Beethoven – Shane Koyczan
In
"Beethoven" by Shane Koyczan, he tells us about Beethoven, a world
famous composer from 1700's and his father’s immense expectations of him. When
he was a child Beethoven's father made him play the piano countless hours, “until
his fingers cramped up”, Koyczan tells us. It indeed did pay off though because
he became arguably the best pianist of all time, undeterred by the fact that he
was gradually losing all of his hearing at the age 30. Throughout the whole
poem Koyczan alludes to Beethoven and his timeless fame. “Kings, Queens it didn’t
matter, the man got on his knees for nobody but amputated the legs of his piano
so he could feel the vibrations through the floor; the man got on his knees for
music.” This quote, to me is the most powerful part of this poem because it
shows that he had too much pride to get down for any living person but to pursue
his passion after losing his hearing he did indeed get down “on his knees for
music.”
The Road Not Taken – Robert Frost
In “The Road
Not Taken” by Robert Frost, he tells us about a traveler coming to a point
where two roads intersect, he sees one was is worn down, and one way is
untraveled. The man decides to take the road less traveled, which led to him
having to carve his own path, in the end making him a stronger man. This whole
poem is an extended metaphor with the two roads symbolizing choices in life,
and that it’s okay to have your choices differ from others’. The theme is that
individuality is a good thing and people’s choices make them who they are, so
if we all took the same “road” there would be no individuality. I like the
overall concept of this poem and believe all the unique things we do “has made
all the difference.”
This is Just To Say - William Carlos Williams
The poem "This is Just To Say" by William Carlos Williams is a short but very interesting poem. Williams takes a very simplistic approach, the sole objects he speaks of are just a few plums, which he indeed did eat. 27 words in this poem, but it speaks many more on its own. The author tells us the plums were "so sweet and so cold." I found this poem interesting because in such few words the author painted such a vivid picture in my mind but also used other senses such as taste and how he felt about eating the plum. The title suggests that there is not much of a point to this poem, perhaps, or maybe the plum represents his feelings.
