I Felt a Funeral in my Brain
by Emily Dickinson
Found at http://quotations.about.com/cs/poemlyrics/a/I_Felt_AFuneral.htm
I have never read to much of Emily Dickinson's work and was therefore quite stunned to find so many of her poems realted to or dealing with death. I truly enjoyed how this poem used death or a funeral as a metaphor to represent how the speaker feels a part of her is dying. It seems to me that the speaker is at a loss of control, or has no control over her conscience. In other words, it seems like the speaker can't make sense of herself due to the chaos. In a sense this is an exact opposite of funerals which are very structured and are controlled. Furthermore, in this poem the very first line states that the speaker is "feeling a funeral in her brain." Using the idea of a metaphor, I began to think that since a funeral is in a sense, a passage from one state to another, the idea of the speaker feeling a funeral eludes to the idea that she is feeling the passage from comprehension and understanding to another state of chaos and misunderstanding.
Even the structure and grammar adds to the change in state within this poem. In the beginning, the use of her punctuations are quite orderly and structured. However, as the speaker begins her descent into madness, the use of punctuations begins to get chaotic. Commas and dashes are used much more frequently creating a sense of chaos just by looking at it on the page, as well as, reading it aloud.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
I Died for Beauty by Emily Dickinson
I died for beauty, but was scarce
Adjusted in the tomb,
When one who died for truth was lain
In an adjoining room.
He questioned softly why I failed?
"For beauty," I replied.
"And I for truth,--the two are one;
We brethren are," he said.
And so, as kinsmen met a night,
We talked between the rooms.
Until the moss had reached our lips,
And covered up our names.
Beauty and truth are associated in this poem. Both the speaker and the man in the adjoining died but each died for a different cause. Although the two are in different rooms, they are “brethren” and “kinsmen.” To die for beauty is ridiculous and undignified. On the other hand, to die for truth is noble. From the first stanza, the speaker made it apparent that she and the man in the next room are two different kinds of people. However, in the next stanzas, they are “brethren” and “kinsmen.” Does that mean truth and beauty are the same? In definition, they are not. As reasons of death, they are not. However, they are the same in that they are would be obliterated by death. Both the speaker and the man are taken over by the moss crawling up to cover their lips and their names. The moss here is a symbol of nature, of which death is a part. The moss stops the speaker and the man from speaking and wipes out their identity. Humans are, thus, powerless against nature.
Adjusted in the tomb,
When one who died for truth was lain
In an adjoining room.
He questioned softly why I failed?
"For beauty," I replied.
"And I for truth,--the two are one;
We brethren are," he said.
And so, as kinsmen met a night,
We talked between the rooms.
Until the moss had reached our lips,
And covered up our names.
Beauty and truth are associated in this poem. Both the speaker and the man in the adjoining died but each died for a different cause. Although the two are in different rooms, they are “brethren” and “kinsmen.” To die for beauty is ridiculous and undignified. On the other hand, to die for truth is noble. From the first stanza, the speaker made it apparent that she and the man in the next room are two different kinds of people. However, in the next stanzas, they are “brethren” and “kinsmen.” Does that mean truth and beauty are the same? In definition, they are not. As reasons of death, they are not. However, they are the same in that they are would be obliterated by death. Both the speaker and the man are taken over by the moss crawling up to cover their lips and their names. The moss here is a symbol of nature, of which death is a part. The moss stops the speaker and the man from speaking and wipes out their identity. Humans are, thus, powerless against nature.
from The World Doesn't End
by Charles Simic
p. 438
What first stands out about this poem is it's form: it doesn't look like a "traditional" poem, but regular prose. The title implies it's from a volume, but it's interesting that it was put in this anthology. The two "paragraphs" are also separated by a break with a dot, not normally seen. After first glance, this poem remains very interesting with it's dark imagery and great metaphors. This is one of the darkest poems I've ever read; in fact it's pretty scary and spooky. The imagery in this poem sounds like a nightmare to me. It finally ends in an extremely sad disappointment. And what makes it even more fantastic is that the disappointment is in you, the reader, so you feel exactly what the poet is trying to say.
p. 438
What first stands out about this poem is it's form: it doesn't look like a "traditional" poem, but regular prose. The title implies it's from a volume, but it's interesting that it was put in this anthology. The two "paragraphs" are also separated by a break with a dot, not normally seen. After first glance, this poem remains very interesting with it's dark imagery and great metaphors. This is one of the darkest poems I've ever read; in fact it's pretty scary and spooky. The imagery in this poem sounds like a nightmare to me. It finally ends in an extremely sad disappointment. And what makes it even more fantastic is that the disappointment is in you, the reader, so you feel exactly what the poet is trying to say.
