1‚Mark Canada‚canada@sassette.uncp.edu‚Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199909271045‚1‚0‚Read my instructions on explicating poetry.  You can find them by visiting "Be Your Best" 
 (http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/markport/best/bestset.htm), clicking on "Reading" in the table of contents to the left, and 
 then clicking on "Understanding and Explicating Poetry" in the yellow box on the right.  Use what you learn in reading these 
 instructions to explicate one of the poems assigned for this week.  In your essay, you should identify the poem's rhythm and rhyme 
 scheme, summarize its content, and explain how at least three features of the poem--such as rhythm, rhyme scheme, imagery, 
 metaphor, persona, symbolism, alliteration, hyperbole, or allusion--complement the content.  In other words, how do these features 
 of a poem's form work together with its content to shape its meaning?  As always, try not to repeat something a classmate has 
 written.  Even if you explicate the same poem that someone else has explicated, you can analyze different formal features.  To 
 receive credit for this essay, you must post it no later than noon Monday, October 4.
2‚Jason Atkinson‚drlove316@yahoo.com‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199909281604‚1‚1‚	The poem, “Let Me Not to the Marriage of the Minds” is a very unique
 fourteen-line sonnet.  The rhyme scheme isn’t very complicated.  The last word of every
 other line rhymes with the exception of the last two lines.  This poem talks about love and
 how love will not alter its course that it undertakes to perform.  Love is something that
 man cannot physically control.  Three features are predominant within this poem and they
 work together to shape its meaning.  These include imagery, personification, and
 alliteration.  First, imagery is a literary device that allows the audience to picture an event
 or idea through the author’s words.  An example of this appears in line nine, which says,
 “Love’s not time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle’s compass
 come.”  We see Shakespeare is painting a portrait for us when he says the rosy lips and
 cheeks come within the compass of love.  The audience might picture a lady with these
 descriptions walking into the arms of a man.  Next, personification is giving human
 qualities to non-human things or ideas.  In line eleven, it says, “love alters not with his
 brief hours and weeks.”  The use of “his” indicates giving love the description of a male. 
 Finally, alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds.  Line ten gives a great example
 of this; “within his bending sickle’s compass come.”  We see the repetition of the “c”
 sound especially within the last three words of this line.  As you can see, all of the these
 elements work together to shape this excellent Shakespearean work.  
3‚Robin Gilmore‚gilmore@weblnk.net‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910031349‚1‚1‚In the poem, "Holy Sonnetts: At the Round Earth's Imagin'd Corners, Blow" Donne represents a form of a sonnett. It has 14 lines, but it is not separated into two groups. Ten of the fourteen lines rhyme and the story resembles that of Dante's "Inferno" by the representation of Hell. This poem is one of purgatory and the misery of paying for the sins that have been committed after death. It also offers the reader an option of repenting while we are on earth. The rhythm scheme is regular and represents about the same amount of words in each line, which presents a certain cadence with pausing at the end of each line. The use of symbolism is illustrated with "thy blood" which represents Jesus and "lowly ground" which represents the world in which we now live. "Death's woe" is another use of symbolism that represents the condemnation to Hell. Imagery is also used in this sonnet as illustrated by "scattered bodies" which gives us the mental picture of a massacre with many dead bodies lying about. The phrase "numberless infinites of souls" also leads us to think about the vast number of people the writer wants us to believe died because of their lack of faith in God. Previous teachings, I think, leads us to believe that Hell is a place of fire as the phrase "fire shall o'erthrow" supports. This poetry represents a trigger mechanism for those of us that believe in God as our Savior by the use of imagery and symbolism. How is your Christian morality? When judgement day comes, are you sure of where you are going. Poetry is not one of my favorite things to read, but this work appeared easier than most to understand. 
4‚Sheryl M. Gore‚cantay@weblnk.net‚Re: Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910031356‚1‚3‚Essay #5  Explication Poetry
 I will explicate Sonnet CXVI:  Let Me Not To The Marriage of True Minds by William Shakespeare.  First, this is a sonnet.  Therefore we know it has a formal rhyme scheme and expresses thoughts, moods, or feelings throughout the poem.  A sonnet is usually accompanied with music and this sonnet is written in the standard meter of language known as iambic pentameter.  When looking a t the 14 line poem, you can see that the last word of the first and third lines, the second and fourth lines, the fifth and seventh lines, and so on rhyme.  This gives the poem a rhyme scheme of abab, cdcd, efef, gg.  The last word of every other line rhymes with each other with the exception of the last two lines.  The last word of the last two lines rhyme with each other and tell the resolution or sum up the poem.  In "Let me not to t he marriage of true minds" the sonnet explains how love between 2 "true minds" never fail over time but is here to stay forever and cannot be altered by other people or "tempests".  The "ever-fixed mark" is a solid mark that you can always depend on to be there and you can always find your way back to.  "Loves not times fool," means that even though you may show age and your beauty fades, love does not and will continue throughout all problems as long as it is "true minds" in love.  The last two lines of the sonnet sum it up by saying, if this is not true and anyone can prove it, then no man has ever loved nor has Skakespeare ever written.  Using rhythm,  rhyme scheme, and alliteration (stressing syllables) has made Sonnet 116 into a song that can easily be read or sung and easily understood.  Without the rhyme scheme and rhythm, it would be boring and you would not want to finish reading it.  The words in the sonnet that place stress on certain syllables, known as alliteration, make you understand the importance of the content.  What a great sonnet and how true it is!     
 
