Pourquoi, mon frere??

"when all of a sudden
up pops this frog"

I'm sensing some unintelligence(heh heh! get it?). Call me Sherlock, but that's just what I'm thinkin' so far! HOLY SMOKES!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS PRINCESS AND THE FROG!!!!!!!!!!!! My night is made!!!!
Why it's like PATF:

• the diction: Via the diction, I can infer that the speaker is a black woman. Granted, I can't put my finger on the particular word, and I am by NO means trying to be racist! However, that's the general vibe I got from the poem.
• the fact that there is a princess mentioned
• the fact that there is a frog mentioned
• the fact that the girl attacks the frog when he tries to woo her

This is a great poem!

Get out! LEAVE! Right now! It's the end of you and me!!!

"Finally locked into blame, we paced
that short hall, heaving words like furniture."

This is how I felt after reading this poem. A family that's torn apart! By using context clues, I can assume this is a husband and wife. How did I deduce that? Well, at first I thought they were siblings, but then I realized that siblings don't have to go to court to leave each other. Therefore, they are a husband and wife that went through a divorce. It's very sad because unless they got an anulment, the marriage still took place and they are still bound together before God's eyes. It's so sad! HALT! They have matching hair and eyes, therefore they are probably a parent and child! That's almost worse than a couple getting a divorce because there is such tangible pain and sorrow! Boo hiss!

oh..... that's sad

"So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light"

So, when I was reading this, the first thing I thought was "there is some beautiful imagery here!" The visions of light houses and stars and night were so enticing! However, the more I read, the more disenchanted I got because everything started to go all bitter. The tone feels very nostalgic and morose. I think it is written in a way to make seem beautiful but at the same time unattainable. It's a very interesting poem, though!

also, I added this picture because I want to live there.

It sounds like it's your own fault, pal

"And that thou thinkst thee free...
Then thy sick taper will begin to wink"

Oh. my. gosh. This speaker has some hard-core possesive and bitter emotions. The overall tone is that of resentment and anger, along with a sincere desire to be a jerk. So this guy loved this girl, probably got an arragned marriage with her, and now they are husband and wife. She doesn't love him in return (who COULD love such a psychopath?) and he's pretty miffed. You can't make someone love you! It has to be a response to your love, not a reaction! This guy's a jerk.

I think I'll go paint my walls beige now.

"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;"

You know what images pop in my head? A guy in the middle of a mid-life crisis. He's been married for about twelve years and he just doesn't care to embellish on his "mistress". It's odd because right now, I'm rereading Romeo and Juliet, also by Shakespear, and the WHOLE THING is sone love-struck guy rambling about how a girl's cheek is as clear as the moon. "But no such roses see I in her cheeks;". SHAKESPEAR?! What's your problem? You're supposed to be the king of beautiful writing and love and hate and emotion! Not the author of indifference!

Good for you, now go away.

"why talk of beauty what could be more beaut-
iful than these heroic happy dead"
(next of course god america i)

A dumb girl that's giving a presentation in level one history while chewing gum. That is what I think the poem is about. IN THE BEGINNING!! It is assumed by the diction and lack of proper punctuation that the speaker neither cares nor understands the importance of America and God. However, in the last three lines, one gets a sense of emotion that is deep and insightful. I think that the first lines are sarcasm, while the last lines are the author's true beliefs on the heros of war.

Ozymandias... poor guy!

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
(Ozymandias)

I THINK I GET IT!! So, there's this old king Ozymandias. When he was at his prime, he was a tyrant ruler who everyone feared. Then, as time went on, the people started to realize their own strength and revolted. Poor little Ozy got kicked to the curb. A particularly interesting line is "The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed." When I first read this, I assumed it was talking about how the people didn't listen to their king. The more I thought about it though, the more I understood. The people didn't bite the hand of the king! The king bit the hand of the people! They are where his power originates, and this poem is to prove that the power of the people can always trump that of one man or organization.

I'm a Barbie Girl!

""DOesn't she look pretty? everyone said."
(Barbie Doll)

I for one love Barbie. She embodies a certain aspect of my beliefs, that of which women can do anything while still being great mothers and wives. However,  it has been scientifically proven that if Barbie was flesh and blood, her chest and hips are too big that her waist (too small) would collapse. This is what the poem is about. There is irony because one always assumes Barbie is a great example, something all girls should shoot to be. However, she is an unattainable goal, and only through death via malnutrition can one be just like her. I think the poem is showing the idiocy of eating disorders.

