The document summarizes discussions from meetings 3-5 about analyzing poems. Meeting 3 discusses the poem "Hair" which explores the speaker's frustration with their hair and treatments over time. Meeting 4 examines the poem "The Eagle" which depicts the mighty bird's high perch and powerful dives through imagery. Meeting 5 analyzes "Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite" contrasting animals' nature to bark, bite, growl and fight with the instruction for children not to hurt each other even when angry.
The document summarizes discussions from meetings 3-5 about analyzing poems. Meeting 3 discusses the poem "Hair" which explores the speaker's frustration with their hair and treatments over time. Meeting 4 examines the poem "The Eagle" which depicts the mighty bird's high perch and powerful dives through imagery. Meeting 5 analyzes "Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite" contrasting animals' nature to bark, bite, growl and fight with the instruction for children not to hurt each other even when angry.
The document summarizes discussions from meetings 3-5 about analyzing poems. Meeting 3 discusses the poem "Hair" which explores the speaker's frustration with their hair and treatments over time. Meeting 4 examines the poem "The Eagle" which depicts the mighty bird's high perch and powerful dives through imagery. Meeting 5 analyzes "Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite" contrasting animals' nature to bark, bite, growl and fight with the instruction for children not to hurt each other even when angry.
The document summarizes discussions from meetings 3-5 about analyzing poems. Meeting 3 discusses the poem "Hair" which explores the speaker's frustration with their hair and treatments over time. Meeting 4 examines the poem "The Eagle" which depicts the mighty bird's high perch and powerful dives through imagery. Meeting 5 analyzes "Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite" contrasting animals' nature to bark, bite, growl and fight with the instruction for children not to hurt each other even when angry.
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Summary e-learning Meeting 3, 4, 5:
HOW TO ANALYZE A POEM:
1. Read the poem more than once Sometimes, it helps to read the poem aloud. It will make you realize the rhyme and the rhythm. 2. Take notes When you read for the second time, consult your dictionary for any unfamiliar words. Remember the main point of Poetry is dictions. An English word may have several meanings. Therefore, making sure you know the meaning of each word will help you get more understanding of the poem. 3. Identify the poetic devices Look for rhymes, repetition, imagery. Again, diction matters. The rhymes are used for a certain intention. 4. Identify the speaker Who tells the poem? Does the poem give any clues about the speaker’s personality, the point of view, age, or gender? Who is the speaker addressing? Does the speaker seem attached or detached from what is said? 5. Discover the story What is the subject? (or What is the speaker talking about?) What situation is the speaker in? How does the speaker think about the subject? 6. Examine the title Does the title immediately change how you think about it? Does the poem’s title paint a picture that gives a specific time frame, setting or action? Does it imply multiple possibilities? Meeting-3: “Hair” by Max Fatchen The poem “Hair” consists of 24 lines divides into 12 stanzas each of which has 2 rhymed lines. The speaker talks about hair, how the hair becomes the speaker’s tension, “I despair/ about hair/ with all the fuss” (line 1-3) “and flurries/ and worries” (line 13-14). According to the speaker, the state of hair is part of physical appearance, thus, hair needs treatments, such as “... nipping/ and clipping/ ... curling/and twirling” (lines 5- 8), “... lopping/ and flopping” (lines 11-12). Those treatments are done one after another as the speaker lives as can be implied in line 20, “when you’re older”. This line suggests that no matter how many treatments the speaker has done, the state of hair is always his/her concern. The last four lines depict the speaker’s frustration, “[the hair] turns grey/ or goes away/ or leaves a fuzz” (line 21-23). This frustration is marked by the use of exclamation mark, “Hair does!” (line 24).
Meeting-4: “The Eagle” by Alfred Lord Tennyson
The poem consists of two stanzas, each has three lines. The first stanza rhymes a-a-a follows with the second stanza rhymes a-a-a These rhymes have meanings that can be revealed or felt after you examine each line of the two stanzas. Line 1: He clasps the crag with crooked hands, The word “he” implies that the eagle is personified as a man who has “hands” Line 2: Close to the sun in lonely lands, Line 3: Ring’d with the azure world, he stands. These two lines describe the eagle’s position: it stands alone, “lonely lands” on a very high place, “close to the sun” surrounds by the sky, “azure world” Line 4: The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls, This line hints that the sea is below his high position The sea is personified as human, “wrinkled” and “crawls” to give the image of the waves of the sea. Line 5: He watches from his mountain walls, The phrase “mountain walls” refers to “crag” mentioned in the first line. Line 6: And like a thunderbolt he falls. Here, a simile is used; the eagle turns down from the sky just like a thunderbolt. Each line ends with ‘s’ sound as auditory imagery of the sounds: the pieces of the crag that fall, the wind, and the sea waves. It can be concluded that the poem, just like the title says, talks about an eagle. The speaker illustrates the eagle with admiration as can be felt by the dictions from the beginning until the end; the eagle is a mighty creature that can conquer the sky and the water. The last line shows that such power is needed to catch his prey, fish in the sea.
Meeting-5: “Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite” by Issac Watts
The speaker differentiates animals and humans’ characteristics. The animals are mentioned in the first and the third lines: “dogs,” “bears,” and “lions,” while humans are represented by the phrase “children” in the fifth line. The phrase “their nature” (line 4) refers to the animals’ characteristics which are “bark and bite” (line 1) and “growl and fight” (line 3). Those characteristics have negative meanings as referred by “such angry passions” (line 6). It can be concluded that when animals are angry, they will bark, bite, growl, or fight. Here, the phrases bark and growl suggest being harsh by screaming or hurting others’ feelings verbally while the phrases bite and fight suggest being mean by hurting others physically. These characteristics must not be possessed by humans as inferred in lines 5-6. The word “but” (line 5) implies the opposition between animals and humans. The phrase “should never let” (line 5) means humans are capable to do those things, the animals’ characteristics, but the speaker advises not to let that happens. The animals are created to behave such ways, “[f]or God hath made them so” (line 2), it is their natures to bark, bite, growl, and fight. However, according to the speaker, humans are not made to be like animals, “[y]our little hands were never made/ [t]o tear each other’s eyes” (lines 7-8). The phrase “your little hands” (line 7) refers to the word “children” (line 5). Thus, the speaker wants humans not to behave like those animals even when they are angry. The phrase “tear each other’ eyes” (line 8) implies making someone cries. Therefore, the speaker instructs human children to not hurt each other, either verbally or physically, even when they are in disagreement. This instruction is emphasized by the repetition of the title in the first line. Notes for your answers: 1. You must explain your answer. Your answer is unclear if you only make a single sentence. 2. You must quote the word, phrases, and lines of the poem. To argue means to provide evidence of the base of your interpretation. Quoting one phrase or one line is not enough. A poem may have several lines and each line connects to other lines. The more lines you quote, the more your explanation will be. Do not quote more than two lines for a single interpretation. 3. You must explain each quoted line. The main point of poetry is dictions. Therefore, discuss the dictions, explain each word. This is done to make a strong argument of your interpretation.