Winter solitude--
in a world of one color
the sound of wind.
This haiku was written by the master of haikus, Matsuo Basho, known for his brevity and clarity. Unlike the common 5, 7, 5 format, this poem has a syllable count of 5, 7, 4. As this is a translation, the irregularity may have been caused by the difference between the English syllable and the Japanese sound, mora.
The poem is about the desolation of winter. The season is not lively... it is bland, uni-color. The haiku is fitting for my theme, "Seasons", as it portrays concisely the mood of winter. "Of" is repeated, perhaps again the stress the lack of variety in the season.
Monday, May 24, 2010
The Last Rose of Summer (Thomas Moore)
Tis the last rose of summer
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone:
No flower of her kindred,
No rose-bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.
I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.
So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
And from Love's shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie wither'd,
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?
This ballad was written by Thomas Moore in 1805, and has since then been made into a popular song. It is about the last remaining rose of summer, with its friends collapsed around it. The last verse compares the flower's situation to love and friendship. Humans also dislike loneliness. This poem fits my theme, "Seasons", as it uses the change of seasons as an analogy to the human need for companionship.
Personification is throughout the poem (eg. "her blushes", "sleep", etc.), as well as apostrophe, as the speaker is addressing the rose.
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone:
No flower of her kindred,
No rose-bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.
I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.
So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
And from Love's shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie wither'd,
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?
This ballad was written by Thomas Moore in 1805, and has since then been made into a popular song. It is about the last remaining rose of summer, with its friends collapsed around it. The last verse compares the flower's situation to love and friendship. Humans also dislike loneliness. This poem fits my theme, "Seasons", as it uses the change of seasons as an analogy to the human need for companionship.
Personification is throughout the poem (eg. "her blushes", "sleep", etc.), as well as apostrophe, as the speaker is addressing the rose.
Sonnet 18 (William Shakespeare)
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Perhaps the most famous of Shakespeare's sonnets, this one (typical Shakespearean sonnet: three quatrains and a couplet; ABAB CDCD EFEF GG). It is a comparison between a beloved and the summer. The lover triumphs over the season: "more lovely and more temperate"; the summer is shaken by "rough winds", and the sun is too hot.
The lover's beauty, unlike summer's, will not fade. In the ending couplet, the speaker explains the the poem will forever preserve the lover's beauty.
Though summer is compared negatively, many of its traits are still identified; it is the lesser of the two beauties.
"Rough winds do shake", "his gold complexion" are uses of personification; "the eye of heaven" is a metaphor for the sun. Apostrophe is also used throughout a poem, as the speaker is talking to a lover that is not present to respond.
This may be the most famous lyric poem of all time, and is therefore the most celebrated of all summer's poems.
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Perhaps the most famous of Shakespeare's sonnets, this one (typical Shakespearean sonnet: three quatrains and a couplet; ABAB CDCD EFEF GG). It is a comparison between a beloved and the summer. The lover triumphs over the season: "more lovely and more temperate"; the summer is shaken by "rough winds", and the sun is too hot.
The lover's beauty, unlike summer's, will not fade. In the ending couplet, the speaker explains the the poem will forever preserve the lover's beauty.
Though summer is compared negatively, many of its traits are still identified; it is the lesser of the two beauties.
"Rough winds do shake", "his gold complexion" are uses of personification; "the eye of heaven" is a metaphor for the sun. Apostrophe is also used throughout a poem, as the speaker is talking to a lover that is not present to respond.
This may be the most famous lyric poem of all time, and is therefore the most celebrated of all summer's poems.
Scent of the grass,
Prance of the deer.
Rabbits spring abound,
insects swarm around.
New is the dew so clear;
Gone is the winter, at last.
This is my acrostic poem of the word SPRING. The initials letters of each line combine to spell the word. It is appropriate for my theme, "Seasons", as it describes intricately the many features of spring. Imagery is abundant in this poem: the reader imagines grass, deer, rabbits, insects, etc., each performing its respective action.
The poem clearly outlines distinguishing details of the season.
Prance of the deer.
Rabbits spring abound,
insects swarm around.
New is the dew so clear;
Gone is the winter, at last.
This is my acrostic poem of the word SPRING. The initials letters of each line combine to spell the word. It is appropriate for my theme, "Seasons", as it describes intricately the many features of spring. Imagery is abundant in this poem: the reader imagines grass, deer, rabbits, insects, etc., each performing its respective action.
The poem clearly outlines distinguishing details of the season.
Spring's
Sun
Bathes
Daffodils
In Serenity
Swaying to the tune of the breeze.
