Poem #5: The Eagle

The Poem: The Eagle by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;

Close to the sun in lonely lands,

Ringed with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;

He watches from his mountain walls,

And like a thunderbolt he falls.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alfred, Lord Tennyson was born on August 6, 1809 at Sommersby, Lincolnshire. He had died on October 6, 1882 at Aldworth. His loving wife's name is Emily Tennyson. Alfred has won an Chancellor's Gold Medal. He had four siblings. One sister and three brothers. He was home schooled by his father up to the age of 18, then he attended school at Cambridge University for four years.Alfred had a lifelong fear of mental illness. Relatives from the family has a mild form of epilepsy. He has made about 1842 poems, but in all of his poems, "Poems" made him famous.

PERSONAL RESPONSE:

The words in this poem made it can of difficult from me understand. Yes, this poem is very short I like it. I like how the poet made the lines in each stanza all rhyme. The rhyme scheme of this poem is AAA-BBB. The poet had a good choice of diction. The poem seems so alive and wonderful. While I was reading this poem, I pictured myself as an eagle way up high in the sky. I am on the end of a very high mountain looking down. I am not the type of person who is afraid of heights. I would maybe feel a little nausea looking down, but I want to know the feeling of an eagle. That feeling when you feel you're on top of the world. Feeling the power and confidence in oneself. I would feel superior if I was the eagle. I would like to watch everyone below me and just observe them.

The poet gave personification to the sea. Giving details about the atmosphere around the eagle. I have a mental picture in my head when I read the line with the word azure. I have always wanted to be a bird. I never liked walking on foot all the time. I wonder how it feels like to have wings and soar through the sky. The wind brushing against my feathers. If I was a bird, I would live in the tallest tree and make a nest there. Over-all I really did love this poem. I think that the poet has a talent in poems.

TP-CASTT

Title: The title probably already tells what the poem is going to be about. The poet might have describe a eagle.

Paraphrase:

He holds on the cliff with crooked claws

Way up high so feeling lonely

The eagle is surrounded with the blue sky

Lines of waves of the sea beneath him

He watches from high in the mountains

The eagles swoops down

Connotation:

1. Structure- Stanza length tercet, Rhyme scheme- (AAA BBB), Meter- Tetrameter, Punctuations- semicolons and periods

2. Speaker- Observer of an eagle

3. Figurative Language- Alliteration- "He clasps the crag with crooked hands;" Personification- "The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;" Simile- "And like a thunderbolt he falls." 
4.  Imagery- sight (crooked, lonely, azure, wrinkled, mountain, thounderbolts), hear (none), hear (none), smell (none)

5. Repetitive- none

Attitude: The tone of the poem is admiration, amused, surprised, and amazed.

Shifts:

First stanza (3 lines) gives details of the eagle being alone way up there.

Second stanza (3 lines) talks about the movements of the eagle swooping or crawling.

Title: The title informs us that it would be about an eagle. The eagle is the main subject.

Theme: An eagle on top of everything feeling superior. The perspective of an eagle.

REFERENCES (APA-6)

Tennyson, A. (1842). The Eagle. Poetry Foundation. Website. Retrieved from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174589

Poem #4: Since Feeling is First

The Poem: Since Feeling is First by E.E. Cummings                 
               
 since feeling is first

who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world
my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry
the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids' flutterwhich sayswe are for each other:then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life's not a paragraphAnd death i think is no parenthesis

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Edward Estlin Cummings was born on October 14, 1894 at Cambridge. He passed away on September 3, 1962 at North Conway, New Hampshire  His parents are Edward Cummings and Rebecca Haswell Clarke. His mother was the first person to teach him about poems. At the age of 12, he was a freshman at High school. He attended school at Harvard and graduated in the year of 1916 with a Masters degree. He had two careers which was a poet and a painter. E.E. Cummings had a different way of phrasing and punctuating. In 1917, he stated to publish his poems. He was a volunteer ambulance driver during World War I at France.

