Select a poem to analyze using TP-CASTT. You may select a poem from any of the following poets:
Emily Dickenson
Andrew Marvell
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
John Donne
Lord Byron
Good Luck!
Either the woman being talked about is very beautiful or she is walking through an area that is extremely beautiful. Or maybe the way she moves is beautiful...something is beautiful.
Paraphrase:
A woman with no name walks in beauty. She is as beautiful as a starry night and every great thing about both night and day come together in this individual's beauty.
To change any component of her would be to ruin the imbalance and thus her perfect, indescribable beauty. It is evident in her black hair and lights her face.
Her face shows that she lives a life of purity and goodness.
Connotation:
Byron compares the women primarily to dark things (like the night) which is short of odd because generally pretty things are thought of as bright. The only explanation I can think of is perhaps there is a mystery behind her beauty which would make sense considering he describes it as "nameless grace."
Additionally, words such as "soft", "calm", and "tender light" seem to add a softness to the poem that helps to offset all of the darkness. However, it does seem to play up her behavior as a someone who is of purity, like light.
Attitude:
The speaker seems in awe of the women as he has absolutely nothing negative to say to her. He uses celestial words like "stars" and "heaven" which are rather lofty things to be compared to. He not only admires her but puts her on a pedestal as though she as mysterious and beholden to him as the stars.
Shifts:
All of the stanzas are set up very similarly. However, the first two stanzas work on setting up her beauty and describing its nature while the third takes a shift to her demeanor and innocent and good heart. Is a shift from physical beauty to internal beauty.
Title:
I feel that she walks in beauty is making reference to her walking through life in a way that is beautiful, such as through her good deeds and heart.
Theme:
I feel that the overall theme of this poem is innocence. In the modern age, many times innocence is viewed with a sort of disdain. People are so ready to throw away that innate sense of goodness. However, this poem has Byron absolutely nuts for a girl who is physically beautiful in a way that is hard to explain. Or is both light and dark and is delicate. However, as the poem draws to a close the reader learns what it is that is so hard to out our fingers on, it is just that she is good. This poem praises innocence and exults it.
I think that your analysis was very good. I think that your paraphrasing was very well done as well. I think that TP-CASTT method helped simplify the poem, and definitely helped me. Nice job!
The poem I chose was "Hope is the Thing with Feathers" by Emily Dickenson.
Title- My first impressions upon seeing this title was an animal with feathers. This logically led me to believe that the animal being described was a bird. I think that Dickinson is using the bird as a metaphor to describe how hope is viewed in her own life.
Paraphrase- The poem is not very long, but it does have meaning that is very strong. Dickinson begins the poem by saying that "Hope is a thing with feathers." This immediately corresponds with the title of the poem because they are both dealing with hope being compared to a bird. In context this can be taken differently than by itself. She continues the poem by saying that hope "perches in the soul." This also shows the personification of hope into an animal. Finally, she ends the poem by saying that it "sings," which is a direct comparison with the bird. Overall, the context of the poem is dealing with the personification of hope.
Connotation- Dickinson is very forthright with her word choice. She does not use any words that have different meaning. This is done so that the reader will take away the desired idea from the poem, and so that there is not any confusion of the idea being discussed.
Attitude- The attitude of the poem is joyful. The author carries a happy tone throughout the entire poem which translates to the attitude. Dickinson's word choice is crucial for this to be done correctly.
Shifts- This poem also does not have any shifts. It carries the same tone and flow throughout. There is no rhyming scheme so it cannot change. Also, the message is the same throughout the entire poem.
Tone- The tone of the poem is upbeat and hopeful. All of the words used are either neutral or happy. The words hope, sings, and soul all create the tone that carries throughout the entire poem.
Title- Revisiting the tile I think that it is mostly what I thought it was. I think that the title is not comparing the soul with a bird, but rather personifying the soul and is using a bird as the animal to be personifying it with. I think that this is crucial because a bird fits into the topic very well.
