Today I was given a set of poems to read and choose one to analyze. I decided I would use Big Rock Candy Mountain as my poem of choice. I recognize this poem as a song written by Harry McClintock in 1928. The song is one of the few that can still make sense in today’s culture and society and in my opinion is the mark of a truly great writer. The speaker of the poem is a hobo that was hiking on the trails. Given that the poem was written in 1928, during the Great Depression, he sounds wistful and hopeful of the mystical Big Rock Candy Mountains. He is talking to some folks he happened to pass by on his way down the track. The speaker ultimately sounds like someone who is down on their luck and only has hope left. Without taking the time frame in which the poem was written, you can feel an undertone of depression and longing. Throughout the poem, the hobo speaks about this perfect paradise in the Big Rock Candy …show more content…
The only word that is never rhymed is the word “Mountains” which is the last line of every stanza. I feel the writer chose not to rhyme it to further set the Big Rock Candy Mountains apart as paradise on Earth. The title of the poem as well as it being the last line of each stanza further emphasizes this.
The Big Rock Candy Mountain is the hobo’s version of paradise on Earth. The theme for this poem is dreams and wishful thinking. The author illustrates this by having the poem have a nice upbeat tone to it. Where all your hopes and dreams will come true and you can just spend your day how you may.
Poems like these are still written in today’s society but are expressed through different mediums than the poetry of old. While this song was originally released in 1928, it didn’t gain popularity until 1939. In today’s society, poems are found more often in music than in a book, although those are common too. Song’s in today’s society often rhyme or tell a story and can be analyzed just as poetry
“There are a number of different lyrics used in songs that have been derived from poetry” (Kumar). Poetry is an older form of art and song lyrics have evolved from the art. However, it is a great debacle over which one can be considered the higher art form. The underlying question is if song lyrics have evolved past poetry, or has poetry remained artistic and intellectual. Despite bearing some superficial similarities, the differences between “To a Daughter Leaving Home” and “Never Grow Up” in imagery, message, and point of view are prevalent causing poetry to be considered a higher form of art.
The poem does indeed have a rhyme scheme, yet doesn?t conform to conventional forms of rhyme such as A, B, A, B, etc. Rather, each stanza seems to follow the order of A, B, C, A, C, B, which may not be apparent to the reader at first, but doesn?t
She also presents a slight rhythm to the reading that allows for smooth reading. In keeping with her open form, there is no set scheme to the rhyme pattern. However, there is a single ending sound constantly repeated without a set pattern throughout the work. She also connects pairs of lines at random just for the sake of making connections to make that particular stanza flow. At the same time, she chose blatantly not to rhyme in certain parts to catch the reader’s attention.
The poem also uses end rhyme to add a certain rhythm to the poem as a whole. And the scheme he employs: aabbc, aabd, aabbad. End rhyme, in this poem, serves to effectively pull the reader through to the end of the poem. By pairing it with lines restricted to eight syllables. The narrator creates an almost nursery-rhyme like rhythm. In his third stanza however, his last line, cutting short of eight syllables, stands with an emphatic four syllables. Again, in the last stanza, he utilizes the same technique for the last line of the poem. The narrator’s awareness of rhyme and syllable structure provides the perfect bone structure for his poem’s rhythm.
These lines show the happiness and optimism that is portrayed throughout the poem, by painting a picture of all kinds of people singing and being proud. In Hughes, "I, Too, Sing America", the optimistic tone is also shown when the protagonist in the poem declares, "They send me to eat in the kitchen/When company comes,/But I laugh,/And eat well,/And grow strong." (3-7). Although they are of color and are treated awfully, they are optimistic and look at the bright side, like how they at least have food, and laugh and are able to grow. Both poems definitely express an optimistic tone.
