Morgan Page 04/01/24 Lucas Clark, ENG 2090 She Had Some Horses Essay. Joy Harjo’s She Had Some Horses The poem collection She Had Some Horses by Joy Harjo is nothing short of phenomenal. In fact, I do not think that a word as simple as “phenomenal” does these poems justice. Harjo beautifully incorporates motifs such as horses, bones, the moon, etc. within this collection of images. The two poems I have chosen to analyze within this essay, “The Friday Before The Long Weekend” and “Alive,” are no exception to these motifs. These two poems have an abundance of poetic language and craft concepts. Harjo’s poem “The Friday Before The Long Weekend” (pp. 1). 28-29) deals with the concept and idea of alcoholism. I was, and still am, thoroughly impressed …show more content…
To me, “the sound of soundlessness” is different from silence. I envision silence as still sound—sounds like a clock ticking, breathing, hearts beating, and other “ambient” sounds. However, the sound of soundlessness, or “genuine silence,” is the complete lack of sound, and I mean any sound. One example of this is outer space, where sound cannot physically exist outside of man-made objects. So, if you go by the logic that within these lines Harjo is talking about complete soundlessness, the following lines of the speaker leaving someone hit much harder. Within the same stanza, Harjo also writes: No sound of water but the deep, vibrating echo of motion. (Lines 22-25, 52) Again, Harjo plays with the idea of soundlessness while also being in tune with the feeling of sound and motion, which I find very interesting. Harjo also includes a conversation in this poem where the speaker discusses coping and “escape” mechanisms with someone else. Like in the last poem, we do not know who this other person is, but we can infer through the lines, “.“Beer and wine/ never worked.” (Lines 27-28, 53) that this is not the same person as before. My favorite part of the poem is the ending stanza, where Harjo writes: Alive. This music rocks me! I drive the interstate, watch …show more content…
I personally interpret this ending as the speaker being free to do anything she pleases; she is free to drive the interstate, to be sung to, to sing, to be anybody she wants to be, etc. Additionally, I always read the last two lines as empowering and hopeful. I firmly believe that Harjo is attempting to convey the message of what being “alive” can mean for different people, or even to one person over time. Being alive can mean music and sound, soundlessness, children, leaving people or being left behind, alcohol, simply existing, allowing yourself to explore who you are, etc. I believe that Joy Harjo was successful with her message if this was her goal. Even if it was not, I thoroughly enjoyed this poem. Overall, Joy Harjo is a master of using craft concepts and poetic language to convey messages, themes, and other elements of literature. Harjo’s poems explore many thought-provoking ideas and prompt readers to try to read between her lines. Despite this, I enjoyed how easily I read many of the poems in this collection. I have found that sometimes poets, myself included, can get too caught up in the language, and their poem’s message suffers because of it. However, I never had that issue with Harjo, who always seemed to perfectly
- Explain briefly what your selected ballad is about and the reasons why you picked it.
The social, cultural and political history of America as it affects the life course of American citizens became very real to us as the Delany sisters, Sadie and Bessie, recounted their life course spanning a century of living in their book "Having Our Say." The Delany sisters’ lives covered the period of their childhood in Raleigh, North Carolina, after the "Surrender" to their adult lives in Harlem, New York City during the roaring twenties, to a quiet retirement in suburban, New York City, as self-styled "maiden ladies." At the ages of 102 and 104, these ladies have lived long enough to look back over a century of their existence and appreciate the value of a good family life and companionship, also to have the last laugh that in spite of all their struggles with racism, sexism, political and economic changes they triumphed (Having Our Say).
...poetry is not intellectual... rather, it explores concrete reality in a sensuous manner" (Parini 138). Gunn paints a colorful and all-too-believable picture of the effects of alcoholism. He does not attempt to pass judgment, though. He does not condemn the alcoholic, or glorify the man who tries to help her. He simply shows us an honest depiction of alcoholism, and allows us as readers to make our own moral judgments.
Dozens of horses are charging through the fair grounds, each hoof vibrating the ground, which causes chaos to erupt. Some horses are white as for a person of royalty, and others a mysterious brown. Through all this chaos, Rosa Bonheur paints what is before her. Her painting is called The Horse Fair. The painting itself is 8 feet tall by 16 feet wide.1 The Horse Fair is located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.1 Bonheur uses a panoramic view in her painting.2 The Horse Fair was inspired by the horse market that Rosa Bonheur use to visit on Boulevard De l’Ho ̂pital.1 The building in the upper far left of the painting is called Asylum on Salpetriere, which is located in Paris.3 The people on the hill in the upper right corner of the painting are potential customers evaluating the horses to see which horse to purchase.1 Through this painting, Bonheur shows the power and magnificence of the horses as the owners of these horses are using all of their strength to control them.3 Bonheur included a self portrait of herself on a horse in her painting, which can be located next to the black and white horses that are rearing up.4 The audience can notice the shadows that are coming off each of the horses. The shadows are through the use of chiaroscuro. The shadows make the horses look more real, as if they are actually moving through the fair ground. The author will prove Bonheur’s use of naturalism in her painting The Horse Fair by analyzing Bonheur in terms of historical context, anatomical accuracy, and structural elements.