 
5‚kim walker‚kimrn@weblnk.net‚Re: Re: Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910031510‚1‚4‚A sonnet is a 14-line poetic verse form with a fixed rhyme pattern that expresses a different version of a single thought, mood or feeling. The rhyme pattern utilized in Shakespeare's Sonnet XVIII, Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day, is abab,cdcd,efef,gg.  This sonnet is divided into three quatrains, with the last two lines being a rhymed couplet.  Sonnet XVIII is written in iambic pentameter.  Iambic means a stressed syllable follows and unstressed syllable.  Pentameter means a line of verse composed of 5 metrical feet.  
 
 In Sonnet XVIII, Shakespeare utilizes the use of imagery, allusion and metaphors to transcribe his message.  Line 5 refers to the sun by calling it the "eye of heaven".  This is a form of imagery.  A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily means one thing is used to mean another.  In line 9, "summer" usually refers to a season.  However, Shakespeare utilizes the word "summer" to mean beauty.  The last two lines of Sonnet XVIII create the illusion that no matter what, time or death, his love will always remain beautiful.
 
6‚Camille L. Goins‚1799bng@Carolina.net‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910031626‚1‚5‚
 I have chosen to write my essay on Shakespeare’s poem, "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day.  This peom is a sonnet because it is a 14 line poem with a formal rhyme scheme that expresses thought and feelings. It is also a metaphorical poem that he has written and is not that complicated to understand what he trying to say.  He is describing his love by the use of metaphors and how great his love is.  He explains how even life’s hard times will not affect his love and that as long as they both shall live his love will remain for her.  Every other lines last word rhymes except for the last two lines, which rhyme with each other.  The poem is easier to read and understand when the lines rhyme because the words seem to flow more smoothly.  Three features of Shakespeare’s poem that help to shape the poem is personification, alliteration, and the use of metaphors.  Personification is giving human qualities to non-human things or ideas.  In line 5, "Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines", Shakespeare has given heaven a non-human thing human qualities with the word eye.  The eye is symbolizing the sun that lights up the earth and shines bright for the heavens to see.  Alliteration would be defined as the "repetition of the same initial consonant sound in two or more words in a line of speech or writing for poetic effect" (American heritage Dictionary 20).  In line 7 "And every fair from fair sometime declines".  Alliteration is used by the words fair from and fair  by using the same initial consonant the letter F.  A metaphor can be defined as "a figure of speech in which a term that designates an object or idea is used to designate a dissimilar object or idea in order to suggest a comparison" (430).  The name of this poem itself is a metaphorical phrase, also used in line 1 and 2 "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?  Thou art more lovely and more temperate."  In these two lines Shakespeare is comparing his love to a beautiful summer’s day by showing how beautiful his love for this person is compared to a beautiful summer day.  In line 3 "Rough winds do shake  the darling buds of May",  he is comparing the rough times of their love and relationship, the hardships that they might face along the way to the strong winds of May.  Even though the hardships may rattle their relationship like the winds of May shakes the buds, they will pull through and survive.  Throughout this poem metaphors are used to describe his love to something throughout the summer proving how beautiful his love is.
7‚John-Paul Deaver‚jpdeaver@carolina.net‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910031645‚1‚1‚John-Paul Deaver
 Essay Number 5
 
