Blog Assignment #4 - Due Tuesday, March 9th
Choose a poem from Sound and Sense and complete a TPCASTT or SOAPSTone analysis. Post the name of the poem, poet, and the page number along with your analysis. (You do NOT need to post the entire poem). 15 points
Barbie Doll
ReplyDeleteBy: Marge Piercy
Pg. 118
(This was quite a depressing poem. The title led me to believe it would be more along the lines of Aqua's Barbie Girl. It was sad disappointment.)
T-Barbie Doll
P- A girl is born, she is given barbie dolls that are "perfect." Latter, when she is going through puberty, a classmate tells her she has a big nose and fat legs. People continued to tell her she had a big nose and fat legs, she continually apologized to people for not being perfect. Eventually she cut off her nose and legs and died from that. As people looked over her in her casket they said "Doesn't she look pretty?"
C- Dolls- the dolls that she was given when she was born represent a "perfect body," one that she will never have.
Wheedle- Normally this word is used to describe someone doing something or going somewhere no one invited them to. However Piercy uses it in this case to fish for complements and friends.
Consummation- Again, Piercy uses a word in an unorthodox way, normally, to consummate is having sex. However Piercy uses it in this case to just mean the end of a life, ironically one that never had the chance consummate a relationship.
A- Bitte, Piercy seems to be mad at society for letting things like this happen. Her bitterness comes out especially well in the last two lines, "Consummation at last./ To every woman a happy ending."
S- The first four lines are happy, actually more dispassionate than anything, and then the poem turns very nasty and dark.
T- "Barbie Doll" reflects the perfection that she was pressured to match her entire life but was never able to.
T- Some people may not be "beautiful" in the conventional way, but have different types of beauty like their personality.
Question
ReplyDeleteBy: May Swenson
Page: 37
Subject: This poem is about a person's body and this person is trying to figure out what it will be like when she dies.
Occasion: May swenson lived from 1919-1989, so i think this poem was written sometime around the great depression or WWll.
Audience: The poem is directed towards the speaker. It is written so the reader can see how the speaker feels.
Purpose: The Author wrote this poem to extend his feelings about death towards the reader.
Speaker: The speaker is a person thinking to themself about life and what it will be like when they die.
Tone: This poem is dark and depressing. The author keeps asking questions about after she dies what will happen. "Where will I sleep How will I ride What will I hunt Where can I go". The speaker is lost in her own gloomy thoughts.
Title:Introduction to Poetry
ReplyDeleteBy: Billy Collins
Page: 88-89
S- a poet who wants people to be able to understand poetry but he wants it to be easy but many people struggle with it. It should come easy to them but instead many people have to beat the meaning out of it.
0- 1941, when poetry was beginning to reach many poeple.
a- someone trying to understand poetry, poetry could also represent life in that many people struggle to define what the meaning of life (or poetry) means but they can not figure it out easily.
p- For people to understand that sometimes it is not as hard as we think it is to understand poetry (or life) and while it may seem that way.
s- A poet wanting people to understand the meaning of their poetry.
t- upset and in a way critical because he says it should be as easy to understand what he is saying (I want them to water-ski across the surface of the poem) but then he is dissappointed because they start "beating it with a hose to find out what it really means"
Siren Song
ReplyDeleteMargaret Atwood
p.143
s- How Siren's song can lure in men and how men have weaknesses towards women.
o- At sea, men hearing siren's songs and falling to their deaths.
a- Sailors or men in general or women.
p- To show how women can lure in men or get them to do what they want by using their weaknesses against them.
s- Siren or a woman.
tone- Satisfied but bored by repetition.
Barbie Doll- Marge Piercy (p 119)
ReplyDeleteSpeaker- Someone who watched the child grow up, Someone who saw the girl's life
Occasion- The speaker is remembering the girls life and thinking about how tough girls of her age have it
Audience- Troubled teens and young adults who don't realize how harmful harsh words affect one another
Purpose- To help teens and young adults and even adults see how affected young girls are by harmful words and to display the difficulty of living as a teen with harsh peers and low self-esteem
Subject- A healthy girl who happened to live a typical life, who was insulted by one of her peers and truly took it to heart.
