"The Oven Bird", by Robert Frost, 1/30/12

“The Oven Bird”, by Robert Frost 

There is a singer everyone has heard,
Loud, a mid-summer and a mid-wood bird,
Who makes the solid tree trunks sound again.
He says that leaves are old and that for flowers
Mid-summer is to spring as one to ten.
He says the early petal-fall is past
When pear and cherry bloom went down in showers
On sunny days a moment overcast;
And comes that other fall we name the fall.
He says the highway dust is over all.
The bird would sing and be as other birds,
But that he knows in singing not to sing.
The question that he frames in all but words
is what to make of a diminished thing.

REACTION

This poem is really confusing. The author is obviously talking about a bird while he is writing this poem. The bird is also singing some sort of song. The poem is structured into one stanza and doesn’t seem to have an obvious rhyme scheme. The poem seems to have a hidden meaning and the image of the bird seems to be very complex.

PARAPHRASE

Everyone has heard this singer, a loud mid-summer and mid-wood bird, who makes tree trunks sound again. The singer says that leaves are old and that to flowers mid-summer is to spring as one to ten. He says the early petal-fall has happened when pear and cherry blooms have come down in showers to where on sunny days there’s a momentary overcast; and then comes the other fall that we call fall. He says the highway dust is over everything. The bird would be like other birds, but that he knows in singing not to sing. The singer poses the question of what to make of a diminished thing without words.

SWIFTT:

Syntax/Word Choice- This poem is structured into one stanza. Frost uses long, complex sentences utilizing commas and semicolons. Frost has no structured rhyme scheme in this poem. Frost uses certain words throughout the poem to emphasize the setting and the specialness of the bird. Frost uses the words mid-summer and mid-wood to give the reader a time and location special to the poem. He then uses the phrase “The bird would sing and be as other birds,” to show that the bird is special and not like others. Frost also uses certain words such as “overcast,” “fall,” and “dust” to set the tone of the poem. Frost utilizes phrases such as he says or he frames to emphasize the unnatural sound of the ovenbirds call.

Imagery- Frost uses the image of a bird singing during mid-summer in the middle of the woods through the duration of the poem. The bird image is shown best in the second line when Frost says, “a mid-summer and a mid-wood bird”. The singing part of the image is best shown when Frost says, “that he knows in singing not to sing”.

Figurative Language- Frost uses a few examples of figurative language in “The Oven Bird”. For example, he uses simile when saying “Mid-summer is to spring as one to ten”. Frost also uses personification when he says that the bird has the ability to create complex thoughts at the end of the poem. Frost also uses overstatement when he says that the “pear and cherry bloom went down in showers”.

Tone- The tone of this poem is melancholy. The beginning of the poem starts off only slightly melancholy, but towards the middle and end of the poem the tone is strictly melancholy. Phrases such as “And comes that other fall we name the fall” and “what to make of a diminished thing” paint this tone very clearly.

Theme-The main theme of this poem is ovenbird’s song. This song is one as Frost says that asks “what to make of a diminished thing.” This is important because Frost is trying to show that all good things must end. He shows this by the image of the cherry blooms falling to the ground and the transition from summer to fall.

CONCLUSION

My initial reaction is not very different from my analysis. This poem is very confusing until it is reread under the correct pretense. The author is discussing a bird in this poem. The bird is also singing some sort of song. The poem is structured into one stanza and doesn’t seem to have a rhyme scheme. The poem seems to have a hidden meaning and the image of the bird seems to be very complex. This meaning is that all good things must come to an end so why should we sing about something that must end?

“Telephone Poles”, by John Updike, 1/29/12

“Telephone Poles”, by John Updike

They have been with us a long time.
They will outlast the elms.
Our eyes, like the eyes of a savage sieving the trees
In his search for game,
Run through them. They blend along small-town streets
Like a race of giants that have faded into mere mythology.
Our eyes, washed clean of belief,
Lift incredulous to their fearsome crowns of bolts, trusses, struts, nuts, insulators, and such
Barnacles as compose
These weathered encrustations of electrical debris¬
Each a Gorgon’s head, which, seized right,
Could stun us to stone.
Yet they are ours. We made them.
See here, where the cleats of linemen
Have roughened a second bark
Onto the bald trunk. And these spikes
Have been driven sideways at intervals handy for human legs.
The Nature of our construction is in every way
A better fit than the Nature it displaces
What other tree can you climb where the birds’ twitter,
Unscrambled, is English? True, their thin shade is negligible,
But then again there is not that tragic autumnal
Casting-off of leaves to outface annually.
These giants are more constant than evergreens
By being never green. 

