poetry response #9

Holly Patton

Mrs. Jernigan

English IV-AP

28 March 2011

“To The Indifferent Women”

Charlotte Anna Perkins Gilman

            To be perfectly informal and for lack of better word choice, Gilman’s sestina pissed me off (sorry Mrs. Jernigan). While her structure is impeccable, I can only think “So what?” as her demeaning message screams at me from the page. She accuses mothers of “avoid[ing] the care/ And toil for human progress, human peace,…[and] love.” She calls their homes a “little pool of undeveloped love.” Who does she think raises the women and men that change the world, that spread “strong and fruitful love”? Indeed some would not credit their mothers if their upbringing was unpleasant. But are there not millions of mothers in the world shut in their houses to care for the children that they love dearly? Does she think that they are always appreciative and grateful to be cooped up in their, as Gilman so sardonically states, “little homes”? Ask any mother and she will tell you that raising a child is no walk in the park. Yet they do it anyway because of the amount of love for people they want to send into the world. This makes Gilman’s seemingly contradictory.

            To be fair to Gilman, I know her desire for equality is legitimate and feminism was and remains to be a predominant topic in society. However she fuses the role of men and the role of women, wishing to erase gender boundaries, to join “woman’s life…with man’s to care for the world.” I am not saying that discrimination against women is acceptable (in fact, it’s disgraceful). But for Gilman to vehemently attack the role of a mother as useless and futile job shows a naïve perspective of life that could go back to an unfortunate upbringing or something of that sort. 

poetry response #8

Holly Patton

Mrs. Jernigan

English AP-IV

21 March 2011

“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”

Dylan Thomas

            In this piece, poet Dylan Thomas embraces his own “carpe diem” philosophy by characterizing the meeting with death oxymoronically as going “gentle into that good night.” He urges his readers to not accept death without a fight, to live life’s fullest potential, to “rage…against the dying of the light.” Thomas laments those who believe they have discovered life’s true meaning only to find out in the end that their “frail deeds” are futile whether they are good or wise. The shift in Thomas’s speech occurs in the last stanza when he turns from speaking about the general public to a direct address to his father. His contradictory statement of “Curse, bless me” displays the desperation in his pleading. He sees death as a worthy opponent, one that will one day defeat him—but not without a fight.

            I first encountered this poem in the eighth grade in English class. I did not know exactly what to make of it, and I confess that unsurety still prevails. Thomas’s abstract view of death strikes me because of lyrical flow, passionate and pleading poeticism. Yet his perception of death is one that I have trouble grasping. I know and believe that death is a tragedy that every human experiences, but I have not had anyone truly close to me pass away. Some seem ready to go on, and it’s too early for many others.  His passion sparks inspiration in me that makes me want to agree with all of his words; but my verdict of agreement or disagreement has not yet been decided.

Poetry Response #7

Holly Patton

AP English-IV

Mrs. Jernigan

8 March 2011

“My Hometown”

Donal Heffernan

            Poet Donal Heffernan chooses a topic dear to many hearts, poets and non-poets alike. A hometown is a place that shapes character, forms memories, provides relationships. Heffernan’s admiration for his own hometown hides in his straightforward description of the town’s characteristics. Although it sounds quaint and quiet with its “two stories, as flat as the surrounding prairie,” Heffernan emphasizes its bravery when it “outlasted the fields of the Depression, and/ Bravely swam against the raging Omaha Creek floods.” With a slightly comical tone, Heffernan adds that this beloved hometown provided places to “launch [its] next generation.” His recollection of these memories display his fondness for his town, Homer, and his jocularly nostalgic approach to this sentimental subject shows his ability to reminisce on his past lightheartedly.

            In my own experience, I have found many people that I meet to be eager to talk about their hometown and their past. Speaking of such familiarity seems comforting to them. A hometown can be a defining structure of childhood, because it influences your view of the world as a whole. Children that grow up in Gatlinburg have a completely different perspective than those that grow up in New York City. For some, home evokes discomfort and unpleasant memories; but for others, like Heffernan and myself, it evokes a sense of safety and happiness. 

poetry response #6

Holly Patton

Mrs. Jernigan

English IV-AP

28 February 2011

“The Ruined Maid”

Thomas Hardy

            In this rhythmic sonnet, author and poet Thomas Hardy breaks from the traditional fourteen-line format, and he takes on the narrative from the perspective of a girl. His only two subjects in this work are both female, and his tone and diction ring strongly of that of our own Tess of the d’Ubervilles. This paradoxical narrative portrays a girl marveling at the grandeur of a former servant who is taken aback when this prosperous woman replies, “O didn’t you know I’d been ruined?” She further emphasizes her misfortunes by returning all of her compliments with repetitions of her “ruined” state. His AABB rhyme scheme adds to the pleasure of reading this poem because of its steady flow. It allows the awestruck girl to express all of her jealousies in the first three lines and the ruined maid to give a sad reply in the fourth (except in the sixth stanza, where the Maid has the final word).

            Hardy’s thematic approach to this poem clearly displays his opinions on the benefits of wealth. Many long and hope for it, dreaming of escaping their “hag-ridden dream” and faces “blue and bleak.” Yet this woman, who has risen from the ashes to attain a high status, shuts down all of this girl’s praise with the assurance of her ruined nature. Wealth, standing alone, does not make one happy or content. In accordance with Hardy’s belief, it can produce quite the opposite result. One can be bedecked in the latest fashions, poised and refined, living in lavish lifestyles, and yet be completely discontent with themselves. 

poetry response #5

Holly Patton

English IV-AP

Mrs. Jernigan

23 February 2011

“The White City”

Claude McKay

            Poet McKay clearly has harbored a disgruntled dislike for this “white city” (which, if I were to take a guess, is a metonymical representation of the white race) deep within his soul for most of his life. His paradoxical lines express the common view that this city is “mighty” yet his hatred for it is a “dark Passion that fills [his] every mood/ And makes [his] heaven in the white world’s hell.” McKay holds true to the structure of the traditional, fourteen-line sonnet, but he manages to relay his deep-seeded loathing in the correct format without sounding stifled or hurried. The structure assists McKay in that his words do not sound scathing or overly vehement. On the contrary, the specific format contributes to the poem’s genuine intensity.

