Poems by Iconic Authors: Keats, Shakespeare, Hughes Essay

“Ode on Grecian Urn” by John Keats

This poem is majorly based on paradoxical stylistic device. It entails the appreciation of artwork that has found its description in a poem. The poem describes art work versus life occurrences. There is a world of creation of full fantasy by the “urn” people in the poem. These art works of the Greece people are quite thrilling. Though they are immovable, they bring a sense of turbulent action and a live passion. The poem does not combine the issue of pain and joy.

Title of the Poem

The title of the poem “ode on Grecian urn” shows the challenges between the existing dynamic life and frozen images among the “urn” people. It tries to describe the permanent & immortal versus the changeable human feelings that is, art versus life.

The Speaker

The speaker seems to be a human observer. This is because the poem does not seem to involve the narrator directly. There are two personas in this poem. At one point, one might think it is Keats speaking, while at the another point, one might think it is the “urn” speaking. For example, in the line “dost tease us out of thought / as doth eternity”, one might feel that the comments are from the “urn” while we find that most parts have been contributed by Keats. This has been shown in the final couplet.

Last stanza

The last stanza is very much confusing. It brings out the paradoxical issue. Keats point of view depicts that art might be superior to nature. The story is both passionate and cold. The poem concludes with message from urn. The last two lines in the final stanza show a triumphant work. The limitations there are valid in art realm, but only where there is the existence of the urn.

“Pity this Busy Monster, Manukind” by Cummings E.E

The poem is about humanity and the kind of technological advancement that humans have involved themselves in. The poet is very negative on the developments being made. He describes man as a monster who has changed the image of all things as they ought to be. Every day man launches a new discovery. He believes that man could be unkind to nature that is why he uses the fabricated word “manukind”.

The persona feels that man should not be pitied because he has been involved in the progression that is causing him harm. This is exhibited in the line that states “Progression is a comfortable disease”. The only thing that the persona is happy about is the issue of death. He does not support the issue of advancement. Therefore, for him death is a good cause in stoppage of human’s actions. To the persona, humanity is evil.

Title

The title of the poem “Pity this busy monster, manukind.” Describes how human race is unkind. It describes human in a very negative manner because of the destruction that it has caused on the Earth. This has been put together in the notion of development or technological advancement.

Speaker

The persona is very negative on technology and advancement. He is more of a conservatism. This is because he does not pity the humans at any cost for their sufferings. He describes the effects as bad and that human has inflicted these bad effects on their own accord. He describes human as evil. This is because human beings do not care about the natural stuff that had been created.

The last stanza

The last stanza to the speaker represents the true promise of nature. This is shown in the line that states “There is a hell of good universe next door; let’s go”. This is because he does not believe in the current universe. The persona supports the idea of spirituality but not reality. To him spirituality is above scientific discovery.

“Sonnet 130 my mistress’ eye nothing like the sun” by William Shakespeare

In this poem, the persona compares his mistress or his lover with various adornment components. He believes that the lover is the rare species. The normal adornments are significant to the persona. The speaker uses a rhetoric structure in describing his mistress. He insists that it is not a must that a woman has all these requirements to be cute. It is not also a must that a woman should look like a flower to be beautiful.

The Title

The title of the poem “Sonnet 130 My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” shows the appreciation that the speaker accords to the lover. The speaker appreciates the mistress but she does not have similar works as what she is being compared to.

Speaker

The persona in the poem is a man who is in love with his mistress. He is celebrating his mistress by describing her in the best way he can. He really loves her.

The last stanza

The last stanza describes the beauty of the lover. It depicts a form of satire. It demeans the forms of comparison that has always been used by most poets towards their lovers.

“Wild Nights” by Dickinson Emily

This poem expresses passion, sexual desire and the ultimate love that one individual feels for the other who is of the opposite sex. It depicts an encounter between two people who love each other. The word “luxury” in stanza one depicts gratification and love.

The title

The poem is titled “wild nights” because the main theme is about passionate love. It reveals a sexual desire and intimate feeling that can only be described by a night that is wild. The title draws the longing of the lover so near that one can also imagine the kind of affection the speaker has. Though the poem is untitled, wild nights provide a suitable title.

The speaker

The speaker is a lover to the friend. The second line of the first stanza exhibits the wishes of the persona. The persona here could be a male or a female who is madly in love with the mate and would love to experience the feeling of love and intimacy.

The last Stanza

The last stanza depicts the passion that is sexually aroused. It finalizes the romantic feeling of a nice expectation. The stanza also indicates a longing for a loved one.

“Harlem” by Hughes Langston

The Poem is about a dream that has been postponed. The speaker asks several questions about the aftermath of the dream. Obviously what comes afterwards is not impressive. This kind of dream has been compared to raisins which are normally found on grapes that have withered after being scorched by the sun. This is not really a good ending for any person. The end is filled of sadness and all that was intended is not achieved.

Title

The title poem is titled “Harlem” because it focused on the lives of the African-American people. It shows what happens when suddenly a dream is put off or a work that is in progress is postponed. The poem shows that such life is full of destruction and it does not remain in the line it was initially intended for.

The Speaker

The speaker in this poem is probably a teacher or an elder person who is trying to ask his/her students to give their thoughts on the topic. He/she is probably concerned with what most people would end up in if in any case their dream is cut off. What is inevitably right is the issue of the end destruction.

The last stanza

The last stanza shows a suggestion by the speaker. It depicts what happens when something is loaded, For example, in this case a dream that has not been realized seems to drag one’s life behind. It really weighs down the mind and makes one start pounding on the “if” suggestions.

