The Oven Bird by Robert Frost

There is a singer everyone has heard,
Loud, a mid-summer and a mid-wood bird,
Who makes the solid tree trunks sound again.
He says that leaves are old and that for flowers
Mid-summer is to spring as one to ten.
He says the early petal-fall is past
When pear and cherry bloom went down in showers
On sunny days a moment overcast;
And comes that other fall we name the fall.
He says the highway dust is over all.
The bird would cease and be as other birds
But that he knows in singing not to sing.
The question that he frames in all but words
Is what to make of a diminished thing.

Initial Interpretation:
I think that the poem is just talking about a bird and his travels throughout the seasons.

 Paraphrase:
Everyone has heard this singer. It is loud, a mid-summer, mid-wood bird. He fills the trees with sound again. He says that leaves are old and that for flowers mid summer has few and spring has many. He says that the petals have already fallen. They fell when the pear and cherry blooms also fell in showers. This is as brief as a moment overcast on a sunny day, and soon comes fall. The bird says that highway dust is all over. He would stop singing and be like other birds, but he knows in singing not to sing. He asks the question is every way except for with words: What to make of such a diminished thing.

SWIFTT:
SW- The words used in the poem are specific to nature. For instance, he says that the blooms fell in showers. Showers being rain and rain is a part of nature.
I- Frost uses a lot of imagery of nature. He talks about the leaves falling, and there being sunny days with overcasts. He talks about the bird a lot and that is definitely an image.
F- There are metaphors and similes in the poem. He is also using personification on the bird by saying that he knows about the seasons.
T- The tone of the poem is observant and serene. The bird is observing his surroundings and noticing the passing of time.
T- The theme of the poem is that spring itself is short. Through all the other seasons, all anyone is doing is waiting for spring to come back and when it does come, it goes by fast. In a symbolic sense, the spring time could be looked at as young adulthood or life itself.


Conclusion:
The poem is about a bird observing his surroundings, but it is also about his observations about life itself in relation to the seasons.

War is Kind by Stephen Crane

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.
Because your father tumbles in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.

             Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
             Eagle with crest of red and gold,
             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.

Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind!


Initial Interpretation:
In the first read, I had a hard time understanding why he kept saying that war is kind when he is talking about men dying and the women that weep for them. War is far from kind. His attitude towards war seems to be negative. By repeating that war is kind, and describing the hardships of their loved ones, the makes the point that war is actually unnecessary.
Paraphrase:
Woman, do not cry because was is kind. Your lover died and his frightened horse ran away. Do not cry, war is kind. 
Tired, booming drums of the regiment.. Young souls who want to fight, these men are taught to drill and die. The flag flies above them. The god of war is great. His kingdom is a field where a thousand corpses lie.
Do not cry, child, for war is kind. Because your father died in the yellow trenches. Do not cry. War is kind.
The flag of the regiment with an eagle crest of red and gold is burning. These men were trained from birth to drill and die. Teach them the goodness in slaughter, make them know the excellence of killing. Show them a field where a thousand corpses lie.
Mother whose humble heart hung with her son, do not cry. War is kind!
SWIFTT:
SW- The word choice in the poem contradicts the statement that war is kind. Crane uses words that would make one think of pain and suffering. He also repeats the phrase war is kind over and over throughout the poem. The repetition of this phrase is the make the point that war isn't kind.
I- The imagery throughout the poem is the men fighting in the war and the women who were close to them crying over them.
F- There only figurative language is the contradiction of war being kind.
T- The tone is sarcastic. Instead of saying that war is awful, which is what Crane is trying to say, he continues to say that war is kind.
T- The theme is that war is awful and it tears families apart.


Conclusion:
Crane uses the horrors of war to make the phrase war is kind mean less and less in the poem. He is saying that innocent men are dying and they don't even know why they are dying. Their country teaches them about the glories of war, but really they are dying for nothing.

Theme for English B by Langston Hughes

The instructor said,


Go home and write
a page tonight.
And let that page come out of you--
Then, it will be true.


I wonder if it's that simple?
I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem.
I went to school there, then Durham, then here
to this college on the hill above Harlem.
I am the only colored student in my class.
The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem,
through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas,
Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y,
the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator
up to my room, sit down, and write this page:


It's not easy to know what is true for you or me
at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I'm what
I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you:
hear you, hear me--we two--you, me, talk on this page.
(I hear New York, too.) Me--who?
Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.
I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.
I like a pipe for a Christmas present,
or records--Bessie, bop, or Bach.
I guess being colored doesn't make me not like
the same things other folks like who are other races.
So will my page be colored that I write?


