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Monday, February 8, 2010
Favorite Line(s)
Use this post to share your favorite line or two from your poet’s poetry. Why do you like this/these line(s)? What is it about the language or effect the language has on a reader that you enjoy or think is great?
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Anonymous
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When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. - William Wordsworth, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"
I like these lines because it gives nature a new face to it. When you are walking outside, you don't always stop and look at the nature around you, you normally keep on walking. These lines show you what you are missing when you walk past the beautiful nature around you without lifting your head up and looking around. No one usually thinks of daffodils moving in a way of dancing and fluttering. We normally just say that a flower sits there and can be blown around by the wind, but these lines really make you think about how nature is alive like you, but does not move like you or act like you. These lines have an airy feeling to them and they just make you feel happy and honored to live in a world with such beautiful things on it.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love Of those who were older than we- Of many far wiser than we- And neither the angels in heaven above, Nor the demons down under the sea, Can ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee. - Edgar Allan Poe, "Annabel Lee"
I really like these lines of "Annabel Lee" because Poe shows that even thought the narrator's wife had died, he admits his love for her and how strong it was. It sets a mood in the poem of sadness at first but then happiness because he still realizes she'll always be with him. These lines also kind of show me how strong love can be and how you should cherish something like that whenever you get it, and to never take love or anything for granted.
I think Poe's choice of words and phrases really describe why I like those lines. He says,
"And neither the angels in heaven above, Nor the demons down under the sea, Can ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee"
These phrases specifically demonstrate the fact that nothing will ever come between his love for Annabel Lee or ever make him forget what they had together. These lines just make you want to be able to experience love for yourself, just to see how the narrator felt about Annabel Lee. But like I said above, it mostly teaches the reader that you should never take love for granted because you could easily lose it in a second. More than that though, love is a beautiful thing, and one you love someone, it really never goes away.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they? Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,--
-John Keats, "To Atumn"
I love these few lines of John Keats's poem. They not only have a literal meaning, but they have an in depth meaning as well. In a literal way, these lines are talking about how fall is a wonderful season. Although some people might miss the "songs of spring" fall is just as beautiful. However, fall is beautiful in its own way. Even though people may not see the beauty of fall and only see it as the beginning of winter, it does have a certain beauty to it.
These lines also have a metaphoric meaning as well. I think that Keats is trying to write about how all people are beautiful as well. No two people are the same. Every person is beautiful in their own way. We might not see it at beauty at first since there are many different types of beauty that people don't even know about. Appearance isn't the only thing that is important. Being intelligent or being very kind are types of beauty that aren't always seen. But no matter who you are you have beauty and are special in your own way.
In Edgar Allan Poe's poem "Annabel Lee", the beginning stanza is: It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of ANNABEL LEE; And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me.
The beginning lines of this poem introduces the childhood romance of the speaker and the girl he loves. The lines are set in a rhyming scheme, with the first and third lines, and the second, fourth, and sixth lines rhyming, with the fifth left by itself. It sounds very childlike in a sense, but as the poem continues, it takes on a more serious tone, although it keeps the rhyme scheme.It sounds like a child that has experienced something horrible that forced him or her to grow up more quickly, and become an adult in an adult world, while still in the body of a child. Because of this mannerism, the poem has become one of poe's most famous works, and has lived on through the ages.
"And I'm gonna put white hands And black hands and brown and yellow hands And red clay earth hands in it Touching everybody with kind fingers And touching each other natural as dew In that dawn of music when I Get to be a composer"
This is a section of Langston Hughes' poem, Daybreak In Alabama. It's one of my favorites because it shows alot of perspective on the time period he lived in and how he felt about it, as he was African American. He lived with alot of racism, since he lived in the early 1900s in the Southern United States. It shows that Hughes was a supporter of the idea of equality amongst all races. I like how Hughes makes his writings clear and understandable, and i think he did it for the obvious reason; he wanted his readers to understand what he was saying. By using poetry he was experessing his ideas and beliefs, and trying to get other people to join him in his fight against prejudice.
