SOLITUDE

Solitude By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;

Weep, and you weep alone;

For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,

But has trouble enough of its own.

Sing, and the hills will answer;

Sigh, it is lost on the air;

The echoes bound to a joyful sound,

But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;

Grieve, and they turn and go;

They want full measure of all your pleasure,

But they do not need your woe.

Be glad, and your friends are many;

Be sad, and you lose them all,—

There are none to decline your nectared wine,

But alone you must drink life’s gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;

Fast, and the world goes by.

Succeed and give, and it helps you live,

But no man can help you die.

There is room in the halls of pleasure

For a large and lordly train,

But one by one we must all file on

Through the narrow aisles of pain

 

 

 

 

Because of the rhythm and rhyme to this poem, the tone seems very easy going and playful, almost as if its a flowing song of life, like these are the ongoing rules of life and have been for years. Almost every line is related to the one below it or above it giving the opposite to what is said. In this poem, there is no gray area in life, everything is black and white. Whats unique about this poem is that usually poems are very wishy washy and metaphorical making the reader believe there to be no correct answer, but the speaker is giving exact statements. Its interesting how the poem starts of about laughter and ends with the word pain. To me, this sort of represented ones life. We all start out as young children believing everything is good in the world, but we soon figure out that life is not as pleasant as it seems. We learn that the world doesn't really care about us an individual because it has "troubles of its own." This poem kind of reminds me of a list of guidelines and if we follow them we just might have a chance of surviving. "Solitude" is in a way, telling us what kind of person to me, or at least telling us what kind of person the world expects us to be.

GRAVITY

"Gravity"

Gravity is working against me
And gravity wants to bring me down

Oh I'll never know what makes this man
With all the love that his heart can stand
Dream of ways to throw it all away

Oh Gravity is working against me
And gravity wants to bring me down

Oh twice as much ain't twice as good
And can't sustain like a one half could
It's wanting more
That's gonna send me to my knees
[repeat]

Oh gravity, stay the hell away from me
And gravity has taken better men than me (now how can that be?)

Just keep me where the light is
Just keep me where the light is
Just keep me where the light is
C'mon keep me where the light is
C'mon keep me where the light is
Oh... where the light is! [repeat]

John Mayer is a seemingly popular song write and musician who often sings about love and life and all the troubles that come with the two. Particularly in his song "Gravity" Mayer explains the connection between feeling in love and being settled. He is commenting on how love exists because people strive for more, in the line stating "Its wanting more that's gonna bring me to my knees" he is explaining how wanting more from the relationship will ultimately make him want to settle either begging on his knees, or literally settling with a woman by getting down on one knee to ask for her hand in marriage. Mayer personifies gravity by telling it to "stay the hell away from me" meaning don't pull him down by force, let the love settle by itself, maybe even saying how to truly love someone you must fight nature. In the last lines Mayer repetitively says "keep me in the light" meaning that he doesn't want this love he has to fall into the shadows, he wants to keep it alive long enough until he's ready to finally settle with it. He could also be referring to light as the physical sun which is the ultimate energy source to life on earth. Mayer speaks a lot about different elements of nature in this song and how some can help while some can hurt. Ultimately Mayer is trying to explain how love dies when it is forced to settle (maybe with marriage) and does not want that for himself so he will chose to fight nature to keep his love alive.

Conversation by Ai

Conversation

We smile at each other
and I lean back against the wicker couch.
How does it feel to be dead? I say.
You touch my knees with your blue fingers.
And when you open your mouth,
a ball of yellow light falls to the floor
and burns a hole through it.
Don't tell me, I say. I don't want to hear.
Did you ever, you start,
wear a certain kind of dress
and just by accident,
so inconsequential you barely notice it,
your fingers graze that dress
and you hear the sound of a knife cutting paper,
you see it too
and you realize how that image
is simply the extension of another image,
that your own life
is a chain of words
that one day will snap.
Words, you say, young girls in a circle, holding hands,
and beginning to rise heavenward
in their confirmation dresses,
like white helium balloons,
the wreathes of flowers on their heads spinning,
and above all that,
that's where I'm floating,
and that's what it's like
only ten times clearer,
ten times more horrible.
Could anyone alive survive it?
This poem is obviously talking about death. The speaker is not afraid, but at the same time does not want to know the answers about death. This poem is very easy to relate to because I believe death is a common event that every one often wonders about. The begining of the poem is saying how death is right there, the speaker can touch it but he/she is not ready to fully comprehend what death is all about. This interpretation really hit home with me because I know i often wonder about things you can only learn about through experience but if i ever had the chance to finally know I would be to scared to take that risk. Death is a big deal, its not something that can be undone and that's why people are so hesitant and curious about it. Later on in the poem it becomes noticeable that not only can the speaker almost touch death but there are almost in a way battling with it, they are in that place between life and death where you know your time is coming. They are about to find out all the answers, some already answered but believe it to be "ten times more horrible." My personal favorite line from this poem is "that your own life is just a chain of words that one day will snap" because that is so true. We all live like nothing bad will ever happen to us, we do things, and say things that maybe aren't so great but we dont think about their consequences. In an instant we could be gone and all those words will just be memories, all the conversations we've shared with people will now be remembered but nothing else of us will be left. For me, that's a very scary thought. Once were gone, we are gone forever and everything we do or said or even touched. This poem is very relatable to pretty much anyone who has ever experinced fear of dying. It uses elaborate imagery as well as extended metaphors to further explain the speakers "conversation" with death.

