Rennie Mcquilkin The Collecting Poem Summary

Poems and songs may have strength in literary terms, but have you ever wondered what makes them powerful? In this essay, there will be analyzed two poems “The Boy Died in my Alley” and “Daddy”, as well as the song “Firework” in which theme, metaphor, and repetition are the literary devices that make them powerful.

“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke sparks differing opinions within the minds of many. Roethke was influenced greatly by his experiences as a young boy. For instance, his uncle and father both died when he was the age of fourteen. “My Papa’s Waltz” is written in remembrance of his father after this dreadful occurrence. The author’s use of imagery brings light to the his adoration for his father. Notably, his way of stringing together ideas reinforces the fond memories they shared. Roethke’s captivating choice of words supports his purpose to make known the love he has for this man. While the subject of “My Papa’s Waltz” has spurred passionate academic debate from professors, scholars, and students alike, the imagery, syntax, and diction of the poem clearly support the interpretation that Theodore Roethke writes “My Papa’s Waltz” to bring attention to the loving relationship he had with his father.

"My Papa 's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke and "The Fish" by Elizabeth Bishop depict the seemingly disparate subjects of a rough, playful dance between a drunken father and his son and a fish just pulled from the sea. Different in this way, the poems share an intense desire to render the ambiguity of subjective experience. More specifically, they show how embracing this ambiguity produces rich, potentially ecstatic modes of perception. While "My Papa 's Waltz" centers on the subjective oscillation between what John McKenna calls "love and fright; excitement and concern," "The Fish" probes the dichotomy between life and death, the human and the inhuman (38). Roethke 's speaker seems to remain caught within the binary aspects of his sensory perception, struck by its contradictory richness, but Bishop offers a glimpse of how the oscillation gives way to epiphany, to what C.K. Doreski calls "a leap from perception to wisdom" (112). By directing readers ' attention to the importance of engaging subjective experience in a way that does not smooth over its contradictory elements, both poems are able to powerfully render the heightened modes of being that can emerge from an immersion in the sensuality of daily existence. I will demonstrate this claim via a close examination of the poems ' imagery, diction, tone, and autobiographical contexts.

To help Year Twelve students that are studying poetry appreciate it's value, this pamphlet's aim is to discuss a classic poem and a

Billy Collins, born and raised in Manhattan, New York, is one of America’s most successful poets. Known for very famous poems such as “The Art of Drowning” and “Introduction to Poetry,” Billy Collins has succeeded in the department of English Literature for much of his life. With a bachelors degree from the College of Holy Cross and a Masters and PHD from the University of California, Riverside, Billy Collins went on to become a college English professor at Lehman College in the Bronx. He is and for a long time has been a strong advocate for encouraging young people to get into poetry and even created the program “Poetry 180” where he made a collection of 180 poems for schools to read one poem every school day. Setting him apart from the average poet, Collins received the utmost honor from the Library of Congress when he was declared the U.S. poet Laureate in 2001, serving for two years. Following the September 11th terror attacks, Collins wrote and read a poem entitled “The Names” that was dedicated to the victims. Unlike many poets who write extremely emotional poems, drawing from their traumatic backgrounds, Collins keeps it simple and rights about relatable, average, middle class lifestyle topics; both of his poems Introduction to Poetry and Embrace are emblematic of that.

Unlike other forms of literature, poetry can be so complex that everyone who reads it may see something different. Two poets who are world renowned for their ability to transform reader’s perceptions with the mere use of words, are TS Eliot and Walt Whitman. “The love song of J Alfred Prufrock” by TS Eliot, tells the story of a man who is in love and contemplating confessing his emotions, but his debilitating fear of rejection stops him from going through with it. This poem skews the reader’s expectations of a love song and takes a critical perspective of love while showing all the damaging emotions that come with it. “Song of myself”, by Walt Whitman provokes a different emotion, one of joy and self-discovery. This poem focuses more on the soul and how it relates to the body. “Song of myself” and “The love song of J Alfred Prufrock” both explore the common theme of how the different perceptions of the soul and body can affect the way the speaker views themselves, others, and the world around them.

