The Death of A Soldier

The Death of A Solider

Wallace Stevens

Life contracts and death is expected,as in a season of autumn.
The soldier falls.
He does not become a three-days personage, imposing his separation, calling for pomp.
Death is absolute and without memorial, as in a season of autumn, when the wind stops,
when the wind stops and, over the heavens, the clouds go, nevertheless,in their direction.

The poem shows that death always occurs to someone no matter what. Also, it shows that death doesn't leave anything if you die, as time flows, you want to memorized by anyone. This is showed by 'Life contracts and death is expected…'. Even if you die, the world just flows on as nothing happened. This in the poem is showed by 'The clouds go, nevertheless, in their direction. It is a very depressing poem but I think this poem is a very realistic poem. I think it might be written in a time where there was war or it is during war because the author mentions soldiers instead of just people. Though this poem is negative and depressive it is interesting how he expressed his ideas metaphorically. The example would be: ' As in a season of autumn. The solider falls' this means soldiers die like the leaves fall.

Funeral Blues

I think this poem Funeral Blues is a poem which a guy loving another guy (gay). And I think that it is saying how much this guy loved the other guy by using expressions such as 'he was my North, my South, my East and West..'. The author could be same as the persona or may be it could be written in a perspective in which the author is pretending to be a guy loving another male. I think this poem shows depression because his lover died. He is saying there is no hope in himself anymore because of the death of his lover. By this poem he is showing both how much he loved this other male person and also how much he is depressed to face his lover's death.

Totally Like Whatever

Written by Taylor Mali
Subject: Bad use of language - young people (teenager)
Taylor Mali is saying that teenagers don't know how to express themselves and they lost the ability of speaking in a formal tone.
I didn’t understand what the writer was trying to say.
'…it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY' is the phrase I didn’t understand
'…to disguise the fact that we've become the most aggressively inarticulate generation'
I agree with the poem because actually these days teenagers tend to speak in a more informal tone and in the past, there was slang but not badly as it is nowadays.
Advice to the teenagers that use of formal language is needed and you should use it. Also it could be a warning that formal language is need for teenagers.
Talks about slang, uses as he writes
Language doesn't fit with our traditional idea of 'poetic language'
Addresses current issue by 'mocking it'
Making fun of a way of speaking
He (author/Persona) likes language
Subject: Express yourself and be confident about your ideas

Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night

Personally, I think this poem is to convince people who are about to die and I think it includes his father. The author thinks that everyone should try their best to live before they die because you only live life once so it is precious. This poem is metaphorical; light being living and night being death. If it is a metaphor the title 'Do not Go Gentle Into that Good Night' shows don't accept death so easily. Also since this poem is written in Villanelle form, this is to strongly emphasize the idea of this poem. I think there is more meaning to this poem however, I do not get every part of the metaphorical phrases. But however, I think the main point of this poem is to 'fight to live' and 'do not accept death easily'. I think the important phrases of this poem is the repeating parts which are 'do not go gentle into that good night' and 'rage, rage against the dying of the light'