Jabberwocky and The Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll

Both poems were very interesting to me. I'm not quite sure why someone would write about these two things. Jabberwocky was a little confusing at first to me and still kinda is. I understand the weirdness of it and the strange language because it fits perfectly with the movie/book "Alice in Wonderland", which I also never understood as a kid. It always left me very confused. What I was able to comprehend was that Jabberwocky was about a father warning his son about a monster, who then waits and kills the monster when it comes near him. After he kills the monster, his father praises him. The author, Lewis Carroll ends the poem with the same verse he started it with for emphasis and symbolism. It points out the language and makes that certain verse important to the reader. Also, I actually enjoyed the rhyme scheme of the poem, because it was one thing I could follow. The next poem by Lewis Carroll was a little bit clearer to me. It was about a walrus and a carpenter who take a walk on the beach. They stop and ask oysters to join them. The oldest refuses, but four younger ones join them on their walk. After treating them so well, at their resting point/end of the walk, the oysters say they are hungry from such a long walk and the walrus and carpenter eat the oysters. This poem is pretty straightforward, unless I am missing some deep meaning, but other than that, I did not get anything else out of these two poems.

Reflection of Hopkins and Wilde's Poems

Hopkins "Spring and Fall" poem starts off being about a child grieving fall turning into winter as the leaves fall from the trees. It says that as the child becomes older she will care not grieve about this topic as much because there will be much worse in her life. She will not care as much for the changing of the seasons as she matures and becomes older. More important things will arise in a teenager's life. Soon, the child becomes an adult. Then she will grieve for spring to come and winter to leave, knowing this old feeling, yet she cannot yet tell it is no longer the seasons she weeps for, but for her own, Margaret's mortality. The poem expresses her aging throughout the poem and this idea is clearly stated. Wilde's poem "The Harlot's House" is about I'm assuming a couple "we" who go down a street to Harlot's House for a party where music is being played. Everyone at the party is dancing around, their silhouettes on the walls, and laughter echoing throughout the halls, some try to sing. It seems that there is some type of puppet show, with mentioning of "Sometimes a clockwork puppet pressed/ A phantom lover to her breast" and a marionette. The last four stanzas are clearly when the party shifts. The girl from the couple goes inside, attracted to the violin's sound. Everyone stops dancing and there is no more waltzing anymore. The room becomes silent and no more shadows appear. It is as if this girl as transformed the whole party. I am curious because I have no clue as to why. Is there something she did that everyone at the party knew about to suddenly stop everything as soon as she walked in? What happened for the sudden pause/transformation of the party and its change of tone?

Poem Inspired by Elizabeth Browning

I’ve never met a guy

Who smiles every time I walk by,

Who always knows just what to say,

To make me happier that day.

A good day or bad;

Whenever you’re around, I can’t be sad.

You make me laugh even if I don’t want to.

You always know what I’m thinking, and I never have a clue

How you do

Exactly what you do.

It just amazes me

How much you faze me.

It’s impossible for me to hide

What I’m feeling inside.

I love you

And I never wish to bid you adieu.  

Reflection of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's and Arnold's Poems

Both of Browning's poems are pretty straight forward. "If thou must love me, let it be for nought..." is written for her husband. She is telling her husband not to love her for the wrong reasons, which would be for her appearances, but to love her for her personality. She says that her appearances may change, especially as she gets older and she doesn't want her husband to change the way he sees her. She says do not love me for the comfort of yourself and for my beauty, but just love me for who I am. "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..." is about Browning telling her husband that her love for him is real and she can even count the ways to prove it. She lists nine ways. She says her love for him is forever, even after death. Then, her love will become stronger for him. Arnold's poem "Dover Beach" is about the author trying to figure himself out during the Industrial Revolution. He knows there is still a thing called Faith. It is shown in the line “Sea of Faith”. Now all he can see and hear is melancholy and he has no more happiness in his life. He knows Faith somehow exists but he cannot grasp it. Arnold says for everyone to speak the truth because all we have is one another now. Everyone feels that something great, new, and wonderful has come out of the Industrial Revolution, however, he seems to think nothing much has changed. His last line of the poem "Where ignorant armies clash by night" is about a group of people arguing with each other while trying to figure out their lives, and the beauty of nature versus the industrial revolution, what to do about it, and what is currently going on. It seems that no one takes life how it used to be and no one pays attention to the beauty of nature anymore. He had faith in what used to be, then Arnold losses his faith and sense of self from his ignorance and not knowing.  There is no more guidance in his life with all these changes. 

