This poem is written in the form of a rhetorical, persuasive, legalistic plea made on the behalf a leopard that has been displaced from its natural habitat and placed in the confines of a “cage” or confines of civilization. This poem through its use of the symbolism and metaphors the of civilization and the leopard explores the relationship between an imperialistic western colonial power and its colonies as being exploitative, hypocritical and structural.
In the first line, two entities are mentioned, who continue to substitute the opposing characters throughout this poem; Civilization and the Leopard. The kind of civilization can be largely inferred from the poem as being Western, Globalized, Industrialized, Principled, Educated and Colonialist; Western mainly due to the mention of Asia as belonging to the leopard, to whom the civilization is unaccustomed to, and the imagery such as a leopard, deserts, Ethiopia, gold, palms portrayed as “exotic”, distant and foreign geographically as well as culturally to the civilization, the use of English and the setting of the poem of which this plea takes place is to a western English speaking audience and adjudicator; Globalized in that this seemingly western civilization has exposure to other geographical locations such as Asia and Ethiopia and palms and deserts, which are not native or culturally associated with western culture or countries; Industrialized since in order to have been exposed and aware of other cultures in the
The main ideas that we have read in our readings covered what Women’s Studies is and Dominant Ideas About Women. Three passages that caught my attention out of the 32 passages were “A Work of Artifice” by Marge Piercy, “Gender Inequity in School: Not a Thing of the Past” by Karen Zittleman and David Sadker, and lastly, “Have you Ever Heard of Asian-American Feminists” by Stacey Yap. With these three passages, there was good information for me to interpret and to reflect upon in these readings.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Poetry is a beautiful way to express the subtext within it, using literary devices which enhances the poem 's beauty. Poetry is considered to take distorted ideas and transforms it into beautiful words. Therefore, resulting the harsh truth being displayed in a form of a poem for readers to sink into another point of view. These creators called poets, are a group of people with a wide variety of experiences that an average person does not usually experience. They can create a more unified meaning in their masterpiece, without taking up 300 pages to exhibit their meaning, and still hold different interpretations by different readers. Poets are known to uncover the truth, which could be their experiences or reality based ideas, by beautifying the reality with literary devices to make it more relatable and enjoyable but still hold that very core of the meaning behind the poem. Poetry is a powerful vessel, between creator and reader, to change a person’s outlook of life or one’s surroundings. A poem can change moods, enhances one’s personality, gain a sense of people knowledge and become a bit more sensitive around one 's world. Even if poets are not aware of the power poetry holds, they still do it to convey an experience, a lesson or a journey. All of this relates to 'Love and Roses ' by Tracy Marshall, where the speaker is telling the reader a journey of their blinding love. The abusive relationship exists in the speaker 's life but is distracted by the idea of the
The theme is a tremendously essential part of any poem. The two poems, “Musée des Beaux Arts” and “Waiting for Icarus,” contain similar themes. In “Musée des Beaux Arts” and “Waiting for Icarus” there is a strong theme of abandonment and suffering found throughout both of the poems. In “Musée des Beaux Arts” it is Icarus, the subject of Breughel’s painting, who is being abandoned while drowning in the sea. Auden clearly portrays this when he writes, “In Breughel’s Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away / Quite leisurely from the disaster” (lns. 14-15). Auden uses these lines to describe how everyone is ignoring Icarus’ current predicament. Auden examines the disaster even further by stating, “and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen / Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky, / Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on” (lns. 19-21). Here, Auden is telling his readers that even though Icarus is in pain because he is drowning; life was carrying on anyway, a clear indicator of Auden’s theme of abandonment and suffering. “Waiting for Icarus” also incorporates the theme of abandonment and suffering, although Rukeyser does not depict it as fatally as Auden does. Rukeyser expresses the theme of abandonment in her poem when she writes, “I have been waiting all day, or perhaps longer. / I would have liked to try those wings myself. / It would have been better than this” (lns. 20-22). Here, Rukeyser depicts the persona as someone who has been waiting a long time for her lover to show up and Rukeyser makes it pretty clear that he is not going to. Therefore, Rukeyser shows her readers that the persona has been tragically abandoned by her lover, which evidently causes the persona a great deal of anguish. Auden and Rukeyser both use the theme of abandonment and suffering in their poems in order to show their readers how painful it is to be discarded by the world.
I personally have read theses six poems a few times each now. Starting with “Introduction to Poetry,” “How I Discovered Poetry,” “Poetry Should Ride the Bus,” “How Poetry comes to me,” “Making It in Poetry” and “Poem.” I for one will be explicating each poem and discussing how they are similar and different in their own ways. As well as explaining my own thoughts on the poems themselves and summarizing what I believe them to be.
The poem opened up with the mythology of Britain’s foundings being rooted in the fall of Troy. Following the fall of Troy, Romulus quickly founded Rome which led to having Ticius founded Tuscany and Langobard did the same with Lombardy. Soon after the founding of the three nations, as the myth goes, Felix Brutus founded Britain after the French floods. Soon after the founding of Britain, the nation raised children as soldiers; they were fighting machines in a troubled time filled with turmoil. Among all of the kings, there was one prodigy named Arthur; Arthur stood among the highest; almost untouchable from his fellow peers. His courage and aptitude for ruling were ever so present during his time as king, gaining the respect from his
In the poem “A Story” by Li-Young Lee, the topic of growing up is easily seen. With this in mind,the relationship between the father is constantly changing and evolving even if we do not personally see it. This growth is seen through the use of many literary elements.
“Something More” by Tracey Moffatt is a formal and stylistic experimentation photography and her work draws on her own childhood memories, popular culture, as well as the history seen in still cinema, art and photography. Apparent in her works are themes such as childhood cruelties in suburban life, the mutiny of stereotypes and relations between white and black Australians. In her works, referencing to the artist’s own life and experiences, Tracey Moffatt draws on her Aboriginal background as a foster child growing up in Brisbane in a foster family in the sixties, avidly consuming images from magazines, films and television.
In class we read 3 Cinderella stories and one poem. Ashenputtle is German, Yeh Shen is Chinese, The Algonquin is Native America, and the Interview is a poem. There are over 900 different Cinderella stories in every cultures. I am going to compare and contrast the ones we read in class.
The Caterpillar is a poem which focuses on the previously overlooked actions some of us may partake in, that may not be thought much of, but have short and long lasting effects on a scale we might not be very familiar with. Do we feel remorse for living organisms on a small macroscopic level, or is it just an insignificant part of our complex lives? Is the appreciation of life developed through experiences? Do we feel more pity for a single being that has been through trauma than we do for thousands that have not? In this poem, the conflict between caterpillars and humans is discussed in a such a way that brings up questions about how valuable we perceive other life to be, and how different
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” declared by an influential leader Martin Luther King Jr. As a soldier againsts unfairness, King strongly states that people should fight for freedom. Driven by human nature, humans are always chasing freedom. In “A Century Later,” the Pakistan-born British poet Imtiaz Dharker uses the poetic devices of symbolism, diction, and allusion to explore how perseverance drives freedom.
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.