Being me, it will not be white.
But it will be
a part of you, instructor.
You are white--
yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.
That's American.
Sometimes perhaps you don't want to be a part of me.
Nor do I often want to be a part of you.
But we are, that's true!
As I learn from you,
I guess you learn from me--
although you're older--and white--
and somewhat more free.


This is my page for English B.

Initial Interpretation:
Hughes is writing this poem for his English class. In the poem he is questioning the assignment and comparing himself to the teacher and both of them to the whole world.
He is describing himself and also asking questions about who he really is.
 Paraphrase:
My instructor said, "Go home and write a page tonight. Let that page come out of you -- then it will be true." I wonder if it is that simple to write a true paper. I am twenty-two, colored, and born in Winston-Salem where I went to school. Then Durham, then this school on a hill above Harlem. I am the only colored person in my class. I walk down the steps into Harlem, through a park and I come to the Harlem Branch Y where I sit in my room and write this page:
 SWIFTT:
SW- Hughes is writing this as a paper for his professor. There is no structure in the poem. When he talks about things that he likes, he uses words that are specific to all people, not just the people of a certain race.
I- There are no images in the poem.
F- The figurative language is Hughes saying that the instructor and himself are part of each other. It is physically impossible, but he means more like mentally or rather they are part of a whole group of people.
T- The tone of the poem is questioning. Hughes is basically asking if they can be the same and if a paper can be true when he is colored and the instructor and the paper are not.
T- Because of the time period when this poem was written, Hughes really just wants to make the point that he and the instructor aren't different just because of their race; that there is more to a person than the color of his skin.


Conclusion:
I like the poem. It says a lot about the time period and how Hughes wasn't distinguishing himself from the other white people, but instead saying he is just like them. They are all human beings and shouldn't be thought of as different just because of their color.
I don't know what is true for you or me. I guess I am what I feel, see, and hear. I hear Harlem and New York. Who am I? Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, be in love, work, read, learn, and understand life. I like the same things people who aren't colored like. Is this page that I write also colored?

If the paper is me then it will not be white. But it is also part of you, teacher. You are white but you are also part of me as I am part of you. That is America. I know you don't want to be part of me sometimes and I don't want to be a part of you wither. I learn from you and I think you learn from me even though you are older, white, and more free.

Wuthering Heights by Sylvia Plath

The horizons ring me like faggots,
Tilted and disparate, and always unstable.
Touched by a match, they might warm me,
And their fine lines singe
The air to orange
Before the distances they pin evaporate,
Weighting the pale sky with a soldier color.
But they only dissolve and dissolve
Like a series of promises, as I step forward.

There is no life higher than the grasstops
Or the hearts of sheep, and the wind
Pours by like destiny, bending
Everything in one direction.
I can feel it trying
To funnel my heat away.
If I pay the roots of the heather
Too close attention, they will invite me
To whiten my bones among them.

The sheep know where they are,
Browsing in their dirty wool-clouds,
Gray as the weather.
The black slots of their pupils take me in.
It is like being mailed into space,
A thin, silly message.
They stand about in grandmotherly disguise,
All wig curls and yellow teeth
And hard, marbly baas.

I come to wheel ruts, and water
Limpid as the solitudes
That flee through my fingers.
Hollow doorsteps go from grass to grass;
Lintel and sill have unhinged themselves.
Of people and the air only
Remembers a few odd syllables.
It rehearses them moaningly:
Black stone, black stone.

The sky leans on me, me, the one upright
Among all horizontals.
The grass is beating its head distractedly.
It is too delicate
For a life in such company;
Darkness terrifies it.
Now, in valleys narrow
And black as purses, the house lights
Gleam like small change.

Initial Reaction:

The first time I read the poem, all I got out of it was a vivid description of her surroundings. The first stanza is about the horizon when the sun is setting. The second is about the wind blowing the grass and herself along with the heat. The third is about the sheep in the field and how they affect her. The forth talks about empty houses on this land. The fifth stanza is about nature abusing her.

