This poem reminds me of Langston Hughes's " I, too, sing America". There is a quiet intensity and patience to both poems.

There is a rhythm to the poem that is reminiscent of music. This reminds me of the blues that Brown and Hughes incorporate into their work.

Like Hughes and Brown, Mckay seems to be taking his inspiration from the "low down folk" who's lives are so real and raw.

When i read this poem a broken mirror comes to mind, each section is fragmented and the speaker seems to change consciousness from line to line making it hard to follow but also adds more layers to the images. The fragmented nature reminds me of a collage.

The juxtaposition of lilacs in the first line with these "dried tubers" conjures up imagery of life and death, the narrator mixes these two opposing things which I feel makes the reader uncomfortable and uncertain of the state of things.

The randomness of the poem makes it very difficult to read, for example this section is in another language and therefore inaccessible to most readers. I think the intention of the poem is to defamiliarise the readers interpretation of the world. This poem was not built for enjoyment.

This is a very confusing poem but I really like how each line can stand on its own as its own interesting concept.

I think Stein's poetry would be very interesting to listen to and perhaps one might totally reinterpret the poem having read and then spoken the poem allowed. It would be two very different experiences.

I think Stein's poetry would be very interesting to listen to and perhaps one might totally reinterpret the poem having read and then spoken the poem allowed. It would be two very different experiences.

I like how the speaker goes against all the traditional ideals of love, talking bluntly and truthfully. However even though the speaker seems to be challenging these notions, it is perhaps made even more meaningful because despite all the negatives the speaker lists they still recognise the power of love as something they wouldn't trade.

Here the narrator conjures up mechanic imagery, which makes me wonder if this poem is a comment on mans relationship with technology. All the machinery in this poem is rusted and old and all that man has left behind. Is technology really a worthy legacy?

There is a lot of agency in this poem. The narrator suggests that by taking the road less travelled you can be yourself. There are two roads to choose form, the choice you make does not change the direction you go in as both roads are one and the same, however by choosing the road less travelled you are choosing to be different.

There seems to be a conflict between the village and the woods, nature vs. civilisation. This tension is established at the beginning of the poem as the narrator is worried the owner of the woods will see him saturating the scene with guilt.

The narrator seems to be mourning the effects of time. After a while everyone just seems to become victims to the grinding effects of time. Reality seems to strip away everything.

The matter of fact tone of the poem as it deals with the sad topic of death is oddly gentle. Having laid out the highs and the tragic lows of her life the narrator leaves on an oddly uplifting note, you must live life as fully as you can in order to fully appreciate this gift you have been given.

Having just referenced several different formal poetic styles the narrator then goes on to conjure up the imagery of seeds in a dry pod. This imagery draws to mind infertility, suggesting the narrator finds no inspiration in the old traditional poetry.

When the narrator first see's the paper she see's nothing but decay. However the longer she stares at it she then begins to see bars, a face, and then a woman behind the bars. the Wallpaper transforms from paper into a mirror. It reflects the truth, which then leads me to question if she is going insane at the end if she is seeing the truth?

The house is the perfect setting for the story as it is so safe that it is positively ripe for exploitation.

Here Du Bois seems to undermine the kind of education of the time suggesting perhaps learning from a book doesn't amount to much more that learned facts. This echoes Adams though on education, without the ability to apply your knowledge it is useless.

This section also reminded me of the shock that Adams felt when he suddenly started to view the world through a technological and industrial filter. For Adams however it seemed more as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes, whereas Du Bois felt like he was trapped behind one.

This seems to hark back to Adams earlier statements about "Art Museums" The more research Adams does, it seems the more questions he has. Having researched and questioned things are still not clear to him. I feel a similar sense of fogginess the more i read this extract.

Throughout this extract Adams plays the role of the historian simply observing change. He questions it and states his reservations but never lands on any absolute opinion. Like any good historian he keeps his opinions and the facts as separate as he can. This does however leave the reader with more questions than answers.

When reading this section the phrase "knowledge is power" comes to mind. I feel that here Adams seems to be turning this perception on its head, perhaps the power lies not in the knowledge but in the ability to apply it and use it. Knowing how to use the mental tools at your disposal is perhaps more important than having information which is thus rendered useless.

There is a tension between industrialisation and nature, in which nature envelops industrialisation in what seems to be a cleansing wrath. However the "Earth" also eats trees suggesting that perhaps even nature isn't totally safe from this destructive wave as the Earth restores itself to its rightful glory.

The Lion seems to represent the personified rage and dissatisfaction of the narrator. Each time the phrase is repeated the passion seems to increase, culminating in what can be read as an impassioned call to arms.