Blank verse

In Robert Frost’s blank verse poem “‘Out, Out-,’” the speaker recounts the story of a young boy who loses his hand, and ultimately his life, while working with a buzz-saw, presumably on his family’s farm. The speaker remains an observer throughout the narrative, presenting the poem in the first person. The use of first-person narration establishes an intimacy between the speaker and reader, so that the reader sympathizes with the speaker and not the “they.” “They” remain ambiguous throughout the…

In the eighteenth-century poem "To the University of Cambridge", Phillis Wheatley commands undergraduate students at Harvard to give attention to both their academics and to how their actions align with the lessons of moral conscientiousness and refinement that Jesus promotes. Wheatley's seemingly free meter contrasts with the position Wheatley sits in in the hierarchy of society. As an enslaved, penniless, formally-uneducated black woman, Wheatley resides at the bottom of the hierarchy of…

December 22, 609 AD till his death in 632 AD. The word Quran or Koran Justo González says literally means “the recitation”. It is considered the greatest work of literature in the Arabic language. The chapters of the Quran are called suras, and the verses are called ayahs. The Quran was not compiled until after Muhammad’s death. Then it was put into the form it is today but lacks any organization or structure. The Quran includes divine messages revealed to Muhammad covering the entire period of…

workings of humanity. This in turn allows for the formulation of an individual’s perceptions regarding mankind, to be created accordingly. Robert Frost highlights this enlightenment within an individual though the poem Mending Wall. The poem is blank verse and colloquial, as expressed through the irregular iambic pentameter that features seven 11-syllable lines. Moreover, a conversational quality is maintained by the repetition of “And” and “But” as the beginning of new lines. This vernacularism…

preparation, research, errors being corrected and brainstorming of ideas. The philosopher, I agree with most is Jean Jacques Rousseau, he believed that people are born free, equal and peaceful. However, he also thought that humans were born with a “blank slate” –without sin, morality, experience, or knowledge. His argument was that living in society is what corrupted humans. I feel the same way, we are what we are taught, both verbally and…

facts. For example, Robinson believes that tests are important, however other curriculums should be equally as important as the primary classes or STEM. Zakaria suggests that because of the tests America has taken, they are worse at problem solving verses academically compared to other countries. Progressing in to Fareed Zakaria’s text, he gives supportive facts that enhances his beliefs on America’s test taking. Zakaria notes “The United States performed terrible, scoring below the OECD average…

The world when the modern poetry was born was deeply touched by the discoveries of that time, be it Einstein’s theory, or Freud, or the development of a new art – photography. Everything come together and left its mark on modern literature, and implicit, on poetry. On this period, a great influence over the poetry of the world had the American poets. According to Cary Nelson, the modern American poetry is “unexcelled in its richness, inventiveness, and diversity”, and those characteristic are…

John Keats is said to be seen as one of the most “canniest readers, interpreters, and questioners of the “modern” project in poetry, which sought to dwell in the desires and sufferings of the human heart.” His works such as Ode to Melancholy is a worthy example as to how Keats illustrates the relatable feeling of pain, and shines light on the common idea that it is to be hidden and masked with false happiness. In this work he tells us to embrace it, to take it by the hand and let it flow through…

The beginning of the seventeenth century gave authors and, especially, poets, a chance to experiment in literature more than in previous times. This was a time of great social upheaval which took a toll on literature. Eventually, the idea behind poetry and thoughts about how it must be written evolved for many readers and writers alike. William Wordsworth and John Keats were two such individuals. Each poet believed that poetry must be written, not only to entertain, but to enlighten and enhance…

often and sometimes needlessly argued over because they are indefinable. So much can fall under the categories of these types, like art, love, and poetry, that deems them impossible to narrow down into workable definitions. A blank canvas can be considered art and free verse is somehow still poetry, but the vagueness of the definitions of these words is not what plagues the attempts to specify the American identity. It is instead the juxtaposition of blatant contradictions that makes this…