Step 1 - Choose one (1) poem in the 12-page handout:
- NOT the poem you will perform
- NOT the poem you will analyze in the final paper
Step 2 - Choose one (1) specific function of poetry below
that you think can be related to your chosen poem.
Functions of Poetry
A. Historical Functions
• Horace: dulce et utile
• British Romantics: a poet is “a man speaking to other men”
• Postmodern: multiculturalism, open up the literary canon
B. Ekphrasis (Poetry + Other Arts)
• intertext: music, painting, film, photography
• art-influenced poetry & poetry-influenced art
C. Poetry & Context
• how poetry confronts cultural & sociopolitical issues
- identity
- myth
- gender/sexuality
- social class
- nationhood
D. Trends & Practices
• performance poetry
• translation
Step 3 - State the poem's literal dramatic situation
in 1 or 2 sentences; include the ff information:
- persona/speaker
- situation/human experience
- attitude/tone/emotional state of speaker
Step 4 - Discuss the meaning & relevance of the poem
by relating it to the Function of Poetry you chose.
FORMAT: 150-word mini-essay
DEADLINE : May 23, Saturday, 12 noon
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In the sonnet “Soledad,” the situation is about a refined young girl who is involved in a scandal because she likely had a relationship with a guy with a different social status and had possibly slept with him, and the persona can be referring to herself because of the fact that the she can clearly state what the” girl” felt like specifically in the second stanza. It also seems that the speaker in the poem wanted to justify what she did and sympathize with herself in a way. The poem uses a lot of words usually related to religion and it says a lot about the Filipino society. Filipinos are deeply rooted to their religion even though there are times when human emotions get in the way. We see that in the poem when the neighbors tried to understand the whole situation, but in the end condemned the girl anyway.
ReplyDeleteWord Count: 150 words
(Cheth Neciemie G. Mundin Lit14-S)
In the sestina "The Shrinking Lonesome Sestina", we can see how the poem goes from a long wordy stanza to a straight-to-the-point ending at the end. This "shrinking" movement is done to convey an overall idea of being alone or lonely, and the persona of the poem who seems to be a parent - a mother - feels this. Furthermore, it tells us the reality of growing up. We grow up and have lives and paths of our own to follow, and the tendency is to get caught up with what life throws at us and eventually lose sight or even forget of what is important - in this case family. The poem tells us not to forget the important things and find time to "come home". Knowing these, we can clearly see how it focuses on loneliness in a family aspect - a common matter that we encounter.
ReplyDelete149 Words
-Juan Alberto Ong, Lit14 S-
In the sestina "The Shrinking Lonesome Sestina", we can see how the poem goes from a long wordy stanza to a straight-to-the-point ending at the end. This "shrinking" movement is done to convey an overall idea of being alone or lonely, and the persona of the poem who seems to be a parent - a mother - feels this. Furthermore, it tells us the reality of growing up. We grow up and have lives and paths of our own to follow, and the tendency is to get caught up with what life throws at us and eventually lose sight or even forget of what is important - in this case family. The poem tells us not to forget the important things and find time to "come home". Knowing these, we can clearly see how it focuses on loneliness in a family aspect - a common matter that we encounter.
ReplyDelete149 Words
-Juan Alberto Ong, Lit14 S-
In “We Real Cool,” Gwendolyn Brooks writes about troubled teenagers. Teenagers who don’t like school so they skip and play pool. They drink and sing as a way to feel ecstasy. They live in a happy-go-lucky lifestyle. The implications of their lifestyle will lead to failure and difficulties in the future. No education means limited job opportunities. A life without direction will cause their downfall. Gwendolyn Brooks is illustrating that this lifestyle of teenagers, if continued, will lead to a terrible fate – early death. The tone of the poem is upbeat but at the end, it changes drastically. The use of “we” could be the boys owning up to their lifestyle. They are proud of what they do cause that’s who they are and that’s what they want to do (not to go to school). But with the line “we die soon,” it says that they know that they’re lifestyle will destroy them.
