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In the article “How to Read a Poem” from the Poets.org website, the poet William Carlos Williams, in acknowledging the challenges of reading poetry, writes that a reader must “complete” what the poet has begun.
With specific reference to one of this week’s poems, explain how you “completed” what the poet set in motion. In your answer, be sure to refer specifically to the article and to quote from your chosen poem to illustrate your response.
Also, address comments to others by name so we can all follow along.
103 thoughts on “Week 11 Discussion”
The poem I have chosen to “complete” is “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning. The poem a conversation coming from the painting of his late wife. He seats his guest and begins speaking on the painting. The guest then asks what made her face that way, as been asked by many others. And his response was that she was too easily impressed. Anything and everything caught her eye and had her stuck. He gave his critique on her, giving the sense that he was jealous which is what I believe to be the theme of the poem. He spoke on that smile she gave him when they passed by, the same one she gave any other when they passed by. He saw her as he saw the painted, as someone he owned. He was obviously insecure and in the end he stopped her smiles, assuming her killed her in the end and so she only lives on in his life through that painting. “Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt, Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands.As if alive.” His jealously ended her life, and the painting he had of her although marveled at how much it resembles her still reminds him of the things he hated most about her character. It’s a sad ending to and interesting story
Forgot to mention I am section 0534
Manuel, this is a good overview of the poem, but what did you do to “complete” it?
Great analysis to the story manuel! when I first read the story, I was oblivious to the red flags of murder, until I looked at it again and payed attention to many of the details you mention. The first being that the husband was definitely giving a sense that he was very jealous of his former wife’s amiability towards other people, mainly men. He also showed insecurity by complaining that she would see all gifts by anybody as equal, because it not only goes back to the jealousy of her amiability with other men, but also that invalidates his most redeming quality, his riches. If his former wife didn’t put the value of her gifts on a pedestal, then he felt behind, or on even playing field with other men, who were not in a marriage with her.
English 201 (50409). The poem I am choosing to complete is “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, throughout the poem, the Duke describes the duchess with resentment but also as an object that he could not tame. After we are introduced to the painting of the duchess, the Duke goes on to explain what his ex wife was like, stating “too easily impressed: she liked whate’er, she looked on, and her looks went everywhere.” The Duke suggests his ex wife had a tendency of eyeing and entertaining other men beside him, as the poem progresses he continues to bring this up and even asks if bestowing his title onto her meant nothing. His feelings of resentment still linger. Towards the end of the poem the Duke states “There she stands, as if alive” the duchess beauty is only something for the Duke and the guest he shows the painting to see. Her memory and beauty is still alive but only as a possession he can keep locked away.
Serafina, I agree with you on how he views her. I think he was too overprotective and insecure and that may have led to her end. He probably still lives with the guilt of what he did and that painting is a way of having her in his possession, that face that no other person gets to get from her but himself. I also think it shows how men back the objectified women. You would think the painting was made in honor of his late wife, as something to look to for comfort, but I think he uses it to give himself a sense of superiority. Maybe he was never in love to begin with and just wanted to feel this way ?
Hey Manuel, I agree with you that the painting of the duchess allows him to maintain his possession over her without having to worry about her entertaining other men beside him. When we are first introduced to the painting of the Duchess, she is hidden behind a curtain and revealed to us only by the Duke himself. We are only allowed to see her and experience her beauty through his presence. I think he still has resentment towards the Duchess based on her past actions and the painting is the only way he could tame her behavior.
Serafina, as I commented to Manuel, this is a great overview of the poem. But have you explained what you did as a reader to “complete” it in some personal way?
Hello Serafina, I like your analysis of the poem “My Last Duchess” but I do believe there are some mistakes, probably my interpretation is different than yours. But real well done. That’s why I will compare and discuss with you about these two version of the story, this two interpretations of it. You mention at the beginning that, “resentment but also as an object that he could not tame” I don’t remember if this was mentioned in the story, or this is your idea of it, in any case, I disagree with the idea of “taming” someone, like people are not meant to be tame. (I was going to say animals either but anyways…). you later mention that she have a tendency to “entertain” other men and you use the “easily impress” part of the poem to cover this section of your analysis, I do believe that it was mention in the poem that she “entertained” men, referring to the guesses her husband had. But I would honestly have used that “easily entertained” part to say, “she seem to enjoy life, find interest on the little things that others may not, she had a way to found wonders in things as a little kid”. For the other part of entertaining other men, i personally would try to defend her in this part (not to be necessary), it is mention, she is fun and really pretty, and “ liked whate’er, she looked on”, I mean this are some qualities that could attract any men, and I would dare to say that often times those men miss interpreted her interest and curiosity in thing as flirts or attraction. This is something that happens even today as many man miss interpret a good relationship with a female friend with a more of a tone feeling, I guess that it is some of the reasons friendships ends weird and the friendzone trap those men who interpreted the situation wrongly. I do agree completely on the last part of your writing, but lets be honest, even if she were alive there is no way to keep her “locked away” she is one of a kind women and could never be hold back.
I agree with Serafina, about the way the Duke was explaining and also bringing in many vivid images about his wife in the painting. The way that the duke was talking to the visitor about his dead wife made me think all of the feelings he had for her while looking at her painting, also the way that Serafina mentioned about how the duke after was talking that his wife liked everything that was beautiful especially man that she used to see, and that made the duke jealous and also hated her a lot about her actions with other men.
English 50409 .The poem I have chosen to complete is “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning. In the opening lines of the poem, he displays the painting of his late wife where he can open and close the curtain as he pleases .Then All along the poem we could see the Duke obviously considers himself superior to others. For instance, he founded insulting that the Duchess has no especial appreciation for the “gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name” , instead she treated his gift equally to anyone’s else. This says a lot about his arrogance and pride. Thus, the poem reveals the cruel, psychotic and controlling mind of the duke, who hated his wife due to her upbeat nature. The way he describes the former Duchess is evident that she was beautiful and symbolizes how he objectifies women as property or possessions He clearly states also that she was “too soon made glad, too easily impressed she liked whate’er/ She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.” Which means, he could not endure the idea that his wife was easily attracted toward other men and responded to them happily. What I can conclude in the poem is that the Duke uses his power and money to do whatever he pleases and wants no questions ask.
Fatu, everyone has so far given a good overview of “My Last Duchess.” But what have you done to “complete” the poem, as discussed in the Hirsch article in Activity 1?
