Cisewski

American Literature Wiki Poetry Project

 By: Katie Cisewski

Amy Lowell 1874 - 1925 Amy Lowell was an American poet from Brookline, Massachusetts. Born in 1874, she was the last of the five children to parents Augustus Lowell and Katherine Bigelow Lawrence Lowell. She was first educated at the family home and then never attended college because her family did not consider it proper for a woman. She was an avid reader at a young age and turned to poetry. Her first published collection of poetry appeared in 1921. Lowell wrote more than 650 poems over her lifetime. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1926.

"The Captured Goddess" Over the housetops, Above the rotating chimney-pots, I have seen a shiver of amethyst, And blue and cinnamon have flickered A moment, At the far end of a dusty street.

Through sheeted rain Has come a lustre of crimson, And I have watched moonbeams Hushed by a film of palest green.

It was her wings, Goddess! Who stepped over the clouds, And laid her rainbow feathers Aslant on the currents of the air.

I followed her for long, With gazing eyes and stumbling feet. I cared not where she led me, My eyes were full of colors:

Saffrons, rubies, the yellows of beryls, And the indigo-blue of quartz; Flights of rose, layers of chrysoprase, Points of orange, spirals of vermilion, The spotted gold of tiger-lily petals, The loud pink of bursting hydrangeas. I followed. And watched for the flashing of her wings.

In the city I found her, The narrow-streeted city. In the market-place I came upon her, Bound and trembling. Her fluted wings were fastened to her sides with cords, She was naked and cold, For that day the wind blew Without sunshine.

Men chaffered for her, They bargained in silver and gold, In copper, in wheat, And called their bids across the market-place.

The Goddess wept.

Hiding my face I fled, And the grey wind hissed behind me, Along the narrow streets.

Analysis: ​Amy Lowell writes about a divine figure in her poem, "The Captured Goddess." The narrator speaks of a goddess with "rainbow feathers" as she spots it above the town. The lively goddess is compared to the dark appearance of the town. Lowell uses a lot of detail to describe the mystical experience of this woman. Throughout the poem, the goddess is also depicted through flowers, multiple colors, and nature itself. It has even been thought that Lowell portrays herself through the character of the goddess. This could represent how she strived to be someone more people would look up to in society. Later in the poem, the goddess is captured and found in a market-place. She is surrounded by men and even offered for sale. After this point, the poem changes from an overall happy and uplifting mood to one that is often desperate and sad. The vivid colors mentioned earlier seem to almost disappear as Lowell tells about the day with grey wind and no sunshine. The poem ends as the narrator leaves and runs away from the sight of the captured goddess.

The goddess is portrayed as being very beautiful and vibrant. She is highly looked upon in the poem as the narrator follows her through the town. Elizabeth Lowell was especially fond of using flowers and colors as symbols in her work. The following lines from the poem show this as Lowell writes, "Saffrons, rubies, the yellows of beryls, and the indigo-blue of quartz; the spotted gold of tiger-lily petals, and the loud pink of bursting hydrangeas."

The poem is very pleasing to the eye because of Lowell's rich use of color and imagery. I enjoyed reading "The Captured Goddess" because the light and atmosphere of it certainly appealed to my senses. I found the ending of the poem to be suprising because of the way the goddess was treated by the market people. The tone at the end shows the disappointment the narrator feels toward the people who showed cruelty to the goddess.

Carl Sandburg 1878 - 1967

American Poet Carl Sandburg was born in Galesburg, Illinois during the late nineteenth century. His experiences working and traveling influenced his views on life and the way he wrote. After the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, he volunteered for service and spent eight months in Puerto Rico. He then enrolled in Lombard College upon his return from war. He began his writing career as a journalist for the //Chicago Daily News.// Through his free verse poetry, he celebrates the common people of America. Sandburg even won three Pulitzer Prizes, two of which were for his poetry and the other for a biography of Abraham Lincoln.

"Grass"

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

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 passengers ask the conductor: What place is this? Where are we now?

