Hum+1

=Humanities 1=

[|Shopping With A Friend by Rita El Khoury] I really enjoy the poem, "//Shopping With a Friend"//, by Rita El Khoury. This poem was both cute and reminds me of the good times I have with friends. It gives a variety of different feelings and describes all the wonderful things that can happen when you are out shopping with a friend. This poem helped relax me because I was able to pretend that I was out shopping with a friend, and escape from the pressure and stress of my real life. I really liked this sweet poem and I hope others will take the time to read it. This poem demonstrated a variety of techniques. The main techniques the author used were denotation and connotation. For example the author wrote, “ Shopping with a friend is cool.” This demonstrates a denotation because it is the literal and simple meaning of what she is saying. The author also wrote, “You can try a formal blue shirt, with a long gypsy orange skirt.” This is an example of a connotation because it gives an in depth description of the clothes. The author did a good job incorporating techniques to make the poem cute and exciting.

-Emily

[|The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost (1915]) ‘The Road Not Taken’, to me, is about making choices. “Two roads diverged in yellow wood – And sorry I could not travel both.” This poem is about choosing between two different things, and then it explains that you usually cannot go back from the path when you take it. “Yet knowing how way leads on to way – I doubted if I should ever com back.” At the end of the poem we can see that he thinks he made the right choice (“I took the one less traveled by – and that has made all the difference.”) But you can see the pondering of it, and the implication of how if that was the wrong choice he would be wondering all his life about what would happen if he had taken the ‘other path’. The poem includes metaphors in it; it can be seen in the following sentence. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” The metaphor is the ‘yellow wood’ or autumn trees. This sentence can also be connotation. Autumn means the time of changing, or of something ending. If changing were to be implied, it could mean that whatever choice you make, it will change you or your life in big or small ways. I like this poem mainly because of the realism in it, we all have to make choices in our life, and they will affect us in someway or another. - Joanna

[|Fire and Ice by Robert Frost (1916)] To be honest, at first when I read the poem, I didn't quite understand what Frost meant. But I read it a few more times, and instead of just plainly reading the text itself, I read between the lines. Then I finally understood what Frost meant. Fire and ice, as everyone knows, are binary opposites. I think in this poem, fire represents greed and desire. Ice on the other hand, represents cruelty and hatred and maybe even apathy. If you think carefully, fire and ice are actually connotations in this poem. Both fire and ice represent something in this poem. According to the poem, Frost thinks the world will end in fire, meaning he thinks the world will end because of the overly desire of certain things in human beings, causing a mass destruction. But at the end of the poem, he writes "But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate to say that destruction for ice is also great". This shows that he thinks the world can also end in ice because of the hatred and cruelty in human beings. By reading his poem, you can tell that there is rhyming at the end of each line, matching with another line of the poem. To sum it up, I chose this poem because I really think that the world could, in fact end in fire or ice. -Ya Chun

[|Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening by Robert Frost]
I like this poem because to me, it means how humans are always busy in their lives. It was quite hard for me to understand what the poem meant. I kept reading it until I came up with an idea of what it meant. The horse in the part “ My little horse must think it queer ” symbolizes life. The person on the horse stops and looks around but he cannot stay (“ The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep ”). People rarely slow down to enjoy the time they have at the present. I liked how the Robert Frost used various techniques to show he was thinking about. He used metaphors and rhymes. The metaphor is the word ‘woods’ which I think means the environment around us. He used words such as ‘shake’ and ‘mistake’ that rhymes at the end of each line. The poem was a little confusing but somehow it was very interesting to me even though I couldn’t understand. -Jae Kyun-

[|The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost]

This is beautiful written poem developed by Robert Frost, expressing the road he decided to take, and how that decision has impacted his future success. The poem is very enjoyable for me because of the amount of meaning and sophistication it has; that one man decides to cast his own future road, different to others in his environment, and turn that aspect into his very own success. Moreover, it symbolizes making stable choices in one's life, to cast your very own shadow and to take the road that is not frequently taken. At the end of the poem, the poet concludes his thoughts by telling the reader that he has made the right decision on his own, "I took the one less traveled and that has made all the difference". Although many other people may decide to forge their own destiny, it is definetely not neccessary to follow in their footsteps; however, it is your personal decision that will truely impact your way of thinking and how you react in your future life. The rich wordplay and the immediate picture that the scene paints in one's head also emphasizes on my likes toward the poem.

