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February 10, 2006
Nature Poems
Poetry Selections -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
Here are all my thoughts on the poems due for class on monday.
The Little Turtle--Vachel Lindsay
I thought that this poem was very elementary. It literally was from a little girls mouth. It is very cute, but I don't get any literary meaning out of it. The only thing i got out of it is that it is very good with the rhyming aspect of a poem.
The Turtle--Ogden Nash
This was a very short poem. The turtle is so fertile the author says, but we never know what sex it is, male or female? to ponder this question is to lead you in insanity. Why do they cover their sex, how do they reproduce in such great numbers? We will never know. Why do you think the author wrote this poem, I sure don't know.
Trees--Joyce Kilmer
The personification in this poem is ridiculous. It was great to see how the author depicted the structure of the tree to a human. "...lifts her leafy arms to pray" as well as "a nest of robins in her hair". I thought that this was a spiritual poem. It talked a lot about god and how the tree came about, by god. It is connecting nature to god, which he created.
The Swing--Robert Louis Stevens
This poem made me want to go back to the years of elementary school. I just wanted to run to a nearby park and swing away all my worries. I think that was the whole point of the poem. A child has no problems, but they are swinging into the years where they will cross paths with difficulties in life. I wish i could just swing to the good part of my life.
Happy Thought--Robert Louis Stevens
There are so many things in the world that are great. Forget about the bad and difficult situations in life. Don't worry about petty things. Be happy, life is great, enjoy it.
"...happy as kings."
This quote is not the best. Are kings really as happy are they are perceived to be, or is it just a cover up? I personally dont think they are happy. They are in this castle with servants to do anything they want them to do. I think they wish they could just be normal. I think that the author put that similie in on purpose. Dont always wish you were a king or a celebrity, you have something they dont have.....HAPPINESS.
Posted by Denamarie at February 10, 2006 04:26 PM
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Comments
Dena,
I agree with you on many of these poems. Doesn't the poem about the swing really want to make you go back to elementary school and swing outside at recess?
That is also a good point about quote, "as happy as kings." Who says that kings are happy? They have so much pressure and so many things to deal with in their kingdom that it may not really be all it's cracked up to be.
Posted by: Andy LoNigro at February 11, 2006 10:14 AM
Denamarie, I'm assuming that the author wrote "The Little Turtle" because he probably saw a turtle in his fish tank and most likely had nothing else to write about at the time. It is weird because who really CARES about a little turtle? I didn't...until the poet brought about some interesting points that you had mentioned in your own blog.
Posted by: ElyseBranam at February 11, 2006 02:10 PM
In response to why Ogden Nash wrote "The Turtle": I would have to say that he wrote this poem because he is all about looking at small, semi-insignificant parts of nature in unique ways. Some of his most popular poems are strange little rhymes about animals. He took the idea of a turtle and avoided the stereotypical view of it (as found in Lindsay's poem) and instead asked a question that most people never ask.
Posted by: Mike Rubino at February 12, 2006 08:25 PM
yes.. I agree with everyone when they say are kings really happy.. but why is everyone looking so far into it.. When you were little didn't you pretend that you were a queen or a princess? Well i know I did and i just didnt look that far into it..
Posted by: Brittney Aller at February 13, 2006 09:50 AM