Brandon Kelner - Blog Post #1 - Question #7

In Billy Collins “Introduction to Poetry” the paradox stated is the battle between analyzing and over-analyzing poetry. Try not to search for all the answers and allow them to come to you as you enjoy the poem.

I found irony in the poem where the speaker pleas his “students” to approach/read poems with passion and an open mind, instead of searching strictly for an overall meaning. It seems very natural to examine poetry to sully find its paradox, thus his complaints are ironic, especially being directed towards students.

“I want them to waterski across the surface of a poem…” describes a specific way the speaker wants others to approach/read poetry. To find the meaning or overall message behind poems, books, and music, is a process that we all subconsciously do. Even though we know not to over-complicate things, we can't help it. In return we end up searching every nook and cranny or "...begin beating it with a hose…”.

Allie Wagner-So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans-#5-Blog#1

Jimmy Santiago Baca's poem "So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans" traduces the morality and common sense of America. This poem suggests though Americans blame Mexicans for taking jobs away from the lower class, wealthy Americans diminish the little window of opportunity to survive in a corporate owned society. In other words, the lower class is trying to survive when they're already dead.
"I see small white farmers selling out to clean-suited farmers living in New York, who've never been on a farm." This shows that while wealthy Americans blame Mexicans for causing the loss of amount of jobs available causing poverty amongst the nation, but the corporations putting small businesses out creates more jobless Americans. It suggests that the small chance of survival small business Americans thought they had was already gone because of wealthy Americans buying out everything.
"Below that cool green sea of money millions and millions of people fight to live" connected with my previous quote suggests that through the peacefulness the wealthy can easily be comfortable day to day, the rest of America is struggling to survive. The wealthy blame Mexicans for taking jobs, when they are taking jobs away from the needy to benefit themselves.
"The children are dead alraedy. We are killing them." This quote invokes a lot of hypocracy among America. It suggests that America may do what they can to help the new generation survive poverty to have something, when they're chance of survival is already gone. The wealthy America takes everything from the ones in the dark searching for their dreams.

Blog Post #1 Question #6 Josh Greenfield

In Jimmy Santiago Baca's poem “So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans,” the speaker uses illustrative words that subversively evoke powerful images in order to create visual tensions. The statement of paradox from the title is intended to provoke the reader by proclaiming that Mexican people are literally taking away the jobs of working Americans, and states it in a way that is ironic. The first instance of visual tension comes from the first stanza; "Do they come on horses/ with rifles," this is a reference to idealogical Mexicans who ride horses and carry rifles as if they still lived in the wild west. This line sets a tone that assumes that the listener, the American to whom the comment is directed, still retains an outdated view of Mexican people. The very next line "Ese gringo, gimmee your job?" conjures an auditory image of the stereotyped "wild west" Mexican pointing a rifle towards an American "gringo" demanding that he surrender his job or be shot. The irony of this image is that there are in fact no Mexicans forcing anyone out of their jobs at gunpoint, which is juxtaposed by the absurdity of the statement that Mexicans are taking jobs from Americans.

"So Mexicans are taking jobs from Americans" Post #1 by Brad Petz

In the poem So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans , Jimmy Santiago Baca uses many ambiguous words and phrases. The first one that I noticed was when he used 'gimme' instead of regular English. I think this is supposed to amplify our negative thinking about this situation, and to set a tone for the poem. They are obviously not coming to specifically take your job, we're looking at the irony in this piece. Another ambiguous phrase that caught my attention was 'And do you, gringo, take off your ring, drop your wallet into a blanket...and walk away?'. Gringo obviously is showing that they are degrading us while taking our personal possessions and our money (our ring and our wallet). Yet another example is 'Even on TV, an asthmatic leader...leaning on an assistant,
and from a nest of wrinkles on his face, a tongue paddles through flashing waves of lightbulbs, of cameramen, rasping “They’re taking our jobs away.”' that no matter where you turn, everyone believes the same thing. It is repeated and repeated until the new generation just accepts it as true. This media portrayal is very visual, obviously to exemplify how much the media really affects our lives.

"My Ex-Husband" Post #1 By Jess Cantu

The poem "My Ex-Husband" is a narrative poem where a girl is telling her possible date about the picture of the husband. The poem doesn't really go into detail of what happened the her ex. The paradox of the poem is that she both loves and hates her ex-husband. She tells of how much it was a waste to be with him but then she goes and tells her 'date' that he had a certain charm about him. The irony of the poem is she mentions who would lower herself to put up with him when she did. She married that person. It seems she does have a strong love for him even though he put her through so much. 

Blog Post #1 Question #8 Cara Dacus Eng. 201 1073

Introduction to Poetry simultaneously rejects the rigid constraints of literary criticism while making demands as to how a poem should be read or critiqued. This paradox is resolved using many examples full of imagery. The beauty that poems contain should give the reader an experience while gleaning it’s meaning as opposed to torturous, conventional method of beating the meaning out. The examples of imagery are rich and full, enveloping all of our senses. “I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide” brings forth images of intense color and art. The idea that to truly appreciate something one must hold the object up to the light, to be examined and admired in its most illuminated colors. We are asked to search within ourselves, “or walk inside the poem’s room and feel the walls for a light switch”, and as like one in the dark feeling for the way to light a room, feel within our minds to the meaning, or “light”, of a poem. In contrast to the right ways to critique a poem, the wrong ways are neither beautiful nor pleasing but barbaric. “They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means” clearly demonstrates that rigid critique of a poem denies it of its beauty. The title in itself is ironic. Introduction to poetry could be taken as “basic or beginning” but in fact is introducing poetry to us as something new. We are being introduced to a whole new way to look at something that we have seen many times before, yet never truly seen at all. 

In the poem “So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans” by Jimmy Santiago Baca the paradox is that White Americans feel forced out of their jobs but the Mexicans are not forcing people out of their jobs at all. Through the poem Baca uses large amounts of imagery to prove his point. He starts his poem by saying that the Mexicans come with horses and riffles across the border to take jobs away from people. This shows the negative viewpoint some people may see of Mexicans. He uses imagery and exaggeration to show that Mexicans are not forcing people out of their jobs. Later in the poem he paints a picture of what seems like an old, overweight white man claiming that Mexicans came to steal jobs. His specific choice of words was great because we see an old, overweight man that has trouble breathing complaining, the person complaining in the poem doesn’t seem like someone affected by Mexicans taking jobs. He also uses imagery to show us who he thinks is the real villain. The white farmer from New York, he owns a farm while never living or owning one. The real villain doesn’t care who he hires, white, black or Mexican. He uses Mexican labor because his profits increase. Again he shows that Mexicans are not forcing people out of their job, they are the cheaper form of labor. At the end of the poem he says that the problem is not Mexicans taking jobs, the problem is that the white farm owners are making seas of money while the employees are barely surviving and the children are suffering.    

