Abstract The question of the "voice" of a yue-fu poem is a complicated one given the circumstances under which these poems came to be written. This is a strange poem because it has more than one voice. In fact, parts of the poem are even in the quotation marks that usually separate speakers in prose. In the first section of the poem the voice is that of a soldier. However, it is important to note that the soldier never uses "I" as an individual. Instead, the "voice" always uses the pronoun "we" in reference to the entire group of soldiers in his unit.
Abstract This paper focuses on William Wordsworth's poem ?Animal Tranquility and Decay.? It explores the relationships between man's mind, his body, and his natural environment. The title refers to the "tranquility" that Wordsworth seems to perceive in nature and the "decay" that a human being undergoes during his life. The paper concentrates on the various insinuations made by Wordsworth about tranquility and decay. Definitions are raised and examined, as well as related to everyday life. Also, symbolism is examined in the poem, as well. Phrases and stanzas from the poems are analyzed in search of an overall theme.
Tags: animal, decay, poem, poetry, tranquility, william, wordsworth, age
Abstract This paper examines these poems and shows how they represent the different themes that Tennyson wrote about during his lifetime, and yet they all contain similarities. They are all well written works, that convey thoughts and themes that were very important to Tennyson, like how critical people can be of your work, and Queen Victoria and her reign. He often uses references to the natural world in his poems, and these are no exception. The paper examines how Tennyson also uses many references to love and women.
From the Paper "Tennyson often writes of women in his poems, and one of the greatest themes he uses surrounding women is their capacity for love, and motherhood. He felt one of the greatest things in the world was love, and this comes through clearly when he writes about women. ??but when he wrote of Victoria, in whom ?a thousand claims to reverence closed... as mother, wife and queen,? or of his own mother as he did in ?Isabel,? he wrote with a power not evinced in the descriptive analyses of the women of his imagination. The women of his brain are pretty girls. The noblest women whom he knew were strong in character and life and love? (Gordon 73)."
Tags:poem, faith, poems, critics, jubilee, queen, victoria
Abstract An analysis of three of Robert Frost's most well-known poems. Part II discusses the symbolism in ?After Apple Picking,? ?Birches,? and ?The Road Not Taken.? Lastly, this paper concludes with remarks concerning the long-term impact of Frost's poems.
From the Paper "Robert Frost is one of the most well-known yet least understood American poets. Like Edgar Allen Poe, Henry David Thoreau, and numerous other well-renowned poets, Frost had an uncanny ability to write about the interaction and relationship between individuals and nature in a remarkably simple yet eloquent manner. In many of Frost's poems, he recognizes the beauty of nature, but is also puzzled and sometimes troubled by its continuous change. What is particularly brilliant about Frost's poems is that they are written in such a way that it is not possible to determine a universal meaning."
Abstract The paper provides an analysis of Rosalia de Castro's poem "A Glowworm Scatters Flashes." The paper deals with effects created by the poet's technique, such as the poet's use of powerful and vivid imagery. The paper focuses on the theme of the relationship between the persona in the poem and his Deity.
From the Paper "In her poem "A Glowworm Scatters Flashes" Rosalia de Castro utilizes powerful and vivid imagery to depict the intensity of the private relationship between the persona and his Deity. Throughout the poem concrete images from architecture or building materials shattered in a thousand bits, lofty marble riches and Adam's clay are juxtaposed with the incorporeal nature of God, the chasms that the persona cannot see and the solitary vast vacuity."
Abstract This paper analyzes the poems "The Young Housewife" and "This Is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams, which reflect domestic desire and the problems of intimacy that lie hidden within American suburbia. The author points out that Williams shows an abstracted form of simile, allusion and symbolism to reflect the frustrations of couples trying to live with each other in divided homes. The paper contends that, by actively revealing his own lack of sexual fulfillment, Williams is able to convey these messages in these simply written, yet cryptic poems.
From the Paper "This poetical analysis explores the theme of domestic desire within the two poems: "The Young Housewife" and "This Is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams. By revealing William's poetry related to domestic desire through simile, allusions and symbolism, one can learn why these two poems reflect isolation and the romantic problems within 20th century American suburbia. In understanding William's poems through the theme of domestic desire, one can assume unfulfilled sexual and romantic energies that reside within his verse. The poem "The Young Housewife" reflects the barriers and sexuality of the suburbs in the way that Williams present both the woman and the doctor in the poem."
Abstract The poet Pablo Neruda is renown for his exploration of themes of love within his poetry. These themes of love range from the traditional portrays of passion to representations of political commitment. This paper critically assesses Neruda's poems of love in respect to the themes that are manifest within his presentation of love, where he argues that emotion and passion allows the individual to better experience life.
