Poetry is rhythmical imaginative language expressing the invention

Poetry is rhythmical, imaginative language expressing the invention, taste, thought, passion, and insight of the human soul. Edmund Clarence Stedman

Meaning and Theme Central ideas and experiences (Chapter 11)

Theme • Theme is more than just the “main idea” or general subject: theme focuses on deeper levels of ideas the poet explores and the concerns the poet examines • To determine theme, the reader must consider form, voice, language, images, allusions, and sounds

A Woman Mourned by Daughters Now, not a tear begun, we sit here in your kitchen, spent, you see, already. You are swollen till you strain this house and the whole sky. You, whom we so often succeeded in ignoring! You are puffed up in death like a corpse pulled from the sea; we groan beneath your weight. And yet you were a leaf, a straw blown on the bed, you had long since become crisp as a dead insect. What is it, if not you, that settles on us now like satin you pulled down over our bridal heads? Adrienne Rich What rises in our throats like food you prodded in? Nothing could be enough. You breathe upon us now through solid assertions of yourself: teaspoons, goblets, seas of carpet, a forest of old plants to be watered an old man in an adjoining room to be touched and fed. And all this universe dares us to lay a finger anywhere, save exactly as you would wish it done. Ideas?

A Woman Mourned by Daughters Adrienne Rich Possibilities? Negativity (diction describing mother) Images of domesticity Female roles vs. absent father?

A Woman Mourned by Daughters Adrienne Rich Generally, what’s this about? Mama, duh Topics? Passing of time, mother/daughter relationships, the power of a memory Theme? In death, a person may be a stronger presence than she was when she was alive…paradox? Alive…”light as a leaf, a straw blown on the bed” Dead…”puffed up”, “we groan beneath your weight”

Theme • Theme is not as literal as it may seem: • Nature theme: may praise the beauty of, assert superiority of, or mourn its destruction • Death theme: may examine mortality, eulogize a friend, assert need for acceptance of life cycle, focus on inevitability…

Theme = meaning • Meaning is the variety of messages within a theme to prove the overall point… • A reader must learn to appreciate all types of experiences… • A person who believes in god should be able to enjoy a poem expressing atheistic ideas and an atheist should be able to enjoy a poem praising god… • The optimist should find pleasure in pessimistic poetry and the pessimist understand happier words. • Suspension of disbelief…I get it, don’t question it

Theme comparisons contrast the ideas in the poems given to you… v Determine common themes, though meanings may differ… v Be sure to include any and all identified devices v Use tsp-fastt chart definitions v Use brief guide to poetry terminology v Any others you may be aware of

Theme comparisons 1. 2. brooks, “kitchenette building” and clifton “good times” Hopkins “spring” and housman “loveliest of trees” or williams “spring and all” 887 3. Pastan “to a daughter leaving home” and wilbur “the writer” 4. Angelou “woman’s work” and piercy “a work of artifice” 5. Owen “anthem for doomed youth” 691 and stevens “the death of a soldier” 6. Cardiff “combing” and olds “ 35/10” 7. Crane “voyages [1]” and frost “once by the pacific” 8. Hayden “those winter sundays” 703 and ortiz “my father’s song” 680 9. Frost “nothing gold can stay” and hopkins “god’s grandeur” 10. Gunn “from the wave” and winters “the slow pacific swell” 11. Clifton “in the inner city” and brooks “a song in the front yard”

• The world is ending in a week. • Suspend your disbelief and list five realistic things you would do… Why?

Theme – Carpe Diem • Latin – life is brief, so let us seize the day • Carpe diem – common literary theme urging living in the present moment, especially in pleasurable pursuits. • “let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. ” – horace/roman poet • Dead poet’s society representation

Theme – Carpe Diem • • • Carpe Diem clip: Crazy? Foolish? Admirable? denotation vs. connotation: • Spontaneous • Impulsive • Wild Ø Tempus fugit (“time flies”) Ø Replay green day with words

Theme – Carpe Diem • • First, read "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love", and then read "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd". As you read Marlowe's poem, imagine a young shepherd speaking to the object of his love. He presents several promises about how her life will be if she will "Come live with me and be my love. " It is a poem of persuasion. We may assume he has been trying to get her attention or convince her to be his true love for some time. How realistic are his promises? Now, read "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd. " Notice how realistic and logical is her rebuttal. How do both poems exemplify carpe diem? Complete analytical questions For HW