Blog Post # 1 "So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans"

In the poem So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans , Jimmy Santiago Baca uses a lot of ambiguous words and phrases. The first one that really stuck out to me was right in the title itself, "Taking" . By using the word "taking", in this poem it can be seen as saying that Mexicans are coming into America's workforce, and kicking everybody out, as if they are walking into an office building and demanding everybody leave so they can work. Also, that they are forcing employers to hire them. As if trying to say that there are no jobs out there for Americans, because the Mexicans have come and taken all of them away. The dennotative possibilites for "Taking" are capturing, or seasing. The connotative possibilites could be Mexicans are coming and stealing jobs from innocent Americans, and/or having Mexicans forefully remove Americans from their jobs, so they can work instead.
This ambiguous phrase struck me instantly, "clean-suited farmers living in New York". The dennotative possibilites for this phrase, are farmers who wear clean stuis and live in New York. Connotative possibilities for this phrase are business men from New York. People who know next to nothing about farming, we know this from the next6 line that reads "who've never been on a farm". In using this phrase Baca explains how these small American farmers, aren't loosing their farms/jobs because of Mexican but because of the business men that they sell their farms too,that either run their business into the ground, or don't care about anyone but themselves which leads to next to nothing pay, which causes the small farmers, to loose everything they owned.
"Trying to cross poverty to just have something" this phrase stood out to me instantly. Dennotative possibilites for this can be, leaving poverty if for nothing else, to be able to own something, to call something, anything their own. Connotative possibilites for this phrase, can include Mexicans crossing the border into America to be able to be free from their opressive government, being able to come to America to be able to own, not to feel owned.
The last phrase that I chose, is "The children are dead already" Dennotative possibilites for this can be children that are dead in America. The connotative possibilites for this can be, the children of America not having a bright future. America as a whole, not having a future. This phrase can be used as if to say, that the future of America is dead. By saying the children are dead he is saying that America is dead because it is always being sad that children are the future,therefore the future is dead.

Chris Anderson response to "So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans"

Response to Question #4

In analyzing "So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans," several words and phrases presented ambiguity. This ambiguity, however, gives depth to the poem and exposes the many facets of Jimmy Santiago Baca's work.

In the third stanza, the American is "walking home with a whore." The literal meaning of 'whore' is a woman who sells herself; a derogatory term for prostitute. But the poem doesn't refer to any one specific person, gender or classification other than American. This creates a deeper possibility that "you" could actually mean all Americans, and therefore all Americans have sold out and become slaves.

In the next stanza there is mention of an "asthmatic leader," another ambiguous phrase. A leader often a charismatic, youthful and strong person who can stand at the head of a group and direct all those under their influence. They serve as a foundation for everyone they lead. However, 'asthmatic' creates a connotation of sickness and plague to this leader. Based on the wording, this "wrinkled...rasping" leader who is surrounded with cameramen and people working, seems like an unhealthy leader both physically and metaphorically. This ambiguity between the expectations of a nation's leader and the portrayal of a sickly, weathered leader poses more questions about the nature of our country's citizens.

The poem later mentions "the poor marching for a little work," which holds a literal meaning of people of lower socioeconomic class getting together to protest their position in society. At the same time, marching and fighting for beliefs is hard work, and the poor people are putting in so much effort to receive very little work in return. This could parallel the later phrase "count their pennies" to mean that the poor work hard but are paid little for their effort and collaboration.

In the fifth section, the poem describes the farmers from New York as not knowing "the look of a hoof." This phrase carries a surface value that the farmers are simply unaware of how an animal's hoof looks. They do not have the literal knowledge of what hooves look like. The connotation, though, is that this knowledge would come from experience, and an experienced farmer would truly know every detail of each animal's hoof. The farmers from New York are inexperienced and therefore not suited for real farm work.

Towards the end, the poem suggests that "the children are dead." The obvious denotative meaning is that many children are actually dead. They have perished and continue to die and "We are killing them." 'Dead' can mean that someone is literally no longer living. There is a second connotation to both 'living' and 'dead' that refers to our experiences. This phrase could suggest that the children are no longer 'living' in the figurative sense and have stopped experiencing the joy and fullness of literal life. "We" (Americans) are not giving the youth in our nation the chance have experiences and we are robbing them of a full existence.

This poem is full of hidden meanings and multiple perspectives on the condition of America as a whole and the practices of each individual in relation to the 'mexicans that are taking our jobs.'

Sanchez Blog Post #1 1073

  In "My Ex-Husband" by Gabriel Spera, a woman goes on a date with a man and shows him a picture of his ex-husband. In this poem, she starts off describing him as a charming, passionate, and stylish man.Then she reveals he is self-centered and flirtatious without caring who knew him.
  The woman talking to her date seems to be still in love with her ex-husband by the way she describes him at first. Her tone in  lines 10-11 and 14-18 gives a sense of warmth and importance to him. Shortly after that she says he is a ladies man knowing all the romantic spots in town (line 18-19). She states that he is full of himself because he is easily impressed by himself (line 24-25)and so it seems he blatantly flirts with women (line 28-29). Ironically she says who would put up with "shit" like his but she was with him at some point dealing with him (line 31-32).
  Toward the end of the poem she suddenly changes the topic (line 46) pushing aside the topic of her ex-husband as if she didn't care. Seems as if she tries to put her past in the past as she suddenly changes topic with her date. Her tone in line 46 can be in a melancholic tone, trying to not give much importance to her ex-husband yet her time with her date was all about her ex-husband.

Keshav Sharma-Blog Post 1, 1073

In “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins, the author attempts to assert that although students should enjoy a piece of poetry for what it is, they instead “[beat] it with a hose to find out what it really means.” By claiming that students resort to such “barbaric” methods of extracting meaning from a poem, they fail to figuratively “press an ear against its hive” and understand the true meaning of the poem. Using kinesthetic imagery such as “I want them to waterski across the surface of a poem,” Collins starkly contrasts his own view on poetry with that of his students, “all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope.” Using solely colorful imagery throughout the poem, Collins is able to demonstrate his disappointment with his students and also resolve the paradox he establishes at the beginning. Although not directly stated, one could infer from Collins’ tone throughout the text (being disappointed in his students) that he believes his students are also unchangeable.

Blog Post 1 Intro to Poetry Chris Bertrand

After reading "Introduction to Poetry" I feel like Billy Collins portrayed how one can experience poetry yet "solve" poetry simultaneously. Collins uses some metaphors to draw on the senses of the reader and poet-student. Collins encourages ways of understanding a poem by holding it to light (like a color slide), listening to it intently (ear to hive), an various metaphors for creating space in a poem. Somehow the poem is a space where a mouse can be dropped in and you could feel your way around, but it happens to be some space that is tied to chairs and beaten with hoses.
The metaphors throughout the poem lean towards this idea that when teaching poetry, students are encouraged to 'experience' the poem, but there is a "confession" they're trying to beat out of the poem. There is a "what it really means" that is to be identified, so this contradictory teaching approach remains contradictory.

"My Ex-Husband"

The Poem "My Ex-Husband" tells the story of a heart broken women, possible widow, through her conversations with another person, who is not her Ex-Husband. The poems Paradox is the Narrators simultaneous love and hate for her Ex-Husband. Throughout the poem, she speaks of the shame, waste, and snobbishness her ex-husband resembles to her, while drifting in and out of his so called "certain charm". The poem ask's "who'd lower herself to put up with shit like that" showing some of the irony this paradox has to offer. The narrator resolves this paradox in lines 34-37, where the poems shows the reader that her love for her ex-husband is still strong but she refuses to be "stuck" with the short end of the stick.

#1 "my ex-husband" analysis by alex zeledon

The poem “My Ex-Husband by Gabriel Spera talks about feelings of a girl that are about her Ex-Husband. 

