Sonnets
This week we’re talking about sonnets, that form which orginated on the sun-drenched hills of Sicily. For two hundred years it existed in Italy before it jumped to England.
The sonnet has an Italian and an English version. Italian is known for its 8-6 split with a volta or turn after line 8. English is 3 quatrains with a couplet at the end. Notice, please, how different a rhymed 14 lined poem can be depending on the unfolding of its argument 12-2 vs 8-6. The sonnet is dense and musical, the 8-6 version is a kind of proposal and response or call and response. The 12-2 version has more time to develop a lyrical theme and have some twist at the end, usually loud or witty or sudden.
Notice, too, that one sonnet in our bunch–Tattoo Tears–violates the form, why do you think this is.
Have a great break.
March 12th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I love the sonnet “Tattoo Tears” that we discussed in class. I was especially struck by the line in section 12 that reads, “Imagination is the only weapon on the reservation”. When we read that line my heart sank. Native Americans are known as great warriors, those who made their own weapons out of the earth’s resources and had exact precision with bows and arrows. Now to think that the only weapon that these fearless warriors have left is their imagination, that’s a disheartening thought. This one line can sum up the devastation and degrading nature of these reservations that Native Americans have been forced into. Now the only way these people can feel their own identity is through imagery and recollections of better times. I can’t fathom that. It makes me disgusted to think that I am living in “freedom” while the Native Americans that we forced onto reservation can only now imagine what freedom used to feel like.
March 12th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I really enjoyed reading and analyzing the sonnet, Tattoo Tears. This poem had so many parts to it and there was so much that the readers could read into and interpret. I think the fact that the writer split all the sections into exactly fourteen parts, just goes to to show why this poem was included under the sonnet category. Even though it was not set up in iambic pentameter, there still was the pattern of fourteen parts. The stanzas were each constructed in such a way that it seemed like tiny paragraphs, but there was rhyme and rhythm present within those. The use of repetition from one stanza to the next was quite interesting. The writer ended each section on a specific idea and then picked right up on the exact word or idea to begin the next. That helped the sonnet to flow more smoothly, too, but it also was something that grabbed my attention. I really was intrigued by this poem and I wanted to find out more and discuss more about this. The part that I enjoyed reading about the most was the fourth and fifth sections. The way, especially section five, was set up - just was absolutely amazing. Each time the word “disappear” appeared, it made it seem like that whole word and the whole phrase would disappear - into thin air. Each time that word would come up, I just wanted to read with a lighter voice aloud, making sure that the words and phrases would soon disappear as the stanza went on. I cannot describe it because I just really was moved by that word choice.
March 12th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Batter My Heart
Well this poem seems to be to be eluding to some sort of abusive relationship between the author and God. I guess the author feels that God is hard on them and wants them to do things that they don’t want to do. I have a hard time relating to this poem because I do not experience this anger towards God or feel like God abuses me. I often see how humans try to use God to abuse me, however I do not relate to where this author is coming from and I think they seem like a bit of a whiner.
On His Blindness
I assume that this poem is about a guy who is reflecting on his life and wondering just where it all has gone. He eludes to this in the first line when he says that he wonders how his light is spent. He goes on to describe his days and just how monotonous and useless they seem to be. He then reflects on what God must think of it all and he comes to the conclusion that God does not care what people do or how much they get accomplished in this world, but it is his will and desires that are important. In the last line, he says that God is almost more proud of those who stand and wait for his calling before acting in life.
March 12th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
The sonnet On His Blindness by John Milton is not entirely clear to me because of the Old English, but I get the gist that the speaker is talking about his physical blindness that makes him feel like he’s useless in the eyes of God. He is referencing Jesus’ parable of the servants who are endowed with “talents” from the master, as if since he is blind then he is no better than the servant who just buried his talent instead of investing it. His “light” (line 1) is his usefulness, and he is desperately wondering if God will judge him for being less useful in the world now that he is blind. The end of the sonnet, starting with line 9 is the speaker’s conclusion (or more like a revelation since it is a spoken word from God). God simply wants our best, our truest and most sincere effort. He understands our limitations, weaknesses, and fears, and he is aware of everything that seems to hold us back from our full potential. He judges all, but I think he only judges those severely who blatantly disregard or misuse God’s gifts to them. God gives and takes away, and expects nothing more than our sincere part in using that which he has given us. The last line is great: “They also serve who only stand and wait” (line 14), emphasizing the fact that even quiet meditation and waiting on the Lord can be a service to Him. Our value to God does not come from works, though works are important, but only when paired with a solid faith.
