Poem Analyzation

[she_is_my_addiction]

When I come down to sleep death's endless night,
The threshold of the unknown dark to cross,
What to me then will be the keenest loss,
When this bright world blurs on my fading light?
Will it be that no more I shall see the trees
Or smell the flowers or hear the singing birds
Or watch the flashing streams or patient herds?
No, I am sure it will be none of these.
But, ah! Manhattan's sights and sounds, her smells,
Her crowds, her throbbing force, the thrill that comes from being of her a part, her subtile spells,
Her shining towers, her avenues, her slums-
O God! the stark, unutterable pity,
To be dead, and never again behold my city!

I need someone to analyze this poem...please?

 

[Belegon]

When I come down to sleep death's endless night,
The threshold of the unknown dark to cross,
What to me then will be the keenest loss,
When this bright world blurs on my fading light?
Will it be that no more I shall see the trees
Or smell the flowers or hear the singing birds
Or watch the flashing streams or patient herds?
No, I am sure it will be none of these.
But, ah! Manhattan's sights and sounds, her smells,
Her crowds, her throbbing force, the thrill that comes from being of her a part, her subtile spells,
Her shining towers, her avenues, her slums-
O God! the stark, unutterable pity,
To be dead, and never again behold my city!

I need someone to analyze this poem...please?

What are you looking for here SIMA?

Are you looking for someone to try to focus on what is behind the poem, your emotions and intentions, or just concentrate on the poem itself, it's structure and flow?

I would be uncomfortable trying to analyse you from what you have said...if you wish a review of the verse I would be happy to PM you my thoughts.

 

[she_is_my_addiction]

um, no it's not me.

James Weldon Johnson wrote this poem. And I'm having trouble explicating it for class

lol

 

[Belegon]

um, no it's not me.

James Weldon Johnson wrote this poem. And I'm having trouble explicating it for class

lol

didn't know the authorship...frankly, if I was his editor that out of place line would never fly with me....going so long it breaks all flow and hurts the piece more than it helps it.

I just read it as a love poem, albeit to a place rather than a person. I suppose you could draw on his early references to nature and then his depictions of the city and go two ways, either that he feels the works of man are of equal value or that he consider's them to also be a part of the natural world...

 

[Guest]

Sima, JW Johnson, I presume you know, was a figure in the Harlem Renaissance. I don't think this is one of his better poems, rather simplistic really, but I'll state the obvious (in my view). P.

When I come down to sleep death's endless night,
The threshold of the unknown dark to cross, He's speaking of death, when it's 'his time'...
What to me then will be the keenest loss,
When this bright world blurs on my fading light? Wonders what he will miss or regret most
Will it be that no more I shall see the trees
Or smell the flowers or hear the singing birds
Or watch the flashing streams or patient herds? 3 lines re. nature
No, I am sure it will be none of these.
But, ah! Manhattan's sights and sounds, her smells,
Her crowds, her throbbing force, the thrill that comes from being of her a part, her subtile spells,
Her shining towers, her avenues, her slums-
O God! the stark, unutterable pity,
To be dead, and never again behold my city! So, he'll miss NYC most.

Perhaps he meant the poem simply to express that Manhattan was 'life' to him, that it's an exceptionally vibrant and lively place, etc. Otherwise, it's just a bit simplistic and the language and meter are too neatly contrived.

 

[she_is_my_addiction]

Re: Re: Poem Analyzation

Sima, JW Johnson, I presume you know, was a figure in the Harlem Renaissance. I don't think this is one of his better poems, rather simplistic really, but I'll state the obvious (in my view). P.

When I come down to sleep death's endless night,
The threshold of the unknown dark to cross, He's speaking of death, when it's 'his time'...
What to me then will be the keenest loss,
When this bright world blurs on my fading light? Wonders what he will miss or regret most
Will it be that no more I shall see the trees
Or smell the flowers or hear the singing birds
Or watch the flashing streams or patient herds? 3 lines re. nature
No, I am sure it will be none of these.
But, ah! Manhattan's sights and sounds, her smells,
Her crowds, her throbbing force, the thrill that comes from being of her a part, her subtile spells,
Her shining towers, her avenues, her slums-
O God! the stark, unutterable pity,
To be dead, and never again behold my city! So, he'll miss NYC most.

Perhaps he meant the poem simply to express that Manhattan was 'life' to him, that it's an exceptionally vibrant and lively place, etc. Otherwise, it's just a bit simplistic and the language and meter are too neatly contrived.

I don't like this poem, I chose it for class because it's short and easy, and thanks for your help.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

It's a sonnet, of course, but a pretty bad one if you ask me. Very hackneyed and cliched, and ultimately has the cheap, insincere tang of the greeting card about it.

Like Belegon says, that one line sticks out like a drunk's feet in an airplane aisle. On the other hand, maybe that's the one thing that saves the poem from being total tripe.

---dr.M.

 

[BlackShanglan]

When I come down to sleep death's endless night,
The threshold of the unknown dark to cross,
What to me then will be the keenest loss,
When this bright world blurs on my fading light?
Will it be that no more I shall see the trees
Or smell the flowers or hear the singing birds
Or watch the flashing streams or patient herds?
No, I am sure it will be none of these.
But, ah! Manhattan's sights and sounds, her smells,
Her crowds, her throbbing force, the thrill that comes from being of her a part, her subtile spells,
Her shining towers, her avenues, her slums-
O God! the stark, unutterable pity,
To be dead, and never again behold my city!

Sure it's placed this way on the page? The typical break would have line 10 ending with "comes" and "from being" on the next line. If it's meant to be that way, I'm intrigued by the poet's choice to space it with the long and short lines when it would scan precisely iambic pent and more typical rhyme scheme if broken on "comes." I think an effective analysis would have to address that unusual choice - if it is one - but not having an anthology handy, I can't tell if I am looking at a typo.

"Death's endless night" certainly isn't doing any favors for me; it's old, and more significantly if this is Harlem Ren then it was old when he wrote it. On the other hand, some of the Harlem Ren crowd turn to forms like this - older, traditional forms with a more classic feel - as a means of asserting their position culturally and intellectually. I would argue that this is a poem written by someone with something to prove - someone perhaps seduced into using rather stilted language because he's trying to prove that he can do that elevated diction / classical forms thing too. I don't think that he's doing it all that well, but I understand the impulse to prove that he has the education and intellect to write sonnets in a semi-Romantic, semi-metaphysical tradition.

That couplet at the end is a teaser. I think I see where he's going with the polysyllabic rhyme on the last two lines; I would guess he intends to nail the closing home with a sense of closure and finality, as one tends to hear feminine rhymes more strongly. That said, I don't care for the choice of sound. "-itty" is not a powerful sound; it sounds cute, not grave.

You might also look at the way that each of the three quatrains conveys its own individual idea. That's a very typical use of the form as an organizing structure. It comes out a good deal like an essay. You can think of the title as an introduction; then you've got three body paragraphs and a conclusion.

(And let that be a lesson on the dangers of picking something because it's short Better to pick what resonates with you.)

Shanglan