Jennifer Zheng
Essay 2 Draft
English 1121
In the poem, “The Taxi,” by Amy Lowell, the speaker describes itself being driven away from their beloved ones. This blank verse poem gives off the impression of a city and a loss with an anguished tone. I will explicate the two lines towards the middle of the poem: ” I call out for you against the jutted stars And shout into the ridges of the wind.” Although there are many lines used to develop the concept in the poem, I explicate these two lines because to me, it appears to be the start where the speaker’s emotion begins to crash. These two lines specifically represent the poem terms of imagery, connotation and denotation, symbolism, and assonance.
In the first line, “I call out for you against the jutted stars,” Amy Lowell provides a great vision to the reader. Using imagery, she portrays a picture of someone calling upon the stars. Proceeding deeper into the “jutted stars”, the word “jutted” suggests something sticking out or extending beyond the main body or line, and the word “stars” connotes the setting of a dark night. She could be describing the night as having “sharp edges.” Furthermore, the “stars” also symbolizes a big change or turning point in a person’s life, but they are also seen as a sign of sorrow.
The following line, “And shout into the ridges of the wind,” describes the speaker revealing its pain. The word “shout” denotes a loud call or cry; an expression of strong emotion to be heard through the ridges of the wind. The “wind” indicates the natural movement of air. It can also imply a gale; an uproar storm. There is assonance of the repeated “i” vowel sound in “ridges” and “wind”. The reader can visualize the scent, sound, feeling, or taste as Lowell uses one of the five senses into imagery as the wind rushes through the speaker at the peak.
There is also an enjambment show between the words, “stars” and “And”, completing a full sentence when both lines are combined. There is consonance found in the S’s of ‘stars’ and ‘shout’ and assonance is found in ‘out’ and ‘shout’ within the letter o. Lowell’s choices of words create a sharp image as she expresses the suffering the speaker feels, as it departed from its lover; the stars are “jutted” and the wind has “ridges.” The speaker cries out for its lover, the more faraway it is and the more grief it feels inside. In the last line of the poem, the speaker goes back and questions why it should leave its lover, to wound itself upon the sharp edges of the night. The poem simply explicates that life without its lover is depressing.
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, “The Taxi,” by Amy Lowell
2–Does the student provide the two lines he or she will explicate?
– Yes, ” I call out for you against the jutted stars And shout into the ridges of the wind.”
3–What poetry terms does the student examine?
– imagery, connotation and denotation, symbolism, and assonance.
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)
– My two favorite lines are Using imagery, she portrays a picture of someone calling upon the stars. Proceeding deeper into the “jutted stars”, the word “jutted” suggests something sticking out or extending beyond the main body or line, and the word “stars” connotes the setting of a dark night. That is because it is descripitive and detailed. I was also able to see the imagery.
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)
– She could be describing the night as having “sharp edges.” Furthermore, the “stars” also symbolizes a big change or turning point in a person’s life, but they are also seen as a sign of sorrow. I don’t quiet get the meaning of this and it would be better if you can elaborate.
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 feel you could add two more sentences in your introduction on what the poem is about
– Also to be more brief on why you chose those lines
Overall, great job!
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
2–Does the student provide the two lines he or she will explicate?
Yes, ” I call out for you against the jutted stars And shout into the ridges of the wind.”
3–What poetry terms does the student examine?
imagery, connotation and denotation, symbolism, and assonance.
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)
” Furthermore, the “stars” also symbolizes a big change or turning point in a person’s life, but they are also seen as a sign of sorrow.”
This sentence was well done, due to how you gave a other meaning to what the “stars” symbolizes. You explicate the word nicely.
“The speaker cries out for its lover, the more faraway it is and the more grief it feels inside.”
This sentence was great, it showed you had a high understanding of the poem and what possibly the speaker is trying to convey, great job!
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)
(Lowell’s choices of words create a sharp image as she expresses the suffering the speaker feels, as it departed from its lover; the stars are “jutted” and the wind has “ridges.”)
The entire essay is pretty good, I was just confused about this sentence. Maybe, you can elaborate more on what you mean by, “Lowell’s choices of words create a sharp image”
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.)
– So, for your body paragraphs, you can possibly add more denotations. It could maybe draw out more thoughts for the essay.
-Prof. Scanlan mention going beyond just simply noticing that a sound is repeated. So since I seen a lot of assonance and consonance examples, you can maybe go beyond and possibly find more connections.
-Overall, your essay was superb, barely any mistakes, good job!!!