Finding Tone

With a hastily cut-out image of "Dumbo" taped to my shirt, I stood to begin the class debate.

"Good afternoon. Today, I will be representing the affermative side of the resolve 'Current immigration laws should be enforced.'
Let me first begin by saying what a fine president we have in office today..."

By this point, the advantage of my class, as well as my opponent was starting to giggle. How can that be? If we look literally at the situation, I was displaying an elephant (symbol of the republican party) on my outfit and was only starting the introduction of the debate. The key to making that situation funny was the tone. Now, I am by no means a republican, but was assigned to represent the 'conservative' side of an argument for class. So, when speaking of our republican president, I did so with over exaggerated fondness. The tone of my presentation was in no way serious or in agreement with the resolve.

When reading a piece of literature, you must determine what the tone of the piece is, in order to fully appreciate it. Understanding how to identify tone, and how it may change throughout a piece, will help you not only get an 'A' in AP literature, but allow you to have a more memorable experience and develop a deeper bond with that which you read.

Here is my interpretation of 'tone' from three poem.

"The Telephone" by Robert Frost:

"When I was just as far as I could walk
From here today,
There was an hour
All still
When leaning with my head against a flower
I heard you talk.
Don't say I didn't, for I heard you say--
You spoke from that flower on the windowsill--
Do you remember what it was you said?"

"First tell me what it was you thought you heard."

"Having found the flower and driven a bee away,
I leaned my head,
And holding by the stalk,
I listened and I thought I caught the word--
What was it? Did you call me by my name?
Or did you say--
Someone said 'Come'--I heard it as I bowed."

"I may have thought as much, but not aloud."

"Well, so I came."

Here is a piece that goes from being very confident in its tone at the beginning, to what seems a little desperate and unsure, but the overall tone of the piece is hopeful. The lead speaker of the poem may have stumbled in his confidence, the energy of the poem remains hopeful at the end.
"..When leaning with my head against a flower, I heard you talk. Don't say I didn't..." This line shows the main speaker's confident attitude

"The Flea" by John Donne:

MARK but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is ;
It suck'd me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be.
Thou know'st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead ;
Yet this enjoys before it woo,
And pamper'd swells with one blood made of two ;
And this, alas ! is more than we would do.

O stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, yea, more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is.
Though parents grudge, and you, we're met,
And cloister'd in these living walls of jet.
Though use make you apt to kill me,
Let not to that self-murder added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.

Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail in blood of innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it suck'd from thee?
Yet thou triumph'st, and say'st that thou
Find'st not thyself nor me the weaker now.
' Tis true ; then learn how false fears be ;
Just so much honour, when thou yield'st to me,
Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee.

I started Early-- Took my Dog

Emily Dickinson's poem, "I started Early-- Took my Dog", is a prime example of an allegorical poem. Through a system of related symbols, she transforms a walk to the sea, to an encounter with a man.

I started Early- Took my Dog
And visited the Sea-
The Mermaids in the Basement
Came out to look at me-

And Frigates- in the Upper Floor
Extended Hempen Hands-
Presuming Me to be a Mouse-
Aground- upon the Sands-

But no Man moved Me- till the Tide
Went past my simple Shoe-
And past my Apron- and my Belt
And past my Bodice-too-

And made as He would eat me up-
As wholly as a Dew
Upon a Dandelion's Sleeve-
And then- I started-too-

And He- He followed- close behind-
I felt His Silver Heel
Upon my Ankle- Then my Shoes
Would overflow with Pearl-

Until We met the Solid Town-
No One He seemed to know-
And bowling- with a Mighty look-
At me- The Sea withdrew-

How Peculiar, are the Nature of Choices

Have you ever made a choice you regret? Held two stones up to the light and compared the way light dances on their surface, only to pocket the one less brilliant?

In "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, we see the story of a speaker, walking in a yellow wood, who must choose between two paths when arriving at a fork in the road. The speaker chooses one, expecting to come back another day to the other, but realizes that "way leads on to way", and that more choices and forks will arise, she won't be coming back. Later, she will embellish the story of the paths in the woods and tell others that she 'chose the one less traveled by' , although both paths had looked similarly well trod at the time.
As she reflects she 'sighs', signaling the regret she feels for her choice. As the saying goes 'the grass is always greener on the other side', and the speaker desires the possibilities of the 'other path'.

Why is it that a choice between two similar roads would make such a big difference many years later? Although the two paths were worn 'about the same', they take you in different directions. Either choice you make, you will end up in a different location than if you had taken the other. As time passes, you come to more forks in the paths, are confronted with more choices. Each choice you makes, multiply's the force of the one you made before it. Years later, you have gone so far from the original diversion in the yellow wood, you can only wonder where choice 2 could have taken you.

As readers (and hard working AP students!) we are confronted with a diverged path as well: how we choose to interpret the text. One way you could consider the poem is a young woman's choice to have an abortion...

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

Yellow is the color of cowardice. A young woman pregnat looks at the two 'paths' diverging before her, and fears where either would take her. One, an abortion- destruction of a life. The other, birth- a heavy responsibility, a harder life.

And sorry I could not travel both,
And be one traveler, long I stood

She is sorry that she can't both save the life of a child, and maintain her same lifestyle.

