Poem Analysis 5: The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

BY RANDALL JARRELL

From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State,

And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.

Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,

I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.

When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

 Okay. Not gonna lie. After I read the poem for the first time, I still had no clue what a "Ball Turret" was so I had to look it up. It is, in fact, a ball that is rotating with mounted machine guns located underneath the aircraft. The gunner is what actually sits inside this ball. Ahhhh! This makes sense to me now. This poem is pretty much about a soldier (who is the narrator), who is in this ball turret and suddenly is killed. What I find most fascinating about this poem is the ending. It's brilliant that Randall Jarrell continued to have the dead soldier narrate his (the soldier's) death.

From the very first line, the gunner tells us that he has fallen from his mother's sleep. This most likely points out the idea that since his mother gave birth to him, he has now ended up in such "State", death. The soldier goes on to describing the setting in which he is located at his death. He describes how cold he is so he balls up in the "belly". Lines one and two definitely connect: The belly of the "State" he is in, is his mother. Weird connection. The next line again describes the setting in which the soldier is in: "six miles from earth". Reading this for the first time, I just assumed that this distance was because he was flying in the aircraft. As I read it for the second time, I thought of how the soldier is in the heavens, as it is "a dream of life". But then death comes back into the picture. The "black flak" is the soldier's death that is actually his "dream of life". Oddly enough, he ends on a very straightforward note with the very last line. This last line could also reflect his mother that he was once hunched in. Figuratively, the solder has died of a possible abortion. This poem is crazy!

Poem Analysis 4: To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

BY ROBERT HERRICK

Gather ye rose-buds while ye may,

   Old Time is still a-flying;

And this same flower that smiles today

   Tomorrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,

   The higher he’s a-getting,

The sooner will his race be run,

   And nearer he’s to setting.

That age is best which is the first,

   When youth and blood are warmer;

But being spent, the worse, and worst

   Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time,

   And while ye may, go marry;

For having lost but once your prime,

   You may forever tarry.

 This is one of my favorite poems so far because I actually was able to understand the first time I read it. Since the structure of the poem contains a ABAB type rhyming, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The first stanza is referring to the virgins, stating that they shall find "rose-buds" while time is still available at their hands. In my opinion, rose-buds most likely represents a good life, with happiness and full of love. The description of the smiling flower is sort of like personification since flowers literally cannot smile. I really enjoy when authors include imagery and great use of description in their poems and stories because it allows me to get a sense of the story as a whole. There really isn't a huge shift in this poem, as the speaker stays consistent with his/her idea of living life to the fullest.

The speakers also uses nature throughout the poem. In the first stanza, he/she focuses on flowers. In the second stanza, he/she brings up an idea of the sun which gives us readers a sense of setting and time. In the third stanza, the speaker than ties together nature and youth in which youth is the best time period to live in because you still have a long way to go to do things, like to gather rose-buds. The references of nature dying reflects the theme of a time of fulfilling happiness. Even though everything around us is dying, the youth must live every moment the best they possibly can.

Poem Analysis 3: Rite of Passage by Sharon Olds

Rite of Passage

BY SHARON OLDS

As the guests arrive at our son’s party   

they gather in the living room—

short men, men in first grade

with smooth jaws and chins.

Hands in pockets, they stand around

jostling, jockeying for place, small fights

breaking out and calming. One says to another

How old are you? —Six. —I’m seven. —So?

They eye each other, seeing themselves   

tiny in the other’s pupils. They clear their   

throats a lot, a room of small bankers,

they fold their arms and frown. I could beat you

up, a seven says to a six,

the midnight cake, round and heavy as a

turret behind them on the table. My son,

freckles like specks of nutmeg on his cheeks,   

chest narrow as the balsa keel of a   

model boat, long hands

cool and thin as the day they guided him   

out of me, speaks up as a host

for the sake of the group.

We could easily kill a two-year-old,

he says in his clear voice. The other   

men agree, they clear their throats

like Generals, they relax and get down to   

playing war, celebrating my son’s life.

After reading this poem a few times over again, I came across a different meaning each time. First time reading it, it was more of just a story that the narrator was telling me, more than a poem. There wasn't any rhyming or repetition as the speaker was describing the little boys' actions. Once I read it a few more times, I came up with a perfect theme and meaning to the poem as a whole that fit very well. First, I was interested in how the speaker described the young boys as if they were gull grown men. She compared the boys to adults as they had conversations about problems that adults might go through such as money problems. Through it all, it was strange how the speaker did nothing to stop the boys from doing such actions or speaking in ways they did. Was there something holding her back? I believe that there was. The society steers childhood in the wrong directions sometimes and I'm sure that this is what happened to these boys. It was possible that the speaker was held back by society and the way that children are growing and learning. The theme "loss of innocence" plays a huge role in this poem as the boys face reality as if they were adults. Just like the title states, the speaker's child's birthday party is like a "rite of passage" and there are people and problems in his way from obtaining innocence. This poem truly relates to the society we live in today and that's why I felt super connected with it. As I'm growing older, I look down upon the children growing right being me; seeming so much older than I ever was at age ten or twelve. It's crazy how much things change over time and I believe that's how the speaker feels, at a loss of control.

