Yearly Archives: 2023

In the story “Where have you been, where are you going” I believe this story was about the inevitable. Connie starts out as this young care-free teenage girl and ends up stoic and accepting of her fate. The twilight of the teenage years is the last time being a silly unaware child is acceptable in American society. In the article by Korb, he mentioned the feminist view of this story being about a woman giving into a male culture. I have a more universal take. This story in my view is the reality of life everyone must face. Whats so interesting about this story is that nothing is as it seems. Arthur Friend, is more likely a 30 year old man that attempts to pass himself off as a 18 year old. The diner she went to and described as “fly-infested” though she thought of it as a sacred building. Connie, as many teenagers do has a skewed view of the world. This skewed view does not help her fend off her impending possible demise. This story represents the realities of life that we all face after the end of our childhood, a death of childhood so to speak. We realize as adults that many thing we believed as children are not real, the fun places aren’t so fun anymore and the candy makes you sick. The paint begins of fade, and the shine of the world begins to dull, however just like Connie did, we accept it.

The story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” shows real life situations in the modern world today, such as, pedophiles hunting down children who end up being physically harmed or traumatized and get away with it. The story is about the safety of children, sexual maturity, and rape. In the text it states, “She cried out, she cried for her mother, she felt her breath start jerking back and forth in her lungs as if it were something Arnold Friend was stabbing her with again and again with no tenderness.” (Oates). Furthermore, a girl in the story named Connie was raped after being left home alone, but she could not call for help since she was threatened with her family. In my opinion, Connie gave in to Arnold Friend knowing he was going to rape her because of body experience. “She watched herself push the door slowly open as if she were back safe somewhere in the other doorway, watching this body and this head of long hair moving out into the sunlight where Arnold Friend waited.” (Oates). Rapists get away with things, since some people are threatened or give in to them just for sexual experience.

The story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is about a girl named Connie who comes across a man who is not very kind to her. The story discusses several interpretations of the event, such as viewing it as a fairy tale or a story about how awful things may happen in our society. However, the story also states that there is no straightforward explanation for the story’s meaning. The story is like a warning to young people about the awful things that may happen in America. Connie, the main character, is like many young people at the time who were unaware of the threats in the world. Arnold Friend is a nasty character who deceives and harms others. The story warns young girls to be cautious and mindful of the dangers that may arise. Regarding Rena Korb’s essay, I believe that she is suggesting that some people may perceive Arnold as a representation of either the devil or the potential consequences of giving up our freedom to someone who is harmful. The story also serves as a lesson to beware of caution as well as to be aware of putting our trust in others and the places we travel to.

The greeting card lyrics and the sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” conveys two ideas of love that can be compared and contrasted. The greeting card lyrics shows love as an emotion of trust and warmth, a directed expression towards someone that is specific, clear and simple, yet deep and emotional. The rhythm of the greeting card lyrics is calm and there is slight rhyme such as “Because you’re a part of my favorite memories as well as my most important dreams.” The mood and tone is very romantic and passionate, stating lyrics such as, “Why Do I Love You So Much? Because I trust you more than anyone in the world.” The Italian sonnet follows a different structure in which it follows a Petrarchan sonnet pattern, consisting of 14 lines and a significant rhyme scheme. This sonnet conveys a formal, sensual, deep and soul-filled love. The repetition of the speaker saying “I love thee” brings to light the rhythm of the poem. It is also a hyperbole in a sense where it is an exaggeration of the phrase, used to further show readers the emotion of how strong her love that she is trying to convey through her poem and the usage of this phrase. The speaker states in her poem, “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight.” This shows a significance in her expression of love being that she is comparing it to something spiritual. Love expands through her soul and body. 

I honestly could never “read between the lines” or think of the bigger picture when reading poems. When reading “We Real Cool” By Gwendolyn Brooks I assumed the poem was obvious when I fully read it. This is the prior assumption I made from “How to read a poem”. I read the poem very easily and didn’t make any “think outside the box” assumptions when reading it. I didn’t think of the bigger picture. To me the poem is about kids being kids. Having all the freedom in the world to be a kid. To ditch school sometimes or maybe even underage drink wouldn’t kill you. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. Most people will say the bigger picture is young kids with destructive behavior. Like I said, Its kids being kids. However the line “we left school” is confusing me as it ditching school? or dropping out of school? if it is dropping out of school and all you are doing is drinking alcohol and singing, That is destuctive behavior that can have a early demise.  

While reading poems I always have a problem which is I always think I will understand it on the first reading and feel like there’s something wrong with me since I never understand what it means immediately. This is the prior assumption I made, of the three mentioned in “how to read a poem.” While reading “White lies” by Natasha Trethewey I started reading so confidently and thought I could understand it at first reading just by reading its title. When I was done I noticed I didn’t get its meaning or what was really behind it and had to go back, read it slowly, and analyze it. At first, I thought it was just about a little girl lying, but after reading it back, word by word, I understood it had something to do with color and race. “I could even keep quiet, quiet as kept, like the time a white girl said (squeezing my hand), Now we have three of us in this class.” The girl felt like lying was the only way white people would be nice to her. She would lie about where she lived, and also about being African American. 

One of the poems I read was “White Lies’ by Natasha Trethewey. While I first starting reading the poem, I couldn’t fully grasp what exactly it was that I was reading. This is when I had encounter with the first assumption, which is that readers think they should understand what it is that they are reading on the first read, which is not true. We all read and interpret things differently. Eventually, I had to read the poem over a few times to really get a feel about what I was reading, and the story behind it. The speaker in the poem appears to be a young black female, who lives on the poorer side of town, but says she can get away with telling the white people that she lives in a better area. I was feeling a sense of shame from the speaker’s point of view. Her mother had punished her for lying about who she was. Overall, I’d say the meaning behind this story is all about the difference in racial dynamics.

The act of reading a poem involves more than simply scanning the words on the page. It requires both an appropriate attitude and the technical ability to analyze the poem’s structure and meaning. A reader must approach a poem with an open mind and a willingness to engage with its themes and ideas. At the same time, the reader must have the necessary skills to decode the poem’s language, syntax, and imagery, as well as an understanding of poetic devices such as meter, rhyme, and metaphor. By combining the right mindset and the appropriate techniques, a reader can fully appreciate a poem’s beauty and complexity, unlocking its deeper meanings and insights.  My personal experience reading “My Mistress” gave me trouble and led to confusion because of how the author talked about his mistress in the poem led me to believe that he didn’t think too highly of her until the end i assumed that the author was talking in code since i could not understand why would he put other things before his mistress these lines in the poem sounded like little insults for his mistress. “And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks”  “I love to hear her speak, yet well I know [10]That music hath a far more pleasing sound”

After reading “White Lies” by Natasha Trethewey, I initially didn’t understand the poem’s deeper meaning. This lack of understanding led me to assume that something was wrong with me or the poem itself. However, upon further reflection and analysis, I came to realize that the poem was exploring the idea of lying as a survival mechanism for people of color in a society where white people hold power and privilege. The speaker in the poem, a young Black girl, quotes “I could easily tell the white folks that we lived uptown, not in that pink and green shanty-fled shotgun section along the tracks. I could act like my homemade dresses came straight out the window of Maison Blanche”. tells white people that she lives in a more affluent area, rather than admitting to living in a poorer neighborhood near the train tracks. The poem also touches on the idea of shame and the internalized racism that can lead people to disavow their own cultural roots. The speaker’s mother punishes her daughter for these lies, “Mama found out. She laid her hands on me, then washed out my mouth with Ivory soap”. Revealing the desire for honesty and authenticity in one’s identity. Overall, the poem explores complex themes of identity, race, and power dynamics, and it takes time and reflection to fully appreciate its significance.

I read both We Cool as well as The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks. The reason I read both, other than I was interested by both titles, was because the prior assumption I made when reading We Cool, was that I would understand the piece with the first run through. And full transparency, I felt as if I SHOULD understand because I am a voracious reader of poems, lol. The lines “we sing sin, we thin gin” I didn’t quite understand and I still don’t understand what ‘thin gin’ is. I will look it up after I finish responding to this discussion, but I assumed it has something to do with hanging out and drinking. After reading the poem once again, a little slower and without the assumptions, I gathered the meaning of the poem. I then, liked the writing and Gwendolyn’s writing style. I also learned she does not have one style from reading both pieces.

“Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique.” Restated: Reading a poem isn’t about the words, it’s how you read it and HOW you read it. – This is absolutely true. Reading poetry, is so different from reading an essay, or a play or any other works of literature because you have to FEEL the author’s emotion. Poetry paints pictures of intangible things – moods, emotions, thoughts, “vibes”. The phrase that reading a poem is part attitude and part technique means having a certain technique to understand and reiterate the inflections in the words. Having the right attitude is diving into the poem. Reading poetry can’t (well shouldn’t) be done because you HAVE to, but because you WANT to. 2. Reading Sonnet 130 by Shakespeare, I found this piece funny and ironic. I read this, with all the love I felt Shakespeare had for his mistress. He didn’t think very highly of her physical appearance or or scent, but the love was incomparable. The writing seems to be belittling the mistress at first, with the comparison to hair like wires and her breath that is not like perfume. However, at the end of the piece with the words “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare  As any she belied with false compare.‘ there is no denying the love. I read this piece with a whimsical and smitten heart, as if he was just thinking of his mistress. The attitude felt was she may not be the prettiest, and she may not have the best scent – she’s no Snow White – the “fairest of them all”, but I love her perhaps more than YOU love your spouse. Reading this short piece required a technique to feel the emotions and paint the picture of what he was […]

Three prior assumptions that I made while reading the poem “White Lies” by Natasha Tretheway are assuming that everything in the poem is literal, assuming that the poem has one definitive interpretation, and  that the poem is an expression of the poet’s personal feelings. Even though the poem is definitely personal, it also addresses wider socioeconomic themes. In order to examine more general questions of race and identity, including the ways in which societal pressures can have a negative impact on people, Tretheway draws on her personal experiences. The poem offers comments about the world in which the poet lives in addition to being a personal expression of her sentiments. Lines 3–4 of the poem use the speaker’s description of herself as “light-bright, near-white, high-yellow, red-boned” to show how complex racial identity might be. These descriptions are intended to explore the speaker’s experiences with identity and race instead of to be taken literally.

