English 123 Notes (7/16/08)

We finished the rest of the Wallace Stevens poem presentations, here is a summary of the three poems that were presented today.

MRS. ALFRED URUGUAY

• poem is about elegance
• whatever we dress ourselves in, we ultimately will always be ourselves no matter how much we try to change our physical appearance.
• Mrs. Alfred Uruguay riding up the hill is reality while the man on the horse is the imagination aspect of the poem.

TO AN OLD PHILOSOPHER IN ROME

• two different perspectives are being presented: being awake versus being asleep
• "On the threshold of heaven"- about to fall asleep
• "men are part both in the inch and in the mile" - means humans are a part of everything no matter how big or small
• the known versus unknown
• poets are better able to articulate everyday matters than the ordinary person
• at the end the poet realizes what he was trying to explain is just what the object is in reality
• poet was describing poetry
• "How easily the blown banners change to wings" goes back to the idea that how we expect things to be may not really be what they are.
• Stevens wrote this about his old professor from Harvard who died in Rome
• Not just about awake versus asleep, but instead the idea of life versus death.
  

NOT IDEAS ABOUT THE THING, BUT THE THING ITSELF

• stressing winter is over and spring is coming when the birds begin to sing
• the poem could be that Stevens has had a rebirth of his thinking about life in general
• the chorister mentioned starts the beauty and then it is carried on by the rest of the choir
• the sun is a huge theme in all of his poems as a spirit present on earth

POETRY IS NOT TRYING TO CONVEY ONE PARTICULAR MEANING!
Stevens suggests we need to accept change.

FOR BLOG

1. try to put more visual references and pictures on blog to convey your ideas
2. put found poem on your blog, we will be presenting them sometime next week.

SONNETS (ON TEST!!)

• They are written in iambic pentameter- meaning 10 syllables per line alternating long and short syllables or sounds.
• 14 lines of iambic pentameter
• There are two types: Shakespearean (English) and Petrarchin (Italian)
• The Shakespearean type contains the rhyme scheme abab, cdcd, ,efef, gg there is a rhyming couplet at the end and the resolution is contained in these last two lines. The other part consist of 3 quatrains explaining the problem.
• The Italian sonnet type has the abba abba cdcdcd there is an octave (8 lines) discussing the problem and a sestet (6 lines) involving the resolution.
  

PROSODY- THE STUDY OF THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF POETRY
VOLTA- THE TURN OR "TWIST" OF THE POEM OR SONNET
SIMILE- COMPARING 2 THINGS USING LIKE OR AS
METAPHOR- STRONGER THAN SIMILE BECAUSE IT SAYS THAT ONE THING "IS" THE OTHER.
PARADOX- A STATEMENT THAT SEEMS TO CONTRADICT ITSELF
example- Malcolm X said, " I was never more free then when I was in prison."
ALLITERATION- REPETITION OF INITIAL LETTER IN EACH WORD

SONNET 73

• the sonnet is about death; Shakespeare uses seasons, time of day, and fire to compare to his aging process getting him closer and closer to death.
  
• the problem is growing old and not necessarily dying but becoming closer to death
• the resolution states that a person needs to love the people who are meaningful in their life while they are still around because people are not always around. People need to cherish the loved ones in their life and live their life to the fullest. CARPE DIEM!!

LEDA AND THE SWAN

• A god (zeus) impregnated Leda
• she bore Helen and another girl, Helen is the face that launched 1000 ships and wars were started over her, she was a gorgeous woman

THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH US

• We have forgotten the true value of nature; we do not appreciate it
• humans are too enthralled with buying and spending
• written in Italian form

IT'S ENCLOSURE

• The sonnet is not to be scorned for its multiple rules, but instead you should be able to experience more freedom when you are deprived of something; paradox
• written in Italian form

The test is on Friday over material that has been covered in class. Know about sonnets!

The least important question to ask about a poem is "What is the poem about?"