This poetry unit mainly consisted of annotations, poetry writing and TIEA writing.  The annotations were for us to learn about some famous poets and what they do in their poems so that we can imitate their style and such(a waste of time if you ask me). Poetry writing to help us form different types of poems and how they work, imitating styles and just sort of messing around with poems. TIEA poems are to analyze a specific part of the poem, for us is to analyze how do these poems empower people.

 

Invictus

William Henley’s Invictus uses power and unconventional language to bring the sense of perseverance to the reader. In the last line of the second stanza, Henley expresses his perseverance to the reader. “My head is bloodied, but not bowed”(8).  This line shows perfectly how the poem depicts perseverance. The first is to show how he is being brought down with his head drenched in blood. Then the second line shows how he has not given up despite being bloodied.  The physical and mental pain caused by the perpetrator is not enough to break this person and the reader can be affected positively as the reader will feel his perseverance and perhaps learn from it.

Death be not Proud

In the poem, Death Be Not Proud, John Donne shows fearlessness through talking back to the threat of death. After talking about the powers of death, in the last sentence, he expresses that death can be defeated despite its godly poweress. “One shalt sleepe past, wee wake eternally and death shall be no more; death then shalt die”(13-14) Donne’s choice to fight back towards death is to show that men not fear death as it’s not as powerful as people may think. This is how Donne empowers people, by showing through facing death there is nothing to be afraid of.

Compare and Contrast: Compare

William Henley’s Invictus is similar to John Donne’s Death be not Proud because they both promote a sense of perseverance even whilst facing powerful oppositions. Both poems have them facing a hardship and they overcome it with their perseverance and fearlessness. “My head is bloodied, but unbowed”(8, Invictus) “and death shalt be no more”(13, Death be not Proud). Despite the obvious different context, they promote a similar sense of perseverance,  where they start by being overpowered in some way without giving up because of some kind of unknown power inside of them. They don’t give up without any reason, no motivation, no nothing, simply to stay alive. The reader can feel the words go through their heads when they flow through the poem, facing adversity is always a good way of showing courage, perseverance and similar. Death is the consequences of submission which is why they do not bow their head and does not give in to death even as the reaper calls.

Compare and Contrast: Contrast

William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus,” uses mostly descriptive language and rhyming while John Donne’s “Death not be Proud,” conveys and focus on poem structure and vintage language personification. As Henley describes his personal life experience to tell the story and show readers how he stood over pain, Donne suppose “death,” cannot damage a person’s fate and “death,” should be the one to die. “My head is bloody, but unbowed.” (Invictus, line 8)“Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not soe” (Death be not Proud, line 2) Henley illustrates hardships and existence problems in “Invictus.” Imagery is conducted in line 8 bring a mood and tone to a story. Standing up upon himself against hardship and towards courage, not giving in to deep unhappiness, proud of what one has achieved despite having suffered great difficulties or losses. Donne’s poem structure attract readers to have second thoughts about death, that it cannot impede a person’s sense of hope. Death cannot actually die, Donne wants to show that death can be defeated with simple hope and unconquerable heart, not giving in to death.

Inspiration Poem

We’ve seen better days,

the scent of flowers filled the air, 

nothing but the blue sky in sight,

what to give to see it once more

A better future I’ve felt, 

clouds are leaping,

birds are singing,

what to give to see it. 

A paradise in sight,

without no price, 

a faultless dream,

a dream that you not need to wake from.

Sh…..

don’t speak now,

no need for another word,

a future to build,

a past to forget,

a world in your hands,

to make the paradise that we dreamed of.

Hope Poem

My dream feels heavy like an unbearable weight,

It tastes like a strange salt much like iron,

It looks like silver covered in red, what a warm color,

It smells metallic, my heart is pumping,

It sounds like fun, with a lot of laughterm

My dream is no dream, but a nightmare.