Rifle
There's a crack in the air, and I'm split by the sound
the moment deadly still until it's broken by another crack.
A long sinuous echo hangs in the air,
so physical I might try to wave it away like smoke.
Then a third and fourth crack, and I'm on my feet,
even though shots aren't unheard of in hunting season,
these rural woods overfull with deer. But instead of this,
I think of the uneven unpolished grain in the stock
of my first rifle, the weight of it on the shoulder,
the trigger worn dull with use. That first sighting with the left eye
looking out. wandering through the sights; the feel of the bolt
in the hand as it snapped back, slid forward in its path
and locked, readying the cartridge as it lifts into the chamber,
secured, prepared. A second snap and it's released,
out into the world where only a second before there was nothing,
not even stillness. And then the flood of world returns.
The poem “First Poem for You” by Kim Addonizio is a sonnet written by a woman contemplating on the permanence of her lover’s tattoos. The sonnet focuses on the speaker’s perspective of her lover’s tattoos as she appears to regard them with fascination and aversion. Upon closer analysis, it could be said that the speaker’s contemplation of her lover’s tattoos is a reflection of her perspective of their relationship. By comparing the permanence of her lover’s tattoos to the fleeting nature of relationships, the speaker addresses the uncertainty of their relationship and her desire for the relationship to become permanent.
The famous works written in 1917 by poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon cast aside the conventional inspiration for content, patriotism, and delve into the horrific journey that is war. Two poems in particular, Sassoon’s “Suicide in the Trenches” and Owen’s “Dulce Et Decorum Est”, speak boldly against life in the trenches in efforts of evading the lies and illusions of a clean and righteous war. In doing so, readers are presented with tales that conjure up powerful and far-from-picturesque images that harbor the ability to shake the very core of a human through impactful language as crafted by these poets. While both poems allow the reader to come to the same conclusion that war is not clean, their approaches differ and therefore create a difference in weight of impact. Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce Et Decorum Est” is more impactful in that the gruesome imagery is more explicitly defined through dark, evoking diction, and the message of the poem is satirically approached through the strategic title to target a specific audience, while Siegfried Sassoon’s “Suicide in the Trenches” offers a similar message, but is presented in a fashion that relies on heavy contrast of tone to convey the resentful message.
The ship would take him and his crew to many places, mainly in Western Africa. Hughes was so excited to finally see Africa and to be apart of the culture there. When the ship finally reached shore, Hughes was disappointed. Thinking that Africa was actually pretty ridiculous with men walking around in white gowns, women showing their breast and little children running around naked. There were also many brothels there that Hughes described the setting as little African boys bringing the crew members to see ‘my sister, two shillings’. These brothels not only disgusted Hughes, but also disappointed him on how the Africans praised them. Hughes wrote in his journal, which is now protected at Yale University, calling them “vile houses of rotting
This is about the bullets that puncture the air and the image of ‘smacking’ refers to the winded feelings the solider has as he runs for his life across the field. His ‘numb’ rifle and ‘smashed arm’ have a the same meaning: he could feel numb to the pain he has to cause with the rifle. He could have smashed his rifle into his arm in his panic. This highlights both the soldier’s inexperience and trauma at what he has had to do in the war. This poem highlights the reality of conflicts and the fear and terror that soldiers feel.
Most classes (even those who were rich) had more or less of an idea on
9. Asa Clardy was a tall muscular man with gray sideburns and an irregular shaped long scar on his left cheek. Asa reacts cruelly and dishonestly to situations.
Trotting tirelessly through various terrains, witnessing death and other atrocities at every corner, and slowly losing oneself in the process is the life of a soldier. The poem "Dedicated to the Infantryman" by Gary McDonough accurately and thoroughly depicts this. Although it is vague and does not directly mention any one soldier, it is an overarching poem which can apply to the life of a soldier overall. Especially, it relates to the death of Kiowa and the ramifications this loss has on Norman Bowker from the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.
Whenever people read poetry it takes into another planet, wonder how? Most authors of poetry have managed to take people into places they never seen before. Their use of imagery can describe both a majestic place or a nightmare on earth, and anything in between. For example, the use of metaphors can connect objects, or places to another, and as a result a metaphor can uncover new and fascinating advantages of the original thing. Another example is alliteration that provides importance, and sometimes supports in memory because it is catchy and perhaps humorous. In the magical world of poetry, all the rules of formal writing go out the window and create a piece of art, something that is entirely unique. Poetry is also very unique because it rarely uses characters; instead it uses literary devices that describe everything in depth. Overall, poetry uses many ways and methods to intrigue its readers to what more and more poetry. With hundreds of spectacular poets we have today it is made possible.
In the poem by Joy Harjo called “Eagle Poem,” Harjo talks about prayer and life and how they revolve around mother-nature. She suggests that while being one with nature, we feel we are in a place in which we haven’t imagined and the things in which we would love to do in that magnificent and calming place. After one reads the poem, he/she enjoys the lyrical type of it. This is because “Eagle Poem” sticks to one idea and extends it throughout the entire poem. For instance, it talks about prayer, nature, and animals from start to finish.
Song speaks of the narrator commanding a rose to go deliver a message of the urgency of his love to his love; "Go, lovely rose!" The rose is a symbol of love and beauty. In this case, in the first stanza, the narrator is telling his girl how beautiful he thinks she is; "When I resemble her to thee, How sweet and fair she seems to be."
He may have used this technique to make war seem if it had made men
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.
When we first started the poetry unit, I felt that I would hate reading and creating poetry. When I heard we had to read poetry I was very disappointed. Every other year we did poetry units, I hated it. I hated every part of it. I dreaded reading poetry and answering the questions. I mostly felt this way because I am a factual person. I always have to have one right answer. I do not like when there are more than one answer choices that are correct. Poetry always has more than one interpretation.This year, however, hearing poetry and writing my own poetry has changed my opinion on poetry. Although I still hate answering questions on the poems I love to listen to poetry and write my own poetry. But, even when you read the poems that I write they are very straightforward and there are usually no other ways to interpret it.
War consumes the youth of young men and completely alters a person. From numerous poems, it is made clear that war exhausts the youth of young men, and has left their lives with no meaning. These poems are “Dulce Et Decorum Est” and “Mental Cases” written by Wilfred Owen. Similarly, they both employ the same techniques, such as similes and metaphors. However, a somewhat different perspective is projected through the poem “In Flanders Field” by John McCrae, which dissimilitudes yet intensifies the main message. Whether from a more emotional perspective or from a physical view, war has devastated the prime time of many young men in multitudinous ways.
Poetry unlike fiction is solely based on the author’s personal take on a certain subject. The tone, diction, syntax, and mood of a poem are all determined by the author of the poem. For some readers, to interpret a poem or explain the plot can be a difficult task. Other forms of literature such, as fiction is much easier to understand and discuss.