Poetry notes

terms:

elegy- poem of sadness/lament about a loved one

author's tone- how an author feels about his/her subject

mood- emotions/ feelings that a text brings out  

personification- to give characteristics/qualities to an inanimate object

allusion- reference to a well-known person, event, work, (capital letters)

narrative poem- poem that tells a story; recognizable exposition

free verse poem- a poem without rhyme or rhythm

prose poem- poem in paragraph form (no stanzas)

repetition- repeating words

metaphor- comparing two different things without like/as

symbol- an object that represents something else

simile- comparison like/as

eulogy- a speech about someones life at a funeral

“To an Athlete Dying Young”

• The action summary in stanza 1 is happy

• The action summary in stanza 2 is sad

• The two different “shoulder high” meanings in stanzas 1 and 2

  • 1- the athlete being praised after winning a race

  • 2- people carrying his casket on their shoulders

• stanza 2- “And set you at your threshold down”: The threshold is the doorway to his grave.

• stanza 2- “townsman of a stiller town”: The stiller town is the gravesite.

• Authors tone on dying young: The author believes that the character died before they had a life to live, and he won’t live to see someone break his record

  • Support in stanza 5: “Runners whom renown outran And the name died before the man.”

• The double meaning of the word “laurel”

  • 1- the athlete received great victory

  • 2- it ironically emphasizes the tragedy of his early death; he can’t see someone beat his record

“Ex-Basketball Player”

• Pearl Avenue (a train) is a symbol for Flick’s life because it runs past the high school he used to go to and just stops randomly, just like his career peak

• How image of Flick standing among the “idiot pumps” contrasts with how he would have stood at his prime?

  • at his prime, the “idiot pumps” are his peers and he thinks they are less than him

• Even though Flick’s record still stands, it is not enough for him because it is just a reminder for him how his career just ended and his present life is unfulfilling

• The author writes: “This poem serves to persuade people to become more than just a ballin’ G, but rather a ballin G’ with an education.

  • This means to not throw your studying career in high school away while doing sports just in case your sport career doesn’t work out. Without a good education, there is no backup plan.

• Flicks current audience vs. past audience is candy → gas pumps

• Author’s tone: The author believes that when you do sports, you should also get an education for a backup plan. All good things can come to an end, even if you don’t think it will.