Poetry 2: Nature & Love Relations

1. Poetry 2: Nature & Love Relations Intro to Lit Imagery and Metaphor; Rhyme and Rhythm

2. Housekeeping • 1. subtitles—yes; Group A – missing 2 reports • 2. 12/4 noon 12:30 Prop for tables • 3. 12/9 10:00 two Sound persons at CFL with Bro. Ruf, also in charge of returning the mini mics • 4. 12/7 poetry annotation • 5. 12/10 8:30 at CFL theatre

3. Outline • Unit 2: General Questions • Dickinson, Emily “A narrow Fellow in the Grass”   19th C • Wordsworth “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” (p 677) 19th C • Mary Oliver “Wild Geese” 20th C • Robert Burns “A Red, Red Rose” (p 808) –late 18th C • Aphra Behn “On Her Loving Two Equally” (p. 684) –17th C • For Pleasure: • Sting “Shape of My Heart” (Ref. Linda Pastan “Marks” p 806) • Conclusion & Next Week • Reference: Understanding Poetic Language: Figures of Speech, Rhyme and Rhythm

4. Poetry I: Identity, Lyric and Tone

5. Poetry II: Figurative Language 1Love and Nature • 1. How is nature treated in the 3 (or 4) poems we read? • 2. Here we have two views of love? How are they each conveyed? And which do you agree with more? [A & B Behn, Aphra “On Her Loving Two Equally” (p. 684)]C Nature: Wordsworth “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” (p 677) D Nature: Dickinson, Emily “A narrow Fellow in the Grass” (p 843) E Nature  Love: Burns, Robert “A Red, Red Rose” (p 808)F Nature: Mary Oliver “Wild Geese”

6. A. Nature as Friends or Independent Beings “

7. “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” WILLIAM WORDSWORTH (1770 –1850) 

8. “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” • How are the speaker and the daffodils set in contrast, each with different similes and/or metaphors? • Tense: What is the function of the use of present and past tenses? • What does “inward eye” refer to? • Rhyme and Rhythm: what do they help convey?

9. I wandered lonely as a cloud Simile; assonance • I wandered lonely as a cloudThat floats on high o'er vales and hills,When all at once I saw a crowd,A host, of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.Continuous asthe stars that shineAnd twinkle on the milky way,They stretched in never-ending lineAlong the margin of a bay:Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. Iambic tetrameter + dactyle

10. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud The waves beside them danced; but theyOut-did the sparkling waves in glee:A poet could not but be gay,In such a jocund company:I gazed---and gazed---but little thoughtWhat wealth the show to me had brought:For oft, when on my couch I lieIn vacant or in pensive mood,They flash upon that inward eyeWhich is the bliss of solitude;And then my heart with pleasure fills,And dances with the daffodils.

11. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud Figurative Speech: • daffodils personified; dancing & “tossing” their heads, jocund company • Simile: • Compared to stars on the milking way • Metaphor: inward eye = soul or mind; flash upon: triggering memories & imagination (Which is the bliss of solitude) Contrast: loneliness and crowd Theme: a pleasant moment in nature recollected in solitude

12. Another Moment in Nature: Encountering a Snake

13. A narrow Fellow in the Grass • 1. Who is the “narrow Fellow in the Grass”? How is this fellow characterized and described? Is he a snake literally, or symbol of something else? • 2. Who is the “you” in the poem, and the speaker? What tone does the speaker takes to describe the snake? Does he stay in the same position? • 3. Words to dwell on and dig into: • -- “His notice instant is—” • -- “A spotted Shaft” • -- repetition of “and,” “open” & “close” • -- changes of tense: childhood memory vs. present

14. A narrow Fellow in the Grass “fellow”= cordiality • A narrow Fellow in the GrassOccasionally rides—You may have met him? Did you notHis notice instant is— • The Grass divides as with a Comb—A spotted Shaftis seen,And then it closes at your FeetAnd opens further on— • He likes a Boggy Acre—A Floor too cool for Corn—But when a Boy and BarefootI more than once at Noon “His” notice = The snake’s, Our notice of the snake =mutuality (相互性) Shaft: of light, arrow Swift, elusive—”it” Missing the last stress; Feminine ending* 13:00

