After the past 2 weeks, I can definitely without a doubt say that my ability to read poetry has greatly improved. I know I still have a very long way to go due to the fact that I haven’t read poetry in so long and it hasn’t been much to read, but it’s still very refreshing to read poetry again. I rarely if ever will read poetry on my own time so doing it for class re introduces it. I still have to get better at identifying everything from a poem and getting the complete message from the poem, I realize that a poem can even be somewhat enjoyable to read. A very important habit I need to break when reading a poem is reading it very quickly because I have a tendency to quickly skim through everything that I read, but with poetry every stanza is important because missing one thing can completely throw just about anyone off.
Daily Archives: March 10, 2024
In the story Oedipus the King, the people in the story went through a plague and tried to find a solution . Like in lines 68-82 “I pity you, children. You have come full of longing, but I have known the story before you told it only too well. I know you are all sick, yet there is not one of you, sick though you are, that is as sick as myself. Your several sorrows each have single scope and touch but one of you. My spirit groans for city and myself and you at once. You have not roused me like a man from sleep; know that I have given many tears to this, gone many ways wandering in thoughts, but as I thought I found only one remedy and that I took. I sent Menoeceus’ son Creon, Jocasta’s brother, to Apollo, to his Pythian temple,* that he might learn there by what act or word I could save this city. This quote relates to Covid 19 and what was going on with the Americans because when Covid 19 started they quickly started looking for a solution to solve the problem for the sickness/disease that were killing people off . It caused great panic and that’s why guidelines had to be followed to prevent the spread .
I would say my ability to read poetry is still average, but I have the skills I need to improve my reading comprehension as well as my ability to understand a poem on a deeper level. For example, re-reading a poem a few times to be able to grasp every little detail of a poem, because they are short due to poems being so short a lot of details get glanced over but after re-reading a few times you can catch new details you’ve missed, and begin to understand the poets meaning of a poem clearer. This was one of my weaknesses in poems because I would skim quickly through them and at the end I would be confused and completely lost but if I practice re-reading and breaking down the poems I believe I would begin understanding poems better than before, for example, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost where I was completely confused but after the class went on I began to understand that the person literally stopped to take in the sights of the forest but he still has a long way to go to reach his destination.
in my opinion, my ability to read poetry has improved a bit these past two weeks. I feel this way because it’s been a while since I’ve sat down and read poems so it took some time for me to get used to decoding the meanings of poems. I felt this way especially when we were reading Stopping by Woods on a snowy evening by Robert Frost. although I feel like I’ve learned somethings from poetry this week I can still improve by keeping up with reading poetry in general to maintain that kind of ability to read.
In the last two weeks my ability to read English poetry has improved, but there still plenty to learn . Poetry helped me expand my vocabulary and understand literature better. I find difficult challenges in grasping metaphors and deeper meanings because of the vocabulary and used and way of using it in poetry. The language can be tough and I need more practice to fully understand what the poet is trying to say. I’m also working on recognizing poetic devices like rhyme and imagery. I plan to keep reading and studying poetry to get better in general. I know practice is crucial with continued practice I believe I can learn more understanding and appreciation of English poetry. As an English learner I’m always learning something new about the language and literature, that’s why I think that I had been stock because of not practice my in English in a more social environment do to almost all the people I know speak Spanish.
When COVID was announced, the American population started to panic and everyone was in quarantine. I also witnessed that during COVID there was a shortage of toilet paper and hand sanitizer. The same thing happens in “Oedipus the King”, the people were worried about the virus. In contrast people were blaming China for the cause of COVID, just like Oedipus blames Tiresias and Creon for making plans without his consent. The people of Thebes saw the virus as a curse while we saw this as a virus. COVID has affected everyone as we were in quarantine for a while. People were questioning when the virus will be over and when will everything go back to the way they were. COVID was one of the big things that has happened to all of us. Once we were all out of quarantine after a while, things slowly start going back to normal again.
During covid 19 everyone was on quarantine. i remember when nobody was allowed to go outside and everyone was fighting to get the essentials for their homes. i also remember when there was a lot of fear and panic during those times. just like in the story Oedipus the king. people were scare because of The outbreak of the plague instills. Chaos, among the people of Thebes causing distress. The Priest paints a picture of the city’s condition lamenting, “Thebes is, in decline. A curse befalls our crops and fertile lands; livestock fall ill and perish while women face death during childbirth with newborns failing to survive. The relentless fever brought by the plague ravages our city. Then during the pandemic people feared of catching covid and it spreading around the world. another similarity the American people had with the plague was the denial and blame. Oedipus and others initially deny their roles or knowledge in the curse afflicting Thebes. Oedipus even accuses Tiresias and Creon of conspiring against him. while americans and some other countries blamed China f or the start and spread of covid.
During the times and height of covid everyone was reasonably scared and confused. What I personally saw was people not knowing what exactly this virus was and how to properly protect themself from it whilst mourning their loved ones who unfortunately were victims of the virus. Comparing this the play “Oedipus the King” like when the people in the story were also scared and confused. Not knowing what this plague was and not understanding the deaths trying to put some reasoning behind it. “I know you are all sick, yet there is not one of you, sick though you are, 70 that is as sick as myself. “