Paraphrase:
The horizons stimulate me like cigarettes. They are always changing. They look like they are on fire with the lines of the horizon lit up in orange. Along the distances they evaporate into a more solid color. But they only disappear just like promises and I move on with my life.
The is nothing alive above the grasstops or the hearts of sheep. The wind bends everything in one direction. It is trying to take my heat away. If I pay too much attention to the roots of the flowers I will become one with them; my bone buried underneath them.
The sheep know what their lives are about. They clean their grey wool, the same color as the weather. I look closely at the blacks of their pupils. They are trying to send me a message. They all stand around like grandmothers in disguise with yellow teeth and wig curls.
I walk into the wheel ruts and the water is as still as the solitudes that escape through my finger. There are plains of grass separating empty doorsteps. There air only remembers a few words. It repeats them over and over, saying black stone, black stone.
The sky is weighing me down. It is the only thing upright among all horizontals. The grass beats itself, it is too fragile for life with others like this. The darkness scares it. Night is coming. Now the houses in the valley light up, like small change gleams in a dark purse.

 SWIFTT:
SW- There are 5 9-line stanzas. They are unryhmed and have no meter. Plath uses words that pertain to nature to create vivid images of where she is.
I- The imagery is the landscape of the place she is writing about. She writes about nature trying to bring her down. She is at war with nature yet she is amazed by it.
F- The isn't much figurative language in the poem.
T- The tone of the poem is depressing.
T- The theme is that nature can be overpowering. It is invincible unlike humans and it lasts forever.

Conclusion:
The narrator is depressed because she is in a war with nature and she cannot win. She is generally unhappy.

On Reading Poems to a Senior Class at South High by D. C. Berry

Before
I opened my mouth
I noticed them sitting there
as orderly as frozen fish
in a package.

Slowly water began to fill the room
though I did not notice it
till it reached
my ears

and then I heard the sounds
of fish in an aquarium
and I knew that though I had
tried to drown them
with my words

that they had only opened up
like gills for them
and let me in.

Together we swam around the room
like thirty tails whacking words
till the bell rang

puncturing
a hole in the door

 

where we all leaked out

They went to another class
I suppose and I home

where Queen Elizabeth
my cat met me
and licked my fins
till they were hands again.

Initial Interpretation:
The poem seems to be very straightforward. The narrator is a speaker at a high school where the students seem to be as disinterested and stiff as a pack of frozen fish. Surprisingly as she is talking, they begin to thaw out and become more interested in what she has to say. Eventually the room is full of water and it is like an aquarium. She thought that she had overload them with words but she realized that while she did talk a lot, they listened to her and let her in. Then they went back to class and she went home where her cat made her feel a bit more human again.

Paraphrase:
As I was beginning to speak, I noticed how the students were all sitting together uniformed and bored as a pack of frozen fish. I talked and talked and slowly they began to loosen up and become interested in what I had to say. I didn't notice it though until I heard the sounds of their chatter.  Even though I thought I was talking too much for them to be interested, they opened up their ears and listened to what I had to say. Together we discussed what I had to talk about until the bell rang signaling it was time to go. Our conversation died as they went to class and went home. That's where my cat Queen Elizabeth kept me company until I felt disconnected from them again.

SWIFTT:
SW- Berry's poem is not is a set structure. The poem is in free verse style. There is no rhyme or meter. Since the central image of the poem has to do with fish, Berry uses words that are related to fish. For instance, he uses gillsto describe the students opening up and letting his words in. The narrator's words are represented by the water. He mentions an aquarium and he says that they swam around the room to describe the discussion they were having.
I- The poem is full of imagery. The imagery is of students turning into fish. Berry might use this image because he is talking to a school and some fish swim in schools.
F- The whole poem is a long simile that starts with the line, "I noticed them sitting there/as orderly as frozen fish/in a package."
T- The tone of the poem is shocked. The narrator thought that the students weren't going to listen to a word she said, but it turns out they responded to her well.
T- The theme might be to not judge too quickly. The narrator thought that the students weren't going to listen to her but she realized that they were interested and they participated in discussions. The theme could also be about how to reach out to disinterested students. One needs to relate to them and have them participate in the discussion.

Conclusion:
My conclusion is the same. The poem is very straightforward. Everything that the author is trying to say is in the open in the poem.

Musee de Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden

About suffering they were never wrong,
The Old Masters; how well, they understood
Its human position; how it takes place
While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along;
How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting
For the miraculous birth, there always must be
Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating
On a pond at the edge of the wood:
They never forgot
That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course
Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot
Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturers horse
Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.

 

In Breughel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away
Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may
Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,
But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone
As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green
Water; and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen
Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky,
had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.

Initial Impression:

The author of the poem is uses references such as the birth or Crucifixion of Christ and the fall of Icarus and comparing those major events to what happens in other everyday lives at the same time. He is saying that even though these major events are happening in other lives, all the normal people are going on with their normal routine. There is one line where he says, "That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course/Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot/Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturers horse/Scratches its innocent behind on a tree." I think this part is referring to the Crucifixion of Christ and he is saying that even though this torture is going on, the animals that belong to the people are still going through routine and even scratching their behinds.