PERSONAL RESPONSE:
The poet is saying that love is way better than wisdom. Why would you choose to be so smart when you don't have love. Love is so big. A person can love someone without even knowing. I love how the poet compares the two subjects. I can imagine a lover saying this poem to the person he truly loves. I can relate to this poem because I had a crush on one of my friends. I thought it would be fate that we would be together, that there's a chance of being us, but death came in the way. Death can never stop us from loving other people. It shows how much we loved that person. This poet is so different from other poets. He chose not to capitalize some one the words in the beginning of the lines. This poem makes so sense without even rhyming. Someone would be a food to have wisdom and not choose love. My favorite part in this poem or the line(s) that stood out for me is "Life's not a paragraph/And death I think is no parenthesis". Everyone should enjoy life because life is short. We have to learn to love one another and not create fights with each other. We should live to the fullest before death comes. Show some love to the closest people around us. Give thanks for what we have and don't have. Everyone chooses their fate, not death. I like this poem so much. The poet writes it freely.

TP-CASTT

Title: I expect that this poem will be about feelings for another person or someone getting hurt. Those type of relationships when they don't work out.

Paraphrase:
since feeling is first
who gives any notice
to the arrangement of words
will not be able to fully kiss you
entirely to be a ninny
while spring is in the world
my blood accepts
kisses that should happen
than intelligence
lady i vow (take oath) don't cry
the great movement of my brain is less than
your eyelids flicker says
we are for each other; then
laugh bending my arms
life is not a paragraph
and death is not a clause

Connotation:
 1. Structure- free verse, Rhyme scheme- none, Meter- metrical lines
 2. Figurative Language- Metaphor- "life's not a paragraph" & "And death I think is no pare, Personification- "my blood approves", "the best gesture of my brain" & "eyelids flutter which               says we are for each other"
 3. Speaker- Someone who likes living for a moment.  
 4. Imagery- sight (syntax of things), hear (laugh), smell (none), taste (none), touch (arms, eyes fluttering, kiss)

Attitude: This poem is light-hearted, serious, and emotional.

Shifts:
First quatrain stanza- Feelings we don't even notice.
Second stanza- Compares wisdom and love
Third stanza- We chose our fate, not death.

Title: After reading this poem, I understand the title now. Feeling is the love. Love is always first.

Theme: Feelings come before anything. Love is better than wisdom.


REFERENCES (APA-6)
Cummings, E. (1926). Since Feeling is First. Crestone End of Life. Website. Retrieved from http://www.crestone-end-of-life.org/images-poetry/poetry/49-poetry-since-feeling-is-first.html

Poem #3: Cradle Song

The Poem: Cradle Song by Gabriela Mistral 

                                 The sea cradles
                         its millions of stars divine.
                         Listening to the seas in love,
                         I cradle the one who is mine.

                        The errant wind in the night
                        cradles the wheat.
                        Listening to the winds in love,
                        I cradle my sweet.

                        God Our Father cradles
                        His thousands of worlds without sound.
                        Feeling His hand in the darkness,
                        I cradle the babe I have found.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Gabriela Mistral was born on April 7, 1889 at Vicuña and died on January 10, 1957 at Hempstead. She has won a Nobel prize in Literature. She was the very first Latin American woman to win a Nobel prize.  Her parent's names were Petronila Alcayaga and Jeronimo Godoy Alcayaga Villanueya. Gabriela's real birth name was Lucila Godoy Alcayaga. At the age of 16, she fell in love to a railway worker who later on committed suicide. After the death of her love one, she has written Sonnets for him and that's when she won the nobel prize. Her poem's themes were usually about love, childhood, and death.

