Tuesday, February 26, 2008

reaction: Shakespeare

I was not happy when I found out we were reading Shakespeare because I hate Shakespeare. I think it is a pointless to waste your time trying to interpret early modern English. I do not care for Shakespeare or books written in early modern English.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Britney

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/24/britney.sons.ap/index.html


This article about Britney Spears really saddens me because I really think she has so much potential to go so far in life. She is an incredible singer and she has so much going for her. But, being a young star and growing up under all the stress of Hollywood, she, like most young stars, wind up having problems as they get older. Spears was a pop sensation a few years back and she played a lead role on the show "The Mickey Mouse Club," when she was little. Growing up, having so much power and influence over so many people, really takes a toll on people. Now instead of Britney using all of her power to become something sensational, she is using it to nearly kill herself. I really think the situation is sad and I'm sorry it happens to so many young, famous people today.

Friday, February 15, 2008

White Houses by Vanessa Carlton

Crashed on the floor when I moved in
This little bunk alone with some strange new friends
Stay up too late, and I'm too thin
We promise each other it's til the end
Now we're spinning empty bottles
It's the five of us
With pretty eyed boys girls die to trust
I can't resist the day
No, I can't resist the day

Jenny screams out and it's no pose
'Cause when she dances she goes and goes
Beer through the nose on an inside joke
I'm so excited, I haven't spoken
And she's so pretty, and she's so sure
Maybe I'm more clever than a girl like her
The summer's all in bloom
The summer is ending soon

It's alright and it's nice not to be so alone
But I hold on to your secrets in white houses

Maybe I'm a little bit over my head
I come undone at the things he said
And he's so funny in his bright red shirt
We were all in love and we all got hurt
I sneak into his car's black leather seat
The smell of gasoline in the summer heat
Boy, we're going way too fast
It's all too sweet to last

It's alright
And I put myself in his hands
But I hold on to your secrets in white houses
Love, or something ignites in my veins
And I pray it never fades in white houses

My first time, hard to explain
Rush of blood, oh, and a little bit of pain
On a cloudy day, it's more common than you think
He's my first mistake

Maybe you were all faster than me
We gave each other up so easily
These silly little wounds will never mend
I feel so far from where I've been
So I go, and I will not be back here again
I'm gone as the day is fading on white houses
I lie, put my injuries all in the dust
In my heart is the five of us
In white houses

And you, maybe you'll remember me
What I gave is yours to keep
In white houses
In white houses
In white houses

http://www.dapslyrics.com/display.php?sid=7292

This song talks about a teenage girl going to summer camp and she and her camp friends are drinking. She meets a boy and they do stuff that she regrets. I think this speaks for a lot of girls today because they do a lot of crazy things they don't mean to when they are with a boy they really like. This is like the book we read, House on Mango Street, because Esperanza finds a boy that says he likes her and she does stuff with him and he then took advantage of her. This is sad because it happens a lot these days.

May our friendship last forever by Nicholas Gordon

May our friendship last forever;
May I sail upon your sea.
May we go through life together;
May there always be a "we."
May I be your endless sky;
May you breathe my gentle air.
May you never wonder why
Each time you look for me, I'm there.

May we be for each a smile
Like the warm, life-giving sun;
Yet when we're in pain awhile,
May our suffering be one.

May we share our special days,
The happiness of one for two;
And if we must go separate ways,
Let my love remain with you

http://www.famous-poems.biz/Teenage_Poems/Famous-Teenage-Poems-best-free-poetry-online.html

This is a poem about soulmates. Your soulmate is your best friend, someone you will love even if youre not with them. This poem talks about people who want to be friends forever. This poem has a repetition of words, which makes it sound good. By repeating a word at the begining of the line or stanza makes the wording sound better.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Be A Friend by Edgar A Guest

Be a friend. You don't need money:
Just a disposition sunny;
Just the wish to help another
Get along some way or other;
Just a kindly hand extended
Out to one who's unbefriended;
Just the will to give or lend,
This will make you someone's friend.


Be a friend. You don't need glory.
Friendship is a simple story.
Pass by trifling errors blindly,
Gaze on honest effort kindly,
Cheer the youth who's bravely trying,
Pity him who's sadly sighing;
Just a little labor spend
On the duties of a friend.


Be a friend. The pay is bigger
(Though not written by a figure)
Than is earned by people clever
In what's merely self-endeavor.
You'll have friends instead of neighbors
For the profits of your labors;
You'll be richer in the end
Than a prince, if you're a friend

http://www.famous-poems.biz/friendship_poems/Be-A-Friend-new-friendship-poem-by-Edgar-A-Guest.html

This poem is a nice poem because it does say all the things good friends should do. These days everyone always gets caught up in the unnecessary stuff that really doesn't matter in life. In this poem, it tells you all about why being and having friends is so great. I agree with this poem because it is a good thing to have a lot of friends. Also it talks about how you don't have to be someone's friend to be nice to them which is true because you should always help someone out if they look like they are having trouble, even if you don't know them.

by Sri Chinmoy

Love is not a thing to understand.
Love is not a thing to feel.
Love is not a thing to give and receive.
Love is a thing only to become
And eternally be. .

http://www.shortpoems.org/

I think this poem means that you can't understand love, love just is. You can try to understand love but it has a mind of its own. You don't give love to or get love from anyone. You become in love and once you are in love, you will be forever. I don't agree with this poem because i think that you can feel love. For example if someone you were very close with died, you would be sad because you love them. By being sad that shows you that you feel sad because you felt their love at some point or another.

