Shape: dying is fine)but Death by E.E. Cummings

dying is fine)but Death

?o
baby
i

wouldn't like

Death if Death
were
good:for

when(instead of stopping to think)you

begin to feel of it,dying
's miraculous
why?be

cause dying is

perfectly natural;perfectly
putting
it mildly lively(but

Death

is strictly
scientific
& artificial &

evil & legal)

we thank thee
god
almighty for dying
(forgive us,o life!the sin of Death


In another infamous E.E. Cummings shape poems, he addresses death versus dying and how they both have completely different meanings. In the title dying is fine)but Death, Cummings first introduces the topic of dying being different than death. He explains that death begins when everyone is born. It is a natural process that is constantly happening throughout ones life. "dying 's miraculous why?be cause dying is perfectly natural;perfectly putting it mildly lively," meaning dying throughout life is "lively."Cummings views this process of dying, as natural in comparison to the final act of death, "Death is strictly scientific & artificial & evil & legal)." Believing "the sin of Death" to be an un-natural phenomenon that occurs alien to the act of dying.

The shape of the poem looks like a bunch of tiny hills or mountains, like the natural path of ones life, full of bumps to overcome. The stanza "?0 baby i" although the middle part of a thought in the poem, i interpreted this (especially since its at the beginning) as the beginning of a persons life as a literal baby. Then, progressing through the years the sentence structure grows into a hill at "when(instead of stopping to think)you begin to feel of it,dying " and then another question is pose "why?", like there is an actual person who Cummings is addressing while watching them grow and "die" essentially. Kind of like a mid-life crisis of the eternal question "Everyone is dying, how do I make my life meaningful and enjoy it?" The next bump includes the census that dying is "lively" relating the act of enjoying life towards the end of it. When the final bump comes it isn't fully formed, showing how death comes sudden and stops the dying in its natural process. By the final half bump, the poems message is fully explained and the final line "we thank thee god almighty for dying (forgive us,o life!the sin of Death" alludes to the religous and the symbolic persons final thoughts at deaths door. Ultimately praying that the evilness of Death won't kill them the way the "lively" dying was.


**I found this band Ra Ra Riot, that has a song called "Dying is Fine" and they quote a lot from E.E. Cummings poem. Here's their website where you can listen to it for free and it explains their reasons for writing the song, http://obscuresound.com/?p=2072

Sestina: A Miracle for Breakfast by Elizabeth Bishop

At six o'clock we were waiting for coffee,
waiting for coffee and the charitable crumb
that was going to be served from a certain balcony
like kings of old, or like a miracle
It was still dark. One foot of the sun
steadied itself on a long ripple in the river

The first ferry of the day had just crossed the river
It was so cold we hoped that the coffee
would be very hot, seeing that the sun
was not going to warm us; and that the crumb
would be a loaf each, buttered, by a miracle
At seven a man stepped out on the balcony

He stood for a minute alone on the balcony
looking over our heads toward the river
A servant handed him the makings of a miracle
consisting of one lone cup of coffee
and one roll, which he proceeded to crumb
his head, so to speak, in the clouds—along with the sun

Was the man crazy? What under the sun
was he trying to do, up there on his balcony!
Each man received one rather hard crumb
which some flicked scornfully into the river
and, in a cup, one drop of the coffee
Some of us stood around, waiting for the miracle

I can tell what I saw next; it was not a miracle
A beautiful villa stood in the sun
and from its doors came the smell of hot coffee
In front, a baroque white plaster balcony
added by birds, who nest along the river
I saw it with one eye close to the crumb—

and galleries and marble chambers. My crumb
my mansion, made for me by a miracle,
through ages, by insects, birds, and the river
working the stone. Every day, in the sun,
at breakfast time I sit on my balcony
with my feet up, and drink gallons of coffee

We licked up the crumb and swallowed the coffee
A window across the river caught the sun
as if the miracle were working, on the wrong balcony

A sestina is a rather complicated form of poetry, comprised of thirty-nine lines in seven stanzas. The first six stanzas are six lines long with the seventh stanza having three lines. The last word of each line in the first stanza, is repeated in varying order in the next five stanzas, ending with a three line "envoi"/tornada involving all six repeated words. This word-repitition creates a rhythm to a sestina that is similar to a rhyme scheme.