Abstract Kudzu is a plant that was introduced into the South with hopes it would prevent erosion. It spread very rapidly and has become a pest. It explains how James Dickey personified this plant in his poem, "Kudzu". He uses several different themes to describe this pesky plant.
From the Paper "James Dickey's "Kudzu" offers a quite untraditional view of a local southern pest. Generally speaking, Dickey describes the plant in its true form, a quick-growing plant that spreads so fast it is almost impossible for farmers to sleep for fear of it. Overall, Dickey uses several themes, including military, supernatural, and communication themes, to personify this very humanlike plant. Dickey develops these individual themes using personification, similes, and metaphors."
Tags: personification, personify, plant, poem, poetry, south
Abstract Robert Frost, an American poet, has a group of poems that use the theme of death. Three of these poems are analyzed as examples of Frost's dark meditation-themed poems, with death the primary focus of the poem narrative. However, despite the similarities in theme in these poems, Frost uses various kinds of situations and concepts of death for the subjects of each poem. This paper discusses the theme of death in the following manner: The discussion of fear and sorrow of death in ?Home Burial,? the fear of death because of unaccomplished tasks here on earth in the poem ?After Apple-Picking,? and life after death in the poem ?Fire and Ice.? Passages from the poems are used as evidence of the themes.
From the Paper "The poem "Home Burial" illustrates the grief and sorrow that a couple feels and experiences after they had lost their child. The poem is a dialogue between the man and the woman, who are also arguing with each other over the death of their child despite the fact that they grieve (especially the woman) and felt sorrow over the death of the young child. The first part of the poem started with the man asking his wife what she's doing, and the woman displaying a look of fear. In this part of the poem, one would think that the woman is afraid of the dead, especially since they?re in a graveyard. However, a further scrutiny of their dialogue will reveal that the woman is actually afraid of the man, and she's afraid because the man had caught her in the act of looking over an object, which is actually the ?mound,? wherein her dead child had been buried. The part wherein the man asked the woman about what she's doing/looking at, and the discovery of the "mound" where the woman's child lies gave out a sorrowful cry from the woman: "Don"t, don"t, don"t, don?t.? The reiteration of the "don"ts? is Frost's way of expressing the woman's grief and inability to accept her child's death. Further into the poem, the conflict between the two, and the woman's anger on her husband gave out as she pointed the blame to the man for his somewhat indifferent behavior about their child's death: "You can"t because you don"t know how/ If you had any feelings, you that dug/ With your own hand how could you""his little grave"? This accusing statement by the woman shows how she was unable to accept her child's death. Also, the man's gradually developing fear about the woman's condition (too much sorrow and grief) had made him also feel fear in a different way, and he acknowledges his wife's accusations in an effort to calm her and relieve her of her sorrow (towards the child) and grief (towards him). The poem finds resolution in a very uncomfortable and sad way, and the couple does not reach the point of reconciliation when the poem neared its end. In fact, the woman was in the act of leaving the man behind, leaving the man whom she thinks is totally indifferent and does not share with her the sorrow that she feels over their child's death. The man becomes powerless and defeated, as his wife had left him despite his threats and protests."
Abstract This paper explains that Charles Bukowski's poem, "My Old Man" portrays a conflict between a father and son. The complete opposite of this poem is Nancy Willard's poem, "Questions My Son Asked Me, Answers I Never Gave Him", which conveys affection between a parent and child. The author points out that the themes of these poems are different: Charles Bukowski gives the father and son a strong sense of disconnection and refusal of one another; whereas, in Willard's poem, the theme exposes involvement and acceptance between a parent and child. The paper relates that Charles Bukowski creates a sense of misery with the son having a feeling of unimportance; Nancy Willard's poem expresses a deeper meaning of time through life.
From the Paper "The imagery created through the questions and answers in Willard's poem, produces an outlook on life relating time. In the course of the parent and son's intimate relationship, it allows them to involve time on the view of life within the questions and answers. Through time the son will find out if butterflies make noise, if he can eat a star, and if the years ever run out. Even the answers given to him are through time. For example the last question asks, "Do the years ever run out?" This question inquires the time in living every day to a year to find his answer. Even though his parent answers, "God said, I will break time's heart", the son must live and learn so he can eventually interpret the answers to his questions."
Abstract The paper sets out to prove that the poem "Beowulf" contains the features of an epic poem. To highlight the classic features of an epic poem, the paper uses "The Iliad" by Homer. It then goes on to list the characteristics of an epic poem that can be found in the poem "Beowulf" .
