Steel-cut Oats

“Grief” - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“I tell you, hopeless grief is passionless;
That only men incredulous of despair,
Half-taught in anguish, through the midnight air
Beat upward to God's throne in loud access
Of shrieking and reproach. Full desertness,
In souls as countries, lieth silent-bare
Under the blanching, vertical eye-glare
Of the absolute Heavens. Deep-hearted man, express
Grief for thy Dead in silence like to death--
Most like a monumental statue set
In everlasting watch and moveless woe
Till itself crumble to the dust beneath.
Touch it; the marble eyelids are not wet:
If it could weep, it could arise and go.”

Shock, eternal resignation, a paralyzing stillness. These are the things that Browning recognizes in her examination of grief. We are not those who discredit and disbelieve despair, we, who know it well, saturate ourselves in it, and drown without noise, without struggle. We do not long for normalcy, nor verdant emotion, we accept a tragic fate that leaves us broken, with the rationality of fatigue, of a listlessness that extends into unknown depths. It permeates, it slowly weathers away intricate nerve endings, it inhabits and hijacks our very bodies, until truth becomes vacant, and form barred. Until the movement of this suffocating mass becomes as physically impossible as a statue shedding marvelous tears. Do I know grief? Only as one knows smelling, not all possess the sense, but even those who do could never describe it accurately. Browning comes close, but she could never translate this poem to those who have never felt what she has experienced, just as I could never explain the smell of infiltrating smoke or creeping mold to someone who has never used their nose. Like a parasite it feeds on our mere existence, and we solemnly accept this relationship, as we dwindle into dehydrated fruit. Like a line, imaginary, endless, and impossible we remain in these purgatories, indeed until we “crumble.”

I could go on to talk about how Browning uses a seamless a-b-b-a-a-b-b-a-c-d-e-c-d-e rhyme scheme, using true, and slant rhymes to make the poem less artificial and intrusive, but I cannot. I believe that a mindless praise and analysis of such would be disrespectful and almost inappropriate. The work has affected me greatly, and that's all that really needs to be said. Browning has a gift for profound authenticity and connection, as someone who can relate to the work, and collapse in its verses, I can honestly say that such skill is welcome in composition.

The Insistent Plea Still Rings

“Do not go gentle into that good night” (1951) – Dylan Thomas

“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.


Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.


Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

The word villanelle comes from the Latin word “villanella” meaning rustic. As perhaps the most well-known and celebrated of the villanelles, “Do not go gentle into that good night” indeed incorporates a rustic tone and sincerity. Written shortly after the death of his father, Dylan Thomas transformed his confusion, grief, and anger at the loss into a desperate plea. The repetition of lines, and rhymes (as is typical in a villanelle) help to create this tragic tone. Like the soft waves of tears the come in and out like the tide, Thomas indulges in the same feeling through his mournful composition. The honor, love, and respect that he held for his father is also evident in the numerous stanzas. Dylan Thomas also addresses the need for legacy in life. These “wise men,” “good men,” “wild men,” and “grave men” know well enough to fight to the end for life, when all seems meaningless and trivial. Thomas speaks to the brevity of life as well as even these most noble men, with lives full, cannot impact the world enough to leave a legacy. With this and the intolerable loss he had to face, Dylan Thomas begs each man to combat an empty life, but more importantly an arbitrary death, to not surrender to apathy and tradition, but to expire with passion, so that the light may never die.


The revival of formalism is imperative in current writing, deconstruction is often popular in contemporary composition, but this wondrous poem, identifies the advantages of formalism for certain topics and themes. The insistence of the stanzas does not subside, like those going “gentle into that good night,” but instead rages “against the dying of the light.” The villanelle impacts the audience firmly within this context, because of this very repetition, and formalism. The structure simply reaffirms Thomas’ theme, and without it would become ineffective. If Thomas was to, for instance, write a haiku, attempting to carry this theme, his structure would only display the exact opposite of what he was trying to get across. The number of words used in a haiku, or less verbose type of poem, would also betray the persistence of his message. Though it requires great skill, and time, a villanelle can be one of the strongest forms of poetry.

