Sample Poetry Blog Post 2

Question:

There are many strategies by which poets increase the effect of their words and one of those is the repetition of words, images, sounds and the like. In the work of ONE poet you have studied, show how various kinds of repetition have allowed poets to heighten their meaning.

In the poem, “‘Hope’ Is The Thing With Feathers”, Emily Dickinson relies on the repetition of of words, sounds, and feelings to heighten the feeling of her writing. While the poem focuses on the characteristics and what defines the feeling of hope, there are many stylistic features used - instead of just the meaning of each sentence - to evoke emotion from the reader.

One of the most obvious and smart stylistic features Emily Dickinson relies on to heighten the meaning of her poem is emphasizing the specific sound the letter S makes. Using words such as “sings”, “stops”, “sweetest”, “sore”, “so”,“asked”, “chillest” and “strangest”, Emily Dickinson creates a feeling of constant movement in this poem. Not only does this repetition of sound allow the stanzas of her work to flow well, it adds to the freeing emotion of liberation she has created by comparing hope to a bird, which is able to fly. This constant use of the same sound from the letter S, allows her words to feel as if they are flying when read allowed or when read in the reader's mind, just like the image and feeling she is creating by using a metaphor of a bird and/or flying for the feeling of hope. In addition to repeating the sound, it allows the poem to repeat the feeling of what hope exactly brings to a person,  a desire or expectation for something to happen. While not every word previously listed may sound exactly alike, they each contain a light, specific S sound, creating a feeling of movement in her stanzas.

In addition to this repeated sound, Emily Dickinson uses the word “And” multiple times throughout the poem at the start of various sentences. This, in addition to the repeated S sounds allows the reader to feel as if the poem is constantly growing, and there is height in the feeling of hope. Using the specific word “And” allows the reader to think that hope can persevere through challenges, and this combined with the soaring feeling the S sound makes, forces the poem to become very powerful.

However, Emily Dickinson is able to make her poem feel as if it has an abrupt ending by breaking this form of repetition. By using the  two words, “abash” and “Extremity”, Emily Dickinson disrupts this soaring feeling, and as a result, creates a new, crashing like feeling with her language. This break in pattern causes an unusual, foreign feeling, which goes against what Emily Dickinson had previously created throughout the entirety of the poem. As a result, it creates a change in tone and feeling, which goes along perfectly with the change of attitude the narrator has at the end of the poem. While before the poem repeatedly generated the feeling of hope, the change in speech, meaning of the lines, and tone disrupts all previous growth of hope, and like the language, a crash in feeling occurs.   

Emily Dickinson’s repetition of words, sounds, and feelings in “‘Hope’ Is The Thing With Feathers” allows the poem to grow, and gradually gain powerful emotion. While the overall meaning of this poem is powerful enough, it is her literary and stylistic features that take the poem to the next level, making it an overwhelmingly strong piece of writing.  

Sample Poetry Responce

1. Ancestors, parents, children. The connections and oppositions among these groups often provide interesting material for poets. In the work of at least two poets you have studied, examine the means by which such relationships have been explored.

In Naomi Shihab Nye’s “My Father and The Fig Tree”, a clear relationship is shown between the speaker, and their father. As the poem begins, the reader becomes immediately aware that our speaker, now older, is looking back on his/her childhood and the relationship they had with their father. In addition, the reader can understand how well the speaker knows their father, as they observe his obsession and fascination with figs, a fruit he adores. From the very beginning of the story, the speaker addresses this, by showing his love for the fruit in everything he would do- whether it was including the fruit in his stories or even being overjoyed when he finds a fig tree in Dallas, Texas- his love for them is clearly shown.

In the first stanza, it is evident that the speaker and the father shared a close relationship, as they say: “In the evening he sat by my bed weaving folktales like vivid little scarves.” Because storytelling is an intimate craft/art form, the speaker is portraying the time they spent one on one with their father. The speaker even goes as far to portray their father as an artist, as they romanticize his actions by using metaphors and similes.

However, in the second stanza, there is a clear shift in their relationship. When the speaker addresses the first time they ate “a dried fig and shrugged”, there was a divide between them and their father. The speaker goes on to say that their father wanted them to eat a fresh fig rather than a dried one, as a way to fully experience the fruit/.; However it is not just the taste of the fruit the father is trying to make his child understand, rather, he uses the fig as a symbol of his home country, and by eating a fig (a fruit that grew there and not where he is currently living) it reminds him of his homeland.

This is not to say that eating the dried fig divided the relationship between the father and his child completely; it didn’t.  In the last stanza, we can see they still have a connection with each other when the father calls the daughter after moving to let her know he found a fig tree growing in his new backyard. When he shows her the new fig tree, it symbolizes that this new home is their home. In addition, we can assume that he was able to give his child a ripe fig to try, symbolizing the child is able to understand and have a deeper connection to him and to his past home.  

Stage Proposal of M.L.M.L.

