Your Dearest Friend, Linda Baker

Dear Suzie, 

How are you doing? Is the weather lovely in North Dakota? I hope all is well. Have you heard the news lately about the Prohibition of alcohol? I read it in the newspaper about how bootleggers sell giggle water for some dough. That big cheese goon Al Capone is bumping off people and buying the bulls. They put up store fronts and in the backside open speakeasies. Those blind pigs are pretty cool-looking. But, I’m sure the goons who run them will get pinched sometime soon. Lily, that bug eyed Betty who tries to be all ritzy, got all dolled up and drove her jalopy to one apparently. She said she saw some hoofers and drank moonshine in one. I think she's lying. 

To be honest, I want to go to one but I’m stuck working in the stupid factory. I’m not even earning as much as Johnny, the one who lives opposite to me. It's so unfair. We have the same qualifications yet he gets more favor than I do. But, there is not much I can do. At least I got hired. Money is a bit low nowadays to be honest.

Nevermind all that drab depressing news. Emma, that Dumb Dora who only knows how to use her kisser and never her brain, apparently tried to put on some dresses that looked cat’s meow and bougie cheaters and flirted with Andrew! She's just a rag-a-muffin who should know her place and scram! Nerts! I hate her! She gives me the heebie-jeebies. Only a spiffy sheba like me would be able to bag a sheik like Andrew…I wanted to tell her to dry up but then Andrew would think I was a man-crazed sap. Let me give you a little advice. Men like keen, mysterious women like them flappers! 

Ah applesauce! I came up with a wonderful bee’s knees! When I see Andrew tomorrow, I’ll give him some of mama’s famous blueberry, apricot jam. It’s irresistible. He’ll have no choice but to fall in love with me. Anyways, update me about yourself too!

Your dearest friend,

Linda Baker

Tone in Poetry

In the living creature assignment, the illustrator incorporates juxtaposing pre- and post-origin story setting, characterization via humanity-avoidant thoughts and self-internalizing symbolism to showcase that humanity’s cruelty towards non-human-like beings can incite self-imposed isolation, fear of judgement and reveal the being’s innate tendency towards stability, ultimately exposing that humanity’s cruelty leads to isolative behaviors to protect one’s mental peace and achieve a comfortable, mundane life. 

Sonnet 143: The speaker of Sonnet 143 wants the women to pay attention to him instead of abandoning him. This is apparent via the speaker's thoughts and feelings that he expresses through the lines “but if thou catch thy hope, turn back to me,” in which the speaker wishes that his maiden turns back and pays attention to him. We can also assume that the speaker is a very needy individual that is willing to settle for the bare minimum. From the lines where the speaker says his lover is chasing after something that is flying in front of her,  we can come to the conclusion that this flying object in front of her might be another man especially because themes of cheating on their spouse or loved one was common during Shakesphere’s time. The “babe” or the narrator says to just look back and pay a little attention to him instead of wishing for her not to pay attention to the flying object at all. 

The two-headed calf: We can make an assumption that the subject  of this poem is a very grateful and calm cow through his content actions of lying with his mother and the speech where the speaker describes the serene nature around him. The subject of this poem must be very young and naive since he does not recognize that the farm boys will commit cruel actions toward him. His action of peacefully lying showcases that he does not recognize the dangers before him. The cow’s actions reveal the broader themes of being a fool that cannot recognize danger and being present in the current moment. 

Sonnet 71: In this poem the speaker doesn’t want his maiden to truly forget his presence. The passive aggressive tone that the speaker uses in the lines “for I love you” while also saying “no longer mourn me when I am dead” shows that the speaker loves and values his lover dearly and would most likely not want her to forget. This is further supported by the speech in the couplet where the speaker reveals that he wants her to forget him so that society doesn’t mock her when he passes away. The speaker views themself as lowly as apparent by the dialogue that he wishes for her to forget him since he thinks that society will judge her for being with a man like him. 