As Edward Hirsch so aptly put it in his article “How to Read a Poem”, when approaching an unfamiliar poem, readers tend to make three false assumptions and the one I made was to think that the whole poem was a kind of code where every detail corresponds to a single thing and if I wanted to understand it I had to decipher it. I made this mistake when reading the poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” written by William Butler Yeats in which the author just expresses his desire to find calm and peace by going to live alone on an island <<And I shall have some peace there, for peace slowly descends>>. For me this poem was hiding an unknown meaning and I started looking for it until I applied the literary techniques explained in Edward Hirsch’s article and then I realized my mistake.

This week, as I was reading “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by W. B. Yeats, I made the mistake of assuming that the poem could mean anything readers wanted it to mean. I felt a connection to my own experience and thought that the poem might refer to isolation and escape from the surrounding world. As an example, when reading the lines:“Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;and live alone in the bee-loud glade.”This occurs, in my opinion, when you read a poem and interpret it as being about your own desires and centered on your own perspective.However, as I was reading this line: “And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings.”I believe Yeats is expressing his longing for a simpler, more peaceful life in a specific location, which may resonate with different readers in different ways. This made me realize that it can differ in certain ways depending on the mood of each reader, which helped me fully understand the poem’s message and enjoy it.

For this discussion, I’ve chosen the poem, “We Real Cool,” by Gwendolyn Brooks. Of the three prior assumptions readers tend to make when approaching a poem, I believe I made the mistake of assuming that the poem can mean anything readers want it to mean. I actually read the poem once to myself, read it a second time out loud and then listened to Gwendolyn speak about and then read the poem on my third attempt. I did get the sense that it was about a group of kids who were supposed to be in school, but were instead playing pool, but I questioned the point of the poem. After listening to the audio attached, she explains that the idea for the poem came from her passing a group of schoolboys at the pool hall in her community, and instead of asking why they weren’t in school, she asked herself, “I wonder how they feel about themselves?” With this question, she explained the line in the poem “We Jazz June,” as a representation of the contempt they might feel toward school which also coincides with the lines, “We Real Cool. We Left School.” Also, when listening to her read the poem aloud, she gave it a different kind of energy as opposed to the way I was reading it myself; I ended up very much enjoying this poem, the energy and the meaning behind it.

The assumptions and mistakes when first time reading a poem, as described by Edward Hirsch were very relatable to what I go through when attempting to understand a poem. Throughout this week’s reading, I have found myself making the first wrong assumption. “The first is assuming that they should understand what they encounter on the first reading, and if they don’t, that something is wrong with them or with the poem”. This resonated with me deeply as when I don’t understand something after a few times, I tend to get frustrated. However, with poems I realize and understand that they can be tricky, so I prepare myself to read it many times throughout. In addition, I found myself making the second wrong assumption as well. Thinking that each line connects to each other, or there is some sort of code to figure out. I tend to overthink what the poem is really trying to illustrate. For instance, this week’s poem, “White Lies” by Natasha Trethewey was challenging to understand at the first and second attempt at reading it. This poem is rich in imagery and definition, so therefore I got a little intimidated. I also thought that some lines interconnected ideas to each other. This made paying attention to important or big details difficult and so I skipped over them.

“Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique.” Restate this in quote in your own words. When reading poems, we must embrace the words, examine each element, and decipher the author’s intentions to unpack and discover its meaning entirely. With specific reference to one of the week’s sonnets, discuss your personal experience with these two components of reading poetry. Be sure to support your response with a short quote from the poem you are discussing. In Sonnet 130, “My Mistress’s Eyes Are Nothing like the Sun” by Williams Shakespeare, the author highlights the beauty of his mistress, “If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.” Him comparing her to things to show that she is imperfect would not stop him from loving her. Not too often do we read poems as such where the lady is not elegant or beautiful; she is just an ordinary person. But that did not stop him from appreciating her for who she was and how she looked. Women are often idolized for their beauty, but we can see in this poem that there is genuine love.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” and the greeting card lyric “Why Do I Love You So Much?” convey love in similar ways but contain different literary aspects.  Both pieces convey a strong love and devotion for the subject. The poem by Browning emphasizes on the depth and intensity of love, whilst the card talks of trust and emotional support. The card refers to recollections and dreams, and Browning’s poem makes use of natural images to depict the wide nature of love. Both pieces use imagery to convey their emotions. The way the two pieces use rhyme and meter is the primary difference between them. The card isn’t bound to any particular meter or rhyme scheme, unlike Browning’s sonnet, which adopts the standard rhyme pattern. This shows the differences between a sonnet’s organized shape and a greeting card’s free-verse style. Browning’s poem has the well-known phrase “How do I love thee? “Let me count the ways,” she says, emphasizing how extensive her devotion is. The card, on the other hand, emphasizes the value of trust in a relationship by stating, “Because I trust you more than anyone in the world,” which communicates affection.

One of the three prior assumptions that I made with respect to the poem “White Lies” by Natasha Tretheway is that the poet is writing about herself or her own experiences. This assumption could potentially limit my understanding of the poem, as it is important to recognize that Tretheway uses a persona or fictional character as the speaker. In the first stanza, the speaker describes her own physical appearance: “Be careful of stones that you throw / Young girl alone in a world / Where race is not a bone in her throat / But a stick in her side.” This sets up the context for the poem and establishes the speaker as a young girl who is not white. However, in the third stanza, the speaker reveals that she has lied about her race: “I could easily tell the white folks / That I am a spic, a mick, a hunky / Jew, a nigger, or even a chink.” This reveals that the speaker is not necessarily the poet herself, but rather a fictional character or persona created by Tretheway. The young girl in the poem, who lies about her race to fit in with her white classmates, is not necessarily a reflection of Tretheway’s own experiences. By assuming that the poet is always writing about themselves or their own experiences, I might miss the broader themes and issues that the poem addresses, such as identity, race, and social conformity. 

In week 13’s reading ” Most reader’s make three false assumptions when addressing an unfamiliar poem” it hits on some valid key points about what many readers myself included tend to do when reading poems as if it’s an involuntary action. I myself am guilty of the latter I fall underneath the second category where in my heart I truly do believe that there is an undercover meaning behind and thus why it was written in such a way. In the poem “White Lies” written by Natasha Trethewey made me think of that poem in such a way and yet I failed to even realize it. Right from the opening line I thought that this short poem was supposed to have a deeper meaning behind it when it stated, ” The lies I could tell, when I was growing up light brown near white high yellow, red boned in a black place were just white lies,” In my head I thought the protagonist past had caught up with them and they would have a sort of epiphany were they would seeing the error of their ways when it came to being a liar.

1. Restate this in quote in your own words. ““Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique.” This quotes can be restated in my own words as to understand a poem you do need to have a right mindset and basic skill to understand it. 2. With specific reference to one of the week’s sonnets, discuss your personal experience with these two components of reading poetry. Be sure to support your response with a short quote from the poem you are discussing. When we read “”Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” by William Shakespeare, if you have a positive mindset and attitude you would be enjoying this line and thinking about love, In order to analyze this poem you do need to have a right mindset of understanding it and comparing it with beauty and love. Understanding a poem also involves on how you  approach the poem and some people do compare it with their past experiences, so if they had any bad experience or they lack in knowledge it would effect the understanding of the poem.

The quote “reading poetry well is part attitude and part technique” is basically stating that reading poetry well and correctly, requires both a certain mindset and a set of skills. With regard to the attitude component, it means approaching poetry with an open mind and a curious mindset, free of preconceived preconceptions about what or how it should be read. The technique part refers to specific skills that can help readers engage with poetry more effectively, such as asking questions and analyzing literary devices. Take Shakespeare’s “my mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun” for instance, A person might be more inclined to read with an open mind and a sense of curiosity rather than expecting it to follow the norms how they love sonnet. The poems use of metaphors and similes could then be examined in order to better grasp its meaning, for example “Coral is far more red than her lips’ red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.”

When I first read W.B. Yeats’ poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree,” I assumed it was about someone who wants to escape to a remote island and live a peaceful life. However, after reading Edward Hirsch’s article “How to Read a Poem,” I realized that there’s more to the poem. One of the false assumptions I made was that the poem was only about physical escape from the city. Upon closer inspection of the lines “And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow, dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings,” I realized that the speaker is seeking not just physical peace, but also emotional and spiritual peace. Another false assumption I made was that the repetition of the line “I will arise and go now” was just a way to emphasize the speaker’s desire to leave the city. However, Hirsch points out that repetition in poetry can often have a deeper meaning, such as emphasizing the speaker’s determination to make a change in their life.  

