What I Said

Questions about the text: 

Who is them? Is the speaker male or female? Would that information inhance the overall meaning of the text? What terror is being referred to? 

Personal responce to the text:

When I read this poem I picture a person practically having a panic attack. The sentences do not end at the end of lines and there really isn't any punctuation. This means that the text is just meant to be read as a ramble to show how flustered the character is in the work. Also the author uses many question words like who and how repreated. I feel like this also goes along withy the very flustered tone. 

Overall:

I feel over all that the poem is referencing an event like 9/11. I am not sure if this is coming from an American side or a foreign side. In reality they would probably act the same way which I think is one of the goals of the poem. It could have been us or them that is saying this information and both could equally respond with the choice to kill. It is not positive but it is very true. This can be seen in the way the wars are going today. 

Occupation

Questions about the text: 

What occupation is being discuses by the poem? It is prostitution. Where does the poem take place? In the Middle East? What is a burka? Is it the head piece or dress that the women in the Middle East wear? Thanks to occupation? Is this bad or good in reality? 

Personal responce to the text: 

The first thing that I notice about this poem is the distinct rhyming pattern. I believe that this is very important for the fluidity of the poem. Due to the rhyme scheme it almost makes readers gloss over harsh concepts in the meter of the voice. Is this on purpose? I am not sure. I feel like there is a major transition when they talk about the occupation now rather than two years ago. What had changed in those two years? Personly I find it very difficult to support such an act but when it comes down to the root of the situation the woman is simply teying to provide for her family. 

Overall responce: 

Overall I feel like this poem is introducing these imortant issues but very much brushing the serface of the matter. Your speaker mentions the government type but are we as readers supposed to blame the time period or the people or the situation? I feel as though that is open to interpretation. With a strong rhyme scheme and a detached tone due to no direct emotion with the content I would describe this as a very callusesd poem. 

Seventeen

Personal responce: 

Both of these poem portrayed the responce of the speaker to the death of the animal in very different ways. The first poem showed the speaker who seemed to be down a dark path and confused going down the road of life. When he responded to the deer he was not expecting to pause and take time yet the life that was inside stopped him. He needed to take time and think about his options. This shows how in the dearth path involving death there are many different options and not one is entirely correct. The fact is that he took time to care says a lot about his character. The second speaker responds with more emotion than the first. You can tell that he is very passionate about this cause. Yet when he talks to the older man he realizes that he is coming into more of an adult figure because he is coming to stand up for his beliefs. 

Discussion Questions; 

1. The speaker went through a right of passage in this poem and is expressed even more through the use of the title because seventeen is such a coming to age as a person. This can be seen when the father leaves the option up to the son to see what to do. The boy made is own decision and came into his own person. 

2. The speaker uses action words when describing how the down is now whimpering after he tried to get away but then became injured. The dog flicks and  whimpers so it shows that it is obviously in pain. This makes the killing more of a mercyful act. 

3. The driver was very calloused when it came to the dog. He said he would leave the decision up to the boy and really didn't care what would happen to the dog either way. He did not seemed to show much emotion. The boy is more innocent but is learning to come to his age. The boy seems to respect the man but they are not emotionally close.

4. This killing could be considered to be symbolic because the dog obviously had feelings for the dog. Rather than letting it suffer and be selfish with his actions he chose to be a man and kill the dog out of mercy. This is symbolic of his coming to age and stepping up to do the right thing. 

Traveling Through the Dark

Summary

Discussion questions: 

1. There are many descriptions that are included about the car that are symbolic to the overall meaning of the poem. First the car is described with the glow of the tail light and the lowered parking lights. These sybolize a sign of respect for the deer's death. It almost draws an image of the car bowing down to the death and taking a moment to remember the life. Also the puring shows a sign of love. This can be seen when cats are comfortable and want to show affection for their owners. All of these symbols show that the author is humbled by the recent killing. 

2. The tone of this poem could be described as sentimental. The speaker takes the time to pause and care for the deer. Many would not do this. He also shows reverence to the deer's life by pausing before he thoughs it off the cliff. He dosent speak with very harsh consents so there is a very mellow tone which shows his warmth for treating the loss of life with respect. It would be more of a detached tone because he dosent feel very much emotion in regards to the deer. Not sentimental because he does not regard it with found memories. 

3. Only having two lines in the last stanza shows that there is a pause between just throughing the deer over the edge. I feel like the two lines are very important to show that in reality he had to move on with his life and he couldn't spend forever morning over this small loss. 

4. I feel like the title of the poem is very approiate for the work. He is simply traveling and then sees this deer and feels the need to stop for it. The phrase fumbling in the dark is very common when a person is at a loss of what to do. The fact that he is traveling through the dark means that he is struggling with knowing what to do with this deer. The speaker is thinking hard for us all by taking time to send regards to the deer from humanity as a whole. These are kind and in reference to the deer. 

