M.Adams

By Robert Frost Robert Frost was born on the west coast, but he identified himself with New England. His father died at age eleven, and his mother was left to support their family on her teacher’s salary. After graduating high school, Frost attended Dartmouth and Harvard sporadically and found odd jobs, including one running a farm in New Hampshire. He moved his family to England for a time, where he began publishing some of his first works, //A Boy’s Will// and //North of Boston//. Upon returning to America, he bought another farm in New Hampshire, where he and his family lived. His time spent on the farm seemed to inspire some of his writing. His poem //The Pasture// is an example of his experience on the farm, and it shows the simplicity of life when it is experienced in the country. It begins with him sharing that he is going to complete a chore, but he explains that it will be a simple, pleasurable act. He encourages the reader to come with him, sharing how they will fetch a calf and observe the cows in the pasture. Since this time on the farm is spent with his family, the poem is most likely written to his wife, whom he loves, requesting her presence in his walk across the farm. In a more vague sense, this poem is also appealing to his readers, encouraging them to study and experience his other poems. The imagery that he uses when he describes the cows interacting, allows the reader to feel a part of the experience. Even thought they are not actually with Frost in the pasture, emotions are evoked by the picture he paints through his words.
 * // The Pasture //**

As the reader, I was able to put myself in the position of walking through the pasture, observing the animals. I enjoyed reading this poem because I could understand the simplicity of country life as Frost talked about. I grew up in the country, and I appreciate all of the everyday pleasures that are sometimes taken for granted. For me, this poem shows the importance of taking time to relax and to enjoy all that nature has to offer.

**// Annabel Lee //** By Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1809. After his father left him and his mother died at a young age, Poe went to live with his foster parents in Virginia. He was raised in Richmond and attended the University of Virginia for a year before he had to drop out for financial reasons. He was continuously in conflict with his foster father, which led to a rebellion in some ways. He never seemed to fit in anywhere except in the world of literature. While pursuing his career as an author, he married his thirteen-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm. He loved her and she loved him dearly. She proved to be the only constant in his life. He had a rough life, and it only worsened when his wife died at an early age. His poems and short stories were his way of expressing his feelings and evoking feelings in his readers. The last poem he wrote before he died, //Annabel Lee//, tells the story of two young lovers that felt deep affection for each other. Their love was so genuine that even the angels in heaven coveted them. For this reason, his lover was taken away by a wind that swept through in the night. Even in death, the love that they had for one another was strong. He never lost the love they shared and he lay by her every night even still. The Annabel Lee in this poem represents Poe’s wife, Virginia. Their love was the only true thing in his life that was always there. The wind that takes her away in the poem is characteristic of the way she actually died, from tuberculosis. The disease is contracted by breathing in air that is infected, which is carried by the wind. There could also be symbolism in the way their love was coveted by others. Since Virginia was Poe’s cousin, many people looked down on them for their marriage. This poem could be Poe’s reaction to their opinions, claiming that they were only jealous of the love he shared with his wife. It is said by some critics that Poe is a morbid, terrifying writer but I have to disagree with that opinion in this poem. I believe he wrote this to express his love for his wife and his loyalty even after her death. He may have been bitter about some things in his life which could be reflected in his writing, but this was simply showing his affection for his wife.

**// The Captured Goddess //** By Amy Lowell Amy Lowell was born in Massachusetts to a rich, prestigious family. The men in her family owned and managed textile companies, while the women managed the home. The women were involved in the upper-class Boston social network. Like many writers of her time, Amy did not follow the path laid out for women in her family. She embarked on her own to become educated. She was very ambitious and believed her work in literature could have a large impact on society. One of her poems, //The Captured Goddess//, is an illustration of her struggle to make a difference as a writer. The poem begins as the narrator sees a glimpse of beauty in the distance, over the housetops in the city. The beauty is revealed in the goddess, an elegant being that is free and lovely. The narrator adores the goddess and, captivated by her beauty, the narrator vows to follow the goddess wherever she leads. Then the narrator finds the goddess in the city, in the marketplace, naked and bound with her wings tied down. Men are all around her, bargaining with each other to own her. The men treated the goddess’s beauty as something that could be bought at a price. They tried to pay with copper, silver, and gold. The different colors of the currency used, like the wheat traded as gold in the sunlight, pale in comparison to the colors used to represent the goddess. The men in the marketplace are greedy and believe that the goddess exists to satisfy them. They do not realize that the goddess actually exists as a sign of hope and love, not something to be possessed and tied down. Based on Amy Lowell’s background, I believe this poem is representative of her life and her struggle to become a successful woman in a man’s world. I think she is represented by the goddess in the poem, how she has talent and beauty that could improve the world around her. The men in the poem represent the men in her life, the men in her society that have held her back from becoming successful.