ENG 201 (1209)
To “complete” the poet set in motion I chose the poem “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning. This poem portrays a Duke’s sentiment towards his late wife who was a Duchess. Overviewing each stanza of the poem, the Duke never treated the late Duchess as his wife. Throughout the poem, he objectifies her and downgrades the personality she carried. Even after his murderous attempt, he is not guilty nor ashamed of his behavior rather envies her. There is no single stanza that mentions his grief or love for the Duchess. He hated and complained everything about her, the way she welcomed everybody, used to get impressed easily, but mostly how she did not praise his pride and treated him considering everyone the same. He had always been possessive about his pride. The line, “as if she ranked…My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name….With anybody’s gift. Who’d stoop to blame…This sort of trifling?” (line 30-35). He disregarded her friendliness and morsed about how the Duchess did not value his pride. This is a great example of a greedy, without any compassion Dutch who does not see anything more prestigious than himself, his reputation, and his pride. But this poem primarily reveals Duke’s perspective and his character trait. Thinking about it, how do we really know if the Duchess was not as greedy and admired their relationship?
He disregarded her friendliness about how the Duchess did not value his pride.*
Prasika, everything you write here is valid, but what have you done to “complete” the poem?
Hello Professor!
I complete the poem by overviewing the Duke’s perspective towards his late wife. I imagined how insecure, downgraded, and invaluable the Duke would feel because after all, he is a Duke and his surrounding will blind him up with so much pride and greed. But on the other hand, what matters is how will a Duke represent himself and his wisdom. I complete the poem by imagining the Dutchess side of the story, whether she would have represented herself the same way as the Duke did. And about their relationship, did she genuinely treasure or admire their bonding or did she not that makes the Duke speak of his insecurities.
Hello Prasika Rai, This was an interesting take on the poem. I would also wonder what the Dutchess would feel because the Dutch was a very dominating and controlling figure. By looking into The Dutchess we can have two point of views.
Shapla, please be sure your comments to others meet the length requirements so you can receive full credit.
Prasika, thank you for the follow-up. Yes, trying to enter the mind of the speaker is one way to “complete” a reading of the poem.
Hey Prasika,
I agree that the Duke definitely did not treat the Duchess as a wife or even let her live how she wanted too. He tried to make her change herself out of his own jealousy and insecurity. I think you have a great view of completing the poem and I never thought about if the Duchess was just the same as him. Maybe she was just a better version of greedy since throughout the poem she sounds genuine and kind.
Thank You Emmalee! 🙂
The poem I choose is ” White Lies” by Natasha Trethewey. This poem is about a light-skin girl who pretends to be white since her skin color makes her look more white then black. Although the girl looks white, she lives in a black community as the writer states, ” in a black place”. The girl lies about living in an upper-class community when in reality she lives as the writes states ” not in that pink and green shanty-fled shotgun section along the tracks”. This little girl did not always get away her lies and as she states ” Mama found out. She laid her hands on me, then washed out my mouth with Ivory soap”. I complete this poem by taking myself back to the days when I told white lies about where I lived and why I could not afford certain things my other friends could have. I saw myself as this little girl when my school friends and I would walk home, I would always point to my neighbor big house and say that’s where I live just as the girl did when she states ”not in that pink and green shanty-fled shotgun section along the tracks”. I felt ashamed of my family background and wanted to fit in with my rich friends just as this little girl wanted to be accepted by society. ”like the time a white girl said (squeezing my hand), Now we have three of us in this class”. I think when we are young and immature we do not understand how these white lies can affect us and can have a negative effect on our personality.
SEC 1209
Treshel, I love how you made a comparison to how you made white lies when you were young because all of us have and it signifies the immaturity and ignorance of the little girl in this poem. The fact that you were able to compare yourself and the little whit girl is perfectly represented on how you completed the poem. You did more than imagine what the poem was about, you also put yourself in their shoes.
Treshel, this is a very powerful response. The way you relate to this poem is says a lot about how society has placed such a negative connotation on material wealth. Children often find ways to fit in, much like the girl in your poem, and most often they will cling to what the majority approves of, but why does that have to mean everything else is shameful? Both your poem and the way you relate to it are tragic, in a way. A child’s need to conform and feel shame is a devastating thing.
Treshel, your analysis is great and actually made me understand the story more than I previously did. I also want to point out the way you “completed” the poem assigned as I now have a better understanding out what was needed to be done. I also can relate to the white lies you presented to us. When we don’t have what others have , you feel left out and end up lying so you won’t be left behind. It’s natural for us when we are young to want what the next person wants.
Hi Treshel, me and you have similar responses. I too did “White lies”. I correlated the poem to my mother who neglected me. I love that you added in your response how that effected our personalities. I made me thik how compensated for my mother made me grow up faster than most. I allways hear from peopple, espcially those who i speak on the phone with, tell me that I sound much older than I am. One of my current friends that I made in college told me that i was 27! He died when i told him that we were the same age. I am the one friend that people come to when they need advice or comfort so now im starting to think how i am viewed to others based on my past.
Hi Treshel Arokium, I like what you wrote . When I was younger I would tell similar lies because I didn’t want others to look down on me. Now looking back I know that my lies were harmless yet they harmed my confidence. I should have been proud of my background.
Hi Treshel, I love the way you “completed” this poem. Moreover, I agree that “when we are young and immature we do not understand how these white lies can affect us and can have a negative effect on our personality.” This poem gives a feeling of insecurity because the girl feels like she has to lie to fit in. She feels out of place because she doesn’t look like the other kids or have the same things as them. The part “I could easily tell the white folks that we lived up town, not in the pink and green shanty-fied shotgun section along the tracks” supports this because she isn’t proud of where she lives. It was a good thing her mom was there to teach her otherwise, that she shouldn’t be ashamed of being who she was and that it was wrong of her to lie about who she was. I like that the message that the poem teaches you is to be true to yourself no matter what.
Section 0527
To complete a story, is (according to the article) to make an “imaginative play” out of it. I took this as you tying up any loose ties and maybe even with you coming up with a sequence of events and themes in a story that may be ambiguous, and may even not be explicitly stated at all. For the very short poem “we real cool”, first read it aloud, and noticed the rhythm of the story. Next, I read it to pay attention to my interpretation of it, which is that it is someone, who looks down on that “real cool”, rebellious lifestyle using sarcasm to point out the issues with that lifestyle. This speaker is trying to get the point that although many people seem to think the vulgar, rebellious people are cool, they are in fact following a early demise from their bad choices.
Jonathan, thanks for the smart and thoughtful comments—and thanks for bringing in this short but eloquent poem by Gwendolyn Brooks. I think reading “We Cool” aloud does help you feel the sarcasm and ultimately, the tragedy of this poem.
Jonathan! I like how you choose to complete the poem ” real cool”. The poem has many alliterations and rhymes. I do agree with your interpretation of the poem, and that the writer sees that ” real cool” behavior to be negative and will cost the teenagers dearly. In the poem the teenagers are not ashamed to be rebellious and instead as the poem states “sing sin.” This line shows they praise and celebrate their own behavior. The speaker is indeed trying to point out that being rebellious is not cool and that youthful rebellion can cut lives short.