Stone Knifes and Bearskins

“Some Good Things to Be Said for the Iron Age” (1970) - Gary Snyder 

“A ringing tire iron

     dropped on the pavement

Whang of a saw

brusht on limbs

the taste

of rust”

Snyder adequately expresses his prophesy of and excitement for the demise of the Iron Age in his brief yet cunning poem. The “ringing tire iron” symbolizes the effects of the iron age, as if echoing out throughout the centuries. However the phrase “dropped on the pavement” brings to mind the abandonment of this long lasting era in human development, as if this technology abruptly ended, as a point on a time line. The placement of this line to the right of the first would suggest the same thing, as if in the future the Iron Age will terminate. The severe onomatopoeias present in this succinct poem indicate Snyder's impression of the harsh and unnatural form of the Iron Age such as with the word “whang,” this impresses upon the reader the feeling of a alien like noise. In the next line the word “brusht” also displays a sharp severity, a facet of the Iron Age, but also implies a past tense, as if to reassure the audience that the Iron Age will indeed conclude. Finally “the taste of rust” gives the reader a sense of destruction and deterioration, as the infamous age comes to a close. The last four lines become shorter and shorter in length creating a poignant form, coming to a point, as if slowly eroding as Snyder clearly professes the Iron Age will. Obviously including the title in Snyder's overall theme, he simply reaches out to say that the best thing “to be said for the Iron Age” is its overall termination.

The profound use of shape literally become imagery within this poem. Visually shape is an extraordinary way of capturing an audience's attention. As Thomas Foster clearly states, “if it's square it's a sonnet,” while this is just one way of quickly identifying a form of poem, he is right to emphasis the importance of shape in poetry. Especially since the brevity makes the word usage more subjective, because there is less body to put them into context, Snyder relies heavily on shape to clarify the meaning of the short phrases he applies. Snyder exponentiates the meaning of the few words he does uses, by eliminating the worthless baggage that comes with formal writing. In rejecting the usual structure of composition, Snyder gives every word a purpose and objective. The title has a invaluable mission as well. This atypically long title (especially considering the length of the overall poem) draws attention to itself in order to direct the reader's mind to a specific topic before reading the rest of the poem. Snyder's effective use of a title helps to engage the reader in the proper way, so that the meaning is not lost to confusion. I think that both these literary components are imperative to shorter poems. If a person wants to be brief, hard-hitting, and clever with a few words, meaning must still be sustained. Without the proper guidelines, such as with the use of shape and title the average audience will be disoriented in trying to define its theme and symbolism.

Respite For The Violent

“First Fight. Then Fiddle” (1949) - Gwendolyn Brooks

“First fight. Then fiddle. Ply the slipping string

With feathery sorcery; muzzle the note

With hurting love; the music that they wrote

Bewitch, bewilder. Qualify to sing

Threadwise. Devise no salt, no hempen thing

For the dear instrument to bear. Devote

The bow to silks and honey. Be remote

A while from malice and from murdering.

But first to arms, to armor. Carry hate

In front of you and harmony behind.

Be deaf to music and to beauty blind.

Win war. Rise bloody, maybe not too late

For having first to civilize a space

Wherein to play your violin with grace.”

Brooks speaks to the towering contradictions of the proponents of war. Seeming “Renaissance” men who have not only a fine skill for violent tactics, but surprising the violin as well. In many ways this poem connects to the archetype of Mr. Kurtz within Heart of Darkness. Within this respected man lies various talents for painting, playing a musical instrument, writing, and perhaps above all the aptitude for speaking. The golden standard for Imperialist Europe, Kurtz then deteriorates into an unwholesome shadow that whispers foul tidings from the inner sanctums of a symbolic hell. This metamorphosis, or rather devolution, parallels that in Brooks' poem. Those with a sensitive attraction towards music and art, abandon their high ideals with a vicious blood lust. The civilized manners of class and society crumble against testosterone-fueled crusades. In a dissimilar perspective, Brooks could also be addressing the foolhardiness of young warmongers with an impatience to prove themselves to the world. As a result the consuming hate leaves only a murmuring mold of a man, who desperately attempts to forget his past naivety through a love of music. However perceived, Brooks injects an equal amount of passion in the descriptions of both pastimes, insuring that the reader understands the brutal irony of the poem's subject. In either case the poem still leaves a didactic and rather poignant theme.

Brooks combines both the structures of the traditional Shakespearean sonnet, and the Italian sonnet to create a fresh rhyme scheme that still neatly encases her work in an organized manner (at least more so than the free verse). “First Fight. Then Fiddle” incorporates the rhyming pattern "abbaabbacddcee." This rhyme scheme compares to that of the Italian, except for the last two verses which adhere to the Shakespearean standard. Brooks also utilizes iambic pentameter which is also typical in Shakespearean sonnets. This format maintains a sense of originality, but not at the expense of losing familiarity and structure. I find it all too easy to disregard formalism within poetry (especially while I'm writing it). Free verse generally reigns supreme with most undeveloped creative writers, because it is much easier. As we discussed in class, rhyming is difficult, and adhering to a set number of syllables can be taxing. Without structure the work somehow becomes less admirable, or, in some cases, less coherent and palatable. It obviously requires more time, but I think the idea of engineering a new version to an old classical structure, such as within Brooks' poem, can help to make the process more fun, and allow more room for creativity, while improving overall technique. 

