Poetry Blog 12

"The Englissh are So Nice" by D. H. Lawrence immediately caught my attention because it seemed like an odd topic for a poem, and a little bit sarcastic. As I read on in the poem, I realized that it comes across as a satire about the attitude of the English and how they wish to be percieved. I looked up D. H. Lawrence and found that he was in fact an Englishman, meaning that this poem is from the perspective of the English, and makes sense as a satire. I interpreted Lawrence as saying that the English think they are "so awfully nice," and have an inflated opinion of themselves. The fact that he goes on to compare Americans, the French, and Germans to the English also implies that Lawrence feels like the English think they are better than other Eurpoean and Western countries. It has some irony because it implies that the English think they are the nicest people in the world, and that they are better than others, who Lawrence says they should "never [be] take[n] seriously," but it's satiric tone implies that maybe the English are being ignorant in their view of their country, and that the "Americans and French and Germans" do not see them in the same light at all. Lawrence lived during World War I, so this poem could be commenting on England's relationship with America, France, and Germany during the war. But, it could also have broader meaning, representing how a citizen feels about his or her own country, when others may completely disagree. This interpretation would also make sense in reference to the war, as England, America, France, and Germany had relationships during this time. I think this is an interesting commentary about a citizen to his or her country. It can easily be applied to the present, even though possibly written a centuyry ago. Often times Americans are more patriotic than maybe we should be. We assume that we are always the hero that comes to save a people from a corrupt government, but we don't always know the unbiased information about a situation.

Poetry Blog 11

I think I had read "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost before, and I really like it. Frost interprets "gold" as not only the actual color, but also as happiness and goodness. Frost's poem is literally about nature, and how no beauty--or "gold" can ever last: spring turns into summer, flowering trees bloom for a short time but eventually only have leaves, and dawn, the only literal gold in the poem, becomes day. However, Frost also drops subtle hints that this concept can be applied to anything in life. the phrase, "all good things must come to an end" comes to mind for me here. The lines "Then leaf subsides to leaf/ so Eden sank to grief" really stuck out to me, not only because I think the rhyme sounds really cool, but also because the biblical allusion to Eden makes the reader realize that Frost describes the ever temporary beauty of nature, but that it is also characteristic of many other things, such as the destruction of the Garden of Eden. But Frost has the poetic talent to convey this message in only five words, which makes it sound elegant and profound. Everyone can think of a time in the past which they are nostalgic for; a time or place more "golden" than the present. This is Frost's underlying message with "Nothing Gold Can Stay." It uses metaphor and allusion to call the audience to savor the present as it happens. Frost cautions against taking anything for granted, because everything good and "golden" is temporary.