AD

Questions about the text:

What does the title mean? Is the time period important? It the italicizes another voice or opinion coming into the argument? What job are they talking about? 

Personal response to the text: 

I feel as though due to the time period and the content of the poem it must or talking about the Nazi men. They explain that they must have no character and they must want to burn thousands of people and the use gas against them. At first I was confused about the italics because I was not sure if it was a Jew opinion coming into the paper. I believe it is the quote of propaganda used that is in italics. They want men and then it gives am example. Also the author usses repetition of the phrase if you... This almost starts the satirical side of the poem because in reality who wants to want to kill anyone. The way this poem is set up also reminds me of an ad in the newspaper. This must be why it is called Ad in the title. 

Overall response to the text:

Usually I do not understand why the titles are there in the poem but this one directly lays out how the poem will be set up for the readers. I feel like it is using very short satirical remarks to show the foolishness and mostly heartlessness of the Nazi party during world war 2. 

Next to of course god america i

Questions about the text:

Why are all of the things in the title not capitalized that normally are? What does the very last line mean for the text? Is there more than one speaker? Why does the speaker use all of the well known works like my country tis of the? Is it full of mockery or honor? 

Personal response to the text: 

I feel very perplexed by this poem. The fact that it begins in quotation marks makes me believe that this is a person presenting these ideas and adding in side comments because some of the text is very out of character for the person in quotations. I feel like the person being talked about is a lover of America. The first line even said besides god I love America the most. Then it adds in very common songs and to convey the pride of a solider. However I feel like the second author is coming into the work in line 7 when the word gorry is added instead of glory. The word gorry begins the idea that the second speaker is not supportive of the war. This can also be seen in the line that says the happy dead rushed like lions. This is not only a similar but it is an oxymoron. The dead are not happy or really the happy are not dead. This makes me believe that the second author is poking fun at the soldiers patroitism and service. 

Overall response to the text: 

Over all I feel like the two speakers are meant to be in stark contrast to each other. I feel like this might be called juxtaposition. Also there were many aspects of the poem to erasure this notion. 

Dulce Et Decorum Est

Questions about the text: 

What does the title mean? I know dulce means sweet but the sounds and images do not represent the title. What time period was this written for? Was it about the holocaust? Almost seemed so visual that the author was there in the turmoil? 

Personal response to the text: 

The imagery used in this poem is outstanding to me. Although the speaker is coming from third person it feels so very descriptive. When I was reading it I noticed the harsh k or t sound every phrase. This reminds me of sluggish walking. With every step there is a weight to the soldiers. I defined the title and it means that it is a wonderful and great honor to fight and die for your country. It is clear by the terrifying imagery that this was not the case for these soldiers. They no longer felt honored and blessed by this task. 

Overall response to text: 

Overall I feel as though this poem was meant to show how torturous the gas and the missiles were in the lives of men during World War Two. The author literally said he sees smothered dreams! It is a very depressing poem due to the descriptive, although accurate representation of this time.  

In class questions 

1- B

2- B 

3- A

4- A

5- D

6- A

7- B

8- A

9- D

Fat is Not A Fairytale

 

Questions about the text: 

Is the speaker saying fat is bad or fat is good? I am confused by the title compared to the poem. Why the use of princesses? Is the time period relevant or can it still be applied today? 

Personal response to text: 

I find it interesting that the words to describe fat are never completely negative. Tubby compared to saying obese. I feel like the princesses are used to show images that we (maybe just women) can easily picture. We all know the way Cinderella looked in her wedding dress! With the waist 2 inches big! The speaker does use words with negative connotations when referring to the real look of the princess. She uses repetition with "I am thinking of a fairy tale" and it makes you think does not exist. Supported by the end stanza. I feel as though the speaker is saying that in the future hopefully the ideal image will not be a rail but a heathy figure. 

Overall response to text:

I feel like this poem identified an issue in media today, dispite the fact that is was written over seventy years ago. Little girls look up to these princesses and will never obtain that unhealthy figure. The speaker is able to identify this message through her poem without completely telling it making the reader think about what it means on their own to their own image. 

Ode to American English

 Questions about the text: 

Seems like a very jumbled poem, what literary devices are really being used and how do they convey the authors intended message? Where is the author now? Many things seem like things people make fun of but does she really miss them? 

Personal response to the text: 

I know when I drive by next to a car and they have their music up too high I don't often associate fondness with the memory. It is very interesting to me that the speaker seems to truly miss these things. I can understand this by her use of repetition of the like "I miss it's..." . I feel like this poem is in a way fun to read. I feel this because of the alliteration. "Stuttering shopaholic" "fetus floating" . Although the topics are not always light the speaker creates a lighter tone by using this device.  

Overall thoughts of the text:

I feel as though the text presented her sadness in a way that can reflect joy. Her use of alliteration showed that these memories and events are funny and meaningful to her now that she is not only away from the language but as she is away from the culture of American life.