The Wonderful Poetry Blog

1. I think that I am most like the poet Sylvia Plath. When we talked about her in class and her life, I immediately noticed that we had many things in common. I also have a younger brother and interestingly the age difference between him and me is about three years, which is very close to Plath’s age difference with her brother Warren. Although Plath’s move at a very young age was not so great, she did move. I moved to the United States when I was two. Another thing that caught my attention was the fact that she got a scholarship for college. This caught my attention for two reasons. The first being that I am looking for a college right now that will do the same thing for me and the second being that up until now my family never really paid for my education. I guess you could say that I got scholarships until now. Personality wise, I would say that I am a negative person and often think like a depressed person. Plath struggled with depression and it is something I have struggled with and still struggle with but I believe not as bad as Plath. Plath seems to talk about issues with society in general, which I find very interesting and fun to talk about. I like to point out society’s flaws as well because there really are many.

2. I re-tpcastted In the Secular Night by Margaret Atwood and the theme of the poem changed slightly from the time of the oral commentary. This poem talks about the idea of solitude and how this continuous state of being alone can eventual also lead to a separation not only from society but also from God. I think Atwood was trying to share with the reader how this is feeling of loneliness is a universal experience that almost everyone feels at least once in his life. However, the decision of how one is going to react when experiencing this feeling is extremely important because perpetual alienation will cut one from everything, which includes the most important connection with God. This poem was written by Atwood to show the readers of what could happen when one chooses to keep this state of isolation.

3. Going along with the poem In the Secular Night, I would have to say that the hamartia of the speaker of the poem is choosing to be alone. However, this tragic flaw expressed in the poem can often relate to many people in the real world as well. Some people chose to be alone, which can be good sometimes, but not for extended periods of time. I thought that thinking about hamartia for this poem helped enhance the poem’s message. It was only after thinking about the hamartia when I thought about the fact that some people intentionally choose to be alone. This thought had not come to my mind quickly because being alone is not something I would want. This new thought of people choosing to be alone let me deep digger into what Atwood wanted to communicate.