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 ...
Poetry- Essay 1 New Criticism "Let me not to the marriage of true minds/ Admit impediments...," begins Shakespeare in his "Sonnet 116". This work is a potent discourse on the nature of love, not only because of the passion which Shakespeare spills forth onto the page, but also because it takes a bold stance concerning the most mysterious of emotio...
Couter-Attack is a poem of war, and it is in a soldiers viewpoint. It starts out with his army keeping the enemy away early in the morning. Everyone was unshaven and thirsty and blind from smoke but still everything seemed all right. They had certain guns set up in different places to keep them away. It shows alot of soldiers dead and just layin...
Our love is not just strong feelings we share: It is also happiness and sadness, Which is brought by the loneliness I can't bear. It sometimes brings anger ( I must confess). I just feel there is nothing to do to help. When I am so far away, who will be There to ease your pain? I will be your help Whenever I can. You are there for me To sho...
In "Ode to the West Wind," Percy Bysshe Shelley tries to gain transcendence, for he shows that his thoughts, like the "winged seeds" (7) are trapped. The West Wind acts as a driving force for change and rejuvenation in the human and natural world. Shelley views winter not just as last phase of vegetation but as the last phase of life in the indiv...
Throughout life people dwell on the fact that material things are all that matter in this superficial world. Yet, there are a few people, scattered throughout our over populated universe, that think our lives lead to a better world up above. It is expressed quite clearly that Anne Bradstreet doesn't dwell on these unimportant matters for long in...
This poem isn't just about "foregoing the chores." This poem is a reality check. First, there's no mention of the two being a married couple, and I don't believe they are. However, they are living together--a woman with an artist--and how the realty of living with an artist is completely the opposite of the woman's romantic fantasy. The house i...
What the heck does that mean?' Many people have found themselves asking that question when reading poetry. So in order to help get a general idea of what poems say, it is necessary to look at some examples of poetry and try to decide what, if anything, the poet is trying to say. Three poems, each by a different author, which all basically follow...
Both Adrienne Rich and Audre Lorde, in their respective poems entitled Power, convey the idea that ones identity and sense of worth is defined by what they are willing to give up. This message is energized by the emotion the authors evoke through their ability to communicate a sense of experience. It is this experience as mothers and highly intel...
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam presents an interesting challenge to any reader trying to sort through its heavy symbolism and not- so-obvious theme. Not only does the poem provide us with a compelling surface story, but a second look at the text can reveal a rich collection of seperate meanings hidden in the poem's objective descriptions and sprawli...
The era of Romanticism spans from the late 1700's to the mid 1800's following the French Revolution; therefore, 'Romanticism' encompasses characteristics of the human mind in addition to the particular time in history when these qualities became dominant in culture. Romanticism depicts an artistic movement which emerged from reaction against dom...
BY J.K. ROWLING LENGTH: 223 ORIGINAL BOOK ASSIGNMENT 1 HARRY POTTER thinks he?s a regular boy, And also his ?parents? acts him as he was a toy. He was always getting a lot of letters from no one, Till Vernon got crazy and run away as far as japan. But since HAGRID has arrived, his life has changed, And his jerk ass brother, Dudley, is...
When you go to bed you see that it is dark outside, but when you wake you see light. The light and dark of the day is very dissent, but they are very closely related. Dark and light are the fares things from each other, while you can't have light without dark meeting. In the "Ode on a Grecian Urn" and "Sailing to Byzantium" we see these difference...
In Adrienne Rich's poem, "Living in Sin," a woman, entering a life full of hope and promises with her lover, assumes that "no dust" will fall upon her home, nor her perfect relationship. Her life, however, does not fit this ideal. Both a deteriorating home and relationship afflict her life; these unexpected results of her efforts in addition to t...
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...