Island
Langston Hughes


Wave of sorrow,
Do not drown me now:

I see the island
Still ahead somehow.

I see the island
And its sands are fair:

Wave of sorrow,
Take me there.



This poem feels as if it is a metaphor for not giving up hope. Langston Hughes most likely faced racism and had to deal with it throughout his life, and his poetry may have helped him get through it. In this poem he is saying there is always that place that is good, and you should not give up till you get there. However, the means of getting there may be rough, such as "waves of sorrow". It may take pain to get there, but what he is saying is that you must ride that sorrow and stick it out to get to that "fair" place.


Using metaphors how Hughes uses them in the poem "Island" can be a useful tool. Metaphors can make overused topics seem new because it is a unique approach. In this case he uses and island symbolize hope and waves to symbolize a journey. In the end you can see how it is all a metaphor for racism. Using metaphor can also let you write about topics that may not be acceptable but if you "screen" it using metaphor you can acomplish what you want. Using metaphors can help enhance the meaning behind a story or poem when used properly.

The End and the Beginning
Wislawa Szymborska


After every war
someone has to clean up.
Things won't
straighten themselves up, after all.

Someone has to push the rubble
to the side of the road,
so the corpse-filled wagons
can pass.

Someone has to get mired
in scum and ashes,
sofa springs,
splintered glass,
and bloody rags.

Someone has to drag in a girder
to prop up a wall,
Someone has to glaze a window,
rehang a door.

Photogenic it's not,
and takes years.
All the cameras have left
for another war.

We'll need the bridges back,
and new railway stations.
Sleeves will go ragged
from rolling them up.

Someone, broom in hand,
still recalls the way it was.
Someone else listens
and nods with unsevered head.
But already there are those nearby
starting to mill about
who will find it dull.

From out of the bushes
sometimes someone still unearths
rusted-out arguments
and carries them to the garbage pile.

Those who knew
what was going on here
must make way for
those who know little.
And less than little.
And finally as little as nothing.

In the grass that has overgrown
causes and effects,
someone must be stretched out
blade of grass in his mouth
gazing at the clouds.


This poem must be based on events that happened in Wislawa Szymborska's life. She writes as if she has first hand knowledge on this subject and actually knows what it is like to recover from war. This poem very easily could have been written to help her vent her frustrations of the war. It is obvious she is bitter because she says how new people come in and think they know what happened there, but really they are just clueless. This poem is very effective at portraying the views of the people who feel that they have been cheated out of something, such as their land.


In this poem Wislawa Szymborska uses first hand knowledge to add emotion to her poem. Whenever you can add first hand knowledge into something you can always make it more meaningful. In this case she states how the people who are left in rubble must fix it themselves while staying out of the way "those who know little" of that place. It is effective because it adds real emotion into the story which makes the reader feel sympathetic towards her, but also feel disgusted by those who would come in and try to take over something that was once good. By using her first hand experiences she has added a feeling of real emotion into her poem, which is able to make readers better connect with the poem

My heart leaps up when I behold
William Wordsworth

MY heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began,
So is it now I am a man,
So be it when I shall grow old
Or let me die!
The child is father of the man:
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.


This poem talks about how natural beauty, such as a rainbow, has always been fascinating to him. I think it is interesting how he shows this lasting astonishment for nature throughout his life. I also like how he pretty much states that the day he doesn't find happiness in nature's gifts, like rainbows, than he might as well die. The third to last line sticks out a lot to me; I think he is speaking as that the rainbow is a child since it was just "born" and has given him the joy and happiness and his like. The whole idea about nature giving happiness to man is a very special theme, and it is portrayed very well in this poem.

There are several techniques that Wordsworth uses in this poem that can help poets be more effective. When he uses the repitition of the word "so" to explain the progression in his life it shows there is still similarity regardless of the change in age. This resembles how he is still affected by the sight of a rainbow through out the years even though he is a grown man. Using a single word to congeal a span of time throughout his life and highlight the consistency. By using this I think that a poet can make a passage of time hold together and help show how things can stay the same with time.