Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The Eagle

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 the mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.


This poem is really cool because it takes a topic that can be just very plain and boring to write/read about but it is actually a good poem. It is short, but precise, just like how the eagle is described as flashing down like a thunderbolt. The poem really shows how open and free eagles are, and how nature around them is so peaceful, yet, the eagle is there to strike down in a moment and capture its pray all in such a graceful manor. I think this poem is really trying to portray the peacefulness that the eagle has. It also shows the eagle as a dominant force in nature.

One thing that can be taken from this poem is the stylistic idea of taking a maybe not so peaceful sight (such as an eagle capturing pray) and making it seem like a delicate and peaceful part of nature. There is nothing in this poem that isn't described with natural words, which makes everything about it seem pure, even the act of catching pray. The poem flows smoothly with words that combine nicely with each other to help it sound like a real setting. Everything about the eagle is just simplistic and easy going. It prooves how nature can really be freeing.

Week 3

The Piano Speaks
by Sandra Beasley Sandra Beasley
After Erik Satie


For an hour I forgot my fat self,
my neurotic innards, my addiction to alignment.

For an hour I forgot my fear of rain.

For an hour I was a salamander
shimmying through the kelp in search of shore,
and under his fingers the notes slid loose
from my belly in a long jellyrope of eggs
that took root in the mud. And what

would hatch, I did not know—
a lie. A waltz. An apostle of glass.

For an hour I stood on two legs
and ran. For an hour I panted and galloped.

For an hour I was a maple tree,
and under the summer of his fingers
the notes seeded and winged away

in the clutch of small, elegant helicopters.


This poem was particularly interesting to me because I was fortunate enough to hear to poet herself actually read the poem to me and my creative writing class. This poem is so intriguing by the way Sandra Beasley gives life to the piano and makes it feel things and think things. It is such a unique concept that a particular piano player (Satie) can give this dull inanimate object so much life and purpose to it. This poem takes the piano and makes it seem so natural and pure. This really proves how she feels that music, especially by an expert like Satie, can make dull things have life and seem brilliant.

The thing that Sandra Beasley used in her poem that I tried to use in mine is the idea of breaking out of a cage and just being free. I lifted a line from her poem to begin mine and took off from there. In my poem the theme was how just unthinking things can help you enjoy life, and that sometimes people just think too much and are too up-tight. Her idea of breaking into primitive instincts, like how the piano did, helps show that life can be excellent if you just go and do what is fun and possibly childish. Another thing Beasley does so well is her imagary and word choice. The lines "under his fingers the notes slid loose/from my belly in a long jellyrope of eggs/that took root in the mud." are, in my opinion, the best example from this poem of how smooth everything the piano was doing was. You can picture exactly what Beasley was intending, and you actually feel the kind of slimy "belly in a long jellyrope of eggs". It is amazing, and this along with many other of her techniques can be valuable to a writer.

Whatif

Last night, while I lay thinking here,
some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
and pranced and partied all night long
and sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I'm dumb in school?
Whatif they've closed the swimming pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif there's poison in my cup?
Whatif I start to cry?
Whatif I get sick and die?
Whatif I flunk that test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I don't grow taller?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
Whatif the fish won't bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?
Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance?
Everything seems well, and then
the nighttime Whatifs strike again!

Shel Silverstein

This poem fits the characteristics that Silverstein is known by. Its fun rhythm and rhymes about everyday situations makes it a perfect signature poem of his. The repetition in this poem really shows how the mind can run wild at night, going through many thoughts rapidly. This poem is very relatable to pretty much anyone. Everybody has those times when they just lie in bed thinking about life, and sometimes things that are completely obsurd. This poem captures those thoughts by offering realistic ideas that may shoot through peoples' heads to more farfetched ideas that are unique to each individual. This poem shows how people can be self-conscious when they have time to think. The ending of this poem is that brief moment when sleep is almost upon you, then you are suddenly hit by another thought that keeps you going on to new thoughts. It is a process that is tiring and sometimes frustrating, but at the same time entertaining. Silverstein captures all of this in the poem by using his repetition and unique ideas.


One thing useful from this poem is how is runs through the actual stages of a real event. The poem goes from unrest to a brief moment of rest, just like at night-time your mind can go from thought after thought to suddenly slowing down and being ready to sleep. The idea of portraying the real time events in the same order as in your poem helps it make more sense and adds effect. This process can be used for any type of poem, from school to seasons to the development of your life. This process also helps set up your poems by helping you know an obvious starting point and a logical ending point. The sequence this poem follows is obvious and really portrays the chaos that happens when your mind runs wild at night. Using a technique like this could be an effective way to add more feeling to your poems and help readers easily relate to them.