I picked the same poem! I guess I should have looked at everyone's choices before picking my own. Well anyways the main thing that I have different is the shifts. I said that there were shifts in the poem. I thought that when the storm was being described the poem shifted there in the second stanza and then shifted back in the third stanza. Well other than that great I basically had the same ideas. Great job!
After reading this poem I thought it was another good one by Dickinson. Throughout this weekend I've been exposed to so much Dickinson that I'm starting to really like her. All of the poems I read from her so far are joyful like yours and peaceful like mine. Therefore I enjoyed what you said in your attitude and tone sections. You shifts were also nice. Good job!
Great blog! I read that poem and really liked it. Good choice. One part that I really enjoyed about your blog was your title section. You definitely showed some forethought about what you thought the greater theme of the poem was and that showed a great deal of critical thinking. Nice job!
Oh my goodness! I knew I should have looked at the blog before I did my analysis. Danielle, I’m so sorry! I really had no idea you did this poem, too. What are the chances? I even chose it Friday! Oh fiddlesticks. Oh well.
Okay I did my TP-CASTT on Lord Byron's poem "She Walks in Beauty". Below is the link. Hoorah!
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173100
Title - She Walks in Beauty gives the hint that the poem probably revolves around a female and also probably includes a description of her appearance or perhaps her personality and the beauty it holds. Or, on the other hand, it could be a poem about how women are more beautiful than they think they are and that they all have a beauty to them.
Paraphrase - This poem describes the beauty of a woman. Lord Byron ironically compares her beauty to "night" and "dark". He uses the imagery of dark and light to parallel her beauty. He also comments on how her confidence and innocence add to her beauty.
Connotation - "Dark", "bright", and "light" all have different connotations in this poem. Dark and bright resemble the good and the bad of human nature. Light symbolizes the woman's beauty in the poem, and how it contrasts with the darkness or brings the light and darkness into harmony with each other.
Attitude - Words such as "night", "starry skies", "dark", "bright", "light", "shade", "ray", and "glow" establish a tone of awe. The speaker is in awe of this woman's beauty and love that is "innocent" and is the light in the darkness or powerful enough to align the contrasting illusions of dark and light. Also the word "innocent" could allude to how the woman loves wholly and not sexually.
Shift - The first two stanzas of the poem really focus on how the woman's beauty compares to darkness and light. The shift occurs between the second and third stanza when the speaker begins to describe the woman's face and her "heart whose love is so innocent". He focuses more on her inner beauty, and connects it to why she is so beautiful.
Title - She Walks in Beauty embodies the poem in that a woman who loves with "innocence", not sexually, has a radiant beauty that is more empowering than the elements of dark and light.
Theme - The poet is communicating that the beauty on the personality and antics of a woman are what truly contribute to her beauty that the eye beholds. The only literal subject is the woman being described. Abstract subjects include beauty, innocence, dark, and light. Lord Byron writes a dazzling poem that describes how a woman's beauty often stems from her "innocence of heart" and her confidence ("peace of mind") in herself. He lavishly describes how these features of a woman complete her beauty and make it more striking than the congrats between dark and light. He describes how this kind of beauty is rare, as rare as the dark and light coming together.
I think that you did a lovely job as always. You picked out the shifts in the poem well. You clearly unlocked the meaning of the poem and you did an excellent job picking out the subjects discussed in the poem such as light and dark. Great jobs using TP CASTT!
Rachel, Nice blog once again. You definitely got the entire meaning of the poem. I loved your discussion of the abstract concepts that were expressed in the poem along with the literal concept of the beautiful woman. Amazing job!
I did "'Hope' is a thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson. Here is the link http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers/
Title- Hope is the thing with feathers. The title is referencing a and quite possibly a dove which represents hope. The poem may discuss the relationship between hope and the dove.
