Dickinson Poetry Analysis

Poetry naturally lends itself to incorporating emotion into the writing. Sharing the specific people and places that have certain memories attached to them can become very powerful poems. Emily Dickinson does this very well in her poem titled “‘Hope is the thing with feathers.” Although it does not directly describe a certain place, we can use it to reveal different parts of her life, where she lives, and how she feels about these different aspects of her life. For example, she writes, “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers - / That perches in the soul - / And sings the tune without the words - / And never stops - at all -” This quote shows a lot about her thoughts on her surroundings. I know from the background that I did on Dickinson that she wrote a lot about nature and connecting the physical world to her own ideas. She lived alone in her family’s house with a garden and looking over it while writing probably gave her a lot of inspiration for her writing. In this quote, Dickinson compares the concept of hope to a bird and its behaviors. She shares how she believes that hope stays in the soul, and just sings, never stopping. I can tell that she feels positively about hope, that it can be a very powerful feeling. This comparison of birds to an inanimate object such as hope is very effective because she is able to highlight feelings that come with hope through the means of a bird. For example, she says that the bird sings its tune in the soul without ever stopping. This shows that when you have hope in your heart, it never dies out; it will always be there. It would be very difficult to put this thought into words otherwise, but approaching it in this way allows for more people to understand what she was trying to say.  

It is clear from this poem that she takes a lot from the environment around her. Making analogies with nature seems like it comes rather naturally for her. She writes, “I’ve heard it in the chillest land - / And on the strangest Sea - / Yet - never - in Extremity, / It asked a crumb - of me.” She is saying that even when you are at the very end of your belief when you are in a really bad place, there will always be hope and it will never ask for anything in return. Through her words, I can feel as though I understand how she felt when writing this. I thought that she felt almost in awe of this power that did so much for no reason. There was also a small realization of the power hope has and the circumstances that it works in. Using words like ‘strangest Sea’ and ‘chillest land’ clear creates a picture in the readers’ mind about how bad the situation really can be. Dickinson’s connection to nature and her ability to use it in her writing is a valuable aspect of her poems. It allows readers to makes these connections for themselves to render her feelings to her audience. This is very important for the readers because of the fact that poetry can sometimes be so abstract. On the other side, it lets the readers makes their own decisions based on their background, giving each reader a different opinion about her pieces. This is part of the joy that is poetry.

Nye Poetry Analysis

For most people, their most cherished relationships are with their family members. You’re stuck with them and you know that they’re always looking out for you. Consequently, the memories that you have with them are something that everyone looks back on, but something authors and poets write about. A Palestinian-American poet, Naomi Shihab Nye, has written many pieces about her family. She has a way of sharing details about her parents without directly stating them. For example, in My Father and The Fig Tree, Nye writes in the third stanza, “Years passed, we lived in many houses,/ none had fig trees./ We had lima beans, zucchini, parsley, beets./ ‘Plant one,’ my mother said./ But my father never did.” Previous to these lines, Nye shows how much her father liked fig trees and the fruit that it bore. But in this stanza, the readers see another side of him. Although he loved figs, none of the houses had figs. And when his wife told him to plant one, he still didn’t do anything. This shows a lot about his character and how he feels about the figs. On one hand, it could be said that he was lazy and did not want to put in the work needed for gardening. But I believe that there is something bigger. I think that the speaker’s father connected the figs to his childhood home when he used to pick and eat the fruit straight off the tree. Further, he felt that if he attempted to plant a tree in the U.S., it would not have been as good as the ones he ate during his childhood. Also, he may have wanted to keep the fig tree as a symbol of his homeland. So when he finally went back he would be able to experience the same things as when he was a child. To ruin the picture, or even the taste in his head of those figs would be worst than not having any figs at all. It is clear that the way that he remembers his childhood and native country is very important to him because it is so far away from him. It also gives some depth to the father’s attraction to the figs. It shows that there is a deeper reason for why he likes figs, past something superficial like the taste or the look.

Another important relationship is also shown in the same excerpt from above. There are multiple ways that one can look at the way the mother responds to her husband’s actions. Some people might imagine her suggestion with a mocking or annoyed tone. But, as we discussed in class, I think their relationship is much deeper than that. Although it may have been a sincere suggestion to make him feel better, I think that she knew how much figs meant to him and asked if he wanted to plant one as a gesture. I can imagine the staging now; the mother in the middle of some chores, and once she hears him talking about the fig trees, calling out, “Why don’t you plant one?” All in all, I think that Nye’s ability to share things about her characters with giving the reader straight description is a talent that makes her writing that much more interesting to read. She uses specific lines to tell the readers about certain things that relate to the storyline. Her writing is also a prime example of why each reader interprets the poem differently. The various backgrounds, upbringings, and past all play a role in how someone approaches and forms an opinion about the poem in question. Nye’s use of her own relationships in her writing makes it that much more relatable and enjoyable to read.

