"Sir Patrick Spens" and Dudley Randall's "Ballad of Birmingham" both contain the same type of form and content. They both are a narrative ballad. The poems tell a story that can also be sort of a song. When reading "Sir Patrick Spens", it was almost as if it was a ship song that a bunch of drunk sailors or pirates would be singing while riding the seas in their ship. I even started to feel like i was singing it also while reading it. It did however take a few readings in order to understand it but it was really interesting. I found that "Ballard of Birmingham" was simpler to read and more interesting because it was something that happened in our century.
The rhyme scheme is XAXA then XBXB, so every other word in a quatrain rhymes with each other. There are four lines in each stanza which is in both of the poems. They contain the same type of form so in a sense the poems are very much similar in the way they were written, the form, and style that each author chose to write them in. "Sir Patrick Spens" is about this person who was sent by the king and ordered by him to go out to sea in the middle of a huge storm that was very deadly. "Sir Patrick Spens" knew that he was going to die out there at sea but was still loyal to the king.
"Ballard of Birmingham" really touched me. That this little boy wanted to walk in this march four our country, but his mom said to go to the church where it will be a lot safer. Instead, a bomb was dropped at the church where the little boy dies. I was able to connect to this story more than "Sir Patrick Spens" because it easier to read and more understandable. It was from a closer time period so it was more relate able.
Even though these poems are from a different period in life, they contained some very interesting simiarities. I believe that the theme in each poem contained loyalty. "Sir Patrick Spens" was being loyal to the king even though he knew that he was going to die out at sea, he was still faithful to the king who was said to be blood thirsty by "drinking the blood-red wine" in line 2 of the poem. In "Ballad of Birmingham", the boy wanted to be loyal and faithful to two things. He wanted to be faithful to his country and to his mother. They both however die in the end. They also contained ironic endings where the ladies would wait for their men to return from sea even though they knew they were going to die, and the mother waiting for her son to come out of the church. The little boy went inside the church ordered by his mom and he ended up getting killed.
In a way, both the characters fought for their loyalty but in different ways. I also believe that they had loyalty for something that ended up killing them. The king was the one who made the order for him to go out to sea where he was going to die in the storm. The little boy followed his mothers orders to go to the church instead of the march where he ended up facing his death.
By being loyal, they both ended up in a tragic ending.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Blog Entry 10
When I first read the poem, "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke, I wasn't sure what the two meanings could be. One meaning really stood out to me the most, but as i read it a couple of times, I figured out what the second meaning of the poem could possible be.
The first meaning I got right away was that the speaker was that the speaker was being abused by his father. The first stanza to me just stood out the way he was talking about smelling the whiskey coming off his breathe and saying "But I hung on like death". Even saying that the kind of waltzing that his father did wasn't easy, the thought of abuse came into my mind. I also think that because of my past and certain situations that have happened that I had that biased point of view so I continued reading. "My mother's countenance/could not unfrown itself" I interpreted as that the mother wasn't happy of what the father did to him but she didn't do anything about it. The last stanza really hit me hard. The whole poem to me was just sad and depressing because I got the impression that his father was a drunk and would beat and hit him until he would take him to bed. But I did read it a couple times more to find another meaning.
The speaker's choice of words had me thinking of another meaning of the poem. The way the speaker was hanging on and "still clinging to your shirt", I took it as that even though he was an abusive father,he still had hope and love for him despite everything that was happening. That maybe he knew it was the whiskey that was making him like that and not him actually that the whiskey changed his personality. Because he still loved his father that that is why he was describing the abuse as a sort of dance.
The title "My Papa's Waltz" right off the bat can suggest that the speaker believes it is his father's abuse is a dance. "Waltzing wasn't easy/every step you missed/ then waltzing me off to bed" are some word choices that uses dance as a way him and his father were with each other. Him and his father have this routine that they have that they are with each other just like how a dance is a routine. That the abuse happens all the time and is repetitive and a routine just like how learning steps to a dance is. Maybe the boy blocks the image of abuse with his father and sees it as they are doing a dance together. The third stanza can suggest that its a small boy dancing in front of his father by the line where it says that when he missed a step his ear would scrap the buckle as if he was as tall as where his belt buckle was and would hit him when a step was missed.
To me this speaker was expressing a lot of emotion and mixed feelings. That even though he had to deal with his father being drunk and abusive, he still has a lot of love for him by not letting him go and holding on to him. He to me was a scared boy and blocked out the image of being abused as the time with his father being a dance. It was an interesting poem that really hit me and understood the meaning of this poem.
The first meaning I got right away was that the speaker was that the speaker was being abused by his father. The first stanza to me just stood out the way he was talking about smelling the whiskey coming off his breathe and saying "But I hung on like death". Even saying that the kind of waltzing that his father did wasn't easy, the thought of abuse came into my mind. I also think that because of my past and certain situations that have happened that I had that biased point of view so I continued reading. "My mother's countenance/could not unfrown itself" I interpreted as that the mother wasn't happy of what the father did to him but she didn't do anything about it. The last stanza really hit me hard. The whole poem to me was just sad and depressing because I got the impression that his father was a drunk and would beat and hit him until he would take him to bed. But I did read it a couple times more to find another meaning.
The speaker's choice of words had me thinking of another meaning of the poem. The way the speaker was hanging on and "still clinging to your shirt", I took it as that even though he was an abusive father,he still had hope and love for him despite everything that was happening. That maybe he knew it was the whiskey that was making him like that and not him actually that the whiskey changed his personality. Because he still loved his father that that is why he was describing the abuse as a sort of dance.
