Blog Post 11

The poems “Sir Patrick Spens” and Dudley Randall’s “Ballad of Birmingham” have a lot in common with each other despite the fact that they were written in different times and places. For starters the form of the stanzas in each poem is ABCB. If looking at the surface of each poem the content is very different, one is talking about a captain of a ship in fifteenth century Scotland and the other is about an African American child in Alabama in 1963. When looking at these poems deeper, the similarities start to stand out. In each poem it tells the story of the deaths of the main characters of the poem.

 Each poem shows the outcome of a wicked man’s deeds. In “Sir Patrick Spens” the king is the wicked man (650):

                                    The king has written a braid letter

                                          And signed it wi’ his hand,

And sent is to Sir Patrick Spens,

                                          Was walking on the sands

“O who is this has done this deed,

                                          This ill deed done to me,

To send me out this time o’ the year,

                                          To sail upon the sea?

Then in Randall’s “Ballad of Birmingham” the explosion at the end of the poem kills the child, which implies that someone must have set up the church to explode.

            The big similarities are related to the women in each story.   In “Sir Patrick Spens” it says, “O long, long may the ladies stand/ Wi’ their gold combs in their hair,” (650), then in “Ballad of Birmingham” it says, “She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair,” (956). Showing that in both situations the women in the poems are waiting for someone while they are doing something the usually do daily, like brushing their hair. These women are waiting for someone that will never come again. This is seen in “Sir Patrick Spens” when it says, “Waiting for their own dear lords/ For they’ll see them no more.” (650), and then in Randall’s poem it says (957),

                                                But that smile was the last smile

                                                To come upon her face …

                                                Calling for her child …

                                                “Oh, here’s the shoe my baby wore,

                                                But, baby, where are you?

The people close to these women are never returning, which causes these women to constantly be waiting and wishing that their loved ones will come home.

            When looking at both poems it can be seen that no matter the time or place, wicked people and their choices can have devastating outcomes that not only affect a single person, but all those around.       

Blog 10 Wilfred Owen

In the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est”, Wilfred Owen provides contrasting ideas about what war is. The title itself hints at one of the ideas of what war is like, which is “good”. The primary idea of what war is like is what the poem mostly talks about. The poem talks about the “bad” of war or the true nature of war.

            

            Owen paints a very clear and horrific picture of what war really is. He talks about how the soldiers are like the homeless and the elderly. The poem gives the idea that the soldiers were like a sick and old homeless person using a sack as shelter. They are in a situation that no human should be in.  At one point it says, “Men marched asleep.” (829), which indicates that the men were there physically but at some point the emotional part had “fallen asleep”. These soldiers were just shells of who they use to be. The poem also provides the horrific side of war. It talks about the gruesomeness of the gas they had to face. The poem describes it as, “a green sea,”(829). Owen follows this up by saying (829):

                        His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;

                        If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood

                        Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,

                        Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud

This describes not only the pain cause by the gas but also shows just how much of an effect seeing this happen has on a soldier. The pain of watching someone dying a slow agonizing death would have been so bad that at some point the emotional state of each soldier would have to have been “shut off” to some point.

            

            The contrasting view of war was that it was the big glorious battles. That being a soldier was honorable and the greatest joy that a person could have. Owen says (830):

                        My friend, you would not tell with such high zest

                        To children ardent for some desperate glory,

                        The old lie: Dulce et decorum est

Pro patria mori.

Here he is saying that the view people have of war is that it is honorable and glorious. That war has been built up and exaggerated by soldiers to glorify themselves. There is also a sense that the soldiers do not want to relive the bad things that happened by telling them to other people so they exaggerate the “good” parts of the war.  

Tyger vs. the Lamb blog 9

William Blake’s two poems, “The Lamb” and “The Tyger”, are both interesting and simple to read. While they are very similar to each other they have their differences. First off, “The Lamb” has a very happy and light mood, while “The Tyger” has an aggressive and heavy mood. Blake uses very similar techniques in each poem that provide a clearer understanding of the poem. It is amazing to see the ways that Blake uses to describe the creator between these two poems.