 
 
      Robin’s interpretation of John Doone’s At the Round Earth’ Imagin’D Corners, Blow was slightly different from the interpretation that I perceived.  I felt that the poem was more of an explanation of how the angels and all those who have been true to God will go to him when the end of the world comes.  The beginning of the poem tells me that all the angels will rise when called upon by God and follow him into Heaven.   John also asks God to show him how to repent so he too will never have to taste death’s woe.  The sonnet is an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet that uses an end rhyme for expression and a rhyme scheme of abbaabbacdcdee.  Allusions and imagery are used greatly in the poem.  Doone uses allusions such as in line 5-“all who the floods did, and fires shall o’erthrow”-to express the meaning of Revelations.  In the book of Revelations we are told that it will be the fires that destroys the earth the second time.  Earlier in the Bible we all remember that it was a great flood that destroyed earth.  Imagery is displayed in lines 1 and 2-“At the round earth imagin’d corners, blow your trumpets, angels, and arise”-so the reader can visually imagine the angels coming from every corner of the earth to go to God.  John symbolizes the everlasting life with God in line 8 by explaining all those who behold God will never have to taste death’s woes.  Overall, although confusing at times, John does a great job using imagery, symbolism, and allusions to capture the reader’s attention and direct them to the true meaning of the poem-Repentance is the only way a person will gain everlasting life.
 
8‚Dianne Cichero‚dcichero@weblnk.net‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910031653‚1‚1‚Essay #5 Poetry Explication - 
 	
 “Let me not to the marriage of true minds” is a classical representation of Shakespearean or English sonnets.  There are the usual 14 lines in this sonnet that are grouped in three quatrains followed by a couplet.  The quatrains use 2 rhymes each in alternating lines.  The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg.  The a’s rhyme, the b’s rhyme, the c’s rhyme, etc.  The final couplet makes an effective rhymed conclusion.  The rhyming adds cohesiveness to the structure of the sonnet and adds interest.  
 
 This sonnet describes love, not physical love but the mental attraction that ultimately keeps a couple together.  Within this sonnet is the use of metaphors.  One of these is from line 6, “That looks on tempests and is never shaken”, which is a metaphor for the hardships and difficulties that any marriage will experience.  True love will endure through these obstacles and will often become healthier as a result of the achievement.  Another metaphor is from lines 7 and 8, “It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.”  I think this means that love is a constant guide to us through life, but we really cannot measure its value on us.  We understand the concept of love and that it varies in degrees but we have great difficulty in explaining this.  
 
 Another tool utilized in this sonnet is imagery.  We look at lines 9 and 10, “Love’s not Time’s fool, through rosy lips and cheeks” “Within his bending sickle’s compass come.”  We use our mind to see the rosy lips and cheeks and can visually see this drift away as time passes and our bodies age.  However, love is invincible and can not be ruined by time.  Shakespeare completes this sonnet with a couplet that emphasizes his unwavering belief that love is a powerful emotion that, if the love is true, withstands all 
 
