"Somewhere I Have Never Travelled" By E.E. Cummings

“Somewhere I Have Never Travelled” by E.E. Cummings is a poem of profound feelings of love the speaker has for a beloved woman.  “Somewhere I have never travelled gladly beyond” (Cummings, 1).  The speaker makes it clear that he has never experienced a love like her in his time.  From his intensity of emotion he expresses throughout the poem, we realize this woman has transformed him into a better person in so many ways.  Cummings persuades his readers that there is such thing as powerful attractiveness from one person to another and true love really does exist.

The language is sort of mysterious in the beginning of the poem as he ever so easily describes each detail about the woman that attracts her to him.  “As when the heart of this flower imagines the snow carefully everywhere descending” (Cummings, 11-12).  He speaks in a gentle voice of tranquility about this woman throughout the poem.  “The power of your intense fragility:  whose texture compels me with the colour of its countries” (Cummings, 15-16).  Although the words are not normally what we would use in our everyday language, I feel like they are very descriptive and magical.

            After reading the first couple sentences in this poem, I found that Cummings used the word “close” repetitively, “frail gesture are things which enclose me” (Cummings, 3), “your slightest look easily will unclose me” (Cummings, 5), “though I have closed myself as fingers” (Cummings, 6), “or if your wish be to close me” (Cummings, 9), and “I do not know what it is about you that closes and opens” (Cummings, 17-18).  I do not think the speaker is saying these things are literally enfolding in on him, but the feelings he has for the woman are so powerful that he feels enclosed by them.

            In the last sentence of the last paragraph, Cummings describes the woman’s eyes,  “I do not know what it is about you that closes and opens; only something in me understands the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses and nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands” (Cummings 16-20).  Usually when a poet refers to the eyes in a poem, he or she is writing about love.  When a person is truly in love, they look into the eyes to show a sense of reassurance.  This is the final promise to the other person that he or she really is in love.

The plot of the play is not what I expected after reading the title.  After reading the title, I assumed that the words “somewhere” and “traveled” were implying that the speaker was going to depict the exciting journey he took in order to find the woman of his dreams.  It is much more than that.  Yes, he found true love, but he uses the poem to convey to the readers that the woman herself is much more than her “intense fragility” (Cummings, 14), and “the voice of her eyes being much deeper than all roses” (Cummings, 19).  She has power over him because he fell for her so easily.

"True Love" By Wislawa Szymborska

“True Love” by Wislawa Szymborska is a warm, tender and compassionate poem, in which the narrator is mocking those who do not believe in true love.  She speaks for all of those out there who do not exactly know what true love is by asking the question, “True love, is it normal, is it serious, is it practical?” (Szymborska, 1-2).  People do not believe in true love for the certain fact they have never experienced it.  “What does the world get from two people who exist in a world of their own?” (Szymborska, 3-4).  People do not want to look at the happiness and laughter between two people who share a mutual bond for one another simply because they have not found it for themselves.  I believe Szymborska is trying to persuade her readers to try to look at the positivity in life and realize that being in love is one of the most beautiful things one can encounter.  Just because love has not made its way in their life, does not mean they will never experience it.  It is their faith in love that will result in happiness.

            I feel like this poem is repetitive in the sense that from many people’s perspectives, true love just does not exist.  Many people dread the holiday which comes every year on February 14^th.  How many of you actually had a date on Valentine’s Day?  I’m sure those who have, were experiencing some sort of happiness and joy as they were getting ready and trying to impress the one they admired.  Those who did not have a date were probably sitting at home watching television with an emptiness feeling in their stomach knowing many people were out celebrating.  I think those who actually put the holiday down are having an envious feeling that other people are happy and have something to do on that day.  Szymborska points out the jealousy these people have towards those who are happy.  “Listen to them laughing – it’s an insult” (Szymborska, 17).  Why would one not want to see another happy?  Afterall, happiness makes the world a better place. 

            I think this poem is one of my favorite poems because it is a repetitive form of mockery of those who do not believe in true love, and I used to be one of those people.  She teaches me a lesson by convincing me of acting so silly at one point in my life when all of my friends were getting boyfriends except for me.  Throughout the poem, she builds on these dishonorable feelings humans have building up inside.  The poem is very easy to comprehend because the words display a simple structure.  Szymborska makes her point very clear and it is obvious that she is a strong believer in true love.  She wants the people who do not believe to quit raining on other people’s sunshine just because they have not experienced this greatest gift of all.

            The irony sets in towards the end of the poem when she says, “Let the people who never find true love keep saying that there’s no such thing” (Szymborska, 34-33).  At this point, I come to the conclusion the narrator already found her true love and she will continue to be in love even with all of the negative emotions of people surrounding her.  If one does not believe in love, that is fine, but in order to not be depressed, it is important to realize true love does exist.  Szymborska challenges us to think about the very last line, “Their faith will make it easier for them to live and die” (Szumborska, 35).  If these people would turn their thoughts around and have faith in love, then life would be so much more wonderful.  “So these three things remain: faith, hope, and love, but the best one of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).  The Bible says it best!

