"Thanks for Remembering us" by Dana Gioia

In “Thanks For Remembering Us”, Dana Gioia uses a whimsical tone at first but then uses an accusing and dark tone. She uses simile, imagery, and symbolism to show how trust can break down in a family and how their relationship can be affected. At first it seems like the flowers are nothing to worry about but when they can't figure it out they stop laughing and then “we wonder” if one of them is actually having an affair. The next paragraph explains the breaking down of trust in a relationship and relationship itself by using the flower as a symbol. The “iris was the first to die” with “it’s sickly-sweet and lingering perfume”. This shows that the sweet and happy part of the relationship has died out. Eventually the whole flower dies and “the room smells like a funeral”. This shows how the trust in the relationship has now died out completely. Gioia’s use of symbolism, simile, and imagery shows us how trust can be broken down in a relationship over just one “small crime”.

Analysis of "Otherwise" by Jane Kenyon

In “Otherwise”, Jane Kenyon uses an aware and thankful tone with the use of repetition and imagery to show how someone fortunate should realize that their life could’ve turned out completely different and to show how life changes over time and is not always the same. She repeats the phrase “It might have been otherwise” after almost every statement to emphasize how important it is to be aware of how lucky they are and to not take it for granted because life could change any day. He/she gets out of bed with two “strong legs” and sits at the table with “silver candlesticks.” She uses those details to show that the person is very fortunate and maybe even wealthy. The last sentence says “But one day, I know, it will be otherwise”, which suggests that the person’s life is just in one stage and that any day could turn out to be different whether it is for the good or worse. Kenyon uses this tone and literary technique to show how your life can change at any time and that you should not take it for granted.

"Modern Day Prometheus" by JJ Kampf

In “Modern Day Prometheus”, JJ Kampf uses a caring and soft tone with the use of imagery, simile, and irony to show not only the rebelliousness of children but the love parents have for their children by sometimes letting them have their freedom even if they want to seem strict. The kids are playing and having a lot of fun and their eyes are glued to the TV “like a hawk” which emphasizes how much they were into what they were doing. As they chew on candy the parents tell them “no sugary candy, none whatsoever” which is ironic because they continue to eat it. This shows that the parents want them to have their fun but at the same time tell them what any parent would say. With this use of tone and technique Kampf beautifully conveys the way parents show love for their children by having empathy for them and how children naturally rebel.

"Driving to Town Late to Mail a Letter" by Robert Bly

In Driving to Town Late to Mail a Letter, Robert Bly uses a serene and content tone with the use of imagery and diction to show how winter creates a quiet and relaxed atmosphere. It provides people with more times to do what they want to do. “The main street is deserted” giving him a certain sense of “privacy” which he loves. The “swirls of snow” and “the cold iron” that he notices are the only things that he has to worry about. There is nothing to bother him. He simply just wants to “waste more time” driving around because he loves the beauty and serenity that winter provides for him. Everything becomes quiet and still during winter and he enjoys the simple beauty of it because it gives him more time. Bly shows how winter creates this kind of atmosphere with his use of imagery, tone, and diction.

Hand Shadows by Mary Cornish

In Hand Shadows, Mary Cornish uses an intimate and playful tone with the use of imagery and metaphor to show the connection and bonding between father and daughter. The father is creating animals through hand shadows in a tent. These hand shadows represent the relationship between them. The “swan would turn its perfect neck and drop it’s fingered beak toward that shadowed head to lightly preen my father's feathered hair. This is comparing her father to a swan showing that her father is a gentle and loving person. In the end of the poem her “father’s hands became two birds, linked by a thumb, they flew one following the other.” This shows the connection between the father and daughter. They are like birds one who follows in the footsteps of her father and one who leads. The fact that they are linked by a thumb represents trust and security. Mary Cornish uses these techniques well to show the priceless connection between a father and daughter.

The Meadow by Kate Knapp Johnson

In the Meadow, Kate Knapp Johnson uses imagery syntax, and diction with the use of a lost and calm tone to show how the passage of time affects a person especially when the person is waiting on someone that is important to them. She stares out the window searching for “one true thing about the soul” but she lost track and started “thinking for thought” meaning that she lost track of what she was thinking. The poems stanzas split off before it finishes sentence making it more difficult to read fluidly. This might show how time is going by faster how her thoughts are racing. After a while she realizes that “two inches of snow have fallen” she starts to talk about how she wants her lover to come back. Waiting for a loved one to return can make a person sit with only his/her thoughts to pass the time but when the person returns to the real world he/she begins to become sad again. These techniques that are used in the poem convey this message very well.

