Monthly Archives: October 2013

For my poems I chose Fish Swim by Lacie Richardson and I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth. I chose these poems because they are very different but in the same sense they are so similar. First of all Fish Swim touches me emotionally because I know the real reason it was written, and the author is my cousin. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud speaks to me in an entirely different way but the way both poems are written is the same. Lacie uses similes to describe how she feels when she’s dancing in the rain. See she’s dancing because somebody is speaking to her and telling her not to be sad and cry. Lacie’s simile “like a fish” underlies the fact that she is not alone in her grief, many people are grieving too. William also uses similes but he uses them to elaborate the loneliness of his life. The difference between the two similes is that fish swim in groups and clouds are together but they are formed alone. The poems begin to draw together toward the middle of each because there is a resolution they go from being somber to resolving the feelings, they see the light. There is a small celebration between the two poems and then they drift apart again. At the end of Lacie’s poem she recognizes that it is time to move on and at the end of William’s there is a sense that it was all a dream and that everything he was saying is just an illusion. The Little homeless girl dancing in the streets andthe fact that she was swimming like a fish is all an illusion, but at the same time it is all real. Both poems use personification to create pictures of their true emotions.

The two poems I chose are “This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams, and the song lyrics of “Nude” by Radiohead. To me, one poem seems to be about the consequences and the supposed guilt that can go along with temptation. The other is about finally giving in to that temptation having someone be able to forgive you or even the act of having to forgive yourself. The lyrics of “Nude” perfectly capture the basic human instinct that goes along with temptation and the pressures of the world that is around us not to give in to these basic human temptations. Lines such as “Don’t get any big ideas, they’re not gonna happen” and “Go paint yourself white and fill up with noise. But there’ll be something missing” perfectly capture this idea of temptations and the guilt that go along with them. In “This is Just to Say”, the whole poem seems very straight forward and to the point as if it was a note Williams left for his wife on the kitchen counter. The tone of the poem very much captures the essence of someone who is ridding their conscience of guilt of a temptation that they have given into and pleading for forgiveness. Yet at the same time, it is almost trying to emphasize the difficulty to resist such temptation and begging for empathy, much like the tone of “Nude”. 

I have chosen Psalm 23 as my poem and instead of comparing it with another poem I’ve decided to analyze it along with The Message translation’s version. Psalm 23 is not just one of the most well known chapters in the bible, but it really holds deeper meaning for me. My plan is to compare the two translations to see how the context of the words has changed over time and what that does towards the validity of the scriptures. I believe that the changing translations do not void the meaning of the psalm, but rather enhance and bring to light the fervent message of the bible to a modern audience. One thing that really strikes me about Psalm 23 is its use of figurative language. The word of God is heavily spoken in this way as an illustration to the Jews, and now to Christians, of His promises and faithfulness. The original text was written in a way that the Hebrews understood and could connect with it, which is why I think it is important that the Message offers a way for modern day Christians to gain insight to the meaning behind the metaphors that seem so irrelevant in today’s culture.