#Poetry analysis

[berk-brain-rot]

Brain worm of the day: Christian symbolism without preaching Christianity.

Literally just that, Berk can write a book, with a Christian story (Lazarus) on the title cover, and carry that story metaphorically through the entire book, while never making me, a person with severe trauma due to Christianity, ever feel triggered.

Because it's just symbolism, it's just metaphors, and to be quite frank, sometimes it's fueling my religious blasphemy:

That's it, that's all you get for the day, they're good at what they do, and what they do is sometimes weaving Christian symbolism with Greek mythology with a fictional angel with a single episode of the fictional angels show with their own personal grieving process until you're not actually sure where one of those starts and one of those ends.

As always, the source is always more interesting than anything I have to say, so if you haven't yet, go read Lazarus Rises(amongst other things) and follow them on their Tumblr @icaruspendragon because they write so many cool things beyond just their published book.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Poetry Analysis: "She walks in beauty, like the night"

She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron

British poet Lord Byron is recognised as one of the most prominent figures in Romanticism - an artistic movement which swept the poetry and literary sphere during the late 18th and early 19th Century. 

‘She Walks in Beauty,’ is one of his shorter but most famous poems that seeks to capture a sense of and celebrate the beauty of an unnamed woman.

The opening line - and perhaps the two most famous poetry lines that Byron has ever written; ‘she walks in beauty, like night’ - sets the scene for the rest of the poem, comparing this unknown woman to the awe and beauty that comes from a clear night sky:

‘She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes…’

Using the simile, Byron indicates that her beauty is not purely physical either; instead, it is almost an aura, an innocent unawareness that surrounds her. 

It is interesting to note here that the poet is describing his beloved’s beauty as comparable to night, rather than daylight. In fact, later in the poem he describes the daylight as “gaudy.” This is a common aspect of Romantic poetry, where writers would compare people not just to nature, but to ‘bright nature.’ In this line especially, Byron is comparing his lover to the ‘bright’ night sky. 

This association can be a nod to the historic Greek ideal, where beauty is so strong that it can almost be catastrophic. For example, Helen of Troy, daughter of Zeus, was one such beauty; a divine being whose enchanting looks were an indirect cause of the Trojan War. 

Byron seems to be describing his beloved’s love comparable to the highest of the high - indicating the strength of his feelings and adoration of this unnamed woman’s looks.

If this inspires your writing, do tag me. Or send me a link. I'd love to read your work!

[veespee]

MLandersen0 Community Posts

okay, here’s a sort of analysis (?) for the recent Mlandersen0 YouTube community posts, because people should talk more about them AND i need to overanalyze everything; so here ya go.

(this is part 1. there are 6 posts up rn, and this post would be WAY too long if i do all 6. so i’ve divided them to 2 parts, will post the other in a few days probably :) 

first post: Antigonish?

Antigonish is a poem written by William Hughes Mearns, which you can read here. 

I'll just write my interpretation, and how I think it relates to mla0: the poem revolves around a man, who is portrayed as a ghost. The speaker/narrator of the poem is clearly scared of this mysterious ghost man, telling him to “go away, go away, don’t you come back any more!” and “go away, go away, and please don’t slam the door…”. Now, as for the connection to mla0, i have two theories: 1. the ‘ghost’ is Slenderman, and it’s from Michael’s point of view. Which i think makes some sense, as the ghost and Slender also appear and disappear mysteriously, and of course, Michael wants him to go away, and 2. it could be about Michael’s guilt and past getting to him. All the people that are dead because of him and his want to protect himself, are haunting him, and the ghost is metaphorical. These are just theories though, so the meaning could be anything really. 

second post: So it goes?