Bishop wrote A Miracle for Breakfast, after reading Sir Philip Sidney's double sestina "Ye Goatherd Gods." Supposedly inspired by a winter morning in 1935 during the Great Depression, when food for breakfast was scarce. A friend of Bishop's suddenly introduced her to "Wonder Bread" and the ironic name sparked her imagination. It inspired Bishop to create her sestina around the kind of miracle a physical object (food), can bring to someone who is suffering without it. In the sestina, she repeats the words coffee, crumb, balcony, miracle, sun and river, to tell the story of the speaker who waits for a charitable breakfast while fantasizing over an extravagant life where coffee and bread are in abundance.

In the first stanza the setting is alluded to but only vaguely, "At six o'clock we were waiting for coffee/waiting for coffee and the charitable crumb/that was going to be served from a certain balcony...like a miracle." The unspecific "certain balcony" becomes a symbol of power and a high place in society, simply because it it above all those waiting for a handout of food and because it is the place where the food is distributed. The "coffee and charitable crumb" are the scraps of food offered at soup kitchens during the depression. I felt that these could symbolize a kind of religious aspect, like the wine and bread given by jesus (i think thats how it goes but idk i've never been to church). "At seven a man stepped out on the balcony/He stood for a minute alone on the balcony/looking over our heads toward the river/A servant handed him the makings of a miracle." This could be a metaphor for jesus when he stands above his followers before giving them the gift of food. The background of the sun and river is symbolic towards the nature of life in its pure form.

Towards the end of the sestina, you realize the speaker has shifted narrating from their point of view to creating an exaggerated scene of their breakfast within their imagination. The shift comes with the reference to a miracle, "I can tell what I saw next; it was not a miracle/A beautiful villa stood in the sun/and from its doors came the smell of hot coffee/In front, a baroque white plaster balcony." The image before the speakers eyes transforms from cold and grey to elegant and warm. Where food is in abundance and the people waiting have no worries. The speaker then speaks directly,"My crumb my mansion, made for me by a miracle/...Every day, in the sun/at breakfast time I sit on my balcony/with my feet up, and drink gallons of coffee." This shows the speaker enjoying the miracle or wonder (see: wonder bread) of endless food and freedom from the depression. Bishop connects her inspiring introduction to Wonder Bread with the speaker in the sestina, who enjoys imagining a place where bread and coffee weren't rationed.

Ending with the envoi, Bishop includes all of her repeated words and arranges them to show the speakers acknowledging the miracle of breakfast. "We licked up the crumb and swallowed the coffee/A window across the river caught the sun/as if the miracle were working, on the wrong balcony," showing the speaker knows the scenario is obviously a fantasy. I like the form of a sestina where the envoi, contains all the repeated words throughout the poem and seems to connect the theme and meaning of the poem as a whole. 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT? (Soo witty! i know)

* Do you believe that Bishop's sestina has a religious undertone? Do you agree that  A Miracle for Breakfast, is a social commentary on the Great Depression? (Hint: connect to the title) 

Villanelle: Miranda By W.H. Auden

My dear one is mine as mirrors are lonely, 1
As the poor and sad are real to the good king, 2
And the high green hill sits always by the sea. 3

Up jumped the Black Man behind the elder tree, 4
Turned a somersault and ran away waving; 5
My Dear One is mine as mirrors are lonely. 6

The Witch gave a squawk; her venomous body 7
Melted into light as water leaves a spring, 8
And the high green hill sits always by the sea. 9

At his crossroads, too, the Ancient prayed for me, 10
Down his wasted cheeks tears of joy were running: 11
My dear one is mine as mirrors are lonely. 12

He kissed me awake, and no one was sorry; 13
The sun shone on sails, eyes, pebbles, anything, 14
And the high green hill sits always by the sea. 15

