Free Essays on Poetry

GOOD AND EVIL The conflict between good and evil is the poem's most important theme. The poet makes it clear, however, that good and evil don't exist as mutually exclusive opposites, but that both qualities are present in everyone. Beowulf represents the potential to do good- to perform acts selflessly and in the service of others- while Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon are consumed with the blind desire to act against people and to destroy them. Yet pride, a human quality, is also a sign that evil exists. It's important, as Hrothgar points out to Beowulf, to protect oneself against feeling self-satisfied; you must not ignore the powers to do good with which you've been blessed. The transitoriness and instability of human existence make it essential that you never feel too self-important about what you've done. The poet also makes clear our need for a code of ethics. Such a code allows members of society to relate to one another with understanding and trust. The most important bond in Anglo-Saxon society was the relation between king and warrior. When the Geat warriors break the bond by refusing to assist Beowulf in his battle with the dragon, the foundation of society collapses, and chaos rules.... Free Essays on Poetry Free Essays on Poetry The poem I chose to explore based on its imagery is â€Å"Kubla Khan† written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. â€Å"Kubla Khan† is a mixture of delightful images that Coleridge writes about symbolically. This story portrayed through the imagery encompasses spirituality Coleridge longs to be connected with. Although the motivation to dream up such images can be debated, in the following paragraphs, I will argue that the imagery used has specific spiritual meaning for the paradise Coleridge has created. In the first stanza, a beautiful landscape is laid down before us. A parallel could be drawn between the imagery of the contradictory landscape and what heaven looks like. Xanadu is the name of this fantastic realm where the Khan (a representation of God) decrees his stately pleasure-dome, where the sacred Alph river (holy water) flows down to the depthless caverns (infinite eternity), and where a fountain breaks through the rocky surface (representing the power of God. This astonishing imagery of the landscape represents a heaven to Coleridge a place which the author wishes to experience. The first figure or agent in the land of Xanadu, is Khan, a character immediately identified as being important and powerful: ‘In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/ A stately pleasure dome decree’ (ll. 1-2) The Khan appears to be the ultimate warrior for his words shape his utopian reality. It is Khan, who produces such an enchanting paradise in which he protects and roams just as God would. So twice of five miles of fertile ground With walls and towers were girdled round: And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree; And here were forests ancient as the hills, Enfolding sunny spots of greenery. (ll. 6-11) The pleasure dome clearly can be seen has having spiritual and religious importance. The idea being expressed here are in fact the beauty God controls as well as the protection he offers. ... Free Essays on Poetry When it comes to poetry there are a few things that make poems stick out and stay fresh in people’s minds. Three of these things are diction, tone, and theme. Diction is the way that the author wrote uses his or her words in the piece. Tone is kind of difficult to put into words. Some people get tone and diction confused because they both have to do with word usage. However, tone is how the words are used to create a certain mood in the poem. Theme is simply what the poem is about. These are three important things to look at in all poems. Those are the three things that will be discussed about â€Å"Johannesburg Mines† by Langston Hughes. The diction in this poem seems to be pretty basic. The way the author â€Å"talks† in this poem is very clear. It is not hard to stay with the words, and not often will the reader stumble on reading this selection. For one, this is not a long poem and the words are very simple. This is a poem that a third grader would be able to read, maybe not understand but read. The most difficult word is â€Å"Johannesburg† and that can be read phonetically. Overall, this is an easy poem to read. Diction is important, and it sort of similar to tone. Tone is the mood created from the words used in the selection. The tone that comes from this poem is one where the author seems to be angered at the fact that there are 240,000 native Africans working in the Johannesburg mines. It seems to be that Langston Hughes is making some sort of political statement with this poem. After reading this poem, I was not enraged, but a small rush of anger came over me. It was as if the tone that Langston had in this poem was transferred to me. I felt what Langston was talking about, what kind of poem could be made from the slave labor of 240,000 native Africans working in a mine? Not only did it make me think of the Africans in the mine but the other African Americans and black people all over the world that are... Free Essays on Poetry Poetry, form of literature, spoken or written, that emphasizes rhythm, other intricate patterns of sound and imagery, and the many possible ways that words can suggest meaning. The word itself derives from a Greek word, poesis, meaning "making" or "creating." Whereas ordinary speech and writing, called prose, are organized in sentences and paragraphs, poetry in its simplest definition is organized in units called lines as well as in sentences, and often in stanzas, which are the paragraphs of poetry. The way a line of poetry is structured can be considered a kind of garment that shapes and clothes the thought within it. The oldest and most longstanding genres for classifying poetry are epic, a long narrative poem centered around a national hero, and lyric, a short poem expressing intense emotion. Throughout its long history poetry has relied on evolving rules about what a poem is, with new kinds of poetry building on earlier kinds to create greater possibilities of expression. In the 20th century poets have increasingly used the language of everyday speech and created new forms that break the usual rules of poetry, such as its organization in line units. Yet to surprise a reader and evoke a response, the new has to be seen in contrast to the old, and thus poetry still depends upon a reader's depth of knowledge about the poetic practices of the past for its effectiveness. Though much poetry is in written form, it usually represents a speaking voice that is not the same as the poet's. In some lyric poems, this voice seems to speak about individual feelings; in epic poems, the voice seems to speak on behalf of a nation or community. Poetic voices of all kinds confront the unspeakable and push the limits of language and experience. The 20th-century American poet Michael Palmer ch aracterizes this aspect of poetry when he writes playfully, "How lovely the unspeakable must be. You have only to say it and it tells a story." At its deepest lev... Free Essays on Poetry GOOD AND EVIL The conflict between good and evil is the poem's most important theme. The poet makes it clear, however, that good and evil don't exist as mutually exclusive opposites, but that both qualities are present in everyone. Beowulf represents the potential to do good- to perform acts selflessly and in the service of others- while Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon are consumed with the blind desire to act against people and to destroy them. Yet pride, a human quality, is also a sign that evil exists. It's important, as Hrothgar points out to Beowulf, to protect oneself against feeling self-satisfied; you must not ignore the powers to do good with which you've been blessed. The transitoriness and instability of human existence make it essential that you never feel too self-important about what you've done. The poet also makes clear our need for a code of ethics. Such a code allows members of society to relate to one another with understanding and trust. The most important bond in Anglo-Saxon society was the relation between king and warrior. When the Geat warriors break the bond by refusing to assist Beowulf in his battle with the dragon, the foundation of society collapses, and chaos rules....