"A Doll House" By Henrik Ibsen

“A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen portrays a woman named Nora who is completely blinded by the way her husband, Torvald, treats her.  She is ruled by her husband and her father her entire life.  Her husband treats her as if she is a child.  He does not let her eat candy because it can rot her teeth, and he calls her names like “squirrel” and “little lark” in the beginning of Act 1.  “Is that my squirrel rummaging around?” (Ibsen, 859).  Their marriage is put to the test when Nora borrows money from Krogstad so that she is able to pay for a trip to Italy to save her sick husband’s life.  Krogstad finds out that Nora forged her father’s signature by saying “This is the curious thing:  that your father cosigned the note for your loan three days after his death” (Ibsen, 875).  Krogstad then threatens to tell Nora’s secret if she does not talk her husband into letting him keep his job.

             Two characters Ibsen makes comparable to the reader are Nora and Mrs. Linde, an old school friend of Nora’s.  Each woman lives their life focusing on money.  Nora feels it is a great thing to be independent and borrow money knowing there is a good possibility of saving her husband’s life even though she forges her father’s signature.   In the beginning of the play, we discover that Torvald is promoted to manager of the bank, where he will receive a huge wage and be extremely powerful.  Torvald waves money in the air in front of Nora and watches her as she gets excited.  “Ten – twenty – thirty – forty.  Oh, thank you, Torvald:  I can manage no end on this” (Ibsen, 860).  On the other hand, Mrs. Linde felt she had to marry a wealthy man so that she could take care of her mother and brothers.  She finally comes back into Nora’s life after losing her husband and mother.  Pressed for money, she successfully asks Nora to help her secure a job at Torvald’s bank.  Now that she is free from her marriage, she believes she is capable of running off with Krogstad. Mrs. Linde also symbolizes an emptiness in the matriarchal role.  Her relationship with Krogstad can also show comparison with that of Nora and Torvald.

            This type of play is a drama because it is a piece of literature that is never fully realized until it is put on stage in front of the audience.  The tone of the play is based on a male-dominated world.  In the beginning of the play, it is hard to sympathize with Torvald considering he is being completely overbearing towards his wife.  The end of the play becomes more neutral in a sense that sympathy can be found for all of its characters as Nora slams the door. 

            I think the title “A Doll House” is ironic to the theme because Nora has felt confined in her own home just like a doll in a dollhouse.  “Our home has been nothing but a playpen.  I’ve been your doll-wife here, just as at home I was Papa’s doll-child.  And in turn the children have been my dolls.  I thought it was fun when you played with me, just as they thought it fun when I played with them” (Ibsen, 907).  Nora feels it has been this way their entire marriage and she finally realizes it is not the right way to live.  At first, she lived with the restrictions of the Helmer household.  These restrictions built up for years and she finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel.  Torvald is upset when he first finds out the news, but he realizes his wife was only trying to save his life.  Nora leaves behind her own husband and children before it is too late for Torvald to turn it all around.

"Forgiving My Father" By Lucille Clifton

In the poem, “Forgiving my Father” by Lucille Clifton, we discover that the parents died and their daughter was haunted by many angry disputes between her parents over money.  The daughter seems to be on her mother’s side as she used “old liar” to describe her father.  The daughter felt angry and bitter towards her father because she was put in the middle of a difficult marital relationship.  She realized that her father was “the son of a needy father” (Clifton, 13).  Here, the daughter felt as though the father was raised in a household he had created for their own family and so she realized it was not quite his fault.  Towards the end of the poem, the daughter began to gradually forgive her financially irresponsible and emotionally abusive father.  Clifton uses this poem to portray the complexity of family relationships and the compounding effect of poverty.

The daughter remembered Friday as payday and she was waiting for her father to pay her mother even though he did not have any money.  The daughter criticized her father throughout the poem by describing him as “daddy, old pauper,” “old prisoner,” and “old dead man” (Clifton, 20).  These descriptions of her father show us that the daughter emotionally detached herself from her father.  In the beginning of the poem, the daughter made it clear that she cannot go on with her life and the mother cannot rest peacefully because they both believed they were owed.  The mother and father both died, but the daughter felt as though she was left with the mess they left her and she found this to be completely unfair.

Clifton uses words such as bills, payday, rich, due, pocket, bargain, collecting, debtors, and accounting as single metaphors to describe money as an extended metaphor throughout the poem.  The title represents the tone of the poem which is the center of forgiveness.  The daughter forgave the “old dead man” (Clifton, 19) despite her feelings of him being solely accountable for the shortcomings. The daughter claimed that there would never be enough time for her father to repay all the monetary and emotional debt he owed to the family.

