"The Love SOng of J. Alfred Prufrock", by T. S. Eliot

S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse
A persona che mai tornasse al mondo,
Questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse.
Ma perciocche giammai di questo fondo
Non torno vivo alcun, s'i'odo il vero,
Senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo. (1)

Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized (2) upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust (3) restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question . . .
Oh, do not ask, "What is it?"
Let us go and make our visit.

In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo. (4)
The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.

And indeed there will be time
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,
Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;
There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create,
And time for all the works and days of hands
That lift and drop a question on your plate;
Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea.

In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.

And indeed there will be time
To wonder, "Do I dare?" and, "Do I dare?"
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair--
[They will say: "How his hair is growing thin!"]
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin--
[They will say: "But how his arms and legs are thin!"]
Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

For I have known them all already, known them all:--
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how should I presume?

And I have known the eyes already, known them all--
The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,
And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,
When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,
Then how should I begin
To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?
And how should I presume?

And I have known the arms already, known them all--
Arms that are braceleted and white and bare
[But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!]
Is it perfume from a dress
That makes me so digress?
Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl.
And should I then presume?
And how should I begin?
. . . . .
Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows? . . .

I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

. . . . .

And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully!
Smoothed by long fingers,
Asleep . . . tired . . . or it malingers,
Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me.
Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, (5)
Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?
But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed,
Though I have seen my head [grown slightly bald] brought in upon a platter, (6)
I am no prophet--and here's no great matter;
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,
And in short, I was afraid.

And would it have been worth it, after all,
After the cups, the marmalade, the tea,
Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me,
Would it have been worth while,
To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
To roll it toward some overwhelming question,
To say: "I am Lazarus, (7) come from the dead
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all"--
If one, settling a pillow by her head,
Should say: "That is not what I meant at all.
That is not it, at all."

And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while,
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the
floor--
And this, and so much more?--
It is impossible to say just what I mean!
But as if a magic lantern (8) threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:
Would it have been worth while
If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,
And turning toward the window, should say:
"That is not it at all,
That is not what I meant, at all."

. . . . .
No! I am not Prince Hamlet, (9) nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous--
Almost, at times, the Fool.

I grow old . . .I grow old . . .
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

I do not think that they will sing to me.

I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.

(1) A passage from Dante Alighieri's Inferno (Canto 27, lines 61-66) spoken by Guido da Montefeltro in response to the questions of Dante, who Guido supposes is dead, since he is in Hell:. The flame in which Guido is encased vibrates as he speaks: "If I thought that that I was replying to someone who would ever return to the world, this flame would cease to flicker. But since no one ever returns from these depths alive, if what I've heard is true, I will answer you without fear of infamy."
(2) Anesthetized with ether; but also suggesting "made etherial," less real.
(3) Cheap bars and restaurants used to spread sawdust on the floor to soak up spilled beer, etc.
(4) The great Renaissance Italian artist.
(5) Cookies and ice cream.
(6) Like John the Baptist (see Matthew 14: 1-12)
(7) A man raised from death by Jesus (see John 11: 1-44).
(8) Early form of slide projector.
(9) Shakespeare's sensitive hero known for procrastination.

Rubric for Grading Essays

Any time I assign an essay, you can earn up to 13 points + twice (2 times) the number of paragraphs in the essay. Thus, a three-paragraph essay can earn up to 19 points and a five-paragraph essay can earn up to 23.

You will receive one (1) point for each paragraph you complete. For example, if I ask for a three paragraph essay, simply writing three paragraphs will earn you three points. You will receive another (1) point if you have at most one error in spelling, grammar, or punctuation in each paragraph. If a paragraph needs significant work (in terms of length, cohesiveness, structure, or in any other way), you will still receive one-half (0.5; ½) point for the paragraph.

If your poem is typed neatly, you will receive one (1) point.

You can earn up to four (4) points for your ideas, on the following scale:
1 -- Ideas are unconnected or irrelevant to the question.
2 -- Ideas are basic. If you were writing in reaction to a given text, an essay at this point in the scale restricts itself to those ideas explicitly stated in that text.
3 -- Ideas show some insight and thought. An essay at this point in the scale may not develop its ideas fully or may miss some important points and connections, but it nonetheless shows that the student has considered the question.
4 -- Ideas are deeply insightful and thoughtful. An essay at this point in the scale reflects deep thought on the part of its writer. Its ideas are fully developed and all important points and connections are considered.

You can earn up to four (4) points for how well you support your ideas, on the following scale:
1 -- Ideas are merely stated, with no attempt made to prove their validity. Alternately, the support provided is irrelevant and ineffectual. Argument against the essay's ideas is impossible.
2 -- Support for the essay's ideas is present, but is basic and simple. Much of the work of proving the validity of the essay's ideas is left to the reader. Argument against the essay's ideas is easy.
3 -- Support for the essay's ideas is thorough, but still weak. The reader still has to make some conceptual leaps. Argument against the essay's ideas is possible and presents some difficulties, but there are still holes in the essay's arguments to exploit.
4 -- Support of the essay's ideas is thorough and full. The writer's thought process is laid out in its entirety for the reader. Argument against the poem's ideas requires a long conversation and is likely to help both parties create new knowledge during its course.

