I'm going to break some rules with this one and use the word "I" a little bit. Before I attempt to analyze "Here" by Philip Larkin, I would just like to say that maybe we should go about analyzing poems, the techniques poets use, and the ins and outs of poetry before we do any formal essay on them. Otherwise, I don't see how a well written essay can come out of a subject we have no idea how to tackle. I may as well put on a football helmet and try to bring down Marion Barber. So with that, I'll go ahead and attempt to pick out what the poet used in his work to help express his feelings toward "Here."
The poet of "Here," Philip Larkin, uses grand descriptions of just about every visible object he encounters wherever "Here" is. The suits are cheap, the wheat-fields are high as hedges, and the doors are plate-glass and swinging. There's not a noun in these stanzas that is not coupled with a adjective to help give the reader an image of the place Larkin is describing. You can see, smell, and practically feel this land that is being described. These intimate descriptions have a reason for being in the poem, they're not just for show.
These descriptions appear to paint a picture of an industrial town, right near a river or some body of water. There is not just one word that creates this, it is the work as a whole that gives the impression that this is a factory-laden city with low-yielding fields on its outskirts. The town has blue-collar workers that go to work during the week and hit the downtown's simple shopping district during the weekends. It's a very ordinary town, very little happens here but work and living life, all which is exemplified by the poet's colorful details.
To add on to the descriptions of the town, the poet doesn't go crazy with his rhyme scheme. Rather, he makes the writings seem natural and the rhymes just comes as he goes. It does not seem to be an out and out poem and it ends up coming across as plain man's account of his town, nothing fancy, no frills, just what the place looks like to man who has seen it every day of his life. The man's descriptions show a silent peace with living in the town. As if he smiles on the inside upon gazing at all that surrounds him. Through this viewpoint, the author conveys his own subdued admiration of this town of industry, of hardworking men, and of the isolated lives the lead.
The author feels comforted in the coldness of this town. It is the place he lived in or by, and through his years experiencing everything the town had to offer, realized the beauty that could be found in everything around him. The town is harsh to outsiders, but to the author, it is merely a matter of perception. The descriptions and tone demonstrate a town that can be found everywhere in America, towns that only its residents can love.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
'Student Survey' Response
Do you enjoy using blogs in your class?
I do enjoy using these blogs in AP English because it's a far easier way of articulating my opinions and thoughts than an on-the-spot questionnaire. Because I'm on the computer so often anyway, it's more convenient for me as well, and I like when things are more techonological in school, even if it's something as simple as this.
Do you use blogs for any of your other classes? If so, which ones? Are they set up the same as Mr. Hughes' blog?
I do not use blogs for any other class, but if I could, it would be cool to have them for Business Law instead of the Blackboard program we use.
What do you like most about Mr. Hughes' blog? What do you like the least?
The thing I like most about these blogs is that it allows me to process my thoughts, I'm never rushed, and it doesn't involve any handwriting, which is far slower for me and is so last century.
Is the blog easy to use? Was it easy to use from the beginning or did you have problems?
The blog is about as easy to use as toilet paper, and far more comfortable. I never had any problems with it, and I caught on instantly, not to brag.
Do you wish other classes would use blogs for their assignments?
Like I said before, if Business Law were to have it, that would be right proper because I could easily post my answers to all her assignments on their without a hitch. Plus, the class is already fully online.
Do you have internet access at home in order to participate in the blog?
I do have internet access, I also live in the 21st Century.
Do you usually write on the blog at home or at school?
I write my blog from the comfort of my own home, usually when my parents are asleep at around 9 or 10 o'clock. It's very peaceful and my thinking cap is firmly on at that time of night. Except tonight, when I'm writing at nearly one in the morning.
Do you feel you learn better by using the blog or by doing handwritten assignments?
I feel that with handwritten assignments, you get more of the "gut reaction" writings, which can be either very good or very bad. Blogs allow for retrospection, which I personally prefer because I can look over what I have written and rethink my own initial reactions and compare them to how I feel now.
Do you have your own blog on Myspace, Facebook, etc..? If so, where is your blog?