This is a Fibonacci poem, a 20-syllable piece (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8). It is about the springtime and its beautiful flowers. It relates to my theme, "Seasons", as it is focused on the spring. Personification is used to describe the "bathing" by the sun and the "swaying" of the daffodils. The imagery of the flowers and sunlight is easy to picture, and the reader should feel a sense of calmness.
Sun
Bathes
Daffodils
In Serenity
Swaying to the tune of the breeze.
This is a Fibonacci poem, a 20-syllable piece (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8). It is about the springtime and its beautiful flowers. It relates to my theme, "Seasons", as it is focused on the spring. Personification is used to describe the "bathing" by the sun and the "swaying" of the daffodils. The imagery of the flowers and sunlight is easy to picture, and the reader should feel a sense of calmness.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Sonnet 97 (William Shakespeare)
How like a winter hath my absence been
From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!
What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!
What old December’s bareness every where!
And yet this time removed was summer’s time,
The teeming autumn, big with rich increase,
Bearing the wanton burden of the prime,
Like widow’d wombs after their lords’ decease:
Yet this abundant issue seem’d to me
But hope of orphans and unfather’d fruit;
For summer and his pleasures wait on thee,
And, thou away, the very birds are mute;
Or, if they sing, ’tis with so dull a cheer
That leaves look pale, dreading the winter’s near.
This is evidently a Shakespearean sonnet. It has 14 lines, with a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, and is in iambic pentameter.
The sonnet is about the speaker's yearning for the beloved, whose absence is compared to the desolation of winter. This comparison is exclaimed in the first quatrain. In the second, the speaker claims that the season was actually summer or autumn, when the summer's blooming was reaping fruit. In the third, the bounty of the summer is dismissed as unreal, for "summer and his pleasures" wait on the arrival of the beloved. When the lover is gone, even the birds sing with "so dull a cheer".
My theme, "Seasons", is very prominent in this poem. In fact, summer, autumn, and winter are all mentioned. Seasons and their typical characteristics are often used to portray relationships, as they are here.
In Line #1, "like a winter" is a simile.
Lines #11 and 14, personification is used on summer and leaves.
From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!
What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!
What old December’s bareness every where!
And yet this time removed was summer’s time,
The teeming autumn, big with rich increase,
Bearing the wanton burden of the prime,
Like widow’d wombs after their lords’ decease:
Yet this abundant issue seem’d to me
But hope of orphans and unfather’d fruit;
For summer and his pleasures wait on thee,
And, thou away, the very birds are mute;
Or, if they sing, ’tis with so dull a cheer
That leaves look pale, dreading the winter’s near.
This is evidently a Shakespearean sonnet. It has 14 lines, with a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, and is in iambic pentameter.
The sonnet is about the speaker's yearning for the beloved, whose absence is compared to the desolation of winter. This comparison is exclaimed in the first quatrain. In the second, the speaker claims that the season was actually summer or autumn, when the summer's blooming was reaping fruit. In the third, the bounty of the summer is dismissed as unreal, for "summer and his pleasures" wait on the arrival of the beloved. When the lover is gone, even the birds sing with "so dull a cheer".
My theme, "Seasons", is very prominent in this poem. In fact, summer, autumn, and winter are all mentioned. Seasons and their typical characteristics are often used to portray relationships, as they are here.
In Line #1, "like a winter" is a simile.
Lines #11 and 14, personification is used on summer and leaves.
Pink cherry petals,
Delivering spring’s blithe air,
Through the cool March wind.
A haiku is a 17-sound poem (5, 7, 5)that originated from Japan. Incidentally, "seasons" is a common topic on which haikus were written. Also, as cherry blossoms were a favorite of the Japanese, they were a common topic in their poems.
March is a spring season. In Vancouver, one can often see cherry blossoms decorating their surroundings.
"Delivering", an action by the petals, is personification.
Delivering spring’s blithe air,
Through the cool March wind.
A haiku is a 17-sound poem (5, 7, 5)that originated from Japan. Incidentally, "seasons" is a common topic on which haikus were written. Also, as cherry blossoms were a favorite of the Japanese, they were a common topic in their poems.
March is a spring season. In Vancouver, one can often see cherry blossoms decorating their surroundings.
"Delivering", an action by the petals, is personification.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Children ride their sleighs
Found under the glowing trees.
Snow falls so gently,
As carols are sung so sweetly,
On this gorgeous winter day.
This simple and direct poem is a tanka, an ancient Japanese form with 31 syllables (5, 7, 5, 7, 7). Though a rhyme scheme is unnecessary, this poem has one of ABCCA.
It depicts the merry mood of Christmastime, providing imagery of happy, playing children and the cheery atmosphere, with beautiful snow and happy carolers.
