AP US History Poem Analysis

350 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: My experience with public speaking

My partner cued me to begin reciting the second part of our AP U.S. History poem. “You said Hamilton supported Jefferson’s reign, but did he really? The last time I checked, rivalry flowed through their veins.” I stopped, but my mind was still running, “Uhhh, what was the next line? Oh no…” It was another case of a brain fart. It happens often when I speak, especially when my nervousness overwhelms me. Speaking has haunted me in many forms in academia, including in-class debates, class participation, and presentations. I was afraid to speak. It proved difficult to resolve, although I had been given sixteen different chances each New Year’s, but this year was different. I found a rewarding internship at the Coalition for Asian American Children

Show More
Related

  • Pros And Cons Of Vice President Burr

    294 Words  | 1 Pages

    A travesty occurred on this July 11, 1804. In response to Vice-President Burr’s challenge a duel took place on the grounds of Weekhawken, New Jersey, on the very spot where Mr. Hamilton’s eldest son Phillip had died. This day of reckoning has been long approaching. Each man has opposed the other during their political careers. It is supposed the duel was provoked by Burr after personal exploitation sparked by Hamilton, this along with the public humiliation of a lost election. Some dire insults can only be dispelled with an extreme display of bravery. Had Burr not defended his honor others may have considered him as a man, not possessing sufficient firmness to defend his own character, and consequently unworthy of their support. Vice-President Burr’s reasoning most certainly was centered on protecting both his political career and his goodness.

    Read More

  • Americanized: Poem Analysis

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Interpreting the American Revolution: Politics, History, and Museums

    582 Words  | 2 Pages

    In what might be considered a game-changer in how readers look at their society and their country, Andrew Schocket’s Fighting Over the Founders examines how Americans have interpreted the American Revolution and the past through politics, historical writing, and museums over the years. Despite their overt differences, these three fields share a common ground which is brought to light in Andrew Schocket’s work.

    Read More

  • Alexander Hamilton: A Conduit of Liberty and Heroism

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    “There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.”1 These words, expressed by Alexander Hamilton, contain the true meaning of freedom and its value, the real purpose of life when there is a cause to fight for. Our country was built by the effort of those who fought for freedom and justice, those who gave everything for a noble cause. The history of this country, embraces the exploits of the many heroes who forged this nation, a land of freedom. While studying the history of America, I was amazed by the life of Alexander Hamilton, who was one of the most important leaders of our nation. The purpose of this

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: Speech Self Critique

    355 Words  | 1 Pages

    During my demonstration speech, I was affected by my speech anxiety. Some of the viewable symptoms were the shaking of my hands and also the stuttering of speech. I was able to control myself and relax after I started getting into my information. I did use some of the suggested relaxation techniques to relieve my anxiety. Before I got up to speak I thought confident of myself to help give me courage and confidence.

    Read More

  • The Road Not Taken: Poem Analysis

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost connects to the character, Atticus, from the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and to the universal theme of how a flawed system of justice is an oppressive institution that delivers punishment instead of actual justice. In the novel, Atticus takes on a case that is quite controversial because the society of Maycomb has been infected by the disease of racism. Once he took the case, he was bombarded by many obstacles thrown at himself and even his young children. Though he was thought to do his job half-heartedly, but, Atticus is a reasonable, strong willed man who will do the right thing because the justice system is corrupted due to racism. On page 101 states, “Every lawyer gets at least one case

    Read More

  • The Waking Poem Analysis

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    Theodore Roethke’s speaks frequently about his life growing up and his experiences created around his greenhouse and nature, which became an important influence in his writing. His poem could possibly be influenced by his father’s death due to cancer and an uncle that committed suicide. Likewise, Dylan Thomas most famous poem was written to share the feelings of his old father. As mentioned in the poem, it was influenced when his father was dying. His father was important to him they shared the same love for writing and he even taught English. While Dylan Thomas “Do Not go Gentle into that Good Night” and “The Waking” by Theodore Roethke both are paradoxical views on how life and death should be approached while keeping a Villanelle form. One

    Read More

  • IBH Poetry Analysis: Last Post

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    What is the significance of the title? Does it refer to the short tune that British people played through instruments to commemorate those last at war? Why does Duffy cite the lines from Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Own for the first two sentences? Is she using juxtaposition to compare her perspective of the soldiers and that of Wilfred Owen? Or is it to create an image of the battlefields in the readers’ mind? Why does Duffy start the poem with the line “if poetry could tell it backwards” (3)? Does she travel backwards in time? If so, then is “tell it backwards” allude to how she imagines the soldiers if the war did not happen? Why does Duffy introduce the “moment shrapnel scythed you to the stinking mud” (4)? Does the “shrapnel” indicate that there was possibly a bombardment or explosion at the site of the battlefield? Does the poet take the word “scythed” to make use of consonance of the “s” with “shrapnel”? Is she indirectly presenting the trenches as she describes the “stinking mud”? Who is the “you” referring to in this poem? Is it Harry Patch and Henry Allingham, the survivors of World War I? Why does Duffy state “you watch bled bad blood run upwards from the slime into its wounds” (5-6)? Is “bled bad blood” another use of consonance within the poem? Is Duffy emphasizing that time is traveling backwards as she depicts the blood going “upwards” and back “into its wounds”? Why does the poet portray the soldiers before the death as she “rewind” (7) them “back to their trenches” (8)? Is she stressing the potential life the “British boys” (7) might have had if they had survived the war? That they would be able to go back home and see their famil...

