"Hazel Tells LaVerne" by Katharyn Howd Machan

"But sohelpmegod he starts talkin bout a golden ball an how i can be a princess me a princess."

Ah, the fairytale poem at last! However, it's a little bit different because of the dialect and sentence structure as a whole. First off, nothing is capitalized or punctuated, so it was confusing to know when to pause. Secondly, everything is written with a southern dialect. I don't know if this is style of the speaker or of Katharyn Howd Machan. However, all of these southern-sounding words remind me of Princess and the Frog. I feel that the central theme of the poem is to showcase that each of us are royalty to someone. We don't have to be princesses or princes, but deep within, we really are someone special. Hopefully we will find the person to make us believe that we are "a princess, me a princess." But isn't this difficult? To find someone who looks at us for our inner beauty instead of our exterior looks? I feel that the frog represents love as a whole. Some of us are terrified of opening our eyes to love because throwing ourselves out there frightens us. Some of us are just shocked because the person that God brings us is not always who we expect. But we have to look past all of this and give them a chance. We have to take chances in order to see what we really want in life.

"Getting Out" by Cleopatra Mathis

"Finally locked into blame, we paced that short hall, heaving words like furniture."

After reading this poem, I couldn't help but think that this world is filled with so much hatred. It kind of makes me sick. The second stanza contains a lot of nouns and not many verbs. It's kind of confusing. Also, after reading this, I'm getting the sense that maybe the central theme is focused around divorce or the end of relationship. The theme, at least how I saw it, was all about getting angry, saying hurtful things, and eventually everything will work out. This couple has their love constantly fluctuating because of the making of amends. At least I think they made amends. That's what I thought of when I read the phrase "taking hands we walked apart, until our arms stretched between us. We held on tight, and let go." I feel that there are scars weighing down their relationship, but they will always be a part of the others' life. The poem doesn't have a set rhyming pattern, which actually makes it flow a little more instead of being the choppy rhyme scheme. Perhaps the "unshredded pictures" represent that they are not mad at each other. However, I just wonder if feelings were mutual because they "heaved words like furniture" at each other. I guess that we all just say things when we are upset. The tone of the poem is kind of indifferent. It's kind of a rollercoaster of emotions about how they had "tightened hearts" and "blamed" each other, but it ends with parting with a sense of longing. I feel that the speaker doesn't really know how he feels about the situation; he is just telling the story of their lives together.

"Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold

"Listen! you hear the grating roar.... again begin, with tremulous cadence slow, and bring the eternal note of sadness in."

After reading this poem, I couldn't help but think that the central theme is to show how sad life can be, but through it all, we must cling to the things we love most. The tone of the poem is very melancholy about sadness taking over life. For example, the first three stanzas are embellished with dreary diction, with words such as "sadness" "distant" and and even "naked." Later it becomes more uplifting, but the tone is demonstrated through the attitude of the words infused throughout. I'm starting to think that the mood is actually bittersweet. Also, the imagery is all about describing actual pieces of nature. For example, he describes the "sea" "tide" "cliffs" "bay" "land" and "waves." I feel that the speaker describes physical aspects of nature in order to symbolize the emotions of a human being. Our emotions go in and out like the "tides", but we must control our mindsets to pull in the optimistic outlooks instead of the depressing ones.

"Crossing the Bar" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

"I hope to see my Pilot face to face / When I have crossed the bar."

This poem definitely is one of those poems that speaks more truth than simply words. The meaning behind every line is so profound. For example, this poem uses a lot of imagery about night time. The terms "sunset" "evening star" "asleep" and "twilight" are sprinkled throughout. At first, I just thought that this poem was about, well, night time. However, the meaning goes deeper. When the poem starts to talk about "hoping to see my Pilot face to face," I realized that the symbolism is stronger. These "nighttime" words more symbolize death. When we think of death, we think of being "sound asleep." So, I think that the author is using these terms to represent going into a deep slumber, and meeting the Pilot. However, I strongly believe that the Pilot represents God. Also, I believe that "crossing the bar" refers to "crossing over into another life." So maybe this poem is all about sleeping, but I am convinced that the central theme of the poem is that we should live life to the fullest while we are alive ("awake"). Then, when we do die, we will have the chance to meet the Pilot. Why does Tennyson use the term Pilot? I think that this term symbolizes that God is steering us toward Him in our lives and that we must trust Him completely in order to meet Him at the end of our days.

