Poetry Questions (ch 3 & 4)

There is no Frigate like a Book (pg. 758)
1. Miles suggests only distance, but the word "lands" speaks to the reader of someone who is moving around and experiencing the adventure that comes with different cultures. When you think of someone being cheap, you only think that they won't part with their money unless it's an emergency. Frugal suggests that a person likes to save their money, but they will spend it. Frugal people spend wisely and cheap people try not to spend at all.
2. Prancing applies to poetry by suggesting at the way in which it should be read. It speaks to the reader of the way that rhythm and meter work to create deeper meanings within the poem. Prancing is also very fitting for coursers because they are meant to be swift and eager to run. This suggests that they are never standing still, but are always moving and ready to go.
3. This poem was meant to speak of other poems, such as those mentioned by Keats and Coleridge. The tone of this poem suggests at trying to escape some of the horrors of the world through the written word. Owen's poem brings brutal reality to life and that isn't the type of poetry Dickenson spoke of.
Exercises (pg. 763)
1. a.) steed
b.) king
c.)Samarkand
2. a.) mother
b.) children
c.) brother
3. a.) slender, thin, skinny, gaunt
b.) loaded, prosperous, moneyed, affluent
c.) intelligent, brainy, smart, eggheaded
4. a- having acted foolishly
5. fast runner- denotation: swift and capable of moving quickly
connotation: a person who is able to escape from uncomfortable situations. They run from their problems.
fast color- denotation: a dye that's stable to color destroying agents
connotation: something that's bright and colorful and unaffected by the elements
fast living- denotation: wild, disposed to dissipation
connotation: someone who is living the good life. They have a lot of money and friends and are constantly socializing
fast day- denotation: a day on which fasting is observed
connotation: a day when the activities were fun. The time seemed to pass more quickly than usual.
6. a.) The connotation of white symbolizes purity and virginity. It is meant to make the princess sound even more beautiful and desirable.
b.) The whiteness in her face shows the fear she feels at being caught and reflects or enhances her deception as a princess.
On My First Son (pg. 764)
1. Right hand: it is considered a place of honor to be seated at the right hand of the head of the table. It also symbolizes someone who is very helpful (i.e. I couldn't function without him. He is my right hand).
exacted: to call for demand or require
just: guided by truth, reason, fairness, and justice
Many people argue that all people are just loaned life by some kind of deity. In this case, the loan was made to show the father a taste of the love that he has the ability to give, but he was greedy with his love. Because of this, the loan had to be repaid earlier than was originally planned.
2. Poetry is something that is meant to be beautiful and simple, much like a child. In one sense, an author creates a poem and is emotionally connected to it, perhaps in the same way a father is to a son.
3. I think that the author didn't mean hope in the traditional sense. I think he meant that the father had too many expectations for his son's life. This may be hinting at some guilt that is felt over the son's death.
A Hymn to God the Father (pg. 768)
1. This information is very helpful. I think the poem is a way for Donne to reflect both his religious leanings and his love for his wife. The lines "For I have more" show his love for his wife and how much he thinks of her while he is ill, as well as showing the reader that we will always have more sin in ourselves. Possibly "I have no more" means that he is having a hard time fighting death when she isn't there to encourage him.
2. Donne could be hinting at his secret marriage with Anne More. Or perhaps he is speaking of having sex before they were married. I think he means the sin (or secrets) that began his marriage. (Lines 13-14) I think Donne is speaking about when he has told his last sermon, or lived his last moment. Or he could mean when he has told his last lie. (Line 14) He fears that he won't be accepted into the afterlife because of his sins. His fear is that he will die right after he tells a lie.
3. Sun: the natural sun which makes things grow and decay, and the Son of God who died for the remission of sins. This is at the end of the poem, hinting that Donne's sins were forgiven.
Done: this hints that a person has committed sins and that they aren't finished committing them. It is fitting that this is how each stanza ends because it shows the reader just how true those words are. It reflects a repentance for the sins already committed, but also a knowledge that it could happen again.