Paraphrase- The bird or hope is perched inside the soul. However the bird does not sing with words and it never stops it's wordless song. The storm bashes the little bird and causes many to become cold. Now the author is speaking saying that she has heard it everywhere even in the strangest and far away places. But the little bird has never asked anything of the author.
Connotation- "sweetest", "hope" and "sings" all suggest a lighter tone and explore the representation of the dove. These words suggest the happiness while the words "gale", "storm" and "abash" represent the hardships that everyone faces. The storm represents adversity in our lives. The words "chilliest" and "strangest" represent that Hope is present everywhere.
Attitude- The attitude of the poem seems to be gratify as the author is speaking of hope in a very positive sense. The author is describing the hope as a tangible symbol like the dove in order to easily describe it. Otherwise hope cannot be easily described. The author describes the power of Hope and how it is always there. Although we don't have to do anything to receive it, it is a wonderful gift to us.
Shift- the poem shifts two times and the shifts are marked by the separation of the stanzas. The first stanza describes hope as a dove. The second stanza describes hope's response of adversity, it is not as positive as the first but the third stanza describes the powerfulness of hope and how it is always there, which proves that Hope can overcome anything.
Title- The title does refer to a bird, more specifically a dove. The bird does represent hope but the poem is more about how essential hope is in our lives. We need it to overcome adversity and it is very easy for us to have and hope doesn't ask anything of us to gain it. We don't have to pass a test to receive hope it is just always there for us, especially when we are facing trouble in out lives.
Theme- the main subject that is addressed is the dove which is hope. The poem describes hope and it many qualities. The poem is about having hope even in a time of great need. It is essential and is a great gift from God which is why it is so important for us to utilize this gift. We should always have hope, especially because it doesn't cost us anything, it there for us to have free of charge whenever we need it.
Michaela, So this blog is pretty good. I read the poem and I think that you are exactly right that hope is so essential in our lives. Emily Dickinson really captures how much we need hope if we want to have a good life. Nice job with the TP CASTT buddy!
Your analysis is so inspiring! I am now filled with hope just after reading your TP-CASTT. Hehe! I think you definitely unlocked the deeper meaning of your poem through your analysis. I especially like how you relate the bird to hope. Your last part about the theme was very deep and I really enjoyed it. Great work, Michaela!
Hello all to another week of blogging, Anyway I decided that I would analyze a poem by Emily Dickinson because why not.
http://www.bartleby.com/113/1021.html
He Ate and Drank the Precious Words
Title- This poem could be about two things. One of the things that this poem is likely to center on is that the man in the poem had some really good news and he took it all in with happiness. Another possible meaning for this poem, however, is that the man was being fed lies by someone and he took them to be gospel truth. It could go either way.
Paraphrase- The man in this poem is more or less dead inside. He finds a book, however, that has allowed him to regain the liveliness of his spirit. Throughout that book he was able to find some truth in his life and that truth was going to help him live. His spirit was freed by the words that the man found in that one single book.
Connotation- The words in this poem that contain connotation are “book” and “words.” The book in this poem is a symbol of none other than the Bible. The man finds the one book that can set him free, and what do we often discuss in AP Lit? We discuss how the bible can save us. The words that the man found in this poem are also the words of God. His spirit was dead, and he found the right words to make it soar again. The Bible is helping this man to regain life, when he thought he was lost forever.
Attitude- This poem actually has a happy attitude attached to it. Dickinson uses words such as precious, liberty, loosened, robust, and danced. These words all have a happy feeling attached to them. They are all good things when we think about them. Dickinson is showing that the main character in the poem is happy that he is now that he found the book.
Shift- The first four lines in this poem talk about the life of the man before the book. He was poor and desolate before he found the words in the book that set him free. The end of the fourth line has a period at the end of it. This indicates the shift, and in the following lines Dickinson talks about how the man’s life has gotten so much better ever since he found the precious words in that one book.
