Revised Critical 4-20-12

Larkin’s An Arundel Tomb shows what Auden is talking about when he says that “everything that we remember no matter how trivial…are equally the subject of poetry”. Larkin’s poem is talking about a visit to a tomb of a man and a woman. You wouldn’t normally think to write about something like this. But with what Auden is saying in Poetry as Memorable Speech poetry can be about anything “the mark on the wall, the joke at luncheon, word games…” When I read this from Auden, I thought it was really interesting. I had never thought about any subject to be considered a poem. This point opened my own eyes when thinking about what I could write about to make a poem. I thought this was a pretty usual point.

When reading Larkin’s poems, I am not quite sure what his tone is. Every poem he writes seems different. In An Arundel Tomb I think the tone is kind of gleeful-mournful. He talks about how the tomb looks and that the couple is holding hands, this to me is gleeful. Then it goes on to talk about how nobody knows who these people are they are just there to see the tomb and this couple holding hands. This part is more sad and mournful because when this couple died they never could have imagined that people would come to see their tomb and not even know who they were in life. 

Auden states that "Similes, metaphors of image or idea, and auditory metaphors such as rhyme, assonance, and alliteration help further to clarify and strengthen the pattern and internal relations of the experiences described." In An Arundel Tomb, Larkin’s rhyme scheme is very unique and it almost doesn’t sound as if the lines rhyme with each other but I think it’s this subtle way in which he does, clarifies and strengthens the poem.

If talking about Larkin’s poem and why I would consider it as memorable speech, I would have to say that it is original and that it puts recognizable emotions in a different way. In this poem I had a feeling of sorrow and sadness for this couple. They were only recognized by them holding hands, not for what they did in their time on earth. I did a little digging after reading this poem and found out that Larkin was writing about the tomb of 13^th Earl of Arundel and his wife. But over time no one identifies this and that seems to be what Larkin is conveying in this poem. He makes you almost feel sorry for this deceased couple.

In this poem of Larkin’s, there is a certain emotion talking about the eternal love of the couple that lay in the tomb. Auden says that “it must move our emotions”, which I believe this poem does. The couple was together in life and now will forever be together in afterlife. The first time I read the poem I took the last two lines of this poem “Our almost-instinct almost true: What will survive of us is love” to mean that their love will be immortalized. When reading it over again I see that maybe Larkin is saying that this is what is left to define them and maybe that wasn’t what they had intended at all.

Critical 4-20-12

Larkin’s An Arundel Tomb shows what Auden is talking about when he says that “everything that we remember no matter how trivial…are equally the subject of poetry”. Larkin’s poem is talking about a visit to a tomb of a man and a woman. You wouldn’t normally think to write about something like this. But with what Auden is saying in Poetry as Memorable Speech poetry can be about anything “the mark on the wall, the joke at luncheon, word games…” When I read this from Auden, I thought it was really interesting. I had never thought about any subject to be considered a poem. 

When reading Larkin’s poems, I am not quite sure what his tone is. Every poem he writes seems different. In An Arundel Tomb I think the tone is kind of gleeful-mournful. He talks about how the tomb looks and that the couple is holding hands, this to me is kind of gleeful. Then it goes on to talk about how nobody knows who these people are they are just there to see the tomb and this couple holding hands. This part is more sad and mournful because when this couple died they never could have imagined that people would come to see their tomb and not even know who they were in life. 

Auden states that "Similes, metaphors of image or idea, and auditory metaphors such as rhyme, assonance, and alliteration help further to clarify and strengthen the pattern and internal relations of the experiences described." In An Arundel Tomb, Larkin’s rhyme scheme is very unique and it almost doesn’t sound as if he is rhyming the lines but I think it’s this subtle way in which he does clarifies and strengthens the poem. 

In this poem of Larkin’s, there is a certain emotion talking about the eternal love of the couple that lay in the tomb. Auden says that “it must move our emotions”, which this I believe this poem does. The couple was together in life and now will forever be together in afterlife.

Creative 4-13-12

Revised:

I cannot remember the time or place

Where I first learned to read on my own

All I remember is when my dad read to me.

Every night before I went to sleep

While lying in my big girl bed

My dad would read me a story

He took on the characters voices

Making each of the stories come alive

I had my favorites, and he would read them often

So one day I thought I could impress him

I picked up one of the books and started reading

He found out real quick that I was only reciting

Because the book was upside down

Original:
I cannot remember a time or place
Where I first learned to read
All I remember is that I could not do it
Every night before I went to sleep,
my dad would read me a story
I had my favorites, and he read them often
So one day I thought I would impress him
I picked up the book and starting reading
He found out real quick that I was only reciting
because the book was upside down.

Critical 4-13-12

Robert Frost states "if it has a wild tune, it is a Poem". I think he is teaching us that writings with sounds are poetry. He is also saying that "the object in writing poetry is to make all poems sound as different as possible from each other, and the resources for that of vowels, consonants, punctuation, syntax, words, sentences, metre are not enough. We need the help of context-meaning-subject matter. That is the greatest help towards variety”. Frost is stating that writers of poetry not only need to differ in the why the poem sounds and is written in means of words, rhymes and rhythms but also in the topic. He is saying that this is the best way to be different from another poet. Frost talks about the figure a poem makes is “it begins in delight and ends in wisdom. The figure is the same as for love”. I think this can relate the D.H. Lawrence’s poem Tortoise Shout, this poem talks about finding that person out there that is meant for you. I am not sure that it starts with delight but by the end I do believe there is some wisdom being shown. Lawrence writes about natural impulses and what it is like when uniting with someone.

Creative 4-6-12

Revised:

1^st Poem-

When I am one-and-twenty

I am indeed old enough

To head to the bars, a plenty

And no need to be handcuffed

When I am one-and-twenty

I of course will have a pitcher

Until it’s done and empty

Then I’ll be a hitcher

2^nd Poem-

When I am one-and-twenty

My parents will no longer be

The ones who truly loved each other

They now will only love me

When I am one-and-twenty

I will already be on my own

Since they now live separately

There will be no place called home

3^rd Poem-

When I am one-and-twenty

I will drink my sorrows away

In the bars on court street

A place where I want to play

When I am one-and-twenty

The nights all seem the same

Tonight isn’t any different

It is just another game

Original:
1st Poem-
When I am one-and-twenty
I am indeed old enough
To head to the bars, a plenty
And no need to be handcuffed

When I am one-and twenty
I of course will have a pitcher
Until it's done and empty
Then I'll be a hitcher

2nd Poem-
When I am one-and-twenty
My parents will no longer be
The ones who truly loved each other
They now will only love me

When I am one-and-twenty
I will officially be on my own
Since I do not want to call
two separate houses my home

3rd Poem-
When I am one-and- twenty
I will drink my sorrows away
In the bars on court street
A place where I want to play

When I am one-and- twenty
The nights all seem the same
Tonight isn't any different
It is just another game