Reflection: Emily Dickinson's Poem "

Emily Dickinson uses a lot of themes in her poem "Nature the Gentlest Mother" such as the beauty of nature and personification comparing it to a mother. A mother is a caring person and makes sure that everyone is okay, such as nature. In a way, nature is like a mother with how it takes care of the world. She takes care of the squirrels, trees, and other animals. She compares mother nature as being patient. In her first line she writes "Nature, the gentlest mother, impatient of no child, the feeblest or the waywardest, her admonition mild" (Dickinson). This quote from Emily Dickinson shows the gentle and patient side of nature, but also that mother nature can be cruel. Emily Dickinson loves nature and enjoys nature and loves nature, which is why most of her poems are about nature. You can start hearing the crickets by the words that she uses. She gives to the animals around her and prays for them, just like a real mother would. At night, she made sure that all the animals had a place to sleep. In Emily Dickinson's poem, she writes "with infinite affection, and infinite care, her golden finger on her lip, will silence everywhere" (Dickinson). This part of the poem talks about her control over everything and how at night she can silence the whole place. Everyone is at peace and ready for their night. We call nature a mother because it nourishes people. We can get everything we need from nature, just like we should with a mother figure. Nature gives everyone a chance to survive in life. Your mother is also supposed to give you a chance in life and prepare you for the real world. Both nature and a mother give you the best that they can out of what they have. She also adds some imagery in the form of sight. For example, the forest and the hill show us imagery. Another example is the nature restraining the rampant squirrel from the traveler. Nature protects us, such as the scenario with the squirrel. When nature is mad or upset, it brings storms and natural disasters. When a mother is upset, it feels  like a natural disaster. You can tell she is upset when she slams things down or talks with attitude.
In Emily Dickinson's poetry, she talks about the most unworthy flower. She mentions how it does not deserve a  good life, but she is still going to help it live. This is the same with a real parent. When a parent's child does something wrong, they still love them and give them a good life. They try to do the best that they can and try to change them for the better. Her golden finger also shows imagery. You can see the finger on her lips. The color gold symbolizes royalty and higher power, like mother nature. Mother nature is royalty and above all.
Emily DIckinson's poem truly embodies the thought, or idea, of comparing nature to a mother and makes a lot of sense of why we call nature a mother nature.
Dickinson, Emily. "1. “Nature, the Gentlest Mother.” Part Two: Nature. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems." 1. “Nature, the Gentlest Mother.” Part Two: Nature. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.bartleby.com/113/2001.html>.

Journal 28

Emily Dickinson's poem "I heard a fly Buzz When I Died" is what my journal topic is about. Emily Dickinson lived by a cemetery. She wrote about love, nature, and death. She believed that death was a horrible thing that involved a lot of suffering. In this particular poem, I think that she believed that the fly was apart of the journey of death. The fly was just waiting for the character to die off so it could feast on it. The fly interrupts the end of the Emily Dickinson's death and this is tragic. The cemetery is a peaceful place that is quiet and that accepts death. She wants death to be peaceful and quiet, but instead she gets her death interrupted by a fly.The fly could interrupt the movement of the soul and send her down and possibly not allow her into heaven. The fly interrupted her peaceful death. Emily Dickinson's narrator in this poem eventually does fall into the black abyss of death. She said that she "could not see to see". I think this line means that she is dead and can no longer even imagine basic functions, let alone do them. If I were dying, I would not want any interruptions. I would want death to be a peaceful thing. I would not want any flies swarming around bothering me, I would want my family around and helping me get through the horrible time. I would hope death would not be painful. The fly would be a big distraction. It could symbolize the distraction of the reason for life. I think that the Emily Dickinson had distractions in her life that effected what she wanted to do with her life. She may have had her own goals for life but got distracted by things that society does. The fly represents everything in her life that went wrong. She has to be bothered by it one more time before she dies. I think that the fly represents everyone's burdens in life.