ReplyDeleteWord Count: 153
-Princess Trinidad, Lit14-S
The poem Soledad by Angela Manalang Gloria is about a high class woman (“one so carved from pride and glassed in dream”) being condemned by the townspeople because of something she did wrong- which is having a relationship with a man with a lower status. The speaker in the poem is probably one of the neighbours but he/she has a different attitude towards the situation. The function of poetry used here is obviously the inequality in social classes. It is clearly stated that people of higher social status thinks of themselves as ‘god’ thus they believe that those people in the same social class as them are the only ones qualified to be their friends/ lovers. They treat those of the lower class differently-in a bad way. They also condemned or say bad stuff about those high class people who engaged in a relationship with a lower class person.
ReplyDelete-Aubrey Mae Ang-
Lit 14- S
Word count:149
The poem “Soledad” speaks about a woman from a high class society (based from the words carved from pride and glassed in dream meaning she is taken raised carefully with big dreams form the parents and much expectation from the daughter) who gets to lose her chastity / virginity from a trouble maker from a lower class man (can be inferred from the words to let a firebrand in, she dared profane the bread and wine of life for some insane moment with him). A lot of words from the poem was taken from the Christian context to symbolize the “holiness” of virginity and how unholy of the woman when she dared to lose it especially since the poem was written a long time ago during those times, virginity was a sacred thing to take care of and was not widely accepted in the society. Everyone condemned the woman.
ReplyDeleteMichael Rei Reyes(Lit 14 - S)
151 words
Like most of the poems Angela Manalang-Gloria writes, “Soledad” is able to tackle a social challenge that a woman would face for defying the customs of the society. The persona narrates the story of a girl who is condemned for violating a sacred idea of the culture. She gives-up her virginity to a man does not compare to her social status, suggested by the second and third line. The shattered pane representing her virginity and the firebrand is used as a falic symbol, and also represent the working class of the society. The second part of the sonnet is where the twist comes in. The girl starts to talk about her feelings toward her actions. In the latter part of the poem she is said to cherish what she did. The poem is successful in stagger the social class in that time. The girl finding heaven in solitude is outrageous.
ReplyDeleteMarc Gabriel An (Lit. 14 - S)
150words
The poem, “Andy Warhol Speaks to His Two Filipina Maids”, written by Alfred Yuson is clearly an ekphrasis wherein art is defined in terms of another art form which is this poem. Furthermore, the title would immediately provide us with the background of the poem wherein the well-known artist, Andy Warhol, considered the persona of the poem, talks to his two Filipina maids about what art is. It is also very interesting to see the way the persona and the poem itself talk about art using the events that happen in the maids’ lives. For instance, the persona mentioned that ‘art is not cleaning up after the act. Neither is it washing off grime with the soap of tact.’ Moreover, he continued that ‘art is the letters you send home about the man you serve.’ Thus, this serves as a venue for us to appreciate art more in a completely different way.
ReplyDeleteUnjee Kim (Lit14-S)
152 words
“Bonsai” by Edith Tempo presents a mother who talks about the difficulties she experiences in upbringing a family. “Moment to moment” “and for all time”, she needs to “scale love down to a cupped hand’s size” in order to pass it on to her children and husband. It is her job to guide the children and teach them about life and the most complicated thing which is love. No person other than a mother can actually do this which makes her very special and unique.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the poem, I can say that it somehow confronts the issue of gender inequality that men are superior to women because they are much stronger and being associated as the breadwinner. However, we must take in consideration the difficulties a woman experiences when she becomes a mother just to be able to provide and nourish with love the children of the next generations.
Marjorie Gene A. Gadiano
Lit14-S (150 words)
The poem “Bonsai” shows us the real identity of mothers in our lives. This poem breaks the stereotype we associate with mothers: we think that they are just the ones who cook our food and clean our rooms. They just stay home and take care of their families. But this poem tells us how hard it really is to be a mother. Like a bonsai, which needs our undivided attention for it to grow accordingly, mothers work around the clock not just to teach their kids about math and science but also the most abstract and complex concepts: love, God and others. Subjects that aren’t easy to teach especially to children since mothers have to explain these in a much simpler way. From this we can see that the mother’s role is not the easiest but is one of the hardest and challenging role a woman can have.
