Poetry Analysis of Limbo, Blessing and Half Caste
I have chosen four different poems of which come from varying cultural
backgrounds and have a moral.
I will now explain how the writers present their ideas and give the
readers an insight into different cultures.
Limbo is a poem, which shows us the feelings of slaves on slave ships
written by Edward Kamau. This poem tells the story of slavery in a
rhyming, rhythmic dance. It is ambitious and complex. There are two
narratives running in parallel, which are, the actions of the dance,
andthe history of the people, which is being enacted.
The poem shows a lot of repetition of phrases such as 'Limbo Limbo
like me, Limbo Limbo like me'. This expresses that the phrase is
dominant enough to be said twice.
The poem has a very strong beat, suggesting the dance describes: where
the word limbo appears as a complete line, it should be spoken slowly,
the first syllable extended and both syllables stressed: Lim-bo.
The writer shows fluent use of rhythm even by using varied length of
lines, this makes the reader go along with the movement of both the
poem and the storyline in general, it also makes it more involving to
the reader.
Limbo is a poem of positions as the writer uses such language to break
down the moment in the poem, one example of this is when he uses the
words 'down down down'. Speaking opposite to this phrase the writer
then re-enforces the poem by using the words 'up up up' which elevates
the moment of the poem.
The poem interests the reader as the chorus is written in italics.
While the italics give the refrain (chorus) which reminds us of the
dance, the re...
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...on" (people
gathering for worship).
The water is a source of other metaphors - fortune is seen as a "rush"
(like water rushing out of the burst pipe), and the sound of the flow
is matched by that of the people who seek it - their tongues are a
"roar", like the gushing water. Most tellingly of all, water is
likened to "silver" which "crashes to the ground".
The poem is written in unrhymed lines, mostly brief, some of which run
on, while others are end-stopped, creating an effect of natural
speech. The poet writes lists for the people ("man woman/child") and
the vessels they bring ("...with pots/brass, copper,
aluminium,/plastic buckets"). The poem appeals to the reader's senses,
with references to the dripping noise of water (as if the hearer is
waiting for there to be enough to drink) and the flashing sunlight.
Water is symbolic of the life cycle as the continuous, repetitive movement is symbolic of the Buddhist view of samsara. Within Buddhism, samsara is defined as the continual repetitive cycle of birth and death that arises from one grasping and fixating one’s self and experiences. Specifically, samara refers to the process of cycling through one rebirth after another within the realms of existence. The uninterrupted cycle of death and rebirth without a choice is called ‘cyclic existence’ ("Buddhism Beliefs |About Buddhism”). In lê thi diem thúy’s The Gangster We Are All Looking For, water permeates through the life cycle concerning life, death, and the dual-meaning of resurrection representing both rebirth and the manifestation of ghostly
The death camp was a terrible place where people where killed. Hitler is who created the death camp for Jews. The death camp was used for extermination on Jews. This occurred on 1939 – 1945. The death camps were in the country of Europe. Hitler did all this because he didn’t like Jews and the religions. The book Night is a autobiography written by Elie Wiesel. The poem called First they came for the communist written by Martin Neimoller is a autobiography.
Figurative Language in used throughout poems so the reader can develop a further understanding of the text. In “The Journey” the author uses rhythm and metaphors throughout the poem. “...as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of the clouds..”(25-27). The author compares the star burning to finding your voice. Rhythm also develops the theme of the poem because throughout the story rhythm is presented as happy showing growing up and changing for the better is necessary and cheerful. In “The Laughing Heart” the author uses imagery and metaphors to develop the theme throughout the book. “There is a light somewhere. It may not be much light but it beats the darkness”(5-7). Always find the good out of everything, even it
Some of the most popular uses of water in literature include representing themes such as life, death, the soul, a cleansing, as well as creation and destruction. The sea in particular has often been cast in the past as its own ominous presence. A being of uncertainty and infinite depths, the sea is often a mysterious force in literature with many different meanings. The sea can be seen as the start of new beginnings and adventures as well as a dark end all. Throughout The Awakening, water is used to symbolize fear, frustration, rebirth, and liberation.