The Son, The Father

“My Son, My Executioner” (1955) - Donald Hall

“My son, my executioner,

I take you in my arms,

Quiet and small and just astir,

And whom my body warms.

Sweet death, small son, our instrument

Of immortality,

Your cries and hungers document

Our bodily decay.

We twenty-five and twenty-two,

Who seemed to live forever,

Observe enduring life in you

And start to die together.”

Donald Hall narrates an eccentric and somewhat mournful coming of age story through this poem. Typically such a theme would present itself in a tale of adolescence, and the transformation from teenager to what is deemed adulthood. Hall redefines adulthood as the point where one has a child or children. The speaker's son “documents [his] bodily decay,” or rather a conversion from growth to deterioration, or from youth to adulthood. As he realizes that he is now old enough to have a son, he also realizes his mortality. He states that his son serves as evidence of his long journey towards death from childhood. Hall also admits that with the birth of a son, the patriarch may live on metaphorically by a continuation of the bloodline, ideas, and traditions, while physically dead. With the narrator's genealogical duty fulfilled by procreating it is almost as if he now has permission to die, as he embraces “sweet death” and “starts to die together” with his wife. More or less these are both honest descriptions of how he feels towards aging and his role as a father in life.

The use of both true rhymes and “sound” rhymes make Hall's poem effective in delivering the theme without a distracting tone or rhythm. In the first two stanzas Hall uses an “a-b-a-b” pattern, with “a's” being the sound rhyme and “b's” the true or slant rhyme. The imperfection of the slant and true rhymes make them less noticeable, which allows the poem to flow more naturally. The last stanza has only sound rhymes, this places emphasis on the last and most poignant lines. Hall also brilliantly toys with contrasting ideas and imagery. “Sweet death” and “My son, my executioner” are almost oxymoronic phrases considering the popular conceptions of both death and children. These opposing words placed side by side make powerful lines that immediately capture the reader's attention. By utilizing both of these strategies in poetry writing, I can evolve my composition from mere elementary rhymes, to those that can carry meaning and involve the audience.

We Like It Wild

“If We Must Die” (1922) - Claude McKay

“If we must die, let it not be like hogs

Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,

While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,

Making their mock at our accursed lot.

If we must die, O let us nobly die,

So that our precious blood may not be shed

In vain; then even the monsters we defy

Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!

O kinsmen! We must meet the common foe!

Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,

And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!

What though before us lies the open grave?

Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack,

Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!”

This poem reminds me very much of Beowulf, and yes makes me want to crush a Coke can against my head and scream very loudly. This of course evokes the imagery of Beowulf fighting his last distinguished battle to the death at a ripe old age. Written shortly after WWI, the poem most likely summarizes the immensity and scope of such a war, and the sharp division, and contrastingly the brotherhood that inevitably occurred as well. One thing that is usually said of poetry is that it attempts to ward off apathy, indifference, and complacency. At the very least I can say that “If We Must Die” achieves this. I realize that I am writing a purely emotional response, but everything about this poem quickens the blood, and allows adrenaline to flow easily. Thematically it recalls the age old need of men to make legacies. Similar to another poem I analyzed in a previous blog post, “Ulysses,” “If We Must Die” contains the same imperialistic, testosterone-filled musings. Likewise, Heart of Darkness also possesses the same themes against mortal flaws. Ultimately this piece is just another in a vast collection of pieces based on the popular views of the time. How starkly it differentiates from modern sentiments; passionate then, while we are now passionless.

As mentioned above this poem conjures images of limitless unity and admirable temerity. Only through the perfection of rhyme, rhythm, and the use of inclusive pronouns does McKay successfully accomplish this. To establish such smooth and natural rhythm, McKay adapts the sonnet to fit his needs. McKay uses the usual a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g rhyming pattern of the sonnet, but deviates occasionally from iambic pentameter. As a line contains more than ten syllables, McKay places emphasis on an important phrase to incite the reader, such as with the final line of the poem. Also “making their mock at our accursed lot” contains rhyme in the same line, as if to provoke anger in the reader, as the tone drips with disdain. More importantly than all these factors McKay utilizes inclusive pronouns to unify the reader with the content of the text, and make the work more emotionally appealing in general. As an amateur writer I think that I tend to shy away from inclusive pronouns, as I fear misuse and being inadvertently cliché. However, I feel that McKay provides a perfect example of how inclusive pronouns ought to be used in writing.

