Yankee Doodle Essay

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.

Frost further points out that the stretch of woods being viewed is very rural. This is made possible by the reference to the location between the woods and frozen lake. In closing the final sentence of the second stanza Frost reiterates the fact that this occurs on “the darkest evening of the year” stating the darkness of the mood.

Musical theater has been filled with countless talented composers. The amount of talent in the theater world is endless, but only few composers gain iconic status. The Gershwins, Rogers & Hammerstein, and Stephen Sondheim come to mind when thinking of the pinnacle of composing. One other man who deserves his permanent place with these others would be Cole Porter. Porter’s extensive library of songs has become classics along with a series of hit musicals that are still done in high mass today. Porter had his share of incredibly tough times, and it simply only makes his rise to the top even more impressive. Cole Porter is without a doubt one of the best composers to ever write for the stage in history.

With every aspect of our lives we are making a point, arguing a belief, or refuting some other aspect of our existence. Aesthetic pieces, most avidly poems and songs, argue a message both in the lyrics and in the meaning posed between the lines. “American Pie,” in a multitude of ways, argues that American lives and memories are closely intertwined with the music of the time period. Not only does “American Pie” argue a message it also pulls many generations together. Today, thirty years after the initial release, “American Pie” still has an effect in our music and continues to be popular with all age groups. Don McLean accomplishes this task through using the context of the time period, placement of words, the words

When songwriters begin to pen the lyrics of a song, I believe their ultimate goal is to transcend time in hopes of reaching listeners for generations to come. J.R. Cash, professionally known as Johnny Cash, wrote a song that did just that. “Ragged Old Flag” is a patriotic song that speaks to every generation. Written in 1974, “Ragged Old Flag” was meant to tell the story of our country. Johnny Cash recorded “Ragged Old Flag” live at the House of Cash. Cash wanted the song to be recorded live because it was raw, untouched, and unapologetically real. The basis of this analysis is to show how patriotism spans generations, but also why a song such as, “Ragged Old Flag” is an important part of patriotism in the United States of America.

It’s the sixties. Racism is running hot through the streets of New York. One neighborhood in particular, where one group of boys makes the choice that will change their lives and everyone’s around them forever. These boys are young, full of talent and smart. These boys choose to take all of what they had and throw it away. What happens to these boys next is something that you would not want to wish on anybody. Here these young talented boys cram into a car and ride to the African-American neighborhood. The boys toss burning bottle of alcohol through a glass window into a store. With burning bottles shattering left and right there is one that doesn’t break. This one bottle was tossed back into these boys car and there is

Prompt: Read the following two poems very carefully, noting that the second includes an allusion to the first. Then write a well-organized essay in which you discuss their similarities and differences. In your essay, be sure to consider both theme and style.

John Boyne has created a sophisticated and meaningful novel in The Boy in the Striped

In the Antebellum South, physician practices were often questioned for their veracity, and were frequently disregarded by both the slave owners and slaves themselves. Therefore, slaves and masters typically received medical care from the herb and root doctors living within the plantation’s boundaries. These specialty doctors were normal slaves, however, they had intimate knowledge of roots and herbs that helped cure certain diseases. Along with their practices being less painful than the cupping, leeching, lancing, and mercuralizing that a typical physician would perform, root and herb doctors were the primary medical practitioner to consult for an illness (Kiple 1-2). The incapability to trust physician’s practices forced slaves to deal with

Known as the era that caused many reforms in the US, the Antebellum period was very impactful on the US’ future. Loosely known as the Plantation Era, the Antebellum era was the period, before the Civil War. Throughout the Period, many people known as “Reformers” focused on changing things in everyday life. They mainly focused on changing major things in America’s social, political, and religious life, however, it was a large movement which took many years to accomplish everything. Due to these reforms, there was a change in the US’ society, religion, and politics. This means that the reforms were mainly focused on slavery, education, and belief in religion. The main events were education reforms, the Great Awakening, and abolitionism. Each

Through a variety of literary and cinematic techniques respectively, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men and Sean Penn’s Into The Wild illustrate how the fulfilment of one’s life, and their pursuit of happiness, hinge upon friendship, dreams, and one’s attitude towards life and happiness in general. Steinbeck’s 1937 novella Of Mice And Men illustrates the importance of friendship and dreams in a context of hardship and economic downturn. This is done by using George and Lennie and their dream of landownership and material possession to demonstrate how dreams give people the hope required to drive themselves, and how friendship offers them the ability to keep going even if their own spirit should break. Sean Penn’s 2007 film Into The Wild

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.

In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, was a great poem that can mean many different things to many different people of this world. To me I think it was just a boy who just wanted to spend time with his dad before he has to go to bed. The boy probably does not get to spend time with his dad that much. The father probably works all day and all week and this is the only time the boy gets to spend with him. Roethke use of words in this poem is amazing. The use of the words in this story can mean different things to the reader. The first word to look at is the word waltz. In the dictionary the word waltz is a dance for a fast triple meter song. This is just what the father is doing with his son but his is drunk and dizzy. “But I hung on

At the time of Key’s penned lyrics to the Star-Spangled Banner, musical literacy in the United States was quite low. The majority of American’s could not read music, and most secular music was passed-on through an oral tradition. As a result, the most popular form of music publications was in the form of “broadsides” or single sheet (typically half or quarter sheet) set of parodied lyrics set to canonized folk tunes. By printing lyrics only with no musical notation, publishers were able to save paper and ink, and amateur musicians were not required to learn “new music” for each set of lyrics. This practice of minimalism lead to the birth of the first truely American musical art form: the parody. Dating back to the Revolutionary War, countless sets of lyrics were composed as parodies set to the melodies of famous war-time folksongs such as Chester or Yankee Doodle. Francis Scott Key’s lyrics to the Star-Spangled Banner were no exception as he chose to set his lyrics as a parody to “The Anacreontic

Up until the late 1900?s, the American populace on the whole had assumed a very optimistic view of American history. Glossing over disgraceful events, emphasizing the brighter points in our history, our culture has attempted to ignore the obvious fact that we have had, and still have, our fair share of problems. In Ragtime, E.L. Doctorow unabashedly exposes some of the worst aspects of American life in our more recent history. Doctorow doesn?t hold back anything, providing detailed examples of human cruelty and sacrifice, and the evolution of American society. While critiquing American society was not the sole purpose of his novel, Doctorow does expose and examine many issues that people tended to ignore like