Analysis Of My Grandmother By Elizabeth Jennings

Introduction to the Analysis

From the third person point of view, Jennings painted a clear image of an aged person's way-of-life (her grandmother). 

The poem opened with comparison; comparing the abode of the grandmother to an "antique shop". From the poem, naijapoets.com is of the opinion that old age has some stages (initial frailty, intense frailty, and death) the first stanza described the poem-speaker's grandmother as being old and lonely. She only had things than beings as companions: "Apostle spoons and Bristol glass/ The faded silks, the heavy furniture/ She watched her own reflection in the brass/ Salvers and silver bowls, as if to prove/ Polish was all, there was no need of love."

Jumping to stanza three, the grandmother was in an intense frailty and all youthful remnants surrounding the old woman (acting as her cherished company) lost their meanings and were moved aside into "Sideboards and cupboards" because she was "too frail to keep a shop, she put/ All her best things in one long narrow room/ The place smelt old, of things too long kept shut"

The Summary of Events

The poem speaker stood in state of mournfulness but pretended she didn't feel grief after the death of the old woman. She said in stanza four:

"And when she died I felt no grief at all,
Only the guilt of what I once refused.
I walked into her room among the tall
Sideboards and cupboards_ things she never used
But needed: and no finger-marks were there
Only the new dust falling through the air."

The Message of the Poem

From the message of the poem, one with deep thought will figure so many things; futility is one among. It became obvious in the final stanza of the poem that many cherished things were left behind not excluding the poem speaker. 

Based on the theme of "aging to death" loneliness is human's worst enemy but people neglect the company of their aged ones calling them out-of-date. The theme of remembering the loved-ones inspired the poem. Elizabeth Jennings couldn't stand the lost of her grandmother by so doing transposed the elegy into something close to a satire. 

She claimed no grief but narrated the lonely plight of the old woman and how she so much need human company. The poem is interesting because it brings back to readers mind the truth that "We never a good thing till is gone".

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis Of Report To Wordsworth By Kim Boey Cheng

About the Poem

This post will explain the figures of speech and the themes in Report To Wordsworth by Kim Boey Cheng.

Report To Wordsworth is a poem believed to be addressed to William Wordsworth, the poet, whose poetic messages show affection for nature. Cheng wasn't glad with the deplorable states of natural things like rivers, animals, plants, atmosphere, etc; after he felt that the gods meant to come to the rescue of nature were silent, he had no choice than to address the poem to Wordsworth as his last resort.

The Poetic Devices

"You should be here, Nature has need of you" in line 1 is an example of epanalepsis.

"As Nature's mighty heart is lying still" in line 12 is an example of imagery.

"The flowers are mute, and the birds are few" in line 4 is an example of paradox, parallelism and personification.

"in a sky slowing like dying clock" is an example of simile.
"She has laid waste" is an example of personification; the "She" was referring to "Nature".

"The wound widening" "insatiate man moves" "sky slowing" "poetry and piety" are examples of alliteration.

"Proteus, Triton, Neptune, Wordsworth" are examples of allusion.

The Themes

(1)The effect of Nature on poetry and religion (2)The destructive nature of human (3)Hopelessness and Helplessness in Nature's recovery

It was shown in the poem that without nature, poetry and religion is nothing. Meaning that the bad shape of Nature has a lot of negative effects on poetry and religion: "Poetry and piety have begun to fail/ As Nature's mighty heart is lying still" (line 11 and 12). 

The destruction suffered by Nature is man-made (i.e. caused by the effort of human) and few of them are plants infertility which the poet described "the flowers are mute..." the unreasonable hunting and killing of animals which the poet also described "the birds are few" polution of water and atmosphere beyond control. "all hopes of Proteus rising from the sea/ has sunk; he is entombed in the waste/ we dump..." according to line 5 to 7 of the poem. Kim Cheng revealed the degree of hopelessness and helpless of Nature's recovery by inviting Wordsworth who is a mortal with less power as the immortal deities that has failed to rescue Nature from peril. 

He also made the readers to see reasons for inviting Wordsworth; "Neptune lies helpless as a beached whale/ while insatiate man moves for the kill".

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis of In Memory of Anyone Unknown to Me by Elizabeth Jennings

About the Poet

We seem elated to be analyzing another elegy_ a mild elegy for that matter. What could be more delighting than meeting poets in their genius dens.

The poem "In Memory of Anyone Unknown to Me" proved Elizabeth Jennings' creativity was inelastic during her lifetime.

Elizabeth Jennings was an English poet born 18th July, 1926 in Boston, United Kingdom but died 26th October , 2001 in Bampton, United Kingdom.