Tone- Very harsh, sad but sarcastic and dramatic at the same time.
"Faith" is a Fine Invention by Emily Dickinson (pg. 154)
ReplyDeleteSpeaker- a rational person who is effected by religion, but also recognizes the importance of reason and modern technology
Occasion- Perhaps effected by a recent medical need, which helped them or a family member or friend
Audience- Religously affilitated or narrow-minded people who might not see the advantages of modern thinking or technology
Purpose- to point out that yes, religion is good and common, but is not the only way of thinking or basing one's morals and ideas
Subject- religion is a lovely way of thinking, but not the only and that people should be open to other ways of thinking because in an emergency you have to do what is best
Tone- serious, almost "matter-of-fact"
Poem: "The Waking" written by Theodore Roethke on page 185.
ReplyDeleteTitle - mentioned in the first line as "take my waking slow" and indicates the gradual progression of whatever it may symbolize
Paraphrase - the speaker slowly wakes up to sleep, while saying that he/she/it feels fate not fear and learns life lessons by going where he/she/it needs to go
Connotation - most of the phrases/words used like "Great Nature" provide a sense of reverence towards the plants and provides a generally uplifting sense throughout the poem
Attitude - the speaker seems to have a reflective tone towards all of this yet admires the world around him/her/it as shown in the diction like "lovely" and "lively"
Shift - the poem seems to shift from the dull idea of waking up to a more upbeat mindset when the speaker says "God bless the Ground!"
Title - knowing all of the above mentioned items, the title can be seen as a symbol for the beginning of life; a person can be born only to die just like waking up only to go back to sleep
Theme - Most people are born into life and their living is taken slow in order to enjoy lessons learned along the way, yet it is all pointless because that person must one day die in the end.
"When My Love Swears that She Is True" by William Shakespeare, pg 44
ReplyDeleteS-Old man
O-he has realized his young girlfriend has been cheating on him
A-Anyone interested in the secrets of love
P-point out some of the problems with a relationship of two very different aged people
S-Different aged relationships and how to go through them
T-very content with his relationship and his girlfriend cheating on him
"Mid-Term Break" by Seamus Heaney, pg 128
ReplyDeleteSpeaker: the author
Occasion: Death of a young family member, the speaker's little brother
Audience: Anyone who has experienced a surprise and tramatic death of a loved one
Purpose: to show how an unexpected death can affect everybody
Subject: family death
Tone: Upset, grief-stricken
“Up-Hill” by Christina Rossetti
ReplyDeletePage 104
Speakers- There are two speakers in this poem. The first speaker is a traveler who asks a series of questions to the second speaker. The second speaker answers the questions and is a guide to the first speaker
Occasion- The first speaker is asking questions about life’s journey and what will happen after death.
Audience- The audience of this poem is anyone who is still experiencing life’s journey.
Purpose- The purpose is to explain that life is not an easy journey, but that it will all be worth it in the end.
Subject- The subject is the struggles of life and where we go when we die.
Tone- The tone of the first speaker is unsure and timid. The tone of the second speaker is reassuring and informative.
A Light Exists in Spring by Emily Dickinson
ReplyDeletepg. 356
Title: First lines of the poem. The poem will most likely be about Spring
Paraphrase: During spring there is a light that people feel that can't be seen or explained by science. It's more of a light feeling that people get since spring is a time of renewal and the winter is finally over. The light is everywhere and fills everyone up.
Connotation: The author used words with positive connotations such as Light, Spring, Color, Horizons, and Sacrament to develop a joyful tone that helps the reader visualize a warm sunny spring day.
Attitude: The author has affectionate feelings towards Spring and wants people to be able to relate to that feeling of light that Spring brings.
Shift: The shift in this poem comes after line 13 "Then as Horizons step". In the first part of the poem the author is talking about the happiness that Spring brings, but after line 13 the author beings talking about the "quality of loss" spring has when the seasons change.
Title: The title is not only the first line of the poem, it is also alludes to the theme of the poem.
Theme: During the Spring there is a light that people can feel but can't be necessarily defined by science.
The Man With Night Sweats
ReplyDeleteby: Thom Gunn
Page: 61-62
SOAPSTone
S: It's first person, the author or just a man talking about his problems.