If I were to adapt “My Love, My Love or the Little Peasant Girl”, I would rely heavily on sounds, projections, costumes, and props to bring it to life. I would hope to use a large stage, where many levels could used- The Gods would be placed on a higher level, while the peasants and wealthy citizens belong on the actual stage. In order to show the different settings, I would rely on projections to set the background. For example, in specific rooms such as the forest (for the river scene) or Daniel’s room (when Ti Moune begins to spend time with him), I would use large projections that would cover the entire backdrop to look as if we were in those settings. Then, I would place appropriate props, such as chairs, beds, rugs, etc. to bring the set to life.

When the play takes place in the “peasant” setting (Desiree’s village) I would project fields in the background to show the climate and environment that they live in. I would fill the stage with extra actors, all wearing bleak, earth tone colors, to make it look busy and to show their socio-economic class. However, in scenes where Desiree is in the Beauxhommes home, I would have a projection of an extravagant room, with bright colors as the backdrop. Then, to make it more lavish, I would fill the stage with classical furniture, to give it an old, wealthy feeling and dress those who belong in the wealthy class in extravagant blues and whites. These are traditional royal colors of France, and because the wealthy class is French, these colors will show their heritage and wealth when contrasted with the poorer class. .

In addition to using props and projections for the set, I would use a projection of a butterfly whenever they are in the scene. That way they would be able to move around the set, and the audience would be able to spot them out. As far as colors go, I would only have the butterflies be blue because that is the color of the dress that Desiree wears when she first goes into the home of the Beauxhommes.

However, I would refrain from using certain colors in hopes to  make other objects stand out. For example, I would not use the color red for any props or costumes other than that of Papa Ge’s and the magical hairbrush Erzulie gives to Desiree. By doing this, the object and God will be recognizable and stand out amongst the scenery.

I would dress all the gods in specific colors: Erzulie in creams and oranges, Asaka in browns, greens, and golds, Agwe in blues, turquoise, and silver, and Papa Ge in electric red, black and greys. I would want their clothes to be loose on them and flowing, with the exception of Papa Ge. While he is still a god, and of equal level as Asaka, Erzulie, and Agwe, I want to portray him as an outcast (or at least that he doesn’t perfectly fit in with them). This can highlight conflict between him and the other gods, as they are constantly trying to help Desiree, while he spends his time attempting to take her soul.

While there are many ways in which I could adapt “My Love, My Love”, I would focus on these elements to give it a dark-fairytale type feeling. Using projections, a vast array of costumes and sounds would allow it to feel whimsical and unique, which the novel already is.

In Class Writing (Close Reading on Page 60)

In this passage, there is a big conflict between M. Bienconnu and Desiree. Both have different belifes about what Desiree’s future is, and it can be clearly seen in the language. For example, M. Bienconnu uses a strong metaphor when talking to Ti Moune about setting realistic expectations for herself: “To be tranquil, one must hang one’s hat where one can reach it. Keep one’s heart where one can feel its beat.” (60)  M. Bienconnu uses this strong metaphor in hopes to make Desiree understand that Daniel is out of her league due to his social class. When she goes on to question this, he uses another metaphor, saying that fate is cast in stone. In a literal sense, when something is engraved in stone, it is unable to be changed. So, when he says that fate is the thing cast into stone, he is saying that there is no way in which she will be able to be with Daniel. This language also allows the reader to get a sense of who his character is, his tone is calm (mostly achieved by the use of his metaphors) and because of his straightforward and honest conversation, it can be assumed that he is very wise. However, Ti Moune contrasts him due to her sharp, to-the-point, stubborn replies shows her youth, as she has not experienced any harsh reality- thus showing that she lives mostly in day dreams. She constantly sticks to her beliefs that she and Daniel will end up together, whereas M. Bienconnu is more realistic.

In Class Writing

In order to show the difference between Desiree and the peasants, their costumes would have to be very different. For the peasants, I would dress them in mostly earth-tone colors, such as browns, blacks, and greys. This would show their financial situation, as they would be unable to afford colors. I would have the men wear loose shirts with loose pants (to indicate that they live in a warm climate and move around alot). For Ti Moune, I would have her wear a short, dark, burnt orange color. I would want it to fall to her mid-thigh, have short, shoulder-length sleeves, and be only a little loose. This would help the audience notice that she is stuck in a childlike dress after she physically matures. In addition, I would have the female peasants wear their hair up, whereas with Desiree, I would have her wear her hair down and out of her face with a loose bandana, so that the audience could fully see her face and expressions. Perhaps the most important similarity between Desiree and the other peasants would be their bare feet. That way, the audience can tell even more that they belong in the same social class as opposed to the wealthy citizens who actually wear shoes. In addition, I would have all peasants and Ti Moune not wear jewelry, so that it could be inferred that they can’t afford it.    

Notes on chapters 1-9

Abigail M. Zuckert