In class we'll do some freewriting on the blog about this week's reading. Outside, I would like you to also do some writing on the poems. It can be about anything that strikes your fancy, but one question I have:
How are these poems? They don't rhyme so it must be for another reason. Is it simply because it's broken up into lines? How would the poems be different if they were written in prose? Here is the first "sentence" of Ben Lerner's poem:
"Tonight I can't remember why everything is permitted or, what amounts tot he same thing, forbidden..." Why didn't he write this in prose? Also, why did Youn use numbers in her poem?
Interrogation of the hanged man caught my interest within the first question. "What is your face?
ReplyDeleteA house, of sorts."
At first I didn't understand what it could mean, maybe it was talking about someone's features, physical features which could be the frame of the house and the eyes,ears, etc would be the windows or the doors. Then i read it again and again and now i feel as if hes describing the human brain and possibly imagination as a house. A house holds a lot, an attic, bedroom, bathroom, basement etc. and each room hasits purpose just like each section of the brain has its own duty that is responsible for something. In regards on how I thought on the first two lines indicated how i would read the rest of the poem and with each question I found myself digging more and more into what this author is trying to say. At times I get lost in my own world of words and sentences that instead of reading the poem as the author wanted I just see it with my own meanings of the poem.
Ben Lerner's poem "No Art" is, to me, a dissection of the art world as well as his own creative process and themes that he is partial to. Aside from art, the overall theme of the poem seems to be that Lerner will still create in his own way, despite any criticism ("maybe I have fallen behind, am fallen") because sharing his art with others who it resonates with, no matter how many, is the ultimate goal ("but I think of myself having people, a small people in a failed state"). The poem would not have the same impact if it were written in prose, because Lerner is communicating to the reader that he follows his own rules of writing; writing in prose would make the text predictable.
ReplyDeleteBrenda Shaughnessy's poem "Life's work" was a poem that captured my interest automatically. the first time i read it i couldn't help but want to decipher the meanings. one specific part of the poem that i wanted to investigate further was
ReplyDelete"The dresser, however.
is on a bit of a slant, so
that drawer tends to fall
open on its own anyway".
this part of them poem made me analyze it in a way that would relate to my life. The dresser to me represents the whole person or life in general. although she fixed the knob on the drawer that knob was only one small flaw, of a bigger essence. I had a few questions about the poem itself while reading : is the poem from a widows point of view? is it about fixing things?
When reading Ben Lerner's poem i actually jotted down how that opening sentence contradicted itself, and i loved how when you said it aloud the flow of the poem allowed that contradiction to be represented and pointed out.
Poems can come in different forms. A poem can also simplify in a two words. It depends on author and how he or she structure their poems. For example, Shakespeare uses sonnets which is 14 lines of poems and it have rhythm. In Youn's poem have numbers because that indicate sequence of her poem. In line 3, she states " out of hell the reflexive the implacable the unreasoning rage whose only ends is in destruction", from my perspective I can feel a tense emotions coming from it and it is because the words she choose, such as "rage" and "destruction" bring those tense feelings.
ReplyDeletei was thinking about the word choice used to express the motions within the poetry. it is so important that the words help you get your message across !
DeleteThe poem "Life's Work", as the title suggests, seems to be about the nuances of life. I think the line, "I must empty the drawer of the clothes nobody's ever worn and nobody ever will, find the screwdriver I don't think I've ever used, or even have anymore, with both hands, one outside the drawer to steady the pull and one inside to screw it." describes those things that all of us do in our lives that don't necessarily benefit anyone, but still must be done. The following lines about not giving up ("screw it!") and the uneaten raisin muffins relay to me a message that not all good deeds go noticed or rewarded.
ReplyDeleteThe poem "No art"by Ben lerner I found that the second line the word "permitted" rhymes with the word "forbidden" in the fourth line.
ReplyDeleteThe second stanza has the same amount of words in each line a total of 6 words in each line except for the first line with has only 5 of words.
