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Both short poems, “They” and “Harlem“, and all information needed should be already included (including references) with this post. I need someone to write the essay, including an introduction and thesis statement. Also need a summary ending.
BothPoems and what I have found out about each, so far
“They” by Siegfried Sassoon
The Bishop tells us: “When the boys come back
They will not be the same; for they’ll have fought
In a just cause: they lead the last attack
On Anti-Christ; their comrades’ blood has bought
New right to breed an honourable race, 5
They have challenged Death and dared him face to face.”
“We’re none of us the same!” the boys reply.
“For George lost both his legs; and Bill’s stone blind;
Poor Jim’s shot through the lungs and like to die;
And Bert’s gone syphilitic: you’ll not find 10
A chap who’s served that hasn’t found some change.”
And the Bishop said: “The ways of God are strange!” (Meyer, 2012, p. 581).
the imagery,
figures of speech
symbolism,
language/word choice,
tone,
themes,
sound,
rhyme scheme is ABABCC.
It has a clever rhythmical structure.
and my final thoughts on each poem.
intended to create a particular tone to the poem. Sassoon subtly subverts the Bishop’s strident sermon in the first stanza by his use of colons and semi-colons as caesuras or pauses in the middle of each line. These give the first stanza a deliberately halting rhythm that, along with the rhetorical confidence of the Bishop’s sermon, gives his speech a subtle staginess that suggests an insincere performance. By contrast, the strong rhythm given to the answers of the men in the second stanza reinforces the ugly truth that they tell. The soldiers’ reply tends to pause more ‘naturally’ at the end of lines, ‘end-stopping’ each statement, giving a sense of complete meaning (Griffith, 2011).
They: ‘They’ are the idealized British soldiers of whom the bishop speaks. ‘They’ are quite unlike the real soldiers who go to war.
“The Bishop tells us:” The figure of religious authority in the poem— a Bishop of the Church of England— speaks with confidence about a situation of which he has no knowledge. He represents a brand of religious cant and hypocrisy that was deeply unpopular amongst many men at the front (Griffith, 2011).
“When the boys come back / They will not be the same;”: The meaning of the poem turns on this observation— that the war changes the men who fought in it. Note the easy familiarity, even patronizing tone of the reference to ‘the boys’, and the use of alliteration in this first line, as throughout the poem.
“for they’ll have fought / In a just cause;” alliteration (‘f’) is again used to give a rhythmic force to the Bishop’s leading statements. The mention of a “just cause” reinforces the sense that the Bishop is dealing in popular platitudes about the justification for war— that it is “just”, or ‘right’.
“their comrades blood has bought…”: the soldiers are explicitly compared to Christ, who ‘bought’ man eternal life by dying for their sins. Sassoon’s earlier poem ‘The Redeemer’ explicitly made this contrast: interestingly, Sassoon now seems to refute this sentimental analogy (Griffith, 2011).
“New right to breed an honourable race,”: what follows from this Christ-like redemption is more unpleasant however. The Bishop uses pseudo-scientific language, popular around the turn of the century. In Social Darwinist terms, the ‘right to breed’ is claimed through the sacrifice of soldiers. This ‘survival of the fittest’ (here, the fittest are the most “honourable”) is an idea that underlay much elitist thinking about society and often had, as here, a racist dimension. Compare and contrast this line with those found in Rupert Brooke’s ‘Peace’ and ‘The Dead’.
“they have challenged Death and dared him face to face”: the Bishop’s heroic and clichéd rhetoric unwittingly recalls the line in Corinthians 13:12, that declares “now we see through a glass, darkly; but then, face to face”. This Biblical line declares that before death we have necessarily imperfect knowledge, only attaining real enlightenment when we meet God. In many ways, the Bishop embodies this cosmic ignorance (Griffith, 2011).
“‘We’re none of us the same!’ the boys reply”: The anguished agreement echoes— along with the use of the phrase “the boys” – the first line, only to subvert the Bishop’s prediction.
“For George lost both his legs…”: A grim litany of injuries follows, spelling out the true consequences of war for “the boys”. Note that the soldiers are named, rather than idealized and anonymous in the Bishop’s sermon. The description is explicit and pitiful: “Poor Jim’s shot through the lungs and like to die” (Griffith, 2011).