REACTION

This poem is depressing and instills a certain fear into its reader. The poem creates an image of these telephone poles as some sort of monster. The poem seems to focus on how man has created something that totally contradicts the nature from which it was made. This contradiction is a major theme of the poem and it is shown in various images throughout the poem.

PARAPHRASE

They’ve been with us for a long time; they will outlast the elm trees. Our eyes, like the eyes of someone hunting for game, run through them. They blend along small town roads like giants that have faded into myth. We look up in disbelief and fear at the bolts, trusses, struts, nuts, insulators, and other parts that compose these electrical machines—each Gorgon’s head at the top of the pole could kill us. Yet they are made by us, and the spikes in the sides of them are made for men to climb on. The Nature of our construction fits the area better than the real Nature. What other tree could u climb that you could here, when unscrambled, English? They cannot provide shade, but they don’t cast-off leaves in the fall. These poles are not consistent than trees because they are never green.

SWIFTT:

Syntax- The author uses one stanza for this poem. Updike also uses very complex sentences separated by commas and dashes. The author also uses question marks in this poem. The poem seems to have no meter and is apparently a free verse poem.

Word Choice- The author uses words in such a way as to stress how unnatural the telephone poles are. For example, Updike capitalizes the word “Nature” to show that he is specifically talking about nature as though it were its own being. Updike also chooses specific words to show exactly just how much the telephone poles contradict nature.

Imagery/Figurative Language- The author uses a vast array of imagery and figurative language throughout the poem. The author uses similes throughout “Telephone Poles.” The first use of simile is when the author says “Our eyes, like the eyes of a savage sieving the trees/In his search for game,” and continues to use similes elsewhere. This initial use of similes creates the image of a modern day person with their eyes looking like that of a savage. Updike also uses allusion when referring to the “electrical debris” of the telephone poles as “a Gorgon’s head.” This creates the image of the electrical debris being a massive Gorgon’s head at the top of a telephone pole. The author also uses the image of the “birds’ twitter” to represent the words spoken over the phones, and also uses the image of the telephone pole as a tree that never losses or gains leaves to represent how much the poles contradict nature.

Tone- The tone of this poem is gloomy and surreal. The poem is both gloomy and surreal because throughout the poem Updike creates a grand image of the telephone poles as these larger than life giants which contradict nature. This is show brilliantly when Updike says, “They blend along small-town streets/Like a race of giants that have faded into mere mythology.”

Theme- The major theme of “Telephone Poles” is how these telephone poles have become something more than just telephone poles. This is a theme throughout the poem demonstrated when Updike says the poles are “Like a race of giants that have faded into mere mythology” It is then repeated when Updike says, “The Nature of our construction is in every way/A better fit than the Nature it displaces”.

CONCLUSION

My initial reaction was not far off from my reaction to the poem after analysis. The poem has a somewhat depressing tone, but it instills more of a feeling of awe instead of a feeling of fear into the reader. The poem does create the image of the telephone poles as larger than life, but not necessarily as monstrous. The poem does centralize around how man has created these things that have taken on their own mythological-like identity, and it uses various images to show this.

“On Reading Poems to a Senior Class at South High”, by D.C. Berry, 1/25/12

“On Reading Poems to a Senior Class at South High”, by D.C. Berry 
 

Before

I opened my mouth

I noticed them sitting there

as orderly as frozen fish

in a package. 

Slowly water began to fill the room

though I did not notice it

till it reached

my ears 

and then I heard the sounds

of fish in an aquarium

and I knew that though I had

tried to drown them 

with my words

that they had only opened up

like gills for them
and let me in. 

Together we swam around the room

like thirty tails whacking words

till the bell rang

puncturing

a hole in the door

where we all leaked out 

They went to another class

I suppose and I to home 

where Queen Elizabeth

my cat met me

and licked my fins

till they were hands again.