The title "My Papa's Waltz" right off the bat can suggest that the speaker believes it is his father's abuse is a dance. "Waltzing wasn't easy/every step you missed/ then waltzing me off to bed" are some word choices that uses dance as a way him and his father were with each other. Him and his father have this routine that they have that they are with each other just like how a dance is a routine. That the abuse happens all the time and is repetitive and a routine just like how learning steps to a dance is. Maybe the boy blocks the image of abuse with his father and sees it as they are doing a dance together. The third stanza can suggest that its a small boy dancing in front of his father by the line where it says that when he missed a step his ear would scrap the buckle as if he was as tall as where his belt buckle was and would hit him when a step was missed.
To me this speaker was expressing a lot of emotion and mixed feelings. That even though he had to deal with his father being drunk and abusive, he still has a lot of love for him by not letting him go and holding on to him. He to me was a scared boy and blocked out the image of being abused as the time with his father being a dance. It was an interesting poem that really hit me and understood the meaning of this poem.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Blog Entry 8
One of the poems that hit me emotionally was Herrick's "Here a Pretty Baby Lies". When I first read the title, I thought it was going to be a joyful and peaceful poem. Its rhyme scheme was an A A B B scheme. When I read the first two lines I thought it was talking about a baby that was sleeping and the lullabies were being sung by the mother who was trying to have her baby fall asleep. That poem at the end really shocked me. "Th'easy earth that covers her" (645) really got me and that's when I realized that the baby was in fact dead.
This poem was only four lines long with a small rhyme scheme, but it really hit me emotionally. It was short but powerful. It had a lot of meaning in those four lines. The way Robert Herrick used the words that could mean one thing but meant another. Like how the baby lying was the baby dead in a coffin and not a baby sleeping in a crib. Or the earth that covers her was the baby being buried. It really got me because not many people write or talk about babies dying or burying of children. Its something that most authors don't write about or something that becomes famous for. Whether the reason was for the baby dying, it was a tragic ending and it really touched my heart.
Another poem that really hit home to me was Billy Collin's "Schoolsville". One of the things that I realized while i was reading this was when he said "Glancing over my shoulder at the past I realized the number of students I have taught" (642). My dad being a teacher tells me stories of all the students he has taught over the years and it makes me appreciate the teachers I've had a lot more. There are some teachers out there that don't care about their students, but some really do remember their students they have had and it made me realize about the teachers that do love their job as being a teacher.
Also, the poem made me realize and think about my youth, It was a little long of a poem but it didn't contain a rhyme scheme. It was right to the point about school and him teaching. The scenes he portrayed in the poem are both real and amusing to read like when he describes "The A's stroll along with other A's The D's honk whenever they pass another D." (643). It really amused me and at the same time spoke to me . It reminded me of when I was younger and in middle school where it was such a small school that everyone knew everyone and it brought back that time of innocence. Another thing that I found funny was when he was describing that students will come back for help on the papers. I will to this day will go to the teachers that I still keep in contact with and ask them questions on assignments I need help on. My friends will even go to my dad when they need help with any math problems.
Even though these poems contained differences such as "Schoolsville" having a laughter amusing feel and "Here a Pretty Baby Lies" having a sad deep feeling, they both contained similarities. They were powerful poems that engaged us as the reader to relate to the poem. I really liked the poems and it showed me that poetry isn't always about rhyming or love or even flowers, but can also be realistic and mean so much to the reader than expected.
This poem was only four lines long with a small rhyme scheme, but it really hit me emotionally. It was short but powerful. It had a lot of meaning in those four lines. The way Robert Herrick used the words that could mean one thing but meant another. Like how the baby lying was the baby dead in a coffin and not a baby sleeping in a crib. Or the earth that covers her was the baby being buried. It really got me because not many people write or talk about babies dying or burying of children. Its something that most authors don't write about or something that becomes famous for. Whether the reason was for the baby dying, it was a tragic ending and it really touched my heart.
Another poem that really hit home to me was Billy Collin's "Schoolsville". One of the things that I realized while i was reading this was when he said "Glancing over my shoulder at the past I realized the number of students I have taught" (642). My dad being a teacher tells me stories of all the students he has taught over the years and it makes me appreciate the teachers I've had a lot more. There are some teachers out there that don't care about their students, but some really do remember their students they have had and it made me realize about the teachers that do love their job as being a teacher.
Also, the poem made me realize and think about my youth, It was a little long of a poem but it didn't contain a rhyme scheme. It was right to the point about school and him teaching. The scenes he portrayed in the poem are both real and amusing to read like when he describes "The A's stroll along with other A's The D's honk whenever they pass another D." (643). It really amused me and at the same time spoke to me . It reminded me of when I was younger and in middle school where it was such a small school that everyone knew everyone and it brought back that time of innocence. Another thing that I found funny was when he was describing that students will come back for help on the papers. I will to this day will go to the teachers that I still keep in contact with and ask them questions on assignments I need help on. My friends will even go to my dad when they need help with any math problems.
Even though these poems contained differences such as "Schoolsville" having a laughter amusing feel and "Here a Pretty Baby Lies" having a sad deep feeling, they both contained similarities. They were powerful poems that engaged us as the reader to relate to the poem. I really liked the poems and it showed me that poetry isn't always about rhyming or love or even flowers, but can also be realistic and mean so much to the reader than expected.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)