Rough Draft We have all had those memorable moments that send us back in time; a song on the radio, the smell of cookies baking, driving in the car. They make you think of good times passed. But Billy Collins’s poem, “The Lanyard”, is not only a recollection of the past, but a personal insight to about the things his mother has done for him and what he has done in return. The poem starts off with the speaker recounting an event that occurred the other day. We see him moving about a blue-walled room “ricocheting slowly” from one thing to the next (1). He seems to be in search of something, perhaps inspiration for his next poem, as he moves from items like the typewriter to the piano, from the piano to the bookshelf, then to an envelope on the floor, and finally to the L section of the dictionary. His actions are described as “moving as if underwater” and are coupled with the blue walls, giving the sense of fluid movement to not only the way he moves about, but to the poem as well. (3). Now it is here in the dictionary, that the word “lanyard” that sends him back into the past. The...
Where are the memories of our pasts held? In scrapbooks full of photographs, or perhaps written on the pages of a locked diary? Picture though, something as simple and ordinary as a closet full of clothes. Think about its contents, where they have been worn, what they have been through, the stories attached to each item. The nameless protagonist of Diane Schoemperlen’s short story Red Plaid Shirt does this as she recalls a snippet of her past life with each article of clothing she picks up. Red plaid shirt, blue sweatshirt, brown cashmere sweater, yellow evening gown, black leather jacket…each item has a tale of its very own, and when combined they reveal the full story of the main character’s life.
There exists, in each and every individual, a desire to belong to something greater than one’s self. While there is much in life that one must discover on their own, the security ensured through the bonds of acceptance provides many with a means of identification. Such classification is exemplified in the poem “The Century Quilt” by Marilyn Nelson Wenick, where familial bonds are examined through the means of a family coverlet. Through the utilization of literary techniques, the author effectively develops the complex meaning of the century quilt.
In “First Thanksgiving” Olds opens up to the readers about her excitement when her daughter returns home from college for the Thanksgiving holiday. She describes how she will hug her daughter, and smell her hair, and relish in the feel of her in her arms. It is through these moments that readers are also allowed the joy of having their child in their arms again-savoring their warm skin, the scent of their hair as they hug, the moment between mother and daughter as they reconnect. The imagery is so strong, strong enough in fact that readers can share in that joy, the feel, and the emotion with the writer. Olds continues to create a nostalgic feeling of times long ago, rocking and feeding a baby by moonlight. The bittersweet feeling a mother has knowing that her child has grown and those days are gone. Olds reflects even more by stating “As a child, I caught bees, by the wings, and held them, some seconds, looked into their wild faces, listened to them sing, then tossed them back into the air- I remember the moment the arc of my toss swerved, and they entered the corrected curve of their departure”. It is in those lines readers can see Olds catching bees which represent her children, and while she only held onto them for a little time while they were growing- she loved every minute of their youth, reveling in their songs and their wildness as children. In true motherly fashion she releases
In the poem “Self-Pity’s Closet” by Michelle Boisseu, the speaker’s main conflict is self pity, and the author used diction and imagery to show the effects that the conflict has on the speaker. Phrases like “secret open wounds,” (3) show the effects with the word “secret” meaning pain that others are not noticing, which leads up to the speaker getting hurt, but no one indicating to notice it. Another effect is the speaker becoming more self concerning and thinking more about her negatives. This effect portrays through “night raining spears of stars,” (19) because night tends to be the time when people have the most thoughts about themselves and also the word “spears” make up an image of pain piercing through the speaker. “Tangy molasses of
poem.” (pg 454) . The unique type of poems Collins produces is welcoming to any reader. In the poem The Lanyard, Collins discusses the impossibility of fully repaying mother figure for all of their sacrifices by writing, “She nursed me in many a sick room/lifted teaspoons of medicine to my lips/set cold facecloths on my forehead/then led me out into the airy light/and taught me to walk and swim and I in turn presented her with a lanyard./"Here are thousands of meals" she said,/"and here is clothing and a good education."/"And here is your lanyard," I replied,/"which I made with a little help from a counselor." Nearly everyone has a mother and can resonate this poem without trouble.
Analysis of Leroi Jones' A Poem Some People Will Have To Understand There is an implied threat in "A Poem Some People Will Have To Understand" by Leroi Jones. Ostensibly, there is no intimidation. The poem is confessional, even reflective; the theme is one of mutability and change. However, there is something frightening and ominous in Jones1 vision, which he creates through attention to word choice and structure. Jones' warning is immediately evident in the title through his manipulation of words.