REACTION

This poem is very odd to say the least. It is obviously about a teacher or some author reading poetry to a group of high school students. The poem seems to show how the teacher and the students become immersed in the poetry and read it until the bell rings. Once the bell rings, the students leave the room, supposedly still immersed in the poetry and head to another class. The teacher/author goes home where his or her cat licks his or her hands. This poem is written in a structure that is more modernistic, and it utilizes modern language.

PARAPHRASE

Before I opened my mouth I noticed the students sitting there in an organized manor as is they were packaged. Slowly I began to become immersed in the poem, though I didn’t notice it until I began to hear the sounds of fish in an aquarium and then I realized that I had tried to overwhelm them with my words and that they had instead opened up to the words and let me in. Together we went on a trip with poetry like thirty little fish all contributing until the bell rang and caused all the students to leave and go to another class. I then went home and let me cat lick me until I came back to reality.  

SWIFTT

Syntax- The author uses very long, run-on sentences with only three periods throughout the entire poem. The author also does not use any commas or other forms of punctuation except for period.

Word Choice- The author chose to use the word “till” instead of until or ‘til. This is important because that is technically a form of slang which the author would have to use when talking to a teenage audience. The author also chose to use very simplistic words in this poem so that they would be understandable to modern teens.

Imagery- The author uses the image of an aquarium full of fish for most of the poem. The author does a fantastic job of making the reader feel as though they are the person reading poetry to a high school class. The author also makes use of imagery to make the reader feel as though they are being transformed into a fish and swimming.

Figurative Language- The author makes great use of metaphors. The first metaphor is of the students being like frozen fish in a package with represents how rigid they are. The author also uses hearing bubbles in an aquarium as a metaphor for the murmur of the students. The last two metaphors are the hole through the door and the author’s cat licking his “fins till they were hands again.” The author also uses simile when describing how the students open up like gills.

Tone-The tone for this poem is playful. The author starts out by essentially making a joke about the students being rigid like frozen fish. The author then uses a metaphor that was described in such a way that it is becomes playful.

Theme- The theme of this poem is education and a journey. The journey comes in when the author has to take the students from a rigid state about poetry to a more open state. The education theme comes into play because the author is teaching the students about poetry.

CONCLUSION

My initial reaction was not far off at all. This poem is very odd. Obviously some guest speaker has come in to read poetry to a group of high school students. The poem seems to show how the teacher and the students become immersed in the poetry and read it until the bell rings. They students also go on a journey with the speaker while reading the poem.  Once the bell rings, the students leave the room, supposedly still immersed in the poetry and head to another class. The speaker goes home where his cat licks his hands. This poem is written in a structure that is more modernistic, and it utilizes modern language.

"War is Kind", by Stephen Crane, 1/25/12

“War is Kind’, by Stephen Crane

Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind,
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.

Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,
Little souls who thirst for fight,
These men were born to drill and die.
The unexplained glory flies above them.
Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom--
A field where a thousand corpses lie.

Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbles in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.

Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.

Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind!

REACTION

This poem is very paradoxical. The title in itself presents a paradox, because there is no possible way that war is kind. The poem is very depressing and borderline disturbing. The entire poem is entirely about the author telling random people that they should not weep for their loved one who died because war is kind. This leads to the assumption that this statement “war is kind” is simply a sarcastic statement meant to moreover show the author’s disgust with war.

PARAPHRASE

Don’t cry girl, because your lover died. War is kind. Loud sounds of the regiment, little men who thirst for a fight, these men were born to drill and die. An unexplained glory engulfs these men. The god of war is great and his kingdom is a field with thousands of corpses. Don’t cry baby, because your father falls in the trenches shot in his breast, breathes for air, and dies. Don’t cry. War is kind. Flag of the regiment, an eagle with a crest of red and gold, these men were born to drill and die. Show them the virtue of slaughter, make is clear to them the excellence of killing and of the battlefield with thousands of dead bodies. Mother whose heart was her son, don’t cry. War is kind!

SWIFTT

Syntax/Word Choice- Crane structures his five stanzas in such a way that they are all between 4-6 lines. The poem is structured into parable-like stanzas. Crane uses specific words to describe the gore of war. Also, he chooses his words to show how humans say war is kind and just, but in reality it is not. The repetition of the phrase “war is kind” is meant to emphasis this.

