11. What is the central idea of the poem? Is it dedicated to anyone or anything in particular? How is the display of Mackerels appropriate and effective in demonstration author’s messages? The central idea of the poem is to explore the concept of individuality and community. The poem is not dedicated to anyone, however it was written because of the experience Doty had over losing his wife. The death of his wife allowed Doty to understand that even though as an individual, his wife was an amazing person and mattered a lot to him, after her death the society still carried on without her. Doty emphasized on the beauty of the community and explain the idea of unnecessity for individuality just like how each individual mackerels were not as important …show more content…
throughout the poem. 12. Summarize paragraph 11 and the two sentences following. How does the paragraph progress? How does it connect to the proceeding 3 paragraphs and the poem? Paragraph 11 is specifically design to describe the creation and content of stanza seven.
Not only did it used allusion of “heaven” to link the poem to the death of his wife but also that it described how the author started pondering between the relationship of one and a group. Paragraph 11 is when the author realize that his original thoughts of individual being significant was rather incorrect in the society he and his wife lived in. The two sentences following the paragraph demonstrated the author’s acknowledgment that the significance of an individual might not last but the group will and the progress made by the group will be carried on. The paragraphs proceeding discussed the topic mentioned in paragraph 11 in more details and they went deeper about individualism and …show more content…
commonness. 13. What does the author mean when he says “Our metaphors go on ahead of us, they know before we do”? (Paragraph 2) What is the significance of this statement? How does it contribute to the passage overall? When the author says “ our metaphors go on ahead of us, they know before we do”. It personified the metaphor as something that is conscious of what it is doing. But in reality, it is not the metaphor that provide the author with meaningful information but rather author’s own insight. Through the comparison to the mackerels, the author was able to observe the underlying similarities between the group of mackerels and the society humans live in. Doty was able to understand the relationship of the two from metaphor. When he said “they know more than we do” he was talking about the way people learn and recognize things unintentionally. Through metaphor, one is able to learn new things by comparing them to known facts. 14. Identify personification throughout the passage. What purposes does it serve? Why is its contribution to the passage important? How does it relate to the central idea of the passage? Personification was used when Doty wanted to explain how ideas went into his head without look for them. Doty gave “minds” to those objects or writing tools not only to indicate that he was not intentionally digging out writing inspirations but also to add in a light-hearted and playful tone to the passage which would otherwise be too serious and depressing. The use of personification is important to the passage overall because it demonstrated that sometimes the best way to notice and observe is to not do it intentionally and let it pop up; let it shines itself in one’s mind. 15. Analyze the relationship between the passage and the poem. How do they relate to one and another? The relationship between the passage and poem is important for this essay. The two rely on each other and neither of them would be better standing by themselves. The passage supports the poem by explaining author’s thinking while creating the poem, and the poem supports the passage by “showing-off” the ideas expressed in the passage. In the passage, the author constantly mentions lines that are in the poem and demonstrates him thoughts for such construction by doing so. 16. Identity the dictions Doty used to describe the Mackerels. Why is the language important to the theme of the passage? What does the Mackerels symbolise? The author used shiny and cheerful toned words to describe the mackerels, showing his positive attitude towards them. The mackerels symbolise each individual humans and the group of mackerels on display symbolize the society (composed of individuals). With the light toned words, they expressed the fact that author values individuality. However, Doty still express his belief in unity and the commonness in a community matters more. In his poem he explicitly indicated them as “radiant sections” (stanza 2), and praise their beauty for lining up head to tail. 17. From which point of view does Doty support individuality and from which point of view does Doty support commonness? How do the two ideas relate to each other? What purpose do they serve for both the passage and the poem? The author started the passage by being amazed by the commonness of the mackerels, show that he was new to the fact that a community could be just as beautiful, as a whole, as a significant individual. To the extend of the author’s wife, Doty does believe in the uniqueness of Ms. Doty and how important she was to him. But at the same time, Doty acknowledges the fact that unlike Doty, the society easily forgets his wife, as if she had never really existed. Similar to the society, the group of mackerels did not really care if they are on the ice or still in the water, they are amazing because they are part of the organized community. 18.