March 13th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Sonnets are so beautiful. And although only 14 lines, they have the ability to be filled with so much emotion and reach to the very depths of the soul. The sonnet “Tattoo Tears” breaks all of the normal ways of a sonnet. Rather than 14 lines, 14 paragraphs. No volta is present. And there is no rhyme scheme. The only connection between the 14 paragraphs is the repetition of the last words of the paragraph in the beginning of the next paragraph. I think that the organization of the poem is very significant. Perhaps the reader knew that the only way to be heard was to stand out. A normal sonnet might have simply been passed over, like the cries of his people. But rebelling against the norms of the sonnet, perhaps his cry would be heard.Upon reading this sonnet, I was struck with wonder and sadness. I think that it is artsy and a true creation. One of the main points that I concluded from this poem is the mistreatment of Native Americans, the whole idea of a very dramatic and powerful tear (the tattoo) because their own tears and pleas were not heard. Almost as though their pain is not real to the rest of the world. There is also this underlying theme that his people themselves are also losing what used to mean so much to them. They are starting to accept the discrimination and change to be accepted. There is certainly underlying tones of anger in the poem, although the author does keep his composure. I think that it is interesting that there isn’t really a turning point in the poem, perhaps the reader feels like there is no help for his people, yet. His disappointment in the loss of their heritage hasn’t changed, nothing yet has motivated his people to care. Perhaps the author hopes that the sonnet itself will be the “volta” that allows his people to not only be heard, but realize the importance of holding onto their heritage.
March 13th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
When Maggie read us Tattoo Tears, I was confused that this poem was acutally a sonnet. But then I started to think, and I thought that this whole poem was brilliant. The fact that the subject matter was so intense, one needed to break normal sonnet rules in order to actually get a point across. Also, each little section was like a line, and how the last words in each section were the first words in the following sections were lovely. This gave the poem the sonnet-esk attitude, of flowing and smooth transitions. I also loved how the author referenced so many things in this poem and refelcted on normal American holidays as something great for americans, but horrible to the Native americans. Fourth of July is normally a joyous holiday, you get together with friends and family and celebrate our country’s independence, but in reality, the native americans probably feel that this hoilday is the death of them. They already had freedom, and when american gained freedom, the lost thiers. I also enjoyed how the author used descriptions like Jimmy Hendrix and horse powered things. This poem, as sad and awful as it is, was beautifully written, and very meanigful.
March 13th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I’m really intrigued by the sonnet “Tattoo Tears” (if indeed this poem is a sonnet!) Although a different kind of sonnet, consisting of fourteen sections as opposed to fourteen lines, this poem has a lot to say about its subject matter, and it does so in quite a creative way.
The poem’s speaker is addressing Native American culture and its interactions with a modern American world. As a history major, I find the issue of Native Americans and their transformation as a people to be a very interesting one. Yet it is also a sad one, which I think this poem expresses very well.
Throughout the growth of the U.S. as a country, many peoples have encountered a great deal of pressure. The African-American race, women, European immigrants - all of these groups have experienced their own share of difficulties. Yet with time, they each rose above their respective hardships and established themselves very well in America. Yet Native Americans present a rather different situation. Unlike other peoples and cultures, this race never quite seemed to recover from the blows they took as the nation was developing.
That’s why I think the poem is called “Tattoo Tears” - the adversity the Native American race encountered is somewhat permanent. It’s a hardship that has never abondoned this race. Today, Native Americans live in what I find to be intense cultural confusion - they live in a world that has stripped them of their precious cultural identity and they seem unsure as to how they ought to cope with that.
So they live with “tears tattooed under… their eyes,” in a nation that has thrown aside their culture.
The Native American condition is truly a sad one, one that is well encapsulated in this sonnet.
March 14th, 2008 at 7:39 am
On His Blindness is one of the few poems that I have encountered previous to this class. I think this is a good thing; it says so much in only fourteen lines. The speaker is clearly frustrated with God and the way in which God has chosen to speak to him (i.e. in a whisper). There needs to be a more drastic change, which reflects the perspective of many Protestant churches (vs the Catholic church) in their view of salvation. There is a passage in Scripture in which Paul is writing and calling out to God, saying he does what he does not want to do and he doesn’t do what he wants to do (for God). In essence, he displays his frustration at his inability to stay faithful to God and fulfill the mission God has set aside for him. This sonnet was reminiscent of this passage.
I cannot imagine what it is like to lose your sight. It influences a lot of how we see the world and other people, and to lose that is losing a major source of information. However, the speaker is speaking on a larger scale, about purpose now that he cannot see. I don’t think he ever receives an answer, but I have faith that God uses adversity to His benefit. And that is really what is important.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:03 am
I have found sonnets to be the most brain ranching poems thus far. It is bad enough that I have a difficulty with the English language, then to add to that the sonnet writers, such as Shakespeare, use a language that is essentially foreign to me all together. I don’t know how people with English as their mother-tongue would feel about this form of English, but I do not speak that language. As Kay and I read the poems together, with each new sonnet, I grew more and more frustrated, feeling like I was simply unable to understand what the sonnets were saying, while feeling like I should be able to understand them. Too add to that we were suppose to memories one of these sonnets. I actually gave up on the idea of memorizing a sonnet all together, and had planed on taking a zero for this section because I was so frustrated. Thank God for the 20th century writers, at leas with them I could understand the words however this did not help me much with understanding the over all concept of the poem.
