In this poem, Booth teaches his young daughter a lesson about life. At the
beginning he tells her to put her faith in someone she can trust, whether
that person is him, (her earthly father), a mentor (a coach or teacher),
or her Heavenly Father for support. He tells her to 'Spread your arms
wide,' to open herself to all she can be; to set her goals as high as the
gulls fly; as high as her abilities will allow her to attain. He advises
her to allow others to help her, but to always make certain the goals she
sets are pure, and the people she puts her trust in are trustworthy. He
warns her that goals set too low will not prepare her for the future when
she must be out on her own. Then, he assures her that when she does these
things; sets her goals high, allows others to help prepare her for the
future, then she can use that base for support as she goes through life.
This poem is speaking to a beginner. The beginner could be any age and
starting anything, such as a baby beginning life, an athlete beginning a
season, or a student beginning a course of study. The poet is telling the
novice to build on what she has learned in the past, to continue to set
her goals high and to open herself up to help from a higher being, which
may be herself, her father, a mentor, or God, to help her achieve her
goals.
Booth is saying in this poem that the first lesson one needs to learn in
life is that we must prepare ourselves for the future. In doing so, we
must rely on a 'higher being' for support, because we are not capable of
surviving on our own. A baby, or very young child, must have its parents
or caretakers guide ...
Robert Frost takes our imaginations to a journey through wintertime with his two poems "Desert Places" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". Frost comes from a New England background and these two poems reflect the beautiful scenery that is present in that part of the country. Even though these poems both have winter settings they contain v...
A. E. Housman's "To an Athlete Dying Young," also known as Lyric XIX in A Shropshire Lad, holds as its main theme the premature death of a young athlete as told from the point of view of a friend serving as pall bearer. The poem reveals the concept that those dying at the peak of their glory or youth are really quite lucky. The first few readings...
It was a stormy night as spotted a man out in the seas. He was struggling to survive because he was in the middle of a storm. didn't know it was the legend Odysseus that survived through the 10 years long war, so she rescued him. After rescued Odysseus, she brought him to her island. She thought about what she was going to do with him, and dec...
In Maya Angelou's, "No Loser, No Weeper," one of her many poems, she describes the emotional state she endured growing up in the 1920's during the Depression, by using tone, diction, repetition, rhyme, and figurative language. Because of the suffering that she has endured as an African American Woman during the 1920's, Angelou's life made her far...
The epic poem of 'Beowulf' presents the characteristics of two heroes, Beowulf and Hrothgar. During this Anglo-Saxon time period, Hrothgar rules as the king of his Danish lands. However, this king faces many problems due to the disturbances of a monster known as Grendel. As an Anglo-Saxon warrior of the time, Beowulf hears of this creature and j...