Pablo the farmer and his assistant Epstein, stayed away from the war,

so they tasked to create the best farm with

the ripest apples, fattest potatoes, and the sweetest corn.

Local government looked,

and wanted a portion,

so they instructed Pablo to pay.

Pablo said, “Take this farm and you’ll surely receive what you want”,

but the land was dry,

not one sprout came up from the soil.

Enraged, they took his farm,

but Pablo still would stay.

The local government said,

“Come and take this brand new machine to help the farm,”

Epstein could not refuse.

The beautiful machine destroyed the farms soil,

And every plant galore,

and Pablo was left to rot behind bars,

waiting for his rescue.

American Cheese, by Jim Daniels

In American Cheese, Jim Daniels uses a nostalgic and longing tone with the use of imagery and simile to show one’s memories of the past, the simplicity of one’s childhood, and how children can be pleased easily by simple things. When the author says his house was “built like a square of sixty four American Singles” he is showing his personal love for this certain food and he associates it with different items. When he would come home he would “crave--more than any home cooking”. He was pleased by such a simple thing and this is what he would look forward to when he came home also showing the simplicity of a child. The author is realizing how easy and simple his childhood was and enjoys that feeling of being a child again. He uses specifics of his memory like “Day-old Wonder Bread” and “Yellow Mustard” which shows how even a simple memory can be complicated and enjoyable to a person. Jim Daniels uses this tone with the use of imagery and simile to show how even simple memories are important to a person and how a child has no worries.

   In Domestic Work, 1937, Natasha Trethewey uses a hopeful, wishful and optimistic tone with the use of personification, imagery, and similes to show the life of an African American woman in the time period and the hopefulness she had to change her life. When cleaning someone’s house she “stared down her own face in the shine of copper-bottomed pots”. She looked at her reflection and analyzed herself which shows this is not who she wants to be. The toilet is personified when she said she would “pull the lid to--that look saying”. The toilet is trying to say something to her to help her “make a change” in her life. On Sunday’s she is happy and free and “the whole house dancing”. She is most hopeful on Sunday because the Sunday’s “are hers”. As she does her chores in her house she points out that “she blows dust from the broom like dandelion spores”. She compares the dust to dandelion spores because when someone blows a dandelion it represents a wish. This wish she has is embedded in her everyday life and even though she does not have best life she stays optimistic and this is shown through the use of tone, imagery, personification, and similes.

In Tour, Carol Snow uses an insightful and peaceful tone with the usage of imagery and form to show the reader that a place is looked at differently from the outsider's perspective and the caretaker's perspective and that a place means so much more than what is plainly seen. He “placed the camellia blossoms there” but “we had no way of knowing” what happened. The tourist may never know how the blossoms got there and what work was put in for it to happen. The two separate stanzas show how there are two different perspectives. This poem shows the reader that an outsider looks at all of the beautiful scenery but the outsider does not know how everything came to be. The caretaker understands the site on a deeper level. The tourist may enjoy everything at that site but he will never understand it on the level that the caretaker does. Carol Snow uses this tone, form, and imagery to show that the perspective of the caretaker and the tourist are completely different.

Repetition and Personification in "The Partial Explanation" by Charles Simic

In “The Partial Explanation”, Charles Simic uses an anxious and bored tone to show how people have a need to have social interaction and that loneliness causes feelings of anxiety and boredom. He uses repetition and personification to show this theme. He uses “seems like” twice which gives off a negative connotation of boredom. Using repetition gives off a sense of boredom and need to do something. As he waits for his meal he says “a glass of water keeps me company”. This personification also shows a need for social interaction because he is resorting to inanimate objects to keep him company. When he says he has “a longing, an incredible longing” to listen in on the cooks shows how he is anxious to know why they are taking so long to come out. Simic uses an anxious and boring tone by using repetition and personification to teach that people have a need to have social interaction and that loneliness can have tragic effects over time.  

In the poem “The Farewell”, Edward Field uses a sad and tolerant tone to teach the reader a lesson that you shouldn’t trust people too easily and that trust can be easily broken and end in tragedy. The author uses the ice in the poem in the literal sense and the figurative sense by use of metaphor and symbolism. The speaker says that “they say the ice will hold” but just like his trust with them the ice broke just as easily. The ice is being compared to the fragility of trust and is also a symbol for how easily it can be broken. The speaker says that “the ice meets over my head again with a click”. The ice just like trust might have come back together but it is still always going to be broken. Edward Field teaches the reader using metaphors and symbolism that trust can be easily broken and that you shouldn’t trust people to easily like the average person does.