About the Poem

The poem is about death. She wrote the poem solely because she admired the dead_ they are humans just as herself. Structurally, "In Memory of Anyone Unknown to Me" by Elizabeth Jennings is a three stanza poem of six lines each stanza with the end rhyme pattern of ABBACC DEEDFF GHHGII.

[You Can Even Listen to the Poem In Memory of Anyone Unknown to Me]

In the poem, Elizabeth Jennings treated mourning like a philanthropic act. Even when none of the poet's friends or relatives died, she still found it in her heart to practice a mournful ritual to those that are dead anywhere in the world at such time. 

Besides mourning, she also emphasized life's achievements or earthly accomplishments as seen in the second stanza of the poem below:
"How they lived, or died, is quite unknown,
And, by that fact gives my grief purity--
An important person quite apart from me
Or one obscure who drifted down alone.
Both or all I remember, have a place.
For these I never encountered face to face".

The reason she didn't mourn any status under the grip of bias was because the famous which she referred to as "An important person quite apart from me" and the commoner which she referred to as "...one obscure who drifted down alone" are both victims of death which she was yet to witness though indebted to it.

She did imagine whatever burial rites could be going on at that particular time_ digging of grave or cremation. 

And being an abstract mourner also took away any form of sentiment in as much as she wouldn't have to worry about their epitaph, or taking roses to their graves or wondering whether they were good persons who deserved not to die or bad persons who truly deserved the cold stings of death.

Enunwa Chukwudinma S. aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis of A Poem of Changgan by Li Po

The Poet and Summary

Li Po is a Chinese poet born 19th of May, 701 AD. Some people also refer to him as LI Bai, Li Bo and so on. His poetic contribution keeps adding strength to Chinese poetry decades in decades out. other interesting poems "Exile's Letter", "Goodfellowship", "The Long War".Li Po died 30th of November, 762 AD.

The Stanzaic Summary

A Poem of Changgan by Li Po is a love poem that buttresses the effects of a rigid distance between two lovers. As observed in the context of the poem, many factors such as weather, loneliness and fear of lost do cumulate to cause such distresses to lovers.



The first stanza of the poem quoted below shows that the voice of the poem and his traveled lover had been in love since tender age:
"My hair had hardly covered my forehead.
I was picking flowers, playing by my door,
When you, my lover, on a bamboo horse,
Came trotting in circles and throwing green plums.
We lived near together on a lane in Ch’ang-kan,
Both of us young and happy-hearted."

In the second stanza, both lovers got married at age 14 but it doesn't take long before the husband turned monster maltreating the wife. The wife respected the culture and the strong love she had for the husband thereby endured the cruelty of her husband.

In the third stanza quoted below, the bad turned to worse as her worst nightmare unfolded. Her husband went on travel by sea when she was 16 years of age living her with agonizing celibacy to contend. As she suffered loneliness while waiting through hot and wet nights, seasons began to roll upon seasons and his recognized footprints were overridden by growing grasses and mosses_ making her to fear how fast her beauty would fade:

"...Then when I was sixteen, you left on a long journey
Through the Gorges of Ch’u-t’ang, of rock and whirling water.
And then came the Fifth-month, more than I could bear,
And I tried to hear the monkeys in your lofty far-off sky.
Your footprints by our door, where I had watched you go,
Were hidden, every one of them, under green moss,
Hidden under moss too deep to sweep away.
And the first autumn wind added fallen leaves.
And now, in the Eighth-month, yellowing butterflies
Hover, two by two, in our west-garden grasses
And, because of all this, my heart is breaking
And I fear for my bright cheeks, lest they fade."

In the forth stanza which concluded the poem, the voice of the poem noted that she wouldn't mind the distance between where she resided and the place called "Chang-feng Sha" where his lover would arrive at via "Pa District"; so as to live with her husband again.

The Structural Overview

As said earlier, the poem is about love from the feminist perspective. The expressions of the poem are more of first person suggesting that women are more vulnerable in marriages. 

They are the ones who mostly get drunk in love to bear the pain of love departure. The diction is simple and the flow is climactic starting from the origin of the love to the hope of reuniting. Many imageries in the poem reckoned with nature such as "rock and whirling water", "lofty far-off sky", "first autumn wind added fallen leaves", etc.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis Of My Busconductor By Roger McGough

The Line-by-Line Summary

This thirty three line poem begins with an abstract voice telling the readers about his busconductor who soon will depart this heart as a result of kidney failure. 