Well Water
"Well Water" by Randall Jarrell (p. 62)
This poem contains much repetition, especially within the parenthetical portion, where the speaker repeats "errand" and "a means to." The repetition seems to resemble the routines of daily life; the first and last lines of the poem also contain the phrase "the dailiness of life," showing that each day in the speaker's life is a cycle, where the beginning of the day seems much like the end of the day. Now that I think about it, the phrase "the dailiness of life" seems to mirror the pattern of the Sun (or rotation of the Earth), where the morning Sun shines across the land from the horizon, and the evening Sun shines light across the land from the opposite side of the horizon. The middle portion of the poem describes the work required to survive: pumping water from a well. This also seems to reflect the daily routine of life during the day, where most people are active during the day. Later, however, the speaker notices that the pump operates by itself due to its own weight; this could be like the periodic rewards that we receive for our efforts each day.
I thought this poem was interesting because it seemed optimistic throughout the poem rather than becoming cynical or pessimistic. The optimism that is seen at the end of the poem also seems to show the preparation needed to start another day - where the speaker needs to feel optimistic to face the next day's errands.
This poem contains much repetition, especially within the parenthetical portion, where the speaker repeats "errand" and "a means to." The repetition seems to resemble the routines of daily life; the first and last lines of the poem also contain the phrase "the dailiness of life," showing that each day in the speaker's life is a cycle, where the beginning of the day seems much like the end of the day. Now that I think about it, the phrase "the dailiness of life" seems to mirror the pattern of the Sun (or rotation of the Earth), where the morning Sun shines across the land from the horizon, and the evening Sun shines light across the land from the opposite side of the horizon. The middle portion of the poem describes the work required to survive: pumping water from a well. This also seems to reflect the daily routine of life during the day, where most people are active during the day. Later, however, the speaker notices that the pump operates by itself due to its own weight; this could be like the periodic rewards that we receive for our efforts each day.
I thought this poem was interesting because it seemed optimistic throughout the poem rather than becoming cynical or pessimistic. The optimism that is seen at the end of the poem also seems to show the preparation needed to start another day - where the speaker needs to feel optimistic to face the next day's errands.
That Light One FInds in Baby Pictures by Jay Hopler
THAT LIGHT ONE FINDS IN BABY PICTURES
1/ Being born is a shame—
But it’s not so bad, as journeys go. It’s not the worst one
We will ever have to make. It’s almost noon
And the light now clouded in the courtyard is
Like that light one finds in baby pictures: old
And pale and hurt—
2/When all roads are low and lead to the same
Place, we call it Fate and tell ourselves how
We were born to make the journey.
Who’sTo say we weren’t?
3/ The clouded light has changed to rain.
The picture—. No, the baby’s blurry.
4/That’s me—, the child playing in the sand with a pail
And shovel; in the background, my mother’s shadow
Is crawling across a soot-blackened collapse of brick
And timber, what might have been a bathhouse once.
The tide is coming in—. Someone has written HELL
On its last standing wall.
Since I have not blogged on my own poem, I will use Jay Hopler’s poem. It definitely striked me as simple at the beginning with words such as “baby pictures and light”. However, progressively it became more difficult to connect all the pieces/stanzas and find the common connection between them-just like in the poem 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. Especially, what made me select this poem was the ending with the wall written with HELL grafittied on it. Now, that made me realize that under its simple lines , there must be something the poet was trying to get to. Unconsciously, my first reaction was that this poem did not only involve the simple objects of pictures and light, but rather something more solid, that I could not grasp, is working its way through the poem. I did notice that a lot of cliché was used such as, “being born..journey” The connection of life as a journey has been overdone over and over again. Also “baby pictures are alwsy described as old, sad, reminiscing, pale,etc,etc,etc,etc.”:everyone knows this connection . This reminded of Richard Siken’s Crush because he also used something common as “film” in order to show his conflict. Perhaps, Hopler is also using this strategy in order to describe another underlying meaning that I have missed. I see the similarities of Siken’s and Steven’s poem in which they grab a common ordinary overused object and mold the reader’s mind to view it in a different value. I capture something diffrent of baby pictures- I mean I have never connected pictures with Hell and graffiti – but it defiantly makes me see more introspectively of baby pictures. I also noticed how the third stanza id more indented than the others and it is also peculiar that this is the stanza I have more trouble on understanding than the others. Its odd structure adds to its odd word arrangement. “The baby” and “fate” is italicized and “HELL” is bold….what is the connection??? This reminds me of predestination but that could be or could be not the case here.
1/ Being born is a shame—
But it’s not so bad, as journeys go. It’s not the worst one
We will ever have to make. It’s almost noon
And the light now clouded in the courtyard is
Like that light one finds in baby pictures: old
And pale and hurt—
2/When all roads are low and lead to the same
Place, we call it Fate and tell ourselves how
We were born to make the journey.
Who’sTo say we weren’t?
3/ The clouded light has changed to rain.
The picture—. No, the baby’s blurry.
4/That’s me—, the child playing in the sand with a pail
And shovel; in the background, my mother’s shadow
Is crawling across a soot-blackened collapse of brick
And timber, what might have been a bathhouse once.
The tide is coming in—. Someone has written HELL
On its last standing wall.
