Close Reading of a Poem
Maria Clinton
ENG 125
May 31, 2011
Tiffany Griffin–Minor
Close Reading of a Poem
ON THE AMTRAK FROM BOSTON TO NEW YORK CITY: BY SHERMAN ALEXIE
On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City is an emotionally provocative poem by the Native American Indian writer, Sherman Alexie. It describes a train journey from Boston to New York City in which an elderly white woman excitedly points out historical sites to her fellow passenger, a younger Native American Indian. The poem demonstrates how narrow minded the American Indian finds thewhite Americanculture; for, it does not go beyond any history prior to their coming to America. The white woman is only able to have a limited understanding of her surroundings;...show more content...
These immediate images provoke other images in the Indian's mind; these images are far more spectacular than those immediate images pointed out by the white woman. The two hundred year old house on the hill is linked in the Indian's mind to the structures of his tribal ancestors which he describes in stanza three as "whose architecture is 15,000 years older". The mention of "Walden Pond" in stanza three by the white woman is linked in the Indian's mind to "there are five Walden Ponds on my little reservation out West and at least a hundred more surrounding Spokane," in stanza four. These larger images once again demonstrate the incapability of the white Americans to look deeper into other cultures and their sites surrounding them. The only reason the white woman recognizes Walden Pond is because it was made famous by a white American, Henry David Thoreau who wrote a book about his life in a house next to the pond, in which he takes on a simplistic life which mimics the Native American Indian life style. The Indian on the train, is unimpressed by this because he states that "I know the Indians were living stories around that pond before Walden's grandparents were born and before his grandparents' grandparents were born."These lines display a certain amount of disdain by the Indian for what the white Americans believe to be historically important it
In the poem "An Echo Sonnet", author Robert Pack writes of a conversation between a person's voice and its echo. With the use of numerous literary techniques, Pack is able to enhance the meaning of the poem: that we must depend on ourselves for answers because other opinions are just echoes of our own ideas.
At first glance, the reader notices that the poem is divided into two parts in order to resemble a conversation. When reading the sonnet for the first time the reader may make the mistake in thinking that what the "echo" replies is an answer to the questions the "voice" asks. But in reality the "echo" isn't replying to the "voice" but is actually performing its normal job. The "echo" only repeats back the last prominent sounds...show more content...
This occurs on line 5, where the author depends on imagery to enlighten us. The line reads "leaf blooms, burns red before delighted eyes", the blooming or opening of leaves is a direct parallel to humans opening up their minds in order to learn something new. But at the end of the line we notice that the "leaf" itself dies, the poet uses the dying leaf as a parallel to our former ideas dying. Because our minds were opened up to something new, whatever former opinion we had died off when new information on a subject is presented. This is just one part of the learning process so Pack separates it from the other parts with the use of a comma. After the comma, comes the action of understanding the information presented to us. Whatever the reader sees is burning "red" and their eyes are left "delighted" which means the onlooker took interest to what they saw developing before them. Pack uses this line filled with imagery in order to set a precedent to his readers. He wants us to open our minds to the meaning of the poem and that fact we can find all answers in our own questions if we only depend on ourselves.
While reading the poem a second time over the audience notices a very controlled rhyme scheme. The poem consists of a rhyme scheme of A,B,A,B,C,D,C,D ... until we reach the last two lines of the poem where Line 13 rhymes directly with Line 14. It is worth to note that the author doesn't follow through to the end with
Whatever my life takes me, poetry will always be in my heart. It proceeds yourself to a completely different world and supply you an opportunity to understand about yourself. I had the opportunity to be introduced to poetry in my literary themes class and I did not understand what it was talking about. As I consistently read my assignedpoetry book The Gift of Tongues, I could resemble my life in these poetries. Out of all the poetries that I read, ten of these poems stood out to me about life. Although all of these poems resembles about life, you can look at these poems as different aspects about life. The reason why I chose these poems is that they each resembles about life being a circle of obstacles that you will face. When these life obstacles...show more content...
