Week Ten

Reading Two: The Charge of the Light Brigade

1.

Half a league, half a league,
 Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
 Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
 Rode the six hundred.

2.

"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
 Someone had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
 Rode the six hundred.

3.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
 Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
 Rode the six hundred.

4.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
 All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
 Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
 Not the six hundred.

5.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
 Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
 Left of six hundred.

6.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
 All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
 Noble six hundred.

            “Cannon to right of them/Cannon to left of them/Cannon in front of them” is one of the many moving segments within the poem, “From the Charge of the Light Brigade” by Lord Tennyson Alfred. The poem is a story about a battle that lays down to death an army of 600 brave men that are led by a commander that is making all the wrong decisions. The speaker of the poem is a young man who was at the battle yet occupying the side lines of the battle field as a writer. The speaker is very descriptive in his use of language and uses direct quotes that the commanding officer yelled during the battle; “‘Forward the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!’ he said:” (Lord Tennyson Alfred). The speaker gives the audience a video in the reader’s mind of how the battle was played out on the battle field through imagery words to quotes of the commander.

I chose this poem, because the poem exhibits the courage and bravery that a army of men exalted even when they knew they were going to meet their death. 

Week Ten

Reading One: "From the Charge of the Light Brigade"

Lord Tennyson Alfred

1. Half a league, half a league,  Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death  Rode the six hundred. "Forward, the Light Brigade! "Charge for the guns!" he said: Into the valley of Death  Rode the six hundred. 2. "Forward, the Light Brigade!" Was there a man dismay'd? Not tho' the soldier knew  Someone had blunder'd: Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die: Into the valley of Death  Rode the six hundred. 3. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them  Volley'd and thunder'd; Storm'd at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell  Rode the six hundred. 4. Flash'd all their sabres bare, Flash'd as they turn'd in air, Sabring the gunners there, Charging an army, while  All the world wonder'd: Plunged in the battery-smoke Right thro' the line they broke; Cossack and Russian Reel'd from the sabre stroke  Shatter'd and sunder'd. Then they rode back, but not  Not the six hundred. 5. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them  Volley'd and thunder'd; Storm'd at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell, They that had fought so well Came thro' the jaws of Death Back from the mouth of Hell, All that was left of them,  Left of six hundred. 6. When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made!  All the world wondered. Honor the charge they made, Honor the Light Brigade,  Noble six hundred.

This poem is about a battle. The commander of the army has made a wrong decision which will lead his 600 men into their deaths. The men of the army do not fear or question the charge. The 600 men ride their horses to fight a battle that will end in flowing red blood. "Came Thro' the jaws of Death/Back from the mouth of Hell". This poem shows courage and bravery from the men in the army. The men knew they were giving up their lives from a command that would result of loosing love, family, and life. 600 men laid down their life, knowing their lives would end on the dirt of the earth and gave up everything that was most dear to them. "Honor the charge they made/Honor the Light Brigade/Noble six hundred".

Week Nine

Reading Two: "The Beautiful Changes"

One wading a Fall meadow finds on all sides   

The Queen Anne’s Lace lying like lilies

On water; it glides

So from the walker, it turns

Dry grass to a lake, as the slightest shade of you   

Valleys my mind in fabulous blue Lucernes.

The beautiful changes as a forest is changed   

By a chameleon’s tuning his skin to it;   

As a mantis, arranged

On a green leaf, grows

Into it, makes the leaf leafier, and proves   

Any greenness is deeper than anyone knows.

Your hands hold roses always in a way that says   

They are not only yours; the beautiful changes   

In such kind ways,   

Wishing ever to sunder

Things and things’ selves for a second finding, to lose   

For a moment all that it touches back to wonder.

Explore the meaning and effect of its use of figurative language.

1. Does the poem make use of an extended or controlling metaphor or of multiple metaphors or of personification? 

There are multiple metaphors and personification thorough the whole poem.

"The Queen Anne’s Lace lying like lilies

On water; it glides"

2. How do the uses of figurative language relate to and build on each other? 

In poetry, the comparison between something unable to describe with an object or image that is describable.

"Dry grass to a lake, as the slightest shade of you   

Valleys my mind in fabulous blue Lucernes."

3. How does the use of the figures of speech contribute to the emotional effect of the poem and its theme(s)?

The description of the objects being described can have many different tones such as anger or romance.