I have both a Facebook and MySpace, both of which I use daily. I use my non-school blog to post my short stories and various writings so my readers can easily access them. This can be found at http://www.fulltimederek.blogspot.com. Personally, this has been the best thing to come from learning of Blogger.com from this AP English class. A simple creative writing medium.
No more questions. This interview's over.
I do enjoy using these blogs in AP English because it's a far easier way of articulating my opinions and thoughts than an on-the-spot questionnaire. Because I'm on the computer so often anyway, it's more convenient for me as well, and I like when things are more techonological in school, even if it's something as simple as this.
Do you use blogs for any of your other classes? If so, which ones? Are they set up the same as Mr. Hughes' blog?
I do not use blogs for any other class, but if I could, it would be cool to have them for Business Law instead of the Blackboard program we use.
What do you like most about Mr. Hughes' blog? What do you like the least?
The thing I like most about these blogs is that it allows me to process my thoughts, I'm never rushed, and it doesn't involve any handwriting, which is far slower for me and is so last century.
Is the blog easy to use? Was it easy to use from the beginning or did you have problems?
The blog is about as easy to use as toilet paper, and far more comfortable. I never had any problems with it, and I caught on instantly, not to brag.
Do you wish other classes would use blogs for their assignments?
Like I said before, if Business Law were to have it, that would be right proper because I could easily post my answers to all her assignments on their without a hitch. Plus, the class is already fully online.
Do you have internet access at home in order to participate in the blog?
I do have internet access, I also live in the 21st Century.
Do you usually write on the blog at home or at school?
I write my blog from the comfort of my own home, usually when my parents are asleep at around 9 or 10 o'clock. It's very peaceful and my thinking cap is firmly on at that time of night. Except tonight, when I'm writing at nearly one in the morning.
Do you feel you learn better by using the blog or by doing handwritten assignments?
I feel that with handwritten assignments, you get more of the "gut reaction" writings, which can be either very good or very bad. Blogs allow for retrospection, which I personally prefer because I can look over what I have written and rethink my own initial reactions and compare them to how I feel now.
Do you have your own blog on Myspace, Facebook, etc..? If so, where is your blog?
I have both a Facebook and MySpace, both of which I use daily. I use my non-school blog to post my short stories and various writings so my readers can easily access them. This can be found at http://www.fulltimederek.blogspot.com. Personally, this has been the best thing to come from learning of Blogger.com from this AP English class. A simple creative writing medium.
No more questions. This interview's over.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
"Dead Poets" Response
Dead Poets Society (1989).
Directed by Peter Weir. Starring Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, and Ethan Hawke. Rating = 8/10.
Dead Poets Society is a well told story about a familiar topic, a new teacher comes in and inspires his class. What is different in this take is that not everyone is inspired, and the ending isn't a happy one. While the movie does have its share of cliches, it overcomes this with its fine acting, especially by Robert Sean Leonard and Ethan Hawke as two young prep academy students who discover there is more to life than what authority tells them. The two are brought out of their shells in various degrees by the quick-witted and charismatic Mr. Keating (Williams), who tries to show the beauty of poetry to a group who have known nothing but conformity their whole lives.
This sudden introductory lesson to creativity causes Neil (Leonard) to go against his strict father (Kurtwood Smith) and join a local production of "Midsummer Night's Dream," forging his dad's name in the process. Todd (Hawke) is new and very shy, going so far as to lie about not having done an assignment, just so he won't have to talk in front of others. Eventually, he comes so far as to defy the head of the academy, by standing on his desk, and calling out to Mr. Keating, "O Captain! My Captain!" The joy of this film for me was how surprisingly attached I became to the young men inspired by Keating. Neil's death, however, may have affected me more because 1.) I had a Shakespeare play to perform that night myself and 2.) I am a big fan of Robert Sean Leonard's work on the television show House M.D. Even so, such a brilliant young man being driven to suicide by his father's excessive strictness struck an odd cord with me. And the finale, with many of Keating's former students standing on their desks and proclaiming the famous Whitman line previously stated, while somewhat far-fetched, was still an incredibly effective ending to the film.