"My Mistress' Eyes" by William Shakespeare

"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips' red..."

After first reading this poem, I was initially confused as to what the central theme of the poem is supposed to be. I believe that the speaker is trying to say that nothing is more beautiful than the features of the woman he loves. However, something is telling me that the speaker is trying to say that his mistress' eyes are dull compared to the sun, that her lips her bland compared to coral. All of this imagery has gotten me confused. Is he more captivated by the beauty of creation or the beauty of his mistress? Or both? The tone of the poem is almost overreaching. The speaker seems to be grasping at a beauty that he cannot possess himself. Also, the imagery of the poem is decorated with colorful language. For example, Shakespeare scribes specific words such as "red coral" "white snow" "black wires" "white and red roses", just to name a few. This imagery allows the colors and descriptions to be even more vivid. The sense of sight is essential to this poem, and these visual pictures depict the exact images of the mistress and creation behind her. I'm just confused about the purpose and theme of the poem.

"Mr. Z" by M. Carl Holman

After first reading this, I noticed a lot of implied imagery and descriptions in the first stanza. For instance, this man "Mr. Z" had a mother with "skin with error" and he dressed "the perfect part of honor." He "won scholarships, attended the best schools... chose raceless views of each situation..." Basically, the first stanza is trying to state that Mr. Z "had it all." Also, I noticed that every two back-to-back lines rhyme. Usually, I think that rhymed poems are choppy, but this poem had a nice flow to it. However, the tone shifts in the second stanza because this stanza is bland. I believe that this symbolizes that Mr. Z's life is bland, even though he has all of these accomplishments. Not only is his life bland, but his diet is too. In this stanza, Holman uses a lot of food imagery, such as "pork" "vintage wines" "sauces" and "salads" just to name a few. I feel that the central purpose of this poem is that everyone knew Mr. Z as a wonderful man, but they didn't really KNOW him. Yes, they knew of his accomplishments, but accomplishments mean nothing if a person doesn't have a personality. The world didn't know Mr. Z underneath his "perfect" life. The theme is trying to allow us to look past what people "do" and to look at people for who they truly are.

"APO 96225" by Larry Rottman

The central purpose of this poem is that honesty can be a bit much for people to handle. For instance, in this poem, a soldier is writing to his parents, telling them details about being overseas. The letters at first are vague but become more graphic due to their request. Honestly, this poem kind of how relationships are. We sugar coat things from our loved ones to protect them from the truth. Which is better? A sweet lie, or the bitter truth? The tone of the poem simply realistic. The tone is achieved by the diction. For instance, when the soldier is being honest with his parents, he says, "Today I killed a man. Yesterday, I helped drop napalm on women and children." This phrase is truly what soldiers do for our country. I don't know how they keep a positive attitude through life. Maybe this poem also has a deeper symbolism. We all try to be optimistic human beings, but the world wants us to know "truth" and "pain." Why does the world try to weezle out the pain and honesty? I'm still trying to figure this out. I'm also trying to figure out which is better: truth or pain. I believe that both are essential to life, but there is a time and place for each. Also, the sentence structure has a lot of dialect and conversation between the soldier and his family. This makes the poem more personal and informal.

