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Phase 3 IP.docx

Running head: Poetry: Where Truth Meets Soul 1

Poetry: Where Truth Meets Soul 2

Kathy Stanley

Phase 3 IP

Literature: A Reflection of Life

LITR201-1503A-06

Rhetorical Analysis of Poetry

As a child, I was made to write a poem each day. At that time, it seemed like homework, and everyone can relate to the punishment one could get for not handing in satisfactory work. The compulsion made me perceive poems as difficult to understand and interpret. Nevertheless, I have come to develop a passion for poetry and have since retrieved my old work for improvement. In this paper, I will analyze ‘The New Colossus’ by Emma Lazarus; and ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost by assessing the literary devices used by the two poets to convey their hidden messages.

The first literary device used in the two poems is imagery. Emma Lazarus, for instance, uses imagery in the words ‘…a mighty woman with a torch whose flame is the imprisoned lightning…’ (Lazarus, 1883), to allude to The Statute of Liberty. These words create an image of a huge woman with the power to command, who is flashing her torch to offer a source of light to those in darkness. Further, the ‘Mighty woman’ says ‘…Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…’ (Lazarus, 1883).These words create an image of oppressed, imprisoned, hungry and poor individuals yearning for freedom.

Robert Frost, in his ‘The Road Not Taken’ also uses imagery in the words ‘…equally lay/ in leaves no step had trodden…’ (Frost, 1916), to create an image of perfect and peaceful vegetation. Further, in ‘…and be one traveler, long I stood…’ (Frost, 1916) Frost creates an image of a person standing alone in the woods debating of what path to take

Emma Lazarus also figures of speech such as a simile in ‘…not like the brazen giant of Greek fame…’ (Lazarus, 1883) to contrast between the ‘new’ colossus and old colossus that stood ‘…with conquering limbs astride from land to land…’ in Rhode Island to symbolize military victory. The new colossus on the other hand would be unlike the old colossus and would represent hope.

She also uses metaphors by choosing words like ‘…a mighty woman…’ and ‘…mother of exiles…’ to allude to the hospitality and generosity that a mother exhibits when welcoming her children. One can picture a tall mother opening her arms to embrace everyone and giving them a feeling of being at home. Lazarus also uses personification by using human features such as ‘she’ to express the inner sense of the statute. The statute also ‘talks’ to the immigrants, a human feature that further elaborates the loving tone of the poem.

The second poem also uses figures of speech such as assonance. Frost achieves this by repeating vowels within the same line as in ‘… Two roads diverged in a yellow wood…’ to create rhyme in the poem. He further uses personification in ‘…because it was grassy and wanted wear…’ (Frost, 1916). Since grass cannot want, Frost wanted to give a human feature to a path to further allude that the path has desires. He also uses alliteration in ‘…wanted wear…’ The ‘w’ sound is repeated to further make the poem musical. The entire poem is also a metaphor. Robert Frost debates on which of the two paths to follow. These paths symbolize the life choices everyone has to make when faced by a crossroad.

Another literary device evident in the two poems is symbolism. Lazarus uses symbolism in ‘…I lift my lamp beside the golden door…’ to imply that ‘the mighty woman’ is beckoning everyone to not just enter a virtual golden door, but to join a life of opportunities and freedom. Lazarus further contrasts ‘…Brazen giant of Greek fame…’ with ‘a mighty woman’ (Lazarus, 1883), to symbolize that the old colossus was masculine, and oppressive to humanity. This further symbolizes that old government systems were authoritarian. Robert Frost also uses symbolism in his entire poem. The crossroad at the path represents the choices people make in life and how they affect their outcomes.

Both Lazarus and Frost use formal languages in their pieces of literature. This is evidenced by their choice of words that follow the rules of grammar. Besides, the two poems do not use slang and idioms therefore implying an elevated language. The poets also use less common words such as ‘trodden’ and ‘pomp’ to further convey their subject matters.

The tone of ‘The New Colossus’ is a loving one. The statute beckons the oppressed, hungry, poor and the homeless to a ‘golden door’ of opportunities and freedom. She is adamant about welcoming them with open arms regardless of their burdens and origins. The tone of ‘The Road Not Taken’ on the other hand is sad. This is depicted by the words ‘sorry’ and ‘sigh’ that suggests that the traveler is somehow sad that he did not pursue the road he left behind. While, he cannot travel both roads, he is aware that he has only one path to choose whatever the consequences. He picks the path that is ‘…less traveled by…’ and it is clear that there are uncertainties about what he is going to encounter, therefore making the thought of failure sad.

The theme of ‘The New Colossus’ is love and freedom. Lazarus’s use of imagery creates emotional twists of what people go through under the leadership of oppressive leaders. Throughout her poem, Lazarus insists on welcoming the oppressed, the poor and the hungry to a new world of hope, freedom and opportunity. Accepting them regardless of their burdens is a symbol of love and maternity.

