This is foreshadowing. Usually kid's are instinctually correct about the supernatural. Just like a hunch that there is a monster in the bed, there is something vile about this wallpaper and little children can feel it.

This is about negroes intellectualizing their opression. When it comes to it places are still very segregated and Blacks do not have access to equal facilities as White. They live as the lower placed in society. Their rights are few and far between. They must first understand the burden placed upon their backs then earn to overcome it.

This reminds me of Kerouac's On the Road which was published two years after Howl. They were contemporaries and friends. I love the phrase "grandfather night" it reminds me of a clock and perhaps it is time ticking away that Ginsberg wants us to remember as his people race on madly into the holy night near the farms.

This cultural reference gives importance to a culture often ignored--that of the Native Americans. Historical events like the trail of tears and the story of Sitting Bull show how the train, and the White Man's weapons, trickery, and biological weapons killed off Native Americans ruthlessly. While they find a home in reservations, they still aren't remembered or respected by many in the way that Ginsberg is asking us to do here. Totem poles and rain dances are two instances of the beautiful culture which would lead Ginsberg to dub Indians as angels.

This reminds me of today's vegan hipsters who are obsessed with organic foods and not using animal products. They care for the environment and for the lives of animals who are often treated with cruelty to obtain meat from them. The vegetable kingdom is something they would relish in since a large part of their diet is fruits and vegetables.

There's a lot of random and mixed symbols and references here in a jarring order, which is characteristic of Beat Literature (Electric Kool-Aid Test, Ginsberg). I was particularly interested in the religious reference. Golgotha is the cave in which Jesus was buried before he rose to Earth for 40 days. When he mentions the past, Ginsberg doesn't hesitate to jump all the way to AD 1. The jump to jazz here almost seems a little disrespectful since religiosity shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as jazz music.

The "New Negro" of the 1920s is well educated and has a resilience and drive to succeed. This kind of determination reminds me of "I Too Sing America" by Langston Hughes. A Black American who reads this poem can hope to be rejuvenated by Brown's words and take pride and comfort in being Black and working towards a brighter future.

This reminds me of the debate surrounding Mexican Americans as immigrants. Some would argue that they aren't crowding out jobs that White Americans seek but instead are taking jobs that White Americans wouldn't take in the first place.

There is a slight religious connotation here which I would like to inquire with the author himself. Bread is usually correlated with communion in the Catholic Church and so the country's blessings are rife with divine qualities they are also bitter with the pangs of racism.

Something about the wording here reminds me of a prostitute or a street walker. I wonder if they are sex-workers out of necessity and how poverty has afflicted them and what role their culture plays in their condition.

Are they the same as the "half-clad" girls mentioned later in the poem?

This testament saying that Black Americans are just as American as White Americans is shocking and perhaps a thought that has only crossed people's minds as a dream. Said boldly, this phrase carries power and stride to it alike to Martin Luther King's speeches. Having slaved away in fields to support the country's industry, Black Americans do have a claim to the country as a people's but their disenfranchisement for the early half of the country's political history makes me question if the Black American of the 1920's could truly lay claim to the nationality.

This instance of personification puts special reverence to New Orleans as an important city to African Americans culturally and geographically near the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. Muddy may be a reference to the agricultural richness that is present in this city.

It is great that America was taking the reigns with this sort of dialogue and work abroad when it comes to African development. With a history of subjugating its peoples, America owes it to Africa to provide support and account for the displacement caused by slave ships in the 1800's.

The words psychology infers that there is something innately different about this new generation. Perhaps their parents can be attributed for the success of the "New Negro" even though they belong to a class of "Old Negros". Witnessing their parents hardship and toil could have inspired this new generation to rise above and have prolific breakthroughs in fields of art and science and politics as African Americans.

This kind of subjugation or reference to a master race is harmful thinking as it propagates the belief that African Americans are inherently inferior. It's interesting that during this time in the homes of white society children are taught at a young age to look down on Black Americans.

It's interesting that Hughes uses the word spiritually as if we are spiritually tied to our ancestors through a lineage of a soul connection. It is this kind of thinking which fascinates me about the Harlem Renaissance movement since African American history is rife with issues and conflicts of identity when it comes to tracing one's roots back to the time of slavery and interracial blood.

Black folk are penalized severely for having any sort of interaction with a woman of the opposite race. Out of spite, the author portrays the woman as conniving and says she is a "snake lyin' tale"

The use of this word is jarring but at the same time is effective in painting an enigmatic sympathetic portrait. The Blues is an important form of expression for African Americans.

The mother wants to weather her child to not trust easily and to passionately detest injustice and the hurdles that life throws at her and the people who present these obstacles to the child ie. enemies.

This is about breast feeding.