Sorting Laundry

"All those wrinkles
to be smoothed, or else
ignored; they're in style."
(Sorting Laundry)

You know what I thought of when I first started reading this? The cute old couples that sit and rock on their front porch after dinner. Why did I think that? Because of the imagery! The imagery in this poem is sooo tangible, for lack of a better word. Everything appeals to the senses through sensory details. SOme examples of these are :bright, gleaming, slinking, wrinkles, guady, etc. The one thing I didn't like about this poem is how it's probably something bad. This is in the paradox and irony section, so does the wife say the opposite of what she's thinking?? I'm freaking out here!

Mr Zzzzzzzzz...

"...flourishing without roots..."

Can I just say something? I KNEW IT! I totally knew it! I knew he would die (duh, he's human) and I knew he would turn his back on his culture to be liked by all. The quote I used above is foreshadowing his fate of being a speck of dust in the grand scheme of life. The man in question reminds me of the Kardashians. THey do anything that people will like them for and stoop to any means to get publicity. The man does the same things, changing to be like others. Lame.

Pink Dog

"Now look, the practical, the sensible
solution is to wear a fantasía.
Tonight you simply can't afford to be an eyesore."
 (Pink Dog)

First thing I thought of: Victoria's Secret. Their trademark is a pink dog. Swiftly I realized this was nowhere near Victoria's Secret(I knew that at the start, fyi). This is a satire that reminds me a lot of an essay we read last year in Mrs. Sander's class. It was a satire that was trying to persuade Irish farmers to sell their children to butchers because childmeat is a delicacy. The quote I chose from Pink Dog highlights the rediculousness that is being implied. It's about a poor, naked dog that needs food. Food and caring for her puppies is top on her priority list. She "simply can't afford" anything, let alone good looks! It's a satire to highlight the importance of helping the poor!

Je ne comprende pas!

"I taste a liquor never brewed,
From tankards scooped in pearl;
Not all the vats upon the Rhine
Yield such an alcohol!"
(Emily Dickinson)

In AP French, a common phrase uttered on french-only days is je ne comprende pas! It means I don't understand. Je ne comprende pas! So the main question I have is: is this liquor good? I have not the slightest clue what makes alcohol taste good. Neither of my parents drink alcohol EVER, so I have zilch experience with what makes a good cup of liquor. The reason I say this is because the diction is that of a seasoned alcoholic. Who else would know such terminology? I have never even heard of vats upon the Rhine, so is it good or bad? Je ne comprende pas! The one thing that I do know about this is "When the landlord turn the drunken bee
Out of the foxglove's door" is referring to mead. I learned that from Robin Hood.

Not to brag...

"With eternal lids apart"
(Bright Star)

Halt! Halt what you're doing and listen to me. Actually, just read my text. This poem is a lover who is watching his beloved sleep. Boom roasted. A common phrase used for someone in love is that they have "stars in their eyes". The star in this story is given many human descriptions, such as an eternal lid apart, the capability of swooning and gazing, and many others. It is a clear as day, and the more I read the poem, the more I'm starting to think that my ah-ha moment wasn't that huge of an epiphany. Basically, I think this poem is about sex.

February

"sex and territory
...will finish us off."
(February)

Okkaaayyyy...

I'll be honest, this was strange. However, it was interesting. When I was first reading this, all I could think of was some couch potato that did nothing in the winter but wear a dirty sweatshirt. The line that I quoted, though, implies that there really is some depth to this poem. It's a very profound statement, especially since it's being compared to a cat. I think the poem is a satire and it is really a warning(I may be getting a little warning-happy after the summer reading) against greed and sloth. The fat cats that only want sex and land often fight. It's a very good comparison to today's world because sex and land/money are the two main motivating factors, it seems. I still don't get the hockey reference, though.

I think I just got sick...

"I have prepared my sister's tongue,
scrubbed and skinned it,
trimmed the roots, small bones, and gristle."
(The Joy of Cooking)

This is sick. Revolting, disgusting, and wierd. One can infer from the diction that this narator does not think very highly of her sister and brother. "...-it will probably grow back." tells me that the speaker's sister talks and talks and talks. "It (her brother's heart) resembles muscle
more than organ meat." implies that her brother's heart serves only the function of keeping him alive, but it does not allow him to live. Also, it only serves two people as opposed to six, so it can be infered that his heart is tiny. Will the narrator really kill her brother and chop off her sister's tongue? I doubt it. I think this is merely a venting of frustration.

These Boots are Made For... Dragging??