9‚Patrick Strickland‚stricklandp@papa.uncp.edu‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910031733‚1‚1‚Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day, by William Shakespeare, is 14 lines of rhyme.  This sonnet, has a persona and rhyme schemes.  My interpretation of this persona is the author of the sonnet is using poetry through comparison to express his love.  He used the comparison of a summer's day to his feelings of love.  Every line of this sonnet has some reference toward felings between two people, but indirectly at the same time can describe the image of a summer's day.  In line 4 of the sonnet, "And summer's lease hath all too short a date," could directly mean that summer is just too short.  But in my opinion, Shakespeare was using this line to describe how he feels that his summer love is only here for a short period.  The one important word in this line, lease, is what caught my attention and gave me the clue of a short time period.  The rhyme scheme which gave the sonnet definition is abacdedefgfghh.  Every other line in the sonnet had rhyme except for line b and c; the two ended in the same spelling but two different sounds.  In reference to style of this sonnet, Shakespeare gave the last two lines of this sonnet a rhyme scheme, see and thee.  One connection sonnets have most if not all of them end with the 13th and 14th line in a rhyme scheme.  Never the less, this was an interesting selection, and had many other characters other than persona and rhyme scheme.  Shakespeare used imagery, rhythm and alliteration in writing the sonnet.  Alliteration is used mostly everywhere there is a rhyme scheme.  Again, there allows the reading to be easier and flows verbally, and requires no addition stresses on words or at the end of the sonnet line.  
    