Paraphrase:
The Old Masters understood human suffering and human position. While other people are eating or opening a window or just walking along, someone else is passionately waiting for the miraculous birth. While some are waiting for this, there are always children who don't really care. They are skating on a pond on the edge of the woods. No one forgot that even though Christ was being crucified, the dogs still went on with their life and the horse that belonged to the man torturing Christ was scratching his butt on a tree. You can see this in Brueghel's Icarus how everyone is turning their heads away as Icarus falls in the water. The plowman might have heard the splash or his cry, but it didn't mean anything to him. The sun shone on him as it had done on Icarus's leg out of the water. The ship in the water might have seen the boy falling out of the sky, but they had somewhere to go and just kept sailing along.

SWIFTT:
SW- The poem is separated into two stanzas; the first talking about everyday life going on no matter what happens, and the second talking about the painting where Icarus is falling. The word choice is purposely childish in the first stanza, with words like "doggy."
I- The imagery of this poem is very intense. The first stanza paints a vivid picture of people living there everyday lives while much more important events are happening. The second stanza describes the painting Icarus. If you look at the picture while reading the poem, it helps the reader visualize the poem.
F- There is no explicit figurative language.
T- The tone of the poem captures the essence of the subject matter of the poem. The tone is laid back, just like the attitudes of the people living their lives.
T- The theme of the poem is that while disaster can be happening in one place, there will always be people who are living their own simple lives.

Conclusion:
Overall the people in the poem don't care about the other events occuring around them. Not just that they don't care, but they are ignorant to them. If they found out about the events, they might feel sympathy, but they have no clue what is going on around them so it doesn't phase them at all. I looked at the poem too simply in the beginning, but now I see it more in dept.

Siren Song by Margaret Atwood

This is the one song everyone
would like to learn: the song
that is irresistible:

the song that forces men
to leap overboard in squadrons
even though they see beached skulls

the song nobody knows
because anyone who had heard it
is dead, and the others can’t remember.
Shall I tell you the secret
and if I do, will you get me
out of this bird suit?
I don’t enjoy it here
squatting on this island
looking picturesque and mythical
with these two feathery maniacs,
I don’t enjoy singing
this trio, fatal and valuable.

I will tell the secret to you,
to you, only to you.
Come closer. This song

is a cry for help: Help me!
Only you, only you can,
you are unique

at last. Alas
it is a boring song
but it works every time.

Initial Impression:
The woman that is the speaker of the poem is giving the impression of being trapped singing her song and calls out to one man to save her because she is miserable. But it turns out that she is just tricking him into trying to help her and he dies in the process. That is the trick that she is playing and that is how she gets all the men to come to her and die.


Paraphrase:
The song that I sing is a beautiful song that everybody would love to learn. It is what makes men jump to their death even though they see dead bodies laying everywhere. Nobody knows the song because the only ones who have heard it are dead or can't remember it. If I tell you my secret, will you help me leave?
I don't like singing this song. I don't like being on this island all the time and I don't like the two crazy girls I am with. If you come closer, I will tell you the secret. You there, come closer to me.
I am crying for help. Only you can help me because you are unique! And now that you have come and are dead, I confess, it is a boring song but it works every time.


SWIFTT:
SW: The word choice in the poem was used in order to make the calling out of the person in the middle. The narrator starts off in third person and suddenly changes into first person. She also uses words that make her seem trapped. For instance, she uses bird suit to make it seem like something she could get out of. She also uses words to single out a person. She calls him unique to allure him in.
I: In the second stanza there is imagery of groups of men jumping off board because the sirens have drawn them to their death. There is also imagery of a woman/birds who are maniacs and another real woman in a bird suit who is trapped on the island with them.
F: There was no figurative language in this poem.
T: The tone of the poem is pleading. The siren is asking for help to be taken off the island. At the end though it changes to pleased and bored because she got what she wanted.
T: The theme has to do with the sirens in Greek mythology. They would sing and draw sailors to their deaths by being so alluring. The theme is that the sirens cannot be resisted and they use sneaky tricks to achieve their goals.

Conclusion:
The very first time I read the poem I thought that she was actually asking for help and I didn't catch that she actually killed him. The second time around I caught that part. I generally liked the poem. It seemed very simple except for the use of the twist. The change in point of views in the middle of the poem really makes the impact of the poem big and lasting.