Brittany.Lusk

​ **Mending Wall Robert Frost **

Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun, And makes gaps even two can pass abreast. The work of hunters is another thing: I have come after them and made repair Where they have left not one stone on a stone, But they would have the rabbit out of hiding, To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean, No one has seen them made or heard them made, But at spring mending-time we find them there. I let my neighbor know beyond the hill; And on a day we meet to walk the line And set the wall between us once again. We keep the wall between us as we go. To each the boulders that have fallen to each. And some are loaves and some so nearly balls We have to use a spell to make them balance: 'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!' We wear our fingers rough with handling them. Oh, just another kind of out-door game, One on a side. It comes to little more: There where it is we do not need the wall: He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors'. Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder If I could put a notion in his head: 'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows. Before I built a wall I'd ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, And to whom I was like to give offence. Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That wants it down.' I could say 'Elves' to him, But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather He said it for himself. I see him there Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed. He moves in darkness as it seems to me~ Not of woods only and the shade of trees. He will not go behind his father's saying, And he likes having thought of it so well He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."

**About the Author:** Robert Frost was born in San Francisco but moved to New England at the age of 11when his father. His poems are characterized by colloquial, restrained language that implies messages rather than openly stating them. He one of the most celebrated American Poets, who has been awarded four Pulitzer Prizes for his work.

**Analysis:** Frost wrote this poem in 1915, about his relationship with his own neighbor Napoleon Guay when he lived in Derry, New Hampshire. Every year Frost and Guay would meet to repair the fence which separated their farms. Guay would say, “Good fences make good neighbors.” The men physically repair the fence which divides their property, but the real objective is to repair the social barrier. Frost, the narrator, questions why they need the fence; he does not know what he is blocking in or out. He creates a playful atmosphere by mocking his neighbor’s arrogance, when referring to “elves” and “He is all pine and I am all apple orchards”. Frost desires to change his neighbor’s opinion of the need for the wall by asking, “Why do they make good neighbors?” The men continue to repair the wall even though it is naturally deteriorating. They are both unsure of what they are walling out. The neighbor is very conservative with traditional views. The neighbor wants the fence because it has been there forever. He continuously repairs the barrier because this is what he has always done. When Frost describes the rocks which have fallen down from the wall, I think he is referring to changes which occur in one person’s perception of another person or group. Social barriers can be broken down by positive experiences or meeting a new person. I believe Frost is suggesting that everyone is guilty of forming emotional walls toward certain types of people. People often judge a person’s character based on their religious beliefs, backgrounds, race, or looks. Over time the barriers between different groups of people start to break down. Often factors such as parental influence or the media facilitate building these walls back. Over time the walls become so high, it is hard to see the differences and/or similarities between the two groups.

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo. Shovel them under and let me work-- I am the grass; I cover all.
 * Grass **Carl Sandburg

And pile them high at Gettysburg And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun. Shovel them under and let me work. Two years, ten years, and the passengers ask the conductor: What place is this? Where are we now?

I am the grass. Let me work.



 Carl Sandburg was born in Galesburg, Illinois, and worked as a day laborer, soldier, political activist, and journalist. His poetry was written in a way for the working class of America. He used long verse line unfettered by rhyme or regular meter. He said, “Simple poems for simple people.”
 * [[image:http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:3oLVyLqAPp-OVM:http://www.nps.gov/carl/forkids/images/youngcshead285textwrap.jpg width="75" height="79" caption="See full size image" link="http://www.nps.gov/carl/forkids/images/youngcshead285textwrap.jpg"]] About the Author:

Analysis:**

Taken literally, the poem “Grass” evokes images of the grass decomposing and hiding away the bodies. Grass also represents new life springing from the old. The first word of the poem “Grass” creates strong imaginary of discard or waste. Sandburg names the battlefields of “Austerlitz and Waterloo”, reminding us of the unnatural death war brings. These two battlefields have no correlation, other than the fact many people died. He is bringing attention to the massive number of people killed in any battle, any country, of any religion, and during any time period. Gettysburg, Ypres and Verdun also had many deaths, over one million combined.

Sandburg uses free verse, which means no rhyme or meter. He also uses no metaphors or similes. This illustrates Sandburg’s simple style of writing. He does use repetition of “Pile them high”, “I am the grass,” and “Shovel them under.” The hyperbole “I cover all” personifies the grass.

I think Sandburg was trying to make us aware of the many lives, which have been taken by acts of war. He wants us to be grateful to the people who have died for us, no matter what the reason for the war. I think they poem also represents the timelessness of war; war has always been and will always be.

**Chicago Carl Sandburg ** **Hog Butcher for the world Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders: ** have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys. And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again. And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger. And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them: Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning. Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities; ** **Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness, Bareheaded, Shoveling, Wrecking, Planning, Building, breaking, rebuilding, Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth, Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs, Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle, Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse. and under his ribs the heart of the people, Laughing! Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.
 * They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I

 Analysis: ** **Chicago is probably Sandburg’s most famous poem, as well as one of his more realistic pieces. Sandburg relates to his own work and live experiences in this poem. Carl Sandburg had to work hard his whole life going from job to job and then even becoming homeless at one point. Sandburg uses imagery to give us a vivid description of Chicago, including the city’s good and bad attributes. He uses a free verse style to personify the city as a toolmaker and freight handler. He goes on to agree with Chicago’s bad reputation, such as its crime and prostitution. Sandburg also uses similes, such as “Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness.” He then lists a series of adverbs to illustrate what Chicago’s work force contributes to this country. Carl expresses the nature of the city with personification and similes, “Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle.” In the end, he repeats the first stanza of personification, reaffirming his love for Chicago.**

