Blog Eleven Loyalty Leads to Death

The "Ballad of Birmingham" and "Sir Patrick Spens" are two poems that despite their differences, in fact have many similarities. Both poems  are ballads. Both poems also share similarity in  their content. In both poems, the main characters aim to please others, and that factor is what ultimately leads to their death.

In the poems "Sir Patrick Spens", Sir Patrick responds to the orders that have been given to him by the King;

"O who is this has done this deed
This ill deed done to me,
To send me out this time o' the year.
To sail upon the sea" (Lines 17-20)

Sir Patrick knows that the order for him to sail during this dangerous time of the year, will also leads to his death. He is an experienced sailor and he also knows that sailing during this time of the year is very dangerous and will be the cause of his death. His loyalty is evident in the following text, "Make haste, make haste, my merry men all", (Line 21). Sir Patrick is ordering all his men to prepare themselves for their upcoming journey. Although Sir Patrick knows the danger in sailing, he unwilling to disobey the King, in fear of appearing disloyal.

In the poem "Ballad of Birmingham"we are introduced to a young girl who also displays the same loyalty and obedience to her mother. The young girl remains obedient to her mother, despite her desire to attend the Freedom March rather than attend church. Her mother says"no baby, you may not go/ For I fear that the guns will fire" (Line 14). The young girl obeys her mother and goes to church, and ends up being killed in church from the what her mother feared would happen if she attended the Freedom March.

In both poems "Sir Patrick Spens" and "Ballad of Birmingham" the main characters loyalty and obedience are the factors that lead to their death. In "Sir Patrick Spens", Sir Patrick is aware of the danger that awaits him on his journey, yet with no hesitation he agrees to go on the journey. Had Sir Patrick listened to his better judgement, he would still be alive. In "Ballad of Birmingham" the little girl against her personal desire to attend the Freedom March and instead obeys her mother's orders to attend church. Had the young girl gone against her mother's orders, she would still be alive. Both poems share tragic endings, in which the main characters loyalty and obedience, are the factors that lead to their death.

Another similarity between both poems is they are ballads. Both poems have stanzas that consist of four lines and share a rhyme scheme in which the second and fourth lines rhyme. When read aloud the rhyme scheme in both poems, share the ability to engage the reader into connecting with the characters.

In conclusion, both poems also share irony. Both characters went against their own personal desires, and instead took orders from someone else, and ultimately these orders are what led to their death.

Blog Ten An Abusive Father

The poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke can be interpreted in two different ways. It can be expressed as a somber poem about the love a young boy has for his father, despite the fact that the father is abusive and an alcoholic. A second interpretation of the poem is more direct. It can also be interpreted as a poem about a young boy, who is remembering a night with his father, in which his father danced around the house aggressively. But I believe that the poem is more about my first interpretation, than my second interpretation.

The story can be interpreted about a young boy who is retelling the abuse he lived through with his alcoholic father, yet at the same time he still has a lot of love his him. In the first line of the poem the son tells hid dad, “The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” (Lines 1-2”). He is telling his father that his drinking is beginning to worry him. In the next line the boy says, “But I held on like death: Such waltzing was not easy” (Lines 2-4). The boy is telling his father that he has struggled mentally and physically to survive his abuse.

In the following stanza the boy suggests that his father may have attempted to beat him with a belt.

“The hand that held my wrist

Was battered on one knuckle;

At every step you missed

My right ears cared a buckle” (Lines 9-12)

In this stanza the boy refers to a time when his father was drunk and was going to hit him with a belt on his backside, but missed completely, and instead, hit his ear.

In the last stanza the boy expresses the confusion of emotions that he feels for his father.

“You bear time on my head

With a palm caked hard by dirt,

Then waltzed me off to bed

Still clinging to your shirt” (Lines 12-16)

In the first half of the stanza the boy continues to speak about the abuse he endured by his father, but in the second half of the stanza ends with the boy confessing the love that he has for his father. The young boy loves his father, regardless of his faults.

Overall, I was deeply by affected this poem. It brought up a topic that is very thought provoking. It is by far, my favorite poem that we have been assigned this semester.