10‚Kathy Owens‚kso@carolina.net‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910031832‚1‚1‚Essay #5 Holy Sonnets:At The Round Earth's Imagin'd Corners, Blow by John Donne.
 This poem is considered a sonnet and is of Italian origin. Most of the lines rhym. The use of imagery,symbolism and illusion is very evident in this poem. 
 Donne tells a story of Angels, Hell and repentance, much like Inferno.
 Donne uses imagery to give the reader a mental picture of what is taking place. Symbolism is also used, such as when he states, "here on this lowly ground" which represents earth and "pardon with thy blood" represents Jesus. In the Book of Genesis it tells of the great flood, Donne makes reference to this by stating "all whom the flood did". The Book of Revelation tells of earth being destroyed the second time by fire. Donne references this by saying "fire shall o'erthrow". These are excellent examples of illusions. I read this poem twice before realizing it's true meaning. It's a plea from Donne to repent your sins while you can, it's to late to ask at the end of time.
 Without the use of imagery, symbolism and illusions this poem may not have been as effective. 
11‚Jon Hill‚bseballplaya@aol‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910032046‚1‚1‚Sonnet LXXI: "No Longer Mourn For Me When I Am Dead," by William Shakespeare is your classic sonnet consisting of fourteen lines with a pattern of rhyme and rhythm.  It’s rhyme and rhythm scheme is ababcdcdefef through it’s first ten lines, with each line about as long as the last.  Shakespeare’s sonnet is a poem to his love one, pleading not to think about him after he has passed on.   He is not upset that he has left this world, but would be if his loved one continues to morn the death.  "From this vile world, with vilest worms to dwell,"  is a great use of imagery.  For when he passes on to his final resting place, you are given a mental picture of foul and unpleasant dwelling with worms.  Shakespeare also uses symbolism in line twelve, "But let your love even with my life decay."  Decay is used to symbolize what his body and life will do as his body is resting under ground.  This particular sonnet was chosen because of the way Shakespeare wanted his love to not bother there life with the burden of his death.  For if you truly love him, you want distract your life with his memory.  As hard as it is, he fells he can truly rest better knowing he’s death isn’t dwelling within his love one. 
12‚Michelle Shere Padgett‚ajtreus@carolina.net‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910032052‚1‚1‚I thoroughly enjoyed this poem. The poem” Let me Not to the Marriage of the Minds” is a 14 line sonnet.  The rhyme pattern is ababcdcdefefgg.  Every other line rhymes, except the last two.  This poem is about Love in its TRUE form.  What I mean by that is that love can’t be described or defined.  When you love someone, with your heart, there is absolutely nothing that can change that feeling.  If love is just a physical attraction or even a mind game, it can change with the blowing of the wind.  As I read this poem, I could imagine a beautiful woman, line 9, walking by, but since the man is so in love, he doesn’t notice her.  That’s love in its true form.  The phrase, “ It is the star to every wand’ring bark, Whose worth’s unknown, although his height is taken”, can be interpreted to mean; when you love someone with all your heart, body, mind, and soul (line 8), that love will shine bright to all those who come in contact with you (line 7).
13‚Elizabeth Herring‚jlizrn@aol.com‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910032247‚1‚1‚With the height of his career during the English Renaissance Period, John Donne was well educated in religion and literary arts. As an Anglican priest, he held both spiritual and literary values which he shares in well-crafted verse in the holy Sonnet, "Batter my Heart, Three-Person'd God." The sonnet structure is Shakespearean style with three quatrains and a concluding rhymed couplet. There are fourteen lines arranged in iambic pentameter rhyming scheme. The heavy use of action verbs throughout the poem emphasizes the demand Donne arrogantly makes on the Holy Trinity to save him from himself and his destructive nature to sin. "Batter, breathe, shine, mend, o'erthrow, bend, break, blow, burn, labor, defend, divorce, imprison, enthrall, and ravish," are among the many verbs in this sonnet. Donne takes a very serious subject matter and phrases it absurdly to emphasize his point of view. He concludes his sonnet with a statement of Christian doctrine of perfect freedom being found only in perfect submission to God and when Gods fully conquers him he will no longer antagonize with the sinful elements within his own nature.  This sonnet sounds like a confession, as well as, a request for God to "batter" Donne's heart, not literally, but metaphorically. He places the responsibilty for his salvation in God's hands and ultimately accepts no responsibility for his misguided conduct. This sonnet is complex but gives insight into human character. 
14‚Josh Potter‚uncpjp@aol.com‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910032341‚1‚1‚Essay #5
 According to “The American Heritage Dictionary” a sonnet is a 14-line poetic verse throughout which also includes a rhyme pattern.  William Shakespeare’s “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” contains both 14 lines and a rhyme scheme making it a perfect example of a sonnet.  Throughout the sonnet, we can see Shakespeare’s use of rhyme at the end of each line.  Every other line rhymes with each other.  The last two lines of the sonnet do not follow the same pattern though, they rhyme with each other.  The overall meaning of the sonnet can be found within the use of rhyme, metaphors, and imagery.  These three literary features play an important role in the construction of the poem.  The use of rhyme in this sonnet makes it easy and simple for the average reader to follow along with the progression and the meaning behind the words of the poem.  From the time that children start reading, we make books that contain rhyme available.  This might be the reason behind the simplicity and the easy understanding of works that contain rhyme. The first time the reader encounters the use of metaphors is in its title.  “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” is a metaphorical way of comparing a perfect summer’s day to the love in the author’s life.  This way is the author’s attempt of expressing how deep and how true his love without being literal.  We can see imagery in the sonnet from the very beginning as well.  In line five the author writes.  “Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines.”  Although the use of metaphors dominates this line, the presence of imagery really makes the reader understand what Shakespeare is trying get across.  Everyone has experienced the glorious glow of the sun on a summer’s day and how it makes them feel.  These consuming rays are a similar parallel to the feeling that arises when love consumes you.  This use of imagery does an excellent job in defining the meaning within the sonnet.  By using each of these literary features plus many more William Shakespeare has been able not only to appeal to his fans but ensure that his works are easy for many to comprehend
 