The reason the movie loses points is the subplot of Knox Overstreet and his attempts to woo a girl in higher social status than him, which seemed out of place and a mere distraction from the heart of the film. The movie also suffered from its amount of cliches and similarities to other "inspirational teacher films" such as Goodbye, Mr. Chips. Also, the teacher who is inspiring all these children is given very little back story or development, coming in only as a plot device to move the students' stories further. Despite these setbacks, Mr. Weir has crafted a wonderful film that catches the feel of the time period and the "go with the herd" mentality that was embedded in it.
The film, though being one that has its students entranced by poetry and even reforming a Dead Poets Society to continue their growing passion for it, does not delve into any of the dead poets. Their lines are merely spewed when necessary or to make a point. What they mean is hardly examined and the poets themselves are given very little literary credit. In relevance to poetry, Dead Poets Society simply uses it as a MacGuffin. It doesn't have much to do with the main action throughout the film, rather it is a device that sets the rest of the story in motion.
So, while the film lacks poetic substance, it does pack enough of a punch to recommend it to AP English classes. Hopefully, the students will hear the lines spoken and be struck by one, and that spark will cause them to go looking into the poets and their poems. Like movies based on books, this movie serves as a leaping off point for some people into the work(s) that the film's story came from. While it may not be perfect, it will definitely help students understand what poetry's effect can have on a person's life, and the bigger things it can drive us to do.
"O Captain! My Captain!"
Directed by Peter Weir. Starring Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, and Ethan Hawke. Rating = 8/10.
Dead Poets Society is a well told story about a familiar topic, a new teacher comes in and inspires his class. What is different in this take is that not everyone is inspired, and the ending isn't a happy one. While the movie does have its share of cliches, it overcomes this with its fine acting, especially by Robert Sean Leonard and Ethan Hawke as two young prep academy students who discover there is more to life than what authority tells them. The two are brought out of their shells in various degrees by the quick-witted and charismatic Mr. Keating (Williams), who tries to show the beauty of poetry to a group who have known nothing but conformity their whole lives.
This sudden introductory lesson to creativity causes Neil (Leonard) to go against his strict father (Kurtwood Smith) and join a local production of "Midsummer Night's Dream," forging his dad's name in the process. Todd (Hawke) is new and very shy, going so far as to lie about not having done an assignment, just so he won't have to talk in front of others. Eventually, he comes so far as to defy the head of the academy, by standing on his desk, and calling out to Mr. Keating, "O Captain! My Captain!" The joy of this film for me was how surprisingly attached I became to the young men inspired by Keating. Neil's death, however, may have affected me more because 1.) I had a Shakespeare play to perform that night myself and 2.) I am a big fan of Robert Sean Leonard's work on the television show House M.D. Even so, such a brilliant young man being driven to suicide by his father's excessive strictness struck an odd cord with me. And the finale, with many of Keating's former students standing on their desks and proclaiming the famous Whitman line previously stated, while somewhat far-fetched, was still an incredibly effective ending to the film.
The reason the movie loses points is the subplot of Knox Overstreet and his attempts to woo a girl in higher social status than him, which seemed out of place and a mere distraction from the heart of the film. The movie also suffered from its amount of cliches and similarities to other "inspirational teacher films" such as Goodbye, Mr. Chips. Also, the teacher who is inspiring all these children is given very little back story or development, coming in only as a plot device to move the students' stories further. Despite these setbacks, Mr. Weir has crafted a wonderful film that catches the feel of the time period and the "go with the herd" mentality that was embedded in it.
The film, though being one that has its students entranced by poetry and even reforming a Dead Poets Society to continue their growing passion for it, does not delve into any of the dead poets. Their lines are merely spewed when necessary or to make a point. What they mean is hardly examined and the poets themselves are given very little literary credit. In relevance to poetry, Dead Poets Society simply uses it as a MacGuffin. It doesn't have much to do with the main action throughout the film, rather it is a device that sets the rest of the story in motion.
So, while the film lacks poetic substance, it does pack enough of a punch to recommend it to AP English classes. Hopefully, the students will hear the lines spoken and be struck by one, and that spark will cause them to go looking into the poets and their poems. Like movies based on books, this movie serves as a leaping off point for some people into the work(s) that the film's story came from. While it may not be perfect, it will definitely help students understand what poetry's effect can have on a person's life, and the bigger things it can drive us to do.
"O Captain! My Captain!"
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