Anthology Introduction

The New Land

Moving to a different and a newer house is always exciting, but migrating to a new country gives the immigrant a taste of both, excitement and sadness. Many times the immigrants feel they have left a wonderful world to see another. Other times it is not always so easy leaving a well settled life behind and starting a new one from scratch. Most leave in hope for a better life and some leave in hope for more opportunities for their children. There are usually two parts of this whole process; the first part is missing and remembering homeland and the second is adjusting to the new environment.

It is always interesting to see which part would be stronger for the immigrants. Will they be depressed all the time and remember the old life or will they move on and accept the new life? I have experienced this situation in my personal life and was successfully able to choose the path of accepting America as my new mother land. The anthology I have put together was chosen very carefully to show mine and other immigrants’ thoughts and experiences that we have been thorough.

The eight poems I have selected describe the inner feelings of the immigrants that occurred before and after their journey to a new place, America. These poems work hand in hand, because it shows two different thoughts and feelings, while talking about the same situation. One side shown by some of the poems is how the immigrant feels about leaving their mother land, relatives, friends, house, and etc. For example, from “Remember” Rossetti says, “Remember me when I am gone away, Gone far away into the silent land.” This sentence is so important because it not only shows the part where the immigrant is leaving, but also how he/she will miss what is left behind when they go to the ‘silent land.’ This thought is expanded by John Howard Payne in “Home, Sweet Home” when he says, “Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble there’s no place like home!” If both of these sentences are looked together the reader will understand that an immigrant is not only missing their family, but they will also miss their mother land.

The other side presents the feelings of immigrants when they are in a new country (America, to be specific); the adjustment process, meeting new people, patriotism, and being in the land of free. Immigrants are forced (at times) to adapt to the newer environment and accept the new land as their country. Some of the immigrants accept their new home with happiness and immediately become patriotic to it, while others take some time. Samuel Francis Smith in “America” presents the patriotism that the immigrants come and adapt to; for example “My native country, thee, Land of the noble free,--” Then, Mukesh Williams, in “Foreign Lands” mentions how one eventually sees the brighter side of the gamble and learns to accept the new life. “If you feel better now in a foreign country, the gamble has been good.”

In the beginning, the person is always on the verge of having to choose between two roads; to move (relocate) or not to move. This particular choice is not always so easy and what some say, ‘bubbly’. Being an immigrant myself, I have encountered the same situation and ended up choosing a path that would later be for the betterment of my future. Robert Frost has beautifully summarized this situation in his poem “The Road not Taken.” Frost says, in the very end (to add emphasis), “I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Many times when the immigrant is moving, they are not sure if they will ever return, “Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back” (Robert Frost, “The Road not Taken”). Even though they are not sure, the immigrants do always hope to return back to their homeland.

In the anthology I have put together, “The Road not Taken” is the very first step in the entire process of moving to a new country and starting a new life. This poem not only informs the reader about the situation but also shows how difficult it is to forget ‘The Road not Taken.’ This poem in then followed by three poems, “Immigration” by Gaby Tinoco, “Home, Sweet Home!” by John Howard Payne, and “Remember” by Christina Rossetti. I have chosen these three particular poems because they present a summary of what things are going to be left behind. Tinoco (“Immigration”) talks about how difficult it is to be separated from your family and see all your accomplishments becoming useless. Then Payne (“Home, Sweet home”) adds on mentioning the difficulty of leaving your house; which can be expanded into mother land, environment, neighbors, and etc. Finally, Rossetti (“Remember”) talks about how you are leaving the love you received from everyone. Rossetti writes about how an immigrant is so attached to their family (because of the love received from them) that they don’t want them to remember him/her and be saddened by it.

