Counted Sweetest By The World Alive: Poem Analysis

Clint Smith is a writer, teacher, and doctoral candidate in Education at Harvard University with a concentration in Culture, Institutions, and Society. Smith Clint wrote a poem called “Something You should Know.” The poem is about an early job he had in a Petsmart. The poet allows the readers into his personal life, but before he had trouble opening up to people and his work. Moreover, Clint wrote an insight in the poem about relying in anything to feel safe and he says it is the most terrifying thing any person can do.

In the poem “Because I could Not stop for Death”, Emily Dickinson describes death as an experience that she is looking back on. Dickinson uses a variety of elements, such as personification, imagery and irony to get her point across that death is not a dreadful event, but actually a pleasant experience. Although death is often perceived as being depressing and frightening, it should be viewed in a positive way realizing that it is the beginning of eternity.

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.

When comparing Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” and Alan Seeger’s “I Have a Rendezvous with Death,” there is an obvious similarity in the theme: the end of life. Although the perspectives are different and the tones don’t quite mirror one another, there are many similarities between two poems. “I Have a Rendezvous With Death” shares the experience of a young soldier who undoubtedly fears his demise, but because of the belief in the work that he is doing, has conditionally accepted, or at least come to terms with, the fact that it is more likely than not that he will not be returning home from the war. “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” does not give quite as clear a backstory on the protagonist, but a similar acceptance of Death, personified, is evident also. Both protagonists envision their demise and are able to stoically march on into the great unknown.

Lorna Dee Cervantes' poem, “Poema para los Californios Muertos” (“Poem for the Dead Californios”), is a commentary on what happened to the original inhabitants of California when California was still Mexico, and an address to the speaker's dead ancestors. Utilizing a unique dynamic, consistently alternating between Spanish and English, Cervantes accurately represents the fear, hatred, and humility experienced by the “Californios” through rhythm, arrangement, tone, and most importantly, through use of language.

In literature, themes shape and characterize an author’s writing making each work unique as different points of view are expressed within a writing’s words and sentences. This is the case, for example, of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” and Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death.” Both poems focus on the same theme of death, but while Poe’s poem reflects that death is an atrocious event because of the suffering and struggle that it provokes, Dickinson’s poem reflects that death is humane and that it should not be feared as it is inevitable. The two poems have both similarities and differences, and the themes and characteristics of each poem can be explained by the author’s influences and lives.

Life has a different meaning to every individual. For most, life is precious and contains so much value. However, for others life may possess a different value, and have a different meaning. Some live life to the fullest, take risks and have no regerts. Others, may value life in ways such as, being close with family and friends or achieving their wildest dreams because life is to short.

In “America the beautiful” the author’s use of diction creates an uplifting spiritual tone in the poem.The author uses the same words “oh beautiful for…”focusing not on America's flaws but on the beauty. For instance the start of stanza 4 she writes “o beautiful 4 heroes proved in liberty strife who more than self her country loved and marymor than life”.She apads for the people who believe in freedom of america by sacrificing their lives for their

The poem that I have chosen to analyse is I Died for Beauty—but was Scarce by Emily Dickinson. This poem is one of Emily Dickinson’s most well-known poems and it only includes 12 lines and 3 stanzas. It is an allegorical and metaphorical piece of work that portrays the speaker who died for ‘Beauty’ while the man beside gave up his life for ‘Truth’. This simple and straightforward poem, written in first person, mainly explores the theme death but then also shows beauty and truth through Dickinson’s choice of words. Although this poem is daunting and frightening, it is also definitely fascinating and truthful.

Two of Emily Dickinson’s poems, “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died” and “Because I could not stop for Death” are both written about life’s stopping point, death. Although the poems are written by the same poet, both poems view death in a different manner. Between the two poems, one views death as having an everlasting life while the other anticipates everlasting life, only to realize it does not exist. While both poems are about death, both poems also illustrate that the outcome of death is a mysterious experience that can only be speculated upon with the anticipation of everlasting life.

There is a thin line between life and death. One misstep could cost you your life, one wrong choice could end in all, yet one sacrifice could save you. Fight or flight could mean living to see another day. The desire to live a long and meaningful life is an ancestral need that nearly every single human being shares. People often do horrible things if it means they can extend their life, even for a short amount of time.

The speaker then moves to a restaurant where he picks up a chicken noodle soup and gets his want across to the staff by simply pointing at it. The stanza ends with the line “I am adjusting well to the new way”(10), showing that according to the speaker the new law is working fine for him and he is able to live a normal life. However, with the entrance into the third stanza we begin to question whether the speaker naturally only acted this way towards the phone call and the staff in the restaurant, without using any words or he was actually saving them for his lover. The second reason is more likely to be true, due to his statement in the next verse “I call my long distance lover, proudly say I only used fifty-nine today. I saved the rest for you”(11/13). Here, the second character is introduced in the poem – the long distance lover. It becomes obvious that the speaker, who is most probably a man, is in a long distance relationship with a woman and the way communicate is via phone call. The speaker tells his lover proudly he has only used fifty-nine words today and has saved the rest for her. This shows the speaker’s devotion towards his lover because he has chosen to use most of his words on her.

A plethora deem the necessity to be remembered for something after death and that one will be forever remembered. Some people donate their entire lives to a cause or charity, but in the end is it really worth it? “X. Died for Beauty” by Emily Dickinson, represents that what one lives for and eventually died because is not preeminent in the end.

In Emily Dickinson’s poem ‘67’, she argues that only one who understands failure thoroughly can truly appreciate success, as they feel the absence of success most clearly and painfully. At the start of the poem, Dickinson states that those who “ne’er succeed” count success as the “sweetest” (67). Those who constantly fail, see success as endearingly sweet as they have never obtained it. The lack of success creates an acute desire for success. Then, she says that one can only fully enjoy a nectar only when one has a “sorest” need for it (67).

Some of the poems and essays I have read during this class were relatable to me. Being away from college, I have struggled with not being at home. I have become a different person when I am at school, but when I am home, I feel like I am my normal self again. Some of these authors of the poems and essays that I have read throughout this class has struggled with being somewhere where they don’t belong and that they are someone else when they are not home. Unlike the other poems and essays we have read throughout the course. I enjoyed reading the ones about “home” because I actually understood what they are going through and that I can relate. Some of these poems and essays include “Going Home” by Maurice Kenny, Postcard from Kashmir”, by Agha Shahid Ali, “Returning” by Elias Miguel Munoz and “Hometown” by Luis Cabalquinto. All of these poems deal with duality.