On the Sonnet / Sonnet Outline

Thesis: Both John Keats and Billy Collins emphasize the structure of sonnets into two similar viewpoints. Keats questions the effective sonnet form that it may lose sight of the beauty of poetry if an attempt is made to meet formal expectations whereas Collins playfully mocks the form of a sonnet, thus emphasizing the ridiculousness of it to criticize the effectiveness of sonnets. However, both poets take into account the necessity and accessibility of poetic form while incorporated in sonnets.

I.                   Keats emphasizes on analogies to effectively express the speaker’s attachment to his lover. On the contrary note, Collins merely and playfully mocks the effectiveness of sonnets to suggest a rather different and modern meaning to a traditionally formed sonnet.

A.     “If by dull rhymes our English must be chained, / And like Andromeda, the sonnet sweet / Fettered” (Keats 1-2). He starts the poem with an allusion to “Andromeda” who, according to Greek mythology, was chained to a rock so that she would be devoured by a sea monster. He uses this image to represent the fate of poetry, if it follows the unsatisfactory form of either Petrarchan or Shakespearean sonnets.

B.     “How easily it goes unless you get Elizabethan / and insist the iambic bongos must be played” (Collins 5-6). Similarly, Collins agrees with unsatisfactory form of sonnets by playfully mocking it. Sonnets are traditionally written to express one’s gratification or expression of love to a significant other, but Collins takes this sonnet to a different level by introducing a comical standpoint: he exposes the veins of a sonnet and suggests the fact that it is crucial for sonnets to be written traditionally correctly in order to express love. In Collins’ poem, the poet deliberately incorporates prose-based passages to wholeheartedly suggest that specific poetic forms yield specific emotions.

C.     “But hang on here while we make the turn / into the final six where all will be resolved, / where longing and heartache will find an end, / where Laura will tell Petrarch to put down his pen” (Collins 9-12). Both poets allude to some event or specific people as a means of support in their argument that poetic form is evident in poetic meaning. Collins’ poem alludes to the Italian poet Francesco Petrarch, who wrote a sequence of sonnets to his love, Laura. Collins deliberately and contrastingly emphasizes how these poems differ greatly in language and emotion. The first poem eradicates on how traditional sonnet form expresses love while Collins’ poem emphasizes on questionability of sonnets. However, both poems criticize the structure of sonnets and how it ultimately provokes a love-based emotion. As a whole both poets emphasize on the essential idea that poetic form is directly proportional to the emotion that comes out of poems.

PODG #4 Analysis

            Henry’s influence over Dorian is a clear representation of Dorian’s evident reaction to Sibyl’s death and continues to influence Dorian into a product of his own making. As Henry notifies Dorian about Sibyl’s suicide, he attempts to make the point that love should be appreciated for its materialistic worth and not by its hidden surface. Henry mentions that “One should absorb the color of life, but one should never remember its details” (Wilde 105) and suggests to Dorian that any element in life can only be fully appreciated by restricting your influence upon it. You digest any appreciative aspect of it without questioning it. Henry continues to convince Dorian that Sibyl is a mere false façade of reality by stating that “The girl never really lived, and so she has never really died” (107). By saying this Henry is fully aware that Sibyl took upon various roles as an actress, thus blinding her view of what reality is. Since these various roles are simply interpretations of reality, Henry explains to Dorian that Sibyl is unaware what true reality is, therefore reasoning with Dorian that she has never really lived and ultimately convincing Dorian that she never really died as well. Henry is a constant reminder of how an individual is capable of misguiding another individual through the means of farfetched reasoning. 

PODG #3 Analysis

The connection Oscar Wilde exposes between Dorian Gray and Sibyl Vane is clearly demonstrated through two contradicting foils: Henry and Sibyl. They both offer separate views of how love and goodness can be achieved. As Sibyl is discussing the matter of true love with her brother, James, she suggests that “To be in love is to surpass one’s self” (Wilde 71), whereas Henry remarks later to Dorian that “To be good is to be in harmony with one’s self” (82). Both Sibyl and Henry are discussing the importance of love and how happiness can be achieved from love, yet the two characters offer contradictory views that ultimately reflect upon Dorian’s engagement with Sibyl. Sibyl defends her love for Dorian by explaining that love can only be experienced if the individual surpasses their individualistic laws in society. Dorian’s lover is classified as a poorer citizen based on the fact that her income is solely from her nightly acting performances. Basically, Sibyl explains that love is achievable from the point one can break the barrier between one’s minds with one’s individual senses. Henry, however, suggests to Dorian that goodness is only achieved if one is at peace with their self. Even though Henry is offering advice regarding love, his opinion differs from that of Sibyl’s, thus creating a complexity of influential advice towards Dorian’s love life. Dorian views himself as a blank slate from which experience guides it, and in this case, Dorian has been enlightened to guide is conscious after viewing Basil’s masterpiece of Dorian Gray. Therefore, Henry tries to guide Dorian’s conscious like that of a pilot guiding a plane, and attempts to influence Dorian into making decisions Henry’s conscious would approve and not of Dorian’s. 