The poem History, by Rita Dove was rather short and used simple wording in this poem. None the less as I mentioned above this did not help me at all understand the poem. The poet seems to be struggling with the questions of history. She comments on the fact that History is not only a written document of past events but also a thing that happens individually in subtle places. The example she uses is the process of pregnancy. The poet here seems to suggest that the infant growing inside of her is a process of history, a passing of time. Though line 8,9, and 10 are some what strange, in these lines she seems to go back to the idea of Metaphor, introduced in line one. I can only imagine that as a woman, having an embryo grow inside of here was an alien experience. As she watched her belly grow and swell, she could not help but think of it as a tumor, or a burrowing mole, the latter which is an excellent image correlating to the infant. I can image a mole surrounded by earth. She seems to struggle with this idea of the embryo in her own body, battling with herself not to think of the embryo as an alien thing but as a child, thinking that if she give way to these thoughts the infant would surly become a the very thing she feared. Or maybe she is talking about the birth process as an act of history? From verse 10 on ward I have a very difficult time deciphering this poem.
“Each craving marks the soul:” Maybe be she is saying that cravings are human attributes, the thing that make humans human? But I don’t know what she is saying about the Temple and splashing it with white? Is she referring to a spiritual thing, were she is comparing the human craving to the white mark, and the soul to the temple? Is this an image of scarring?
I can only guess that ice cream is an example of craving? I have no idea what to make of “broken in a wink.” Fort that matter I don’t see how a pickle duplicated has to do with anything at all. It just blows my mind. I feel like she is talking another language here. I think I will have to come back to this over and over again and maybe, just maybe it will become more clear.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:04 am
I wasn’t sure how I felt at first about the poem “On His Blindness.” I had some trouble figuring out what exactly what he meant by the last line. And there seem to be numerous possible interpretations. But whatever the case it is his conclusion that is as close to being comforting as he can reach. I’m sure he’s still not satisfied, he can’t really have come very quickly to peace with his loss of sight and the fact that poetry in particular is rather more difficult to read and write. But when difficult things happen and we don’t really know how we can possibly please God because we’re angry or we don’t understand or we’ve lost some part of our selves that we maybe used to serve or worship with or we don’t want to, the Lord comforts us by saying that we can worship him (or serve - same thing, really) without DOING certain things. It’s pleasing to him, I think, when we’re frustrated by an inability to do what we wanted to for him.
This poem reminds me not only of Job, as was mentioned in class, but also of the Psalms, where the writers often are in the middle of complaining to God about their terrible situation and then take a moment in the middle or at the end of the psalm to remind themselves that God is good or God is still there.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:08 am
I loved how different and unique each of the sonnets were that we read this week: not just in subject, but also in form.
I particularly appreciated Sherman Alexie’s Tattoo Tears, because I loved how it seemed to break so many rules of the sonnet, and yet, with a closer look, it stayed within the parameters. There isn’t really a rule about how long a line should be, or even if it show be just one sentence or phrase. Tattoo Tears was broken up by idea, and therefore each idea counted as a line, adding up to fourteen. I loved that each new “line” was inspired by the last word or phrase in the line before it. I think the format of this poem is brilliant, and one of a kind.