 “Most readers make three false assumptions when addressing an unfamiliar poem.” While reading “White Lies” by Natasha Tretheway, I made the first assumption- “they should understand what they encounter on the first reading, and if they don’t, that something is wrong with them or with the poem.” This is the assumption I always make while reading poems. “White Lies” was a poem that I reread to make sure I understood it. It is about someone who is of mixed-race and lives in a neighborhood of more colored people, but can pass as a “white girl”. The narrator states that they can say they live “uptown”, which they seem to think is a better area than where they really live. At first, I thought the reading was about a kid lying to fit in, but then I realized it is someone struggling with identity and lying to figure out which race is “more them”. While reading “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks, I made the second assumption-“the poem is a kind of code, that each detail corresponds to one, and only one, thing, and unless they can crack this code, they’ve missed the point.” I didn’t understand what the “code” was so I moved onto the next poem. I came back to it and realized it wasn’t so difficult to understand. I believe the poem is about a group of kids who drop out and think they are cool because they do their own thing and defy authority. I think the narrator sees their group as “thugs” because of their comment in the last line “We die soon”. It is a known topic that if you are apart of the “thug-life” you risk losing your life to “the streets”.

The poem “White Lies” by Natasha Trethewey made me fall into the first and second assumptions Edward Hirsch discusses in his article “How to Read a Poem.” From the title, I expected the poem to be about one subject, lies that were not too grandiose. But it is not solely about lying, and each detail does not correspond to only one thing, like I originally thought. It took me three times to read it to understand it is more so about the experience of a young girl of African and European descent than about small fibs. The use of color in the first stanza of the poem is very powerful. “The lies I could tell, when I was growing up light-bright, near-white, high-yellow, red-boned in a black place, were just white lies.” (Trethewey, lines 1-6) I did not immediately understand the perspective of the narrator and it took me multiple times to read to fully digest the true nature of the poem, and the use of color in the first stanza. These exercises are definitely teaching me to read poetry with a more open mind, without expectations, to completely understand the message the author is conveying.

“Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique” In my opinion, this means in order to understand a poem you have to use the correct tone. For example, when it comes to William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130: My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the Sun” I would not read it in a happy and positive tone. I read it with more of an annoyed or distasteful tone because he is analyzing his mistress and almost comparing to other women who are attractive or “appealing” to him; meanwhile his mistress is not. “I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks; And in some perfumes is there more delight, Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.” I, for one, am not big on reading poetry because I usually have to reread it multiple times in order to fully understand what I am reading. For example, William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” I had to go back for a second time, half way through after getting an idea of what I was reading. The language also plays a part in the “technique” of reading a poem. The way writers used words such as “hath” instead of has, “thou” instead of you, and abbreviations such as “grow’st”, “ow’st”, and “wand’rest”. These are all tongue twisters in my opinion and can be all be factors in your understanding of the reading.

Which of the three prior assumptions did you make with respect to one of the poems read this week? Be sure to refer to specific lines or phrasing in your discussion. The poem that stood out in this week’s reading was “White Lies” by Natasha Tretheway. At first, when reading the poem, I first thought I understood what the narrator was saying. When I read the lines, “I could easily tell the white folks that we lived uptown,” I was assuming only white folks lives uptown, and the narrator’s completion matches with the white folks who live uptown, then yes, the narrator will mix in as well. Then further in the poem, lines “I could act like my homemade dresses came straight out the window of Maison Blanche.” I paused, the narrator portraying to be some lavish person, which is a lie. Then my curiosity came out to question, is the narrator black, with a lighter complexion, but lying about their race, ethnicity, and lavish lifestyle. Then when her mother found out the lies that had been said, she was punished by “purifying and cleansing her mouth with Ivory soap.” I related to the poem “White Lies” because I did similar things as the narrator growing up, and my punishment was the same, my mom washed my mouth out with soap in front of my friends, which was embarrassing, but I learned my lesson.

Speaking about several poems of this week, I can say that “My last duchess” impressed me the most.  So firstly, I want to say that before reading the article I always thought that one reading of the poem is enough to interpret it in an appropriate way. After first reading, I caught the description of the duchess and created an image of the person she was, as far as the poem mostly consists of the description of her personality and appearance. “…too soon made glad, Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er She looked on, and her looks went everywhere”. So it was a kind and openhearted woman. So, after first reading, for me it was a kind of drama about the young and beautiful woman who passed away too early.   However, after several readings, the personality of the narrator (her husband) has started to be disclosed to us on the basis of his words. It becomes clear that he was a strict, cruel person, who was trying to restrict the life of his wife, and probably finally killed her. “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”.  And after understanding that, I thought that this cruelty and relation of the narrator to his wife could be the unique code, the answer to this poem, with the help of which we can get the message of the author. But with the help of a video lecture about this poem, I learnt that this code “doesn’t feet”, so and  searching for “one universal code” is a mistake of a reader. 

The full experience of reading a poem involves what you assume about the poem beforehand and what you do with the information you receive after reading it. These two factors stood out to me after reading “My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun” Before even reading the poem I looked at the title and seen that Shakespear was the author and automatically assumed that this sonnet will be the typical poem full of sophisticated language and beautiful compliments like “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” After reading lines like “And in some perfumes is there more delight/ Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.” I realize this poem is more satirical than romantic. I was so distracted by this that I failed to catch the fact that the poem ends with love until I reread it multiple times. The lines “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare/ As any she belied with false compare.” were assumed to be more insults after focusing too much on trying to read the poem with the intended rhythm, but now I see this was the type of compliment I initially thought the poem would be riddled with.   

I read Lu Xun’s poem “Swimming,” and my initial assumption was that the poem represented a puzzle that had to be solved. I may have focused on finding a clear interpretation of the poem and ignored the emotions and themes that the poem conveys. However, after reading Hirsch’s essay, I would realize that this assumption would limit my understanding of the poem, which Hirsch suggests should not be “solved” like a puzzle, but should be felt and experienced. In this poem, I would realize that the theme it conveys is not just the technique and skill of swimming, but a deeper sense of being and thinking about the meaning of life. I would realize that there are multiple interpretations of this poem, and that your interpretation is only one possibility.

As I read through this week’s poems, the main three assumptions referenced in “How to read a poem” popped up in my head many times. The poem that stood out for me was “White Lies” by Natasha Tretheway. The first time I read the poem I felt like it was the easiest to understand out of the list of poems assigned so far. I even went on to read the rest of the other poem thinking I fully understood it. As I finish the remaining poems I go back to “ White Lies” and realize I may have missed some details. When I read lines like “I could act/ like my homemade dresses/ came straight out the window/ of Maison Blanche.”I assumed the poem was about the narrator lying about their financial situation. After rereading the poem and analyzing lines like, “like the time a white girl said/(squeezing my hand), Now/we have three of us in this class.” I start to think maybe the narrator is black and has fair skin and lies about their ethnicity, which is much more of a punishable offense since her mother disciplines them for these lies. Then again, I can be be wrong, maybe there is no right or wrong and it was left to be interpreted by the reader however they please. 

My way of rephrasing the quote “Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique” is “Read a poem with an open mind to truly interact with it.” Before reading “How To Read a Poem” by Edward Hirsch, I always read poetry trying to find the meaning behind it immediately. I guess it is my impatient nature to want to be able to properly understand the abstraction behind more difficult poems. After reading the essay by Hirsch, I attempted to approach the sonnets in a different, less preconceived manner. The last poem “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why” was the most successful for me to read in this nonjudgmental way. I read it twice to myself and twice aloud. While reading it, I asked myself of the qualities of the poem; including what is the rhythm? How is imagery used? One of the first things I noticed was the use of imagery to create a hauntingly lonely atmosphere. For example, “Under my head till morning; but the rain Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh Upon the glass and listen for reply, And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain” (Millay, lines 3-6) Each time reading it, I absorb more of the speaker’s mood and how she feels about the lovers of the past she is referencing. It inspires me to ask, is the narrator just somber in her solitude or does she long for a new love?

“How much we receive out of a poem depends on how receptive we are to its themes and language.” While reading Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun,” I experienced two aspects of reading poetry: attitude and technique. I approached the poem with curiosity and found it interesting due to its realistic portrayal of love when he describes how he is in love with her cheeks. “I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks;’ Technically, I noticed the poem’s structure and use of language. The first line, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun,” This line sets the tone for the rest of the poem by establishing that he is going to describe her honestly and realistically. Through it, I learned to appreciate the unique way that Sonnet 130 looks at love and to understand Shakespeare’s literary techniques. I also found that reading poetry requires both an open attitude and an eye for technique. Attitude allows us to appreciate the emotional impact of the poem, while technique helps us understand how the poet achieves that impact through structure and language.

In “How to Read a Poem” by Edward Hirsch the assumptions that are made in this poem are, many readers make the false assumption that they should immediately understand everything in a poem, as seen in this quote: “Most readers make three false assumptions when addressing an unfamiliar poem. The first is assuming that they should understand everything right away.” A second assumption is that readers believe everything in a poem is meant to be taken literally, which is challenged by Hirsch in the following lines “The second is assuming that everything in a poem is literal. But some words refer to a reality outside the poem while others do not.” The third false assumption I would say is that poems have only one interpretation, as Hirsch states: “The third is assuming that poems can be reduced to a single, definitive interpretation. But poems are multivalent; they can mean many things to many different people.” Moral of the story I believe that it encourages readers to challenge these assumptions and approach poetry with an open mind.