From the Paper "The definition of an epic poem encompasses several factors. Firstly, an epic poem is a narrative poem on a large scale. Secondly, an epic poem is a story of an adventure, usually involving a hero on a quest. Thirdly, the epic contains myth, legend or mystery and is usually set in the past and in a heroic age. Finally, battles and perilous journeys play a large part, with scenes often set in the Underworld or Heaven and with magic, the supernatural and gods playing a part."
Abstract This paper analyzes a selection of poems by Donald Justice. Most of the poems that the writer analyzes are in the villanelle format and the writer suggests that it is the required repetition of this format that brings out the emotion of the poem. The writer also notes that Justice's poems pay attention to the detail of craft and work with restrained expertise. The writer further discusses a few poems in detail, and points out that even though we find Donald Justice's poems objective and admirable, they are lacking in self as if he is standing on the outside of them.
From the Paper "Upon reading Donald Justice's book New and Selected Poems, I am reminded of Eudora Welty's quote, "Virtuosity, unless it moves the heart, goes at the head of the whole parade to dust." Justice's poems work with restrained expertise. The poems pay attention to the detail of craft, but the detachment of feeling in the verse leaves out the passion of poetry."
Tags: villanelle, format, verse, rhyme, Shakespeare
Compares the Elizabethan-era Christopher Marlowe's poem "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and early seventeenth century John Donne's poem "The Flea".
845 words (approx. 3.4 pages), 0 sources, 2008, $ 30.95
Abstract This paper explains that Elizabethan-era Christopher Marlowe's poem "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and early seventeenth century John Donne's "The Flea" share the same theme of romantic love; however, these poems are intrinsically and distinctly different as were the periods in which they were written. The author points out that, though both poem's speakers seek to win over the object of their desire, the ways they go about convincing their love are strikingly different, their images of love are juxtaposed and their definitions and depictions of love completely contrary. The paper concludes that Marlowe's poem describes a romantic love affair, while the speaker in Donne's poem goes in a different direction: sexual gratification.
From the Paper 'The role assigned to the man and woman of these two poems are quite different. In "The Passionate Shepherd to his Love", the speaker (the man) clearly adores his love, while the speaker of "The Flea" is, essentially, a flea himself. The role of the man in Marlowe's poem is to give gifts and praise and care for his love. The role of the man in Donne's poem is to attempt to persuade his love into having sex with him. The women are treated differently and have different roles as well. In Marlowe's poem, the woman is someone to be put on a pedestal that should be given the finest things nature can provide.'
Abstract This paper is an anthology analysis: a collection of poems bound together by a common theme---womanhood. The five poems are womanhood poems written by Erica Jong, Maya Angelou, Anne Sexton, Genny Lim and Elma Mitchell. All the poems talk about womanhood and the differing perspectives of what a woman really is. After selecting these poems, the author analyzes them and relates the common threads they share as well as the differences.
From the Paper "The first poem is "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou. "Phenomenal Woman" explores the enigma of womanhood at the most basic level---- a woman's natural charm. After all, this continues to be a puzzle for all of us. What makes a woman click? What makes her so special? Angelou pieces the puzzle together through her poem. Her view on this puzzle is this: the appeal of women does not necessarily come from appearances. It goes deeper than that. In the first stanza, she says, "Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. / I"m not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size.? With these lines, she contradicts the age-old myth that women have to be externally beautifully to have that certain factor. ?It's in the reach of my arms,? she says, ?The span of my hips, / The stride of my step, / The curl of my lips.? If you think about it, these are universal attributes of women. What makes the difference, however, is the confidence that all these features present. The ?stride,? the "span" of the hips: these are all features of confidence."
Abstract This paper discusses five poems extracted from the book, namely: ?Homecomings,? ?A Dog Has Died,? ?The Lost Ones Of The Forest,? ?The Ocean Calls,? and ?Many Thanks.? This paper analyzes each poem and discusses what underlying message each poem has for the reader. At the end of the analysis, the researcher establishes the stance that Pablo Neruda's poems deeply reflect an individual's emotional struggles, and Neruda voices out this feeling by personifying nature, making them almost life-like, and lets them participate and bear witness to these struggles. This thesis is also supported through an evaluative study of the poems, through a reflection and analysis of the content and flow of though of the poet.
From the Paper "The book "Winter Garden" is a collection of poems that were found and published after Neruda's death. Pablo Neruda, a pseudonym for Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, is a Chilean poet who is known for his poems that evokes political and social contemplation. He is also a Marxist, and always extends his massage (through his poems) the unjust treatment and struggles of hid fellow Chileans as they try to achieve social freedom and equality. In his collection of poems in the "Winter Garden", it is remarkable that much of the poems contemplate emotional struggle or turmoil, while depicting or associating these struggles with nature or any element in the environment. "
