Barbie Doll

"Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs."

In this poem, the general tone was sort of melancholy. This girl was brought up like any other girl: force-fed all these ideas of what she should be in order to be viewed as acceptable in society. However, she did not fit this norm. Instead, she was only seen as "a fat nose on thick legs." The speakers diction and the text really amplified and ellicited what the girl must have been feeling her whole life. The speaker talks about how the girl was seemingly unaffected by all of this: "She went to and fro apologizing." However, as the poem progresses "her good nature wore out like a fan belt." And finally, she ends her life, further adding to the melancholy tone. There is a bit of irony at the very end when the speaker mentions, "To every women, a happy ending." This girl did not end her life in a happy way at all. But since society expects that from the girl, it makes this ironic.

Batter my heart, three-personed God

"But I am betrothed unto your enemy;

Divorce me, untie or break the knot again,"

In this poem, one thing that stuck out to me was this quote above. It mentions that the speaker (let's call it a he) is married to God's enemy. As we all know, God's enemy is sin (or the devil). The word betrothed gives the meaning that the speaker and sin are bound together. This reveals lots of truth about human life. We cannot escape sin, no matter how hard we try. It's simply in our nature. However, there is a little part in all of us -at least I like to think- that wants to deny sin and not give into the its temptations. Another part that stuck out to me was when he speaks to God saying, "Except (unless) you enthrall me, never shall be free, nor ever chaste, except (unless) you ravish me." This part seemed a little awkward to me. Never would I think to put God and ravishing in the same scenario. But this further proves the whole marriage idea behind sin and attempting to turn away from sin.

Mr. Z

"Taught early that his mothers' skin was the sign of error,

He dressed and spoke the perfect part of honor," lines 1-2

In this poem, Mr. Z is a character that stands for someone who is racially desriminated. In particular, Mr. Z is an African American. This is hinted at when the speaker says, "his plate shrank from cornbread, yams, and collards," because these are all part of stereotypical Southern cuisine. This Mr. Z tried his best to overcome his stereotype. He took part in typical "white" activities and interests, even put himself through the best schools. This could symbolize all of those poeple out there who try to overcome similar situations. Also, there is a bit of irony at the end of the poem: "One of the most distinquished members of his race." This is ironic because his whole life he tried his best to NOT be seen by the color of his skin, and yet, after his death that was all he was viewed as.

Bright Star

This one was very pretty. That sounds so un-insightful, which I guess it is, but it's very true. Although I have no idea what this poem was really talking about, I like it. It was very pleasant to read. Stars and the night sky are among my favorite things so I felt that I could really connect with the speaker on this one. The language was very romanticized and, like I said, pretty.I wouldn't mind someone using these kind of words on me. (Unless I'm interpreting the poem incorrectly and they are in fact NOT nice, endearing words...) It evoked good and pleasant mental images. I only wish that I could understand it a little better. I look forward to going over this one in class.

February

This one was just plain weird. The thing that I gathered from this poem was the connection between February and the speaker's general tone. It is obvious from the language that they do not really enjoy the winter. The speaker comes right on out and declares their hatred for February: "February, month of despair, with a skewered heart in the centre." That sounds like someone who really loathes this winter month. I can connect with this. When February rolls around, I am so tired of the dreary, bleak cold. All the fun winter holidays and festivities are now over and all anyone can think of is that spring in around the corner. Sure, the corner may be a couple hundred blocks down the road, but if you squint really hard, you can just make it out. This speaker, however, I don't think has that good of vision. They don't see the corner are running low on optimism until the very end of the poem.

Pink Dog

When I started reading this poem, I finally thought that I understood what was going on. However, that was diminshed as I read further into the poem and realized that I had absolutely no idea what the speaker was talking about. But my initial interpretation sounds nice, so we will go with that. I belive that the dog is a symbol for the people who are looked down upon in our society. More specifically, I belive the speaker is talking about the poor. For example, when they say, "Naked, you trot across teh avenue. Oh, never have I seen a dog so bare!". This leads to me to make the connection between an actual, hariless dog and the poor and the lack of belongings. Poeple in today's society tend to stray away from the poor. As ashamed as I am to say this, when I see them on the street, I usually do my best to keep my distance. This is demonstrated when they say, "of course they're mortally afraid of rabies". This is hinting that the poor have something that people with mone don't want to "catch". The speaker is sort of ridiculing this aspect of society.

Dream Deferred

This one, obviously, is basically all similes. I actually kind of liked this. A reason why this author decided to use all similes was because they evoke good images. Almost everyone can identify with these images. So the reader really connects with the writer in this case. The way this author used the similes created quite a vivid image. I found myself actually picturing a dream as a tangible object. This tangible object was then transformed into all of the things that it was being compared with. I also feel as if I really understood this poem, which is a first for me.