Imagery- The imagery in this poem could not be any more apparent than it is. Crane uses the image of a regiment going to train, fight, and die on a bloody battlefield filled with thousands of rotting corpses. Not only does he do this, but he also gives an ultra descriptive image of a man dying when he says “Because your father tumbles in the yellow trenches,/Raged at his breast, gulped and died…” Crane also goes on to describe the flag of the regiment and to briefly create the image of a woman (lover), baby, and a mother crying over the loss of their significant male figure.

Figurative Language- Crane uses simile when referring to how the mother’s heart “hung humble as a button.” Other than the one use of simile, there is no apparent use of any other types of figurative language.

Tone- The tone of this poem is gory, depressing, and sarcastic. The poem is depressing from the mention of all of the loved ones crying for the one they lost. The poem is gory in the vivid death scenes Cranes uses throughout the poem. Lastly, the poem is sarcastic because Crane obviously makes the remark “war is kind” as a sarcastic gesture to show just how unkind war really is.

Theme- The theme of this poem is the effects of war. Crane throughout the poem is explain how war has killed many men and tells them their loved ones not to cry for them because “war is kind.”

CONCLUSION

This poem presents a paradox in the beginning of the poem. The title in itself presents a paradox, because there is no possible way that war is kind. The poem has very depressing and borderline disturbing images throughout. The poem is about the author telling the loved ones of the deceased that they should not weep for their loved one who died because war is kind. This leads to the assumption that this statement “war is kind” is simply a sarcastic statement meant to moreover show the author’s disgust with war.

“Musee des Beaux Arts”, by W. H. Auden, 1/18/12

“Musee des Beaux Arts”, by W. H. Auden

About suffering they were never wrong,
The old Masters: how well they understood
Its human position: how it takes place
While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along;
How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting
For the miraculous birth, there always must be
Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating
On a pond at the edge of the wood:
They never forgot
That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course
Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot
Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer's horse
Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.

In Breughel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away
Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may
Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,
But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone
As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green
Water, and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen
Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky,
Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.

REACTION

This poem is the epitome of depression. The author discusses nothing but pure suffering and its place in mankind. The author must be looking at a painting from the master painters of the Renaissance or from some other time period. There seems to be no obvious rhyme scheme to this poem. The author does a great job alluding to the story of Icarus. Throughout the entirety of this poem the reader cannot shake the feeling of sadness.

PARAPHRASE

The old Masters were always right about suffering and they understood its place in mankind well; how it happens while nobody is paying attention. They understood that while the older people are happily waiting for the birth of a child, there must be a child who doesn’t want that child to be born. The Masters never forgot that even martyrdom must run its course even out of the mind of others, in some dirty spot where dogs are dogs and the torturer’s horse scratches its butt on a tree. In Pieter Breughel's "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus," for instance everything simply turns away from disaster; the plowman may have heard the splash but it’s not important to him; the sun shone on the man and on the ship that must have seen Icarus fall, but had somewhere to be so it sailed calmly away.

SWIFTT:

Syntax/Word Choice- The author uses very complex and long sentences in this poem. The poem itself is a free verse poem and does not have an apparent rhyme scheme. The author chooses the words for this poem carefully as to create an ominous feeling throughout the poem. The over use of the word “suffering” is there to ensure that the reader never forgets the focus of the poem. The words and sentences are also chosen in such as manner as to create the illusion that the poem is in itself the author’s as he looks out onto these paintings done by the Masters.

Imagery-The author does an exquisite job with imagery in this poem. When the author discusses the times human suffering takes place the reader truly feels as though they are suffering with people all around and no one person is paying attention. Later, the reader is drawn to the image of “skating/On a pond at the edge of the wood.” Then, the reader pictures a martyr suffering in a corner while a dog is doing dog things and the torturer’s horse is scratching its butt. Finally, the entire last stanza is an image strong enough for the reader to envision Pieter Breughel's "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus"  having never seen the painting.  

Figurative Language- There is no apparent use of figurative language in this poem.

Tone- The tone of this poem is depressing and ominous. The author is constantly discussing suffering and its place in mankind. The author discusses a torturer at one point and the painting of the fall of Icarus.