Since I have not blogged on my own poem, I will use Jay Hopler’s poem. It definitely striked me as simple at the beginning with words such as “baby pictures and light”. However, progressively it became more difficult to connect all the pieces/stanzas and find the common connection between them-just like in the poem 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. Especially, what made me select this poem was the ending with the wall written with HELL grafittied on it. Now, that made me realize that under its simple lines , there must be something the poet was trying to get to. Unconsciously, my first reaction was that this poem did not only involve the simple objects of pictures and light, but rather something more solid, that I could not grasp, is working its way through the poem. I did notice that a lot of cliché was used such as, “being born..journey” The connection of life as a journey has been overdone over and over again. Also “baby pictures are alwsy described as old, sad, reminiscing, pale,etc,etc,etc,etc.”:everyone knows this connection . This reminded of Richard Siken’s Crush because he also used something common as “film” in order to show his conflict. Perhaps, Hopler is also using this strategy in order to describe another underlying meaning that I have missed. I see the similarities of Siken’s and Steven’s poem in which they grab a common ordinary overused object and mold the reader’s mind to view it in a different value. I capture something diffrent of baby pictures- I mean I have never connected pictures with Hell and graffiti – but it defiantly makes me see more introspectively of baby pictures. I also noticed how the third stanza id more indented than the others and it is also peculiar that this is the stanza I have more trouble on understanding than the others. Its odd structure adds to its odd word arrangement. “The baby” and “fate” is italicized and “HELL” is bold….what is the connection??? This reminds me of predestination but that could be or could be not the case here.
You Kindly
You Kindly
by Sharon Olds
pg. 497-8
This poem represents another side of Olds' poetry, as compared to The Glass, which I will be writing my paper on. This poem has great sexual details, while The Glass has more details regarding death and decay. Olds heavily uses details of the female body throughout the poem, in terms of sexual pleasure and the physicalness of the relationship between her and her partner. Though it is a very sexual poem, it is more descriptive, and not necessarily passionate. To quote the poem, it is "like a grey flower / the color of the brain", it is not full of love and exhileration, instead it is more a physical experience. Also interesting is the fact that Olds brings her father into the poem, yet again. She mentions she "did not think of her father's hair" while she is brushing her lover's hair back. To think of your father at a time like this is very unusual and unexpected; it seemed very out of the blue and jarring. The mention of her father also made the passion of the sex degrade, especially.
by Sharon Olds
pg. 497-8
This poem represents another side of Olds' poetry, as compared to The Glass, which I will be writing my paper on. This poem has great sexual details, while The Glass has more details regarding death and decay. Olds heavily uses details of the female body throughout the poem, in terms of sexual pleasure and the physicalness of the relationship between her and her partner. Though it is a very sexual poem, it is more descriptive, and not necessarily passionate. To quote the poem, it is "like a grey flower / the color of the brain", it is not full of love and exhileration, instead it is more a physical experience. Also interesting is the fact that Olds brings her father into the poem, yet again. She mentions she "did not think of her father's hair" while she is brushing her lover's hair back. To think of your father at a time like this is very unusual and unexpected; it seemed very out of the blue and jarring. The mention of her father also made the passion of the sex degrade, especially.
The Sun Rising
The Sun Rising
John Donne
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/sunrising.htm
I love the attitude and tone of this poem. It is all based around the speaker and his attitude towards the woman he loves. It really expresses how those in love block out the rest of the world and it really can "conquer all." Donne goes as far as talking to the sun and scorning it for disturbing him and his love, calling the sun a "saucy pedantic wretch." This harsh and descriptive diction is so powerful, and I just love that line. The poem's focus is two lovers in a bed, and the speaker continues to act as if nothing powerful in the world compares to the power of their love. He says he can "eclipse and cloud [the sun's beams] with a wink." He compares his love to the highest of princes and kings. This poem reminds me of Donne's "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning" as it has the same underlying theme of love being able to endure great obstacles; this is part of what I love about Donne's poetry. It not only has this appealing theme, but also addresses it in a unique, but very direct, way. There is rhyme in this poem as well, but I feel it adds a flowing and elevated nature. I really enjoy this poem and the speaker's attitude towards the world and the sun in particular is a great way of sticking it to the skeptics who think that love is not all powerful.
John Donne
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/sunrising.htm
I love the attitude and tone of this poem. It is all based around the speaker and his attitude towards the woman he loves. It really expresses how those in love block out the rest of the world and it really can "conquer all." Donne goes as far as talking to the sun and scorning it for disturbing him and his love, calling the sun a "saucy pedantic wretch." This harsh and descriptive diction is so powerful, and I just love that line. The poem's focus is two lovers in a bed, and the speaker continues to act as if nothing powerful in the world compares to the power of their love. He says he can "eclipse and cloud [the sun's beams] with a wink." He compares his love to the highest of princes and kings. This poem reminds me of Donne's "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning" as it has the same underlying theme of love being able to endure great obstacles; this is part of what I love about Donne's poetry. It not only has this appealing theme, but also addresses it in a unique, but very direct, way. There is rhyme in this poem as well, but I feel it adds a flowing and elevated nature. I really enjoy this poem and the speaker's attitude towards the world and the sun in particular is a great way of sticking it to the skeptics who think that love is not all powerful.
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