Look at all the Faces

Look at all the faces,
Who hide their lonely places.
Their own private portals to Hell.
Your life sucks.
Mine is worse.
But not as bad as his

http://www.hilaryshepherd.com/rantsnraves/category/poems/

In my opinion, I think this poem is trying to say that you can look around at everyone and everyone might seem perfect. But, if you actually look at their face you will realized that maybe everyone is just trying to hide thier fear and their true feelings. Maybe they are doing this because they are afraid they will be judged. Maybe they are doing this because they don't want anyone to know what their life is really like. Either way, some people are afraid to show their real feelings.

Life's Uncertain Day By Thomas Love Peacock

THE briefest part of life's uncertain day,
Youth's lovely blossom, hastes to swift decay:
While love, wine, song, enhance our gayest mood
Old age creeps on, nor thought, nor understood.

http://www.thomaslovepeacock.net/shorter.html

I think this poem is trying to say that when you are young you have a lot of fun and then one day you just wake up and youre old. I don't agree with this because I think you know when you are going to get old. Maybe one day you wake up and find out you are going to have a grandchild and then you feel old but I don't think you just wake up one day and say, "today I feel old." Also, you will eventually realize you are getting old when you start to lose or sight or hearing. That might be crazy to think about when you are so young and you might not be expecting it. But, i do not think you wake up one day and feel older than you did the day before.

Tryin' On Clothes by Shell Silverstein

I tried on the farmer's hat,

Didn't fit...

A little too small -- just a bit

Too floppy.

Couldn't get used to it,

Took it off.

Tried on the dancer's shoes,

A little too loose.

Not the kind you could use

For walkin'.

Didn't feel right in 'em,

Kicked 'em off.

I tried on the summer sun,

Felt good.

Nice and warm -- knew it would.

Tried the grass beneath bare feet,

Felt neat.

Finally, finally felt well dressed,

Nature's clothes fit me best.

I chose this poem because i think it's really cute. It's rhyming scheme is AABB. The way the poem rhymes really contributes to the poem because it keeps the reader interested and it sounds good. I think this poem reflects Shell's personality because he write in ways that are geared more towards younger kids. I think this poem is funny because he was talking about how he tried on all these types of clothes and none of them fight right and then he tried not wearing and clothes or shoes and he felt very comfortable.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Wishes for Sons By Lucille Clifton

i wish them cramps.
i wish them a strange town
and the last tampon.
I wish them no 7-11.

i wish them one week early
and wearing a white skirt.
i wish them one week late.

later i wish them hot flashes
and clots like you
wouldn't believe. let the
flashes come when they
meet someone special.
let the clots come
when they want to.

let them think they have accepted
arrogance in the universe,
then bring them to gynecologists
not unlike themselves.

judithprodon.tripod.com/poetry/lucille_clifton_wishes_for_sons.html

This poem talks about how in society the women have to do all the work but they don't get credit for anything. This poem helps people realize how much women actually do and how little they get recognized for doing. It shows that men cannot walk a day in a women's shoes. This calls attention to all the things women have to do that men don't even think of. Men don't realize the struggles women face.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Goodbye by Penny

God took you away.
It doesn't seem fair,
but in the back of my mind,
you will always be there.

You weren't a close friend,
but our paths did cross,
and your absence in this world,
is to me a great loss.

You were too young to die, and
too innocent to feel that pain.
Only heaven benefits,
because you it has now gained.

I may think of you a little less
with each passing day,
but your strength is something I won't forget,
you have changed me in a way.

I wish for you eternal peace;
that's what you deserve my friend.
I hope I lead my life well enough
to meet up with you in the end.

This poem is very sad and it touches me because one of my dad's friends died recently. It was a tragic loss because she had a lot of friends and family that cared about her very much. In the poem it says, "you were too young to die." this is true for my family friend also because she was not old and it was a very sudden death. It ryhmes therefore, I think it is a catchy poem.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Smart by Shell Silverstein

My dad gave me one dollar bill

Cause I'm his smartest son,

And I swapped it for two shiny quarters

Cause two is more than one!


And then I took the quarters

And traded them to Lou

For three dimes -- I guess he don't know

That three is more than two!


Just then, along came old blind Bates

And just 'cause he can't see

He gave me four nickles for my three dimes,

And four is more than three!


And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs

Down at the seed-feed store,

And the fool gave me five pennies for them,

And five is more than four!


And then I went and showed my dad,

And he got red in the cheeks

And closed his eyes and shook his head--

Too proud of me to speak!


This poem is about a naieve boy who thinks he is so much smarter than everyone else. He thinks this because he keeps trading his coins with people and he thinks he is tricking everyone and getting more money but really he is getting less money. It was sarcastic of Shell Silverstein to name this poem "Smart" because it is the opposite of smart. In this poem, Shell uses repeatition of words at the end of every stanza. At the end of every stanza he says "and ____ is more than ____."