As far as the content is concerned, I was equally moved by the agony I could hear in the poet’s voice as I read it. This poem, centered around the mistreatment of Native Americans, was written only twelve years ago. Theirs has been suffering for hundreds of years, and still, in the 21st century, it isn’t getting any better! The title itself is beautiful in that it represents the real tattoo of a woman, but also symbolizes the pain and tears that have been etched in to the faces of thousands of Native Americans that seems as though it will never be erased.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
The sonnet, “Tattoo Tears,” was very unique in its form and message, which made it entertaining to read, because of its unique traits. At first I was really intimidated by its length, because I was only planning on reading fourteen lines, but since the poet manipulated the fourteen line rule, that changed it, but for the better. The fact that the poet had to turn each line into a paragraph really proved that there was so much to his message that he was trying to send to the reader. The poet wrote about the conflicts and pain that came when Native American culture collided with the culture of the modern-day United States. I have lived in Carlisle all of my life, and heard stories about events that happened at the war college about Native Americans being assimilated into modern culture. The amount of intangible loss that they felt was enormous, and it makes sense to me why the poet needed to extend the traditional sonnet form to truly create and image of the these incidences and “tattoos of tears.” The poet’s use of the repetitive phrase “tattoo of tears” also created a sense of permanency of the pain and situation. Tattoos last forever unless the tattooed person has it removed, but even then, a scar still exists. It truly illustrated that no matter how hard they tried to remove this pain and those tears, a scar will always remain. That was my initial impression of the sonnet before we discussed it in class.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Batter my heart* is a sonnet poem that describes the hardship of having a relationship between humanity and God. Every relationship is hard to maintain and to grow in, but with God, we are in the relationship for Him, and often we forget that, thats why I love line one: Batter my heart, three-personed God; for you…. It does not say for me but for Him. He is asking God to mend his broken heart and shine in his life. I also love line four: “Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new” The repetition of the consonants adds emphasis to the words and their meanings…It exaggerates his cry to God to allow himself to open his heart to whatever God is convicting or trying to control in his life. God is knocking but sometimes its just too hard to open the door and give someone else the reigns. This is a constant struggle like he speaks of in line 10,11; the enemy is always there, lurking around, creeping, ready to deceive & being that we are human we will fail and fall for his tricks, and come into relations with him, but God being the judge over all of us, will always be willing to help us divorce Satan, and tie the knot with Himself again and again. We divorce or get rid of Satan in our lives on our own, we need God, only when he lives or consumes our inner being are we truly free. I love the last line as well, Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me. I love how he used the word ravish because when I think of ravish, I think of like a bad soap opera scene or some sort of sexual ecstasy scene, but here I feel like he uses this word to show the passionate relationship that he desires to have with Christ. I feel like every Christian could relate to this sonnet, I really enjoyed it.
March 14th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Sonnets have always been my favorite form of poetry. They are short, yet contain so much depth and emotions. I enjoy how some poets choose to use the first 6-8 lines to pose questions/thoughts and use the remaining lines to dialogue with themselves. We can gain so much insight into the mind of the poet/character this way…it’s wonderful.
I really enjoyed “On His Blindness” by John Milton. Marty did a great job introducing the poem to us this past Wednesday and truly giving us a sense of the poet’s struggle. As I continued to reread the poem I began to sympathize even more with Milton…how many times in our own live do we feel as he did in our relationship to God? Although many of us are lucky enough to not lose our sight, we often lose other things in life that we feel are vital to us serving God. This struggle is not an easy one but we need to remember that “God does not need man’s work or his gifts. Those who carry the burden He gave them are the ones that serve him best.” We are such a goal-oriented society that such a concept almost seems foreign. We feel the need to always be doing, and the more we do the better we feel about ourselves. But God wants more from us. To Him it’s more about us carrying our cross and fulfilling the mission He has encharged us with. He is faithful to equip those He calls…let us not forget that.
March 14th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I greatly enjoyed reading, reciting, and presenting “On His Blindness” this past week. I intend to remember its exact wording and meaning as my life goes on because its message is one of usefulness and relevancy throughout life. As a Christian, I seek to serve God through the talents and gifts that he has given me, and I know that as my life progresses that there will be new challenges to confront and new discoveries made about myself. My time in college is partly spent on discovering myself, trying to figure out who I am and what I am capable of doing. I want to see how my faith and my life intertwine, so I can live out my faith publically and be a witness for Jesus Christ.
The speaker of the poem has lost his sight, hindering his ability to serve God. What had been considered certain, his sight, was now lost, and he is now confused as to what God expects from him. He makes his case to God by asking Him a question, and is met with a quick response from a personified “patience.” “Patience” informs the speaker that those who serve God with all that they have are those who serve Him best. The reply states that “God doth not need either man’s work or his own gifts; who best bear his mild yoke, they serve him best.” God is able to establish His will, whether it be through humans, angels, or by any other means because He is God. Milton did not allow his blindness to prevent his being creative because this poem and his greatest work, “Paradise Lost,” were composed after his own sight was gone. We should take away from this poem a sense of hope that God loves us, will not abandon us, and will enable us to bear our yokes. We are serving Him best by bearing our yokes, showing the world that He has provided for us and that His love is a reality.
March 14th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
The sonnet, “Tattoo Tears”, is an uncomfortable look at the Native American community after all the peril that Americans put them through. This sonnet also opens up the question of what are we to do about this? Native Americans are homeless, on drugs, addicted to gambling, depressed, and alcoholics. Does it makes sense for the same culture that damaged these people to try and save them? Or would it be better to leave them alone?
