Revision of "Clocks and Lovers"

Klara Sulce

Mr.Perez

English AP

11 December 2011

“Clocks and the Lovers” by W.H. Auden refers to the love that we all experience in life that can seem eternal at times and stimulate us to be forever passionate. Auden brings the reader's attention to the truth about time, and how it fades our love away without sympathy. He explains that love has no meaning in the beginning of the poem and demonstrates it through understatement. The reader's feelings are exaggerated as being strong enough to make a “river jump over the mountain.” The overall mental attitude of the lover is one of everlasting delight and romantic happiness.

As the poem progresses and we grasp onto the lover's feelings, our attention is shifted to that of the clocks’, who tell the mere truth. The clocks are powerful, for they end the lover's time. This is that state of strain and business of society with “headaches and worry, vaguely life leaking away.” The clocks believe that this is the fate that was chosen for lovers. Auden's language and imagery change extremely from the lover’s perspective to that of the clocks’. The lover demonstrates his emotion by song and the clock by “whirr and chime”, which set the time right away for the reader. All of the animals that the lover mentions are loving and joyous, from the salmon, to the geese, then to the rabbits.

Thus, the lover’s use of language is reflective of solely one emotion, Love.

The clocks however, show many signs of love in a different way that is through coughing, worry, breaking, stares, cracking, and distress. They also go on to courageously state, “You can not conquer time.” These apprehensions of reality depict a depressing sense of love and how time fades it away day by day. Like the death of his lover, the last line emphasizes the finality of life and an end void of

purpose.  

Ap Exam Essay

Klara Sulce

Mr. Perez

English AP

06 January 2012

         In Shakespeare's historian play,Richard II, the queen listens in on the conversation occurring between two commoners. She attempts to be discrete by hiding in the trees' shadows and comes to learn the current state of the king. It is quite ironic that she does not ask the King, considering she is most likely his wife, but instead she trusts a servant and a gardener, misfortunate individuals. The King's situation is unquestionably dramatized through figurative language in the selected passage.

        Considering the low status of the people she decided to eavesdrop on, she does come to acquire a sufficient amount of information about the present “kingdom situation.” “Go, bind thou up on dangling apricocks, which, like unruly children, make their sire stoop with oppression of their prodigal weight.”This statement is referring to the King's children, which are most likely the Queen's also and how they are “bringing the team down”, the team being the kingdom. Something has to be done in order to restore the kingdom's prosperity. The gardener and the servant discuss the options.

     The servant states, "Give some supportance to the bending twigs, go thou, and like an executioner, cut off the heads of too-fast-growing sprays, that look too lofty in our commonwealth." The line suggests that the children are encouraging each other, but are still unsteady. The king is looking to terminate the control they have as fast as he can, because they are getting too powerful for the kingdom. This also implies that the children might throw off the current balance of power both inside the kingdom and outside it, which could lead to dreadful consequences for all involved, including the damaging of land and hostility of women.

     The figurative language and metaphors make the passage far more dramatic. “You thus employed, I will go root away the noisome weeds which without profit suck the soils fertility from wholesome flowers.” in other words means, “imprison or kill all those who are not equal.” Without Shakespeare's use of figurative language, the Queen's reaction would not have been as irate as it was and the conversation would not have contributed as much as it did. 

Beatnik Poem

Klara Sulce

Why bring a defenseless human on the planet Earth?

Corrupt, monstrous land, why bother giving birth?

America..“Land of the free, home of the brave”

Recession in session, no money left to save..

Martin Luther King gave love to this nation..

He attempted to put a stop to segregation..

Yet racism lives on to this very day..

Someone always has something negative to say..

People slay day and night to get food on the table..

Some are less fortunate, they are unstable.

Rich people get and get and never give..

Selfish bastards, their impossible to forgive.

Hurricanes, earthquakes, death is always near..

Mothers in hysterics, their sons and daughters are not here..

Christmas time approaching, families are miles apart..

A soldier serving their country, risking their heart..

People seek to live through better days and nights..

What ever happened to people's civil rights?

Dreams shattered, promises broken..

Words that were left unspoken..

Babies crying, people dying, mothers weeping, fathers sleeping..

Soldiers fighting, animals biting, priests praising, criminals hell raising..

Birds singing, insects stinging, men cheating, woman breast feeding..

Love fading, women degrading, the sun setting, diseases spreading..

Why bring an innocent baby into a country full of devastation?

Where billionaires do not bother to make dollar donations..

Where government controls everything we do..

Surely now you will think things through..

"Bright Star" and "Choose Something Like a Star" Essay

Robert Frost's poem, “Choose Something Like a Star” and John Keat's literary work,“Bright Star” share a common subject, but convey altered messages that are displayed through different and contradictory techniques.The theme in "Bright Star" is that when in love nothing is more beautiful than your lover. While the theme of "Choose Something Like a Star" is that humans need to be individuals. Both poets gaze for this same quality in the stars, but thematically and stylistically each poem has its similarities and differences.

Both renowned poets, Keat and Frost agree that the star is abstracted from humanity as they know it, however Keats takes a personal approach to the star, whereas Frost takes a scientific approach towards the star and tries to acquire from it for social reasons.“Bright Star” contains lofty, formal kinds of words such as “thou art” and “splendor hung aloft” to show reverence toward the star. Keat’s specific word choices also contribute to the theme of the poem that man wishes happiness would last forever. Keats describes the moving water as priest like, and the star as an "eremite". The narrator does not desire these qualities. He wants instead to be forever with his lover. The speaker uses the imagery of being "forever pillowed upon his fair loves breast" to portray his desire for an eternity with her.

