AP English Poetry Journal
Michelle Rosenberg
8/9/10
Initial Response
The thought of reading poetry makes me uncomfortable. I am not familiar with
this type of literature and I feel like there is always some deeper meaning to search for.
Since I do not read a lot of poetry, this deeper meaning will probably be that much harder
for me to unveil.
My most significant experiences with poetry consist of reading Shel Silverstein
books as an elementary school child, reading Shakespearian poetry in my freshman year
of high school, and hearing some poetry in Perspectives class sophomore year. I used to
flip through the pages of Where the Sidewalk Ends, Falling Up, and A Light in the Attic. I
do not remember much of reading them because I favored looking at the pictures rather
than reading the actual text. The one poem I do remember was Sick because it was my
favorite piece. I just remember I thought it was really funny because I always wanted to
fake sick to skip going to school. I enjoyed it because I could relate to it; the subject was
age appropriate and simple. When it got to my freshman year, we read some not-so-
simple poetry by Shakespeare before reading Romeo and Juliet. I do not remember what
we read, but it was nearly impossible to understand. I could not understand the wording
to begin with, being completely unfamiliar with Shakespearian language, which
overwhelmed me. Once my teacher dissected the poem and explained each line in
modern day English, I was able to start unveiling what the message of the poem was. I
usually really enjoy analyzing literature, but I remember not being too fond of trying to
make sense out of poetry after reading this poem. I think I did not give poetry enough
credit for its beauty because I was scared off. My next experience with poetry was
listening to it every day at the start of Perspectives. I remember my teacher gave a small
speech at the beginning of the year explaining all we had to do was listen. He understood
most of us were unfamiliar with poetry; it was just a small, traditional exercise that
would
,make us a little more familiar with poetry. Since Perspectives was first period and I was
still trying to fully wake up, I did not think during the majority of my listening. I was
really entertained by the tones and attitude my teacher used when reading though. On the
days that I was awake, it helped me imagine the story. I definitely got something out of
the daily routine, but I cannot say it made me want to read poetry. I really have no excuse
to be so afraid of poetry because I have not interpreted it that much. I am excited to see
where reading and analyzing these pieces of poetry take me. Now that I am older and
more experienced, maybe I will be able to appreciate poetry in a new way.
8/10/10
The Road Not Taken
BY ROBERT FROST
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
,And that has made all the difference.
My mother recommended the poet Robert Frost to me because he is one of her
favorite poets. From looking through some of his poems, I found The Road Not Taken
intriguing. Frost uses the “roads” as a metaphor for possible paths to take in life. This
completely relates to my situation because I am going into my senior year, making
choices that will greatly impact my future. One college, one major, one choice will
change my future. Frost took the path that was less popular, “because it was grassy and
wanted wear,” which was a harder choice to make. Instead of taking the path with less
resistance, he chose the path with more uncertainty and it paid off. Although he still
questions what his life would have been like otherwise, he is satisfied and happy with the
choice he made. Ultimately the poem allows the reader to relate to the path metaphor.
Everyone experiences the battle between making the tough choice versus the common
one. For Frost the tough one made all the difference. He encourages his reader to push the
envelope and go beyond their comfort zone because it will reward them in the end.
He wrote this lyric poem in four stanzas with five lines in each, describing the
beginning of his thought process, his decision, and its result. This is often the decision
process for making choices, so the reader can relate to and understand the message better.
By speaking in first person, the reader relates more to the problem; the reader can
become the decision-maker. During the first stanza, Frost introduces his dilemma. By
starting each of the middle three lines with “and”, he emphasizes the difficulty and
uncertainty he is experiencing. He is stressing that he is alone and cannot see the end of
the paths. In the second stanza, he builds the momentum because he sees the possibilities.
He is starting to see his options more clearly, which makes it even harder to decide which
path to take.
One thing that stood out to me is that there is no period or ending punctuation until the
third stanza. I think that by putting a period after “black” in the second line, he is stating
that his decision is made. In the next line he states, “Oh, I kept the first for another day!”
which shows that he is not completely confident in his decision. He wants to keep his
options open by telling himself that he can go back and take the other path another day.
He follows that line by enforcing the positive outcome of his choice. Since he ends up
being happy with his decision, he no longer feels it is worth it to go back. In the last
, stanza, Frost lay emphasis on his confidence in the path he took. He wants others to
know that it is okay to take the road less traveled by. With the pause after “I” in the third
line, he shows his pride that he gained. Ultimately by going against the grain, he feels
more accomplished. He wants others to feel secure enough so they will be able to do the
same. If Frost had changed the outcome of the path he chose to take to not enjoying life,
he could not share the same message with the reader. He could not try to convince them
to go against the norm if it did not work out for him. Yet, sometimes people do not
follow the popular way and wish they had. I think his poem is very honest in stating that
he still thought about the “what if” after his choice, but there could be a different
outcome for everyone.