What does Alexie mean by saying, “Imagination is the only weapon on the reservation,”? If he meant that Native Americans use imagination to get away from the harsh realities of reservation life, then imagination would be more of a medicine. But what does it mean to have imagination as a weapon? My best guess is that the Native Americans imagine what it would be like if people did not come to their land and steal it from them. They wouldn’t have hundreds of years of oppression on their souls, and they could truly live as a culture. But how could they get rid of millions of Americans of European descent plus the other millions of people that they brought to the United States (African Americans)? I guess that is why it is imagination.
March 14th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
The Poem ‘Tattoo Tears’ was throughly interesting. ‘Tattoo Tears is not your typical sonnet however I had great depth to it. It was weird that there was no volta and it had no rhyme scheme. I agree with what Marah said about the reading knowing that the only way to be heard was to stand out- in poetic form. I could relate to this poem because I felt that it was about over coming difficulties and triumphing. Although I am not of another race I have experienced hardship and even times of being left out of things. I personally know some Native Americans who have adapted well into the American culture… this poem made me think of them. I feel bad for the Native Americans who have had to deal with some crappy stuff. They are a strong people for being able to overcome all the trials and tribulations they have been though.
I also agree that they have a strong heritage that can be useful for the American culture! I am also thankful for my freedom when I read this poem because it makes me feel bad for the Native Americans in this poem who did not experience freedom, naturally. I also would like to say that I felt this poem was presented wonderfully. Thank you.
March 14th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
The Poem ‘Tattoo Tears’ was throughly interesting. ‘Tattoo Tears is not your typical sonnet however I had great depth to it. It was weird that there was no volta and it had no rhyme scheme. I agree with what Marah said about the reading knowing that the only way to be heard was to stand out- in poetic form. I could relate to this poem because I felt that it was about over coming difficulties and triumphing. Although I am not of another race I have experienced hardship and even times of being left out of things. I personally know some Native Americans who have adapted well into the American culture… this poem made me think of them. I feel bad for the Native Americans who have had to deal with some crappy stuff. They are a strong people for being able to overcome all the trials and tribulations they have been though.
I also agree that they have a strong heritage that can be useful for the American culture! I am also thankful for my freedom when I read this poem because it makes me feel bad for the Native Americans in this poem who did not experience freedom, naturally. I also would like to say that I felt this poem was presented wonderfully. Thank you.
March 14th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I loved “On His Blindness!” The poem is such a great example of what it is to serve God. I am not sure if the blindness the subject is talking about is a physical blindness or a spiritual blindness (or maybe both??) Consistent with the form of an Italian sonnet, the poem is set up in a vague question and answer format, the question being: “How can i serve God if I have lost my sight?” and the answer being: “Just standing still and being in the presence of God is serving Him” As we discussed in class, I feel like, especially on our campus, there is such an emphasis on what we “Do” as a Christian. That is what the subject in the poem appears to be grappling with. His sight is gone and he feels that he can no longer “do” for God in the way that he used to. In contrast to “doing” for God, we have this concept of just “being” for God which can be missed if we are too focused on what we do. In the end of the poem, the subject talks about that concept of just “being” for God and enriching your own relationship with Him. This poem serves as a great reminder that amongst our busy “doings” it is important to just stand still and just BE”
March 14th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Something that Professor Perrin asked me at the end of class about “Tattoo Tears” was why Alexie used the sonnet form for this poem. I didn’t have a solid answer at the time but she mentioned an interesting idea. Alexie might have “soiled” the sonnet form to symbolize the way in which his people have been “soiled” by society. Another idea I had had, going along with that thought, is that Alexie is talking about all these outside influences which have caused his people to lose their heritage and in his poem he takes yet another outside influence, the sonnet, and says something about its impact or maybe even the impact of the English language on Native Americans. Alexie seems to take the sonnet and change it around to make it his own. This could be symbolic of how the English took over America and made it their own; Alexie is simply doing the reverse with the sonnet form. The hint of this idea from the poem is in the section where Alexie mentions the Natives who are shedding tears on the fourth of July, the celebration of our nation’s freedom and the simultaneous loss of freedom of the Native American people.
March 14th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Tattoo Tears drew me in with such a catchy title. Immediately I wondered, what does this mean? As I began reading I was in shock and awe at the devastation and beauty captured by the author.
Its a heart wrenching recollection of one man’s experience with a Native American reservation. He beings by describing the people one would meet there, and gives a physical description of the homes, grounds, and retail buildings. None are positive. For instance, there are beer bottles wedged in the fences and broken glass. The Native Americans have left a hard legacy of alcoholism and lawlessness. This nasty cycle has left a group of people desolate in their own wake. The situation of many people are described in this epic sonnet, and the cruelty felt or conducted by one trickles down into the life style of the next generation. The irony, as the author as verbally illustrated, is that these people know they’re stuck in a cycle. But, cycles snowball and grow stronger. I think the substantial paragraphs of this sonnet reflect the strength in its words. To know, and see and understand devastation, and sit helplessly in its wake.
