Death Becomes..

He was an intelligent man;

Came from a small town family..

Had a degree and set goals to achieve.

He was a good lookin' man;

Bright brown eyes with long lashes..

Girls fell head over heels with one glance at his smile

A man with perseverance, many passions, and a friendly heart

Was broken. A family torn apart. 

A couple years of stardust

Would bring any man to his rest.

Without a beg from God, he lay at ease;

He's taken only the best.

"I told you we'd make it to the sunshine one day,

You just got there a little quicker",

Were words he posted, as our hearts grew thicker.

I have decided to write "Death Becomes.." as a free verse poem. I found with this type of poem, I had more control over what I was writing and my emotions could be expressed much easier. I wanted the poem to tell a story. Rhyme, rhythm and form are not mandatory in a free verse poem but I tried to incorporate it as much as I could. "Death Becomes.." is a 5 stanza poem. In the first two stanzas, I didn't rhyme, but tried my best to incorporate the same rhythm. I considered these two stanzas to be the most serious as its describing a person's life. The third stanza of this poem would be the climax. That being said, I wanted to start rhyming. I felt that rhyming the last 3 stanzas in the poem would enlighten the mood, considering that it is the most depressing. Overall, even though it is a free verse poem, I still found it difficult to write. But, it came from within so I had a visualization of what and how I was going to write. 

A sonnet just for you...

Mun is hard; no time to sleep.

Must be honest, refuse to accepts cheats.

Caffeine and coffee have me counting sheep

at night when I'm bundled between my sheets.

Wake up in the morning cranky and cold

as I straighten my hair and make my bed.

A Light breakfast is key because my boyfriend is bold.

My brain is scrambled; work is done easier than said.

Send Scotty outside to pre heat the cars;

Chivalry isn't dead despite what I'm told.

I'm thankful for my man; I count my lucky stars..

After our first date, I knew I was sold.

Next week I'm scared for my very first test,

So I just think of my man and forget all the rest.

When writing this sonnet, I felt like I was restricted. Having to rhyme every second line and trying to keep within the form and number of syllables was difficult. At first, I had no idea what to write about but I decided to go with two of the most important things in my life, besides my family. After writing a few lines and figuring out where I was heading with my poem, it became pretty easy. This is my everyday life and it had a big influence towards what I wrote.  

Haiku & Limerick

HAIKU

The snowflake is cold.

Softly falling to the Earth

It sticks to my tongue.

LIMERICK

There once was a girl with red hair.

Who always brought her dog to the fair.

She bought cotton candy

With her dog named Mandy

Who ate it without any to spare.

Haiku's and limericks are very interesting to write because of their form. 

The fact that a haiku has a very short stanza, I decided to base mine upon something that the readers could visualize, or even relate too- something very simple. Almost all readers could relate to catching snowflakes on their tongue at least once in their lifetime. 

From what I've read about limericks, aside from the rhyming- you should have fun when writing them. In this case, I went with my inner child (that everyone has somewhere). Again, this was another poem I wanted to keep simple. Also, something readers could have a little giggle at when they're are finished reading.  

Blog #1 Critical Approaches

McMahan lists several different approaches when it comes to "criticism". The approach that appeals to me the most would be biographical. Biographies are life stories. They are told with help from letters, journals and diaries. The reason why biographies appeal to me is because they are true. You will always discover interesting people, learn about their history, their culture and what shaped them into who they are today. Every person has their own story; Its not fiction, its not exaggerated, its you!

The poem I have chosen to analyze as a biography is "XI. Brian, the Still-Hunter" by Susanna Moodie. Moodie starts off the poem by writing "O'er memory's glass I see his shadow flit, though he was gathered to the silent dust". This indicated that someone Moodie knew has past away. As she continues with her poem, she starts writing about the surroundings that the "strange and wayward man" lived in- the woods and also the lakes within. Moodie then moves on to the way the hunter lives his life. "The Still Hunter" was not very sociable. We know this from the line "deep waters never knew the stroke of cleaving oar, or echoed to the sound of social life…" But, along with his companion dog and gun, one day after another, he "track'd the nimble deer through all the tangle mazes of the forest".

I believe this poem is an excellent example of a biography. Moodie portrayed the aspects of the still hunter's life very well. Its these sorts of qualities that I tend to look for and look forward too when reading.



XI. BRIAN, THE STILL HUNTER
O'er memory's glass I see his shadow flit,
Though he was gathered to the silent dust
Long years ago. A strange and wayward man,
That shunn'd companionship, and lived apart;
The leafy covert of the dark brown woods,
The gleamy lakes, hid in their gloomy depths,
Whose still, deep waters never knew the stroke
Of any social life, contained for him the sum
Of human happiness. With dog and gun
Day after day he track'd the nimble deer
Through all the tangled mazes of the forest
                    --Susanna Moodie (1803-1885)

A blog? For school?

     When my Prof at MUN told our class we had to write a weekly blog, I was a bit skeptical.. When it comes to verbally speaking my mind, I'm not very articulate. Seriously! You can ask my boyfriend. But, its very different and a unique technique, which I like. Also beats writing in class! 

     So, a blog? Who in the world would want to hear my thoughts; sometimes I don't even want to hear my thoughts (haha). But, here it goes… I'll start with my first day at MUN.

     

I applied for university back in October, it was such a great idea since its been 3-4 years since I graduated high school- I was so excited! Notice the key word- "was". For weeks, I was telling all my family and friends that I've been accepted and I'll be pursuing a degree in the Faculty of Science- Earth Science. Everyone was so happy for me.. Even my boyfriend who was also giving me reality checks of how hard its going to be but I didn't listen, I was too thrilled that I was about to start a new chapter in my life.

   

  Months, Christmas and New Years went by, still very excited! Suddenly, it was Sunday, January 6th- my birthday.. Not only did I have to study for my MPT and set up some online chemistry, I became extremely nervous.. I cried, complained and almost didn't go to class the next day. That was until my boyfriend saved the day (as usual). He called up one of his friends who is in his 5th year of university and asked if he would go to class with me in the morning.. Luckily for me, he said yes! What a relief!!

   

  I was still a bit nervous- how could you not? You're in a brand new school with thousands of other students. Thankfully, I started my day with an awesome friend. After my first 2 classes, I realized that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I just freaked myself out.

    

 This makes you realize how important friends are!