(4) 1/16/16, 10:12p
Specifically in regards to genre and language, these poems are fascinating. Both are lyric poems, with an emotional transparency; this clear expression of emotion is often portrayed in metaphors. They also have aspects of metaphysical poetry, especially "The Exstasie"--there are complicated and even obscure metaphors and the thought process is very intellectual. There is also an almost paradoxical relationship set up between the spirit and the body (or the spiritual/emotional and the physical). With both poems, the beautiful and emotionally-charged language make the metaphors/conceits meaningful the reader; where the comparisons could have been confusing, they instead help the reader to understand the relationships in the poems and recognize what they are feeling.
(6) 1/18/16, 8:21p
Both poems are beautifully written and clearly meant to be spoken out loud--this is an indication of it being a lyric poem, as it almost sounds like music. There is a more complete feeling to the poems when they are read as snapshots of stories--Richard Burton read the lines as sentences, without stopping awkwardly at the end of every line, which made it more real and complete. The tone was more clear this way, which heightened the emotion of the pieces. It was easier to hear the narrator's sincerity and love as we (the readers) follow his thought process through the poems.
(8) 1/18/16, 11:03p
Prewrite--essay outline
The first draft of this paper took me about 45 minutes to write.
I was able to get all my thoughts on the paper in a relatively organized way, which was good. I think I did thoroughly support all my points and have all these points lead to a solid conclusion.
I am worried, however, that I didn't completely fulfill the purpose of the assignment--which is, of course, the point. Did I look at formal elements? Yes. Did I do a complete formal analysis? I'm not sure. In the past, this would have been a good essay, but who knows what good that'll do me here. At least I tried!
The paradox between the spiritual and the physical definitely stood out to me as well. It's kind of hard to learn to analyze stuff because there's not a distinct point you're trying to prove...but it sounds like your process is good!
ReplyDeleteI thought fascinating was the perfect word to use to describe these poems. I like how you pointed out that comparing the poems only increases our understanding of them.
ReplyDeleteThat's the way I feel about what I was writing as well. I'm still not clear on how to do a complete formal analysis, as opposed to a thematic analysis.
ReplyDelete