The second half of the anthology is a group of poems that tell the reader what everyone has to adapt to, make new friends, whether it was the right path or not, and how some actually feel it was a disaster. “America” by Samuel Francis Smith is a patriotic poem, something the immigrant has to adapt to and accept. Mallik Bulusu presents a poem, “New Friend,” in which a lonely person who has just taken a journey finds a new friend. “One Morning, I began a solo journey....As I walked, I found myself lost…..My hope got better like never before….I found smile and a new friend.” Immigrants, like me, sometimes question themselves whether coming to America was right or wrong. Mukesh Williams in “Foreign Lands” tries to answer that question by mentioning, the gamble is good if you feel you have entered “Into a strange word of opportunity.” If the immigrant feels that gamble has been for the worse, they start to hate the new country and the environment. “The American dream, land of the free, tearing up families, leaves questions, with disbelief” (Anthonio Vallejo, “Immigration”).

The poem I made myself was an attempt to summarize the whole journey of me coming to America, everything thing from seeing my family crying to accepting America as our new motherland. This particular poem is also supposed to summarize my anthology, in the sense that it shows a little bit of everything. The poem starts out after one of the paths have already been chosen (moving to America), like in the poem from Robert Frost. Then it continues and mentions what is going to be left behind, “I was happy to leave, to leave my old life,” summarizing the second part of my anthology (“Remember,” “Immigration,” by Tinoco and “Home, Sweet Home!”). The last poems of my anthology (“Foreign Lands,” “New Friend,” “America,” and “Immigration” by Vallejo) is about accepting the new land of free, as summarized in “A New Wind.”

“I came a long way, accepting a new mother land.”

I can tell, from personal experience that these poets are not lying when they mention how hard it is to leave the old life behind. I myself came from India to America, approximately thirteen years ago, leaving a life behind that I loved. These poems describe the exact things that I felt when I was leaving for example, Gaby Tinoco say “It hurts to see our family get torn apart, to see everything my parents earned go down the drain” in “Immigration.” That is exactly what happened to my family, because my dad had to close a great business, just so he can come to America. All his wealth, hard work, and dedication went down the drain and was never seen again, it all became just a memory. As a young child I might not have felt too sad, but my mother almost broke down because she was giving up everything for nothing (at least that is what she felt at that time).

When I first came to America, everything was new, different, and scary. I had to learn everything from speaking English to being able to live with my aunt and uncle in a small house. As time passed, I came to realize that the ‘gamble’ was good, because I picked up a lot of new skills that I would not have been able to learn otherwise. As Williams mentioned, I feel better now in this foreign country; the irony is…it is not so foreign to me anymore. I believe America is my country now, “My country, ’t is of thee, sweet land of liberty.” (Samuel Francis Smith, “America”)

America has been the land of free for a long time and now it is becoming a home to many people from all over the world. Even though most immigrants have not forgotten their birth country, most of their children have been brought up to love and live the American dream. These poems are written by completely different poets from different times, and yet they seem to speak to each other. Experiencing this situation at first-hand motivated me to put together an anthology of poems that would describe the inner thoughts of an immigrant. These particular poems have been chose over others because they not only present the feelings of the immigrants, but also show before and after steps. Each poem sounds good alone, but does present the entire journey, of leaving the old life and adapting a new one. Together, they expand the meaning and help the reader better understand the steps of migration from living a life of love to living as an American citizen.

Sentimental

Poets sometimes use sentiments as a source in their poem, but sometimes it becomes excessive. To be able to work around such a problem is very difficult for the poets, but none the less, very important. Poets try to use many techniques, like including a few facts, to try an avoid getting too sentimental. In poems such as “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath and W.D. Snodgrass’s “Mementos, 1” it becomes very easy for the poets to become too emotional.