These thoughts result into the deferment of the dream. This is not a good idea or feeling. It might result into despair. This could lead into a mental lethargy or depression. The last stanza involves a question that puts the persona into a fatal position. The only remedy the speaker gets is on committing a homicide or suicide which is not right.

“One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop

This poem shows how the essence of losing in the persona side is not a big deal. She does not care even thought the stuff she keeps on losing seem to be increasing in value. The persona regards the losses as trivial. The poem also shows how these things are not dear to her. This is because she seems not to be so attached to them.

The last stanza shows the loss of a person. This though has hit her so badly. Her emotions get overwhelming in the last stanza where she acknowledges that if one loses a person, it can be surely tragic. Although she uses repetition to stress that losing is not a big deal, it saddens her to realize that she has lost an important person in her life.

The title

The title suits the poem in the sense that it is easy for the speaker to master her losses. This has reached to a point that she has to convince herself that it is an easy thing to master. Though she is a victim of too many losses, she is not thrilled by the last loss. This really makes her yield to her emotions. It really makes her open her eyes and leave out her legacy that losing is an easy art to master.

The speaker

The speaker is a lady. She is fond of losing her stuff. Though she is not at times directly involved, she is victimized in one way or another. She has tried to take it easy but she cannot hold her emotions for the final loss.

The last Stanza

The last stanza exhibits one of the most important things in her life that has gotten lost. It exhibits the loss of a loved one. The speaker in her initial losses did not seem to care, but for this final loss, she cannot hold onto her emotions.

“Daddy” By Sylvia Plath

In this poem, the story of a young girl is told. The lady is now big but since she was young she had it rough in the companion of the male relatives, that is, the dad and the husband. She did hate the dad so much that she dared for a chance to kill him even though he is dead. She feared the father so much when she was young.

She even rejoices at the death of the father who died when she was only ten. The way the speaker refers to the father is really a way of generalizing issues which is very critical. To say that she imagines that every German is her father is quite unfortunate. The speaker also has included the essence of war which could have occurred back in her father’s days. She only pictured the dad as part of the “Narsizm”.

The title

The title “Daddy” has suited the poem because all the experiences that the lady underwent were initiated by the dad. Though the husband could have not exhibited the actions of the dad, the lady still likened her to the dad because of what the dad had initiated in her life. She imagined every German man as bad hence the husband was bad too.

The Speaker

The speaker is a lady. The lady is Sylvia. She is describing the kind of life she experienced in the hands of the dad and the husband. Her sentiments exhibit exuberating hatred for both the dad and the husband.

The last stanza

The last stanza is a bit remorseful. The lady has come to a point of realization that the dad was not perfect. This is same to every human being. Even though the lady feared the dad and wished that he died, she really loved him. She finally chooses to move on because she cannot revive the dad back to life.

“Because I could not stop for death” by Emily Dickson

In this poem, it seems the persona has fallen in love with death. As death approaches to take her, she humbly accepts and even puts on her best dress for it. The garments represent a fresh beginning of which she is happy about and accepts. She is so comfortable and says that the death should not be feared of at all.

The title

The writer of this poem did not title her poems because she did not mean to publish them. The title of the poem could be “Because I could not stop for death”. This suggests the kind of bondage death and the speaker have fallen into. They seem inseparable. Normally, people do not want to die, but in this case, the lady has defied all cases to be together with the dreaded fact of death.

The Speaker

The speaker in this case is a lady who is getting married to a personified occurrence which is death. Her religious belief puts her into the status of accepting death and not fearing it at all. The persona here could be speaking from the tomb or grave. Death to her has become the best suitor.

The last stanza

This stanza depicts the issue of immortality. It is paradoxical since the speaker says that in the grave, time feels shorter than the day. The speaker is comfortable to have achieved what she desired most and what she is less fearful of.

“Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes

This poem shows a black pupil or student who is trying to deal with his identity. He seems not to have access of the stuff used by other colleagues who could be whites. One thing he has to deal with is the fact that he cannot separate himself from that entire environment. The student feels that as a member of the minority, even if he writes something good, it will not be taken seriously because he happens to come from the minor group of people. He feels racially discriminated as he is the only colored student in a class.

The title of the poem

The title indicates that there could be another title stated as “Theme for English A” which could be a default title. This title has been given by an instructor. He/she wants the students to write genuine works of what they feel from themselves.

The speaker

The speaker is a student who lives in Harlem. He happens to have characteristically traits of white and black hence is an African- American person. He is the only colored student in the class.

The last stanza

The speaker feels unworthy. Apart from being the youngest in class, he comes from the minority group. He tries to rationalize the issues by saying that he should learn from the white friends who should also learn from him. He looks forward to a more free world and environment where he will not be regarded as a person from minority group.

Works Cited

Bishop, Elizabeth. “One Art”. Massachusetts: Worcester, 2005. Print.

Cummings, Evans. “This Busy Monster, Manukind”. California: Gunner Bengsstone, 1997. Print.

Dickinson, Emily. “Because I could not stop for Death”. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1980. Print.

Dickinson, Emily. “Wild Nights”. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2000. Print.

Hughes, Langston. “Harlem”. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998. Print.

Hughes, Langston. “Theme for English B”. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1950. Print.

Keats, John. “Ode on Grecian Urn. New York: Bartleby, 2011. Print.

Plath, Sylvia. “Daddy”. Ohio: Ashbrook Center, 2001. Print.

Shakespeare, William. “Sonnet 130: My Mistress’ Eyes are nothing like the sun”. New York: Washington Square, 2004. Print.