I am the grass. Let me work. ]

Analysis: Carl Sandburg's poem, "Grass," talks about nature and how it works to cover up the negative actions of humans. The beginning of the poem introduces the narrator, which is the grass. In the second stanza, the words "Austerlitz" and "Waterloo" reminder the reader of the battles that took place at the beginning of the 19th century. Sandburg makes other direct references to historical battles, such as Gettysburg. These are mentioned to show that nature continues to do its work time after time. The title of the poem is very short and this sets the scene for the rest of the poem. Sandburg writes in a simple manner which makes it easier to understand. The main idea that he speaks about is how the dead are often forgotten over time. Through his poem, Sandburg implies that people should not take their freedom for granted. He expresses disappointment for people who would forget to remember those who serve their country.

Symbolism can be seen in this poem through the grass. Carl Sandburg personifies it by giving it human-like qualities. For instance the grass says, "Shovel them under and let me work." The message Sandburg is trying to get across is how the grass is used to cover up the cruelty of man. The grass has a job of bringing the earth together. To do this, the grass must continue to cover up the bodies from battles. This shows that even the little things in life have a meaning. The poem is written in free verse, without a fixed meter pattern. Sandburg does use repetition though in the opening and closing of the poem with the words, "I am the grass."

I think it is interesting that Carl Sandburg thought to use grass as something to cover up the past. I like how the theme of the poem relates to the importance of freedom. "Grass" involves imagery throught the repeated lines of "I am the grass" and "Pile them high." This gave me a clear visual of grass when I read the poem.

 Elizabeth Bishop 1911 - 1979

She was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1911. Elizabeth attended Vassar and majored in English. As a student there, she worked on the school newspaper and eventually met firend, Marianne Moore. She won many poetry prizes throughout her lifetime. She traveled a lot as well and incorporated this in her poetry as she describes certain landscapes.

"At the Fishhouses"

Although it is a cold evening, down by one of the fishhouses an old man sits netting, his net, in the gloaming almost invisible a dark purple-brown, and his shuttle worn and polished. The air smells so strong of codfish it makes one's nose run and one's eyes water. The five fishhouses have steeply peaked roofs and narrow, cleate gangplanks slant up to storerooms in the gables for the wheelbarrows to be pushed up and down on. All is silver: the heavy surface of the sea, swelling slowly as if considering spilling over, is opaque, but the silver of the benches, the lobster pots, and masts, scattered among the wild jagged rocks, is of an apparent translucence like the small old buildings with an emerald moss growing on their shoreward walls. The big fish tubs are completely lined with layers of beautiful herring scales and the wheelbarrows are similarily plastered with creamy iridescent coats of mail, with small iridescent flies crawling on them. Up on the little slope behind the houses, set in the sparse bright sprinkle of grass, is an ancient wooden capstan, cracked, with two long bleached handles and some melancholy stains, like dried blood, where the ironwork has rusted. The old man accepts a Lucky Strike. He was friend of my grandfather. We talk of the decline in the population and of codfish and herring while he waits for a herring boat to come in. There are sequins on his vest and on his thumb. He has scraped the scales, the principal beauty, from unnumbered fish with that black old knife, the blade of which is almost worn away.

Down at the water's edge, at the place where they haul up the boats, up the long ramp descending into the water, thin silver tree trunks are laid horizontally across the gray stones, down and down at intervals of four or five feet.

Cold dark deep and absolutely clear, element bearable to no mortal, to fish and to seals. . . One seal particularly I have seen here evening after evening. He was curious about me. He was interested in music; like me a believer in total immersion, so I used to sing him Baptist hymns. I also sang "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." He stood up in the water and regarded me steadily, moving his head a little. Then he would disappear, then suddenly emerge almost in the same spot, with a sort of shrug as if it were against his better judgement. Cold dark deep and absolutely clear, the clear gray icy water. . . Back, behind us, the dignified tall firs begin. Bluish, associating with their shadows, a million Christmas trees stand waiting for Christmas. The water seems suspended above the rounded gray and blue-gray stones. I have seen it over and over, the same sea, the same, slightly, indifferently swinging above the stones, icily free above the stones, above the stones and then the world. If you should dip your hand in, your wrist would ache immediately, your bones would begin to ache and your hand would burn as if the water were a transmutation of fire that feeds on stones and burns with a dark gray flame. If you tasted it, it would first taste bitter, then briny, then surely burn your tongue. It is like what we imagine knowledge to be: dark, salt, clear, motivating, utterly free, drawn from the cold hard mouth of the world, derived from the rocky breasts forever, flowing and drawn, and since our knowledge is historical, flowing, and flown.

