Blog 11 - Night and Day

I chose “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” because this poem really touched me. When I lost my father I felt the same way Dylan Thomas did. I wanted my father to fight for his life, hoping that he would win. Unfortunately it did not happen. As time past, I realized it is just a part of life and that is, in part, what this poem is about. 

Dylan Thomas’ poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is a perfect example of a villanelle. A villanelle is a very structured and detailed format. Thomas uses this format to help create a very strong and meaningful statement. “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” follows every single guideline of a villanelle, plus some structure of its own. This poem contains 19 lines of five tercets with a final quatrain. Each tercet provides a strong example of the general message about death. This is where Thomas adds structure of his own. Thomas creates all nineteen lines using 10 syllables in each. I did not see, in the definition, anything about the amount of syllables. I believe Thomas added this just to make a stronger poem, which then makes a stronger statement. The first line of each starts of with a statement about different types of men. The beginnings are, “wise men,” “good men,” “wild men,” “grave men,” and “you, my father.” It shows that death happens to any and all men. It is going to happen no matter what. The second line of each tercet provides a metaphor of what the men have gone through in life or what they are going through on their death bed. Thomas uses, “burn and rave at close of day,” “forked no lighting,” “danced in a green bay,” “And learn, too late,” “blaze like meteors,” and “curse, bless.” All of these lines show how men have lived their life but, no matter what, their life is coming to an end. Fighting death, for every one, is a curse and a blessing at the same time. Then the third line of each stanza repeats the same two closing sentences, alternating each time. The closing sentences are “Do not go gentle into that good night” and “Rage, rage against the dying of the light,” which come from the first and third line of the first stanza. Both of these lines are also repeated in the concluding quatrain. The guidelines of repeating these lines set a very strong message. In this case, the message is “die fighting.” The definition of a villanelle also states that it can only have two rhymes throughout the entire poem. These two rhymes are “night” and “day,” which come from the end of the first and second lines of the first stanza. In this poem Thomas compares “night and day” with “life and death.” This also helps repeat the message that everyone will eventually die. Regardless of how or why, Thomas says that death should not be accepted. Everyone should fight for their life. 

Blog 10 - A Dance Or A Beating?

Hallelujah, I found a poem that I like. Probably because I thought it was a terrible poem, but then realized it could be a really happy one. So, it think I like it because I was so relieved about the different meaning. There are two different ways to interpret “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke. It can be about a father bonding with his son or a father beating his son. So, lets start from the beginning and work our way down the poem. The first line, “The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” (1-2). This can mean that the father just had one drink to unwind after work. Whiskey does have a strong nasty smell that can just make a small child dizzy. But, it can also mean that the father came home wasted and reeks of whiskey. The next line is “But I hung on like death; Such waltzing was not easy” (3-4). The father could just be a clumsy dancer so the son has to hold on to keep up with is father. Or, the son held onto his father because he did not want to restrain from a beating to make it worse. The fifth line says, “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf” (5-6). Romped is a word meaning rough play. The father’s dancing could be so clumsy that

he his running into things, causing them to fall over. Although, romped could be used to try to camouflage exactly how violent the father is. The pans could be falling because the father is beating his son. Next, the poems says, “My mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself” (7-8). The mother could have been frowning and without action for two different reasons as well. She could have been upset that the father was making the son all wired up before bedtime and making a mess of the house. However, she did not want to interrupt their bonding time. Yet, if the father is beating the son then the mother could be too afraid to interrupt, especially if the father is drunk. The next two lines state, “The hand that held my wrist was battered on one knuckle” (9-10). The fathers hand could be “battered” from a hard day at work, if his job requires a lot of labor. Otherwise, if the father
is an alcoholic he might get into a lot of fights, causing his knuckles to be mess up. The 11th and 12th lines of the poem are “At every step you missed my right ear scraped a buckle.” This implies that the son’s height is at the level as his father’s waist. The boy could be standing on his father’s feet so they can dance together. This way, if the father misses a step, the son’s ear scraps against his belt buckle. However, the father could be using his belt to beat his son. If the father is drunk, he could stumble and miss what he is aiming for, causing the belt to scrape his ear instead. Then the poem says, “You beat time on my head with a palm caked hard by dirt” (13-14). This could mean the father is trying to keep the rhythm of the dance by playing the beat on his son’s head. Or, some would take it as the father is literally beating his son’s head. The father’s hands are probably dirty from work. Finally, the last two lines are, “Then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt” (15-16). This can either be the father is actually dancing with his son to his bedroom, or the father is beating him away. So, the son would continue to hold his shirt in order to keep balance to finish dancing or because he is too afraid to move away. To summarize these two meanings; The father had a drink to unwind and is dancing and bonding with his son before bedtime. Or, the father is an alcoholic and came home and beat his son before bedtime. It is very interesting to think that this one poem can have two completely different meanings. Which way did you interpret the poem?

