ClassyU

Friday, May 2, 2014

At Least Two Poetry Essays

(I'll be allowing myself only 40 minutes for each essay as if it were a real AP essay exam.)

Essay #1: Bright Star by John Keats

     The poem "Bright Star" by John Keats starts off with a man talking to a star. It becomes obvious he is envious of the star through his tone and initially seems to want to physically trade places with it and become a star himself. Later on, however, it seems he is just fond of the characteristics the star holds.
     During the beginning of the poem it is noticeable the man is passionate about the star. "Would I were stedfast as thou art". Starting off with this statement in the first line of the poem gives the readers a sense that the man is a traveler who wishes he could settle down in one place just as the star is. The man then goes on to explain the characteristics of the star he is fond of and does this with many literary techniques such as imagery and diction. "The moving waters at their priestlike task". By personifying the waters and then stating they go off into their "priestlike task" sets a very calm, tranquil mood to the poem.
     There is a shift in the poem on line nine. In this shift the readers are informed the man does not actually want to physically be a star. His focus changes from his jealousy of the star to his passionate feelings about his girlfriend. He wants to stay forever in this moment and stop time so he stay with his girlfriend. "And so live ever-or else swoon to death."  This statement supports this reasoning as the man would rather die with his love than walk away.
     In conclusion, this poem is about a man who longs for a steady life, just like a star, with his girlfriend. All throughout the poem his love for the moment he is in is evident through his words which helps to reinforce the theme of the poem; love.

Essay #2: We'll go no more a-roving by Lord Byron

     The poem "We'll go no more a-roving" by Lord Byron tells of a man coming to a realization that he is growing old. No longer is he able to do the things he use to do when he was younger though he really wishes he could.
     In the first stanza of the poem, a depressed mood is set. The readers are informed that the man can't go out anymore during the nighttime. "Though the heart be still as loving." An appeal to pathos here brings out the emotion in readers and they are able to get a sense that the man still yearns to go out and live his nighttime life. His attitude is one of bitter resignation as he explains that the moon is giving off light so he feels he needs to go out and do something.
     A shift in the poem begins at the second stanza. Here we learn the reason why the man can't continue living his nighttime life. "For the sword outwears its sheath, and the soul wears out the breast." The man is comparing his old age to a sword by explaining that swords eventually wear themselves out just as his body is now growing old. His use of diction also helps to show his love for the night as he talks about his soul fading away. In the third stanza he repeats to himself again that he can't go out which displays how hard it is for him to grasp the fact he is getting old.
     In conclusion, this poem is about a man growing old. The theme of death and love is clear throughout the whole entire poem as one can really feel the man's need to go out and live his life. He loved his young life and states that "the night was made for loving". However, he does realizes that it is time for him to settle down and he does it in a bitter surrender.

Groupthink

My group and I discussed the poems over a group text message. We each talked about what we individually got out of the poems and compared them. We also thought it would be helpful to send out pictures of our grids to compare. This really helped to see how we each viewed the poems and if we had different ideas about what the poems were about, we had a quick discussion to see if we could all get on the same page. Hopefully this will benefit us when writing our essays.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Gridlock

TPCASTT: Poem Analysis

Title of poem means
Paraphrase parts of the poem
Connotation of some of the words (changing literal meaning to implied or associated values)
Attitude of the author, characters or yourself
Shift identify and explain
Title revisited (any new insights on meaning or significance of title?)
Theme

 Bright Star by John Keats
T-literally a star in the sky he is talking to
P- lying with his girlfriend wishing he could be like the star unchanging and live forever
C-"were steadfast as thou art" he wishes he was like the star in the sense of not moving... maybe a traveler?
A-jealousy towards the star
S- first stanza he wants to be like the star, second stanza he doesn't... "To feel..." he doesn't want to be the star but stay in the moment with his girlfriend forever
T- he wishes he were like the star (steadfast, not moving) and live forever
T- love: he wishes he could live forever like the star; admires it


 Hope by Emily Dickenson
T- whole poem talking about hope as a bird... personification
P-hope is strongest during dark times... never asks for anything though all it does is give
C- sings without the words
A-loving, admirable
S-last two stanzas she talks about hope through her eyes and how its affected her
T- no changes
T-hope endures through overwhelming circumstances



 We'll go no more a-roving by Lord Byron
T- time to settle down?
P- he needs to stop going out during the night time... getting older... needs to wake up
C-"still as loving" he really wants to go out but he shouldn't.... "sword outwears its sheath" he's getting old he needs to stop messing around
A- depressed; bitter resignation
S- shift after first stanza and again after second... first and last seem to be repeating the same meaning... second stanza gives reason for why he needs to stop roaming around
T- needs to stop messing around and going out at night because he's getting old
T- love: he really loves the night..... death: second stanza saying how he is getting old
(opens with anaphora)