A few lines down Gabriel Spara wrights,

“Whispering the sweetest things, like “Your lips

  Are like plump rubies, eyes like diamond chips,”

Spera states a paradox when she stated “Your lips Are like plump rubies” , lips cannot be soft as skin and hard as a rubies, what she ment was the lips were as soft as the color of some rubies.  As she says that line, it helps the reader see a more personal vision than saying just the word “lips”.

When Spera stated “eyes like diamond chips”, this line can mean that his eyes were literally like hard diamonds, but Spera wanted to perceive that his eyes were as sparkly as a diamond is in the sun, with no imperfections, to show the reader a more vivid example of an eye with no imperfections, rather than just saying his eye was clear.

Kayleen Grant- Blog Post #1, Question #1

Gabriel Spera's "My Ex- Husband" tells the story of a woman and her conflicted emotions towards her ex-husband, as she describes him to a new potential lover. Through her detailed monologue, the reader finds contradiction in the speaker's emotion, revealing the poem's paradox, as she is both disgusted by and infatuated with her ex-husband. By the poem's end, the speaker's clear inability to let go of her former relationship resolves the paradox through the author's various uses of diction and irony. This resolution reveals to the reader that this woman, who claims to be over her ex-husband, is still actually very emotionally and mentally attached to the man who may or may not have cheated on her.

The poem obviously begins with the title: "My Ex-Husband". This provides initial ambiguities and tensions as the reader expects to read about the speaker's former lover, and literally, we do. But, with her description, we ironically learn more about her character and personality than we do of his. The speaker begins her bitter rant by referring the listener to her "ex-husband pictured on the shelf, smiling as if in love." The phrase "as if in love" implies that her husband had not actually loved her, strengthening the ambiguities introduced with the title. This tension is later resolved as she reveals her husband's "affairs". Later in the poem the she complains of her husband's flirtatious tendencies: "but flirted somehow a bit too ardently, too blatantly, as if, if someone ever noticed, no one cared how slobbishly he carried on affairs." The author's word choice in this phrase also adds to the building tension in the poem. The word "affairs" holds a connotative meaning, as the speaker is subtly referring to how her ex-husband cheated. She continues, questioning, "who'd lower herself to put up with shit like that? " This sentence is incredibly ironic as she did exactly that. She put up with, and is still in love with the man who she thinks cheated on her. Towards the end of her description, she adds that she would never be "on the short end of the stick," claiming to "never ever get stuck." But, this woman who claims to never get stuck, is still figuratively very stuck to her ex-husband. Although she and her husband are literally divorced and physically not together, the speaker is still attached to him. Through the author's uses of diction and irony, it is clear that this woman is both simultaneously fed up with and obsessed with her ex, forcing the reader into the resolution that the speaker is still unable to let go of her marriage and ex-husband.

Gray Blog Post #1/1073

#1 "My Ex- Husband"

In Gabriel Spera's "My Ex-Husband" one clear paradox stood out to me. The woman giving the monologue says how much she dislikes her now ex-husband, though she keeps a framed photograph of him in her home.  She seems to both love and hate this man. I think the meaning behind this paradox is that she is trying to show her control or dominance to her new suiter. She is not in fact in love with him, but keeps the frame as a symbol of her control. Through out the peom she more than hints of his infidelity and perhaps unintentionally shows more of her true character by continuing to bash his. When she says, "since I haven't got a photograph of you" as a reasoning behind keeping this photo of her ex, she is implying that his will be the next photo she displays. Later in the peom she says, "No, we'll take my car" as another way to show him she is in charge. When she says, "all kisses stopped together" she is implying, with her choice of words, that perhaps not just kisses with her have stopped but all his kisses have stopped. That she has somehow put an end to his game and the sham of a marraige. Again this statement seems a warning, though suttle. In the poem she uses the word 'stuck' on two occasions. Towards the begining of the peom she says she 'stuck' the picture in a frame. Farther down she says "I chose never to get stuck". This is her way of declaring to her date that she has made a choice to never be stuck in a relationship like the one she has described in length. Rather than be stuck herself, she has no problem "sticking" him into a frame as well.

(Blog Post #1, class 1073) My Ex-Husband Analysis by Abbey Vivas-Orozco

           The poem "My Ex-Husband" By Gabriel Spera is a common example of how a woman feels towards her ex-husband; both hate and love.  In the first couple of lines the reader can be drawn to assume that the wife may be speaking to a new friend or even a mate. The poem is clearly revealing how the spouse feels through her spiteful divorce, her inner conflict to feel hate and love for her ex-husband remains. Throughout the poem, a malicious and sarcastic tone is used in order to contribute to emphasize that this woman hates her ex-husband but yet seems to have moved onto a different man, even though her ex-husband is not present, he seems to be present throughout the poem. By this, it is revealed that her obsession for her ex-husband has not let her move on but has made a stronger imprint in her life.

            For example, the way the woman speaks about her ex-husband seems to still love him. It is clearly showed how she cannot even remove an old frame of him, meaning she still wants to keep him close to her life. Even though, she has friend or mate that is at her house might miss lead that she is trying to forget about her past relationship but if she really did she would not spend so much of that time talking about her ex. She describes him with so much hate in her malicious and sarcastic tone of voice towards the middle of the poem due to his affairs. "How snobbishly he carried on affairs...who'd lower herself to put up with shit like that?"

 But, surprisingly, she is portraying her ex-husband characteristics. She now taking control of the situation as well as the setting her friend or mate will have dinner and she will being the one driving to that fine restaurant. She does not want to go to any checkered tables, therefore, the dinner at Chez Pierre works out to her “standards,” making her be the shadow of her ex-husband by taking control of the situation.

As the poem comes to its end the “champagne flutes” from Italy which Claus got in the settlement for her are symbolic, for she has kept the champagne bottle for a special occasion. Would this be considered a special occasion? In a way it can be viewed as her trophy because as a women it represents once again the power over the taste and how she got something over that past relationship. She hates what he did to her but loves him for doing it because if it wouldn’t for that, she wouldn’t be that person who is “self-satisfied” which makes her happy. Even though  she makes it seem like she is over the incidence, nonetheless she is only over the it because she carries her ex-husband in her inner self.

            

Literary elements in Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess"

Robert Browning's work with "My Last Duchess" gives great examples of how a writer can use elements such as point of view and characterization to create and resolve complex paradoxes such as love and hate within a relatively short and literally concise work. Within the vain and seemingly ruthless monologue of the Duke Ferrera the poem establishes a singular biased point of view. Not much farther into reading when Ferrera is sufficiently characterized through his tone among other elements, it can be seen that an underlying paradox of love and hate is established.
Browning uses the singular point of view from a duke who has recently been widowed by his last duchess. This standpoint allows browning to portray a man who is on one hand a bereaved husband but on the other uses connotation in characterization to portray a more sinister man. The works point of view creates a peculiar bout of irony as the duke delves further into the late duchess's transgressions he betrays his own interests of negotiating for his next wife with the connotation of a rather ruthless exile of his last. This starts the paradox in which the institution of marriage which is intended to house a loving union has been sullen with a jealous and hateful relationship instead.
The characterization in "My Last Duchess" is a powerful element in the paradox. As the duke spends much of his time characterizing himself ironically through characterizing his former wife he delves deeply into his irate disgust of the former duchess. The excerpt "but thanked Somehow — I know not how — as if she ranked My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name With anybody's gift." is so powerful in his speech that it sums up a large portion of his narcissistic nature. From this conceited and irate point of view somewhat ambiguous lines such as " I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together." become abundantly clear.
As the work begins to wind down and the paradox of love and hate seems to be resolved through the vengeful demise of the last duchess Browning uses a bit of symbolism "Nay, we'll go Together down, sir. Notice Neptune, though,Taming a sea-horse" and put to rest any doubts. Though again there is a bout of ambiguity in connotation, as Neptune has been known to represent control as pertaining to Ferrera's control of an uncontrollable entity. However Neptune is also known to be a symbol of delusion, illusion and his trident the trinity of past present and future for an overtone of universality. This leaves an impression of continual tumultuous delusion for Ferrera's quest in ultimately conquering an entity that cannot be reigned.