With “The Lamb” Blake created a very positive, caring and loving view of the creator. The diction level, use of repetition, questions and imagery help establish this view. The words that Blake uses establish the creator as powerful and caring. Blake writes, “Gave thee life & bid thee feed … Gave thee clothing of delight,” (682).  This shows that the creator has the power to give life yet caring enough to take care of the life he has created.  It is also interesting when he asks questions like, “Dost thou know who made thee? … Little Lamb who made thee?”(682). Hinting that there is a certain amount of uncertainty in who the creator is exactly. Blake’s use of imagery in describing the creator helps to answer the questions earlier in the poem. “He is called by thy name,/ For he calls himself a Lamb/…He became a little child” (683). These give a view that the creator is gentle and calm in nature.

 With “The Tyger” Blake created a very strong and amazing view of the creator. The diction level, use of repetition, questions and imagery help establish this view. The words that Blake uses establish the creator as strong, and like “The Lamb”, powerful. “What immortal hand or eye/ Could frame they fearful symmetry?” (796). This establishes that the creator is an immortal being and provide a view of a creator that is  bigger, stronger, and more amazing than what is seen in “The Lamb”. Also saying ‘fearful symmetry’ shows that there is an equal amount of fear towards Tygers from the other forms of creation. One of the most interesting questions Blake asks is, “Did he who made the Lamb make thee?” (797). Showing a certain amount of amazement that the creator not only made the lamb but made the Tyger as well. He is essentially asking, ‘How can the creator who created this Tyger also create the Lamb?’. This strong and amazing creator that created Tygers who are feared by most, also created a gentle and soft lamb that is the furthest from being feared.

So while these poems have contrasting views of the creator, when read together create a more complete view of the creator. 

Blog 8 Collins and Jarrell

Poems can be a challenge to not only understand, but also to enjoy. Poems need to flow and have a good purpose behind them. The ability to understand poems comes from our ability to relate to what is being talked about in some way. Randall Jarrell’s poem “The Death of a Ball Turret Gunner” is a very interesting and sad poem. Jarrell’s use of language and the tone help make the poem enjoyable to read. When looking at Billy Collins’ poem “Schoolsville” it seems plain and simple. His use of language as well as the tone makes the poem difficult to pull you in. Its lack of rhyme scheme also makes the poem boring.  

Randall Jarrell’s poem is a poem that may not have a rhyme scheme for flow like a typical poem, but is a poem that can be understood by most. The poem is about exactly what the title states. It recounts the death of soldier in the ball turret of an aircraft during World War II. The unique thing with this poem is that the narrator is the soldier that has died. This is seen in the first line of the poem, “From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State,” (658). His language helps make the poem interesting. In the poem it says, “And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.” (658). This language is more descriptive and creative than just saying “I was in the bottom of the airplane and it was really cold”. Jarrell is relating the aspects of flight in a bomber during World War II to more common ideas that help draw the reader into the poem. The ending of the poem can be a little abrupt to some people, but it really helps complete the poem. It presents the outcomes that most soldiers faced that were ball turret gunners.

Billy Collins’   poem “Schoolsville” is a poem that seems simple to the point of almost not being a poem. It flowed more like someone just talking about what he sees around town in poorly structured sentences. He does not draw out any emotions from the readers. The purpose behind this poem is lacking. It is just about a man observing his town and the people that he has taught. The language and the tone of this poem do not pull the reader into the story like Jarrell’s poem does. Collins’ writes, “Wherever they go, they form a big circle.” (643). The language of this line from the poem is not complicated, but seems random. It is as if the narrator throughout the play is going “Oh yeah they also do this” which leads to choppiness when reading.

Poems are frustrating at times to understand and enjoy and the lack of purpose some poems have can lead people to avoid them. No one wants to read something that they find pointless. The poem that shows a purpose or evokes some sort of emotion within the first few lines will grab the reader and lead them to continue to read and enjoy the poem.