Leda and the Swan

IB English Literature and Composition
Dr. Busse

Leda and the Swan 

     In this poem Zeus rapes Leda in the form of a swan. The poem alludes to the burning of Troy, and King Agamemnon: "The broken wall, the burning roof and tower/And Agamemnon dead."(L.10). The poem also contains images of Zeus the "white rush", and Leda's "vague fingers" where its questioned whether she actually fought for herself. Sexual images in this poem include "thighs caressed", "He holds her helpless breast upon his breast", and "A shudder in the loins engenders there". The other chooses to describe the sexual scenes as so maybe in order to keep it "PG" although the tone of the poem is informal. 

The Centaur

IB English Literature and Composition 

Dr. Busse 

The Centaur 

    

     I notice that the title directly correspond with the content of the poem. The poem is about a young girl who goes outside every day and makes a stick horses to play on. A centaur is half man and half horse, it relates to the young girl in the poem because when she plays outside on her horse she identifies as the horse and sometimes the rider. So the centaur is the combination of them both. The speakers tone is reminiscent because this was her at age ten. The speakers uses the phrases “cut me” or “filled me” maybe to showcase her background. Images are used in this poem to show her transition from rider to horse to centaur.

 

since feeling is first

IB English Literature and Composition 

Dr. Busse

                                   

 since feeling is first 

      The point of this poem I believe is to state how being in love makes you “dumb”. The author uses metaphors to be indirect and make the readers interpret what they think the true meaning of the poem is. The mood is light, because the poem is describing love, falling in love and being in love. This poem is unusual because although it is thought to be about love the word “love” never comes up in context, leaving the interpretation entirely into the reader’s hands. 

Ars Poetica

Jaylynn Lowery           IB English Literature and Composition   Dr. Busse                                      17 August 2016

  Ars Poetica

     The point of this poem is to show how natural poems are supposed to be. I get this impression because of the similes comparing poems to, "wordless as the flight of birds", and "mute as a globed fruit". The mood of the poem is enlightening, you learn how poems should really be seen. The tone of the poem is very light. The point of the imagery in the poem to connect poems to nature. Such as, "[...]twig by twig the night entangled trees,". 

     The repetition in this poem seems to function as emphasis and a call to attention making sure you understand what is being said the second time around. There is end rhyme in the beginning of the poem, where the last word of each stanza rhymes. Rhyme links the ideas and images of nature and poems together. The poem is organized simply in two-line stanzas, the structure shows that the poem clear and simple.