B+Gleason


 * [|effects of drug addiction] “Richard Cory” – Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869-1935)**

The tale of Richard Cory displays Edwin Arlington Robinson’s similarity to fellow New England Poet, Robert Frost.Edwin Arlignton Robinson was born in Gardiner, Maine.His father's business failed during the Great Panic of 1893, and his brothers were drug addicts and alcoholics.He attended Harvard, but only could afford to attend for two years.He spent his early years attempting to be a professional poet, but failed and was forced to live off of friends and family.It was not till he was over 50 years old when he finally recieved reconition for his work when he won the Nobel Prize.
 * WHENEVER Richard Cory went down town, || ||
 * We people on the pavement looked at him: || ||
 * He was a gentleman from sole to crown, || ||
 * Clean favored, and imperially slim. || ||
 * And he was always quietly arrayed, || ||
 * And he was always human when he talked; || ||
 * But still he fluttered pulses when he said, || ||
 * "Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked. || ||
 * And he was rich—yes, richer than a king, || ||
 * And admirably schooled in every grace: || ||
 * In fine, we thought that he was everything || ||
 * To make us wish that we were in his place. || ||
 * So on we worked, and waited for the light, || ||
 * And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; || ||
 * And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, || ||
 * Went home and put a bullet through his head. ||
 * And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; || ||
 * And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, || ||
 * Went home and put a bullet through his head. ||

“Richard Cory” is the tale of a man who appears to have it all.He is wealthy, well respected, and “In Fine, we thought that he was everything” (Robinson 722). Then one night, Richard Cory took a gun to his head and ended his life.Robinson uses irony in his poem by describing what a joyous man Richard Cory was, until the very last line when he suddenly kills himself.Robinson also uses irony in his work because he uses such elegant diction by comparing Richard Cory to a king, “yes, richer than a king” (722). Then suddenly this "king," “put a bullet through his head” (723).

One possible meaning behind “Richard Cory,” would be the tale of the demise of what appear to be a “king.”Throughout Robinson’s personal life, the people around him appeared to be doing well, but eventually went from being a “king,” to being torn down to nothing.His brother was a doctor, and ended up becoming nothing more than a drug addict.His other brother was a businessman, and ended being a drunk.The story of “Richard Cory” is similar to the stories of Edwin Arlington Robinson's brothers.

The theme of “Richard Cory” is the death of what appeared to be a complete man.Again, things always don’t appear to be what they truly are.Here was a man who appeared to have everything, but deep down inside he was an empty man with nothing to live for. Money does not buy happiness.

“Richard Cory” reminded me of many movies and songs that are about the demise of a man, but with the holiday season coming up, this story reminded me of another story when a person appeared to have it all, but in reality was nothing.This story doesn’t end with the hero killing himself, but it still reminded me of it.__The Family Man__ is about Nicolas Cage initally having all the money in the world, but he didn't have a family. An angle gives him a glimpse of what his life would be if he made a decision long ago to choose family over work. This movie is actually based off of another Christmas movie, "It's a Wonderful Life. [|Family Man Trailer]

**“The Pasture” – Robert Frost (1874-1963)**

 "I'm going out to clean the pasture spring;  I'll only stop to rake the leaves away   (And wait to watch the water clear, I may):   I sha'n't be gone long. You come too.  I'm going out to fetch the little calf That's standing by the mother. It's so young, It totters when she licks it with her tongue. I sha'n't be gone long. You come too."

Robert Frost had many trials and tribulations that plagued the life of one of the most respected poets in American history. He had to bury his son after he committed suicide, and take care of his daughter after she had a complete mental collapse. Frost was a successful poet; however, his troubled life always was a burden upon him. Many of his poems appear to be nothing short of exactly what he is saying. However, he is known for having poems that are completely subjective in that we as an audience have to discern for ourselves what does he actually mean by his poetry In “The Pasture,” Frost uses simple imagery of what we typically expect from him. He describes the scenery of what we would expect to see from a ordinary pasture. Literally, the narrator is explaining that he wants to clean the pasture spring, and then he will fetch a little calf that is very young. The calf is very small and is completely dependent on it's mother.

