Journal 12 - When to Her Lute Corinna Sings

In the poem, “When to Her Lute Corinna Sings” by Thomas Campion, there is a wonderful use of word play used. The entire poem explains how every time Corinna sings to her own lute playing it challenges every other beautiful sound there is. At the same time, whenever Corinna sings of unhappy times, such as songs of sorrow, the speaker explains that if her words don’t break the strings of the lute they break the strings of your heart.

The use of sound to give an image of the poem works wonders in this particular piece of work. At the beginning of the poem the speaker mentions that, “And doth in highest notes appear/ As any challenged echo clear;”, explaining that any other sound is but a weak echo in comparison to the sound of Corinna’s voice (Campion, ll. 3-4). Throughout the poem though, Campion has the lines of the second stanza almost in mimicry of the first. By using similar final lines, it’s as though the poem itself is an echo, and attempted copy, of Corinna’s beautiful voice.

With the description of the lute having “leaden strings” and Corinna compensating with her high notes allows the reader to feel the poem while they’re reading it (l. 2). By using such adjectives Campion allows for our own experience of what those words mean to fill the poem with our own life. Someone who has played a stringed instrument, or sung to an accompaniment, will know the feeling of such heavy music along with a light, nearly whispered voice. As well, anyone who has been audience to such a performance knows how the emotion portrayed by the words, sound, and expression used by the performers will be able to put themselves in the place of the speaker, with nothing but admiration for the performer.

Campion, Thomas. “When to Her Lute Corinna Sings”. The Norton Introduction To Literature. 10^th ed. Ed. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 1016. Print

Journal 11 - A Red, Red Rose

                In the poem, “A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns, Burns does a wonderful job expressing the language, environment, and accent of his Country. By changing vowels in certain words, we know, as readers, to change the way we would normally say the word. In the first line of the poem, “O, my luve’s like a red, red rose” Burns replaces the letter “o” in the word love because with the Irish accent an American or British citizen would spell the word with a “u” because of the way it sounds (Burns, 974, l. 1) The way that Burns is able to bring the accent to life by words on paper is amazing to me. Other examples of this are the lines, “Till a’ the seas gang dry/ Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,/ And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;…And fare the weel, my only luve,/ And fare thee weel a while!” where Burns intentionally leaves out the letter “L”, as well as adds the double “E” to the word “Well” as to excentuate the accent that so many people can fall in love with (ll. 8-10, 13-14)”.

An example of how Burns uses the Irish language is in the vernacular that he chooses to use. The speaker refers to the subject of the poem as “my bonnie lass” which is how any man, young or old, would refer to the woman of his affection (l. 5). In America, we sometimes hear this term, “bonnie lass”, but only as jest or tease from a father or significant other to a young woman. The vocabulary used in the poem does not stop with just one phrase. Let us go back to lines 8 and 9, “Till a’ the seas gang dry/ Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,”, where Burns uses the word “gang” which we know does not mean what we, as Americans, know it to mean today (ll. 8-9). In these lines, and in the Irish language, “Gang” means “Go” or “Run”. To any educated person, this line is understood, but knowing that the author won’t dumb something down so that the less educated can understand it lets us know that we are expected to know, or look for, the meaning of a word in common use elsewhere.

In nearly every line the speaker of the poem expresses that his love is something of beauty, something to be cherished. The first two lines, “O, my luve’s like a red, red rose/ That’s newly sprung in June.” , gives us the understanding that the love the speaker has is as amazing and as beautiful as nature , but that, just as a rose fades and dies, his love cannot stay forever (ll. 1-2). This fact is expressed directly in the last two lines, “And I will come again, my luve,/ Though it were ten thousand mile.” , where the speaker tells his love that though I cannot stay now, I will come back, just like the red roses in the Spring (ll. 15-16).

Burns,   Robert. “A Red, Red Rose”. The Norton Introduction To Literature. 10^th ed. Ed. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 974. Print.

Journal 10 - To a Daughter Leaving Home

In the poem “To a Daughter Leaving Home” by Linda Pastan, the speaker tells us two stories in one. The initial story we are told is of a mother teaching her daughter how to ride a bike. The speaker tells us the wonder and awe that she had watching her daughter ride away in the lines, “as you wobbled away/ on two round wheels,/ my own mouth rounding/ in surprise when you pulled/ ahead down the curved/ path of the park” ( Pastan, 914, ll. 5-10). The next point of the story is the fear and anxiety that the speaker experiences at that same moment in the lines, “I kept waiting/ for the thud/ of your crash…” (ll. 11-13) The next few lines of the poem revolves around the feeling that she can’t keep up with her daughter and that she cannot protect her, “While you grew/ smaller, more breakable/ with distance,” (ll. 15-17). The last image that the speaker sees of her daughter and is left to contemplate is, “ with laughter,/ the hair flapping/ behind you like a/ handkerchief waving/ goodbye.” (ll. 20-24).