What does the author mean when he says “the poem’s subject-beneath-the-subject”? (P 12) What is the significance of this statement? How does it contribute to the passage overall? When Doty says “the poem’s subject-beneath-the-subject”, he is referencing to the underlying meaning of the poem. The poem appears to the a description of the display of the fish on a supermarket’s ice table, but underneath the “subject” discussed, the poem is actually about the function and the direction the society progresses. This statement is important because it hints the readers to find out what the author is really writing about. The understanding for the underlying topic is crucial to understanding the central idea of the passage, and that idea is the role of an individual in a society. 19. In paragraph 4, the author compares himself to a scientist. According to Doty what way is an author similar to a scientist? Why is it important for an author to act like a scientist in Doty’s opinion? How does the similarities contribute to Doty’s writing
style? The author claims in that the similarity between a good writer and a good scientist is that they are both very observant. Both need to observe and record things/events as accurate as possible and reflect on the noted issues. In Doty’s opinion, it is important for an author to behave like a scientist sometimes because of the preciseness and the wills to discover are what writers need to be excellent. The notion of preciseness was reflected fully in Doty’s writing, especially the poem. The poem The Display Of Mackerels was constructed with small and short stanzas, but the idea express was complex. 20. Summarize the passage as a whole and identify Doty’s writing style. The passage began with the scene of Doty observing the fish on a supermarket’s ice table. He unintentionally learned about the beauty of a community. He thought about his dead wife and the role she play in his life and realized that without her, the human society still progress forward. That lead to his conclusion that the truly incredible work has always been established by the community together, and no matter how great an individual is, he or she can never overpower the world. Doty’s writing style is straightforward and precise, neither the passage nor the poem was long but the idea he tried to convey was complex.
As the first poem in the book it sums up the primary focus of the works in its exploration of loss, grieving, and recovery. The questions posed about the nature of God become recurring themes in the following sections, especially One and Four. The symbolism includes the image of earthly possessions sprawled out like gangly dolls, a reference possibly meant to bring about a sense of nostalgia which this poem does quite well. The final lines cement the message that this is about loss and life, the idea that once something is lost, it can no longer belong to anyone anymore brings a sense...
At the beginning of the poem, the speaker starts by telling the reader the place, time and activity he is doing, stating that he saw something that he will always remember. His description of his view is explained through simile for example “Ripe apples were caught like red fish in the nets of their branches” (Updike), captivating the reader’s attention
Kim Addonizio’s “First Poem for You” portrays a speaker who contemplates the state of their romantic relationship though reflections of their partner’s tattoos. Addressing their partner, the speaker ambivalence towards the merits of the relationship, the speaker unhappily remains with their partner. Through the usage of contrasting visual and kinesthetic imagery, the speaker revels the reasons of their inability to embrace the relationship and showcases the extent of their paralysis. Exploring this theme, the poem discusses how inner conflicts can be powerful paralyzers.
The poem is a combination of beauty and poignancy. It is a discovery in a trajectory path of rise and fall of human values and modernity. She is a sole traveler, a traveler apart in a literary romp afresh, tracing the thinning line of time and action.
"The thing could barely stand." ("The Bull Calf" line 1). The calf is referred to as a thing not an animal or creature. This is the way the author blocks emotion. The first line in the first stanza is a contradiction from the rest of the stanza because the rest of it has a positive attitude and the first sentence shows that the animal is weak. The third and the fourth line show the glory of the animal by hinting to royalty. The last line in the first stanza helps to back this information up by pointing to Richard the second. In the fifth line the narrator uses thee word us this connects him to the event. "The fierce sunlight tugging the maize from the ground" ("The Bull Calf" line 6). This is imagery, the sunlight showing promise and hope, maize is yellow this refers us back to the sun through the similar color. The last line refers to Richard the second this makes the poem flow better into the next stanza, Richard the second was lowered from his rank much like the calf is going to be.
