and heavy in our hip waders, we stalked into the current and found our places —
These two lines show the characters finding their place in life like flowing down a river.
46 Matching Annotations
- Aug 2024
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www.poetryfoundation.org www.poetryfoundation.org
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My mother irons, singing, lost in reverie. I mark the pages of a mail-order catalog, listen for passing cars. All day we watch for the mail, some news from a distant place.
This line represents how the author is feeling displaced and waiting for change.
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All the grave markers, all the crude headstones— water-lost. Now fish dart among their bones
Also another strong line referencing the amount of men that died and also how long they have been dead
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What we see first is the fort, its roof of grass, a lee— half reminder of the men who served there— a weathered monument to some of the dead.
This is a very powerful line, with a full roof of grass it means many man have died there.
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But death must come to them differently, so close to the beginning. As though they had always been blind and weightless.
Very dark but true line. I think the importance here is it describes these children as blind and weightless not only physically but mentally. Losing a lot of experiences in life due to their early passing.
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www.nobelprize.org www.nobelprize.org
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Did youpermit yourselvesto open once, who would neveropen again? Because in truthI am speaking nowthe way you do. I speakbecause I am shattered.
The author here, is someone who has been hurt so many times he does not want to re-open his heart and feelings. Sadly it is a soul who has been hurt so many times he does not want to risk being hurt again.
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The great thingis not havinga mind.
Very powerful saying, a saying of someone who has been hurt many times. Sometimes people think it is better to be numb and stay balanced after going through so much emotional hardship.
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I was not pathetic! I was writ large, like a queen or a saint.
In stories like this, this is very powerful. Someone who realizes there worth is more powerful than what they are being given.
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I asked for much; I received much. I asked for much; I received little,
Encompasses the theme of the poem, someone who neglected from both angles and someone who feels they are struggling.
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- Jul 2024
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poets.org poets.org
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partly because of the fluorescent orange tulips around the birchespartly because of the secrecy our smiles take on before people and statuary
Very interesting and descriptive imagery from the author, makes me interested in what secrecy he speaks of and provides great imagery for their relationship describing it as bright and exciting.
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I walk up the muggy street beginning to sun and have a hamburger and a malted and buy an ugly NEW WORLD WRITING to see what the poets in Ghana are doing these days
Very brash way of saying the author is conforming to the new writing style, that is sort of free form prose. However as you can tell the author is not thrilled with this idea.
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poets.org poets.org
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My poemis finished and I haven’t mentionedorange yet. It’s twelve poems, I callit ORANGES. And one day in a galleryI see Mike’s painting, called SARDINES.
Re-emphasizes the authors ability and idea that he is one of a kind when it comes to writing specifically
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The paintingis going on, and I go, and the daysgo by. I drop in.
This line of the poem shows how the author is obviously someone who will go all in on anything they do.
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- Feb 2024
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www.poetryfoundation.org www.poetryfoundation.org
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Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet Feels shorter than the Day
I like this line because it can be interpreted different ways, a race to death or the thought of days going by faster because of how they are cherished.
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Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me – The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality.
This poem is one of my favorites because of how well it grasps the reader from the start, it gives the ability for the reader to become engaged in a heavy moment everyone experiences
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And hit a World, at every plunge
This would be an important line for readers who believe in afterlife, can definitely resonate with that audience.
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And then I heard them lift a Box And creak across my Soul With those same Boots of Lead, again, Then Space - began to toll,
Author not only does a good job hear of pairing the picture for the reader, but referencing the lead boots to earlier is very beneficial to helping the reader understand the dark and heavy moment.
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They shut me up in Prose – As when a little Girl They put me in the Closet – Because they liked me “still” –
Author does a good job with imagery by painting a picture in the readers mind of a stuck girl, which clearly she feels like in this poem mentally however it is easier for the reader to picture the way she wrote it.
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Futile - the winds - To a Heart in port - Done with the Compass - Done with the Chart!
This is my favorite line of the poem because it is important to outline sometimes the most fun is just forgetting the plan and just going with the flow. I think this is clearly illustrated by the author here.
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When first thy pencil did those beauties give, And breathing figures learnt from thee to live, How did those prospects give my soul delight, A new creation rushing on my sight?
This is a very creative way of describing the creativity and beauty that comes from works of arts
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Such is thy pow'r, nor are thine orders vain,O thou the leader of the mental train:In full perfection all thy works are wrought,And thine the sceptre o'er the realms of thought.Before thy throne the subject-passions bow,Of subject-passions sov'reign ruler thou;At thy command joy rushes on the heart,And through the glowing veins the spirits dart.
This section of the poem really embodies the whole theme of the poem which is the power of the mind over the physical power of someone
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That there's a God, that there's a Saviour too:Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
This set of lines is very interesting because it is a play on Christianity and the eye of god, however the tone of this piece and this set of lines from the writer makes it seem he sees god as a fair judge of people but the other people around him do not share the same trait
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- Nov 2023
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www.poetryfoundation.org www.poetryfoundation.org
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more seldom than a wave is wet more frequent than to fail
This is not one of my favorite metaphors by Cummings because it is a bit short and lazy however the “more frequent than to tall” was a much better use of wording.