PERSONAL RESPONSE:
I love this poem very much. I love how the poet uses soothing words. I read the poem with a soft tone. I can really picture the poem with the sea, wheat, and wind. I have an imagery in my head of a mother on a rocking chair holding her little young one in her arm ever so lightly. Looking down on the sleepy baby, while the mother sways or swings the baby back and forth, back and forth. I can relate to this poem even though I am not a mother yet. I have two younger brothers and my mom would be very busy at home doing house chores. I sometimes had to hold my younger sibling and sway them to sleep carefully. I would even sing to him a rock-a-bye-baby song to make him go to sleep faster. 
This poem was translate by Langston Hughes in the year 1957. The poem had quatrains with four stanzas. For every stanza in the poem, the rhyme scene was ABCB. There was a line with a end-stopping, which was the line 2 in the first quatrain. Gabriela compares the baby to the wheat and wind. As if giving both of those personification to love. The line that stood out the most for me is "God Our Father cradles". I am not that religious, but I love how she add God in her poem. By this, I understood what she meant. That line for me said that God loves us all. He protects us no matter what.

TP-CASTT

Title: I am thinking that this poem will be calmly. A poem made for babies to go to sleep.

Paraphrase:
The sea is gentle
Millions of stars discovered
Hearing the sea waves
I hold gently to who is mine
The wandering wind at night
Sways the corn
Hearing the wind blows
I hold gently to my sweet
Our God the Father is protective
Those many worlds without a sound
Feeling his hand in the night
I swing my baby I found

Connotation:
1. Structure- quatrain with four stanzas, end-stopping lines and some run-on lines, Meter- tetrameter, Rhyme scheme- abcb for each stanza
2. Speaker- mother of a child, poet
3. Figurative Language- "Listening to the seas in love" - Imagery,  "His thousands of words without a sound" - Alliteration
4. Imagery- sight (sea, stars, wheat, darknes), hear (seas in love), smell (none), taste (none)


Attitude: This poem is gentle, peaceful, and loving.

Shifts:
- First quatrain (Lines 1-4)- Is talking about the sea
- Second quatrain (Lines 5-8)- Changes from sea to wind.
- Third quatrain (Lines 9-12)- Includes God in the poem.

Title: The title of the poem does really help know what the poem will be about. It is very obvious that the poem will be gentle and calmly. A mother cradling her young one.

Theme: The theme is the love from a loving mother. Trying to put her baby to sleep.

REFERENCES (APA-6)

Mistral, G. (1914). Cradle Song. Smillinotes. Website. Retrieved from http://smellinotes.tripod.com/notes/poetry_class_notes/cradle_song.html

Poem #2: Incident in a Rose Garden

The Poem: Incident in the Rose Garden by Donald Justice

Gardener: 
Sir, I encountered Death 
Just now among our roses
Thin as a scythe he stood there.

I knew him by his pictures
He had on his black coat
Black gloves, and broad black hat.

I think he would have spoken, 
Seeing his mouth stood open.
Big it was, with white teeth.

As soon as he beckoned, I ran.
I ran untill I found you.
Sir, I'm quitting my job.

I want to see my sons
Once more before I die.
I want to see California.

Master: 
Sir, you must be that stranger
Who threatened my gardener.
This is my property, sir.

I welcome only friends here.

Death: 
Sir, I knew your father.
And we were friends at the end.

As for your gardener, 
I did not threaten him.
Old men mistake my gestures.

I only ment to ask him
To show me to his master.
I take it you are he?


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Donald Justice was born in Miami, Florida on August 12, 1925. Donald has passed away on August 6, 2004 at Iowa, City. He earned is Bachelors at the University of Miami. And earned his Masters degree at the University of North Carolina. He also studied at Stanford University. One of his famous work is "The Summer Anniversaries". The writing of his poems are in a non-traditional way. He has published 13 of his poems. He won two Notable Awards which were, the Guggenheim Fellowship and Pulitzer Prize. In 2004, his collected of poems were nominated for National Book Award.