From line 5-18, the poem speaker tells that all the things that used to amount to nothing in the eyes of the busconductor became important while those cherished things became uninteresting to the busconductor:-

"Each busticket
takes on now a different shape
and texture.
He holds a ninepenny single
as if it were a rose
and puts the shilling in his bag
as a child into a gasmeter.
His thin lips
have no quips
for fat factorygirls
and he ignores
the drunk who snores
and the oldman who talks to himself
and gets off at the wrong stop."

The further narration show the dying busconductor walk slow toward the back of the bus as if he won't be able to get to the back of the back of the bus next time; he watches the "familiar shops" and "sameold streets" with different view and question if the sky was ever so blue?

The concluding lines of the poem reveals the thought of the busconductor thus (line 29-33):-

"And all the time
deepdown in the deserted busshelter of his mind
he thinks about his journey nearly done.
One day he'll clock on and never clock off
or clock off and never clock on."

"My busconductor" is a free verse that teaches the important of life and living. From the context of the poem knowing when death will come upon a soul is better than knowing that death is at hand. 

The poem's category fall under life and living and the tone is mild with a sympathetic mood through the third person point of view, the voice of the poem painted the clear picture of scenes in the poem.

About the Poet

By the way, who is Roger McGough? Roger McGough is an English poet and broadcaster born on the 9th of November 1937 in Lancashire, England.

The setting of the poem is crystal clear; the bus. There, the busconductor displayed his love for human existence. Within the bus, the dying busconductor reflected on his life journey that is nearly done.

The Message of the Poem

The themes of the poem are 

(1) Negative effect of overworking the body. The busconductor believes that his death is due to overwork of his single kidney. 

(2) Negative impact of dying. When a person realizes that the things he or she has been taking for granted will soon exist no more, such case is the dying busconductor who feels unhappy because death will soon claim his life. 

(3) Life and the sweetness within it. From the poem, the list of sweet things in life are the blue sky, fat factorygirls, shops, pubs, etc.

The Poetic Recipes

The poetic devices in the poem are assonance in line 2 "he only has one kidney". Alliteration in line 3 "may soon go on strike". Simile in line 9 "as if it were a rose". 

Antithesis in line 32-33 "One day he'll clock on and never clock off/ or clock off and never clock on". Personification in line 22 "and watch familiar shops and pubs pass by" Metaphor in line 30 "deepdown in the deserted busshelter of his mind".

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analyzed Poem: Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

The Introduction

At the moment,

• If you're not happy with yourself.
• If you're not in harmony with whatever you regard as your own God.
• If you're yet to find peace in this lousy world that looks so shapeless like amoeba.

Then you need to download and listen to Desiderata by Max Ehrmann.

It is what I regard as the modern ecclesiastic; so direct and simplified.

Without the right knowledge and wisdom, most people live through life like a ship navigated by sailor with a lost compass because nothing seems to be justifiable_ not even what some people fanatically portray to be a sin.

The Motive

The poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann is an eight stanza free verse that is capable of assisting any human to narrow his/her mind in this broad universe. It emphasizes the pursuit of peace, prudence, tolerance, growth, love, uncertainty, adaptability, godliness and the undiluted happiness. Ehrmann is an American poet who live between September 28, 1872 and September 9, 1945.

The Paraphrase

Now, let me paraphrase the poem as follows:
Silence is very peaceful and it best never to hold grudges against people. Humbly express your opinions give ear to others because everyone has a story.

Stay away as far as possible from loud and aggressive people because they will corrupt your inner being. Don't forget that it is very painful comparing yourself with others (you will always be better than some and some better than you); therefore enjoy whatever you have acquired.

Remember, whatever career you chose, it is worthwhile. Heroism is never a bad thing but be careful of fraudsters in your career path.

Do not walk in someone else's shadow; be yourself. Don't pretend to love when you hate or hate when you're actually in love "for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass".

As time grows, grow with it. Misfortunes will come and be courageous to handle them wise well, don't bury yourself in charm or magical powers. Be careful and be calm because "many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness".

"You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."

Be at peace with whatever you regard as your own God and do not let worldly aspirations deprive you rest of mind.

And no matter what the case may be, this world is a very beautiful world, therefore inner happiness is the most important thing you should pursue.

Enunwwa Chukwudinma S.
aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis of The White Man's Burden by Rudyard Kipling

The Poet and Introduction

I do not think any lover of good literature will dispute my believe that Rudyard Kipling was one of the geniuses in his lifetime. Born in India on the 30th of December, 1865. 

His love for literature led him to journalism, poetry and short-story writing (he authored the famous book title: The Jungle Book) but to cut the very long profile short, at the ripe age of 70, Joseph Rudyard Kipling kissed his mortal flesh goodnight 18th of January, 1836.

