Monday, February 22, 2010
recitation poem
Consider the poem you chose for your recitation. Identify the poem and the poet. 1) What do you think the poem is about? If you chose a poem that tells a story, then reflect instead on why you think that the poet chose to tell this particular story in a poem. 2) In 100 to 150 words, explain why you chose this poem for your recitation.
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4 comments:
1)My poem is technically telling about the difference from a caged bird and a free bird, but the real meaning to it is about enslavement. Using a caged bird as an example, the poet talks about freedom and the right to “fly away”. This poem also expresses the poet’s feelings on the unfairness of slavery and discrimination. A caged bird faced a “grave of dreams” just like how many slaves’ dreams were destroyed when they were captured. A free bird “names the sky his own” just like how free men and women had all the freedom they want.
2)I chose this poem for my recitation because it showed a lot of emotion about how the caged bird feels when he lost his freedom and what a free bird gets to do that a caged bird doesn’t. This poem also says that a caged bird cannot do anything so he sings of freedom and his dreams of the outside world. While I was reciting Caged Bird, I found out that it was really easy to understand what the poet is writing about. I also chose this poem because it sounds very smooth when you recite it and when I was reading it out loud; I liked the sound of it.
1) “Solitude” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
The poem is stating how to deal with life. Ella Wilcox writes two different perspectives on the way people go about life. One way would be the happy, cheerful way; and the other would be in a nonchalant, depressing manner. One line of the poem states,
“Be glad and your friends are many”
“Be sad, and you lose them all”
If you are optimistic, then you will have many friends and your life will be happy. If you are pessimistic, then nobody would want to be your friend and not having friends would make you even more lonely and depressed. If you have a positive attitude, people will like you.
2) For one, I chose “Solitude” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox because the poem gives an honest truth about life, which I never thought about. It showed two very different perspectives of life in the same poem. You can either have a negative view on life, or a joyful view. She showed the positive, and the negative ways to go upon life. I chose this poem because it showed me the dangers of living a life in the ways of a pessimist. Living like a pessimist will lead me nowhere and it is not a life worth living. Rather, I should be an optimist because others appreciate people with a positive attitude and the like people who make them laugh.
The poem I chose is "The Tiger"
by William Blake
1. I think that my poem is about how there are two beginnings in this world. One is the innocent and helpless little "lamb," and the other is the dark and powerful "tiger." Even though they are very different, they have certain similarities and it seems as if the same hand created them. Also, I think that the poem also has something to do with your age. For instance, when you're a child, you see everything through the innocent eyes of a lamb, and when you grow older you see the hard side of life and learn to be a "predator" in order to survive.
2. I chose this poem because I like William Blake's poetry and style of writing. He was not only a poet, but also a philosopher and his poems always carry a deeper meaning besides the beautiful detailed descriptions. I also liked the way William Blake described the tiger, since it is one of my favorite animals. :)
“An Obstacle” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
1. The way I see it, my poem is about this poet, overcoming a fear or “obstacle” that was standing in the way of her moving on. She personified this fear and acted as if this man was really there while it was just all in her head. She is afraid of this “obstacle” and of her journey facing it. During the first two stanzas, she’s describing how she is moving forward and living but there’s something keeping her from being able to reach that full potential of living, this fear. She continues to face it in numerous ways. It wouldn’t leave her if she politely spoke to it, for it was not really a man, but part of her imagination. When she “flew into a passion”, that was how her frustration with this fear was personified. She finally gives up until she has this epiphany of facing the fear. While she walks through him, you see that you can only get rid of a fear, that’s in your head and imagination, by fully conquering it.
2. I chose my poem because I liked the ending. I loved how she conquered her fear and “walked directly through him as if he wasn’t there.” That last line gave me the chills. I loved how it was kind of mysterious. Also, I like how she personified this fear, the way it wouldn’t budge until you decided to face it, that epiphany that she had, “When a sudden inspiration came as sudden winds do blow.” Everyone can relate to this poem. I also liked that it rhymed and had a certain rhythm to it. This made it easier to memorize and definitely more fun too.
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