Browse some poetry sites online. Find a poem that you find interesting. Copy and paste that poem onto the blog (don't forget to include the title and poet's name!). Them, write a brief paragraph explaining who the speaker is, what's going on in the poem, and what you find unusual about the poem. Finally, pose a question to the rest of the class about the poem you found.
Not sure where to start looking? Check out these websites!
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/
http://www.poetry-online.org/
http://www.poetry.org/
http://www.poetrysoup.com/
Hello Ms Gelso and classmates
ReplyDeleteThe Best Time Of The Day
by Raymond Carver
Cool summer nights.
Windows open.
Lamps burning.
Fruit in the bowl.
And your head on my shoulder.
These the happiest moments in the day.
Next to the early morning hours,
of course. And the time
just before lunch.
And the afternoon, and
early evening hours.
But I do love
these summer nights.
Even more, I think,
than those other times.
The work finished for the day.
And no one who can reach us now.
Or ever.
In this poem the narrator is talking in first person (he is the poet), and he expresses his own thoughts and feelings about the best time of the day. He is describing each time (morning, noon, afternoon and night) trying to understand which one he believes is the best for him. Finally, he ends up concluding that it is the summer night where he calls it a day. Something the unusual about this poem (or some questions that I have) is firstly why does he choose the night? Is it because he relaxes and is ready to sleep or because of the general atmosphere that is romantic having his wife (probably) on his shoulder and the lamps burning in the cool night? Why in the end he says that no one can reach them now or ever? What does he mean?
Question for fellow classmates:
Which do you think is the best time of the day?
Stavros,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great poem! The imagery (words that appeal to my senses) is very vivid. I can practically feel those summer nights and see the lamps burning. Like you, I found the end unusual.
Grammatical tip: You wrote "Something the unusual about this poem" instead of "Something that is unusual about this poem."
In response to your question, I agree with the poet. While there are so many things I like about different times of day, maybe in the evening during summer is my favorite. The heat has started to cool and it is so relaxing! The line "windows open" reminds me of how good it feels to have a light breeze going through the house.
Good work! I can't wait to read the other poems everyone chooses!
Fire And Ice
ReplyDeleteby Robert Frost
Some say the world will end in fire;
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
What does the poem mean?
I found this poem talking about an argument and how he prefers fire than ice idea.
Who is the caracter?
the character is the writer in this case thereso he is writing in first perspon
What was unusual?
The unusual part of the poem was that it talked about the end of the world which could have frozen or gone on fire.
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
ReplyDeleteTwo 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;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
The speaker in this poem is the author that is also the traveler. In the poem there is a traveler that is stuck at crossroad that wants to take both roads but can only take one so he takes the one less traveled by and had adventure. I think that how he took the one that had fewer travelers is unusual because he could miss out on something that everybody else comes to see on the other road. But when he did take that road he had a good time to.
A question for the class is: which road would you take in your life, the one which most people take or less people take.
Answer to Stavros question is: the best time of day is in the morning because you get to start again and do something else that you didn’t do yesterday.
If You Forget Me by Pablo Neruda
ReplyDeleteI want you to know
one thing.
You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.
Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.
If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.
If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.
But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine
Hello Ms Gelso,
I chose this poem because the way the author portrays his heartbreak towards his love leaves me fascinated. The speaker of this poem is the author telling to the person he loved that he is going to forget about her and all the memories they had make it difficult.
What I find unusual about the poem is that he was expressing the elements of nature throughout the memories that he had with his lover. I also all the descriptions about nature were probably memories that him and his love had together.
I wanted to ask the class: how would you react if someone told that to to you?
Have a nice day!
Dear Ms Gelso and classmates here is my poem named
ReplyDeleteSorry
By Joe Flach
For years she did nothing, knowing her husband abused the kids;
For fear that he’d turn on her, from his devious ways she always hid.
She tried to make it up to them by making life fun when he was gone,
But their spirits were too damaged; his shadow was too long.
She watched her children suffer through decisions she had made;
Turning a blind eye to the abuse is the hand that she had played.
She didn’t have the courage to make this monster stop;
She wanted to be stronger but, unfortunately, she was not.
She finally had to do something; she couldn’t take it anymore;
“Sorry” was the only word on the suicide note left on the floor.
In this poem the writer himself is narrating the personality of a mother who did nothing to stop the abuse of her children for years together, and when she finally did something it was even more painful for the children. The woman was inactive for protecting her children and in the bargain the personality of her kids was damaged even when she tried to compensate in the absence of his husband. The fear that she had in herself because of her husband, didn’t make her do anything to guard her children and she watched them suffer through the mistreat that was done by her husband. It is unusual that a mother didn’t stand by her kids for their protection, and I believe that just a sorry wouldn’t heal the pain that the kids suffered from.
Questions for the classmates
How many other options were there for the mother to protect her children?
In the end why didn’t she had enough courage to stop her monster like husband?
I am seeing some very interesting poems! Good word!
ReplyDeleteAlessandro and Christian--you both chose Robert Frost poems! While these poems seem simple at first, I have thought about them in different ways each time I have read them over the years. For example, in "The Road not Taken," I used to think that the speaker chose a road, or life's journey, that was atypical, or different from that chosen by others. But then these lines made me think otherwise:
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Here the speaker explains that really the paths are "the same" and they "equally lay." I wonder what this means? Was the path he chose really original or unique or less travelled? What do you think?
Paloma,
This poem reminded me of the poem Stavros chose because of the beautiful imagery (sensory language). It made me feel alive and very present in regard to the setting. You really pointed out the beauty of the poem when you discussed the elements of nature. This is maybe one that we should talk about as a class!