The poem "No Art" does rhyme at some parts of the poem but its also like a short story to show more meaning to its words. There are stanzas and limited to 4-6 words per line. " I know that I can call on you until you're real enough to turn from" shows the writer breaking away from 1st person and talking directly to the readers. The writer talks about a big topic like art, and talks about it in the most simplest ways. In total this poem consists of 3 sentences, and those sentences are used to detail what hes feeling and what he sees.
ReplyDeleteI found Brenda Shaughnessy "Life's work" the most relatable to me personally out of all the poems. I liked how her whole poem was just on her everyday schedule and the things she does that she doesn't need to do but she does anyway. She talks about such simple things such as a knob, it's nothing special but I can see the point she is trying to make with the simplicity of the example she give's.
ReplyDeleteI've just read "The Interrogation Of The Hanged Man" My interpretation of the poem is about a dying man. Some of the lines like
ReplyDeleteWhat did you dream?
A rain-washed road.
To me its a reference to a new beginning. Maybe talking about the afterlife.
The line
What have you learned?
The sky forgives.
A reference to God forgiving people as the sky if often associated to God.
What does it forgive?
Each jet its wake.
Jet is manmade item, maybe he is talking about Forgiving men's sins.
What do you want?
A smile, of sorts.
Maybe he wants a farewell before he leaves?
No, what do you want?
I want nothing.
To me thats him saying that the world as nothing more to offer that he's ready for his faith, that he's ready for the afterlife.
This poem was really interesting to me it seem to have a lot of meanings that each reader can take to their own interpretation.
Not all poems have to rhyme for it to be called a poem. Rhyming requires rules such as ABAB or ABCABC and sometimes writers don't want to follow any rules. What makes a text a poem is how it's organized. A poem must be written in stanzas and a couple words in each line that makes a rhythm when you read it. Brenda Shaughnessy in her poem, "Life's Work" chose not to rhyme and her poem is still a poem because she set it up in a way that flows and most importantly you're able to connect to it. Life's Work reminds me of the all the work and unexpected work I have to do everyday because it's a necessity. Shaughnessy writes, "To tighten it, I must empty the drawer of clothes nobody's ever worn and nobody ever will." (2-5) and the image of a woman having to fix a drawer that broke despite what it contains isn't really used pops in my head. I imagine her tired but pushing through the task. I imagine her not wanting to do it but knowing she has to do it anyways because leaving a unfixed drawer in your house doesn't feel right. I remember when I broke my drawer and I knew I had to get it fixed because every time I would open it, it would drop and that could cause an injury to myself. Also, having to be careful with the drawer each time I would want to open it would be another chore to do on my list that I already don't want to complete like Shaughnessy in the last lines of her poem, "Whenever I walk past it, I'm always pushing ti with my knees." A life's work isn't just a job you get paid for but also jobs outside of work that comes your way that must be completed if you want to live a nice life.
ReplyDeleteThe poem, "Life's Work" by Brenda Shaughnessy was the poem I found to be the most interesting. The way that she explains that after a few attempts of trying to fix the drawer turns into something that she will fix later and begins to approach another task. I find this quite relatable because after several failed attempts we tend to put the activity to the side for later because maybe, just maybe later on with a clearer head the solution will hit and the activity can be done with ease. Also initially when reading the title I assumed that it was going to be an overly exaggerated explanation of some situation, but when I read through the poem it was the polar opposite. I believe she wrote it this way because typical everyday life is filled with little tasks that overall help a larger purpose. "Life's work" is not what something that is overly exciting, it in fact is something that is simple and mundane.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that these poems do not have a rhythm, but not all poems are meant to have a rhyme scheme to it. That is only a certain type of poem. Poems are a type of art form and they are represented in different types of ways. Just because the peice of work is broken into lines it does not make it a poem. With poems if they were written in prose they would sound irregular or out of place if turned into a prose. Especially if it were to be read out loud in prose it would sound wrong to the ear and would have quite a few awkward pauses.