Re-Reflection of Meeting at Night and Parting at Morning

The poem is written in a sailor's perspective who is secretly meeting his lover. Browning describes the nature and the moon over the water as he sails to meet her. He is filled with joy to see her on the farm, yet filled with fears because he does not want to get caught. The second poem by Browning is written in the woman's perspective. She is watching him part to go back to sea, wishing she could go with him because she needs him and wants to be free. The need for a world of men symbolizes her want for independence, not to be working on a farm, but to be with her lover, the sailor.

Jeff Lieberman

I really enjoyed the assembly we had with Jeff Lieberman, and now that he had the chance to come back and talk with us not only in class, but also to talk with him out of class was pretty cool. For one, I think he is incredibly smart and can really think outside the box. You would ask him a question and he would answer with a full analytical response, but then still manage to leave you questioning what you thought you already knew about life. The main thing he made me think about was if there really is a future and why do we spend so much time worrying about the future because by the time our future gets here, we are living in the present. I would like to live more in the now, personally because I do worry about the future a little bit. It helps influence my decisions for my everyday life, but Jeff's question made me really think if what I do to plan for the future and worry about is worth it or not. Can we prove there is a future because when we get to tomorrow, it is called today? What do you think? I love how Jeff makes you start to think outside the box yourself. It teaches you stuff about yourself. I learned a lot about how to take 5 minutes to make myself relieved of some amounts of stress and to just channel my thoughts on one thing by meditating, even if it isn't for a long time. Just once a day may help, and if I find time to, I may try it, occasionally. Overall, I think Jeff is a really cool guy and I would love to have him come back for more questions and talk sessions in the future, if there is one we can prove.

Reflection of Browning and Rossetti

Reading the first two poems by Robert Browning were very touching. They seem to have a connection, and somewhat go together. They make me feel the romantics of the poem. His "Meeting at Night" is about his travels whilst on his way to meet his significant other. It is written in first person, his personal experience and feelings. The nature is described very well in this poem, letting the reader really feel for his surroundings. The first part of the poem really lets the reader know his travels and how he gets to wherever he will meet his lover and the last two lines describe when they finally meet."And a voice less loud, through its joys and fears, Than the two hearts beating each to each!" His next poem, "Parting at Morning" is about him leaving the woman, parting the next morning. The scenery is the beach he passed on the way to meet her. It seems to me that he truly loves this woman, but parting with her is a struggle. The line from his first poem "through its joys and fears" suggests that he cannot wait to meet with her because she is a wonderful person but fears meeting with her because he has to tell her something she will not want to hear. Then, he parts the very next morning. The sun is overlooking the mountains, producing a straight path of "gold" (sunlight illuminating the empty streets). The last line of that poem is very surprising. It says "And the need of a world of men for me." suggesting that he left the woman for a man. The last poem, "The Woodspurge" by Dante Gabriel Rossetti is about the authors depression. In this state, he undergoes an intense visual experience of of a woodspurge, a type of flower. The description in the poem is amazing at how the author describes him sitting down outside with his head drooped in his lap, in a clearly sad/depressed mood. "Between my knees my forehead was, --My lips, drawn in, said not Alas! My hair was over in the grass, My naked ears heard the day pass." There he picks his head up and looks at a group of ten weeds, specifically looking at one with three blossoms, three cups. From his grief, he realizes he needs no wisdom or memory to look at this flower, but just to accept the beauty of it in that moment for what it is. He doesn't need to know anything about it to see how many cups it has or even the memory to remember this experience, but it is just a beautiful visual experience to help rid him of his depression. Both authors write very well with descriptions of nature. It is beautiful and lovely poetry to read.