ENG 201 0534
Hi Jonathan, I was able to relate with your comments on “We Real Cool” by Gwendalyn Brooks. The poem seems to be a warning as you suggested but what I like is that even though it may be a warning, the author is not implying any judgement. Shes just stating facts about how this situation may end for at least some of those youths. Another way to look at this is that maybe its the boys themselves saying…if we gonna dye…why not go down having fun. I think it amazing when poets like Brooks are so talented that with 20 or words or so they can open up our thoughts to so many interpretations. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Janine, what a great observation about “We Cool” and how in just a handful of words, the poet can deal with such a huge topic—the story of some misguided young boys’ lives.
Jonathan, I agree with you, The young students in this story started to think that the rebellious action seems different and cool and so they being to embrace this lifestyle, and unfortunately, their fragmented actions caused them to end up in tragedy. In the poem just like the author, I question why those kids were outside but judging from the time period I imagine that many factors could contribute to their actions, such as poverty, racial unfairness or high crime neighborhoods,
ENG 201 Sec. 0534
Jonathan,
I noticed the poem “We Real Cool” was sarcastic too. But, when I read it, I imagined the fun and careless times I’ve had with my best friend and it made me smile. However, since the final words “We Die soon” were kind of cynical, I also thought that it could be a caution to be more careful so they don’t fall into the “early demise from their bad choices,” as you said. I liked the part of the poem that said “We Sing sin” and I imagined how popular songs we listen to have some vulgar language in them.
I believe that I had completed what the author, Gwendolyn Brooks put in motion on writing the poem, “We Real Cool”. I believe to have achieved to understand what she meant on the poem as I can relate in some way to the experiences she is talking about, and yes, I said experiences, as I believe she indeed was or formed part of the “Pool Players” got this as she repeatedly says “We” in the poem. I relate to the beginning part in which she said, “We real cool – We left school” as I was a teenager in High School, I always noticed that the dumb kids that believed they were cool due to they always leaving school at midday or so. I kind of get why this was view as cool, since the meaning of cool is, “Calmness; composure” as their actions relate to this definition is that they didn’t care of the consequences of their choices as they were calm and easy going with it. What I will say next may contradict my preview statement on the believe of been “cool” and actual be kind of dumb, but I was actually one of the cool guys, of course I never left school midday as I believed that it was really foolish to leave as I was already there, may as well finish the work. The next line of the poem that I found interesting is the, “Strike straight” this of course could go back to the idea of them been Pool Players, but could also mean act of violence or crime, I would guess is a 50/50 chance on either since crime and young cool kids almost always seem to go hand in hand. Of course, this could also refer to the pool game as it sometimes real hard to Strike the white ball Straight. I think the quote, “We Sing sin” could mean that they are talking, celebrating or chatting about the fact that they “sin” of course there are many sins in the bible but I would like to believe that they are talking about sex, many lost their virginity at this young age. (have their first time, (in case you didn’t like the idea of “Lost”)). finally, the “we died soon” this one is more complicated to decipher and to complete its idea, as it’s been mention that they are taking bad decision, living life, not worrying about much. It could mean that many dies young doe to those bad decisions, this we can see in the news every time, young male or female getting kill by the causes of their choices, this may mean accidents or other activity. Another view of this is that the fun passes by, due to the responsibilities coming in with the ages, as they get older the time for games and bad decisions are not affordable any more, it’s time to “get your shit together” and work, get responsibilities and stuff. I thought on that second part as she also mentions “We die soon” the part of we also include her and she is not dead by the time she wrote this, also is safe to include her in this poem as she repeatedly says “We” she had experience that “cool life and acknowledge it’s consequences.
I need to mention that I have like a lot all or most of this week’s poem and its funny as I said last week, I didn’t get them, also thought to myself that maybe I am not a poetry guy, poet guy? Another thing to mention is that I believe that I read this poem a long time ago, or read the tittle, maybe a professor said that title to me once, acted as a reference for him, and he said to me due to my behavior, at the time I am referring to would probably be at my middle school time/age. Honestly, I don’t remember much so I don’t know what exactly happened but I do believe that I had saw or hear about this poem and that author before. (I may not get that reference at that time, the one I mention before, in this possible alternative reality of my memory).
This probably is taking too long but I also wanted to say that I had some ideas and interpretations on the poem, “MY LAST DUCHESS” would like to write about it some day, maybe as an extra credit job.
Jon, thanks for the thoughts! The connection you draw between your own high school days and the impressions you had of the “dumb kids” is definitely one way of “completing” a poem, according to the Hirsch article. If we can find a point of familiarity in a poem, we can start to have a kind of back and forth—a “conversation” as Hirsch calls it.
Hi Jon! I loved how you related the first part to high school because I completely agree. I never understood why being cool meant skipping classes and getting bad grades. I do think that that type of stereotype has changed a little bit but not as much. I also like how you explained so thoroughly what the poem meant and how you “completed” it. It helped me understand that poem much more. I am not the best at dissecting poems myself and think that a good analysis really helps me so thank you for that.
Hi Jon, I like the way you relate the experience to the poem. It makes it easier for me to understand what the poem is about. Your idea is unexpected to me, but I agree with your idea. People may be able to bear bad decisions when they are young. Some teenagers think it’s cool to be different and take the road of rebellion. But as you get older, the cost of doing the wrong thing increases, the responsibility increases, and sometimes people die because of a bad choice.
Jon, I found your interpretation very insightful. Initially I had trouble understanding what this poem was about. I paid too much attention to the aesthetics, like how Brooks mentioned gin and jazz, which kind of confused me and made it hard to relate to growing up in the 21st century. You relating it to your experience in high school really helped me understand what the poem was written about.
The poem I chose to “complete” is “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning. This poem is about a Duke’s opinion toward his late wife who was a Duchess. Throughout the poem we can see that the Duke was a selfish and cruel character who thought he was superior to other including his wife. In the poem it states” as if she ranked…My gift of a nine hundred years old name…with anybody’s gift…This sort of trifling?(Stanza 30-35)”. The Duke has constantly judged everything about his wife that he does not like. He doesn’t like the way that she welcomes/talks to other people , easily impressed, and most importantly how she did not treat him with pride because of how “superior” he is. The poem states” too easily impressed: she liked whatever, she looked on, and her looks went everywhere”. The Duke might believe that his wife is giving too much attention to other men. The pride of Duke is what hurt him the most because of his title not being “respected” by his wife. Although Duke judges his late wife, he also gives her some compliments. He says the duchess beauty is only something for the Duke and the guest he shows the painting to see.
Alexsander, you comments about “My Last Duchess” are well taken, but what have you done to “complete” this poem, as discussed in the Edward Hirsch article in Activity 1?
