Types of Poetry

A terza rima poem is written using three line stanzas otherwise known as tercets. The tercets follow an end rhyme pattern of aba, bcb, cdc, ded, efe, etc. Terza rima usually end with a single rhyme or a couplet rhyming with the middle line of the last tercet.
Villanelles are a highly structured form of poetry. They are nineteen line poems with two repeating rhymes and two refrains. They are made up of five tercets followed by a quatrain. The first and third lines of the opening tercet are repeated alternately in the last lines of the succeeding stanzas; then in the final stanza, the refrain serves as the poem's two concluding lines. A famouse example of a villanele is Dylan Thomas's "DO not go gentle into that good night"
Sestina's follow an intricate pattern of repetition of the initial six end words of the first stanza through the remaining five six line stanzas.

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain — and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.

This Robert Frost Poem, Aquainted with the Night, is the perfect example of a terza rima poem. This specif poem of Frost's seems to be about a time of darkness in his life. It appears that his thoughts have gone to a dark place to the point where he can no longer see the good or enjoyment in things represented by the "city light".  In addition, he does not seem to understand the reason for his depressed state, or at least seems unwilling to face the reason. As he puts it he is "unwilling to explain". He seems distressed by his loneliness but also consumed by it. He listens to an interrupted cry but realizes that it's not for him. The author is also puzzled by time and seems to feel that time is irrelevant to him in his current state.

third quarter wrap up

I only have a quarter left of high school?!?! We read Othello this year??? That was this year??? Wow…that’s hard to believe. I have really enjoyed this class though. I think transcendentalism was probably my favorite thing that we did all year. I think it’s perfect for a senior class to because of the large ideas that transcendentalist tackled. It seems like the perfect thing to study when you’re being faced with the stresses and decisions of senior year. Another one of my favorite things about this class is the amount of time we spend discussing the things we are going over. The discussions have really helped to gain insight into the topics and to really be able to grasp them. I think the only thing I would say was that we didn’t spend enough time on Godot. It’s such a complex work and is very different from everything else we have read. I feel that maybe we should have spent more time on it. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I don’t really know what else to say. This has definitely been my favorite class, except maybe for creative writing. I think I’ll probably end up majoring in English in college not sure what ill do with it though, I may double major in philosophy,  whats the point though  I don’t know who cares, what are you doing frank, how am I supposed to know?

3-27-14

Nihilism is the belief that nothing means anything and that nothing we do has any significance or meaning. These beliefs are exhibited in Samuel Beckett’s play “Waiting for Godot”.  The first words spoken in the play are “nothing to be done”. This statement is clearly indicative of the nihilistic beliefs that the play attempts to convey. Ultimately in the play nothing really is accomplished by the two main characters as they end virtually where they started.  At one point Estragon even says “Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it’s awful!” The entire play is the two main characters simply waiting for this man Godot. The only thing they are certain of is that they are waiting for Godot. However they know little about him. Towards the end of the play Vladimir asks the boy what Godot does to which he responds “He does nothing sir”.

                The book also portrays themes of existentialism. Existentialism can be seen as man questioning his own existence. In the book the characters do not even know whether or not they are real. The characters pose question such as are we real, why do we not kill ourselves, is this all a dream, how did we get here, and maybe most importantly what are we doing here. To that question Vladimir would simply answer “we are waiting for Godot”. However as the boy later points out to Vladimir Godot “does not do anything”. The characters of Becketts play are waiting for nothing. They seem to be paralyzed in their existential questions and instinctive fear of an unreal reality.

                The theater of the absurd centers on the idea that man is lost in a world that he cannot understand. And that this leads communication and all logical reasoning to break down. There for man is left in an illogical and flawed society. The world in Waiting for Godot can be seen as absurd. The characters do not know where they are or what time it is and this leads them lose all means of logical reasoning.  This leads to them doing virtually nothing despite aspirations to be saved and similar aspirations to die.

3-17-14

The human condition. What does that mean, “the human condition”. I guess it’s just living. Being alive in the world. The fact that we are given life without asking and then we take that life for granted. The fact that we treat life as something we have to do everyday. I think that the human condition is built off of struggle. The general human struggle that we are a part of nature and yet we live in a society that is so unnatural. The “human condition” is having to live our lives in a reality that we are told is real. The human condition is based on the instinctual belief that we are all a significant individual versus the factual truth that we are just one of an uncountable numbers of planets just floating in space. It’s the desire to be something versus the insecurity that we are nothing. The human condition is man’s struggle with himself. The human condition is that when a person is left to his or her own devices they can still find an opponent within themselves. The human condition is simply the constant struggle that humans live in. The struggle that we constantly create obstacles when there are none.