When reading the poem “White Lies” I made one mistake which inevitably led to another. I initially believed lines 1 – 6 were some sort of code that would help me understand the poem. This blunder led to my second mistake which was trying to understand the poem on the first read through. Though I quickly realized that there was not code in the mentioning of all these colors, I should have read through the poem completely before I made any assumptions. When I read a poems, I’m looking for the deeper meaning. As I am constantly learning, sometimes the author is being literal, and there is art in that. As I continued through the poem, I realize that this is about a girl that lies to boost her social status, because she’s not proud of where she is actually from. A child telling white lies is something I can relate to, which is something I understood after correcting my aforementioned mistakes.

“Reading a poem is part your own understanding, and part understanding the format”. When I read a poem, the first thing I do is try to understand the format of the poem. I look at how it is written, if it rhymes, and how does it all come together. My personal experience is there is usually a format, this helps me understand how to read the poem. Once I understand the format then I delve into my understanding of the poem. I try to understand what the author is saying with this poem. I try place myself in the person writing the poems shoes. I also try to relate to the poem itself if possible. “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare as any belied with false compare” (Shakespeare). I used these two methods to understand this poem, and I totally relate to it.  To me this poem is about love being unconditional, not about beauty which fades. My attitude, and personal experiences help me not only understand the poem, but also personalize it.

From what I understand, reading poetry requires a proper attitude and skill. In William Shakespeare’s Eighteen Sonnets, I believe that having the proper attitude and skill is necessary to understand the beauty and message of the poems. The poet compares his beloved to a summer’s day, but he asserts that she is more beautiful and peaceful than any summer’s day. To understand and appreciate the subtleties of this comparison, the reader needs a certain attitude and skill. For example, when the poet says, “And summer’s lease hath all too short a date,” he implies that summer is short-lived and temporary. Readers must be willing to recognize and accept the transience of life and have the skills to understand the language and imagery used in the poem. In addition, the reader must have the proper attitude to appreciate the message behind the poem about the eternal nature of beauty. The following quote illustrates this point: “But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest. Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade. When in eternal lines to time thou growest:” Here, the poet implies that the beauty of his beloved will never fade or disappear because he praises her in his poem, making her immortal. To fully appreciate this idea, the reader must have an open mind and a willingness to consider the possibility of beauty’s eternity. In addition, the reader must have the skill to understand the metaphorical language that describes the beauty of the beloved as an “eternal summer” that will not fade with time.

In his article, “How to Read a Poem,” Edward Hirsch points out that most readers make three false assumptions when addressing an unfamiliar poem. These assumptions can make it difficult for readers to truly appreciate and understand the poem. The first false assumption that readers make when approaching an unfamiliar poem is that they believe that they should be able to understand it on the first read. This assumption is based on the belief that poetry is like any other form of literature, where the meaning is clear and straightforward. However, poetry is often written in a way that is intentionally ambiguous, and it requires the reader to spend time unraveling the layers of meaning. It is important for readers to approach poetry with an open mind and a willingness to spend time with the text. The second false assumption that readers make is that they believe that there is only one correct interpretation of the poem. This assumption is based on the belief that poetry is like a puzzle that has only one correct solution. However, poetry is open to interpretation, and there may be multiple ways to understand a poem. The reader’s interpretation may be influenced by their personal experiences, cultural background, and the historical context in which the poem was written. It is important for readers to recognize that their interpretation of a poem is valid, even if it differs from others.The third false assumption that readers make is that they believe that they need to understand every word and reference in the poem to appreciate it. This assumption is based on the belief that poetry is like a code that needs to be deciphered. However, poetry is not meant to be understood in a literal sense. It is often filled with metaphorical language and symbolism that […]

In “How to Read a Poem,” Edward Hirsch notes that while studying a poem, readers frequently make three incorrect assumptions. I discovered after reading William Butler Yeats’ “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” that I had assumed the poem was straightforward and lacked deeper depth. However, after reading Hirsch’s paper, I realized that this assumption was incorrect. The poem’s simple language and structure can be deceiving, since there are deeper themes at work, such as a desire for isolation and a simpler existence in nature. Overall, reading these poems has taught me the value of not forming preconceptions when approaching a new poem. I was able to better comprehend the speaker’s desire for a simpler existence in nature and the romantic theme present in the poem by paying great attention to the language and imagery used.                                                

“Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique.” 1. Reading a poem requires a certain level of openness and curiosity of what the poem actually means or stands for, and it needs to be read in a meaningful way. A poem cannot be looked at as though it is simply words put together in lines. You have to approach the poem free of judgement or indifference and ask yourself questions as you do so. 2. In my personal experience throughout this course, I have had to learn how to read the poems we’ve been given. I have learned that approaching the poem with an, “I don’t want to read this,” or an, “What is the point of this,” attitude, is not helpful at all in trying to understand what the poem means. I have also realized that it’s okay to misunderstand the poem at first read. In Sonnet 130: My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun, for example, by just reading the title, I said to myself, “well damn,” because at first it sounds a little rude (lol.) Even after reading a little further, he is describing her hair as coarse and her breath as being a little stinky, but when I read the last two lines, 12-14, “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare  As any she belied with false compare.”  He ends the poem by saying he loves her more than anything else and his love may be truer than any she’s ever experienced. I will admit it took me reading this poem twice in my head and once aloud, before I finally understood what he was saying and it’s beautiful. He loves her with her coarse hair, her dull skin and her stinky breath.

The quote “Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique.” in my own words reading a poem requires a combination of both a certain mindset or a set of skills or methods. One sonnet from this week that I can discuss is “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare. In my personal experience, reading this poem requires both a certain mindset and a set of techniques. The attitude or approach I bring to the poem involves an appreciation for the beauty of nature and the passage of time. Meanwhile, the techniques I use include paying attention to the rhyme scheme and meter, as well as analyzing the use of metaphors and other literary devices. In the opening lines of the poem, the speaker compares the subject of the poem to a “summer’s day.” This metaphor sets the tone for the rest of the poem and emphasizes the beauty and perfection of the subject. By recognizing and analyzing this metaphor, I am able to better understand the poem’s message. Furthermore, the poem’s use of iambic pentameter and rhyme scheme also contribute to its overall effect. As the speaker praises the subject’s beauty and perfection, the poem’s structure and rhythm help to reinforce these qualities. For example, in lines 5-6, the speaker says,”Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed”.  

1- “Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique. Attitude Technique is also very important for understanding, the repetition of certain words, the rhythm or even the style of language to use can be very useful for understanding and for the emotions that the writer is trying to communicate to us. 2-At the beginning of the reading I was very confused but after having read the poem again and used the literary techniques my approach totally realized all the irony present in William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 “My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing Like The Sun”. ‘‘My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips’ red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks; And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks .’’ Unlike classic poems that highlight the beauty of women using exaggerations, the author does the opposite. He compares the parts of his lover’s body to beautiful objects, but each time he does so one realizes that he is describing his lover’s body as less beautiful than the thing he is comparing it to. For example, he says his eyes aren’t as bright as the sun and his breath isn’t like perfume at all and it “reeks”.

The poem “Why Do I Love You So Much” is an expression of the speakers feelings of love and trust for someone. The poem is constructed in short lines with a tone that really reflects  the intimacy of a relationship. When talking about imagery this poem shows that clearly to convey the speakers emotions. For example the lines “to remind how to laugh” and “favorite memories”. On the other hand, “How Do I love Thee” by Browning Sonnet is a poem that expresses the speakers affection for a summer day. This poem uses figurative language and imagery to compare affection to a summer day. The line “Thou art more lovely and more temperate” compares the person to a summer day that is not too hot or too cold. In my opinion, both poems use imagery to convey emotions and ideas. As well as expressing feelings of love and admiration to an figure or object like a summer day or a person.

“Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique.” To do anything in life is part attitude and technique if you really think about. Not only is it the attitude of the person who conveys or reads in this case, but it is the attitude that the poem itself creates. This can be best described as the tone or emotion a poem instills in its audience. Just with most literary works, understanding something like a poem takes time technique. To be able to find out the true meaning of that small line that seems to be coated with details but yet so small in its bigger picture. To relate your experiences to the poem, in order to dig deeper. Many literary techniques can be utilized to break down a poem to understand it clearly. 2) After reading Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare, the quote above and those two aspects of it were truer than ever. Throughout reading the poem at first, it was confusing to understand what Shakespeare was comparing the person in the poem towards. However, after using literary techniques, I was able to break it down line by line to understand.  For example, it states, “Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, and often is his gold complexion dimmed”. This quote at first baffled me but after reading the line before and after it, I got a clue of what the poem was saying about summer in comparison to the person in the poem. Regarding attitude, I had to slow things down and match the poem’s energy to understand clearly. 