If you're a fervent follower or reader of this blog, you'll recollect when Naijapoets recently analyzed a poem written by poet with Nobel Prize in Literature and Rudyard Kipling is another example on this blog. Jean Paul Sartre had his Nobel Prize in Literature in the year 1964 while Rudyard's Nobel Prize award was in the year 1907.

Colonization, exploitation and civilization are known to share the same link in any historical growth of both developed and developing countries. Colonialists act on the motive of calculated gains from the intended land which on the other hands lead to the further development of such land.

"The White Man's Burden" by Rudyard Kipling mocks the  long practiced heroism by people from Europe and America which they carry out in different ways noted in the poem. Colonialism, Activism, Philanthropism, Missionary, Exploration, Humanitarianism, Rescue Missions.

Structure and Devices

Structurally, the eight stanza poem has irregular rhymes pattern and stanzas. 

With tone of admonition to arouse a repellant mood, the poet made mockery of so many glorified acts through a second person perspective. 

Besides, the use of refrain "Take up the white man's burden" seen at the commencement of each stanza, there are other poetic devices as thus: "By all ye cry or whisper/ By all ye leave or do," is an instance of antithesis in the poem, "The savage wars of peace" is an example of oxymoron, "To wait in heavy harness/ On fluttered folk and wild" has alliteration. 

"And bid the sickness cease" which possesses assonance. Biblical allusion in the poem is "Why brought he us from bondage/ Our loved Egyptian night?"

Paraphrase of the Poem

Take up the white man's burden of sending your sons to rule the land you've colonized. 

Take up the white man's burden of patiently cajoling people with sweet public speeches that quench their threats of terror towards you. Or take up the white man's burden of discouraging the enjoyable lifestyle of the nobles and the kings but risk your life on deadly adventure to explore new places.

You can take up the white man's burden of giving gifts and financial aids to those affected by the aftermath of revolutionary wars filled with famine only to watch your effort amount to waste by people's laziness and religious fanaticism. 

You should also take up the white man's burden of being rewarded with blame (like Moses in the Bible) from your rivals and those you worked hard to safe from captivity. Take up the white man's burden of missionary approach where freedom is prayerfully seek knowing that people will always judge you by your gods and personal behavior. 

Or maybe you should take up the modern white man's burden of sacrificing a whole lot of yourself in the quest for laureates and honorary awards.

If you take this moment to examine, you will realize those white man's burdens give nothing but ingratitude, sorrow, hard wisdom and criticism.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Q and A: Nausea by Jean Paul Sartre

The Excerpt

"There is something new, for example, about my hands, a certain way of picking up my pipe or my fork. 

Or else it is the fork which now has a certain way of getting itself picked up, I don't know. Just now, when I was on the point of coming into my room, I stopped short because I felt in my hand a cold object which attracted my attention by means of a sort of personality. 

I opened my hand and looked I was simply holding the door knob"

The Question

The style of writing in the Excerpt from Nausea by Jean Paul Sartre is _________

The Answer

Introspective (option A)

The Explanation

Introspective involves the practice of self-consciousness. The author employed the style to portray Antoine's condition of depression by showing how he examined himself most especially his new feelings towards holding or handling things.

The Novel

Nausea is a novel about a character named Antoine Roquentin living in Bouville for three years (he was a loner). As the story unfolded, he developed chronic side of nausea as a result of heavy daily burden and tasks to be accomplished.

The Author

Jean Paul Sartre who lived between 21st June, 1905 and 15th April, 1980 was one of those with Nobel Prize for Literature; an award he received in the year 1964. 

J. P. Sartre was born in Paris, France and grew up to become a writer, a politician and a philosopher among other things.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Imagery In Murder In The Cathedral By T S Eliot

The Author of the Drama

Murder in the Cathedral is a drama written by T. S. Eliots, a British poet though born in America by American citizens. He lived from 26-09-1888 to 04-01-1965 his full name is Thomas Stearns Eliot OM.

Summary of the Drama

The drama is a tragic one. It dramatized the rivalry between two friends King Henry II and Thomas Becket, who also can be considered leaders but the strength of their friendship began faint in sight of disagreements. 

At the long run, Thomas was murdered in the Cathedral but not by the order of his enemy-friend (King Henry II).

Imagery in the Drama

There are abundant references to nature images by the chorus which gives an indication of the passage of time and changing fortunes and circumstances of the chorus. These references emphasize the impending doom of Thomas Beckett. 

There is also the use of animal imagery in the drama suggesting cannibalism and violence as indicated by the references to the jackal, jackass and jerboa. 