8/10/10
Still I Rise
BY MAYA ANGELOU
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Michelle Rosenberg
8/9/10
Initial Response
The thought of reading poetry makes me uncomfortable. I am not familiar with
this type of literature and I feel like there is always some deeper meaning to search for.
Since I do not read a lot of poetry, this deeper meaning will probably be that much harder
for me to unveil.
My most significant experiences with poetry consist of reading Shel Silverstein
books as an elementary school child, reading Shakespearian poetry in my freshman year
of high school, and hearing some poetry in Perspectives class sophomore year. I used to
flip through the pages of Where the Sidewalk Ends, Falling Up, and A Light in the Attic. I
do not remember much of reading them because I favored looking at the pictures rather
than reading the actual text. The one poem I do remember was Sick because it was my
favorite piece. I just remember I thought it was really funny because I always wanted to
fake sick to skip going to school. I enjoyed it because I could relate to it; the subject was
age appropriate and simple. When it got to my freshman year, we read some not-so-
simple poetry by Shakespeare before reading Romeo and Juliet. I do not remember what
we read, but it was nearly impossible to understand. I could not understand the wording
to begin with, being completely unfamiliar with Shakespearian language, which
overwhelmed me. Once my teacher dissected the poem and explained each line in
modern day English, I was able to start unveiling what the message of the poem was. I
usually really enjoy analyzing literature, but I remember not being too fond of trying to
make sense out of poetry after reading this poem. I think I did not give poetry enough
credit for its beauty because I was scared off. My next experience with poetry was
listening to it every day at the start of Perspectives. I remember my teacher gave a small
speech at the beginning of the year explaining all we had to do was listen. He understood
most of us were unfamiliar with poetry; it was just a small, traditional exercise that
would
,make us a little more familiar with poetry. Since Perspectives was first period and I was
still trying to fully wake up, I did not think during the majority of my listening. I was
really entertained by the tones and attitude my teacher used when reading though. On the
days that I was awake, it helped me imagine the story. I definitely got something out of
the daily routine, but I cannot say it made me want to read poetry. I really have no excuse
to be so afraid of poetry because I have not interpreted it that much. I am excited to see
where reading and analyzing these pieces of poetry take me. Now that I am older and
more experienced, maybe I will be able to appreciate poetry in a new way.
8/10/10
The Road Not Taken
BY ROBERT FROST
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
,And that has made all the difference.
My mother recommended the poet Robert Frost to me because he is one of her
favorite poets. From looking through some of his poems, I found The Road Not Taken
intriguing. Frost uses the “roads” as a metaphor for possible paths to take in life. This
completely relates to my situation because I am going into my senior year, making
choices that will greatly impact my future. One college, one major, one choice will
change my future. Frost took the path that was less popular, “because it was grassy and
wanted wear,” which was a harder choice to make. Instead of taking the path with less
resistance, he chose the path with more uncertainty and it paid off. Although he still
questions what his life would have been like otherwise, he is satisfied and happy with the
choice he made. Ultimately the poem allows the reader to relate to the path metaphor.
Everyone experiences the battle between making the tough choice versus the common
one. For Frost the tough one made all the difference. He encourages his reader to push the
envelope and go beyond their comfort zone because it will reward them in the end.
He wrote this lyric poem in four stanzas with five lines in each, describing the
beginning of his thought process, his decision, and its result. This is often the decision
process for making choices, so the reader can relate to and understand the message better.
By speaking in first person, the reader relates more to the problem; the reader can
become the decision-maker. During the first stanza, Frost introduces his dilemma. By
starting each of the middle three lines with “and”, he emphasizes the difficulty and
uncertainty he is experiencing. He is stressing that he is alone and cannot see the end of
the paths. In the second stanza, he builds the momentum because he sees the possibilities.
He is starting to see his options more clearly, which makes it even harder to decide which
path to take.
One thing that stood out to me is that there is no period or ending punctuation until the
third stanza. I think that by putting a period after “black” in the second line, he is stating
that his decision is made. In the next line he states, “Oh, I kept the first for another day!”
which shows that he is not completely confident in his decision. He wants to keep his
options open by telling himself that he can go back and take the other path another day.
He follows that line by enforcing the positive outcome of his choice. Since he ends up
being happy with his decision, he no longer feels it is worth it to go back. In the last
, stanza, Frost lay emphasis on his confidence in the path he took. He wants others to
know that it is okay to take the road less traveled by. With the pause after “I” in the third
line, he shows his pride that he gained. Ultimately by going against the grain, he feels
more accomplished. He wants others to feel secure enough so they will be able to do the
same. If Frost had changed the outcome of the path he chose to take to not enjoying life,
he could not share the same message with the reader. He could not try to convince them
to go against the norm if it did not work out for him. Yet, sometimes people do not
follow the popular way and wish they had. I think his poem is very honest in stating that
he still thought about the “what if” after his choice, but there could be a different
outcome for everyone.
8/10/10
Still I Rise
BY MAYA ANGELOU
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