An aspiring poet of the twentieth century, Theodore Roethke set the bar for his peers in poetry. Roethke led a short yet successful life, with his great poem “My Papa's Waltz” being a sample of his meaningful works. Roethke was the son of German immigrants and was born on May twenty fifth, 1908 in Saginaw Michigan(“My Papa’s Waltz”). During Theodore Roethke’s childhood, his family owned some of the biggest greenhouses in the state(Theodore Roethke).Theodore Roethke’s father, Otto, was a person who enjoyed hobbies that differed much from Theodores hobbies(My Papa’s Waltz-Themes and meanings). Otto enjoyed much more “manly” hobbies. Like any father, Otto wanted his son to share the same hobbies as himself, but early on in Theodore’s life it was obvious that Theodore would not follow his Father(My Papa’s Waltz-Themes and meanings). Otto died before Theodore got to really know his father, and

Poetry has always been a way of expressing emotions about life experiences. Poetry allows us to use symbolism to express ideas without the use of proper language. Things like our feelings about local scenery and culture can be expressed in symbols and imagery. One example of this, Ron Rash’s poem “Local Color”, explores the concepts of place and identity and suggests they are intertwined. Examples of how place and identity are intertwined are shown in the grandfather’s identity as a regular at the local bar, the grandmother’s identity as a homemaker and wife at home, and the idea that by going to the church the grandfather was going to change his identity.

Poetry has a role in society, not only to serve as part of the aesthetics or of the arts. It also gives us a view of what the society is in the context of when it was written and what the author is trying to express through words. The words as a tool in poetry may seem ordinary when used in ordinary circumstance. Yet, these words can hold more emotion and thought, however brief it was presented.

A child’s future is usually determined by how their parent’s raise them. Their characteristics reflect how life at home was like, if it had an impeccable effect or destroyed the child’s entire outlook on life. Usually, authors of any type of literature use their experiences in life to help inspire their writing and develop emotion to their works. Poetry is a type of literary work in which there is an intensity given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinct styles and rhythm. These distinct styles include different types of poems such as sonnets, villanelles, free verse, imagist poems, and many more. And these distinct styles are accentuated with the use of literary devices such as metaphors, similes, imagery, personification, rhyme, meter, and more. As a whole, a poem depicts emotions the author and reader’s can relate to. In the poem’s “Those Winter Sundays,” by Robert Hayden, and “My Papa’s Waltz,” by Theodore Roethke, we read about two different parent and child relationships. These two poems help portray the flaws and strength’s parents exhibit and how their children follow their actions and use it as a take away in their grown up lives.

“Wish for a Young Wife”, by Theodore Roethke, may seem to be more than just a simple epithalamium, for the way the poet presents his writing compels the reader to question his true intentions. Nevertheless, although it is easy for the reader to trip down this path, a closer reading, in which one pays particular attention to aspects such the poem's imagery, rhyme scheme, meter, and parallelism, allows them to acknowledge that as the poet appreciates his wife and elaborates on what he wants for her, it is in fact the ambiguity of the poem that doubles the effect of his sincerity and love for his young wife.

“Roethke was a great poet, the successor to Frost and Stevens in modern American poetry, and it is the measure of his greatness that his work repays detailed examination” (Parini 1). Theodore Roethke was a romantic who wrote in a variety of styles throughout his long successful career. However, it was not the form of his verse that was important, but the message being delivered and the overall theme of the work. Roethke was a deep thinker and often pondered about and reflected on his life. This introspection was the topic of much of his poetry. His analysis of his self and his emotional experiences are often expressed in his verse. According to Ralph J. Mills Jr., “this self interest was the primary matter of

The relationship between a parent and child is potentially one of the most influential in a child’s life. A positive interaction often yields admiration, love or a sense of support. A negative relationship may yield distrust, animosity or a sense of solitude. Theodore Roethke’s poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” describes the admiration of his hardworking father. The speaker, a young boy, depicts roughhousing with his father in the form of a waltz; expressing his desire to stay up and spend more time together though their relationship is detached. Seamus Heaney’s “Digging,” instills a sense of respect, pride, and a slight affliction for the speaker’s choice of the pen over the spade. The speaker has chosen a different path in life than that of his father and grandfather. Although written at different stages in life, both Roethke and Heaney write a poem about their families utilizing vivid imagery to demonstrate the love and pride they felt for these men.

poem is not merely a static, decorative creation, but that it is an act of communication between the poet and

Several poems in the anthology explore the intensity of human emotion. Explore this theme, referring to these three poems in detail and by referencing at least three other poems from your wider reading.’