We passed the school, where children strove At recess, in the ring; We passed the fields of gazing grain, We passed the setting sun. -Emily Dickenson "Because I could not stop for death"
I like these lines because they have a lot of symbolism in them. Each line has at least something the symbolizes something else. The school is the beginning of life, the grain is the middle of life, and the setting sun is death. I love this poem because it can mean many different things depending on the way you read it. Also, Emily Dickenson's poems almost can explain her life story. Each one has a different part of her in it.
Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain. -Emily Dickenson “If I Can Stop”
I like these lines from this poem because it also shows how Emily Dickenson uses symbolism a lot. In this poem, instead of a fainting bird, it is symbolizing a person falling apart. It is a life falling into pieces. This explains maybe a downfall in Emily Dickson's life.
While the angels, all pallid and wan, Uprising, unveiling, affirm That the play is the tragedy, "Man," And its hero the Conqueror Worm. Edgar Allen Poe- “The Conqueror Worm”
The last four lines of the conqueror worm are my four favorite lines in poetry, and for a variety of reasons. “The Conqueror Worm” depicts a disturbing rendition of the fall of man. Angels watch man’s progress throughout their collective lives in a heavenly play. I find Poe’s perception of man’s end extremely interesting. Though the way Poe describes this grotesque picture using carefully picked words and imagery is what makes this one of my favorite poems. The last four lines, however, are clearly the best. They illustrate a desperate scene and it creates powerful meaning.
The angels are forced to watch man’s once powerful civilizations collapse as mankind is destroyed. Watching mankind be destroyed is extremely difficult for the angels, and they are described as pallid and wan. It is worthy of noting that pallid and wan both mean wan. The fact that Poe uses two synonyms to describe how pale angels were really makes it seem like mankind’s demise was gruesome. The most interesting part by far is when the hero emerges. The hero is not a human, however. It is the humble earth worm. The worms come out of the ground and prey on the remains of the human race. It is in this way that they are “the conqueror worms”. Seeing man be conquered by a being as simple as the worm makes all of the angels stand up and agree, the story of man was a tragedy. This strong image of angels in heaven confirming that the “play is the tragedy, ‘man’” is what makes these the four most memorable lines in poetry.
Where sunless rivers weep Their waves into the deep, She sleeps a charmed sleep: Awake her not. Led by a single star, She came from very far To seek where shadows are Her pleasant lot. -Christina Rossetti
These are some of my favorite lines because it comes from my favorite poem of Christina Rossetti's: Dream-Land. This poem expresses the dream of a woman (meaning Rossetti herself) and how she gets away from her terrible life in this dream. These lines show how someone with such a bad life can dream and write such good poetry longing for a better life. She hopes she is not awoken, because she does not want to get back to the unfortunate life she lives. The lines express the dream she is having, and the fantasized things that are happening. Rossetti, as a child, did not like her life because she had to raise most of her family. These lines here show her writing poetry about her desired dream and getting away from her harsh childhood.
"“Be patient,” said Grandpa. “We’ll see. We will see…”"(Dr. Suess "The Butter Battle Book). I like this line because it seems so simple, but means so much. This line is the ending line of "The Butter Battle Book" when the boy asks his grandpa who will drop their bomb first, the Yooks or the Zooks. Sticking to the idea that this book is an allegory for the cold war, the "Bitsy Big Boy-Boomeroos" in both nations' hands represent nuclear devices. This single line makes a large comment on the state of the world. Everyone has nuclear weapons pointed at eachother, just waiting for someone to fire first. Every nation has their finger on the trigger. The statement is very powerful, but the line is so simple. I like how it is possible to say so much in such a simplistic line.