This one is a song by band ‘Matthew and The Atlas’, you can listen to it here. According to an analysis from this website, the song talks about an entity of sorts, lingering around the speaker’s life since he was young. There’s a theme suggesting that the speaker fears the entity, and has never been able to confront it or get some closure on what it wants (as suggested in the chorus: “Deep below the earth I might have found you, High above the tower I could not see”). Also, according to a comment on the Genius page for this song, the song writer Matt Hegardy, explained that when he was young, he was attacked by a man with a knife, later resulting in bad dreams consisting of a figure standing over him. In my opinion, that’s exactly Michael’s relationship with Slenderman. Slender is an entity, plaguing Michael’s mind with nightmares, and basically ruining Michael’s life completely, but he never gets the chance to confront Slenderman, and get the closure he needs. So he’s stuck, being miserable and feeding people to Slenderman, without even knowing why. (also, now that i think about it, this could also be about Patrick. but i’m leaning towards Slenderman)

third post: And they call me a throwback when I cry, “Remember?”

The title is a lyric from the song below, Old Tyme Mem’ry by Erik Petersen. Now, the song’s overall meaning is nostalgia on vintage ways of living, as the song tells the story of a family who had to sell their farm after the death of the father, and how the new owners of the land have no connection to the land, instead opting for luxury and modernity. (thanks to this site i understood that lol, go check it out for a more in-depth analysis of the song) But in general, the atmosphere of the song is one of nostalgia and reminiscing (which is honestly the theme of all of these posts), and that’s why i’m assuming it’s Michael posting these. He’s reminiscing on the past, where everyone was ‘okay’ (as okay as they can be, at least) and alive, but know he’s alone. All he can really do is reminisce, as he has nothing now, no family, no friends. Really, I think he only has Patrick, who probably isn’t very stable, and Slenderman. 

okay that’s all i could find :) thank you for reading, and for anyone who is too bored to read all that, TL;DR: most of the themes of the songs/poems Dylan/Michael have posted have a theme of haunting/nostalgia. So my theory so far is, Michael is alive and living his life in guilt, reminiscing on the past about all of his wrong doings, and all the people who are dead because of him. He’s lonely, guilt-filled and grieving the life he could’ve had, if only everything was okay.

also!! credits to all the websites i linked, the helped me undestand the meanings of all the songs in depth, so of course, lot's of credits to them.

[lunarrosette]

@doodler-rights asked so now I’m gonna ramble abt how perfect to poem Beth Chose for the rad fact was!!

The poem in question:

I met a ghost, but he didn't want my head,

He only wanted to know the way to Denver.

I met a devil, but he didn't want my soul,

He only wanted to borrow my bike awhile.

I met a vampire, but he didn't want my blood,

He only wanted two nickels for a dime.

I keep meeting all the right people—

At all the wrong times.

So there are a couple interpretations one could take from the poem but I’m just gonna box them into the pessimistic interpretation and the optimistic interpretation and both scary and Terri fit each interpretation respectively

I’m going to start with Terri’s because it’s the most straight forward! The optimist interpretation basically is these things that have these scary connotations surrounding them are no more different than any other human so everyone should be treat with kindness and humility despite what previously feeling one may hold. This fits pretty well with Terri’s view point she’s an optimist, she makes friends easily and treats everyone with kindness! However the last lines are what really gets me “I keep meeting all the right people— // At all the wrong times.” This is still pretty straightforward as well, she met and spoke with terry when she was Terri and not scary, right person wrong time! And in that fashion it displayed how good of a father terry would’ve been to Terri but it was the wrong time

Now for the scary interpretation! There are layers here, I’m gonna start with the more straightforward one which is with Willy. Willy is a monster but scary never met him as one, he was just a normal guy to her that seemed like he wanted to help her and cared abt her or to translate it to the poem “I met [Willy Stampler], but he didn't want [to manipulate me], // He only wanted to [be the father I never had].” So in this pessimistic interpretation it’s taking the idea that these “monsters” are lying and hiding their true colors, which is further backed up by the ending “I keep meeting all the right people— // At all the wrong times.” The wrong times being before they show their true colors. The next layer with scary is her relationship with terry jr! Scary sees terry as a threat, as evidence that her father is never coming back, as some guy trying to be what she needed and wanted too late so safe to say that could mean she sees him as a “monster”. But he has pure intentions. To her he seems like a ghost who wants her head but just wants the way to Denver. But scary doesn’t care because she doesn’t want to accept the fact the her bio dad is a piece of shit and isn’t going to come back to fix it. But as the last lines say (the last lines are just perfect for scary’s relationships I’m sorry) they met at the wrong time. They could’ve had a great stepfather daughter relationship if terry came into her life after scary accepted the things abt her bio dad. He was the right father for her but they met at the wrong time

[harpieisthecarpie]

Has anyone connected the imagery of Dream Tiger with Poem Tiger (he is out)?

