Writer's Notebook

Fire and Ice-- Robert Frost

"Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice,

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who have fire.

But if I had to perish twice,

I think I know enough to hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice."

This poem is very simplistic, and doesn't have much to interpret, but it is enjoyable to read. I'm sure you could look past the simple meaning of fire and ice, and find numerous references that Frost was trying to make with these two elements. But in general this poem just illustrates his opinion. This poem is really short, but it fits well because you wouldn't want to over analyze this topic, it is simply a matter of opinions.

One thing that I noticed about this poem was the rhyme scheme. The paragraph below the poem mentions that it is seen as an epigram because of the meter and the rhyme scheme. So that is the one element I would like to take from this poem, I would create an epigram. I love the fact that the simple words that he used can reference so many things, like human condition, with less than ten lines. I think that just shows what a great poet he is to have so much power behind so little words.

Writer's Notebook

"We Real Cool"-- Gwendolyn Brooks

"We real cool. We

Left school. We

Lurk Late. We

Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We

Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We

Die soon."

This poem is very simplistic, but has a powerful meaning behind it. One thing that I get out of this poem is that if the narrator continues on this path of destruction then death is inevitable. He describes the things that he does, the things that he thinks make him cool, but instead his actions are only getting him in trouble. The dialect reminds me of someone in the inner city involved in the wrong crowd. It is interesting that he uses the word "we" instead of "I" which leads the reader to believe that his peers are involved. Maybe this poem shows the negatives of peer pressure, and what happens if you are more concerned about "we" instead of "me."

One thing that I want to take from this poem is the repetition of a certain word, in this case the word "we". It makes the poem more focused and puts all the attention on one subject. But I would also like to take the rhyme scheme from this poem. I love the fact how the rhyme is not found at the end of every line, which is the conventional rhyming technique. Instead the line is ended by the repetition of the word "we" and the rhyme is found within the line.

Writer's Notebook

"Washing Rice"-- Lam Thi My Da

"A gentle wind ruffles the shade of the palms

The yellow rice glistens in rippled water

The ripe grains and the unripe look the same

They are both the color of silk, the same color

But why does she keep washing, washing so long?"

This poem really caught my attention. There are so many ways to interpret it and so many questions that the author introduces to answer. This poem has simple imagery then finishes with a number of questions that are running through the little girl's head. This easy task of washing rice gets turned into something bigger.

One thing that I want to take from the poem is the imagery. This poem is very short, but portrays a strong message. Another aspect of the poem that I want to take is the use of questions to finish off the poem. I feel that by leaving questions unanswered it leaves room for interpretation by the reader, and leaves them to ponder what the author's true intentions were of writing this poem.