Hi Alexsander, I agree that Duke is a selfish and cruel character who thought he was better than others, including his wife. Duke explains to the visitor that he will provide everyone with her beautiful smile rather than booking just for her husband. She appreciated nature, the kindness of others, the animals, and the simple joys of everyday life, and it disgusts the Duke. The Duchess may not reveal his explosive feelings to the courtiers when they sit and look at the painting, but readers speculate that the lack of worship of the Duchess infuriated her husband. I thought he wanted to be the only person who was the object of her affection. The Duke continued to self-justify his explanation of his events. Despite his disappointment, he rationalized that speaking openly with his wife about his feelings of jealousy would have been under him. He does not demand that she change her behavior, not even her. (ENG201 1209)
The poem that I chose to complete is “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning. At first when reading the poem I thought it was just a normal duke taking about his last duchess who’s painted on the wall, however it gets deeper than that. I believe the expression on the Duchess’ face told the whole story of how her life was like without the duke even saying anything. “And seemed as they would ask me, if they durst,; How such a glance came there; so, not the first; Are you to turn and ask thus. Sir, ’twas not; Her husband’s presence only, called that spot; Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek”. It is evident here that we can envision the look at the duchess’ face as a spark of joy, however, there’s some jealousy behind these lines. The poem then goes on to state how the duchess treated her husband just the same as she does all other men and seems kind hearted. Later the Duke goes on to say “Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt,; Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without; Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands; As if alive”. When first reading these lines you may think that she finally listened to him and started treating the other men differently, however, this is not the case. In these lines, when looked deeper into them, the poet is implying that the Duke killed his wife. His jealousy grew and then one day he just had enough and all smiles stopped together when he killed her. Now she stands, painting on the wall, as if she were alive again.
SEC 1209
Emmalee, we’ve read many excellent overviews of “My Last Duchess,” including yours. But what exactly do you feel you did to “complete” the poem in the sense discussed in the Hirsch article?
(Section 0527) The poem I choose to discuss is “The Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks. The reason why I chose this poem is because of the first line in the poem that says “Abortions will not let you forget”. I did not expect the poem to start off so abrupt but it also helped me understand what the poet already feels from making this poem. When you read the title you expect that it’ll be about a mother and her kids but in fact it’s about a mother who never gave birth to her kids. According to the article on How to Read a Poem, I completed this poem by “sharing the experience” of Gwendolyn’s poem. I experienced “the pooling of human understanding of living, loving and dying”. In this poem Gwendolyn addressed all three of those understandings. She speaks on what her kids would’ve born like if they were alive in the line that says “You will never wind-up sucking thumb”. It’s as though she imagines what her baby would have been doing if they were alive. So this gives me the reader a sense of imagery and perspective and that is part of completing the poem. Gwendolyn also talks abut how she loves all of her children that didn’t make it and it shines light on how she’s still a mother despite the detrimental experiences and pain she felt in this role of not having her babies.
Hi Regina, we choose the same poem and I really like your comments. I wanted to share with you something that I noticed even in the title and that is that Brooks choose not to capitalize the title “the mother.” I believe this was done intentionally by Brooks who as we can see from the poem has a very direct approach. Perhaps by keeping her title in lower case she was symbolizing that as “the mother” in this poem she did not feel she was worthy of the title in the way it is traditionally celebrated. Moms usually are so proud of their position and the work put into raising their our children that they share it proudly and loudly. I think by not capitalizing the title she was relating the description of a title she did not feel worthy of. Just a thought, thanks for sharing yours.
Janine Mason ENG 201 0534
Regina, I love the way you choose to complete the poem ” the mother”. This poem begins with an attention catcher which shows the lost possibilities of these unborn children’s lives. This poem is an emotional outpour of the sense of guilt by a mother who has performed one or more abortion. And as you stated in the poem this mother would never get to experience what her kids would have been like. The imagery in this poem conveys an intimate and personal depiction of motherhood or the lack thereof. This mother tells her kids that did not make it how she stole from them their lives ” your tumults, your marriages, aches, and your deaths. The images, the death and the feelings make this poem realistic.
In the poem “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, a man regales a stranger with tales of his wife and how she died by his hand from her “trifling” ways. The duke seemed to be fond of his late wife but jealousy and arrogance lead him to kill her, “as if she ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody’s gift”. This poem struck home for me, in that jealous and selfishness can be the death of many things. When i was young I had feelings for a girl i had known for years. The feelings were mutual, but her nature was that of a very inviting person. In my ignorance, i became jealous. These feeling would eventually lead to us separating. While the feelings in this poem would be an immensely exaggerated form of the feelings i felt, the idea is similar. My feelings of jealousy, arrogance, and ignorance would lead to the death of the partnership i held very close to my heart.
Eli, yes, bringing your personal experience of jealousy into the reading of “My Last Duchess” is one way of “completing” the poem. Even though you have regrets, at least you didn’t kill your girlfriend. Smiley face.
Although all the poems this week were very interesting and deep. The poem however I feel I was able to “complete” as William Carlos Williams suggested was the poem “my mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks. What a way to get a readers attention, “Abortions will not let you forget.You remember the children you got that you did not get,”
Not only is the author starting off with a controversial subject, but that one sentence pulls you in because you want to know were the author is going with this. I kept reading as the poem kept pointing more and more to a womans remorse or regret about the children that she never got to meet.The way I feel I “completed” what the poem began is that I opened my mind and tried to feel the pain this woman was feeling when she wrote the poem. Even the Brooks was very direct and conversational with her words, the underlying feeling projected is pain, remorse, and regret which is something I had never thought about in the perspective that Brooks presented it. I “completed the poems purpose because it made me consider a controversial topic from a perspective that was uncomfortable for me but non-the-less I had to accept as the authors message. I kept thinking about the message long after reading the poem.
Janine Mason ENG 201 0534
Hi Janine, I also choose the poem “My Mother”, by Gwendolyn Brooks. I agree with you, the authors had an interesting way to get readers’ attention with that first line. In the beginning, the title of the poem did not give me a sense of an abortion topic. I think that people usually forget that no matter what the circumstances of the situation were, the women that had abortions experiences are still mothers. In some way, this poem gives to the readers the perspective of these particular mothers about abortion.
Janine, you say something so interesting here—that even after you finished reading the poem, you kept thinking about it. This is a way of “completing” the poem, which I don’t think was mentioned in the article. In a sense, you continued a “conversation” with the poem long after you finished reading it. Putting yourself in the speaker’s shoes is another way to engage and become part of a poem.
ENG 201. Sec. 0527
I will open this post with stating that it was a challenging one for me this week. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
“The Lake Isle of Innisfree”, is a beautiful poem written by William Butler Yeats. Throughout the reading, I noticed that there are moments of pause, that there is rhythm and meter throughout the poem. After playing the audible reading, I can pick up the stressed syllables in each line showing the lyrical flow throughout the poem. What is interesting to note was his clever use of rhyme throughout the poem. I could not help but to think of its structure being very close to an Elizabethan sonnet. The writing consisted of three distinctive quatrains that were four lines each. In the first and the third line and the second and fourth line rhymed within each quatrain. The only thing missing within the poem that would distinguish it as an Elizabethan sonnet would be the rhyming couplet in the end. I was left wondering whether or not this was intentional. I think this decision was made to leave the thoughts toward the subject for the reader.