“Good poetry reading is part attitude and part technique”. I want to start by saying that during our course, I carried over a few thoughts for myself. The first, concerning the goals and objectives of art and literature in particular. I have always believed that literature should have a purpose. Now it seems to me that literature owes nothing to anyone. However, if a universal thesis arises, we can say that its goal is our emotional and mental response. All literary devices and art forms appear for this purpose. Therefore, I understand the word “attitude” as a reaction to what has been read and the following interaction. Thus, a kind of dialogue between the reader and literature takes place. However, in order to start this dialogue, we must have a number of knowledge and skills, or techniques. This is especially true of the genre of poetry, the genre of the most capacious and more complex “interlocutor” than prose. Form, rhyme, literary devices, they all build our experience and perception of poetry. Sometimes, you need to understand the background of it. Just recently, for example, I read a poem that tells about a letter that came to the mother of a soldier during World War II. The lines of the verse were composed in such a way that they appeared with a triangle. These forms of letters were sent to mothers, wives and children of soldiers from the front. People were in trepidation and horror opening such letters with the hope that their husband, son or father is still alive. The use of such a form prevails over the feelings and sensations that people experience. However, if you are not aware of this fact, it will be just a poem in the shape of a triangle. 2. After reading sonnet 18 […]

  “Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique.“ In order to understand a poem, the reader has to get into it and read it as they feel it, paying attention to the language and tone of the poem, which would be the attitude. As well as having a technique to help understand such as looking up confusing words, connecting related ideas, listening to its sound and rhythm and paying attention to repeated words and literary techniques used by the author.    In William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 “My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing Like The Sun” the author uses irony to emphasize the beauty of his mistress, by comparing her to things that show she’s not perfect but he still loves her.  “Coral is far more red than her lips’ red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head” (Shakespeare lines 2-4) It took me a while to understand because I wasn’t really getting the point, but then I realized he was comparing her and being realistic about the woman he loves, as many poems try to idealize and exaggerate woman’s beauty, he did the opposite. My attitude while reading this changed after I read it a few times, at first I was confused, then i read it as a love poem and my technique was just reading it and trying to figure out the author’s message, technique and ideas. 

The greeting card Lyrics  “Why Do I Love You So Much?” in relation to the Browning sonnet “How Do I Love Thee? both do share a theme of exploring the depth, affection and the reasons behind loving someone . The lyrics in the greeting card have simple and straightforward words that expresses the feelings of the speaker for trust and relaying on the person they love.The While in the Browning sonnet “How Do I Love Thee? it uses more complex words to express love and also uses metaphors in it.The fourteen lines of the poem are rhyming and there is a repetition of the phrase “I love thee” which shows the intensity of the love of the speaker.

When I look at the quote “Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique” (Hirsch) what comes to mind is feeling and interpretation. For example, your “attitude” could be how you feel about reading poems in general, if you do not enjoy reading poems, then it would be harder for you to interpret the poem versus someone who enjoys reading poems. Also, how you feel while reading the poem plays a part in how you interpret the poem because a happy poem could make you feel sad and your interpretation from the poem would be as such versus someone who would read it in a happier attitude. Your “technique” is how you read the poem and your ability to understand the poet’s style. In William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18″ Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” I read it as a love poem. Because I received it as a love poem, my attitude was more open and calmer, and I absorbed the words more. Shakespeare uses a lot of personification in this poem by making nature more humanistic. For example, he says “Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed” (Shakespeare lines 6-7). In this line, he is referring to the sun and when the sun sets which is what he means when he says, “his gold complexion dimmed”. In this poem, I interpreted Shakespeare saying that the woman’s beauty is as raw and bright as nature is during the summer because the heat is brutal but it’s bright. 

Lyrics of greeting cards like “Why do I love you so much” express deep love and passion for someone. The lyrics may express the feeling of being overwhelmed by love and a deep emotional connection to the person mentioned in the greeting card. The tone may be romantic, sensual, and perhaps even poetic. On the other hand, Browning’s sonnet “How Do I Love Thee? (also known as Sonnet 43) is a classic love poem that expresses deep and abiding love in a more structured and formal way. The poem, composed by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, is in iambic pentameter five-step long stanzas and follows a strict rhyming format (ABBA ABBA CDCDCD), a form typical of Petrarchan poetry. The poem reflects a deep, mature and enduring love that transcends time and circumstance. Although both the greeting card lyrics and Browning’s sonnet express love, they differ in tone, style and depth. Greeting card lyrics may be more modern, casual and direct, focusing on the emotional experience of love in the moment. Browning’s sonnet, on the other hand, is a more eloquent, formal and thoughtful expression of love, exploring the complexity and depth of emotion. It uses carefully chosen words and follows a strict poetic form in order to convey a love that endures and transcends time and space. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

The poem “How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and the greeting card  “Why Do I Love You So Much?” address love and affection in distinct ways, structurally speaking. Through repetition of vivid imagery , meter, and rhyme. Barrett Browning’s use of these poetic devices emphasizes the speaker’s deep affection for their lover, evident through the words, “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight” It is her complete arrangement of musical elements like a musical tune that further emphasizes how strongly she feels about their romantic partner.While poetic techniques are absent from the lyrics of greeting cards meant to convey love, they utilize a direct and comprehensible language. The apparent ease with which “Why Do I Love You So Much?” expresses emotions enables readers to comprehend the speaker’s emotion and recognize those tangible and supportive elements inherent to love. Indeed, the message of love is very clear, and its cornerstone attribute of simplicity is laid out plainly; “Because I trust you / more than anyone in the world / to listen, to help me through.”While both texts share the central theme of love, they approach it differently in terms of style and structure. Browning’s sonnet delves into love, showcasing a more formal and elaborate poetic style, whereas the greeting card lyrics emphasize the relatable and nurturing qualities of love through a casual and direct tone.

The two poems “How Do I Love Thee” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and the gift card “Why Do I Love You So Much”, are declarations of love written for loved ones. The sonnet has fourteen lines, while the greeting card has eleven lines. They begin with fairly simple questions that everyone has already had the opportunity to ask themselves. In Browning’s poem we have the presence of the hyperbole “I will love you better after death” which the author uses to reinforce the image of endless and limitless love while in the gift card , the author uses a list to tell us the reasons he loves his partner. The sonnet uses rhyme, formal language, and tone to emphasize what she is trying to communicate. On the other hand, the card simply states the reasons why he/she likes the person, having no tone, rhyme or anything else to grab the audience’s attention and also having a simple language and structure.

The greeting card lyrics “Why Do I Love You So Much?” and the Browning sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” share similarities and differences in their use of poetic elements. Both the card and the sonnet express deep love and admiration for the object of affection. However, while the sonnet describes the many ways in which the speaker loves their beloved, the card seems to focus more on the overwhelming intensity of the feeling of love itself. In terms of language, both the sonnet and the card use vivid and emotional words to convey their message. The sonnet uses words like “depth,” “breadth,” and “height” to express the magnitude of the speaker’s love, while the card uses phrases like “my heart beats faster” and “I am hopelessly in love with you” to convey the intensity of the feeling. Sound and lineation also play a role in both poems. The sonnet’s consistent iambic pentameter and end rhyme scheme give it a musical quality that enhances the emotional impact of the words. The card, on the other hand, uses shorter lines and irregular rhyme and meter to create a more conversational tone. For example, the card might use a line like “I can’t explain what you do to me” to convey a sense of urgency and passion, while the sonnet might use a more measured and formal tone. Imagery is another element that both poems use to express love. The sonnet uses metaphors like “sun and candlelight” and “breath and smiles” to describe the many ways in which the speaker loves their beloved. The card, meanwhile, might use imagery like “you light up my life” or “you complete me” to express the same idea. In terms of rhyme and meter, the sonnet follows a strict pattern of ABBAABBA CDCDCD, while the card’s rhyme scheme and meter are […]

The greeting card lyrics “Why Do I Love You So Much?” and the Browning sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” share similarities in their exploration of love, but also have differences in their use of poetic elements. Both pieces use imagery to convey their emotions, such as the metaphor of trust in the card and the metaphors of light and depth in the sonnet. Repetition is also utilized in both, with the refrain “Why Do I Love You So Much?” in the card and the repeated phrase “I love thee” in the sonnet. However, the sonnet is structured with a strict rhyme scheme and metrical verse, while the greeting card is more free-form in its lineation and lacks a specific meter. As the card states, “Why Do I Love You So Much? Because you’re a part / of my favorite memories / as well as my / most important dreams.” In contrast, the sonnet declares, “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight / For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.” In summary, both the greeting card and the sonnet express love through the use of poetic devices, but differ in their approaches to form and structure.

In the card greeting, I would label it as a prose versus a poem only because it uses standard sentences that don’t require critical thinking in order to understand it. Both the card and “Sonnet 43” by Elizabeth Barnett Browning reinforce the passion in the author’s love. For example, in “Sonnet 43″, Browning explains, ” I love thee with the breath/Smiles, tears, of all my life” (Browning lines 12-13). This emphasizes the passion behind the author’s love to the point where she invests her life energy into loving. Similarly, in the greeting card, it says “Because you’re a part/of my favorite memories/as well as my/most important dreams”. In both quotes, the author mentions their personal life and includes love as a part of their priorities. In “Sonnet 43”, there is more repetition with “I love thee” to compare the love, and in the greeting card the repetition is more subtle and indirect to where the author repeats the different reasons why they love.

In both “How Do I Love Thee” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and “Why Do I Love You So Much” gift card, the poems start with a question about the love they have for their significant other. After their question,both writers list their reasons but there’s a bit of a difference. In the poem by Browning, the list consists of how much love they have for their significant other using sophisticated language and hyperbole like “I shall love thee better after death” In the gift card, the list are reasons why the writer loves their partner. The writer also uses exaggeration to emphasize how much love they have saying things like “You’re a part of my favorite memories as well as my most important dreams”  Compared to the words used in “How do I Love Thee” the language used in the gift card poem is a bit more standard and easier to understand. The gift card poem also includes the opening question twice for dramatic effect. 