Water often accompanies a change in a story. Water can also be a sign of birth
When I first read “The Gift” by Li-Young Lee, my first thought was, “What?” The way the poem was written was so confusing at first glance, but after reading the poem over and over, I feel I have a good understanding of what Lee was trying to get across. In the first and second paragraph, the narrator talks about the memory of his father taking a splinter out of his hand. The narrator talks about his father telling him a story while he pulled the silver from his hand. When the poem said, “The flames of discipline, he raised above my head.” I thought that the father slapped the narrator after he removed the splinter, but after the class discussion I realized that the flames were above his head, meaning the father didn’t yell at him; he soothed
Suppression of women has occurred in all societies. Damage created by societal repression ranges from psychological damage to physical damage. The suppression of women is not only perpetrated by men, often other women support the cultural traditions which are damaging, as they themselves grew up within the confines of those social norms. Marge Piercy, a feminist activist, writer and poet makes a statement against social norms damaging to women with her poem, "A Work of Artifice". After reading the poem, one can certainly appreciate the fact that many norms embraced as acceptable for a woman causes physical and psychological damage to their total health. Through "A Work of Artifice", Piercy delivers a poignant message to societies everywhere.
"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.
Rituals, teachings, ceremonies and identities of the Aboriginal people were lost and neglected in the past. Even today, those of the culture continue to heal and strengthen from the consequences. In Louise Halfe’s poem “My Ledders,” a native woman addresses the Pope expressing her passionate feelings towards the traditions that were robbed of her culture, while pleading him to change the teachings back to the original way. In the letter the speaker writes as if she was speaking, using phonetic spelling and broken English, asking the Pope if he could use his power to retain the native culture, as the government may listen to him. Directly linking the losses of native traditions, customs and languages to the residential school system, the speaker uses orature combining a native dialect along with satire to express how the losses in one generation continue to affect the aboriginal identity in future generations.
The two poems I have chosen to explain are Piano by D H Lawrence and
Over the course of the semester, we read several hybrid genre books and some with hybrid themes. For the topic of my personal narrative, I settled on a subject near to my heart, the prospect of summer. To establish my theme of a blissful summer surrounded by nature, I implemented several elements from parts I and II of Jean Toomer’s Cane, Maggie Nelson’s Bluets, and Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red.
It is something that comes without a warning, that may come silently and suddenly. Death is a power beyond us, it is fate that can never be stopped or avoided. Expressed in the words of famous poets, such as Dylan Thomas in his poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight", Christina Rossetti in "Remember", and Chinua Achebe in "A Mother in a Refugee Camp". In Addition to more poets, like Mary Elizabeth Frye in her poem "Do Not Stand at My Grave And Weep", Edwin Arlington Robinson in his poem "A Happy Man", and finally, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his poem "The Cross of Snow".
of the speaker through out the poem. One Art is a poem about inevitable loss and the incognizant
Throughout history, poets had experimented with different forms of figurative language. Figurative language allows a poet to express his or her meaning within a poem. The beauty of using the various forms of figurative language is the ability to convey deep meaning in a condensed fashion. There are many different figures of speech that a poet can use such as: simile, paradox, metaphor, alliteration, and anaphora. These examples only represent a fraction of the different forms, but are amongst the most well-known. The use of anaphora in a poem, by a poet, is one of the best ways to apply weight or emphasis on a particular segment. Not only does an anaphora place emphasis, but it can also aid in setting the tone, or over all “feel” a reader receives from a poem. Poets such as Walt Whitman, Conrad Aiken, and Frances Osgood provide poems that show how the use of anaphora can effect unity, feeling, and structure of a poem.
“A Story about the Body”, a prose poem by Robert Hass, is literally about a man who supposedly loves a woman but then finds out about her health conditions and then changes his mind. This poem, when I read it, was more like a short story than a poem. The poem uses imagery and a variety of adjectives which allow the reader to put themselves in the story as if they were watching it happen.