This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper. -T.S. Eliot "The Hollow Men"
These lines feel very powerful because it is very honest and blunt to the way the world goes. If the earth were to blow up, nothing in the universe would change. It would go indifferently with no loss to itself. We, as humans, believe ourselves to important and that time would stop with every disaster, but it does not. In relation to the rest of the poem, the references to "hollow men" shows the unimportance of people as they have nothing within them and they are living a dead existence and are transcending to another "kingdom" of death.
The Child is father of the Man - William Wordsworth, "My Heart Leaps up When I Behold"
The poem "My Heart Leaps up When I Behold" by William Wordsworth is about the narrator who looks into the sky and sees a rainbow. The rainbow reminds him of his youth, when he looked around and everything he saw would inspire wonder and awe. Now that he is grown, the narrator still feels the same way about rainbows, and wishes that every one of his days could be filled with the same feeling. This line by Wordsworth shows how the innocence and awe of a child could foster such feelings in a grown man, and allow them to see the world differently thatn they were brought up to see it.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black And the dark street winds and bends. -Shel Silverstein, 'Where the Sidewalk Ends'.
These are my favorite lines by Shel Silverstein. This is mainly because of the picture they put in your mind of this place that Silverstein wants to escape from. He is not literally in a dark street, but the image of the winding black road is used to show that where he is is a terrible place. He is showing that everyone would like to leave the place where they feel trapped, as if the "smoke blows black". Overall, I think that Silverstein did a good job describing the place he wants to escape from in this poem, and this line definately helps with his image.
O dearest, dearest boy! my heart For better lore would seldom yearn, Could I but teach the hundredth part Of what from thee I learn.
- "Anecdote for Fathers" by William Wordworth
I like these lines because it is part of a poem that goes out of Wordsworth's comfort zone of writing about nature. Specifically, I like these lines because they show that even a mature adult can learn from a child. In the poem, a father asks his son whether he likes the place where they used to live or the place where they now live better. The son responds that he lieks the old place better and the father can't understand why. It takes a feeble explantion from the boy for the father to realize that it is not the actual place that the boy likes better, it is just that he is afraid of change.
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore-- And then run?
I like these lines because they rhyme and they are simple. The poem is composed strictly of questions. It is like Hughes was just writing down all of his questions about his own dreams and what would happen if he put them off any longer. These lines and the poem in its entirety show what writing is at its' purest form. Hughes shows that he, too, has questions and he, too, wonders about things like hopes and dreams.
Your slightest look easily will unclose me though I have closed myself as fingers, you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens (touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose -E.E Cummings "Somewhere I have Never Traveled, Gladly Beyond"
I like this stanza because it is very confusing at first, but once you understand it it means a lot. Cummings is talking about a woman he loves who has opened him up to new things, and making him sure of any doubts he has. The language is very poetic and makes you think, and it is clear that he is very fond of the woman who he wrote this to or about.
"I counted till they danced so Their slippers leaped the town, And then I took a pencil To note the rebels down." -Emily Dickinson, "Snow Flakes"
This part of Emily Dickinson's poem Snow Flakes is one of my favorite phrases that she wrote. I am not sure what attracts me to this part of the poem. I just love the words and how she is actually able to describe what the snowflakes look like because for many that would be extremely difficult. I also love how it flows from line to line, making a more enjoyable reading.Again the vocabulary and the word choice made the poem flow nicely. I also like the rhyming scheme. It made the poem fun and exciting to read.
Crowds of men and women attired in the usual costumes, how curious you are to me. On the ferry-boats the hundreds and hundreds that cross, returning home, are more curious to me than you suppose, And you that shall cross from shore to shore years hence are more to me, and more in my meditations, that you might suppose. -- "Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman
I really like this stanza from "Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman because of the way he is able to describe the people and things going on around him. My favorite line is when he says "crowds of men and women attired in usual costumes". I think it is interesting how he refers to what people wear as a costume, something that disguises them from others. What makes Walt's writing so interesting is how he finds beauty in the most simplistic places and writes thought provoking ideas about them. In this stanza he takes an interest in the generations of people to come who will experience what he is experiencing when crossing the river to go home from work. He constantly thinks about others and nature around him, and thats what I think people enjoy about his writing.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth.