Connections to Emphasis on Death in Literature and Human Reality

"This Is a Photograph of Me" (1966) - Margaret Atwood

"(The photograph was taken

the day after I drowned.

I am in the lake, in the center

of the picture, just under the surface.

It is difficult to say where

precisely, or to say

how large or small I am:

the effect of water

on light is a distortion

but if you look long enough,

eventually

you will be able to see me.)"

The intimate self reflections that flow through the poem, make it clear that Margaret Atwood uses the classic Greek myth of Narcissus to make assertions about current pyschological climates within our society. Narcissus fell in love with his reflection so much that he could not stop staring at his reflection in a lake, finally he met his death as he tried to join with it. Obviously in content „This Is a Photograph of Me“ parallels that of Narcissus, as Atwood nonchalantly describes the drowned body of a person in a picture.The first-person perspective of the poem, and the central focus of the body in the captured scene helps to convey the self-obsession apparent in Narcissus. The fact the poem describes a photo reflects modern obsession with pictures and filming oneself and the moments that comprise a life, and put undue emphasis on one person's existence, just as Narcissus did. However, while the narrator's focus is on his or her dead body, with lines like "It is difficult to say where precisely, or to say how large or small I am," and "the effect of water on light is a distortion" tell the audience that the body may not be visually evident or major in the photo being described. These facts translate Atwood's main theme. By relating the poem to the tale of Narcissus, the reader can infer that the narrator's death was self-imposed, like that of suicide. Although contrastingly the scene does not revolve around the death, only its telling. This gives the message that suicide and death do not stop the world, nor perhaps majorly affect it, but does seep through eventually. In the end we can see that the narrator's body represents the inevitable, as it was for Narcissus, but without the permanance and vanity that most people fantasize and imagine. The slow realization of death, as with the realization of a dead body in a picturesque landscape, without emphasis or immense importance thus becomes more horrifying than the tragic and poetic deaths we all dream of. 

The first person perspective within this poem, gives it the eccentricity that makes it so effective. The reader pays attention to the narrator foremost in the poem, allowing for the themes to become more subtle. This subtlety of theme reflects the subtlety of death, thus making the poem more striking, as the audience slowly comes to the truth just as the narrator describes in the poem "eventually you will be able to see me.“ The first person perspective also makes the narrator's dead body less dramatic and important. Third person views in such matters make death seem grand, poetic, and meaningful which would be the opposite of what Atwood wishes to convey to her readers, and would simply be copying the significance of Narcissus, instead of being ironic in connection to it. I believe that the first person perspective is often avoided in poetry, because it is so hard to effectively pull off, and because the imagery of the third person is so appealing to mere mortals. Using it in such a way makes Atwood brave and daring in her exploits to expose the human condition and reality of nature in her poem.

Triumphant Change

"Africa" (1975) - Maya Angelou

“Thus she had lain

sugar cane sweet

deserts her hair

golden her feet

mountains her breasts

two Niles her tears

Thus she has lain

Black through the years.

Over the white seas

rime white and cold

brigands ungentled

icicle bold

took her young daughters

sold her strong sons

churched her with Jesus

bled her with guns.

Thus she has lain.

Now she is rising

remember her pain

remember the losses

her screams loud and vain

remember her riches

her history slain

now she is striding

although she had lain.”

Angelou obviously speaks to the long and brutal history of African slaves and their descendants. She incorporates geographic imagery while describing physical characteristics in order to introduce African ancestry, such as “deserts,” “mountains,” and “Niles.” Accurately portraying the white captors of her race, Maya Angelou associates white with the cold harshness of winter precipitation and brewing ocean waves. These associations define not only the white man's cruelty, but also the Middle Passage and the change in climate for African slaves. Each stanza represents a particular phase in African history. The first stanza depicts the homeland: warm, beautiful, natural. The second stanza relates the horrors of slavery: the seizure, and decades of implications. The third expresses a present victory for those of African descent, overcoming tremendous abuse and racism, to becoming free and proud in society.