“‘And Bert’s gone syphilitic:”: Bert has contracted syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease. Soldiers on leave would commonly visit prostitutes in the local towns and villages; brothels were even graded in some areas for use by officers (signed by blue lamps) and privates (red lamps). Venereal infection was endemic, as prostitutes could sleep with over a hundred men a day. Note the deeply ironic contrast, then, between this and the Bishop’s claim that “their comrades blood has bought / New right to breed an honourable race” (Griffith, 2011).
“…that hasn’t found some change.”: the irony of this statement illustrates Sassoon’s satirical point, that a massive change has indeed come to the men, but quite different to that which the Bishop predicts. “And the Bishop said; ‘the ways of God are strange!”: The Bishop resorts to idiotic cliché to explain the real change witnessed, essentially pronouncing that ‘God works in mysterious ways’(Griffith, 2011). It is a cutting attack on the hypocrisy of authority and the kind of rhetoric used to encourage others to go abroad and fight (Griffith, 2011).
“Harlem” by Langston Hughes
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore —
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over —
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
the imagery,
figures of speech,
symbolism,
language/word choice,
tone,
themes,
sound,
and my final thoughts on each poem. (Meyer, 2012, p. 576).
…….”Harlem” is a lyric poem with irregular rhyme and an irregular metrical pattern that sums up the white oppression of blacks in America. It first appeared in 1951 in a collection of Hughes’s poetry, Montage of a Dream Deferred (Cummings, 2007).
Theme
Frustration (Cummings, 2007).
…….In 1951—the year of the poem’s publication—frustration characterized the mood of American blacks. The Civil War in the previous century had liberated them from slavery, and federal laws had granted them the right to vote, the right to own property, and so on. However, continuing prejudice against blacks, as well as laws passed since the Civil War, relegated them to second-class citizenship (Cummings, 2007). Consequently, blacks had to attend poorly equipped segregated schools and settle for menial jobs as porters, ditch-diggers, servants, shoeshine boys, and so on. In many states, blacks could not use the same public facilities as whites, including restrooms, restaurants, theaters, and parks. Access to other facilities, such as buses, required them to take a back seat, literally, to whites. By the mid-Twentieth Century, their frustration with inferior status became a powder keg, and the fuse was burning. Hughes well understood what the future held, as he indicates in the last line of the poem (Cummings, 2007).
Meter, Structure, Rhyme, and Technique
…….Although the meter of “Harlem” varies, the poem has a rhythmic, lyrical quality achieved through alliteration, rhyme, repetition of certain words, and carefully placed stressed syllables. The length of the first five lines also varies: Line 1 has eight syllables, line 2 has four, line 3 has seven, line 4 has six, and line 5 has three. This irregularity gives these lines a jagged edge, like the edge of a shard of broken glass, enabling Hughes’s message to lacerate its readers. However, the last three lines of the poem each have five syllables, smoothing the poem’s edge to the keenness of a razor ready to cut cleanly (Cummings, 2007). Although the poem does not imitate any format used by previous poets, it does exhibit regularities, including the following:
In each line except Line 7, the last syllable is stressed.
Six of the seven sentences in the poem are questions.
All of the sentences except the first and the last contain similes using like.
Line 3 rhymes with line 5; line 6 rhymes with line 8; line 10 rhymes with line 11.
Lines 4, 7, and 11 begin with or.
Lines 3, 8, and 10 begin with like.
Figures of Speech
…….Hughes relies on alliteration, similes, and anaphora in the poem.
Alliteration
is the repetition of a consonant sound. Similes use like, as, or than to make comparisons. Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning successive groups of words. Following are examples these figures of speech (Cummings, 2007).
Alliteration
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up (lines 1-2)
syrupy sweet (line 7)
Simile Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore— (lines 2-4)
Comparison of the dream to a raisin and a fester
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet? (lines 6-8)
Comparison of the dream to foods
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load. (lines 9-10)
Comparison of the dream to a heavy load.
Anaphora Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet? Graphic Sights and Smells (Cummings, 2007).
