Ozymandias

(As noted in question 3) Ozymandias was an Egyptian tyrant. From this, it is easy to understand what the poem is about. What I believe this poem to mean is that Ozymandias was a ruler who really did not accomplish much. And even if he did, people were not likely to remember. They describe him saying (lines4-5) "Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,". Then the author finishes the poem saying (lines 12-14) Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away." What I took this to mean was that the empire didn't last. The only thing that remains of the empire is Ozymandias' reputation as a tyrant and a poor leader. In repsonse to question 12, I think Ozymandias is a symbol. I believe he represents all leaders. He serves as an example that if you are a harsh tyrant, you will not be appreciated by your people. When time passes people will not mention the great things you did, but rather your harsh nature. I think that leaders should keep this in mind because although at times it is important to be firm and strict, you do not want that to be what you are most remembered for.

APO 96225

I thought this poem was very realistic. One thing I really liked about the poem was that you could feel the emotions of the different people in the poem. When reading the poem I could imagine and hear in my head a young man writing to his mom and trying to sound very optimistic. On the other end, i could imagine a worried and scared mother begging to know what her son has gotten himself into. The central theme of this poem can be seen in a variety of different things I think. I thought the main point of the poem was that we always want to know the truth. When we feel like we arent given the whole story we always press people to tell us every detail even when we know we are better off not knowing. Therefore, when they do tell us we regret ever asking in the first place. The mother begs and pleads her son to be honest with her and tell her exactly what's going on, but the minute he tells her she becomes extremely upset. Also, in our small group someone mentioned that maybe the mother just wanted to believe that her son was okay. She wasn't asking him to tell her more because she wanted to know more, but rather she was asking for him to assure her that he is fine. This poem was writtien about the Vietnam War- which got a lot of negative attention. Our small group thought maybe the mother just wanted her son to reassure her that the war wasnt as bad as people made it out to be. Either way, the mother was clearly not ready for the truth.

Barbie Doll

This was probably my favorite poem in this unit because I feel like it sends a really strong message. In response to question 6 (What is the central purpose of the poem?), i think the poet had one central thought/ idea he wanted to get through to her readers. I believe this poem is about how a person "dies" when they do everything they can to change their appearance. The girl in the poem is clearly unhappy with how she looks because people always pointed out the negative things about her. She was smart and healthy but after awhile these things werent enough to satisfy her and therefore she had to change her appearance. lines 15-18 "Her good nature wore out like a fan belt. So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up." The final stanza describes her body in a casket and how people are commenting about how pretty she looks. I took this to mean she wasn't literally dead, just figuratively. The old her was dead and she is now this flat unhearty and sad person whose only wish is to please other people through her appearance. I thought the overall tone of the poem was very negative. Basically the author's point is don't let your insecurities change who you are. This girl thought she would finally be happy when she changed how she looked, but she lost herself instead.

Toads

I'm going to admit right now that I really struggled with this unit of poetry. Most of these poems were over my head the first time I read them and it wasn't until the group discussions that I actually got something out of them. The poem "Toads" by Philip Larkin is a great example of one. I honestly have no idea why the author even mentions the toad in this poem. I felt like central theme of the poem was about all the negative things in a persons life. I think the best support for this idea could be found in the second stanza "Six days of the week it soils With its sickening poison- Just for paying a few bills! That's out of proportion." I took this to mean that the speaker is unhappy with his job that he works six days a week just to get by. Another stanza that stuck out to me was the seventh one. It says "For something sufficiently toad-like squats in me, too; Its hunkers are heavy as hard luck and cold as snow." From the word "squat" I got the impression that the speaker is saying that he is holding something back- something that bothers him and weighs him down. It almost seems like the speaker is envious of other people. He mentions the lives of other people a lot by saying "Lots of folk live..." which to me seems like he is longing for something they posses. Another possible support to this idea is in lines 29-32 where the speaker says "And will never allow me to blarney My way to getting The fame and the girl and the money All at one sitting." Im not really sure if thats on the right track or not so i would like to go over this poem in class together!

February

So... this was an interesting poem. When I first read it I honestly didn't think there was much depth to the poem. I thought it was about sex.. and that was pretty much it. Even in lines that may not have been intended to sound sexual I sort of got the impression they were. ex ". . .jumps up on the bed and tries to get onto my head. It’s his way of telling whether or not I’m dead. If I’m not, he wants to be scratched; if I am He’ll think of something" and "He shoots he scores!" The overall tone I got from my initial read was pretty negative. Especially in the lines where it says " It’s all about sex and territory, which are what will finish us off in the long run. Some cat owners around here should snip a few testicles. If we wise hominids were sensible, we’d do that too, or eat our young, like sharks." Basically what my interpretation of the poem was that Margaret Atwood was against reproduction. To me, this poem says that if we were smart we wouldn't be worried about sex or territory because if we do then these things will be our demise. I didn't really understand why she used a cat in this poem until we discussed it in our small groups. Someone in my group said that they thought Atwood was equating male behaviors to cat behaviors (later we established this idea in our large group discussion). After searching for the deeper meanings I really did like this poem better than many of the others in this unit. One thing I noticed about the poem (whether it's really significant or not) is that the first word of the poem is winter and the last word is spring- which to me seem like complete opposites (winter usually symbolizes death and spring new life). I felt like maybe this was a reflection in the tone of the poem because although Atwood starts off by saying if we are wise we will "snip a few testicles" she ends the poem saying "so get going on a little optimism around here". I dont know if that makes sense, but it's just a thought

Bright Star

In response to question 2, the speaker is obviously speaking directly to the star. This literary technique is called an apostrophe. The speaker in this case is a man (we can assume this from line 10 when he says "pillowed upon my love's ripening breast"). To be honest, I didn't completely understand the message of the poem until we discussed it in a large group. This is because I found it to be too contradictory. I could not decide whether the speaker admired the poem- such as in line 1 "Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art-" or if he did not want to be like the star - such as in line 2 "Not in lone splendor hung aloft the night,". It wasn't until we discussed the poem as a class that I accepted the idea that the speaker really meant both of these things. In my initial reading however I did note several words that I thought really contributed to the theme of the poem. The speaker uses several words which have similar meanings: "steadfast (2x), eternal, sleepless, unchangeable, forever(2x), still (2x), and so live ever" I thought all of these words/ phrases had a specific reason for being in the poem. Obviously the speaker wanted to be with his fair love forever- I just couldn't really relate this idea to star until we put it all together in class. After discussing it in a large group though I understood it to mean that the speaker basically wants to love forever or at least love for a little and then "swoon to death". This he related to the star because a star never changes which is what he wants his love to be like.

Pink Dog

A few members of my small group and I had different opinions on the topic of the poem. While half of us thought the poem was referring to a beggar whereas the other half of the group thought it was referring to a prostitute. I think the argument could go either way because there is evidence to support both opinions. I was under the impression it was about a beggar simply because it describes a dog who goes begging. The second stanza i felt really supported this idea. "Oh, never have I seen a dog so bare! Naked and pink, without a single hair. . . Startled, the passersby draw back and stare". To me, this definitely supported the idea that the dog represents a hobo. First of all the author calls the dog naked and bare. I thought this symbolized a homeless person because they lack shelter and warmth just like this dog lacks its fur coat. Another thing that stuck out to me was the fact that the author mentioned that the "passersby draw back and stare". This reminded me of the way people react the poor begging for change on the street. Most people by and stare in disgust. Other people in my group said that the pink dog represented a prostitute because the author mentions the dog having children and wearing mascara. I'm not really sure which is right, but my personal opinion is that the dog symbolizes the poor.