"Sorting Laundry" by Elisavietta Ritchie

While I was reading this poem, I noticed that the poem is written in three line stanzas. At first, I thought that this might be several haikus mixed into one poem, but then I realized that I was wrong. The simile "like tablecloths for the banquets of giants" is used. This simile is effective and appropriate because it describes how big the bedsheets are. At first, when I read this poem, I thought that this person was obsessed with what she put in her laundry. But after finishing the poem, I realized that I was kind of right. She IS obsessed with her laundry, but she is more obsessed with the person who left her with the laundry. The central purpose of poem is that the speaker is reminiscing over the times she had with her lover, hoping he will one day come back. The tone is very bittersweet, but there is a sense of longing infused throughout. For instance, the author scribes, "if you were to leave me, if I were to fold only my own clothes... a mountain of unsorted wash could not fill the empty side of the bed." This symbolizes that the speaker would give anything to have her love back in her life. Allusions are also used throughout, especially when the speaker talks about "Noah's ark." This is to show that the socks all had a match, just like the animals in Noah's ark had a mate. I wonder if the speaker had her lover literally leave her or if he passed away.

"Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God" by John Donne

Before I say anything, I just wanted to point out that the verbs infused throughout the poem truly add dimension to the poem's message. For example, the second line of the poem has "knock" "breathe" "shine" "seek" and "mend." I think that the author does this to showcase the act of living out the motions in life. Toward the end of the poem, the speaker indicates that he has turned away from God. To me, his diction infused with verbs symbolizes that he is going through the motions every day without God beside him. He is just doing action after action but has no life behind the actions' meanings. This poem is confusing, but the sentence structures don't help either. For instance, "me should defend." At first, I read this and thought of cavemen speaking. Then, the more I thought about it, I started to realize that this symbolizes that the speaker is talking to God. Everything that the speaker says is on a lower level than God's power. This inadequate speaking style, to me, does serve some purpose. It's to show that the speaker is unworthy of God because he has turned away from Him. Also, rhymes are used throughout. Finally, I was struck by the simile "like an usurped town." To me, this means that the speaker is broken and cannot ever return back to his Creator. The tone of the poem is based off of repentance because the speaker deep down wants God to rescue him from his despair.

"Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy

I think that the central purpose of this poem is that the speaker is trying to raise awareness about girls' self-esteem and self-image. Society tells people that they should be a certain way; so since people become wrapped in pleasing others, they fall into the tide of society's wants and desires. However, I believe that the speaker is trying to tell the "barbie doll" that she should not change herself for someone else. She died on their terms of beauty, but society doesn't know what beauty really is. Society thinks that beauty consists of revealing tops, lots of make-up, orange skin, and plastic surgery. This is not beauty: this is being fake. Beauty is a beautiful light that comes from within, but society made the girl's "beauty" light burn out.

The tone of the poem is mournful over the girl's death. It's also kind of condescending towards society for doing this to the girl. The diction is melancholy towards how wonderful the girl's life once used to be. As the poem goes on, the speaker uses words that are almost disappointed that the girl was not strong enough to be her own person. For instance, the writer says, "she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up.... she lay with the understaker's cosmetics painted on, a turned up nose, dressed in a pink and white nightie." Yes, the writer is using diction that the woman looks beautiful but in a different way. The woman basically caved in to the wants and desires of society by cutting off her nose and her legs. A symbol in the poem is that the "cutting off of her nose" represents the material desires of the world that drown the heart of society. I found it ironic that the girl "was healthy and tested intelligent" when later she lay in the casket, completely sick from the temptations and destruction of society.

"February" by Margaret Atwood

First off, this poem is very cleverly written. It starts out with the importance of "winter." The poem begins with a negative undertone. Typically, when one thinks of winter, we usually think of a state of being dormant and restless. However, by the end of the poem, the narrator talks about how anxious he is for "spring." He says, "make it be spring." This just changes the tone of the poem altogther. Spring represents hope and awakening. Perhaps the excitement of spring and "celebrating increase" have helped the narrator lose the anger and resentment shown at the beginning of the poem.

When it comes to symbolism, I am convinced that the cat represents out thoughts and conscience. So many of us are distracted when it comes to actually doing our work. So many of us are living for the wrong reasons, such as sex, recognition, territorialism, and possessions, just to name a few. We don't focus on what positive things lie in front of us until they are gone. In the winter, we can feel a sense of being trapped. Sometimes we even are overcome with a sense of depression because in the winter, we never see the sun. That's why I think the author incorporated the line that that the cat jumps on top of the narrator " to tell whether or not I'm dead." Also, I love the incorporation of the hockey in this. It's almost as if the narrator is talking to me while watching a hockey game. That's why the author includes the phrases of  "he shoots, he scores!" Personally, I feel that the author did this to showcase how distracted human kind is. We are blind to what is good in our lives. We are blinded by the beauty of God's creation because of society misses what's important in life because the world's focuses are on "sex," "hockey," (sports) and other "possessions."

