The Mower's Song by Andrew Marvell is a pastoral poem and was published in 1681 due to being found among Marvell's effects by his housekeeper and rumored widow. It is the last of a series of four Mower poems. During Marvell's lifetime, his poetry was overshadowed by his political work. This remained true until about the twentieth century. The poem begins by introducing the mower and the meadows relationship. The tone is nostalgic of the pairs heyday. The poem then introduces "Juliana" comes and she distracts the mower, preventing him from continuing do hold up his working relationship with the meadow. The meadow grows despite of the mower being distracted by Juliana. A shift occurs when the mower grows hurt by the meadows independence and lack of appreciation for him. He vows revenge, "And flow’rs, and grass, and I and all, Will in one common ruin fall." However, Juliana comes again and a shift occurs again, he declares his surrender. He declares that the meadow will be his “tomb” and reflects on what the meadow and Juliana has done to “my thoughts and me."
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Christina Rossetti wrote the poem Remember in 1862. Within the work, she expresses how she'd like her loved ones to be once she is dead and gone. She does not wish for them to be sad, but to live and continue with their futures. She notes that she rather they forget her and be happy rather than to remember her and be sad. The line "Better by far you should forget and smile Than that you should remember and be sad." is a perfect example of her message. Another line that stood out to me was "Only remember me; you understand", this explains that if they do remember her, she'd like for them to remember her in life instead of the fact of her death. The line gives the reader the sense of nobility, especially as Rossetti's tone through out the work is calm.
Race/Race by Martha Collins is one of her shorter poems, but as I read it I thought that its simplicity is what made it strong. This poem describes a how a race feels, but it's simple tone and diction makes it ability to be interpretted soar. The reader may be moved to think of a running race, a race of life, a horse race. This poem gives the reader room to be creative with their interpretation and imaginative. As I was reading this poem, I thought of the race between the tortoise and the hare. As the work opens up with describing physicalities, but then goes into describing the intensity of the heat of the race. Collins concludes her poem by mentioning competition and contending. The reader is left with open spaces for them to think in and consider the topic. Simple poem, but great message.
One of my favorite poems by Martha Collins is [14] in which she published in 2012. She opens the poem with a metaphor as she describes black keys and white keys. The opening line "black keys from trees white keys locked, on black shoulders locked together above" is possibly the most powerful line in the poem. Black keys representing black people and white keys representing white people. In my interpretation of this poem, this line is describing the oppression black people face from white people through out history. In a darker thought, this line is describing the hanging of black keys in the trees. The title itself inspired my interpretation, reminding me of Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata No.14. The sound of the Sonata brings a flow to the poem and matches the somber tone of the pianos backstory. The poem then goes on to tell the tale of a group of African slaves that have to edure the hellish task of retrieving, carrying, and delivering elephant tusks to buyers. Many of the slaves die during the journey, but are easily replaced. The ivory tusks are used in the creating of thousands of pianos. Collins relates herself to the poem with mentioning that her grandmother owned a piano made by through this process. Then reiterates the behind-the-scenes horror by mentioning that in the capturing of new slaves, villages were burned. Collins also reminds the audience that slaves were used till the 20th century, informing the reader that such events were honestly recent. Using great diction through out the poem, Collins concludes the piece with a deep thought that embodies the whole theme of the poem. She makes the point that that an African slave couldve carried the ivory that was used to make the very piano that she played. The concluding thought leaves the reader wondering about where the things they touch or own came from. What was the history of the objects they touch? What went into making them? What was their true price of production? I enjoyed this poem as it did leave me with that lingering question of what went into my surroundings.
In 2006 Martha Collins published a poem called Lynch. This poem is about a society in which racial prejudice does not occur. She begins the poem by describing the society by comparing it to an efficiently operating wheel. She then introdues a general character that represents those who gain a new status after retiring from another high status position, "as when a captain turned judge and gave it his name." Collins gives some elements of foreshadowing through the title which means a lawful punishment or execution. In a jail, they mention a white inmate and a black inmate. The white inmate killed his wife because she had refused him. It is said that the black inmates crime had been misplaced. The decision is made to execute the white inmate rather than the black inmate. This gives a heavy hint as to the time this society existed in. If this society had been set in any time before the 1960s, it would have been the black inmate chosen for execution. I believe Collins intentions with this poem was to have it open for interpretation. My interpretation was that this piece was a reflection on the idea that swift and accurate justice always be served. A justice that in not prejudice. I personally enjoyed this poem, because I enjoy figuring out what each line means and how it adds to the poem. Describing a well-oiled machine with a moral compass that points in the right direction, this poem showed great diction.
Martha Collins is an established writer and poet. She graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from Stanford University and with a Ph.D from the University of Iowa. She went on to teach at the University of Massachusetts, where she is credited for founding the creative writing program. One of her many unique talents is translating poems. In 1999, she wrote a poetic interpetation of the folklore of Little Red Riding Hood, which is from an old European story. In Collins poem The Good Gray Wolf it tells the story of Little Red Riding Hood from an alternate perspective. The wolf seems enamored by little red, wanting to be close to her, not to eat her. This adds a sense of romance and twist to the well-known story, which makes you want to read more! The suspense of the wolf watched from afar admiring her brings the reader to imagine those feelings and imagery. Collins places a sense of innocents in every word giving you the romance factor, but still has you on the edge of your seat almost afraid for little red because he is, in fact, a wolf.
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AuthorI am a senior student of Advanced Placement literature. Enjoy! ArchivesCategories |