Yusef Komuyakaa

War is possibly one of the most depressing events that could occur. War has an impact on every individual in one way or another especially ones that fight in the war. Yusef Komuyakaa was a survivor of the Vietnam war and expressed certain feelings through his poem, "Facing it." This poem made Yusef reminisce of friends he lost as well as memories from the war. When he states, "damnit, no tears ," shows that he didn't want to lose his composure that he had throughout all the years. Not only do these soldiers have to fight for our country, but they have to deal with losing very close friends, and all the bad memories for the rest of their life. Yusef's poem must make individuals more appreciative of soldiers and veterans because of what they put themselves through to fight for their country.

TONE..

Tone is one of the most important literary elements that helps a reader get the feel for the story. Tone is the overall feeling of the literary work being read. In the poem "Metaphors,” by Sylvia path the tone of the speaker is very relaxed upset. She uses certain words such fat and rising which signifies her very upset because she is getting fat. She says, "A melon strolling on two tendrils." This implies she is only growing a lot in one area which is her stomach on her legs. All of the diction used in the poem have only one thing in common. She must be pregnant. There is nine months in a pregnancy and nine lines of the poem as well as syllables in every line, the stomach rises and get fatter when pregnant, and the eating has to do with cravings. The metaphors used in her poem describe her feelings about the pregnancy and form the tone of the poem. The tone being slightly unhappy and frustrated is because of the way she feels. The fact that there is no turning back means that the pregnancy was not meant to be and there was no way out because of what others would think about her. Tone is the only way for a person to really indulge in the literary work they are readin

The Weary Blues...

Individuals express their emotions in many different kinds of ways. In the YouTube video, "The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes, there is a joyous emotion, but the poem being read during the music uses diction to portray that he isn't always that pleased. It seems during that time era (the renaissance) black individuals were the entertainment for others because they still didn't have the same rights as white individuals. When he says things like, "rocking back and forth to a mellow croon, I heard a Negro play" and "sweet tunes coming from a black man's soul," this poem could represent the struggles African Americans felt during that time period. The blues song being played in the background could represent a delightful feeling they felt when they perform. This could be true due the smiles on their faces while they are dancing and playing their instruments. The combination of the music and the poem represent different feelings and emotions.

(The tone of the speaker reminded me of one of my favorite poems, "Phenomenal Woman", by Maya Angelou!!!)

Rebellion

Everyone rebels against someone or something some point of their life. Some rebellions could be more intense than others. For example in William Carlos Williams' poem, "This is Just to Say," he talks about stealing plums that weren't his. The narrator then apologizes for eating the plums because he couldn't resist how good they were. The interesting part of the poem is that the plums represent something more serious than just a plum. It represents all the joys in his life and the icebox the plums were in, in the poem, actually represents the world around him. It seems that he has done certain things in his life that he shouldn't have but couldn't resist because at the moment it seemed so good. Another example of rebellion is in Lucille Clifton's poem, "Homage to my hips." In this poem she speaks about her hips and how they are going to go where ever they want and do whatever they want. It seems that her hips represent her pride and dignity and also rebelling against men. This could be because an ex may have treated her bad and she is stating she is only going to go ahead in life and no one or no man will stop her or hold her back. Both of these poems represent a certain rebellion.