Response to Various Poems

English 11 THW3
TTh 1:00-2:30 PM
Prof. Kristine Marie Reynaldo CFQQ #3

1. “In a Station of the Metro” by Ezra Pound
Comment:
I am surprised when I saw the “poem”. I didn’t know it’s allowed to only have two lines. But I think it is pretty though. Simplicity and brevity is always beautiful. I like how he used the word apparition. Given that he’s in a transport station, faces appear and disappear from your sight as they hurry around. I think it’s the perfect word to use.
Fun fact: In the poem, Pound describes a moment in the underground metro station in Paris in 1912; Pound suggested that the faces of the individuals in the metro were best put into a poem not with a description but with an "equation". (Wikipedia, 2013)
Quote:
“The apparition of these faces in the crowd.”
Question:
How are the people in the station like petals on a wet, black bough?

2. “Fog” by Carl Sandburg
Comment:
I think it’s very creative how he compared a fog to a little cat’s feet. Knowing that cats are very quiet and elegant creatures, it is very easy to understand what Sandburg meant in this poem.
Fun fact: Sandburg has described the genesis of the poem. At a time when he was carrying a book of Japanese "Hokus", he went to interview a juvenile court judge, and he had cut through Grant Park and saw the fog over Chicago harbor. He had certainly seen many fogs before, but this time he had to wait forty minutes for the judge, and he only had a piece of newsprint handy, so he decided to create an "American Hoku". (Wikipedia, 2013)
Quote:
“The fog comes on little cat feet.”
Question:
Why was he so captivated with the fog?

3. “An Old Pond” by Matsuo Basho
Comment:
The different English translations of the haiku are very creative. Though it only means one thing, it’s impressive how these different poets translated the Japanese haiku according to their own taste/personality/attitude.
Fun fact: This is probably the most famous poem in Japan. (Bopsecrets.org, 2013)
Quote:
“The old pond-a frog jumps in, kerplunk.”
Question:
Of what importance are frogs to Basho?

4. “l(a” by EE Cummings
Comment:
I must say I am shocked with this meeting’s readings but this one is too much. I am very amused and entertained with the styles of poems I haven’t read/heard of. This one is clearly very creative and full of imagination though a bit lacking of something. A reinforcement, I guess, on the loneliness that Cummings is talking about.
Fun fact:
The image of a single falling leaf is a common symbol for loneliness, and that this sense of loneliness is enhanced by the structure of the poem. He writes that the fragmentation of the words "illustrates visually the separation that is the primary cause of loneliness". (Wikipedia, 2013)

Quote: “l”
Question:
Is a falling leaf the epitome of loneliness for Cummings?

5. “Lilac” by Mary Ellen Solt
Comment:
I don’t see how this is a poem. But I can relate the images with the title. The poet is trying to depict a lilac through little pictures of suns (in my opinion). I think it is very artistic but not really in the literature department. I am confused.
Fun fact:
Shape poems, also known as concrete poems, literally come in all shapes and sizes. Some examples of shape poems will help you to better understand the purpose of these literary creations. (LoveToKnow Corp, 2013)
Quote:
Question: What does this poem try to evoke in us readers?

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_a_Station_of_the_Metro http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fog_%28poem%29 http://www.bopsecrets.org/gateway/passages/basho-frog.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%28a
http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples/examples-of-shape-poems.html