The cleaning of the wardrobe is what sets the mood for the finding of an old memory. The first verse may cause confusion for the reader. “I opened its lid and saw Joe.” The reader may begin to ask questions like whose Joe and why is the main focus? Relating back to the title, “The Black Guitar” may provide insight on which Joe is, “Guitar” meaning Joe and “Black” meaning a black or sad memory. In the second verse, “a man’s tears are worth nothing, / but a child’s name in the dust, or in the sand.” Also relates back to the title.
The power that the old South held for Ransom drove his works, as can be evidenced in his poem, “Old Mansion,” which describes his ultimately futile attempts to return to the old traditions. The common thread unifying Ransom’s work is that of longing for the stability and tradition that the old South embodies. As in his essays, this poem explores the possibilities of what unlocking the secrets of this lost era might entail, and what benefits could be reaped in today’s society from such an undertaking. In this poem, Ransom fails; however, the poem remains an important step in his journey to seek out the old traditions and integrate them into a modern framework. To begin this journey, Ransom introduces the “old mansion” as a concrete concept to represent the traditional values and lifestyles sought.
Lit 5-125 Workshop in Critical Writing: Poetry 20 December 2012 The Inseparability of the Past and Identity The idea of the past has always been a matter of concern to people. Ha Jin’s poem “The Past” touches upon this concern by trying to trace the significance that the past holds for each individual and how it is supposed to be linked to one’s present and being. Through some kind of internal monologue, the speaker is making an effort to deal with his own past, to understand it and accept it. Although he is uncertain of how to do this in the beginning, he gradually takes it for granted and decides to make the best out of it, transforming it into a renewed self-image based on his needs. In the first stanza of the poem, the speaker expresses his initial thoughts and feelings about his past.
While reading “Goodbye My Brother”, a story about a family who whom of mostly are stuck in their old habits and in denial about how their family is “close in spirit” but in actuality there is a disconnect amongst the members. The narrator who remains nameless tells us a little background information about their family and instantly is depicted as “the good brother” over his brothers Chaddy and Lawrence. They are all at their summer beach house in “Lauds’s Head in Massachusetts” that their father had built and that’s where the conflicts really start to rise. The narrator depicts Lawrence as being the “evil brother” who is always negative and doesn’t enjoy spending time with his family. After reading parts of “Cheever A Life” by Blake Bailey and re-analyzing the
Some lines make use of caesurae whilst others use enjambment. There is a very loose sense of organisation in an irregular rhyme scheme. This provides a sense of informal speech. This is expected as he would be reminiscing and reciting memories as they came to him. In the first stanza, Heaney describes the appearance of his great uncle.
Discuss the theme of family, as presented by Heaney in ‘Digging’ and ‘Follower’. The poems Digging and Follower by Seamus Heaney both are powerful expressions of the poet's admiration and respect for his father. Heaney strongly stresses his relationship with his father by creating a forceful comparison between himself and his dad and by doing so raises another important issue that is present throughout both poems, the significance of change. However, despite the depiction of the father in both poems seems quite similar at first glance, it later is evident that there are nevertheless certain differences between the two images created. Follower and Digging both give a clear account of Heaney's feelings towards his father with particular emphasis on the poet's response to the physical labour of his father.
Egl 102-08 November 26, 2012 Tennyson’s Ulysses: A Closer Look When first reading through Alfred Tennyson’s poem “Ulysses”, the reader may think that this is simply a poem about an old king getting ready for another journey. Many critics say that Tennyson’s poem was his own way to grieve over the loss of his best friend and attempt to move forward. However, on further examination of the poem and Tennyson’s character, Ulysses, it becomes apparent that Tennyson draws inspiration from Homer’s “The Odyssey” and Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy” as well as from his own personal experience. In his poem, “Ulysses”, Tennyson created a character who believes he should be travelling the world and seeking knowledge, not sitting around waiting for death to come for him. In creating this character, Tennyson uses character traits from Odysseus of “The Odyssey” and traits from Ulysses in “The Divine Comedy”.
Seamus Heaney uses various ways to explore the theme of family life in his poems. The poems, 'digging' and 'follower' specifically explore this theme, 'Digging' is about Heaney's search for his family history, and he seems to be digging into the past for old memories and his ancestral roots and is also about the admiration he has for his ancestors. 'Follower' on the other hand is about the roles in his family and the relationship between his father and him and his disappointment at not being able to possess the same skills as him. Heaney shows a great deal of admiration for his father and grandfather's skill. This is shown in the way Heaney describes them and their vocation.
It is many different circumstances where people need a second chance. Your love of your life may have cheated on you, but realized that he or she have done a mistake, or maybe your best friend did lie to you straight in front of your face. Sometimes it can be very hard to give someone a second chance, but I still think that you shall give them a chance to prove that they have changed. If you give someone a second chance, they can learn something from it and grow as a person, if you do not; they will just forget it and maybe do the same mistka eagain So overall, a second chance is an opportunity to make things right and grow as a person. Everyone deserves a second chance whether they have done a big or small mistake.
TONIGHT I CAN WRITE Lines 1–4 The theme of distance is introduced in the opening line. When the speaker informs the reader,"Tonight I can write the saddest lines," he suggests that he could not previously. We later learnthat his overwhelming sorrow over a lost lover has prevented him from writing about their relationship and its demise. The speaker's constant juxtaposition of past and present illustrate hisinability to come to terms with his present isolated state. Neruda's language here, as in the rest of the poem, is simple and to the point, suggesting the sincerity of the speaker's emotions.