Title- This poem is all about a man who has been given a book with words of truth in it, and he took in those words like oxygen. He needed those words to feel alive again, and his spirit has finally been set free by them.
Theme- The overall theme in this poem is the saving power of the word of God. That man was for all intents and purposes dead, but then he found the words that saved him. He found the most special book in all the world to set his soul free. He was liberated from the wretchedness of his life because he was able to find the power of God to bring up and out of the darkness. He forgot about his poverty and now his soul will soar. The word of God was his saving grace.
Since nobody wanted to read your blog, I guess I'll volunteer. Just kidding haha. I actually read this poem and I can see where you're coming from in all aspects of this blog. Each section is well thought out and written. The theme paragraph about the guy finding his own saving grace is relatable even today. Nice blog!
I enjoyed reading your blog. I thought that you did a really good job explaining each section. I think that you had enough detail to fully understand the poem. I also agree with Matt Bobby that your theme paragraph was very interesting. Nice job!
For this weeks blog I chose the poem "Nature is what we see" by Emily Dickinson. Look it up. I'm too lazy to post the link my iPad is acting a bit strange this fine morning...
Title. Just by reading the title of this poem, it looks as if the poem is calm and beautiful. You know that a poem is going to be good when it is written by Emily Dickinson, so as I read this I'm going to sit back and relax. Being as good of a poet as she is, I expect her to convey a calm sense of nature to me, the reader.
Paraphrase. In this poem, Dickinson uses the senses of seeing, hearing, and remembering and defining what nature is so that we can get a complete understanding of its calmness. By putting and combining together these senses, a person can experience Mother Nature at its full potential and realize how beautiful and peaceful it is.
Connotation. See, hear, and know all have good connotations in this poem, because they are followed by good words. The see section has words like hills, eclipse, bumblebee, and Heaven, words that make you feel good inside. The hearing section has words such as sea, cricket, and harmony. The knowing section has wisdom and art in it, telling that nature has a sense of creativity to it.
Attitude. The tone of the passage is calm and peaceful. Words I wrote up above describe the tone of the passage, like art, bumblebee, eclipse, and all of that jazz. It makes the reader feel very calm and peaceful, well, at least based on personal experience. The first time I read through it I loved it, and every time I read through it again I loved it more and more.
Shifts. Ah shifts, the section I've been waiting for. In this poem there are three sections, sight, hearing, and knowing. Each one describes a little bit about nature. Each section begins with the word nature, and is followed by a line with a dash at the end. Each section ends with a good word distinguishable by the rest because it is capitalized, such as Heaven, Harmony, and Simplicity.
Title. Ok so back to the title. I think it suggests the same thing as I thought, except it goes more global than I expected with some of the word choices in there. It is very peaceful and it makes you think about life a little bit.
Theme. The theme of this poem that Dickinson tries to convey to the reader is that there is still an abundance of beauty in the world, but we have to find it. We have to look, open up our ears, and open up our minds and never miss an opportunity to find beauty, because beauty is a great thing. She treats it as a great thing that anyone is capable of witnessing and being a victim of a life transformation.
I really like this analysis. It is probably the most chill poem analysis I have ever read in my entire life. Haha! Your analysis of the poem relates to the theme of the poem that I efficiently gathered from your TP-CASTT analysis. I really like how you divided the poem into three sections (sight, hearing, and knowing) and really built your TP-CASTT around the three sections. Very clever! Good analysis!
I will never stop telling you how much I chuckle when I read your blogs. I hope you write your AP essays that way because I'm sure those AP graders need a little pick me up after reading so many essays. Now on to the blog! I do agree, anything written by Dickinson must be good. You emphasizes a lot on the way the poem made you feel and I think that is a very important component in poetry. You went global on your theme which really brought the whole blog together. Great job.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173100
ReplyDeleteTitle:
"She Walks in Beauty"
Either the woman being talked about is very beautiful or she is walking through an area that is extremely beautiful. Or maybe the way she moves is beautiful...something is beautiful.