"The Joy of Cooking" by Elaine Magarrell

This poem is slightly disturbing. I read it and was utterly repulsed by it. However, when I reread it, I realized that it was infused with symbolic instead of literal meaning. The narrator, or shall I say the "cook," is using cooking terminology in order to get back at her siblings. For example, the narrator says, "I have prepared my sister's tongue, scrubbed nad skinned it, trimmed the roots, small bones, and gristle." To me, I think that this means that the narrator's siblings are getting on her last nerve. She wants to hurt them and "plots" against them. Personally, I think that she is secretly planning plots against them in her head and not in real life. The narrator has a different motive: she is trying to let us in on her siblings true personalities.

For example, when the narrator says that her sister's tongue "will probably grow back," the narrator could be implying that his sister has an incredibly big mouth. In the second stanza, the narrator is talking about his brother's heart, "which is firm and rather dry." This implies that the narrator's brother has a strong heart (strong-willed, maybe?). However, the brother could be self-centered and selfish because of his "dry" heart. Also, the narrator says that "although beef heart serves six, my brother's heart barely feeds two." This is showing that his brother has no passion behind what he does. His brother doesn't have heart, and maybe the narrator was just having an off day. I am concerned, though, for the safety of the narrator's siblings. I just hope that this person is kidding because cannibalism is just disgusting. Serving a person's siblings skin and bone with "sour sauce" is unethical and disappointing that his relationship with his siblings is not substantially true love. This is the case for many siblings, for if they were not siblings, they would not even be acquaintances.

"Dream Deferred' by Langston Hughes

This poem is very simplistic but very profound at the same time. There is not a real sense of form or pattern to the poem. Hyphens and questions are woven throughout, and similes take up entire lines for themselves. This structure allows the reader to ponder the analogies even more because of the emphasis on them as to how they were written. The common them of the poem is that we, as humans, sometimes have no idea what to do with dreams we cannot have. However, we always want what we can't have. Those things which are unavailable to us just seem that much more intriguing to possess. But really: what do we do with dreams we cannot have? Do we move on? Do we try harder? Or do we simply explode?

These all have to do with the overall tone of the poem: questioning. The poem consists of six questions; almost every other line contains a question. This means that out of the eleven written lines in the poem, more than half are questions. The questioning causes the reader to be just as involved in the poem as the author is. Asking these rhetorical questions causes the reader to stop and think about what happens when we are deprived of what we have been seeking and how to handle it. The tone is also somewhat depressed. There is no uplifting undertone in this poem. For example, negative terms are infused throughout such as "dry up" "fester like a sore" "stink like rotten meat" "sags like a heavy load" and "explode." There are two positive lines "crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet." However, with all the other negative lines, these positive phrases just seem out of place. Perhaps that's the point. I think that this symbolizes that when our hopes and dreams crash and burn, we become so absorbed in the the negative aspects of the situation. Yes, there are a few positive things that we ponder, but for the most part, it just seems impossible to move on. However, we do what we can to be mesmerized by that tiny glimmer of hope in order to see life from a new perspective instead of exploding and giving up on opportunity.

"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" By John Donne

The central theme of this poem is that two lovers are saying farewell. The two people have to figure out how to move on with their lives without the other. For example, Donne scribes "as virtuous men pass mildly away, and whisper to their souls to go, while some of their sad friends do say, the breath goes now, and some say no." Basically, Donne is trying to say that sometimes, our friends must tell us goodbye. Some of us leave with sad departings, while others see farewells as positive new experiences. The narrator is trying to say that he says goodbye to his love with a bittersweet attitude. The tone of the poem is uplifting and inspiring because it gives hope for the lovers to still live on. This is achieved through the author's diction. Donne states that " we by a love so much refined, that ourselves know not what it is, inter-assured of the mind, care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss." This is uplifting because it embodies that even though the narrator is parting from his love, their love will never be forgotten in the memories of his eyes, lips, and hands.