O: confused about what is happening to his body, and what change is taking place.
A: People facing problems and confusion
P: Talking about how his body lost control and how it's taking a change for the worst. (like how AIDS changes your body, even though it takes time its severe when it reaches its peak)
S: He's goingn through changes in his body, possibly from aids because the title is about night sweats, and that is a symptom of aids. Certain diseases/problems that takes over you and takes a heavy toll on you and changes you to the point where your body is gradually getting destroyed, or your problems are tearing apart and becoming out of control.
Tone: Scared, confused, wondering about what is going on.
"Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost
ReplyDeletep. 196
S: Not specified, most likely Frost himself
O: Changing of seasons, from summer to fall
A: Anyone reading the poem
P: Express the sad transition from the beauty of summer to the dull sadness of autumn
S: Nature
Tone: The tone is sad, yet accepting. Frost is depressed and writes "Eden sank to grief" yet he knows that "Nothing gold can stay."
"Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
ReplyDeletep.360
Title: Sympathy
Paraphrase: The auther speaks about how he knows what a caged bird feels. How it feels to not have freedom and to try so hard to acheive that freedom but never succeed.
Connotation: The connotation begins light and happy by using words like soft, the sun is bright, and springing grass. However it turns to more of a dark connotation when he starts using words like red and cruel bar. However there is an over all connotation of sadness.
Attitude: The attitude is definately sympathetic, he feels sorry for the caged bird and definately shows it through out the poem with vivid descrpitions of the poor little bird.
Shift: The shift takes place on line 8, it goes from a light spring happy feeling to a daark poor bierd with injuries.
Title: The title means a lot in this poem, its the all over feeling that the reader recieves when reading it. The author makes the reader feel sympathy for the bird.
Theme: Being caged is a terrible thing, people and animals alike deserve freedom and want freedom, without it they are bound to hurt themselves.
Fire and Ice
ReplyDeleteBy: Robert Frost
pg. 103
S: Not very clear, could be an old person pondering the world's destruction
O: Pondering how the world will end, either by fire (global warming, maybe) or ice (blizzard maybe). Or, how the world would end if consumed by hate(ice) or desire (fire)
A: Anyone who is worried about the end of the world, perhaps people worried about 2012, or during Y2K. Or, can be seen a personal end of the world due to uncontrolled emotions/passion. Fire could mean desire, while ice could mean hate.
P: Explains to the reader that fire and ice aren't always negative, just when the are out of control. It' s a huge metaphor about nature and emotions. Emotions, if left wild, are destructive to other people and just as hurtful.
S: Uncontrolled emotions can be just as damaging as unbridled mother nature.
Tone: The tone is very ponderous, especially when the speaker talks about dying twice for a different end of the world. There aren't very many loaded words. Overall, it's a very unbiased, calm poem.
"Digging" -- Seamus Heaney -- p. 95
ReplyDeleteTitle- The title conjures up images of manual labor
Paraphrase- I am writing and watching my dad in the flower garden. I remember when he used to dig for potatoes for a living. He was good at it; his father was even better. I remember his skill at growing potatoes. I'm not a digger, but I can still make a difference by writing.
Connotation- Lines like "through living roots awaken in my head" imply both the literal roots of the potato plants and the roots (heritage) of the author, whose father and grandfather contributed in different ways to the world then he has.
Attitude- The author is nostalgic and admiring. "By God, that man could handle a spade" shows his admiration for the type of work his forefathers were able to do.
Shift- "But I've no spade to follow men like them." The author begins to talk about how he can contribute in a different way than digging.
Title- Not only does it literally describe digging, but the title talks about the author "digging" through his history and for a purpose.
Theme- Manual labor and intellectual work are not such different ways to make a difference.
"La Belle Dame sans Merci" by John Keats
ReplyDeletepgs. 381-382
Title- in French; means "The beautiful woman without pity"
Paraphrase- A knight tells the story about how a demon, in the form of a woman, seduced and killed him
Connotation- Words like "lulled" and "in thrall" bring to mind something that's drugged / captured; words like "death-pale", "starved lips", "horrid warning" and "cold hill" are all frightening, describing the afterlife the knight is in.