Paraphrase:
A woman with no name walks in beauty. She is as beautiful as a starry night and every great thing about both night and day come together in this individual's beauty.
To change any component of her would be to ruin the imbalance and thus her perfect, indescribable beauty. It is evident in her black hair and lights her face.
Her face shows that she lives a life of purity and goodness.
Connotation:
Byron compares the women primarily to dark things (like the night) which is short of odd because generally pretty things are thought of as bright. The only explanation I can think of is
perhaps there is a mystery behind her beauty which would make sense considering he describes it as "nameless grace."
Additionally, words such as "soft", "calm", and "tender light" seem to add a softness to the poem that helps to offset all of the darkness. However, it does seem to play up her behavior as a someone who is of purity, like light.
Attitude:
The speaker seems in awe of the women as he has absolutely nothing negative to say to her. He uses celestial words like "stars" and "heaven" which are rather lofty things to be compared to. He not only admires her but puts her on a pedestal as though she as mysterious and beholden to him as the stars.
Shifts:
All of the stanzas are set up very similarly. However, the first two stanzas work on setting up her beauty and describing its nature while the third takes a shift to her demeanor and innocent and good heart. Is a shift from physical beauty to internal beauty.
Title:
I feel that she walks in beauty is making reference to her walking through life in a way that is beautiful, such as through her good deeds and heart.
Theme:
I feel that the overall theme of this poem is innocence. In the modern age, many times innocence is viewed with a sort of disdain. People are so ready to throw away that innate sense of goodness. However, this poem has Byron absolutely nuts for a girl who is physically beautiful in a way that is hard to explain. Or is both light and dark and is delicate. However, as the poem draws to a close the reader learns what it is that is so hard to out our fingers on, it is just that she is good. This poem praises innocence and exults it.
Danielle,
DeleteI think that your analysis was very good. I think that your paraphrasing was very well done as well. I think that TP-CASTT method helped simplify the poem, and definitely helped me. Nice job!
The poem I chose was "Hope is the Thing with Feathers" by Emily Dickenson.
ReplyDeleteTitle- My first impressions upon seeing this title was an animal with feathers. This logically led me to believe that the animal being described was a bird. I think that Dickinson is using the bird as a metaphor to describe how hope is viewed in her own life.
Paraphrase- The poem is not very long, but it does have meaning that is very strong. Dickinson begins the poem by saying that "Hope is a thing with feathers." This immediately corresponds with the title of the poem because they are both dealing with hope being compared to a bird. In context this can be taken differently than by itself. She continues the poem by saying that hope "perches in the soul." This also shows the personification of hope into an animal. Finally, she ends the poem by saying that it "sings," which is a direct comparison with the bird. Overall, the context of the poem is dealing with the personification of hope.
Connotation- Dickinson is very forthright with her word choice. She does not use any words that have different meaning. This is done so that the reader will take away the desired idea from the poem, and so that there is not any confusion of the idea being discussed.
Attitude- The attitude of the poem is joyful. The author carries a happy tone throughout the entire poem which translates to the attitude. Dickinson's word choice is crucial for this to be done correctly.
Shifts- This poem also does not have any shifts. It carries the same tone and flow throughout. There is no rhyming scheme so it cannot change. Also, the message is the same throughout the entire poem.
Tone- The tone of the poem is upbeat and hopeful. All of the words used are either neutral or happy. The words hope, sings, and soul all create the tone that carries throughout the entire poem.
Title- Revisiting the tile I think that it is mostly what I thought it was. I think that the title is not comparing the soul with a bird, but rather personifying the soul and is using a bird as the animal to be personifying it with. I think that this is crucial because a bird fits into the topic very well.
