Poetry Pairing 3 “Barber”
In the New York Times Poetry Pairing “Barber,” Larry Bradley’s poem “Barber” and Hilary Howard’s article “Trust Issues in Finding a New Hair Stylist” describe the intimate relationship between a customer and their hairdresser. “Barber” by Larry Bradley paints a picture of the intimate levels of trust between a barber and his clients. He speaks from an omniscient point of view to the person in the chair, instructing them to learn from the man standing, in service, behind them. Bradley utilizes alliteration throughout the poem to create a feeling of repetition, similar to the life of a barber, who cuts hair all day long. He uses images that speak of danger, for instance, “The razor's edge,” “shouldered soldiers,” “ two wars,” “fire fields,” and “suffering smells,” yet creates a trusting tone. In the line, “who would never for one / moment dream of hurting you,” Bradley describes a man acquainted with dangers, holding a sharp object, who one can
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She uses playful imagery and casual diction to give the reader an experience of friendship and enjoyment, similar to the one she had with her stylist. She shows this when she writes “I clamped like a curling iron onto the first stylist of my adult life.” By using a simile, she is able to create a lighthearted tone while also displaying the attachment she established with Veronica, her stylist. Howard writes about how the changes in her hairstyle come and go with the momentous occasions in her life in the lines “...the angled bob with flowers behind my ears for my wedding; two long braids for the birth of my first daughter….” The intimate manner of the friendship shared between Howard and Veronica is shown in the following quote: “The process seemed comparable: visit, talk, laugh, cry, catharsis, self-reflection, and exit…,” by comparing the personal demeanor of a therapy session to getting one's hair
Everyone including her daughter think of her as being "tangled" , and she has been wanting to present herself as a role model for her. The birth of her daughter was a very significant event in her life which got her to go on a road of becoming a "sweeter person". However, it is always been a habit of her to run away from her problems than actually face them. As, one day when examining a butterfly, she sees "knotted patterning of lines" which reminds her of her own mother who had "tried to teach [her] once" how to knit " before [she] ran away". It is her "job to drive the truck around" but she only does it so she is able to escape from all of her problems. But she "like it just fine". Her certainty to commit to her daughter conflicts with her personality of always running away from her problems which makes her surrender to her own self and letting go of the control of changing her identity
The author also referred to the hair of Zeena and Mattie quite often. Zeena had only “thin strands of hair”, and she wore a “hard perpendicular bonnet” above her head. The sight imprinted in the reader’s mind is not a pleasant one. Zeena appears to be stern and rigid. On the contrary when Mattie’s hair was described, it is more appealing. Ethan remembers her “smoothed hair and a ribbon at her neck”. A ribbon is more appealing to the reader than a “hard, perpendicular bonnet.” Mattie’s hair was also described as looking like a “drift of mist on the moon”. Unlike Zeena’s uninviting hairstyle, Mattie’s hair had a soft and silky quality to it. Mattie seemed to walk about the house with a halo of light surrounding her, almost like an angel. The conflicting hairstyles of the two women represented an overall difference in personalities. Mattie was a feminine young girl, while Zeena was an old hag who made no attempt to better her appearance.
Walker speaks highly of her influencer that encourage her to make the change in working with the hair that she
Currently in the United States, many of us are afraid of the future. There have been many recent events that have stirred up fear in this country, especially tensions regarding human rights. In Carolyn Forché’s “The Colonel,” the speaker tells us her story of when she had to deal with the mistreatment of others. The speaker is telling us her story of meeting the colonel to show us the horrible things that have happened in the fight for justice and to encourage us to speak up. She tells us this story because she does not want others to end up the way that the ears did. The speaker wants us to stay strong and fight for justice when we begin to live in a state of constant fear.
The poem “Always Something More Beautiful” by Stephen Dunn is certainly about running a race, but the speaker is also arguing that pursuing something beautiful can help guide us through life. Through the title, we can see that we should constantly look for more beautiful things in life. The poem begins with the speaker describing his experience before a race. He uses words like “best” and “love.” The tone is extremely enthusiastic. In the first line, he talks about coming to the starting place. This can be a metaphor for beginning our lifelong journey. The speaker also implies that we need to approach it with a positive attitude. In the next few lines, the speaker indicates being tested in excellence
somebody’s chemo wig? Is there a cancer kid who thrives because of your braids?” (line 16). On
In “Useless Boys” the writer, Barry Dempster, creates a strong feeling of disappointment and shame in himself and society as he looks back on his youth to when him and a friend made a promise to each other to “not be like their fathers”. Dempster expresses a sort of disgust for the capitalist society his world seems to be built around, a life where even if you’re doing something you initially enjoyed you end up feeling trapped in it. The poem is a reflective piece, where he thinks back on how he truly believed he would end up happy if he chose a different path than that of his parents. The author uses simple diction and syntax, but it’s evident that each idea has a much deeper meaning, which assisted in setting a reflective/introspective mood.