March 14th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
I loved the sonnet “tattoo tears”! one aspect of the whole sonnet that really pulled me in was how different this sonnet was in terms of the rule of having 14 lines. Rather than 14 lines, it was more like 14 ideas. I never really looked at a sonnet that way before, in terms of have exceptions to the rules. I was also intrigued by the idea that each line led into the next, in terms of the ideas. This really made the sonnet, as a whole, flow with little feel of interruption.
Something that also led to the appreciation of this sonnet was its content. Insight into the emotions that are felt by the Native Americans pulled at my previous understanding of how they live and what they went through. Not only was it insightful in terms of my emotions, but I took reading this sonnet as a lesson and pulled from it as many moral life lessons as I could. With this in mind, I was able to change my outlook from its previous standpoint on poetry as an art and changed it to an artistic form that has the ability to reach others.
March 14th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
“On His Blindness,” by John Milton, is a poem that deals with a person’s struggle to accept their disability of being blind. The speaker deals with this struggle through a Christian perspective and alludes to God and the Bible as well. In the first line, the speaker says, “How my light was spent.” The word “light” is a symbol for the speaker’s blindness and lack thereof of sight. It can also refer to the speaker’s life. The speaker talks a lot about the talent that God has given him. He speaks very negatively about it because he says that it is “useless.” (Line 4) There is a sense that this speaker is discouraged and feels like their life is worthless. The speaker asks for patience in line eight. By the end of the poem, the reader begins to feel encouraged because they know that they are not alone in their struggle, and know that in God’s eyes everyone has worth and can be used for His glory.
March 14th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
I really wnjoyed reading the poem “tattoo tear” as Christine mentioned in her blog, i too am a history major. That is somthing a bring to the table to every thing and when i read and interperate poems. So i read this poem through the lenses of a history major. The first thing that screamed at me was the fourth of july referance. A history professor i have had several times often refers to this; “for many Americans the fourth of July means the birth of a nation but for some it means the death of a nation” obviously with the sad and frustrated tone of the poem the poet is refering to this death of a nation with the fourth of july reference. Also the poet reffered to the jimmi henderix solo in which he played the star spangeld banner with solo breaks to represent the discontent in america with the vietnam war. With the poets tone she uses this to show her discontent with the situation. Also, i liked the reference to the berring straight. THis is where her ansectoeres came to america in the first place. So she desires a new path to a new life and land like her ancestors had. One other line that caught my eye was like 12 “Imagination was the only weapon on the reservation.” I feel the poet says this to say that hope and imagination of a better life is their only way to escape the poverty and social issues that occur on resorvations.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:36 am
On His Blindness by John Milton is a wonderful sonnet whose language is stunning and powerful. The Old English may somewhat confound the meaning for modern readers, but it also adds to the poem’s greatness. The fact that the meaning is more obscure forced me to think about the lines more intensely, and to work out what Milton is really getting at. The speaker in the poem certainly has a very strong view of man’s responsibility before God for his actions and deeds. He speaks of presenting his “true account” to his maker. It is for this reason that he asks what is in many ways the central question of the poem: “Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?” In keeping with the sonnet’s traditional form, this question is answered in the last six lines. Ultimately, the conclusion which Milton comes to is that while works do matter, they are not the most important aspect of our service to God. Instead our faith and reliance on Him are also crucial ways in which we bring Him glory. Even those who stand and wait on the Lord can also serve Him in the very act of waiting.
March 25th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
The title of the poem Sonnet: Tattoo Tears sets the tone of the poem. From this title you can predict that the speaker of the poem has been through many tragedies and sadness in her life. The first line of the poem states “No one will believe this story I’m telling, so it must be true.” This line means that some people do go through horrific events in their life but not many people who hear these stories believe them. They hear these stories and either shut down because they can’t handle the person’s emotions or call these stories lies so they don’t have to deal with their emotions. This poem tells a narrative by breaking the poem into verses by themes. The second verse of the poem describes the Indian woman as having three tears tattooed under her left eye, which symbolizes her grief and her not be able to hold back her emotions. The woman is said to be feeling pressured to meet her society’s expectations, because back in her time the women were expected to do all of the house work and raise the children without their husband’s help. If they received help from their husband they were seen as week. She felt like no one saw how over worked she was, even though the stress brought her tears. After her husband went to jail she tattooed three tears under her left eye to symbolize all of her sorrows that she felt she couldn’t show through emotions. She had many night mares about animals attacking her. When her sister became pregnant she tattooed one tear under her eye to protect her dreams. One day this Indian realized how modernized this world became and broke down into tears, because she saw how technology took over Indian tradition. The only think that she had to remind her of her life on the reservation was her tattoo tears.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
It is amazing and inspiring to hear about artists such as Milton that were severely disabled and yet they still were able to create amazing pieces of art. Other artists such as Beethoven and Helen Keller baffle me in respect to what they were able to accomplish regardless of the circumstances. It makes me think what our own potential is considering the fact that we have all of our senses, of coarse these artists were incredibly talented, but it makes me wonder how talented we all really are/could be. John Milton has always been one of my favorite writers, mainly because of the insight that he gives us on life and the seemingly intimate connection that he has with stories and events of old. It is incredible that he was able to write such a rich piece of art being blind, it makes me wonder how much of his talent was gained from his disability though, how many of the thoughts he had were birthed from the predicament that he was in, in away it is like a blessed misfortune. This goes to show that God can shape someone is a lesser manner to use them in a greater one. Overall it was great to hear this poem read and talked about.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Sorry about my late post. I left early on Wednesday!