"Good Vibes"

Good vibes
We’re bringing only good vibes
People walking around talking down on others
You can't know yourself without knowing about the other
And I know
That aint the right way to go

I've got a hunch that we don’t want to diss
Let’s move away from hate and prejudice
The racist man yeah he's full of it
Let’s learn about the culture opposite
Don't judge a book by the cover
People take a look at the world and discover
That beauty is the word that I think of when I see the different colors of skin
And I'll rejoice and sing for them

The hatred keeps building up
The tension keeps on building up
The hatred keeps building up
The racism is killing us

When we come around
Try to keep compassion on the ground
Feel a sense of freedom with crowd
Connecting people with the sound

Well it’s a choice to be grateful
People focus on the enemy that's hateful
The daily news has got a picture of a man, they say I'm supposed to hate
So great, just another stereotype to make

Too many times that I've seen the wrong signs
Back up with your hatred in life
Cuz we’re bringing only good vibes
Bringing only good vibes
Too many times that I've seen the wrong signs
Empty out the hatred in life
We're bringing only good vibes

 

This song entitled "Good Vibes" is in the style of reggae. Reggae music is known for its social criticism and often talks about love and socializing as well as anti racism/ anti prejudice. This song particularly is commenting on all the hate and stereotypes we are faced with in today's society. The first lines talk about how people are constantly talking down on others in order to know who they are as an individual which is not right. The next few lines are encouraging words stating for people to go out and look at the different ways people live, although it might be cliche, you really cant "judge a book by its cover" because you never know what the other person may be going through. This song, as well as Reggae in general often uses cliches like this in songs to further prove a point that listeners can more easily understand and relate to. Because of this use of cliche, Reggae can in a way be similar to Carpe Diem poems, which also often talk about love, using cliches to do so. Rebelution (band of the song) is becoming an increasingly popular group with high schoolers, which i believe is appropriate because they talk about things such as prejudice and stereotypes which is something every high schooler has to deal with. Personally, i have never felt like i was a victim of prejudice or stereotype but i see it happen way to often in school and it gets to be very unsettling. The things kids say to one another is just vulgar and rude. And i think Rebeltion brings up a very good point that people feel the need to talk down on each other in order to figure out their own identity. Its sad but true, and this song is commenting on that exactly. Our minds have been wired to think certain things about certain groups of people because of what we see happening in the news and media and we, without thinking about it, apply these thoughts to everyday life. "Good Vibes" is encouraging us to see past these awful stereotypes and learn to appreciate one another, see life through the others eyes and understand what they might be going through. Many of these encouragements are ones we hear over and over again, but they are important and often forgotten. As a teenager in this generation i believe commentary like what is said in this song is very important to pay attention to and learn from, because we really never know what another person may be going through.

John donnes poem entitled flea insinuates a man persuading a virgin to have sex with him because of moral obligations. He uses religious beliefs to make his argument seem more legitimate, such as the use of the number three as in the holy trinity as well as the Christian belief that two are made one once they have partaken in the act of sex. Donne states in his poem that both parties have been bitten by the same flea which sucked their blood so now because of this flea they are basically already united as one so having sex only makes sense- it is what god wants in the speakers eyes. Donne also uses the paradox of comparing sex to a flea to elaborate on the fact that a flea is common and so is sex so therefore, it's not a big deal. He uses these techniques a means of persuasion to fulfill his desire to have sex with this woman. Also knowing that dinnebwrtebthis poem while going through law school readers should take notice of his manipulative remarks and uses of persuasion. The religious aspects of this poem as well as the on going paradox make this poem unique to John Donne himself.

the turning point.

