The Cat- poem reponse 18

I think i discovered the pattern of the poems I have recently read out of our poetry packet. The theme is, conformity to society, or the lack of. This poem, The Cat, by Miroslay Holub, I think, is about confomaty too. In the first stanza, the author introduced the setting; darkness. The night time was a book with out letters. I think that this metaphor is representing the potential that night has. Not yet written on, the night could be anything. Because he lives in the city, the lights from the buildings strain out the light of the stars, creating a black black sky. Reading through the poem for a second time helps me to understand the second stanza. He is talking about a woman he loves, and she wants to go, to leave into the city. If she leaves, she will become nothing but a blending black cat into the background of the night sky. "But a window was opened and she went," at first doesn't fit with my interpretation. Then I started thinking that again the window could be symbolic, for an opportunity was opened. A chance to escape.

The woman left and she conformed to the city. She was a black cat, against the black night. The author uses repetition to help emphasize the idea that the woman was lost in the landscape. I really like the part where he says, "no one ever saw her again. Not even herself." This is powerful, because a lot of times people will conform and forget who they were before the change.

From the outside people can barely recognize her anymore, and they get brief glimpses of what she was before. When we hear her, it forces us to listen to our own selves and what we are truly. I think that's what this poem is trying to get across.... I'm just gunna go with it!

Desert Places- Poem Responce 17

Robert Frost, in Desert Places really captures the feeling of isolationism. He compares the frozen snowy field to how he is feeling. The words "snow," "night," and "falling," really make the reader feel the emptiness. The second stanza shows with out a doubt that Frost is feeling alone. He talks about the animals in the surrounding forest, and how he is to absent minded to count them. He is to alone to care. It is sad! The last line of stanza 2 includes the word loneliness, which transitions into the third stanza:

And lonely as it is that loneliness

Will be more lonely ere it will be less—

A blanker whiteness of benighted snow

With no expression, nothing to express.

This is another sad stanza. He is so depressed in this stanza. Whiteness of benighted snow. Nothing to express. This is so hopeless in this part of the poem. I really like the re-occurrence of the word lonely. In the last stanza, Frost talks about how the empty spaces won't scare him. HE has created them in his mind. We are left with the sense that he will overcome this. I really like this poem because it is kind of an insight in to his mind in a depressed place. I am feeling depressed right now (not that MS. White is my therapist and im seeking advice) because I fouled out last night, hurt my ankle and we lost. Tangent, sorry. But I can relate to the kind of cold feeling, then thinking I need to overcome it. Robert Frost is a good poet!

Introduction to Poetry- Poetry Response 16

I remember talking about this poem way back in the beginning of the school year, when we were first starting to get into poetry. I remember how we talked about the line, "But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it." As I reread the poem just now, that line continually stands out to me! In the movie Casino Royal (I think?), James Bond gets tied to a chair and the bad guys just beat him with this rope/club thingy. They are trying to get him to confess something. This visual carries over into the poem for me! I feel like teachers, in some cases, try to drill out a central meaning, or a 'secret' the author is reveling in the poem. Why can't the authors just be writing poems because they are funny, or because they retell a story in a shortened way? I really like how this poem challenges the way students view poetry! The author of this poem says he just wants students to look at the poem in a different light, or try to hear the buzzing of the poem, test the poem in different situations, or feel the poem out as if blinded. I think that in our discussions we do what Billy Collins wants students to. We don't over analyze poems, or give them false credit. I like how this poem tries to bring back the simplicity of poetry.

Much madness is divinest sense- poetry response 15

Corey and Justin taught this poem in class, and I really liked it, so I'm choosing it for this week. First, the title. The word "divinest" stands out because it is not a recognized word that we use a lot today. I think it is to out emphasize on the idea of divine, while giving it a "madness" touch. I think Emily Dickinson was very aware that it is not a real word, and it would even be mad to write a word that isn't what everyone else would write. So it ties into the rest of the poem. The main idea of this poem is to go against the norm. If one demurs, as Dickinson says, from everyone else, from the majority, he or she is dangerous. Possibly using the word to show that she is deferring from everyone else. She is challenging English in the slightest way, but she has written her future in saying she will be handled with a chain.

The chain was the other part in this poem which really captivated me. In poetry, each word the author uses must portray EXACTLY the feeling, imagery, tone, voice, etc., that the author is aiming for. If Dickinson as to say something like, "And handled with repercussions," or "And handled with something bad," the poem would not have the severe, weighing, fearful tone that it leaves the reader with. After I read this poem, I was astounded with the though of being bound b a chain, whether self imposed, or by another body, the idea that if I go away from the common thread, then something will cause me to be restricted with some form of an unbreakable, thick, metal chain.

Just some thoughts about why and how Dickinson creates the feeling, and writes the way she does, according to ME!

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