The sonnet “How Do I Love Thee” and the greeting card “Why do I Love you so much?” speak of love. The sonnet comprises fourteen lines, while the greeting card has eleven lines, and the shortest line, “As well as my,” doesn’t catch the reader’s attention and has four syllables. The greeting card has some repetition, such as “Why Do I Love You So Much?” used twice. The greeting card doesn’t have rhymes, but the sonnet sometimes rhymes. There are a couple of examples of imagery in “How Do I Love Thee,” such as “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height” also “With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath.” In my opinion, I think the greeting card is more prose, while the sonnet is more concise or direct than the greeting card.

The greeting card “Why do I love you so much?” and the Browning sonnet “How do I love thee” have their subject in common, but differ on their elements and literary devices. In “How do I love thee” the author emphasizes the depth of her love using many literary devices to engage and communicate her feelings to the audience, such as imagery, alliteration and simile. The sonnet uses rhymes, a formal language and tone to emphasize what she’s trying to communicate. On the other hand, the card just states the reasons why he/she loves the person, having no tone, rhyme, or any other element to catch the audience’s attention and also having simple language and structure.

while the greeting card lyrics rely on vivid imagery and metaphor to convey the intensity of the speaker’s emotions, the Browning sonnet uses more abstract language to express the speaker’s love. For example, the greeting card lyrics use phrases like “My heart beats a little faster” to evoke physical sensations associated with love, while the Browning sonnet uses phrases like “I love thee with a love I seemed to lose / With my lost saints” to express the speaker’s spiritual connection to their beloved. , while both the greeting card lyrics “Why Do I Love You So Much?” and the Browning sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” explore the theme of love, they differ in their use of poetic elements. The greeting card lyrics utilize rhyme, repetition, and vivid imagery to create a sense of passion and intensity, while the Browning sonnet uses formal structure and abstract language to convey the speaker’s love.

The greeting card lyrics,  “Why Do I Love You So Much?”  and the Browning Sonnet “How do I love thee?” share many similarities in regards to theme and the main point of the poem. Both of these poems explore the theme of bondage and love. However, the author used varying literally elements to express each poem uniquely.  The main poem where most of these elements can be found in significant amounts would be ‘How do I Love Thee”. One literary element i have identified was visual imagery, where the author uses specific language to poetry an idea or feeling to the audience. In contrast to this, “Why do I Love You So Much?” explores a similar route just without as many literary elements implemented within the poem. For instance, according to the poem, it states, ” Why Do I Love You So Much? Because you’re a part of my favorite memories as well as my most important dreams”. This quote is illustrating a clear example of the author using words and feelings in order to convey an emotion within the reader. The words such as “favorite” and “important” relays the message of the poem, which is love/affection to be taken seriously.

The greeting card lyrics “Why Do I Love You So Much?” and the Browning sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” share similarities in their expressions of deep affection and love, but also exhibit differences in their use of poetic elements. In terms of themes, both the poem and the card express deep affection and love towards someone. The Browning sonnet describes a profound love that includes all aspects of life, from the physical to the emotional, while the card speaks of trusting someone deeply and valuing their presence. In terms of poetic elements, both the poem and the card use words and imagery to convey emotions. The Browning sonnet uses vivid imagery such as “depth and breadth and height” and “ends of being and ideal grace” to express the vast and intense love of the teller. The card, on the other hand, uses simpler language, but still demonstrates the view of love through sayings such as “help me through” and “favorite memories.” Overall, the Browning sonnet leans towards a more organized expression of love, while the card has a more casual one.

The greeting card lyrics “Why Do I Love You So Much?” and the Browning sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” are both expressions of love, but they have some key differences. The Browning sonnet is a classic example of Romantic poetry, with its formal structure, iambic pentameter, and rhyming scheme. The language is elevated, using images of nature and divine love to express the depth and breadth of the speaker’s feelings. In contrast, the greeting card lyrics are more casual and conversational, using simple language and repetition to create a rhythmic effect. The main similarity between the two poems is their focus on love and the intensity of emotions that come with it. However, while the Browning sonnet describes love as all-encompassing and eternal, the greeting card lyrics focus on the partner’s support and companionship as the source of their love. Overall, both poems use language and form to convey deep emotion, but in different ways that reflect their respective contexts and purposes.  

Both of these poems are a declaration of love. The authors both describe why they love and how much they love. “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height. My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight” (Browning). This is flowery language and powerful imagery used by the author to describe her love. I can picture how she feels throughout the poem. “Why Do I Love You So Much? Because you’re a part of my favorite memories as well as my most important dreams. (Unknown). This description also makes me visualize that feeling of being had over heels in love. That special person overtakes your every thought, even your dreams. Both of these poems remind me of the cloud 9 phase where the other person can do no wrong. We all know it doesn’t last forever, but it’s great while it lasts.

I was always curious about poetry. I remember in the 5th grade, we had to write a poem and from what I remember, I worked so hard on mine and that my teacher had loved it. But, I definitely forgot how many different types of poems there are, and the week 11 activities really gave me more knowledge. I really enjoyed watching the video in Activity 3 about sonnets, as I was not familiar at all with this type of poem. One of the sonnets I really enjoyed was Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare. The way he talks about his lover’s beauty and praises her and even compares her beauty to a summer day was so beautiful and captivating. Poems can be so diverse, it can be about love, or even about heartbreak, but no matter what it’s written about, the way it’s written and captured is in a way that will grab your attention for sure.

The text on the greeting card “Why Do I Love You So Much?” and the sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” both discuss love, but are very different. The sonnet is composed of its’ standard fourteen lines with ten syllables per line. The text on the greeting card consists of eleven lines with the lines having either five or seven syllables with no specific order making it a mixed up longer haiku; with the exception of the second to last line with four syllables “as well as my.” This quote displays how the greeting card follows no classic poetic structure, and has no meter. The greeting card has some repetition, asking “Why Do I Love You So Much?” twice. The sonnet begins four lines with “I love thee…” which truly adds to how infatuated the narrator is with the person she is describing. The tone in the sonnet is so much more passionate, while the greeting card is more tender. The sonnet rhymes at times, and the greeting card does not rhyme at all. I really enjoy this part of the sonnet that rhymes and contains imagery that captures the strong feelings of the protagonist: “My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace I love thee to the level of every day’s Most quiet need by sun and candlelight I love thee freely, as men strive for right” (Browning lines 3-7)

I would describe greeting card lyrics “Why do I love you so much?” as more lineation as opposed to “How do I love Thee” which was more imagery for me. The lines I “Why do I love you so much?”  had a break at the end of each line which got me into a flow reading this poem almost immediately. How do I love thee had a lot of imagery in the poem from parts talking about their smiles, and tears. To a moment where it feels like their soul can reach. It paints a picture for me in my head going through emotions making me feel connected throughout the poem.  Although I do like the sound of “Why do I love you so much?” a bit more the typical format worked as it felt like a rhyme a little bit. I read each line of the poem as if there was a beat attached to it.

The greeting card lyrics “Why Do I Love You So Much?” and the Browning sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” are both expressions of love and affection, however there are differences between them. In her sonnet, Browning uses figurative and rhetorical devices to create imagery: Personification: “My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight,” “I love thee to the level of every day’s Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.” Simile: “I love thee freely, as men strive for right.” Hyperbole: “I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life Browning uses end-rhyme in her lines: height (3), sight (4), candle-light (6), right (7), use (9), lose (11), choose (13) breath (12), death (14) ways (1), day’s (5), praise (8) Browning’s use of anaphora adds emphasis and rhythm by beginning multiple lines with “I love thee…” In reference to the greeting card, the lines are beautiful but do not create imagery, they simply state the reasons why love is being expressed. There isn’t much of a rhythm other than “Why Do I Love You So Much?” being stated twice. I would describe the greeting card as prose with line breaks and pretty words, where the sonnet is poetry with rhyme and rhythm.

The greeting card lyrics “Why Do I Love You So Much?” and the Browning sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” share some similarities in their themes of love and affection, but they differ in their poetic elements. The Browning sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” is a love poem that expresses the speaker’s love for her partner. The poem uses various poetic elements such as imagery, rhyme, meter, and sound to convey the speaker’s feelings of love. For example, the poem uses imagery to describe how much the speaker loves her partner by saying “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach”. The poem also uses rhyme and meter to create a musical quality that emphasizes the speaker’s love for her partner. On the other hand, the greeting card lyrics “Why Do I Love You So Much?” express a similar sentiment of love but do not use as many poetic elements as Browning’s sonnet. The lyrics use simple language to convey the speaker’s feelings of love for their partner.

Both poems “Why Do I Love You So Much?” and “How Do I love Thee?” both express that true love is an all-consuming passion. One is coming more direct to someone and the other poem is just her love for the things going on around her. In text poem “Why Do I Love You So Much?” it says, “Because I trust you more than anyone in the world to listen, to help me through to remind me how to laugh when times are trying”. This greeting card represents the love someone has for somebody else and the way of telling this person is in a greeting card. The other poem “How Do I love Thee?” It says, “I love thee freely, as men strive for right. I love you thee with the purely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with the passion put to use In my old grief, and with my childhood faith”. Her love for the outside world helps cope with her old grief that sometimes gets in her head at times. Some people express there love in different ways but it’s used the same way.

