Poetic form

“One Perfect Rose” One single rose illustrates an image of love. The rose creates the feeling of warmth, support, and beauty. Dorothy Parker leads the reader to believe this romantic idea of love, until she shows she wants something more unique and spontaneous than a single rose with little to no meaning. Through archaic terminology, imagery, and symbolism, of the rose, Parker argues against the outdated view of love in society and literature. Dorothy Parker’s use of archaic…

imagery and a free verse poetry form throughout the plot of the text. In the beginning of the poem, the speaker begins their story by announcing to the reader that they have been eating poetry as ink runs from their mouth. As the plot culminates, the reader learns that as the speaker continues to viciously gorge himself on the poetry, the poems continue to further reduce him to his truest state of being: a savage. Throughout the text, the speaker’s use of imagery and the form of the poem help to…

The poem “Death, Be Not Proud”, by John Donne, is a Petrarchan sonnet, which is divided to an octave (the first eight lines) and a sestet (the last six lines). In the octave we are exposed to the speaker who seems to be a simple man who does not like Death (maybe from a personal experience, but we cannot know for sure), and probably religious. We can assume he is religious by the belief of “soul’s delivery” (8) and eternal life after death, as stated in line 13. The speaker addresses Death, and…

“Home is where the heart is” a known motto said by many but can have different meanings. Home is symbolized as the one safe haven many people turn back to and have the most affection for. In the poems “Africa” by Maya Angelou and “A Far Cry from Africa” by Derek Walcott both show significant importance of how their home is for them. In both poems Africa is the main theme based in each of the author’s viewpoints Africa is expressed in its actions instead of a being harmonious and a place to…

An Explication of Love: “Sonnet 130” Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” is a powerful poem that describes love as something based off of more than mere beauty. The poem depicts the speaker pointing out the many imperfections of his mistress. This is a far cry from the ideal women many poets depict. An English or Shakespearean sonnet consists of fourteen lines “composed of three quatrains and a terminal couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg” (“Shakespearean sonnet”). In…

Caroline Fairbank AP Lit pd 3a November 16, 2016 Poetry Explication Robert Frost’s lyric poem “Reluctance” explores the inner conflict related to aging and death. Now home, it seems as though his journey through life is at its end. However, he refuses to simply accept his fate and expresses reluctance to go. Frost uses an extended metaphor, specific diction and parallelism to convey the speaker’s unwillingness to accept the continuity of life. Throughout the first stanza the speaker recounts…

Hymn to Aphrodite by Sappho stuck out to me above all other artworks we discussed. I really enjoyed the raw emotion and the humility of Sappho begging for emotional support. This is a prayer to the goddess Aphrodite, and speaks of times of trouble in Sappho’s life. Sappho is depressed because a woman that she loved has left in order to be married and, in turn, she is heartbroken. Sappho is asking Aphrodite for help in a lyrical poem that has three separate parts, each different in length and…

“It’s not you, it’s me”: Literary devices and imagery in Millay’s “Love is Not all” Poems are able to express a tremendous amount of meaning within a minimal amount of words. In the poem “Love is Not all” there is a plethora of different literary devices that model specific interpretations. The structural setup, metaphors, personification, diction, and imagery create the theme and tone of the poem. The theme and tone are concerning the consequences of love leaving a bitter, longing tone. The…

What happens after we die? This is a question that has certainly crossed my mind several times. Dante Alighieri was a man who lived from 1265- September 1321 and was known for his poetry. One of the most famous poems in his work was Divine Comedy. I grew up in the Catholic Church and still continue to practice my religion, which is why he seemed interesting to me. The reason I admire Dante is because he was man with a lot to tell, in each of his stories he was able to give you a clear picture of…

Negradas, Rouvinn Uy BA Communications Arts 4 2010-67914 Lit21B An Analysis on the Collection of Poems by Keith Douglas Most of Douglas’ poems are confessional and direct. While reading his poem it seems that he is taking my imagination to the precise moment when he was writing it. This precision leads the reader to examine his personal experiences and memories but at the same time it is not ever expressive of intense emotions. One of the many evidences in which he takes his…