Journal 27

Emily Dickinson uses a lot of hymns with her poetry. A lot of her poems can be read to the tune of "Amazing Grace." I think that her writing is very relevant to this song.
"Amazing Grace" is about nature and the amazing beauty of the world. This song is song a lot in time of happiness. When people feel that their lives are going good, this song is popular. This song is also sung in churches during worship time. It is a very beautiful song that is very popular.
I think that Emily Dickinson uses this song because it is beautiful and relates to nature just like her poetry does. Emily Dickinson greatly respects nature and a lot of her poetry, if not all, is about nature in some way. Her poetry is about the beauty of nature. She finds nature very important in life. She grew up in a christian family. Even though her writing was a struggle with Christianity, I think that she did respect the religion because she used this song in her writing. "Amazing Grace" is very religious and is basically about how great God is. It is also about how God graces us with our lives. God puts a lot of good into the world for people and this song describes it.
Emily Dickinson put folk ballads into her poems on purpose. I think that doing that action would be very time consuming. You would have to have the correct number of syllables. She took a lot of effort to make her poetry go to the tune of "Amazing Grace."
Emily Dickinson struggled with her beliefs. Even though she grew up with a Christian family, she did not fully believe in God at all points in her life. Everyone struggles with religion at some point of their live, but she struggled more than others. I think that by writing these poems to that hymn she is trying to further find her religion.

Reflection: Emily Dickinson's Writing Style

Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was the oldest daughter in a prominent family (McChesney). Her grandfather was important in the government and her father followed his successful ways by becoming a treasurer. Emily's mother was a quite women who took great pride in her family and in a clean house (McChesney). Emily graduated from the Amherst Academy and was extremely well read. Although she was really good in school, her life revolved around her family (McChesney). Her family would have a lot of important guests over and she would entertain them with her poetry readings. She was very popular with her age group, too (McChesney). She found an interest in the bible and works by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Shakespeare, and Anne Bronte (McChesney). Unlike her family, Emily did not follow in her parents foot steps. Instead, she withdrew from activity in the community. She had a nac for literature and wanted to pursue it. She had an artistic way of life as a child. There were many signs that Dickinson was going to grow to become a famous poet that would never be forgotten. Another sign of her nac for writing was that she would be very open with her feelings. She would share her opinions and feelings very openly with people (McChesney). While other teens were concerned with clothes and popularity, Dickinson was on her way to become a philosopher (McChesney).

Emily Dickinson spent her whole life analyzing her life. Experiencing life, she felt the need to find an intelligent way of living (McChesney).A common theme in Dickinson's work is love. She used a lot of her poetry to find an escape from her problems with love or to soar to an unreal realm of life where love was perfect (McChesney). I think that she was a very loving women who should be a role model for all young girls. She also had religion as a common theme in her writing. She had a lot of information from the bible. Nature was another common theme. I think that she got this theme from Ralph Waldo Emerson because he was a strong believer in incorporating nature into everyday life. She would follow the changes of the seasons with her writings. Her writing went where no other writings have gone before. She found a new way to view nature that could paint a picture for you just with her words (McChesney). Dickinson also focused on death and immortality. Her writing was very creative with this topic. A lot of people did not write about death because it is a scary topic. She wrote about how she personally dealt with it which must have been hard because when I lost a loved one I had no interest in talking about it.

With her unique perspective on life, a lot of people during her time viewed her as crazy or as eccentric (McChesney). Knowing that she would write poetry alone in her room made others quick to jump on the crazy wagon.

Dickinson would sometimes use a dash to replace a period or a comma in her poetry. This unique style of writing made her interesting to others. She used the dash instead to emphasize her point (McChesney). She would also add English hymn writing styles in her poetry (McChesney). She made her own style that was very creative and interesting to people to this day.

McChesney, Sandra. "A View from the Window: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson." In Harold Bloom, ed. Emily Dickinson, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2002. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BCED03&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 20, 2012).

Reflection: Walt Whitman's Writing Style

Walt Whitman lived in the mid 1800's. He published his first edition of Leaves of Grass in 1855 (Connors). It incorporated a new poetic form and and had subjects that the world have never read before (Connors). Whitman set out to create a new American Poetry (Connors). He stopped with traditional rhyme schemes and wanted to move into a new form. He also made his subject bolder and had a bigger focus on nature (Connors). Whitman created a new style of writing that became very popular. People still try to reach the level of creativity that he did to this day. I think that Whitman was very influential on people and created a legacy.

Believing that nature was the root of all beautiful things, Whitman made sure to include nature n all of his works. Nature was also part of the American Romanticism Movement, so Whitman related to the writer's of that era. An example of his writing is the following:

O powerful, western, fallen star!

O shades of night! O moody, tearful night!

O great star disappear’d! O the black murk that hides the star!

O cruel hands that hold me powerless! O helpless soul of me!

O harsh surrounding cloud, that will not free my soul!

(Whitman). It showed how much nature meant to him. He related nature to everything. It shows the dark side of Whitman in the Romanticism period. It also shows the power that Whitman had and how he believed in the natural world.