When Donne says, "and though it in the center sit," I believe that this symbolizes that two people sit in the center of the other's heart. The two are the center and meaning of the other's life. The poem ends right back at the circle. Perhaps this symbolizes that love is a never-ending cycle that everyone in society wants to be running around in. The form of the pattern is iambic pentameter. Every other line rhymes, which means it follows an ABAB format. Punctuation is used throughout, but the sentences are very long. I feel that perhaps the narrator is not sad about leaving behind his lover. Maybe he does not feel the same way for her, but this just makes me think of a famous quote. "If you love someone, let him go. If he comes back to you, he's yours. If he doesn't, he never was." Maybe this man will return to his lover with a deeper love than he had for her before.

"Pink Dog" by Elizabeth Bishop

This poem by Elizabeth Bishop is more metaphorical than literal. For example, in the second stanza of the poem, Bishop scribes, "Oh, never have I seen a dog so bare! / Naked and pink, without a single hair... / Startled, the passersby draw back and stare." Initially, the reader is going to think that the poem is about an actual dog, but I believe the central theme of the poem to be about society. Yes, the poem begins by talking about a dog, but as the poem continues, the poem is more directed at people in general. For example, at the end of the poem, the poem takes a different turn. Bishop writes "a depilated dog would not look well. / Dress up! Dress up and dance at Carnival!" The central theme of the poem is that we, as people, walk around as hideous creatures with painful pasts. We are the bare, naked dogs. However, no matter how difficult our lives can be, no matter what we have going on, we must dress up for "Carnival." And perhaps this poem is not asking us to dress up for "Carnival;" maybe this symbolizes that we should look forward to what's in store in our lives no matter who we are. "Carnival" symbolizes that each of us are worthy of getting into heaven, no matter who we are. We need to look forward to what's in store for our future in heaven.

The tone of the poem is encouraging. This is achieved through Bishop's use of diction. For instance, maybe this is best defined in the following quote: "In your condition you would not be able to even float, much less to dog-paddle. Now look, the practical, the sensible solution is to wear a fantasia." This is just one example of how the narrator is trying to bring the character out of despair and show him that he deserves happiness. The imagery is infused with terms dealing with the Carnival. Yes, the imagery also uses animal terms throughout such as "rabies" and "a nursing mother"; the Carnival imagery, however, includes "fantasia" and "mascara"  to excite the reader about the festivites of Carnival. The form of the pattern is that every line for three lines in a row rhymes. However, it is very confusing because of how the lines are broken up to fit the rhyming pattern. The broken sense of the poem causes it to be choppy, and it does not flow well. It took a little getting used to, but I think that the broken yet cohesiveness also adds to the theme of the poem. We all are different and have our own scars, but we all deserve to enjoy a night out at Carnival. 

"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden

This poem reminds me of bitterness we show to those who help us. We hate school because we hate being pushed to be all that we can be. We hate listening to our parents because they make limits and boundaries. But ultimately, these people work so hard for us and want us to be as happy as can be. We take them for granted just like the narrator of the poem did to his father. He is bothered by his father's work ethic and is always so annoyed with him. How true is the fact that we never appreciate what we have until it is gone! We are bitter and arrogant until life  strips us of our desires. Only then do we humble ourselves and become more tuned in with who we are supposed to be. Once there's something missing though, we become more bitter about what was lost than we were before.

What I'm trying to say is, Hayden says, "my father got up early.... and worked with cracked hands that ached from labor.... no one ever thanked him." He starts out the poem by just simply stating the facts. He's not bitter, but this is how his life was. We, as a society, are so selfish. We are only concerned with ourselves and hardly ever acknowledge the work of others. The questioning at the end of the poem is almost like an invocation to the heavens. He's so concerned that he was not true to his father. He wishes he would have changed. The ending simply shifts the focus to about his father's work ethic to be about how the narrator misses him and wishes he would have lived differently. This change of focus changes the tone. At first, I thought the poem was about bitterness. In a way, it is. But after reading it and rereading it, I realized that the poem is really about change and being grateful for what we have in life.