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Analysis: The poem "At the Fishhouses" by Elizabeth Bishop tells about her experiences as she takes a visit back to her childhood. The narrator is Bishop herself and she goes on to talk about how the fishhouse is a very familiar place to her. A possiblel theme of the poem could be childhood memories as it relates to the history of a Nova Scotia fishing village. This is closely related to Bishop as she grew up living in that area for most of her early life with her grandparents. She mentions in the poem that the narrator speaks with an old man who was a friend of her grandfather. She says how they "talk of the decline in the population." This could symbolize her father's death as she was faced with this hardship at a very young age.

The visual imagery in "At the Fishhouses" conveys a strong sense of passion Bishop had for the area she grew up in as a child. The following lines show her appreciation for nature as she says, "Cold dark deep and absolutely clear, the clear gray icy water . . . back, behind us, the dignified tall firs begin. Bluish, associating with their shadows, a million Christmas trees stand waiting for Christmas. The water seems suspended above the rounded gray and blue-gray stones." Bishop wrote about the atmosphere in such a unique way that it appeals to reader's senses. For instance, she describes the air as it "smells so strong of codfish it makes one's nose run and one's eyes water."

Bishop is greatly admired for her descriptive poetry. As I read her poem, "At the Fishhouses," I could visualize an old fishing dock and the beautiful landscape of Nova Scotia around it. I like the fact that she used a lot of detail to describe her childhood that meant so much to her. I found the poem to be interesting as she talked about her past and things she did growing up. The poem reminds me of the song "Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding.

Marianne Moore 1887 - 1972​

Poetry is a peerless proficiency of the imagination." -Marianne Moore

American Poet Marianne Moore was born in Kirkwood, Missouri. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College and began to publish poetry professionally in 1915. Her poetry is written in a precise language and often features animals. She was acquaintances with some of the greatest writers of the 20th century such as T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and Elizabeth Bishop.

"The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing"

is an enchanted thing like the glaze on a katydid-wingsubdivided by sun till the nettings are legion Like Gieseking playing Scarlatti like the apteryx-awl as a break, or the kiwi's rain-shawl of haired feathers, the mind feeling its way as though blind, walks along with its eyes on the ground. It has memory's ear that can hear without having to hear. Like the gyroscope's fall, truly unequivocal because trued by regnant certainty,

it is a power of strong enchantment. It is like the dove- neck animated by sun; it is memory's eye; it's conscientious inconsistency.

It tears off the veil; tears the temptation, the mist the heart wears, from its eye - if the heart has a face; it takes apart dejection. It's fire in the dove-neck's iridescence; in the inconsistencies of Scarlatti. Unconfusion submits its confusion to proof; it's not a Herod's oath that cannot change.

Analysis: Marianne Moore's poem, "The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing," talks about the mind as a unique object. The word "enchanting" means tsomething that is fascinating or charming. The mind is the main subject of the poem and is compared to outside forces through the use of similes and metaphors. For instance, the mind is "like the apteryx-awl as a beak, or the kiwi's rain-shawl of haired feathers." The mind is also given human-like characteristics in the poem as Moore writes, "It has memory's ear" and "walks along with its eyes on the ground." Moore also implies that the mind can not be completely understood without looking at reality and the world around you.

"The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing" has six stanzas with six lines in them each. Moore uses indentation in her poem as well to emphasize certain lines. She even utilizes color in her poem as the mind is compared to "the glaze on a katydid-wing subdivided by the sun till the nettings are legion." The mention of the apteryx and the kiwi can symbolize the mind's ability to penetrate because these birds have long, slender bills. This expresses the fact that people must engage their mind in order to survive. The statement of a "kiwi's rain-shawl" could also be a symbol for protection for the mind from harmful outside forces. This relates to humans as we need a shelter to live in to shield us from the environment. Moore compares the mind as it "has memory's ear that can hear without having to hear." This simile shows the incredible power of the mind on the world around us.