Whitman writes as if he is speaking directly to the reader. Whitman used his life to fuel his poetry. His writing was mostly about his life experiences. As a child, he experienced life through an urban view. That probably effected his writing as well. I think that the background you come from greatly affects your way of life. His exposure to different ways of live influenced Leaves of Grass. His writing sought to represent the a higher form of American ideals. The political environment concentration during this time also effected Whitman's writing. When the civil war broke out, Whitman found himself to feel very patriotic, like other Americans during this time. The things he saw during the war effected his writing as well. He visited hospitals during the war at least 600 times (Casale).

One main thing that he did differently with his poetry than other poets during his time was using free verse. Free verse poetry is powered by images and speech instead of by rhyme schemes. A lot of contemporary writers use this form of poetry (Edwards). Free verse has very few guidelines or rules. It is similar to blank verse poetry. The only difference is that it is not written as iambic pentameter (Edwards). Even though the words do not rhyme, they still flow in a very unique way. It is a great form of poetry for those who are individualistic and do not like to follow the patterns of others.

I think that Walt Whitman had a very unique writing style that we can still use today.

Connors, Judith. "Whitman, Walt." In Bloom, Harold, ed. Walt Whitman, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2002. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BCWWh02&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 19, 2012).

Whitman, Walt. "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d." When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d by Walt Whitman : The Poetry Foundation. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

Casale, Frank D. "How to Write about Walt Whitman."Bloom's How to Write about Walt Whitman. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= HTWAWW003&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 20, 2012).

Edwards, Alice Vo. "Free Verse." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. .

Blog Eighteen

The Walt Whitman poem that I chose to read was O Captain! My Captain!. Walt Whitman firmly believed in Abraham Lincoln. Charles Oliver wrote his own analysis on Whitman's famous poem. He claims that this poem was an "occasional poem," meaning that Walt Whitman wrote in on the spot. He wrote it in a hurry so it would be ready in time for Abraham Lincoln's funeral (Oliver). Whitman regretted its popularity for the rest of his life (Oliver). I think it is really sad that he regretted its popularity. I understand that it was not his best work, but I still think that he should be proud of how famous is became. He should be happy if a poem he did not give full credit to became famous because it meant it was a good poem with little effort. That would mean that he was a good poet, at least to me. This poem goes along very well with the Civil War. He writes a few metaphors involving the Union. Whitman meant for the Captain to be the leader of the people (Whitman). The ship ending safe and sound would be the Civil War ending (Whitman).

This poem related to Emerson and Thoreau greatly. Both Emerson and Thoreau were against slavery. They participated in the war so that slavery ended. Whitman was also against slavery. Emerson and Thoreau participated in the war by fighting or by being a nurse. I do not believe that Whitman fought in the war at all. If he did, he did not let it show through his poem that I wrote my blog about. Researching the topic, I learned that Whitman's brother died in war. It was his first taste of war. He helped people in hospitals and became a perfect person to help wounded soldiers back to health. This really relates him to Emerson because Emerson was also a nurse during the Civil War (Oliver). All three men were very similar.

Whitman, Walt. "O Captain! My Captain!, by Walt Whitman." Poetry Archive. Web. 07 Mar. 2012.

Oliver, Charles M. "'O Captain! My Captain!'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW302&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 8, 2012).

Oliver, Charles M. "Whitman, Walt." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW001&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 8, 2012).

Blog Eighteen

Blog Seventeen

Emily Dickinson wrote a set of poems on the topic of nature. I chose part two, Nature, The Gentlest Mother. This short poem is about mother nature. Dickinson talks about how nature is beautiful and has "infinite affection and infinite care" (Dickinson). One stanza,

"NATURE, the gentlest mother,
Impatient of no child,"

really stuck out to me (Dickinson). I think that this stanza represents nature as a loving and caring mother. According to Sandra McChesney, nature was a foundation of Emily's family life. She greatly respected nature and loved it (McChesney).

Emerson and Thoreau each respected nature. In Emerson's essay on Nature, he wrote that "the beauty of nature reforms itself in the mind, and not for barren contemplation, but for new creation" (Emerson). I think that Emerson loves nature just like Dickinson. Emerson also wrote that "nature never wears a mean appearance" (Emerson). I think that he means that nature is always beautiful, even when some consider it bad weather. Emerson always saw the beauty in nature. It is a reoccurring idea in his work. He believes that nature can never be ugly or negative unless it doesn't have the "spirit" (Emerson). I think that Emily Dickinson would agree with this. Emerson and Dickinson's work does differ from each other. Emily Dickinson wrote nature as a mother that made everything beautiful while Emerson wrote that it was the spirit of nature that made nature beautiful in every single way. They both believed nature was loving and beautiful, but they had different reasons as to why. Emerson defines spirit as "the essence of both mind and nature" (Emerson). Dickinson views nature as a source of joy and beauty. She believes that nature is, at times, connected with death (McChesney). McChesney also said that Emerson cut herself off from people and spent time alone. She probably liked being alone with nature to absorb all of its beauty, as did Emerson.