Some techniques that caught my eye in “Africa” were the use of past versus present tense in repeating lines, and effective rhyming schemes. Angelou constantly reuses “Thus she had lain,” and “Thus she has lain.” throughout her poem. Mostly the author does this to signify what has and hasn't changed in society for those of African descent. When describing skin color she uses “has lain,” to imply that race has been constant through the years. Also when recounting the history of African slaves she utilizes the present “has lain,” to convey to the reader that history cannot be changed. However, Angelou applies the past tense “had lain” to “sugar cane sweet” and after “now she is striding.” This demonstrates a change from passive acceptance of abuse, to firm strength and placement in society of African Americans, and those of African descent everywhere. The differentiation between the past and present helps to effectively impart thematic meaning to the reader through repetition, and the subtle distinctions between “has” and “had.” Also Angelou purposely employs a discordant rhyming scheme within the first two stanzas to create certain tones and themes, allowing for an ultimate catharsis for the reader. By using limited rhyming within the first few stanzas, the consistent rhyming in the last stanza becomes significant, and catches the audience's attention. The persistent and unchanging rhymes in the end also mirror the tone of triumphant liberation from caged desperation. With strength, the rhyme ties up the last stanza and accents the reoccurring line “she had lain,” making the poem dramatic and effective to the end. The concept of varying rhyming and repetition intrigues and surprises me. I am stunned how such easy tools could be so ingenious and emphatic. Obviously the use of the same tactics in writing could help to make themes more potent, without being overly unctuous.

Autumn Mourning

“Nature—sometimes sears a Sapling—” (1862) - Emily Dickinson

“Nature—sometimes sears a Sapling—

Sometimes—scalps a Tree—

Her Green People recollect it

When they do not die—

Fainter leaves—to Further Seasons—

Dumbly testify—

We—who have the Souls—

Die oftener—Not so vitally—”

Emily Dickinson relates God to Mother Nature in the confines of this secure and beautiful poem. An up and coming philosophy of the mid-1800s, naturalism is employed in a great deal of Dickinson's work. She sees and pays tribute to the great suffering of man, and the reality of existence. Often Dickinson does speak to the wonders of love, but not without the poignancy of impermanence. More specifically this poem deals with the concept of mortal life after death like many of Dickinson's poems; such as “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—” and “The Bustle in a House.” Communicating the frequent state of apathy toward death, Dickinson also relays the pain felt by those who are forced to live in the absence of others. As “fainter leaves” are recycled and give life to “further seasons,” those who feel grief from a comprehension of past summers and springs “die oftener,” while living in a wintry void. The last line defines suffering as the act of dying without the relief of actually expiring; to die while living. Dickinson expresses how Nature's course is the cruelest and the most unbearable. A sapling is seared, and a tree scalped, so that more verdant things may live. In other words, life subsists on the products of death. Similar to Disappearance of the Universe, the poem contains a theme that conveys how nothing is beautiful, not even in nature, as life comprises suffering, and death, tragedy.

In translating her timeless messages to an embittered world, Dickinson relied heavily on her numerous skills as a poet. Dickinson doubles the effectiveness of this poem by personifying improper nouns. This practice makes inanimate objects human, and therefore worthy of the reader's sympathy and connection. She also eases in her harsh themes through use of impeccable rhythm. Using hyphens to separate significant clauses and fragments, she makes beautiful phrases unforgettable, such as “scalps a Tree,” “dumbly testify,” “die oftener.” These separations also place emphasis on important words like “we,” in order to include the reader with the fate of trees. The separation of clauses and fragments adds to the natural and magnetic rhythm of the poem. By cutting clauses into syllables instead of lines, thus allowing the reader to give pause to certain ideas and thoughts by means other than increasing line number. While disjointed in the use of hyphens, Dickinson reconnects the reader and specific phrases with alliteration. Even though the fragment “fainter leaves” is physically separated from “to further seasons,” they are both connected mentally in the readers mind with the phonetic 'f' sound. Dickinson does this to empower distinct diction, while remaining accessible to audiences. Alliteration also aids in creating a smooth-flowing rhythm. “Sometimes sears a sapling” roles right off the tongue, and reverberates easily in the mind. All of these tools could be useful in enhancing creative writing, and making it as precise as possible.

