25 Matching Annotations
  1. Oct 2016
    1. Magnus Martyr

      Reference to St. Magnus the Martyr Church that has a white and gold interior. Somehow connecting fishmen to a religious place?

    2. Those are pearls that were his eyes.

      From Ariel's Song in The Tempest by William Shakespeare

    3. But there is no water

      All life requires water so it seems like a good line to sum up that there is no sign of life here, may be only death and lifeless things like rocks.

    4. brown land

      The brown land mentioned in this part matches the brown fog mentioned previously in the first part. Both colors make the city seem desolate and eerie.

    5. Those are pearls that were his eyes

      This is the second time this line is mentioned, the first being when the clairvoyant pulled the drowned Phoenician Sailor card. When I imagine pearls as eyes I see them as all white and glossy but without any sign of life. I wonder what's the significance in this line.

    6. Unreal City

      The name of the place he is about to describe being "Unreal City" is fitting because although the setting is a real place and people seem to be acting normal in the beginning, it quickly changes. Suddenly corpses and death are being mentioned as a normal conversation between the people of this city. The poem describes a place in a way that makes it seem almost like an alternate world.

    7. Picked his bones in whispers

      When I think of "picked his bones" it sounds like decay over time. Whispers are suppose to be soft and quiet so maybe it is referring to a slow and gentle death over time instead of a sudden harsh one. I could imagine a zombie like figure emerging from the sea after his bones are picked.

  2. Sep 2016
    1. Emily

      Out of all the names used in this poem, why is the name Emily chosen to be a part of the title?

    2. you

      The poem contains many specific names, but I think this is the one and only time that "you" is used by the author. Who could this "you" be referring to, if not the reader?

    3. Left

      Does the author say "left" exactly twice because so far, there has been two occasions of the act of leaving ("leave" us to sit and "leave" it to me)?

    4. Nevertheless.

      Why is this the only "Nevertheless" that is not split up into "Never the less"?

    1. miles

      The narrator seems to be on a long journey that requires him to keep moving. Having miles left to travel, the narrator only allows himself to enjoy a short break at an insignificant place where no one will see that he stopped. He also repeats that he has miles to go, making it seem that he is dreading the continuation of his journey.

    2. wanted

      The narrator sort of personifies the road he takes by saying that it "wanted" wear, as if the road could possibly tell the narrator to choose to walk this road. And while the narrator walks this road, he realizes that both roads seemed to be walked about the same.

    3. walling

      The narrator talks about the wall throughout the poem and now uses the verb form "walling" to show that it is a present action. It shows that the wall plays an active role is keeping things in or out. So far the narrator knows that the walls separate their tree from their neighbor's tree, but also wants to know what else this act of walling will separate. I think it is interesting that walling was used instead of walled or will wall because it shows that there may be more separations and more boundaries in the present and the future.

    1. Time

      Immediately makes me imagine Father Time and how time is always moving forward. Having the word "Time" in this line emphasizes that no matter who you are, poet or king, you are still under the control of Time. It may also be saying that as time passed, people have changed over the years and how you cannot go back against time.

    1. tick

      The repetition of the word "tick" starts the poem off with a sound or rhythm to go with the imagery that the author later describes. Throughout the poem, it seems that the author is seeing nature for the first time with appreciation for each and every part and the "tick" sounds may show just how much close attention the author is giving to his surroundings.

    2. Life

      In this line, the word "life" is used twice, but in different ways. The second time, where "life" becomes "Life", the narrator personifies the term simply by changing it to a proper noun. I think the narrator is trying to say that you have to go through the good and the bad that comes with living in order to fully appreciate Life. Or the narrator may be saying that it "takes life" as in other people, children, loved ones to make you enjoy Life.

    1. I meant to be such a help to John, such a real rest and comfort, and here I am a comparative burden already!

      This gives off the sense that she feels much guilt over not being able to be the person she intended or wanted to be for John. Or she just feels guilty in general for having this condition which seems to hold her back. Compared to the entries before this, it seems that this guilt may be what causes her to follow whatever John says or decides for her.

    1. or into silent hatred of the pale world about them and mocking distrust of everything white; or wasted itself in a bitter cry

      Being black in a white world causes negative feelings and although these feelings exist, there are not many actions that are being or can be done to change their position or feelings toward everything white.

    1. Before the end, one began to pray to it; inherited instinct taught the natural expression of man before silent and infinite force.

      Without having to fully understand this new technology or knowing everything about it, people already saw the power and potential it held. Even though it was new, people already believed that it would create change, seemingly for the better. In "They Feed They Lion", the author seems to have the opposite reaction to the industrial world, seeing it as the end of the world, whereas here, they seem to see it as the beginning of a new one.

    2. It could scarcely be more complex than radium; it could hardly be deflected, diverted, polarized, absorbed more perplexingly than other radiant matter.

      Closer to the beginning of the passage, there were goals to uncover the mysteries of science and the advancement of it. Here, the Virgin and the art world is another mystery that perplexes people of the time and they also wish to analyze the importance. I would guess that they are emphasizing how science and art emerged in this time to symbolize a new period in time or preview what is to come in the future. In comparison to "They Feed, They Lion", the idea of advancement and progress is much more welcomed here and is not seen as something that will destroy the world.

    3. As he grew accustomed to the great gallery of machines, he began to feel the forty-foot dynamos as a moral force, much as the early Christians felt the Cross.

      By comparing the technology of machines to the Cross, the author stresses the significance in the machines. It may mean that once you saw it or heard about it, you had some form of hope. It may mean that some people welcomed it and some did not, but either way, it would be important enough to become a part of history.

  3. Aug 2016
    1. From my five arms and all my hands,

      Closer to the beginning of the poem, the author mentions the need to sharpen bones and grow muscles. By the near end of the poem, the lion seems to have grown so much that he has extra arms and many hands, more than the average person. I think it allows readers to journey through the progress of the lion, step by step, maybe even alongside the lion.

    2. Earth is eating trees, fence posts, Gutted cars, earth is calling in her little ones

      The descriptive writing gives readers a visual that the Earth is consuming all that it holds. When I read this line, I would imagine that the ground of the Earth opens up to devour everything, both the natural trees and the man-made cars. It may mean that even through such events where nothing is secure, the lion grows.

    3. Out of

      The repetition of this phrase combined with the listing of several elements (places and things) give readers insight on the range of the lion's growth, where the lion grows and how the lion grows.