I think what the author is saying here is that little details can speak to the state of the whole. So that a limousine can illuminate the contrast between the rich and the poor because of the apathetic vibe the rich give off.

This reminds me of the Tao-Te-Ching and there is something zen about this metaphor. A stone is an inanimate object yet it is stable it can only be withered by years of rough weather so I'm not sure where the writer is going with this metaphor.

These words already foreshadow something preachy or political coming.

Misfortunes culminate in a radio breaking meaning that the public source of media is afflicted by the same force causing personal struggle.

This is a very specific thought. I've never thought this before but the thought is obviously very poetic In the hands of the educated voter these cigarettes symbolize solidarity and union for the working man who smokes one everyday on his break at work.

This socialist manifesto reminds me of the radical left. Bernie Sanders had some socialist policies up his sleeve and ultimately controlling some of the more cut-throat tendencies of big businesses can benefit the poor.

I wonder why the soldiers are red. Perhaps red is a universal color for love and passion and there's also the "Red Cross" Nursing services for war torn countries.

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Here readers see the narrator acknowledging that he is a part of the nationalistic macrocosms that bother him so much.

I think here Dempsey is a symbol for "The Man" or "Big Brother" just an overbearing force representative of the corporate or governmental forces over which we have no power.

"Mass" here could be a double entendre to mean matter but also the religious Christian gathering. Since it is preceded by discussion of a big building perhaps we are to think of a Cathedral. Bread then becomes another symbol of this faith as it is usually bread that is given out during communion.

Beautiful imagery describing the crunch of snowflakes and the ephemeral nature of a winter wind. The word "clear" calls to mind the whiteness and transparency of the mood being created.

The rhyme here serves to illuminate a buoyancy evident in the description. This chapter of The Wasteland "What the Thunder Said" is rife with natural imagery. This part in particular is about the spiritual aspects of nature. Before breaking into the Hindu aside about Datta, Dayadhvam, and Damyata which means "give", "passion" and "control" we are situated among rocks and water near the mountains.

This image in particular stand's out to me from The Wasteland as it describes essentially zombies in a bus zooming over London bridge down another street and then past the Church. The image of the religious Church juxtaposes with the undead and readers wonder if these souls will one day be released to heaven.

This romantic aside is part of a collage of images and happenings with sharp turns that Stein wishes to bestow upon us. Stein brings to our attention a melancholy song and a question of age--which recalls the nature of fleeting youth.

I think this is speaking to the creative nature of what happens in beds--to be more specific love making. Either that or the nature of dreams which also take place in bed. Dreams have figurative meaning of defining someone's future, dives into the past, and a general idea of goals. Inspired by the happenings in beds, Stein says "compose beds"

This phrase can either be very heavy or light and here it is light. There is no serious crime being committed by the relative or friend who plunged into the icebox for a bite. He or she realizes that they have made a mistake but their guilt is shrouded with a feigned emotion of asking for forgiveness. The mischievous nature of this character is that of a child. They shouldn't have taken the plums in the first place instead of giving into temptation and then asking for forgiveness. This could be an extended metaphor about human nature and impulsivity.

The icebox is an important detail situating the reader in realness and giving us something visceral to attribute to the plums--their cold fresh nature. Cold fruit is different than fruit stored at room temperature.

This is a very psychedelic thought flip flopping the sky and the ground. I think the image is used to show the contrast between the rich and the poor. The poverty of Elsie is evident as she is sent out to work at 15 exploited for her sexuality.

This is about the highlands in New Jersey and is a very quaint and poetic way of describing the mountains there. It continues in its description of topography marking the lakes and valleys.

Musicians color time and artists color space. However this piece makes us consider the psychological repercussions of a work of art. Art for me is rarely intellectual however it can be intellectualized in the manner of movements, era, contemporary work, and its context historically. A emotional response is primary

This fluid conception of rhythm doesn't work for me. Even the most ridiculous of time signatures exist mathematically. For example 7/8. Fluctuation of tempo is Eastern in nature. Frequent fluctuation of time signature and tempo, is revolutionary to a certain extent but would still make sense in a conceptual realm of written music. So a lot of interesting ideas are stimulated by this line.

The image of a tree says something familial about society. Black is an assertive color and it carries depth and character. Perhaps the family tree is wet because of the rain, which could then indicate tears from the sky--a sort of sombre sad mood.

There is almost the effect of a blur for me where each face is equal to the other and all you see is a swath of faces. Obviously the author intends to group the faces instead of picking out one or two faces that stand out or stick out for being strange or particularly pretty or jarring or ugly.

The narrator seems homeless. He obviously can't provide for himself if he has to trade a precious memory for food.

