Fizzy Star Box By Loraine Schein

He looks at his daughter and wishes he could see the world through her eyes and there would be things that he didn't know about. The poem establishes the meaning that as one gets older there knowledge grows and wonder fades. The poem starts with the speaker asking his daughter to list the planets.

In the fifth stanza, the speaker makes inconsiderable progress in solving the crucial question regarding the randomness of the universe. As she realizes the overwhelming number of uncertainties in the universe, the woman chooses instead to concentrate on the task at hand, turning her “back…to the dark” or the unknowns. However, she is unable to resist the compelling temptation of mystery, and quickly attempts to contemplate the “stars and bits of stars and little bits of bits” which reside throughout the universe. While the “bits” in this statement signify randomness, the “stars” represent the unknown. This symbolism, coupled with the use of repetition and alliteration, emphasize the woman’s sheer confusion on the matter at hand. The vast uncertainty of the universe has forced her to consider the possibility of a wholly random universe. The persona’s confusion is confirmed through her question: “is it craft or art?” In this circumstance, “craft” represents a universe in which fate

The Arab Spring is generally defined as the series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across the Middle East in early 2011. Almost all of the major countries in the Middle East such as Syria, Jordan, and Morocco were all involved in these protests. Each country had unique demands that led to major uprising throughout the Middle East. Through a major exploration and study, it is clear the Arab Spring had key reasons for failing and succeeding which has led to modern day conflicts.

20). In the fifth stanza, she fulfills every child’s dream of the parent’s constant attention by sleeping “in the cornucopia / of your left ear, out of the wind” (C. 21), safely surrounded by and encompassing his interest. This is, of course, undercut by the fact that it is not her father’s ear or attention at all, but an inanimate statue symbolizing frightening impermanence. The poem begins and ends with the recognition that what is lost is truly lost. She begins prophetically, “I shall never get you put together entirely”. Ending nestled in his ear, she seeks solace in the pattern of colored stars, knowing that she must find fulfillment in the world immediately around her, by “no longer….listen[ing] for the scrape of a keel on the blank stones of landing”(C. 21).

In Walt Whitman’s poem “When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” the title itself brings to mind images of stars and charts. The word “heard” suggests the Poet is listening, and the word “Learn’d” adds to the feeling of intelligence. A reader would expect a poem entitled “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” to be about the stars and the shy, and in this case the reader’s expectations would be disappointed. This poem tells the story of a man sitting in a lecture hall listening to another man that says he is an astronomer.

The man recognizes how easy it is to surrender to the mirage of good dreams, where the richness of color and variety of detail provides a dangerous contrast to the grey monotony of both his and his son’s reality. Often, he awakens “in the black and freezing waste out of softly colored worlds of human love, the songs of birds, the sun,” (272). Those dreams are an invitation to rest in some nonexistent land. The man recognizes this as a dangerous temptation so he forces himself to wake up and face the cruel world rather than deteriorate in a world that no longer exists. His philosophy is that “the right dreams for a man in peril were dreams of peril and all else was the call of languor and of death.” (18). Only bad dreams belong in his mind because all good dreams are a reminder of valuable days that cannot be lived

The next stanza begins with possibly the most wonderful line in the poem, which speaks to personal survival, joy, and the continuation of life: “You laughed with the spirit of your husband who would toss stars!” (Harjo). Here Harjo uses the metaphor again, this time to compare the widow’s tears to a butterfly, which is both beautiful and fragile. But here, because of the Butterfly Dance, it takes on a special meaning, bringing their daughter into the circle of death and rebirth.

The term “Arab Spring” has emerged in academic literature as well as in the general media from about early 2011. It refers to the “awakening” of some Arab nations and the movements to replace authoritarian regimes with democratic ones. The theme of “spring” and “awakening” seems to have been borrowed from the 1989 reform movements in the former Eastern-block nations, such as in the former German Democratic Republic or Hungary. However, this comparison has been criticised by some analysts since both the circumstances which have led to these movements as well as the outcome of these reform efforts seem to differ quite a lot. Yet, the Arab Spring term seems to be still widely used and even found an extension in the creation of the term Arab Winter which refers to events that happened in 2012 in some Arab countries during which these reform movements seemed to have “cooled-off” and particular nations, such as Egypt, attempted to go back to the status-quo of the pre-2011 era.

In the beginning, he distrusts the dream; he is unsure if he has to follow and accomplish the dream. But, later on, as he gets a prophecy from an old woman, who interprets his dream and confirms him to follow just his dream. Despite the confirmation, he is not so interested of the dream. This is mainly because of two reasons. One, he hasn’t enough courage to sell his sheep or leave them behind. Second, he falls for a beauty of a girl who

“The relationship between the energies of the inquiring mind that an intelligent reader brings to the poem and the poem’s refusal to yield a single comprehensive interpretation enacts vividly the everlasting intercourse between the human mind, with its instinct to organise and harmonise, and the baffling powers of the universe about it.”