Luke,
DeleteI picked the same poem! I guess I should have looked at everyone's choices before picking my own. Well anyways the main thing that I have different is the shifts. I said that there were shifts in the poem. I thought that when the storm was being described the poem shifted there in the second stanza and then shifted back in the third stanza. Well other than that great I basically had the same ideas. Great job!
Luke Kraus,
DeleteAfter reading this poem I thought it was another good one by Dickinson. Throughout this weekend I've been exposed to so much Dickinson that I'm starting to really like her. All of the poems I read from her so far are joyful like yours and peaceful like mine. Therefore I enjoyed what you said in your attitude and tone sections. You shifts were also nice. Good job!
Luke,
DeleteGreat blog! I read that poem and really liked it. Good choice. One part that I really enjoyed about your blog was your title section. You definitely showed some forethought about what you thought the greater theme of the poem was and that showed a great deal of critical thinking. Nice job!
Oh my goodness! I knew I should have looked at the blog before I did my analysis. Danielle, I’m so sorry! I really had no idea you did this poem, too. What are the chances? I even chose it Friday! Oh fiddlesticks. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteOkay I did my TP-CASTT on Lord Byron's poem "She Walks in Beauty". Below is the link. Hoorah!
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173100
Title - She Walks in Beauty gives the hint that the poem probably revolves around a female and also probably includes a description of her appearance or perhaps her personality and the beauty it holds. Or, on the other hand, it could be a poem about how women are more beautiful than they think they are and that they all have a beauty to them.
Paraphrase - This poem describes the beauty of a woman. Lord Byron ironically compares her beauty to "night" and "dark". He uses the imagery of dark and light to parallel her beauty. He also comments on how her confidence and innocence add to her beauty.
Connotation - "Dark", "bright", and "light" all have different connotations in this poem. Dark and bright resemble the good and the bad of human nature. Light symbolizes the woman's beauty in the poem, and how it contrasts with the darkness or brings the light and darkness into harmony with each other.
Attitude - Words such as "night", "starry skies", "dark", "bright", "light", "shade", "ray", and "glow" establish a tone of awe. The speaker is in awe of this woman's beauty and love that is "innocent" and is the light in the darkness or powerful enough to align the contrasting illusions of dark and light. Also the word "innocent" could allude to how the woman loves wholly and not sexually.
Shift - The first two stanzas of the poem really focus on how the woman's beauty compares to darkness and light. The shift occurs between the second and third stanza when the speaker begins to describe the woman's face and her "heart whose love is so innocent". He focuses more on her inner beauty, and connects it to why she is so beautiful.
Title - She Walks in Beauty embodies the poem in that a woman who loves with "innocence", not sexually, has a radiant beauty that is more empowering than the elements of dark and light.
Theme - The poet is communicating that the beauty on the personality and antics of a woman are what truly contribute to her beauty that the eye beholds. The only literal subject is the woman being described. Abstract subjects include beauty, innocence, dark, and light. Lord Byron writes a dazzling poem that describes how a woman's beauty often stems from her "innocence of heart" and her confidence ("peace of mind") in herself. He lavishly describes how these features of a woman complete her beauty and make it more striking than the congrats between dark and light. He describes how this kind of beauty is rare, as rare as the dark and light coming together.
The end.
Rachel Glatt,
DeleteI think that you did a lovely job as always. You picked out the shifts in the poem well. You clearly unlocked the meaning of the poem and you did an excellent job picking out the subjects discussed in the poem such as light and dark. Great jobs using TP CASTT!
Rachel,
DeleteNice blog once again. You definitely got the entire meaning of the poem. I loved your discussion of the abstract concepts that were expressed in the poem along with the literal concept of the beautiful woman. Amazing job!
I did "'Hope' is a thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson. Here is the link http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers/
ReplyDeleteTitle- Hope is the thing with feathers. The title is referencing a and quite possibly a dove which represents hope. The poem may discuss the relationship between hope and the dove.