Although, Plath’s “Daddy” is a very touching poem and should be sentimental to a big extent, it would not be a poem if there was an excess amount of it. Plath theme in the poem is very strong and seems to be based on her true life while reading the poem. The poem talks about her hating her dad so much that she sort of feels tortured even after his death. Some of Plath’s sentences are very neural, in the sense that almost anyone can relate to it. For example, “Every woman adores a Fascist;” in this sentence Plath actually means the opposite, something not only a woman can relate to but also men. Although, she does get extremely close to being too sentimental, for example, “Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm through.” W.D. Snodgrass on the other hand also does a decent of not making his poem, “Memento, 1” too sentimental. The poem is about him remembering someone that was dear to him. Even though this could be very emotional, he works around it by including memories that people can relate to (people who loved someone, i.e. spouse). For example, “That you wore to our first dance. The sight of you stunned us all.”

Poets have to be very careful when they are writing an emotional poem, but it is very easy to get too sentimental. Both poets, Snodgrass and Plath, did a great job in avoiding such mistake, even though they get very close. An emotional poem is successful only when everyone can relate to it, or else it is a story.

Beats and the NY School

Poets often use different styles and ways to help their readers or audience better understand the poems. There is no real right or wrong way to write poetry; poets use different styles to reach a different type of audience or to explain in a different way. For example, after reading the poems “Sometime During Eternity” and “Why I am not a painter” the audience is given the objectives of the poem in different ways.

After reading, “Sometime During Eternity” it feels as if the poet is presenting his poem in the form of a story. There is a sequence of events presented in the story, rather than just a list of thoughts and ideas. There are some instances in the poem where it feels like the poet added a few thoughts, but only to make the audience realize that the poet is only a narrator and not a character; for example, “as if he is THE king cat.” In the beginning of the poem the poet mentions the existence of the character, “and that the cat” and then goes through events and in the end says, “real dead,” giving it a ending. On the other hand, in “Why I am not a painter” the poet presents the poem as if he is talking to his friend. For example, “for instance, Mike Goldberg is starting a painting. I drop in.” This is a completely different technique used by the author than the one used in “Sometime During Eternity.” O’Hara uses this technique as a tool to list his thoughts and talk as if he is presenting a small part of his autobiography in this poem.

There are many other techniques used by the poets that make a different impact on different audiences. Some of the poets have used popular life as technique, while others have written poems that are meant to be read fast. The above two poems both have their own ways of impacting the audiences (not necessarily making one better than the other).

"Plain Speech"

The poets have shifted their writing style from modernism to writing in a more contemporary style or ‘Plain Speech.’ Their poems are written in free verse and sound more like a list of facts, without any real metrical pattern. Free Verse is, “composed of variable, usually unrhymed lines having no fixed metrical pattern.” (Dictionary.com) This allows their readers to connect more with their audience and also makes it seem like a hybrid of poetry and prose. The poets used everyday life situation into poetry, but the problem is they have to still stick to be true to what poems are.

Poets have used many elements in their poetry to try and match the poems of their ‘ornamental ancestors.’ One of the elements that Philip Larkin used was metrical variation as a means of telling the audience directly a message or moral. The line he uses is, “Get out as early as you can.” Also, John Berryman uses a theme to connect all of his little sections in “Dream Songs.” He uses the character, Henry, to get his point across to his audiences; as seen in poems of older poets. The poets also use real life experiences like it was used in Dickinson’s poems. For example, “I am afraid, only that it will change, as I am changing” from “Next Day” by Randall Jarrell. Also some of these poems had shown a sadder side in the poets’ life as in the “Dream Songs.”

Although, these poets have used a new technique to write their poetry, it shows more of a connection with their audiences. Apart from the older poets, these poets seem to give a moral, rather than just putting their plain thoughts on paper. The ‘Plain Speech’ not only does it help the audience relate the poems to themselves, but still follows the guidelines of poetry.

"We Real Cool"

Black Arts Movement was a time period that helped inspire African-Americans to shows their talent in literature. Many of the African-Americans poets started to put down their thoughts in terms of poetry using techniques such as metaphor. Gwendolyn Brooks uses metaphor in “We Real Cool” to help her readers better understand the meaning of the poem.