Blog Entry Nine Good vs. Evil

In Blake's poem "The Tyger" the author questions God and the existence pf evi;. "What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry?" (23-24). Blake is trying to comprehend why God would create something as fierce and scary as a tyger. In the following text Blake questions what was God thinking, "Did he his work to see?  Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" (19-20). Blake is confused by the fact that there in fact is evil in such a beautiful world, but he does not understand the purpose for the existence of evil. In Blake's poem the tyger symbolizes the evil and violence, while the lamb symbolizes innocence and peace.
In the poem "The Lamb"  the narrator takes the form of a child who is asking a lamb about its creation, "Little Lamb who made thee Dost thou know who made thee?" (1-2) As the poem progresses the child begins to answer its own questions "Little Lamb God bless thee." (19). The child adds a sense of innocence and natural sense of curiosity that children possess. "The Lamb" represents innocence. By comparing it to children, Blake is able to display creation as something pure and innocent. The repetition of the lines adds to the childlike manner of the poem. "The Tyger" is a darker idea of creation. Blake only writes about the horror and evil in the world, in an effort to distinguish this poem entirely from "The Lamb". With Blake's use of imagery such as "fire", "hammer", "furnace","chain", and "spear" he is able to create a darker mood for the poem.
They both question the Christian belief, if God is responsible for creating both the good things in life (the lamb) and the evil things in life (the tyger), how can God be good and moral.Overall both poems focus on the same ideas but are told from different perspectives.

Blog 8 My Interpretation

The poem that I was drawn to is Schoolsville by Billy Collins. The subject matter of the poem is a teacher and his past students. There is a lack of rhyme scheme in the poem. It is easy to understand, and I enjoyed that it was easy to comprehend. Personally I interpreted the poem as, a retired teacher reflecting on his career and past students that he has had. Throughout the poem he makes comparisons of high school to the aftermath. For example, the jocks are still hanging out with the jocks, and the nerds are still hanging out with the nerds. This is evident in the following text:

“I forgot all their last names first and their

first names last in alphabetical order.

 But the boy who always had his hand up

is an alderman and owns the haberdashery.

 The girl who signed her papers in lipstick

leans against the drugstore, smoking,

 brushing her hair like a machine “(13-19).

The boy who paid attention to class is now a business man, and the girl who was so concerned with her looks is still stuck in the same place. I enjoyed reading this poem, because it was easy to read and I did not struggle as much as I did with the other poem I chose. In the poem Hope by Lisel Mueller, I struggled with this text more than with the previous poem The subject matter of the poem is hope. In the following text:

“It hovers in dark corners

Before the lights are turned on,

It shakes sleep from its eyes

And drops from mushroom gills,

It explodes in the starry heads

Of dandelions turned sages,

It sticks to the wings of green angels

that sail from the top of maples” (1-8).

the poet reveals her attitude towards hope- she believes in hope and believes that it exists. When she describes that hope hovers in dark corners, she is presumably stating that there is always hope for light. When hope is asleep it will soon awake. Mueller also makes a great example in the following text:

“It sprouts in each occluded eye

Of the many-eyed potato,

It lives in each earthworm segment

surviving cruelty. (9-12)”

Mueller is making the statement that hope lives in everyone. That even through hard times, one must always look for hope. Even those who do not believe in hope, will eventually come to believe in it. After reading both of these poems, I realized that there is no right or wrong interpretation to poetry. Several people have read these poems, and there are countless interpretations of both.

Blog Seven "Fences"

The title of the play Fences by August Wilson has several meanings. It has a literal meaning because throughout the play Troy and Cory spend a majority of their time together building a fence. The fence can have a symbolic meaning because Troy struggles to keep himself away from everyone else; he wants to separate himself from things. This is evident in the text that follows:

Cory: “Tell mama I’ll be back fir my tings.”

Troy: They’ll be on the other side of that fence.” (2.4.110-2.4.111)

In this texts Troy uses the fence as an actual physical barrier between him and his son.

Troy also uses the fence as a way to guard himself from death. When troy learns that Alberta has died in childbirth, he cries out:

“All right…Mr. Death…see now…I’m gonna tell you what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna take and build me a fence around this yard see? I’m gonna build me a fence around what belongs to me. And then I want you to stay on the other side.” (2.2.55)

The fence symbolizes that Troy will fight and resist death.