Perhaps Dream Tiger's stripes representing the cage from the Tiger Poem, but in a form that it constantly carries.

The bars of its cage are loose, it could theoretically escape, but they wrap around and cling to its body. At this point the bars have become its stripes, an integral part of its identity.

And the mask drips down its face, covering everything but the eyes that stare at the observer with uncanny intensity. The bars have warped its vision, changing how it perceives the world around it.

They are bugged out, yellow, with prominent blood vessels. Its cage has made it into something Other, and its maw stretches beyond all reason. Fangs hook over the mask. What was its mouth created to consume?

Alternatively, you could put a positive spin on the concept and imagine the tiger turning its cage into armor, or a badge of honor. It is different, a terrifying unknown, but its mouth can feast freely and the inky black cage no longer contains it.

There is nothing to stop it, or control it, or confine it to claustrophobic nothingness. Its is out, and its stripes are a warning to anything trying to change that.

[yourlocalcon-man]

If I wrote an essay series breaking down the lyrics, symbolism and messages of The Oh Hello’s Four Seasons EP’s, would anybody read them? I like analyzing lyrics and poetry as a hobby and I was curious if anyone else would follow along with me.

[weeklypoetry]

Sappho, Fragment 34 Voigt

ἄστερες μὲν ἀμφὶ κάλαν σελάνναν

ἂψ ἀπυκρύπτοισι φάεννον εἶδος

ὄπποτα πλήθοισα μάλιστα λάμπη

γᾶν <ἐπὶ παῖσαν>

****

ἀργυρία

Poetic translation:

The gleaming stars all about the shining moon Hide their bright faces, when full-orbed and splendid In the sky she floats, flooding the shadowed earth ⁠with clear silver light.

Literal translation: The stars about the fair moon lose their bright beauty when she, almost full, shines [on all] earth with silver.

Free of any human interaction, somehow still full of Sappho's typical melanchony, it offers a personified view of the cosmos like embarassed little girls watching in awe as a woung woman shines bright with silver. Because the stars are clearly the focus, the first word we can see and what I think the reader should relate to; we all pale in comparison to bright, shiny full moon, so gracious to bathe of all us in her light - and the stars are, here, no less human.

For italian speakers, I higly recommend this analysis by the University of Bologna, that goes into finer detail than I ever could.

Certainly my very favorite of all of Sappho's work. I'm already a sucker for nocturnals - Sappho and Leopardi, long loves of mine, feed me well in that regard - and this one takes the cake. Also one of the firsts of hers I've ever had to translare, which doesn't helo lessen my enjoyment for sure. The beauty in her fragments is also in the unsaid, unseen; was the silver surely the light, or is there in the line we're missing, some other feminine noun to complete it? It also makes me kind of mad, solely because a lot of poetry sites out there dealing with ancient greek poetry conviniently forget to inform that we don't actually have the whole poem, a lot of it are just guesses (even if based on studies and evidences) and meaning isn't as clear as they make it seem. For example, almost none of the sites i've searched through for a translation mentioned that "on all" the earth isn't in the text, but was assumed through studies and is often marked as such in greek. Or that there's a whole missing line between that and "silver".

Regardless, I hope that this translitteration and translation can be of satisfaction, especially to those much more expert in this subject than little ol me.

↑ the analysis link again, for easier clicking.

[habshihalwa]

charge of the light brigade ~ alfred tennyson

poem analysis

[sophieeeikli]

Blood & Brothers: A Close Reading and Analysis of Dante Émile's "Dioscuri"

Blood and Brothers: A Close Reading of “Dioscuri” by @orpheuslament​. By Sophie E. Eikli. Available on Substack.