…….The language of “Harlem” is frank, down-to-earth. It does not euphemize. The narrator asks whether a dream becomes a dried-up fruit, a running sore, rotten meat, or a sweet that crusts and sugars over. He also asks whether the dream sags or explodes. All of these tropes enable to reader to see and smell the frustration of American blacks (Cummings, 2007).
Maltreatment of Blacks Since the Civil War
…….The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution—approved in the post-Civil War era—granted black Americans basic rights as American citizens, as did the Civil Rights Act of 1875. However, court and legislative decisions later emasculated the legal protection of blacks. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1896 (Plessy v. Ferguson) that it was legal to provide “separate but equal” accommodations for passengers of Louisiana’s railroads. This ruling set a precedent that led to segregated schools, restaurants, parks, libraries, and so on.
…….Meanwhile, hate groups inflicted inhuman treatment on innocent blacks, including brutal beatings. Lynching of innocent blacks were not uncommon. Many so-called “enlightened” or “liberal-minded” Americans looked the other way, including law-enforcement officers, clergymen, politicians, and ordinary Americans. By the mid-20th Century, black frustration with white oppression formed itself into a potent blasting powder (Cummings, 2007).
References
Cummings, M., (2007). Cummings Study Guide, “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, retrieved from
http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides4/harlem.html
Griffith, G., (March 24, 2011). Move Him Into the Sun, “They” by Siegfried Sassoon, retrieved
From
Meyer, M., (2012). Literature to Go, p. 576, “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, retrieved from
http://wow.coursesmart.com/9781457646652/firstsection
Meyer, M., (2012). Literature to Go, p. 581, “They” by Siegfried Sassoon, retrieved from
http://wow.coursesmart.com/9781457646652/firstsection
Instructions:
Youwill be writing an essay of 1,000 words or more about the following 2 poems.
Answer the questions below.
Begin your paper with an engaging introduction and clear thesis statement
, develop each point in the body of your paper using examples and quotes from the poems, and conclude your paper with a restatement of your thesis and closing remarks. Also, make sure you maintain your credibility by including in-text citations and a reference list correctly formatted in APA style.
1.Imagery: What visual images can you identify in both poems? Comment on the details you notice about objects, places, people, colors, textures and so forth. Which of your other senses are stimulated by the poets’ descriptions?
2.Figures of Speech: List the specific metaphors, similes, puns and other figures of speech each poet uses and how they contribute to the poem’s overall meaning. (Remember, figurative language is not literal but rather suggestive of something else. For example, the metaphor, “Jack is a pig,” is not a reference to an actual animal with hooves but rather someone named Jack who has pig-like qualities or mannerisms.)
3.Symbolism: Identify the symbols you notice in each poem. What abstract concepts (e.g., love, death, truth) might the concrete objects (e.g., persons, places, things) suggest?
4.Language and Word Choice: Every word in a poem has been included (or left out) after much deliberation, as poets choose their words very carefully. Remark on the following in each poem: Does the poet use informal or formal language? Does he or she write in an older dialect or contemporary English? Provide examples.
5.Tone: What tone does each poet take (e.g., sad, humorous, sarcastic, loving, etc.) toward his or her subject matter?
6.Themes: What are the main messages of both poems? Give reasons for your answers.
7.Sound:
Read both poems aloud. What do you notice about their rhythms, rhyme schemes and musicality?
How does listening to the sound of a poem differ from merely reading it as words on a page?
8.Final Thoughts: Poetry can enlighten and/or evoke deep emotion in readers. Express the impact each of the two poems you have analyzed for this assignment had on you. What insights did you gain about life or human nature, and what feelings did each piece stir in you? Has your view of poetry changed in any way since reading and analyzing the Phase 3 poems? Explain your answer.
Paper received
(from last teacher)
1. Imagery:
What visual images can you identify in both poems?
