Philip Levine

In the first selection "Animals Are Passing From Our Lives" I think the pig may have represented us as humans and how we just go thought the motions in every day life. The imagery used was like the daily operations of a slaughterhouse I suppose a similarity to our routines to how we just fall in line and do the same things as one another. The last line "No Not this pig" I think maybe was a statement that he wasn't going to be complacent and just follow along. The second selection "They Feed They Lion" gave me the impression that the speaker was indeed white even though the poem was more actually about the oppressed workers both black and white. In some of the information I read Levine worked along side a black man in the factory where he obviously gained more knowledge about the treatment of the workers and the black citizens especially. I noticed he also used some spiritual references too like in line 22 for example when he said "from bow down come rise up" and suppose that meant its time for citizen or workers to rise up against the oppression rather than continuing to bow down. In the last selection "Fear and Fame" I think he may have been describing the look on people's faces as we rode a bus or went about the city. Once again I think this poem was dedicated to the blue collar workers who have dangerous jobs and put their future health at great risk only to spent the rest of their days suffering from diseases or sickness related to a certain job all for what.

John Ashbery

In the first selection "They Dream Only of America" I was curious who the poem was really talking specifically about because the speaker seems to change a few times. I mean in the title "they" is used and "he" as well along with "we"; however with the change in point of view I wasn't entirely sure who the poem was referring to directly. I assumed that Ashbery was talking about family members and himself too. The 3rd-5Th stanzas really made me wonder if he might be talking about his father and the very last line also contributed that assumption as well. I kind of wander if maybe he is reflecting on some fond moments with his father or maybe they are on a road trip together. The one part that really was tricky for me to understand was line 17, which I wondered who Ashbery was referring to in that line when "he" is used. For me, I can't seem to come up with a conclusion on what the "cigar" and the "key" represented because of my uncertainty about the speaker of the poem. The only main conclusion I could draw from "Street Musicians" was perhaps Ashbery observed the daily life's of street musicians in a urban setting watching how they maintain survival. I also thought that he might have gotten some of his information directly from a street musician through maybe a personal interactions if indeed my assumption is correct. I say that only because in some of the lines like 15-22 seems like some of that information probably would only be known by someone who actually experienced it first hand.

Margret Atwood

I liked this story the different scenarios were interesting as they played out. I'm sure the American dream for everyone is probably "A", but most of us probably don't have our life's work out in a story book way like that.I mean seriously who wouldn't hope for their life would play out like "A". I thought "B" was the most common of all the endings that may occur more often due to the fact that the divorce rates are so high today. The next most likely scenario to occur would probably be "C" in my opinion because there is many couples who marry someone with an noticeable age difference and the younger one ends up running off unless their spouse is wealthy. I thought it was interesting how despite how each ending played out in the end both John and Mary died. Maybe this story should have had a different title because none of the endings were really that "happy" except for "A". I'm not sure what the authors purpose for these alternate endings were perhaps she was trying to show the reader possible scenarios to how relationships sometimes play out. I like the statement in "F" when she said "you'll have to face it, the endings are the same however you slice it". I think it would be interesting to see how different these plots would be if the script was "happy beginnings".

Sylvia Plath

After reading some of Plath's poems I thought she seemed to be troubled or depressed a great deal and given the difficult life she had that's understandable. Plath is a masterful poet, but her poems are very gloomy and depressing to read. In "Tulips" I got the impression Plath was either sick and wanted to just be left alone or maybe she was just depressed an didn't want anyone around her. The poem's title I is a representation of people bringing her tulips and maybe she really dislikes them very much at least that's what I thought. I thought Plath made references to that in lines 49 through 59. The other poem was "Ariel" this one didn't have a depressing tone really it seemed more like a release. I was just curious if maybe Plath was having somewhat of a sexual release after her marriage failed and maybe she's ready to put herself out there again. I found the metaphor she used interesting comparing herself to Lady Godiva the goddess who supposedly rode naked and bareback on a horse; therefore maybe she is expressing her emotions and she feels like doing the same thing metaphorically speaking. One common trend I did notice in Plath's poems was her use of metaphors because each of the poems contained several I suppose that is the way of she could best express herself or convey a message to the reader.

Anne Sexton

After reading Sexton's poems I got the impression that she was more of a feminist writer because her poems seem to be geared towards the experiences of a women or her own. Of coarse,the role of women did change in society during the 50's & 60's through new laws in favor of women.In the chosen selections Sexton shows us her different ways of composing poems. In "Her Kind" she compares herself to a witch meaning just like witches have been misunderstood she has too. "The Truth the Dead Know" I thought was partly a reflection or tribute to her parents death and the idea of what it must be like to be dead especially since her parents both died in the same year. That's the first time I ever heard a casket referred to as a "stone boat". Maybe she had been grieving and this was the best way she could express herself or cope with their death. In the poem "And One for My Dame" I thought this one was a reflection of Sexton's relationship with her father on a routine basis and coincidentally her husband followed in her father's career. According to,the poem she lived with father who worked more than he spent quality time with her and now she has married a man who is doing the same thing.

Robert Lowell

Lowell was an interesting poet because as the bio mentions his poems were written in apocalyptic in nature, which proves to be true after reading some of the poems myself. For instance, in "For the Union Dead" was written about an area of his home town that was changing due to economic growth. The Aquarium, and Boston Common I suppose was a place that holds sentimental value to him so he wasn't to happy I guess when those places were being replaced by something new. I could relate to his feelings if something in my hometown, which held sentimental value was being torn down or removed I would me upset as well. I guess Lowell wasn't the kind of person who is receptive to change or progress. I like the historical references he uses to represent the value of the park. Apparently, there is a statue on the grounds of the park with Civil War Colonel who fought along side black soldiers in battle, which may have been a icon for the community for many years and now it's about to be gone. I suppose the theme of the poem would be a bitter sweet end to the statue and the history that surrounds it. Lowell's home town is becoming a booming metropolis and he's just not thrilled about the changes taking place.

John Berryman

After reading Berryman's bio and the chosen selections as well as some of the others it seemed obvious that his father's death tragic death really took a heavy emotional toll on him. I was curious why the poems were numbered in random numbers as they were my initial thoughts are maybe these were representing some amount of time that had past since his fathers death perhaps. In the chose selections I was wondering if maybe he was starting to question himself or wonders who he has become. At this point his seems to be talking kind of crazy like maybe a depressed or angry person might do. For example, in "40" it sounds to me like he's become suicidal or filled up with so much mental turmoil that it's destroying him from the inside out. It just felt like after reading several of Berryman's selections that this was a man who lost his way and never made it back.In the end I suppose Berryman"s emotions got to be to much to handle as he took his own live as the bio mentioned.