So long, farewell, it shouldn't be that bad to say goodbye.

In "A Valediction: forbidden mourning", I originally had no idea what this poem was talking about. I did not know what a "valediction" was, so I looked up the definition. After finding out that a valediction is a type of goodbye, I assumed that this poem was about saying goodbye to someone. The easy ABAB rhyme scheme made the poem easy to follow along with and the questions below the poem further added to helping me understand the poem. However, I don't really understand all of the metaphors that are created through this poem. I know that the metaphors are there, but I cannot dissect their meaning. In the first stanza, the speaker says that the parting of the two people should be like "virtuous men mildly passing away" (line 2). The goodbye that the two lovers are faced with should not be a big ordeal, essentially. Then, in line 7, the speaker goes on to say that crying over the parting of the two individuals should not evoke tears because "crying destroys their joy". The happiness that the couple shares should not be taken away by the distance they are now faced with. Now, towards the end, I know that the compass is a metaphor for something, but I did not understand what the compass stood for or what it was symbolic of. Regardless of whether I understood all of the metaphors or not, I did see the purpose for the use of metaphors. The metaphors make the reader see the beauty in the love that these two people share. Through the use of metaphors, the speaker states what they mean but in a discrete way. By comparing their goodbye and their love to other things, the speaker is able to convey the point. Their goodbye should not be mournful, but optimistic instead.

Not fond of their siblings...

In "The Joy of Cooking", the speaker uses her sister's tongue and brother's heart to describe their personalities. Although it is somewhat weird to connect body parts to personality traits and the refer to "cooking" them, it does create vivid imagery for the reader to picture. Obviously, from the title and the words the poet uses, the reader can assume that the speaker is not too fond of her brother and sister. Due to her sister's tongue that is "scrubbed and skinned" (line 2) and the statement "it probably will grow back" (line 7), the reader can also infer that the sister is not afraid to say what she thinks and she probably curses (and refrains from biting her tongue...pun intended.)  All of these characteristics that the speaker states about her sister are negative. Also, the fact that the speaker gets enjoyment out of "cooking" her siblings body parts is somewhat maniacal. In the second stanza, the speaker talks about her brother. The speaker doesn't seem to be to enthralled with her brother either. The brother's heart is seen as boring, dull, and careless. (line 11) Furthermore, the fact that his heart "barely feeds two" can make the reader assume that he is somewhat self-centered. Through the imagery of "cooking" siblings negative personality traits, the reader is able to understand the speakers point in the poem.

Confusion with The Panther

In "The Panther" I couldn't really find any meaning in the poet's words. The diction used is all diction of confinement. The image of a panther behind bars, sort of like a zoo, is able to easily be imagined. However, I don't understand what the panther stands for, if it stands for anything at all. Also, the point that the poet makes in the last stanza is referring to the closing and opening of the panther's eyes. Only at times does the panther open his eyes and he sees an image. The image has to stand for something. It seems as if the "image" is entering into the heart of the panther, but I'm not sure what exactly this means. Maybe the image is a sense of hope or desire of the panther. Even though the panther is captive, it still has hope for something more, even if that hope goes away quickly.

I wouldn't want to live in London

The poem "London" was depressing. Throughout the entire poem, the unity of the lines is apparent through the dark diction such as "woe", "fear", "cry", "runs in blood", "Harlot's curse", "plagues" and "hearse". Whatever is going on in London, I would not want to be there during this time...

The first stanza discusses how the city of London is full of unhappy people. Then, the second stanza adds to the first by describing how in every aspect of the peoples lives, there is some sort of unhappiness. Now, the third stanza starts to describe the different types of people in the society. The chimney-sweepers, the church, and the soldier are all presented to the reader. Again, the theme of unhappiness is apparent through each character.The last stanza refers to the destruction of a family through a prostitute.

The only thing I am completely sure of in this poem is the evidence of unhappiness of the people in the city. I'm still confused as to what is going on and why the people are so unhappy and what exactly is driving the people to this universal unhappiness.

Vanity found in the Sea

In "The Convergence of the Twain" the poet is describing the tragedy of the Titanic. A lot of personification is used throughout this poem. The fish and sea creatures "query" and "gaze" at the objects that now occupy their home in the sea. Through the personification of the fish, I was really able to imagine what Thomas Hardy may have been trying to convey to the reader.

I found the word "vanity" to be an important one in the first stanza of the poem. Mostly all of the people on the Titanic were vain, pompous, rich people. Yet, all of their belongings are now alongside the sea-worms and fish. To the passengers, all of their belongings meant everything to them. Their belongings defined who they were and where they stood in society. The passengers and the ship itself represented the high class in society, but now it is nothing but a part of the sea. I feel like this is somewhat ironic. These people were so focused on the pleasures and objects of life and in the end, it got them no where.

I inferred that the last stanza is referring to God when talking about "The Spinner of the Years". I also inferred that this was the way of the poet speaking of the  inevitability of the sinking of the ship. When such vain people and extravagant objects located all throughout the ship are put together, there is no real purpose other than pleasure. Two different worlds are created. A world for God and a world of materialism. The Titanic was a world of materialism.

Metaphorical funeral

In Emily Dickinson's "I felt a funeral, in my brain" poem, she takes us into a metaphor of a funeral taking place in her brain. After I read the questions that went along with the poem, I then noticed that the sense of sight is missing from the poem. The most prevalent sense that Dickinson focuses on is the sense of hearing. When I first read the poem, I initially thought that maybe Dickinson was describing the world of someone who has become blind. It made sense to me because 1.) the funeral taking place would be for the sense of sight that was lost 2.) the person who has become blind is trying to make sense of the world around them by hearing things.

After discussing this poem in class, however, it makes way more sense to describe how the funeral taking place represents a person slowly loosing their mind. Especially in the last stanza when Dickinson describes "a plank in reason, broke" the fact that someone is loosing their mind justifies the lack of reasoning. The plank in reason that is breaking is all that makes sense to the person. There is no reason anymore, just the nonsense of a person who has lost their mind and the person is just slowly withering away.

Even though I was way off in my first interpretation of the poem, I was able to see the importance of the sensory language throughout the poem. The point of the poem is able to be conveyed to the reader through these sensory descriptions. In result of this, a reader can really imagine that a "funeral" is taking place in this person's brain.

Spring and Sin

The poem "Spring" starts off with a lot of alliteration. "When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush." The alliteration helps to evoke the sense of imagery strongly present throughout this entire poem. The first stanza is very descriptive with terms that are associated with spring. Through the description, imagery is also created. For example, the use of vivid words such as "the glassy peartree leaves and blooms." paint a picture in ones mind of a lovely pear tree in the springtime.

The second stanza and third stanza get a little more in depth. Rather than explicitly stating terms that are associated with spring to create imagery, a different type of imagery is created through comparison. The words "In Eden's garden", "Before it could, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning" helped me to see a comparison to something Biblical or spiritual. In my own opinion, I felt as if Hopkins was comparing the season of spring to a world before sin. Usually spring is associated with new life, new beginnings and so on. Similarly, before the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, life was perfect and new. Fall and winter are commonly seen as the cold months of dormant plants and no production of anything new, while the season of spring brings new opportunities to the world. Before sin, our world was full of everything wonderful and great. It seems as if spring is a representation of this perfect world full of opportunities.