Comparative Poetry Analysis
Morgan McGauley hour 3
Introduction
When you hear the phrase, "Big as the myth origin," what is the first thing that comes to mind on what the phrase means? When I hear that phrase I think of how big some of the myths on how the earth was created. A poet, Leslie Marmon Silko, wrote the poem "Prayer to the Pacific" and was comparing the ocean to a myth about how the earth was created. Gwendolyn Brooks is also a poet and she wrote "Tornado at Talledega." Both of there poets love nature and have a very respectful tone.
Tone and Word Choice
The poets viewpoints on nature in the poems "Prayer to the Pacific" and "Tornado at Talledega" are respectful.You can also tell that the poet that wrote "Prayer to the Pacific" loves nature because she talks about how we should respect the ocean and everything in it (lines 15-16). She also makes the entire poem sound like a prayer to the ocean on lines 13-14. The poet that wrote "Tornado at Talledega" respects the power of nature and how quick it can destroy (Line 14). However the entire poem is like a karma example. I think this because the trees were bragging on how beautiful they are and then the get ruined by the tornado and are now ashamed. In both the poems "Prayer to the Pacific" and "Tornado at Talledega" both of the poets have a respectful tone towards nature.
Figurative Language
Both of the poets use a lot of personification. For example, in the poem 'Tornado at Talledega," the entire second stanza is personifying the trees. The poet talks about the trees bragging about how beautiful they are (lines 9-10). Then once the tornado comes and ruins them, the trees feel ashamed. I think that this is personification because trees cannot feel emotion like humans can. I also think that the author did this to make the reader feel like they are reading about another person instead of trees. This makes us have a little more sympathy. (2nd stanza) The poet that wrote "Prayer to the Pacific" also has a lot of personification about the ocean. For instance, in line 12, she talks about someone talking to the ocean. This is personification because the ocean cannot carry on a conversation. Also, in line 32, it says that the ocean is swallowing rain drops when oceans do not swallow. The poems "Prayer to the Pacific" and "Tornado at Talledega" both have a lot of personification.
Form and Structure
The two poems have a very similar structure. I know this because neither of the poems have a rhyme scheme and different stanza and line lengths. This makes them both free verse poems. However, their are a couple of differences as well. For example, in the poem "Tornado at Talledega," there is one line all by itself when usually there are at least two. I think that the poet did this to make is stand out and make that one sentence more meaningful than the others. Another example of a difference is in the other poem, "Prayer to the Pacific." The poet wrote the poem with big gapes between the stanzas and sometime gaps between words of the same sentence. One example of this is in line 20. I think the poet did this to force to slow down and have a little more pauses. And, when we do this is makes the poem sound more like a prayer, as its tittle mentions. Also, the structure of the poem if you turn it sideways sort of reminds me of the waves in a ocean. The structure of the poems is very similar between he two but, also different.
Conclusion
In the poems "Prayer to the Pacific" and "Tornado at Talledega" the poets talk about respecting nature and how you know the dangers of this beautiful nature also. Both of the poets styles affect the poems because they help you imagine whats going on and help you think about what you are reading. I think that the overall meaning of the poem "Prayer to the Pacific, " is that you should respect the ocean and everything in it. The overall meaning of "Tornado at Talledega" to me is that karma is a real thing and that the trees got what the deserved. I also think, however, that the overall theme of this poem is that even though nature is beautiful, it is also deadly.