The images suggest that Beckett's end will be violent and thus presage his murder at the hands of the knights. 

There is in addition the use of biblical images which recall the Christian notions of sacrifice and martyrdom as well as conjure up issues of predestination.

Samuel C Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Simple Summary of Finery by Jane Taylor

About Jane Taylor

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was written by Jane Taylor who lived between 23rd September of 1783 and 13th April of 1824. She was a poet mothered by another writer who goes by the name Ann Taylor (1796-1810). 

Jane Taylor hailed from Lavenham, Suffolk in London.

Summary of Finery by Jane Taylor

Finery is a poem that narrates a story of two young ladies_ Fanny and Lucy. 

Fanny was a young rich lady who took dozen of time to groom herself for a short party she needed to attend in her friend's place. She wore her hair so perfectly curly and chose the finest of her dress decorated with beautiful lace. She said to herself "Ah! how they will all be delighted, I guess,/ And stare with surprise at my handsome new dress!". 

The other lady (Lucy) not quite from a rich family attended the same party wearing white simple, cheap and neat dress.

Unfortunately for Fanny, no one noticed her nor her rich attire. She was almost a ghost at the party because none related with her because she appeared so proud and oppressing but all eyes were on Lucy, the simple and cheerful lady. 

Lucy at the party was preferred because she wasn't acting fake or trying put on the personality she doesn't possess.

The final stanza of the poem advised that it's always better to wear a smiling face than expensive outfit because "the good-natured girl is loved best in the main/ If her dress is but decent, though ever so plain".

The 5 stanza rhyming poem is 4 lines each which total 20 lines. Via a third person perspective, Jane Taylor pointed at the importance of good social behavior by comparing two young ladies with contrasting social behavior.

The Poem

In an elegant frock, trimm'd with beautiful lace,
And hair nicely curl'd, hanging over her face,
Young Fanny went out to the house of a friend,
With a large little party the evening to spend.

"Ah! how they will all be delighted, I guess,
And stare with surprise at my handsome new dress!"
Thus said the vain girl, and her little heart beat,
Impatient the happy young party to meet.

But, alas! they were all too intent on their play
To observe the fine clothes of this lady so gay,
And thus all her trouble quite lost its design;­
For they saw she was proud, but forgot she was fine.

'Twas Lucy, though only in simple white clad,
(Nor trimmings, nor laces, nor jewels, she had,)
Whose cheerful good-nature delighted them more
Than Fanny and all the fine garments she wore.

'Tis better to have a sweet smile on one's face,
Than to wear a fine frock with an elegant lace,
For the good-natured girl is loved best in the main,
If her dress is but decent, though ever so plain.

Enunwa Chukwudinma S.
aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis of With A Water Lily By Henrik Ibsen

The Poet

Henrik Ibsen is a poet who lived 78 years on earth between 20th March 1828 and 23rd May 1906. He was born in Telemark County in Norway.

The Summary

In the poem "With A Water-Lily", Henrik Ibsen admonished a child who seemed to be too fond of water. He told of the decoy a stagnant water creates with water-lilies.

The poem reminds me of my father's warning against playing in the river. He never would risk even the best knowledge of swimming to allow us play in any kind of river_ shallow or deep. He had witnessed how many expert swimmers lost their lives to the water.

The Structure

Back to the poem, the first stanza introduced the readers to the water and the lilies in the spring time while the second stanza was about the scenes created by the water-lilies.

Line 1 of the poem says: "See, dear, what thy lover brings". The phrase "see, dear" was referring to the child, "thy lover" used in the poem referred to the stagnant water, while "what thy lover brings" referred to the water-lilies floating above the water. Henrik Ibsen further described the water lilies by comparing them to birds with white wings [Line 2].

In line 5, the poet expressed the attractive sight of the water decorated with white-lilies; he said it was "Homelike to bestow this guests".

Quite in form of refrain, the last two stanzas of the poem were associated with the dangers of such water.

"Child, beware the tarn-fed stream;
Danger, danger, there to dream!
Though the sprite pretends to sleep,
And above the lilies peep.

Child, thy bosom is the stream; Danger, danger, there to dream!
Though above the lilies peep,
And the sprite pretends to sleep."

The Form

Categorized under life and living, the poem "With A Water-Lily" by Henrik Ibsen contained an end rhyme scheme of AABB CCDD with tone of admonition. The 4 stanza poem addressed naivety, beauty, season, and nature.

Based on observation, "Child, beware the tarn-fed stream" in line 9 and "Child, thy bosom is the stream;" in line 13 are instance of parallelism in the poem.