Dickinson, Emily. "1. “Nature, the Gentlest Mother.” Part Two: Nature. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems." 1. “Nature, the Gentlest Mother.” Part Two: Nature. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems. Web. 07 Mar. 2012.

McChesney, Sandra. "A View from the Window: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson." In Harold Bloom, ed. Emily Dickinson, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2002. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BCED03&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 7, 2012).

Emerson, Ralph W. "EMERSON - NATURE--Web Text." Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 08 Mar. 2012. .

Blog Sixteen

Jack London's short story "To Build a Fire" revolves around nature. A man is walking around in thirty below weather and he has to deal with all the negative effects that the freezing weather brings. For example, he can not even eat because of his frozen beard (London). Walking along with a dog, the main character faces many problems that are nature related.

Thoreau, Emerson, and London all respect nature. They all seem to have their own views on nature. According to Abby Werlock, Jack London's short story is about his respect for the "white silence" (Werlock). He relates it to a man's insignificance in the world and the will to survive (Werlock). I think that both Emerson and Thoreau had the will to survive. They each played a part in war, Emerson being a nurse and Thoreau fighting, because they had their own personal feelings about the wanted out come. They did not only want to survive the war, but they wanted to win. I think that Jack London felt the same way. Putting the main character in such harsh conditions, he would have to have a strong will to survive. Same with Emerson and Thoreau in war.

Harold Bloom wrote that "Everything good in nature and the world is in that moment of transition, when the swarthy juices still flow plentifully from nature, but their astringency or acridity is got out by ethics and humanity" (Bloom). I think that Jack London would agree with this quote. Ethics and the humanities can really play an effect in nature. It is the people and animals that can ruin nature, and it is also them who can see all of the beauty in it. I think that this quote from Emerson would also apply to Jack London.

"To Build A Fire" has many references to nature. Jack London definitely respected nature and knew a lot about it to write what he did. His work was very good and comparable to Thoreau and Emerson's. Emerson and Thoreau had a broader perspective on nature while London seemed to make the view a little more personal. He described the beauty of nature negatively, effecting people in bad ways. That is how they are different.

London, Jack. "To Build a Fire, by Jack London." The World of Jack London 2012®. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. .

Werlock, Abby H. P. "'To Build a Fire'." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CASS814&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 2, 2012).

Bloom, Harold. "Bloom on Ralph Waldo Emerson." Essayists and Prophets, Bloom's 20th Anniversary Collection. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BLCEP012&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 6, 2012).

Blog Fifteen

"Miniver Cheevy" is about a man who has not achieved much in his life. Instead of taking fault for not doing much with his life, he blames it on the fact that nothing exciting has happened in his life span. He claims that he was just born at the wrong time. If he lived back in the romantic past, he would have been more successful (Robinson). I think that this was just an excuse. Nothing exciting ever happens unless people make it exciting. If you want a worthwhile life, then you have to go out and make it that way. Sitting at home waiting for something exciting will not get you any where. I think the following stanza helps prove my point that Miniver Cheevy was just using excuses to explain his boring life:

Miniver Cheevy, born too late,

Scratched his head and kept on thinking;

Miniver coughed, and called it fate,

And kept on drinking

(Robinson). I think that Emerson and Thoreau were not like Miniver Cheevy at all. Robinson's character Minister Cheevy did not do anything with his life. He waited around and decided that it was fate that he had a boring life. On the other hand, Thoreau and Emerson did the complete opposite. They each participated in war to better their country. That is a very worth while thing to do with life. They each fell in love and were successful with their lives. Emerson and Thoreau did not wait around for something to happen, they jumped into action and made their live exciting.

If this poem reflects E.A. Robinson, it is not a very nice thing to think about a person. Robinson makes his character seem lazy and full of excuses. Maybe Robinson got the idea for the character from a friend or acquaintance. That would make more sense since a writer usually does not write negatively about himself. Robinson wrote about how Minister Cheevy "dreamed and rested from his labors" (Robinson). He may have been having a midlife crisis and deciding how he needs to go find excitement in his life.

Robinson, E.A. ""Miniver Cheevy" by E.A. Robinson." The Poem Tree: An Online Poetry Anthology. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. .