poetry

1. Research Atwood, Plath & Dickinsons and find the poet you are most like (your similarities could be based on personality traits or on issues you are both interested in, or on themes emerging from the poet’s work and how those speak to you.)

My favorite poems are mostly Emily Dickinson’s, but I could not really find connections with Dickinson’s life. Instead, Margaret Atwood seems to resemble me the most. Atwood was very much influenced by her father and it is clearly visible in her work. Atwood spent much of her childhood in the forest due to her father’s ongoing research and some of her poems vividly portray wilderness. I was very much influenced by my dad too since I had to move around a lot due to my dad’s jobs. Those experiences in other countries, especially my experience in Russia, really built up my cultural background and who I really am. I had to communicate with Russians, when I did not even know how to say a single word in Russian. The weather was always dreary and cold. For some reason, it took me a long time to get used to Russian culture. My unique experience in Russia allowed me to see a new side of me and helped me to break out of my shell. I think this experience and seeing my dad working as a diplomat really influenced me unconsciously. I always told my parents that I would never become a diplomat, but as I was beginning my application process, I decided to major in international relations.
Also, I found out Atwood is an activist, very much involved in Amnesty International. I used to participate in Amnesty International, but now I am more interested in North Korean Refugee problem. It is quite amazing to see her taking time to participate in such activities while writing her poems and novels. I actually hope to continue my career in such organizations or at least support the organizations and actively participate in activities related to human rights even when I become Atwood’s age.

2. TPCASTT one poem and discover what it really says to you. Write about the poem and its theme, especially about how the poem’s message shed light on the universal human condition/experience

“In the Secular Night” was really hard to understand at first, but as I started to find my own meaning, it was really easy for me to connect myself to the poem. A possible theme we decided as a class was rejection of sacred and seeking for fulfillment from the world eventually leads to loneliness. However, I viewed this poem in a slightly different way. Our selfishness as human beings was one thing that came into my mind immediately as I read the last three lines of the poem. The poem is definitely about loneliness and how our failure to seek for fulfillment exacerbates our situation and feelings. Throughout the poem, the speaker of the poem, “I” talks about how “You” is always complaining about one’s loneliness and how one’s attitude stays the same for more than forty years. The last three lines of the poem show how humans are self-centered and fail to recognize other worse problems or situations going on in this world. A common example of these situations would be the starvation going on in Africa or in North Korea.
I believe tendency to complain and putting ourselves as priority is universal for all humans. We try not to do be so self-centered, but it is always hard. I could easily connect this poem to myself because I remember the time when I was always complaining to my parents, my friends and even God. I always complained how things would not turn out the way as I expected though I was trying so hard. I blamed it on everyone but me. This poem taught me an important lesson and allowed me to reflect back on myself.

3. Think about hamartia: find one poem that displays a tragic flaw in human nature (either human nature in general or in one human, as expressed in the poem.) Write about whether or not the poem’s message is enhanced for you, as a reader, as you contemplate hamartia as it relates to the text

When I was pondering about the idea of hamartia, Atwood had a lot of connections with the idea of tragic flaw. In class, we picked our favorite poems from Atwood’s work and presented our ideas about which part (creation, fall or redemption) the poems focus on. We thought Atwood’s poems heavily focus on fall’s aspect and “Morning in the burned house” is definitely one of them. The speaker of the poem is unable to let go of one’s past and thus, unable to find one’s identity. The speaker tries to find one’s identity in the “burned house.” The third stanza of the poem emphasizes how the speaker was left alone after the accident. The last line of that stanza, “Their clothes are still on the hangers” demonstrates that the speaker still remembers the memories and is unable to let go of the fact that one is left alone.
Every detail of the house provokes the speaker to reflect back on the old days and makes it harder to let go of one’s past and find one’s identity. “Tin cup”, “rippled mirror”, “flaws in the glass” and “swirls in the oilcloth” are all factors that connect her to her past. The last three stanzas truly reveal her condition. The image of a little child wearing the speaker’s burned clothes, “thin green shorts” and “grubby yellow T-shirt” may be a reflection of herself. This reflection directly shows that the speaker is unable to find her identity because she is afraid to break out of her past. The poem ends with “Incandescent,” meaning light. This symbolizes something hopeful will happen to the speaker. Also, in some sense, this could also mean that the speaker was once in a destructed condition, but is now hoping to escape.