Some of the techniques acquired in this poem include a variety of metaphors, comparing two different objects, and personifications, which are examples that personify or embody another. From examining the phrase, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood", you can instantly conclude that the road is being compared to as a bundle of yellow wood, or autumn leaves. These techniques are all represented throughout the poem, giving the overall structure a deep understanding. With its complicated meaning and fruitful expressions, this is a poem that will strongly influence my way of thinking and completely change my perception throughout my entire life.

- Raymond Huo

[|If I can stop one heart form breaking by Emily Dickinson]

If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain. This poem is by Emily Dickinson and is poem number 6 in the "Life" section of her poems. I don't think she has used any poetry techniques we've learned so far, even though a breaking heart could be counted as a cliché. "Breaking" and "aching" rhyme, and so do "vain" and "pain". This poem is significant to me because its so unselfish- something I desperately need to work on. It isn't very complicated but it gets the message - and the sincerity- across. I think everyone can learn from this poem because its a reminder to everyone to think of others because it helps you feel better about yourself. The poem's really sweet- I remember reading it and going "awww", and I like things that are sweet. It's one of her more famous poems. -Kim

"Fear of Fearing Myself" by Edgar Allan Poe Jr.

Why is it fear that is considered a threat I fear that I fear myself That I regret What is fear, a curse, or a gift My mind’s stuck in Neutral And that’s something I can’t shift The old, hard of hearing and yet I don’t care What I hate most is it’s me that I fear I fear that I began, middled, and ended That I fear of fearing myself Which none comprehended I hate that you fear all the small things in life Like hating your parents, and losing a life But what I fear most is the last book on the shelf My biggest fear, is of fearing myself I fear of fearing myself Now asleep in clouds it was me on the shelf I no longer have a fear of fearing myself The poem basically means that the greatest fear is fear of oneself. This is simply shown with the repetition of the phrase, “I fear of fearing myself.” This poem uses many metaphors, but not much of anything else. It asks if fear is a “curse, or a gift.” It also tells that “My mind’s stuck in Neutral, and that’s something I can’t shift,” making a reference to his mind as a car, and he is so fearful that it cannot move. To me, this poem means that, once again, the greatest fear is fear of oneself. I think that fear of oneself means lack of confidence to make a decision. To reword the meaning, I could use “the greatest fear is lack of confidence.” People must step up and not question themselves when making a decision, or else it may never be done. -Jonas (the hyperlinking tool didn't work for me)

"[|The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost]

The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost uses some literary techniques including metaphors and denotation. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” The words ‘yellow wood’ make up the metaphor; it shows the comparison towards a forest in autumn, which in turn represents change. Moreover, denotation is also present in the poem. ‘To where it bent in the undergrowth’ shows how it actually depicts a forest with vegetation. I found this poem very meaningful as it demonstrated the value of decision-making. I liked how it first introduced the two paths and how he had to choose the one to take. I can connect this to my life because peer-pressure could guide you down the wrong lane. For example, my friends might call me to watch a movie together and study for the tomorrow’s test later “I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” To me, this provided another important moral; to choose the path that is right for oneself. Even if everyone is going one way, it is not necessary to follow them; choose what you want to do. All in all, this poem really showed me that making good decisions is essential in life. - Vinay

[|Forgotten Language by Shel Silverstein]

Once I spoke the language of the flowers, Once I understood each word the caterpillar said, Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings, And shared a conversation with the housefly in my bed. Once I heard and answered all the questions of the crickets, And joined the crying of each falling dying flake of snow, Once I spoke the language of the flowers. . . . How did it go? How did it go?

