February 25, 2010
For Valentine’s Day, I rented Annie Hall (see entry VD) and it reignited the desire to see Woody Allen films. On recommendation, I rented Hannah and Her Sisters, which turned out to have amazingly rich and complicated characters and wonderful plot. The storyline that I was most fascinated with was that of Eliot, Hannah’s husband, and Lee, her sister. Eliot had become enamoured with Lee and decided that he wanted to have an affair with her - to find out what happens I suggest that you go out and rent it. There is a fabulous scene in the film, where Eliot is first trying to get Lee to notice his affections, which takes place in a bookstore. Eliot tells Lee that he read a poem that reminds him of her and he wanted to buy her an anthology book that contained the poem. The featured line from the poem is “nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands”, which I immediately recognized as e. e. cummings, noting that it is also used as the epigraph from Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie. Today’s question is: what is the name of that e. e. cummings poem?
A: The book that Eliot gives Lee in the bookstore is the Complete Poems 1913 – 1962 by e. e. cummings. Eliot tells her that the poem he wants her to read is on page 112 of the book, yet in actuality the poem entitled “somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond” is on page 366.
somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond
e. e. cummings
somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near
your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose
or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully ,suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;
nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility:whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing
(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens;only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands
Sources:
Academy of American Poets
Internet Movie Database: Hannah and Her Sisters
Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts
Friday
Poetry
February 17, 2010
Another writing Wednesday and our little class will be moving on from the short story to poetry. I am not looking forward to taking on this section. I don't think I have the eloquence to be a poet. I also have difficulty interpreting the symbolism of poetry, which strips my enjoyment of it. There are a number of different styles of poetry - most of which I am unfamiliar - but my question is really one of definition. Today’s question is: what is a poem?
A:
Edgar Allan Poe said, "Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words."
A poem is identifiable by its literary and musical elements. For example, metaphor and alliteration are common in many poems. Another hallmark of a poem is its brevity, or ability to say much in few words. This requires layered meaning and the use of symbolism. A poem need not rhyme or contain a consistent meter to qualify as such, but those elements are common in many poems. Usually a poem is broken down into lines and stanzas. They can contain full sentences or just fragments, or a combination.
There are many forms of poetry such as:
Sonnet – the sonnet is the most popular form of poem. Sonnets are usually connected with poems about love. Shakespeare produced many well known sonnets, some of which can be found in the Oxford Book of English Verse.
Ode – an ode is a lyrical poem which is structured into three parts (strophe, antistrophe and the epode).
Haiku – Haiku is a form of unrhymed Japanese poetry, the haiku contains three sections totaling 17 onji (phonological units of syllable weighing), structured in a 5-7-5 pattern.
There are also many different genres for poems including epic poetry (narrative literature centered on mythical or heroic people), narrative poetry (poems which tell a story), dramatic poetry (written in verse), lyric poetry (usually describes the poet's feelings and thoughts).
Ugh. I’m not looking forward to it!
Sources:
eHow: What is a poem?
Wikipedia: Poetry
Another writing Wednesday and our little class will be moving on from the short story to poetry. I am not looking forward to taking on this section. I don't think I have the eloquence to be a poet. I also have difficulty interpreting the symbolism of poetry, which strips my enjoyment of it. There are a number of different styles of poetry - most of which I am unfamiliar - but my question is really one of definition. Today’s question is: what is a poem?
A:
Edgar Allan Poe said, "Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words."
A poem is identifiable by its literary and musical elements. For example, metaphor and alliteration are common in many poems. Another hallmark of a poem is its brevity, or ability to say much in few words. This requires layered meaning and the use of symbolism. A poem need not rhyme or contain a consistent meter to qualify as such, but those elements are common in many poems. Usually a poem is broken down into lines and stanzas. They can contain full sentences or just fragments, or a combination.
There are many forms of poetry such as:
Sonnet – the sonnet is the most popular form of poem. Sonnets are usually connected with poems about love. Shakespeare produced many well known sonnets, some of which can be found in the Oxford Book of English Verse.
Ode – an ode is a lyrical poem which is structured into three parts (strophe, antistrophe and the epode).
Haiku – Haiku is a form of unrhymed Japanese poetry, the haiku contains three sections totaling 17 onji (phonological units of syllable weighing), structured in a 5-7-5 pattern.
There are also many different genres for poems including epic poetry (narrative literature centered on mythical or heroic people), narrative poetry (poems which tell a story), dramatic poetry (written in verse), lyric poetry (usually describes the poet's feelings and thoughts).
Ugh. I’m not looking forward to it!
Sources:
eHow: What is a poem?
Wikipedia: Poetry
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