In “The Poet”, Tom Wayman uses a informative, and annoyed tone by using an unorganized  form without periods and little punctuation to show the reader how complicated and confusing a poet's mind actually is. The author also uses a lot of negatives like “cannot” or “does not” to show that he is annoyed by a poet's complexities. The fact that the poem uses little punctuation shows how unorganized and confusing a poet is. The author says “cannot handle “yes-no” questions.” This quote is making a generalization and it does that a lot throughout a poem which also shows how it has an annoyed tone. Tom Wayman uses this tone and unorganized form to show the reader how unorganized and complex a poet's mind is.

In Neglect, R.T Smith uses an intimate, aware, and slightly regretful tone to show how we should not only enjoy things in life but also care for them and nurture them because if we neglect them they can die out or become a lesser form. The author does this by using creative diction. This gives the reader a sense of appreciation and respect for things in life so that we can be properly care for them. The author calls the apple a “Red Delicious” which gives the reader a sense of color and taste. This gives the apple importance in the poem and shows that it is something the author is trying to focus on. The author says, “splendor ripens a final time in the firebox” which means that this is the last of the trees beauty and this is the last that will be enjoyed of it. R.T Smith uses this tone and  diction to show how you should care for things so you can enjoy them to the fullest ability.

“At the Un-National Monument Along the Canadian Border” by William E. Stafford

In the poem “At the Un-National Monument Along The Canadian Border”, William E. Stafford uses personification and a creative rhyme scheme with an appreciative and sensitive tone to teach the reader to value and honor simple places and sites of nature that have nothing to do with war. In the first stanza the author says “the only heroic thing is the sky” which shows how something so simple can provide for many things in nature. Also, the word “sky” rhymes with the last word in the sentence, “where the unknown soldier did not die”. A soldier is a heroic figure so by rhyming these two letters it is comparing the two. By comparing the two, the author is showing how a simple place should be appreciated just as much as a battlefield. Stafford uses personification and a creative rhyme scheme which shows the importance of a simple scene of nature and how people only recognize places where wars and battles take place and never take the time to recognize simplicity.

"Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Starting Out" by Ron Koertge

In “Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Starting Out”, Ron Koertge uses a optimistic and relaxed tone by using imagery which advises new writers to not over-stress and overwhelm themselves but to be more relaxed and put themselves in the right environment to be successful. The notebook the writer carries should be cheap “with pages the color of weak tea and on the front a kitten or a spaceship”. This kind of notebook helps the writer write freely in a more relaxed style rather than a strict and confined style. The authors also uses the environment to teach you to not go to certain places such as “any snow-covered chalet with deer tracks across the muffled tennis courts”. This shows the writer that he/she does not need a fancy or beautiful scene to write because this might make the writer's expectations for himself unrealistically high and could overwhelm him/her. When the writer fails or when “the tower falls”, “laugh so loud everybody in the world frowns and says, "Shhhh." This helps the writer be optimistic and helps him not dwell on his failures which sets him apart from the average writer. Through these examples using imagery, Koertge teaches you that in order to be a successful writer, you must place yourself in the correct environment, take a step back, and relax.

Imagery Specified by Metaphors in "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins

In “Introduction to Poetry”, Billy Collins uses a calm and humorous tone by using imagery specified by metaphors which shows that Poetry is not supposed to be over-analyzed but to be read in a more simple and patient way. Collins begins by saying to “take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide”. This simply means that you need to make the poem clear and reveal all the different meanings of it. In the third stanza he says to “drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out”. This teaches the reader that you should explore all the different parts of poem and eventually you will find the meaning of it. Instead all we want to do is “tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it” which means that people do not patiently read poems rather they over-analyze it and study it to the point where they are not enjoyed. Collins uses a calm and humorous tone that shows that poetry is a patient process which is to be enjoyed rather than people frustratingly over-analyzing it to find its meaning.

Contrasting Elements in "Fight" by Laurel Blossom

In “Fight”, Laurel Blossom uses a lively, careless, and annoyed tone to show the element of contrast between husband and wife which shows that complete opposites attract and that can provide a negative effect. By first glance, the title already shows contrast because a fight usually starts with a disagreement. One of the spouses wants to live freely, have fun, and does not want to settle down while the other spouse is more careful and wants the opposite. When the author states, “You pack an umbrella and #30 sun goo” it shows how the other spouse is more careful and matured while the other spouse has no worries and just wants “to be free”. The other spouse wants to be married and that implies that he/she is ready to settle down and live a calm life. When the speaker says, “you don’t seem to mind that we disagree” shows that the other spouse is not really taking the other seriously and does not understand how the other feels. Through these contrasting statements, Laurel shows how complete opposites can attract and that it always doesn’t work out so well.