Introduction to Poety

He writes about a “poem” as if a living being (mouse) can actually be dropped into it, a “poem” as if it is a place (room) that can be wondered into, or a “poem” as a thing (a lake) that can be ridden on; giving the reader the power of imagery, to show how complex reading a poem can be. Yet the irony is simple: If the mouse is not dropped, the room not wandered into, or if the reader does not waterski across the surface, then all is lost in understanding the poem.   

Analysis of "Introduction to Poetry"

The Paradox in Billy Collins "Introduction to Poetry" is that he tries to provide an audience with insight to reading and understanding poetry through  imagery and the use of individuals senses to interpret the text. The paradox is resolved with the exact opposite, the audience trying to obtain one, over all, right answer for the poem. "press a ear against its hive." in line 4 is an example of auditory imagery. "walk inside the poem's room and feel the walls for a light switch." and "take a poem and hold it up to the light" are examples of visual imagery. "I want them to water-ski across the surface of a poem waving at the author's name on the shore." is an example of kin-esthetic imagery. All of these examples are forms of imagery used by the author to help explain the creative process for interpreting text. "tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it." and "begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means." are also examples of imagery, but are used in a different way. The imagery of these examples are basic and don't require much creative thought to interpret. The author uses imagery to explain how to interpret, and how not to interpret literature.

Alexis Reed: Introduction to Poetry Blog Post #1

Question #8:

In Billy Collins' “Introduction to Poetry” Collins' uses various forms of imagery such as auditory image and kinesthetic imagery to communicate that readers spend more time tearing a poem apart in order to find the meaning and missing out on the experience of truly reading a poem. Collins implies that his students are much more focused with “…beating it with a hose in order to find out the meaning” rather than “…waterski[ing] across the poem’s surface.”  The kinesthetic imagery produces an image of students physically beating a poem in order to discover the meaning hidden within the poem. The second kinesthetic imagery lets readers picture a student water-skiing across the poems words, letting the reader have an understanding of what the words mean. His students want to hurry and find the meaning without taking the slow steps in order to find the meaning. In order to motivate his students to take the steps to find the meaning, he tells them to “…press an ear against its hive.” Collins might be hinting that before analyzing the poem, students need to “hear” the poem so they can have a sense of what the poem is about. Collins then tells his students to “…walk inside the poem’s room and feel the walls for a light switch.” This implies he wants his students to get a feel for the poem before forcing a confession out of the poem. Collins allows his readers to picture the sense of urgency his students feel by generating the image of students tying the poem to a chair and "...torturing a confession out of it." Collins implies that he does not want his students to feel a sense of urgency when reading a poem but instead to have an extraordinary experience reading poems. 

My Ex Husbad

In the poem My Ex Husband written by Gabriel Spera, tells a story about a women who describes the relationship with her ex husband. Throughout the poem, you get a sense that the divorce that she went through was not an easy one for her. She tells you all the negative things that her used to be husband has done, such as " how slobbishly he carried on affairs.".But what doesn't make sense is when she starts saying all the nice things about him, it seems as though it is a love and hate kind of paradox. She explains how it " always made [her] limbs go woozy when he kissed [her], and that he seemed " like any woman's perfect catch". As a reader, you start to feel as if she is just extremely hurt by losing him. And the only thing for her to do to try to get over him is by trying to rip him apart and find all of the negative things in him. But in reality she is still head over heels in love with this guy.Thus showing the conclusion to the paradox of a love and hate relationship.

#4 So Mexicans...Trevor Coopersmith

In Jimmy Santiago Baca's poem, "So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans", there are some immediate ambiguities within the poem. Each word or phrase that provokes ambiguity has interpretations that can be viewed as being connotative or denotative to fit more adequately within the poem and unravel the true message Baca is attempting to portray. "Gimme your job" is an ambiguous term. The "your" can be interpreted as being Americans or anybody that has a job. The tension is later resolved when the word "gringo" is used multiple times throughout the poem. Gringo is a term used by Mexicans to generally describe people from America. Baca then claims "an asthmatic leader
crawls turtle heavy, leaning on an assistant". The denotative definition of this is that one is some sort of slow leader, with asthma that gains assistance from someone. A connotative interpretation is that a news anchor is crying for help slowly, towards the American public regarding job loss. "Clean suited farmers" can also be interpreted with connotative and denotative meaning. Clean suited farmers can literally be farmers that enjoy dressing appropriately. Farmers rarely wear suits, so "clean suited farmers" can be described as a phrase that expresses the formality of New York businessmen. The tension is later resolved when Baca claims these farmers have never been on a farm. Baca also mentions a "cool green sea of money" stating that below it are people fighting to live. Denotation of this phrase explains an abundance of money. This can also be interpreted as being North America. Below the wealthy and prosperous Americans are lower class Mexicans. They are lower in social standard and also geographically. The millions of people fighting to live "search for pearls in the darkest depths". This phrase exclaims a person who may work extremely hard and put in a large amount of effort. A connotative definition may be a person who has just a small amount of hope left. A person who fights to survive. This person referenced is the everyday Mexican who fights to cross the border to find hope for the "pearl" of the pure American dream. The tension is later resolved when Baca explains that the Mexicans are trying to acquire something. They are attempting to gain income and stray away from poverty. 

8. Introduction to Poetry Blog #1

In Billy Collin's "Introduction to Poetry," the narrator wants his students to take the time and discover the poem through many different senses rather than only searching for the meaning. While the students want to fugure out the meaning of the poem, they do not want to go through the required process. Throughout the poem Collin's says many impossible phrases such as, "I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out." Although this is physically impossible, Collin's is going about motivating his students in a visual way. An example of kinesthetic imagery is,"They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means." You can picture a student physically beating up a poem trying to get it to reveal it's meaning, portraying the poem as being alive. This visual shows how students are not willing to put forth the effort required when working with poetry. "Or press an ear against its hive." This quotation is an example of auditory imagery. The narrator wants the students to listen to the words of the poem rather than simply reading them. "I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out." This visual imagery is relating the reader to a mouse. The mouse is setting an example of how to go about reading the poem, by "probing his way out." The author ends the poem in hopes that the students will quit beating up poems and begin using their senses in a productive and educational way.

