"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.