Adrian+Cheng+Poetry+Archive

Adrian's Poem Collection (2011)

<[]> || Jane Hirsch || The speaker runs out in the sun, naked, enjoying herself. Then she runs out into the rain. It’s a poem about joy. Enjoying life to the fullest no matter what season, weather. The repetition of "who could blame" caught my attention. It is both a justification for her actions as well as a declaration of independence. || [] || Willam Wethe || Its about a midwife nursing a row of babies. The speaker talks about how the words are meaningless to the baby as the baby does not yet understand language. The last bit of the poem talks about how it is the baby's responsibility to carry the language on through time. I found the poem confusing at first, but I figured out the message in the end. || <[]> || Wayne Miller || The poem is about the silence that punctuates our lives. It is also a metaphor for the small things that go unnoticed by us until we really focus on them. The first half of the poem describes where silence can be found, the second, how silence is dispelled. It's interesting because we often think about dispelling light and sound but in this poem it is reversed. || <[]> || Lewis Carroll || This entire poem is a reference and allusion to the common nursery rhyme, Row Row Row Your boat. Carol carefully dissects the rhyme in order to ask the meaning of life. He seems to say that life is built on the dreams of children. Later in the poem, He references his own novel, Alice in Wonderland, connecting Wonderland to the dreams of children. || <[]> || Lewis Carroll || Carol describes women as they age. It is the progression of their attitudes towards life and men. When the girls are little, they are carefree. As they grow a little older, they begin to embrace education. In their teens, they have learned many skills that are necessary to attract a man. When they are in their late teens, they begin the process of choosing the best man to marry. From 20-25, they start to worry. At 30, they still have not married. By 31, they have learned humility and have started respecting men. By the time they are old, they have married, but spend lots of money. || <[]> || Lewis Carroll || This is a poem about a mother breastfeeding a child. Carroll has split the poem into two sections, describing the act from both the perspective of the mother and of the child. The child's innocence is emphasized in the first stanza through the repetion of the word 'childish'. The second stanza is from the mother's perspective. Caroll describes her as enjoying giving life and protection to the child. || <[]> || Lewis Carroll || The poet talks about how he hates the certainty of the sea. He also mocks those who love the sea. The image of nursery maids and children being led to play by the sea is especially powerful in describing his contempt for those who enjoy the sea. It seems that he is mocking the majority opinion that the seaside is a great place. || []> || Lewis Carroll || This is certainly a strange poem. The animals mentioned seem to be a metaphor on certain aspects of life. These 'aspects' are described by the speaker and end with an exclamation mark, which serves to lighten the tone. The rhyme scheme is ABCBDB, which naturally emphasizes the last word of every second line. || <[]> || JRR Tolkien || All that is gold does not glitter. Tolkien's metaphors in this poem describe objects and events that are not what they seem. Just because something looks good does not mean that it is good. Just because somebody takes an unorthodox approach to life doesn’t mean that they are wrong. The poem is written in couplets ABABCDCD which gives the poem an even, driving tone. No single line is emphasized which allows the poem to flow smoothly. || <[]> || JRR Tolkien || In this poem, the speaker is embracing death after a long fulfilling life. The metaphor of a the speaker preparing to board a ship west-bound shows the speaker preparing to leave the world of the living. It is important to note that the poem is set in the fantasy world of Middle-Earth, where the west was uncharted at the time. Essentially, the speaker is 'moving on' to the 'islands [that] lie behind the sun', and then perhaps on to the heavens. || [] || JRR Tolkien || This poem express the poet's joy of taking a bath at the end of the day. He compares the bath to drinking water when parched and beer when desired. The juxtaposition of the cold water of nature against the hot man-made water of a bath further emphasizes the satisfaction that Tolkien receives from his bath. || [] || JRR Tolkien || This poem is an allusion to ode to joy. It is also a kind of ode to joy. The poet describes the joy that nature at night brings him. The repetition of dance, merry, and objects such as moon, wind and stars emphasize the joy that each of these objects bring the poet. || ??????????????????? ||  ||   ||
 * ~  ||~ Name of the Poem ||~ Poet ||~ Comments ||
 * 1 ||< [|The Court] || Peter Campon || This poem is about about a rundown relic of a tennis court. The tennis court is a metaphor of old forgotten memories. The crumbling ruin of the tennis court as well as the faded features represents the speaker's failing memories. ||
 * 2 ||< I Run out Naked in the Sun
 * 3 ||< Words
 * 4 ||< Silence in the City
 * 4 ||< Silence in the City
 * 5 ||< A Boat beneath a Sunny Sky
 * 6 ||< A Game of Fives
 * 7 ||< A Nusery darling
 * || Checked 18 September 7/15-25 KBoyceInteresting collection...quite a fan of Lewis Carroll? Good focus on concepts, but also incorporate literary features. ||  ||   ||
 * 8 ||< A Sea Dirge
 * 9 ||< A Strange Wild Song
 * 10 ||< All that is Gold does not Glitter
 * 11 || At The Grey Heavens
 * 12 ||< Bath-Song
 * 13 || All Ye Joyful
 * 14 || The Stolen Child || William Butler Yeats || Yeats' strong imagery of a dream world in the Stolen Child is a juxtaposition to the real world. He is commenting on the world's social problems and a child's innocence from it. He draws upon a child's carefree nature to describe nature with motion words such as 'flapping herons' and 'moon has taken flight'. He also personifies nature as having feelings, like the 'ferns that drop their tears'. The beautiful imagery was really effective in conveying a child's innocence. ||
 * 15 || Never Give All the Heart || WIlliam Butler Yeats || The poet describes love as a game, something that can be won or lost. The rhyming couplets each deal with a different aspect of love, all of which are described as 'brief' and 'fading'. ||
 * 16 || Failure || AE Stallings || The 'she' in this poem can be a reference to either the subject's mother or wife. The dash of the 4th line really emphasizes the cyclical nature of this man's relationships. The cyclical nature of the man's relationships with woman is further emphasized by the enjambment of the 9th line. ||
 * 17 || Same Sun, Same Moon, Same River || Neil Carpathios || The poem comments on the present oriented people of Greece and to some extent, the world. The people are so absorbed in their daily lives that they do not realize that they are aging until they die. The allusion to Hades and Apollo, the Greek Gods of death and materialistic joy certainly reinforces that message. ||
 * || Checked 21 November 17/42-70