I like these lines because its about having to make you own choices in life. In this poem and life, there is times where you have to pick a path that you are uncertain of. This poem shows how you have to sometimes guess in life and just hope that the path you picked was the right one. Like the man in the poem, sometimes you don't know what future you choices are going to make.
"Although she feeds me bread of bitterness, And sinks into my throat her tiger's tooth, Stealing my breath of life, I will confess"
I enjoy "Tiger"by Claude McKay because of his use of specific literary techniques. Through this poem, I am able to grasp a clearer understanding of why poets use literary techniques. He uses a metaphor comparing white men to a tiger. This creates a violent image of the tiger lunging at a person's throat, which indicates the violence and harshness in which whites attack blacks through discrimination. The quote, “[tiger] drinking my blood as my life ebbs away" creates the image at how draining and demeaning the oppression is against blacks. This metaphor assists in my understanding of how blacks were treated. It makes this uncharted area a bit familiar to me.
In addition, the use of punctuation in this poem is interesting. He often uses punctuation makes, such as in the line,"The tiger in his strength his thirst must slake!" This use along with the others demonstrates the frustration and anger within a black created by discrimination and oppression. This raw emotion lingers throughout the poem and reaches out to us. We are able to experience at least a piece of that anger which has a lasting effect on the reader. All in all, I find this poem extremely necessary in understanding the discrimination and racism of our past, and it opens up a whole new perspective for readers everywhere.
My favorite lines of Robert Frost comes from his very well known poem The Road Not Taken.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
For me, these are my favorite lines because it somewhat contradicts what Frost has been saying throughout the entire poem. I love these lines because it really describes the truth of life. I think it has such a strong meaning of reality, and that you in fact don't know what the choices you make will make any difference in your life or the life of others. I love this entire poem, but those are my favorite lines.
"A person's a person, no matter how small." (Dr. Seuss. Horton Hears a Who).
I liked this one simple line because as Andy stated, it's seems simple, but it holds a ton of meaning behind it. It incorporates Suess' past and feelings into one line. It tells of his deep regret for the atom bombs that hit Nagasaki and Hiroshima in WWII. He had a Japanese friend whose family was killed in these bombings and he wrte this book and dedicated to that friend. This line says to the U.S. that even though we couldn't see every person in thos two cities, it does not mean they were not there or didn't have friends and family. We should take into account the consequences of the actions that are being taken.
Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all -Emily Dickinson, "Hope Is The Thing With Feathers"
I like those lines because it gives the feeling of hope a new look. Emily Dickinson described hope as the bird who perches on the soul, and I think that she means that we all have hope somewhere within us, singing us songs that never die. No matter how bad life is, hope will always there, singing you sweet songs. I also feel like Dickinson is trying to tell us to never give up on hope, since it never gives up on you.
The cold smell of potato mold, the squelch and slap Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge Through living roots awaken in my head. But I've no spade to follow men like them.
Between my finger and my thumb The squat pen rests. I'll dig with it. -Seamus Heaney, "Digging"
These last pieces to the poem Dgging by Seamus Heaney I find vested interest in. The way in which Seamus Heaney almost purposely tries to confuse the reader with his clever and multi-faceted language is like a little puzzle game for my mind. To specify around this excerpt, I would have to say that I'm fascinated with how Heaney tells of how he will dig with a pen, much like digging outside in his backyard farm. I am also confounded with the way that, as he writes in the beginning of the excerpt, he says that the smells and sounds and general feelings attributed with digging awaken roots in his head. This I find fascinating, as the roots are probably what helps him to write and the feelings attributed to digging are a way of describing how he writes poetry. This poem by Seamus Heaney actually reflects on how he writes poetry.