"Adream" means to dream or be in state of dreaming.
"And the sprite pretends to sleep" means the water inhabitant acts as if in sleep.
"Buoyed" means float.

Enunwa Chukwudinma S.
aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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12 Literary Devices In Birches By Robert Frost

Let me quickly take you through some of the literary devices evident in one of Robert Frost's evergreen poems titled "Birches".

Personification: This is when an inanimate object or abstract idea is represented as animated or embodied with personalities. "But I was going to say when Truth broke in/ With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm" (line 21-22). Truth was written as if human name and also given human qualities.

Assonance: This is the repetition of similar vowels in the stressed syllables of successive words. "When I see birches bend to left and right" (line 1)

Alliteration: This is the repetition of the same letter at the beginning of two or more words immediately succeeding each other or at a short interval. "As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel" (line 9). "Soon the sun's warmth makes them shed crystal shells" (line 10).


Enjambment: This is the continuation of syntactic unit from one line of verse into the next line without a pause. "As ice-storms do. Often you must have seen them/ Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning" (line 5-6)

Simile: This is a word or phrase by which anything is likened with the use of like or as. "But swinging doesn't bend them down to stay/ As ice-storms" (line 4-5) and "Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground/ Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair" (line 18-19)

Hyperbole: This is an expression with evidence of exaggeration of meaning to be conveyed. "With the same pains you use to fill a cup/ Up to the brim, and even above the brim" (line 37-38).

Contrast: This is any expression with clear motive of juxtaposition. "I like to think some boy's been swinging them/ But swinging doesn't bend them down to stay" (lines 3-4).

Allegory: It is a figurative which describes a certain subject with another subject resembling it in properties or circumstances. The poem is commonly known to carry a deeper meaning towards life death as the aged poet had come to realize from experience. The birch tree is used in the poem represent the phases of human life.

Imagery: This is the making of images or visual representation of objects with words or expressions. "Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust" (line 11) "From a twig's having lashed across it open" (line 47) "...a snow-white trunk" (line 55).

Free verse: The poem is written in free verse. There is no distinguishing end rhyme scheme for "Birches". This might be because writing in free verse allows for freedom from the limitations of end rhymes.

Mood: This is the manner at which a literary message is conveyed. The mood is passionate enough to expose the poet's love for not just the tenacity and flexibility of the birches but the act of swinging them for fun which led to "I like to think some boy's been swinging them" in line 3 and "I should prefer to have some boy bend them" in line 23.

Tone: This exposes the state of mind. It described the relationship between man and his natural environment. The birch trees being subjects of nature add pleasure to rural youths by eroding their boredom.

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10 Analyzed Poems About Wind

The Introduction

In this article I will like to remind you of wind (one of the most common found theme in poetry of nature). 

Many classic and contemporary poets have written about it_ William Shakespeare, Robert Frost, Kwesi Brew, Subramania Bharati, Glynn Burridge, Emily Bronte, etc.

What Is Wind

No matter the type of wind in discussion, it is a mass of gases propelled by force. Wikipedia noted that in outer space, soar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the Sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space.

Analyzed Poems

The word "wind" does not only appear as themes of poem but as well as titles of poems and few of such poems are analyzed below:

• Analysis of Ode to the West Wind by Percy Shelley
• Analysis of Tempest by Glynn Burridge
• Analysis of wind by subramania bharati  
• Analysis of Dry Season by Kwesi Brew
• Analysis of Weather Ear by Norman Nicolson
• Analysis of The Wind by Vikram Seth
• Brief Analysis of Afterwards by Thomas Hardy
• Analysis of the Thawing Wind by Robert Frost 
• The Night Wind by Emily Bronte
• Analysis of Wind by Ted Hughes

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Poetry Quote of Sir Walter Scott

The Poet

My Native Land by Sir Walter Scott, a Scottish poet born on 15 August 1771. The 9th of his father's children. His father was a member of a cadet branch of the Scotts Clan, and his mother descended from the Haliburton family, the descent from whom granted Walter's family the hereditary right of burial in Dryburgh Abbey.

The Quote

"Living, shall forfeit fair renown,"

This quote is found in line 13 of the poem "My Native Land"

The Details

Actually, William Shakespeare's Sonnet 3 addressed the same attitude of absurd selfishness a little differently.

The poem told the story of a certain man at the point of his death_ maybe as a cause of injury. He was very wealthy, and high status man but never for once heed the advice of poets to invest in others.

The poem speaker concluded that such rich man would die without honour.

Let butcher the quote flesh after flesh, if "Renown" from the the context of the poem refers to the praises the man has gathered through his achievements and "Forfeit" which is a verb refers to the man's failure to keep an obligation. 