3-10-14

A short reaction to Clybourne Park

I liked the play. The dialogue was smooth an interesting. I don’t know exactly what to say about it, racism is such a strange issue. For example, racist jokes come up in the play, but the question is how racist are racist jokes? One character was told a racist joke by a member of the race that it was offending, does that mean it’s ok? Do these jokes simply allow people to poke fun at racism and make it feel less serious? Are these kinds of jokes simply funny but at a cost?. Is the point of the play that discrimination will always be around but it will just take different forms? Racism is seen to be very different than it once was. It is now seen to be more subtle but does that also mean it is less hostile? Does that mean that racism is not as common or has racism just turned into the viewing of stereotypes? Has racism become a lens of race through which we see people? and most importantly how do we fix the problem? Can we fix the problem? I have a lot of questions on this topic and quite frankly no answers, if there are any answers. I liked the play though; I thought it was well written. The end was strange though, very haunting. Seemed to be conveying an idea of hope but it did so through a character who kills himself so… I’m not sure how much that meant.

3-3-14

“Well I knew I would not be killed. Not in this War. It did not have anything to do with me. It seemed no more dangerous to me myself than war in the movies.”

This quote really stands out to me. The book centers around WWI and the generation that lived through it; a generation that later became known as “the lost generation”. The world had never seen a war like WWI. WWI was unique for a number of reasons. One reason was the new technology that had been developed; technology that dramatically increased the magnitude of killing. Also WWI was interesting because it was not fought for a particular reason. One of the main reasons for WWI was the secret military alliances that countries had made with one another. The secret alliances made it so that when one country declared war several other countries would begin t declare war. And despite the fact that WWI featured the highest death tolls of any war until that point, very little ground was gained. The war was fought in trenches and very little ground was ever actually gained. I also love this quote because of how it reveals the attitude of many of the soldiers. The soldiers were not fighting the war because they wanted to; it was more of a requirement. It goes along with the phrase “young men fight old men’s wars”. It is very upsetting to see how many people died for a war that they were not altogether concerned with, and it is easier to undrstand why the lost generation was so bitter.

blog 2-3-14

We all have pre conceptions ingrained in our minds, but why? It’s so strange how people from different areas or towns or backgrounds automatically feel uncomfortable around each other. Maybe it’s just because of familiarization. Maybe we simply feel uncomfortable because it’s not what we are used to or what we are raised in. And because most of us only know and understand one culture or one background we become uncomfortable when we are placed into another one. We begin to ask ourselves questions like “why are they like that” “why would they say that” “why are they so weird”. We get the idea in our heads that our norm and our background is what in “right” and therefore anything that differs is “wrong” in accordance with our nature.

Maybe it has to do with the Marxist theory that society is made up of the haves and the have nots. There are feelings of resentment between classes. People of less money see people with more money as being snobbish. We can see that every day in Rochester. People will deem you snobbish or privileged because you live in Pittsford or go to a private school like Mcquaid. But then the people with more money seem to feel uncomfortable around those with less. They seem to feel that they don’t fit in, or maybe they can sense the resentment. It is wildly interesting how people have general ideas of people from different towns such as Pittsford or irondiquiet.

Personally I just try to see people as people. If there is something that I can talk to them about than I will. I like the idea of getting new thoughts or perspectives on an idea. Preconceptions are limiting.

blog 2-5-14

Hansberry’s idea that in history of man there has always been oppression is a difficult statement to argue with. Wherever there has been man there has been oppression. Think about it, every culture or background has at some time been oppressed. The oppression of African Americans is obvious in U.S history. Their plight has been of such magnitude that it often overshadows the other examples of oppression in the U.S. Italian Americans, Irish Americans, Jewish Americans, Native Americans, Chinese Americans, Hispanic Americans, Japanese Americans and others have all faced oppression at some point throughout their history. Even the Original colonists were oppressed by Britain. Throughout all of human history there has been oppression, and unfortunately I believe there always will be.

Oppression is still clear in the U.S today and is almost more obviously seen now than in recent years. The Coca-cola super bowl commercial that featured a variety of languages singing “America the Beautiful” was highly criticized. A large amount of the criticism was rampant throughout social media such as Twitter. Personally I think social media such as twitter have made oppression more evident because the sites establish a platform that gives everybody a voice. We cannot change the minds of the people. However I think we can say that those who would be against such things as the “America the Beautiful” commercial are in the minority and are often considered to be ignorant. I am glad Coca-cola aired the commercial, maybe if more large corporations would take similar stances it would help to further eradicate oppressive and racial thoughts in America.