" And then I heard them lift a Box
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again,
Then Space-- began to toll,"
(I felt a Funeral, in my Brain, 3rd stanza)

WOW! What an intreguing poem! I love the use of sound as a literary device. Usually, sight is the sense highlighted, but this poem focuses on Silence, tolling bells, a Drum, and other noises. Just a random thought, but a cool idea for a poem would be to focus on the touch aspect of an occasion. Anywho, I really liked this poem!

Move On Already!

"Thirtyfive years
I lived with my husband.
The plumtree is white today
with masses of flowers."
(The Widow's Lament in Springtime)

Dear Ms. Widow,

Hello, my name is AP Lit Student. I would like to ask you to please get ahold of yourself. I understand that you lost your husband, and I am sorry for your loss. However, your son (who I can infer is rather young due to the fact that a white tree intrigued him) does not need a suicidal mother. Your use of free verse shows that you have let yourself go a bit, not adhering to typical meter or rhyme scheme. Through your diction I can infer that you are in a beautiful yard, but you can't even see the beauty in a field of flowers because you're plotting your own death. Shame on you. Life is a gift and you need to embrace it. I'm sure your late husband would not approve of your hopeless behavior. For the sake of your son and all other AP Lit students that read your work, MOVE ON!

Near, Far, Wherever You Are!

"And as the smart ship grew
In stature, grace, and hue,
In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too."
(The Convergence of the Twain, VIII)

Obviously, this poem is about The Titanic. It says so after the title. A theme that I believe is present in this poem is the idea that the world built the failure of the ship. That makes no sense, but hear me out! As the ship grew more and more grand, so the iceberg grew. The world's belief that the ship's superior design and granduer made it unsinkable made its sinking all the more likely. I know nothing about the architechture of the ship, but I do know that there weren't NEARLY enough life boats on the Titanic. Why is that? The creators' belief in their work's superiourity. This stanza is an aphorism because as the confidence in the Titanic grew, so did its likelyhood of failure.

The Panther

"Only at times, the curtain of the pupils
lifts, quietly-. An image enters in,"
(The Panther, 3rd stanza)

Oh, the panther! One of the most amazing big cats in the world today, it is often associated with stealth and power. The "curtain of the pupils lifts, quietly" works as symbolism, symbolizing a dream. This poem reminds me of Inception when Leo goes to visit the chemist. There are quite a few old people hooked up to a dream machine and the old man in charge of them says that they "come to be woken up." Dreaming is the only respite that this panther, the king of stealth and slueth, has from his day-by-day persecution in public. The poem could also be interpretted as a man or woman who can't get out of their current life style. I need to do some more analysis to determine which I feel is definately the most accurate interpretation, but I believe the panther is having a dream.

Oh, No You Didn't.

"But most through midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot's curse
Blasts the new-born Infant's tear,
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse."
(London, 4th stanza)

One of my most beloved past-times is planning weddings. I have tons of bridal magazines and I'm subscribed to at least three-a-day wedding tip emails. Why I'm talking about this is because London referses to marriage as a hearse. What I first thought was this was just the poet's opinion on marriage. However, it shows the derision of the society. Marriage is one of the glues that holds our world together. When marriage is viewed as a death trap, one can infer that something is off. THis is a paradox because while it literally states that marriage is a hearse, it shows that the London society was so messed up because of marriage (King Henry VIII and his wives). I think this poem is about the Church of England and its derission.

Sweet Victory!

      This piece of writing is what I have been looking for my whole academic life. Math has usually been my best and favorite area of study because there is always a CONCRETE answer, no room for interpretive mumbo-jumbo. I always thought that literature was like that in the sense that everything is open for interpretation. A swell quote I really liked was “'A symbol,' writes John Ciardi, 'is like a rock dropped into a pool: it sends out ripple in all directions, and the ripples are in motion. Who can say where the last ripple disappears?' True. But even a symbol does not have unlimited meaning. The pool in which the rock is dropped has borders" (page 5, sorry for the length of the quote). When I was reading this, I was having a panic attack, thinking that I had mis-interpreted the whole other four pages. However, he highlights how that quote can be inacurate in some situations, which was a breath  of fresh air.
      I really liked this piece, but I'll admit, it made me feel pretty disheartened. I doubt I'll ever be able to think like that: I didn't even KNOW what to think when I read the flower poem. I'm glad we're dedicating a quarter to poetry because I need some more practice. To properly interpret poetry, I think that one needs a really good understanding of culture, literature and life experiences. The star poem took some serious philosophizing to understand, so I think I shall need quite a bit more practice. Overall, I thought this was a very interesting work.