Thursday, May 1, 2014

Explication of "Blackberry Eating"



In the poem “Blackberry Eating”, Galway Kinnell uses many techniques that add to the sound of the poem. The poem has many instances of alliteration, such as “black blackberries” (2) and “blackberries for breakfast” (3). The “b” sound is harsh, which adds emphasis. The alliteration continues when the blackberries are described as “prickly” (4) which the author considers a “penalty” (4). Here, more harsh syllables represent the negative connotations of these words. Kinnell also uses the words “stalks” (7), and the phonetic intensive of the morpheme “st” shows the strength and stability of the blackberry stalks. Kinnell says that the blackberries get “squeezed” (12) or “squinched” (12). Here, the alliteration sounds cacophonous because the language sounds negative. The poet continues to say that he eats blackberries in the “silent, startles, icy, black language” (13). The alliteration sounds softer, and is thus euphonious. The poem itself is written in free verse and thus has no meter. Kinnell uses the word “icy” (2) twice to describe the blackberries, which reinforces the idea that the blackberries are fragile, just like something made from ice. Kinnell also personifies the blackberries, saying that they have earned a penalty for “knowing the black art of blackberry-making” (5-6). Here, personifying blackberries as if they have a unique knowledge helps add to the idea that they are special. Kinnell also provides a slight contrast in that the blackberries are “many-lettered” (11) yet “one-syllabled” (11). This shows the true nature of the blackberries. While the process of growing and gathering the blackberries may seem complex, in reality the blackberries are simple products of nature. This illustrates that blackberries are refined in that they turn the strenuous growing process into a straightforward result. Kinnell also uses specific diction, calling blackberry eating a “language” (13). This implies that like a language, eating blackberries is an art form that is done stylistically and thoughtfully. This shows his respect and gratitude for this experience.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Explication of "Africa" by Maya Angelou



The poem “Africa” by Maya Angelou tells the history of Africa. The poem is broken up into stanzas that illustrate different points in history. The first stanza is about the natural beauty of the continent, and mentions the deserts, mountains, and Nile River (3-6). This stanza starts out with the line “Thus she had lain” (1). In this line, the word “lain” is unstressed, showing the passive and calm nature of Africa. In the last line, the work “black” is emphasized, which shows that Africa was beautiful before white intervention. The second stanza is a shift in the tone, and the topic shifts to white intrusion in Africa. Angelou mentions that people crossed the “white seas” (9), and she refers to the white people as “brigands ungentled/ icicle bold” (11-12). Brigands have an obvious negative connotation, and words such as “icicle” (11) and “cold” (10) have connotations of lack of sympathy. The second stanza has trochaic meter to emphasize the important words. Angelou says the white people “took her young daughters/ sold her strong sons/ churched her with Jesus/ bled her with guns” (13-16). In these lines, the natural stress is on the first words. This emphasizes the cruelties that took place in Africa during the slave trade and civilization missions.
            The last stanza switches to present day, and expresses a hopeful, optimistic attitude. Many of the lines start with the word “remember” to show the importance of acknowledging Africa’s history. The words “pain” (19) and “losses” (20) are stressed to further show the importance of the history behind Africa. In the line “now she is striding” (24), the words “now” and “striding” are stressed to show the improvement the Africa has made in the present day. The last line, “although she had lain” (25), relates back to the history of Africa and shows that Africa is still prospering despite the cruelties that occurred.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Explication of "Rite of Passage"


The poem “Rite of Passage” by Sharon Olds describes her condemnation of the violent impulses of children. She starts the poem by referring to her son’s birthday party guests as men, showing how the children try to act older than their actual age. Before the party starts, Olds notices that “small fights/ breaking out and calming” (5-6), which shows how the children fight for no reason, so the fights eventually stop. One child says to another “How old are you? Six. I’m seven. So? (7). The children are trying to impress and one-up each other. The children “eye each other” (8) like “a room of small bankers” (9). This metaphor compares the children to bankers, which have a negative connotation for being greedy and deceitful. Olds’ son tells all the party guests that “We could easily kill a two-year-old” (22), once again showing the desire for dominance. After this comment, “the other/ men agree, they clear their throats/ like Generals (23-25). Olds uses a simile to compare the children to Generals because she is relating how both are associated with violence. At the end of the poem, Olds says the children “relax and get down to/ playing war, celebrating my son’s life” (25-26). This statement is a paradox because war is associated with death, but they are simultaneously celebrating a birthday, which represents life. Olds uses this contrast to support her point about the impulsivity of children’s violence.

This poem also has examples of alliteration with the words “jostling” (5) and “jockeying” (5). The “j” sound sounds like fighting, which adds to the tone of the poem. There is also a lot of repetition of phrases such as “they cleared their throats”. This phrase shows that the children are mimicking actions they observed from adults, and they are repeating it to make themselves seem mature. Overall, the title of the poem shows the children are trying to transition themselves into adulthood.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

"The Old Man of the Sea" Analysis



The short story “The Old Man of the Sea” by Maeve Brennan tells about an old beggar who comes to the Brennan home selling apples. Mrs. Brennan feels sorry for the old man and buys two dozen apples. Maeve’s uncle Matt warns Mrs. Brennan that “now that [you’ve] encouraged him, he’ll be on [your] back for the rest of [your] life” (22). Maeve silently agrees that the beggar could be similar to the Old Man of the Sea. Maeve alludes to the story of Sinbad the Sailor, who allowed an old man to stay on his back. However, the old man grew stronger and heavier, and Sinbad could not get rid of him. The old man becomes progressively evil and he continues taking advantage of Sinbad. The beggar comes back once a week and every week Mrs. Brennan cannot bring herself to take fewer apples from the man. Maeve continues to look for signs of evil in the man, yet finds nothing each time. One day, Mrs. Brennan decides she will not answer the door, and the family hides from the old man. However, a neighbor spots the family in the garden, saying the old man told her that “he comes regularly and he knows [you’re] depending on him” (27). Mrs. Brennan gives the man less money than usual, and after that he never returns.
            One afternoon, Uncle Matt returns and says that he saw the old man wearing an expensive suit and not carrying any apples. Mrs. Brennan does not believe him, but Maeve believes her uncle and realizes the man had been taking advantage of her family the whole time. The end of this story is similar to the allusion to Sinbad. Maeve’s story shows the corruption and deceit in Dublin. The old man was pretending to be poor, but in actuality he is a wealthy con man. Maeve learns that things are not always as they seem.