Fiza,
I was not familiar with this poem before you posted it. The mother's final action, her suicide, really struck me as ironic. She was so pained by her husband's abuse towards the children, but the only action she could take was to commit suicide. Moreover, her suicide takes away any possibility of acting and protecting the children in the future! I wonder when the poem was written. Was it written during a time when women did not have as much support as they do now? There was a time when women had nowhere to turn if their husbands were abusive.
Heaven Is What I Cannot Reach!
ReplyDeleteby Emily Dickinson
Heaven is what I cannot reach!
The apple on the tree,
Provided it do hopelss hang,
That "heaven" is, to me.
The color on the cruising cloud,
The interdicted ground
Behind the hill, the house behind, --
There Paradise is found!
this poem is written in third person, it is probably the author who is talking. The poem describes what heaven is for the speaker, she says it is whatever she/he can't reach. what is unusual in this poem is how she/he describes heaven because everybody says heaven is in the clouds with the golden gate and all the angels and good people having fun but she describes heaven like something she cant reach.
The question is:how could be an apple be heaven?
Hello Everyone!
ReplyDeleteWhen you are old
By William Butler Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
In this poem the author is talking about himself, being old and remembering some great moments of his life. He is describing his love for somebody special to him, maybe because he didn't have the opportunity to tell her what he feels about her.
Hello everyone,
ReplyDeleteI would like to talk about my favorite poem got from a book of Leo Buscaglia. The author is a student of the author of the book that gives this poem to Leo…
Remember the day I borrowed your brand new car and I dented it?
I thought you'd kill me, but you didn't.
And remember the time I dragged you to the beach, and you said it would rain, and it did?
I thought you'd say, "I told you so." But you didn't.
Do you remember the time I flirted with all the guys to make you jealous, and you were?
I thought you'd leave me, but you didn't.
Do you remember the time I spilled strawberry pie all over your car rug?
I thought you'd hit me, but you didn't.
And remember the time I forgot to tell you the dance was formal and you showed up in jeans?
I thought you'd drop me, but you didn't.
Yes, there were lots of things you didn't do,
But you put up with me, and you loved me, and you protected me.
There were lots of things I wanted to make up to you when you returned from Viet Nam.
But you didn't.
I think that the author through this poem, wants to show how life is hard but if got with patience is more simple to be faced.
The young girl in love wants to show that it’s easier and clearer to demonstrate sentiments through actions then through words. Also, the girl shows that she had lot of time to be sorry, but doesn’t use the time available and looses all the opportunities to demonstrate how deep was her love towards his loved boyfriend…
The question I ask to the rest of the class is:
Reading this poem hev you ever thought about a particular situation where you were not able to express your feelings and didn’t have the opportunity to do so anymore???
If You Forget Me by Pablo Neruda
ReplyDeleteI want you to know
one thing.
You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.
Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.
If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.
If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.
But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine
I chose this poem because he talks towards his love leaves me astonished in a good way. The speaker is the author telling to the person he loved that he is forgetting about her and all what they passed together.
have a nice day!!!!
Tomas,
ReplyDeleteEmily Dickinson is a difficult poet. At first, her poems seem to easy, but when you look closer they really are not. You noticed exactly what I noticed about the poem, too: Why is it that the speaker considers heaven to be something unreachable for her? Is it literally unreachable? Or does she feel like simply the idea of heaven is unreachable?
Mihnea,
This is one of my favorite poems by Yeats. The imagery helps me feel like I am really there and forces me to imagine myself as I might be when I am old one day. However, I disagree with you on who the speaker is. First of all, it is written in second person, so the speaker is talking to someone else. Then, look at the second stanza:
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
The third line about ONE man loving her ("one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you") leads me to believe that maybe the speaker is that one man who loved her. What do you think?
Dafne,
This poem's ending was very surprising to me. I agree, that one of the main themes of the poem is that love can be shown through actions and not only words. I think that the final lines also show the speaker's regret for not showing her love better while the man was still alive. It really shows us that we should express our emotions and show our love and kindness to others now and not wait around.
Please note the differences between "then" and "than" and between "looses" and "loses."
WHEN WE TWO PARTED
ReplyDeleteby:Lord Byron (1788-1824)
When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.
The dew of the morning
Sunk chill on my brow--
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame:
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.
They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o'er me--
Why wert thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee too well:
Lond, long shall I rue thee,
Too deeply to tell.
I secret we met--
I silence I grieve,
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee?
With silence and tears.
I found noting unusual it was the same old lord Byron with al his poetry language. It is mainly about him breaking up with a woman he loves. I think the speaker is sad to see the one he loves being taken away from him they loved each so much that it says this in the poem “I secret we met I silence I grieve ”here you can see that he has no idea what to do if to met her or not and if he dose what happens. The next thing that came to mind was it may be that he is poor and the woman he loves is rich and since they are not in the same social class they may have not been able to get married, at the end they agreed to not see each other anymore but ended it in a question, a thick question, this question is “After long years,
How should I greet thee?
With silence and tears. ”
My question for the class is how you will feel if you were the speaker? how would you greet her in silence of in tears? And the big question have how is it from the girls said of the poem when I say girl I mean the one he fell in love with I would like to know how you think she feels about every thing ?
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
ReplyDeleteThere is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
I talks about when the sidewalk ends and that here is grass and that the children know that the sidewalk ends and then there are beautiful things.
The strange thing is why does it talk all about the sidewalk ending.
The question for the class is why does the poem talk only about the sidewalk ending?
Gave a nice day!!!!