I have been holed up in my office for the past week and a half, coffee and red pen in hand, grading approximately 120 student essays. They were completely brilliant, as you can imagine. Because I care about you, readers, and because caring means sharing, I share just a smidge of their brilliance with you:
Almost every one of their words has meaning and almost every line inhales a visual descriptor.
[Poet] was most notably known for his poem “Ode to a [Thing],” which introduced his new informal poetic language and bizarre form by using numerical numbers in between stanzas. [The stanzas were numbered, is all. How bizarre. — AV]
In the fifth stanza, [Poet] concludes what he learns from the urn in his attempts to identify with its never changing, discretionary form.
[Lady Poet] starts the stanza with a, this is it, it’s now or never feel.
Not once in [Poets] writings does he speak of a higher power or of God. I believe that because of [Poets] lack of spirituality this is the reason he has the negative and accepting of unhappiness attitude. [“Not once,” the student writes, of course, after having read the complete works of the poet in question cover to cover. — AV]
I almost want to say he uses personification but I feel his techniques in describing the soul are just talent and much deeper then a word.
The line that uses the “:-” paints a brighter picture. [Oh no she didn’t. Please do not tell me this girl thinks the poet is using an emoticon! — AV]
He uses words like these to create the feeling of what he feels.
This poem as I have described is really about death and other depressing ideas and is therefore not a romanticism poem at all.
Dear Dog, teaching is so fucking rewarding! Send help.