Forgive Me, For I Know Not What I've Done

“How to Write the Great American Indian Novel” - Sherman Alexie

Alexie employs the varied stereotypes concerning American Indians that have been compiled over the many centuries from literature, song, and film to create an honest and sorrowful commentary on the relationship between American Indians and European Americans. Throughout the duration of the poem the author refers to these stereotypes as if a “Great American Indian Novel” has already been written, as if many have been written. When he concludes the poems he reveals that there is yet to be “the Great American Indian Novel,” because there are Americans Indians still alive. Alexie wittingly alludes to the facts that Europeans have driven the Native Americans from their land, and quite nearly destroyed their culture, in the Age of Discovery. Now as European Americans we are destroying their culture still through a strange commercial fascination of the civilization we were so apt to annihilate a few hundred year ago. As “white” Americans we crave the meaning, mysticism, and spirituality that the American Indians hold. There is also a part of our heritage in which we desire to be forgiven for past grievances. The cost to obtain what we yearn is assimilation, and further destruction. We have made true American Indians ashamed of their origin, because we have distorted the cultural meaning that once defined them through years of abuse. Kids don't want to grow up to be a cliché, they want to grow up to be normal. So many American Indians purge themselves of their abused lineage. Jenny Ray, an American Indian, travels the country trying to rejuvenate the lost meaning of her culture, even her children refuse to accept her long held traditions, because of the derogatory nature of the United States' history. We have taken characteristics from certain tribes, and types of American Indians and applied them to every person with ancestral blood in America. Everyday the demographics show that American Indian tribes are only decreasing in number. Sherman Alexie states that the time in which a book about American Indians will be popular will be the time when there are none left, after which all of the cultures of every tribe will be reduced to mere stereotypes.

Los Dulces de Guerra

“Dulce et Decorum Est” - Wilfred Owen

What a profoundly powerful and scarring poem this is. The point of view of the narrator is inescapable. There is truly no way in which anyone could ever look through their eyes while reading this poem. Although Owen describes such a horrid and gruesome event, the poem embraces an effortless rhythm and rhyme. Limitless chaos and torment somehow fit into these complaisant little boxes. The containment of World War I into this neat and traditional structure alludes to the very nature of war, as something that is planned and organized, but contains atrocities beyond the imagination. In this way the traditional poetic structure helps the reader to share a small portion of the severe impact of being a soldier. We as readers start to ask the same questions: Who could arrange such a thing? Why did this have to happen? But through piercing images that transform rapidly from a surreal stream of concurrent events, into a shatteringly real depiction of war, and violence in general. Specific poetic syntax in Owen's introduction, that of sentence fragments and word pairs, creates imagery that strikes the mind. Phrases such as “bent-double,” “knock-kneed,” “blood-shod,” and “all blind,” pummel the mind into attentiveness. Once Owen has grasped the reader's attention, he then proceeds to describe the scene with brutal intricacy. In some way or another Owen has found the strength to put to paper the memory of a fellow soldier slowly dying from chlorine gas. However, without these seizing images the poem would lose its weight. Owen's use of classical literature makes the poem timeless. He expertly defines the bane of the land of men since the age of hominids. Never have I read a more unsubtle, yet poignant poem regarding the placement of aspirations versus reality; politician versus victim. In just a few short stanzas Owen identifies the unseen predicament of his era and all of history, “children ardent for some desperate glory,” a time of con men fighting for dominance in the world, with the blood of naive and willing patriots.

Seasonal Revelations from Diction and Syntax

“in Just-” - e.e. cummings

To recall innocence from the memories of the audience, e.e. cummings rebirths the traditional poem in his allusions to spring. The author throws away boxes, and reinvents words to bring the reader back to their childhood. Recollecting youthful pastimes like “hop-scotch” and “jump-rope,” e.e. cummings creates his own adjectives such as “mud-luscious” and “puddle-wonderful” to describe an infantile spring. Nostalgic, yet creative spacing in the poem leaves room for juvenile excitement and imagination. The absence of a space such as “eddieandbill” illustrates that of two boys running close together, doing everything together, as a childhood friendship can only allow. Open spaces portrays various other adolescent activities. If e.e. cummings had drawn in and around the open spaces in his poem there would be children jumping, and a balloon man calling out to them, however, e.e. cummings left those areas blank. He doesn't want you to see children jumping he wants you to jump, to hear the balloon man for yourself; he wants you to be a child once more. Still his vernal playtime image is not yet complete. In every other stanza he duplicates the scene of the “little lame baloonman,” “the queer and old baloonman,” and finally “the goat-footed baloonMan.” Cleverly e.e. cummings alludes to the Greek God Pan, the symbol of spring, to conclude his representation of the season. Half-man and half-goat balloon man watches over the immature children giving them their happiness and pure, lyrical innocence (“in Just-” is also referred to as “Chansons Innocentes I”), but remains detached from the experience similar to that of a parent or guardian. So not only does e.e. cumming recapture the resilience and delight of childhood motion, but he contrasts it to the calm and inferior contentment of adulthood responsibility. Through this e.e. cummings depicts the importance of not only receiving spring as a child, but dispensing spring as an adult.