My Ex-Husband #1 blog post

In the poem "My Ex-Husband" by Gabriel Spera the readers are introduced to a woman's view of her now ex-husband. She tells the readers about the wrongs he had done to her and the way he could get away with it seemingly unnoticed. She says "He seems like any woman's perfect catch, what with his ruddy cheeks, the neat mustache, those close-set, piercing eyes, that tilted grin. But snapshots don't show what's beneath the skin!", this could mean that even though he may seem like the most attractive male he has things about his person that are also unattractive, such as personality. When she states "He'd a certain charm, charisma, style, that passionate earnest glance he struck, meanwhile whispering sweetest things......could flush the throat of any woman, not just mine", it gives you a sense that he has not been truly faithful in the past. The irony that he puts off a front that can make any woman take a second glance but the writer knows what he truly is like underneath his ideal appearance. She goes on to tell us about other instances where he has showed a sense of disloyal behavior, such as "he flirted somehow a bit too ardently, too blatantly, as if, if someone ever noticed, no one cared how slobbishly he carried on affairs." The tone in the beginning of the poem seems calm and balanced but as she goes on to tell about her husbands affairs she seems to get more direct and angry. At the end her tone seems to flow into a more smirky like appearance when she talks about her champagne flutes. To show she is better off without her ex-husband and his untrue ways.

#8 intro to poetry analysis

The statement of paradox for intro to poetry by Billy Collins is that the author desperately wants the readers of poetry (who he refers to as “them”) to engage in a sensory filled experience when reading poems and instead they ignore the actual content of the poem in search of a deeper meaning. 

Fittingly, Collins uses loads of imagery in this poem to help support his paradox. In stanza #1 he writes “I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide.”   This use of visual imagery evokes a optical experience in that the reader can actually perceive the vivd light and color that the author is alluding to. 

Next in stanza #2 Collins writes “or press an ear against its hive.” In this illustration he is attempting to elicit auditory imagery by inviting the reader to physically hear the words of the poem.

Furthermore in the middle stanzas Collins uses multiple examples of kinesthetic imagery by inviting us to “watch”, “walk”, “feel”, and “waterski” our way to a more poetically sensual experience. 

By the end of stanza #5 the readers are presumably on a multi-sensory high being drawn deeper and deeper into the authors passion for poetry when the author interrupts us with his frustrating reality that, 

“all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it.”

We, the readers, are then left feeling cold and empty. The poem then resolves abruptly with one final use of visual imagery that leaves the reader feeling like an executioner of words.

Joe Rota Blog Post #1 1075

The poem "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins, captivates the reader in the context that the reader themself becomes the character within the poem. There are many metaphores that send the reader off  on an imaginary and sense filled expeirence, but abruptly becomes a poem of deeper mis conception. The Title alone "Introduction to poetry" is ironic in that introductions to anything are basic and easy understand when in fact the poem is very complex. Another form of verbal irony would be that the author intends for "them" to take the poem easily for what it was and to simply enjoy the poem with all of it's imagry and yet they wind up trying to "tie the poem to a chair and torture a confession out of it". A paradox is instilled when the poem comes full circle. The reader realizes that "them" ment you, I, or us. As we generally see the poem as something with a purpose or meaing, so we go stanza by stanza trying to rip it a part instead of just enjoying the poem for what it is.

Sydney Thiessa Post #1

Question # 8: Using "Introduction to Poetry" Billy Collins' "Introduction to Poetry" contains the paradox of explaining how students work hard to figure out what poems mean instead of enjoying poems for their imagery, but they are actually working hard to figure out what this poem means and are ignoring the wonderful experience. The poem opens with visual imagery of light, which emphasizes the gentleness of poetry. This gentleness sets up the poem, as it continues with more imagery that evoke the senses. The next stanza has auditory imagery with the buzz of bees in their hive, and the next three stanzas have kinesthetic imagery. All of these three types of imagery evoke a feeling of relaxation as the reader journeys through the poem, which is how poems are meant to be read. Then, the poem takes an abrupt turn to aggressive and violent imagery with the diction of "torture" and "beating", referring to how students become negative about poetry. After this change in tone, the reader starts to emulate the violence and figure out what this poem means, when it really doesn't have a deeper meaning; it just needs to be appreciated and experienced.

Kelsey Anderson Blog Post 1, 1075

In the poem "My Ex-Husband" by Gabriel Spera, the speaker, an unmarried single woman, shares her mixed emotions about her ex-husband to another man before going with him on a romantic date. Her lengthy monologue about her ex is definitely quite the unorthodox subject to discuss with a seemingly brand new lover. The speaker's extreme emotions towards her ex, in the form of both disgust and adoration, contradict with each other and reveal a paradox that is resolved in the end when she realizes she has a new lover to spend time with now, a man who will help her forget about her ex-husband.

In the first couple lines of the poem, the speaker addresses the subject of the poem, revealing "That's my ex-husband pictured on the shelf, smiling as if in love." The phrase "as if in love" subtly implies that he no longer loves her, and reveals she loves him, yet ironically, doesn't at the same. Afterwards the listener, her new lover,  is first mentioned, when she slips in a hint of adoration towards him in a parenthetical aside, "Kind of a shame to waste [the picture frame] on [my ex-husband], but what could I do? (Since I haven't got a photograph of you.)" This both increases and reduces the importance of the phrase, separating it from the rest of the sentence. Symbolically, this represents her separating the new lover with her ex-husband, both degrading and praising both men at the same time. Later on in the poem, she shows another example of her multiple reactions when she says, "he seems like any woman's perfect catch, [...] But snapshots don't show what's beneath the skin." The word "snapshots" goes back to the picture itself; In a photo people seem picture perfect, but an image shows only his "picture perfect" looks, not his imperfect personality. The speaker then goes on about what he did wrong, implying that he cheated on her, perhaps with more than just one woman, with phrases such as, "Such stuff Was all too well rehearsed, I soon enough
Found out," "he flirted - fine! But flirted somehow a bit Too ardently*, too blatantly" and "but what bimbo In the steno pool went without the same Such kisses?" In the end she reveals they got divorced, saying "So, I made some calls, filed some claims, All kisses stopped together." Overall, the woman lets out everything her husband did that caused her hatred (despite her ironic sentimental love for him) as a way of implying that her new lover should not do the same, or they will no longer be together. In the end, the speaker quickly changes the subject from her ex to her new lover, asking "Shall we go? I'm in The mood for Chez Pierre's, perhaps, tonight," yet requests "As well, of course, though I'd prefer not to go To any place with checkered tables," referring back in time to the dinner dates she and her ex went on, and implying she still both loves and hates her ex, and doesn't want to be reminded of the memories. 

perezA: (blogg 1 class 1073) Jimmy Santiago Baca: “So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans”

The authors first lines were “Do they come on horses with rifles,” giving the reader a straight forward view of a cowboy bandit.  Then, Baca presents the image of a Mexican who sneaks into a city at night and mugs someone at knifepoint saying they want the victim's job, the author draws us the stereotype that most Americans think; that Mexicans are delinquents. It is not possible believe that anyone would demand someone's job  threatening them but the author gave us the stereotypical view of a Mexican man that is a bandit or street thug, that is the characterization that Baca uses to make his point; saying that there are harworking people that leave their country just to prosper and take whatever job they can find and americans worry more over this then children and other people that need the attention and help.