The theme of ‘The Road Not Taken’ on the other hand, is challenge and choices in life. Robert Frost presents a tough choice one has to make at a crossroad of whether to follow a path used by many or pursue a new unique path with unknown obstacles. This relates to the life choices we make when trying to accomplish our goals. We fail at times and we succeed in other cases, which is all dependent on the path we chose.

The ‘New Colossus’ is a Petrarchan sonnet evidenced by its 14 lines. The poem’s rhyme creates a abbaabbacdcdcd pattern with end-words like fame, flame, name and frame creating a rhyme. Further, the words land, stand, hand and command form another rhyme. She, flee, me, and poor, shore and door form another set of rhyme. When reading the poem out loud, I identified this rhyme, which made the poem musical and memorable.

The ‘Road Not Taken’ on the other hand, consists of four stanzas with five lines each. The first third and fourth lines rhyme with each other and the second and fifth also rhyme creating a abaab pattern. I also identified these rhyming words when I read the poem aloud, hence it gave the poem a musical tone.

Lazarus’s poem evoked a feeling of hope, freedom and acceptance even when times are tough. From previous historical readings, I learned that new immigrants were so relieved upon seeing the Statute of Liberty, as it presented them with a sign of hope. Lazarus combined literary devices to communicate the love, acceptance and the sympathy of a mother, which is in this case The United States. Despite all the hardships, slavery, rejection, and poverty, she welcomes everyone regardless of their religion, race, social class and origin to her home where they will enjoy freedom. This poem made me relate to the relationship between humans and nature. While nature is welcoming, nurturing and caring, human beings have grown to be selfish and are busy exploiting natural resources without much thought that our lives are dependent on nature.

Robert Frost’s poem on the other hand, evoked feelings of confusion and anxiety. When faced with similar or identical paths, I can imagine how hard it can be to choose one considering that the challenges and obstacles on the paths are unknown. The poem made me reflect on the tough choices I have had to make in life, the struggles and the success achieved. All this trickles down to a choice of the ‘right’ path.

In summary, in the poems ‘The New Colossus’ and ‘The Road Not Taken’, both Lazarus and Frost use literary devices like imagery, metaphors, similes, symbolism and personification in their pieces of literature to communicate their subject matters. The two poets achieved their purposes through these literary devices.

References

Frost, R. (1916). The Road Not Taken. In Literature to Go (pp. 575-576). Michael Meyer

Lazarus, E. (1883). The New Colossus. In Literature to Go (pp. 582-583). Michael Meyer

Phase 4 IP.docx

Running head: Drama: Action Speaks as Loudly as Words 1

Action Speaks as Loudly as Words 6

Phase 4 IP

Kathy Stanley

Literature: A Reflection of Life

LITR201-1503A-06

William Cramer

Every child grows up knowing what it wants to become when it grows up. While most of these dreams remain dreams, some children actually work on their aspirations. Well, my dream was to become a successful actor. I always hated watching movies where actors spoke as if they were reading directly from a script. Nevertheless, my hope is not lost, and for this reason, in this paper I am going to analyze a play ‘Trifles’ that was written by Susan Glaspell in 1916 as well as keep my day job.

Trifles is a play that takes place at the murder scene of John Wright and law enforcement officers are investigating the murder. The author describes the scene as a ‘… the kitchen in the now abandoned farmhouse of John Right…’ The time that the play takes place is during the early twentieth century. During the time of this play, the weather was cold, hence implying that it was during winter. This is evident by the author’s stage directions, ‘…all are much bundled up and go at once to the stove…’ Mrs. Peters also comments, ‘…My, it's cold in there…’ as ‘…She puts the cloth on the big table, and hurries to the stove…’ (Glaspell, 1916). The house especially the kitchen is described as ‘…Gloomy…’ with unwashed utensils under the sink and a dishtowel on the table which implied that the inhabitants of that house left in a hurry. This description evoked a feeling of empathy towards Mrs. Wright. The condition of her house depicted a struggling woman who was tired of the life she was living.

The characters in this play include George Henderson, Henry Peters, Lewis Hale, Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Peters, John Wright and Minnie Wright. John Wright is the murder victim in this case who lived with his wife, Minnie Wright in a farmhouse. He is described by Mrs. Hale as a ‘…hard man…’ Minnie Foster Wright is the wife of the murder victim John Wright. She is also accused of murdering her husband and is being held at the county jail to await sentence. The play suggests that Minnie was a sad woman with no children. She even bought a bird and kept it in a cage to sing for her and brighten her days. However, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discover the dead bird in a box with its neck wrung. Mrs. Hale description of John Wright as a ‘hard’ man implies that he killed the bird and made his wife’s life miserable.

