Before taking this class I was unsure of whether I would like it or not. I had not written any poetry since middle school and the poems I had read in high school were all old and boring. That is not to say that I wasn’t looking forward to it because I knew there was poetry that I liked and I’ve always had an appreciation for words. Having not written poetry in so long made me unsure of how to actually do it. Should I use a special size notebook? Edit the piece while typing it? Etc. Gradually these anxieties dissipated and I was able to focus simply on the actual writing. As my writing evolved I became more aware of word meanings and line breaks, not just in my own writing and other poems I read but also everything else I’ve been reading during my time in this class.
The exercises from the book that helped me the most to develop my own poetry writing were the ones that put unusual restrictions, such as writing a sonnet where each line ends with the provided words or using words that have a certain connotation to describe something completely opposite. These constricted guidelines pushed me to be more
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Now I am definitely more inclined to read poetry in my spare time, something I never did before. Some of the poems that I picked I really enjoyed but didn’t find them that relatable so it was somewhat difficult to write about them. Writing about the poems was probably the most difficult part of this project because I was often unsure about why I liked the poems I did and didn’t want to write that I just liked them because they sounded nice. I think I did a good job of starting this project early and was taking out poetry books from the library well before it was due. I wish I could have just read my top three favorites to the class without having to try to facilitate some type of
Poetry is often created by an author’s need to escape the logical, as well as expressing feelings and other expressions in a tight, condensed manner. Hundreds of poets have impacted society throughout history through phenomenal poetry that, even with dark tones can be emotionally moving.
Poetry is something that is to be read delicately and cautiously if one wanted to find meaning through the words. Readers have to be gentle and patiently ponder about what they are reading in order to find any significance in the poem. If someone is not patient with reading, they will not feel impacted by poetry and will not want to read it. In Billy Collins’, “Introduction to Poetry,” he uses figurative language to help readers see that the way to enjoy and understand poetry is by reading between the lines and being patient with how each individual relates to the readings.
...r’.” Poetry for students. Ed. Sara Constantakis. Vol. 43 Detroit: Gale, 2013. Literature Resource Center. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?>.
In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by the name of Langston Hughes. A well-known writer that still gets credit today for pomes like “ Theme for English B” and “Let American be American Again.”
I am currently an English 160 student who is hoping to move on to the next course, which is English 161. I understand the requirements for English 161. It require students to explore a topic in some depth and conduct independent research related to that topic. Conducting research allows students to learn what it is like to participate in academic culture, posing questions about important issues and developing an argument in response to what others have said. It expected students to learn the most valuable skill in college, which is critical thinking. Students have to be able to read challenging readings. Although I still have problems with English, I think I’m qualified to move on.
Entering this course I was worried because I have struggled with writing in the past, and writing has never been my strongest area. I feared writing classes in middle and high school, and had the same expectations for this course. I had wondered if I was ready for college English, and was worried that my skills and abilities would not be one the level they needed to be for college courses. My attitude and understanding of my writing process have both changed since the beginning of this semester. One thing that really helped my attitude and confidence was the fact that I was able to complete the assignments and get a decent grade. I was worried that I might not be able to do college level writing, and when I started completing the assignments and learning new ways to write my confidence and attitude changed. Another thing that really helped me throughout this course was that there was plenty of reading and information available to guide me through my assignments. I realized that there was more freedom when it comes to writing than I had experienced in high school. Being able to write more freely, and the freedom to choose what subjects I would write over made the assignments more enjoyable and easier to
Martin Luther King Jr once said“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that”. This shows us that light exhibits love, however can be destroyed by the darkness. In the book Honest Truth, a 12 year old, Mark exhibits that love is unbreakable when built a strong bond with someone. “Dogs die, but the dogs live as well. Right up until they die they live.They protect their families . And love us. Make our lives brighter. And they will not waste time thinking about tomorrow”-(Gemeinhart 140) . He shows the bond not breaking despite experiencing various consequences. In the poem, The Gardener XVII, the poet shows that light is inevitable, but darkness can lurk around.For example, in Line 4 the poet mentions”Your words are too dark I cannot understand them”(Tagore 4). This shows that dark cannot be incomprehensible, but light can show us that there are many paths of life. Despite these two passages being written years apart, they still use proper language to show us the differences between light and dark. The poet and author use of literary devices such as similes alongside vivid imagery as well as irony to ensure that the poem and the book shows the proper emphasis of the theme.
