"Making it in poetry"
by Bob Hicok
The young teller
at the credit union
asked why so many
small checks
from universities?
Because I write
poems I said. Why
haven't I heard
of you? Because
I write poems
I said.
1. Is the title of this poem ironic or not? Explain your answer.
The title of this poem is very ironic because the poem tells of how the author does not make very much money, and also is not very well known. Most people's definition of "making it" is to be successful,and make money. This poem is very funny because the narrator is almost annoyed with the teller's unnecessary questions.
2. Both of the teller's questions are answered the same way. Is there irony in that fact?
Yes, the irony of the same answer for both questions is the fact that the second question "why haven't I heard of you?" was brought up by the answer to the first question. Which is also the answer to the second. The writer tells us that the reason for not being well-known or making very much money is his type of job.
3. Do you find any significance in the description of the teller as "young"?
I think there is significance in the teller being young because the teller really has no business in asking about the narrator's business. Usually younger people tend to ask unnecessary questions. If the narrator had been older the situation might not have happened. Also making the teller young the writer gives us detail and description to the man which makes the story more realistic and interesting.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
"For My Daughter" by Weldon Kees
"For My Daughter"
by Weldon Kees
Looking in to my daughter's eyes I read
Beneath the innocence of morning flesh
Concealed, hintings of death she does not heed.
Coldest of winds have blown this hair, and mesh
Of seaweed snarled these miniatures of hands;
The night's slow poison, tolerant and bland,
Has moved her blood. Parched years that I have seen
That may be hers appear: foul, lingering
Death in certain war, the slim legs green.
Or, fed on hate, she relishes the sting
Of other's agony; perhaps the cruel
Bride of syphilitic or a fool.
These speculations sour in the sun.
I have no daughter. I desire none.
1. How does the last line of this sonnet affect the meaning of the poem?
The last line of this poem really shows the bitterness and resentment the narrator feels toward having a daughter. This poem tells of how Kees imagines it being to have a sick or dying child. Until the last line we do not know that Kees is talking about a hypothetical daughter and not a real one. This really changes the effect of the whole poem because we are led to believe this is really happening then told it was just a thought. It makes us think twice about what it would be like to have an unhealthy child.
2. "For My Daughter" was first published in 1940. What considerations might a potential American parent have felt at that time? Are these historical concerns mirrored in the poem?
At this time in America having children was very unsafe for the mother's health and the child's. The hospitals and medicines were not what they are like today.Today's resources being very advanced and having access to different qualified doctors. If your child was born unhealthy chances were they would not survive because of the lack of knowledge that we have today. In this poem Kees imagines what the dread would feel like to have an unhealthy child. This was a very real concern when couples were deciding to have children in this time period.
3. Donald Justice has said that "Kees is one of the bitterest poets in history." Is bitterness the only attitude the speaker reveals in the poem?
This poem has many emotions and we do not see the bitterness until the end.The speaker of the poem really seems to want a child, but cannot seem to justify having a child if the chances of being unhealthy is high. We see sadness and a longing for a child from Kees.
by Weldon Kees
Looking in to my daughter's eyes I read
Beneath the innocence of morning flesh
Concealed, hintings of death she does not heed.
Coldest of winds have blown this hair, and mesh
Of seaweed snarled these miniatures of hands;
The night's slow poison, tolerant and bland,
Has moved her blood. Parched years that I have seen
That may be hers appear: foul, lingering
Death in certain war, the slim legs green.
Or, fed on hate, she relishes the sting
Of other's agony; perhaps the cruel
Bride of syphilitic or a fool.
These speculations sour in the sun.
I have no daughter. I desire none.
1. How does the last line of this sonnet affect the meaning of the poem?
The last line of this poem really shows the bitterness and resentment the narrator feels toward having a daughter. This poem tells of how Kees imagines it being to have a sick or dying child. Until the last line we do not know that Kees is talking about a hypothetical daughter and not a real one. This really changes the effect of the whole poem because we are led to believe this is really happening then told it was just a thought. It makes us think twice about what it would be like to have an unhealthy child.
2. "For My Daughter" was first published in 1940. What considerations might a potential American parent have felt at that time? Are these historical concerns mirrored in the poem?
At this time in America having children was very unsafe for the mother's health and the child's. The hospitals and medicines were not what they are like today.Today's resources being very advanced and having access to different qualified doctors. If your child was born unhealthy chances were they would not survive because of the lack of knowledge that we have today. In this poem Kees imagines what the dread would feel like to have an unhealthy child. This was a very real concern when couples were deciding to have children in this time period.
3. Donald Justice has said that "Kees is one of the bitterest poets in history." Is bitterness the only attitude the speaker reveals in the poem?
This poem has many emotions and we do not see the bitterness until the end.The speaker of the poem really seems to want a child, but cannot seem to justify having a child if the chances of being unhealthy is high. We see sadness and a longing for a child from Kees.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
"The Lady I Know" by Countee Cullen
"For a Lady I Know"
by Countee Cullen
She even thinks that up in heaven
Her class lies late and snores,
While poor black cherubs rise at seven
To do celestial chores.
1. What is Cullen's message?
Cullen's message in "For a Lady I Know" is to tell of a woman who thinks that even after death there will be the same class system she is used to in heaven. She will be able to "lie late and snore" while the poor black slaves have to get up early and work. This poem is very short, but has a powerful message of the way upper-class white people thought at the time of slavery in the U.S.
2. How would you characterize the tone of the poem? Wrathful? Amused?
I think the tone of this poem is almost disgusted. I think Cullen feels as if this woman has no right to think that she is better than others. Most people believe in heaven everyone is equal. So looking at this woman's way of thinking was a very common stereotype for the time this piece was written in American history.
by Countee Cullen
She even thinks that up in heaven
Her class lies late and snores,
While poor black cherubs rise at seven
To do celestial chores.
1. What is Cullen's message?
Cullen's message in "For a Lady I Know" is to tell of a woman who thinks that even after death there will be the same class system she is used to in heaven. She will be able to "lie late and snore" while the poor black slaves have to get up early and work. This poem is very short, but has a powerful message of the way upper-class white people thought at the time of slavery in the U.S.
2. How would you characterize the tone of the poem? Wrathful? Amused?
I think the tone of this poem is almost disgusted. I think Cullen feels as if this woman has no right to think that she is better than others. Most people believe in heaven everyone is equal. So looking at this woman's way of thinking was a very common stereotype for the time this piece was written in American history.
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