As discussed in class, the turning point in King Lear can be tricky to find. I personally saw Lear's monologue that ended with him taking off his clothes as the turning point. I thought this because the motif of nakedness really stands out to me, especially because of how it relates with the motif of nature. In any piece of literature nakedness symbolizes humans in a pure and natural form. Lets face it, we are only made of flesh and all the clothes and accessories we put on only cover up or portray a false or more enhanced version of ourselves. When Lear takes off his clothes he finally realizes that he is just a man. He is no better than anyone else, regardless of what title he might have or the clothes he wears. Everything natural about him comes out in this scene and he finally realizes what he has been missing. Also, the fact that he does this because Edgar is naked as well shows how he, for once, is putting a once seen "low life" in a higher authority than him. However, as a class, we learned that this particular scene is not the turning point. The scene before where Lear talks about how he realizes that he has not given enough to the poor is the actual turning point of the play. Regardless though, i believe the shedding of the clothes is a very significant part of this play. Even if it is not seen as the turning point, it definitely visually represents Lear's new view on life.

Act 3 scene 4. The climax. In class we discussed what we thought the exact climaxtical passage was. All of the groups picked the same passage that ends with Lear stripping himself of his clothes. For me, I believe this passage is the turning point because taking off clothes symbolizes a natural state for a human. Lear realizes that underneath his title and materialistic belongings he is no better than anyone other man but he doesn't have to be ashamed of it.Also the fact that in act 2 kent disguises himself or puts on clothes to fit in and now Lear is taking off his to accomplish the same thing could have significance. Lear is beginning to be humbled in the sense that he is realizing that he is no longer the man he was and is starting a new chapter in life. Also the stage directions after lears monologue say that Gloucester comes in carrying a torch symbolizing either chaos or light (truth). Of course, we learned tha this is in fact not the actual turning point but no matter what this point on the play is still very significant and Defintley has meaning to it. I would also like to touch on our discussion question about Blank equals insanity. At first, my group filled in family because it seems that lears family is ultimately what made him crazy but later thought that maybe the unnatural equals insanity. Think about it. Everytime someone tries to go out of the ordinary or mess up the natural flow of things chaos breaks out. Maybe this play is commenting on how we as humans should not mess with the natural flow of life or we are destined to go mad.

Fools get a bad rep

In my reading of  King Lear, i have played close attention to the fool. Whenever reading one of Shakespeare plays that includes the character of the fool, i always pay close attention, mainly because the fool although meant to be funny, often gives the most important information. In King Lear, the fool often says how hes not allowed to speak the truth, how he gets whipped for speaking the truth, however, he often says the most truthful lines of the entire play. I can relate a lot to the fool because i feel like he's that one friend that always bluntly says what he or she is thinking, not meaning to be rude, but just blurts out the truth (which is usually humorous). I feel like in my friend group, I'm definitely "the fool". In Shakespeare's plays, and often in life, we need that comic relief that makes light of what seems like such a dramatic situation, when in reality its not that big of a deal. Also, because the fool is a reoccurring character in many of Shakespeare's plays, i believe that must have some significance, meaning that the fool is in fact a very important role. The irony of him being called the fool could also have significance because nobody expects the fool to say anything worth while or important, when in fact, he does. Maybe that could tie into the whole "ignorance is bliss" or the idea of how children usually have a better understanding of hard to comprehend subjects because they see things in a simpler way- foolishly.

The character Joy in "Good Country People" is a great example of a physical representation of the burden everyone struggles with in the search to obtain "joy." For southerners, or people in general, being happy and finding joy in life is basically what everyone longs for. But so many are blinded to or unable to see how to acheive this because so many falsehoods are in the way. For example, the character Joy had a fake leg, maybe this could physically represent what all the falsehoods in the search for finding joy are like. Without the leg, Joy was unable to be stable, she couldnt walk and became physically incapable of going anywhere or moving forward. I dont really have an exact answer for what all this could mean, but i defintley think it means something. Maybe its showing how people are perfectly capable of obtaining joy, they just have to rid their lives of falsehoods. Or maybe it means that without these falsehoods we would be unstable, and unable to move forward because we've already gone as far as we could go.