Non-Communication::Family Disease

“A Primer for the Punctuation of Heart Disease” - Johnathan Safran Foer

This deeply detached, yet highly emotional short story illustrates, quite literally, the origins of heart disease for a Jewish-American family scarred by personal history. The genius of the piece is associating something that is normally dissected through scientific and medical knowledge, and puts it through the sieve of human emotion. Foer then takes this intense and unforgettable emotion and strains it back through that impersonal and categorical filter of pictographs and definition, thus making it all the more emotionally intricate. The author makes use of literal symbols to create literary symbolism. Foer knows all too well that trying to explain the actions and emotions of his daily life would not only be fruitless and ineffective, but contradictory as well. By using shapes, he allows his audience to envision a situation that they can better relate to, instead of telling the reader what to see. The application of graphics instead of commonly used words and phrases, also mirrors the communication barriers that he tries to describe. Ultimately in the end we see a combination of undefined and unrecognizable symbols that more aptly and beautifully portrays their tragic circumstances than any word ever could. The myriad hieroglyphics and unspoken words, represent unresolved chaos that piles up in each member's heart, eventually manifesting itself in physical infirmity. The emotional pressures of historical horrors and ongoing disappointments of this family are so desperately piercing as to have disabled them from living fully. The narrator describes the thought of compromise and “the 'corroboration mark'” as suffocatingly depressing, as he ponders his own fate. He knows that the “yes-man” mentality will follow him forever because the alternative is death, or near death, due to the contingency of a heart attack; and so he is doomed to a mediocre, sorrowful, unquestioning, and unfulfilled life. This emotion stagnancy is the foundation of his heart disease, a disease that has become the basis of his family relations and his overall existence in a “↓↓↓↓↓... ∞.”

Hauntingly Inclusive

“A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by Flannery O' Connor

A good deal of what made this story surprising was the fact that it was so predictable. You almost expect the expected to not occur, but it ultimately does. It creates a false sense of irony, through our expectations as people in daily life, and our expectations as readers. As people we all hold ourselves to be above statistics. For the most part we do not hope, we genuinely believe that we are above tragedy. I am sure that many who read the story find elements that resonate with their own lives, the old-fashioned grandmother, difficult children, family tensions, and what have you. But as readers we try to leave most of that behind, and confront a text objectively and rationally. The child who sees a familiar family of six does not want to think of them as the victims of violence, but the reader undoubtedly knows that they will be due to the repeated and unsubtle hints to their future, in the text. However, I did find those two mind sets dueling with each other towards the end, in a desperate desire for a happy ending. I think there is a part of all of us which is occasionally inclined to feel that way. I believe that is part of the brilliance of the irony employed in the story, because we all know what will happen, but we fight to extinguish that knowledge. Which puts us as readers in a more direct contact with the family of characters, and leads to a greater awareness of our placement in the world. We know straight from the beginning of story that something horrid will happen, from the grandmother's dread, the repeated allusions to a serial killer, and lamentations over the past versus the present. Even up to the moment when the narrator reveals that the men in the car have guns, do we hope that the family will merely be saved from their recent accident. Every victim has the same thoughts as the reader at this point. Of course the emotions of a real victim are much more intense than that of the reader, but every victim thinks that it can't happen to them, until it does. Creating that same mentality in the reader, O' Connor also instills an inevitable sense of understanding to her audience, thus making her work immensely effective. This transference of emotion from character to reader produces a greater desire on the part of the reader to explain the actions of The Misfit, in search of a befitting meaning. The Misfit is simply a person who has been corrupted by the concept of Christ, and therefore attempts to amend what he perceives as errors made by Jesus through his own delusional logic. More than once he states that Jesus has created an imbalance, and believes that his actions have saved the old woman he killed. In a haze of confusion, The Misfit considers his sins as the solution to a faith system. By killing a man you can send him to God, and prove that he exists, and if he doesn't exist then we are all doomed anyway. The Misfit parades and wallows in his own angst. His doubt in the existence of God, has shattered the concept of normal living to him, and anyone who does live normally becomes a threat to him. As he endangers the life of the grandmother he determines that her actions before her death have proved what kind of woman she truly is; someone who is not misguided past events, or obligation. In that way The Misfit is his own Christ figure. The grandmother stops to think of those other than herself, and soon dismisses her long held beliefs. “Maybe He didn't raise the dead,” the grandmother exclaims in reference to Jesus. This statement reassures The Misfit in his actions, and empowers him to continue. She is also willing to accept a total stranger as her own son. The Misfit believes he has led her to be a great person, but in his own insanity ignores the fact that she has merely been traumatized into a state of delusion herself. The end result is that of lingering unease and chaos, as so many, including the reader, are swept into an unfading and irreconcilable nightmare.