In the first quatrain Yeats speaks of this beautiful place where he can live modestly within the nature around him. He shows this with the desire to leave and build a small cabin of sticks and mud to work the field and have the bees pollinate his crop. In the second quatrain the reader can only imagine the serene beauty as the author takes in the majesty of the surroundings and finds peace in this place that is disconnected from his current world. In the last quatrain describes his deep longing to go to this place as he is on the road and imagining the waves of where he wants to be. It is noted that this place seems to be separated from the modern world and untouched place where all the natural beauty thrives. There is something very spiritual about the place and has deep affections in the author’s heart. It was a sanctuary or home.
To complete the poem, I can relate to the author’s longings with home to the longing I have with my family. During my time serving in the Navy I was in a world that wasn’t my own and it was unfamiliar and had to adapt. For years I have not seen my family. I would call when I could and write when I was very far. I missed them so much and would spend moments imagining what it was like to be home and experiencing the events that I have missed. Events that I can only relate to by words written to me in a letter. Now that I am back home my mother has aged, my siblings have grown, I am an uncle to beautiful children and everyone has moved away from New York. So even though we are apart my “Innisfree” is my family wherever our paths take. I believe that maybe the poem always had the missing lines it just wasn’t meant to be read but felt.
Juan, thank you for this beautifully expressed post. Your final paragraph gives such a powerful description of how you “completed” this poem by connecting it to your own experience of longing for a place while you were far away in the Navy. I can imagine that while on your ship—or wherever you were—you engaged in the same kind of vivid memory expressed by Yeats at the end of his poem, and that you could “hear” this place “in the deep heart’s core.”
The poem “White Lies” written by Nastasha Trethewey is about a black girl who pretended to be white because her light skin gave her the ability to pass as white. She never corrected anyone and just played along. This poem really interested me, especially the last stanza. The last stanza of the poem says, “But I paid for it every time/ Mama found out./ She laid her hands on me,/ then washed out my mouth/ with Ivory soap. This/ is to purify, she said,/ and cleanse your lying tongue./ Believing her, I swallowed suds/ thinking they’d work/ from the inside out.” Usually when a child has been cursing a lot, a parent uses the phrase that they will wash their mouth out with soap since it’s so dirty. In this case, it is kind of the same because she has been telling lies about her race and in her mother’s eyes that’s dirty. Her lying about her race makes it almost seem like she was ashamed to be her true self. The last line illustrated the girl hoping that the soap would “cleanse” her inside and possibly help her not dislike herself for being black. I “completed” this poem by relating it to what I’ve experienced as a child. I have never lied about my race but I have felt the need to lie about certain parts of myself and change. I went to a predominantly white elementary school and I felt like I didn’t fit in. I wanted to fit in so bad to the point where I begged my mother to straighten my hair often to be straight like other girls and also changed my mannerisms. I slowly started to not like my physical features and dislike being black. This is nothing like changing my entire race but to me this poem is more about not accepting yourself and changing for others. There wasn’t as much representation as there is now and I hope that other younger black girls never have to feel the need to change who they are.
ENG 201 1209
Sheilaya, thank you for this thoughtful post. It’s interesting that you not only “completed” the poem by reference to personal experience but went a step further to explore the reasons you might have wanted to change yourself. This is a perfect example of entering a poem, engaging with it, and letting it continue to coalesce even after you have finished reading.
ENG 201 Sec.0527
Sheilaya, Your response this week spoke volumes. Sometimes it is hard for people to live their truth, we live in a world where our differences conclude who we are as a person. We are categorized at times by our demographics rather than the individual. Reading your experience on how you concluded the poem “White Lies”, I can relate. I went to an all boys Catholic high school. Out of all the incoming freshmen including myself there was only one black student and three hispanic/ latino students the rest of the freshmen were predominantly Italian. My parents worked really hard to give me the education that I received. If my name wasn’t Juan you would never think I was Puerto Rican, I would probably in appearance fit in with the majority. Reading what you wrote and reflecting on my high school days I can remember how much I wanted to fit in. My name marked me and I was not like the others and I at times felt isolated. Unlike the poem where the main character tried to change herself to fit in, I coped by embracing who I was and eventually found a place where maybe I wasn’t entirely understood but was accepted and in many ways respected and appreciated. Loving ourselves for who we are and finding appreciation and acceptance for our unique qualities was the lesson I received from the poem and what you conveyed. Thank you for sharing.
The poem that I selected for this week is “The Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks. I think that is a remarkable poem with a very deep message about the devastating experience of a woman that had an abortion. The authors wrote, “Abortions will not let you forget. You remember the children you got that you did not get, I have heard in the voices of the wind the voices of my dim killed children. Believe me, I loved you all”. These lines help me to complete this poem is by understanding what my late grandmother went through. When I was a little girl, I did not understand why my grandmother drink alcohol frequently until I was an adult and I witnessed one of her doctor’s appointments. In that appointment, her doctor asks about her pregnancy history and she answered, “I only have one daughter, but I also had an abortion”. That day was the first and only time that my grandmother mentioned that topic, and it was a piece of new information even for my mother. At that moment I could understand that my grandmother’s drinking problem was a consequence of one of the most painful experiences in her life. SEC 0534
Kenia, what a painful memory you mention here in your discussion of “completing” the poem by Brooks. Understanding your grandmother’s deep pain allows you to relate strongly to the pain and loss expressed so poignantly in this poem.
Kenia, that last line “At that moment I could understand that my grandmother’s drinking problem was a consequence of one of the most painful experiences in her life.” struck me so hard. Reading this poem, it is hard to imagine the pain of a woman who has had an abortion and is dealing with the aftermath, in many cases without support because they are afraid and ashamed. Internalizing this grief takes a lot out of you and in the end all comes right back to the principal that you should be kind to others because you never know what they are going through in their head and how that has affected their life as a result. Thank you for sharing.
My Last Duchess by Robert Browning is a famous poem composed in the form of a monologue. The powerful Duke wishes to control his wife in all aspects of life. Through the poem, the Duke’s attitude and actions towards women show that he believes women are owned, controlled, and discarded. Like the Victorian Era, which denied women’s rights and their desire to be independent in society. This attitude is portrayed in Duke’s monologue as he paints the former Duchess’s image where he describes her as unfaithful, stubborn, and frivolous. However, Browning criticizes such views, presenting sexism and objectification as inhuman processes that rob women of their full humanity. Her descriptions of the paintings as “works” and “miracles” show them to be works of art, not proof of past love. He repeats his artist’s name (the famous “Fra Pandolf”) three times in the first 16 lines of the poem reaffirming that he liked the painting for its status as an object. Therefore, the painting was meant to glorify the Duke, not the woman it portrayed. In the end, the poem undoubtedly shows that the Duke is so concerned about the idea that his ex-wife has a part in himself that he kills the “last Duchess”. The poem thus emphasizes how objectifying women ultimately drowns them and robs them of their voice and autonomy.
