Reflections on Poems

Silence p. 708:

    Marianne Moore's poem, "Silence," is about a father expressing his thoughts or advice to his child. The poet explains the father's advice about superior people, in his own word's, the father is quoted throughout most of the poem. The thoughts that the father is giving about superior people, is that they never make long visits, independent, they like to be alone sometimes, and that they are robbed by their speech. The father is trying to express that once you speak your thoughts then they are known to everyone, therefore you are robbed by it. I believe the quote, "The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence," is the main point to this poem. This quote is trying to express that actions speak louder than words. You can not just say your going to do something and then not do it, this is what the author meant by being robbed. Rather, if you just do what you're going to do, without just saying it, then you show by action not words.

Grass p. 714:

    Carl Sandburg's poem, "Grass," makes a huge statement about history and war. The poem talks about how grass grows overtime and how we forget things that happened at certain places. Sandburg is expressing that where certain battles and wars happened, that there is now grass that covers these areas and that they are covered up and hidden now. This poem really touched me by this. It expresses how we have forgotten about all the souls that have been lost and the battles that have been fought. It as if the grass is covering up, for all these tragic deaths, and people want to forget that these wars ever happen. This poem gives us this strong message of how people have forgotten these tragedies, by the use of grass covering up these battle grounds. I believe he is trying to show us, that even though the ground has changed and it now covered with grass, that people should still remember these battles and the souls that were lost, and not be like the grass, that hides and covers these battle grounds now.

Lonely Hearts p. 721:

    Wendy Cope's poem, "Lonely Hearts," describes personal ads in newspapers. It seems as if involves two speakers, that are writing back and forth. The poet repeats the first and second lines throughout her poem. These two lines are in the form of a question, as if a lonely heart is stating something about themselves and also stating what they are seeking for, and then asking the other lonely heart if they are the person they are seeking for. This poem involves a man and a woman, who seem to be writing to one another. This technique that Cope uses, with two different speakers are what makes this poem interesting. It reminds me of the song, "Escape," by Jimmy Buffet, in which he uses this same technique, of two people talking to one another by personal ads. In fact this is what intrigued me to read and reflect about this poem, because the poem reminded me of the song, or really vice versa, because the poem was written first. This shows that this idea of using two different speakers throughout a poem or song is still used today.

The Piercing Chill I Feel p. 743:

    Taniguchi Buson's poem, "The piercing chill I feel," even though only three lines, gives us a lot of imagery. I could see and imagine this scene of a widower stepping on his dead wife's comb. I could imagine a man stepping out of bed one morning closely after his wife passed away, onto comb. When he feels the piercing of the comb on his heel, he not only feels this, but also he remembers his dead wife. Feeling and seeing her comb, sends a chill through his body, as if his dead wife was right there with him. So, even though this poem is very short, I could still imagine this in my mind as if I was right there watching it happen.

The Victory p. 748:

    Anne Stevenson's poem, "The Victory," is about a mother who thought she would be fulfilled and victorious in life by having a baby. The mother believes that she has won when her baby boy is born. But as the poem goes on, the mother seems some what resentful in her decision and regrets having a child. She realizes that having a baby is a lot of work. She then begins to believe that it is not her that is victorious, but it is her baby, son who has won. The mother is very upset at this fact and questions why she must love him, since it is him who won in the end and not her. This poem is very sad and shows how some mothers want to deny their children. Also, how some mothers get very upset at the fact that their children get all the attention and they do not receive any.

Not Waving but drowning p. 757:

    Stevie Smith's poem, "Not Waving but Drowning," gives us the image in our mind about a person who is need of help, and who is crying out for help, but no one realizes it, in time. He relates this message as if a man is drowning in a pool. The poem involves two speakers, the dead man and a speaker who is talking about him. As the speaker talks about him, it as if the dead man replies to correct what he says. The message within this poem is to be close to people, and to not go out to far, where people can not hear you.

Reflection Dec. 5

    Throughout this semester I have had to do at least three blogs a week for my English class at the University of Memphis. Even though at first I dreaded it, I really started to enjoy it towards the end. These blogs some what opened my eyes to reflect on things in my life, like school, work, and relationships. Throughout my blogs I have been able to reflect on certain stories that our class was reading during the semester. My reflections on stories helped me to see that stories affect people in many different ways. The way I felt a story affected me would be completely different than how it affected other students in my class. By learning this I realize that this was the beautiful art of literature. Literature opens up people's minds to see who they truly are and what they believe in. I believe that this was on of the main things that our teacher wanted us to understand and to get out of her class.