Disbro Blog Post 1, 1075

The narrative "My Last Duchess" written by Robert Browning focuses on the speakers domineering personality and his yearning for power which in turn causes the speaker to murder his "last duchess".
The dynamic characterization of the speaker plays a prominent role throughout the narrative. The speaker immediately begins accusing his duchess of having an affair. Questions begin to arise regarding the duchess. Did she really commit adultery? Is she dead? If the duchess is really dead, why would he kill her instead of simply divorcing or leaving her? As the poem progresses the speakers egotistic nature becomes clear and it is revealed that he is responsible for the death of his duchess.
A few symbols arise throughout the narrative. The painting of the duchess is a symbol for how the speaker wanted her to remain. The painting is described as being breathtakingly beautiful, the duchess looks perfect. The painting was proof that the duchess served one purpose for the speaker; she was an object. She was to do nothing but look pretty for him and him only. Now that she is dead, only the picture remains. The duchess is now the way that he had always intended, static and perfect.
The curtain which encloses the painting of the duchess is another symbol. It illustrates the power of the speaker. Only he decides who gets to look upon the painting of his duchess. Other men were not allowed to look at the painting unless given permission. This is very similar to the way that the speaker did not want any other men talking or looking at his duchess, but she seemed to invite such attention on her own. The speaker let his guard down in the case of the painter which resulted in an affair between his duchess and her painter, or so the speaker assumes. The duchess disgraced the speakers ego and his "900 year old name" which resulted in her death.

Blog post #1 My Ex-Husbnd By Gariel Spera

Brittni Ladderbush
English 201

     In the poem My Ex-Husband By Gabriel Spera  readers are taken through the internal struggle of loving a man who betrays you and knowing when to move forward from the relationship. The woman's , or Ex-Wife's , tone in the beginning stanzas have an almost light feel to them giving the reader a touch of positivity about a marriage gone wrong. She talks of the frame and how it is "Kind of a shame To waste it on him, but what could I do? (Since I haven't got a photograph of you.)" and that is when we are aware that she is speaking to a new lover or close acquaintance. The line where she chooses to say 'kind of a shame' reveals that while it is in her best interest that she is divorced from him there is a small internal struggle that continues to recognize what she loved about him.

    The following stanzas talk about her ex-husband's features and what intially drew her in. "What with his ruddy cheeks, the neat mustache, Those close-set, piercing eyes, that titled grin.". From the outside her ex appears to be a perfect gentleman, she comments next in the poem on how he can compliment her perfectly, more specifically he can compliment any woman perfectly and that is when the final tone of the poem sets in. While the ex-wife loved her husbands charm and affection she did not love him being with other women and that is when her struggle of loving or hating him is deciphered.

    The tone of the poem changes to that of a woman jaded and betrayed. When she talks of her ex-husband's charm and finishes with , "Could flush the throat of any woman, not

Just mine." the reader is now fully aware of his unfaithfulness and the main reason she left. The tone remains the same throughout the rest of the poem as she goes on to insult his character, "He had an attitude-how should I put it-smooth, self-satisfied, too good For the rest of the world, too easily

Impressed with his officious self", which correlates with a woman in love who has been jaded. 

    The end of the poem has a differnt tone that is almost a light indifference to her ex or possible a mockery, when she mentions that champagne flutes, which is an indicator that she has moved on and is content with the her new life and what she gained from her previous one. the paradox that was the woman's struggle between love and hate was resolved through her moving on and growing indifferent to any feelings for her ex-husband.

 

So Mexicans>#4>Christian Fry

In Jimmy Santiago Baca's poem titled, “So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans”, diction plays a clear role in creating small ambiguous tensions throughout. The poem comments on social injustices, and Baca clearly chooses specific words to make ambiguities. These ambiguities are soon cleared up by more excellent word choice on Baca's part.
The first ambiguous word or phrase iss the first phrase of the poem.
"O Yes? Do they come on horses with rifles…"
The use of the word "they" in this phrase makes it unclear as to who the author is speaking of. This lack of clear meaning is soon cleared up by the use of the term "Mexicans" and referring to the rifles and other previous descriptions.
Later in the poem, Baca creates more tension by using words with many meanings to describe a politician. Baca describes the politician as "asthmatic". Asthmatic denotatively means that the politician has asthma but connotatively could mean a number of things. One, being that he was a poor politician conducting political business asthmatically.
Baca also uses the phrase “leaning on an assistant” with ambiguous intent. He could mean literally that the politician was leaning on his assistant. In which case it could mean a personal assistant or some sort of brace that assists him while standing. Baca could even be referring to the way the politician leans on the people below him to make him look good and important.
An interesting use of the word cross can be found even later in the poem. Baca talks of people who cross poverty to just have something. This unusual choice of verb and preposition makes the phrase somewhat ambiguous. In a traditional sense the author would say “people cross from poverty to just have something.” Baca leaves out the “from” and it remains ambiguous as to why for the remainder of the poem.

Richard Hernandez - Blog Post #1 - Question #2

In the poem, My Ex-Husband, the woman speaking still has feelings for her ex-husband. This all begins with the first line "That's my ex-husband pictured on the shelf". Literally a shelf is an object where you place things you want to be seen or be reminded of. On a decorative stand point the easiest thing to fill the empty space of a shelf is a framed picture. When choosing a picture for a frame your more inclined to choose one that will remind you of good times or some sort of happiness. I don't believe people frame pictures of an unhappy time. In this case her choice for that framed picture is her ex-husband. By her ex-husband being placed in a frame, on a shelf, and not in a drawer, symbolizes that she will have feelings for him as long as he remains on that shelf. A shelf can be a symbol for interests, current things in your life, or things you want to be reminded of. The frame could be a symbol for beauty because in a literal aspect a picture can't present itself any better than with a frame. So now the permanent picture is being beautified by a frame that sits on her shelf and will remain there until she builds up the courage to remove it thus removing all of her feelings for him. 
Another example of her feelings is the fourth line "Kind of a shame to waste it (the frame) on him, but what could i do?" Her choice of words makes her seem unsure or her actions. The phrase "kind of" shows her unsureness on the subject of wasting the frame on him. Why couldn't she say "Its a shame to waste it on him"? Why did she start with "kind of"? The last part of that line "but what could I do?" shows that she has no control over her emotions and is controlled by the situation. She obviously wanted to decorate that empty shelf by placing a framed picture but why did she choose one of her ex-husband and why does she then say the phrase "but what could i do?" as if she has no "say" on what gets displayed on her own shelf?

Gabriel Spera's "My Ex-Husband" by Kendall Butt

      The poem "My Ex-Husband" is a classic example of how spouses view their ex's after an unpleasant divorce. The main character displays quite clearly throughout the entire poem her internal struggle to hate this man, which in turn reveals her underlying love for him. The spiteful and sarcastic tone used in the poem contributes to the fact that this woman hates her ex-husband and has moved on to a new man, though at the same time her obsession with her past keeps her from moving on internally.
      For instance, the woman describes her ex-husband as looking "almost lovable" in the photograph, though we know from the rest of the poem that this woman indeed once found this man to be completely lovable, but was forced to fall out of love with him once he allegedly cheated on her. By attempting to come off as offhand and careless about her last marriage experience, the true emotions of the speaker are revealed as her obsessive tone takes over.
      She does not pause to change the subject from her ex-husband until the entirety of the poem is through when she abruptly changes the subject to what her and her guest shall eat for dinner. Shortly following this the tone is again hastily switched back to the "triumph" of this woman's divorce settlement that landed her with some imported champagne flutes. She claims that she "chose to never ever get stuck" on the "short end of the stick", though by the end of the poem we can see that she is indeed stuck in this relationship even though literally she is no longer in it, and gained nothing out of it but material goods and a narcissistic attitude. The husband has clearly left her on the short end of the stick as his absence shows he has moved on and left her with a picture of him framed in her home to reflect on.