I shall be telling this with a sigh. Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. -Robert Frost, "The Road not taken"
I really like these lines because they are very meaningful. This poem is basically big metaphor, the two roads represent the choices we make in life. These lines are are also my favorite because anyone can relate to them. This is simply because everyone, at least once, had been in a dilemma of choice between two roads of life and that choice was to make all the difference.
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When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
- William Wordsworth, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"
I like these lines because it gives nature a new face to it. When you are walking outside, you don't always stop and look at the nature around you, you normally keep on walking. These lines show you what you are missing when you walk past the beautiful nature around you without lifting your head up and looking around. No one usually thinks of daffodils moving in a way of dancing and fluttering. We normally just say that a flower sits there and can be blown around by the wind, but these lines really make you think about how nature is alive like you, but does not move like you or act like you. These lines have an airy feeling to them and they just make you feel happy and honored to live in a world with such beautiful things on it.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
- Edgar Allan Poe, "Annabel Lee"
I really like these lines of "Annabel Lee" because Poe shows that even thought the narrator's wife had died, he admits his love for her and how strong it was. It sets a mood in the poem of sadness at first but then happiness because he still realizes she'll always be with him. These lines also kind of show me how strong love can be and how you should cherish something like that whenever you get it, and to never take love or anything for granted.
I think Poe's choice of words and phrases really describe why I like those lines. He says,
"And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee"
These phrases specifically demonstrate the fact that nothing will ever come between his love for Annabel Lee or ever make him forget what they had together. These lines just make you want to be able to experience love for yourself, just to see how the narrator felt about Annabel Lee. But like I said above, it mostly teaches the reader that you should never take love for granted because you could easily lose it in a second. More than that though, love is a beautiful thing, and one you love someone, it really never goes away.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,--
-John Keats, "To Atumn"
I love these few lines of John Keats's poem. They not only have a literal meaning, but they have an in depth meaning as well. In a literal way, these lines are talking about how fall is a wonderful season. Although some people might miss the "songs of spring" fall is just as beautiful. However, fall is beautiful in its own way. Even though people may not see the beauty of fall and only see it as the beginning of winter, it does have a certain beauty to it.
These lines also have a metaphoric meaning as well. I think that Keats is trying to write about how all people are beautiful as well. No two people are the same. Every person is beautiful in their own way. We might not see it at beauty at first since there are many different types of beauty that people don't even know about. Appearance isn't the only thing that is important. Being intelligent or being very kind are types of beauty that aren't always seen. But no matter who you are you have beauty and are special in your own way.
In Edgar Allan Poe's poem "Annabel Lee", the beginning stanza is:
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
The beginning lines of this poem introduces the childhood romance of the speaker and the girl he loves. The lines are set in a rhyming scheme, with the first and third lines, and the second, fourth, and sixth lines rhyming, with the fifth left by itself. It sounds very childlike in a sense, but as the poem continues, it takes on a more serious tone, although it keeps the rhyme scheme.It sounds like a child that has experienced something horrible that forced him or her to grow up more quickly, and become an adult in an adult world, while still in the body of a child. Because of this mannerism, the poem has become one of poe's most famous works, and has lived on through the ages.
"And I'm gonna put white hands
And black hands and brown and yellow hands
And red clay earth hands in it
Touching everybody with kind fingers
And touching each other natural as dew
In that dawn of music when I
Get to be a composer"
This is a section of Langston Hughes' poem, Daybreak In Alabama. It's one of my favorites because it shows alot of perspective on the time period he lived in and how he felt about it, as he was African American. He lived with alot of racism, since he lived in the early 1900s in the Southern United States. It shows that Hughes was a supporter of the idea of equality amongst all races.
I like how Hughes makes his writings clear and understandable, and i think he did it for the obvious reason; he wanted his readers to understand what he was saying. By using poetry he was experessing his ideas and beliefs, and trying to get other people to join him in his fight against prejudice.