"The Morning After the Big Fire" Analysis



In the short story “The Morning After the Big Fire” by Maeve Brennan, Maeve recounts a time when a house near her home burned down. The house was next to a garage where a majority of the neighborhood stored their cars. Maeve finds the fire fascinating, saying “it was a really satisfactory fire, with leaping flames, thick, pouring smoke, and a steady roar of destruction, broken by crashes as parts of the roof collapsed” (16). However, in spite of this great danger towards the family, the concern of Maeve’s parents is whether or not someone had saved the cars. In the morning, Maeve’s father goes to the scene of the fire and tells the family that most of the cars were damaged, but “some of the fellows connected with the garage had been very brave, dashing in to rescue as many cars as they could” (17). Once again, instead of reporting on the safety of the family, Maeve’s father and the neighbors were more concerned about the cars. This shows that during this time in Dublin, money and material goods were very valuable. Since poverty was widespread throughout the city, people valued their possessions.
Maeve also found pleasure in telling all the neighbors about the news, since many people had slept through the fire. However, once the other children come outside, Maeve remembers that “the fire was [mine] no longer” (18). Maeve “pretending to lose interest” (18), since she became upset that people were paying less attention to her story. Once a new garage is built, Maeve secretly hopes that it will catch on fire again. However, it never does, and the garage still remains standing when the family moves out of the house. While waiting, Maeve recalls thinking that “it some child should steal around with a match one night and set it all blazing again, [I] would never blame her, as long as she let [me] be the first with the news” (20). This shows the dullness of everyday life in Dublin. The most exciting thing that happened in Maeve’s childhood was a fire, and even that became less exciting after the news spread. Overall, this story shows that growing up in Dublin was boring and uneventful, and thus left the children looking for some form of excitement.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Explication of "The Apparition"



The poem “The Apparition” by John Donne describes a ghost’s vengeance, which is later undermined by the ghost’s love. The ghost starts off by addressing a woman, saying “O murderess, I am dead,/ and that thou thinkest free from all solicitation from me” (1-3). Here, the ghost’s tone is angry. The poem continues on saying “then shall my ghost come to thy bed” (4). The ghost’s threats add to the angry tone, and the ghost seems to want revenge on the woman. The ghost then implies that the woman has been seeing another man since he passed away. This angers the ghost even more.
When the ghost visits the woman’s bed, he sees her in “worse arms” (5) with “feigned vestal” (5). The ghost is implying that the woman is lying about being a virgin. This angers the ghost because he claims to know the truth about her virginity. The ghost also thinks that he was a better man than the woman’s current lover. The ghost threatens to scare away the woman’s lover, telling her that the man will become “bathed in coldwater sweat” (12).
However, at the end of the poem, the tone shifts. Instead of expressing anger, the ghost expresses love for the woman. The ghost says “since my love is spent/ I had rather thou shouldst painfully repent,/ than by my threatenings rest still innocent” (15-17). The ghost says that if the woman repents for lying and losing her virginity, then the threats are empty. The ghost still has feelings for the woman, and it irritates him that she is lying to everyone. Perhaps the woman lost her virginity to the ghost while he was still alive, and by repressing this memory the ghost feels like the woman is repressing her feelings for the love they once shared.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Themes in "The Sisters"



In the short story “The Sisters”, there are some apparent themes. The first is the luminosity of light. When the narrator passes by the priest’s house, the house is “lighted the same way, faintly and evenly” (1). To the narrator, this is a good sign because if the priest is dead, the narrator would “see the reflection of candles on the darkened blind…two candles must be set at the head of the corpse” (1). The narrator goes to mourn for the loss of the priest after sunset. Since the sun is no longer up, the sky is dark. The darkness represents the lack of life. In the room with the coffin, there are candles that look like “pale thin flames” (7). Here, the candles are letting out a “dusky golden light” (6), placed there by those who are trying to keep the memory of the priest alive. This light is artificial, yet it is the last attempt to bring life where there is sadness and mourning. The narrator recounts a time when they found the priest “sitting up by himself in the dark” (10). At this point, even though the priest was physically alive, he was no longer mentally connected to the world.
            Another theme is the inability to speak. When Mr. Cotter visits the house, he says some things that anger the narrator. Instead of speaking out, the narrator continues to eat “for fear that I might give utterance to my anger” (3). The narrator here is choosing not to speak. The priest, on the other hand, is unable to speak. The priest has suffered three strokes, which have left him with paralysis. This contrasts the choice to not speak and the inability to speak.
            There is also the use of color to show liveliness. When thinking about the priest, the narrator remembers “the heavy grey face of the paralytic” (3). This imagery is repeated again when the narrator sees the priest in the coffin. The priest is described as having a “very truculent, grey, and massive” (7) face. Grey is typically a lifeless color, which shows the lack of vitality in the priest.