"Spring" by Gerald Manley Hopkins

This poem makes me happy; it makes me think of hope. The poem almost brings me back to my days of being a little girl, pretending like the world is mine. It's almost like spring is like earth's awakening to heaven. "The ear" is the human's response to sounds in nature. For example, people become attuned with the sound of birds chirping when they're outside. And I love how the pear tree leaves' "brush" is like the whishy-washy sound of leaves rustling in the wind. We ruin the beauty of creation with our sins. Spring is the "innocent mind" of creation. It brings out our inner childlike side, and apparently spring is more than a season: it's a gift from God.

With all the references to God, I am getting the vibe that the author is a devout Catholic author. "Thrush" is apparently some type of blackbird, although I have never heard of this before. I love how "juice and joy" are incorporated into this poem. And I feel that it's within reason, too. For example, when I think of juice, I think of fruit and seeds and whatnot. Fruits flower in the spring, and from these fruits come delicious juices and even joy. However, the author is kind of adamant that spring is the best aspect of life, for he says "nothing is so beautiful as spring." This is kind of a matter of opinion. The "descending blue" is obviously the beautiful sky. God has definitely blessed us with the most beautiful wonders of creation, and these are evident during spring time. However, we ruin and "sour them with sinning." I think that the poem is asking us to change our ways order to preserve the goodness of God.

"London" by William Blake

In the first stanza of the poem, William Blake scribes "mark in every face I meet / Marks of weakness and marks of woe." This symbolizes that our world is submersed in self-pity and emptiness. We're always looking for something more, something of utmost desire. The second stanza reminds me of God calling His people of suffering out of despair. And the last stanza speaks of a corrupt youth in society, unable to change society's weaknesses. Perhaps none of us are capable of changing the world. Perhaps we all are. But that's why only a small few are willing to change people's ways and pull the world out of darkness and despair. The fact that it is called "London" symbolizes that perhaps it is told from someone's point of view who's against the Church of England. The phrase "marriage is like a hearse" shows the division of society.

The central purpose of the poem is to show that everyone deserves sympathy and understanding for their way of life. For example, when Blake is writing about the "Harlot's curse," he is showing some sympathy for the prostitutes in town. Also, the tone of the poem seems to be that Blake is not happy about how things destroy marriage. Perhaps this symbolizes that the greatest marriage of all is the marriage between the Church and with God. The fact that this is getting destroyed symbolizes the turmoil in society. And the "marriage hearse" could also symbolize King Henry's marriage. Perhaps the main imagery in this poem is about destruction. For example, the words "weakness" "woe" "cry" "fear" "manacles" "appalls" "black'ning" "blood" and "curse" all symbolize within themselves despair and agony. The central theme, in one sentence, is that people's lifestyles keep becoming distant from God; therefore, society is bleeding from it's own personal desires and destruction.

"The Panther" by Rainer Maria Rilke

When I first read this poem, I thought it was about an animal. But then, once I reread it, I thought that perhaps it is about a person. Let me explain. Just like the Emily Dickinson poem, this poem is about how we are all trapped inside our minds. I think that the "constantly passing bars" symbolizes the constrictions of society. "As he paces in cramped circles" represents the man pacing his thoughts in his mind. Finally, the "image that enters in" represents a thought that keeps recurring in the mind that he overanalyzes and digests. This is what I took after reading the last line "an image enters in... and plunges into the heart and is gone." The central theme of the poem is that people are trapped not only by the conformity of society, but also the destruction of our minds. The tone of the poem is one that seems kind of depressed. Terms such as "weary" "bars" "cramped" "paralyzed" "arrested" and "plunges" are all in here. The words themselves kind of represent defeat in some way.