    Read More

  • The Old Lie: Poem Analysis

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    To illustrate “The old lie: Dulce et decorum est/pro patria mori”(Owen Dulce et Decorum Est 27-28). Owen uses sound devices and simile.

    Read More

  • Civil War Poetry

    1566 Words  | 4 Pages

    Civil War Poetry The American Civil War and the Spanish Civil War were primarily wars of principle. The conflicts represented a critical point for each respective nation, a time of either death or continuation for the countries. Both Whitman and Neruda exhibit a key shared element in the poets' works of the concept of a cosmic rebirth illustrated in their poetry through a celebration of the perpetual cycle of life and death fostering optimism. This mutual philosophy is manifested in Neruda and Whitman's poetry in several interesting ways.

    Read More

  • Reflection On Gun Control Speech

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    I was very nervous during my speech and according to my peer critique this was obvious. My nervousness affected the enunciation of my words and I got tongue tied and many of my words were not as clear as they should have been. My body language was busier than I thought it was. I kept moving my hands and blinking a lot. Blinking is something that I do when I am nervous and the more I practice the less likely I am to be nervous. I plan to practice even more for the roundtable debate, giving myself more confidence in knowing exactly what I am going to say and my

    Read More

  • In Memory Of W. H. Auden: Poem Analysis

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    W. H. Auden’s elegiac poem, “In Memory of W. B. Yeats,” pays tribute to the life and death of W. B. Yeats, one of the most extraordinary writers of the twentieth century. Broken up into three parts, the elegy starts off seemingly simple as he describes the cold day on which Yeats passed away. He recalls organic memories of “the evergreen forests” (Auden ll. 8) to date back to a younger Yeats, one full of life and full of poetry. Now, Yeats will visit “another kind of wood,” (ll. 19) as Auden relates the previous idea to the dark wood of Dante’s Inferno, where Yeats will hopefully find solace in the fact that he will be remembered by the poetry he has left behind. Auden praises Yeats in this way throughout the poem, and yet he also finds many

    Read More

  • The Black Woman Poem Analysis

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    Poetry is the ultimate form of expression, an arrangement that is so unique it has the ability to capture song, art, drama and movement into one. Not only has it become the text of passion and imagination but also our everyday language has been renewed and intensified so we see things in a new light, as if for the first time. Poetry does not abide by rules and formulas but instead represents imagination beyond the presence of an object. Above all poetry is a mystery and a challenge, to interpret, empathize and understand it is what makes it intriguing, consoling and sustaining to humans. Its power lies in its ability to use our personal affinities to sway our view of a poem, allowing us to hold more importance to it than it actually possesses. The anthology “then and now” focuses on indigenous poetry in Africa, the history, values and feelings behind the words that make their message so powerful. “The black woman”, written by former president of Senegal Léopold Senghor, tells a story of a beautiful untouched Africa before colonization. He becomes a type of messenger, expressing the joys and grievances felt by collective Indigenous community in Africa and similar injustices evident in many other parts of the world.

    Read More

  • Anthem For Doomed Youth Poem Analysis

    877 Words  | 2 Pages

    Death is a very sad concept in any form of literature. Wilfred Owen’s poem Anthem for Doomed Youth pulls the reader into these feelings of depression resulting from the loss of a loved one. From the beginning to the end of the poem, Owen skillfully uses metaphors, imagery, and other literary devices to describe and narrate the story of young men of arms lost forever. Owen uses Anthem for Doomed Youth to express the hardships and emotional trauma experienced by soldiers and their families during times of war.

    Read More

  • An Apology For Poetry Analysis

    1873 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sir Philip Sidney’s defence essay, “An apology for poetry,” refers to poetry “as an art of imitation […] [that] speaks metaphorically” (Ferguson, Salter & Stallworthy, 2005: 331). Sidney’s essay epitomises the pivitol importance and art of creating poetry. From the 1500’s to the 1660’s, England found itself a process of complete rebirth of all its important facets. Transformation in its social and cultural, as well as philosophical and religious approaches was evident. This transformational process, with regards to literature, resulted in the redesign of old, successful forms, such as the Petrarchan sonnet. Francesco Petrarch, the genius behind the 14th century Petrarchan sonnet, was legendary in creating a form in which to convey messages mostly thematic to the courtly love tradition. He was, however, completely unaware of the impact and influence the sonnet will have in the rebirth of culture and poetry in England, evolving from Sir Thomas Wyatt’s translations of Petrarch’s sonnets, to Sir Edmund Spenser’s rationalistic approach to the same form. Wyatt’s choice to use a form that already proved to be successful in conveying messages that matter, led him to translate Petrarch’s work, however, with a completely different contextual, individual message. Spenser, on the other hand, used the same frame of the Petrarchan sonnet but making quite significant changes to it, in as much as metamorphosing it into the Spenserian sonnet. Although both Wyatt and Spenser borrowed from the Petrarchan sonnet to appropriate it as a vehicle to convey their particular messages, this essay will aim to give clarity on how their strategies differed. It will make mention of how both Wyatt’s and Spenser’s approaches made use of restructuring and manip...

    Read More

More about AP US History Poem Analysis

Open Document