Robert Frost’s poem also addresses a star in the first fifteen lines, but the diction is informal. In plain, ordinary kinds of words, the speaker asks the star to “Say something to us that we can learn/By heart.” The speaker of this poem wants the star to tell the secret of its steadfastness or staunchness, instead of just wishing to be like the star. Then in the last ten lines, this poem adds a lesson. Although the star seems to give “little aid,” it teaches the talker “something in the end.” The speaker feels that just thinking of the impressive star will help him to be steadfast and not to be swayed easily with the “mob.”

While at first "Bright Star", and "Choose Something Like a Star" may seem to have much in common, they in fact share only similarities in apostrophe and subject. Therefore, one can see that these poems although similar in their title and central image of the star differ in their themes, form and treatment of the author's ideas. 

One Art

Klara Sulce

Mr. Perez

English AP

11 December 2011

            Elizabeth Bishop approaches loss in her poem “One Art” in a rather indirect manner; she doesn’t dive straight in and attack the big issues, like the loss of a home or a loved one, but alternatively begins with the little things that we lose throughout life. In so doing, Bishop correlated these immaterial possessions with the more important things we “own.” However, as the poem progresses the objects mentioned become more and more meaningful, as does their loss. By the end of the poem, it becomes evident that the loss of simple objects such as a key or a watch are a drawn-out metaphor for the loss of other things Elizabeth loves, such as her past homes and lovers. Verse and form provide the reader with an understanding of the speaker's attitude towards loss.

            In the first stanza, the poet personifies the lost objects, stating that they “seem filled with the intent/to be lost.” She boldly declares that loss is not a big deal, and that we should become familiar with it, loss is inevitable. She goes on to bring to the reader's attention to the fact that more abstract things, like time (“the hour badly spent” ) are also an example of loss. She is initially expressing the idea that devoting your time to relevant things is crucial. In lines 7-9 the losses are vague, but consist of things that we attempt to remember, such as names and places we've been to. By the end of the fourth stanza, the poem has become personal and she refers to “her mother's watch” and the house that she once loved and eventually lost. Bishop vigorously confuses the reader throughout the poem by making them wonder whether the speaker has indeed mastered this so-called “art of losing.”

            The last two stanzas hold forth the speaker's true emotions and reveal the conflicts that she refuses to admit she is going through. In the third stanza, we are not given answers as to what has happened in her life to make her feel like certain places have lost their significance, but we are free to speculate. In the final stanza, we discover that the speaker has merely been mulling about her beloved.   In the last line, she has a mini-breakdown and thus demonstrates the true difficulty of coming to terms with loss. Ultimately, her façade of confidence and wittiness integrate; the fact that she has to force herself to even write the word "disaster" this last time reveals the poet to be human and vulnerable, just like the rest of us.

Clocks and Lovers

Klara Sulce

Mr.Perez

English AP

11 December 2011

           

            “The Clocks and the Lovers” by W.H. Auden is about the contrast between clocks and lovers. This poem refers to the love that we all experience in life that can seem eternal at times and stimulate us to be forever passionate. Auden brings to the reader's attention the truth about time, and how it fades our love away without sympathy. Auden explains that love has no meaning in the beginning of the poem and shows this through the lover's point of view. The reader's feelings are exaggerated as being strong enough to make a “river jump over the mountain.” The overall mental attitude of the lover is one of everlasting delight and romantic happiness.

            As the poem progresses and we grasp onto the lover's feelings, our attention is shifted to that of the clock's, who tells the mere truth. The clocks are powerful, for they end the lover's time and begin the attitude we all go through at some point. This is that state of strain and business of society with “headaches and worry, vaguely life leaking away.” The clocks believe that this is the fate that was chosen for lovers'. Auden's language and imagery change extremely from the lovers to the perspective of the clocks'. The lover demonstrates his emotions by song and the clock by “whirr and chime” which set the time right away for the reader. Love is the one word that the language of the lover is filled with. All the animals mentioned are loving and joyous, from the salmon, to the geese, then to the rabbits.

            The clocks however, show many signs of love in a different way, which is through coughing, worry, breaking, stares, cracking, and distress. They also go on to courageously state, “You cannot conquer time.” These apprehensions of reality depict a depressing sense to love and how time fades it away day by day. The poet's purpose in assembling this poem show us that this is reality we should realize it so we can either expect it so not to get our hopes up, or never fall into this curse ourselves.

The Stranger & Metamorphisis

Klara Sulce

Mr. Perez

English AP

5 December 2011

            Are there distinct similarities between the protagonist in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and Albert Camus’s The Stranger?  Are these resemblances apparent through the theme or the actual characters themselves? Is the theme not the value of life as well as existentialism in both novels? Is there not an evolving aspect of identity in the character Meursault? Moreover, is there not a devolving identity characteristic in Metamorphosis?

            Is Meursault not an empty slate in part one of The Stranger? Does he clearly identify himself to the reader? If not, then is reader not forced to compose his or her own opinion about the character based on how they feel? Does the apathy he feels towards everyone around him in the first part of the story reflect his apathy towards the society he lives in? Does part two not show that he has more depth and insight on life? Does Meursault not frequently convey existentialist ideals through a metamorphic sub human circumstance?

            Is the idea of devolving identity not evident in The Metamorphosis being that Gregor transformed into something pitiful, “a vermin”?  And in the novel, does he ever go into detail as to how he turned into a monstrous animal or slowly accepts his transformation?  Does he die with the idea that he is a pest or an actual human being? Is there even a slight progression in the character of Gregor Samsa? Does he not demonstrate extistentialist thoughts through establishing a sub human reason for existence in the human sense? Is existentialism then the most overarching theme in both The Metamorphisis and The Stranger?