Vincent Millay

Great poem! One of my favorite literary works that has been discussed this semester. I thought that the poem was similar to some other works that we have read this semester. I felt the undertone of the poem was sort of a "carpe diem" or seize the day mentality. Love and death are both inadvertently discussed in the poem. Sex is also very prominent in the poem as there are several references hat are sensual and erotic. Millay was a very respected poet who lead a unique lifestyle and I really enjoyed reading her works.

I liked the poem and wish we would have read a few more like it.

The Raven

The Raven is a truly classic tale of literature that I have studied many times. The allegory takes a man who is rather calm and has a great feeling of loss and makes him a frantic panicking man who is very grief stricken. The man continues to ask the Raven questions even though he knows the Raven will only say "Nevermore". This poem has a very basic rhyme scheme. This tale has a few different refernces tied into, such as the bust of Pallas or some bible references. The Raven starts off very slow and by the end of the tale is quite exciting and has the reader on the edge of their seat. I really enjoy Thr Raven everytime I read and look forward to discussing it in class.

The Sick Rose

This poem was brief and to the point. It was about a rose that has neared the end of its lifespan as winter nears. If you look deeper into the poem you will find that it is also talking about life, death, and love. There many strange references that can be interpreted in different ways. The worm, the crimson joy, and the howling storm. I believe that the poem is more life and love, and if you do not love someone while you are living your life then you will die alone, old and lonely.

I thought the poem was interesting, but a little hard to interpet and could be read in many different ways depending on the reader.

To His Coy Mistress

I thought this poem was fantastic. A bit lengthy, but with a good message. Carpe Diem, seize the day, was the overall message of the story and it hit close to home. I thought that the boy in the poem was a realist and he knew that if the women did not decide soon if she loved him or not then it would be too late. Although, most people in their youth do not usually think like this, the fact that this character does is what makes him unique. His mentality that promotes living each day to the fullest is a breath of fresh air in comparison to some of the characters that we have been introduced to lately.

My Papa's Waltz

This brief poem was short and left much room for interpretation. I thought that the rhyme scheme was unique and that the poem painted a good picture overall. I am not sure about whether the poem was about child abuse or just a boy and his father bonding. It seemed like it could have went either way. A well written poem.

Streetcar Named Desire

This latest story, Streetcar Named Desire, I thought was fairly interesting. I never really knew what was going to happen next and found the ending to be both devastating and fantastic. The characters were all very dynamic. I thought that the male lead, Kiwalski, was very profound with his speech and his high testosterone gave the story some added excitement. I felt bad for Blanche, in sequences she seemed pathetic, but overall she had been through a lot after being basically kicked out of the last town she was from.

Trifles

I found this story pretty droll and boring. I had to reread a few times to totally understand what had happened at the end of the story. Apparently, the women had been abused and that had pushed her over the edge and led to her killing her husband. The story was , somewhat, dramatic but was not quite exciting enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. The characters seemed very calm and one dimensional throughout the story. All in all, I found it to be very mediocre.