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love is less always than to win less never than alive
Author is playing off of the statement it is better to love and be hurt than to never have loved at all.
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here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life
Cummings here again is able to express his metaphors using nature, making them understandable and powerful for everyone.
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Although she feeds me bread of bitterness, And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth, Stealing my breath of life, I will confess I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.
This shows McKay as a very abstract and different person. He expresses how much trouble this women has caused him, however he still loves her very much.
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If we must die, O let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed
This is one of the situations where McKay’s writing shows how much he cared about the war, he cared also very much so about dying nobely.
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when by now and tree by leaf she laughed his joy she cried his grief bird by snow and stir by still anyone’s any was all to her
These lines separated themselves from the rest of the poem in my opinion because of the comparisons made through nature.
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writing.upenn.edu writing.upenn.edu
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Which shore? Which shore? -- the petals from some hidden appletree -- Which shore? I said petals from an appletree.
The usage of the petals and the apple trees is recognizing the importance in my opinion of the small things, the leaves, in the big picture, which is portrayed as the apple trees.
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Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold
The author not only is describing the plums but the cold manner of the character being described.
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a red wheel barrow
This part of the story even though short plays a big part in the imagery in the story.
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Nature’s first green is gold,
To me, this opening line is important because of how Frost embraces how important nature and it’s origins are.
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From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire.
Frost once again almost enters a 3rd person point of view and is able to disassociate himself from his troubles and look at the world from an unbiased view.
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I'd like to get away from earth awhile And then come back to it and begin over.
I feel Frost often suggests he would like an almost lunch break type deal away from the world. However, I think this disassociation from society at points is what makes Frost very intellectual
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- Oct 2023
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xroads.virginia.edu xroads.virginia.edu
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He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells. I was so pleased to see him that I thought I should never have done wringing his hand.
Poe is always fun to read because of his creative uses of imagery almost in a dark way such as this.
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In painting and gemmary, Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack, but in the matter of old wines he was sincere.
Poe is very creative on how he goes about the characters French decent.
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- Sep 2023
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www.gutenberg.org www.gutenberg.org
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She was withal a little of a coquette, as might be perceived even in her dress, which was a mixture of ancient and modern fashions, as most suited to set off her charms. She wore the ornaments of pure yellow gold, which her great-great-grandmother had brought over from Saardam; the tempting stomacher of the olden time, and withal a provokingly short petticoat, to display the prettiest foot and ankle in the country round.
The author here does a great job of using imagery to describe the outfit. Overall, I think the author is able to create great imagery that couples with references to history that reinforce the setting.
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From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has long been known by the name of SLEEPY HOLLOW,
I think it is important that the author sets the tone that she is not a fan of the place or the inhabitants, specifically Dutch, that reside initially.
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If for thy Father askt, say, thou hadst none: And for thy Mother, she alas is poor, Which caus’d her thus to send thee out of door.
This section of this poem puts a great ending to the main focus of the hardship faced and how the lives of those poor and less fortunate is faced with many tough decisions
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Who thee abroad, expos’d to publick view, Made thee in raggs, halting to th’ press to trudge, Where errors were not lessened (all may judg).
Although the vocabulary is mildly difficult to understand, I feel this line is focused on society judging those less fortunate.
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I had been some time in this miserable, forlorn, and much dejected state, without having any one to talk to, which made my life a burden,
The author and Equiano as a character here both show a sense of humility in the character and themselves by being open with the audience and describing the negative and empty feelings. This is important to me because it is an example of how graphic the author is with their emotions, and that relates back to how open the author was going to be in this story, no matter the attention that came with it.
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I had travelled along; and I had observed that my father's house was towards the rising of the sun. I therefore determined to seize the first opportunity of making my escape
The author here uses imagery wonderfully by representing the closing chapter and new journey of his life by using the sun rising and starting a new day as a metaphor.
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These magicians were also our doctors or physicians. They practised bleeding by cupping; and were very successful in healing wounds and expelling poisons. They had likewise some extraordinary method of discovering jealousy, theft, and poisoning; the success of which no doubt they derived from their unbounded influence over the credulity and superstition of the people
This is very powerful in the stance that Equiano accepts the men of power in his community are men who can be wicked and take full power and control.
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If then the following narrative does not appear sufficiently interesting to engage general attention, let my motive be some excuse for its publication
I think this is an extremely important aspect going into the story because no matter the attention or excitement his work will grab, he is writing it solely based on the value of people being able to read his experiences in his life
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And darkness ends in everlasting day, On what seraphic pinions shall we move, And view the landscapes in the realms above?
This again is a very powerful reflection from the author, especially with her being able to look over and appreciate her work in dark times
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When first thy pencil did those beauties give, And breathing figures learnt from thee to live,
I think this is a very powerful reflection from the author and the work she has done and how it has influenced her going forward
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