15. A Narrow Fellow in the Grass • Have passed I thought a Whip Lash*Unbraiding in the SunWhen stooping to secure itIt wrinkled And was gone— • Several of Nature’s People*I know and they know meI feel for them a transport*Of Cordiality • But never met this Fellow*Attended or aloneWithout a tighter Breathing*And Zero at the Bone. Slant/False rhyme Feminine ending = irregularity, incomplete understanding of Nature • People= friendly beings • Transport =spiritual joyful experience Zero at the bone Fear, feeling small/reduced, restricted 23:41

16. A narrow Fellow in the Grass: Presentation of a Being in Nature • 1. “narrow Fellow in the Grass”= a creature in nature which is hard to understand, can be itself, as well as snake in Eden, a phallic symbol (shaft, transport of cordiality) –something to both fascinating and dreadful • 2. the speaker:a man, appealing to “our” common experience, while presenting his own experience and keen observation of the natural world. The snake is sometimes closeby, sometimes remote, and even invisible (5th stanza). • 3. Words to dwell on and dig into: • The snake’s action: rhythmic “opening” & “closing,” unraveling and wrinkling; speed“A spotted Shaft”; • The snake vs. the speaker: cordiality or enmity -- “His notice instant is—” Zero at the bone

17. An Interesting Anecdote • Sue submitted one of Emily’ private poems with some edits and a title (“The Snake”) to the Springfield Daily Republican. One of those edits was moving the question mark in the third line. Dickinson may have been secretly happy to get something published, but she certainly wasn’t happy about having people mess with her punctuation. She even wrote a letter to this guy she had a crush on, just so he would know that she didn’t mean to put the question mark at the end of the third line. • …“Lest you meet my Snake [the published version of “A narrow Fellow in the Grass”] and suppose I deceive, it was robbed of me—defeated too of the third line by the punctuation. The third and fourth were one.” http://www.shmoop.com/narrow-fellow-in-the-grass/

18. "Wild Geese“ (1990) 1. Speaker and Tone: Who is the "you" the speaker of this poem addresses in the first and the third parts of the poem? 2. Goodness vs. Soft Body –How are they opposed? 3. Despair vs. the Living World: Describe how nature is presented and what it suggests (with two kinds of movement: the sun and rain moving across different places, and the wild geese heading home). 4. lonely you vs. the world: What does the speaker say the world can do for "you" (or us)? Why is the world's call "harsh and clear" like wild geese?

19. "Wild Geese“ (1990) You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

20. "Wild Geese“ (1990) Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhilethe wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-- over and over announcing your place in the family of things.  

21. "Wild Geese“ (1990) 1. Speaker and Tone: You– can be the reader or the wild geese; (at the end) any being. 2. Theme: the poem celebrates the naturalness of our being (Soft Body), and communication among natural beings despite their loneliness. 3. Pattern: long lines and the repetition of “meanwhile” suggest the world’s connectedness and continuity. Two basic moments: regular and natural + ‘home’ 4. lonely you vs. the world: The world is not just beautiful; we are lonely. But the world’s various beings and happenings are there for us to comprehend and imagine, so the world’s call is "harsh and clear" like wild geese.

22. The Three Nature Poems: “I wandered lonely,” (1807) “A Narrow Fellow” (1865), "Wild Geese“ (1990) • How are they different in forms? (Note: the third one is a free verse) • And in their approaches to nature?

23. "Wild Geese“ (1990) You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Pay attention to the images

24. "Wild Geese“ (1990) Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhilethe wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-- over and over announcing your place in the family of things.  