The world is formed anew, as is our vocabulary. Tumblr poet Dante Émile begins his piece with a title, Dioscuri, which holds no meaning as can be divined through English language save for a single title given to a unique dynamic. The word refers specifically to that dynamic of those poorly fated twins from Greek mythology; Castor and Pollux. They are the masculine in the divine-and-mortal set of twins, having been born alongside Helen and Clytemnestra out of the nonconsensual union of Zeus and Leda. The word itself comes from the Greek ‘Dioskouroi’ meaning ‘Sons of Zeus’. The word may also whisper of similarity to the English ‘obscure’, something which is definitely present in the piece by Émile.  

The piece begins in conversation with a seemingly invisible speaker. “Your blood is my blood is your blood is my blood,” uttered by an unknown voice to an unknown recipient. This sentence is repeated twice more in the poem, at the middle and at the closure. The pronoun ‘your’, is also repeated steadily over the course of the piece, while “I” is never named- save for the invisible, yet heady I present in the repetition of “my” in the line which has already been named. This proves the existence of a first-person speaker kept tantalisingly out of the reader’s grip, without revealing its identity. Is it Émile commenting through his own work, projecting to a specific person in an act of poetic espionage? Is it Pollux to his mortal and less radiant twin? Is it Castor to the son born as what he is not; glory and divinity? My suspicion is that the truth lies somewhere between the latter options, and that the unsureness is deliberate. Castor and Pollux’s blood is the same, not just genetically but in reality. The line “your mother never looks you in the eye” could indicate that it is Castor speaking to Pollux, but this is something that cannot, and should not be, confirmed. Although fraternal, they both carry the traits and evidence of a fated conception.

Aside from its title, the poem walks a fine line between pretentious and relatable as the meat of its text keeps it grounded in modernity. There are no heady Greek words, nor are there Latin ones. And yet it brims over with the past. Émile begins by thrusting the name of Castor into the present in an act of bait-and-switch, placing the two of them in the setting of a motel bathroom, and yet the present is scarcely mentioned again. The poem laps back through time, going from a “motel bathroom” to the reflection of their “once [having been] a light to sailors” until the devastating final blow that delivers Castor and Pollux to Hades. The piece exists within a context of Greek antiquity. The present is not gone, but it barely registers against the weight of the past.

To all who grazed the Tumblr poetry sphere of the mid-to-late 2010’s, tell me if this sounds familiar: Dionysus in the present, owning a bar. Aphrodite, a stripper. Zeus, a marine or some other authority.

Those who had a Tumblr account in the mid-2010’s may be aware of the pervasiveness of Classical Greece within the poetics of that time. Many of them are gone now, their blogs reduced to half-memories and deactivated urls. While some of them, such as New Zealand’s Darshana Suresh, went on to publish a book, I have no idea if any of them continued to write. Because of time, and disappearance, and ghosts, I cannot find the exact poems to reference. Therefore, I can only ask for your belief in the fact that one thing was almost always present in a Tumblr poet’s portfolio: the Ancient Greeks in the present, haunted by a lack of belief. This is not a denigration of that poetry in the slightest; as a teenager I found myself uniquely represented in the ambitious poetry of fellow teenaged and young adult poets who often suffered with mental health problems of their own. It was also a heavily queer environment, in which there was no question at all regarding the relationship between Akilles and Patroklus. There existed a genuine artistry and love for the source material that marked it as an artistically unique subsection of poetry.

Another uniting force for the Tumblr poet community was its metaphorical patron saint; Richard Siken. An absolute crescendo of his time, Siken released the collection Crush when he was barely 19 in 2005. Even today his work entertains a sense of immortality, often being used in so-called web weaves (e.g; “Sorry / about the blood in your mouth. I wish it was mine.”(Little Beast)). Even I have a not-so-hypothetical desire for a Siken tattoo on my left arm. His work is manic, bordering on surrealistic as he blends time and space, but more than anything it is intensely physical. There are many, many times in Crush where the word ‘blood’ is used. Hearts are swallowed, cows fall from the sky like rain, houses and people are burned at regular intervals. There is also a very heavy presence of second person in his poetry.

