Homage Kenneth Koch

Furthermore, the poem breaks up the speaker’s dialogue at key points. In line 9, for example, the word “beautiful” used to describe the selfless actions of soldiers voluntarily dying for their country is split between two lines, demonstrating that the words the politician is speaking hold no strength or validity and that there is no beauty in dying even for your country The lack of proper punctuation that mergers lines together and the extended length of the first stanza lends an air of nonsense, adding to the idea that this presumably patriotic speech is empty of any meaning; the speaker is simply rambling on, “and so forth” (line 2), and reciting worn out, cliché sayings such as “heroic happy dead” in line 10 that ring hollow (“E.E. Cummings,” n.d.). The last line denotes a new speaker who serves to expose the corruption of the first speaker by stating that the politician “[drinks] rapidly a glass of water” because he just thoughtlessly, and nervously, attempted to opaque the fallacies of patriotism with propaganda (Brierley, 2013).

The study of any poem often begins with its imagery. Being the centralized idea behind the power of poetry, imagery isn’t always there to just give a mental picture when reading the poem, but has other purposes. Imagery can speak to the five senses using figurative language as well as help create a specific emotion that the author is trying to infuse within the poem. It helps convey a complete human experience a very minimal amount of words. In this group of poems the author uses imagery to show that humanity is characterized as lost, sorrowful and regretful, but nature is untainted by being free of mistakes and flaws and by taking time to take in its attributes it can help humans have a sense of peace, purity, and joy, as well as a sense of

For example in the first poem, the speaker states, “soot cannot spoil your white hair” and juxtaposes “coffins of black” with “shine in the sun” to display the naïve nature of children despite the evident corruption occurring in the atmosphere around them. Similarly in the second poem, the speaker juxtaposes “winter's snow” to “clothes of death” and “heaven of our misery” to actively describe the burden of child labor. In addition, the first paragraph has a more positive outlook on life as a dream occurs in which “they are set free” and “a wash in a river” which symbolizes their renewal and their blindness towards the cruelty of the forced child labor. However in the second poem, the speaker is critical and judges the children’s “misery” while their families are

Judith Wright extensively uses the structure of her poems to convey many ideas and themes. The structure of a poem is crucial to delivering its key message as it determines both the tone and how the poem is read. She shows the reader throughout the poem how the dust, which is symbolic of the barren emptiness that has “overtaken… dreams” of beauty and comfort as well as financial dependence, will consume the earth if the current environment is not conserved and protected. Wright’s use of title emphasizes this point in the clearest way she can and re-enforces her major concept to the audience. Another example of how structure is used in this poem is juxtaposition. The first and second stanzas are strategically placed next to each other because of their greatly opposing descriptions. In stanza one, the new world of dust and wind, many negative adjectives are used, such as “harsh”, “grief” and “steel-shocked”. Stanza two, which talks about the past, contains a wide range of positive adjectives such as “good”, “kinder” and “beautiful”.

The appreciation of nature is illustrated through imagery ‘and now the country bursts open on the sea-across a calico beach unfurling’. The use of personification in the phrase ‘and the water sways’ is symbolic for life and nature, giving that water has human qualities. In contrast, ‘silver basin’ is a representation of a material creation and blends in with natural world. The poem is dominated by light and pure images of ‘sunlight rotating’ which emphasizes the emotional concept of this journey. The use of first person ‘I see from where I’m bent one of those bright crockery days that belong to so much I remember’ shapes the diverse range of imagery and mood within the poem. The poet appears to be emotional about his past considering his thoughts are stimulated by different landscapes through physical journey.

The poem itself has many examples of personification all throughout the stanzas, suggesting that the speaker highly connects the vacuum to his wife and her demise, as well as to his ordeal after losing her; “the vacuum cleaner sulks

Finally, I find that both poems show deep concern for the environment and man impact on the natural ways of nature. Robert Gray has done this with an exquisite choice of techniques and his language to strongly convey his

     There were a few interesting lines in the poem that were particularly well written. When the mother is denying her kid the right to march, she says “For I fear

Therefore, in the very beginning, Ginsberg presents to the reader the subject and tone of the poem in the context of this question. Ginsberg’s questions make the audience realize the seriousness of the issues that this poem discusess, such as America, politics, war, humanity, and ethics.

One reason I liked this poem was because of the concept and the way it flowed together, I really enjoyed how she described things thoroughly and caused deep observations to be made. One of my favorite lines is “A man leaves the world and the streets he lived on grow a little shorter.” I hold this line to be special because it really stuck with me and opened my eyes somewhat.

This poem was very layered and symbolical, which was quite interesting to me as I had to analyze it very meticulously in order to pick apart each line of the text. Additionally, I found the poem to be very engaging as it forced me to comprehend the message from the perspective of a soldier rather than a journalist or reporter.

Critics generally agree that its central theme is the speaker’s dilemma in choosing between the allure of nature and the responsibilities of everyday life in human society. However, the ambiguity of the poem has led to extensive critical debate. Some conclude that the speaker chooses, by the end of the poem, to resist the temptations of nature and return to the world of men. Others, however, argue that the speaker’s repetition of the last line “And miles to go before I sleep” (Frost) suggests an indecisiveness as to whether or not he will in fact, “keep” the “promises” by which he is obligated to return to society. (Vol.39.Gale Cengage)

Poet Kenneth Koch cleverly imitates the structure, situations, and thematic form of two well-known poets in order to criticize and sometimes perhaps praise their simplicity and underlying irony. He often focuses on presenting the same situation within the poem in a new and humorous way that diversifies your perspective about Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall” and William Carlos Williams’s “This is Just to Say” affair. There is a strong relationship between the original and the parody that both enhances your view of the original and strangely, simultaneously weakens it.

Good poets inspire and motivate us. Poetry seeks to express truths through its diversity and significance cultural ideologies. To all year 12 English teachers at Brisbane School of Distance Education, today I am here to discuss and illustrate to you the values of two poems that are worthy of study in the Senior English poetry course. While the 21st century is certainly challenging for the Youth of today, many remain sheltered from the hefty and challenging themes and ideologies that poets are more than willing to tackle. The destruction and futility of war and lost youth are ideologies present in the Modern Era and a study of these poems provides opportunities to promote understanding and empathy. The chosen poems expose students to a range

The poem begins with Ginsberg stating that he “saw the best minds of his generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the Negro street at dawn looking for an angry fix, angel headed hipster burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night” (Ginsberg Line 1.) These “best minds” have been ostracized by society for their opposition to conform to