ReplyDelete- Frances Anne T. Daleon
Lit14 - S
150 words
In the poem “The Shrinking Lonesome Sestina”, the persona is a mother. Here, we can see that the mother is sort of reminiscing the past, like when her children were still young and their family was still very close to each other. Also, as the poem goes on, it says that even if we get older and we come to a point where in we feel lost, there is always one place that will always be there, waiting for us, our home. The mother in this poem is also, in a way, feeling lonely because she knows that her children are growing up and she knows that there will come a time that they will have their own lives; but she will always be there for them, waiting. The structure of the poem also emphasizes the idea that it wants to tell; the lines are continually shrinking which symbolizes loneliness.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Bucad
Lit14-S
150 words
"One art" by Elizabeth bishop, shows how we should deal with the act of “losing something”. In the poem, the persona says that almost everyday he/she seems to loose something. He/she lost his/her mother’s watch which probably has a sentimental value to him/her and he/she lost three houses and two cities which is probably due to migrating or disasters, fire etc. The last stanza is what I think draws and sets the overall theme and mood of the story. We have the persona here joking or fooling around throughout the last stanza despite the many losses he/she experienced, which somehow shows his/her optimism towards this art: “the art of losing”. He/she somehow points out that losing is a natural happening to us, and we have to accept it.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of this poem is very relevant to us today, mainly because we as humans had experienced a lot of “losing” in the past, and will experience much more in the near future. We need to learn to deal with our failures and loses, as to not grieve as if it’s the end of the world. Out of these failures and loses, we should rise from the ashes and use them not as memories that would let us down, but as memories that would shape us into better persons in the future.
Albert Mendoza
Lit 14-S
203 words (sorry :( )
"We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks is about a group of rebellious and immature young men, who are cleary lost and misguided. In the poem, they find pride in all the troubles they cause; they reject soviety and society rejects them. However, there is a sense of uncertainty seen through the persona as if they are in a state of denial or in a stage in life where they are trying to find themselves. The use of the word "we" doesn't necessarily mean that the perona is a collective but it may also imply that they are speaking for or representing all readers that feel as lost and as confused as they are. However, for reades who cannot relate to the persona, a negative view of the poem will surface. For these types of readers, they will get the impression that the "pool players" are desperate for attention and are "posers".
ReplyDeleteCholo Vicencio
Lit14-S
152 Words
In the poem “Funeral Blues” by W.H Auden, the persona of the poem is a woman whose experiencing sadness and loneliness because of the death of her lover/loved one. The poem basically is about a woman who is depressed because one of her loved ones passed away and now she wants everyone to hear her ranting about the death of her love so that she could pull everyone else into the world that she is now experiencing. In the poem, the author used and grouped different kinds of things in order to bring out several messages that could relate to the dramatical situation of the story. At the first stanza, the objects grouped are clock, telephone, dog, and piano. These objects mentioned are the things that the author could only see around her field of vision. Then as the poem continues, the things mentioned are doves, sky, Moon, and the stars. These groupings could mean that she would like share to everyone the things that she is currently feeling. Also, another symbolism that the objects in the first paragraph tell us is that death is inevitable because these objects mentioned represent something that could not be controlled by us humans.
ReplyDeleteRay Francis V. Bolintiam Lit 14 S word count:200
Sonnet 17 by Pablo Neruda is about the persona telling his love why he does and doesn't love her. He doesn't start with the reasons why he loves her but with the reasons he doesn't because he doesn't have any reason on why he loves her, he just doesn't know any other way of doing it. The mood of the poems seems to be depressed, like the persona was heartbroken by the girl and that's why he gives the reasons why he doesn't love the girl. This poems for me is a performance poem because to some extent you have to peform the poem really get the message across to the audience with deeper impact. Pablo Neruda also translates to us his own perspective of love, love cannot really be defined so instead he translates to us his own views on the subject, not by giving reasons on wy a man should love a woman but by giving the shallow reasons a man loves a woman and how this is not true for himself.