Blog 9 - Who Knew Poems Provide So Much Imagery?

     The imagery in John Masefield’s “Cargoes” and Wilfred Owen’s “Anthem for Doomed Youth” are different in a couple of ways. Masefield describes a few different types of images, however he mainly describes pleasant visual imagery. Although, towards the end the imagery becomes unappealing. Whereas Owen mainly describes sounds. He uses pleasant metaphors to describe something that is actually a horrific sound. Towards the end, the images of the poem change from sounds to sight. 

     In the first stanza of “Cargoes” John Masefield gives the sense of sound, sight, smell, and taste. He writes about “apes and peacocks” (4). This makes me imagine the different sounds of the animals, along with the sight of a colorful peacock. My favorite image is of the “sandalwood, cedarwood” (5). The smell of the fresh natural wood. Then he goes to the “sweet white wine” (5). This makes me imagine the taste of sweet dessert wine. All of these images make me feel relaxed and peaceful. Including when Masefield writes, “rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine” (2). I am imagining the smell of the ocean and the feel of the warm sun. In the second stanza Masefield describes mostly visual images. He writes:

          With a cargo of diamonds,

          Emeralds, amethysts,

          Topaz, and cinnamon, and gold moidores. (8-10)

All of these descriptions make me imagine all the luxuries of royalty. The beautiful sparkling jewels and shinning gold coins. Despite all of the wonderful descriptions, in the third stanza Masefield writes about some unpleasant images as well. In the first line he writes about the “Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack” (11). I am now picturing a huge dirty ship that is polluting the air with tones of nasty smoke. He continues to write:

  With a cargo of Tyne coal,

Road-rails, pig-lead,

Firewood, iron-ware, and cheap tin trays. (13-15)

This completely changes the entire poem for me. Now I am just imagining everything wrong with commercialized shipping; nasty smog, dirty coal, poisonous lead, and possible oil polluting the water. 

     In “Anthem for Doomed Youth,” Wilfred Owen starts off with “What passing-bells for these who die” (1). At first I was imagining the lovely sound of church bells. However, my mind quickly changed in the first line. He continues to write, “those who die as cattle” (1). My mind goes from a peaceful funeral, to a horrific death. I picture men standing in the front line of war, dropping just like cattle. Then in the second line Owen writes, “Only the monstrous anger of the guns” (2). Come to find out there aren’t bells at all, just loud gun shots. This is not a pretty poem so far. Owen again uses something pleasant to describe an awful situation. He writes, “The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells” (7). He is describing the sound of the explosions used as the church choir for mourning death. Towards the end Owen’s images change from sound to sight. He writes, “What candles may be held to speed them all? Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes” (9-10). There are only tears to shine in place of candle light. So instead of these boys receiving a nice funeral and time to mourn, the war continues over their dyeing bodies. I don’t like these images at all!

Blog 8 - A Wide Variety of Poems

     The poem that I was drawn to the most was “Here a Pretty Baby Lies” by Robert Herrick. At first I thought it was a very cute and sweet little poem. I was picturing a newborn baby laying in their crib, their mother hovering over to sing quiet lullabies, while the rest of the house remain silent. Of course, I was shocked when I read the last line. Herrick wrote, “Th’easy earth that covers her” (4). Come to find out the baby is actually dead. I was attracted to this poem because it has deep meaning and feeling behind it. I just wish it had a happy ending of course. I liked how it was written, although it is too short. I like that it rhymes and it is very easy to understand. I felt like it was clear and straight to the point. I like that it did not take me an hour to figure it out.

snow on blackboard

  I also enjoyed “Schoolsville” by Billy Collins. I like how he uses materials in a classroom as metaphors for the environment outside. Collins writes, “chalk dust flurrying down in winter, nights dark as a blackboard” (5-6). He is saying the the chalk is like snow and the board is the color of the night sky. I like how he says that he forgets the student’s names but he remembers their actions. He writes, “The girl who signed her papers in lipstick” (17). Of course everyone remembers the girls who signs her name with lipstick but no one remembers what that girl’s name is. He also talks about how the students group together, and I completely agree with him. Collins writes, “The A’s stroll along with other A’s. The D’s honk whenever they pass another D” (22-23). Students that are grouped together tend to get the same grades in school or have the same interests, such as creative writing. I guess I like this poem because it is something that I can relate to so it is easier for me to understand it. I also like how it has some humor to it. It’s a playful poem. 

     I’m going to be honest and say that I don’t really like poems all together. So all of the other poems were not appealing at all. I do not understand what they are trying to say. The metaphors confuse me. I hate how they don’t rhyme. It’s like a puzzle that I can’t figure out. If I feel like I can’t relate to the poem, then I am not interested. I am more of a story kind of person. Just say what you mean and get to the point. Why all of these secret meanings? This last part of the class is not going to be easy :(