When going through life learning is an everyday occurrence as each day is constantly filled with information that is used throughout the course of your life. Each day we get stronger and stronger in whatever we decide to put our minds to, weather that be academics, sports, our jobs we are constantly learning and growing on a daily basis. This semester I have grown in English as I personally felt that through the English 102 course I have been able to grasp some key concepts and writing techniques that will better me for the future. In this class there was a list of goals and outcomes that the instructor felt would be achievable and the best way to learn throughout the course. In each goal throughout this process I feel like I have improved to some degree but there is other things that I do need to touch up on a bit more to further my writing education outside the classroom.
As Edgar Allan Poe once stated, “I would define, in brief the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of beauty.” The two poems, “Birthday,” and “The Secret Life of Books” use different diction, theme, and perspective to give them a unique identity. Each author uses different literary devices to portray a different meaning.
During this few days, the class focused on two poems Strange Fruit and Primping in the Rearview Mirror. Both poems had interesting stories and meaningful messages behind them. I particular liked reading Strange Fruit by Abel Meeropol. Even though the poem was heavy as it describes the horrendous lynching of black men in the South during the 1940s. I think the poem, both when it was originally written and now, allows it readers to truly think about the serious role that racism had in the American society.
The three sources I have selected are all based on females. They are all of change and transformation. Two of my selections, "The Friday Everything Changed" by Anne Hart, and "Women and World War II " By Dr. Sharon, are about women’s rites of passage. The third choice, "The sun is Burning Gases (Loss of a Good Friend)" by Cathleen McFarland is about a girl growing up.
Contemporary female poets are a very powerful group of female poets that with their poems shows major events and issues in society. Contemporary female poets usually all have an underlying theme of politics, women rights, life events, and sexuality. Contemporary means living or occurring at the same time and some contemporary female poets are, Adrienne Rich, Nikki Giovanni, and Gwendolyn Brooks. Adrienne Rich, Nikki Giovanni, and Gwendolyn Brooks were all writing in the late 1900s. The Women Rights movement and the Civil Rights movement were two events that occurred during the time of the late 1900s. These two movements was heavily incorporated in each Brooks’, Rich’s, and Giovanni’s life and influenced their writings. Each of these women put their personal feelings about political issues in their poems, which makes the theme of their work politics. The theme of these three women work is different aspects of politics, such as women empowerment and women rights, and racial pride. “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich, “Nikki-Rosa” by Nikki Giovanni, and “The Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks are the three poems that each represent the theme of politics regarding women rights and empowerment, and racial pride.
Romantic poetry is the creative manifestation of the views of poets who penned during the Enlightenment era. Romantic poets sought not only to entertain with their art, but often to make grand social and political statements. Poets like William Blake and Percy Bysshe Shelley used their medium to shed light on perspectives that would otherwise remain unwritten due to their controversial nature. Religion, love, and politics were often the prevailing themes of romantic poetry. Some poems were rebellious against establishment, some regarded lifelong battles with religion, and some simply recalled a drug-induced hallucination of a journey to Xanadu. Regardless of the topic, romantic poets provided a much
In the past, if I was inclined to read poetry I would probably have stopped about line two, rolled my eyes and found something else to do with my time. My view of poetry has now changed the way I read other poet’s work. My exposure to several different chapbooks now allows me to recognize themes within poetry, understand the progression of thought through their verse, and garner a comprehension of the motivation behind the artist process of producing a piece of creative art. The idea of motivation in a chapbook became clearer for me when I re-read The State of the Ship by Le. Goldstein. I originally read it in the beginning when I had no knowledge of how to interpret poetry and decided to pick it back up a few days ago. I wanted to gain a better
...h greater. The power of spoken word has reached today’s young adults. They are using it to deal with gang violence, allowing them to deal with real life issues such as divorce and last but not least, young adults use it to find their voice.