“Famous” is a 21 line poem that gabs about general everyday objects and their famous relationship to another subject. Naomi Shihab Nye composes this spontaneous, thoughtful, and conversational poetic piece that, in actuality, represents the meaning of fame - at its most basic level. It is almost a construct of perspective; the result of imbalances of power, fear, love, and tragedy (“Poem”). The fame of an object to its subject may not be the same in reverse, and may not exist at all outside of their relationship. For example, the bent photograph, bent because it is handled and looked at so often, is famous to its owner (Nye, 13&14). However, the subject may not even be aware of its existence. The dress shoe is famous to the floor, but the …show more content…
Difficult words - for the most part - are not present in this poem. However, the repetition of “famous” shows the reader the importance of fame in the objects Nye writes about. She is also using repetition of “famous” to show the reader that more than one thing on the earth is famous. Even the smallest objects being overlooked are famous in some way. It opens with a murky-like, fast rushing river overflowing with fish. This instantly creates a picture in the reader’s mind about what the beginning of the poem entitled. Next is the loud voice followed by a cat carefully curled up on the top of a fence, just a few feet from a little wooden birdhouse. Every line jumps to a new place, a place that’s overlooked in today’s society. These objects, to the audience, are deemed as everyday objects that we encounter on a daily basis. Whereas Nye is explaining in depth and forcing the reader to think - long and hard - at the simple things we often overlook: cats and boots and buttonholes. As we read, images pop into our head...on purpose. And fortunately, a large part of our day is involving the nature around us so Nye spends a majority of her poem devoting it to earth and everything on
This technique is called sibilance, the ‘s’ sound at the end of these words makes the reader slow down when they read the poem. Nye did this on purpose, she wanted the reader to read the poem slowly, so they could digest what she is saying. Each stanza forms a new example of how the speaker feels and wants to be. In line 7, “The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.”, the cheek is the first thing a tear lands on. When the tear “briefly” hits the cheek, it is almost as if it was a relief to the cheek because that person is letting out their emotions. The cheek depends on the tear, whether it be for a sad, happy, angry moment it will always be there. In lines 8-9, “The idea you carry close to your bosom is famous to your bosom.”, the bosom is another word for a woman's chest or you can say her heart. If someone has an idea they have had for a long time it will be in their heart and they will stop at nothing to keep it there because it is the most important thing a person has. “The boot is famous to the earth, more famous than the dress shoe” when a person wears boots it usually means that they are doing things outside and are actually interacting with the earth. All of these examples of objects being ‘famous’, expands the definition of the word itself. Usually, when a person thinks of famous they think of the glitz and glam. Most people do not think about the word famous being
Thus the illusion of beauty is still possible and even Gorgeous displays emotion despite knowing this “she adores her work from a distance for such a long time and it makes her cry”. Therefore, the irony in this story still exists for Gorgeous to end up being in a relationship with an artist. The personification of beauty continues as Wels’ remarks “Their relationship is the usual kind in which beauty and appreciation are dancing partners”. As she becomes a ‘model’, again ‘stillness’ is idealised as the trademark of beauty. As a result, the humour in Wels’ story also becomes tragic with Gorgeous’ realisation that beauty is fabricated and that the most beautiful are those that are
The informal language and intimacy of the poem are two techniques the poet uses to convey his message to his audience. He speaks openly and simply, as if he is talking to a close friend. The language is full of slang, two-word sentences, and rambling thoughts; all of which are aspects of conversations between two people who know each other well. The fact that none of the lines ryhme adds to the idea of an ordinary conversation, because most people do not speak in verse. The tone of the poem is rambling and gives the impression that the speaker is thinking and jumping from one thought to the next very quickly. His outside actions of touching the wall and looking at all the names are causing him to react internally. He is remembering the past and is attempting to suppress the emotions that are rising within him.