Paraphrase- The bird or hope is perched inside the soul. However the bird does not sing with words and it never stops it's wordless song. The storm bashes the little bird and causes many to become cold. Now the author is speaking saying that she has heard it everywhere even in the strangest and far away places. But the little bird has never asked anything of the author.
Connotation- "sweetest", "hope" and "sings" all suggest a lighter tone and explore the representation of the dove. These words suggest the happiness while the words "gale", "storm" and "abash" represent the hardships that everyone faces. The storm represents adversity in our lives. The words "chilliest" and "strangest" represent that Hope is present everywhere.
Attitude- The attitude of the poem seems to be gratify as the author is speaking of hope in a very positive sense. The author is describing the hope as a tangible symbol like the dove in order to easily describe it. Otherwise hope cannot be easily described. The author describes the power of Hope and how it is always there. Although we don't have to do anything to receive it, it is a wonderful gift to us.
Shift- the poem shifts two times and the shifts are marked by the separation of the stanzas. The first stanza describes hope as a dove. The second stanza describes hope's response of adversity, it is not as positive as the first but the third stanza describes the powerfulness of hope and how it is always there, which proves that Hope can overcome anything.
Title- The title does refer to a bird, more specifically a dove. The bird does represent hope but the poem is more about how essential hope is in our lives. We need it to overcome adversity and it is very easy for us to have and hope doesn't ask anything of us to gain it. We don't have to pass a test to receive hope it is just always there for us, especially when we are facing trouble in out lives.
Theme- the main subject that is addressed is the dove which is hope. The poem describes hope and it many qualities. The poem is about having hope even in a time of great need. It is essential and is a great gift from God which is why it is so important for us to utilize this gift. We should always have hope, especially because it doesn't cost us anything, it there for us to have free of charge whenever we need it.
Michaela,
DeleteSo this blog is pretty good. I read the poem and I think that you are exactly right that hope is so essential in our lives. Emily Dickinson really captures how much we need hope if we want to have a good life. Nice job with the TP CASTT buddy!
Michaela Cashmer,
DeleteYour analysis is so inspiring! I am now filled with hope just after reading your TP-CASTT. Hehe! I think you definitely unlocked the deeper meaning of your poem through your analysis. I especially like how you relate the bird to hope. Your last part about the theme was very deep and I really enjoyed it. Great work, Michaela!
Hello all to another week of blogging, Anyway I decided that I would analyze a poem by Emily Dickinson because why not.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bartleby.com/113/1021.html
He Ate and Drank the Precious Words
Title- This poem could be about two things. One of the things that this poem is likely to center on is that the man in the poem had some really good news and he took it all in with happiness. Another possible meaning for this poem, however, is that the man was being fed lies by someone and he took them to be gospel truth. It could go either way.
Paraphrase- The man in this poem is more or less dead inside. He finds a book, however, that has allowed him to regain the liveliness of his spirit. Throughout that book he was able to find some truth in his life and that truth was going to help him live. His spirit was freed by the words that the man found in that one single book.
Connotation- The words in this poem that contain connotation are “book” and “words.” The book in this poem is a symbol of none other than the Bible. The man finds the one book that can set him free, and what do we often discuss in AP Lit? We discuss how the bible can save us. The words that the man found in this poem are also the words of God. His spirit was dead, and he found the right words to make it soar again. The Bible is helping this man to regain life, when he thought he was lost forever.
Attitude- This poem actually has a happy attitude attached to it. Dickinson uses words such as precious, liberty, loosened, robust, and danced. These words all have a happy feeling attached to them. They are all good things when we think about them. Dickinson is showing that the main character in the poem is happy that he is now that he found the book.
Shift- The first four lines in this poem talk about the life of the man before the book. He was poor and desolate before he found the words in the book that set him free. The end of the fourth line has a period at the end of it. This indicates the shift, and in the following lines Dickinson talks about how the man’s life has gotten so much better ever since he found the precious words in that one book.
