The Truant And Earle Birney's 'Vancouver Lights'

Our knowledge of the generic conventions used in poetry influences our understanding of the text. “The Firstborn”, a poem by Aboriginal author Jack Davis, enables the reader to determine the poem as a graphic protest about the extinction of and discrimination against the Australian Indigenous people, and the loss of their ethnicity, as their world collides with the Western culture. By focussing on my understanding of both generic conventions and author’s context, I am able to conclude that the poem concerns a tragedy within the Aboriginal community.

Burt Franklin & Co., 1974. Rpt. in Poetry for Students. Ed. Mary Ruby. Vol. 6. Detroit:

In addition to this, the poem uses auditory imagery to shatter the dream-like atmosphere that has been created surrounding the suburb, with the “howl of the twin-cam war party” and the “techno pulse” destroying the tranquillity, and emanating the “invasion” of Australia by the Europeans over 200 years ago. This further works to evoke feelings of empathy from the reader by allowing them to observe “eye for an eye” philosophy, present throughout the poem, in phrases such as “areas we treat with the same contempt laid upon us”. These ideologies are present throughout Samuel Wagan Watson’s body of work, with many poems throughout the anthology displaying similar attitudes towards the colonisation of Australia, and the degradation of the spirituality of the land that followed.

While the poems he uses in his article may depict skittishness and an elusive voice, many of the poems in The Best of the Best of American Poetry edited by Robert Pinksy represent modern poetry as having a focal point and self-consciousness of narrative. This anthology contains poems from the best of American poetry from recent years that have appeared in magazines and other published articles. Hoagland may think that narrative and continuity are things of the past but this compilation of today’s poetry illustrates a different take on the argument at hand.

In the latter part of 2008, the United States’ economy was rapidly plummeting - the stock market crashed, the housing bubble burst and gas prices skyrocketed. The majority of U.S. based firms faced the reality that they would not be able to survive during such desperate economic times. The U.S. automobile industry, in particular, began to buckle under the depressed economy. The government stepped in proposing a multi-billion dollar bailout to stimulate the economy and restore economic balance. The possibility of this unprecedented government intervention was condemned by many economists. If the government helped the ailing automotive industry, this industry would have to tighten their expenditures and plan for the future to prove to

Poetry is a form of literature applying different terms of language to evoke meanings or qualities in an author’s life. Throughout American history, many poets have been major influences on society, and one of them is Edwin Arlington Robinson, an American writer of rationalism and physiological understanding. In “Miniver Cheevy,” Edwin Arlington Robinson uses imagery and allusions to convey the meaning of the poem that reflects upon the similarities between his own life and that of the cheerless speaker of the poem.

Bradstreet makes a point to show her thought process of returning to the Puritan mindset when she begins to question herself in her poem. The following is an example: “The straight I ‘gin my heart to chide,/And did they wealth on earth abide?/Didst fix thy hope on mold’ring dust?/The arm of flesh didst make they trust?” (37-40). The repetitive notion of the author questioning herself allows the reader to see into her thought process regarding her current struggle with her beliefs. The author includes this process in the poem to enable the reader to fully understand her way of thinking and ultimately makes her writing more relatable. Bradstreet develops the content of the poem to show her external struggle to release her material possessions and focus on the process of regaining her Puritan beliefs, however, the form of the poem speaks louder to her unwavering internal faith.