Khadijah i really liked the way you explained your poem ” My Last Duchess by Robert Browning”. I agree with the way you explained it when you said “The powerful Duke wishes to control his wife in all aspects of life. Through the poem, the Duke’s attitude and actions towards women show that he believes women are owned, controlled, and discarded. Like the Victorian Era, which denied women’s rights and their desire to be independent in society.” what he is doing is definitely wrong and the way you said clearly shows why it is.
Khadijah, this is an excellent discussion of the meaning of “My Last Duchess.” However, what did you do personally to “complete” this poem, as explored in the Hirsch article?
“White lies” by Natasha Trethewey, is a poem in which she described a time where she would lie to other students who were rich because she could not afford nice things. She explains throughout the poem that in order to fit in she would portray herself in the same racial and economic status as the others. “I could act like my homemade dresses came straight out the window of Maison Blanche.” Meaning, she lied and misrepresented herself as part of a family of wealth to compensate for not having able to afford better clothing. She was a child of an interracial couple. She did not resemble so much as a black girl, so she fit in with the while girls, but never told them that she was really biracial, as she said” I could even keep quiet, quiet as kept, like the time a white girl said (squeezing my hand), Now we have tress of us in this class.” However, her mother found out about these white lies and disciplined her by spanking her and putting specifically Ivory soap in her mouth. She makes a point to note the brand of the soap, seeing as it is a predominately cheap soap. The way in which I would complete it is drawing back to a time where I too had to compensate for a reality. I had to compensate a mother who hated and neglected me. I qualified for free lunch, in that, my mother never made me breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Every other kid who I sat next to in the cafeteria would have packed lunch along with the lunch the school provided. I remember when someone asked me where my lunch box was, and for the life of me could not tell them that I did not own one and said that I forgot it at home, every single day. Anytime my grandmother would buy me a treat or a special drink, I would keep it in my bookbag and wait to eat it. When lunchtime came, it would take a plastic bag and put the treat in there and say that my mother packed it for me. Anytime someone would ask me if I picked out my outfit or did my hair, I would always say” I don’t know, my mom did that”. When I read this poem, I reflect on how much I compensated my neglectful mother and created a fantasy one within myself.
Megan, thank you for telling this very personal story about some of your childhood memories. Invoking these memories very much completes “White Lies” and adds dimension to it for me. The experience doesn’t have to be exactly the same, as you show here, for the themes of compensation and self-deception to be deeply understood and felt. You can relate to the speaker not because of being biracial, but because of the sharing of that need to fantasize and create an impression to others that you are like them. This expands the meaning of the poem.
ENG201 1209 I chose “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning. This poem contains many enjambments (sentences that do not end at the end of the line). As a result, I think Duke’s speech is flowing. It is a dramatic monologue poem in which the Duke of Ferrara talks about his late wife, and it is a kind of poem in which a person who is different from the poet is talking to others. And gradually, the distortion of the Duke’s heart is becoming apparent. The main theme is the speaker’s obsession with control. I think the Duke shows arrogance rooted in the superiority complex of men. He sticks to himself and is full of narcissism and misogyny. With no response from worshipers, not to mention the Duchess, the Duchess can present himself and the story in the way that suits him best. Finally, there is a reference to Neptune. He points out that this is a rare bronze cast for him. It is rarely random that such elements are not significant. So you can draw a metaphor between the portrait and the statue.
Rii, this is a very good discussion of “My Last Duchess,” but what did you do to “complete” the poem?
The poem that i have chosen to complete is the poem called “White Lies” by Natasha Trethewey. this poem is about how much the author lies. she states how she can lie about the clothes that she wears or the house that she lives in etc. As I read this poem the thing that comes to mind is an expression. fake it till you make it. people who read that poem might see someone lying but i decided to complete this poem by changing what it represents. i see someone with a mentality to grow, kind of like tricking your self. when you imitate confidence, confidence that you don’t have eventually you will be confident if you keep telling yourself you are. this is how I completed the poem because this is the reason i believe that the characcter in the peom lies about things such as where they live and what clothes they wear.
Mark, relating “White Lies” to different observations you have made in your own life is certainly one way of “completing” a poem. As Megan’s post so eloquently shows, the situation doesn’t have to be exactly the same for the theme of the poem to resonate and strike a deeply personal chord.
I completed what the poet Natasha Trethewey wrote in her poem “White Lies” by imagining a time I once told lies to fit in with others. The little black girl in the poem wanted to fit in with her white friends, so she said “I could easily tell the white folks that we lived uptown, not in the pink and green shanty-fled shotgun section.” The little girl would lie about where she came from because she was ashamed of her background. As I read the poem, I completed it by remembering the time I had first come to America. Although I had only lived in America for a short time, I would tell others that I had been growing up in the neighborhood for years. I would tell these lies so that they would not judge me for my immigrant background. I didn’t want others to think I was “fresh off the boat,” I wanted others to treat me equally like other “Americans”.
Shapla, recalling your own set of lies to help you fit in is a very good way to “complete” the Trethewey poem. Again, I find it interesting that while your experience is not exactly the same as the speaker’s, the element of lying is the same. Great post!
The poem I choose is “The Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks. This poem is about the speaker reminiscing her past experiences and the fact that she won’t ever experience having her own children. The speaker tries to wonder if she ever did have children what kind people would they have grown to be. She uses the phrases like “Return for a snack of them, with gobbling mother-eye” this made me imagine and understand how the poet is feeling very emotional. According to “How to Read a Poem” I “completed” this poem by entering the imaginative play of this poem, and fully understand the poet point of view in the poem. I entered the imaginative play by imagining “You will never wind-up sucking thumb”. The speaker imagines that their baby would never suck their thumb if they were alive. After reading this poem, I sympathize with women who had to go through abortions. I realize how difficult it is for them and the kind of trauma and emotions they go through.
SEC. 0527
Hello Jasmin, I agree with you on the completion/analysis of the poem. The author uses precise detail on the outcome of committing such acts. This poem is full of emotion, sadness, and understanding. For some people that had to go through this process, I imagine would be hard to finish the poem because is full of imagery and emotion.
Jasmin, yes, choosing particular phrasing of poem to explore is one way of “completing” it. That one detail of the thumb sucking can bring you to a sympathy not only for the speaker in the poem but in a more universal way to other women dealing with abortion.
