Assignment Contemporary Poetry Step 1: Graphic Organizer Poem 1 Poem 2 Title Expect Nothing Diving Into The Wreck Author Alice Walker Adrienne Rich Date 1997 1973 Expect nothing. Live frugally On surprise. Become a stranger To need of pity Or, if compassion be freely Given out Take only enough. Stop short of urge to plead Then purge away the need. Wish for nothing larger Than your own small heart Or greater than a star; Tame wild disappointment With caress unmoved and cold. Make of it a parka For your soul. Discover the reason why So tiny human midget Exists at all So scared unwise. But expect nothing. Live frugally On surprise. First having read the book of myths, and loaded the camera, and checked the edge of the knife-blade, I put on the body-armor of black rubber the absurd flippers the grave and awkward mask. I am having to do this not like Cousteau with his assiduous team aboard the sun-flooded schooner but here alone. There is a ladder. The ladder is always there hanging innocently close to the side of the schooner. We know what it is for, we who have used it. Otherwise it is a piece of maritime floss some sundry equipment. I go down. Rung after rung and still the oxygen immerses me the blue light the clear atoms of our human air. I go down. My flippers cripple me, I crawl like an insect down the ladder and there is no one to tell me when the ocean will begin. First the air is blue and then it is bluer and then green and then black I am blacking out and yet my mask is powerful it pumps my blood with power the sea is another story the sea is not a question of power I have to learn alone to turn my body without force in the deep element. Poem And now: it is easy to forget what I came for among so many who have always lived here swaying their crenellated fans between the reefs and besides you breathe differently down here. I came to explore the wreck. The words are purposes. The words are maps. I came to see the damage that was done and the treasures that prevail. I stroke the beam of my lamp slowly along the flank of something more permanent than fish or weed the thing I came for: the wreck and not the story of the wreck the thing itself and not the myth the drowned face always staring toward the sun the evidence of damage worn by salt and sway into this threadbare beauty the ribs of the disaster curving their assertion among the tentative haunters. This is the place. And I am here, the mermaid whose dark hair streams black, the merman in his armored body. We circle silently about the wreck we dive into the hold. I am she: I am he whose drowned face sleeps with open eyes whose breasts still bear the stress whose silver, copper, vermeil cargo lies obscurely inside barrels half-wedged and left to rot we are the half-destroyed instruments that once held to a course the water-eaten log the fouled compass We are, I am, you are by cowardice or courage the one who find our way back to this scene carrying a knife, a camera a book of myths in which our names do not appear. Step 2: Analyze Each Poem. Poem 1 Poem 2 There is no rhyme scheme in the poem. The author uses metaphors to emphasize the theme. For example, she says “Make of it a parka For your soul”. She is saying that you should not be affected by disappointment. The author uses symbolism. She talks about women's rights when she says she is exploring the shipwreck. The whole poem is an extended metaphor about the struggle for women's rights. Theme Expecting too much from life can lead to great disappointments and suffering. The poem is an extended metaphor of how women have been treated throughout history. At the same time it emphasizes that there is still so much more left to explore and discover about women's rights and equality. Historic influence Alice grew up during the 60’s, life was a lot simpler back then. During the 90’s there were advancements in technology and communications, which disrupted people’s lives. For Alice and a lot of people, these advancements complicated everyday life. During the 70’s women were still fighting for the same rights as men. Even though they were allowed to vote, they were still constantly discriminated against. There was still a lot of social prejudice towards women’s roles in society. Author's perspective Alice Walker wanted to tell readers that expecting too many great things can lead people to live a disappointing life. She wants people to live at peace with themselves and live a simple life. Adrienne Rich wants readers to understand everything women had been through till that point and how there was still so much more left to fight for. Poetic elements Step 3: Identify Similarities and Differences. Similarities Differences Poetic Elements Both authors use figurative language throughout their poems to get their theme across to the reader. They both use metaphors. Neither poets use a rhyme scheme and both poems tell a story. Adrienne Rich uses symbolism in her poem. The poem is an extended metaphor about the struggle for women’s rights. Themes Both themes talk about something that the author is passionate about. Both are a call to action to people to encourage them towards certain actions that they should take in their lives. Alice Walker talks about how you should never expect too much out of life in order to avoid disappointment. Adrienne Rich however, writes about how women have been treated throughout history and how they still have a long way to go in the fight for equal rights. Both authors are influenced by the current events of time. Alice Walker writes about how life used to be a lot simpler and now, in the 90’s, technology and communications have advanced to the point where they are disrupting people's lives. Adrienne Rich writes about how women have been constantly discriminated against throughout history and in that moment, and how they should continue to fight for equal rights. Historic Influence Author's Perspective Both authors agree that changes need to be made in order for people to be happier in their lives. Alice Walker believes that suffering comes from having expectations, and people should live simpler lives to truly achieve happiness. Adrienne Rich believes that women need to encourage each other to keep fighting for their rights and ending the social prejudice about women's roles in society, and this will allow them to live happier and more fulfilling lives. Step 4: Write Your Analysis. Using the information from the chart above, write an analysis comparing the poems. Your analysis should be in paragraph form, using proper grammar and writing conventions, and be at least 300 words in length. Alice Walker and Adrienne Rich are both very significant authors from the contemporary period, both their poems discuss important themes that some would argue are still issues in the world today. Alice Walker tells a story about the importance of living a simple life and not having so many expectations, she explains this is the key to avoiding disappointment. To better convey this idea, she does not use rhyme scheme and instead uses metaphors and simple straightforward writing to get her point across. Since Alice grew up during the 60’s, she was used to living a simple life and then as time went on and there were advancements in technology and communications, she saw how this had a negative impact on the people around her. Throughout the poem she emphasizes on how having expectations brings along suffering, how when people expect too much from life, they are at risk of losing everything. Consequently, she is trying to save people from falling into this trap, by advising them to live by surprise. On the other hand, Adrienne Rich uses symbolism throughout her poem to acknowledge the struggles that women have gone through for decades and the struggles that they continue to face. The poem is an extended metaphor about how women need to keep advocating for equal rights and end the social prejudice about womens roles in society. During the time that Rich wrote the poem women were constantly fighting to end discrimination that they faced. Even though they could vote, there was still a lot of social prejudice about their roles in society. She is telling women that if they end this social prejudice, then they will live happier lives. Both authors use figurative language throughout their poems. Neither poems have a rhyme scheme, the authors did this so that the reader can focus more on the messages that they are trying to get across. Both themes are about something that the authors are passionate about. The authors are telling the audience about the necessary actions that they need to take in order to live fulfilling lives. The authors both write about current issues that they are experiencing in that time period. The authors both agree that the audience needs to make changes to how they live their lives and the choices they make.