One of the cool things about writing for the Aquarian is that you get to hear a lot of really great music that doesn’t always surface within the commercial channels. New Jersey’s Freddie Fry fits right into that category with his unpretentious rock and roll sounds that might be more at home somewhere in Kentucky then down on the Jersey Shore. He isn’t plugged into the local hero squadron and prefers to roam deep within the Howard Hughes ghost-like realm. Even if you’ve bumped into Fry on the street, you probably wouldn’t recognize the man or the skill he brings to the table. While doing my research for this article, I had to resort to the Vulcan mind meld to get him to let loose with some anecdotes and stories to get his background into proper perspective for the reader.
She gets to the point and proves that in our current world we tend to say more than we should, when just a couple of words can do the same. In her writing, it is evident that the little sentences and words are what make the poem overall that perfect dream she wishes she were part of.
...this sentiment with the statement “In silence the heart raves. It utters words Meaningless that never had meaning.” The crush he had on her gives the boy feeling he couldn’t comprehend and didn’t understand and therefore couldn’t accurately place. It becomes a perfect image or an imperfect reality.
There has been a long standing debate between the socio-economic theories of capitalism and socialism. The current socio-economic system is capitalism but many feel it is not ideal due to the fact that it is based on making a profit. On the other hand, socialism is based on equality of all, which is enacted by paying all workers the same amount of money regardless of occupation. Miriam J. Wells is against capitalism and holds a socialist view point. According to Wells, politics shape the advantages and disadvantages that certain groups of people hold. The government plays an immense role on how things are structured in the fields in order to make a profit based on capitalism. Wells’ argument of capitalism being an unjust system due to politics affecting the class structure and workforce through the Bracero program, enactment of the Alien Land Law, and the return to sharecropping is quite strong even though there is a weakness in her argument due to her straying from the topic at hand and not offering an argument for the capitalist side.
“Yet in languid/frenzy strove, as/one freezing fights off/sleep desiring sleep;/strove against/ the canceling arms that/suddenly surrounded/me.” (Hayden 4). The use of sound in the last six lines of the poem causes the reader to feel the need for air and the fear of death. “Reflex of life-wish”/Respirators brittle/belling?
In this paper I will discuss two poems by Sharon Olds. They are both taken from her collection “The Dead and the Living” and are entitled “The Eye” and “Poem to My Husband from my Fathers Daughter.”
...-discovery which can help readers to have a better understanding of our purposes in life, along with a better understanding of ourselves. Harjo’s use of her culture and her feminist views ultimately leads to a better understanding of the horses in her life. Although the horses are different and contradict themselves, in the end the speaker loves the horses in her life all the same. Considering that every line in the stanzas begins with,“She had horses . . . ,” reinforces the speaker’s Native American identity, which Harjo wanted to continuously incorporate in her poem. Effectively labeling the horses as both loved and hated, the dichotomy between her emotions and experiences, and her reason for attempting to reconcile them, becomes clear. The speaker's life is made up of the various "horses" in her life and by uniting them, a whole sense of self can be accomplished.
On the second stanza, the woman was haunted by the voices of her child in her mind. She said that under the circumstance she is right now, she has no choice but to have a abortion. Then she express her feeling and felt sorry about what she had done. “And your lives from your unfinished reach, If I stole your births and your names, Your straight baby tears and your games” (Gwendolyn Brooks) she show remorse that she stolen her child life and her child would get to experience the first tear and games. So now her baby already going through death.
Michael Jackson is known as the greatest entertainer of all-time. Even though he became known for classic pop hits such as Beat It, Billie Jean, and Thriller, Jackson is more than a one-dimensional artist. Jackson have the ability to cover all genre of music from techno to gospel. Next to pop, love songs are Jackson’s second strongest suit in music. In 1982, Jackson released The Lady in my Life, arguably his greatest love ballads of his career. Unlike Trey Songz who used the vulgar and infidelity language about his sex-partner, from the opening lines of “There be no darkness tonight, lady our love will shine,” Jackson captured the nature of
While "Dead Stars" paints vivid images of the galaxy and stars to represent human potential, "Perhaps the World Ends Here" centers on the kitchen table to symbolize the cycle of life and shared human moments. If one were to explain why "Perhaps the World Ends Here" won their personal bracket, one would say that it is the way Joy Harjo was able to take something so universal and relatable and turn it into something beautiful. One might argue that getting that nostalgic feeling and flood of childhood memories while reading the poem resonates more than the urging in "Dead
...is a romantic poem that teaches a lesson about life. Its use of figurative language makes the poem appealing to the readers. It talks about life being fun