Confessional poetry

Parent child relationship is very sensitive. The theme of the two poems “My Father in the Navy: A Childhood Memory” by Judith Ortiz Cofer and “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden shows the ‘Father’ plays an important role in the upbringing of child and sacrifices his days and nights in hard labors or services in order to provide the needs of his beloved children. Similarly a child returns a father’s love and care by showing his/her admiration and affection. . “Those Winter Sundays” is a…

A country or state succeeds when everybody works to accomplish it. Therefore, all citizens should be allowed to contribute, so every kind of social exclusion or discrimination must be avoided. Walt Whitman (1819-1892) and Langston Hughes (1902-1967) emphasized the importance of union among American citizens. Both Whitman’s “One Song, America, Before I Go” and Hughes’ “I, Too” point out the significance of the union among Americans despite the differences existent. Even though both authors…

The subject of war and death comes with a sense of loss, terror, conflict and pain. Two examples of poetry that present the subject of war and death are Carol Ann Duffy’s poem, “War Photographer,” and Robert Bly’s poem, “Driving Through Minnesota During the Hanoi Bombings.” Both of these poems present vivid images of the battle, show the devastating feelings towards war and provide the psychological impact on those involved in war. It is as if the “War Photographer” has captured similar…

Emily Dickinson is currently regarded as one of the greatest American poets, even though she kept her work a secret during her life. Although she had a normal childhood, Dickinson became increasingly isolated as she became an adult. Despite this, Dickinson created her best works during this time. One such work was her short poem, I heard a Fly buzz – when I died - . Many of Dickinson 's poems focus on death, so when I heard a Fly buzz – when I died – does so as well, it does not come as a…

Literary Canon The literary Canon should not be abolished, but simply modified and modernized to suit the changes that have occurred in the world. The Canon was usually associated with the literary work of white Europeans, but after the 1980s changes occurred as the work of African Americans and women became more stage centered sparking a debate about the canon. The core of the canon comes from the literary works of the 19th century and that core should remain constant as the foundation, but it…

Poets often adapt their poetry to the events and occurrences that shape the world around them. Chilean poet Pablo Neruda perfectly incorporates his surroundings into his work. After becoming famous, he was appointed as a consul for Chile and was stationed in Spain during the Spanish Civil War (Poetry Foundation). During the war, Neruda became a strong supporter of the communist Republican Party; when the Republicans lost the war he lost many of his close friends, which greatly impacted his…

A Swinger of Birches Hardened by the daily toils and responsibilities, the soft innocence of youth is easily forgotten with age. Walking through the woods in solitude, a man lets his busy mind wander for a moment. With the sight of trees swaying in the wind, his mind understands that the heavy ice and snow is what bends the thin trees. But his heart wonders if it was a boy’s doing – climbing to the top of the trees just to bend them enough so he can let go and fall safely to the ground – that…

My initial reaction is to say that there is no way to think “like a poet” because poets do not think alike. To be a poet, one must have something to say that is worth saying. Therefore, if all poets thought alike, then their poetry would not be that good…right? However, poetry is not completely avant-garde and formless. There are specific modes of thinking that allow one to stand out as a poet. Jane Hirshfield says “a good poem draws on the originality hidden at language-making’s core and also…

Throughout William Shakespeare’s sonnets, there are many highs and lows in his love life. Shakespeare encounters jealousy, heartbreak, utter bliss, and everything in between. All of the first 126 sonnets are addressed to a man. This man is Shakespeare’s rival poet, but also his younger, extremely handsome lover. However, this lover is not faithful and gives Shakespeare as much grief as he does pleasure. The poem I chose to analyze is Sonnet 71. The organization of the sonnet and the meaning…

Li- Young Lee poem This Hour and What is Dead seems to be filled with heartache and memorization from the death of his brother and father. Due to the format the poem is written it can be inferred that Lee use the Lord and other phrases as his connection to help humanize what can be looked at as a dream of the person he has talked about in each stanza. Li- Young does a tremendous job at using specific words to help allow the audience of this poem to visualize each scenario he is stating…