Figures of speech

What use of language did you enjoy in this week's poems?
Did you like Howard Moss' interpretation?
Was anything lost in translation?

Here is the greatest quote on alliteration by Charles Churchill "Who often, but without success, have prayed for apt Alliteration's artful aid."
How do the sound devices that we looked at contribute to your understanding of the poems that we read in class? How is your search for a song going? Was it easy to find? Remember that we're not talking about rhyme (which is not excluded) but really similarity of sound or dissonance.

Good luck.

Aristotle said that the secret to humour is surprise. Do you think that the surprise ending in this week's poem adds a humouristic tone to the poem? What's your reading of this narrative poem?

Hello everyone,
Here's a great paradoxical quote that relates to the theme of our poetry discussion for this week. I read that many of you enjoyed reading "For my daughter", and I'm eager to read your comments.

I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

Following our discussion on tone, what evidence can you find to support the claim that Roethke's Waltz is indeed a happy one. Do you disagree? You can use voice, rhythm and language to support your claim.

Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.
Kahlil Gibran

Following our brief class discussion on voice, I leave you with this quote from Robert Pinsky. How does the poet's voice reveal something about the poem's meaning in the two poems that we started reading in class?

"If a poem is written well, it was written with the poet's voice
and for a voice. Reading a poem silently instead of saying a
poem is like the difference between staring at sheet music
and actually humming or playing the music on an instrument." R.Pinsky

Hello everybody,
Here's another pearl of wisdom from Leonard Cohen for you to reflect on:
"Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash."
I am eager to read your reflections on the poems that we read this week.