...Mark Harper L107/ 7917 Date: 2-5-15 Langston Hughes “Harlem” (pg.1019) is a lyric poem with irregular rhyme and irregular patterns that expresses how the blacks were treated during the oppression in America. There are eleven lines and seven sentences. Each sentence is a simple sentence. The poem consist of Alliteration: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up?” (Lines 1-2). “Syrupy sweet” (line 7). This poem consists of similes: “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore- “(Lines 2-4) this is a comparison of the dream to a raisin and fester. “Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over- like a syrupy sweet?” (Lines 6-8) This is a comparison of the dream to foods. “Maybe it sags like a heavy load.” (Lines 9-10) Comparison of the dream to a heavy load. The poem has a rhythmic, lyrical quality achieved by alliteration, rhyme, repetition of words and carefully placed syllables. The length of the poem varies. In line 1 it has eight syllables, line 2 has four, line 3 has seven, line 4 has six, and line 5 has three. The irregular pattern and movement gives the line a jagged edge, like a piece of broken glass, giving Hughes to leave an impression on the reader of being cut. The poem isn’t imitating any format used by other poets. It does show certain forms included in the following: Each line is stressed, except for line 7. Six of the seven lines of the poem are questions. Each sentence except for the first sentence and the last are using...
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...works express about how immigrants try to come to America to find a new beginning to change their world. Without the comparison of these stories and their expression about these works people would not be able to understand the life of immigrants and what they have to go through, power, oppression and being other by society. First, Power is showed through the story The New Colossus written by Emma Lazarus. The power comes from the statue of liberty when it says “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. This Quote is a kind of command telling the immigrants to come like the statue has power it is telling them to come to America telling them that their lives could change here because their country could not offer them change. In a sense the statue of liberty acts like a border separating the immigrants from American society. Through the whole poem there was no resistance the immigrants were...
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...Analysis of "A Nation's Strength" By Ralph Waldo Emerson "A nation's strength" is a poem written by Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1847. I can see that it is a poem from a line of similarities that this text has to/with a poem. A poem is characterized by the composition, the use of strong verbs and precise nouns, the use of rhythm, repetitions, alliteration, line breaks and the use of metaphors, similes or personification. Poems will often rhyme but they will not sacrifice meaning for rhyme. A poem has a focused purpose (paints a picture, recreates a feeling, tells a story, captures a moment, etc). In this poem the author uses vivid imagery and metaphors to convince the reader that the strength of a nation, is not in its wealth or military powers, but in its people. I would like to start off by explaining the structural composition of this poem. The form of this poem is a bit of a mix. It has both enjambments and full stops. The enjambment (stanza 1, verse 1, 2) is when one sentence is divided into two verses. A full stop (stanza 2, vers 1) is when there is a definite break/period. It has 6 stanzas and 4 verses in each stanza. The poem has an ab ab rhyme and an 8-6-8-6 rhythm. The ab ab rhyme tells us that the last words in the sentences will rhyme in pairs, every second line. For example the first stanza rhymes; high-defy and strong-throng. The 8-6-8-6 rhythm explains the number of syllables in each verse. For example stanza 1, vers 1, 2; what makes a nation's pillars high=...
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...Kyle Hennin Mr. Hammond ENGL 1125 (6) 2/20/15 America In literature there are hidden meanings behind every word. These meanings can be portrayed using metaphors, similes or even just specific words. Authors use these methods in their writing to not make their point come across too obvious. This allows the readers to use their minds and think outside the box to find the true meaning. In the poem “America” by Tony Hoagland the hidden meaning is corruption in the United States today. Corruption in the meaning of illuminati playing a part of it. A lot of people will say that the government isn’t looking to help us but to take over like a dictatorship. Hoagland uses metaphors, and symbolism to paint the picture of what society is truly coming to. In this specific poem, the author uses multiple methods to cover up his meaning. One specific way he gets his point across is through metaphors. A metaphor is a comparison between two unrelated things. The poem begins with a metaphor that is comparing a student to someone who is corrupted through influence, just as a student is with a teacher. The author continues his poem with the use of metaphors by comparing America to a “satin quilt.” When he used this metaphor, it made me think a lot specifically about our nation and how many theories there are about it being corrupt. One part of the poem that was very interesting to me was the imagery in his dream when the author stabs his father and instead of blood falling out it...
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...Rap Culture in Comparison to the Tone of Hughes and Brooks Today it is hard to get into a car and turn on the radio without hearing a song about money, sex, or fame. Modern day rap culture tries to force those three things on our population through their music and lyrics. They have changed many people’s perception of the perfect life through their tone, music, and lyrics. Many poems help express and can relate to the tone of the modern day rap culture. The tone in the poems, “Red Silk Stockings” by Langston Hughes, and “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks, can be tied to the tone in rap culture and express many modern American values. Rap culture in the twenty first century has exponentially grown and in turn has influenced daily American live. Today, everyone is exposed to this new rap culture that is developing everywhere. Rap culture started in about the 1970’s in New York City (Sullivan). In those days rap was about everyday life and race but has greatly change since then. Rap songs these days are all about sex, money, drugs, women, cars, and practically any material thing. Many songs talk about how rich the rappers are and the extravagant ways they live. Most songs in rap culture have poor grammar and language. These songs are crude and talk about women only as sex. The view points of modern day rappers are extremely clouded because of what they talk about and how they live. The tone of the Hughes and Brooks poems help to show the tone and expression of modern day rap culture...
