Millay Hughes Young While reading the poems of Millay, Hughes, and Young two similarities jumped out of the text. Between "Gods World," "As I grew Older," and "For Poets" the theme of enjoying life became very evident.
The other theme that jumps out falls along the lines of looking to nature for happiness and inspiration. Many lines in these poems support their themes so people find it easier to understand the message of what the poems mean. Enjoying life and experiencing different aspects of it becomes evident as people read through Langston Hughess poem "As I Grew Older." In lines one and two, it reads, "It was a long time ago./ I have almost forgotten my dream.
" A feeling of forgetting a dream doesnt help people to enjoy life. The person in the poem that has forgotten his or her dream cannot experience different things because he or she has no motivation for experiencing life. If someone has a dream of becoming an astronaut, then they should pursue that dream. Instead the world tells people that they must have certain criteria for becoming that astronaut and if they dont measure up they cannot become an astronaut. Hughes poem should help people remember their dreams of childhood. Lines six through eleven "And then the wall rose,/ Rose slowly, /Slowly, / Between me and my dream.
/ Rose until it touched the sky-- /The wall." These lines symbolize the act of losing sight of a dream, reinforcing what was mentioned previously. In Edna Millays poem, "Gods World," lines for and five help convey the theme of getting out and delighting in life. "Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag / And all but cry with color!" This reminds people that they could be missing out on a beautiful day. Presenting a new look on an autumn day helps the reader know what the author was feeling when he or she wrote the poem. Instead of looking at an autumn day and thinking that everything is dying and winter is coming soon, its looking at the trees, and the colors, and how wonderful everything looks.
"For Poets" may be one of the biggest poems for getting people to seize the day.Just to use an example, lines one through seven, "Stay Beautiful / but dont stay down underground too long / dont turn into a mole / or a worm / or a root / or a stone" Not staying underground too long is a great way to enjoy life. Staying underground too long doesnt allow for someone to accomplish a lot of things. "Staying Beautiful," seeing things, knowing things, combine to make what is known as life. Life should be experiencing and seeing and learning.
Staying underground and being a mole or a worm doesnt allow for learning. Nature accomplishes more then just a beautiful background to a wonderful poem. Nature helps an author bring his or her point across easier."As I Grew Older" uses lines four through six to portray the theme of nature. "In front of me, / Bright like a sun- / My dream" The suns brings life, life brings happiness.
A major step towards helping the audiences understand what the author is saying is to use symbolism. Referring the dream to the sun means that the dream was just as big and beautiful as the sun. The dream of "a better future, free from the shackles of oppression and racism." (Responding to Literature p.
383) Langston Hughes was an African American writer so he would want to write about this type of dream, and the sun was the best way he could describe it using nature. Lines one through three in Gods World, "O World, I cannot hold thee close enough! / Thy winds, they wide gray skies! / Thy mists that roll and rise!" This poem describes nature and how it can be enjoying. These lines describe nature so they are a prefect example of how nature is used in poems.Its showing how life can be and how beautiful the world can be.
Having to go see what is out there is just saying that experiences are a part of life. The nature in "For Poets" symbolizes just about everything that we shouldnt become. In lines four through seven the poem mentions a mole, a root, a stone, and a worm, all examples of the wrong thing to be. Al Young wanted everyone to realize they should get out in the world.Using nature gives people an idea of what they should be doing. Not becoming a worm or a root or a stone Finding similarities in poems can always be helpful.
Understanding what the author says in the poem can be useful in everyday life. Here the authors are telling the audience to enjoy life to the fullest. Evidence found in each poem suggests that getting out and enjoying nature can be good for you.Finding happiness in life and nature are great themes for all poets to write about, which these authors utilized this to the fullest.