I love sonnets. There amazing potential to evoke a question from the reader and then propose twists or answers to problems in the final verses are so very controlling. I enjoy being caught up in a sonnet and wondering its meaning only to be greeted by the final lines and have a much clearer understanding of what I have just traversed.
One of my most favorite poets that has a fantastic talent in the use of imagery paired with a pantheon of poetic forms is Robert Frost. I memorized the sonnet “Mowing” for class last week and it realy grabbed me. I especially enjoyed the combination of personification with simple pondering of the simplistic realities of life.
Something that I drew from this piece was that many people think about complexitied of life, but perhaps they are thinking too hard. Perhaps they should just take things at their face value sometimes. Why shouldn’t the grass just be cut and turned to hay? The simplicities of life sometimes fall under heavy, and often unnecessary, scrutiny.
The last two lines of the sonnet are my favorite. It is such an embarrasing thing to read if you have been trying to figure out the symbolism and metaphor throughout the piece–”The fact is the sweetest thing that labor knows. My long scythe whispered and left the hay to make.” It’s that simple. THere was no conversation and there is no deeper meaning. The only thing happening is the grass is getting cut and we should get all the pleasure we can out of its face value.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:54 am
I’m very glad that I got to present one of the sonnets in class. I loved just how much John Milton said in his short, fourteen-line poem, not to mention how he looked to the original form of the sonnet for structure. Milton began by reflecting on losing his sight, which normally would detract from the active spiritual life of most Christians. Many would become discouraged, possibly even idle. But what really is something fascinating is what can be learned from his reflections. Milton realizes and says that God doesn’t need man’s work or gifts. The only thing God wants is for us to follow him and “bear his mild yoke” (which I believe refers to Jesus’ words in Matthew 11). Such people serve him best. God does not call us to do massive works for Him. All He wants is for us to listen to what He wishes for us to do. Some may disagree with me, but I believe that God does call us to certain things. He actively speaks to us through the Bible and in prayer, though perhaps not always a physical voice saying, “Hey, do this or do that!” As stated by Milton, God gives us talent to use that is lodged within us and can, if we let it, bend us towards serving better our Maker.
March 28th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Tattoo Tears was a very interesting read and brought many things to mind. It seems to have been included as a sonnet because of its fourteen stanzas which correspond to the regular fourteen lines. Also, the form follows the English version of the Stanza somewhat, in the way that its first twelve stanzas talk about something and all lead to the last two that seem to summarize all of the different things that were talked about and give a conclusion to the argument happening throughout the rest of the poem. I think that this sonnet had to be in its own form because of the content of the poem. The author is trying to talk about the bad conditions on the reservations, the loss of their traditional culture, the melding with the European American culture (as illustrated in stanza 7-9 which talks about the dancing to the sound of the beer truck rather than the drums). His sadness is evident throughout the poem, the dissatisfaction with the way things are. This sonnet is very powerful and is a very interesting application of a very old and traditional form.
March 28th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
The poem tattoo tears I found to be really easy to relate to. I took a history course last semester that dealt a lot with Native Americans and reservations. I just kept imagining the people I had already read about. I went to visit the Carlisle muesum too. The Europeans failed at all attempts to make the Native Americans like them. Tattoo tears really helps to describe the emotion these people felt and the way they saw everything. Everything around them was becoming so strange and unfamiliar. The tone of the poem is sad, and when I read it out loud it’s slow and sad, and I use a much more quiet voice. There is a strong feeling of lement, as we had previously learned about. In the muesum I went and visited it showed the children’s drawings, and they drew was of how they used to live. With cheifs, and horses, and white men chasing them with spears. Which obviously showed how they felt about the Europeans. When I read tattoo tears I can’t help but think of more than the other’s voice, and descriptions.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
If I were to decide to design or select a tattoo for myself I suppose I would have to be careful about what I decide to get drawn on my body because it will probably be there forever unless I can afford to get it reversed some day down the road. A tattoo gun basically pierces the skin with a needle and then fills in the small wound with ink. New skin grows over the would and the ink is held underneath it’s translucency.