My Staging Proposal

My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy has a compelling storyline which makes it quite interesting to try to adapt. There are a few specific aspects that I would like to focus on in my adaptation. One would be the fairytale feel to the story. The basics of the plot are that a girl, who is pining for more in her life, falls in love with a boy who suddenly becomes a part of her life through a car crash. She nurses him back to health and eventually follows him back to his house to be with him. The themes of love and adolescence are very apparent. But the story does not have a happy ending as expected. I think this is where we could really showcase this difference. A big part of this would be the way that Desiree carries herself. While she is caring for Daniel and falling in love with him, she needs to look content and very happy. She would walk very lightly and daintily, almost floating. As she starts to realize that Daniel does not love her anymore, she should change her gait, possibly more slumped, but still very eager. This is because she still wants Daniel to be with her. Her clothes could change from brighter, more vibrant hues to darker, duller shades. This could show her returning to the clothes of the people from her village who have accepted their fate. Similarly, she has also understood that this is her life; without Daniel. She has understood the hard way what her parents tried to tell her.

Another aspect of the story that I would be excited to adapt would be the role of the gods. Showing the interaction and reaction of the gods is something that we could elaborate on. We get parts of each god’s character through the details, but to grow their personalities into roles would engaging. There should be a scene where, on one side of the stage, the humans are going through something while, on the other side, the gods are watching and changing the situation. One example could be when Daniel’s car crashes. On stage left, on the ground, Daniel would be driving along in his car. A platform in stage right would be where the gods are looking over the situation and making changes. Papa Gey would start as the only one on the platform, but as the scene progresses and plans are made for Desiree and Daniel, slowly each god comes onto the platform to discuss what’s going on. Each god will be dressed differently to showcase the contrast between them. Papa Gey would be wearing all black, with a top hat and mustache while Erzulie would be wearing pinks and reds with fitted, attractive clothing. The power that the gods have combined with their varying personalities make for such an enthralling scene. I think that the lighting for the gods’ side of the stage would be much brighter when compared to the human side. To show their inferiority, the side would be dimly lit. It also reinforces the fact that the gods are less aware of the humans than of themselves. These two aspects, namely the fairytale feel of the story and the role of the gods in the story, would be the things that I would focus on when adapting this story. They’re the parts that intrigued me the most. The relationships between the different humans (like Desiree and Daniel) and the gods (Agwe and Asaka or Erzulie and Papa Gey) are the key parts of the story that can be interpreted and created into a show.

In-Class Writing pt. ii

There is a clear difference between Desiree and the other people in her village. Throughout the whole book, Desiree's thinks and acts differently to them. Page 60 is particularly indicative of that. Desiree goes the village elder, Monsieur Bienconnu to ask him about Daniel's family, and he tells her the story of the Beauxhomme family. But Desiree only hears the parts that she wants to hear; that peasants have been with their family in the past. M. Bienconnu gives her advice about the situation, saying "'Ma belle,' he said gently, 'To be tranquil, one must hang one's hat where one can reach it. Keep one's heart where one can feel its beat" (60 Guy). He is saying that she must have reasonable dreams that she can attain. It truly represents how the villagers think because that is the way they must think, for their survival. These villagers do not have much and therefore they cannot afford to think like Desiree does. They must work to keep living. Desiree, on the other hand, dreams for more and maybe even thinks that she deserves it. And her reaction to his advice shows this. She thinks that because she survives the storm, she can do and want anything. She doesn't have that feeling to survive because she has always been taken care of, by her parents, by the other villagers, even by the gods. Her mindset because of her past determines her actions in the future. 

In-Class Writing

Desiree is a very interesting character in terms of how she is portrayed to the audience. I think her basic clothing should be very similar to what the other villagers are wearing. But her accessories, the parts that adds to her outfits is what sets her apart. I imagined the villagers wearing simple clothing in darker colors. This represented how they had to made their clothing from whatever cloth they could find. There would lots of patches, and possibly even rips or holes. This shows they are working in these clothes, and that is why they are so worn out. Desiree, on the other hand, would still be wearing dark colors but with other added elements. For example, she may be wearing a colorful headband to tie back her hair or a shawl around her neck. I think that this shows that even though her family may not have a lot, because the other villagers think so highly of her, any extra fabric may be given to her. It sets her and her wishes.

Chapter Four, Five Notes & Senses Chart