Theme- The theme of this poem is suffering. The entire poem is based on the idea that a man is looking at paintings by the Masters and in them he sees the epitome of human suffering. This is made apparent in the opening lines when the author says “About suffering they were never wrong…”

CONCLUSION

My initial stance on the poem was not far off in the least. This poem is the epitome of depression. Suffering and its place in mankind is the main theme of this poem.  As it turns out, the poem is written as though it were the thoughts of a man looking at paintings done by the Masters. There is no obvious rhyme scheme to this poem. The author does a great job alluding to the story of Icarus.

"The Tyger", by William Blake, 1/12/12

“The Tyger”, by William Blake

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare sieze the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art.
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

REACTION

This poem is somewhat ominous and invokes a little fear. As in Blake’s “The Lamb” the narrator asks tons of questions. The imagery in this poem is outstanding and makes the reader truly feel as though they are looking at a tiger and seeing its burning eyes in the night. The poem in itself asks a very important philosophical question that many people even today struggle with.

PARAPHRASE

Who created you, what kind of divine being could have created you? Where could your fiery eyes have come from in this universe? Who would dare to take this much fire and put it in your eyes? What sort of being or craftsmanship would have been required to make your heart this way? What dreaded person would continue once that dark heart began to beat? What blacksmith would have created you and what tools would be necessary? Once the tiger was created how must the creator have felt? Did he smile when he thought of his work? Could this possibly be the same being who created the lamb?

SWIFTT:

Syntax/Word Choice- Blake uses very descriptive words throughout the poem. He also uses tons of questions marks throughout the poem. Blake also intentionally starts the poem with an exclamation in order to show the fear the narrator sees. The narrator also spells the word tiger as tyger in order to show that it is not a real tiger.

Imagery- Blake uses the image of the tiger “burning” to convey the way the tiger appears to the author. The author uses the phrase “fearful symmetry” to convey that the tiger has a look about him that invokes fear. The eyes of the tiger are then described as “fiery” which allows the reader to envision reddish-orange eyes staring back at themselves. All of this imagery is used to convey how scary, fierce and demonic the tiger appears.

Figurative Language- There are not similes in this poem by William Blake. The poem is however, like “The Lamb”, representing the tiger as a demonic figure.  

Tone- The tone of this poem is fearful and menacing. The poem starts off with the narrator exclaiming that a tiger is near. The narrator continues on in the poem to stress that he is scared of the tiger’s fiery eyes. The tone is also menacing, due to the way in which the tiger is described.

Theme- The theme of this poem is the philosophical question of “can the creator of good also be the creator of evil?” At the start of the poem, and for most of the duration of the poem, the narrator talks about how evil the poem is. Finally, at the end of the poem the is a question is stressed when the author asks “Did he who made the Lamb make thee?”

CONCLUSION

My initial response to this poem was not far off from the truth. The poem is ominous and invokes fear. The narrator asks tons of questions as in Blake’s “The Lamb”. Blake uses an outstanding imagery and makes the reader truly feel as though they are looking at a tiger. The imagery is so vivid that the read can see its burning eyes in the night. The poem in itself asks a very important philosophical question that many people even today struggle with.

"The Lamb", by William Blake, 1/12/12

“The Lamb”, by William Blake

  Little lamb, who made thee?

   Does thou know who made thee,

Gave thee life, and bid thee feed

By the stream and o’er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight,

Softest clothing, woolly, bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice?

   Little lamb, who made thee?

   Does thou know who made thee?

   Little lamb, I’ll tell thee;

   Little lamb, I’ll tell thee:

He is callèd by thy name,

For He calls Himself a Lamb.

He is meek, and He is mild,

He became a little child.

I a child, and thou a lamb,

We are callèd by His name.

   Little lamb, God bless thee!

   Little lamb, God bless thee!

REACTION

There is a heavily religious tone to this poem. The narrator appears to actually be talking to a lamb. There are seemingly very iconic religious symbols being used in the poem. The narrator also seems to admire the little lamb.

PARAPHRASE

Little lamb, who made you? Do you know who made you, gave you life, and allowed you to eat by the stream and over the meadow; gave you a coat of wool; gave you a tender voice, making all the valleys happy? Little lamb, who made you? Do you know who made you?

Little lamb, I’ll tell you; He is called by your name, for He calls Himself a Lamb. He is meek and mild, and became a child. I’m a child, and you’re a lamb; we are called by His name. God bless you little lamb.