The form of the pattern of the poem is a somewhat rhymed format. The words don't all rhyme, but they all are kind of stuck in the perameters of the rhyme two lines ahead of it. The imagery in this poem is all about movement and vision. For example, it starts out talking about "vision" and later goes on to talk about "pupils" and an "image. These all correlate with the sense of sight. The imagery of movement includes "passing" "movement" "strides" "ritual dance" "paralyzed" "rushes" and "plunges." Although the person is trapped, the movement is essential to the poem because it represents the the person (or being) is still living and moving. Although he is trapped, he is still functioning and breathing. We constantly are trapped in this world behind the bars of the world's vision of how we should live our lives. We pace around, hoping life will change. But then more people judege and watch us, so we feel forced to life life based on the limitations and guidelines of humanity.

"I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain" by Emily Dickinson

I believe that the poem's central purpose is to showcase a person's insanity. The "Funeral in his Brain" symbolizes the inner war between a person and his mind. The "mourners" represent his conscience, hoping that he will make the right decision as how to find happiness. But the character cannot because "that Sense cannot break through." I also think that the "mourners" represent the person's heart. His heart is bleeding in the sense that he cannot find inner peace. This is why I think the "Drum" is referenced that "kept beating- beating" because the person's heart continues to beat, even though he is not alive mentally. I think that the abruptness at the end of the stanzas represents that the narrator cannot finish his thoughts because his mind is all over the place. The tone of the poem is stressed, frenzied, and negative. There is no hope for the person to get out of this mess. The "funeral" continues to keep getting worse. I just think the "funeral" as a whole symbolizes a person dying mentally, even though his body continues to be alive. And the "Boots of Lead" represent this person not being able to run away from his issue of insanity. It has corrupted his life entirely.

It's almost like there is no beginning or end, and it's like the narrator doesn't believe in her problem ending himself. I'm slightly confused by the random words capitalized, but I'm thinking the capitalized words are the actual symbols in the poem. The words "Heavens were a Bell" were well chosen because when we die, death tolls. This is like a bell ringing, or God signaling us to come His way. There are so many metaphors and symbols infused throughout to prove that the person is not actually insane; rather, he is clever in his analogies. They make sense. If he were insane, the poem would be confusing. But everything stands for something else, which just makes his case more valid for having a funeral in his brain. He is confused and haunted by his own thoughts, but they make sense to other people. He just has to come to terms with himself. It's tricky to interpret at first, but we just have to see life from a different perspective in order to have even insanity make sense.

"The Nature of Proof in the Interpretation of Poetry" by Laurence Perrine

" 'A symbol,' writes John Ciardi, 'is like a rock dropped into a pool: it sends out ripple in all directions, and the ripples are in motion. Who can say where the the last ripple disappears?' " (page 5)

I really like this quote; I think that it has a lot to say about life. To me, this means that symbols are given to us, but many people take the symbol in different directions when it comes to interpretation. When it comes to poetry, there really is no correct answer when it comes to interpreting a poem's meaning, but it does have to stay within boundaries of the context. I do agree with Perrine's approach to determining "correct" interpretations of poetry because he made me realize that there really are different ways to understand poetry. To me, though, this kind of bothers me. I am one of those people that I like to know what the correct answer is, and then I move on. With all of these "open to interpretation" things, life just gets more confusing. I just wish that the writer's would display their true meanings of their works. Life would be less confusing. But alas, I have to read the poetry incorrectly and analyze it through another perspective in order to understand the correct meaning of the poem.

The article changed my view of poems because they really are more complex than just words. I am a lyricist, so many of my songs consist of poems. Being the writer, it is invigorating to come up with my own symbolic meaning of my words. Yes, some people will interpret my words differently, but having the liberty of having no other person think like me is very exciting in a way. I do agree with the article in the sense that we have to interpret the poem within the boundaries of the text. But sometimes, how I interpret the poem is far off the poem's actual meaning. For instance, I read those poems the other night. My interpretations were no where near close to the actual meanings. I guess I just misinterpreted the poem's symbolism, and I took it an entirely different route. But sometimes, I have to read things more carefully in order to grasp what the writer is trying to say.