In several ways, Dioscuri feels like a testament and subversion of these things. There is the heavy presence of the past within Émile’s poem, but it is manipulated in a way that contrasts those poems from 2015. Unlike the pieces of which I think, which could alternately place Dionysus at a bar or Ikaros in a First World War fighter, Émile begins in the present and pushes backwards into the past. The thick love of these brothers is constant and unbearable, with Pollux eventually resolving to pull his mortal brother with him into the stars. The language, too, leans progressively more into the Antique with epithets such as “God-sent white bird” – which is interestingly used to describe the “dove” that “you once buried”, rather than another white bird which is their father in the myth of Leda. – being paired with reflections on the soul dualism (“A soul splits in two, / that which has always been yours to share”) which Plato credits to Zeus in his Symposium. While a line near the beginning of the poem asks “Who in Hell knows who speaks first”, the ending describes one waking “Down in Hades.”

And yet the present does exist, reaching through Pollux’s grief for his brother killed in Troy. “I’m not reaching Heaven if it’s not with my brother,” he says to his “old man”, Zeus. While it could be a meditation on the skies to which Castor and Pollux eventually become stars, Heaven’s capitalisation leads one to wonder whether it is not a reflection of the immortality of that brotherly bond, pushing back out from that motel bathroom at the beginning of the poem. Whether it is not Pollux’s bloody and codependent love for his brother that breaches time, space, body. There is blood all over this poem, and inside of it.

There is blood everywhere, and one cannot help but notice that some of it belongs to Richard Siken. Some of the lines seem to be subconscious redirection of Siken’s images. Although it may be overreaching, one could see the “wild horses running through your hair at night” as an honouring of Siken’s “How it was late, and no one could sleep. The horses running / until that they forget that they are horses.” (Scheherezade). There is also something very resemblant in the demand to “Keep the shattered moonlight under your pillow”, which could resemble the physicality of Siken’s “Look at the light through the windowpane” (Scheherezade). Faces don’t just become bloody, but are bloody already. A bloodied fist meets a pre-bloodied nose. Catastrophe is written into the DNA of the poem right until the fateful cry of mortal Castor: What have you done, what have you done. Not a question, for the answer is known by both. The answer is them both.

For such is the love of brothers and of twins in Émile’s poem. Their love is codependent and damaging, but no more damaging than the conception that made them. The poem demands that one apologise to their mother while simultaneously reminding that “it’s not your fault if things always end this way”. They hide under covers in the motel just as they hide together in the night sky. They guard each other in every reality and every plane.

To end, I have only one request of our dear poet:

Tell me how all this, and love too, will ruin us. Tell me we’ll never get used to it.

Credits given to:

Dioscuri by Dante Émile

Little Beast, Scheherezade & others by Richard Siken

Darshana Suresh and other Tumblr poets

[dailypoetryforyou]

A Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Lets have a chat about Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken, first published in 1916.

This classic poem is a masterful example of Frost's use of imagery and metaphor to explore the theme of choices and their consequences.

The poem begins with a description of a "yellow wood" and a fork in the road, setting up the central metaphor of the two paths as symbols of life's choices. The speaker is torn between them, "sorry I could not travel both," and his hesitation is conveyed through the use of repetition and long, meandering lines.

As he considers the two paths, the speaker notes that "Though as for that the passing there / Had worn them really about the same." This line is a prime example of Frost's use of irony, as the two paths are ultimately revealed to be equally well-traveled and equally valid choices. The speaker's final choice is therefore less important than his willingness to make a choice and take responsibility for it.

But the poem's final lines, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference," have been widely misinterpreted as a celebration of individualism and nonconformity. In reality, the poem's true message is more complex. While the speaker does take a less common path, it is not necessarily the "right" or "better" path. Rather, it is simply the one he chose, and he will look back on his decision "with a sigh" and wonder what might have been.

Ultimately, "The Road Not Taken" is a timeless meditation on the choices we make in life and their lasting impact. Through its use of metaphor, irony, and repetition, Frost creates a poem that is both accessible and deeply thought-provoking. So the next time you find yourself at a crossroads, take a page from Frost's book and make the choice that feels right to you, even if it means taking the road less traveled.(don't go chasing waterfalls)

Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" has had a profound influence on both writing and poetry since its publication in 1916. One reason for this is the poem's universal theme of choice and its consequences, which resonates with readers of all ages and backgrounds. The idea of making difficult choices and wondering what might have been is a timeless human experience that has been explored in countless works of literature throughout history.