So to remember our changing garden, we 16
Are linked as children in a circle dancing: 17
My dear one is mine as mirrors are lonely, 18
And the high, green hill sits always by the sea 19

A villanelle or the italian villano meaning "peasant," is originally a dance-song, sun by a Renaissance troubadour with rustic themes and no real form. After Jean Passerat's 16th century villanelle "J'ai perdu ma tourtourelle", the modern form of a villanelle developed. The poem is 19 lines , five triplets, and a quatrain (using only two rhymes throughout). The first line is repeated in lines 6, 12 and 18 while the thrid line is repeated in lines 9, 15 and 19. This creates a refrain like a traditional song and creates the final stanza.

Miranda, is connected to Auden's prose "The Sea and the Mirror" which is a commentary on Shakespeare's "The Tempest." The villanelle in general is the song of the character Miranda, who sings of the images of love while dispelling childhood nitghmares, "Up jumped the Black Man behind the elder tree/The Witch gave a squawk; her venomous body." She begins her song by apostrophizing her beloved and directly addressing him throughout each stanza. Using strong imagery "The sun shone on sails, eyes, pebbles/Down his wasted cheeks tears of joy were running/" to convey the emotions Miranda feels while addressing her love and can compare to Shakespeare's type of writing style.

The repeating lines "My dear one is mine as mirrors are lonely/And the high, green hills sits always by the sea" shows her happiness at finding her "dear one" and the eternity of their union compared to the mirrors constant loneliness. These ideas relate to the metaphor of the mirror always winning against the sea because it can become the sea by reflecting it. However, the mirror is a euphemism of loneliness because it only reflects the image of something and can never be eternally bonded, like Miranda is singing of with her impending union.

Elegy: O Captain! My Captain! By Walt Whitman

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather'd every rack,
the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up- for you the flag is flung- for
you the bugle trills,

For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths- for you the shores
a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

This infamous elegy by Walt Whitman was written in 1865 in honor of President Abraham Lincoln's death. Whitman uses very strong figurative language throughout the elegy with very baroque language that gives the impression of Whitman's high respect for Lincoln. The title "O Captain! My Captain!" expresses Whitman's feelings towards the beloved president and creates a metonymy (term for one thing is applied to another and become closely associated in experience) between a captain and his ship. Addressing him as "captain"/president, that has successfully lead the "ship"/America through the fight for freedom and slavery, "The ship has weather'd every rack/ the prize we sought is won." Through the metaphor of President Lincoln guiding the ship of America, Whitman creates an allusion to his presidency, including his assassination and death. "But O heart! heart! heart!/O the bleeding drops of red/ Where on the deck my Captain lies/ Fallen cold and dead" figuratively describes the scene of utter horror when Lincoln was shot. The exclamation, "O heart! heart! heart!" expresses how much people loved the president and how many hearts were broken when Lincoln was fatally shot. The repetition of "heart!" and the exclamation point after each, shows the real emotion people felt after the assassination.

The second stanza is more of the peoples reaction after their captain is shot, "For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths- for you the shores/ a-crowding/ For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning." The flowers and people all mourning his death and "eager faces" hoping he isn't really gone forever. Then the speaker enters apostrophizes (direct address either to an abstract person or to an abstract of inanimate entity) the fallen captain, "Here Captain! dear father!/This arm beneath your head!/It is some dream that on the deck/You've fallen cold and dead." The reference to Lincoln as "father" is related to the phrase "father of our country". The speaker's depths of misery is touched on, when he pleads that the image of his captains death is "some dream."

Sadly, by the third stanza the speakers tone has changed from unbelieving to bitter understanding of his captain's death, "My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still/My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will." Shifting from the speakers visually seeing that the captains life has ended "he has no pulse", to the metaphorical ending of his ship, "The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done." The speaker enters into the aftermath stage of the captains death, while feverishly keeping his memory of triumph "at sea" and grief of his loss, alive forever. " Exult O shores, and ring O bells!/But I with mournful tread/Walk the deck my Captain lies/Fallen cold and dead."