In My Ex-Husband the wife is speaking to a new lover. In the poem she tells
how her ex husband was too good to be true. She seems tos still have feelings toward him.
The tone in the poem switches from almost admiration to complete disgust "He had an attitude-how should i put it-smooth self satisfied, too good for the rest of the word."
     Something you catch from reading this poem is that he was unfaithful "and he flirted fine, but flirted somehow a little too ardently"
   She insults him throughout but also herself when she says "Who wold lower herself to put up with that shit".  It appears through the poem that she is almost trying to talk herself into keeping the feelings she has for him.
    Toward the end of the poem the tone switches again. After telling us she "made some calls and filed some claims. All kisses stopped together" she becomes more care free exclaiming "Shall we go? I'm in mood for Chez Pierre's, perhaps tonight." But in the last few lines of the poem she again brings up her ex husband.

My Ex-Husband Analysis- Allison Geviss

Throughout the poem of "My Ex-Husband" by Gabriel Spera the Ex-Husband is going about with affairs in both a secretive and obvious way. " That passionate, earnest glance he struck, meanwhile WHISPERING the sweetest things". In this description it appears as if he is being secretive while whispering in other women's ears trying to assure that no one else knows he is doing so. "Reserved an intimately dim-lit place half-hidden in a corner nook". The Ex tried to be secluded away from onlookers who may recognize him and tell his wife. So he hid in the corner while having a romantic dinner with other women. However she also claims "and he flirted-fine! but flirted somehow a bit too ardently, too blatantly" meaning he did not care who saw that he was flirting so often. He was willing to flirt openly as if he did not care who knew, even his wife.  Also she describes "how slobbishly he carried on affairs". Even though his affairs were "well rehearsed" he carried them on slobbishly, not trying to hid it. The Ex-husband is portrayed as being both secretive and open about his affairs. This openness leads to the downfall of their relationship and thus being the solution to the paradox.

Blog Post #1, Question #1, Kristyn Gumienny

Kristyn Gumienny
English 201

Analysis of Gabriel Spera's "My Ex-Husband"
★ "My Ex-Husband" can be read here!
     

     In the poem "My Ex-Husband," it is quite obvious that the woman still has feelings (both love and hate) for her ex-husband. From the first couple lines of the poem, the reader can assume that she is speaking to someone; a friend, or more likely a new love interest. In both cases she could be telling a story of their past...even calling herself a fool.

     Does the woman still love her ex-husband or not- it could easily be both. The way she speaks about him (along with the symbols) in some parts of the poem suggest that she might just be having a hard time moving on (the frame.) The possibility of the new love interest in her home might tell the reader that she's trying to forget about him. While out on her "date" with her friend or new lover she does not want to sit at any checkered tables, reason being she is probably trying to move on by going on this "date." And if this dinner at Chez Pierre works out the situation of "Since I haven't got a photograph of you" would be resolved and she would be on her way of moving on.

     The overall tone of the speaker seems to be passive, sarcastic, and disgusted. Passive in the sense that she went back and forth between remembering the good qualities in him, along with the bad. "He seems like any woman's perfect catch, what with his ruddy cheeks, the neat mustache, those close-set, piercing eyes, that titles grin," making herself feel somewhat lucky for her "catch." "But snapshot's don't show what's beneath the skin." It seems almost like she still has feelings for him as she begins reminiscing. Her husband was a tricky man, "well rehearsed" with his "passionate, earnest glance...reserving an intimately dim-lit place half-hidden in a corner nook." She never really blames him for anything, saying "It's all your fault!" but it seems more as if she's calling herself a fool for all that has happened. 

     Each time she beings talks about her husband, she has this sort of innocent tone, like nothing ever happened until she remembers the bad things about him. Her disgusted tone becomes more powerful toward the middle of the poem when she talks about his affairs. "How slobbishly he carried on affairs...who'd lower herself to put up with shit like that?" 

     There are several symbols in the poem which remind both the speaker and reader of the ex-husband. One being the frame, which instead of taking down she's decided to keep up. "Kind of a shame to waste it on him, but what could I do? (Since I haven't got a photograph of you.)" It's like she still wants to look at that photograph of her ex-husband and remember the past she had with him. She could have easily tucked the photo away from sight, yet she decides to keep it up. Another symbol could be the champagne flutes from Italy which Claus got in the settlement for her. It might be a warning from the woman to the unknown person that they had better watch out because if this were to happen to her again she would "make some calls, files some claims" until kisses stop altogether.

Rachel Greim, Post #1: Characterization and Symbolism in My Last Duchess

Robert Browning's My Last Duchess is a poem about a duke speaking to someone about his "last duchess," who is, for unknown reasons, now out of his life.  The conversation begins when the duke shows the listener a painting of his last duchess, and he goes on to describe his relationship with her.  It is heavily implied the duke believes his wife cheated on him, but we are never given enough detail to easily discern what exactly happened.  The paradox in this piece of literature is whether the wife is dead or alive, and what happened to her.  This paradox can be solved by examining the characterization and symbolism in the poem.

http://sosaloha.blogspot.com/2011/10/aloha-to-gabrielle-kimm-and-his-last.html

In the very beginning of the poem, the duke says the artist of the painting's "hands worked busily a day."  This suggests the duke believes something sexual happened between his wife and the artist.  This immediately  demonstrates the duke's bitterness about the situation.
In line 10 of the poem, the duke tells his companion that he is the only one who draws the curtain that covers the painting.  This statement provides both characterization and symbolism.  The duke is pointing out his authority and power.  Because the duke controls the curtain that allows others to see the painting of his wife, the curtain symbolizes the duke's control, or want for control, over his wife.  As we discover later in the poem, the duke had difficulty controlling his wife, and now he is able to completely.
Immediately following this line, the duke's self-importance shines through when he says, "they would ask me, if they durst."  He holds himself high above all others, and is used to being respected and feared by those below him in class.  This personality trait suggests that the duke would not take kindly to his wife not treating him with the respect he thinks he deserves.
Throughout the next section of the poem, it becomes fairly obvious that the duke strongly suspects his wife of having at least one, but probably multiple, affairs, even though he has no proof.  For example, when again mentioning the artist, he says, "perhaps Fra Pandolf chanced to say," which shows his lack of actual knowledge about what the artist and his wife discussed or said.  He later says "I choose never to stoop."  This statement is yet another example of how highly the duke holds himself.  He does not blame himself for any tension in his relationship and does not want to receive any less than he deserves in his relationships.
In perhaps the most menacing line of the poem, the duke says, "I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together."  Once again, the duke is exercising his authority.  This statement also directly corresponds to the paradox.  Previous to this line, the duke complains that while his wife smiled at him, she also smiled the same way at everyone else.  After his commands, she no longer smiles.  This implies that the duke gave the orders to kill his wife.

http://poemshape.wordpress.com/tag/fra-pandolf-by-design/

The last few lines of the poem are about the duke's next wife.  He is preparing to discuss the dowry for the girl he wants to marry.  The duke is further characterized when he acts as though he cares about the girl, but seems to be more interested in the money she will bring him through her dowry.    As the duke and his companion leave, the duke points out a statue of Neptune taming a seahorse.  This second piece of art is another symbol of the duke's desire for control.  In this instance, the duke views himself as Neptune and the seahorse as the woman he attempts to reign in.

