Analysis Of Poem ' First Poem For You ' By Kim Addonizio

Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.

A sonnet by definition is, a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line. A poem is a piece of writing that says a lot in a few words; this sonnet does exactly that, it utilizes a multitude of literary devices to tell a story of a writer examining life with an ending message to push forward and go. In “An Echo Sonnet”, the author, Robert Pack uses repetition, hypophora, antithesis and synecdoche to reveal the voice experiencing writer's block which leads to the discussion of life and death between the voice and the echo.

The poem “ Feliks Skrzynecki” communicates to the responders that as a result of the Skrzynecki family migrating to Australia, Peter had lost a significant aspect of his life which was his relationship with his father due to the barriers that had arisen restricting them from proper communication.

The poem “To This Day” written by Shane Koyczan, the symbolism is the black things grabbing the kid. This is showing that words do hurt and it stays with you this is shown through the whole story of the pain and suffering of the kid. This is said " who used to say that rhyme sticks and stones as if broken bones hurt more than the names we got called" this is showing word do hurt and the black things grabbing him is showing that like a broken bone it still hurts over time just like words do. With this evidence it shows that if you don't want to be called that don't say it at all.

Structure is important in “First Poem for You” as well. Addonizio chose to write a sonnet to have the last lines truly conclude the poem in a way that meditates on the permanence of the tattoos. The author destroys the immediate, powerful, and concrete image of the lovers with “such permanence is terrifying. / So I touch them in the dark; but touch them, trying (13-14).” These lines represent the vague understanding of the future between the two partners. It is unknown if the two will remain together or not and the last line leaves the reader hanging. This creates a deep reality with the poem that can easily be connected with, for the fate of a relationship is truly unknown.

Beauty is a subjective idea that focuses on the characteristics preferable to a single species that gives an advantage over another and at the cost of another species survival. Humans have created astounding empires with beautiful cities and monuments because they were the most progressive species that are able to do so because of their capacity for violence. Some empires fear for their survival, so they must eliminate any threat whether it be humans or other animals. The poem, “Thanks” by Yusef Komunyakaa, it symbolizes how humans can become single minded only driven by their own personal desires at the sake of anyone else. Humans naturally commit ugly atrocities to progress their own beauty, or at least idea of, and they instinctively oppose nature because mankind is the dark side of nature.

The Poem “Introduction to Poetry” is by Billy Collins, an English poet, and it is about how teachers often force students to over-analyze poetry and to try decipher every possible meaning portrayed throughout the poem rather than allowing the students to form their own interpretation of the poem based on their own experiences.

A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines that rhyme in a particular pattern. William Shakespeare’s sonnets were the only non-dramatic poetry that he wrote. Shakespeare used sonnets within some of his plays, but his sonnets are best known as a series of one hundred and fifty-four poems. The series of one hundred and fifty-four poems tell a story about a young aristocrat and a mysterious mistress. Many people have analyzed and contemplated about the significance of these “lovers”. After analysis of the content of both the “young man” sonnets and the “dark lady sonnets”, it is clear that the poet, Shakespeare, has a great love for the young man and only lusts after his mistress.

In “Conte” by Marilyn Hacker, Cinderella shows the reader a glimpse of her life after the childhood tale ends, a less happier ending than the original story implies. She feels trapped in a constant state of misery and boredom in the royal palace. Without life experience guiding her, Cinderella is in a dilemma caused by her ignorance of the potential consequences of her actions. With the use of irony, structure, and diction, “Conte” shows how innocence and naïveté result in regrettable mistakes that create life experience.

Naturally, Shakespeare’s very first Sonnet deals with themes of procreation and immortality, literally and figuratively birthing his series of Sonnets. Ideas of Genesis, or the creation of the world, show strong traces throughout the poem and serve as the piece’s main focus according to literary critic Helen Vendler. The sonnet also deals with the logistics of beauty; we want the most beautiful people to have children, so their beauty will be preserved forever—when the parent dies, the child they leave behind will remind us of their own beauty. Shakespeare utilizes metaphors in his language to help promote this idea, for example the image of a bud, growing until it inevitably dies and diminishes. Unlike flowers, Shakespeare tells us here that we humans have the opportunity to keep this beauty everlasting. The very beginning of Shakespeare’s infamous series of sonnets, Sonnet 1 celebrates the beauty of procreation and offers a plea for humanity centered around our duty as humans to procreate and let our legacies live on, so our spirits can live vicariously through generations of our children.

Artist, Kesha, co-wrote and sang the song titled “Praying.” In the video that she created for the song she shows us, the audience, what she went through during her healing process from the sexual and mental violence she received. Through many methods, such as religious references, Kesha took us through her journey through ethos, logos, and pathos.

In the poem, Elena, the author conveys the main theme using the two main protagonists. The poem shows the feelings of a mother who has lost touch with her children, since they are no longer a big cohesive family as was the case in Mexico. All her children sang and engaged in sporting activities at their leisure time. The phrase “understanding every word they’d say.” is emotional and to some extent painful since she remembers the time she spent with her children and the good moments they shared together while in Mexico before they moved to America “But that was in México”, she is disappointed that the move to America does meet her expectations and instead they are drifting further apart.

This source discussed the sonnet and lyric (the basis of my project.) It states that a lyric is the genre of internal and individualized emotions. It’s seen as a moment of “personal experience.” (33) The traditional emotion that is associated with the sonnet is love. Both the lyric and the sonnet are connected with song and music. I want to go more in-depth on how loss and death can affect the lyric and sonnet as well, without going into elegy land. This source was very informative on the basics of a sonnet and a lyric—such as how the sonnet has a twist and the lyric is more problematic than one would think. What more goes into a lyric then? (MAYBE) The approach this source is taking is showing the ways a sonnet represents and doesn’t represent a lyric. How exactly are they different and the same? Sonnets are a lyric because of the emotional base put into them. It mentions that in the Romantic peiord, sonnets were not blank-verse and strayed from the conventional form. They used everyday language. That brings up the question as to how did that incorporate into Keats’ sonnets? This source also begs the question, which I agree with, “who determines when something is a lyric or a sonnet?” (28) The lyric was something that could be private or social. What made a sonnet more intimate between reader and poet (though many sonnets were published in newspapers, especially during the Romantic period.) The length can prove to be a problem for sonnets is an issue that this source

When going through all 154 sonnets Shakespeare wrote, it was difficult to specifically pick one that was eye catching. I read through so many and I seemed to be catching myself always going back to sonnet number 18. Reading through the sonnet carefully I knew I wanted to pick number 18 to present and look further into. The tone that is implied with this sonnet is so uplifting and endearing. It almost inspires me to love myself as much as I love other things. It states that “every fair from fair sometimes declines" which means that all beauty will eventually fade, but not when being immortal. The theme of the sonnet would be in the beginning, middle, and the end of the sonnet. Pulling everything together to show the theme is that beauty will eventually fade except in the eyes of someone who loves you.

     The sonnet, being one of the most traditional and recognized forms of poetry, has been used and altered in many time periods by writers to convey different messages to the audience. The strict constraints of the form have often been used to parallel the subject in the poem. Many times, the first three quatrains introduce the subject and build on one another, showing progression in the poem. The final couplet brings closure to the poem by bringing the main ideas together. On other occasions, the couplet makes a statement of irony or refutes the main idea with a counter statement. It leaves the reader with a last impression of what the author is trying to say.