Part I is particularly anecdotal, with many of the poems relating to the death of Trethewey’s mother. The first part begins with an epitaph from the traditional Wayfaring Stranger, which introduces the movement of the soul after death, and the journey towards the ‘home’ beyond. In “Graveyard Blues”, Trethewey examines the definition of “home” as a place of lament, in contrast to the comforting meaning in the epitaph beginning Part I, and the significance of the soul’s movement after death. The ‘home’ described in the epitaph is a place of comfort and familiarity, where the speaker returns to their mother. In contrast, Trethewey describes the ‘home’ she returns to after her mother’s death as a hollow place, the journey back to which is incredibly
“… and not a one in any way / distinguished from the other / -- nothing about them / of individuality. Instead / they’re all exact expressions / of the one soul” (A Display of Mackerel). The soul in this poem is symbolic of societal ideals, of which the mackerel are all following, thus they are indistinguishable from each other. Doty
...e of this poem might be to make the reader empathize with the suffering that he/she sees in the world and try to find a way around it by reducing it. This extract teaches us that life contains suffering and suffering is due to earthly objects as the people who cared for the dead man were attached to him and this caused them to suffer. The only way out of this suffering and samsara is nirvana and this can be attained by following Buddha’s eightfold path – right view, right intention; right speech, right action, right livelihood; right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration (McHugh).
...eath, it ends with happiness. Peter being judged at his own funeral is heartbreaking, but there is a bright side. He can no longer hear their hate. He is already long gone by his funeral. He is in heaven. The hate can no longer hurt him. The speaker questions why humans would choose a hard life over an easy afterlife. In his poem, Doty proves that death is an escape from judgment, but he’s not saying death is the answer. He is saying that bigotry is causing these suicides or people hoping for death. Stopping the hate will let more people live free and be individuals. They would not have to conform to society’s mold any longer. When Earth reflects the morals and acceptance of this “heaven” that is mentioned, that is when people can be truly free. Peter is now free to be happy. His new life is a chance to start over and be him without fear of judgment or expectations.
The poem becomes personal on line 10 when she uses the first person and says “I lost my mother’s watch”. She is letting the reader know what she has lost in reality. Then she gets sidetracked to mention other things she has lost; she then mentions other things she has lost of much more importance such as houses, continents, realms, and cities, but then again mentions it was not so hard to lose those things. But in the end, mention the loss that really matters. She remembers the qualities of the lover she lost.
It is quite feasible to state that poetry at its finest is a dazzling and expressive art of words. A poem not only can expose the diplomatic beliefs of societies, but can also articulate passions and sentiments of the author to whom the poem belongs. One of the many fine poems that have been prevalent among the study of literature that is irrefutably powerful is Meditation 17 by John Donne. This poetic essay exposes John Donne’s opinions and beliefs on humanity, and covers much cogitation from religion all the way to death. Of course, the poem has been written so profoundly that one may not grasp it completely at first glimpse, however John Donne does use explicit strategies to better convey his message to readers of all sorts. John Donne utilizes situation, structure, language, and musical devices to enhance the poem and to aid in delivering his message efficiently.
It exposes that the father and son team are part of the continuous class conflict in the world, and they are on the very bottom striving to survive with what they possess. My interpretation of the poem is that no matter the social class you are born in, one thing that will prevail is your appetite for money and arranging whatever necessary to make that money. One ambiguity in the poem is that he may truly be just cleaning up laundry off the street but I think that he is cleaning more than just laundry but the dirt of the streets like he says, "Part ambulance, part bullet". I think here he is referencing all the other types of items besides laundry that they pick
To illustrate, she repetitively announces how literal aspects of her environment cannot overcome the gratitude she receives from being a wife, “gold, riches, recompense, repay” cannot grasp her monogamy since, “I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold”. Which ironically does not contribute to the necessities of the lifestyle the author had during her time period, in an era of such economic demand and barriers for the english settlers. She conveys this declarative tone that it enhances the emotional attachment in the poem, “My love is such that Rivers cannot quench”. As a result, her belief in an afterlife actually outlines why the speaker is so persistent in her loyalty towards her husband. She steers clear from identifying herself as her own, and instead categorizes herself into this dependent woman with “we”, that if she tends to her husband with the utmost endearment they will be both rewarded in the afterlife, “ that when we live no more, we may live ever”, the real reward is not monetary but spiritual
The main event is the death of the child, which has happened previously to the beginning of the poem. This event foreshadows the death of the marriage which will happen after the poem. The husband and wife go through the grief process in many different ways. The wife believes that her husband does not understand her or the grief in which she feels. Online 10, she shouts at him, “You couldn't care!...
The women that is walking down the beach recycling the trash making art is a good citizen. She is trying to make people see the wrong. Therefore in the short poem it relates to the