Lewis Hale is the victim’s neighbor who is the first to learn about the death of John Wright. Hale was on his way to town with a wagonload of potatoes when he decided to pass by Wright’s place to ask him to share the cost of installing a party telephone line. He is therefore called upon to recount the events of that night to the Sheriff and County Attorney to help them gather evidence of the case. Henry Peter is the county sheriff who is investigating the murder case. George Henderson is the county attorney. Together with Peters, he scours the murder scene for evidence to help them build a case in a court trial. Mrs. Hale is the wife of Lewis Hale while Mrs. Peters is the wife of the sheriff. Together, these women discover clues to the murder case.

In my opinion, the protagonist in this story is Minnie Wright. Mrs. Hale recounts Minnie’s past that imply that she was a happy and carefree woman who loved to sing. Her life changed after she got married and was subjected to isolation, oppression and hard life. This then points out John Wright as the antagonist who was cruel and abusive to his wife.

The plot of any literature consists of the exposition, rising action, conflict, climax, falling action and resolution or denouement. The exposition offers background information and introduces the characters and conflicts of a piece of literature. In this play, the exposition is offered at the beginning of the play where Glaspell describes how three men, the sheriff, county attorney and Hale enter a gloomy kitchen that belonged to the murder victim. The two are accompanied by two women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. The five then gather around the stove fire and the sheriff then asks Hale to recount the events from the previous morning that led him to see Wright’s body. Hale then retells the story of how he was on his way to town with his friend Harry with a load of potatoes when he decided to pass by Wright’s to discuss installing a party telephone line. That is when he met Mrs. Wright rocking on a chair while sewing a quilt. When he asked where her husband was, she responded that he was dead. Hale then calls Harry and they went upstairs and saw Wright’s body with a rope around his neck.

The rising action then begins. This is the point where complications of events starts and conflicts arise. Mr. Henderson then asks to be led upstairs to look for clues that might help them discover a motive for the murder and hence solve the case. Meanwhile, the two women recount experiences in their lives as they go through Mrs. Wright’s kitchen. The climax of the play then occurs when Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale discover a dead bird which helped them visualize the events that led up to the murder of John Wright. This then introduces the falling action of the literature. The two women mutually agree to conceal the evidence to protect Mrs. Wright. The denouement clarifies events as it shows that Mrs. Hale was successful in concealing the evidence, although, a reader is left at suspense unaware of what became of Mrs. Wright’s case.

Glaspell uses stage direction in many instances in her play. For instance, ‘…Then Mrs. Hale rises, hands tight together, looking intensely at Mrs. Peters, whose eyes take a slow turn, finally meeting Mrs. Hale's … Mrs. Hale snatches the box and puts it in the pocket of her big coat…’(Glaspell, 1916). Glaspell uses stage direction here to describe to the reader the feelings, thoughts and inspiration of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters in a way dialogue would not. The circumstances under the stage direction reveal that the two women were not in a position to communicate their feelings and so relied on body language to understand their need to conceal the evidence.

The play uses symbolism to represent hidden concepts of the play. The bird represents Mrs. Wright’s spirit. The birdcage on the other hand represents John Wright’s oppression and mistreatment of his wife and her spirit. She was sad and isolated from her friends. Mrs. Hale also finds an unevenly sewn quilt. This represents Mrs. Wright’s unstable mental capacity.

The theme depicted in this play is male chauvinism and oppression. The author Glaspell wrote this play in 1916. During this time, men dominated the society and women were denied the right to vote and hold white-collar jobs. Women were reduced to kitchen chores, rearing children and tending to the farms while men held bigger posts such as sheriffs and county attorney. Mrs. Wright was one of these women and her responsibility was to cook, bake, and preserve her fruits. During her free time, she could sew quilts and rock in her chair as she sang. She was never supported by her husband and the killing of her bird further proved the oppression she was subjected to.

The word Trifles was used by Mrs. Hale to refer to items at Mrs. Wright’s home that the sheriff and county attorney thought to be irrelevant. This title refers to the men’s perspective of women as irrelevant and their views as unimportant. From the play, it can be noted that John Wright could have regarded the bird as a trifle, which led him to kill it. Mrs. Wright on the other hand saw the bird as relevant and a source of joy.

Trifles is a one-act play. By reading the drama I could feel like I was somewhere in the scene seeing the events unfold. This is different from reading a short story since the narration of short stories seems fictional. The experience of watching it being performed would be breathtaking. It would allow me see facial expressions, body language, and gestures in real time. Besides, having a close look at the murder scene would help me analyze the case with the actors.

Glaspell depicted a society that was dominated by men. The play made me empathize with Minnie greatly. Living in such a society reduced Minnie from a social and jovial young woman to a sad, mentally disturbed and isolated woman. I must admit the victim deserved what befell him. The play also made me relate to the inequalities that still exist in the society today. Men are still perceived as the stronger gender. However, this analysis of the play made me realize that we still have a long way to go so as to create an equal society.

References

Glaspell, S. (1916). Trifles. In Literature to Go (pp. 601-611). Michael Meyer