Poem Analysis 2: Death, be not proud by John Donne

Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud

BY JOHN DONNE

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

Wow, this was a super powerful and emotionally driven poem. From the very beginning until the very end of the poem, the speaker made it quite clear that Death would never conquer anyone or anything. Using a confident voice, the poem is filled with lines of hatred. The speaker starts out by threatening Death as if it were a real person and with real characteristics. The speaker goes on, telling Death to back off because he is not scary nor powerful towards anyone. This idea of overpowering death is very interesting; as to die is a natural human experience. The speaker doesn't want Death to exist so isn't that like wishing for it to die as well? Can a wish for death overpower death itself? Weird. Later in the poem, the speaker goes on by comparing Death to sleep, how it brings pleasure to people and not a powerful vibe.

One major in this poem is the idea of having the courage to take on an overpowering force. The speaker decides to try and fight with Death, he/she argues and threatens Death in so many ways. This brings up another theme of hopes and dreams. He/She wants to defeat Death to go to Heaven instead but later he/she understands that he will die anyways. It's really interesting how John Donne has the speaker start off in rage and defensive and leaves him feeling overpowered when he understands that he/she could never put up a fight against Death. Death will always conquer all.

Poem Analysis 1: [in-Just] by E.E. Cummings

in Just-
spring          when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman
whistles          far          and wee
and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring
when the world is puddle-wonderful
the queer
old balloonman whistles
far          and             wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing
from hop-scotch and jump-rope and
it's
spring
and
         the
                  goat-footed
balloonMan          whistles
far
and

wee

This beautifully written poem shows us an image of a lovely Spring day through a child's eyes. Since Spring is finally here, everyone is out and about and this is something that the speaker admires very much. Throughout the poem, he/she clearly displays many images of all he/she is witnessing, using a sense of imagery in every line. Though the poem is very short and simple, a developing image is created when reading through the narration of the young boy/girl. One aspect of the poem that really held onto my attention was the way in which the speaker spoke to us listeners. The format of the poem does just so; constructing a use of tone and shifts from the beginning until the end. Spaces are used when E.E. Cummings decides to slow down a readers. To develop a more fast pace for the reader, Cummings positions words together. Not only does this affect the ways in which a reader reads the poem, it affects the speaker himself/herself. The use of vocabulary and words in the poem that the speaker uses displays an image of his/her youth and impacts an overarching theme of youth. Spring is for the youth and the youth is for the Spring. In this idea, children are developing humans as the lose their innocence as they grow older and older. Physically a child grows and mentally they do as well. The structure of this poem indicates a child's mental youth and as they grow until adults, we can then notice a change.

REFLECTION: We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks

THE POOL PLAYERS. 
                   SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.



We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We 

Die soon.

Although this poem is pretty short, it has so much background details that are not in it and portrays a huge aspect of identity through language. Reading through the poem for the first time it was very easy to understand as there wasn't any complex lines and such. Reading through it a second time, I realized that the subtitle in the beginning is the most complex and important thing in the poem. Without the subtitle, the poem couldn't be comprehended easily on a deeper level. It is quite obvious that the speaker is observing these seven pool players and is writing in a way that is analyzing what they might be thinking.

REFLECTION: Since There's No Help by Michael Drayton

As I read through Since There's No Help for the very first time, I felt personally connected to almost every line in the poem. This was probably one of the very few poems that I actually understood on a deeper level. I loved that the first stanza started off with the speakers raging emotions and then in the second stanza, words like "Love", "Passion", "Faith", and "Innocence" were used as if they had human characteristics and features. The second time I read through, I noticed new things that didn't initially stand out to me such as the whole idea of a lost "Love". For the most part, I interpreted the poem similarly both times when I read it.

When answering the questions that went along with the poem, I felt pretty confident with half and a little shaky on the rest. Questions that weren't as hard for me include: ones that asked you to refer to a specific word and any about "shifts" or "rhythm" of a poem. Questions that I really need help on include: anything having to do with meaning of a poem, tone of the speaker of author, repetition, and what a specific phrase or line from the poem means.