Edwin Morgan's Opening the Cage The poem "Opening the Cage," by Edwin Morgan, is based on a quote taken from John Cage. Cage said, "I have nothing to say and I am saying it and that is poetry." Cage's quote contains fourteen words which are rearranged fourteen times by the poet to create a fourteen line sonnet. At first glance, the poem may seem to be random and senseless, and this interpretation could hold true, for Cage was known especially for his chaotic and seemingly mindless music. One thing to keep in mind is that Cage desired to create meaning through musical methods that most people would believe to be meaningless. Edwin Morgan, the author, is similarly doing this by creating meaning through meaninglessness. Based on a line of 14 words, by simply taking all possible combinations of the words, there are over 87 billion combinations. Certainly, most of these combinations would not make any sense at all, but surely there are more than 14 that would make some sort of sense. This means the author did not just take 14 lines that make little sense and compose a random poem. Instead, each line builds upon the previous line and leads into the next one. Similar to most English sonnets, this poem explains a problem or dilemma in the first 12 lines. The last two lines (or final couplet) solve the problem and shed light on the rest of the poem. The paradox in this sonnet is that, even though saying (or creating) poetry is nothing in and of itself, through producing poetry as a reader or, even more importantly, as an author, we can gain meaning from the poetry, and only then can we make it a part of us. In the first line a question is asked: "I have to say poetry and is that nothing and am I saying it?" The second line is simply a paraphrase of the first question. The poet wants to know if writing poetry is worth anything, or if it is "nothing." The poem explores and wanders while developing the entire theme until the opening question is answered by the final couplet. The first two lines are followed by two more corresponding lines. Lines 3-4 state that the author has nothing, but that he has poetry to say and he must say it. To summarize the first quatrain, the author asks what the meaning of poetry is, but before he has answered his initial question, he continues by explaining that, regardless of his condition, or the meaning of poetry, he has something he must say through poetry.
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 Underground Railroad was large group of people who secretly worked together to help slaves escape slavery in the south. Despite the name, the Underground Railroad had nothing to do with actual railroads and was not located underground (www.freedomcenter.org). The Underground Railroad helped move hundreds of slaves to the north each year. It’s estimated that the south lost 100,000 slaves during 1810-1850 (www.pbs.org).
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The idea of silence explains that there is nothing to hear, nothing to create vibrations for a person’s ear drums to feel. ‘Silence’ only occurs in space where there remains no medium for the vibrations to travel through. However, here on Earth, air and water remain the mediums, therefore, I can concur with Cage in that there exists “no such thing as silence”. Comparing this philosophy with the definition of what music should be, then “Mr. Cage’s work fails totally” (Rockwell). Several of Cage’s works were just long periods of silence. If you played a John Cage CD, you might as well have put it in the machine and not even pressed play (Rockwell). Music is supposed to entertain people with its lovely melodies and colorful moods. However, John Cage’s music did not entertain people, it allowed people to entertain themselves. Listening closely to what surrounded them, people need to work for their entertainment, not mindlessly listen to music somebody has already composed. In a way, Cage created an entire new perspective on the way music is seen and
In poetry, we can vent our frustration and interpretations of the world around us on paper. Poets make their points using metaphors or little stories to bring them out. When reading poetry, I always put myself in the shoes of the first or third person to better understand what is trying to be put across in the words of the sonnets. Most poems can mean anything to anybody. There are many cases in which you see people finding beauty in things they don't even understand, such as an Italian Opera or Ancient Hieroglyphics painted on a pyramid wall. Poetry can be silly, cheesy, boring or down right appealing and consuming to the readers eyes.
The Underground Railroad was not an actual railroad, nor was it an established route. It was, however, a way of getting slaves from the South to the North, or in this case, from the Deep South, to Mexico. In the 1800s, slavery was a major issue. As the United States began to mature, slavery began to divide. Slavery in the considered “Northern States” was emancipated, and slaves, still under bondage in the South, were looking for ways to get to the North. The Underground Railroad was one way to find freedom. A common myth about the Underground Railroad is that it was only in a pathway full of people, all trying to make it to the North for freedom. The truth is there was hardly any help in the South. The major help came along when the slaves reached the North. A former slave by the name of James Boyd was once interviewed in Itasca, Texas on this very subject. He recalls that many slaves running across the established border between Mexico and Texas to reach freedom in Mexico. ...
