Sharon Old Life

In the poem “The Guild,” Sharon Olds uses dark and light imagery to underscore the theme of alcoholism. Olds portrays a concern regarding a grandfather who passed on the legacy of alcoholism to his son. The poet reveals the darkness and the agony in the fireside scene in the beginning by using both light and dark imagery: “– my grandfather sat in the darkened room in front of the fire, the liquor like fire in his hand, his eye glittering meaninglessly in the light.” Here, the grandfather is sitting in a darkened room meaning there is no light and does not want to be alert to what is going around the room. He just wants to sit in the room alone. This dark imagery creates the barrier between the grandfather and the outside world, providing him

Poetry as a literally work in which the expression of ideas and feelings is given strength has had great authors overtime who took different perspectives in this genre of literature. These poets used distinctive rhythm and style to express their styles, poetic themes, outlook on life, and had their share of influence on the American society. This paper uses the basis of these styles, themes, outlook on life and subsequent influence on the American society to compare three prolific poets who ventured into this literature genre: Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, and Maya Angelou. Robert Frost (1874-1963) holds a unique and almost sole position in the career span which mostly encompasses

Our identity is inimitable, yet ironically it is affected by society and enigmatic forces that define our external relationships. This inextricable link between identity and social environment not only shape our identity, but gives us a sense of purpose, however when we fail to establish our sense of congruity with society through metaphysical acceptance, as a result of social isolation we can feel an abyss within our lives often forcing us to look into our inner self, as exemplified in Gwen Harwood’s poetry, especially her poems “At Mornington” and “Mother Who Gave Me Life”. These also reflect and force us to explore the impact time has on people and how this can inevitably lead to a reassessment of one’s life.

Sharon Olds is an award winning poetry writer and is New York State’s Poet Laureate. In her poem “I Go Back to May 1937” she writes about a woman who is struggling to overcome her feelings towards her father who was abusive to her in her past.

The Complexities of Existence The human experience encompasses our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual perspectives. It forms the basis for understanding ourselves, others, and the world around us. Both “Thoughts End” by Leonie Adams, and “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters” by Portia Nelson, explore the human experience of personal growth and introspection by highlighting transformative moments of awe and adversity. While Adams’ emphasizes the connection between the breathtaking beauty of the natural world and self-reflection, Nelson delves into the process of navigating loss and the transformation towards self-awareness and acceptance. Together, these poems illuminate moments of awe and adversity, however incorporating both perspectives

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.

Poetry is the creative means in which emotion is expressed through the literary art of rhythm, rhyme and repetition. Over time, the distinctive style of poetry has been altered to create great diversity branching from the traditional poetic style of writing. Missouri born author, Naomi Shihab Nye, provides a great example of a unique style of writing. Nye is a poet, songwriter and novelist whose style incorporates everyday objects in her writing to create a spontaneous, yet thoughtful connection between these everyday items and the reader. In the most basic form, Nyes’ poem is about fame. She implies that it is essentially “these little things that we overlook – all these everyday, seemingly unimportant things – are really what deserve

Throughout Jimmy’s prison life, he had become inspired on writing about his past. He would express himself in his writing from dream journeys he would take into his past. He used this travels to escape the inclined contributor to hostility in prison. As his writing got better Jimmy engaged in writing poetry. To his

writing era. His poetry was inspired by his family’s history, a history full of abandonment,

Robert Frost is an iconic poet in American literature today, and is seen as one of the most well known, popular, or respected twentieth century American poets. In his lifetime, Frost received four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry, and the Congressional Gold Medal. However, Robert Frost’s life was not always full of fame and wealth; he had a very difficult life from the very beginning. At age 11, his father died of tuberculosis; fifteen years later, his mother died of cancer. Frost committed his younger sister to a mental hospital, and many years later, committed his own daughter to a mental hospital as well. Both Robert and his wife Elinor suffered from depression throughout their lives, but considering the premature deaths of three of their children and the suicide of another, both maintained sanity very well. (1)

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.

Opportunities for an individual to develop understanding of themselves stem from the experiences attained on their journey through life. The elements which contribute to life are explored throughout Gwen Harwood’s poems, At Mornington and Mother Who Gave Me Life, where the recollection of various events are presented as influences on the individual’s perception of the continuity of life. Both poems examine the connections between people and death in relation to personal connections with the persona’s father or mother. By encompassing aspects of human nature and life’s journey, Harwood addresses memories and relationships which contribute to one’s awareness of life.

In my thoughts, Harwood’s poetry engages readers through its poetic treatment of loss and consolation throughout relationships as well as its exploration of universal themes about human existence and processes of life. Harwood’s poetry validates the consoling influence of childhood experiences upon adult development evident in both At Mornington and A Valediction where they both explore one sense of loss and consolidation. Harwood cleverly includes personas with their own feelings and anxieties to outlook on the present and future and the power of memories held with past relationships. Relationships link within Harwood’s poetry as throughout life she experiences suffering and includes her personal voice and life within the story of her poem.

During the 1900’s, a series of new poets came into existence. These poets brought about new themes and perspectives that manipulated the minds of humans all across the world. The poets that are in our study are Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Robert Hayden. These four poets wrote detailed, intricate poems that are packed full of a slew of different themes and perspectives. These themes can be distilled and life lessons can be derived from them. Raymond A. Schroth states intelligently, “Perhaps the best way to define courage is to live it.” Anne Sexton’s poem Courage thrives off of

Robert Hayden was born August 4th, 1913 into an impoverished family in Detroit and was soon taken in by foster parents. His home life was traumatic; his parents often fought, and he endured beatings. His nearsightedness prevented him from playing sports, so he became an avid reader and was ridiculed for it. These traumas caused depressive episodes he called "dark nights of the soul”, and his struggles with poverty and his family is a prevalent theme throughout his poems