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...08/11/14 In today’s society racism is still a problem just like it was in the past. It is not publicized as before but it is still alive and well in society. With America being a melting pot of race and ethnicity one would think this issue should not exist. I chose the two poems What it’s like to be a black girl by Patricia Smith and Child of the Americas by Aurora Levins Morales. These two poems are written from a women’s perspective about how racial discrimination is perceived in America. Racism is no longer just a black and white my paper will show how these two pieces showed how cultures are subjected to discrimination. The title of these two poems catch my attention one being I am a black girl and two I am a child of America. I too have faced some challenges that are discussed in these poems. In a country that was founded and built on immigrants society makes a big deal about a person’s race and culture. Why does race matter? Does it make you a better person? Does it make you prettier? Sadly our society has placed into the heads of young women that pretty means lighter skin. That being pretty gives you an easier life. The authors of these two poems are African American and Puerto Rican and they have both faced forms of racial discrimination. In America girls were raised that Caucasian was the accepted race. “It’s dropping food coloring in your eyes to make them blue and suffering their burn in silence (Smith)”. A line for What it’s like to...
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...the problems of life that a person goes through in his poem 'A Consumer's Report'. This is explored by the sustained metaphor of life and the monologue used which has an implied listener which is the reader. The tone drifts from a solemn one to a cynical one to highlight life's problems in that to portray how people see life as a bad thing. The main issue from the poem is that it is a life is satirical and people have become too indulged by product that it has become a consumerist capitalist state of society. The first line of the poem, "The name of the product I tested is Life" expresses the poet's feelings that to him life is just a product and this adds to the title as it is a comparison of life to a product. Products, being tangible goods, have "different labels, sizes and colours". The poet comments on this because he feels that tPeter Porter focuses on the consumerist society and the problems of life that a person goes through in his poem 'A Consumer's Report'. This is explored by the sustained metaphor of life and the monologue used which has an implied listener which is the reader. The tone drifts from a solemn one to a cynical one to highlight life's problems in that to portray how people see life as a bad thing. The main issue from the poem is that it is a life is satirical and people have become too indulged by product that it has become a consumerist capitalist state of society. The first line of the poem, "The name of the product I tested is Life" expresses...
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...Modernism/Postmodernism A representation of belonging in the poem ''I Too'' by Hughes Williams and ''A Wife'S Story'' by Mukherjee In this essay, I compare Hughes poem ''I, too'' published in 1925 (Modernism) and Mukherjee's story ''A Wife' Story'' published in 1988 (Postmodernism). The focus of my comparison will be on belonging as I believe this theme could be attributed to both texts. First of all, the poem ''I, too'' is about a black man who belongs to and wants to be seen as an American which is especially emphasised by the poem's title ''I, too''. A similar expression is used in the last line of the poem which therefore forms a frame. Evidently, this can be understood as a statement which expresses that this person is a citizen of America because he is represented throughout the whole poem from the beginning to the end. The little difference between the first and 18th line can be interpreted as a sort of improvement which takes place within the poem because singing America means he does something to actually belong to it. The statement ''I, too, am America'' can be seen as rather passive; hence it can be argued that the narrator is accepted and finally belongs to the American culture. Furthermore, it becomes apparent that the narrator is excluded from American society by stating that ''they sent me to eat in the kitchen when company comes'' (l.3-4). This citation suggests that he is separated from the others as they do not wish to eat with him but; hence it...
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...Keiyonna young Ms. Herzog Communications 27 July 2015 Literary Comparison: Deception at its greatest All it takes is a beautiful fake smile to hide an injured soul and they will never notice how broken you really are! -Unknown In this paper I will briefly compare two pieces of literature and their authors. The first is “We Wear the Mask (1896)” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and "Richard Cory (1897)" by Edward Arlington Robinson. I really enjoy poetry and was amazed at the similarities found in these two pieces despite the very noticeable difference in the authors. I started of my paper with a quote from an unknown author which will help set the tone for the two poems I will be comparing. This quote describes something we all have at one time or another. We all have at some point in our lives encountered (or will encounter) a time where we have to do or go through something that we did not want to do or experience. A time where we cannot let on to others what we are truly feeling inside. Whether it is at work or staying strong for family or friends or just putting on a front for the world. These two authors wrote poems about this very thing. Paul L Dunbar was born in Dayton Ohio on June 22, 1872 to parents who had been enslaved prior to the civil war. Just about 3 years earlier Edward Arlington Robinson was born on December 22, 1869. His parents were very well off. There is so much to be said about the lives of these two great men and the things that they...