What does Frost mean by cleaning out the pasture spring, and why does he want to fetch a very young calf? Could the pasture represent his life, and that he wants to “clean” up his life. That he is only going to stop cleaning up to “rake the leaves away” (Frost 776). Raking the leaves away could represent the trials of life that are left over from “winter” of his life. Winter usually symbolizes a hard and cold period of life. He wants to try and move on from what has happened in his life, but memories of the past continue to stay around and haunt him like the leaves left over from winter.

What I think Frost means by this poem is his removal of a young calf from its nurturing mother. The removal of the calf from it's mother symbolizes the removal of Frost’s children from him. He is relating his experience to the experience of something that he describes as beautiful, “It totters when she licks it with her tongue” (776).

**Poem 236 [324] – Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)**

Some keep the Sabbath going to the Church — I keep it, staying at Home — With a Bobolink for a Chorister — And an Orchard, for a Dome —

Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice — I just wear my Wings — And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church, Our little Sexton — sings.

God preaches, a noted Clergyman — And the sermon is never long, So instead of getting to Heaven, at last — I'm going, all along.

Emily Dickinson was born to a prominent family in Amherst, Massachusetts.She attended a boarding school at the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary School for less than a year due to what was possibly a harsh time. It was a hard time for Dickinson due to the Seminary School’s ultraconservative views on religion, that she didn't always agree with.It was not to say that Dickinson had no faith, she just appeared to struggle when it came to organized religion. In poem 236 [324], Emily Dickinson is providing commentary on the purpose of the Sabbath.She is wondering why it is necessary for her to leave her home to go church instead of having the Sabbath at the comfort of her own home.“Some keep the Sabbath going to Church- I keep it, staying at Home” (Dickinson 82). She feels that everything that happens at Church can be easily duplicated in her own way:

Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice I, just wear my Wings – And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church Our little Sexton – sings (82).

Instead of doing what the Church and society deemed as correct behavior, Dickinson wishes to “instead of getting to Heaven, at last-/ I’m going, all along” (82).

This poem, as in many of Dickinson poems, is meant to induce a response in the reader rather than portray what the action of the poem is (The Norton Anthology: American Literature, 79).Depending on personal religious views, it could inspire provocative thought in agreement with her; or it can be inferred that some will take this act of ignoring Church on the Sabbath as blasphemy (someone such as Jonathan Edwards.)

Dickinson however doesn’t display malcontent for the church.She displays piety by not calling what the Church does as stupid, she instead wishes to worship in her own way.She appears to capitalize all words that have any reference the church, showing some respect for it.I feel that she isn’t attacking the church but instead is asking questions.These questions even the most pious individuals ask themselves at some point in their lives.

While reading this poem, it initially reminded me of a Simpson’s episode, “Homer the Heretic,” when Homer questioned the very same concept of “why do we have to go to mass.”Of course Homer put his argument a lot less eloquent, and the justification was because he wanted to watch football instead. The episode is of my favorites so Emily Dickinson poem immediately reminded me of it.

Also, a song by Pat Green, “[|Who’s to Say] ,” also addresses the very same question. This song displays Pat Green's belief that God just wants us to be happy and live our lives to the fullest.


 * “War Is Kind” – Stephen Crane (1871-1900) **

"Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind,  Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky  And the affrighted steed ran on alone,  Do not weep.  War is kind.

 Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,  Little souls who thirst for fight,  These men were born to drill and die.  The unexplained glory flies above them.  Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom--  A field where a thousand corpses lie.

 Do not weep, babe, for war is kind. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica; font-size: small;"> Because your father tumbles in the yellow trenches, <span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica; font-size: small;"> Raged at his breast, gulped and died, <span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica; font-size: small;"> Do not weep. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica; font-size: small;"> War is kind.

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica; font-size: small;"> Swift blazing flag of the regiment, <span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica; font-size: small;"> Eagle with crest of red and gold, <span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica; font-size: small;"> These men were born to drill and die. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica; font-size: small;"> Point for them the virtue of slaughter, <span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica; font-size: small;"> Make plain to them the excellence of killing <span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica; font-size: small;"> And a field where a thousand corpses lie.