Brooks presents her metaphor in a way that the meaning could be interpreted differently by each reader. For example, when she uses “We” no one really knows what the poet is referring to. Maybe she is talking about all black boys, maybe the seven boys she wrote it for, or even African-Americans in general. The poem’s biggest metaphor is the first sentence, “We real cool. We left school.” This sentence represents all of the African-American boys who either dropped out of school or left school thinking that is the way of life, not just the seven boys she was referring to. Another great metaphor is the sentence “We sign sin.” This sentence by itself does not make sense, but it represents the way all the boys talk (usually vulgar or “ghetto”). The poem then continues and says “We thin gin. We jazz June;” which represents the increase in partying and drinking alcohol among young African-Americans (probably talking about the boys).

The metaphor in this poem helps its targeted readers, because it speaks their language, while telling teaching them a lesson. The poem is written like one of the readers themselves have wrote, giving t a very emotional and personal effect. Along with metaphor, the irony in this poem also helps it readers, because in a sense the poem it self is an irony. Brooks probably helped many young African-American boys in going to school with this poem and the use of metaphor in it.

The Influence of Others

Poets have changed their style of writing and format over the years, but still have been influenced by poets from an earlier generation. While some show extreme differences others, like Robert Frost, seem to show similarities with poets from periods like the British Romantics. Also, the same concept is shown in the poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay as was shown in the poems by Emily Dickinson.

British Romantics was a time period when poets used to write about things that did not necessarily exist, nature and experiences of childhood. Although, Robert Frost does not include too much of imaginary things and childhood experiences, he does make heavy use of nature in his poems. For example, in “Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening” he talks about how he has miles to go and the entire time he is in the woods. “To stop without a farmhouse nearBetween the woods and frozen lake” Robert Frost spent his childhood on a farm and therefore, seems to be very influenced by the Romantics poets who wrote about nature; as it seems most of his poems have something to do with nature.

Emily Dickinson also was a very influential poet in the eyes of Edna St. Vincent Millay. Dickinson focused writing about the reality and how the world really is. Millay seemed to show a lot of reality in her poems, usually giving a negative atmosphere. For example, in “Spring” she writes: “know what I know. The sun is hot on my neck as I observe” Millay also shows resemblance with Dickinson’s poems by writing about how life in general is not positive. Dickinson showed that life had no mercy and everything seemed to be falling; the same concept is seen when Millay writes “Life in itself, Is nothing,”

There were many other poets who also seemed to be influenced by earlier poets and their themes. Poetry itself is many times written to influence or send a message to people or the poet’s chosen audience. Although, there will be many different styles of poetry, influences from the past will never fade or lessen.

D.H. Lawrence "Piano"

Most of the poems have more than one poetic element in it that add to the meaning of the piece. Although, there is only one element that alone can give the entire meaning of the poem. In “Piano” by D.H. Lawrence, the poetic element that seems to stick out is imagery. Lawrence uses imagery in a way which shows not only the actual scene, but he also shows what he remembered by the scene (flashback).
The entire poem is about a lady in a dark room singing and how that brings back his memories of childhood. The beginning image of the lady singing and him remembering his past sets the mood of it being happy. The images given in this poem is basically the meaning of the poem and in no sense is it used just decorative purposes. Each image shows how much he misses his childhood and his mother. The images are very clear and extremely easy for the reader to image what is going on. As a reader, one can easily see the poet sitting under the piano pressing his mom feet who is playing the piano while smiling. He presents two images, which interconnect with each other. The first image is of the woman singing and the second is his childhood. The soft singing of the woman takes him back to his childhood and makes him realize in the end how much he misses it. In the end, Lawrence presents a scene of him crying, which changes the mood to sad and sorrowful.
The images present in this poem are not dramatic or full of thrill, but rather are a glimpse of the poet’s happy childhood. He does use other poetic elements that add to the meaning like sentence structure and a casual tone for language, but imagery is the most vital. The imagery is vital, because the speaker sees the images in his mind and puts them down on paper in the form of words, so that the reader can understand what he sees.

