The As An Academic Poet

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.

In this essay I am going to compare and contrast ‘When we two parted’ a poem of George Gordon, Lord Byron’s written in 1815 and Letitia Elizabeth Landon’s ‘Love’s last lesson’ written in c1838, both poets are British and of the romantic period.

Lee’s writing is littered with descriptive and flowery visuals that truly capture both the environment and his emotions. In one such case, he recalls an evening where he “[stared] at the brightest star, viewing it not so much on this night as a beacon, something [he] wanted to believe would lead [he] out of this dark tunnel, but instead as a place [he’d] rather be” (155). His juvenile wistfulness is tangible in the words and the reader can almost feel the chill of the night air. He continues, wishing to be “anywhere but here…[wishing to have] been born anywhere but here.” (155). His yearning twists the heart with sympathy for his lonesome and pitiable plight. This moment is but a minute fraction of the incredibly intimate tale that Lee

Before we pass on from this world it would be nice if we had left our mark, given our contribution, made our claim in the history of human civilization. Wouldn't it be wonderful to achieve such a goal? Wouldn't it be horrible to have attained that level of recognition and yet be recognized for things you deemed inferior? In the poem "The Poet", Paul Laurence Dunbar expresses his remorse at having written superior Standard English literature and yet only be known and praised for his Dialect works.

Robert Pinsky and June Jordan are both successful and well-known poets. Many people tend to find similarities between Pinsky’s “Shirt” and Jordan’s “It’s Hard to Keep a Clean Shirt Clean;” in reality, however, these poems are significantly different from one another. Both poems highlight the speakers’ dissatisfaction, but Jordan’s poem is more successful and powerful than Pinsky’s because of its use of tone, poetic devices, and relatable theme.

In “The Poet of Our Dreams: The Real Meaning of Education,” David James discusses defining an educated person. He strongly believes that no one has the same definition due to individual differences in religion, ethnicity, gender, nationality, geography, culture, and many more factors. James identified many issues that often surface in education today including: should sex education be infused into the curriculum, are values appropriate in an academic environment, and if technology should take precedence over books. These problems he believes are due to lack of consensus and preference will always win out. No matter what the case is, we as individuals are given the responsibility to define our own lives and have different strengths and weaknesses,

Friendship is a blessing, people say, and it is. Men often express their appreciation and respect for male friends through literature. A fellowship, medieval authors call it. A deep and unbreakable connection between males, transcending romantic love. A relationship based on mutual support and admiration, thriving of intellectual stimulation. Nothing is more valuable to a man than a friendship, not even the love of a woman; it is only a man, after all, who can understand another man. To seventeenth century men, friendship (just like everything else) is a male blessing – a patriarchal gift – not for women. Female friendship was “impossible,” for an amicable and supportive relationship between women could never exist. Platonic friendships existed between men, not women. Yet, several female poets challenged this notion, emphasizing importance of female friendships as male authors and poets do. Friendship is defined through a feminist lens in Aemilia Lanyer’s “The Description of Cookham” and Katherine Philips’ poetry in which female characteristics that are often overlooked are deeming meaningful through friendship.

Reflections Within is a non-traditional stanzaic poem made up of five stanzas containing thirty-four lines that do not form a specific metrical pattern. Rather it is supported by its thematic structure. Each of the five stanzas vary in the amount of lines that each contain. The first stanza is a sestet containing six lines. The same can be observed of the second stanza. The third stanza contains eight lines or an octave. Stanzas four and five are oddly in that their number of lines which are five and nine.

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.

The poem "Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota has inspired reams of analysis and debate and still does to this day. We are presented in James Wright’s poem with several images which are actually distinct, though they are loosely connected by situation, but is for us connected with them by neither logic nor association. A great majority of the images that occur in the poem are based off of the basic senses such as our auditory and visual senses. Although almost basic in a sense, the content of the poem uses our own natural, human senses to express this aura of mediocrity and usualness.

The statement that conformity and tradition are in opposition to individualism and defiance of authority is very true in The Dead Poet Society, and even more so in today’s society in general. One can walk into any high school and see this is true. In a typical high school, people seem to have very much in common, especially in dress, hair style, etc… which is in opposition to individualism in and of itself. People are so caught up in conforming to how society says they should live their lives, it really tarnishes the spirit of individuality human beings are meant to have.

Poetry comes up very often in our lives whether we realize it or not. Poetry has managed to leave a significant impact on my life. Since I’ve been a kid, I’ve always defined poetry as a bunch of words on a page. The essay, Tide of Voices: Why Poetry Matters Now, and the two poems, “How To Eat a Poem” by Eve Merriam and, “A Brief For The Defense” by Jack Gilbert combined to expand my understanding of the analysis of poetry; my ability to judge poetry’s meaning; and poetry’s actual definition.

Formalist criticism is the literary theory that takes a look into works of literature for the message and meaning, but gives a special focus on the form and structure, as well as the literary devices it utilizes. This form of criticism is has a very straightforward approach, breaking down the text into different component parts. Imagery, language, point of view, structure, motivation are all elements this group examines when reading the text. The thing that differs this approach from other literary schools of criticism, is its focus on the internal components, instead of the outside influences. The critic must pay no attention the authors intent and read the text with a neutral or unemotionally. The reader is interesting in determining who the protagonist is, the protagonist’s conflicts, the climax, setting, and theme of the literary works. This essay will discuss three poems “Wild Iris”, “Lady Lazarus”, and “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” and apply the Formalist literary criticism towards each of the poem’s text.

A prominent humanist, critic, and poet of the 19th century, Matthew Arnold was a despiser of philistinism; he was a lover and sustainer of art, intellect, spirituality, and certainly the combination thereof in poetry. Matthew Arnold began his essay, “The Study of Poetry,” writing that “The future of poetry is immense,” and that “more and more of mankind” would discover poetry as a consoler, a sustainer of humanity, and an interpreter of life. He called his audience to “conceive of it as capable of higher uses, and called to higher destinies.” Arnold, believing poetry to be of such high value, was also very dedicated to upholding a high standard in the world of poetry. His dedication is shown clearly through his writings as a critic, but Arnold was also a poet himself. His collection is not very well known, and not very vast in number or range. However, in much of the poetry that Matthew Arnold did write, he perpetuated his views regarding the ‘high destinies’ of poetry through his use of sound devices, manifestation in ideas, and his construction of themes, establishing his works as a superior and honest Criticism of Life.