The voice which speaks concerns represents the general people who also have fears and are insecure about their future. By having the voice speak these concerns, the attachment increases to the poem. With the one word addendum of the “echo” rhyming with the last word of each line, the poet gives an immediate answer to the question, leading to another which creates a conversation, as well as a rhythm. In the first quatrain, the voice asks general questions of how to start blank/from nothing. The title which suggests that the sonnet is created by an echo which answers “To an Empty Page” , where the “Empty Page” is a metaphor for the “voice” which is the man who is trembling on his future. The strong one word answer to the questions lead to more and more. For example, the answer to the first question “How from emptiness can I make a start” is “start”, emphasizing that no matter what, the first thing to do is to “start” and take the first step. After this question the author juxtaposes the two words “joy” and “grief” and the echo responds with “grief” saying he must master this starting. In the next two lines, the author adds that “art” and “leaf” are the cure for this “consolation” and “relief” which brings up nature and
The first stanza describes the depth of despair that the speaker is feeling, without further explanation on its causes. The short length of the lines add a sense of incompleteness and hesitance the speaker feels towards his/ her emotions. This is successful in sparking the interest of the readers, as it makes the readers wonder about the events that lead to these emotions. The second and third stanza describe the agony the speaker is in, and the long lines work to add a sense of longing and the outpouring emotion the speaker is struggling with. The last stanza, again structured with short lines, finally reveals the speaker 's innermost desire to "make love" to the person the speaker is in love
...e speaker admits she is worried and confused when she says, “The sonnet is the story of a woman’s struggle to make choices regarding love.” (14) Her mind is disturbed from the trials of love.
Many people look for an activity that will better themselves, weightlifting is the greatest activity in the world for such a goal. Weightlifting has so many benefits to it and it can improve the quality of life for anyone who can do it. Weightlifting is one of the activities that, in conjunction with other exercise and proper diet, will improve overall health, physical performance, and mentality.The health benefits that come from weightlifting are numerous and immense. Weightlifting increases muscle strength and it increases bone density as well. Increase in bone density is one of the most beneficial side effects yielded by weightlifting. Not only does strength training increase your physical work capacity, Strength workouts will raise your
4. In lines 85 to the end of the poem is where we can find the true meaning of the piece. After what seems to be a very bi-polar first part, the speaker finally settles with being one of a kind. She claims that “song has touched her lips with fire/ and made her heart a shrine;” and feels as if she has this special gift (poetry) that she hopes will be remembered forever.
...a definite and recognizable pattern. This poem is certainly not a sonnet, either in subject matter, meaning, or format. The rhyme scheme for this poem is that of A B B A, C D D C, E F F E, G H H G. There is enough continuity in this rhyme scheme to hold the poem together as a whole through the use of the pattern, however the changing of the actual rhyming words and the fact that, for instance, the A word is only repeated one time (as are all of the others) intensifies the poets feelings of loss over the change in his love's desires. Through the rhyming scheme, the poet is conveying the hopelessness of the two of them getting back together and repeating the beautiful love they once shared.
The Highway Administration Program was concerned with the repair of the worn out roads in the country during the winter period. This owed to the falling of snow on the roads that made activities such as driving and transportation very difficult to the citizens of the country.
A sonnet is a fixed patterned poem that expresses a single, complete thought or idea. Sonnet comes from the Italian word “sonetto”, which means “little song”. Poem, on the other hand, is English writing that has figurative language, and written in separate lines that usually have a repeated rhyme, but don’t all the time. The main and interesting thing is that these two poems or sonnets admire and compare the beauty of a specific woman, with tone, repetition, imagery, and sense of sound.
Overall the images representing the speakers past give the idea that its not easy for the speaker to face his destiny alone. The fourteen line sonnet is constructed of three quatrains and one couplet. With the organization of the poem, Shakespeare works out a different idea in each of the three quatrains as he writes the sonnet to lend itself naturally. Each of the quatrain contains a pair of images that create one universal idea in the quatrain.