Essay 1: "The Darkling Thrush" v. "Written After Swimming from Sestos to Abydos"

Poetry has always been, rather, a different and possibly a harder text to understand compared to prose. Many times poets use different poetic elements to give their readers better understanding of the poem. As time progressed poets went from using English Romantics to using modernism. Lord Byron wrote “Written after Swimming from Sestos to Abydos” in the time of Romantics, where as Thomas Hardy wrote “The Darkling Thrush” in the time of modernism. Both of these poets used imagery, figure of speech, and similes in different ways to try and get their point across to their readers.

Lord Byron wrote about his adventure, his accomplishment, and his belief on the power of love in the poem. The poem is comparing his own experiences of crossing the river of Hellespont to that of fabled Leander. Leander tried to swim across the river for his love, but unfortunately he drowned and could not make it through. Byron also swims across the river, just for his own glory and actually makes it through with just a cold and fever. He tries to tell his readers that dying for a woman is senseless because it gives no special power.

On the other hand, Thomas Hardy writes about the world changing and everything good coming to an end. Hardy starts the poem by giving a very ominous setting and then shows a sad image. In the poem he writes about how the people are forgetting the older times and accepting the modern beliefs. The poem tells the reader right away that the poet is not happy about this change and believes that it might destroy the world.

The imagery presented in both poems is completely different, in the sense that one is completely negative and the second one is positive. Lord Byron gives a fairly positive and brave image in his poem.
“To woo, -- and – Lord knows what beside,
And swam for Love, as I for Glory;”
He talks about how the two men swam in a river with strong currents in the dead of December and May. Lord Byron presents two separate images; one for his own adventure and another for the adventure of Leander. In the beginning, the poem presents the image of Leander swimming the river and then later there is an image of Byron swimming across the river. This particular style proves to be very effective to the meaning of the poem, because it makes it easy for the reader to compare the two adventures. He tries to say that there was not much of any difference in the situation and yet he survived but Leander did not.

Thomas hardy presents a very ominous image of the world giving it a completely negative atmosphere. The image is given in the beginning but changes to more of a hope and sad image. For example in the begging he says:
“I leant upon a coppice gate
When Frost was spectre-gray”
This sentence gives an image of a wooden gate in the dead of winter on haunted landscapes. Then he goes and tells the reader how he is standing outside in the cold looking at the land of despair, while people are just sitting in their homes with fireplaces on to stay warm. Then the poem continues on, but gives a new image after “The aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small.” After this sentence the poet gives the reader the image of a person in despair and looking for hope.
“Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.”
The poet presents two different images of the same situation, rather than presenting two images of two separate situations like Lord Byron did. Byron uses the idea of compare and contrast with his images and Hardy uses the idea of problem and solution (except his solution was hope rather than a real solution).

The imagery of the poems goes hand in hand with the figure of speech used by these two poets. There are two ways in which the reader can look at the figure of speech; one is the poem as a whole, and the second is the sentence it self in “The Darkling Thrush.” The entire poem is trying to talk about the change from Victorian era to modern era, but is presented by talking about a haunted land. The second way to look at the poems’ figure of speech is the sentence itself, for example: “The tangled bine-stems scored the sky.” This sentence literally means that some plant stem made a line or boundary in the sky. The poet actually meant that there was now a shift from the older times into newer modern times. The figure of speech in the poem adds to the meaning, in the sense that it gives the reader a clear view of what the poet was trying to say. He wanted to show the reader the importance of the change and how unexpected it was.

Lord Byron also uses figure of speech, but not nearly as much as Thomas Hardy. “He lost his labour, I my jest;” This sentence literally means that Leander lost his life, while Byron seemed make a joke about it. The poet probably meant to show how Leander lost everything and Lord Byron lost nothing, when in fact he gained confidence. Lord Byron uses figure of speech to make fun of the situation and to show a little sarcasm in his poem.