Both the Browning sonnet “How Do I Love Thee” and the greeting card lyric “Why Do I Love You So Much?” communicate fervent love and devotion, yet they utilize different literary devices. In order to express the speaker’s love, the Browning sonnet adheres to a rigid structure and utilizes formal tone. With words like “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach,” the imagery is mostly metaphorical and visual. The rhyme scheme is also formal, with an ABBA ABBA CDC DCD pattern. In contrast, the words on greeting cards convey affection through cherished memories and experiences by using a conversational tone, particular imagery, and repetition. The phrase “Why Do I Love You So Much?” appears at the start and conclusion of each verse, utilizing repetition in the poem. Less allegorical and more concrete, the imagery refers to familiar situations and recollections, as in the line “to remind me how to laugh / when times are trying”. Despite variances in literary aspects, both pieces portray the overpowering sense of love and the desire to share that love with someone else. The sonnet describes the depth of the speaker’s love using formal language and metaphorical imagery, but the greeting card lyrics communicate love via shared experiences using a conversational tone and repetition.

Comparing these two poems, it can be defined that they are quite different in many ways: Form: “How Do I Love Thee?” includes 14 lines. It is a classical sonnet size, while the card has only 13. Also, according to the video lecture, the shortest lines in the poem should be important and consist of poetry. On the postcard, the shortest line is the following: “as well as my”, which doesn’t make sense, because the shortest line will definitely catch our attention. Rhyme: Elizabeth Barrett Browning uses the abba (ways, height, sight, grace) abba (day’s, candle-light, right, praise) cdcdcd (use, faith, to lose, breath, choose, death) rhyme form. It’s impossible to define the rhyme scheme on this postcard as there are no rhymes there at all. Imagery: there are many examples of imagery in “How Do I Love Thee”, such as “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height”, “With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath”, “I love thee to the level of every day’s”. Also, the author uses other literary devices. Alliteration: “I love thee with the breath”,simile: “I love thee freely, as men strive for right”, hyperbole “I shall but love thee better after death” (here I’m not sure, because maybe she is just  very religious kind of person and has a strong believe the life after death), repetition: “I love thee, I hove thee…”. All these devices create the imagery and make the reader feel more active. Speaking about the card: the author just declares the fact why he loves the person he/she addresses these lines, so they don’t create an imagery effect. There is only one case of repetition here: “Why do I love you so much?”. The subject of these two works is the same. This subject is love. However, […]

The title and primary source I am writing about is ” Salvation “by Langston Huges.   Langston was under pressure from his church rather than being given the chance to accept, God willing.  Gale Contemporary Heroes and Heroines: Langston Hughes biography   The main idea of the secondary source is: These short stories provided Hughes with another opportunity to showcase the problems facing African Americans  Penn State University Press: The Embodied Freedom of Langston Hughes  The secondary source supports my thesis because Hughes described the full range of black experiences–the beautiful and the ugly, the good and the bad–doing so in a way that was not only incredibly personal but also communal, universal even, in the most fundamental sense. 

The literary work I am focusing on for my research essay is “Araby” by James Joyce. Thesis statement: The use of vivid imagery in James Joyce’s “Araby” effectively shows the contrast between the protagonist’s idealistic perspective of the world and the harsh realities he faces, contributing to the story’s exploration of themes such as disillusionment, loss of innocence. Specific kinds of secondary source information that could support this thesis include critical analyses of “Araby” that focus on its use of imagery, symbolism, and themes such as disillusionment and loss of innocence. The BMCC databases I have explored to date include JSTOR, From JSTOR, I found several scholarly articles that discuss the use of imagery and symbolism in “Araby” .

For my research essay, I will be using “Salvation”  by Langston Hughes The short story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes explores the themes of faith, spirituality, and the pressures and consequences of religious belief through the experience of a young boy who attends a revival at his aunt’s church. The secondary source information  I will be using to support my thesis will be a biographical/informational article. The database I’ve used so far is JSTOR. You can discover a wide selection of biographical and informational articles on a variety of subjects thanks to JSTOR’s access to thousands of scholarly journals, books, and other resources.    

1. Identify the author and the literary work you are focusing on for your research essay.      The short story I will use for my research paper is “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. 2.   Please share the actual word-for-word thesis statement of your research essay in your post.  In “ Salvation” a short story by Langston Hughes is about an innocent child who discovers information in his faith that affects his perspective on it. 3. Explain what specific kind of secondary source information you feel will support your thesis. The secondary source I will be using is “Langston’s Salvation: American Religion and the Bard of Harlem” by Wallace D. Best. 4. Identify the BMCC databases you have explored to date and what the results have been. I found multiple articles and speeches

Identify the author and literary work you are focusing on for your research essay, for my essay I will use Langston Hughes short story “Salvation”, the literary work i will be focusing on is the author use of irony flashbacks and imagery to help understand his story. Please share the verbatim thesis statement of your research essay in your post. In this story the author talks about religious expectations and failing to meet them because of misunderstanding his aunts wishes and peer pressure.  “Langston feels he must wait for Jesus to come save him because of what his aunts told him and from the pressure of the church” The author autobiography will help me support my thesis on the story and will help me understand the literary elements inside the short story. Identify the BMCC databases you have explored to date and what the results have been.  I used the BMCC database to find articles and stories to help my essay the results have been good.  

For my research essay I’ll be using the story of “Araby” by James Joyce My thesis word for word is: “In this story, the author shows us the harshness of disillusionment through the main character and his experience. He lives in a fantasy and romanticizes every action of the girl he likes, which eventually leads to disillusionment” To support my thesis I haven’t found any article yet but I think I will be using a literary critique because it would be helpful to read another person’s point of view or interpretation of the story. I’ve been exploring the BMCC library and Gale in Context to find an article that would help me. 

The author and literary work that I am focusing on for my research essay is Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson.” My thesis statement is: In “The Lesson,” Bambara uses the setting of a toy store in Manhattan to illustrate the economic and social inequality between the privileged and marginalized characters, highlighting the barriers to social mobility that exist for lower-class Black individuals in America and emphasizing the power of consumerism in perpetuating inequality and the myth of the American Dream. To support my thesis, I plan to use secondary sources that analyze the themes of economic and social inequality, racism, and consumerism in Bambara’s work. I am also interested in exploring the historical context of the story, particularly the impact of the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Power Movement on the experiences of lower-class Black individuals in America during the 1960s. I have explored the BMCC databases JSTOR and Project MUSE to date and have found several articles that analyze the themes of economic and social inequality in Bambara’s work. One article in particular, “Toni Cade Bambara’s Use of African American Vernacular English in “The Lesson”” by Valerie Babb, analyzes Bambara’s use of language in the story to convey the experiences of lower-class Black individuals. This article will be particularly useful in supporting my analysis of the language Bambara uses in “The Lesson” to highlight the stark contrast between the privileged and the marginalized characters.  

The author and the literary work I am focusing on for my research essay will be “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. And my actual word-for-word thesis statement of my research essay is “In “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, the community makes Hughes feel that Jesus must come to save him for him to receive salvation. However, this does not happen, and as a result, Hughes comes to the disappointing understanding that there is a difference between what he feels and what other people expect him to feel.” I think I will be using literary critique as a secondary source of information. I feel like by adding the right idea of salvation will help support my thesis. The BMCC databases I have explored to date are “HOW ARE PEOPLE SAVED? THE MAJOR VIEWS OF SALVATION WITH A FOCUS ON WESLEYAN PERSPECTIVES AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS” by Christopher T. Bounds. I might have to change a lot of these information for my final paper. 

The author and literary work I am focusing on for my literary essay is “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara. My thesis statement of my literary essay is: “Through the use of various literary devices and characterizations, Toni Cade Bambara’s ‘The Lesson’ highlights the themes of social and economic inequality, the importance of education, and the transformative power of knowledge.” To support my thesis,  I feel that using secondary sources that analyze the symbolism and characterization in “The Lesson” and the historical and social context of the story would be helpful. The BMCC databases I have explored to date include JSTOR and Gale Literature Criticism. I found several articles and essays analyzing “The Lesson” in these databases, but I chose “Economic Inequality and Social Justice in Toni Cade Bambara’s ‘The Lesson'” by Linda Sue Grimes and “Bambara’s the Lesson” by Jerome Cartwright. These sources provided valuable insights into the themes and literary techniques used in the story, as well as the historical and social context in which it was written.

Identify the author and literary work you are focusing on for your research essay For my research essay, I will use “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. Please share the verbatim thesis statement of your research essay in your post. In this story, the author talks about the high expectations that come with religion and the growing disappointment caused by not meeting them. 3.Explain what specific type of secondary source information you think will support your thesis. I think the secondary sources that will help support my thesis are the author’s biography which will help me for a better understanding of the story and I will use a literary review for another opinion on the beliefs of the author. Identify the BMCC databases you have explored to date and what the results have been.  I used JSTOR and BMCC databases to find secondary sources. And to be honest so far JSTOR has been more useful for my assignment. I found some articles that will help to better understand the author and his experiences.

My Research essay will be on Langston Hughes’ “Salvation”. The story focuses on faith and the power people’s words/actions have on others. My thesis will be “Through an analysis of his personal experience, Langston Hughes explores the themes of faith, disillusionment, and the power of false narratives in Christianity.” I will be using literary critiques and biographies to support my thesis. Literary critiques will give me another opinion on the author’s beliefs/experiences in faith. Biographies about the author will help me better understand the author and his work. JSTOR and BMCC databases to find secondary sources. I have searched both and, so far, JSTOR has been more beneficial to me/for my work. I have found a few articles that will help in better understanding the author and his experiences.