            McKay sounds as if he has been slighted by this “white city” for the span of his life. In researching his life, he spent  a majority of his life in Harlem at the peak of  racist movements. He hated every aspect of it, yet his first line in this poem shows almost passive nature to its treachery: “I will not toy with it nor bend an inch.” Is he scared? Does he see it as a futile attempt? These questions are left unanswered. What is not unanswered is his unadulterated hatred for the society he sees prospering around him. 

poetry response #4

Holly Patton

Mrs. Jernigan

English AP-IV

15 February 2011

“Sonnet 116”

William Shakespeare

            Out of Shakespeare’s numerous sonnets, his 116^th abounds in raw honesty and a pure outlook on love. It looks past any perspective that love is purely enchanting. It addresses that love contains “impediments” and that it “looks on tempests.” Shakespeare and countless others know this all too well. Lack of trouble in a relationship or marriage does not determine or define true love; rather it is love triumphing over any sort of shortcoming that portrays its purity. As Shakespeare expresses, “Love is not love/ Which alters when it alteration finds…it is an ever-fixed mark…and is never shaken.” Shakespeare must have been privy to such a feeling of love; either that or he was a victim of love that indeed alter when it found alterations. Whichever scenario Shakespeare used as a lens for this beautiful sonnet, his words boast in earnestness and convey emotions from the deepest parts of one’s soul.

            While he took some liberty in expressing suppressed emotions of the human soul, Shakespeare did not break the format of the traditional Elizabethan sonnet. Even in keeping the ten beats per line, his words do not sound rushed or stretched merely to keep the correct format. He manages to let meaning overflow in structured walls, something with which many poets seem to have trouble. While his depth fills every line, the universal statement (the last two lines) truly convey his adamant belief in this depiction of love: “If this be error and upon me proved,/ I never writ, nor no man ever loved.” He stakes his entire reputation on his belief, almost daring anyone to contradict him.

poetry response #3

Holly Patton

Mrs. Jernigan

AP English IV

7 February 2011

“The Bachelor’s Soliloquy”

Edgar Albert Guest

            In this satirical piece, Guest poetically incorporates the woes and follies of a bachelor, spinning it off of Shakespeare’s famed Hamlet speech. Guest confronts many conflicting aspects of marriage as he argues, “To wed; to smoke/ No more;…’Tis a consummation/ Devoutly to be wished…To wed; perchance to fight; ay, there’s the rub.” He voices the overarching concerns of many men about to enter into the covenant of marriage. While he wavers at first, finding marriage appealing, he soon views it as a slow usurpation of a man’s power when they “have honeymooning ceased.”

            Guest highlights his perspective of marriage with the stereotypical activities of housewives: shopping, singing, meeting with neighbors, mothers-in-law. It seems that he may have been married to one such character or else had seen his friends befall the same, as he would deem it, fate. He emphasizes a man’s want for comfort and simplicity, the want to “Stay home at nights/ In smoking coat and slippers and slink to bed/ At ten o’clock to save the light bills.” His words also express his opinion that he finds the activities of many women to be overall frivolous and the mindset of men to be indisputably practical. An audience of men that would read this would probably run the other direction when faced with a commitment. Guest portrays marriage as a tedious job or a duty instead of the adventure that it is intended to be. He seems to want to enter into a marriage that never for a second loses its luster–I cannot speak from experience, but it seems that marriage’s luster comes and goes in waves. However, if someone holds Guest’s perspective that marriage merely means a “pale cast of chores,” they should probably hold off on a ceremony for a while,

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http://hollyp43.glogster.com/hollys-glog/

poetry response #2

Holly Patton

Mrs. Jernigan

AP English IV

31 January 2011

“Hazel Tells Laverne”

Katharyn Howd Machan

            In Machan’s poem, the reader is met with comical and Langston Hughes-esque diction –only more coloquiall. Amidst all the unstructured structure and informalities, there appears to be a slight pattern. While it seems that Machan throws and strews her thoughts into an unthoughtful stream of consciousness, she singles out the most shocking ideas making each complete thought a couplet. She says “…an how I can be a princess/ me a princess.” With the princess imagery strongly juxtaposing the bathroom imagery, her tone sounds sardonic yet with a slight hint of curiosity as to whether there is some truth in the frog’s words. Then, when the frog issues its appeal of, “Kiss me just kiss/ once on the nose”, the fascination of becoming a princess vanishes transpiring once more into unsanitary imagery. Machan finishes off her work with the narrator’s scoffing words, “me/ a princess.” The narrator lives in the reality of her lifestyle with no room for dreams or fairytales. Machan’s metaphorical words convey the narrator’s perception of life: even when chances and opportunities stare her in the face, she disregards, even scoffs at them thinking that her hand has been dealt. Why change life when it’s only ok, especially when it means taking a risk and getting her hands, or in this case her lips, dirty? The narrator settles for a mediocre life and is content to watch opportunities pass her by.

            In all the strange qualities of this poem, the one detail that remains a mystery to me is the title, “Hazel Tells Laverne.” It might be some period allusion of some sort. Machan made no mention of any characters by those names. 

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