Title- This poem is all about a man who has been given a book with words of truth in it, and he took in those words like oxygen. He needed those words to feel alive again, and his spirit has finally been set free by them.
Theme- The overall theme in this poem is the saving power of the word of God. That man was for all intents and purposes dead, but then he found the words that saved him. He found the most special book in all the world to set his soul free. He was liberated from the wretchedness of his life because he was able to find the power of God to bring up and out of the darkness. He forgot about his poverty and now his soul will soar. The word of God was his saving grace.
Since nobody wanted to read your blog, I guess I'll volunteer. Just kidding haha. I actually read this poem and I can see where you're coming from in all aspects of this blog. Each section is well thought out and written. The theme paragraph about the guy finding his own saving grace is relatable even today. Nice blog!
DeleteMegan,
DeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. I thought that you did a really good job explaining each section. I think that you had enough detail to fully understand the poem. I also agree with Matt Bobby that your theme paragraph was very interesting. Nice job!
For this weeks blog I chose the poem "Nature is what we see" by Emily Dickinson. Look it up. I'm too lazy to post the link my iPad is acting a bit strange this fine morning...
ReplyDeleteTitle. Just by reading the title of this poem, it looks as if the poem is calm and beautiful. You know that a poem is going to be good when it is written by Emily Dickinson, so as I read this I'm going to sit back and relax. Being as good of a poet as she is, I expect her to convey a calm sense of nature to me, the reader.
Paraphrase. In this poem, Dickinson uses the senses of seeing, hearing, and remembering and defining what nature is so that we can get a complete understanding of its calmness. By putting and combining together these senses, a person can experience Mother Nature at its full potential and realize how beautiful and peaceful it is.
Connotation. See, hear, and know all have good connotations in this poem, because they are followed by good words. The see section has words like hills, eclipse, bumblebee, and Heaven, words that make you feel good inside. The hearing section has words such as sea, cricket, and harmony. The knowing section has wisdom and art in it, telling that nature has a sense of creativity to it.
Attitude. The tone of the passage is calm and peaceful. Words I wrote up above describe the tone of the passage, like art, bumblebee, eclipse, and all of that jazz. It makes the reader feel very calm and peaceful, well, at least based on personal experience. The first time I read through it I loved it, and every time I read through it again I loved it more and more.
Shifts. Ah shifts, the section I've been waiting for. In this poem there are three sections, sight, hearing, and knowing. Each one describes a little bit about nature. Each section begins with the word nature, and is followed by a line with a dash at the end. Each section ends with a good word distinguishable by the rest because it is capitalized, such as Heaven, Harmony, and Simplicity.
Title. Ok so back to the title. I think it suggests the same thing as I thought, except it goes more global than I expected with some of the word choices in there. It is very peaceful and it makes you think about life a little bit.
Theme. The theme of this poem that Dickinson tries to convey to the reader is that there is still an abundance of beauty in the world, but we have to find it. We have to look, open up our ears, and open up our minds and never miss an opportunity to find beauty, because beauty is a great thing. She treats it as a great thing that anyone is capable of witnessing and being a victim of a life transformation.
Matt Bobby,
DeleteI really like this analysis. It is probably the most chill poem analysis I have ever read in my entire life. Haha! Your analysis of the poem relates to the theme of the poem that I efficiently gathered from your TP-CASTT analysis. I really like how you divided the poem into three sections (sight, hearing, and knowing) and really built your TP-CASTT around the three sections. Very clever! Good analysis!
Matt,
DeleteI will never stop telling you how much I chuckle when I read your blogs. I hope you write your AP essays that way because I'm sure those AP graders need a little pick me up after reading so many essays. Now on to the blog! I do agree, anything written by Dickinson must be good. You emphasizes a lot on the way the poem made you feel and I think that is a very important component in poetry. You went global on your theme which really brought the whole blog together. Great job.