SWIFTT:

Syntax/Word Choice- In this poem, Blake intentionally indents his initial questions to the lamb, and other parts of the poem where he is directly speaking to the lamb so that those parts stand out from the rest. When Blake refers to God in the poem he capitalizes the first letter of the name God is called by to make it distinguishable. This is also intentionally done to allude back to the Bible where God is referred to as He. Blake uses a variety of complex and simple sentence structures in order to both pose the questions asked and to answer them. The first stanza is primarily comprised of the questions (often rhetorical) to the lamb. The second stanza is the reply filled with statements and exclamations.

Imagery- This poem uses the image of a lamb all throughout the poem. Blake is very descriptive when he describes the coat of the lamb by saying, “Softest clothing, woolly, bright”. Blake also invokes the senses when he says the lamb has such a “tender voice”.

Figurative Language-There are no similes in this poem, and there are very few actual uses of figurative language, but the entire poem is about comparing the lamb to Christ.

Tone- The tone of the poem is happy, inquisitive, and religious. Blake is constantly asks questions throughout the first stanza, such as “Little lamb, who made thee?” The lamb itself in the poem is a symbol of Christ and throughout the second stanza Blake does a fantastic job of showing this.

Theme- The major theme of this poem is the comparison of the little lamb to Christ. It is apparent from the simple use of the religious symbol of the lamb in the poem and the fact that Blake states that the lamb and He share the same name. Another lesser theme is a reflectance on the human state. Blake is posing questions in the beginning that are meant to make the read reflect on them and pose the same questions internally.

CONCLUSION

I feel that my initial reaction was not far off from reality. There is no denying the heavily religious tone of this poem. The narrator does seem to actually be talking to a lamb. Blake uses several iconic religious symbols in the poem. He also uses the characters in the poem to compare to these religious symbols.

“Siren Song”, by Margaret Atwood, 1/10/12

“Siren Song”, by Margaret Atwood

This is the one song everyone
would like to learn: the song
that is irresistible:

the song that forces men
to leap overboard in squadrons
even though they see beached skulls

the song nobody knows
because anyone who had heard it
is dead, and the others can’t remember.
Shall I tell you the secret
and if I do, will you get me
out of this bird suit?
I don’t enjoy it here
squatting on this island
looking picturesque and mythical
with these two feathery maniacs,
I don’t enjoy singing
this trio, fatal and valuable.

I will tell the secret to you,
to you, only to you.
Come closer. This song

is a cry for help: Help me!
Only you, only you can,
you are unique

at last. Alas
it is a boring song
but it works every time.

REACTION

This poem is inevitably comical. It is essentially the one of the Sirens luring in an innocent man so that he falls to his death. The way the sentences are structured and the choice of words leads the reader to believe that something ominous is about to happen, but it is rather unclear what that thing is. The poem draws in the reader in such a way that he or she wants to know what the secret is at the end of the poem. The last stanza gives the poem its sinister comedy when one is led to assume the siren finally lures the man to his death.

PARAPHRASE

This is the song everybody want to know, it’s irresistible; it’s the song that makes men jump overboard to their death when they know it will happen, that’s why nobody knows it because all who hear it are dead and other don’t remember it. I’ll tell you the secret, but if I do will you get me out of this disguise? I don’t like sitting here on this island looking perfect and unreal along with these two idiots, I don’t like singing this song, it’s fatal and valuable. I’ll only tell you the secret. Come here. This song is a cry for help, help me! You’re the only one who can help, you’re special. Finally, the song is boring but it works every time.

SWIFTT:

·         Syntax/Word Choice- The author used a very complex sentence structure that emphasizes colons to separate the sentences. The author also chooses simplistic words that most people today would understand, but at the same time uses some words that allow the poem to seemingly be written in a time prior to its publication.

·         Imagery- The author uses imagery throughout this poem. The use of the phrases “beached skulls” and “squatting on this island looking picturesque and mythical with these two feathery maniacs” along with many others in the poem allows the reader to feel they are a real person standing on a boat looking onto an island with beached skulls and three beautiful woman/bird-like figures staring back at him singing to him.

·         Figurative Language- This poem has an apparent lack of any figurative language. Through the entirety of the poem there was no figurative language.