We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.
-Emily Dickenson "Because I could not stop for death"
I like these lines because they have a lot of symbolism in them. Each line has at least something the symbolizes something else. The school is the beginning of life, the grain is the middle of life, and the setting sun is death. I love this poem because it can mean many different things depending on the way you read it. Also, Emily Dickenson's poems almost can explain her life story. Each one has a different part of her in it.
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
-Emily Dickenson “If I Can Stop”
I like these lines from this poem because it also shows how Emily Dickenson uses symbolism a lot. In this poem, instead of a fainting bird, it is symbolizing a person falling apart. It is a life falling into pieces. This explains maybe a downfall in Emily Dickson's life.
While the angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, "Man,"
And its hero the Conqueror Worm.
Edgar Allen Poe- “The Conqueror Worm”
The last four lines of the conqueror worm are my four favorite lines in poetry, and for a variety of reasons. “The Conqueror Worm” depicts a disturbing rendition of the fall of man. Angels watch man’s progress throughout their collective lives in a heavenly play. I find Poe’s perception of man’s end extremely interesting. Though the way Poe describes this grotesque picture using carefully picked words and imagery is what makes this one of my favorite poems. The last four lines, however, are clearly the best. They illustrate a desperate scene and it creates powerful meaning.
The angels are forced to watch man’s once powerful civilizations collapse as mankind is destroyed. Watching mankind be destroyed is extremely difficult for the angels, and they are described as pallid and wan. It is worthy of noting that pallid and wan both mean wan. The fact that Poe uses two synonyms to describe how pale angels were really makes it seem like mankind’s demise was gruesome. The most interesting part by far is when the hero emerges. The hero is not a human, however. It is the humble earth worm. The worms come out of the ground and prey on the remains of the human race. It is in this way that they are “the conqueror worms”. Seeing man be conquered by a being as simple as the worm makes all of the angels stand up and agree, the story of man was a tragedy. This strong image of angels in heaven confirming that the “play is the tragedy, ‘man’” is what makes these the four most memorable lines in poetry.
Where sunless rivers weep
Their waves into the deep,
She sleeps a charmed sleep:
Awake her not.
Led by a single star,
She came from very far
To seek where shadows are
Her pleasant lot.
-Christina Rossetti
These are some of my favorite lines because it comes from my favorite poem of Christina Rossetti's: Dream-Land. This poem expresses the dream of a woman (meaning Rossetti herself) and how she gets away from her terrible life in this dream. These lines show how someone with such a bad life can dream and write such good poetry longing for a better life.
She hopes she is not awoken, because she does not want to get back to the unfortunate life she lives. The lines express the dream she is having, and the fantasized things that are happening. Rossetti, as a child, did not like her life because she had to raise most of her family. These lines here show her writing poetry about her desired dream and getting away from her harsh childhood.
"“Be patient,” said Grandpa. “We’ll see. We will see…”"(Dr. Suess "The Butter Battle Book).
I like this line because it seems so simple, but means so much. This line is the ending line of "The Butter Battle Book" when the boy asks his grandpa who will drop their bomb first, the Yooks or the Zooks. Sticking to the idea that this book is an allegory for the cold war, the "Bitsy Big Boy-Boomeroos" in both nations' hands represent nuclear devices. This single line makes a large comment on the state of the world. Everyone has nuclear weapons pointed at eachother, just waiting for someone to fire first. Every nation has their finger on the trigger. The statement is very powerful, but the line is so simple. I like how it is possible to say so much in such a simplistic line.
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
-T.S. Eliot "The Hollow Men"
These lines feel very powerful because it is very honest and blunt to the way the world goes. If the earth were to blow up, nothing in the universe would change. It would go indifferently with no loss to itself. We, as humans, believe ourselves to important and that time would stop with every disaster, but it does not. In relation to the rest of the poem, the references to "hollow men" shows the unimportance of people as they have nothing within them and they are living a dead existence and are transcending to another "kingdom" of death.