Parting at Morning (pg. 773)
1. The last line implies both that the lover needs the world of men and that the world of men needs her. More specifically, the woman needs the world of her lover and he needs her world. It could also be suggesting that although they are lovers, they still need to go on living their own lives.
2. The sea only appears to come suddenly to the ship. This reflects the man's regret at leaving his lover behind. It seems sudden because he feels that one night together wasn't long enough for either of them. Or he could be suggesting that the sea seems to come quickly because the man can't wait to be leaving the commitment of the night before.
3. The two poems together suggest that love is fleeting. They show the reader that Browning may have phrased them romantically, but what he meant is that the heart is filled with secrecy. This suggests that he believes in love, but that he also feels it's something that can't last. He feels it is a short-term thing created for the pleasure of the lovers.
Spring (pg. 774)
1. The word "nothing" helps the reader to better understand the conviction that the author has about the beauty of spring. This words suggests that he really means what he says. It is a statement that would be made with conviction. I think that the narrator not only admires the growth that comes with the beginning of spring, but also admires the complete cycle that life will make when spring is over.
2. The imagery in this poem helps to make it rich. It speaks of things growing and coming to life: an aspect that is considered one of the riches of the world.
3. The spring is compared to the beginning of the world and to the beginning of a person's life. The first comparison is fitting because the Garden of Eden was once beautiful like spring, but it wasn't appreciated enough so it was taken away. The comparison of spring to a baby is fitting because spring leads to summer and fall (the aging of a person) where the growing things ripen and fall off the tree, then winter comes and the fruit dies.
4. The syntax of the lines maintains the connection being made between spring and innocence- "Before it cloud" (ln. 11): spring will bring rain and innocence will lead to sin eventually. The imagery evoked by Hopkins's lines ties in the idea of spring being a time of growth that too soon leads to decay.
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain (pg. 776)
1. The imagery evokes both sound and touch, but never a visual. This suggests that the narrator is going into her situation blindly, with her eyes closed. She doesn't want to know what she is getting herself into, but she already has an idea. There is the idea that if she goes in blind then she won't have any expectations to be crushed.
2. The funeral is reflected as the mourners enter the church and sit down. They listen to the sermon and the coffin is lifted to be taken out of the church. The funeral bell (wedding bells) tolls and then there is silence as the coffin is dropped into the grave (silence reflects that the narrator is now married and is buried without hope of escape).
3. The speaker is located in the church as she prepares (or doesn't prepare as the case is here) for her wedding. The saddened tone of the piece reflects her doomsday view on her marriage and how she mourns the loss of any freedom she might have had.
4. The poem ends as the speaker finally gets married and loses all connection with what she knows as herself. Her emotions at this moment are reflected by the image of the coffin being dropped into the grave.
To Autumn
1. hook: a sickle
barred: ridges formed by the action of currents
sallows: European willows
bourn: a boundary (as between properties)
croft: a small enclosed pasture or field near a house
2. Auditory (ln. 30-33): "lambs bleat" "with trebel soft" "swallows twitter"
Visual (ln. 4): "with fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run"
Tactile (ln. 15): "hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind"
Olfactory (ln. 16): "drowsed with the fume of poppies"
3. Stanza 1: visual- helps the reader to see the fruits beginning to ripen. It reinforces the very colorful beginning of fall. Stanza 2: tactile- the harvesting is going on and it requires a lot of physical labor. Stanza 3: auditory- it reflects the birds flying south and the winds beginning to pick up.
The first stanza represents the beginning of fall whne the fruit is just beginning to get ripe enough to harvest. Stanza two is when the harvests of autumn are being stored for the winter months. The third stanza is when fall is beginning to turn to winter.
4. Stanza 2 personifies the autumn as a harvester. I think stanza 1 is supposed to personify the planter.
5. This poem shows that the author appreciates beauty, even if it is passing. The first stanza holds the most beauty, which reinforces that it is something that doesn't last forever. The author uses the last line to show that the transition from autumn to winter also holds some beauty.