A thickened lung suggests lungs already saturated by air. The capillaries are nice and healthy with oxygenated blood. However love cannot be this breath. It only lives as an emotion. Because it is not all the narrator chooses to trade it for peace of mind.

This light metaphor is comparing the wind to a broom. Brooms make a sound as you sweep dust across the floor. It is followed by a detailed description of feathery snow.

This is a poetic lovely way of illuminating the snow's texture. It's fluffy. When something is filled up it's like a cup of water or snow. I would imagine a cup of snow to be much like a snow cone of shaved ice.

Suggests some distant time in the future. This place only exists in the narrator's mind. It's got an old timey Old English vibe because of the use of the word "hence".

This suggests the ideas of clones which is kind of interesting and futura forward thinking for when the poem was published in 1916.

I wonder if this is marijuana. I'm not sure where the country stood on the drug in 1916 but it likely could be.

This line isn't in the same vein as the other mundanities mentioned in the poem. It is an act of service and perhaps the narrator is encouraged towards wisdom and service by the Spoon River. The act of service almost seems religious.

The narrator sounds defeated. He starts with a dream of a River of knowledge and ends with uncertainty.

"Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend, based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (c. 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures." From the Encyclopedia Britannica

Also happens to be featured in a Radiohead song "Faust Arp"

My mentioning iambics within a poem there is a sense of meta-poetry. While the poem has iambs in it, it is not in iambic pentameter or tetrameter so the rhythm isn't predictable.

Kind of cliché. Reminds me of that thing that a girl protagonist will do in movies sometimes where they pick at petals of a flower saying "loves me" "loves me not" alternating until the last petal which gives them the answer. Sort of a hopeless romantic thing.

This simile shows an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. It's sort of intense and vests the drink with some sort of sanctity or spirituality or heavy meaning to the narrator. This simile is followed by another intense metaphor about the "uncertain lives of men" to describe a jug on a shaky ground unstable as it rests.

This is a particularly poetic line that gives the protagonist sovereignty over his fate, metaphorically through the image of a road, and literally since he continues walking on this road. This line leads us into the hollering in the night under the moon which follows.

It's interesting that Robinson chose to put Kings in tandem with Poets. This is where the extended metaphor comes to life and we find that just as clerks run their shop so too do Kings and Poets mark off time as if checking inventory in some small store. The poem ends with Poets and Kings as clerks clipping a piece of cloth for someone with the same discontent, a human feeling, that clerks endure.

This phrase stuck out as interesting to me. There's something familial about this shop and perhaps it is a family-owned business. Before the extended metaphor takes place we are in a small shop with details that give the shop credence as a real place.

This description evokes a haunting design that transcends normal art for a more interesting backdrop. This is eventually the wallpaper through which the doppelgänger comes alive so its important that it is described in tandem with sin.

This detail gives the house life and makes the setting more believable as a real house. According to Merrian-Webster Dictionary Chintz means "printed multicolored cotton fabric with a glazed finish, used especially for curtains and upholstery."

Reference to the kingdom of God found in the Christian Prayer "Our Father". This kingdom of God is essentially a Utopia. It is in this Utopia that equality is assured to everyone and Black Americans can find solace in equal participation in the laws of the government. The metaphor being established here is also saying that the country itself is a Utopia within of itself and in this kingdom Black Americans should have the right to participation via voting.

To worship an abstract entity entails that the abstract entity hold some degree of truth in the lives of everyday people. Freedom comes to embody this larger than life thing for the Black American soul.

Very abstract poetic description of a science experiment with very objective results and occurrences very much so rooted in reality. The phenomenon being explored by the historian have an abstract quality due to the fact that the realm of science that this exists in is relatively unexplored. The uncharted world of science is described abstractly.

Pre-model T. I wonder what the historical accuracy of this is. Signs of 19th century industrialization set the tone for the story.

very specific imagery about workers digging in the fields perhaps for gold or to plant crops

a song by English folk singer-songwriter Jake Bugg has a lyric that reads "There's a Beast eating every bit of beauty and yes we all feed it"

I think this is a relevant comparison because the beast is essentially the post-industrial complex of big factories, business, and machines as well as the military-industrial complex

but I personally think this poem is a testament to worker conditions in the industrial world.

perhaps this is about meat manufacturing

second mention of the Earth provides readers with some sort of terrestrial grounding, that the poem itself and all its symbols and images are somehow part of a larger whole

repitition of the phrase "out of"

bitterness here

industrial imagery: what does the Lion represent?

perhaps the resilience of the populous. Whitman style observation of the world spinning around us and respect/reverence of communities

repetition of the word "come"

repetition of the word "from"

this imagery of the body reminds one of hard work and is symbolic of sweat and blood found in coal mines and factories

severed familial ties