Attitude- The knight's attitude is deeply sad and regretful.
Shift- Line 9 switches from the point of view of the unknown person who's talking to the knight to the knight himself.
Title- The title refers to the demon, a beautiful woman with no pity for her victims
Theme- Some themes could be beware of who you trust and don't let yourself be taken advantage of.
“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
ReplyDeleteby Robert Frost
Page: 150
Title- Simply means stopping to enjoy the beauty of winter
Paraphrase- The speaker stops by the woods on a snowy evening and then must move on because he has “promises to keep”
Connotation-Words and phrases like; easy wind, downy flake, harness bells, dark and deep, darkest evening, bring a soft, positive tone to the poem
Attitude-The speaker’s attitude is appreciative. “To watch his woods fill up with snow” the speaker is stopping to enjoy the scenery.
Shift- none
Title- stopping, and pausing the speaker’s life to enjoy the beautiful woods.
Theme- The speaker stops to enjoy the picturesque winter scenery, and then must return to their journey and obligations. “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep”
"Suicide's Note"
ReplyDeleteLangston Hughes
page 15
Title: Before reading, the title kind of jumps out at you.. you expect a long,tragic poem
Paraphrase: Someone has committed suicide and left a very clear, concise note as a reason for why
Connotation: By personifying a river and using words like "calm" and "cool" and the line "asked me for a kiss", the poet makes the speaker seem willing, almost relieved to die.. the choice of words also take the poem -which you would think to be quite serious due to the title- and make it less morbid
Attitude: Thought provoking
Shift: From line 2 to line 3, the poem goes from personifying a river to indirectly stating that someone has committed suicide
Title: Less tragic, also look at suicide's as in suicide as a whole.. so the poem provides a thought to the subject as a whole.
Theme: To show that often when people commit suicide they don't think of it as something morbid, but rather, as a refreshing escape
Duncan gichimu
ReplyDeleteThe Red WheelBarrow
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens
T - Question that come to mind: Does the color red symbolize anything. What is the wheelbarrow being used for?
P - A very useful and red Wheelbarrow sitting outside covered with rain water around chicken.
C - Glazed
A - Happy
S - None
T - It just describes the color of the wheelbarow
T - So much depends upon simple things like a wheelbarrow
"Weighing the Dog"
ReplyDeleteBilly Collins
pg. 109
Speaker - person who owns a dog
Occasion - Holding their dog on a scale and reminiscing on a failed relationship.
Audience - It is directed toward the speaker, the reader is given a glimpse in on the person's thoughts while performing an odd task.
Purpose - To show that you really do not know what you have got until it is gone and how people should think about their significant people/thing in that sense.
Subject - weighing a dog and skipping out on things because they require work
Tone - regretful, lazy, realization
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain by Emily Dickinson (Page 62)
ReplyDeleteTitle: first line of poem
Paraphrase: The speaker discusses what is going through his/her mind during his/her funeral.
Connotation: Dickinson uses words describing nothingness and loneliness such as "numb" (line 8), "Silence" (line 15), and "solitary" (line 16).
Attitude: The speaker feels emptiness and loneliness.
Shift: In line 12 the speaker passes from the physical world to the afterlife with the words “Then Space-began to toll.”
Title: represents a side of death that many don’t see or imagine until their own death
Theme: Even though many people gather to honor someone after he has died, the dead remains alone.
Title: For a Lamb
ReplyDeleteBy: Richard Eberhart
Subject: A lamb which is used to represent innocence is laying in a daisies which well quite frankly epitomize innocence is dead and described as putrid.
Occasion: It is in a feild of daisies.
Audience: Anyone
Purpose: To show the end and death of innocence.
Speaker: Someone who saw a dead lamb in the daisies
Tone:The attitude is morbid and depressing. It uses the words putrid, mute, and guts while talking about a lamb. Its sad.