In addition, the poem's use of vivid imagery and metaphor has been widely admired and emulated by other writers. Frost's ability to create a sense of place and atmosphere through his description of the yellow wood and the two diverging paths has inspired generations of poets to use concrete imagery to evoke emotions and ideas.

Furthermore, it has become so popular and widelyread that it has taken on a life of its own, with many people misinterpreting its message as a celebration of individualism and nonconformity. This has led to countless parodies, homages, and references in popular culture, from the television show "The Simpsons" (ikr) to the film "Dead Poets Society."(great film)

Overall, "The Road Not Taken" remains a touchstone of modern poetry, with its themes and literary techniques continuing to inspire and influence writers today.

For those who haven't read "The Road Not Taken" here you go!!

The Road Not Taken 

BY ROBERT FROST

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

[berk-brain-rot]

So Berk posted a video of some poems that never made it into Lazarus Rises and I wanted to talk about my favorite one.

It's this, it's this one.

If you're just here to read the poem, fair, it's amazing and stands on it's own, honestly click the link and read the rest of them, because they're all so good!

If you're here as a fellow-feral-unhinged-raccoon and want to read my honestly unneeded analysis, it's below the cut.

Oh my god. Are you kidding me?? This was a poem that didn't pass the cut??? And it's this good?????? (Once again I feel justified in telling literally every person who spends five minutes in conversation with me about how good of a poet Berk is)

Honestly though, this is one of my favorites of the poems in that video, because it's so short, it's so simply written, and this says so much that I feel like I could write an entire essay on each of the lines themselves and their meanings (I honestly might anyways but I'm not gonna subject you guys to those rambles)

"Life loves Death"

In the same way you can't help but love an impossible task you just want to give up but that at this point is the only company you truly remember and the only thing you know how to work towards.

"Life loves Death"

In the same way we can't help but try and find meaning in beauty in the thing that truly only takes from us, because if there isn't meaning and beauty in our pain, then why the fuck do we have it?

"Life loves Death"

As something we can't take seriously. As something we truly don't understand the risks of until it's too late. As something that for some of us, we rush forward to with joy and open arms because we think it'll feel like the warm embrace of the sun but instead all we are met with is the cold cold ocean.

"Life loves Death"

As a burden, a burden that some claim is a gift. A burden enforced upon us poor poor sinners by a god in punishment. Am I talking about Apollo or Jesus? Both, neither of them, I don't believe in either, but I mean no one believed Cassandra either.

"Life loves Death"

As a needed tool, as a part of every flower we decide to put in a vase, as every dye we put in paint, as every food we are forced to consume and as the tool that at the end of the days ends up changing us.

Also something something, gods punishing poor sinners for wanting to enjoy life something something an apple and a weaving contest being the show of ultimate pride something something I don't have religious trauma you do

Like do you get it???? Do you see how insane this is??? How much information they've packed into six lines???

And I'm not even gonna go over the way Life and Death are capitalized and personified, you all already know how I feel about how impressive it is they do that, but regardless, this poem is amazing and you can pry it out of my coffin-bloodied-cold-dead hands.

As always, the source is always more interesting than anything I have to say, so if you haven't yet, go read Lazarus Rises(amongst other things) and follow them on their Tumblr @icaruspendragon because they write so many cool things beyond just their published book.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Poetry Analysis: "Hope is the thing with feathers"

"Hope" is the Thing With Feathers by Emily Dickinson

Out of the nearly 1,800 poems she penned during her lifetime, the 1862 poem, Hope is the Thing With Feathers, is the one which has given Emily Dickinson lifelong fame and recognition as a writer.

The full poem is rather short and goes as follows:

"Hope" is the thing with feathers -  That perches in the soul -  And sings the tune without the words -  And never stops - at all - And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -  And sore must be the storm -  That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm -  I’ve heard it in the chillest land -  And on the strangest Sea -  Yet - never - in Extremity,  It asked a crumb - of me.