E.J. Pratt (1882-1964), son of Reverend John Pratt and Fanny Pitts Knight was born February 4th, 1882 in Western Bay, Newfoundland, married Viola Whitney and together they had a daughter. Pratt is considered to be one of Canada’s most important narrative poets. E.J. Pratt got his education in English and psychology from Methodist College, Victoria College, and the University of Toronto. Along with the honor of

Richard Wilbur, while still living, is recognized as a great influential poet. He was born in 1921, and therefore was a prime age to be drafted as a soldier in World War II. Due to his horrific experiences fighting for America across seas, Wilbur found poetry as a way to express his view of the world. “One foes not use poetry for its major purposes, as a means to organize oneself and the world, until one’s world somehow gets out of hand,“ Wilbur once said. The way in which he organized his thoughts into words, however, at first maintained a very formal style which gained scrutiny because the dreadful topics with which he dealt were reduced to a sort of dark comedy, lacking true emotion. (1) Wilbur has been known to be a central example of the poetic formalism linked to the 1950 post-war period (2). When Wilbur grew old and continued his developing poetic distinctness, many of his poems grew with him to become much more personal, as if he had learned to accept and express his grueling experiences freely. Wilbur’s story is well reflected in his poetry, one especially written in 1950, titled, “The Pardon,” which serves as an example of work that encompasses subjects more near to him. “The Pardon” presents how a young boy grows into adulthood and comes to accept death through the creation of a juxtaposition between the narrator’s young self and older self while employing intricate rhyming and sounds, both intense concrete and withheld images, and supernatural elements.

The poem begins with, “Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain,” (1) which gives the reader the impression that the poem is harsh. However, upon further inspection of the poem there is a spectrum of tones which diverge throughout the entire piece. These tones show how the speaker’s attitude towards the subject develops and evolves. The Author to Her Book has a variety of tones that shows the painful process of transition.

Robert Lowell is commonly regarded as a highly influential American writer during the 20th century. From our discussions in class, we know that Robert Lowell was born into a wealthy Massachusetts family that could trace its roots back to the original settlers from the Mayflower, and included many famous and influential historical figures. Because of his family’s wealth, it may have seemed on the surface that Robert Lowell had a perfect life, and was free to pursue all his options. However, his poetry gives us an insight into his life as a child and the wrecked relationship between himself and his parents. As we have discussed several times in class, Lowell’s parents were largely absent both physically and emotionally and did not give him the attention he needed as a child. This resulted in a youth characterized by rebelling against his parents wishes in a cry for help and attention. Robert Lowell also discusses in detail the relationship he had with his grandfather, and the comfort and security that he was able to feel whenever he was with his grandfather. Through several poems, such as “My Last Afternoon With Uncle Devereux Wilson”, we can see that being in the presence of his grandfather allowed him to be released from his parents and feel welcome and loved. Growing up in Boston also had a significant impact on his poetry, as most of his poems take place somewhere in New England and focus on his experiences with the people and famous landmarks throughout New England.

The theme of loss is portrayed similarly in the two poems ‘Disabled’ and ‘Out, out-’. Both of these poems are about the protagonist dealing with physical loss as they both experience an accident. Both Wilfred Owen and Robert Frost manage to mesmerize their audience’s attention, and also sympathize for the protagonists’ misfortune. They do this by the use of many literary techniques which are obvious at times, but some are very subtle, such as similes, metaphors, personification, and contrasts.

In “Survivor & Casualty,” Daniel Irwin Tucker use paradox to express that human nature will endlessly destroy and rebuild. In the first stanza, “a few rays of light” is juxtaposed to “ a shade from the blinding light,” thus acting as a paradox.To elaborate, “ a few rays of light” suggest beaming goodness or positivity;however, “a shade from blinding light” indicates wavering away from that virtue that is the “blinding light.” With this in mind, in terms of human nature, people simultaneously act righteously and deplorable. Furthermore, because the poem list the incongruity of human nature, the paradox contributes to the overall hopeless and melancholic tone of poem. Continuing on, Tucker then utilizes another paradox by writing “contributes

Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor are two poets who are puritans. They are able to use writing and language to portray their ideas on G-d and religion. Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666 by Bradstreet and Huswifery by Taylor are similar in the sense that G-d is always a part of their poems, whether it’s direct or through the use of complex writing. Through the use of language and metaphors, Bradstreet conveys that a connection with G-d could be strengthened through destruction while Taylor reveals that a connection can be reinforced through creation.