by William Carlos Williams several times in the minor. One of my favorite poets is Elizabeth Barret Browning. She wrote the epic poem "Aurora Leigh" which is where "How do I love comes." Robert Browning is important. He wrote a bunch of dramatic monologues, but I forget what they're called. One might be "My Last Dutchess." He also might have written "The Piped Piper." I also really liked "The Love Story of J. Alfred Proffrock," which I think is by T. S. Elliot. He's pretty important. He also wrote one about dead bodied coming out of the ground after World War I, but I don't remember what it's called. Shakespeare's sonnets are also pretty big. People read a lot of Robert Frost, William Blake (he wrote a series of poems that seemed like they were for little kids but they weren't. I think one might be "The Tyger"), William Wordsworth (Leaves of Grass), Langston Hughes (Theme for English B, I, too, am America).
Heather was also really helpful and asked her old English professor what he thought some important poems were.
He suggested:
‘Sonnet 73... Read More’ (Shakespeare)
‘A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal’ (Wordworth)
‘Because I Could Not Stop For Death’ (Dickinson)
‘Thirteen Ways of Looking At A Blackbird’ (Stevens)
The Canterbury Tales (Chaucer)
The Faerie Queen (Spencer)
Paradise Lost (Milton)
The Prelude (Wordsworth)
‘A Valediction Forbidding Mourning’ (Donne)
‘Tintern Abbey’ (Wordworth)
‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ (Keats)
‘One Art’ (Elizabeth Bishop)
I thought they were really helpful. Hope it helps!
I know we read "Red, Red, Wheel Barrow" and "This is just to say" both by William Carlos Williams several times in the minor. One of my favorite poets is Elizabeth Barret Browning. She wrote the epic poem "Aurora Leigh" which is where "How do I love comes." Robert Browning is important. He wrote a bunch of dramatic monologues, but I forget what they're called. One might be "My Last Dutchess." He also might have written "The Piped Piper." I also really liked "The Love Story of J. Alfred Proffrock," which I think is by T. S. Elliot. He's pretty important. He also wrote one about dead bodied coming out of the ground after World War I, but I don't remember what it's called. Shakespeare's sonnets are also pretty big. People read a lot of Robert Frost, William Blake (he wrote a series of poems that seemed like they were for little kids but they weren't. I think one might be "The Tyger"), William Wordsworth (Leaves of Grass), Langston Hughes (Theme for English B, I, too, am America).
Heather was also really helpful and asked her old English professor what he thought some important poems were.
He suggested:
‘Sonnet 73... Read More’ (Shakespeare)
‘A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal’ (Wordworth)
‘Because I Could Not Stop For Death’ (Dickinson)
‘Thirteen Ways of Looking At A Blackbird’ (Stevens)
The Canterbury Tales (Chaucer)
The Faerie Queen (Spencer)
Paradise Lost (Milton)
The Prelude (Wordsworth)
‘A Valediction Forbidding Mourning’ (Donne)
‘Tintern Abbey’ (Wordworth)
‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ (Keats)
‘One Art’ (Elizabeth Bishop)
I thought they were really helpful. Hope it helps!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Their Eyes Were Watching God
So this is a quick blog about the connection between prose and poetry.
I know that one of the main qualifications of poetry is that it is in a verse-like format. I respect this line between poetry and prose, but I must admit that I think it becomes thin at certain points (the handbook thinks the same thing, thank you). Sometimes when a poem is a direct telling of a story, like a long narrative poem (Out of the Dust is a good example), then I think it leans more towards the prose side of things. There are other times when the prose written is so eloquent that the best way to describe it is simply poetry. I know this addresses the connotations of poetry and prose rather than the denotations, but I think the connotation is just as essential as the denotation.
One of the best examples of poetry-like prose is Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. The story switches between a heavy southern dialect in the dialog, and a deep poetic style in the narration. Below are some quotes from the book.
"Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men. Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember, and remember everything they don't want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly."
"The wind came back with triple fury, and put out the light for the last time. They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining against crude walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure their puny might against His. They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God."
" It was inevitable that she should accept any inconsistency and cruelty from her deity as all good worshippers do from theirs. All gods who receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshipped. Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood."
If that's not poetry, then I don't know what is :]
If you haven't read Their Eyes Were Watching God then you should. It's a great book.
I know that one of the main qualifications of poetry is that it is in a verse-like format. I respect this line between poetry and prose, but I must admit that I think it becomes thin at certain points (the handbook thinks the same thing, thank you). Sometimes when a poem is a direct telling of a story, like a long narrative poem (Out of the Dust is a good example), then I think it leans more towards the prose side of things. There are other times when the prose written is so eloquent that the best way to describe it is simply poetry. I know this addresses the connotations of poetry and prose rather than the denotations, but I think the connotation is just as essential as the denotation.