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...with Russia, due to losing a war to Germany in 1870. * German Empire – In alliance with Austria-Hungary, who initiated the war. * Greece – Were forced by Britain and France. * Italy – In alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary. * Japan – To gain recognition and help Britain. * Liberia – To fight against Germany. * Montenegro – To fight the invasion of Serbia. * Ottoman Empire – Wanted their lands back lost in previous wars. * Portugal – Allied with Britain. * Romania – Wanted Transylvania from Austria-Hungary and got it by the end of the war. * Russia – Joined to help Serbia after being invaded. * Serbia – Killed Austria-Hungarian Arch-duke Ferdinand and started the war. * United States of America – Joined due to the sinking of the British Passenger ship Lusitania, where a number of US citizens died. * The war all started when Serbia assassinated Austria-Hungarian Arch-duke Ferdinand, which caused Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. Germany then decided to help Austria-Hungary, and Germany and Russia decided to help Serbia. France then took Russia’s side and Britain, who were bound by treaty to protect...
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...to be desired. Whiteman’s first poem of the night discussed the recent hurricane that had devastated Florida, Texas, and Puerto Rico, hurricane Irma. She based her experiences...
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...Black history month is a great American holiday celebrating what was accomplished by the race. In comparison the poems seem attached, won't you celebrate seems to explain a little less in detail but it's saying won't we come together and celebrate as one. The poems are pretty straight to the point in general saying the people are the same in all ways. Whereas the other poem contributes more to the stronger growing of the race together becoming stronger as one. The start of our nation was based upon slavery and segregation but we came together to end hate and discrimination discrimination between the races. "(line 13) something has tried to kill me and has failed" stating that he had survived the hatred and of the opposing race, both poems...
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...stubborn grandpa, my tender grandma, the nostalgia, the tangerine garden, the old house, living on the mountain, fresh air, comfortable atmosphere, the life without worry, get up early, quiet, seldom going to the town, no many shopping store, do not have to worry about the relationship between people, simple food for every meal Possible idea for contrasting: complex relationship to people versus simple relationship to people, the convenience life versus isolated life on the mountain, the irregular and regular work and rest life Text: Everyone has her own image to the city life and the country life; therefore I have my own idea to these two kinds of life style. To me the city life is quite different to the country life, and the comparison sources are my life experience and my memory. I lived with my grand parents in the country in my childhood; after I finished my first year in the elementary school, I came to live with my parents in the Taipei County. From then on, I go back to my grandparents’ old house when it is summer or winter vacation. Under this situation, the differences between the city life and the country life becomes evidently. The first difference in these two different life styles one can figure out easily is the different level of regularity of work and rest. As a dweller in the city, I always have the hope to have more than 24 hours a day; the limit of time effects me cortically. Thus, burning the night oil is what I usually....
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...Robinson wrote a short narrative poem about a man, Richard Cory. Robinson describes Richard Cory as a man who is wealthy, admired, educated, stylish, and modest. At the end of the poem the feeling of admiration changes to shock after it was revealed that Richard Cory "went home and put a bullet through his head." Robinson taught the moral "money doesn't buy happiness" through the magic of envy. 2. Simon, Paul. Richard Cory. 1966. Literature In Paul Simon's adaptation of Richard Cory he reconceived the original poem and added a chorus that emphasized a separate truth. Simon talks about Richard Cory being Meeks 2 "born into society" and painted a picture of Cory being a wealthy playboy with tones like "the orgies on his yacht." Simon wants his readers/listeners to view Richard Cory as a type of lifestyle. Secondary Sources 3. Morse, David E. Avant-Rock in the Classroom. The English Journal, Vol. 58, No. 2 (Feb., 1969), pp. 196-200+297. Print. This article suggests that using avant-rock in the classroom the students would show more interest in literature. "The whole avant-rock movement clearly challenges the traditional notions of what is literature." Morse believes that by doing this they will bring many students who react sentimentally to ballads will undertake meaning with art of their culture. Morse uses the process of comparison between Edwin Arlington Robinson's poem Richard Cory and Paul Simon's adaptation of that poem. By bringing avant-rock into classrooms...
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...Sarah K. McAfee May 8, 2008 English 151-15 The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, tells a quick story about a lone traveler who arrives at the end of a path leading to a fork road. Confused about which road to take, the traveler speaks figuratively about how each path looks and in the end decides to take the path he calls “less traveled by” (line 19). Each person in life comes across crossroads where he or she has to choose which path leads to a better future. The reader can take what Frost wrote and interpret that this poem represents that decision that we eventually have to make. One of the major themes of this poem is “life’s decisions” because the author creates a scenario where people have to make a decision of which road to take in life. The poem’s theme is “life’s decisions” because in the poem the traveler arrives at a fork in the road and has to choose the path to take to get to his destination. In life, we also have to make that decision. This could be Frost’s interpretation of someone who is approaching this kind of scenario . The first stanza of the poem states: “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth” –Robert Frost This stanza is describing the thinking process of the person who has to make his or her decision on which path to take. The person is trying to figure out how far each path will go but...
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