ENGL 2003: Introduction to Poetry

This chapter talks about the rhythms. According to the dictionary.com, rhythm is defined as “the movement or procedure with uniform or patterned recurrence”. It occurs in all forms of language, no matter in written or spoken. It acts as a tonic in a poem and is important in poetry. Rhythm in writing is like the beat in music. It could affect by emotion, the movement of your body, as well as your feelings of the outside world, such as the pulsing of waves on the shore, the alternations of day and night. The most common form of rhythm is repetition, which is the writer creates rhythm by repeating words or phrases. Moreover, we use a set of symbols or signs to divide lines of poetry into feet, which is called “scansion”

During our class discussion about the significant words in the poem The Silken Tent I chose the word bondage. Honestly, the main reason why I chose this word because its literal meaning has such force and strength. Reading the poem was initially quite confusing. I was not sure what the author was talking about and who it was directed to. Fortunately, the class discussion lessened my struggles with the poem. Although I’m still trying to fully analyze the poem, I believe its about a woman who is in a relationship with a man but is bonded to all of her past’s “skeletons”.

In this Chapter, it talks about the universe we live in is a system of rhythms. From the beating of your mother’s heart that matching to your own to when are walking with our legs and arms swinging in a rhythm. In the book, it defines rhythm as the way words of the poem moves. When we have a rhythm, it tends to involve and excite us such as dancing. The movement of your body goes along with the rhythm of a song. In poetry, the repetition of words or images gives you a kind of rhythm.

I find it difficult to understand the iambic pentameter, especially when it uses the symbols to represent each word, such as pyrrhic, spondee (–), trochee, and anapest. Why do we need accent on the words?

The poem “The Silken Tent” by Robert Frost is about a woman being described as a silken tent with all of its different components. The word freedom and bondage are two opposites of each other. The use of the words “slight bondage” gives more flexibility but you have certain restrictions. I started to think that being in a marriage could be a type of slight bondage because your “tied” to another individual but there are certain things you just can’t or your not allowed to do anymore. But being married doesn’t mean that all freedom is taken away from you but if you get a divorce your no longer bound to that person. Everyone has the right to freedom but due to society and rules all of use are held bondage to a certain extent.

I think that “she is as” is saying that she is like or she is the same as a silken tent. The peom then goes on with an almost never ending comparison to the silken tent. It is as though the poem goes on to say that women are like the summer breeze, relaxed like the ropes that relent. The silken ties of love and thought are somehow enforcing the “slight bondage”. Bondage however is bondage and is not slight. It is a form of being constrained, like being a slave. My analysis is that by nature she is free and relaxed but the contraints of “love and thought” maybe from a man that is keeping her bondage. Though this bondage is not welcomed.

The poem ” The silken tent” by Robert Frost, to me it was a bit weird by the way it is word and clarification. Each line mean something give us a feeling of something.

Ex.

‘At midday when the sunny summer breeze

This line give a relaxing feeling of a windy summer. The part that make me wonder is the use of bondage in this poem. 

The book Paradise lost by John Milton which I read back in high school. The story is written in a poetic form. It has a lot of word that has a different meaning as that tell the story differently depending how you know the story.

While at church last week it hit me. Many Christians go to church every week and read the Bible every week without realizing that poetry exists in that very book. 

“He shall be like a tree / Planted by the rivers of water, / That brings forth its fruit in its season, / Whose leaf also shall not wither; / And whatever he does shall prosper”

It took me awhile to grasp what the poem “The Silken Tent” might be talking about. From our discussions in class and my own personal interpretation, I have determined that it is possible talking about the stress of thinking you have helped someone out of their misery yet he/she always find a way to return to it. This woman in the poem has several sides to her. She can be sweet and loving but somehow always connected to a state of unhappiness and distress. “And only by one’s going slightly taut“–In other words, the simplest reminder is a trigger to this previous state. “In the capriciousness of summer air, Is the slightest bondage made aware” Her repulsive manner reminds her that this unmanageably sullen side of her will always be present.

It has been interesting learning about poetry so far, although I do not feel that I learned much from this chapter. I am going to be discussing my interpretation of “The Silken Tent” during this post. In my opinion, this poem is basically a simile comparing a tent to a woman. It begins by stating that “She is as in a field a silken tent”, then continues to make references to the tent in the following lines. The word silken could be in reference to the delicate features that women possess. The poem then talks about the heavy dew that weighs down the ropes and when the breeze blows there is no longer any pressure. The tent has a strong core that stands tall which is evident by the line “That is its pinnacle to heavenward”.  I believe overall the speaker is discussing the tribulations faced by woman. They are free to do as they please although they may be “loosely bound” by their husbands. The also may face “bondage” because historically women were somewhat restricted in society which could be represented by the “heavy dew” perhaps.  The “pinnacle to heavenward” shows their ability to rise with support and togetherness. I believe the togetherness is signified by “Seems to owe naught to any single cord” meaning more than woman. These were just some of my thoughts when I heard this poem.

She is as in a field a silken tent

At midday when a sunny summer breeze

Has dried the dew and all its ropes relent,

So that in guys it gently sways at ease,

And its supporting central cedar pole,

That is its pinnacle to heavenward

And signifies the sureness of the soul,

Seems to owe naught to any single cord,

But strictly held by none, is loosely bound

By countless silken ties of love and thought

To every thing on earth the compass round,

And only by one’s going slightly taut,

In the capriciousness of summer air,

Is of the slightest bondage made aware.

Poetry is seen as a way to express your thoughts, feelings, and ideas. This sort of expression is as important as the value the person puts in it. What if the value of that person’s “poetry” is only seen in someone else’s opinion? There are people who crave the opinion of others regarding their thoughts and ideas. Is an opinion really important if the mind is only as capable of understanding one’s own perception? Is it selfish to live among your own thoughts, what is poetry if opinion is abolished? The reason I am asking so many questions is because I don’t exactly know the importance of poetry. Yes it is important to express one’s own perceptions or mysteries, but what is the point to know what other’s think about it?

There are those who ask that about everything. What is the point for water? For air? For existence? It is hard to just assume my questions are as important as poetry. But is poetry as important as the opinions  someone has towards them. I see the value of poetry only in yourself. The only person that can understand them. Why must a person who expresses their poetry in writing become a professional or famous? What makes an expression better then the other? I’ve always asked myself, what would an extraterrestrial being do if they are given two written poems and is told to choose the best one? If they are as mentally advanced as many people assume, I would think they wouldn’t choose. I think they would give it back to you and tell you that the only answer is in the writer’s mind and ask you in return, why does their opinion matter?

Funny that I’m going to ask a question that contradicts my whole blog post, but what do you think?