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Jonathan's Poems: June 2009
http://neophyte-jonathanspoems.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html
Friday, 26 June 2009. London - William Blake. Last week, I suggested that the heart of WB Yeats's "No Second Troy" lay in the Helen of Troy image at the end. There could be no doubt that Yeats was comparing Maud Gonne to Helen of Troy. But it was only by exploring that comparison in detail that the poem's full implications could be understood. Today's poem has a similar feature. We need to expend a bit of effort to understand what the "mind forged manacles" are that William Blake is referring to. All suf...
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Jonathan's Poems: No Second Troy - W.B. Yeats
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Friday, 19 June 2009. No Second Troy - W.B. Yeats. Both of the two poems I have looked at before,. Had a very definite conclusion that brought proceedings firmly to an end. Today I would like to examine a very short poem whose conclusion is much more enigmatic and forces the reader to keep on re-evaluating what the poem is trying to say. WHY should I blame her that she filled my days. With misery, or that she would of late. Have taught to ignorant men most violent ways,. WHAT MAKES THIS POEM SPECIAL.
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Jonathan's Poems: December 2009
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Sunday, 20 December 2009. Adolescence" - W H Auden. The previous poems I have considered have all given up their meanings quite easily. Their appeal has been either the way they say something (as with One Art or the multiple meanings of a single complicated metaphor (as with No Second Troy). WIth this poem I want to examine the idea of poetry as a crossword puzzle, or a detective story. It can force you to grapple for a meaning and, in doing so, stimulate complex thoughts along the way. The striking thin...
neophyte-jonathanspoems.blogspot.com
Jonathan's Poems: Written on a Summer Evening - John Keats
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Wednesday, 2 December 2009. Written on a Summer Evening - John Keats. With apologies to my "readership" for a long lay-off, I return to my poetry theme with John Keats "Written on a Summer Evening". What I like about this poem is that. It manages to say two completely different things at once. The church bells toll a melancholy round,. Calling the people to some other prayers,. Some other gloominess, more dreadful cares,. More harkening to the sermon's horrid sound. Surely the mind of man is closely bound.
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Jonathan's Poems: March 2010
http://neophyte-jonathanspoems.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html
Friday, 5 March 2010. Spring and Fall - Gerard Manley Hopkins. What is it with me and religious poetry? I am pretty atheistic: I once shocked my mother in law by suggesting that the law should accord religion no more respect or protection than other superstitions such as astrology. But I hold a special place in my heart for fine religious verse. Margaret, are you grieving. Leaves, like the things of man, you. With your fresh thoughts care for, can you? As the heart grows older. By and by, nor spare a sigh.
neophyte-jonathanspoems.blogspot.com
Jonathan's Poems: One Art - Elizabeth Bishop
http://neophyte-jonathanspoems.blogspot.com/2009/06/one-art.html
Wednesday, 17 June 2009. One Art - Elizabeth Bishop. The last poem I looked at, George Herbert's. Relied on a steady build up of tension and a sudden jolt at the end to convey its message. Is a very different poem but also has a startling and equally successful jolt that is a key part of its appeal. Here is a link to the text. Http:/ www.poemhunter.com/poem/one-art/. To which we will return, is just another loss in a long, and not disastrous, line of losses. WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT THIS POEM. But right at ...
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Jonathan's Poems: Old People's Home - W.H. Auden
http://neophyte-jonathanspoems.blogspot.com/2009/12/old-peoples-home-wh-auden.html
Sunday, 13 December 2009. Old People's Home - W.H. Auden. This poem, by W.H Auden, is certainly not one of his most famous, nor perhaps even one of his best. However, its use of language is quite striking and demonstrates that "style" and "structure" in poetry can be an aid to unlocking its more complex meaning. All are limitory, but each has her own. Nuance of damage. The elite can dress and decent themselves,. Are ambulant with a single. To read a book. All through, or play the slow movements of. To sp...
neophyte-jonathanspoems.blogspot.com
Jonathan's Poems: London - William Blake
http://neophyte-jonathanspoems.blogspot.com/2009/06/london-william-blake.html
Friday, 26 June 2009. London - William Blake. Last week, I suggested that the heart of WB Yeats's "No Second Troy" lay in the Helen of Troy image at the end. There could be no doubt that Yeats was comparing Maud Gonne to Helen of Troy. But it was only by exploring that comparison in detail that the poem's full implications could be understood. Today's poem has a similar feature. We need to expend a bit of effort to understand what the "mind forged manacles" are that William Blake is referring to. All suf...
neophyte-jonathanspoems.blogspot.com
Jonathan's Poems: "Adolescence" - W H Auden
http://neophyte-jonathanspoems.blogspot.com/2009/12/adolescence-w-h-auden.html
Sunday, 20 December 2009. Adolescence" - W H Auden. The previous poems I have considered have all given up their meanings quite easily. Their appeal has been either the way they say something (as with One Art or the multiple meanings of a single complicated metaphor (as with No Second Troy). WIth this poem I want to examine the idea of poetry as a crossword puzzle, or a detective story. It can force you to grapple for a meaning and, in doing so, stimulate complex thoughts along the way. The striking thin...