ReplyDeleteCarlos Andrei B. Dela Cruz / Lit 14 - S
Word Count : 165
Sonnet XVII: Love by Pablo Neruda has a persona that talks about the love he has for that someone. In the first two lines, red things were mentioned. red is usually associated with love and in this poem, he says that he doesn't love her the ordinary way. In the next two lines, it was more on loving the person secretly. Then, the last four lines from the first stanza is explaining that even if that girl hasn't bloomed yet, he sees something in her that wasn't visible to others that was why he loves her. The next stanza tells that his love for her cannot be defined in ways becayse he just loves her with no reasons. In the last stanza, the persona finally explains the intimacy between them. The mood is more on the "in-love" state. The persona looked inspired in professing his love. This kind of situation is very evident in our genereation because of young people falling in-love but not knowing how to explain what they really feel.
ReplyDeleteKhryzette Onishi/ Lit 14-S
Word Count: 172
The poem "Bonsai", by Edith Tiempo, tells about a woman who is sharing about some of the difficult responsibilities as a mother, specifically, raising up children. The persona in the poem is not complaining, but rather still shows compassion despite the rough realities in her current situtation. Through this poem, the aspects of the female gender are being brought to us by the experience of a mother. In most cultures and societies, women play a vital role in terms of taking care of her family. At home, we also learn the common knowledge and morl values that we should know and apply in our lives. And most of the time, mothers are the ones who teach us these things. In the poem, we can see how the mother shares how difficult it is to guide and teach a child about life, love, and that every single moment, she has to consistently take note of these responsibilities. With these in mind, it is indeed truthful to say that women also do difficult things as men do. We should admire and thank these women, our mothers, who have been faithfully doing these responsibilities despite the hardships they bring.
ReplyDeleteSamantha Valencia Lit14-S
Word Count: 200
From riches to rags is an experience that is so tragic and devastating; this is what happened to the persona of the poem “The Secret Language”, by Luisa Aguilar-Carino. Christina, whose real name is Binaay, is the daughter of the chieftain of a tribe in the Cordillera but because of American Colonization, she was forced to stop following their traditions to learn American culture and was told to work in the city.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Horace, a poem should be entertaining and educational (dulce et utile). This can be exemplified by this poem. Through the use of the detailed description of the persona’s situation, the readers are able to visualize what really is happening and feel the pain that she is experiencing. At the same time, the readers are also exposed to the reality that a lot of things changed during the colonization period which affected the Filipinos and their culture.
word count: 150
Maria Louise P. Avenido
Lit14 - S
W.H. Auden's "Funeral Blues" talks about a depressed woman who is in rage because of the death of a loved one, probably her husband. The dramatic situation would be the time when the husband had just died because the line "bring out the coffin, let the mourners come" means that she wants her husband to be put in a coffin immediately. The author used two techniques to relate the structure of the poem to its idea. The first technique the author is about using objects in the poem that are impossible to do. The second technique is about grouping the objects in way the objects would appear smaller in the first and as the poem advances, the objects would be bigger. The lesson would be about the acceptance of death because the persona gets mad about something that cannot be prevented, death.
ReplyDeletePaul Lao Lit14-S
Word Count: 142
Zero Gravity by Eric Gamalinda
ReplyDeleteThe persona of the poem is probably young as suggested by the mother’s company in the house. He/she describes the amazement and attention that mankind has for a milestone in science and technology - man’s landing on the moon. This dramatic situation is derived from the lines “digging dirt in outer space…” and Neil Armstrong’s citation. The tone of the speaker is ironic in some lines wherein he/she said, “Nothing could be more ordinary – two figures / digging dirt in outer space…” There is the use of sarcasm as this breakthrough is undoubtedly momentous.
The moon can be seen as a metaphor of science. Its dry basin corresponds to the depths of science. With this, the poem is discussing the trend of man’s addiction to the study given the lines “…If we stepped out / Manila would be blank…” Today, one can hardly imagine the state of society without the perks of science.