The Unknown Citizen: In this poem the speaker is mocking how society uses numbers to measure perfection and evaluate happiness. This is apparent in the speech where the speaker describes the different sections of reports in which the subject has received excellence. In the lines, “Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd: Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard,” the speaker uses a sarcastic tone to mock the numbers that are used to measure happiness by saying that the numbers would definitely be a measure of happiness. The individual’s happiness is only measured by obeying these rules and his separate emotions beyond numbers are not taken into account. We can also assume that the speaker lives in a dystopian society set into the future as evident by their speech where they say terms like “union reports” and “social psychology workers” which are unknown to modern people. This poem also has the common theme of dystopian society’s surveillance of everything.

Cluster of Poems

The Two-Headed Calf by Gilpin uses enjambments, imagery and juxtaposition. The continuation of sentences helps create a slightly rushful tone which emphasizes that the calf’s time is limited. It also creates a smooth flow which juxtaposes the cruel fate the calf will face in the near future. The use of peaceful imagery presents a stark contrast to the harsh fate the naive cow will face tomorrow morning. It also contrasts the cow’s appearance as a “freak of nature” with the beautiful natural world surrounding the cow. By juxtaposing the external environment with the future that the cow will face, the author emphasizes the dire fate the calf will face, while also showcasing the broader theme of human beings being unaware of just how cruel life can sometimes be. Like the two-headed calf, when people don’t fit into the status quo set by people who aren't them, they are often subjected to cruelty and mocked by those around them. The eerily peaceful tone of the second stanza, brought by the juxtaposing imagery and smooth flow through enjambments, emphasizes the cruelty that will befall the two-headed calf. 

The Unknown Citizen by Auden uses rhyme, allusions to a dystopic society and irony. The poem uses a simple rhyme scheme that helps reinforce the monotonous machine-like subject of the poem. This monotonous rhyme conveys the loss of identity and the conforming nature of the unknown citizen. The poem also uses allusion to a dystopian society by using different terms such as “eugenist” (associated/present in dystopian settings) and agencies that constantly monitor the citizen, hinting that any discrepancies in the citizen’s behavior will alert the different societies. This allusion to a dystopian society presents unknown citizen’s lives as being constantly monitored by surveillance and warns society that using numbers to weigh value, especially in society constantly obsessed with using numbers to measure the desired (ideal weights, ideal body count, etc), can reduce human value to a mechanical nature. The poem presents irony by celebrating how the main character is a conformist instead of a hero that challenges status quo or brings change to a society. The ending lines of “Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd” mocks how the numbers used to measure idealness can never be enough to measure happiness. This formation of mocking the dystopian society presents a satirical tone that remains cold and impersonal, emphasizing the way in which the government treats its citizens as numbers instead of people capable of individuality. 

Those Winter Sundays by Hayden uses imagery, alliteration and metaphors. The use of imagery such as “blueback cold” creates a harsh atmosphere which contrasts with the warm environment inside the house. This juxtaposing environment serves to represent the emotional distance between the father and son. The alliteration of the harsh K sounds with the words “cold” and “cracked”  help emanate the cold and strained emotions between the father and the son. The use of metaphors such as “cold splintering" emphasizes the imagery of the hostile environment that the father works in which further helps the audience understand the harshness of the environment the father worked in that creates the sense of regret in the future that the son or the speaker faces. These poetic devices emphasize the harshness and strain between the father and son to create a reflective, regretful tone from the harsh distance in his childhood to the realization of just how much the father has done for the speaker. This creation of the environment also serves to emphasize the poem’s message of understanding that sometimes a parent’s love for their children is not shown through words, but through their actions and silent devotion. 

We Grow Accustomed to the Dark by Dickinson uses an extended metaphor, repeated em-dashes and imagery. The extended metaphor of dark and light throughout the poem with dark representing difficulties and challenges and light representing hope and perseverance helps emphasize the poem’s meaning of continuing to persevere through challenges that life throws at an individual. The use of repeated em-dashes creates a choppy tone which helps describe all the dips in the path called life that the speaker describes walking on throughout the poem. The imagery helps to exemplify the pain and obstacles that the speaker faces in words like “hit a tree directly in the forehead.” Through its description the poem helps to bring life to the emotions that the speaker is experiencing. The contrast of light and dark and the emphasis of the challenges described by the speaker creates a contemplative and realistic tone about the hardships of life while also helping to emphasize how one must adapt to facing difficulties and find the light in the dark.