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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

G Bell- Postmodern Poetry (Due February 3 by midnight)


One of the many beauties of poetry is its ability take everyday experiences and views and condense them into a vivaciously condensed medium. This distillation process manifests Da Vinci's belief that, "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" because it allows the audience to empathize with the author while filling the simpler picture with his/her own experiences and feelings. As a result of the reader's sometimes softening interpretation, the poet can criticize or target a certain person, idea, or event from the shelter of paper. Write a poem of any structural style in which you analyze or criticize an event in todays world, a person from your past or present, societal idea, etc. Following your poem describe which poetic devices you utilized.

Poetry Styles: 

Poetic Terms: 

12 comments:

  1. ONE simple word that can make or break
    An entire life laden with desire
    Most shatter at one point or another
    But when you do, you know

    Felling the heat, hate, contempt, and
    Never ending desire
    To utterly despise everything that
    That other ONE once did

    Tearing most apart
    And pulling few together
    Looking for a change weather
    In any attempt to make things better

    These checks and miss-directed letters
    Become the only way to connect
    But- nothing will adapt
    For not even humans know how

    To everything that once was
    Toast to the now, before you may not ever
    But before the ritual, ponder the weather
    Wonder if there will ever be forever

    But there will forever be not ONE changed,
    But TWO, THREE, and FOUR
    And remember this as you walk out that door


    This is a free verse poem comprised of six stanzas, with four lines each, but three lines to conclude. Little rhyming is used. A hyperbole is incorporated when using “shatter” to emphasize a point where there is a definite break and separation in one’s life. The poem takes a serious tone from someone who is watching the situation, but is inevitably involved in what is happening. The speaker recognizes the situation and the theme of how one person can change three more.

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  2. Just jump,
    take that leap of faith,
    like a soaring hawk,
    or a flying frog,
    that is trying to find it’s place.

    Just have no fear,
    let it resonate,
    like a soldier out in war,
    on those simmering summer days.

    Just smile like you used to,
    loosen up,
    like a rosy cheek child,
    swinging freely to the sky.

    Just please be yourself,
    don’t impersonate.

    This poem has four stanzas, and no rhyme scheme. The beginning line of each stanza includes the repetition of “just” followed by a desire of what the author wishes this person to do. Stanza one and two include some alliteration such as in line 4 and line 9. Also each stanza except for the last includes an example of what the author delineates as describing a certain quality like “no fear”, which comes in the form of similes in lines 3,4,8,and 12. The poem has a wishful tone, yearning for this person to come to terms with them self, thus criticizing the person’s drift in personality from who they originally were. The overall message in the end is to stay true, and “be yourself”.

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  3. Mother Earth

    The temperature continues to rise.
    My hands melt from the heat of the blazing sun.
    Feelings of enclosure surround me,
    Give me the door to escape!

    The pollution is increasing,
    My sight is dwindling.
    A Black Cloud circulates around my eyes,
    Give me the door to escape!

    Beep! The roars of cars makes my ears bleed.
    My children fight over the land that was once a gift to them.
    Their selfishness forces them to take the homes of my other sons,
    Give me the door to escape!

    Oh God, Why must you make me a mother of so many?

    This is a free verse without a rhyme scheme. Yet, the fourth line of the first three stanzas is the same. This poem’s theme is about the environment and how man has exploited it by fighting for land, mentioned in stanza 3, or by adding pollution, which leads to rise in temperature. Personification is used in lines 2, 6, 9, 10, 3, and 11. There is also an allusion, in line 7 where the Black Cloud serves as a reference to the Asian Cloud that lingers in the air of China. Onomatopoeia is also a device that is used in line 9. Overall, the theme of the poem is to make man realize how our activities and our thoughts how harmed our mother, or Earth, and we need to change this before it is too late.

    Sorry about the format! The poem was supposed to be 13 lines but the blog font is too big!

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  4. The buzzards screech with pure delight
    as the survivors run from perilous plight
    unknown is their future ahead
    the camps are filled with endless red
    the sun falls and unmasks the night

    five-pointed figures engrave the soul
    no choice in refusal to enroll
    relief in the watery skies
    choking on their own demise
    as villains smirk on patrol

    Waking to another day
    Still confined and must obey
    Like sluggish creatures
    with defined features
    slowly beginning to decay


    This poem contains 3 limericks with a rhyme scheme of AABBA. The theme of my poem is the horrors and distress of the Holocaust. Line 1 contains an oxymoron of "screech" and "delight". In line 2, I've used alliteration to portray "perilous plight." I used a metaphor in line 6. The "five pointed figures" relates to the Jewish star and in line 13 i use a smilie to compare Jews to "sluggish creatures."

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  5. ATTENTION

    BLOG CHANGE!!!!!!!!!!
    So let's make a switch to a more positive tone... Write a poem praising a figure, event, or situation.

    Remember to refer to your TPCAST chart as an outline of devices and strategies in your poem.

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  6. The sweet mist of the morning,
    Lagging behind the crowd it came to a complete stop.
    Settling over the perfect dew on the purple rose,
    The relinquished strength flowing down the vine.