1. Identify the author and the literary work you are focusing on for your research essay. I am focusing on the literacy work “The Most Handsome Drowned Man in the World” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez for my research essay. 2. Please share the actual word-for-word thesis statement of your research essay in your post. . The drowned man’s physical appearance throughout the story which leads the people from the village to question his life and create different stories about his character.The story they create convey deeper themes of life, death, beauty, and acceptance. 3. Explain what specific kind of secondary source information you feel will support your thesis. I think that the secondary sources that will help support my thesis is the Authors Biography because the author was also grew up in a small town in Columbia, and had always been famous for his imagination and story telling abilities which I do think might have reflected in this reading.Another source that i can possibly use is by looking for articles that would discuss the villagers reaction to the drowned mans beauty and how that would give me a better understanding of the meaning of the story. 4. Identify the BMCC databases you have explored to date and what the results have been I have used the Jstore data base and found a biography on Gabriel Garcia Marquez,I also used the Academic Search complete database and found a really good article on Gabriel Garcia Marquez and his point of view on telling stories and his dreams.

For the most recent class we were task to write our first draft. The story I chose to use as inspiration was “The Lesson” by Toni cade Bambara. The story perfectly hit on many points that I use even in my life and was the perfect choice for ne to write about. The thesis of my story was Life is situational if you want to change your situation you have to go beyond your imagination to achieve your goals nothing is given but all is earned. A secondary source I used to help support my thesis was a literary critique. The literary critique I used to help support my thesis was from JSTOR and it gave a lot of information about Toni Cade Bambara and her upbringing as a Harlem born author who chose to embrace the language of her culture and community. She used that to convey a strong message of empowerment in her story as if she had something to prove.

My essay is centered around “The Lesson” By Toni Cade Bambara.  My Thesis: Cade uses the theme of Inequality to showcase the unique reactions of African American children when confronted by the harsh reality of economic disparities in America. I feel like a Literary critique would be the best secondary source to support my thesis. I’ve looked through JSTOR, Short Story Criticism online, and Gale Literary Resource Center which are all found in the English and Literary section of the BMCC library database. I avoided essays that delve too deep into stories that are not included in my essay but most of the listed sources provide similar bodies of work. I found Gale Literary Resource Center to be most helpful as I found a Biography/Literary critique that I’m satisfied with. It includes information about the life of the author and what inspired Bambara to write stories about the struggles African Americans go through, usually in their adolescence. Along with the life story the writer includes critiques of Toni Cade Bambara’s stories. 

1. Identify the author and the literary work you are focusing on for your research essay. For my research essay, I will be focusing on “The Most Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 2. Please share the actual word-for-word thesis statement of your research essay in your post. “The short story “The Most Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez explores themes of mystery, reflection and magical realism by engulfing the readers in a concept so strange it can only be described as a dream.” 3. Explain what specific kind of secondary source information you feel will support your thesis. I will be using a literary critique written by Rena Korb on “The Most Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” for the secondary source information. This will support my thesis because she discusses García Márquez’s use of magic realism. 4. Identify the BMCC databases you have explored to date and what the results have been. I have explored OneSearch and Gale Literary Sources. OneSearch did not provide any articles in specific reference to this literary work but Gale Literary Sources proved to be more helpful in finding the specific critique I was looking for.    

The short story I will be using is “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara. 2. The children and parents all laugh at Miss Moore, but she is actually an important character in the story and provides these children with knowledge they are not getting in the community where they live. 3. The secondary source that I found to be help is an article titled “Toni Cade Bambara’s Use of African American Vernacular English The Lesson” by Janet Ruth Heller. This article will help me back up my information as Vernacular English is the form of Black speech that distinguishes itself from standard English with its unique grammatical structure, pronunciation, and vocabulary. 4. In the BMCC databases I found many different articles, books, short stories and much more about anything you want to find. They have great examples to relate too and even have a section where you can pick the certain class to help you even better.

Identify the author and the literary work you are focusing on for your research essay. Please share the actual word-for-word thesis statement of your research essay in your post. Explain what specific kind of secondary source information you feel will support your thesis. Identify the BMCC databases you have explored to date and what the results have been MY RESPONCES: The literary work I will be focusing on is “Salvation “by Langston Hughes. Exact Thesis: Through character analysis, the author paints a picture of the young boy to be innocent and trusting; his naiveness is expressed more perceptibly and clearly through his experiences. A specific kind of secondary information I have found and can use is a biography on the author, Langston Hughes. Digging deeper into the life of this American Poet will help me support my thesis is numerous ways. In regard to BMCC databases, I have so far explored the direct link of activity 6, week 3. I also have explored the BMCC literature resource center. However, I still have a little more exploring to do to see what the best source is to use for my research essay.

Identify the author and the literary work you are focusing on for your research essay. “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World,” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Please share the actual word-for-word thesis statement of your research essay in your post. “The story illustrated the power of imagination and creativity as the villagers create a life story for a dead man they never knew.” Explain what specific kind of secondary source information you feel will support your thesis. The literary critique is the secondary source of information that will support my thesis. Identify the BMCC databases you have explored to date and what the results have been. I’ve explored the JSTOR database, short story criticism Online, and the direct link posted under our week two lesson, which we covered on “The Handsomest Drowned Man” that had the PDF of the literary critique and the Biography of Gabriel Garcia Marques. I’m still researching and haven’t decided what’s the best fit.

For my research essay, I will be focusing on Toni Cade Bambara, and “The Lesson”. My thesis word for word is: The narrator’s change in voice from the beginning of the story and towards the end demonstrates her determination to not be defined by her childhood. For the secondary source information, I decided to use a literary critique written by Rena Korb in reference to “The Lesson”. The reason why I chose this is because she gives an in-depth analysis of the characters in the story as well as background information on the time period and how it connects to the development of the characters. This can support my thesis because I am focusing on the development of Sylvia based on her environment. So far, I’ve looked into the BMCC Literature Resource Center, and I used the direct link posted under Week 4 when we covered “The Lesson” that had the PDF of the literary critique.

For my research essay I will be using “Araby” by James Joyce. “The use of symbolism and imagery are used to communicate a message about the limitations of romantic idealism and the harsh realities of adulthood.” I have found a few literary articles that can support my thesis. But settled on one that compares a rewrite of my primary source from a different point of view. I used the Gale Literature Resource Center database and I was able to find few articles on “Araby” and other perspectives of it.

For my research essay I will be using “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. “This story also deals with the influence of identity, authenticity, and social forces on individual choices. Provides a powerful and moving critique of how religion shapes personal identity and community expectations. I have found an informational article to support my thesis. I used the JSTOR database to Search related materials.

1. Identify the author and the literary work you are focusing on for your research essay. 2. Please share the actual word-for-word thesis statement of your research essay in your post. 3. Explain what specific kind of secondary source information you feel will support your thesis. 4. Identify the BMCC databases you have explored to date and what the results have been.   My research essay will be focused on Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson”, with my thesis sentence being the following: “First impressions are always skin deep”. In all honesty, I haven’t explored many of the BMCC databases. There is so many sources and information, it can be a tad overwhelming. I have dipped into JSTOR and found this source fairly easy to navigate and find specific information without providing many specific details. It provides me the opportunity to be exposed to works that I weren’t looking for or even thought of. I believe reading excerpts from or books that interpret this piece, or writing that is a criticism of literature would be supportive in my research. Reviewing others point of view(s) may bring a fresh take on my research, allowing me to go deeper in gathering supportive information of my thesis.  

The literary work I am focusing on for my research essay is “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” by Gabriel García Márquez. My thesis statement is “Women are typically characterized as more empathetic and nurturing, and men typically as more stoic, such as in ‘The Handsomest Drowned Man.’” I think the type of secondary source that will best support my thesis is an article on gender stereotypes. So far, I have found an article called “Content Analysis and Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Books” on the JSTOR database which seems perfect for my essay.

For my research essay I will be using “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” By Flannery O’Connor “Violence is a very horrible thing. That’s what you’re learning from this story, if you didn’t already know it.” I have done some research and have found some biographies to support my thesis. The databases I used was Literature Resource Center. It helped me with providing access to biographical information, bibliographies, and critical analysis of authors and their literary works.  

   For my research paper, I’ve decided to do“The magdalen path awakens the power of your feminine soul” – by Clair sierra and the quote I chose was  ‘Are there places in your own life where you feel particularly called — situations or issues that grab your attention? Are you able to speak up with care, concern, and compassion? Often we keep these awarenesses hidden for fear of upsetting the status quo, wanting to keep the peace, etc. Those days need to be over, as we are reaching crises of epic proportions in almost all areas of society”    Clair Sierra: Stepping into Feminine Leadership The main idea of “stepping into feminine leadership” is about learning and stepping into the life of being a feminist and the steps it takes to become one. This chapter mentions the issues that also occur when being a feminist. For example “As women, we thrive in working together, yet we often feel isolated. We don’t have to do it alone anymore. What can you do to get support? Can you get your community involved with you?” It talks about how it sometimes feels like we are on our own in some situations and realize that we are not alone and that many people experience the same thing. Clair Sierra wrote ‘The Magdalene path” Because she wanted to express her passion for feminism and how even when it can be overpowering and scary there is always a way to feel passionate and creative when being a feminist. It also mentions that the stress they feel is being overpowered by the masculine mindset in this world and what can help to make it better. She also helps women in a way with art to help with dealing with these types of things. She also has an office […]