Hymn of Not Much Praise for New York City There are many literary devices at work in Thomas James Merton’s poem “Hymn of Not Much Praise for New York City” that contribute to the idea that external appearances may not always reflect internal experiences. Merton uses analogies to prisons and hospitals in addition to a number of references to cocaine and suicide in order to lead the reader in understanding that New York City may look extravagant on the outside while the residents inside are suffering. Thomas James Merton was a Trappist, which was a brotherhood of the Roman Catholic Church known for its extremely quiet atmosphere. Although they did not take an official vow of silence, Trappists are known as “the monks who don’t talk” (Do Trappist …show more content…
In the fourth stanza, Merton utilizes words such as “lock,” “jails,” “confine,” and “penitentiaries” in order to compare the feelings of residents and workers in New York City to those who have been imprisoned for a crime. When one thinks of daily routines inside of a prison, they may imagine a completely different scenario than those who have actually been incarcerated in their lifetime. The same concept applies to New York City- one who has never worked or lived in the city may have a radically different way of thinking than someone who has lived there for the duration of their entire lives. Because of the correlation between the residents and those incarcerated, Merton is able to establish the idea that the people of New York City feel that they cannot escape, and they are “[sentenced] for life” to live and work in the city (Merton, Stanza 4). This idea relates to the main concept of the poem because it shows that the residents feel trapped within the confines of a beautiful city, and that people who do not live there cannot begin to understand their …show more content…
Beginning in the first stanza where he describes New York City as being “crazy as cocaine,” the poem includes a number of references to the drug, such as the term “hopped-up peace” in the fourth stanza which may refer to an exaggerated sense of tranquility that comes when one is under the influence of cocaine. The third stanza includes what appears to be a description of how it feels to be on the drug, with the idea of “minds [filling] with [petitions]” and “gongs of pulse,” which may be side effects of being high. In the fifth stanza, Merton notes that the food in New York City “tastes of iodoform.” Iodoform has been formerly used as a disinfectant, and can be linked to the clean, sterile smell of hospitals. This line could suggest that many of the residents have been hospitalized because of overdoses or drug-related complications, and as a result, all the food they eat reminds them of being in the hospital. Merton is able to lead the audience in believing that these people have been hospitalized due to drug overdoses because he refers to them as “[trying] to keep [their] cage from caving in” (Merton, Stanza 3). This could be a euphemism for mental breakdowns, including suicide, which could be a result of addiction. This claim is later supported by the idea that the “freshest flowers smell of funerals” (Merton, Stanza 5). With all the references
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
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.
Not only does this poem talk about the smells of the city and the tall skyscrapers and her crowds it also talks about its slums “Her shining towers, her avenues, her slums” (line 12). when you think of a city such as manhattan you normally think of its skyscrapers the biggest crowds of tourist that have no clue of where they are going. but you normally tend to overlook the slums and the bad parts of a large city. James Weldon Johnson expresses his love for his city even with all of its flaws by saying “ O God! the stark, unutterable pity, to be dead, and never again behold my city” (lines 13-14). He does not want to see the day that he can no longer see all the wonderful aspects of a large
When first reading this poem the theme might be hard to understand for some but with lines such as “Church bells bong for drunken mourners”(Perdomo 6) it is evident that it is one that should be taken into consideration. The mentality of Perdomo is visible to comprehend with his downplay of life in Harlem. Although he uses bad things to describe life below the poverty line in this city he able to
The night in prison, he recounts, was "novel and interesting enough." His roommate had been accused of burning down a barn, though Thoreau speculated that the man had fallen asleep drunk in the barn while smoking a pipe. Thoreau was let in on the gossip and history of the jail and was shown several verses that were composed in the jail. The workings of the jail fascinated him, and staying in jail that night was like traveling in another country. He felt as if he was seeing his town through the light of the middle ages--as if he had never heard the sounds of his town before.
As for New York City, in the novel it is defined as the perfect place to live life to the fullest and not have a care of the world. As a reader, it is expected to envision this city full of lights as a bright, restless, and colorful place. Nick Carraway depicts New York City as a “...city rising up across the river in white heaps and sugar lumps all built with a wish out of non-olfactory money. The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of
One way that Blake uses to convey his anger on what he sees is through
The truth behind the poem “Poverty and Wealth” is bone-chilling, almost as if it was meant for a character like Ponyboy Curtis. On the east side of town, there lives
The topic of death is either suppressed or masked in both poems. Both poems are very strong and powerful pieces, which allows readers to connect to the issues being told. Throughout “London”, Blake not only implies the difficult times that London went through during the Industrial revolution, but also how many died during this
The poem introduces a wealthy woman and she’s not happy with her life. She has all she needs except happiness. The setting takes place in the Kensington Gardens. Around the garden are non wealthy people. Ezra Pound presents a simile in the first line, “Like a skein of loose silk blown against a wall (Pound 2)”, this refers to the woman to a length of silk (WordPress 5). “En robe de parade. Samain (Pound 1)” In English, “dress to impress”. Ezra Pound is referring to Samain a French philosopher (Genius 1). “She walks by the railing path in Kensington Gardens (Pound 3).” Ezra Pound uses, “railing”, to tell the reader that the woman uses the railing because she is solitude (Genius 3). “In her is the end of breeding (Pound 9).” The woman doesn’t see any hope for her future. She compares her life and the poorer children around her (Genius 9). “Money cannot buy happiness.” Money may buy your needs, but money cannot buy or fix how you or others
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.
London by William Blake is a poem characterised by its dark and overbearing tone. It is a glimpse at a period of England's history (particularly London) during war and poverty, experienced by the narrator as he walks through the streets. Using personification it draws a great human aspect to its representation of thoughts and beliefs of the narrator.
and that he believes them. The poem also translates into how living in the city is toilsome and that the city is unrelenting. On the other hand it shows how the city can be prosperous and happy with the city’s disadvantages. in the second half of the poem it’s telling how nomatter what is wrong with the city, the people are still proud of who they are.
To better understand this poem some history about London during the time the poem was written is helpful. London was the “. . . undisputed cultural, economic, religious, educational, and political center” of England in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. It was a city of “warehouses, docks, factories, prisons,
London is a city of many faces. Through the writing of these two famed authors, William Blake and William Wordsworth, they both manage to effectively illustrate the two very different views on London. Blake shows us the dark and twisted side of London facing poverty and oppression, while Wordsworth highlights the bright, peaceful, and beautiful aspects of London. The two poets write their contrasting views by using tones, imagery, and senses; can open the reader's eyes to change and how quickly it can happen.