Discussion 1 ( 100 words)
discuss how character plays a role in the overall poem. Is it a round or flat character, two-dimensional or three-dimensional? What does evidence in the poem suggest? Poem provided below
Ted Kooser
Barn Swallows
Here are all of the days in August
marked off in sharp strokes
on the power wire out to the barn.
Each year at this time they line up
for roll call, parents and young,
leaving their mud cups empty
under the eaves, on beams and rafters,
on the lintels of doors. In dark blue
iridescent ink they write
their thank-you note: Where once
we were few we now are many!
And the next day they’re gone,
wiped from the sky by a rag of cloud
just as the first leaf falls. ◀
Starkey, D. (2021). Creative Writing (4th Edition). Macmillan Higher Education. https://ccis.vitalsource.com/books/9781319406530
Reply 1 ( 50 words) rich
For this discussion I chose “The Blue Bowl” by Jane Kenyon (Starkey 88). The main character in this poem appears to be a cat, who has passed away and is being buried. The cat is two dimensional and flat. The cat is only described by color and fur type. The bowl in the title is never described in the poem and is only mentioned as being buried with the cat. This poem is interesting, because it is the very absence of detail that helps make it powerful. The subjects in the poem who are mourning the loss of their cat understand that compared to the rest of the world this is a small thing but the loss is still very strong for them. The cat seems to be have been left nondescript, in order to help others understand this could represent anyone’s loss.
Reply 2 (50 words) rod
For this discussion post, I chose “Listening at the door” by Patricia Smith. The main characters in the poem are the daughter and her mother. The daughter seems to be the flat, or two-dimensional, character while her mother is three-dimensional. The reason I say this is because the daughter doesn’t do anything other than listen to what is happening with her mother. It is through the daughter that we learn that her mother seems to do this occasionally and appears to be looking for love. When Patricia Smith wrote “pretended she could shine above hurting?”, I felt like I could relate to that feeling. That imperfect feeling. This reasoning is why I believe the mother is a three-dimensional character.
Discussion 2 ( 100 words)
In what ways does the poem utilize setting? How does the poem’s setting interplay with the rest of the poem? What language and diction does the poet use to create that setting? Use the poem provided below
Jane Kenyon
The Blue Bowl
Like primitives we buried the cat
with his bowl. Bare-handed
we scraped sand and gravel
back into the hole.
They fell with a hiss
and thud on his side,
on his long red fur, the white feathers
between his toes, and his
long, not to say aquiline, nose.
We stood and brushed each other off.
There are sorrows keener than these.
Silent the rest of the day, we worked,
ate, stared, and slept. It stormed
all night; now it clears, and a robin
burbles from a dripping bush
like the neighbor who means well
but always says the wrong thing.
Starkey, D. (2021). Creative Writing (4th Edition). Macmillan Higher Education. https://ccis.vitalsource.com/books/9781319406530
Reply 1 ( 50 words) sara
For this discussion, the poem I chose was, “It’s Raining in Honolulu,” by Joy Harjo. There was a couple of ways Harjo utilized setting. Just from the title of the poem, I could imagine a tropical place with mountains and beaches surrounding me. Furthermore, in the first line Harjo says, “There is a small mist at the brow of the mountain,” I can imagine a mixture of mist and dewiness surrounding the mountains after it rains. Harjo then continues to speak on how the rain is needed for the flowers needing to flourish and how it can provide the plants to prevent it from dying. I interpreted this from the last sentence of the poem when Harjo says, “We will plant songs where there were curses.” One dictation shown in the poem was, “each leaf of flower, of taro, tree and bush shiver with ecstasy,” as this describes how the leaves are acting after the rain. One simile shown in the poem is, “Rain opens us, like flowers, or earth that has been thirsty for more than a season.” These examples of language and dictation play a role in the setting to show how the rain affects the overall environment and nature in Honolulu.
Reply 2 ( 50 words) rod
I chose “Small Kindnesses” by Danusha Laméris for this discussion topic. I chose this topic because of its interesting choice of setting, or rather, its unique way of describing multiple settings. The overall setting appears to be in the thoughts of the unknown character. With each amplifying and continuous thought of the character, the setting changes to a generalized location. For example, In the first few lines when Laméris wrote, “We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot, and to say thank you to the person handing it.”, I instantly imagined a Starbucks or a Dunkin Donuts(but it can be any coffee shop). Each time Laméris described a “small kindness” I could picture those locations where the action was taking place.