Therefore, the lesson to be learnt from the quote is that, the way a person chooses to live his or her life might destroy his or her good reputation.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis of My Dreams My Works Must Wait Till After Hell by Gwendolyn Brooks

The Overview

It is such a bad sight to be in an unwanted confinement_ be it imprisonment, be it sickness, be it captivity, be it compulsory babysitting. The truth is no one loves to be denied freedom_ not even poets.

In the poem "Letter to Martha 17" Dennis Brutus wrote of the negative effect of confinement. Stephen Spender did the same in the poem "My Parents Kept Me From Children Who Were Rough"

Gwendolyn Brooks also expressed her unhappiness with freedom denied by illness. In the poem, she referred to illness as devil when she wrote in line 8 of the poem "Hoping that, when the devil days of my hurt". 

The themes that resonated in the poem are freedom, duty, illness, aging, etc.

The poet could not practice her duties or routines as a result of the sickness that confined her with pain. 

Even though she pictured old age as the cause of her loneliness, she enjoyed the freedom to eat her honey and bread at when due until such freedom was taken. In anticipation to return home, she became uncertain of her sensitivity to the delightful taste of honey and bread.

The Poem

I hold my honey and I store my bread
In little jars and cabinets of my will.
I label clearly, and each latch and lid
I bid, Be firm till I return from hell.
I am very hungry. I am incomplete.
And none can give me any word but Wait,
The puny light. I keep my eyes pointed in;
Hoping that, when the devil days of my hurt
Drag out to their last dregs and I resume
On such legs as are left me, in such heart
As I can manage, remember to go home,
My taste will not have turned insensitive
To honey and bread old purity could love.

The Poet

"Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was born on June 7, 1917, in Topeka, Kansas. She was the first child of David Anderson Brooks and Keziah Brooks. 

Her father, a janitor for a music company, had hoped to pursue a career as a doctor but sacrificed that aspiration to get married and raise a family. Her mother was a school teacher as well as a concert pianist trained in classical music. 

Family lore held that Brooks' paternal grandfather had escaped slavery to join the Union forces during the American Civil War", so says Wikipedia article.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis of Story of Isaac by Leonard Cohen

The Poet

I do cherish poem that discuss issues ignored in name the name of some dogmatic believes. The poem title Story of Isaac by Leonard Cohen did just that.

Leonard Cohen is a poet whose nationality belongs to Canada. He stayed and enjoyed this earth the 21st of September 1934 and the 7th of November 2016. A poet whose work expresses religion, politics, life and more. 

Wikipedia article also revealed that he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

The Summary

In the 48 line poem, titled "Story of Isaac", he alluded to the biblical book of Genesis 22:9 where Abraham was instructed through vision to sacrifice his only son Isaac. 

The poem not only shun the believers who still practice the ritual of children sacrifice but compared the old original scenario with the present practice.

The comparison were seen between lines 25 and 36;
"You who build these altars now
to sacrifice these children,
you must not do it anymore.
A scheme is not a vision
and you never have been tempted
by a demon or a god.
You who stand above them now,
your hatchets blunt and bloody,
you were not there before,
when I lay upon a mountain
and my father's hand was trembling
with the beauty of the word."
[ Click Here To Listen To Poem ]

From the above excerpt, the voice of the poem noted that those still practicing the ritual of children slaughter, do it as a scheme not as a vision guided act. 

He also noted in line 35 that Abraham hands trembled while holding knife because the boy he was tempted to kill was his dearly loved son.

The poem ended in a contrasting parallelism. 

The voice of the poem assumed if he shared the same faith with those slaughtering children for sacrifices, he wouldn't hold any feeling of brotherhood when such practice has already questioned whether they are "man of peace or man of war" despite the symbol of grace and mercy their robes portray?

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Examining Daffodil By William Wordsworth

The poem revealed the level of mesmerism the poet had when met with a dazzling nature acting under the cause and effect mechanism. 

Readers are meant to see how an inanimate can communicate beautifully with animate without the use of spoken words.

William Wordsworth (07/04/1770-23/04/1850) was motivated to write the poem: Daffodil while passing on a stormy day, he saw the breeze orchestrating the daffodils, making them danced so gracefully.

It is revealed that the poem is of two versions: the original and the improved version. 

The original version was published in 1807, having three stanzas while the improved version of the poem was published in 1815, having four stanzas where the second stanza made the improved version completely different from the original. 