The poem also warns that this addiction may cause life to be impersonal as in the lines “…It didn’t matter / at that moment, where our lives would lead: / father would disown one brother…”
Finally, the poem acknowledges that science only moves life forward to progress.
Jan Christopher B. Gonzales, Lit14-S
Word Count: 200
The poem “The Secret Language” can be related to poetry& context, specifically, about social classes because it deals with the experience of a woman who is serving an American family. It shows a gap between the colonized and the colonizer. In the poem, the persona is totally imprisoned of her life by the Americans and she experiences humiliation and loss of identity by being a servant of an American, forced to learn other things, speaking a ‘faultless’ English, and Christianized. The mood of the poem is definitely sad and desperate since she has no right in the place and environment where she is living. It is very obvious that one can relate this poem to the issue about social class because in history, the Philippine was colonized by Americans, which Filipinos were under Americans. The persona lost many things in her, was forced to learn many things that she was not supposed to.
ReplyDeleteWord count: 153 words
Ha-eun Baik, Lit14-S
The poem, "We real cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks, was written in short and impact words. Since "we" left school and singing, drinking gin, I can suppose to think that they are bad children who don¡'t go to school but hovering outside and steal things and buy gin which is very cheap but very strong, and enjoy their life. They listen Jazz. It shows that they might be black people in the States since Jazz is more like black music than white people. However, they finally die soon. It can be pay for what they did. Though they enjoy their life without feeling guilty, the end is it. The poet might think it is the effective way to make them(the black children) to think their own life again. In this poem, by using Alliteration in "Strikes straight", "Sing sin" and "Jazz june", keeps rhyme and it feels like jazz music and the way they speak.
ReplyDelete149 words
JiHyun Han (Lit14-S)
The sonnet "Soledad" tells us about a lady in a high class (considering the lines "To understand how one so carved from pride And glassed in dream could have so flung aside") who has committed a sin. This is because she lost her virginity or chastity with a lower class man (The way she shattered every mullioned pane To let a firebrand in.). The poem describes the Filipino Society before which is being religious and conservative. During the old times, to preserve one's self is considered to be sacred. That's why when the lady, did the sin, the town condemned her. It serves as disrespect for the religion. This shows how religion is important for the Filipinos then. The persona then realizes that she doesn't care about it and finds it happiness for her -this is shown in the line “and found her heaven in the depths of hell.”
ReplyDeleteEdgar Joseph R. Carrasco, Lit14 S
Word Count: 149 words
"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" involves the theme of death. The sepaker is Thomas, who is adressing his father and is talking about the inevitability of death. All men, whether wise, good, wild, or grave will struggle against this inevitability. "Good night" refers to a "good death"- an escape from the pain that the father is expecting due to his illness, wherein the use of 'burn and rave' suggests a fever of delirium. Thomas is saying that his father should fight whatever illness he has and not succumb to death easily, that's why his father should "rage against the dying of light". What is classic in this poem is it mentions four different types of old men and examines their attitude/feelings as they realize that death is approaching. Here, one thing is clear: if you have not made a difference; or if you have not been able to achieve good things; or if you have been blinded of the beauty of being alive; then, it is too late to regret this at the end.
ReplyDeleteSharah So
Lit14 - S
178 words
The shrinking lonesome sestina by miller williams
ReplyDeleteThe shrinking lonesome sestina is about a mother who is depressed because she longs for the company of her children. She asks them to come home to her and tells them that whatever happens she’ll always be home waiting for them. This poem tackles the cultural issues we have about how children are often distracted with their own lives that they forget to give attention to their parents. This is a reminder to the younger generation that our parents will seek our attention once they have done their greatest duty in life, and that is to nurture us until we have grown up and we are capable of living our own lives. The longing of the mother in the poem is probably the same longing that most parents that have been neglected by their children because of their own individual lives and hope that someday, they will realize what they have felt.
Word Count : 152
Denise L. Tiu/ Lit14-Section S