The snow's act of gentle falling is personification. "So" is repeated in lines #3 and 4.
"Glowing trees" means Christmas trees.
Found under the glowing trees.
Snow falls so gently,
As carols are sung so sweetly,
On this gorgeous winter day.
This simple and direct poem is a tanka, an ancient Japanese form with 31 syllables (5, 7, 5, 7, 7). Though a rhyme scheme is unnecessary, this poem has one of ABCCA.
It depicts the merry mood of Christmastime, providing imagery of happy, playing children and the cheery atmosphere, with beautiful snow and happy carolers.
The snow's act of gentle falling is personification. "So" is repeated in lines #3 and 4.
"Glowing trees" means Christmas trees.
Monday, May 17, 2010
To Autumn (John Keats)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.
Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cider-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,-
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.
This ode is the last poem by John Keats, and is among his most successful. It is hailed by many to be the most perfect poem of the English language. Unlike the regular ode, with 10 lines every stanza, this one features 3 stanzas of 11 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDEDCCE for the first stanza, and ABAB CDECDDE for the following two. The ode is generally in iambic pentameter.
The theme for this poem is the growth and beauty the season. The first stanza describes autumn's relationship with the sun, ripening fruits and blooming flowers with its aid. The second stanza personifies Autumn as a goddess, "sitting careless on a granary floor", and watch the fruits of her own work. In the last stanza, the end is approaching, as well as death.
In Line #1, the alliteration of "m" in "mists" and "mellow" is used.
The three "to"'s (Line #4. 6, 7) are a use of repetition.
The second stanza, beginning from its second line, is a long personification of Autumn as a goddess.
In Line #16 (5th of 2nd stanza), "like a gleaner" is a simile.
The third stanza continues the personification, advising Autumn to "think not of" the "songs of Spring".
Line #25 (soft-dying day), 27 (small gnats mourn), 31 (hedge-cricket sing) are further examples of personification.
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.
Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cider-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,-
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.
This ode is the last poem by John Keats, and is among his most successful. It is hailed by many to be the most perfect poem of the English language. Unlike the regular ode, with 10 lines every stanza, this one features 3 stanzas of 11 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDEDCCE for the first stanza, and ABAB CDECDDE for the following two. The ode is generally in iambic pentameter.
The theme for this poem is the growth and beauty the season. The first stanza describes autumn's relationship with the sun, ripening fruits and blooming flowers with its aid. The second stanza personifies Autumn as a goddess, "sitting careless on a granary floor", and watch the fruits of her own work. In the last stanza, the end is approaching, as well as death.
In Line #1, the alliteration of "m" in "mists" and "mellow" is used.
The three "to"'s (Line #4. 6, 7) are a use of repetition.
The second stanza, beginning from its second line, is a long personification of Autumn as a goddess.
In Line #16 (5th of 2nd stanza), "like a gleaner" is a simile.
The third stanza continues the personification, advising Autumn to "think not of" the "songs of Spring".
Line #25 (soft-dying day), 27 (small gnats mourn), 31 (hedge-cricket sing) are further examples of personification.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Soft taps
Against the glass
Steady as a drumbeat
The children stared out from the class
Rain poured.
This cinquain is representative of the showers so common to Vancouverites, portraying the depressing mood of youth as they hopefully glanced out the window, only to be disappointed again by a downpour.
It has a rhyme scheme ABCBE, and a syllable count of 2, 4, 6, 8, 2. At first, I attempted to write in it iambic form, but as that is unnecessary and sometimes difficult, portions of the poem are in trochaic form. "As a drumbeat", a simile, is the only literary device used.
Against the glass
Steady as a drumbeat
The children stared out from the class
Rain poured.
This cinquain is representative of the showers so common to Vancouverites, portraying the depressing mood of youth as they hopefully glanced out the window, only to be disappointed again by a downpour.
It has a rhyme scheme ABCBE, and a syllable count of 2, 4, 6, 8, 2. At first, I attempted to write in it iambic form, but as that is unnecessary and sometimes difficult, portions of the poem are in trochaic form. "As a drumbeat", a simile, is the only literary device used.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
To Summer (William Blake)
O thou who passest thro' our valleys in
Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat
That flames from their large nostrils! thou, O Summer,
Oft pitched'st here thy golden tent, and oft
Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld
With joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.
Beneath our thickest shades we oft have heard
Thy voice, when noon upon his fervid car
Rode o'er the deep of heaven; beside our springs
Sit down, and in our mossy valleys, on
Some bank beside a river clear, throw thy
Silk draperies off, and rush into the stream:
Our valleys love the Summer in his pride.