    Every week my blogs changed subject, even though sometimes it was hard. Some weeks my blogs would just come to me and I would have no problem, doing them, but other weeks I had no idea what to write about and it was struggle to find something to write about. But, I truly felt like these blogs helped me in exercising my writing skills and also the blogs helped me reflect on things. I do not look at my blogs as being school work and a hassle, but now I look at them as being enjoyable and my time to reflect. Sometimes, my blogs would be about absolutely nothing, and other times my blogs would be very personal. I felt like these blogs were in some way a journal for me, and they helped me get my feelings out of my head. Therefore, some of my blogs were kind of like my therapy. Even though this semester is coming to an end and I am not required to do three blogs a week anymore, I will probably try and make a point to write down and reflect on things in my life at least once a week. Overall I really enjoyed my blogs and being able to express my thoughts and feelings to people.

Word Count 382

Hamlet Answers

Hamlet Questions p. 1588-1589

Act 1:

3. Horatio is considered to be a servant to Hamlet, but during the first act Hamlet tells Horatio that he will not be called a servant by him anymore and that Horatio is considered to be a friend now. By the end of the play, Horatio seems to be Hamlet's right hand man, Hamlet even tells Horatio while he is dying that he wants Fortinbras to be the king of Denmark. Hamlet basically sees him and Horatio as equal by the end of the play.

Act 2:

3. His performance suggests that he knows everything and he is certain that Hamlet is mad in love with his daughter Ophelia. Also, it shows that he is somewhat of a controlling father and wants to protect his daughter from Hamlet.

4. Polonius is not completely foolish; he is just trying to protect his daughter. Polonius might be capable of genuine insight, because he was once a young man too; therefore he understands what goes on in young men's minds. An example of wise judgment by Polonius is when he tells Ophelia to ignore Hamlet. This is simply a father's instinct to try and protect his daughter. An example of deluded judgment by Polonius is that he thinks that Hamlet's love for Ophelia is the only reason why he is so upset and angry. This is deluded, because Hamlet clearly shows that he is angry with his mother Gertrude and his uncle the King.

Act 3:

2. Hamlet accuses Gertrude of killing his father, the King, and then marrying her husband's brother. My attitude towards Gertrude at this point is not the same way I feel towards Hamlet. I do not feel bad for Gertrude; because she married her dead husband's brother and did not even think about how it made Hamlet feel.

4. Hamlet tells the actors not to exaggerate or be too dramatic, and to not just read the script either. Instead he wants them to act natural and let their instincts show them how to act. Hamlet's remarks to the actors show us that the Elizabethan theater tends to over dramatize their roles. Hamlet's remarks also serves to advancing the story by, he wants the play to be as real life as possible, by doing this it will remind the King of what he did to Hamlet's father, and Hamlet will be able to see if he is guilty or not.

Act 4:

2. Ophelia's father's death, the fact that Hamlet tells her that he does not love her, and also the fact that Hamlet is taken away from her, caused her to go mad. Many lines make the audience interpret these reasons. Ophelia's songs that she sings in act four scene five, all tell messages about her father's death and how Hamlet has left her. Also, King Claudius's speech in act four, scene five on pages 1554-1555, and lines 71-92, explains all that Ophelia is hurting from and how it has made her made.

3. Shakespeare portrays Hamlet's artificial or fake madness, by the fact that he is not really mad he is just upset and angry. Hamlet's madness is somewhat made up by his family and friends. They think it is odd that he is grieving over his father's death and how he is angry at the Queen and King that they simply just label him as mad. Another reason why Hamlet's madness is not real is because, he tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he is deceiving his uncle-father and his aunt-mother into thinking he is mad. Where as Ophelia, have many things happen in her life that cause her to loose her mind. In showing how Ophelia is truly mad within the play, she sings song that does not make much sense to the other characters.

Act 5:

2. Even though Fortinbras is not seen much within the play, he does however deserve to be in the play. His character needs to be included in the play, because Hamlet is about to die, he declares Fortinbras as the next king.

General Questions:

1. The play's major dramatic question is "To be, or not to be?" This question is formulated in act three scene one, on page 1520. Here Hamlet is contemplating suicide, he wondering if he should end his pain and misery. This question makes us wonder if he will end up committing suicide or not. The play does not really have a turning point, instead it seems that one bad thing after another happens, and things just keep getting worse.
   
2. In act one scene five, lines 33-40, we perceive that Claudius is a villain. The ghost of Hamlet's father tells him that his murderer know wears the crown. This happens to be Hamlet's uncle, his father's brother, Claudius.
   

7. If the characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are cut from the play, then the story looses Hamlet's statement that his "uncle-father and aunt-mother are deceived in his madness." This statement is very important, because Shakespeare is trying to tell us that Hamlet is not really mad and insane.

 

Word Count 848