Both poems use imagery using different sense descriptions i.e. smell, touch, sight, taste, and hearing
Imagery in ‘They’
The grotesques depictions of the various impairments suffered by the soldiers is how Sassoon uses imagery in the excerpts such as “George lost both his legs, and bill stone blind are figurative descriptions that are meant to paint a picture for the reader as to the sad effects of world war one on the young men
Imagery in Harlem
Figurative statements such as “fester like a sore, stink rotten meat or crust over like a syrup sweet “
Are meant to paint a vivid picture of dream having come before its time and being rejected and the subsequent waning of hope of those that the idea has come to save.
2.
Figurative Speech
· In “They”
Use of similes and puns are evidenced in the statement; “Bills stone blind”, there is use of pun when we are told that “Berts gone syphilitic then the Bishop attributing all this happenings in the war as Gods acts.
· ‘’Harlem figurative Speech “
The author uses similes excessively in the sonnet as portrayed in these excerpts;
“ what happens to a dream differed does it dry up like a raisin in the sun or fertile like a sore or does it sink like rotten meat or crust on sugar over like a syrup sweet”
He also uses metaphors when he writes, “like a load depicts how dreams have been piled on top of dreams and eventually hopes for the future become burdens
3.
Symbolism
· In They
The use of the Bishop in the poem depicts the clueless British government who are hailing the war as a “just cause” in the war of a supposed Anti-Christ.
By proclaiming the ways of God are strange the Bishop is trying to justify the war as the will of God
· Symbolism in Harlem
The line “does it dry up like a raisin in the sun” symbolizes a ripe grape having come of age to be consumed in all its juices, but instead being left out in the sun, where its turned into a shriveled raisin and even though still a fruit it could have been more nourishing as a grape as raisins are initially grapes before they turn into raisins. And the author is decrying the grape having to be forced to take this path the grape in this instance presents a deferred dream
“ Fester like a sore “ goes towards symbolizing the pain of waiting for a promised dream that never comes and the pain becomes of it in the end.
“ Does it stink like a rotten meat “ this portrays the need to get rid of an overdue dream what has become of a dream kept for too long as its lost its essence and in its rotten state it no longer remains desirable but is to be discarded like any other substance having expired.
4. Language & word choice
· Harlem/ Deffered dream
Langston Hughes uses formal language so as not to lose his audience and communicates his message hence the short stanzas and rhymes (run sun, load explode etc.)
· ‘They’
The poet in the poem uses informal languages and formal languages juxtaposed in between the bishop and the returnee soldiers.
Both poet use contemporary English where they write using symbolism, figurative speech and diverse themes.
5. Tone
· ‘They’
In the opening of the sonnet Sassoon uses a dispassionate and nonchalant tone to pottray the real situation on the ground as regards the war.
· Harlem
The tone of voice used in differed dreams is simple yet empathetic to the protagonist whose dreams are being refused them.
6. Themes
The themes in Harlem
are transience and choice
Under transience, the author portrays that dreams like every other thing are susceptible ot growth, change transformation.
Choices- the author asks if chose to keep dreaming or actuaries their dreams should
The themes in ‘they’
Sassoon exemplifies the themes of descent against the system, and anti- military resolve of issues
Read both poems aloud. What do you notice about their rhythms, rhyme schemes and musicality?
How does listening to the sound of a poem differ from merely reading it as words on a page?
When read, out aloud, the beat of the speaker’s heart spills out of the pages . Almost as if recorded as part of a well arranged song, the short stanzas with the longest line having only six words and limited end rhyme use sun and run, meat and sweet, load and explode are the only rhymes used alongside such vivid descriptions give us a rhythm to connect to – you don’t just read the message, you feel it down in your soul.
8. Final Thoughts
Poetry can enlighten and/or evoke deep emotion in readers. Express the impact, each of the two poems you have analyzed, has had on you. What insights did you gain about life or human nature, and what feelings did each piece stir in you?
The poems evoke emotions of embracing that which I try to keep under wraps avoid to embrace because I think its time has not come the poems have this call for solidarity in purpose and resolve . one of the poems, (Harlem) being written in 1951, has been felt as a requisite source of refuge for many people at times when most other things from the fifties were non issues . the authors ‘ ability to give so many generations a sanctuary is remarkable: any person who faces adversity and loses hope in the idea that they can achieve their dreams easily identifies with this sonnet . Sometimes, all anyone needs is that they are not alone.
