Literary Analysis Of Good Times By Lucille Clifton

Poets and other writers often express life through their works and characters. Some poems convey a depressing, gloomy attitude towards life, while others show the world as a joyful and simple place. Two skilled creative writers, Edgar Lee Masters and Edwin Arlington Robinson, wrote detailed poems describing the lives of characters with extremely different perspectives on life. Many obvious differences can be identified between the lives of Robinson’s Miniver Cheevy and Masters’s Lucinda Matlock.

Toomer experienced many conflicts, internally and externally, which he processed in his writings, poetry became another channel for his thoughts. Kenneth Rexroth, a painter and poet labeled as a radical through association, hailed Toomer as the most important African American poet. Toomer’s poems were written almost like a dance, often beginning and closing with a similar stanza. His poetry gives a surreal feeling in each line, but they often describe some brutally honest events that many people will experience in their lifetime. In example, Toomer’s poem, “Her Lips Are Copper Wire” describes a rebellion against being silenced, “then with your tongue remove the tape/and press your lips to mine/till they are incandescent” followed by a tale of bright passion (PoemHunter V5). Poetry is an extraordinary form of self expression, one can follow the limitations of certain poem styles such as limerics, or let the words flow freely without common writing restrictions such as punctuation and grammar. In his poem “The Lost Dancer,” Toomer describes the

"Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget"-G. Randolf. In the story "Good Times" by Rion Amilcar Scott the quote by G. Randolf relates to Rashid and Walter friendship by the way they became friends. They became close friends based on Walter saving Rashid life and bonded off his mistakes he experienced throughout life. In the story "Good Times" one of the main characters Rashid tries to commit suicide by hanging himself from his balcony when Walter notices him and save his life by cutting the rope. Rashid thanks, Walter and explains that it was a mistake and he wasn 't trying to commit suicide. Rashid feels bad about what happen and talks to Walter explains that he was trying to kill himself but he

Life is full of inevitable change ad it is not always easy in order to understand our lives and ourselves, we much understand the sacrifices need to be made and this can mean having to face the unknown. Harwood’s collection of poetry explores the understanding that comes with change, despite the challenges it presents. Through her use of memories and the experience of losing what is valued in life, Harwood teaches readers that although the inevitable changes of life will not come easy, it is important to find ways to cope and move on with our lives.

Throughout the poem “New Orleans,” Joy Harjo utilizes repetition in order to emphasize her message. One example of repetition paired with a metaphor as well outlines her reasoning for visiting the city, “My spirit comes here to drink. / My spirit comes here to drink” (Harjo 98). Harjo is comparing one’s ancestry or past with a nourishing drink. She is stating she has come to New Orleans to fulfill a hole in her life and nourish it. This hole being a lack of knowledge on her past and heritage. The “drinking” action would be Harjo absorbing the culture and history of the city and therefore her own. Her argument is that knowing or acknowledging the past allows for a fuller understanding of the present and brings a new depth to oneself. Also,

This poem is about the comfort of the safe past and the tension created by change.

For different people, comparable situations do not always reproduce the same end results or leave the same impressions. Rather, the resulting conclusion is often highly variable. As is the case of two labors featured in the poems, My Father’s Lunch” and “The life of a Digger”. While Erica Funkhouser’s speaker, Henry, experiences injustice and lack of reward for his hard labor in “The Life of a Digger,” Margarita Engle’s speaker experiences prosperity and remuneration for their father’s hard work in “My Father’s Lunch.” Each author uses the setting of a laboring man’s lunch break to demonstrate the ramifications of a hard day’s work and the rewards or lack thereof for their efforts.

In the poem “Just as the Calendar Began to Say Summer”, Mary Oliver analogizes two distinct tones.

The essay will consider the poem 'Practising' by the poet Mary Howe. It will explore how this poem generates its meaning and focus by analysing its techniques, metaphorical construct and its treatment of memory. The poem can primarily be seen to be a poem of missed opportunity. In this way is comes to form, alongside other poems of Howe's a study about a certain kind of loss and the recuperative efforts of memory, alongside the certainty of the failure of this recuperation. The paper will begin by giving a context to the poem with regard to Howe's life and work and will then proceed to analyse it directly, drawing attention to how it can be seen to fulfil this thesis about its content and meaning.