I feel that "O Captain! My Captain!" is what an elegy truly is, in its most elegant form. Beginning with the glory of the captain/presidents career and initial trauma of his shooting. Then the shock and disbelief of the masses who've been affected by the captain throughout his life and finally ending sadly on a sad yet hopeful note. Truly remembering the captain the way he would have wanted if he hadn't died so tragically. Ending with the message that although life is short, keep the memories of those who pass and never forget the lessons they taught you.

The BEST scene in Dead Poet's Society!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwaUo_AGtpI

Ode to Autumn by John Keats

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, a
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; b
Conspiring with him how to load and bless a
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run; b
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, 5 c
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; d
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells e
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, d
And still more, later flowers for the bees, c
Until they think warm days will never cease; c 10
For Summer has o’erbrimm’d their clammy cells. e

Who hath not seen Thee oft amid thy store? a
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find b
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, a
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind; b 15
Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep, c
Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook d
Spares the next swath and all its twine´d flowers: e
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep c
Steady thy laden head across a brook; d 20
Or by a cider-press, with patient look, d
Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours. e

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they? a
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too, b
While barre´d clouds bloom the soft-dying day a 25
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue; b
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn c
Among the river-sallows, borne aloft d
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies; e
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn; c 30
Hedge-crickets sing, and now with treble soft d
The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft; d
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies. e


This Ode follows the typical structure of the "dance rhythm" of moving left/Strophe, right/Antistrophe, and still/Epode. The rhyme scheme in the first stanza is ABABCDEDCCE, while the next two stanzas both follow ABABCDECDDE pattern. I think the slight change in rhyme scheme is to show more of the shift between the focus' of the first and second and third stanzas.

The first stanza is the Strophe, where Keats gives an in-depth description of the beauty of a typical autumn day "the maturing sun/Conspiring with him how to load and bless/With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;/To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees/And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core" This stanza is full of hyperboles of the exaggeration of nature in its blossoming stage, the vines that "bend with apples" and ripeness that "swell the gourd and plump the hazel shells."

In the second stanza/Antistrophe, Keats metaphorically relates autumn to a women "sitting carelessly on a granary floor." The almost sudden shift from description of an autumn day to the personification of it as a woman, could be relatable as a conceit (figure of speech which establishes a striking parallel between two apparently dissimilar things or situations). Keats also uses strong imagery of her "hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind" and her "patient look" while watching the "last oozings" of cider. Really showing the simple beauty of autumn, in the form of a woman.

In the final stanza/Epode, there is a shift of tone when Keats begins the stanza with a rhetorical question "Where are the songs of spring?", that is directed to the women/autumn in the second stanza. (This i thought was an interesting way of connecting the previous stanza with the shift in the third.) Keats tells the woman/autumn that her songs although sometimes sad "Then in a wailful choir the gnats mourn", the "Hedge-crickets sing" and "The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft." These descriptions of the sad and cheerful sounds of autumn, are meant to show the beginning and end of an autumn day and the season in general. "Among the river-swallows, borne aloft/or sinking as the light wind lives or dies" shows the metaphor of the entire third stanza. Keats tries to symbolize the changing of the sounds of the autumn animals, with the cheerful beginning and sad endings of an autumn day/season.

The connection between each clearly distinct and individual stanzas, comes from the story of autumn that Keats successfully tells. Beginning with the simple descriptions of the beauty of the nature of an autumn day. He then relates it to a woman who symbolizes the quiet splendor of autumn. Then the last stanza is Keats directly addressing the woman and autumn and questioning when spring will arrive and describing the sadness of the end of the autumn season through the changing sounds of the animals of autumn. Keats ends the third stanza almost bitter sweetly, when he relates the dying of the wind and days of autumn to the impending days of the cold and "dead" season of winter. When all the warmth of nature will slowly fade away, waiting in anticipation of spring and autumn, when all the beauty and sounds of nature will return.

I love the way this guy reads the poem! You will understand it better after hearing it.