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica; font-size: small;"> Mother whose heart hung humble as a button <span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica; font-size: small;"> On the bright splendid shroud of your son, <span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica; font-size: small;"> Do not weep. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica; font-size: small;"> War is kind!"

Crane’s biography in "The Norton Anthology: American Literature" immediately grabbed my attention and forced me to read more.He is characterized as so ambitious that he came off as a snob.He was described as someone who was infatuated with tragic events such as war.He was born after the Civil War but wrote novels about the war.He was so interested in war that he would later travel to report on foreign wars.He had a keen sense of humor that shows by his massive amounts of sarcasm and irony in his poems.

“War Is Kind,” showcases Crane as a realist.The poem is seems to follow an pattern, beginning with “Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind” (Crane 639).This phrase was followed by intense imagery of what war really was, “because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky/ And the affrighted steed ran on along” (639).Again, Crane would use repetition of the phrase, “Do not weep. / War is kind.”This pattern of sequence with the phrase “war is kind,” followed by imagery of the carnage of war Crane continues throughout the first section of the poem.In section XX, Crane explains that war is nothing more than the greed of man, “The impact of a dollar upon the heart” (640).

What could be taken from this poem is similar to the works of Fredrick Douglas.“War Is Kind” is meant to stir emotion from within about a particular point.It can be inferred that he is trying to remind us that soldiers are human begins, not pawns in a chest game.His use of irony contrasts some beliefs as war is glorious, and then with what in reality occurs:

These men were born to drill and die Point for them the virtue of slaughter Make plain to them the excellence of killing And a field where a thousand corpses lie (640).

He uses imagery to display to the audience of soldiers are trained to enjoy killing, and then he ends the stanza with what happens when you train people to kill.You can train soldiers to be prepared and excited for battle, but in the end, all that’s left is an empty field that is covered with the dead bodies of thousands of people.

Crane’s explication of war is meant to remind the audience that war is usually not the answer, but instead the formulation by those who are greedy.In the history of man, there have always been wars that stem from the greediness of men, or from religious strife.Crane intent in writing this story is to inform his audience of true meaning of what war is.

**“Grass” – Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)**

"Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo,Shovel them under and let me work--I am the grass; I cover all. And pile them high at GettysburgAnd pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.Shovel them under and let me work.Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:What place is this?Where are we now? I am the grass.<span style="font-family: Times,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">Let me work."



A change in the style of poetry and music began to happen around the early 20th Century called “The Chicago Renaissance.”Sandburg was a popular poet who strayed away from the typical poetry of the time, and wrote in a more urban and simpler tone.

“Grass” uses historical references to the American Civil War, The Napoleonic War, and World War II.Sandburg relates the grass as something that can “cover all” (Sandburg 814).He narrates the poem as if he were the grass.He is asking people to bury the dead so that he can cover them up from sight.He uses repetition of the phrases, “I am the grass” (814), “I cover all” (814), and “Let me work” (814).After all the horror that has taken place in these locations, Sandburg describes the grass as being able to cover them up so well that people passing through would have no clue of the tremendous amount of death that took place.

This story of war can have many emotional responses to a normal person.It is hard to imagine, but what Sandburg is describing is very true.Before national cemeteries and memorials, the grass over time covered up all of the past.A possible theme stemming from this could be that everything heals with time.Sometimes the most horrible things in life, as long as we are able to move on, can become bearable.

I believe that this poem about the great battles of our history, and the not so famous ones, is a poem in memoriam to those who gave their lives for a cause.Too often we forget of the sacrifices those in uniform give to us, and I believe that Sandburg wants people to realize that people should remember all those who died for us. A story of personal relevance comes from a trip to Manassas Battlefield.Living nearby the field, my backyard probably housed soldiers of both sides of The Civil War at some point.Besides the small amount of statues and cannons, the battlefield looks just like a normal field.It was hard to comprehend what happened many years ago, but it was an experience I will never forget.