Instances of Classical American Poetry and its Initial Impression - Essay Example

Out, Out by Robert Frost This poem leaves me feeling strange. Immediately, the fact that the saw is snarling and rattling alerts me that somethingbad will happen. I am alerted to danger. I am then temporarily soothed when the sweet scent of the dust is mentioned, and the mountain ranges of Vermont are noted. The transition from snarling to sweet scents is unsettling. I am unsure of the poem's direction. I feel nervous. The call for supper, and the worker's resulting sadness that there is too much work, makes me feel sad. That this worker turns out to be a boy doing a man's work deepens my sadness. Here is a boy, surrounded by the beauty of Vermont, and he does not have the time to enjoy his youth. Then comes a greater shock, the injury to his hand. His subsequent death, however, does not surprise as much as the reaction to his death. The people simply turn to their affairs. This seems a cold reaction. There is no expression of mourning. Perhaps these people do not have time to mourn. Perhaps they are poor and don't have the energy to exert on matters which they cannot change. I finish this poem feeling somewhat cold-hearted. This poem is about the shortness of life. One Art by Elizabeth Bishop This poem strikes me as almost whimsical, and yet it leaves me feeling more concerned about loss. By whimsical, I mean that I almost feel as if I am reading a nursery rhyme or listening to a children's song. There is a great deal of repetition, and an almost indifferent attitude to losses. The things that are lost begin small and become larger as the poem develops. Despite this, there is no disaster. I am curious as to the almost cheerful tone of the poem and the reality of losses. The poem seems to be preparing us for a greater type of loss. In the end, the cheerfulness is shattered. The loss is too substantial to minimize the nature of the disaster. This is not a mother's watch. This is not a set of keys. The loss is a person, and I wonder how far the poet will extend her indifference to loss. I think this last loss is disaster. Perhaps it is the death of the poet. This is why we are asked to write the final thought. Life transcends other possessions and it is all that we truly own. I am not left feeling sad. Instead, this poem encourages me to treasure my own life and not to be too serious about other things. Sure Thing by David Ives This short play is quite enjoyable. I enjoyed it because everything seems so familiar and plausible. I don't have to pause to consider the deeper meaning associated with the conflict between the two main characters. Quite the contrary, this is a topic that most everyone can relate to in some manner. We all know romance and the ways that we use language to achieve romantic goals. I feel amused and hopeful. I imagine that we like to cheer for characters that are in a position to fail. Ives gives so many possible ways to fail that it seems almost impossible for the characters to create a relationship. This is part of the charm of the play. We all know that romance is difficult, and that people are often subtle in the ways in which they pursue romance. In sum, I think this was a very familiar and realistic story. Sex Without Love by Sharon Olds This poem is beautiful and disturbing at the same time. It is beautiful because of the imagery used. Olds uses the images of ice skaters and dancers. I feel that she may offer some insight into sex without love. I feel that perhaps it won't be a selfish, deceitful or dirty endeavor. And then the imagery turns ugly. A face as red as steak is hardly enticing. A mother giving away their newborn children is quite tragic. This type of sex is without love; more frightening, it seems to be a type of violent sex. After reading the final line, I feel a sort of pity. I don't pity the concept of a human being selling her body for money so much as I pity how these human beings became prostitutes. Were they abandoned by their parents, abused, and unable to fend for themselves by any other means This poem leaves me with a sense of tragedy, something that doesn't have to be, and yet something that is, perhaps, as old as love itself. I Will Put Chaos Into Fourteen Lines by Edna St. Vincent Millay This poem makes me think about making order out of chaos. And it seems as if the poet is using an orderly scheme, fourteen lines in this case, in order to express her ideas neatly and succinctly. I don't think the "him" referred to is a person. Rather, I think that the poet is simply celebrating the concepts of organization and order. My feeling is that the poet seems to be going to extreme lengths to establish her point. At first, given the imagery, I wonder if she is trying to confine the devil or an evil person to these fourteen lines. But the extreme imagery, in the end, leaves me feeling a sort of calmness. I feel calm because we are able to bring order to disorder. I can relate to this point. Disorder can be maddening. Defy the Space That Separate by Adrienne Rich I think that this essay is both a lamentation and an appeal. Rich seems distraught by many things happening around us, and she feels that language has been devalued. She has a rather cynical view of the modern era. On the other hand, she argues that poetry is a means for expressing truths and devotions. It can, in her words, reassemble what has been lost or damaged. Poetry can do this by expressing outrage and possibilities. I think this essay is about the healing power of poetry. This essay makes me feel hopeful. This is because I also believe that words and art can be used to express better and more beautiful things. Words tough us, and they have the power, potentially, to encourage us to achieve. I was happy to read this essay because it is reassuring to know that other people share the same thoughts and dreams that I do. I almost want to write a poem. A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell This short story is about a subtle form of psychological tension. This tension, though subtle, is extreme in its effect on the reader. There is an unspoken sense of solidarity among the women characters. This sees to be because the women can understand and identify with the murder suspect's state of mind. This story is about solidarity and common bonds. She is adjudicated just by her peers. I feel that everyone, whether male or female, can understand and identify with this story. I feel this way because it is true that there are forms of male and female communication. There are forms of youth and elderly communication. We can, in short, identify with common experiences. This story did not shock me. In fact, I found its conclusion a rather natural manifestation of female communication and understanding. Read More