The poem “Those Winter Sundays” displays a past relationship between a child and his father. Hayden makes use of past tense phrases such as “I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking” (6) to show the readers that the child is remembering certain events that took place in the past. Although the child’s father did not openly express his love towards him when he was growing up, the child now feels a great amount of guilt for never thanking his father for all the things he actually did for him and his family. This poem proves that love can come in more than one form, and it is not always a completely obvious act.
Helen of Troy, known as the most beautiful woman of ancient Greek culture, is the catalyst for the Trojan War. As such, she is the subject of both Edgar Allen Poe’s “To Helen” and H.D.’s “Helen”; however, their perceptions of Helen are opposites. Many poets and authors have written about Helen in regards to her beauty and her treacherous actions. There is a tremendous contrast between the views of Helen in both poems by Poe and Doolittle. The reader may ascertain the contrast in the speakers’ views of Helen through their incorporation of diction, imagery, and tone that help convey the meaning of the work.
The past often contains many things that we desire, be it something as simple as a peaceful life to something strong such as a relationship with someone who has been lost. We all attempt to return to these feelings or times in many ways, from simple memories or tastes to ways as ridiculous and outlandish as Gatsby’s parties. Whether this feelings are ever truly experienced again or not varies from attempt to attempt, in the case of “The Great Gatsby” it was for only a brief moment before it was ripped from Gatsby with Tom’s
Sylvia Plath was known as an American Poet, Novelist and Shorty story writer. However, Plath lived a melancholic life. After Plath graduated from Smith College, Plath moved to Cambridge, England on a full scholarship. While Plath was Studying in England, she married Ted Hughes, an English poet. Shortly after, Plath returned to Massachusetts and began her first collection of poems, “Colossus”, which was published first in England and later the United States. Due to depression built up inside, Plath committed suicide leaving her family behind. Sylvia Plath was a gifted and troubled poet, known for the confessional style of her work, which is how “Mirror” came to be. Although this poem may seem like the reader is reading from first person point of view, there is a much deeper meaning behind Plath’s message throughout the poem. Plath uses several elements of terror and darkness to show change to the minds of the readers.
Sound imagery is another writing technique put to use by Levertov in the poem. When reading the poem out loud, the reader notices the 'S'; sound. The misleading 'S'; or hissing sound could be interpreted, by some readers, to be the sound of a snake. It is instead the sound of money. When gambling, it is often necessary when betting on something to count money quickly. Paper money when rubbing together makes a hissing sound very much like the sound you get when reading the poem. The hissing could also be attributed to the sound of machines or people in a casino.
The speaker mreflects on a lanyard , a simple woven bracelet, he made for his mother at summer camp. He stumbled upon the word "lanyard" while going thourgh a dictionary. He was "ricocheting" off the "blue walls," showed that the speaker was happy of what he found. Thinking about the lanyard, the speaker seems upset for not ever being able to truly repay his mother for the sacrifices she makes for the speaker. He lists a litany of maternal gestures from being milked from the breast to being fully fed, clothed, and educated all at her expense. "And I gave her a lanyard," the narrator notes, indicating that nothing he can do could ever repay his mother for her work. Yet any guilt the narrator feels over giving his mother such a simple gift as a lanyard is quickly mitigated by the wisdom that a mother's love is pure and unconditional.
Romanticism is a major concept used in the 18th-19th centuries in revolt against Enlightened thinkers of prior centuries. The writer, Wordsword, is a poet that uses romantic ideas in his writings. Wordsword wrote the poem, “Daffodils”, using the characteristics of romanticism to develop the theme of nature’s connection to humanity. Wordsword uses appropriate setting, imagery, speaker, literary techniques, and other writing tools. These tools help his readers grasp the beauty and personality of daffodils.
The author uses imagery, contrasting diction, tones, and symbols in the poem to show two very different sides of the parent-child relationship. The poem’s theme is that even though parents and teenagers may have their disagreements, there is still an underlying love that binds the family together and helps them bridge their gap that is between them.
Outline The Kidnap 1. Bert confronts Law (the head of a local gang) in a room full of gangsters. Law asks for the ransom, but Bert demands to see his son Troy before handing over the money. Law agreed, and we see Troy struggle with his mouth taped. 2.