·         Tone- The tone for this poem is seemingly mocking and alluring. Throughout the poem the speaker is essentially luring in a victim into a trap to kill the victim, while in essence mocking the victim. This is seen in the opening line, “This is the one song…” showing that the speaker is mocking the listener by saying this song I am singing you now is the song that will kill you and you will fall for it.

·         Theme- As with all Greek mythologies we see the theme is a lesson. To not allow yourself to be lured in by something or someone that is really trying to do you harm.

CONCLUSIONS

The poem was not intentionally comical as initially stated. The poem is meant to be more of a warning that if you are tempted there are massive consequences. I was correct in assuming that one of the Sirens is luring a man into coming to see her only to find out that the man dies. The poem was designed to luring the listener to come towards the Siren, but it is also supposed to mock the person the poem speaks of that actually comes toward the Sirens.

"To Marguerite", by Matthew Arnold, 1/9/11

“To Marguerite”, by Matthew Arnold

YES: in the sea of life enisled,
With echoing straits between us thrown.
Dotting the shoreless watery wild,
We mortal millions live alone.
The islands feel the enclasping flow,	5
And then their endless bounds they know.
But when the moon their hollows lights,
And they are swept by balms of spring,
And in their glens, on starry nights,
The nightingales divinely sing;	10
And lovely notes, from shore to shore,
Across the sounds and channels pour;
O then a longing like despair
Is to their farthest caverns sent!
For surely once, they feel, we were	15
Parts of a single continent.
Now round us spreads the watery plain—
O might our marges meet again!
Who order'd that their longing's fire
Should be, as soon as kindled, cool'd?	20
Who renders vain their deep desire?—
A God, a God their severance ruled;
And bade betwixt their shores to be
The unplumb'd, salt, estranging sea.

REACTION

The poem is a depressing composition about two lovers that have been split apart in some tragedy. It is a true cliché of poetry and holds little intrinsic value. The man clearly feels like his world is coming to an end and that he is now alone with nothing. Obviously he thinks that it isn’t fair that his lover, who he apparently just fell in love with, has been taken away from him and sent to a faraway place. At the end of the poem, the man feeling so lonely and heartbroken, the man blames God for all of his misfortune.

PARAPHRASE

Yes, in life we are isolated as if on an island, with empty space put between us all. We’re scattered all over the world, and the millions of us live alone. We are all trapped by the flow over everyday life like islands are trapped by the flow of water. When the moon comes out, and the islands are overcome with the comfort of spring, and in the valleys, on starry nights, the nightingales sing; the songs fill the entire island; then a desperate longing is sent to the deepest caverns of the islands! At one point the islands, the people, were one. Now the islands, people, are separate—the narrator wants the people to meet again. Who ordered that once the man and women fell in love that they must be separated? Who keeps them from their deepest desires? God did it, a God whom they once served; now the distance between us is like a sea.

SWIFTT:

·         Syntax/Word Choice- Throughout the poem, the author uses words that express the emotions separation bring about. The author uses phrases such as “longing like despair” to show the desperate urge the lover feels to see his significant other. Also, alliteration is used in the phrase “mortal millions” in the first stanza.

·         Imagery- The use of an island is used vastly throughout the poem. The author also uses birds singing at night in the valleys of these islands. This imagery is designed to portray the loneliness the author wishes to convey. The sea is a powerful image used to represent the forces keeping the lovers apart. Lastly the imagery of the islands once being part of a continent and then separating is a powerful image representing the lovers being one and now two.

·         Figurative Language- Similes and other figurative devices are used to create the imagery of the poem. The author uses phrases such as “a longing like despair” as well to further emphasize the couple’s despair of being apart.

·         Tone- The tone is longing and almost pathetic. The author clearly shows that he longs for his companion as he compares the distance between them to oceans, and seems pathetic because when he is content is when he feels the most longing for his significant other.

·         Theme- The theme of the poem is isolation and separation from a loved one. The poem starts off by stating that all people live alone. It then goes on to discuss how the author feels this due to the separation from a lover.

CONCLUSIONS

My original understanding of the poem was not far off. It was about a couple that has been separated. The tone however was not entirely depressing; in fact it was more of a longing tone. The poem is not a total cliché, and it is filled with great imagery and figurative language. The man did just recently fall in love with his significant other, and he did inevitably blame God for their separation.