Precis: “Cartoon Physics, part 1”

In “Cartoon Physics, part 1”, Nick Flynn discusses, in an informative tone, the innocence of children in contrast to adults through his unique structure and antithesis. The poem doesn’t hold any special format. The stanzas vary in sizes, and the poem lacks periods after sentences. The point of this style is to show the way children behave. They don’t stick to an order, but rather things are much simpler for them, which is why the style is simple. The antithesis of the child to the adult adds another layer. The poem describes men as complex creatures who can “pass through” rocks and not realize their “mistake” until they stare it right in the face. Children on the other hand, see everything more clearly and simple. They see everything at a base level. Through this antithesis and structure, Nick Flynn achieves his goal of depicting a child’s innocence and simplicity.  

Precis: "Publication Date"

In “Publication Date”, Franz Wright, in a optimistic tone, explains how each day holds a new opportunity, through his usage of antithesis. Throughout the poem, he contrasts many different ideas. He compares “die” and “live, “hate” and “love”, “lose” and “win”, “tomorrow” and “today”. His goal in these opposites is to depict how each day is different from the next. Some days will be the worst, while others will be full of happiness and life. Wright wants the reader to understand that each day holds promise and the events of tomorrow don’t shape today because they were totally different. Through this antithesis, Franz Wright creates the idea that each day holds something new.

Precis: "Hand Shadows"

In “Hand Shadows”, Mary Cornish, in a hopeful tone, discusses the idea of light overcoming darkness. She creates this notion through her unique imagery and setting of a camping trip shadow show to the cycle of life and death. Throughout her poem, she creates this life cycle through the father’s shadow art. The father depicts a swam killed by an alligator, but later depicts the life of another bird taking flight. This imagery shows the notion that life doesn’t stop with one loss, but rather new life is born. Additionally, the setting of shadow art adds another layer to her theme. Shadow art uses a light to shine through the darkness and create images. The father, by shining light in the darkness of the tent, depicts how even when there is darkness more light will come around. This can be scene in the description of a star that goes out, but more light is born. Mary Cornish accomplishes her goal of showing the prevailing light in a dark world.

Prometheus Poem: "Freedom"

Prometheus ventured from his pulpit

Like an eagle, he swooped down

To bestow his gift upon the people

He had gone against the gods, but didn’t care

The people deserved the flame

It was the fire of freedom

The people called him a savior, hero, upstander, dreamer

He preferred the name Dr. King

As shepherd cares for is flock, he cared for his people

The black people used his fire to start an internal one

Sadly, Zeus couldn’t stand the similarities he now shared with these people

He wanted the flame for himself

To him, the people were colored and unimportant

He had to respond to this rebellion

Zeus chose a man to take care of Prometheus

James Earl Ray chained the savior and protector of freedom to the Lorraine Motel

Forever connected, forced to languish as eagles swarmed

But, Zeus was mistaken and the message was missed

The fire wasn't extinguished

It was kindled and spread

Precis: "American Cheese"

In “American Cheese”, Jim Daniels, in a personal tone, recalls the importance of keeping in touch with one’s roots. He creates this idea through imagery of cheese and its comparison to different stages in life. The poem mentions two different types of cheeses. The first is the fancy, “gooey” cheese that is “speaking garbled tongues”. It is foreign,unique, and advanced. The second kind is the one from Daniels’ childhood, which is the classic american cheese with “sixty-four singles wrapped in wax” that he used to have for lunch. He says in the poem that he moved on from his childish cheese to the fancy ones as he grew older, but there is still the memory and the special feeling that the american cheese gives him. Although he may have grown up, he declares the importance of coming back home and staying in touch with memories through his experience with american cheese. Through Jim Daniels comparison of life to cheese, he accomplishes the goal of expressing the importance of remaining true to one’s foundations.

Precis: "Advice from the Experts"

In “Advice from the Experts”, Bill Knott, using a sarcastic tone, asserts that people who claim they are authority figures, don’t truly understand the full picture. He creates this idea through antithesis and irony. The first half of the poem focuses on the perspective of the individual, while the second half of the poem focuses on the perspectives of the “gawkers” and “experts” looking from above. Through the creation of these two sides, Knott depicts how two people can see something in two different ways. The group sees the person on ground level as a possible suicide jumper, while the person below just sees a bunch of people hanging off a building. This scene also creates a certain sense of irony as well. The people on the building are “perched, along its ledges”, which makes it seem as though they are about to jump. However, the irony is that they call out to the person on the curb to not jump. Their perspectives are quite confused because they don't see the whole picture. They just see their perspective. Bill Knott creates the notion that to truly understand someone, the group must step into the individual’s shoes, through antithesis and irony.

Precis:"Domestic Work, 1937"

In “Domestic Work, 1937”, Natasha Trethewey claims through a hopeful tone that although life might be dark at times, there is always hope. She creates this idea through usage of tenses and a key simile. In the first stanza, Trethewey uses past tense words, including “cleaned”, “stared down”, and more. However, in the next three stanzas, she uses present tense words, such as “dancing”, “washes”, and “clapping”. This shift helps Trethewey reach her goal. The past tense connotes the hardship of the past. The week was hard for the lady, but the past is in the past. However, the present holds much promise. This idea is captured in the last line of poem when the lady “beats time on the rugs”. It says how dust came up like “dandelion spores”, and each spore is like “a wish for something better”. The dandelion spores spread out and expand just like dreams and hopes do. This simile captures how the woman wants more for her life and hopes for “something better”. Through this simile and a tense switch, Natasha Trethewey describes how there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.