PODG #2 Analysis

The interaction between Dorian Gray and Lord Henry resembles an uncanny relationship between Basil and masterpiece of Dorian Gray. Despite Henry’s convincing nature of explicating the meaning of art and life to Dorian, the relationship Dorian has with Henry is clearly representative through the contrast of personalities and principles.

            Oscar Wilde characterizes Lord Henry as a reflective individual in regards to identifying Dorian Gray’s true nature. Gray believes that Basil offers “good advice” (Wilde 60) in the time that both Basil and Gray have known each other, yet Lord Henry believes otherwise. Basil originally reflected upon the fact that he had put in too much of himself while painting the portrait of Dorian Gray. In response to this, Henry argues with Gray that “People are very fond of giving away what they need most themselves. It is what I called the depth of generosity” (60). Henry originally wants Basil to publish the painting of Dorian Gray, and as a result, Basil argues that he simply as put in too much of his soul into it. Henry utilizes the same reasoning with Dorian’s obsession over Sibyl, who is Dorian’s unmistakable lover. The same reasoning applies to Dorian’s love for Sibyl because it represents the parallelism within the novel. This parallel structure signifies how art is appreciated more than its true value. In this case, Dorian is appreciating the actress without truly understanding her personality, similar to how Wilde refers to “Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril” (2). As Henry is arguing with Dorian, he believes that “The senses could refine, and the intellect could degrade” (62), explaining to Gray that Wilde’s original intent is wrong; believing in senses will actually enhance your emotions while intellectual capabilities will simply dawdle it.  The fact that Henry relates to this is contradicting Basil’s belief, thus resulting in a complexity within the three protagonists. 

My Son the Man Poem Analysis

Thesis: In Sharon Olds’ poem, “My Son the Man”, the poet deliberately alludes the inevitable growing up of a son to the magician Houdini, who is renowned for freeing himself after being chained, sealed in a padlocked trunk, and dropped into deep water. By making the allusion to this magician, Olds explicates the importance of the son to grow up and be able to freely practice individualistic skills while visually enhancing the imagery she utilizes within the poem.

I.                   The allusion to Houdini contributes to the inevitable maturation of the son as Olds describes the transformation from being a son to now becoming a man.

A.    Olds takes advantage of allusions in order to communicate an intricate meaning through a simple comparison by stating “Suddenly his should get a lot wider, / the way Houdini would expand his body / while people were putting him on chains” (1-3). Houdini is known as an escape artist whose most famous stunt was freeing himself after being chained, sealed in a padlocked trunk, and dropped into deep water. This allusion signifies the development of the son in comparison to the speaker’s emotions regarding the son’s foreseeable transformation.

B.      However, Olds responds to this inevitable alteration as tentatively as possible; despite the foreseeable outcome, the poet seems to hold back the fact that the son will go through this predictable transformation into adulthood.  Olds emphasizes the sense of apprehension by noting that “I cannot imagine him / no longer a child, and I know I must get ready, / get over my fear of men now my son is going to be one” (7-10). It is clear that the speaker feels uneasy about the son’s milestone into adulthood, yet she must be accepting this fact in order to counter any amount of uneasiness she has. The allusion Olds interprets within the poem enhances how apprehensive the mother feels as “Houdini expand[ing] his body” (2) justifies the inevitable life event of reaching adulthood.

