A Reflection Of The Poem All-American Sestina

Florence Mayers wrote a sestina in 1940 named All-American Sestina. He challenged American pride and honor at a very crucial time in American history, and accused Americans of placing more value on material goods then freedoms and values (Mayers, ). At that time the American landscape and culture was molding into one that put more importance on material goods, and that idea started to resemble the American Dream. These days Americans judge their success on what kind of house they live in how many cars they own rather then how hard they work at their jobs and how they live their lives. This idea is represented through all of the material goods in the collage.

Often, personal experiences are what influence a poet’s writing. Since the 1600s and up until World War One, poets have been heavily impacted by the glorification of war, as well as the catastrophic losses the world has suffered from. Poets such as Richard Lovelace and Lord Tennyson glorified the sacrifices soldiers made for their countries and honored them. While poets like Mary Borden and Wilfred Owen expressed their outrage towards war because they have witnessed the brutality and wickedness of it. In the two poetry collections, diction is the main factor in establishing the tone and theme of each poem.

In contrasting or comparing literary works it is crucial that the reader analyze the author's voice to gain a better understanding of the theme they are implying. In the contrast between the poems “I, too, sing America” by Langston Hughes, and “I hear America singing” by Walt Whitman it is clear that the two poets have very different point of views regarding American patriotism. Walt Whitman’s views on America’s joy and peace in his poems are very straightforward, while Langston Hughes poem--a response to Whitman’s--wants the reader to acknowledge what America should be like for everyone, including people of color such as himself. The authors of these poems prove to have conflicting judgements on matters in America including a theme of

When you read a poem you can come from it with an overall feeling and figure out by context clues how the author’s feelings were of the subject as well. “It’s a Woman’s World” written by Eavan Boland goes through the struggles and restraints society hold to being a woman. The speaker had a complex with it being a “Women’s word” and you can see that through diction, imagery and symbolism.

Set in America, the poem follows a man, potentially Walt Whitman, as he celebrates the pride found in an American citizen. Several careers are described throughout the poem in an effort to accentuate the amount of effort Americans put into their labor each day. Aside from no apparent significance to the structure and syntax of the poem, the author’s profound diction, such as blithe, melodious, delicious, and robust, emphasizes the honor the author feels towards Americans and their efforts. Whitman’s use of figurative language in his poem, “I Hear America Singing”, can be found through the individuals who are “singing”. Although the singing stated within the poem may be literal, it also demonstrates the passion and pride that the workers held

“A Poetry Reading At West Point” is a five stanza poem in which William Matthews writes about an author reading his poetry to a freshman class at West Point Military Academy. Matthew translates dialogue between an author and a cadet, a trainee in military school. In fact, the poet writes this poem in first person point of view to show the perspective of an author reading out poetry. Every five stanzas in this poem includes six lines which is a sestet. The first couple of lines of the poem demonstrate where the speaker is reading and to who he is reading to. For example, “Twice the hall filled with bodies dressed alike,” evaluates the hall in the Military Acadmey is filled with soldiers all dressed alike because of their uniforms. Readers

All three of the poems discussed in this essay relate to the struggles suffered by African Americans in the late 18th century to the early 19th century in many different ways. They had to live under harsh

“Let America be America Again” is a powerful piece of poetry by Langston Hughes written in 1938. The American dream is achievable. Achievement and success comes quite naturally for some, especially if one comes from the right family, has the right skin color, and even has the drive to succeed. However, “Let America be America Again”(Hughes 945) is not a poem about the privileged, but a poem that shows the struggles of the common folk; the average joes who are not willing to give up their own American dream. The oppressed, burdened, enslaved, mistreated, and abused are portrayed in this poem. Still, most Americans believe America is free, and the American dream is alive and attainable.

Both the poem and novel relate to eachother through race and the "invisibily"of the main characters portrayed. "I, too, sing America" is the

“What I’m about to tell you, Corporal, cannot leave this room. Under no circumstances can you allow your code talker to fall into enemy hands. Your mission is to protect the code… at all cost.” In the movie, Windtalkers, this is how a commander wants his marine to treat the paired Navajo code talker. That is, if it’s necessary, his marine could kill the Navajo, just like abandoning one of his properties. Even in the mid 1900s, the Native Americans were still treated not as human beings, but rather, machines; therefore, it is not hard for us to imagine how even more frightening the Native Americans’ circumstances were in the early days when they were first colonized by the western settlers. In Deborah Miranda’s “Indian

Poetry can serve as a medium of influence in its own niche community. A great example of influence and outreach is the poem “The Colonel” by Carolyn Forche. The poem is spreading the message about human rights in third world Latin countries and does so beautifully. It builds up the suspense by starting out so ordinary and with unusual interjections such as “pistol on the cushion beside him” or a complaint about tough times of governing. Readers and audience get to know the atrocities of the Colonel but at the same time one could understand the tough times of governing a corrupt country such as the ones in Latin America. Many times the issue is ethical imperialism, applying the moral values of one country to another and forcing them to adopt

There are many poems that depict the history, as well as the country, of America. From the time America was first discovered and all the way up to just recently, poems of all varieties. There are poems written about the tragedies America, as a country, went through, as well as America’s multiple triumphs. “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “Paul Revere’s Ride,” and “The Raven” are all poems of such fashion. They emphasize the history of how it was back in the past, and also what America had to go through to become a nation. Although, there are two other poems, that were written more recently, that illustrate the effects of war and terrorism in the United States. “Facing It” and “The Names.” In the poems, “Facing It” and “The Names,” there are many

Any poet’s mode of expression in a poem is set by the theme. White man and Melvine, in their poetry single mindedly aimed on re- echoing the chaos seen on their land during the civil war. The inmost mayhem as the two men tussled with apprehension is evident in each collection.

In my preparation for this essay I thought that there was going to be very little that I would learn about the elements of poetry. This is not because I am an expert and have nothing new to learn, but rather the opposite. I have never really spent the time to break down and appreciate poetry. One of the reasons I think that I haven’t spent the time on poetry is due to my reading habits. I usually read to gather information and poetry is on the other end of the spectrum. Fredrick Gruber sums this up, “Poetry tends to give general truths while history gives particular facts.” (Gruber) Having said all of this though, I did see a couple of things that I could apply to my own writing. I will first start off with some elements of poetry that I

Because of the strong ties to European poetry, American poets wanted to distinguish themselves from their origins and began their crusade to build a new foundation for American poetry. Therefore, the “19th century began with high hopes for poetic accomplishment. The first comprehensive anthologies of American poetry appeared in the 1820s, 1830s, and 1840s. In the first half of the century poets sought to entertain, to inform, and to put into memorable language America’s history, myths, manners, and topography, but they did not seek to forge a radical new poetic tradition. Their poetry built upon tradition, and they met the first great goal of American poetry: that it be able to compete in quality, intelligence, and breadth with British poetry. But just as they achieved this goal, poetic aspirations began to change. By the mid-19th century the new goal for American poetry was to create something very different from British poetry.” (MarcoPolo.net).