Aside from imagery and figure of speech, both of these poets also included a glimpse of simile to make their poems more meaningful. Hardy says:
“The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
Like strings of broken lyres,”
He compares the stems of shrubs to the strings of a musical instrument. Although, Hardy does use simile as a main element in his poem, he still presents this sentence to create and add to the ominous image of the world. Lord Byron also does not make massive use of simile, but when used, he uses it for a different purpose. “And swam for Love, as I for Glory;” In this sentence, Byron compares love and glory; possibly showing they are equal in power. Byron uses this simile to show the motives of Leander and himself. After presenting his two images, Byron goes on and mentions why they did what they did in this sentence. In his two images there seemed to be little difference (exactly how he wanted his readers to see) but after presenting the motives the readers are able to see why there might be two different endings.

Lord Byron and Thomas Hardy uses images, figure of speech and simile to present there poem and to help their readers better understand. Lord Byron presents his poem in a story form, where he presents two separate images, then the motives, the conclusion and finally presenting his moral or main purpose. Thomas hardy presents his poem in more of like ‘here is the situation; this is what we can do.’ He talks about how the world has shifted from old traditional lives to more modernism and individualism. The structure in Lord Byron poems seems to be better in the sense that is presents a clear image of what he wants the reader to understand. His imagery is very simple, not much of figure of speech and uses a simile to show the difference in motives. Thomas Hardy’s poem seems to rely heavily on figure of speech and metaphors making it hard for readers, who do not have background knowledge about the time period, to understand. It is pretty hard for the reader to realize the meaning, if they do not understand the poem. With different poetic elements, poets can present their poems, but some seem to be more effective than others.

Many times poets uses line breaks to help the reader better understand the poem. Most or all of these poems are written in free verse, meaning the poet has the option to place the break anywhere in the poem. The place of the break is very important and there is usually a reason to why the poet placed the break in that certain spot.

In "A Sort of a Song," Williams using the famous text "No ideas but n things" as a break in the poem. This particular line is used to so that the reader can understand the meaning of the poem. Not only does this text move away from the common rhythm of the poem, but it also presents the meaning in a different way. Williams placed this break as the second to the last line of the poem to add more meaning to the break. The poem starts by comparing language to snake. He mentions "to strike, quiet to wait,..." By saying this, he tries to explain the power of language and how useful it can be. Then he goes on and gives this break in the second paragraph, right before he mentions:
"Invent!
Saxifrage is my flower that splits
the rock."
The break tells the meaning and then Williams, commands the reader to do something about it. He says uses the language in real life and break away from the personal isolation.

The place of the break in the poem adds a special meaning and creates a different setting. Some poets uses this break in the beginning of the poem, some as the last sentence, some in the middle and others right before a command like Williams. Williams places the break in a spot in which the intro has already been given, the meaning (break), and tells the reader to act on it (since they know what it means now).

The More Things Change . . . Or Stay the Same

The late 19^th century was associated with a time that was into developing and industrializing. People started to move into cities and working in industries, rather than on farms. The traditional values of previous decades seemed to slowly disappear from the lives and the minds of the people. Along with all that, poets started to write about modern technology and sciences. The typical neo-classical poetry was considered old fashioned and possibly bogus.

Beauty seemed to be easy rather than hard, old celebrated poetry was left on shelves, and poets were able to see death from modern technology. William Butler Yeats seems to complain in his poem titled, “Adam’s Curse” that people are taking beauty for granted. "Of bankers, schoolmasters, and clergymen" seem to think that beauty can either be bought, made, or occur very easily. Yeats was influenced by the poetic tradition of the past and disapproves the modern views. In “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death,” Yeats mentions of a pilot who sees his own lonely death because of airplanes. In this he shows modern technology and the destruction it could bring. Neo-classical poets probably would have mentioned only imagining of airplanes, but Yeats actually mentions the experiences and the possibilities. Edwin Arlington Robinson also seems to disagree with the modern traditions. In “George Crabbe” he mentions how people have accepted scientific theory and thrown away poetry books into some shelf. He then goes on and mentions that poetry is a flame that would last forever, where as technology and theories are just flickers. Robinson also touches on how the modern world has forgotten there religious traditions.