The daughter was “side by side in debtor’s boxes” (Clifton, 22) to symbolize the lack of love and affection of her father.  The father did not provide the love he should have provided to the family to keep their relationship alive.  The father left her nothing but the haunting memories of him in her dreams.  Clifton uses the simile “All week you have stood in my dreams like a ghost asking for more time” (Clifton, 4).  Unfortunately, for the father, there is not any time left so it was up to the daughter to forgive him.

On a personal note, my family has always been financially stable, and for that I am so very grateful.  My mother and father worked hard to provide for our family.  They split when I was around 10 years old and my father moved back to Monroeville, Pennsylvania.  I can relate to the daughter in this poem because as my father moved further away, our relationship drifted as well.  For years, I was unable to receive the love and affection from my father like a daughter should.  Fortunately, I have one of the most amazing mothers who not only played her part, but my father’s as well.  Although we received a child support check in the mail each month, I would have much rather felt loved and appreciated, and I am certain my mother wanted that as well.  As I grow older and become more mature, I am able to forgive my father because I realize that letting go will lead me down the path to healing and peace with myself.  This will allow me to become a stronger and better person for when I have kids of my own.

In the end of the poem, the daughter evenly put the blame on both parents by saying “you were each other’s bad bargain, not mine” (Clifton, 19).  Although the majority of the problems came from the father, the daughter found that those problems must be kept between the mother and father because she should not have to deal with the leftover stress alone.  At the end, the daughter asked what she was collecting because she finally recognized that she will not get anywhere in life by dwelling over a situation that cannot be fixed, so she ended with forgiveness.

"Grandmother, A Caribbean Indian, Described By My Father" By Yvonne V. Sapia

In “Grandmother, A Caribbean Indian Described by my Father” by Yvonne Sapia, the grandson talked about his grandmother being strong-willed in the opening of the poem. “Her hands were never young.  They broke jars” (Sapia, 8-9).  Throughout the poem, Sapia listed events that his grandmother encountered in her life which made her a very strong person.  The majority of her pain came from the loss of her two children.  “But after the first baby died, she disappeared in the middle of days of worship, her black saint, after the second, to sleep with a hand towel across her eyes” (Sapia, 20-25).  She was not ruined until she experienced the pain of the loss of her children when she turned her back against God and worshiped the Devil. 

The grandson proceeds to talk about the grandmother as a little girl when she was living in a fairly nice place, but did not have the freedom or money to go beyond her dreams.  “She was given the island but no wings” (Sapia, 13-15).  It seems as though her life was once happy before her marriage. “Though she bruised like a persimmon, she was not ruined” (Sapia, 16-19).  The significance of the persimmon is that it can easily be “bruised” as it is a juicy smooth-skinned orange-red fruit that is sweet only when fully ripe.  After her marriage, she became easily bruised with pain and sorrow but did not let the traumatic events in her life ruin her as a person so that she could be a strong mindset for her grandson.

“By the time I was sixteen, I lost my place in her thatched house” (Sapia, 37-39).  “Thatched house” is specifically implying that the house had a plant material used as the roofing.  As he got older, the grandson lost the sense of belonging in his grandmother’s house because he felt he had the potential to be something more.  The grandson took care of his grandmother because she is described as “mi viejita” in the beginning of the poem which means “my old lady” in English.  The grandson felt the need to fill the emptiness his grandmother had lived through when she lost her children.

Sapia uses the similes “watering holes, like bones, like darts” (Sapia, 10-11), and “like a persimmon” (Sapia, 17) so the audience can get a better description of the grandmother.  The tone throughout the play is of darkness and loneliness as it describes the grandmother’s life.  The poem ends on a somber note.  The ending is marked by strict seriousness combined with sadness and a trouble state of mind as the grandmother lets her grandson go.

We come to know this is a family of immigrants trying to reach their destination of Nueva York.  “She let me go, and she did not come to the pier the day the banana boat pushed away from her towards Nueva New York” (Sapia, 40-44).  Even though the grandson had been there for sixteen years, she finally got the courage to let her him go, even after she lost her children.  As she got older, she wanted her grandson to leave for Nueva York without her because she wanted the best for him and believed he could experience the freedom more than she could at an old age.

"Snake" By D.H. Lawrence

In this poem, D.H. Lawrence reminisces about a hot, hot day in Sicily in 1923, when he went to his water-trough to get some water.  We discover that the narrator is afraid to go near the innocent snake, and is also distracted by its appearance.  The poem reveals a great sense of human verse nature.  I believe this poem teaches us that sometimes we are overcome by our own knowledge and tradition that we feel forced to follow what we know, rather than what we actually want.

