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"Icarus"
In Don McKay’s poem “Icarus,” begins by stating that his title character “isn’t sorry.” (1) Instead he is “rehears[ing] flight and fall, tuning his moves...This is his practice” (5-8) for when he will attempt to fly again. He has learned from his mistakes, and now knows the melting point of wax so well that he is sure not to make the ( Read more... ) -
"Persephone, Falling" and "The Pomegranate"
Both Rita Dove and Eavan Boland are writing of Persephone and her abduction that leads her into the depths of hell. Both writers latch onto the common theme of temptation but present their feelings and findings in very different ways ( Read more... ) -
"The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock"
I think that "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock," is the title of T.S. Eliot's poem because it is the narrator's love poem to anyone. The narrator seems to be a man who has little charm, and even less hope. A man who desperately wants a woman he can write a love song to, but who has no one. The poem could also be seen as a love song to ( Read more... ) -
"Miracle" "Packing" and "Writer"
Richard Wilbur, Lorna Crozier, and Harry Thurston all use extended metaphors within their poems that represent life. In “The Writer,” Wilbur uses first the idea of a voyage by boat, heavy with cargo, to represent his daughter’s life. The cargo symbolizes the emotional baggage his daughter already has and the author acknowledges that “ ( Read more... ) -
"Oedipus"
People of Thebes, today we face the loss of our great leader King Oedipus. His great love and loyalty towards his people shall be told throughout the ages; passed down through story as a tribute to his bravery, honesty, and wisdom. Faced with death and deceit he did not back down, but instead pushed forward demanding justice at whatever the cost. ( Read more... ) -
So Far...
I think the most interesting part of studying literature in this class has been getting to read other people’s opinions and views on the material we read. I have been reading since I can remember, and my mom used to teach high school English, so I have always been encouraged to read, but I’ve never really shared my thoughts on literature ( Read more... ) -
"The Boat"
In his short story, “The Boat,” Alistair MacLeod uses intertextuality in a variety of ways in order to help the reader find the deeper meaning of his words. Always choosing to reference the “great” classic works of literature, he weaves his story tightly around the books his two “main” characters have spent so much time using to escape ( Read more... ) -
"Boys and Girls"
In her story “Boys and Girls,” Alice Munro makes the differences between the farm and cellar, the kitchen, and the upstairs bedroom very clear, using the narrator of the story to describe these places in strong detail. The farm where her father works is centered around the fox pens, the narrator describes them as “tidy and ingenious” (221), ( Read more... ) -
"This Be The Verse"
“This Be The Verse,” by Philip Larkin certainly fulfils some aspects of the criteria that make up “great literature”. The theme of the poem is universal in that all parents, everywhere, pass on some part of themselves to their children-- some parts good and some parts bad. I feel that this poem has withstood the test of time; written in 1971 it is ( Read more... )