Throughout the play Troy uses the fence to keep people out, but his wife Rose uses the fence to keep things in. This is evident in the text that follows:

Cory: “I don’t see why Mama want a fence around the yard nowadays.”

Troy: “Damn if I knew wither. What the hell she keeping out with it. She ain’t got nothing nobody want.”

Bono: “Some people build fences to keep people out…and other people build fences to keep people in. Rose wants to hold on to you all. She loves you.” (2.1.30-2.1.32)

Bono helps Troy to see that the fence can also be used to keep people in. Rose sees that Troy and Cory are growing apart, and she uses the fence as a way for them to bond. She is afraid of losing her family. It is evident to her that Troy has different motives for building the fence. In the end the fence that Troy builds does him more ham than good.

Blog Six A Man of Pure Evil

Claudius comes off as an evil person in the story. He has an inner struggle between good and evil, and it seems that evil always wins. Claudius is in constant need to gain more power and doesn’t care about what morals he loses along the way. Claudius attempts to portray himself as a good man, yet he constantly contradicts himself. When his brother The King dies, Claudius delivers a speech in which he describes the pain and sadness he feels over the death of his brother. His need for power overrides any loyalty to his brother. Not even a month has passed since his brother’s death, and he has already remarried his wife. He attempts to portray himself as a man who fears confrontation, but in fact his actions are one of a coward. In the beginning of the story Claudius has such a great fear about going to battle with his brother The King, and instead takes action by poisoning him in his sleep. He attempts to show empathy towards Hamlet by comforting him, but instead his actions come off as ignorant and controlling. Hamlet is distraught by the death of his father and by his mother’s incestuous marriage to his uncle. Claudius shows no restraint when showing affection towards Gertrude. He rubs it in Hamlet’s face and doesn’t care about the negative feelings Hamlet has towards their marriage. He speaks to Hamlet as though he were a child. He tells Hamlet that he needs to get over his father’s death, that it is a part of life. In short, Claudius tells Hamlet to stop being a child and grow up. Claudius lacks the capability to show any empathy for Hamlet and the tragedy that he feels over losing his father. Claudius also used the people around him to get what he wants. He will stop at nothing and will sacrifice everything to gain more power. Claudius uses Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet.  He once again uses Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to accompany Hamlet to England, where he has already planned to have him murdered. Lastly Claudius is also at fault for the death of his wife Gertrude. In Act 5Scene II Line 273 “The Queen carouses to thy fortune.”  The Queen accidentally drinks the poison that was actually intended for Hamlet. Not even at this moment does Claudius make any effort to save the life of his wife. Throughout the story Claudius shows his true colors, he is a conniving and deceitful man who will stop at nothing to be powerful.

Blog Five For the Love of a Father

Hamlet is very disturbed and upset when he came to know about the death of his father. He is filled with grief and is overwhelmed with feelings of anger for his mother and his uncle. His anger is felt even more when his mother remarries only a short time after the King’s death. It seems to Hamlet that his mother never mourned her late husband’s death and didn’t care about him. Hamlet’s mother remarries Claudius, and Hamlet feels that this is a sign of disrespect to his father and fills him with rage. His mother’s statement greatly troubles Hamlet, “Good Hamlet cast thy knighted colour off” (1.2.68). His mother is trying to urge Hamlet to move on from the tragic events and no longer mourn the death of his father. When Hamlet speaks with the ghost it further fuels his desire for revenge. The ghost explains to him “I am thy father’s spirit doomed for certain term to walk the night and for the day confined to fast in fires” (1.5.10). The ghost of Hamlet’s father is destined to suffer, and this fills Hamlet with rage and sadness. The ghost also urges Hamlet to “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (1.5.25) It is at this moment that it is revealed to Hamlet that his father was murdered. The ghost also reveals to Hamlet who his killer is “Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole with juice of cursed hebona in a vial, and in the porches of my ears did pour.” The ghost has revealed to Hamlet that it is his uncle Claudius who is responsible for the death of his father. Hamlet already disapproves of his mother and uncle’s incestuous marriage, and now that he realizes that his uncle is at fault for the death of his father he is determined to seek revenge.