This darkly satiric poem is about cultural imperialism. Dawe uses an extended metaphor: the mother is America and the child represents a younger, developing nation, which is slowly being imbued with American value systems. The figure of a mother becomes synonymous with the United States. Even this most basic of human relationships has been perverted by the consumer culture. The poem begins with the seemingly positive statement of fact 'She loves him ...’. The punctuation however creates a feeling of unease, that all is not as it seems, that there is a subtext that qualifies this apparently natural emotional attachment. From the outset it is established that the child has no real choice, that he must accept the 'beneficence of that motherhood', that the nature of relationships will always be one where the more powerful figure exerts control over the less developed, weaker being. The verb 'beamed' suggests powerful sunlight, the emotional power of the dominant person: the mother. The stanza concludes with a rhetorical question, as if undeniably the child must accept the mother's gift of love. Dawe then moves on to examine the nature of that form of maternal love. The second stanza deals with the way that the mother comforts the child, 'Shoosh ... shoosh ... whenever a vague passing spasm of loss troubles him'. The alliterative description of her 'fat friendly features' suggests comfort and warmth. In this world pain is repressed, real emotion pacified, in order to maintain the illusion that the world is perfect. One must not question the wisdom of the omnipotent mother figure. The phrase 'She loves him...' is repeated. This action of loving is seen as protecting, insulating the child. In much the same way our consumer cultur...
"Poetry is the revelation of a feeling that the poet believes to be interior and personal [but] which the reader recognizes as his own." (Salvatore Quasimodo). There is something about the human spirit that causes us to rejoice in shared experience. We can connect on a deep level with our fellow man when we believe that somehow someone else understands us as they relate their own joys and hardships; and perhaps nowhere better is this relationship expressed than in that of the poet and his reader. For the current assignment I had the privilege (and challenge) of writing an imitation of William Shakespeare’s "Sonnet 87". This poem touched a place in my heart because I have actually given this sonnet to someone before as it then communicated my thoughts and feelings far better than I could. For this reason, Sonnet 87 was an easy choice for this project, although not quite so easy an undertaking as I endeavored to match Shakespeare’s structure and bring out his themes through similar word choice.
In the beginning her hair is straight. Later, she decides to cut it and style it more naturally. This shows her will to find her identity Old AP Questions 1987 1990 1991 1992 1994 1996 1999 2007 2009b Possible Themes Family will help you get through anything if you stick together. Always have dreams and goals and strive to achieve them.
Australian poets Bruce Dawe and Gwen Harwood explore ideas and emotions in their poems through vivid and aural poetic techniques, the poets also use symbolism to allow the readers to relate to the text. In Dawes “Homecoming”, the poet explores the ideas in the text using language techniques such as irony, paradox and visual imagery to construct his attitude towards war and the effect. While in Gwen Harwood’s, “The violets”, she uses prevailing imagery and mood to emphasize fertility and growth. Contrastingly, In Bruce daws, “Life cycle”, the poet uses the idea of sport to symbolise and represent religion with the use of clichés and juxtaposition to convey his ideas of religion, myths and Christianity in the language use, similarly Harwood poem
She also used a comparison, “Like a little girl, she smooths back her dirty hair and proudly puts it on” (5). She used the comparison to make the reader realize that although she is homeless, she is not any different than anyone
A solitary woman sits in conversation with a benign tumour that had just recently been removed from her ovary. As the woman speaks, the inanimate tumour, which she has named Hairball, looks on from its glass encased perch atop the fireplace. The scene is macabre and certainly unusual, but such is the life of Kat, the main character in Margaret Atwood’s short story, Hairball. Kat’s life is filled with the unusual and the shocking, a lifestyle that has been self-imposed. Throughout the years, Kat, an "avant garde" fashion photographer, has altered her image, even her name, to suit the circumstances and the era. Over time Kat has fashioned a seemingly strong and impenetrable exterior, but as Kat’s life begins to disintegrate we discover that the strong exterior is just a facade devised to protect a weak and fragile interior. Kat’s facade begins to unravel and she undergoes significant personal losses; in fact, the losses go so far as to include her identity or lack there of. As Kat begins to lose control, her mental and physical disintegration is hastened by three major conflicts: The conflict with the society in which she lives, the conflict with her romantic interests (specifically Ger), and finally the physical conflict she faces with her own body. In the end, these conflicts will threaten to strip Kat of her lifestyle as well as her name.
The poem Stripper by Mervyn Morris speaks of a poet who, after a long day decides to treat himself to wine and music at a club but, unfortunately had to part-take in the performance of a female exotic entertainer which was not a part of his plan. Though, the poet had no intention in watching the entertainment, at the end of the poem it shows how much of an inspiration the entertainment and the ambiance had on him. The poem also speaks of the discomfort the performer had as if she had no voice as to what goes on but, merely have to accept it and do her job. Morris uses pun as his main device to create humour and to place emphasis on what exactly is the meaning beneath what is being illustrated in the poem. As the poem stated the Stripper, Morris places the focus on the character and documents her every move and actions in order not to question if the title complements the poem. The uses of different images and devices are evident throughout the poem which at the same time enhances the tone and mood of the poem. In this essay the effectiveness and use of devices including the continuous use of pun, the exploitation of women, and descriptive aspect of the poem will be documented.
Langston Hughes is the author of the poem ‘trumpet player’ among other poems that weaves in the contemporary ideas relating to racial issues, past memories and jazz music (Alexander and Ferris 55). Essentially, his themes centered on African- American made him an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. The poet was born in Joplin, Missouri in the year 1902. His first work on poetry was published in the year 1921 (Baird 599). From there on, he wrote innumerable works of poetry, plays as well as proses (Baird 599). The poet died in the year 1967 out of prostate cancer complications. The trumpet player is one of the most important works done by Hughes. The title of the poem introduces the scene but it is quite figurative. At its face value, the title