PERSONAL RESPONSE:

When I first read this poem, I did not get it. I read it for the second time and finally got it. I was so late at understanding this poem. When my teacher finally explained and elaborated on this poem, I started to like this poem. I find this poem way different from other poems. I love how the poet puts the speaker in the front of the line to know who is saying what. The poet gave Death a personification. By personification, I mean that Death had like things with humans. Death acted as a regular person. Actually, no can see death and I love how the poet made it seem so real. 
I can relate to this poem because I have known two persons in my life who has passed away. Death can come at anytime, anywhere. Nobody knows when that time will be. No can tell. I would love to read more poems made by Donald Justice. The whole world can relate because most of us witnessed people dying. 
This poem has a dialogue with 3 speakers, the old gardener, his master, and Death. The thought of death gives me chills. I mean no wants to die. Life is too precious. We only get one life and why would we waste it? I picture death as a "Grim Reaper". A skull-ed man in a black throb with a hood covering most of his face. I love how the poet made the poem rhyme, it makes the poem way better than it's already is. 

TP-CASTT

TItle: From reading the title, I guessed that there might have been something tragic that happened in the garden. Someone must have died or the roses starts to die.

Paraphrase:
Sir, I have met Death
Just near the roses
Skinny as a stickle he stood there
I recognized him by his pictures
He had a black jacket on
Black gloves, and a large black hat
I think he would have talk
Watching his mouth open
It was big and white
Before he could make a gesture I ran
I ran until I found you
Sir, I am going to resign my job
I want to see my sons
One more time before I die
I want to see California
Master: Sir, you must be the outsider
Who scared away my gardener
This is my estate sir.
Only people I know are welcomed here
Death: I know your father
We friends at the end
For your gardener
I did not scare him away
He was false about my movements.
I only wanted to ask him
To show me to his master
I think that it's you

Connotation:
1. Structure- 3 lines in a stanza, couplets, run-on lines, Meter- iambic tetrameter, Rhyme scheme- , Punctuations- commas, periods, question marks
2. Speaker- Old gardener, master, and death
3.Figurative Language- Simile (thin as scythe), personification (I ran), alliteration ("He had his black coat on.")
Imagery & Reptition (black coat, black gloves, and a black hat)
4. Repetition- All speeches starts with "Sir" 

Attitude: In the beginning of the poem, the tone of the gardener is fear. And when it came to the part where the Master was talking to death he had a strict with confidence tone. While Death was mellow.

Shifts:
1. First 3 stanzas- The old gardener describing Death.
2. Stanzas 4 & 5- The gardener begging to go back to California.
3. Stanza 6- The master talking to Death
4. Stanzas 7-9- Death talking and asking if he is the master.
5. Line 7 & 8 is a couplet."I think he would have spoken. Seeing his mouth stood open."

Title: After reading this poem, I was so shock. By "incident" the poet meant that death took the master in the rose garden. The master was the owner of the rose garden.

Theme: Death can happen anytime, anywhere, to anyone.

REFERENCE (APA-6): 
Justice, D. (1967). Incident in a Rose Garden. Poem Hunter. Online. Website. Retrieved from http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/incident-in-a-rose-garden-by-donald-justice/
 1967

Poem #1: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The Poem: I know why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream 
Till the current ends and dips his wing 
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky.

But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage
Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through
The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.

But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams
His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with
A fearful trill of things unknown
But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

   Maya Angelou's full name is Marguerite Ann Johnson. And american poet and author that was born on  April 4, 1928. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, but was raised in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. Maya is an African American. She was known for her autobiographies. Maya has had a dramatic life when she was young. She was to live with her grandmother with her brother. She got raped and never want to speak. She became a mother at the age of 17. She has experienced discrimination for being an African-American. At the age of 14, she has dropped out of school, but later on finished school after giving birth to her son named Guy.

