Explication: Porphyria's Lover

Porphyria's Lover begins in a primarily regular rhythm, breaking occassionally, which may in fact hint at the narrator's uncertainty revealed later. The first four lines assume the rhyme pattern ABAB, then lapse with BCDCD, intermingling rhyming quartets with couplets. As the poem progresses and the reader discovers the narrator's cruel intentions and perplexed mind, the rhythm falters more frequently. Lines 39-42 give the rhyme pattern AABC, the B rhyme breaking free of all other patterns while the narrator haphazardly consoles himself by saying that he has not caused his lover pain in killing her.

The repetition in this poem is telling because not only does it foreshadow the conclusion but it tells of the circularly wild and sadistic mind of the narrator. For example, We mentions her yellow hair several times before strangling her, foreshadowing her death and the narrator's obsession alike. Also, the repetition insinuates that the narrator enjoys similarity, which may be why he kills his mistress. He has reached the epitomy of her relationship, with her love, and knows it can go no farther because it is forbidden but he doesn't want it to recede either. Thus, he kills her, and leaves her with eyes open against his shoulder, freezing her in time in love with him by killing her.

The narrator and Porphyria may not be together possibly from marriages, thus they are having an adulterous affair. This is likely causing the narrator a good deal of guilt, which is insinuated throughout the poem. He says "I listened with heart fix to break" and later thinks "a sudden thought of one so pale for love of her", discussing possibly his wife. The evidence of his guilt climaxes in the final line with his reference to God, for he is awaiting God's rebuttal for the murder but is surprised and perhaps pleased that He has "not said a word".

Music Lessons: Explication

Mary Oliver's poem "Music Lessons" tells of a piano teacher departing from her mundane existence to dive into the music. The first paragraph not only sets the scene, but builds tension, an anticipation for the performance about to begin, while "she would gaze a moment." Then, the second paragraph sets up the first half of the juxtaposition to which we are introduced; what is juxtaposed is the life of the women, rather ordinary and stern (photographs of son and serious husband), and the life she takes on when playing the piano. 

The contrast in diction paints an energetic picture of the teacher playing the piano. In the beginning, everything is petite and closed. The house is small, the windows shut. This may also be seen as the conception of a quaint yet powerful hiding place. In the final stanza, the diction is electrified; "she fled in that lick of flame." The imagery and themes also become violent, in contrast with the first stanza, which discusses mere knickknacks. The final stanza discusses impending death, abruptly and aggressively:
"the knife at the throat" seems to threaten the teacher as well as to propel her to wild, fiery, masterful playing. 

Asonance appears throughout the poem in instances such as "neat green" while rhyme makes appearances as well (though only as approximate rhyme) in instances such as with "at the throat [...] in the metronome." There is some alliteration as well, with “her sons and […] serious husband.” There is consonance. In line 6, the ‘d’ sounds appears several times, creating a rhythmic sound: vanished, formed, sound. The appearance of rhyme and carefully crafted rhythm throughout the poem gives a musical feel to the poem, which is appropriate seeing as the poem is about piano. The poem discusses the playing of music, while itself reading like a piece of music, smooth and elegant. 

The Candle by Leo Tolstoy

"The Candle" by Leo Tolstoy presents many of the same themes that "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" presents. Nature, greed and cruelty, and foolery all are visible themes. However, the most predominant theme is religion, and within it, sin, repentance, and the vitality of faith and goodness. The final sentence summarizes this succinctly: that the peasants learn of the goodness in religion and its power over evil.

First, foolery makes yet another appearance, and once again the sentiments is uttered by a hypocrite under dramatic irony. Michael calls Peter a fool, yet really it is Michael who is the fool, sent to his death by greed and cruelty. Peter, called a fool (like the elder in "How Much Land Does a Man Need?") is truthfully wise (wiser than all the other characters) for he maintains goodness, patience, and faith, as shown by the candle which burns ever-brightly.