The Varsity Drag

“I think Laura has just gone to hell. Hades, actually, the classical underworld, the realm of the dead. Not only that, she hasn't gone as Laura Sheridan, but as Persephone... Persephone's mother is Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, fertility, and marriage... Remember: the guests admiring the flowers at Mrs. Sheridan's garden party go about in couples, as if she has in some way been responsible for their pairing off...” - Chapter Twenty-Seven: “A Test Case” pages 273-274

First off I would like to say that any grievances that I mentioned earlier concerning inaccuracies and oversights have been atoned for by this last chapter, that along with the apology Foster issues in Envoi. I thought Foster's analysis was nearly flawless, and the fact that he gave me the opportunity to read “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield made the whole book worthwhile. I don't think that I would ever read it more than once, but the overall experience was constructive. However, there were some elements of the story that Foster could have taken the opportunity to elaborate on. The analysis that Foster provides perceptively uses every detail to confirm his argument, yet he doesn't seem to relate what the use of that specific Greek myth asserts in terms of social context. What does it mean when Mansfield portrays the elite and wealthy as Gods and their impoverished counterparts as the inhabitants of hell? She means just that. The ultimate luxury of the rich is the ability to live life as you please, the option of affording yourself every possible materialistic wonder, and more importantly the leisure of being apathetic to the woes of the world. Mrs. Sheridan can't care for the death of a mere carter down the street, because she is a god. Her prosperity cannot allow her to feel sorrow, because to do so would be denying her monetary powers. In her eyes it would be the same as eating out of a dumpster, when she can afford to eat from diamond encrusted china. She need not stoop to such emotion, so why should she? The rich can afford to be frivolous with life, and as Mrs. Sheridan begins to shape Laura, that is exactly the sort of image she takes away from her journey: that life is frivolous, because in the end Mr. Scott can't care about anything either, so why should we? In contrast, however, we see the gap in responsibility of which Mrs. Scott will have to fill, and the children who may starve. What makes this difference in perspective? Hell, reality, whatever synonym you like. The working class do not have the means to luxuriate in droll illusions. That truly is what creates the class system, the separation between fantasy and reality; paradise and hell.

Physicality In Literary Signification

“Are deformities and scars therefore always significant? Perhaps not. Perhaps sometimes a scar is simply a scar, a short leg or a hunchback merely that. But more often than not physical markings by their very nature call attention to themselves and signify some psychological or thematic point the writer wants to make. After all it's easier to introduce characters without imperfections.” -  Chapter Twenty-One: “Marked for Greatness” page 200

What is easier for an author? Of course this varies from person to person, but I would think the creation of perfect characters would be more difficult, than that of imperfect characters. Since perfection has never been reached, how can one write of it? More pertinent would be the degree to which they are damaged, and at what point in the novel the writer inflicts such damage. Were they scarred by birth, or later in life? If later in life when, and at what point in the novel? Is it merely a scar, freckles, a birthmark? Or loss of limb, severe burns, or boils? Self-inflicted? Each state of being in context can enlighten the reader further in matters such as symbolism, theme, plot development, and so on. Take Tuesday Lobsang Rampa's The Third Eye, for example. A young Tibetan boy, has every possibility laid out to him, he was fortunate to be born into a wealthy family, and career opportunities were seemingly endless. As he chooses to become a monk, much to the vexation of his family, the boy is thrust into adversity. The routine of pain and silence defines his life as he progresses with his studies. One day he makes the mindless error of tripping and falling onto a portion of the heated furnace, during his cooking duties. His overwhelming dedication and suffering further develops his spirituality, and promotes in terms of his responsibilities as a monk. Ultimately that one scar catalyzes the entirety of his spiritual journey, as the event behind the scar comes to symbolize the first of the Four Noble Truths. As readers we must also take into account physical appearance in general, and even the evolution of physical deformity or beauty. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth's skin complexion and overall appearance gradually changes to mirror his sinister actions and intentions, while that of Arthur Dimmesdale is increasingly seen as a martyr and a saint by his congregation, due to his physical and emotional ailments. An author could quite easily make a seemingly perfect character, but only to subvert our initial reactions, or offer commentary on popular clichés. In that sense every reader should read a book by its cover, at least initially, in order to more fully comprehend the basic elements that comprise a text.