25. An Anecdote! • Swan falls in love with a swan-like pedal boat! (2006 Muenster, Germany) http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6130000/newsid_6137400/6137406.stm

26. A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns (1759-1796) Song versions: 1, 2 Also the song writer of “Auld Lang Syne” (「驪歌」)

28. 1. Why does the speaker compare his love to red rose “sprung in June” and sweet melody that “play in tune”? • 2. Besides the two similes above, he also uses some hyperbolic expressions (till the sea goes dry, the sun melts the rock and while sand of life “runs”). What could they possibly mean? • 3. At the end the speaker says that he’ll be back though “it were ten thousand mile.” Is it real or hyperbolic? Discussion Questions

29. Behn, Aphra “On Her Loving Two Equally” (p. 684; ref. 684-)

30. 1. The poem starts with a very interesting question: when one loves two persons at the same time, will his/her love be diminished in strength? What does the speaker think? And you? • 2. How are rhymes and the poetic syntax used to convey the speaker’s sense of struggle between the two? (Pay attention to repetition, parallel syntax and the rhymes.) Discussion Questions

31. ON HER LOVING TWO EQUALLY • I. • HOW strongly does my passion flow, • Divided equally 'twixt two? • Damonhad ne'er subdued my heart, • Had not Alexistook his part; • Nor could Alexis powerful prove, • Without my Damon's aid, to gain my love. • II. When my Alexis present is, • Then I for Damon sigh and mourn; • But when Alexis I do miss, • Damon gains nothing but my scorn. • But if it chance they both are by, • For both alike I languish, sigh, and die. Double negative Double negative; inserted phrase Alternating rhymes Repetition of two-ness and “die”

32. ON HER LOVING TWO EQUALLY III. Cure then, thou mighty winged god, This restless fever in my blood; One golden-pointed dart take back: But which, O Cupid, wilt thou take? If Damon's, all my hopes are crossed; Or that of my Alexis, I am lost. Cupid, love personified Shot by his arrow= falling in love Request made and regretted

33. Aphra Behn (1640-1689) • The first female writer that earned her living with the pen. • An introduction video • A paper sample and its analysis (also on your textbook; p. 684)

34. Linda Pastan “Marks” • My husband gives me an Afor last night's supper, an incomplete for my ironing, a B plus in bed.My son says I am average, an average mother, but ifI put my mind to itI could improve.My daughter believes in Pass/Fail and tells meI pass. Wait 'til they learnI'm dropping out. 

35. Discussion Questions • 1. The poem uses an extended metaphor for us to see how the female speaker gets evaluated by her family. What are the connotations when family relations get compared to teacher-student relations? What does each grade say about the graders, or the graded? • 2. What do you think the ending mean? • 3. Is your mother treated this way? • 4. What do you think about receiving grades at school? To what degree do they matter?

36. Shape Of My HeartSting • He deals the cards as a meditationAnd those he plays never suspectHe doesn't play for the money he winsHe doesn't play for respect • He deals the cards to find the answerThe sacred geometry of chanceThe hidden law of a probable outcomeThe numbers lead a dance • I know that the spades are swords of a soldierI know that the clubs are weapons of warI know that diamonds mean money for this artBut that's not the shape of my heart • He may play the jack of diamondsHe may lay the queen of spadesHe may conceal a king in his handWhile the memory of it fades

37. Shape Of My HeartSting • I know that the spades are swords of a soldierI know that the clubs are weapons of warI know that diamonds mean money for this artBut that's not the shape of my heart • And if I told you that I loved youYou'd maybe think there's something wrongI'm not a man of too many facesThe mask I wear is one • Those who speak know nothingAnd find out to their costLike those who curse their luck in too many placesAnd those who fear are lost • [refrain]

38. Review & Conclusion

39. Understanding Poetic Language

40. Literary Techniques (1): Tone and Voice Voice: that of the speaker’s; in lyrics, it’s usually the first-person. The tone of a poem, like the tone of our speech, implies the speaker's attitude(s) towards the poem's subject.   The speaker's attitude can sometimes be subtly expressed, and we need to carefully study the poem's wording, rhythm and images to understand the tone.  The tones can range from being ironic, neutral, ambiguous, to being emotional and angry.