One of the best examples of poetry-like prose is Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. The story switches between a heavy southern dialect in the dialog, and a deep poetic style in the narration. Below are some quotes from the book.
"Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men. Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember, and remember everything they don't want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly."
"The wind came back with triple fury, and put out the light for the last time. They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining against crude walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure their puny might against His. They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God."
" It was inevitable that she should accept any inconsistency and cruelty from her deity as all good worshippers do from theirs. All gods who receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshipped. Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood."
If that's not poetry, then I don't know what is :]
If you haven't read Their Eyes Were Watching God then you should. It's a great book.
Shakespearean Poetry
So, I decided to once again use my Shakespeare class to my advantage and discuss poetry in Shakespeare.
Everyone is pretty familiar with Shakespearean sonnets, but sometimes the poetry used in the plays is kind of ignored. Shakespeare used such poetry in his plays often as a plot motivator. It was when the characters would speak their most profound poetry that their lovers would first begin to fall in love. One example of this that sticks out is when Rosalind falls in love with Orlando after he gives his speech before the wrestling match (I don't have my book with me or I would put the actual lines in). Orlando speaks a beautiful verse (although it is written in prose-a fact to be addressed in a later blog) about his apathy in regards to whether he comes out of the match dead or alive. If you've seen the BBC production of As You Like It, it during this speech that the camera has a close up of Rosalind's face and her facial expression is almost as if she's in a trance. It's at this point that Rosalind falls in love with him and becomes devoted to him.
Continuing with As You Like It, another time when blank verse is used is when Orlando writes a number of poems to Rosalind and posts them on trees. These somewhat corny verses are found by Rosalind and motivate her to experiment with Orlando to see how deep his love is for her. Poetry is the fruits of Petrarchan love, the pastoral love that was most popular in Shakespeare's time. Through Orlando's lame poetry Shakespeare mocks Petrarchan love and pushes the public to search for a deeper form of love.
Another way that Shakespeare uses poetry in his plays is to differentiate between the characters. In I Henry IV, Shakespeare has different characters speak with different styles to both manipulate the audience and differentiate between classes. King Henry IV speaks almost always in blank verse to indicate his high standing in the community. Hotspur speaks in an annoying manner. He is always cutting off the other characters and speaks with violent and brash phrases. Hotspur even states himself that he is not proficient at eloquent speaking. Hotspur was given such annoying speech to manipulate the audience to not like him anymore. Prince Hal has the most interesting use of language. Whenever he is with the drunkards on Eastcheap he speaks in prose like those surrounding him of the lower class. When he goes to his father, however, or when he gives his monologue, he speaks in flawless blank verse, further differentiating classes and his middle stance between them.
That's all I have for now! :]
Everyone is pretty familiar with Shakespearean sonnets, but sometimes the poetry used in the plays is kind of ignored. Shakespeare used such poetry in his plays often as a plot motivator. It was when the characters would speak their most profound poetry that their lovers would first begin to fall in love. One example of this that sticks out is when Rosalind falls in love with Orlando after he gives his speech before the wrestling match (I don't have my book with me or I would put the actual lines in). Orlando speaks a beautiful verse (although it is written in prose-a fact to be addressed in a later blog) about his apathy in regards to whether he comes out of the match dead or alive. If you've seen the BBC production of As You Like It, it during this speech that the camera has a close up of Rosalind's face and her facial expression is almost as if she's in a trance. It's at this point that Rosalind falls in love with him and becomes devoted to him.
Continuing with As You Like It, another time when blank verse is used is when Orlando writes a number of poems to Rosalind and posts them on trees. These somewhat corny verses are found by Rosalind and motivate her to experiment with Orlando to see how deep his love is for her. Poetry is the fruits of Petrarchan love, the pastoral love that was most popular in Shakespeare's time. Through Orlando's lame poetry Shakespeare mocks Petrarchan love and pushes the public to search for a deeper form of love.
Another way that Shakespeare uses poetry in his plays is to differentiate between the characters. In I Henry IV, Shakespeare has different characters speak with different styles to both manipulate the audience and differentiate between classes. King Henry IV speaks almost always in blank verse to indicate his high standing in the community. Hotspur speaks in an annoying manner. He is always cutting off the other characters and speaks with violent and brash phrases. Hotspur even states himself that he is not proficient at eloquent speaking. Hotspur was given such annoying speech to manipulate the audience to not like him anymore. Prince Hal has the most interesting use of language. Whenever he is with the drunkards on Eastcheap he speaks in prose like those surrounding him of the lower class. When he goes to his father, however, or when he gives his monologue, he speaks in flawless blank verse, further differentiating classes and his middle stance between them.
That's all I have for now! :]
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