“And emptiness of what our souls reveal

In books that are as altars where we kneel”

In “The darkling Thrush” Thomas Hardy writes in common meter and then puts a variation in one line. Poets in the 19^th century seemed to write more freely and about reality. Most of the poems seemed to be negative, rather than flowery and full of optimistic imaginations like in the neo-classical poems.

Poets used to write more positive poetry that were related to their fantasies and imaginations. In the early 19^th century poets started to write about the realities of the modern world, usually showing a pessimistic view. It seemed as if the poets did not like the change from traditional values to scientific theory. Poets were very influenced and attached with the poetic tradition and were not able to accept the changes that industrialization brought.

Dickinson, away from the British Romantics

British Romantics referred to poems that stay away from reality and had more to do with imagination and emotions. Emily Dickinson seemed to have broken away from such types of poetry or writings. Dickinson seems to be more interested in writing about the things that actually happen rather than the ideas or positive emotions of humans. She does not seem to mentions how life can be beautiful, the nature, or the physical passions of men/women.

In Dickinson’s “39 (49)” she mentions how she was begging to the angles and god but in the end she received nothing and ended up poor like she was before.

“Twice have I stood a beggar
Before the door of God!
….
I am poor once more!”

The poets who wrote romantics usually would have said something like the “the God finally answered” or something of that sort. Dickinson brings out the harsh reality and tells her readers that life and God are not always fair to everyone. In Dickinson’s “359 328),” she starts out by mentioning:

“A Bird, came down the walk-
…
And ate the fellow, raw,”

She describes the bird as being a killer and vicious animal that broke a worm in half, rather than a bird who is softly singing on a tree. In this sentences she tell the readers birds are not just sweet and little but are also living things that do what is best for them only. Emily Dickinson in all her (beginning) poems shows the reader the reality and how bad it can be. Then in “1263 (1129)” she advises not to mention truth in its simplest form because it can hurt others just from hearing it. Dickinson does not write romantics (optimistic view) herself, but advises her readers to stay close to it.

There is no evidence in her poems on why Dickinson goes away from the romantics, but it seems that she wants everyone to know the truth. She stays consistent in the sense that she stays away from optimistic ideas about life. The only time Dickinson comes close to romantics is when she is talks about emotions, although hers examples are usually negative. British Romantics was where one used nothing but his/her imagination, where as Dickinson uses nothing but the possible brutalities of the real world.

“Written After Swimming from Sestos to Abydos”

Many times after reading a poem the reader can identify certain things about the poet; like age, sex, sensibilities, and values. In “Written After Swimming from Sestos to Abydos” the reader can tell that the author is a man who probably believes that dying for love is asinine. He basically tells his readers that love is not some special power or motivation that will help you to defeat any obstacle that comes in your way. He tries to prove it by comparing his own experiences of crossing the river of Hellespont to the experiences of a lover named Leander. Lord Byron probably values self confidence over love. He probably feels no sympathy towards people who values love over everything. Byron specifically targets the group of people that believe one can do anything in the world for their love. He tries to tell them that, all of it is just plain asinine and will lead to their death. The source is probably not reliable, because the author himself is saying that, rather than someone else.

The diction used by the poet sounds casual, as if he is directly trying to tell his chosen audience something. The rhyming in the poem makes it sound more like a fantasy rather than reality. The reader can easily guess that the tone used in the poem by the poet is far from emotional and closer towards confidence. He wanted to prove to the world that love is not a strong enough motivation and he proves it. The language is not compressed, it can be easily understood but only if the reader already knew certain things like Leander and Hellespont.