Full of figurative language, this poem is an extended metaphor, transforming the feeling of hope into a bird that lives forever in the human soul.

This metaphor is set in the opening line of the poem - and has gone on to become a common phrase long associated with people’s personal aspirations, no matter how ‘extreme’ they may seem to outsiders. 

Interestingly, the first word of the poem is given special emphasis with speech marks, as though the poet wants to define the elusive word ‘hope,’ which she then does as followed by her descriptive metaphor. 

As the stanza progresses, so too does the strength of the imagery; not only is hope feathery, but it has the ability to sing too, especially during times of difficulty.

But the song is extra-special than any other song in the world for there are no words, and no diction for anyone to understand rationally - just like our sometimes un-seemingly rational hopes and aspirations. 

[pawswithprose]

poetry analysis for the first day of December

[mvrcki]

a valentine - edgar allen poe

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

this was such a beautiful and underrated poem, as most of poe's poems are <3

[long-sleeved-sandwich]

i feel like i have great media literacy and reading comprehension but no tv comprehension at all. i can read books for hours and my whole sense of humour is nothing but meme culture, but on tv i never understand what ads are trying to sell me, and i can watch the same old shows over and over again without remembering them so it’s like watching something new every time. can anybody relate or is it just me 🤔

[minnow-shelves]

My analysis of "Theology" by Ted Hughes

“Theology” is an abrasive response to the Genesis creation story, in which Hughes challenges the roles of Eve, Adam, the Serpent, God, and even the infamous apple itself. The most well known part of this story is the one he challenges first, calling the idea that the serpent seduced Eve to eat the apple “Corruption of the facts.” There are two key details in this stanza: Hughes capitalizes the word Seduce, and then the word Corruption. It’s unclear whether Hughes intended for this to bring emphasis to the words, as they each start a line in the middle of a sentence, or instead he is just following a pattern throughout his poem of capitalizing the beginning word of each line. If it is for the purpose of emphasis, I see the capitalization of “Seduce” as a purposeful deviation from the word “tempt/tempted/temptation”, which is often used to describe the Serpent’s actions. Seduction is an overtly sensual, even sexual word, which becomes more important to my analysis in the second stanza of the poem. I interpreted the capitalization of “Corruption” as emphasizing the irony of the whole line. Hughes is calling the original story of Eve and the Serpent a “Corruption of the facts”, and the original Genesis is about the corruption of humanity itself. To call a story of corruption a corruption is ironic in nature, even slightly comedic.

In the second stanza, Hughes reveals the truth of his “Theology”.

Adam ate the apple. Eve ate Adam. The serpent ate Eve. This is the dark intestine. What first came to mind in reading this stanza was the image of ouroboros, the serpent that eats

its own tail, representing an eternal cycle. Upon doing some research1, I found that the self-eating snake as a symbol of eternal cycles has a widespread history in theology. Specifically, in Greco-Roman and Biblical mythologies, this eternal cycle is often profoundly sexual in nature, with the snake representing eternal creation through sexual reproduction, and the sexual nature of existence as a human being. Coming back to the second stanza, it seems as though Hughes is describing the sexual coupling of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The apple is a symbol of Eve’s sexuality, the serpent being a phallic symbol of Adam’s sexuality, thus attributing creation of humans not to an act of disobedience to our maker, but our natural desires to be sexual and to reproduce. When Hughes says “This is the dark

1 The Symbology of Serpents in Greco-Roman and Biblical Mythology, The Drover Review Vol. III, 2020. Hixson, Wendell.

intestine”, I believe he means that this is the hidden truth of humanity, buried within the dark underbelly of Theology.

The final stanza diverts our attention from the creation story to the state of the world. Hughes says that the serpent, as we (humans) fret over “the dark intestine” of creation, is sleeping peacefully in Paradise, while smiling at God’s whining. The serpent in this stanza is a symbol of the frank truth of creation- that we are “dirty”, lustful, and “sinful” creatures that naturally must divert from God’s holy cleanliness and have wills of our own. Eve did not betray humanity and curse us to live away from Paradise, she was merely a human being, as was Adam, as are we.