In the first line of the poem, "Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!," the speaker appears to be respectful toward Science, and the reader might mistake this poem for a tribute to the subject. However, the tone immediately changes when he describes Science as having "peering eyes" in line 2. This is the reader's first indication that the speaker holds contempt for the "daughter of Old Time." The speaker's descriptions of Science grow worse as he accuses her of dragging Diana "from her car," the moon, and "driving the Hamadryad from her wood," a tree which she is never supposed to leave. When the speaker finally mentions himself as a victim of Science's "dull realities,"

“Storm Warnings,” true to its literal subject matter, possesses flowy sweeping syntax created by the strategic use of commas and phrasing to draw parallels between the physical oncoming winds and the gales of life. The author crafts a long run-on sentence that spans the first stanza and carries on into the latter portion of the second to mirror the continuous flowing of windy weather and the forward motion of life. Once the speaker notices the brewing storm, they “walk from window to closed window, watching boughs strain against the sky.” In this portion of the affromented run-on sentence, alliteration, rhythm, and the repetition of words all contribute to the impression of movement. The various “w” sounds at the beginnings of words and the repetition of the word “window” create a sensation of continuously flowing forward, especially when read aloud; the comma adds a small swirling pause to the rhythm, which is then soon after resumed with the word “watching.” Just as the poem rhythmically moves forward with its long phrases connected with frequent commas, so must life carry on with each additional experience, whether it be misfortunes or joys. The elongated syntax allows all these elements to work together within sentences to highlight the similarities between physical storms and emotional struggle and to stress the inevitability of predicaments in life.

The imagery in the poem, specifically natural imagery, helps use the reader’s senses to develop a vivid depiction of the speaker’s connection to nature and dissatisfaction with the surrounding reality. The speaker’s continued use of the “moon” reflects her attribution of feminine identity and idolistic character to the moon. As opposed to referencing herself and her personal insomnia, she uses the imagery of the moon “beyond sleep” to convey her internal struggles with insomnia and her reality. Throughout the poem, the speaker also refers to shining, reflective surfaces, such as “a body of water or a mirror”, to describe the inverted reality in which the speaker experiences reciprocated love. Reflective surfaces often invert the image that is projected into them, seemingly distorting the true nature and reality of the projected image. The speaker’s reference to this reflective imagery highlights her desire to escape the burden of a patriarchal society and assume an independent and free feminine identity. Specifically, the use of natural imagery from the references to the “moon” and “a body of water” convey the speaker’s desire to take refuge within the Earth or in the feminine identity of the Earth, Mother Earth. Feminine identities are often related and associated with aspects of nature due to the natural cycle of the menstrual period and the natural process of procreation. The speaker takes advantage of these connotations to suggest Earth and natural imagery as an escape from the man-made terrors of male dominated society. In the second stanza, the speaker uses extensive imagery to develop metaphors conveying the speaker’s experience of jealousy of the moon

“That oppresses, like the Heft of Cathedral Tunes--.” It has a very heavy feeling derived from the word Heft as well as Cathedral Tunes. The Cathedral is considered sacred yet it is such as somber sound that it could easily affect a person’s mood. The use of paradoxes in the poem creates a sense of confusion about the true feelings about the revelation. “Heavenly Hurt” is both wonderful and horrible and suggests that the pain comes from the heavens. This suggestion is support in various situations throughout the poem. “Cathedral Tunes” and “Sent us of the Air” are the prime examples. It shows that this new realization may have been from a divine being therefore the reader is confused on it’s significance because it perhaps a type of gift. “Landscapes Listen Shadows—hold their breathe” is the personification used in the poem. This personification in the work shows that a divine being has arranged for this revelation to occur therefore, all of nature will halt to the being who has been selected to find this new piece of themselves. She also uses a bit of irony as well as parallel structure to set the scene in the poem. The revelation is brought out in the light of an wintery afternoon, this is the parallel yet it oppressive and dark which is ironic because the light brought with it such darkness.

The poem juxtaposes two concepts of Science and Magic. We see the medical jargon such as, Myopia, Astigmatism, Bi-Focal, prescription and transplant are used. Then again, the word magic is used by the doctor himself when he cannot explain the poet’s condition. Science and Magic are looked at as contradicting disciplines. No one would expect a Doctor to describe a condition as magical. Science is orderly, tested and researched. Magic defies logic and reason. Soyinka skillfully weaves them into one another. The poem feels more magical than scientific.