While you read the poem, it is obvious that all of what the speaker is trying to say is not about the first time her daughter rode a bicycle, but the reality that her daughter is growing up and can fend for herself. The entire poem could be translated using a car rather than a bicycle, making the moment not a casual ride in the park, but the daughter being married or leaving for college. It doesn’t matter the situation, this poem is a wonderful peep hole into the wonder and joy of motherhood. Also, the feelings of sadness and pride that coexist in knowing that if your child can make it on their own, you’ve done something right.

Pastan, Linda. “To a Daughter Leaving Home”. The Norton Introduction To Literature. 10^th ed. Ed. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 914-915. Print.

Journal 9 - She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways

In the poem, “She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways” by William Wordsworth, the author gives a voice to a young woman’s secret admirer. The first stanza of the poem focuses on where this young lady lives, the second about the girl’s beauty, and the third and final stanza centered on where the girl is buried. It is possible that the speaker in the poems is Wordsworth, given the information that this young woman lives near where our author lives, but it also may be that Wordsworth was thinking about how nice it could be if a woman of this caliber lived near him, or that he knew a woman that lived there a long time ago.

The first stanza tells us that this girl lives where no one travels, “among the untrodden ways/Beside the springs of Dove”, but also that there is a known waterway near her home (ll. 1-2, Wordsworth). The next two lines of the poem tell us that the woman lived either in solitude or near solitude. Perhaps the woman was unmarried, yet had a child, so the woman went into this secluded area to avoid the stares and thoughts of others. Another thought is that the woman chose a life of solitude and had a farm or pets.

The next stanza speaks of how beautiful the girl was, “A violet by a mossy stone/Half hidden from the eye!”(ll. 5-6). This tells us that the girl is a humble beauty, and even perhaps she cannot see her beauty because of where she lives. The next two lines, “-Fair as a star, when only one/Is shining in the sky” mentioning how when nothing else is to be seen her beauty comes through even then (ll. 7-8).

Finally, in the last stanza, the speaker tells that “She lived unknown, and few could know/When Lucy ceased to be;” and this tells us that after probably years of admiration the woman finally passed away (ll. 9-10). The speaker tells us next how upset and broken hearted they are by saying, “But she is in her grave, and, oh,/The difference to me!” exclaiming that this woman’s death has changed the speakers life forever (ll. 11-12).

After rereading the poem again and again, I’ve thought that perhaps the speaker is the child or grandchild of Lucy. Maybe the speaker was given up for adoption and when they finally found their long-lost mother or grandmother it was under a gravestone. I loved this poem, as well as most romantic poets, and cannot wait to read more.

Wordsworth, William. “She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways”. The Norton Introduction To Literature. 10^th ed. Ed. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 887. Print.

Journal 8 - Barbie Doll

In the poem, “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, we are immediately given the impression that women are considered objects. By the title, Barbie Doll, we insinuate that the poem will be about how fake perfection is what everyone strives for. The point of view character is the “girlchild” who is not given a name, but is talked about as if she were a new table and chair set that were achieved “as usual” (l. 1, Piercy).

This girl is presented with girl toys such as “dolls that did pee-pee and miniature GE stoves and irons” that the parents hope will in some way train their daughter to the place that is being a woman (ll. 2-3). She was also given “wee lipsticks” stressing the importance, even at this young age, of dolling yourself up and adding something to yourself because the natural beauty needs help getting through (l. 4). And when this young lady is in late middle school or the beginning of high school, a class mate tells her that she has “a great big nose and fat legs” (l. 6).

Although nothing in her past such as health problems or a lag in school would say that this girl is inadequate in any way, she believes that she needs to apologize for her said “short comings” of fat legs and a big nose. People tell her that she should act as if she doesn’t know anything is wrong, but to try and fix the problems with the proper changes in her life. No woman can take this kind of criticism, act as if nothing is wrong, and then try and change herself to make these other people happy without eventually breaking down.

And breaking down is exactly what this poor girl does. This girl “cut off her nose and her legs/and offered them up” (ll. 17-18). Whether these lines mean that the girl literally cut off her nose and legs or cut them to pieces is uncertain. Later in the poem it is said that the undertaker placed a “putty nose” on the girl, which means that either way her actual nose was not in good condition. And here, at the girl’s funeral, everyone says how beautiful she looks. To think, the only thing we, as women, have to do to be regarded as beautiful is to die.

Piercy, Marge. “Barbie Doll”. The Norton Introduction To Literature. 10^th ed. Ed. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 855. Print.