The poem is nice but I personally have to disagree with the author’s thoughts and theme. My personal experiences tell me that there could have been many reasons to why Leander failed even with the motivation of love and why Byron succeeded with only determination. For example, Byron could have physically been stronger or a better swimmer to began with. I don’t value love in general, but I do believe that motivation such as love can do miracles for anyone.

The Natural World

The meaning of the nature or the natural world has been altered many times through out history. Romantics was a period in time when poets viewed the natural world as a symbol of childhood innocence. They believed the natural world was only seen at its best in the early stages of a human life. Many poets, including William Wordsworth and William Blake, believed the natural world was so pure that only a child could feel it rather than just seeing it. Samuel Taylor Coleridge believed that the natural world is what brings humans closer to God and that it is given to humans at birth.

Wordsworth mentions the natural world to show how a child is always ready for creativity and vivid imaginations. As the children get older, everything positive begins to fade and then they are left with nothing but just misery. For example from Wordsworth’s “Ode” he quotes about children and their perception of the natural world:

“There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,

The earth, and every common sight,

To me did seem

Appareled in celestial light”

Then he goes on and mentions:

“But it will not be long

Ere this be thrown aside”

In the first part Wordsworth talks about how nature is so beautiful to a child, but as he/she gets older they seem to forget that beauty. Samuel Taylor Coleridge also believes that the natural world helps only a child’s imagination, but presents his “Dejection: An Ode” in a different way. He believes that nature is given at birth but as one gets older they are robbed oh such imagination:

“And happly by abstruse research to steal

From my own nature all the natural man-”

In “Frost at Midnight”, Coleridge mentions, very early in the poem, how the childhood is so peaceful like the natural world.

The natural world to these poets was a symbol of innocence, childhood, and purity given at birth by God. It represented the how a man loses his imagination as they get older and more involved with the real world. It can be assumed that poets then believed, a human looses his/her ability to feel nature and is left with just memories of a beautiful world they once had in mind.

Letter of Introduction

My name is Meru Kapadia and I am currently a third year undergraduate student at the Bauer college of Business. I was born in India, but have been living in Houston for the past thirteen years. I plan on pursuing a career in the fields of Finance and Marketing. My interest in Finance and Marketing developed in the beginning years of my high school. I currently am part of the Forensics team (Speech and Debate), here at University of Houston. I plan on competing in many events including poetry. Currently, I work for KUHF (radio station) as an Accounting Assistant and as a tutor for Houston After School. I am also taking twelve hours here at University of Houston and six hours at Houston Community College.

My interests include playing basketball and football. I have recently developed an interest in working out at the gym. Aside from the physical activities, I love to learn, visually, about new discoveries and experiments (video tapes, movies, hands-on activities and etc.). I like to have legitimate and interesting discussions with my friends and family. The only thing I truly dislike is reading a history book.

My previous experiences with writing consist entirely of all the assignments given in an English class. I have written all sorts of papers including essays, stories, poems (high school), and arguments. Out of the writing assignments, I find essays and stories to be the most interesting and fun. The worst part is when instructors take off huge amounts for minor grammatical errors. All of my grades have been in the 'A' range, making my writing experiences very positive. I don't find writing to be the best hobby available, but I do like it more than reading. I believe writing is very easy, but it is very time consuming. Poetry is not my passion, but several poets in my life have made me realize how great poems can be at times.

I mainly took this course, because I needed a humanities credit and the hope that it would help me in speech and debate. I am not sure what to expect out of this class, but I do hope to leave with a better understanding for poems. My speech coach in high school mentioned, in order to successfully win in the poetry round, you must understand it properly, first. I don't expect the instructor to baby me, but I do hope that the instructor is available when I need his/her help for the class. Also, last but not the least, I hope to leave this class with an 'A'.