I think this poem talks about the “language” of nature. Silverstein uses that metaphor and takes it a step further in saying that he talked to flowers, caterpillars, and snow. He shows how interesting everyday objects can be if you just look from a different perspective. He seems to have shared in the “lives” of these seemingly meaningless things, and he is trying to remember how he did it. I think this is a brilliant metaphorical poem. It is not too straightforward that it is boring, but it is understandable and interesting.

This whole poem is one big metaphor and has a lot of personification. The “language” Silverstein talks about refers to the “language” of nature. All of these aspects of nature are perceived to have human qualities, such as the gossip of the starlings and the questions of the crickets. There is a little bit of rhyming in “said” and “bed” and “snow” and “go”. There is some irony in the short lifespan of a falling snowflake.

-Dan

[|"Daffodils"] By Williams Wordsworth

In class we analyzed many different method of writing poetry. In this poem, the author used metaphor and personification very well. The first metaphor was "Continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the Milky Way" which meant there are many daffodils spread all over the place and the second metaphor was "They stretched in never-ending line along the margin of a bay" which meant that there were so many like grains of sand on the beach. The Personification used was "Tossing their heads in sprightly dance." Here he was comparing humans to the daffodils like dancing and tossing their heads.  It reminded me of the days where I used to walk around my uncle's huge yard and was able to pick many different kinds of flowers that he had spent planting all through the years. He would tell me information about each flower and then sometimes I would be tested on them. It also reminded me of the great times I spent with my uncle and being able to watch the plants grow in the next year. There wasn't one unhappy moment in planting the flowers. In the poem, it expresses the daffodils spread everywhere you looked. I think he wanted to show that daffodils spread easily and every year there are more and more of them and the more he sees the happier he is. Being able to watch the daffodils dance in the sun was a joyful moment. -Bing

[|"Cloony The Clown"] By Shel Silverstein

code I'll tell you the story of Cloony the Clown Who worked in a circus that came through town. His shoes were too big and his hat was too small, But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all. He had a trombone to play loud silly tunes, He had a green dog and a thousand balloons. He was floppy and sloppy and skinny and tall, But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all. And every time he did a trick, Everyone felt a little sick. And every time he told a joke, Folks sighed as if their hearts were broke. And every time he lost a shoe, Everyone looked awfully blue. And every time he stood on his head, Everyone screamed, "Go back to bed!" And every time he made a leap, Everybody fell asleep. And every time he ate his tie, Everyone began to cry. And Cloony could not make any money Simply because he was not funny. One day he said, "I'll tell this town How it feels to be an unfunny clown." And he told them all why he looked so sad, And he told them all why he felt so bad. He told of Pain and Rain and Cold, He told of Darkness in his soul, And after he finished his tale of woe, Did everyone cry? Oh no, no, no, They laughed until they shook the trees With "Hah-Hah-Hahs" and "Hee-Hee-Hees." They laughed with howls and yowls and shrieks, They laughed all day, they laughed all week, They laughed until they had a fit, They laughed until their jackets split. The laughter spread for miles around To every city, every town, Over mountains, 'cross the sea, From Saint Tropez to Mun San Nee. And soon the whole world rang with laughter, Lasting till forever after, While Cloony stood in the circus tent, With his head drooped low and his shoulders bent. And he said,"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT - I'M FUNNY JUST BY ACCIDENT." And while the world laughed outside. Cloony the Clown sat down and cried. code I thought this poem was cute, and it reminded me of my childhood. I loved going to the circus, but I always hated and feared clowns for some reason. Since this poem is about a clown that no one likes, I can kind of relate to it. This poem also demonstrates a bit of irony when "Cloony the Clown sat down and cried" since people usually associate clowns with laughter and being funny. When the poet writes about the laughter, "They laughed all day, they laughed all week, they laughed until their jackets split, The laughter spread for miles around, to every city, every town...Over mountains, 'cross the sea, etc." he was using hyperboles since the people obviously didn't laugh all week, and the laughter obviously didn't spread to every town. This was just to emphasize the point that the people found Cloony the Clown very funny. This poem used a lot of rhyming which makes it fun to read out loud. This poem is one of my favorites by Shel Silverstein. -Cynthia