What would I get stained on my skin…forever? I would probably think of something that means a lot to me, something that I am familiar with and think of everyday. Maybe it would be something that has always been part of my life, like the name of a family member. Or maybe it would be a picture of something that suddenly became a part of my life, all at once, like a car accident or the anniversary of a loved one’s death.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
I loved the way that the sonnet tattoo tears was written and the ways in which even the form of the poem screamed for independence and freedom from oppression. By going against the fourteen line rule and was rather written in fourteen sections.
I especially love the line “for many Americans the fourth of July means the birth of a nation but for some it means the death of a nation”. This poem reflects the importance of perspective especially the importance of understanding another’s. While the majority may see an event in one way, by ignoring others, you may cause the death of a nation.
I think this poem allows individuals an incredible insight that should be taken seriously. It focuses on the forgotten, the lost, the broken, who are holding onto the “imagination” that is the only way they are able to survive, especially when forced into bondage, forced into isolation, forced onto the reserve.
March 28th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
At first I was confused why such a narrative-like poem was in the sonnet section of our class text. But after reading through this poem, Tattoo Tears, both on my own and in class, it became evident to me that there is a real message within the authors intentions to make this a sonnet. In adopting the sonnet form of fourteen lines, he was able to show the true intensity and seriousness of the many issues revealed through this poem. Going beyond the norm of simply 14 reasonably lengthed lines put on display for the readers the huge importance of this story. For many people including myself, using this sonnet form caused me to take a second look not only at the structure of the poem, but at the meaning beyond the form as well. The not-so-simple and usual sonnet format helped bring to light the true messages that the write wanted convey to the readers.
March 29th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Tattoo Tears was utterly beautiful. I thought that it was perfect how the author let every ending line connect to the beginning of the next line in the stanza. Then at the end, the last stanza is a compolation of all the thoughts. Its just fantastic, and is really special. I think that the person who wrote this sonnet really wanted to captivate the readers. There is so much emotion, metaphor, and passion contained within the words of this work.
As a reader I was instantly drawn to this sonnet because I live near a reservation, and have interacted with the native americans my whole life. I understand a lot of what this poem is saying, and know most of it to be very true. Since the native american population has one of the highest rates of depression, I am not surprised to read some of these lines. To know that on Independence day, there may be a small flicker of saddness because they are seeing us celebrating a freedom that they already had before we came here. It is ironic to me to think about this situation. When I celebrate the 4th of July this year, it will take on a whole new meaning for me.
March 29th, 2008 at 9:37 am
The sonnet that I found to be most interesting was tattoo tears. The reason I really enjoyed hearing this sonnet was because of the fact that it didn’t fit the mold for how a sonnet should be written. I never would have thought to consider the 14 stanzas as the 14 lines in a sonnet. After hearing this poem, I thought about all of the emotion that is within this sonnet. If this sonnet had not broken form, I don’t think it would have been as effective to the reader. What I really liked about the author’s writing was the fact that each new idea incorporated some part of the previous idea, a word or a phrase that connected the two thoughts. Time is changing, and the author knows that it wont stand still for anyone. One of my favorite lines in the sonnet is “Seymour’s new drum is diesel, gets great gas mileage but stutters when it climbs hills.” I just think about everything they had to give up. Their heritage was beginning to be lost in American culture. What use was a drum to someone living in the United States over having a truck? That trade would be practical to us, but to someone like Seymour, it is giving up a piece of his culture.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:34 am
My favorite part of tattoo tears was the tremendous emotion of humanity that ran throughout it. This poem has a few ideas winding throughout it as if to illustrate the way that blood flows through all of humanity in nearly the same way, it’s the manner in which we are all connected. By far, my favorite line from this poem came from the tenth stanza, “The jukebox in the bar is horsepowered. The street lights making shadows on the basketball court are horsepowered. Seymour’s new drum is diesel, gets great gas mileage but stutters when it climbs hills.” I’m not sure if there is a word for this…if he were making non-living objects sound like human ones it would be personification, but instead he is weaving together bits of technology that likely have never existed together in the same time or place. If I had to boil the poem down into two concepts, they would be humanity and his/her influence and appropriate place in history and time. Even though the author seems concerned with the problems of the Native American community, he is still unwilling to separate them, as parts of humankind, from all other kinds of people. This intrigues me, because it seems like as a culture we spend way too much time emphasizing the differences between us, and it’s easy to forget that we are all connected as humans and responsible for one another.