Poetry is an important part of literature which conveys an author 's ideas across to the reader through the use of descriptive language. Poetry helps an author to express their inner emotions and often incorporates various poetic devices which enriches the text. Poetry gives the reader a different perspective and when read closely, can give the audience a look into the authors imagination. Likewise, poetic devices enhance the writing and can drastically change the mood of the poem, as well as, how the reader interprets the poem. Poetic devices are important in literature because they help to convey a message, add spontaneity to a poem, and give the reader a strong visual. Some poems are lengthy, and some poems can be very short, however when analyzed, they all express a deeper message. For example, when examining the poem, "The Changeling," by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the reader can easily spot the important message which the author is trying to reveal to the reader through the use of poetic devices. When closely reading this poem, the language and the terminology applied by Cofer enhances the readers ability to make connections between the theme of this poem and how it can be applied to real world scenarios.

A common theme of life that can be seen "Nostalgia" is remembrance. Throughout this poem Collins talks about these characters who remember a time period, "These views assume that nostalgia depends, in some way, on comparing a present situation with a past one" (Howard). The first character begins with, "Where has the summer of 1572 gone? Brocade and sonnet marathons were the rage" (6-7). The first character is remembering a time when a certain activity

Mary Oliver’s poem “Wild Geese” was a text that had a profound, illuminating, and positive impact upon me due to its use of imagery, its relevant and meaningful message, and the insightful process of preparing the poem for verbal recitation. I first read “Wild Geese” in fifth grade as part of a year-long poetry project, and although I had been exposed to poetry prior to that project, I had never before analyzed a poem in such great depth. This process of becoming intimately familiar with the poem—I can still recite most of it to this day—allowed it to have the effect it did; the more one engulfs oneself in a text, the more of an impact that text will inevitably have. “Wild Geese” was both revealing and thought-provoking: reciting it gave me

For many, people hold objects within their lives as sentiments of greater value than price. Whether it be pictures, necklaces, or a father’s watch; there lies an emotional connection beyond the object’s materialistic presence in which people hold dear. Themes of reminiscence as well reverence are displayed throughout the poem by the use of imagery to further convey the character’s hope that the quilt will represent her family’s heritage just as her grandmothers did, alongside an ethos application of symbolism that further portrays as well connects the emotional links of generations, diversity, and values.

It floated before me on the page like a picture, and underneath it stood the mournful line: Optima dies...prima fugit” (174). The best days are the first to flee - Cather’s comparison of the girls to the line of Virgil shows us that the memories are a strand of thread that connects Jim to his childhood, invoking deeply nostalgic feelings. His time on the prairie is unrecoverable and inescapable, a time he sees as his ‘best’ before his inevitable aging and moving and changing. Jim decides, with the memories of his past fresh in his mind, that, “If there were no girls like them in the world, there would be no poetry.” The way the Hired Girls are so easily able to bring up memories and feelings of such intensity for Jim, even many years and many miles away, is a source of deep intellectual understanding for him. It makes clear to him both why poets exist and why he cares about the poetry - the deeply personal nature of Virgil’s works are

For example, from page 14 to 24, the author starts each page with the word “And”. Quoting from page 14 to 24 “and swing from her branches and eat apples. And they would play hide-and-go-seek. And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade. And the boy loved the tree...very much. And the tree was happy” (Silverstein). The author mentions all these activities that the child and the tree experienced together to show the child's young years. It shows a large period of time. It demonstrates that most of the boy’s time was passed playing with the tree. Another clear example of repetition is viewed through Silverstein’s use of imagery. The author repeats drawing the tree in a similar way. On page 2, for example, Silverstein draws the tree in a simple matter. This image is repeated on almost every single page of the book with slight variations. Silverstein is trying to show that the tree is the main character in the story. Another example of repetition explaining pass of time is viewed on pages 24, 34, 40, 45, and 51. The author repeats the same phrase “And the tree was happy…” (Silverstein). He places these phrases in their own separate lines to emphasize the lines importance. These repetitions of those phrases express time passing and a continual steady emotion of the tree’s happiness when the boy was