15‚Tracy Naylor‚tanrn@aol.com‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910041044‚1‚1‚In William Shakespeare’s sonnet XVIII, ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’, the writer is describing his love for a beautiful woman. In the first line he asks, ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’. The summer day is symbolic of happiness and warmth, the same things he feels when gazing at his love. The summer’s day is used symbolically to describe something that is enjoyable to the soul. The soul enjoys the warmth and happiness of summer and the poet’s soul enjoys the beauty of his love. The poet is stating in this sonnet that the beauty he sees in this woman at this very moment in time will never be changed. Her beauty will be unchanged regardless what happens to her throughout time because he will always remember her just as she was that very moment.  “ And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d: But thy eternal summer shall not fade.” Shakespeare also personifies death in line number 11 “ Nor shall Death brag thou waander’st in his shade”. He speaks of Death as the Grim Reaper not the actual death of the body. The poet states Death can’t brag you are headed his way as you start to look older. Lines 13 and 14 describe the idea of ‘forever’ in figurative language. ‘ So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this (her beauty) and this gives life to thee’. This sonnet is written in iambic pentameter with abab, cdcd, efef, gg rhyme. 
16‚Chris Smith‚Midkknight@aol.com‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910041148‚1‚1‚     In the poem, "Batter My Heart, Thy Three Person God, For You" by John Donne, the ongoing theme is the of imprisonment and confusion.  These aspects are apparent throughout the poem by the many descriptive words he uses.  Captiv'd, betrothed, chaste, and imprison are a few he uses to convey the thought of imprisonment.  He is confused and imprisoned by his feelings,
      I am a little confused when I read this poem, and maybe that is what the author intended.  I think that he is caught between love for god and something else.  It is not apparent to me to whom or what he refers to but he is defiantly torn by this thing.  In the opening of the poem his one love is god and stands strong .  Towards the middle of the poem he starts talking of his other love, "But am betrothed unto your enemy."  I think this represents the faltering of his faith.  He finishes up by talking of his sin and asking god for help and whether or not he should be asking for help or not.  The last line "Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me," tends to say that his love for god is more because God's love for him is unending and divine it ravishes him.
17‚Michelle D. Padgett‚‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910041158‚1‚1‚The poem, "Astrophel and Stella", is a sonnet, or fourteen
 line poem.  The rhyme scheme is ababababcdcdee, which means 
 that lines 1,3,5 and 7 rhyme, as do 2,4,6 and 8.  Lines 9 and
 11, 10 and 12, 13 and 14 also rhyme.  
 The above mentioned sonnet, by Sir Phillips Sidney, tells of
 a man's unexpressed love for a woman.  The tormented man 
 hopes to express himself in verse.  He hopes that his 
 confession of love will cause her to pity his position and
 in turn he wishes to gain her favor.  However, he finds him
 self full of unexpressed feelings that he can't find the words 
 for. 
 He uses metaphors to describe the magnitude and depth of his 
 unexpressed emotions.  He describes his unwritten love letter
 as his "invention."  he then labels the "invention" as 
 "Nature's Child."  He goes on to describe himself as being
 "great with child to speak."  He thus created the image, in
 my mind, of a balloon about to burst to release its contents.
 The metaphorical "invention" led to imagery.  
 As I read the poem, several mental images were created.  One, 
 of course, was the image of the over extended balloon that 
 I just mentioned.  The other was in lines 7 and 8 of the sonnet, 
 where the writer states that he hopes looking at the work of 
 others will cause the flow of "some fresh and fruitful
 showers upon my sunburn'd brain."  This use of metaphors combined
 with imagery creates a very clear picture of abundant rains
 falling on barren land and causing new life to spring forth.
 It helps the reader see how desperate the writer is to 
 express his love, but the words just won't come.
 This sonnet effectively combines metaphors and imagery 
 to paint a clear, colorful mental image for the reader.
 
 
  
