Linebreaks in Poetry

Sometimes in poetry, poets decide to use Free Verse which uses no rhyme scheme or strict metrical pattern. In my opinion, this helps the reader use more focus towards the words of the poem rather than the pattern scheme. I have noticed in many poems I have read that have a certain metrical pattern, I tend to pay more attention to the word pattern than I do to the meaning of the words.
In William Williams, "A Sort of a Song" he uses linebreaks throughout his poem and does not use a rhyme scheme for any part of the poem. I was able to understand the poem better and focus on the idea Williams was trying to convey since there was not a rhyme scheme involved. For instance in our discussion questions the quote, "No ideas but in things" was in between the two words "Compose" and "Invent" as if to tell the reader to invent their own ideas and thoughts. He placed the quote strategically between these two words in order to express the meaning of what the quote is meant to convey. Had he placed the quote within a line of the poem which rhymed with other lines, I think it would not have been as effective. When Williams wrote,
Let the snake wait under
the weed
and the writing
be of words, slow and quick, sharp
to strike, quiet to wait,
sleepless.
he allowed the reader to create an image of the snake awaiting under the weed as well as the image of a writer writing words to a poem quickly sharply and quietly. The break in the lines and words of the poem allow the reader to use their imagination and create the scene. Williams uses imagery in his line breaks and is able to persuade the reader to use his or her own thoughts to create the remainder of what is to be told.
Using line breaks allows the reader to focus on the meaning of the words and the use of language in poetry. A reptitive rhyme scheme only causes the reader to "read" over the words however they tend not to "understand" the words. I think Williams did an excellent job of using images and Free Verse to convey his thoughts in a poem.

The More Things Change ... Or Stay the Same

The poets we have read about this week seem to divert from the idea and beliefs of religion, technology and sciences but yet they still reference the idea and beliefs of romanticism along with a few vague thoughts of religion.
Yeats’ poem “Adam’s Curse,” for example uses reference to the Bible, but not quite as explicit and detailed as the previous poets we have spoken of. In Yeat’s poem, the reader has to make his or her own assumptions of Yeat’s reference to Adam from the biblical story of Adam and Eve. The poets we have previously read about have been more open to their references to religion. In Yeat’s poem “Adam’s Curse,” he draws a direct reference from the bible in the lines,

I said, “It’s certain there is no fine thing
Since Adam’s fall but needs much labouring.
There have been lovers who thought love should be
So much compounded of high courtesy
That they would sigh and quote with learned looks
Precedents out of beautiful old books;
Yet now it seems an idle trade enough.”

Yeats causes the reader to draw his or her own conclusions that the Bible references love as some type of curse due to “Adam’s curse.” The reader can only assume that love is not on overall high feeling of joy, happiness, laughter and perfection but instead is something that must be worked on. People in love must understand that love is not perfection that exists in a constant state, but instead fluctuates. I think Yeats does not draw as direct of a reference to the bible as previous poets have but his writings still assume the works of religion.
Housman’s poem, “Here Dead Lie We Because We Did Not Choose,” is a poem in reference to the war and the soldiers of war whom died. Housman has no reference to religion, technology or science in this poem, but instead focuses on the idea of death. In the line,

Here dead lie we because we did not choose
To live and shame the land from which we sprung.

Housman uses a direct reference to the soldiers who choose to die because they did not want to be “cowards” and shame the nation along with their families by choosing not to go to war. The rise of Industrialization caused wars between nations which in turn caused many deaths of young soldiers as Housman describes in this poem. The idea of expansion and becoming and industrialized nation means we have sacrifices that need to be made such as a loss of lives even if those lives were young soldiers who did not choose to “live and shame the land from which we sprung.”

I think the poets we read this week have a tendency of not using a direct reference to religion, technology or science but if a reference is made it is left up to the reader to determine the relationship that exists.

Dickinson and Romanticism

Emily Dickinson focused much of her poetry on the idea of Nature and places emphasis on the importance of Nature much as Pope did in his writings. In #68, Dickinson writes of birds, bumblebees, hills and the skies which support her idea of Nature in which she conveys to the reader. Also in #269 she writes of the night skies and of the futile winds also contributing to her idea of nature. She writes of the beauties we all see each and every day of our lives when we take a step back and look at nature as it exists freely.
Dickinson also writes about poverty and sadness. The tone in many of her poems strikes me to be more of a tone of melancholy than anything else. It is almost like she is sad throughout each of her writings. In #340 she speaks of death and a funeral. She focuses on the sadness of death and the details of a funeral and to the reader it's more of a sad tone although some readers do not look at funerals as sadness but instead as a time to rejoice. In #372 Dickinson iterates how pain does not always last and it will eventually turn into a "formal feeling." Like a romantic she writes about her belief that all pain is followed by relief in one way or another.
Although I feel like Dickinson's writings focus on a melancholy environment and sad situations, she has a way of assuring the reader that eventually situations will get better and sorrow turns into happiness after a while. Just like romantics Dickinson believes there is a better situation just waiting around the corner from a bad situation.

