The Waking-Post In-Class Conversation

This poem was not an easy read or easy to decipher. Turns out, this is quite the dark poem. Definitely not what I had imagined reading it the first time. I just perceived it as an innocent tale of a boy, comparing the poem to school. After the in-class discussion, I hereby apologize to Sage Hill. You are not death by any means, because that is the gist of the poem by Roethke.

Waking to sleep is his way of saying that basically we are all going to die one day and that it is inevitable. "I feel my fate..." (Roethke, pg. 822). Fate: The development of event's beyond a person's control. Death is beyond our control, he cannot fear it, as he later says.

So, after this in-class epiphany, I definitely realize how dark this poem and Roethke are. Like I said in my previous post, the word "have" in the repeating line "I learn by going where I have to go" gives a negative connotation of living life because he is forced to do so, and he simply wakes up to, in short, pessimistic terms, get closer to the phenomenon to death.

The Waking

"I wake to sleep" (Roethke, 822). That right there is a fantastic line. Pretty much defines me also. Everything in between is just mumbo jumbo to feed my brain sweets while my everything else is being fed brussels sprouts and bell peppers. It shows that Roethke is one without necessarily much of a desire to enjoy each and every second of being alive, and instead wants to just get through the day to sleep (For the record I do enjoy being alive and I like brussels sprouts-not bell peppers though. Irrevelant. I apologize for that pointless reading session you may have just had).

The last line of the poem, "I learn by going where I have to go" (Roethke 822), contains one word that particularly sticks out to me, and that is "have". "Have" gives a negative connotation and one that is forceful and without desire, such as his perspective on sleeping and waking up. He is forced to go where is has to go. Basically, Roethke has no choice but to go and once he is there, he has no choice but to learn. Ultimately, Roethke is learning by putting himself out there even if he doesn't want to go. It's all similar to school. We learn by going to the designated classes of the day and their times, even if we don't feel like going. As we pile up on missed classes and learning, we no longer can go anywhere.

LeGuin's "The One's Who Walk Away from Omelas" was my least comprehended short story of the year. As far as I know, there is a place called Omelas and a little girl who depicts the happiness of the people, some of which walk away. That's the plan-spoken truth. Relating these two isn't easy, but maybe the relationship has something to do with going where he HAS to go, the same way as those who walk away from Omelas. Those who walk away faced no choice, and were forced to do it, even if it was wrong or controversial.

Metaphors

After reading the first line of this poem, "I'm a riddle in nine syllables" (Plath, pg. 717), I thought to myself, what could she possibly mean by that? After reading the poem, and re-reading it, I discovered that each line had, shockingly enough, a total of nine syllables! And to top it off, their were nine lines! After my mind was blown, I asked, why? Sylvia Plath had created an entire beautiful, meaningful and deep poem using nine syllables for each line. Nine didn't necessarily mean to much to me or to anybody else I know-except for how long pregnancy is in regards to months. Feeling like Sherlock himself, I went back and re-read the poem yet again to discover that Plath was indeed referring to pregnancy. Everything in the poem refers to how large she has grown, with phrases such as "fat purse", "melon strolling on two tendrils"-all side affects to the phenomenon itself. 

The image in particular that is very striking is the last line. "Boarded the train theres no getting off". It almost gives a sightly negative connotation, as if she wants to get off the train. She doesn't want to board this train but there isn't a choice for her. The train, which most likely means pregnancy, is one that is not appealing to Plath and there will be no turning back. Basically, it means what's done is done, good or bad, and it's time to simply accept the ride. 

Digging

"By God, the old man could handle a spade, Just like his old man" (Heaney 730). This is a clear indication that Heaney has a feeling of respect for what his father and family can do-specifically his father. The entire concept of digging for the good of the turf and not stopping for anything is undoubtedly very desirable for Heaney. The last paragraph of the poem, "Between my finger and my thumb, the squat pen rests. I'll dig with it" (Heaney 730), shows how determined he is to be like his father and to mimic what his father does. The fact that he will dig with a "squat pen" instead of a spade is a clear indication to his ambition to do whatever it takes in order to follow in the praised footsteps of his father. 

Words Heaney uses such as coarse and rasping exude an understanding to me of how difficult the conditions are in which his father works in. The line, "As snug as a gun" (Heaney 730), is indeed an interesting way to phrase it. Why gun? Why not, as snug as someone sitting next to a fire on a cold winter day? That seems much nicer, doesn't it? That's the point that Heaney is trying to make though. When you are holding a gun, it is by no means a comfortable or easy sensation. There has to be some degree of uneasiness and fear no matter who you are. To put it simply, holding a gun is not easy, and neither is following in the footsteps of his father, which is why this imagery is important. 

"To the Ladies"

"To the Ladies" by Lady Chudleigh shows how, as a woman, she needs to value and appreciate herself no matter what the men do. According to her, living a life filled with happiness, a woman, like herself, must be accepting to themselves and not care as to what men think, even if they despise a woman. As long as women are proud, they are wise-wise in their conducting of the happiness of life. Even though women and servant are ultimately the same thing to a man, she ends the poem by saying "Value your selves, and Men despise, You must be proud, if you'll be wise" (Chudleigh 950) which clear iterates her opinion to be proud as whomever she desires to be, nevertheless of the hatred she may receive from men.
This poem and the short story "Eveline" do indeed have aspects that intertwine. The entire poem, "To the Ladies" relates to the ultimate decision of Eveline in the end to stay in Dublin. Oh Eveline. So much potential! She could have escaped and gone to the beautiful city of Buenos Aires, but nooooooooo, she couldn't decide for literally her life and opted to stay in the dreary city of Dublin where she was forced to take care of her family and continue living life looking out her window at what could have been and what her life could have been with Frank. This indecision, this lost opportunity, to be free, is what Lady Chudleigh is attempting to portray in her poem, and if only these two were best friends, maybe, just maybe, would Eveline gain the guts to take a risk and be free from Dublin. "And never any Freedom take:" (Chudleigh 950). Lady Chudleigh only wished for freedom, but instead accepted herself with what she had, and was proud of it.
So, basically, Eveline did not "carpe diem" or seize the day with her potential to turn a struggle for freedom into the opposite, whereas Lady Chudleigh, based on her yearning to be free and self-confidence, would have captured the opportunity in an instant. If only, if only. Cry us a river. Oh Eveline. Sigh.

Wordle

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5647064/Miladle

There's my "Wordle" defining English. I would definitely say that it's a fun and creative way to express what I thought English was to me. Would recommend this to anyone else, and I definitely would like to use it in the future.