18‚Attley Edwards‚Bseballpla@aol.com‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910101110‚1‚1‚John Donne's "Holy Sonnets: Batter My Heart, Three-Person'd God", seems simple in its concept.  It is a fourteen  line sonnet which describes man's constant battle with evil and the devil whom Donne describes as God's enemy.  He speaks of how God is a three person'd God which maybe the religious view that refers to God as the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.  He portrays God as being too kind and gentle to be in control of his (Donne's) life.  He wants God to force him to do the things he might feel is right but has neither the strength of character or will to do unless God shows his control.  Donne uses the metaphor of someone betrothed to show the struggle he has within himself and asks God to "divorce" him from this evil and "imprison" him so that he could be free and chaste in his struggle of evil.  When reading this we can feel this struggle and his true desire to be good.  This sonnet is a abbaabbacdcedd rhyme.
19‚Mark Canada‚canada@sassette.uncp.edu‚Sample Explication‚199910121458‚1‚1‚John Donne's lyrical sonnet "At the round earth's imagin'd corners, blow" expresses a persona's desire for spiritual redemption.  Borrowing conventions from both the Italian and the English sonnet forms, Donne divides this poem into three sections.  In the first section, an octave that is rhymed abba abba and that is clearly modeled on the conventional octave of the Italian sonnet, the persona calls for the Last Judgment.  In doing so, he makes several allusions to the Revelation of St. John the Divine from the New Testament.  For example, he refers to trumpets, war, and woe, and he suggests that humans will "behold God."  This section also contains an allusion to the Great Flood, which is described in the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament.  Because they call on knowledge that many readers already have, these allusions help to engage readers and make them appreciate the persona's thinking about redemption.  The persona seems eager to achieve redemption--so eager, in fact, that he wants to see the earth end so that he can attain this goal.  A number of formal features complement this message.  For instance, the spondee "round earth's" packs extra force in line 1, giving the poem's opening a sense of urgency.  This urgency is suggested also by the persona's use of the imperative mood; indeed, three of the verbs in this mood attract special attention because they appear at the ends of lines: "blow" (1), "arise" (2), and "go" (4).  In the poem's second division, clearly marked with the word "But" at the beginning of line 9, the persona changes his mind and asks God to delay the judgment, saying "But let them sleep, Lord, and me mourn a space."  The alliteration of the "m" sound gives this line a less urgent, more somber tone.  The persona seems to have become calmer and more introspective.  Having given vent to his bottled up excitement about the need for redemption in the octave, he is able to reason objectively and decides that he has been impetuous.  In lines 10-11, he says: "For if above all these my sins abound , / 'Tis late to ask abundance of thy grace," showing that he realizes that the Last Judgment could leave him without God's redemption if his sins are too great.   Finally, the poem's last section, a couplet modeled after the concluding couplet of the English sonnet, provides the persona's own judgment of what he needs to do: he needs to learn to repent and thus earn God's pardon for his sins.  With the words "Teach me how to repent; for that's as good / As if thou'hadst seal'd my pardon with thy blood," the persona suggests that earning his pardon through his own repentance is equal to receiving it through God's grace.  This conclusion reflects the focus on the individual we often see in Renaissance literature.  Rather than waiting for God to do the work for him, this persona is taking action to save his own soul.
20‚Mark Canada‚canada@sassette.uncp.edu‚Overview‚199910121502‚1‚1‚I was happy to see that many of you understood the content of the poems you explicated and were able to summarize them 
 effectively.  Most of you, however, will want to work on interpreting poetic devices.  While you identified many striking 
 examples of alliteration, metaphor, allusion, and personification, you often did not explain how these devices help to shape a 
 poem's meaning.  To do this type of analysis, you might want to ask yourself, "What difference does it make that the writer has 
 used this alliteration, rhyme, or allusion?  How would the work be different without it?"  For example, Diane does an excellent 
 job of explicating “Let me not to the marriage of true minds” because she not only identifies examples of poetic features such as 
 rhyme and metaphor, but explains that the rhyme contributes to the poem's cohesiveness and the metaphor conveys the 
 permanence of love.  Elizabeth also did a nice job of explicating "Batter My Heart, Thy Three-Personed God, For You."  One 
 minor mistake you made, Elizabeth, is referring to iambic pentameter as a "rhyming scheme."  Actually, iambic pentameter is a 
 form of rhythm, not rhyme.  Attley expressed some very insightful ideas about the meaning of the metaphors in this same poem.  
 Sheryl, you did some interpretation when you said: "'Loves not times fool,' means that even though you may show age and your 
 beauty fades, love does not and will continue throughout all problems as long as it is "true minds" in love."  You forgot to note, 
 though, that the device that appears in this line is metaphor--in this case, a particular type of metaphor called personification.  
 Robin, you also did some interpretation in suggesting that the imagery in "At the round earth's imagin'd corners, blow" make an 
 impact on the reader, causing him or her to think about morality.  John-Paul's reading of the poem fits mine more than yours, 
 but I like your attempt at interpretation.  Also, I noticed that few of you attempted to identify the poem's rhythm, and no one 
 commented on the way specific features of a poem's rhythm contribute to its meaning.  I plan to assign at least one more 
 explication; before you write your next explication, make sure you know how to scan a line and how to look for meaning 
 behind rhythm.  You may want to review the instructions on scansion in "Be Your Best."  Finally, I think I need to clarify the 
 meaning of a few terms.  Alliteration is the repetition of similar sounds, usually consonant sounds and usually at the beginnings of 
 words, in a line of poetry.  Camille cites an example in her essay.   A symbol is something that represents something else.  For 
 example, in the play _Othello_, the handkerchief that Othello gave to Desdemona is a symbol of their love, their commitment to 
 each other, and perhaps other things.  As this example illustrates, symbols often are tangible objects--a house, a whale, a 
 scarlet letter, for example--that stand for abstract concepts.  A second important point related to symbolism is that symbols 
 merely suggest other meanings.  Symbolism different from allegory, in which an object often stands for some other, clearly 
 identifiable thing.  In the famous example of John Bunyan's work _The Pilgrim's Progress_, perhaps the best-known allegory in 
 all of English literature, a character named Christian clearly stands for a typical Christian person, and some of the places he 
 visits--Vanity Fair and the Slough of Despond, for example--clearly stand for barriers that a Christian must overcome.  If you 
 would like additional help explicating poetry, please see the explication I have posted below.
21‚Antonio Padgett‚ajtreus@carolina.net‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910132353‚1‚1‚
 GOD OF OUR WEARY YEARS, GOD OF OUR SILENT TEARS,
 THOU WHO HAS BROUGHT US THUS FAR ON THE WAY;
 THOU WHO HAST BY NIGHT LED US INTO THE LIGHT,
 KEEP US FOREVER IN THE PATH WE PRAY.
 LEST OUR FEET STRAY FROM THE PLACE, OUR GOD WHERE WE MET THEE
 LEST OUR HEARTS, DRUNK WITH THE WINE OF THE WORLD, WE FORGET THEE
 SHADOWED BENEATH THY HAND, MAY WE FOREVER STAND,
 TRUE TO OUR GOD, TRUE TO OUR NATIVE LAND.
22‚Antonio Padgett‚ajtreus@carolina.net‚Re: Essay 5: Poetry Explication‚199910132359‚1‚1‚First of all, I would like too thank you for giving me an extended time limit to do my assignments. I did not know what my deadline was for each assignment but I will complete them all as soon as possible.
 