"Your hands hold roses always in a way that says   

They are not only yours; the beautiful changes"

For instance roses are resembled to romance and beauty. 

Week Nine

Reading One: "Barbie Doll"

This girlchild was born as usual
and presented dolls that did pee-pee
and miniature GE stoves and irons
and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs. 

She was healthy, tested intelligent,
possessed strong arms and back,
abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.
She went to and fro apologizing.
Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs. 

She was advised to play coy,
exhorted to come on hearty,
exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.
Her good nature wore out
like a fan belt.
So she cut off her nose and her legs
and offered them up. 

In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on,
a turned-up putty nose,
dressed in a pink and white nightie.
Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said.
Consummation at last.
To every woman a happy ending. 

1. Identify the speaker, offering passages from the poem that allow you to draw this conclusion about who the speaker is.

The speaker within the poem is a narrator. The poem is not specific who is the speaker. The poem could be the speaker of the reader for all we know.

"Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs."

2. Explain what the situation of the poem is. What is happening? Do we know the time period? the place? 

The poem starts out with a average day girl; once the girl hits puberty she is intimidated by what society sees as exceptionable "the barbie doll image". The little girl was teased; this then lead the little girl to cut her nose and legs which lead to a dreadful death. We are unaware of the time period and the place. However, we can draw that this was during the time period of when barbie was in existence and the setting would be of the girl at school and at a funeral.

3. Write down two or three words that identify the tone of the poem? Again, offer specific passages or words from the poem that allow you to draw draw these conclusions. 

Exercise, Diet, and Smile

"Her good nature wore out
like a fan belt."

"So she cut off her nose and her legs
and offered them up."

"In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on,
a turned-up putty nose,"

4. Write one sentence that expresses the main theme of the poem.

The main theme of the poem would be image. Society is so obsessed with peoples image that if we are unable to make the criteria of "the barbie doll" we are to fat and unattractive. 

Week Eight

Reading Two: "Home Burial"

Speaker One: 

The husband of the two speakers, shows little emotion and built up walls of strength so grief and pain cannot over come his being. The man is built like a stone, the inside hurts yet the outside lives an average ordinary day. The man see's death and grief as an every day life issue.

Speaker Two:

The wife of the two speakers, shows grief and pain by crying and trying to run away from the horror building with the images that remind her of the death of her son, such as the grave, the spade, dirt, etc. The woman is very much effected by the sons death on the inside and outside. The woman see's death and grief as a curse from the heavens above, "I'm cursed. God, if I don't believe I'm cursed" (pg. 717).

Week Eight

Reading One: "A Certain Lady"

1. To whom does the speaker seem to be talking?

The speaker is speaking to a man who his the speakers friend, yet the speaker is in love with the man.

2. What sort of person is she?

The woman speaker is a woman who is in love, yet the man does not realize her love for him. Yet the speaker is in sorrow for the unconventional connection of love.

3. How do you feel about her?

I feel sorrow and connection with the woman speaker. We have all lived in moments of love, yet the one we love does not understand.

4. Which habits and attitudes of her's do you like least?

I suppose I am not a fan of her "secrecy" of a love the guy, "And all the straining things within my heart---you'll never know". I believe that we must say what we want, go for what we want, don't hold back, and never to live in regret.

5.How soon can you tell that the speaker is not altogether happy about her conversation and conduct?

"And you laugh back, nor can you ever see---the thousand little deaths my heart has died." This is the first line that tells the reader that she is a girl in love. The speaker does everything right in front of a guy, yet lives in a love bounded by only one heart.

6. What attitude would you try to express toward the person spoken to?

If I were to read this poem to a person in the way the speaker has meant for the poem to be read, then I would speak in a tone of sadness yet love.

7. What tone would you use for the last two lines?

The speaker's tone for the last two lines would be as if a broken heart was speaking of love. 

8. How would you describe the speaker's personality?

The speaker is a genuine caring person. The speaker allows the person that the poem is intended for to speak of his own love adventures to her, even though she has a profound love for him. 

9. What aspects of her behavior are most crucial to the poem's effect?

The behavior she exhibits throughout the poem is being a lady, "And paint my mouth for you a fragrant red,". The woman dresses like a lady and loves him like a lady yet is caught being just friends, "Thus do you want me--Marveling, gay, and true--Nor do you see my staring eyes of nights."