The Christian sins appear frequently throughout this story: greed, impatience, murder, breaking Sabbath or Holy-Day, and other transgressions. Most notably, there is the contention between Peter and Vasili over the matter of murder, and whether or not it is a sin when the victim is like the Devil. Peter, quite religiously and as the hero, maintains that murder is always wrong, and that God will dish the punishments. Vasili, on the opposite hand, thinks that murder is justifiable in this case. Because it is Peter who is most victorious-- his principles win out over Vasili's-- it is evident that Tolstoy's is voicing his preference for religious values once again.

Another theme that appears in this short story, and one that does not appear forthright in "How Much Land Does a Man Need?", is the prevalence of democracy. The serfs go to the capitol to demand justice (though they fail). Vasili tries to call the men together; the narrator mentions clearly, in the beginning, that serfs might normally be able to essentially "vote" out their cruel master. The undercurrent of democratic society ringing through the story puts emphasis on Tolstoy's comparatively liberal, democratic values in a Russia that does not maintain such values.

How Much Land Does a Man Need? by Leo Tolstoy

Tolstoy's short story "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" presents several notable themes. First, there is social humiliation and fear of/preoccupation with foolery. One of the first observations that is made about the Bashkir elder is that he "seemed a fool," immediately demoting him from importance and emphasizing the importance of appearing cognizant. This theme appears later when Pakhom is afraid to stop because he feels the onlookers will call him an "idiot." His fear of being labelled an idiot (like a fool) propels him forth into death from exhaustion. Anxiety towards social humiliation, as the Bashkirs watch, leads to his demise-- once Pakhom hears the spectators cheers, he receives a burst of adrenaline, fueled by social acceptance in the cheers, and wins his bet, dying in the process. Tolstoy seems to be suggesting that adherence to social guidelines and desperation for social approval pose a problem, and that while Pakhom deems the elder to be a fool, he is hypocritical, for he is a fool himself for being deathly preoccupied with labeling. 

Another dominant, clear theme and message in this short story is that greed is a pernicious characteristic. Evidently, Tolstoy is suggesting that the protagonist’s avarice is a major component in his death sentence. He lusts for more land than he needs, more land than he can cover in a day, and pays the ultimate price. We are even given a blatant demonstration of this when Pakhom wonders if “I was too greedy.” This theme also plays into Tolstoy’s ongoing preoccupation with religious values. Greed is one of the traditionally Christian “Seven Deadly Sins,” thus Tolstoy’s condemnation of greed goes along with his encouragement towards religious values.

A third theme in this short story is the mastery of nature, and the inevitability of nature’s dominance. There are hints of appreciation for nature; the protagonist thiks the land around him to be “beautiful.” However, despite Pakhom literally trying to run circles around the beautiful land, nature runs circles around him. Pakhom sweats from the heat, and his feet are mutilated by the rough terrain. Also, the sun sets for Pakhom before he reaches the finish—at least at first. Nature beats him down, though he tries in vain to possess it. Also, the setting of the sun is ironically indicative of the dominance of the initially labelled “fool,” the elder of the Bashkirs. The sun sets for Pakhom on his side of the hill, signaling his impending doom, while the sun does not yet set where the Bashkirs reside. In a way, the sun represents the power of nature in the favor of the elder, also discrediting the narrator’s calling him a fool in the beginning. 

Billy Collins: Picnic, Lightning Explication

In Billy Collins' poem "Picnic, Lightning", he makes great use of tone to convey his perceptions of both life and death. The tone grows increasingly morbid between the first three stanzas, creating an aura of death which pervades through the poem and demonstrates Collins' sentiment that death is sudden, dark, and unpredictable. However, a tonal shift in the final stanza relieves the tension created by the earlier tone, and introduces a new essence of happiness and light. The final stanza, therefore, conveys Collin's perception of life, and shows his joy and vigor for life in contrast (yet also in parallel) to his feelings about death.

