SIYU WU
Essay-2-Poetry Explication
English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)
4/ 13, 2020
Explication of “Meditation on a Brooklyn Bench” Draft
I am a worry type person, a person who worry about everything, pass，now，and future.
I think at any moment that my mind is empty，think about what I did， and what I going to do. I think this maybe is kind of meditation. In the pome “Meditation on a Brooklyn Bench,” wrote by Abraham Benjamin, a lonely man looking for a quite place and start thinking. This pome show audiences a scene of a speaker promenade on a water front in Brooklyn at nightfall and sat on bench，looking at the river，boats come and gone，speaker start reminiscent his years in New York，then the tide is coming. “River” appear many times in the pome，it is not just a river，it mean an idea，a symbol . In the pome “Covered over by the water of the East River” and “the tide coming in now，full force，danger，looking for me，”these 2 line are the best line to explain the idea of river. Symbolism in this 2 line change the word “river” in to an idea reflected to reality.
In the first line “Cover over by the waters of East River.” The things covered by water of East river is the memory of speaker about his wife，son，and years works in New York. In the mean of the work water have is a physical matter and memory only exit in our brain, in other word，water can not really cover memory of a man. Water is an idea it symbolize everyone who live in New York City，the society of New York City. The thousand of people created a society，just like a thousand drops of water combine together become a stream，then streams become a river. The speaker is one of the “waters drop” in this river called New York City. In this huger river，every person is a “water drop”，they have their own story，family，life, but no one really know all the story of all the “water drop”. Only the “water drop” in the surface will be see，such as person with power，rich or in the upper class of the society. The story of “water drop” under water surface will not be heard and told，they are just nobody. Like other “water drops”, story and memory of the speak only know by himself and bury deep in the class society, the reason for the speaker’s memory cover by water showed, he is a middle age man from low class in the New York City society, work for a decade but still in the same class of society .
1–Is the title of the poem and full author’s name provided in the first or second sentence? Be specific if something is missing.
– Yes, “Meditation on a Brooklyn Bench,” wrote by Abraham Benjamin”
2–Does the student provide the two lines he or she will explicate?
– Yes, “Cover over by the waters of East River.”& “the tide coming in now，full force，danger，looking for me.”
3–What poetry terms does the student examine?
– The poetry terms he uses are symbolism.
4–Copy and paste your two favorite sentences from the students essay. Then explain why you like them. (example: not only is this an example of the college sentence, this sentence highlights an important poetry term (metaphor) in a very clear way–I get it completely)
– The two sentences I enjoyed are “In the mean of the work water have is a physical matter and memory only exit in our brain, in other word，water can not really cover memory of a man. Water is an idea it symbolize everyone who live in New York City，the society of New York City. ” I enjoyed these because I feel it brings the essay together and also makes it interesting.
5–Copy and paste two sentences that are confusing. Then explain what is confusing about them. (example: you may have mixed up the terms alliteration and assonance, please check to make sure you have the right term for repeated vowel sounds)
– The two sentences that are confusing are “The story of “water drop” under water surface will not be heard and told，they are just nobody. Like other “water drops”, story and memory of the speak only know by himself and bury deep in the class society, ..”. These lines are confusing because I am not sure what you mean by “they are just nobody”, I think it would be better if you emphasized on that.
6–Make two concrete suggestions. (example: expand the range of connotations rather than name one connotation; example: instead of using the verb “like” three time in the first paragraph, consider different varying the idea by using “love” or “can relate to”; example: when you revise this, change the lower case “i” to “I”–Prof. Scanlan will definitely say something about that.)
– Please check for grammar mistakes
– Also elaborate on the confusing part
Other than that good job!
QUESTIONS:
1–Is the title of the poem and full author’s name provided in the first or second sentence? Be specific if something is missing.
-Yes. “Meditation on a Brooklyn Bench,” by Abraham Benjamin.
2–Does the student provide the two lines he or she will explicate?
-Yes, “Covered over by the water of the East River” and “the tide coming in now, full force, danger, and looking for me”
3–What poetry terms does the student examine?
-Symbolism.
4–Copy and paste your two favorite sentences from the students essay. Then explain why you like them. (example: not only is this an example of the college sentence, this sentence highlights an important poetry term (metaphor) in a very clear way–I get it completely)
– “…water can not really cover memory of a man. Water is an idea it symbolize everyone who live in New York City, the society of New York City. The thousand of people created a society, just like a thousand drops of water combine together become a stream, then streams become a river.”
-I like how you worded the last sentence, the way you broke down what the water could be.
5–Copy and paste two sentences that are confusing. Then explain what is confusing about them. (example: you may have mixed up the terms alliteration and assonance, please check to make sure you have the right term for repeated vowel sounds)
-“This poem show audience a scene of a speaker promenade on a waterfront in Brooklyn at nightfall and sat on bench, looking at the river, boats come and gone, speaker start reminiscent his years in New York, then the tide is coming.”
-You provided imagery, you may have forgotten to mention it in your writing. That line describes the second line: “the tide coming in now, full force, danger, and looking for me.”
6–Make two concrete suggestions. (example: expand the range of connotations rather than name one connotation; example: instead of using the verb “like” three time in the first paragraph, consider different varying the idea by using “love” or “can relate to”; example: when you revise this, change the lower case “i” to “I”–Prof. Scanlan will definitely say something about that.)
-I think it would be better if you reread and check for grammar mistakes.
Overall, good work.