PODG #1 Analysis

Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray explicitly secures a stance of how art should be interpreted, and can be seen through the symbolic representations of both Henry and Basil. Wilde deliberately illustrates the relationship between Henry and Basil to be representative of art’s interpretation and significance. As Henry and Basil converse about the significance of the painting of Dorian Gray, Henry claims that Basil is utterly insensible in the belief that Basil will not send the picture by stating that “What odd chaps you painters are! You do anything in the world to gain a reputation. As soon as you have one, you seem to want to throw it away” (Wilde 4). Basil believes that he has put in too much of himself into the picture and originally believes that living a life of secrecy “seems to be the one thing that can make modern life mysterious or marvelous to us” (6). By saying this, Basil’s position of art is highly recognized by the passiveness an artist should have, whereas Henry believes that all artists aspire to gain a reputation and seem to contradict that when artists are able to possess some form of reputation. Basil holds the position that “every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not the sitter” (7) and explicates the fact that given a form of artwork, more can be seen about the artist than can be seen about the physical painting. In other words, one can look through the surface of an artwork and accurately piece together an artist’s intentions into that painting, thus being able to accurately describe the artist. Wilde fulfills the argument that art should be appreciated through its surface beauty in the preface of the novel, and this statement is confirmed as Harry appreciates the beauty of the painting as it physically is. However, Basil believes that the artist’s intentions behind a painting should be kept as undisclosed as possible, thus eliminating the possibilities of revealing an artists’ lives by simply looking deeper into an artwork. 

The Picture of Dorian Gray Preface Analysis

            The preface in The Picture of Dorian Gray serves as an instruction manual for how this novel is intended to be read. Oscar Wilde categorizes the artist and the critics to be, respectively, the author and the reader. The author is “the creator of beautiful things” (Wilde 1) while the reader is “the critic […] who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things” (1). According to Oscar Wilde, an artist’s role, or an author in this sense, is to magnify the beauty behind art and to express it towards an audience. An audience’s role is to translate the art being expressed into self-indulged impressions of beautiful things. In aesthetic philosophy, the period of aestheticism is commonly referred as a period of sensuous thoughts, emotions, and impressions of beauty itself. Oscar Wilde’s preface relates to how it is necessary for art to be communicated through beauty; a reminiscence of various art forms that solidifies the fact how art exists only to communicate beauty.  

            Wilde simply characterizes art as a simple façade that can be immensely broken up into elements of symbols, complexity, and vitality. Wilde’s tone toward the audience can be depicted through the line “It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors” (2). By saying this Wilde fundamentally believes that “All art is at once surface and symbol” (2). Art is a simple façade that can be illustrated through its sheer surface, or can be analyzed through its complex styles. In doing so Wilde also recollects that “Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril” (2), and that “Those who read the symbol do so at their peril” (2) as well. Wilde suggests to his audience that art should be praised by its sheer beauty, and be taken upon as it is without any destruction of analysis. By going “beneath the surface”, Wilde offers that the audience can do so at their own risk, the risk being that an audience member will miss a possibly clear meaning behind some art form. In other words, Wilde’s tone in the preface can be described as formal and stated, meaning that the preface consists of free-standing statements that form a manifesto about the purpose of art and how appropriately this novel should be approached.  

Incident Poem Analysis

Thesis: Countee Cullen’s Incident is an apparent example of literary understatements; the title itself suggests the effectiveness of this literary device and how it revives the prominent period of racial discrimination, especially in America.

I.                   The speaker’s interaction with the Baltimorean highlights the critical racial difference that is the underlining evidence to how this poem relates to racial discrimination.

A.    “Heart-filled, head-filled with glee” (Cullen 2). The speaker is overcome by innocence since the phrase of “heart-filled, head-filled” provides a shadowy, innocent perception he has towards this Baltimorean child.

B.     “Now I was eight and very small, / And he was no whit bigger” (Cullen 5-6). Cullen introduces this line to illustrate the clear childlikeness in the black child and Baltimorean’s ages. As a result of the young ages, the black child’s perception is shrouded in his innocence since is also “heart-filled, head-filled”, and cannot grasp the underlining subject within this poem.

II.                The Baltimorean’s racial slur introduces the overall concept in this poem; by shadowing the infamous racial discrimination in the title, the author is able to utilize the power of understatements to form a consensus among the readers.

A.    “And so I smiled, but he poked out / His tongue, and called me, ‘Nigger’” (Cullen 7-8). The white child’s slur makes the speaker aware of how much larger the differences really are between them. The slur makes it possible that racial harmony now seems impossible due to the white child’s contempt and the black child’s feelings of otherness. The myth of the harmony between the Baltimorean and the speaker, presented in “glee” of the speaker, has been shattered by racism, thus offering this problematic situation to the world. By using this specific example, and by shrouding the true meaning of racism in the title, Cullen successfully utilized this understatement in order to effectively make a distinction between white and black individuals in regards to the period of racial discrimination.