Analysis of "Driving to Town Late to Mail a Letter"

In, "Driving to Town Late to Mail a Letter," Robert Bly uses an earnest tone and imagery to describe the nerves of someone who has to mail a letter, but is having second thoughts. In the poem, the speaker is driving through town to go deliver a letter but just before they are about to drop the letter in the mailbox, they get cold feet. When the speaker says, "There is a privacy I love in this snowy night/ Driving around, I will waste more time," it is clear that they are just trying to work up the courage and waste more time before they absolutely have to send the letter. Through the image of the main street being deserted, the audience knows that it is late at night and the speaker has been contemplating sending the letter for a long time. 

Analysis of "She Didn't Mean to Do It"

In "She Didn't Mean to Do It," Daisy Fried uses a depressed tone and euphemisms to describe the reason for someone doing something they later regret. The author writes, "Certain thrills stay tucked in your limbs/ go no further than your fingers, move your legs through their paces/ but no more," which is a euphemism for doing something thrilling or pleasurable that is fine in the moment but after, they person who did it will regret it when the memory fades. The author also says, "But oh, she was sad, she was just sad, sad,/ and she didn't mean to do it," which provides a reason for someone doing something they regret. A person may act in emotions and then live to regret it after those specific emotions are gone. 

Extra Credit Quote Analysis

"We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin," this quote from Andre Berthiaume is extremely powerful. I relate this quote to myself and to general people of the world. Sometimes I can get so caught up in trying to be like others that even when I go home and the only person I have to please is myself, I still can't seem to remove the mask I put on for the world. It’s not because I’m ashamed of who I am, it’s just that I’ve become so used to hiding myself that it’s normal for me now. I can’t just spin out of who I am most of my day when I’m alone because I’m too caught up in the charade. I can’t just do whatever I want. I have to hide my opinions on certain topics I see on social media

I feel as though this concept of being too impacted by your mask to change is true for everyone though. People become so immersed in who they want the world to think they are, that the mask they wear seems to become part of them. They can’t ever act like themselves because they are afraid of who they are. For example, a girl could paint her nails and do her hair because that’s what society wants her to do even if she doesn’t care so much, but when she goes home she can’t change, she still has to change her nail color for the next day.

No matter how much people will try to deny it, everyone wears a mask, and sometimes those masks become such a huge part of people’s lives that they can’t leave them behind. Whether, you’re a girl or a boy, young or old, you wear a mask. Some people may hide themselves more than others, but in the end it’s all just self hatred. I believe that if people didn’t wear their masks, we might find things more in common with each other than we thought. However, masks have become such a huge part of everyone’s daily life that removing them would be extremely hard.

Masks have, unfortunately, become the norm in society. Everyone who wants to fit in must wear them. Even with my friends, who I feel so comfortable talking to, I find myself still hiding parts of myself and now that social media exists, I find that I had to hide myself on there too. Every time I send a Snapchat or post an Instagram picture, I have to stop and think to myself, is that socially okay to send? It’s exhausting to have to still wear a mask when people can’t even see my face, yet I’m so influenced by my mask that when I see other people who don’t post to my friends’ standards, I feel sorry for them.

I wish that masks weren’t the only thing that ties me and other people together, but they are. “Don’t wear that,” “Don’t post this,” “Don’t say that,” these sentences are what run through my mind everyday. Thoughts that should be positive turn negative, wouldn’t it make the world brighter if my head said, “This outfit is great, who cares if you’re a little over-dressed for school?” or “This picture of you is great, who cares if people will think you’re self-centered if you post it?”

Masks are depressing, but then again, how can I break out of the stereotype if no one else will? For now, I can only write about the pain of wearing a mask. Maybe, eventually, the norm will change and people will be free to be whoever they want. Masks keep us together but they also tear us apart, if only we had the guts to change it.

Analysis of "The Meadow"

In "The Meadow," Kate Knapp Johnson uses imagery and a depressed tone to show the audience the image of a girl daydreaming out the window. The line, " I wanted to know just one true thing," shows that maybe the speaker in the poem just wanted to think about one thing while she daydreamed but her mind wandered to so many things that she didn't even notice how much time had passed. The image of, "two inches of snow," that had fallen while she was looking out the window shows that time has passed since she began thinking. Through the imagery, the reader is able to relate to the concept of letting your mind wander. 

Publication Date

In the poem, "Publication Date," Franz Wright takes the audience on a ride of emotions with her comical tone and euphemisms to describe the feeling a person has when publishing their writing. The poem states, "One of the few pleasures of writing is the thought of one’s book in the hands of a kind-hearted, intelligent person somewhere," which gives the reader an idea of what authors hope for when they publish their work. Instead of just saying that writers hope good people read their work, the author says "kind-hearted" and "intelligent" as euphemisms so that the audience will know what the author means. Wright is also quite comical in this poem when he jokes about the publication day being, "National I Hate Myself and Want to Die Day." Through his humor and literary techniques, Wright is able to convey the feeling of authors to ordinary people.

Before She Died Analysis

In "Before She Died," Karen Chase uses a depressing tone and imagery and metaphors to describe the sadness a person has after one of their loved ones dies. Chase says, "When I look at the sky now, I look at it for you," which allows the reader to imagine a person looking to the sky for a person that they can no longer see. This image makes it easy for the reader to connect with the speaker. Chase also says, " It will take a long time to know how it is for you. Like a dog's lifetime -- long -- multiplied by sevens," this metaphor allows the reader to understand the feelings of the speaker, how the character misses the person they've lost and they know they won't see them again until they die themselves. Every year that they have to wait feels longer like seven years. 

Advice from the Experts Analysis

In "Advice from the Experts," Bill Knott uses a panicked tone, simile, and repetition to set the scene of a person about to jump off a building. The author describes the people urging the speak not to jump as, "a bunch of gawkers perched," above him. The simile of the people being gawkers shows that the people probably don't honestly care about whether the speaker will jump or not, they just want to stare openly at the drama. The speaker then says that they urge him, "don't, don't jump." The word "don't" being repeated could be an honest urge from the people that they don't want him to jump or they could have repeated it to add dramatic effect.