"Weighing the Dog" by Billy Collins (p.109)
ReplyDeleteSubject--weighing a dog on a scale
Occasion--weighing a dog on a scale while
thinking about a failed relationship
Audience--ex-girlfriend or ex-significant other
Purpose--to tell the reader that you don't know
how much something is worth until it's gone
Speaker--person who owns a dog and was in a
relationship previously
Tone--melancholy, regretful
Page 61: "The Man with Night Sweats"
ReplyDeleteS-The author is the speaker in this poem because he is describing a problem of his
O-Waking up in the middle of the night with night sweats
A-The author is very annoyed of this problem and carries an angry tone throughout the poem
P-To show feelings toward his problem, night sweats
S-Night sweats
Tone-Annoyed and angry
Incident
ReplyDeleteBy: Countee Cullen (pg.116)
S:The author when he was a little kid.
O:When he was a little kid (8 yrs old) he went to Baltimore to visit and sight see.
A:The General Public.
P:The purpose is to show the public just how much comments or actions like that really effect a person.
S:Discrimination.
T:The Tone of the poem is a sad-ish, upset tone. He is upset at how the little boy could treat him so badly.
o
n
e
That time of year (Pg. 247)
ReplyDeleteBy: William Shakespeare
S: Life
O: The span of someone's lifetime summed up in one poem
A: Readers of poetry, humans,
P: Purpose is to show what life means and how fast it can go by
S: Most likely shakespeare himself because of the reference, "me".
T: Tone of poem is somewhat uplifting, even though it is speaking of death
Since there's no help
ReplyDeleteMichael Drayton
page 167
Title: first line of the poem, implies defeat.
Paraphrase: the speaker is expressing their feelings towards his/her spouse, the spouse is on their death bed and the speaker feels sadness and or relief at their spouse's leaving, but has prepared him/her-self for the loss.
Connotation: some words are positive [free (line 4), love (line 8), recover (line 14)] others have an essence of binding [vows (line 5), forever (line 5)] and are negative [part (line 1), cancel (line 5), failing (line 10), death (line 11)]
Attitude: the speaker seems glad during some moments that his/her spouse is about to die, but other times the speaker seems relieved at the death
Shift: line 8
Title: reflects the speakers acceptance with their spouse's death and how they are choosing to view it.
Theme: when someone you love is about to die, you have to choose whether to see accept it and see the good side or mourn over it and see the negative view on it.
Barbie Doll
ReplyDeletePg. 118
S- Someone who watched the girl grow up, saw her change.
O- The speaker reflecting on the harsh reality that teen girls go through.
A- Teenage girls
P- To point out how much words have an impact on someone, and to show how much self-esteem has an impact, especially on teen girls.
S- A girl who grew up healthy, used to love playing with dolls, and was insulted by one of her peers, being called fat.
T- Harsh, sad, makes you think about reality.
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers
ReplyDeletepg. 238
S- not said; most likely a niece or nephew
O- show the good and bad of life
A- everyone; general
P- to show that good things come out of bad happenings
S- the aunt and her dying
T- happy, bright, good, compassion
Mid-Term Break p.128
ReplyDeleteS: A college student returning home for a funeral
O: The death of the speaker's brother
A: Those who have experienced the death of a family member or someone close to them
P: To show that sometimes it is better to face pain alone
S: Death taking someone who was far too young.
T: Sad, a major understantement.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
ReplyDeleteRobert Frost
page 150
Subject: A man and his horse
Occaision: A walk through the woods on a snowy evening
Audience: Anyone
Purpose: To talk about the conflict between enjoying nature and getting back to the work of everyday life
Speaker: The man taking the walk
Tone: Conflicted
Jessica Sands
ReplyDeleteDesert Places
Robert Frost
Page 51
Title- Desert Places
Paraphrase- A man is comparing the loneliness inside him to the deserted environment around him
Conotation- The author uses words like "smothered" (line 6)and "absent-spirited" (line 7)to portray his feelings of solitude and the bitterness he feels toward it
Attitude- the author feels that he should not be afraid of places with that seem to be deserted because those wide open spaces are just like the emptiness he has inside of him.
Shift- The author changes from being sad about his loneliness at the beginning of the poem to accepting it as somthing that is very similar to himself by the end of the poem.
