I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed: Extended Metaphor

This whole poem is an extended metaphor comparing liquor to something else. The first line shows that this "liquor" is metaphorical through the speaker's statement "I taste a liquor never brewed." This conveys that the liquor is not actually something tangible, but is instead utilized as a metaphor. However, I'm not exactly sure what the speaker is comparing this too. Some clues in the text give me the perception that the speaker is somewhat "drunk" on nature's beauty. The speaker describes the liquor as "Inebriate of Air," "Debauchee of Dew," and "Reeling-thro endless summer days." All these details depict nature. The speaker, through these details, seems to convey that they enjoy nature to the point it is intoxicating. It goes a little far in describing this, but , to me, it just seems that the speaker is describing their appreciation of nature and all its beauties.

The Panther: Personal Reflection

I found this poem to be very vague in its meaning. I'm not sure I have fully understood the meaning behind the poem but I have a few thoughts of what it could be. First off, the poem has a very dark tone, even in the sense of the panther. The panther was chosen for its darkening image among the other dark language used in the poem's description of the panther being caged from the world. Also, the panther is significant to be the animal chosen to be in the cage because it is a more mysterious creature than others such as a lion. A panther, historically, has been at the edge of environmental tragedies. This panther could symbolize the injustices placed on a certain person or group. However, who or what could this be? Reading this poem, I have noticed certain details that may describe this, but I'm still unsure what exactly it could symbolize. However, what is known is that the images of confinement and that the image the panther sees in the end create a feeling of sympathy for the creature that is cut off from the world on the other side of the bars. I'm curious to understand the exact symbolic meaning behind this poem.

London: Central Purpose of the poem

William Blake describes a battered London as a result of the horrors of society. Descriptions of "every cry of every man" being heard illuminate a sad tone to the poem. Also, Blake depicts the "youthful Harlot's curse" as destroying the sanctity of marriage and the lives of children. However, blame is not placed upon the Harlot. The adjective "youthful" reveals that the Harlot is not the sinner but a tragedy of the unjust society caused by an out of touch "black'ning Church" and neglectful government. Through these details, Blake reveals the central purpose of the poem. Its purpose is to reveal a warnful tone of the horrors that can injure the people of a nation if they are not respected by their government or if religion and morality become out of touch with the people. If these atrocities are enabled in society, Blake conveys the inevitable outcomes that coincide with them.

The Widow’s Lament in Springtime: (Images Q 10)

This poem is full of symbolic imagery. Williams describes a widow who has lost her husband recently. His images of the plumtree white with flowers are associated with that of her husband. Her husband’s death has left her sad and lonely. However, when the images of the white flowers again resurface, it is under the hope that the widow will again see her husband. Her son depicts the scene of trees of white flowers at the edge of the woods. The woods are used as a metaphor for the woman’s life and that at its end, she will arrive to be with her husband when she “sinks into the marsh” around the flowers. William’s use of symbolic imagery intertwines the two people through the description and representations of the white flowers of their lives. This imagery reveals a thematic message in the poem which implies that true love and friendships still exist even after death.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain (Personal Reflection)

I found this poem very confusing at first. Dickinson metaphorically compares her transition from sanity to mental chaos with that of a funeral. The funeral, in her brain, is the loss of reason and replacement with insantity. Her diction reveals this metaphor in the first line "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain." Personally, I enjoyed observing this transition through her metaphorical images of the casket plunging into the ground when the "Plank in Reason" breaks. The cutoff at the end of the poem added to this effect of the person's lack of communication with the rest of the world that coincided with her insanity. However, one thing that I found strange was her capitalization of certain words while leaving others normal. Was this a way she signified their importance or just pure randomness? Anyway, the poem demonstrated very well each stage in the process starting with the failure of reason leading to the eventual insanity of the person.

The Convergence of Twain: Tone of the poem and how it is achieved

Upon analysis of this poem, I have come across two tones that the author creates within the poem. The first is that of a gloomy atmosphere conveyed through the author's diction using words such as "grotesque", "slimed", and "bleared and black." The author uses such words to describe the once luxorious and magnificent ship now at the bottom of the sea. The ship has now become worthless along with all its "jewels in joy designed." In addition to his gloomy tone of the present state of the ship, Hardy shifts to a warnful tone of the coming event. He describes the ships growth and progress as well as the iceberg's growth. These seemingly unrelated objects now meet after this warning in Hardy's next lines that depict the catastrophic event of their "intimate welding of their later history." Through his diction, Hardy is able to achieve both a gloomy, dark, and warnful tone in his poem.

Perrine Poetry Blog

        Upon picking up the article and reading the first few statements, I already disagreed with Perrine's idea that some explanations for poems are wrong and others are right. I have always thought that a poem was whatever a reader wants it to be. However, after I finished the article I was in general agreement with him. Perrine doesn't advocate that only one interperetation of poetry is right while the rest are wrong. He simply states that logic should be applied to analysis. With this logic should come limitations in the scope of perceptions into the poem's true identity. From this, one correct explanation of a poem or a multitude of explanations may arise. Perrine simply states that some interperations of a well-written poem can be proved implausible.
        Within Perrine's logical idea, I do find myself disagreeing with some aspects of his explanations. Poetry is not always meant to be analyzed for a specific meaning. Therefore, this idea for interpereting poetry is not always applicable. Sometimes, in my opinion, poetry is composed to create a broad spectrum of interperetations in which none should be limited by logical reasoning. However, for the most part, poetry vaguely addresses things in which real meanings can be discovered. Because of this, I think that Perrine's analytical stratagies can be very helpful. They can help me in class by using the process of logical steps in my explanations and interperetations of a poem's meaning. By using these steps, it will prevent me from having conflicting meanings within my own interperetations of a poem as well as serve as a guide and starting point when first reading the poem.