In “Marigolds” a young girl is growing up during the Great Depression. For Lizabeth, the narrator, everyday is a challenge. As she transitions from an innocent, naive child to an aware, yet unsure young woman, the smooth road she’s been traveling on suddenly becomes bumpy and unfamiliar when a fit of anger taken out on her neighbor marks Lizabeth’s growing up. “All the smoldering emotions of that summer swelled in me and burst- the great need for my mother who was never there, the hopelessness of our poverty and degradation, the bewilderment of being neither child nor woman and yet both at once…”, (Collier, “Marigolds”). All of the emotions that Lizabeth has been holding in spill out of her in an audacious, violent action that will exile her childhood; the destroying of Miss Lottie’s prized marigolds.When Lizabeth realizes with remorse what she’s done, she gains the heavy burden of adulthood. “In that humiliating moment I looked beyond myself and into the depths of another person. This was the beginning of compassion, and one cannot have both compassion and innocence”, (Collier, “Marigolds”). When Lizabeth conveys that Miss Lottie had planted marigolds as a show of passion and hope, she becomes compassionate towards Miss Lottie, ridding her of her childish innocence. While “Hard on the Gas” is minimally worded, the meaning of the poem speaks volumes. The poem conveys growing up, and the fact that the road to adulthood is not, in fact, smooth. “Rush, rest, rush, rest”,
In poems it is essential to be a creative writer. The author uses many techniques from from exposing deep thoughts to giving humorous jokes throughout the sentence. As a human being, we may have difficult times in understanding what is trying to be said. We may agree or disagree depending our viewpoints on life. One of my Favorite poems is “The Ballad of Sue Ellen Westerfield” by Robert Hayden. My favorite poem is the type of poem that has some history and confusion. When getting the audience confused, it makes them want to know more and reread the whole passage again. Hayden’s poem is a fresh new opening that brought an old dimension, his creativity to open the minds of others and look back to the past.
When depicting the tremendous height and abruptness of the mountain he states that “It was like a window ledge on a skyscraper, no more than fourteen or sixteen inches wide”. Bryson’s use of the simile establishes an illustrative image in the reader’s mind and creates a lasting impression of the situation. This improves the author’s tone as it details the uncertainty and discouragement the men were facing during the hike. Furthermore, Bryson advances his narrative and tone with imagery as he adapts to the trail when it becomes hazardous with oncoming snow and freezing temperatures. Bryson describes his surroundings with a bleak and dreary attitude, for example, he states that “the path was broken by steep, thickly bouldered streams, frozen solid and ribbed with blue
In “Monkey Hill,” Stan Rice writes about the speaker of the poem who sits at a zoo with his friend observing the spider monkey exhibit. The two stay the whole day to observe these monkeys. The speaker becomes envious of these monkeys and their ability to be confident with exactly where they are and with who they are. Rice argues that our minds imprison us when we are worried about judgment from others. The monkeys in the exhibit felt free and at ease while the two observers were trapped in worrisome about the outside world in fear of how others would perceive them.
The poem, “Po’ Boy Blues” uses rhyme in the fourth and sixth lines of each stanza.
The rhyme scheme in this monologue is irregular, but it does have structure. T.S. Eliot used mostly free verse form, but also employed the use of refrains; “In the room the woman come and go/Talking of Michelangelo.” is repeated twice in the monologue (l.13-14 & 35-36). There are also fragments of Petrarchan sonnet forms within the monologue especially towards the ending and the three line stanza, “Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? /I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach/I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each” (l.122-124) are end rhymed. Prufrock really
the first few lines, there seems to be similar word patterns. Not every poem needs rhyme as
For example, end rhymes in the poem alternate lines with very few variations, implementing frequently repeated, and alarmingly simplistic rhyming words such as: "Lee," "sea," "me," and "we."
If one listens closely, they can hear America’s song. The words, like thunder, comprise the groans of the slave, the cheers of the free, and the unmistakable sounds of the brave. The music rings out as clear as day; it is composed by the growing children and the dying men. Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes captured the essence of these songs in their respective works, “I Hear America Singing” and “I, Too, Sing America.” The first describes the melodies of a working nation, the “the wood-cutter’s song” and the “delicious singing of the mother” (Whitman 7-8). The quiet musings of a young African American make up the latter; it is a hymn of hushed hope for tomorrow. Although the two poems stand alone, both Whitman’s and Hughes's works powerfully capture the song of America through the sense of pride found in each piece, the uses of different literary elements, and their individual views of the nation.
targeted those people who would recognize and appreciate quality lodging and not those who were seeking “cheap sleep”. Inviting potential guests or individuals who might influence visitor hotel selection to launch parties, swim parties, cocktail parties and other planned events. Targeting supportive hospitality businesses. Packages that supported local businesses were developed.