You can earn up to two (2) points for how strong the voice in your essay is, on the following scale (one-half (0.5; ½) point for each level):
½ -- The essay has no personality; it sounds like an encyclopedia article, with just the facts. The writer seems to have no feelings about the topic, and there is no connection between the reader and the writer.
1 -- There are occasional moments of personality, feeling, and connection in the essay, but, for the most part, the language is general and impersonal.
1½ -- Though the essay reveals how the writer feels about the topic, that feeling is restricted to only one emotion. The connection between the reader and the writer suffers due to this flatness and/or due to occasional impersonal language
2 -- The writer has obviously written the essay to be read, not just as an assignment. The writer cares about the topic and shares a wide range of feelings about the topic. There is a strong connection between the reader and the writer.

You can earn up to two (2) points for how well organized your essay is, on the following scale (one-half (0.5; ½) point for each level):
½ -- The essay shows no clear sense of direction, with no connections drawn between the ideas. The introduction and conclusion (whether those are a sentence or a paragraph) cannot be identified. The essay seems to be a list of ideas with no transitions.
1 -- The essay has a clear introduction and conclusion, but is otherwise disorganized. Transitions are noneffective or are always achieved with the same word. The ideas are presented in some semblance of order, but it is ineffective and adds nothing to the reader's understanding of the essay.
½ -- The essay is clearly and effectively organized, with a strong introduction and conclusion, but the transitions are ineffectual or repetitive. The sequencing of the ideas is acceptable, but causes some confusion in the reader. Alternatively, the organization of the essay is generally of the highest level, but it is missing an introduction or conclusion.
2 -- The essay makes sense and is easy – even a joy – to follow. The introduction and conclusion are effective and likely very identifiable; a variety of transitions seamlessly connect all the ideas. The sequencing of ideas and details make sense and help the writer understand the essay. The conclusion of the essay brings the essay to a definite close.

Questions for "Success is counted Sweetest"

1. According to the speaker, who is likely to count success as sweetest? Do you think the poet is accurate in describing the feelings of people who fail?
2. Purple is a color associated with blood shed in battle (the Purple Heart medal is given to soldiers wounded or killed in action). It is also a color associated with royalty and nobility. What do you think is the “purple Host” in line 5?
3. Whose ear is mentioned in line 10? Why is the ear “forbidden”?
4. Describe the image you see in the last stanza. How could this image be extended to refer to other situations in life? Explain.
5. Have you ever been like the soldier in the last stanza – in agony because someone else is proclaimed the winner? What other circumstances in life (other than a wartime battle) could this situation be applied to? (Could it describe the feelings of a poet who could not publish her work?)

"Success is counted Sweetest", by Emily Dickinson

Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne'er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.

Not one of all the purple Host
Who took the Flag to-day
Can tell the definition,
So clear, of Victory

As he, defeated, dying,
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Burst agonized and clear!

Questions for "Medusa"

1. The poem opens with a surprising statement. Who is speaking? What is ironic about what she is saying?
2. Medusa is both a victim of metamorphosis and one of its greatest agents. What do you think is the tone of line 6 – “I too was human”? How does Medusa feel about her own metamorphosis?
3. Humans dread Medusa, yet Medusa herself dreads something. According to lines 11-14, what does she dread, and why?
4. Lines 15-27 delve deeply into Medusa's character. What does Medusa threaten to do? What is her motivation – the reason for her plans?
5. In the final stanza, what is about to happen, unknown to Medusa?
6. How does the poet's use of the first-person point of view affect your feelings about Medusa?

"Medusa", by Agha Shahid Ali

"I must be beautiful,
Or why would men be speechless
at my sight? I have populated the countryside
with animals of stone
and put nations painlessly to sleep.

I too was human. I who now live here
at the end of the world
with two aging sisters, spinsters
massaging poisons into our scalps
and sunning our ruffled snakes,

and dreading the night, when
under the warm stars
we recall men we have loved,
their gestures forever refusing us.

Then why let anything remain
when whatever we loved
turned instantly to stone?
I am waiting for the Mediterranean
to see me: It will petrify.
And as caravans from Africa begin to cross it,
I will freeze their cargo of slaves.

Soon, soon, the sky will have eyes:
I will fossilize its dome into cracked blue,
I who am about to come
into God's full view
from the wrong side of the mirror
into which He gazes.”

And so she dreams
till the sun-crimsoned shield
blinds her into nightmare:
her locks, falling from their roots,
crawl into rocks to die.
Perseus holds the sword above her neck.
Restless in her sleep, she,
for the last time, brushes back
the hissing curls from her forehead.

Questions for the William Carlos Williams poems

1. Think about what Williams has in mind when he says, “so much depends upon a red wheel barrow.” What might he be saying about poetry or art? Do you agree with him?
2. In “The Red Wheelbarrow,” Williams focuses on an ordinary workday object. Are the subjects of “The Great Figure” and “This Is Just to Say” eqully ordinary? Explain.
3. The painter Charles Henry Demuth (1883-1935) was so struck by the dynamic imagery in “The Great Figure” that he painted The Figure 5 In Gold (which I will post, if need be). What movement do you see in the painting? What do you hear in the poem itself?
4. What one word is used metaphorically to describe the fire truck as if it were a person?
5. How would the feeling of “The Great Figure” change if the colors were different? Try it and see.
6. Which one of the five senses does the imagery in “This Is Just to Say” primarily appeal to?
7. Whom do you think the speaker of “This Is Just to Say” is addressing? What response do you imagine he or she will receive and why?