PERSONAL RESPONSE:

I have read this poem with my first English 9 teacher Ms. Kristal before Ms. Ajoste. My classmates and I read in our Literature textbook. I know most of us can relate to this poem. The caged bird is like me. I can relate because there are times I feel I don't have freedom. My parents are somehow strict and barely allows me to go out of the house. I do not go out much with my friends. I only leave the house with my family always. My mother has to know who are the people that are going to be with me to a certain place I would go. My parents can be so protective at times. I get so jealous of my other friends. They have much more freedom than me. I feel so sad when I am the only one that could not go to an event because I was not allowed to. 

This poem seems so sad. I like how Maya Angelou made this poem full of ideas or has a lot of emotions. I have read other poems of Maya Angelou like the "Phenomenal Woman". That poem is one of the popular poems. 

The people around this world would relate to this poem because back then there was slavery in the U.S. Black people were treated so differently not like compared today. They had so little rights compared to the White men also. Black people were slaves and were forced to works for white men. They worked in plantations for agriculture. Black people had no vote rights and all. 

TP-CASTT

Title: I think this poem will be about a sad bird in a caged. This poem will probably be so sad. The caged bird is jealous of the free bird. Maybe Maya had little freedom, while she was growing up.

Paraphrase:
The free bird jumps on its back
With the wind and moves downstream
When the movements ends and dips its wing
The orange rays of the sun
And goes for the sky
But a bird approaches straight down to the cage
Can rarely see through bars of the cage
His wings are fastened and the feet are tied
He opens his throat to sing
The caged bird sings with a quavering sound
Things unfamiliar but still desired
The melody is heard from a far hill
The bird has the power to sing
The bird thinks of a gentle wind
The soft wind blowing steadily moving
Sounds of trees
Fat worms on the soil ground
He addresses the sky his own
But the caged bird stands on a place of dreams
The dark shadow is a like a nightmareHis wings are fastened and the feet are tiedHe opens his throat to singThe caged bird sings with a quavering sound 
Things unfamiliar but still desired
The melody is heard from a far hill
For the bird has the right to speak 

Connotation:

1. Structure: line, couplet, strophe, and quatrain & quintets stanzas , Rhyme Scheme- AAAB, Meter- iambic , Punctuation- periods
2. Speaker- the author, a colored person, anyone
3. Figurative language- Personification- caged bird sings with a fearful trill, free bird thinks of another breeze, and he names the sky his own , metaphor- caged bird stand on grave
4. Imagery- Sight (orange sun rays, narrow cage, dawn-bright lawn, fat), touch (clipped, tied, soft), hear (sing, fearful trill, nightmare scream, tune)

Attitude: The tone of the poem is discouraged, sympathy, hurt, and depressed.

Shifts:
First stanza (7 lines) talks about the freedom and happiness of the free bird.
Second stanza (7 lines) is the perspective of the caged bird.
Stanzas three, four and five describes the situation of the caged bird.
And the last stanza (8 lines) talks about the freedom of the caged bird.

Title: After reading the poem, my perspective of this poem change a little. I was right about the bird being in a cage and being sad. The caged bird wasn't being heard and lacked freedom.

Theme:
-Maya Angelou had a hard harsh time growing up and surviving this world.
-Racism and Sexist (Segregation) 
-Freedom

REFERENCES (APA-6):
Maya, A. (1969). I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Famous Poets and Poems. Wesbsite. Retrieved from http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/maya_angelou/poems/494

Table of Contents

1. I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou

2. Incident in the Rose Garden by Donald Justice

3. Cradle Song by Gabriela Mistral

4. Since Feeling is First by E.E. Cummings

5.  The Eagle by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Introduction

Hello, my name is Jacqueline P. Dalawampu and I am currently attending school at Saipan Southern High School. My English teacher, Ms. Ajoste, has given us a project to make a blog for 5 different poems and 5 different poets. Each of my post will have a 250 word response for each poem and a 100 word about the poet, made by me. In the personal response, I shall make a connection with text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world, like how it relates.