"Sestina"

David Taaffe

Jernigan                     

English AP

March 29, 2011

“Sestina”

            In this poem, recurring images, objects, and characters stand out to me the most. The grandmother, the child, the almanac and the “marvel stove” I find most memorable. I found it exceedingly difficult to decode this poem and figure out what these images symbolize.

            Elizabeth Bishop, the authoress (a word I literally just discovered), of this poem utilizes wheel barrows full of personification. “The iron kettle sings.” The almanac speaks more than once in this poem (for some reason this reminds of The Brave Little Toaster). She utilizes tears to personify multiple objects.

            The grandmother definitely experiences an inner struggle in this masterful sestina. She tries “to hide her tears,” drinks “a cup full of dark brown tears,” and finds the house to be chilly. Tears seem to define the grandmother. Bishop characterizes her as a troubled being. But the grandmother does not want the innocent child to realize that her beloved grandmother struggles, so the grandmother puts up a front to make it seem like she is doing much better than she actually is.                    

            Bishop also appeals to the aesthetic desires of the reader through the employment of alliteration: “talking to hide her tears,” “time for tea,” “hovers half,” “she shivers,” etc. Devout readers of poetry, like myself, always appreciate authors and authoresses like Bishop who look for the readers.

Lonely Hearts

David Taaffe

Jernigan

English AP

March 21, 2011

“Lonely Hearts”

            If I had only one word to describe this poem, I would utilize strong diction and say “edgy.” Anyone who has read this poem will understand. This poem follows the villanelle structure but does not fail to entertain the reader with its informal tone. Wendy Cope, the author, employs alliteration multiple times: “female biker for touring fun,” “successful, straight and solvent” and others. This makes the poem more of a joy for the reader.

            Cope makes many modern social references to create a casual tone. She writes from the point of view of a male desperately searching for a woman. She mentions homosexuality and bisexuality, always a hot topic these days.

            In classic villanelle style she repeats the lines “Can someone make my simple wish come true?” and “Do you live in North London? Is it you?” The fact that both of these come in the form of a question demonstrates the indefinite state of the narrator’s love life. I would love to know who the author wrote this poem about, clearly not herself considering she is of the female gender. One might say that she is exposing the desperate and pitiful state of men in her era. She could be a feminist.

Skylark City

David Taaffe

Mrs. Jernigan

English AP

March 8, 2011

“To a Skylark”

                In classic ode style Shelley opens this poem with an apostrophe addressing the spirit of a skylark. She may also be indirectly addressing the spirit of humanity as a whole. Throughout the poem she utilizes an overwhelming amount of imagery. In the third stanza she writes about “the golden lightning of the sunken sun.” She constantly uses images of natural elements of the earth.  This suggests that the author or narrator finds a deep connection with the earth and with nature.                

                Shelley also employs figurative language to demonstrate the human connection to nature. In the second stanza she writes, “From the earth thou springest like a cloud of fire.” She also throws in some classic alliteration at various points to keep a reader like me entertained. She also depicts the sklylark as a mysterious creature by writing “what thou art we know not.” This suggests that we, as humble humans, cannot completely wrap our minds around the beauty and majestic wonder of the mystifying creature.

                Shelley definitely displays a sense of awe, respect, and wonderment towards the skylark, but I do not find that she addresses the issues of truth, art, or justice. I feel that she is more concerned with the reflecting the beauty of the skylark and of nature in general. This could suggest that she finds meaning in the simple but strikingly stunning aspects of life. She wants to remind the reader what a beautiful world we live in, much like Chris Martin does in his LP Parachutes. She wants to share the joy that she has found in the spirit of the skylark.

Death Be Not Proud

David Taaffe

Jernigan

English AP

February 24, 2010

“Death Be Not Proud”

            In this poem, John Donne utilizes figurative language, English Format, and cunning irony in order display his view of death as weak and insignificant which gives humanity hope against the idea which they fear most.

            The figurative language reveals death’s triviality and feebleness giving the reader optimism against the daunting event that comes at the end of one’s life. Right off the bat and throughout the poem, the author employs apostrophe and personification by commanding, “Death be not proud” and exposing the fact that death is not as “mighty and dreadful” as it thinks it is.

            The format of the poem assists the author in achieving his goal of giving people hope through demoralizing death. Donne utilizes the Volta to shift from describing death’s victims to its limitations. The final couplet also gives the reader hope against death. It states that we shall live on and death will not. Both of these elements uncover death’s pettiness.

            Donne’s cunning irony strongly emasculates death and makes the reader want to dance on death’s face in victory. Throughout the poem the author teases death and pokes fun at it: “poor death,” “thou art slave.” The ultimate irony comes in the very last line as the author writes “And death shall be no more, death, thou shalt die.” He spits in death’s face and lives to fight another day. He gives humanity hope in the after-life and humiliates death like a new kid who dropped his lunch on the first day of school.

No, master, never

David Taaffe

Mrs. Jernigan

AP English Lit.

February 7, 2011

“No, Master, Never!”

            In this poem our beloved author Joshua Mccarter Simpson employs dialogue, repetition, and irony in order to display a slave’s desire for freedom which exposes the injustice of slavery.

            I believe that a slave named Jack narrates this poem. In the which, he quotes himself, his master, and others. Dialogue makes up most of this poem. The author uses dialogue to characterize Jack and the master. According to what the master said, the master trusts Jack and thinks of him as a noble man. Jack respects his master as person as well. But his dialogue shows the reader that he would much rather have freedom, even with the risk of freezing to death, than remain in bondage.

            Repetition clearly stands out to anyone who reads this poem. Simpson utilizes to show how Jack feels, and he also uses it for ironic purposes. The author repeats the word “never” a multitude of times throughout the poem. At times it foreshadows the fact that Jack will eventually run away from his master. At other times, the author uses it for irony as the owner predicts that Jack will “never” leave him.

            I always find it difficult to decipher who the audience of a poem is. It seems in this one that the narrator tells a story. So his audience could be his children, a friend, or some random person that he met on the street. Or maybe the audience is simply supposed to be the reader of the poem.

David Taaffe

Mrs. Jernigan

English AP

January 31, 2011

“My Last Duchess”

It seems as if the author speaks this poem, but someone else could be the speaker. The speaker, whoever that may be, clearly speaks to another man at certain points in the poem. He often addresses some “sir.” Fra Pandolf may be the intended audience of the poem. I do not understand the references to Fra Pandolf. I do, however, appreciate the fact that Browning utilizes iambic pentameter in order to display his fond view of the lady painted on the wall. His beautiful style models her own beauty.

            The speaker clearly admires the woman in the painitng. He employs powerful diction with words such as “depth and passion,” and he describes her as “a wonder.”

            I do not completely comprehend this poem, but it seems to me that the woman in the painting has died. This poem serves as a lament and elegy in her honor. I could be horribly wrong though. It also seems as if the duchess is the daughter of some “master” for whom the speaker has much respect.

            Browning uses imagery as he describes seahorses and boughs of cherries. Again, these beautiful images reflect the beauty of the duchess on the wall.