D.H. Lawrence uses free verse and the poem does not contain a specific rhyming pattern.  There is a lot of repetition throughout the play, as well as alliteration.  The narrator uses the similes “had come like a guest” (Lawrence, 28),  “…his tongue like a forked night..” (Lawrence, 43), and “..around like a god” (Lawrence,  45).  He also uses the allusions, “Sicilian July” (Lawrence, 22), and “albatross” (Lawrence, 66).  The theme of the poem is a unity co-existence between a man and animal.  There is also a lot of patience, harmless attitude of animals, regret, and hospitality throughout the entire poem.

The narrator is pressured by the voices in his head when they say to him, “If you were a man, you would take a stick and break him now, and finish him off” (Lawrence, 25-26).  The narrator confesses how he likes the snake and how glad “he had come like a guest in quiet, to drink at his water trough” (Lawrence, 28).  He feels as though the snake is taking over his own water-trough but he is actually okay with it. “Someone was before me at my water-trough, and I, like a second comer, waiting” (Lawrence, 15).  Perhaps the narrator is lonely, and just wants a friend.

The narrator sees the true beauty of the snake and knows that it is harmless.  “The voice of my education said to me he must be killed” (Lawrence, 22-23).  Everyone is taught at an early age that snakes are evil, so he feels entitled to kill it with no justification except prior knowledge.  I believe the snake represents the dark side of the human soul.  We express our actions through our education, but the poet expresses his admiration on a different level. 

Suddenly, the narrator looked around and put down his pitcher, “picked up a clumsy log and threw it at the water-trough with a clatter” (Lawrence, 56-57).  This was done in attempt to kill the snake, but it did not.  The snake heard the clatter and immediately “writhed like lightning and was gone” (Lawrence, 60).  The narrator began to feel a sense of regret and blamed the voices of his education for his actions.  The poem concluded that the narrator wanted to make a change for this type of situation in the future.  After reading the poem a couple times, I came to one conclusion:  D.H. Lawrence is trying to get across to the audience that if you listen to your actual feelings, then you will be a lot better off in life. 

"Trifles" By Susan Glaspell

            Susan Glaspell’s one-act play, Trifles, was definitely an interesting play to read.  First and foremost, a trifle is something of very little value or importance.  In this play, a trifle can be defined as a minor outcome which could easily be overlooked.  In the beginning of the play, we discover that John Wright has been murdered.  Throughout the play, the sheriff, his wife, the county attorney, and the neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Hale, try to solve the case of his murder.  They start the investigation knowing someone strung a rope around Mr. Wright’s neck while he was sleeping in the middle of the night.  There obviously is a sexism issue as the women and men go their separate ways to investigate the house for clues to get to the bottom of the crime.  It is ironic that the play was written in 1916, a time when women were not exactly what one would call “free.”

            Susan Glaspell portrays different aspects of feminine awareness throughout the poem.  In 1916, women did not have much freedom.  They did not have the right to vote, nor were they allowed to sit on juries.  They were basically living in a male- centered culture.  Their role was to stay at home and take care of the domestic duties.  Men did not realize that these responsibilities are a constant state of hard work.  The best housekeepers were the ones who could do their work and not show any amount of stress whatsoever.  Men saw these stay at home women as them being on a permanent vacation.  In men’s eyes, women were not capable of doing the “hard” work like they do to provide for the family.  Glaspell wrote this poem to show that women should be acknowledged for the work that they accomplish, even if it is staying at home to take care of the children, preparing meals, or keeping the house tidy.  In the poem, the women do not really get to take part in this investigation.  They are basically seen as “children” to men and they treat them like inferiors.   

            Mrs. Wright did not have any children, but she had to do all the housework herself.  Living on a farm had to have been a lot of work.  Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters feel bad for Mrs. Wright because they say she did not have enough time to prepare for company.  The women feel a sense of loyalty to Mrs. Wright and actually understand her.  Unlike the women, the men really look down their nose at her.  The men’s views are not apathetic toward the women’s views whatsoever.  The women notice important details like the ruined fruit preserves, bread that has been left out of its box, an unfinished quilt, a messy table top, and an empty birdcage.  The men look for forensic evidence to solve the crime while the women observe the clues that men typically would overlook.  However, the men and women do feel the same about one thing, and it is that they are in a cold household owned by a woman who is just unhappy.

            Glaspell illustrates the psychological reasons for a woman’s murder of her overbearing husband exposed through the conversation of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Wright, who actually understand her act of rage.  Home and family are of great importance in a woman’s life.  The women in this poem appreciate the stillness of Mrs. Wright’s childless existence.  The women believe that the cold atmosphere of the farmhouse, and the way Mr. Wright acted toward Mrs. Wright led to her brutal revenge.