    New voices clung to the hallways,
    The shroud of mist guarded its pearl, its one treasure.
    Push, shove, trip, laugh, bully,
    Nothing could've been prepared this was war.

    Exclamations issued and invitations offered,
    Maybe the gods wouldn't have to wash away the world.
    A glow from the middle of the location drew attention,
    Smelling of vanilla mixed with love, it couldn't be.

    Hope, desire, lust,
    Affections rose with the temperature in the room.
    Finally the knight chose his last move,
    Arms opened wide, the mist could venture away, the guardian angel had arrived.

    This is a free verse poem, consisting of, obviously, 4 stanzas. Personification is used to describe the mist towards the beginning and ending of the poem. The poem itself is describing an event, it seems to carry a story between the lines as well, enticing one to delve deeper into what it really has to say.

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  7. Another year passes, another celebration occurs
    The gifts and the givers
    The presents and the presenters
    All are insignificant, relative to the value
    Of the camaraderie and companionship
    Of the sincerity and the care
    The bliss of a birthday
    Lost in 364, but invigorated into a beautiful afternoon

    This is a free verse poem, concerning the simplicity of a birthday party. Its goal is to invite one to not take for granted the small things in life, but instead appreciate each day one is allowed on Earth.

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  8. First off, excellent work everyone. Poetry is perhaps one of the hardest forms of literature to write. I, by no means, am an expert poet, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
    @Lauren - I enjoyed the theme of your poem - everyone has experienced heartbreak, drama, or loss in high school, and your piece definitely appeals to the audience. However, I would suggest either employing a rhyme scheme or no rhyme scheme at all, for the inconsistencies in prosody resound with confusion to the reader.
    @Tasha - I enjoyed the subtle technique you utilized, especially the alliteration. The similes helped convey your point, but they were a bit cliche. All in all though, a fine piece.
    @Prutha - Excellent use of a title. A title, although it may seem restrictive as to the interpretation of the work, can help the reader understand more the author's intend. Your personification of the Earth was spot-on!
    @Caroline - I enjoyed your poem thoroughly, particularly the rhyme scheme. Your allusions to the death camps stood out as well as the (six)-pointed star symbol.
    @Sydney - It really looks like your put some time and effort into this poem! The free, unstructured form adds to the feeling of elevation and joy that you seek to convey.
    @McCleod - Although short, I appreciate your poem's message and the childlike colloquialisms you employ. The alliteration is also well-employed.

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  9. Oh how box office blues
    Never seem to describe the muse
    That constantly serenades me
    Calling, "Hollywood, for a fee!"

    My favorite movie of all time
    Ages, like a fine wine
    Glass Menagerie
    Such great acting! Yippee!

    I adore all forms
    All genres of this field that fail to conform
    I especially love all of the hits
    Because in my life, they will always fit

    This poem contains an AABB rhyme scheme. It consists of three stanzas with four lines for each stanza. The movie, "The Glass Menagerie" serves as an allusion to the movie that was based off of Tennessee Williams original novel.

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  10. Only the Good
    By Kelsie Halberg

    Wake up early
    But still leave late
    Just so I can get there
    When you do.
    Pull up next to your car
    Catch a smile and a wave

    Talk to you casually
    Easily, freely
    Like friends yet more
    But there is a disconnect
    Why can’t you see me
    In the way that I see you

    We’ve been friends for a while
    Nothing more than that
    Yet there has always been
    That thought, to wonder
    Whether or not there is something
    Something there, something more

    I keep your secrets
    Just like you have kept mine
    I still don’t know everything
    But there’s no need to
    Ill be blinded from the bad
    And only be fixed on the good.

    This poem is written in free verse to illustrate and emphasize the desire to be free from social ties restricting two people from being together. Each of the four stanzas contain six lines. Within each stanza a different topic is addressed pertaining to the speaker’s emotional stress and frustration. At the end of the poem, the speaker reveals that even though there is disappointment in his or her life, that all doesn’t matter because the focus is only on what is good.

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  11. As I sit here and think my mind is clouded with thoughts of you.
    From the day I met you, I wanted to be just like you
    Walk like you, talk like you, do things as you did.

    I have taken your image and molded it into myself.
    I am now an individual with the guidance of you.
    When your dead and gone, I will pass your story to generations to come.

    You will always be more than a role model, you are my family.

    This poem is a free verse to exemplify the love i feel for my family as a whole. They have shaped me into the person i am today, and i am forever grateful. There are two stanzas and a few closing lines. I did this because i felt the final lines left the poem open ended, yet it is obvious I appreciate all that has been done for me.

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  12. @Tyler - Excellent! I enjoyed your poem's comedy and allusion to our class's favorite movie of all time, the Glass Menagerie. I also appreciate your use of the AABB rhyme scheme. Rhyming is difficult but with the right words and even a few interjections, it's an effective device in weaving your poetry.
    @Kelsie - The free verse does help to convey your sense of love and friendship that you share with that special person (*cough I wonder whom it could be cough*). The organization is an great contrast to the freedom in your word choice and meter.
    @Cassie - A wonderful example of apostrophe!

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