And looked down one as far as I could
To where is bent in the undergrowth;

As she looks down the path of birth, what does she see? Well to a young woman, the path looks bent and dark, like the path in the undergrowth. It would take her away from the life she has now, bring more responsibility and work. Perhaps it would cause negative responses from her peers and society, bringing shame and embarrassment.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
and having perhaps the better claim,

So, she chooses the abortion, which doesn't seem so unnormal or wrong. In fact, it may even be better for the child, than to be brought up in a household unfit for raising it.

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Grass is green, the color of life. The choice of abortion would seem to preserve her way of life, and is what seems encouraged by society.

Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

But although she can tell herself all these things about either choice she makes, she sees that there will be regrets either way.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.

And she see how had either choice might benefit her, the joys of raising a child.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to ways,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

She thought she could save birth for later in life, but sees as the path she has chose leads to new things and further from motherhood; she doubts it is ever a choice she will return to.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Sigh, a signal of regret.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

And Which Road Will You Take?

"You have to be careful of that one: it's a tricky poem- very tricky."

- Robert Frost, on his poem "The Road Not Taken"

Even the author of this poem predicted that many people would misinterpret what it means. Here's a great website discussing different ways to interpret the poem. (Make sure to read the comments at the bottom of the page!)

http://poetry.suite101.com/article.cfm/robert_frost_s_tricky_poem

Aren't We All Apple-Pickers, After All?

For the speaker of 'After Apple-Picking' by Robert Frost, life revolves around the harvest. The apple trees he is dependent on are dependent on the seasons. So he must pick with the changes natures.

He has a great desire to make a good harvest, but as he descends the ladder pointed towards heaven after apple-picking, he sees what little he truly has achieved during the season: the barrels that are left to be filled, and apples left unpicked. When he dreams, the apple-picking is never ending. In nature, winter is the end of the year, the time of rest. As he approaches the end of his apple-picking season, and the beginning of winter, he fears what type of rest awaits him.

Literary Device: Allusion

1548, from L. allusionem (nom. allusio) "a playing with, a reference to," from allus-, stem of alludere (see allude). An allusion is never an outright or explicit mention of the person or thing the speaker seems to have in mind. - Online Etymology Dictionary

Example:

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; do doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous--
Almost, at times, the Fool.

Function:

In "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", Prufrock wishes to approach a woman and declare his love for her, but fears being rejected or disturbing the society around him. Seen in the lines above is a reference to William Shakespeare's "Hamlet". Prince Hamlet was an intellectual, passionate character who suffered from internal struggle and who took extreme, hasty action in the end. Eliot employs this reference to show that Prufrock was not a man of action or youthful passion. The reference to 'the fool' Polonius, the father of Prince Hamlet's lover, is further create's the idea that Prufrock is an old man. Perhaps to old to for a passionate act of love.

Thievery

"Immature poets imitate, Mature poets steal."

-T.S. Eliot

Eliot is a thief. He knows it. He admits it. And he expects his readers to understand it. He expects them to recognize where he has stolen thoughts, lines, and ideas from. He expects you to see the connections between those stolen goods. Poetry is a complex system of symbols and images. If a reader cannot process the allusions created by T. S. Eliot, they miss the meaning of his poetry completely.

In the case of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", here is a great site that points out the allusions within the poem. What? You haven't read Dante's Inferno? Well...better get started.

http://www.geocities.com/athens/acropolis/5616/prufrock.html

Prufrock's Universe

As a teenage girl, I've heard about a million love songs (played on the radio, danced to on T.V., and hummed incessantly by many of my friends) but none have been so depressing in their realism, descriptive in their images, or thought provoking in their nature as "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock".

It seems to me that Prufrock is a man established in society; one who understands social custom and etiquette. He lives in a universe where all actions and thoughts are prescribed, expected, and have their noses powdered. In all of the mannerisms, all of the conformity, Prufrock sees that he is beginning to disintegrate. Love, union with another being, with a woman, seems to be the only thing he truly desires. It would give his life sustenance; protect him from the loneliness of old age. So, this poem is the internal struggle, "Does he dare?" disturb the universe, offer his heart up for a woman, and risk being rejected? "Does he dare?" take no action what so ever, sit and wonder 'what if?', and ultimately end his life as one of those lonely, pipe-smoking men he so despises?

"The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,
Licked its tongue into the corners of evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep."

Prufrock is the yellow smoke. Rubbing his back upon the window-panes. Disconnected from the world on the other side, viewing it from behind a glass wall. Like the fog that lingers, Prufrock lingers in indecision and inaction. Like the yellow smoke, Prufrock is only in the present, to fade and disappear in time.

"Arms that are braceleted and white and bare,
(But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!)
Is it the perfume on the dress
That makes me so digress?
Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl.
And how should I then presume?
And how should I begin?"

This imagery of a woman shows Prufrock's desire for her. His appreciation for her beauty; his distress over how to approach her.

"I do not think that they will sing to me,
I have seen them riding seaward on the waves,
Combing the white hair of the wave blown back,
When the wind blows the water white and black.

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown."

Mermaids are unreal, imaginary, untouchable. Prufrock fears that any spark, attraction he has felt between himself and the woman may have only been imagined. Prufrock decides that 'We' as people of this universe, let ourselves become lost in these wishful thoughts and games, only to be forced back to reality where we find ourselves not with mermaids, but lost at sea. Prufrock does not approach the woman.

2008-2009 AP Literature

This blog serves to make the work and assignments completed by Shelby Surdyk in AP Literature and Composition readily available to her classmates and instructor. To see course description and instructor insights, visit http://skagwayap.blogspot.com/
Please feel free to comment on any work published on this site. I would love to hear your feedback and engage in discussions.