Hello Jasmin, Very nice analysis of the poem you wrote. I agree with the word choice the author also uses in order to convey emotion into the poem. Lastly, I believe that how you completed your poem was spot on, it is clear the author does have a lot of trauma based on all their imaginative description.
The poem I chose to complete is “White Lies” by Natasha Tretheway. The poem “White Lies” seemed interesting to me. Looking at the title I thought this poem would be about someone telling little white lies just to get out of something or just little lies we tell ourselves, but clearly it wasn’t. I believe the speaker is a young girl which lives in poverty. She expresses her shame throughout the poem greatly and in order for her to feel better, she lies.The speaker says she could lie about everything in order to be accepted. When her mother finds out that she has lied, she disciplines her by “cleansing and purifying her lying tongue.” With that, the girl believed the soap would cleanse inside her body as well as outside her body. I found this pretty ironic considering the fact that the mother told her daughter a lie in order to show her that it is not acceptable. I complete this poem by remembering the time where I would lie and my mom would teach me a lesson about how lying is wrong, but in my case it was not done in such a cruel way as in the poem. Perhaps in the poem, the mother realized what her daughter was doing and wanted to stop her, and probably wanted her to learn to accept herself as who she is by teaching her daughter the hard way.
Hey Altynai, its crazy how we both thought the poem was about similar things but turned out to be somewhat wrong, I honestly thought it was going to be some sort of story involving a lie which in fact it was. The girl in the story lied because she was ashamed of herself and got punished instead of being taught to accept herself, which you stated thought the way she was treated after being caught was cruel. I wouldn’t have used the word cruel but I see where you were coming from. I also relate to the whole getting taught to not lie and be honest when caught in a lie.
Out of all the poems, the one I decided to complete was White Lies by Natasha Trethewey. The poem is described as a narrative in which follows an undisclosed individual in which lies about aspects of her life. Its never outright said but the girl in the story has to be some form of white passing but not completely white. She lies about where she’s from, which is a black neighborhood, where she gets her homemade dresses from, and about her skin color. Everytime her mother would catch her she “wash out her mouth” in order to clean her tongue from lying. I complete this poem in the sense that I used to tell little lies about myself. I would say I’m from places I am not and things of that nature. I wouldn’t say its in the same sense as how the narrative struggles with accepting her complexion, my white lies came from not feeling as if I belonged where I came from. Also when it comes to the part when her mother washed her mouth, I used to be told that I’d get my mouth washed out if I continued to lie as well, never happened but its worth mentioning.
Kadeem I agree with your analysis of this poem I also like how you were able to list certain things that the girl in the poem lied about in your analysis. The girl in the story is a girl of light skin color that does not want to be seen as black, she is a girl who lives in a poor neighborhood but wants people to believe she lives uptown, she wears homemade dresses but wants people to believe she has brought them from the store. This poem is about a girl who wants people to believe she is someone she is not. All the white lies she tells are no secret from her mother and eventually they all catch up to her which only lead to her being punished for them each time.
Kadeem, you are so right that “White Lies” does not only resonate with the issue of race. People lie about many different things, often—as we see in comments from others—in order to fit in with a larger group.
I chose to complete the poem “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn brooks. In the poem, brooks spoke about young teens that were not following a sample role model and were avoiding their responsibilities. The poem follows the actions of these teens till their actions cause a tragedy in their life. I decided to complete the poem by analyzing the poem and take notice that people can be influenced by collective actions and those actions could be dangerous as the actions soon become a high risk as to the author states in the poem ” We Lurk late, We strike straight. We thin gin.” As the kids leave school, they soon take action in dangerous activities, staying out late, fighting, drinking, and partying, and sadly ending their lives too soon,
Junior, you have a good handle on “We Cool,” but have you told us what you did to “complete” this poem?
The poem I choose is “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks. In a few short sentences, the poem tells the story of a group of teenagers who spend their days playing and wasting their youth. They drop out of school, they wander, they do nothing, they make trouble. Alcohol ruins their health, poverty saps their enthusiasm, and they die in a silent cry. In order to “complete” the poem I connected it to my daily life. In the news, I often saw some teenagers who liked to make trouble, who enjoyed it, who thought it was cool to be different from others, and who lived a rebellious life. These examples make it easier for me to understand the poem. This poem is short but pithy. In this short sentence, the poet expresses everything with concise words. The “we” in the poem includes all adolescents in a rebellious period, regardless of gender or race. As they seek to be different, they are apt to lose their way, drop out of school, play, drink, and get into fights, which will slowly drag them down into the abyss.
Hongbin, yes, connecting stories about troubled young people in the news to the poem “We Cool” is one way of “completing” the poem. It then becomes real and more relevant and larger observations about adolescence and rebellion can be made.
ENG 201 (0527) The poem that I have chosen to “complete” is “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning. This poem is talking about how a duke is basically explaining to someone that visited him about his wife’s painting, and telling him also how he loved her but at the same time is not able to stander her by what she was doing when she was his wife and what made him jealous was her action with other men that she used to see beautiful. If it wasn’t for the duke getting married to her then she wasn’t going to be the dutch. Also, The first being that the husband or the duke was definitely giving a sense that he was very jealous of his former wife’s amiability towards other people, mainly men. He also showed insecurity by complaining that she would see all gifts by anybody as equal, because it not only goes back to the jealousy of her amiability with other men but also that invalidates his most redeeming quality, his riches.
Maryam I like your analysis of this poem “My Last Duchess” I really did enjoy this poem and I could relate to it on a personal level because I would also have love for someone however it would certain things about them that or certain things that they would do that would not sit right with me or that would bother me. The poem is about a duke who speaks on how much he loves his wife however her beauty and the fact that men were so drawn to her did not sit right with him.
Maryam, your observations about “My Last Duchess” are all good. But what did you do as a reader to “complete” this poem?
The poem I have chosen to complete is “White lies” by Natasha Trethwey. The poem “White lies” is a poem about a girl who I believe is telling little white lies about herself to make people believe she is someone she is not. In the poem she talks about how she would have to pay for telling these white lies every time, in the poem she states “but I paid for it every time. Mama found out. I complete this poem because it brings me back to when I was younger and I would tell white lies so that I would fit in or I would do things I should not have been doing and my mother would find out and I would have to face the consequences. Lying was not tolerated in my home at all growing up. Each time just like the girl in the poem I would pay for my little white lies, each time I would have to deal with my punishment for doing these things just as the girl in the poem would and that is how I feel I complete this poem.
Chayadevi, yes, bringing personal experience of lying and its consequences is a good way of “completing” the poem “White Lies.” It sounds like you, like the speaker in the poem, did not necessarily stop lying even after the consequences.