The Child is father of the Man
- William Wordsworth, "My Heart Leaps up When I Behold"
The poem "My Heart Leaps up When I Behold" by William Wordsworth is about the narrator who looks into the sky and sees a rainbow. The rainbow reminds him of his youth, when he looked around and everything he saw would inspire wonder and awe. Now that he is grown, the narrator still feels the same way about rainbows, and wishes that every one of his days could be filled with the same feeling.
This line by Wordsworth shows how the innocence and awe of a child could foster such feelings in a grown man, and allow them to see the world differently thatn they were brought up to see it.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
-Shel Silverstein, 'Where the Sidewalk Ends'.
These are my favorite lines by Shel Silverstein. This is mainly because of the picture they put in your mind of this place that Silverstein wants to escape from. He is not literally in a dark street, but the image of the winding black road is used to show that where he is is a terrible place. He is showing that everyone would like to leave the place where they feel trapped, as if the "smoke blows black". Overall, I think that Silverstein did a good job describing the place he wants to escape from in this poem, and this line definately helps with his image.
O dearest, dearest boy! my heart
For better lore would seldom yearn,
Could I but teach the hundredth part
Of what from thee I learn.
- "Anecdote for Fathers" by William Wordworth
I like these lines because it is part of a poem that goes out of Wordsworth's comfort zone of writing about nature. Specifically, I like these lines because they show that even a mature adult can learn from a child. In the poem, a father asks his son whether he likes the place where they used to live or the place where they now live better. The son responds that he lieks the old place better and the father can't understand why. It takes a feeble explantion from the boy for the father to realize that it is not the actual place that the boy likes better, it is just that he is afraid of change.
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
I like these lines because they rhyme and they are simple. The poem is composed strictly of questions. It is like Hughes was just writing down all of his questions about his own dreams and what would happen if he put them off any longer. These lines and the poem in its entirety show what writing is at its' purest form. Hughes shows that he, too, has questions and he, too, wonders about things like hopes and dreams.
Your slightest look easily will unclose me though I have closed myself as fingers, you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens (touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose -E.E Cummings "Somewhere I have Never Traveled, Gladly Beyond"
I like this stanza because it is very confusing at first, but once you understand it it means a lot. Cummings is talking about a woman he loves who has opened him up to new things, and making him sure of any doubts he has. The language is very poetic and makes you think, and it is clear that he is very fond of the woman who he wrote this to or about.
"I counted till they danced so
Their slippers leaped the town,
And then I took a pencil
To note the rebels down."
-Emily Dickinson, "Snow Flakes"
This part of Emily Dickinson's poem Snow Flakes is one of my favorite phrases that she wrote. I am not sure what attracts me to this part of the poem. I just love the words and how she is actually able to describe what the snowflakes look like because for many that would be extremely difficult. I also love how it flows from line to line, making a more enjoyable reading.Again the vocabulary and the word choice made the poem flow nicely. I also like the rhyming scheme. It made the poem fun and exciting to read.
Crowds of men and women attired in the usual costumes, how curious you are to me.
On the ferry-boats the hundreds and hundreds that cross, returning home, are more curious to me than you suppose,
And you that shall cross from shore to shore years hence are more to me, and more in my meditations, that you might suppose.
-- "Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman
I really like this stanza from "Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman because of the way he is able to describe the people and things going on around him. My favorite line is when he says "crowds of men and women attired in usual costumes". I think it is interesting how he refers to what people wear as a costume, something that disguises them from others. What makes Walt's writing so interesting is how he finds beauty in the most simplistic places and writes thought provoking ideas about them. In this stanza he takes an interest in the generations of people to come who will experience what he is experiencing when crossing the river to go home from work. He constantly thinks about others and nature around him, and thats what I think people enjoy about his writing.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
I like these lines because its about having to make you own choices in life. In this poem and life, there is times where you have to pick a path that you are uncertain of. This poem shows how you have to sometimes guess in life and just hope that the path you picked was the right one. Like the man in the poem, sometimes you don't know what future you choices are going to make.
"Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger's tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess"
I enjoy "Tiger"by Claude McKay because of his use of specific literary techniques. Through this poem, I am able to grasp a clearer understanding of why poets use literary techniques. He uses a metaphor comparing white men to a tiger. This creates a violent image of the tiger lunging at a person's throat, which indicates the violence and harshness in which whites attack blacks through discrimination. The quote, “[tiger] drinking my blood as my life ebbs away" creates the image at how draining and demeaning the oppression is against blacks. This metaphor assists in my understanding of how blacks were treated. It makes this uncharted area a bit familiar to me.
In addition, the use of punctuation in this poem is interesting. He often uses punctuation makes, such as in the line,"The tiger in his strength his thirst must slake!" This use along with the others demonstrates the frustration and anger within a black created by discrimination and oppression. This raw emotion lingers throughout the poem and reaches out to us. We are able to experience at least a piece of that anger which has a lasting effect on the reader. All in all, I find this poem extremely necessary in understanding the discrimination and racism of our past, and it opens up a whole new perspective for readers everywhere.
My favorite lines of Robert Frost comes from his very well known poem The Road Not Taken.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
For me, these are my favorite lines because it somewhat contradicts what Frost has been saying throughout the entire poem. I love these lines because it really describes the truth of life. I think it has such a strong meaning of reality, and that you in fact don't know what the choices you make will make any difference in your life or the life of others. I love this entire poem, but those are my favorite lines.
"A person's a person, no matter how small." (Dr. Seuss. Horton Hears a Who).
I liked this one simple line because as Andy stated, it's seems simple, but it holds a ton of meaning behind it. It incorporates Suess' past and feelings into one line. It tells of his deep regret for the atom bombs that hit Nagasaki and Hiroshima in WWII. He had a Japanese friend whose family was killed in these bombings and he wrte this book and dedicated to that friend. This line says to the U.S. that even though we couldn't see every person in thos two cities, it does not mean they were not there or didn't have friends and family. We should take into account the consequences of the actions that are being taken.
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all
-Emily Dickinson, "Hope Is The Thing With Feathers"
I like those lines because it gives the feeling of hope a new look. Emily Dickinson described hope as the bird who perches on the soul, and I think that she means that we all have hope somewhere within us, singing us songs that never die. No matter how bad life is, hope will always there, singing you sweet songs. I also feel like Dickinson is trying to tell us to never give up on hope, since it never gives up on you.
The cold smell of potato mold, the squelch and slap Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I've no spade to follow men like them.
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I'll dig with it.
-Seamus Heaney, "Digging"
These last pieces to the poem Dgging by Seamus Heaney I find vested interest in. The way in which Seamus Heaney almost purposely tries to confuse the reader with his clever and multi-faceted language is like a little puzzle game for my mind. To specify around this excerpt, I would have to say that I'm fascinated with how Heaney tells of how he will dig with a pen, much like digging outside in his backyard farm. I am also confounded with the way that, as he writes in the beginning of the excerpt, he says that the smells and sounds and general feelings attributed with digging awaken roots in his head. This I find fascinating, as the roots are probably what helps him to write and the feelings attributed to digging are a way of describing how he writes poetry. This poem by Seamus Heaney actually reflects on how he writes poetry.
I shall be telling this with a sigh. Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost, "The Road not taken"
I really like these lines because they are very meaningful. This poem is basically big metaphor, the two roads represent the choices we make in life. These lines are are also my favorite because anyone can relate to them. This is simply because everyone, at least once, had been in a dilemma of choice between two roads of life and that choice was to make all the difference.
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