The poet begins by describing the scene to paint a picture in the reader’s mind and elaborates on how the sky and the ground work in harmony. This is almost a story like layout with a beginning a complication and an ending. Thus the poem has a story like feel to it. At first it may not be clear why the poem is broken up into three- five line stanzas. The poet deliberately used this line stanzas as the most appropriate way to separate scenes and emotions to create a story like format.
Imagery is made up of the five senses, which are sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. The first sense of sight is seen throughout the whole poem, specifically in the first two lines, “I had the idea of sitting still/while others rushed by.” This sight she envisions is so calm and still and the perfect example of appreciating the little things that life has to offer. Through the use of these terse statements, she allows it to have more meaning than some novels do as a whole.
The narrator is trapped by their past, and the poem describes it affecting their daily life. They have a black cat they are envious of, because the cat is carefree and does not make the same mistakes that the narrator does. “He refuses to be snared by a single love the way I did” (319). The narrator had gotten trapped by a love that went badly, and left them being broken from it. Their cat does not make this mistake, and is also carefree, “He leaps from the rooftop . . . doesn't dread crossing bridges or dark alleyways” (318). He just lives his life out and is not concerned about any sort of danger, and because of this the narrator is envious of the cat. They cannot act the same way as the cat does, they are too concerned about their life and what happens with it, “He doesn't cling to life as I do” (318). The narrator seems to be trapped by their past, and because of this, it affects the way they live now. They have shut themselves off purposefully, they let their past affect them this much, they corrupted themselves. They know this, and they wish they had not let it happen, this is why they envy their
to the powerful imagery she weaves throughout the first half of the poem. In addition, Olds
In a world where billionaires and celebrities can have more influence over the public than government, the word power has become interchangeable with success. Although many of us have fantasized of our lives if we were famous, the majority of the population have given up on the notion of becoming famous, and have become more realistic towards future dreams and desires. However, what qualities drive people of fame to do things that keep their name out in the eye of the public? People desire power. Genuine power is the ability to influence.
jealous of the cat. From the poem it tells us that the boy is insecure
“Its deserted streets are a potent symbol of man and nature 's indifference to the individual. The insistence of the narrator on his own self-identity is in part an act of defiance against a constructed, industrial world that has no place for him in its order” (Bolton). As the poem continues on, the narrator becomes aware of his own consciousness as he comes faces nature and society during his walk. He embraces nature with the rain, dark and moon but he also reinforces his alienation from society as he ignores the watchman and receives no hope of cries for him. The societal ignorance enforces our belief that he is lonely on this gloomy night. “When he passes a night watchman, another walker in the city with whom the speaker might presumably have some bond, he confesses, ‘I… dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.’ Likewise, when he hears a voice in the distance, he stops in his tracks--only to realize that the voice is not meant "to call me back or say goodbye" (Bolton). The two times he had a chance to interact with the community, either he showed no interest in speaking or the cry wasn’t meant for him. These two interactions emphasize his loneliness with the
Throughout his poems he used many things to really make you visualize what was going
Many people wish that they can be rich or famous; some of them wish they can be both. Being rich is not the same as being famous; they each have a different meaning in many aspects. The society refers to a person with money as a rich person, and to a person who is widely known as a famous person. Some people get confused between the two terms, because nowadays, most people get famous because they are rich, but that should not be the case.
The image of the cat clawing at the reeds stands out the most. A person reading this poem can envision the cat clawing the reeds and screaming as the young boys hold it under the water bringing the cat closer and closer to death with each passing moment. The purpose that the young girl tries to explain is that she understands the way young boys are and that they do not love anything.
B: Paul McCartney Is Esquire’s August Cover Star Fame is something that many human beings throughout the ages have desired. Nevertheless, it is very difficult to achieve a considerable amount of fame, and it is usually only the best of the best, who achieve it. One of them is the former Beatle Paul McCartney, who has earned his fame by being a pioneer of and icon for British rock and pop music, and his fame has stretched over sev-eral decades. However, fame is able to change people and their personalities.
Consequently, fame works in a multiplicity of ways, where wealth and status is acquired through fate, a higher being. Nevertheless, fame is also unstable and can also be taken away by the goddess of