The title of Collins' poem is notable in that it discusses a traumatic death-- death by lightning, inflicted without warning at what is supposed to be a joyous occasion, at a picnic-- in a cavalier manner. This, however, does not fully represent Collins' feelings towards death. Rather, it expresses the suddenness with which death may often arrive, and also conveys the sense of casualty with which we are often prone to using when discussing death, no matter how traumatic.

Collins' makes extensive use of imagery to help convey his tone. His diction also leans to the negative, propelling his tone further. He describes even flowers as limp and lifeless. However, his rapid shift in diction and imagery in the final stanza serves to emphasize the polarity of Collins' emotions. The sky becomes bright, the flowers budded, and the clouds whites. There is less of a sense of grey and dismal and doom.

Lastly, another notable feature of Collins' poem is the variation in structure between the first several stanzas and the last, mirroring the negative to positive tonal shirt. The first three stanzas, for example, all begin with capitalized letters, giving a sense of urgency and formality, while the last stanza begins with a lowercased word. This less formal, more fluid form of letters relaxed the final stanza and dispatches it from the rest of the poem.

How to Write About Africa: A Response

I found Wainaina's "How to Write About Africa" to be highly effective and humorous, conveying valid points in the gauze of satire. Several descriptions struck me as particularly comical, because I was most clearly able to connect the image with something I have seen or read about Africa. For example, mentioning a big-hearted woman called "Mama" resonated with me, since it seemed particularly cliche. 

The piece rose issues that I have thought about, which rang true, as well as issues that I had not given as much thought to and that struck me. For example, insinuating that Africa is often treated as one, uniform country, in particular one of starvation and war, I felt to be highly relevant. I believe that many Westerners, or anyone with a knowledge of Africa as a whole, is susceptible to lapsing into this prototype. This I expected and firmly agreed with. However, later the piece discussed the lack of depth of character attributed to African people, which had not before crossed my mind and which I found to be telling. The piece satirically said, "Avoid having the African characters laugh." It dawned on me then that African people, in the eyes of Westerners, are all too often oversimplified-- they are portrayed as miserable people, unprofound people. 

Overall, I agreed with the points made by the article. I also began to wonder, if I were to write a novel about my experience in Africa, how would I write it? Would I, not having previously read and pondered this article, have been trapped by many of the devices listed by Wainaina? I like to hope not. In any case, my experience of travelling to Tanzania enlightened me to the variety of cultures and people in Africa further than my formal education, and it allowed me to make connections to people on another continent who I might have oversimplified otherwise. 

My Number v. I had heard it's a fight

 Both the poems "My Number" and "I had heard it's a fight", by Billy Collins and Edwin Derby respectfully, ponder death and the tone that it brings along with it. They differ not only in rhetorical method but in perception of death. The first, "My Number", presents itself differently from the getgo, with the stark and upright title, capitalized, and convicted. The second, in contrast, is lowercased, aloof, and in the past tense. My Number is a personification of death, a disturbing portrayal of the character and its actions and the places it might visit. An overall description of death is given, leading to the image of a dark, brooding figure that comes up frighteningly, invisible, to take away one's life. 

Contrastingly, Derby gives not a personification of death, which would lend itself to an image of death as a figure, but he describes what he felt using imagery. He uses pleasant diction to demonstrate his pleasure in death, often using the word "sweet". 

It is Derby's and Collins' perceptions of death and their approaches towards the inevitable which oppose one another the most. Collin's view is that death is unavoidable, and that one must avoid it. It is revealed in a turning couplet at the end that she is attempting to talk to death and avoid her own. Derby, on the contrary, enjoys the feeling of dying, as evidenced by his imagery, choice of diction, and loosely dreamy tone. He sees death as avoidable, since he mentions that he brushed with death but decided against it "like a cute schoolchild". He invites it, and discusses it as a dreamer would a vision, or an addict would a kicked habit, saying “I can’t get over that minute of dying so quit” in the final couplet, similar in form but not in content to the final couplet of Collins’ poem.