**I think Sandburg was trying to portray his city as strong and manly using the term “Big Shoulders.” He wants people to recognize the city’s endless opportunities for jobs for all classes. Sandburg acknowledges that Chicago does have its flaws, just like a person. He ends by illustrating how great his city is and what it means to be a citizen of Chicago.** 

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Paul Laurence Dunbar was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1872 to parents who were former slaves. He graduated from high school with honors but due to finances could not afford college. He worked as an elevator operator and wrote poetry in his free time. He became the first African- American poet to win national recognition.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) **


 * We Wear the Mask**

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,— This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, And mouth with myriad subtleties. Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask. We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries To thee from tortured souls arise. We sing, but oh the clay is vile Beneath our feet, and long the mile; But let the world dream otherwise, We wear the mask!
 * WE wear the mask that grins and lies,

Analysis:** Having parents who were former slaves had a great influence on Dunbar’s writing. He wrote “We Wear the Mask” in 1896, after the civil war. This was a time of oppression for African Americans. Although they were free, they were still not given equal rights. The poem is a metaphor for the feelings that African Americans had to conceal. They could not show their true emotions of desperation and hate for the fear of retaliation. They wore a mask out in public, but beneath they were crying out to God for help. The African Americans wore the mask so white people would believe they were in desperate need for a place in civilization. However, they really wore the mask to refrain from the white culture while protecting their own. This is supported in the last line, “But let the world dream otherwise, We wear the mask!” Dunbar illustrates repetition of consonant sounds and alliteration. The “w” sound is very frequent in the poem, at least twice on each line. The punctuation marks are important throughout this poem. A period used at the end of, “We Wear the Mask”, brought attention to the fact they were made to feel disrespected as a lower class in society. The exclamation mark used at the end of “We wear the mask!” in the third stanza was a sign of victory over society because they knew they wore the mask to protect their self-respect and heritage. The general language of the poem never directly says he is referring to blacks. I think Dunbar was ultimately placing a mask on the poem by never directly saying “blacks”; He could have possibly done this to protect himself from any retaliation. I also think Dunbar never labeled a specific group, so that any person that was forced to wear a mask could relate to the poem. Everyone has felt pressure to conceal hurt, frustration and/or disappointment in their life. Regardless of gender, social status or race, this is something that all humans can relate to at some point in their life.



**Elizabeth Bishop** <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif;">Elizabeth Bishop was born in 1911 and raised by family members after her father died when she was very young and her mother was put in a mental hospital. She attended Vassar College as an English major, although she considered a music major first. She also contemplated enrolling in Cornell Medical School. Before Bishop died in 1979 she had won nearly every poetry prize in the country. She is considered a great contemporary poet of the 20th century.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> "One Art" <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;">The art of losing isn't hard to master; so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster,

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster of lost door keys, the hour badly spent. The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster: places, and names, and where it was you meant to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or next-to-last, of three beloved houses went. The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster, some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent. I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

-- Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident the art of losing's not too hard to master though it may look like (Write it!) a disaster.



Analysis: In the poem One Art, Bishop is trying to convey exactly what the first line says, “The art of losing isn’t hard to master.” She first gives the example of every day forgetfulness like losing keys. Almost everyone has misplaced their keys, sunglasses or wallet. There is no need to get frustrated and upset, because there is nothing we can do to change what has already happen. In ten years, misplacing your keys will not matter, “None of these will bring disaster.” She then writes about losing something more valuable, such as her mother’s watch. She recognizes the fact it is more difficult to accept you have lost a family heirloom rather than your keys. When practicing the art of losing things, you are practicing your reaction. The goal is not to allow bad things to affect you because they will happen regardless; it is a fact of life. The next time something bad happens, you will be better prepared to handle the situation. She then describes the loss of two cities, which she loved very much. She misses the character and charm of each city. She no longer lives in these places she loves, but she does not let that bring her spirits down. The real meaning of the poem is illustrated at the end, when she reveals her loss of a loved one. Her efforts to master the art of losing, is put to the test. She admits losing this person has been difficult and she misses them very much. This is conveyed in the last two lines, “the art of losing’s not too hard to master though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster. The lines repeating in this poem are “the art of losing isn’t hard to master,” and “no disaster”. I think she used repetition of these lines, to emphasize their importance. I think Bishop is trying to tell the reader to not sweat the small stuff and how to better handle the big stuff. Regardless of what happens in life, we cannot go back and change time. You are in control of your fate, so make the best of every situation, no matter what the circumstances are.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> Frost, Robert. “Mending Wall.” //The Norton Anthology of American Literature//. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2008. 777. Print. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> Sandburg, Carl. “Grass.” //The Norton Anthology of American Literature//. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2008. 814. Print.
 * Works Cited**

Sandburg, Carl. “Chicago.” //The Norton Anthology of American Literature//. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2008. 812-13. Print.

Dunbar, Paul. “We Wear the Mask.” //The Norton Anthology of American Literature//. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 646. . Print.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Bishop, Elizabeth. “One Art.” //The Norton Anthology of American Literature//. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2008. 1231. Print.