The poem I choose to complete for this week was “White Lies” by Natasha Trethewey. The poem alludes one of the author’s younger days where she used to struggle with always lying. She makes it known that she was a very good liar growing up. She lied about where she lived and even where her clothes came from. From what the author provided in her poem I was able to figure out that growing up she had a bad identity crisis, thus why she had learned to lye so much. When she states that growing up, she lived in a dark place where just white lies, she probably meant that she was one of the very few mixed or colored families in a white town. I could tell not many people of colored lived around when the author mentions that one instance at school when a white girl comes up to her and says, “now there’s three of us in the class.” This must mean that she along with the other girl at school are mixed, yet her skin makes it look more believable that she is white. Though the author never mentions it I understood this had to do a lot with the her racial identity by the many times color imagery was used throughout the poem.
Ivanoba, this is a good discussion of “White Lies.” However, have you told us what you did as a reader to “complete” the poem?
The poem I have chosen to complete is “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks. The poem is about being a young person more concerned with the short term, enjoying yourself rather than living for the future, or in a word, what was considered “cool” when we were teenagers. I initially had trouble dissecting the poem, since it was written describing another place and time. I’m able to complete the poem by reflecting back on what being a teenager was like for me in today’s era. “We left school” – I can relate to this since I was actually kicked out of high school for truancy, as were a lot of my friends. Cutting class really became the basis for socialization, you’d end up skipping the same periods and going to the same places, just because you could always expect to see the same people there. “We sing sin” – one thing our friend group had in common, and was essentially built on, was that we all smoked a lot of weed. We would “sing sin” through the celebration of this, which was what shaped the culture of our friend group. “We die soon” – many of my friends ended up getting further into drugs, which obviously had negative consequences. Some of them have a hard drug habit, one of them is a felon, and a couple of them aren’t around anymore. I think Gwendolyn Brooks was describing a group that exists among all teenagers wherever you go, whether or not they drink gin or listen to jazz. There’s always kids that live life without fear of consequences.
SEC 1209
The poem I chose to read was the Lake of Isle of Innisfree by W. B. Yeats. First I read the article on how to read a poem so I could use some of the tips they gave. First I read the whole poem in my head and at first I didn’t totally understand what the poem was trying to say. After I played the poem out loud form my computer and read along with it and listening to the reader helped understand the emphasis on specific lines for example
“I shall have some peace there, for peace comes
dropping slow”
Throughout the whole poem he’s not talking very clearly and he’s mumbling a little but in these two lines he raises his voice and says the words very clearly. Additionally him putting emphasis on these two lines helped me understand that the poem is all about his escape and finding his peace and listening and being around nature.
ENG 201 Sec. 0534
From the first time that I read “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by W. B. Yeats, I could easily imagine the peaceful naturistic scene of someone who lived secluded in the mountains somewhere as I read how he described the setting. I think I connected with this poem because it reminded me of the traditional life on my father’s farm whenever we’ve gone back to visit. I even remembered my aunts getting beans from her garden, harvesting fresh honey and it dripping into the container, and the traditional handmade pots made from clay. I loved those times I’ve spent at my father’s farm because I felt connected to nature and more peaceful. And I really miss it and I always wish I can be back. I think the author of the poem also feels this yearning to be at this peaceful cabin.
“I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;”
Here he is describing that he has this constant desire.
“While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.”
I think of grey pavements as being associated with the concrete sidewalks of the cities. So, I can imagine this author being in the city but desiring in his soul to be closer to nature.
The poem I chose is “Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks. This poem is about the process and experience of a woman feeling guilty after an abortion. According to “How to read a poem”, I “complete” the poem by feeling the emotions expressed in the poem. What attracted me to this poem was that when I saw it for the first time, I thought it was a warm story between mother and child, but the author told us in the first section of this poem: “Abortion will not let You forget. You remember the child you got, you didn’t get”. The author uses these two sentences to tell us the theme of the poem and her sense of abortion in the poem. In subsequent readings, the author felt guilty, painful, and regretful. At the end, the author told us that even if her children are gone, she still loves them. From these we can know that the she did not get rid of her feeling, on the contrary, she felt more and more guilty. Therefore, at the end, the author expressed her regret for the children through this sentence.
The poem I chose to complete is “White Lies” by Natasha Thretheway. The first thing I thought to do was to question who the speaker of the poem is and what it was that they were trying to express which I personally feel makes it easier for me as a reader to ‘complete’ a poem. After rereading the poem a few times I came to the conclusion that the narrator is a young biracial girl who is struggling to accept the aspects of herself and her life that she feels ashamed of. We see in the poem that she lies about her race, where she lives as well as where her clothes are from. We see that these lies are not just little ‘white lies’, they are very big and very real issues that this young girl is dealing with. A line from the poem that I feel really captures this pain is where the young girl says “Believing her, I swallowed suds thinking they’d work from the inside out.” Here, in a moment of vulnerability after her mother found out what she was lying about, we see her wishing that the suds would cleanse her not only of the guilt of lying, but ideally of her pain and insecurities as well, because then she would have no reason to lie. As a reader, there are many times in my life I can think of where just like this young girl, I too told lies in order to fit in (or lied out of shame.) Because i was able to empathize with the young girl, i was able to complete this poem by putting myself in her shoes in order to feel and understand what she felt and why she did what she did.
The poem I have chosen to “complete” is “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks. This poem is about the life of a group of people that are referred to in the poem as “The Pool Players.” What I think this means is that they are a group of teenagers hanging out at a pool hall. What it also seems to discuss in the poem is that this group of teenagers “are cool” but also “left school” and “strike straight.” Which I believe means that they have been committing crimes and sinful acts such as skipping school and getting in gun fights. In the last four lines of the poem, it states, “We sing sin. We thin gin. We jazz June. We die soon.” What I believe this means and what the main idea of the poem is that this cool group made choices that eventually lead them to a dead-end because of how their sinful actions have caused them to pay with lives. What I found most interesting about this poem is how it can relate to the things that I have seen while living in Downtown Brooklyn. There were times where I would notice the same kind of group of people described in the poem while walking by and wonder if they have or are making the same kind of choices that this group made that lead them to where they are now.
“White Lies” by Natasha Tretheway is this week’s poem that I chose to complete, as it says in the article “How to read a poem” on the website Poets.org it’s important to read and re-read until you have an idea of what the poet is trying to reference. In this case, the main thing is to identify who the poet refers to in the poem. The poem tells of a young woman who at first glance has a problem between what she wants to be and what she really is, she constantly lies but they are not white lies as the poem says, they are actually big lies and weight for her life. A moment in which one of her lies becomes evident is when she says “I could act like my homemade dresses came straight out the window of Maison Blanche” this shows us how her lies are to ignore the true place where she comes from. Her pain and regret are evident when the mother realizes her deception and in an act to clear her guilt, she says that she is going to wash her mouth and swallow soap to see if in this way she can clean her body from the inside out.