ReplyDeleteNick Laid, the poet of "XY" has completely lost me. The only idea I can make from it is maybe the voice of the poet is a doctor to crazy people? Only because of the last line, "here, take my card" he's a salesman of some sort, he can fix something. Strangely, I enjoy it though, the way it only makes sense when you read it out loud, the random ideas that all just catch the readers attention. It's pretty cool, but I would love for someone to explain to me what it's really supposed to be about.
ReplyDeleteIt is a fact that both poems don’t have any rhythms in them, but the poem that caught my eyes and really had me thinking was “ The hanged man “ beacuse the person that was asking the questions was talking to someone who was hung up and the person was trying to see the pain that; that person was in and how they felt about it also how they’ve might of been taking it.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem "No Art"by Ben Lerner I saw that he didn't use anything that rhymed. In fact I saw that he was using certain words to create a different representation of what he actually meant. In all, the words fit together like a puzzle in order to come back to his whole point. The writer dabbles between first person and speaking to an audience, he says "I know that I can call on you" showing how he can take an arrangement of words and include readers to grasp his over all message.
ReplyDeleteThe poem "Life's Work" was tricky at first I read it at least three times. I feel like its a poem with a greater aim or a deeper meaning then the first layer. It is very relatable, and reminded me of any task in life that we tend to put on hold. It made me have the feeling of thinking twice and how eventually we'll come up with the solution later on, it's still in the back of our minds always. She says "Home is where we stay safe and warm" which takes me to a place of comfort and not wanting to try but knowing you don't want to stay home forever so when ready you'd do what you'd have to, to leave. Just like any task in life.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem " Life's work? by Brenda Shaughnessy I was fascinated with the structure of the poem and the depth in which it described every little detail. She was aware of all the little things we do in our life that take part of our daily routine. But yet we do not stop to reflect on why we function in this form, "A couple twists of the screwdriver and I can feel how the slightly spongy wood gives, compresses and now the knob is tight" Through this quote in the poem I could see how her mind is functioning and grasping comprehension between the physical objects that are in front of her,she analyzes the effect that the screwdriver has on the wood but also the texture in which she is experiencing the screwdriver twist until the knob is tight.The whole poem demonstrates that its just a whole bunch of thoughts clustered all together taking every possible direction just how our mind works. Which this is why I believe she did not write this in a format where there are rhymes since she wants to inherit the feeling in way of how one thinks.
ReplyDelete*in the way of how one thinks.
ReplyDeleteIn "the march of the hanged men" Youn references Piero's painting of Christ in his "resurrection". I think she positioned this in the center of the poem to frame the piece as a cause and effect. She initially identifies black ants gathering in mass with seemingly no purpose stuck replaying visions to placate themselves, elaborating on the hell they feel being trapped in such loops with the only solace being destruction. She then transitions into the Christ imagery of him disregarding the sleeping soldiers and engaging in an endless march which will end in hell. In this I think the Christ is used as a personification of the highest self and meant to draw a comparison with the endless individuals subdued by hive mindsets droning towards their end. A comparison can also be made between the sleeping soldiers and the ants caught in visions because of the similarity of these dream states and malleable nature they share . I think Youn is saying the endless cycles people indulge to define themselves and the confusing anger that results can lead to a death of the higher self along with the detachment from the hope that idea provides. An apathy forms towards those who would draw blood to defend that perspective in which humanity becomes numb to itself forging the infinite hell that cages man. For if Christ is the epitome of humanity then immortality is the endless ambition to achieve that state spanning generations. The death of Christ in this illustration becomes an abandoning of hope and a rejection of its possibility, returning to the same cycles and collectively dooming humanity to its eternal fate of never reaching its highest form.
ReplyDeleteIn "Interrogation of the Hanged Man", my understanding of this poem is that the man being questioned is about to die. His responses to the questions show signs of acceptance towards his death. When he says "The sky forgives", he is indicating that God will forgive his executioner for the sin he is about to commit. The victim makes it obvious that his life will soon come to an end. I agree with my fellow student Christian that every reader can have their own interpretation on this poem. I don't think the poem isn't rhyming due to it being broken down into separate lines. Overall I enjoyed reading this poem.
ReplyDelete