41. Literary Techniques (2): Figures of Speech (比喻語言) • Poets often deviate from the denotative meanings of words to create fresher ideas and images. Such deviations from the literal meanings are called figures of speech or figurative language. • Example: If you giddily whisper to your classmate that the introduction to literature class is so wonderful and exciting that the class sessions seem to only last a minute, you are using a figure of speech. • Example: If you say that our textbook is your best friend, you are using a figure of speech. • Kinds: metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole, understatement, paradox, and pun. Used by you in writing, speaking and joking.

42. Literary Techniques (2-1): image (意象) Image means "a concrete picture" (Harper Handbook 235).  In daily language image is usually a composite of visual details, but literary images can be those of sights, sounds, tastes, touch and smells.   When your composition teacher asks you to give concrete, sensory details in your narrative, you are asked to recall/re-create images of your experience so that your readers can experience and feel them, too.  If you give your images figurative meanings or other meanings beyond the literal level, you are creating figurative images (metaphors or similes) or symbols.   ".

43. Literary Techniques (2-2): Imagery (Please refer to my lecture on “Araby”) An ”image” is -- “a word or sequence of words that refers to any sensoryexperience” (Kennedy and Gioia 741). An image cluster (group) -- evokes a mental image, an atmosphere, or creates symbolic meanings.

44. Literary Techniques (2-2): Metaphor • A Metaphor is a type of speech that compares or equates two or more things that have something in common. A metaphor does NOT use like or as. • Example: • Life is a box of chocolate. You'll never know what you're going to get. • A bowl of cherries. – Eat it up! • More life metaphor /similes here!http://crinago1172.blogspot.com/2007/12/life-metaphors.html • (reference)

45. Literary Techniques (2-3): Simile, etc. Simile: -- [e.g.] Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard. Personification: Describing an object or animal as though it had human characteristics. -- [e.g.] Emily’s “coquettish” house in “A Rose for Emily” Apostrophe: a direct address to an imaginary object or absent person. -- [e.g.] “A Noiseless Patient Spider” (reference)

46. Literary Techniques (2-4): Symbol When an image is made to stand for two things, as when a rose represents itself and also the color in a young woman's cheeks, the image turns into a METAPHOR, SIMILE, or other form of FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE.  [e.g. "A Simile for her Smile"] When an image or an object has its own meaning/existence, but then is also used to suggest complex or multiple meanings. For instance, when a rose represents itself, young women generally, and also beauty and fagility, it becomes a SYMBOL." (Harper Handbook 236) (reference)

47. Literary Techniques (3): Rhyme • [usually] End Rhyme: the repetition of the final syllable (vowel and consonant sounds) in the last words of poetic lines. • Different positions:  • 2. internal rhyme: rhymes within the lines. • Sound Patterns: • Consonance –repetition of consonants • Assonance -- repetition of vowel sounds • Alliteration -- repetition of the first consonant (or syllables) • Different Kinds of Rhyme: Exact rhyme vs. slant (false) rhyme (“room” & “Storm”), feminine rhyme (of multiple syllables and unstressed syllables)

48. Literary Techniques (4): Rhythm & scanning a poem • Rhythm (音韻) refers to the stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem. (Like 平仄 in Chinese poems; beats in songs.) • Meter (格律)--the pattern found among stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem. E.g. iambic (抑揚) trochaic (揚抑) • scansion --the analysis of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem. • Steps: 1) Mark the syllables 音節 2) Mark the feet. 音步 (2 to 3 syllables e.g. iambic 抑揚) 3) Mark the caesuras (noticeable pause in a line of poetry)

49. Performance Time • Each Group 10 mins’ performance: All the crew members as audience, choosing best actor and best actress • Summary & Figurative Language Hunt

50. Performances Today 11:00 – 12:00 -- Write on the board. 1)? 2) work schedule and transition music 3) Your Poem: Theme and Analysis 4) suggestions for the group