Title-"desert places" can now refer to what is inside the speaker instead of his surroundings
Theme- We should not be afriad of our surroudings scare us but rather the emptiness that is inside of us
America- Claude McKay page 254
ReplyDeleteS- unknown
O- A person is looking back on America as a person, not an object
A- a soldier patriot or a country man
P- his action and power are defined by America and her wishes
Tone- patriotic and praising
Cadie Engelking
ReplyDeleteI taste a liquor never brewed
By Emily Dickinson
Speaker: A person who stopped drinking alcohol and began getting drunk off of life
Occasion: The speaker is finally happy with life
Attitude: Content, Joyful
Purpose:To show that people can be happy with life without liquor
Subject: Being happy with life
Tone: Relief
"poison tree" on page 267 in the sound and sense book.
ReplyDeleteT-Previews the metaphor of the poem
P-Angry with friend-tells friend that they are angry and the anger goes away, angry with foe- doesn't tell them and the anger grows into something harmful
C-wrath,angry,tears,fears,deceitful,stole,poison (negative)
A-Anger with enemies, giddy with revenge
S-line 9, it goes from being sad and saying negative things top being happy and saying positive things about negative things
T- Forshadow
T- Longlasting anger leads to bad out comes.
Kelsey Macken
ReplyDeleteBarbie Doll By: Marge Piercy(pg. 118)
Pg. 118
S- A person who knew the girl very well, they obviously watched her grow up and was around her quite often.
O- The occasion centers around her childhood and then after that the girls funeral.
A-Girls in general, though Teens are probably the intended audience.
P- To show how hurtful some words can be to people, even to the point of severely harming themselves.
S- How the girl grew up, and based on societies idea of perfection, she tried to become beautiful, just like a barbie doll, and ended up killing herself.
T- I thought the tone was very realistic, there was no eloquent way of saying anything, just honest descriptions of how she died.
Poem: "This World is Too Much with Us" By William Wordsworth
ReplyDeleteT-That the world is enough trouble with out "them" or that the world in general is too hard to handle
P-In the world we work hard yet don’t really have anything to call ours. Everything belongs to nature. The narrator seems as if he is lonely and just wants to be cast out into sea
C- He uses the allusion of Triton, the God of the Sea, when referring to what it seems like being thrown into to the sea. He possibly wants to do this so he can become one with nature and become a part of the sea like Triton which could be a hidden metaphor. Also personifies “sleeping flowers” and “sea bares her bosom”.
A - Respect for nature, mostly the sea. He describes the sea as a woman that is powerful and could make him feel less alone.
S - In line 8, it goes from being calm and descriptive of the world around him then goes into him saying what he wants, which is to see things that will make him feel “less forlorn” (Wordsworth 12).
T- The poem does actually have the title in it and actually does keep the same meaning. The poem is describing this persons feeling like the world is much for him.
T- Power of nature can make a person feel less important, and small in comparrison
'When My Love Swears That She Is True' [page 44] by William Shakespeare
ReplyDeleteS-An older man.
O-THe man relizes that his much younger girlfriend has been cheating on him for quiet some time.
A-People who want to learn about love and have it.
P-Points out some of the major issues with having relationships with people who are either much older than you or a lot younger.
S-How to make and go through relationships with different ages.
T-He seems to be ok with his relationship even though his younger girlfriend is unfaithful to him.
"Sound and Sense" by Alexander Pope, Page 227
ReplyDeleteS) Alexander himself is speaking throughout the poem.
O) That poetry should not be forced, that it's better to just let it form on its own, instead of trying to make it something it isn't going to be.
A) The audience is writers who are forcing out their poetry, they aren't creating "true" poetry.
P) The purpose is to let everyone know that there is an art to writing poetry, and it comes from your own mind, and should not be forced. If it is forced, it doesn't seem natural, and the purpose of writing that poem is defeated.
S) Writing poetry is free, and unrestrained by rules
Tone) There is a definite tone shift in line 8. Everything before 8 has a whimsical, uplifting sense to it, while everything after is a criticism with scolding undertones.
Meeting at Night
ReplyDeleteRobert Browning
Page 57
SOAPSTone
Subject: A couple is reunited after being apart
Occasion: At Night at a cabin/beach/sea
Audience: Couples in love
Purpose: To show the love that a couple can have and how much you will miss that person you love when you are gone from them
Speaker: sounds like a guy
Tone: happy, romantic, joyful, suspense