 
 I chose the sonnet by William Shakespeare titled " Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" In order to answer the questions that were asked you must understand what exactly a metaphor is and how it relates to the sonnet. A metaphor composes two things by identifying one with the other; for example, it does not describe 1 like 2 but that 1 is 2 . To further explain, the two subjects must merge into one's imagination.
 
 According to this sonnet, Shakespeare chose a summer's day to compare with the life and the death of his love. He describes a summer’s day as if it was a personality trait of his love.  Nothing can be as pleasant as a hot, sunny summer day and nothing could be the same as a warm, cheerful individual of whom you care for. On the other hand, summer can be as unpredictable, one day it can be beautiful and the next day it can bring terrible storms but we still love the summer just the same. Like his love, loving and as pleasant as she may have been, so could she possess hidden agendas not seen nor predictable Line 5, for example, describes how the golden eye, or sun could be radiant one day, and covered hidden by clouds the next. Even with the confusions of a summer's day it would never out weigh its true splendor. Although, a summer's day is glorious, it must come to an end, like the life of his love as described in lines 7 thru 9 the days may end but them memories will never fade. 
 
 Question 2
 
 Words are normally used in the two ways "Literally and Figuratively", for instance, literally speaking, "A sailor sailed several seas" or figuratively, " A sailor experiences reflected he had tasted few waters."