The Accuser written by Shirley Kaufman resembles a scene from an attack. Shirley talks about her being the victim and how it affected her after the attack. Overall, this poetry took me back to the incidents of being the injured victim to the Paris attack that occurred. From the beginning, According to the news and videos about the attack, reporters were explaining that they were victims that were injured critically were attempting to achieve support and the paramedics could not save them due to the fact they were other people that were brutally injured. At the same time I feel empathy for me and the people that were victimized by being severely injured or deceased from that attack as life goes on they will be experiencing life in a different way than other people. On the other hand, this also teaches people that as much as you can attempt to stop these instances, these situations will still journey on due to the fact you cannot stop the entire world to do
Some of the poems and essays I have read during this class were relatable to me. Being away from college, I have struggled with not being at home. I have become a different person when I am at school, but when I am home, I feel like I am my normal self again. Some of these authors of the poems and essays that I have read throughout this class has struggled with being somewhere where they don't belong and that they are someone else when they are not home. Unlike the other poems and essays we have read throughout the course. I enjoyed reading the ones about "home" because I actually understood what they are going through and that I can relate. Some of these poems and essays include "Going Home" by Maurice Kenny, Postcard from Kashmir", by Agha Shahid Ali, "Returning" by Elias Miguel Munoz and "Hometown" by Luis Cabalquinto. All of these poems deal with duality.
In Luis Cablaquinto's poem, "Hometown," the speaker talks about how he is not himself when he is not at home. He wishes that he can would remain where he grew up, "I have no wish but this place / To remain here at a stoppedtime / With stars moving on the water" (9–11). The speaker mentioned that he can see the stars in his home because he cannot see it when he is in the city. That's how I feel when I am at Athens. When I get to go home for a holiday, I just wish time would stand still and that I could stay there forever.
"Alone, myself, again away / From that other self in the city / On this piece of ancestor land /
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Lorna Dee Cervantes' poem, "Poema para los Californios Muertos" ("Poem for the Dead Californios"), is a commentary on what happened to the original inhabitants of California when California was still Mexico, and an address to the speaker's dead ancestors. Utilizing a unique dynamic, consistently alternating between Spanish and English, Cervantes accurately represents the fear, hatred, and humility experienced by the "Californios" through rhythm, arrangement, tone, and most importantly, through use of language. Many times readers do not grasp a strong sense of the meaning or provocation of a poem simply through its title. However, the title "Poema para los Californios...show more content...
The most important aspect that differentiates this poem from many others is the dramatic use of dual language. Because many readers must use the translated notes to understand the Spanish portions of the poem, it requires them to deeply consider the speaker's connotations. Many readers will not realize Cervantes' intentional placement of the Spanish portions. Stanzas one, two, and three begin in English and end in Spanish. However, stanza four begins in English and ends in English with only one line in the middle consisting of Spanish. Though it is overlooked, this tactic offers a path upon which the subconscious may embark. To the speaker,California has been overrun and forever changed by the white people, represented by English. The single Spanish line is a representation of the speaker herself and exemplifies how truly lost she feels in this place. "Poema para los Californios Muertos" is a prime example of the importance of a dynamic use of language and the strength it brings to a poem when utilized to its full Get
Broadcasting the Poem Have you ever felt like you were born to do something? Since I was born I felt like I was born to play baseball, but after that I would love to be a broadcaster. That is why I have chosen to analyze "The Broadcaster's Poem" by Alden Nowlan. Analyzing a poem is not an easy thing to accomplish for me. As I very rarely analyze anything I read, but you should try everything once. As my eyes read this poem and my mind processes it, I ponder a question. What the heck is Nowlan talking about? Saying things like, "will I take off my glasses and throw them into the water, although I'm half blind without them?" I have not the slightest idea what that means. If you are blind without glasses, then why would you want to take...show more content...
People say that they cannot believe things, because it is hard to imagine that what is happening is actually happening to them. Everyone has a dream, a goal, an aspiration, maybe being a broadcaster was a dream Alden Nowlan. Nowlan writes of a crash he once covered as a reporter, where a train crashed into a car killing three people. As if this is not bad enough to think about, he goes into a more vivid description. "One of