It was said that the changes in the lifestyle of William Wordsworth gave birth to the changes found in the second version of the poem

[Listen to the poem Daffodil] and you can also [Read the Two Versions of the Poem]

Both version of the poem: Daffodil has a rhythm of four feet per line, five lines per stanza and maintained a strict pattern of end rhyming scheme that forms ABABCC, DEDEFF, etc. 

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Analysis of Lord Of My Life by Rabindrabath Tagore

The Poet

Rabindrabath Tagore was an Indian poet who lived between May 7, 1861 and August 7, 1941. According to nobelprize.org website, e was educated at home; and although at seventeen he was sent to England for formal schooling, he did not finish his studies there. 

In his mature years, in addition to his many-sided literary activities, he managed the family estates, a project which brought him into close touch with common humanity and increased his interest in social reforms."

The Poem

[You Might Want To Click And Listen To The Poem  ]

The Poem In Prose Form

My God! I have surrendered all my pain and pleasure to you. Even though I cherished earthly things more yet you chose. Didn't you make miraculous acts off my living, actions and hopes? Didn't you make music off my autumn and spring, "and gather the flowers from my mature moments for thy crown?"

God! Many numbers of time, I neglected services to you; hope you have forgiven my sins because you keep staring "at the dark of my heart". Often your voice slackens my instrument of play only to fill my evening with weeping after what seems like wasted day.

God! Is my life meeting closure? Because the arms I wrap around you keeps growing limp or weak and the kisses I bestow you are now without teeth. If so, end this old age meeting with you and renew my old age with new life_ for our union to begin again in a new ceremony of life.

The Connotation

Lord of My Life by Rabindrabath Tagore is a five stanza free verse with the theme of God's supremacy, aging, early living, nature's beauty, death as a human closure, and the renewal of life through resurrection; simply put, the poem is about the poet's old age and devotion to God.

The poem employed the images of music to expressed how his life events has flowed in the hand of his creator. As earlier explained in the prose form of the poem, the poet's submission to God is seen in stanza one. 

Stanza two tells of the magic God made off his earth existence while sin and forgiveness were subjects of stanza three. Stanza four revealed the poet's emptiness when far away from his creator. The final stanza embodied old age, fidgeting, death and resurrection.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
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Analysis Of Storm In The Black Forest By D.H. Lawrence

The Overview

The poem was written at nighttime_ I guess_ when it was about to rain.

I supposed that D. H. Lawrence picked his paper and pen when the effect of thunder lightning on rain marvelled him.

[If You Wish, Click The Link To listen The Poem]

It was shown in the second and third stanzas of the poem:

"And as the electric liquid pours out, sometimes
a still brighter white snake wriggles among it, spilled
and tumbling wriggling
down the sky:
and then the heavens crackle with uncouth sounds.
And the rain won't come, the rain refuses to come!"

Besides the use of inner rhymes and repetition of words and sounds, the poet sewed a garment of imagery to give the poem, the beauty it deserved by painting a vivid picture of thundercloud in stanza one and that of a thunderbolt in stanza two.

Thunder was described as "gold-bronze flutters neat through the thick upper air"
Lightning was described as "brighter white snake wriggles".

The ending part of the poem, D. H. Lawrence declared how useful the light produced by thunder would be for human electricity generation.

THE POEM:

The Storm In The Black Forest

Now it is almost night, from the bronze soft sky
jug full after jug full of pure white liquid fire, bright white
tipples over and spills down,
and is gone
and gold-bronze flutters beat through the thick upper air.

And as the electric liquid pours out, sometimes
a still brighter white snake wriggles among it, spilled
and tumbling wriggling down the sky:
and then the heavens crackle with uncouth sounds.

And the rain won't come, the rain refuses to come!

This is the electricity that man is supposed to have mastered
chained, subjugated to his own use!

supposed to!

Copyright; D. H. Lawrence (the poet)

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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4 Analyzed Poems Of Pablo Neruda

The Poet

Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 - 23 September 1973) better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda, was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician

Analysis Of Absence By Pablo Neruda

Absence by Pablo Neruda has the theme of love and optimism. Neruda composed the poem on the ground of love; ... [View Detail]

Analysis of Tonight I Can Write by Pablo Neruda

Tonight I Can Write is a poem that portrayed how writing can empower the emotion of love as seen in the poem where the speaker... [View Detail]

A Song of Despair Analysis

A Song of Despair. by Pablo Neruda. In the poem, he recollected the sweet company of his ex by comparing a life without her to the sea in which everything sinks... [View Detail]

Analysis of Ode To The Onion by Pablo Neruda

It is a poem of 41 lines free verse of 3 unequal stanzas. The message of the poem is simply a praise to one of the most universally valuable vegetables; the onion... [View Detail]
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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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