Life

By: Valerie Coutu

Life to everyone means something different.

While death is always on our minds,

Our struggle is the pressure

Of turning our lives into success.

To have a successful life
We must follow our destiny.
Because we are all put on this earth
For a reason, our destiny is planned out.
As we all have destiny we are all
Here to do and accomplish something.

We are all connected in someway
Yet we all want close to the same thing.

In life everything happens for a reason

No matter the short term out come
Because it always leads to something better.

Analysis of the Poem: Life
By: Valerie Coutu
The poem is very self explanatory when it is talking about life because there is not much of a hidden meaning in the poem. The poem talks about the common feeling about life to everyone. Everyone was put on earth for a reason to fulfill something because it is our destiny and our destiny is all planned out ahead of time and as life goes on all your decisions follow that destiny to bring you further in life. We all pretty much want the same things in life such as we all want to be successful, we all want to live a happy and healthy life etc. As you look back to the point of destiny, when something ends poorly it was meant to be that way because that situation will bring you to an even better situation because it is our destiny. You know what they say, "everything happens for a reason."

Analysis of the Poem: Humanity
By: Richard Watson Dixon
In this poem Richard is expressing his idea of humanity by explaining that there is a higher power that is watching over us and guiding us which is God. All throughout our lives we are always connected to God in that he is always giving us advice within our decisions and conversations. As God watches over us throughout our lives he is also with us when we pass away and that we live on.

Poet # 3- Richard Watson Dixon(Poem being studied: Humanity)

Richard Watson Dixon (May 5^th 1833 – January 23^rd 1900), he was an English poet and the son of Dr James Dixon, a Wesleyan minister. Richard went to King Edward’s School, Birmingham, and then went to Pembroke College, Oxford, where he became one of the famous Birmingham Set. In 1863 Richard won the English Sacred Poem prize. In 1899 he received the honorary degree of D.D. from Oxford and unfortunately died the following year at Warkworth. Dixon’s poems in the last fifteen years of his life were recognized as scholarly, refined, and a certain severe beauty, but he never got any general popularity as a poet, because of the poems appeal being directly to the scholar. He was a great student in history which directed much of his poetry. Richard’s typical poems have charm and melody, without introducing any new note or variety of rhythm. He will probably be longest remembered by the work that he did in the best years of his life, his History of the Church of England from the Abolition of the Roman Jurisdiction (1878-1902). At the time of his death he had completed six volumes, two of which were published after he passed.

Interview With Adrienne Rich

Analysis of the poem: Our Whole Life

By: Adrienne Rich 

Overtime Adrienne Rich's poetry had changed markedly as she began exploring woman's issues and moving away from formal poetry toward a free verse that she saw as more in tune with her true voice. In the poem "Our Whole Life" Rich examines a relationship and sees its hopelessness and dishonesty but in doing so shows that society is misleading in similar ways. Rich comments on a relationship as well as society, "Our Whole Life. It seems more of a feminist reading as it attempts to escape the male, represented by the "oppressor's language" including the theme of power.  The tone of the poem is serious and monotonous. The poem is broken into structures which show the corruption and breaking of society.

Poet # 2- Adrienne Rich(Poem being studied: Our Whole Life)

      

      Adrienne Rich born May 16^th, 1929 in Baltimore, Maryland is now one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20^th century. Aside from being known as an American poet she is also an essayist, non-fiction writer, and feminist. Adrienne earned herself the National Book Award for poetry. Adrienne has 2 older sisters. Her mother Helen Jones Rich was a concert pianist and her father Arnold Rice Rich was a professor of medicine. Adrienne’s inspiration for poetry stemmed from her father Arnold who encouraged her to read but also write her own poetry. 

Analysis of the Poem:  Humanity I love you & I Shall Imagine Life. 
By: E.E Cummings
Humanity I love you 

        In the poem Humanity I love you, Edward expresses his strong connection with the war. His poem demonstrates his disgust for how society is divided into different classes and in general, humanity. Throughout the poem Edward uses metaphors to expresses the selfishness of humanity. An example of this would be when he states "because you would rather black the boots of success than enquire whose soul dangles from his watch-chain". This line expresses how success is more important then helping other people.The last lines of the poem  more directly state what Cummings is really trying to say, which is..... "Humanity, I hate you!"

I Shall Imagine Life

       In the poem I Shall Imagine Life Edward is expressing that everyone should see themselves as equal in the world. It shouldn't make a difference for anyone when it comes to race, gender, and appearances. His poem states that real beauty is whats on the inside referring to personality and who you are. 

What is Humanity? 

         Humanity,of course, carries many different meanings to various individuals. The word humanity has no exact definition but through these following five poems each poet expresses their thoughts and feelings towards their idea of what humanity means.

Poet #1- E.E Cummings (Poems being studied: Humanity I Love You & I Shall Imagine Life)

           Edward Estlin Cummings also known as E.E Cumming was born October 14th, 1894 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and died September 3rd 1962 in North Conway, New Hampshire. Edward was born to a well known family in Cambridge, his father Edward Cumming was a professor at Harvard University and his mother Rebecca was a stay at home mother who watched over E.E Cumming and his sister Elizabeth. It was Rebecca who introduced and got Edward into writing. As a child he was passionate about drawing and writing and took his inspiration from the outdoors and the surrounding children in his neighborhood. In 1915 he graduated from Harvard University and then received an advanced degree from Harvard in 1916. As his career began to develop Edward became known as an American Poet, painter, author and playwright. Edward became quite popular.

        After Cummings graduated for Harvard he became an ambulance driver in France just before America entered World War I, but was later imprisoned for three months on suspicion of holding views critical of the French war effort, and this experience in prison provided the material for his first book. Early on in his career Cummings had divided his time between New York City, Paris and France, where he studied painting. Later he divided his time between New York City and the family home in North Conway, New Hampshire. He was always interested in the visual arts, and his paintings and drawings became very popular as his career began to blossom.