Our bards are fam'd who strike the silver wire:
Our youth are bolder than the southern swains:
Our maidens fairer in the sprightly dance:
We lack not songs, nor instruments of joy,
Nor echoes sweet, nor waters clear as heaven,
Nor laurel wreaths against the sultry heat.
This ode by William Blake depicts the season as a mighty warrior, traveling through the country on "fierce steeds". With him he brings beauty for the land and joy for the people. The piece is suitable for my theme, "Seasons", as it portrays the arrival of summer as the emergence of happiness and well-being. An obvious literary device throughout the poem is personification, as the season is represented as a hero, blessing the land and its people. Apostrophe is used when the season is addressed directly: "thou, O Summer". Imagery is rampant within the poem, providing specific descriptions: "mossy valleys", "sprightly dance". Repetition is present: "oft" in the first verse; "our" in the third; "nor" at the end.
The coming of summer seems to completely enliven the Earth. Its land becomes rich and its people joyful. As this poem was written two centuries ago, this intense invigoration no longer seems evident today, when the change of seasons doesn't much affect the lives of the general public. With human's development (nurture), the effects of nature become less critical.
Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat
That flames from their large nostrils! thou, O Summer,
Oft pitched'st here thy golden tent, and oft
Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld
With joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.
Beneath our thickest shades we oft have heard
Thy voice, when noon upon his fervid car
Rode o'er the deep of heaven; beside our springs
Sit down, and in our mossy valleys, on
Some bank beside a river clear, throw thy
Silk draperies off, and rush into the stream:
Our valleys love the Summer in his pride.
Our bards are fam'd who strike the silver wire:
Our youth are bolder than the southern swains:
Our maidens fairer in the sprightly dance:
We lack not songs, nor instruments of joy,
Nor echoes sweet, nor waters clear as heaven,
Nor laurel wreaths against the sultry heat.
This ode by William Blake depicts the season as a mighty warrior, traveling through the country on "fierce steeds". With him he brings beauty for the land and joy for the people. The piece is suitable for my theme, "Seasons", as it portrays the arrival of summer as the emergence of happiness and well-being. An obvious literary device throughout the poem is personification, as the season is represented as a hero, blessing the land and its people. Apostrophe is used when the season is addressed directly: "thou, O Summer". Imagery is rampant within the poem, providing specific descriptions: "mossy valleys", "sprightly dance". Repetition is present: "oft" in the first verse; "our" in the third; "nor" at the end.
The coming of summer seems to completely enliven the Earth. Its land becomes rich and its people joyful. As this poem was written two centuries ago, this intense invigoration no longer seems evident today, when the change of seasons doesn't much affect the lives of the general public. With human's development (nurture), the effects of nature become less critical.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
The sky, bleak and gray,
The city, cold and still,
On this dreary winter day.
In houses people stay,
Their souls, bored and ill,
The sky, bleak and gray.
The wind sends leaves astray,
And brings a biting chill,
On this dreary winter day.
Pessimistic clouds, dismayed,
A grave gloom, gently instilled.
The sky, bleak and gray.
Unkempt snowmen on display,
Slowly melting, their task fulfilled,
On this dreary winter day.
In the slush, the children play,
While from the sky, rain softly spills.
The sky, bleak and gray,
On this dreary winter day.
My Villanelle depicts a typical winter climate, and the emotions associated with it. The piece is appropriate for my theme, "Seasons", as many descriptions used within it are recognizable features of the coldest season. Imagery is used throughout the poem (ex. "bleak and gray'", "slowing melting"), as well as personification (ex. "The wind sends leaves astray"). Vividly, this poem illustrates a dreary winter day, and emits a sombre mood.
The city, cold and still,
On this dreary winter day.
In houses people stay,
Their souls, bored and ill,
The sky, bleak and gray.
The wind sends leaves astray,
And brings a biting chill,
On this dreary winter day.
Pessimistic clouds, dismayed,
A grave gloom, gently instilled.
The sky, bleak and gray.
Unkempt snowmen on display,
Slowly melting, their task fulfilled,
On this dreary winter day.
In the slush, the children play,
While from the sky, rain softly spills.
The sky, bleak and gray,
On this dreary winter day.
My Villanelle depicts a typical winter climate, and the emotions associated with it. The piece is appropriate for my theme, "Seasons", as many descriptions used within it are recognizable features of the coldest season. Imagery is used throughout the poem (ex. "bleak and gray'", "slowing melting"), as well as personification (ex. "The wind sends leaves astray"). Vividly, this poem illustrates a dreary winter day, and emits a sombre mood.
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