I think Moore really wanted readers to think about the human mind and what it represents to you. I like the poem, "The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing," because Marianne Moore incorporates her own observations of what the mind is like to her. She uses a lot of detail, which helps with visual analogies. I found it interesting in the poem that the mind is looked upon as such a captivating figure of life. I think Marianne Moore has a very strong sense of vision to be able to write a poem like this.

Cathy Song b. 1955



Poet Cathy Song was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and is of Chinese and Korean descent. She attended Wellesley College in 1977 and then Boston University in 1981 for creative writing. She also won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award for her collection //Picture Bride//. Her works incorporate her ancestory as well as her experiences as a woman. Currently she splits her time teaching at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and working as an editor for a press that publishes the literature of Hawaii.

"The White Porch"

I wrap the blue towel after washing, around the damp weight of hair, bulky as a sleeping cat, and sit out on the porch. Still dripping water, it'll be dry by supper, by the time the dust settles off your shoes, though it's only five past noon. Think of the luxury; how to use the afternoon like the stretch of lawn spread before me. There's the laundry, sun-warm clothes at twilight, and the moutain of beans in my lap. Each one, I'll break and snap thoughtfully in half.

But there is this slow arousal. The small buttons of my cottom blouse are pulling away from my body. I feel the strain of threads, the swollen magnolias heavy as a flock of birds in the tree. Already, the orange sponge cake is rising in the oven. I know you'll say it makes your mouth dry and I'll watch you drench your slice of it in canned peaches and lick the plate clean.

So much hair, my mother used to say, grabbing the thick braided rope in her hands while we washed the breakfast dishes, discussing dresses and pastries. My mind often elsewhere as we did the morning chores together. Sometimes, a few strands would catch in her gold ring. I worked hard then, anticipating the hour when I would let the rope down at night, strips of sheets, knotted and tied, while she slept in tight blankets. My hair, freshly washed like a meaure of wealth, like a bridal veil. Crouching in the grass, you would wait for the signal, for the movement of curtains before releasing yourself from the shadow of moths. Cloth, hair and hands, smuggling you in.



Analysis: Cathy Song's poem, "The White Porch," tells of her journey from a child to a woman. She informs the reader about her personal memories growing up in life. She uses colorful imagery in a few lines when she writes about "sun-warm clothes at twilight" and "the mountain of beans." The poem tells about the relationship of a mother and daughter as well. The narrator mentions her mother as she would grab her "thick braided rope in her hands while we washed the breakfast dishes, discussing dresses and pastries."

Song uses imagery as she mentions her hair in the poem as well. She writes about "the damp weight of hair, bulky as a sleeping cat and sit out on the porch, still dripping water." Her hair could be a sign of the status of a woman. The hair is connected to "a measure of wealth, like a bridal veil." This implies that the narrator is waiting for her loved one after she realizes that she is no longer a child. Song portrays the hair as an important appearance of a woman. This could symbolize how it is a connection between your younger age and adulthood. She also uses figurative language through similes and metaphors in the poem. For instance, Song mentions magnolias as being "heavy as a flock of birds in the tree."

I enjoyed reading the poem, "The White Porch," because of the imagery Cathy Song used. She wrote with vivid details, which allowed me to picture the scene exactly as she was describing it. Her poem illustrates all the senses that the narrator felt whiling sitting on the porch. She writes in a soft spoken tone that makes it easy to follow. Song's works are well-known for giving the reader a look into her personal experiences in life. They are also very relevant to her Korean-Chinese ancestry.

Bishop, Elizabeth. "At the Fishhouses." __The Norton Anthology of American Literature__. Ed. Nina Baym. 7th ed. Vol 2. New York, 1979. 1225-27. Lowell, Amy. "The Captured Goddess." __The Norton Anthology of American Literature__. Ed. Nina Baym. 7th ed. Vol. 2. New York, 1979. 758-59. Moore, Marianne. "The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing." __The Norton Anthology of American Literature__. Ed. Nina Baym. 7th ed. Vol 2. New York, 1979. 858-59. Sandburg, Carl. "Grass." __The Norton Anthology of American Literature__. Ed. Nina Baym. 7th ed. Vol 2. New York, 1979. 814. Song, Cathy. "The White Porch." __The Norton Anthology of American Literature__. Ed. Nina Baym. 7th ed. Vol 2. New York, 1979. 1665-66.

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