Blog post #1 (1075) Jovana Gama

"So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans"

-Jimmy Santiago Baca

I've heard this ambiguity occasional times that Mexicans are taking jobs from Americans. Now the title already contains ambiguity, the title can imply that this poem is going to be about Mexicans stealing Americans jobs and the negativity of it, or perhaps that Mexicans are so mast in their population that they are beginning to uphold the positions that some Americans could of had. The word "taking" when used in this title could either mean that they are stealing these jobs forcefully or physically taking them or its second meaning could be that they are possibly filling up the position that is open due to their quality of work ethics and determination to succeed.

One phrase from the poem "We aren’t giving the children a chance to live." has a double meaning in which the denotative possibility of this sentence is stating we are not allowing children to live but instead are literally killing them. The connotative meaning perhaps is that we are not allowing opportunity for children of different ethnicity to grow and become something more of themselves. When stating we are not allowing a chance for them to live, it could mean we are not allowing them to be raised with adequate necessities, giving them a setback in life.


One last phrase "Below that cool green sea of money,
millions and millions of people fight to live," has a major connotative meaning. The cool green sea of money is similar to that of our small percentage of wealthy within America. The millions and millions of people "fighting to live" are the lower class and minorities of America. They are not literally physically fighting others to live, but fighting the economic struggle to support a family and maintain a life by barely making ends meet financially.

Rob Mondello- Blog 1, Question 4

Rob Mondello

Amy Bolaski

English 201

“So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans”   by Jimmy Santiago Baca :   Exploring Ambiguous Phrases 

 

      I chose this piece because it is often a dinner table discussion around my family, many of whom are mexican, including my daughter and little sisters, though I am not. Some of them came here illegally, although have gained citizenship since then. In the poem  " So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from American's ", Jimmy Santiago Baca utilizes ambiguity to allow versatility in the target audience he is writing to. What this does is allow the poem to appeal to an even wider range of political and cultural beliefs than the issue of immigration and naturalization would have reached on their own. There is no doubt this is still a subject of heated debate, maybe even more so now than during the time the poem was written in 1977. I believe this writing's  is still so strongly relevant because of the techniques of the author speaking in generalities. 

     The first phrase that really stood out to me having possible double meanings was "Below that cool green sea of money, millions and millions of people fight to live, search for pearls in the darkest depths
of their dreams, hold their breath for years trying to cross poverty to just having something". This line seems like it was referring to illegal immigrants struggling to make a living within a capitalist system after they have survived a life of poverty in another country, but upon further inspection it seems very possibly to be appealing to all immigration pasts that  most Americans share, after all the only race that was native to this land was the Native American, in which we took our land from.
    The next phrase that struck my attention was the when the author says "on TV, in the streets, in offices, should be saying, 'We aren't giving the children a chance to live.'" This is true well beyond the issue of immigration. With epic multigenerational problems such as genetically modified foods, water fluoridation, unsafe vaccination campaigns, air pollution caused by dispersed aerosols and industrialization, and the destruction of our environment. The grim future awaiting the consequences of such planetary and generational neglect,  encompass a much larger radius than just immigrants.
     A similar line that is equally vague states "The children are dead already ". This cynical attitude about the future generation set to inherit the problems of the planet gives little hope. One is left imagining the incoming obstacles as being insurmountable and solutionless in the same manner as that of someone purchasing a used car they are barely able to afford, later discovering a long list of expensive engine repairs they must fix. For the sake of our children I hope this opinion of the author is inaccurate.
     Another part of the poem that rings of mystery is " I've gone about trying to find them, asking just where the hell are these fighters. " The writer does not specify who these 'fighters' even are. Are they fighters against inequality, or people fighting against cultural integration, one is left wondering as I believe was intended by the author. Not only does Baca not identify the meaning of the usage of the word fighter, but further re-enforces its uncertainty by not disclosing their location.
     The final example of ambiguous phrase usage I single out from the the work are the words " I hear only a few people got all the money in this world ." While this is true only in relation to the scale one compares their fortune to. The group this statement signifies as having unfair ownership of planetary resources in relation to everyone else, also seems to isolate their greed as the source of our lack of prosperity.
     This radical work of social commentary can seem slightly extremist at times, but it is easy to be upset when we witness injustices by classification happening to the young and helpless. Many protests are still happening to this day about economic fairness and logical immigration policies. It is unlikely to find any one answer that will satisfy all crusading for equal rights, without destroying the sovereignty of either Mexico or America. As long as both sides are willing to hear each other out and compromise, I think we will all eventually reach a solution that everybody can live with.

 "Ese gringo, gimmee your job ....Take off your ring, drop your wallet on the blanket, and walk away"

full poem here-  http://iamthelizardqueen.wordpress.com/2007/04/05/jimmy-santiago-baca-so-mexicans-are-taking-jobs-from-americans/

     

BLOG #1 QUESTIONS

*I will be posting notes that contain sample thesis statements, terminology we’ve covered thus far, and some solid class observations made. These may help you with your analysis for the first blog assignment. Choose one (1) question below to answer thoroughly – just one question, but it requires a good amount of thought and some writing, so one is enough.  (If you wish to do more, by all means . . . .)

**While you will answer one, you should respond to two (2) of your peers. Your responses should go beyond casual compliments (“good job!”)  and invite further conversation. Since many people won’t post until the deadline, you don’t have to post your responses by Monday (1/28). Responses are due by the following Friday (in this case, 2/01). This will be the typical pattern during the weeks we do blogs – Monday deadline for the post, Friday deadline for the responses.

***This information will also be posted in a Word document in BB’s “Content” should you want it all in once place/wish to print it out, etc.). This document also contains detailed instructions for accessing the blog,

1. Using “My Ex-Husband”, come up with a statement of paradox and its resolution (thesis statement). Having done so, provide several textual examples (evidence) of diction and/or tone and irony (ones that we didn’t explore or explore fully in class) that support the paradox you’ve identified.

2. Using “My Ex-Husband”, come up with a statement of paradox and its resolution (thesis statement). Having done so, provide several textual examples (evidence) of symbolism that support the paradox. Remember that symbols are typically concrete things

that have a literal function in text but also suggest something more abstract (and usually more complicated). For instance: the picture frame operating as a simple frame for a photograph as well as a figurative frame for a whole existence with someone and/or the framing of the past as it’s no longer (a man in love). (Don’t use the frame but other symbols.)

3. Using “My Last Duchess”, discuss elements of characterization, symbolism and/or point of view (choose two of these) to discuss as elements that contribute to the establishing of and sustaining/eventual solving of a paradox. For this question, provide a statement of paradox (thesis) so that you can tie your examples to it. This question asks you to explore the poem somewhat outside what we already covered in class, so I’m not asking you to deal with diction, denotation/connotation, or irony here.

4. Using “So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans”, a poem that we haven’t yet discussed, choose five to seven words and/or phrases that are immediately ambiguous. Explain the denotative and connotative possibilities for each. You don’t have to write a statement of paradox for this one, but you should explain where/how these small tensions are resolved.  (I chose this poem particularly because it definitely provokes an emotional reaction in readers – as such, the poem poses a challenge for New Critics. You’ve got to approach it without giving into those emotional responses (at least in written analytical form, that is). 

5. Using “So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans”, come up with a statement of paradox and its resolution (thesis statement). Having done so, provide several textual examples (evidence) of tone and irony. Again, you don’t have to provide a statement of paradox for this one but should explain where/how irony is working as thoroughly as you can.

6. Using “So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans”, provide a statement of paradox and its resolution. Use examples of imagery to connect to the development of paradox. Imagery is, of course, the use of images to invoke the reader’s senses. Visual imagery is the most common and the most familiar to most