media type="custom" key="4774071" Raised by his maternal grandmother because of his parents’ separation, Langston Hughes was one of the most influential writers connected to the Harlem Renaissance. He attended college for a year before he left to work odd jobs one the sea, in Paris, and in Washington, D.C. He began publishing his work in African American journals, which was a vital part of his writing career. He wrote mainly about modern, urban black life. He expressed an intense, radical opinion on racism and it was illustrated in his poetry. In his poem The Weary Blues, Langston Hughes describes a night where he sits and listens to a man on the street play a blues song. The tune of the song is deep and slow as he describes the way the song is played. The words of the song are depressing and melancholy, very characteristic of the blues genre of music. They describe how loneliness of the singer and how seemingly uninvited he is to the world around him. There is nothing that seems to satisfy him and nothing that makes him happy. The scene at the end of the poem is dark and quiet, appropriate for the ending of a sad blues song. The meaning behind this poem about blues music could be the story of the struggle of African-Americans in the twentieth century. Blues music originated in the south where slaves began singing while they worked. They were expressing how they felt about their lives as slaves, which lead to the sad tunes expressed in the songs. Much like the blues singer in the poem, African-Americans struggled with their sense of belonging in America. Many experienced the feelings of depression and loneliness because of the circumstances in which they were forced to live. The end of the poem expresses the singer’s thoughts on death, that it may have been the easiest solution. These same thoughts could reflect how African-Americans felt during this time of racial dispute. I read this poem as an expression of Langston Hughes’ feelings toward racism. It seemed to me that he was telling his readers about the rejection he felt as an African-American from the society around him. Since he was such a strong advocate for racial equality, this poem seems to be an illustration to all readers of the pain that is evoked by racism.

**// The Starry Night //** By Anne Sexton Anne Sexton was born in Idaho and raised in Massachusetts. Her father was an alcoholic and her mother was into literature. Her family life was not stable and she found comfort in her Nana, Anna Dingley. After attending school, she found that her beauty and outgoing personality attracted men. She eloped with Alfred Sexton II, even though she was engaged to be married to someone else at the time. Her husband left later to serve in Korea, in which time she was unfaithful. Her relationships with men stemmed from her low self-esteem. This constant longing for a sense of belonging left her depressed and suicidal for much of her life. Even after having children and becoming successful as a writer, she struggled with suicide. Her husband abused her, bringing back memories of abuse as a child, this left her even more unstable. Her mental breakdowns eventually led to her suicide at the age of 46. In order to deal with her depression, therapists encouraged Sexton to write. In her brief writing career, she used Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” as the inspiration for a poem.

In this poem, she shares her interpretation of his painting. She describes the sky as having eleven stars, the moon bulging in its brightness, and the dark features of the painting as an evil presence, the serpent. The main features of the painting include the town, the sky with moon and stars, and the dark flowing structure. Each stanza describes how Sexton sees the painting. At the end of each stanza, she refers to how she wants to die. This can be taken literally, since she was continuously struggling with suicide throughout her life. The serpent can also represent death. The church in the picture is being taken over by the dark structure, in the same way that the serpent took over God’s perfect creation by the introduction of sin into the Garden of Eden. Sin brought death into this world. I believe that even in writing, Sexton showed her feelings about suicide. The writing was intended to be therapeutic, helping her deal with her depression. I believe that this poem illustrates her real problem with suicide and shows how writing simply let her express her feelings about life. I don’t believe she wrote to get away from things, as many writers did, I believe she wrote to share how she was coping with her depression. She showed in this poem how she saw death in more than just her depression.

References:

Baym, Nina. //The Norton Anthology: American Literature//. New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc., 2008. Print.

//Getty Images//. Getty Images, Inc., 2009. Web. 5 November 2009

//You Tube//. YouTube, LLC., 2009. Web. 5 November 2009