This Living Hand by John Keats

The speaker of the poem could be either a male or female, however the writer believes that death is approaching. In my opinion most writers are set in the idea that creation impends death just like life will eventually end in death. Only the writer can and does understand his ideas and beliefs of death. The "living hand" is a symbol and representation of life. In a way it is a representation of the writer's actual hand (his tool) and the idea of dying is a representation of how a writer's hand dies with time as the writer expresses this by stating, "and in the icy silence of the tomb." A writer fights for his/her inspiration when finding the right words to write as is mentioned in the second line of the poem, "Of earnest grasping, would, if it were cold." The audience can be any and every person since life and death is often thought about and experienced by so many individuals. I believe a writer would understand and relate to the poem more so than any random person. The writer is very reliable in that he is writing of an actual experience. Speaking from first hand experience is always a more reliable source because experience speaks for more than hearsay.
The writer uses imagery to express his thoughts and ideas. Writing of a living hand gives the reader a sense of an actual hand that is utilized each and every day for various purposes by all individuals. When the hand is "living" it is "warm and capable" of various uses and the audience can picture a "healthy hand" full of life that he/she is able to and ready to use. In the line, "so haunt thy days and chill thy dreaming nights," the writer gives the reader an image of dreary days and chilling nights as if in a horror.
Overall, I enjoyed the poem. I thought it was insightful and I was able to understand the poem much better by using and thinking of the strategies and guidelines of responding to poetry. I think the poet conveys his ideas to the reader very well. He gets his point across and expresses his personal feelings to the reader through his writing.

"Natural World"

The “Natural World” in my opinion is anything and everything that exists without the assistance of mankind. The natural world in and of itself consists of all the elements of life that create their own existence. By this, I mean natural world will exist forever and beyond the births and deaths of our species.
Blake believes in the natural world in the eyes of the inexperienced (innocent) as well as in the eyes of the experienced. In the Songs of Innocence, Blake expresses the nature of innocence through his poem “Introduction.” In this poem Blake shows how the children have not been tainted by the outside world as they dance around and sing without knowing what’s to come. In the “Divine Image,” Blake explains 4 feelings directly associated with innocence. Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love are 4 characteristics that exist in each of our souls, yet the more naïve and innocent part of us tend to believe in these feelings more so than the experienced. It is to say, we are all born with this innocence and it is a natural part of us that exists within our souls and bodies. Mercy dwells in our heart, Pity is expressed in our faces, Love is the human body in and of itself and Peace lives outside of us.
Blake expresses how nature can turn innocence into experience in the Songs of Experience. At first we are born these innocent creatures and know nothing of the experienced world around us. We grow with the natural world and begin to realize there is more to life than the innocence that we were born with. In “A Divine Image,” Blake explains the 4 feelings directly associated with experience. Cruelty, Jealousy, Terror and Secrecy are 4 characteristics that exist in each of our souls, but we do not experience these feelings until we are older and more experienced. Here Blake iterates how Cruelty dwells in our heart instead of Mercy as in the innocent, Jealously is expressed in our faces, Terror is the human body in and of itself and Secrecy lives outside of us.There is a big contrast between these two sets of poem by Blake but they both describe how we interact in the natural world between Innocence and Experience.
Wordsworth is a romantic who uses the beauty of nature to emphasize his ideas on romanticism. He writes about landscaping and scenery that exist in our “natural world” and in turn reveal romantic moods and tones in his writing. Wordsworth describes nature in his poem “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern by Abby, “ by focusing on the landscaping and scenery to express the peacefulness of nature. He expresses the happiness and cheerfulness of nature in his poem, “London, 1802.”

"Natural World"

The “Natural World” in my opinion is anything and everything that exists without the assistance of mankind. The natural world in and of itself consists of all the elements of life that create their own existence. By this, I mean natural world will exist forever and beyond the births and deaths of our species.

Blake believes in the natural world in the eyes of the inexperienced (innocent) as well as in the eyes of the experienced. In the Songs of Innocence, Blake expresses the nature of innocence through his poem “Introduction.” In this poem Blake shows how the children have not been tainted by the outside world as they dance around and sing without knowing what’s to come. In the “Divine Image,” Blake explains 4 feelings directly associated with innocence. Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love are 4 characteristics that exist in each of our souls, yet the more naïve and innocent part of us tend to believe in these feelings more so than the experienced. It is to say, we are all born with this innocence and it is a natural part of us that exists within our souls and bodies. Mercy dwells in our heart, Pity is expressed in our faces, Love is the human body in and of itself and Peace lives outside of us.

Blake expresses how nature can turn innocence into experience in the Songs of Experience. At first we are born these innocent creatures and know nothing of the experienced world around us. We grow with the natural world and begin to realize there is more to life than the innocence that we were born with. In “A Divine Image,” Blake explains the 4 feelings directly associated with experience. Cruelty, Jealousy, Terror and Secrecy are 4 characteristics that exist in each of our souls, but we do not experience these feelings until we are older and more experienced. Here Blake iterates how Cruelty dwells in our heart instead of Mercy as in the innocent, Jealously is expressed in our faces, Terror is the human body in and of itself and Secrecy lives outside of us. There is a big contrast between these two sets of poem by Blake but they both describe how we interact in the natural world between Innocence and Experience.

Wordsworth is a romantic who uses the beauty of nature to emphasize his ideas on romanticism. He writes about landscaping and scenery that exist in our “natural world” and in turn reveal romantic moods and tones in his writing. Wordsworth describes nature in his poem “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern by Abby, “ by focusing on the landscaping and scenery to express the peacefulness of nature. He expresses the happiness and cheerfulness of nature in his poem, “London, 1802.”