Rain by Shel Silverstein

Rain by Shel Silverstein

I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

I step very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can't do a handstand--
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--
I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head.



Shel Silverstein is my favorite author who wrote "The Missing Piece" and "The Giving Tree"
I found he used to write poems just few weeks ago, so I chose his poem for this time (I love rain;this is my second one about rain).

TPCASTT:

T-title: The Title is really simple, so I couldn't really find the meaning of the poem. The meaning of poem would be about washing the sin or bad past


P-paraphrase: Basically rain got into author's head (brain); as a result, he has certain behaviors such as walking slowly, stepping softly, being unable to handstand that makes him feel different from past.

C-connotation:
Symbolism-Rain is symbolizing
Imagery-Rain dropping on author and flowing into brain. Silverstein is definitely genius guy who can give this strong imagery with very few sentences in very simple form. Authomatically, I can imagine myself standing alone in the rain. The visual of rain falling, feeling of my head cooled down by filling water inside, sound of rain sparkling on my head, and I can even feel through all of my senses with great impression. This symbolism is really important to this poem that it drags the reader into the poem to make him/her feel what author is trying to say.

Repetition: There is kind of repetition with "AAAA" and "IIII." In first stanza, there are four sentences start with "And, and second stanza, "I." It certainly gives readers the rhythm and fun to read, but also adds the mood and feeling contained in this poem. Like a process and a list, the repetition gives simplicity and peaceful feeling to the readers.

Mood : I think the best about Silverstein is the mood of the poem. I feel really bad and shameful that I cannot pick the word that can perfectly describe his mood contained in the poem. Peaceful, like a reader in a leisure while reading the poem, kind of fun, positive, hopeful, seems very easy and minor, but has the deepest and most important meaning, makes readers feel having an adventure, makes readers feel going back to youth when they are little children, pure, clean, and just perefect. The mood in this poem seems kind of melancholy, but we can never find author's being negative about this. The mood is quite, slow, and peaceful without much happening. I think the mood in this poem is important because it certainly gives readers what author's attitude is and what author's feeling inside that he wants readers to feel.


A-attitude: Although I am kind of a pessimist, I cannot complain or critize anything about Silverstein's attitude in this poem. Author's attitude toward the fact that rain is flowing into his head is not negative. Author seems to be just accepting what had just happened. Through the attitude in this poem, it narrows down what author wants to say to the readers.

S-shifts: At the second last sentece, where it says , "So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said-- ," it has a big shift espeically in the plot and the tone. With a word, "So," it gives conclusion (what author says to us) as a shift. Up to this point, the poem simply talk about water flowing into the head, its consequences, but suddenly author asserts something that gives strong notification to readers. Also the tone got more rigid and strong in the shift.

T-title: I thought Silverstein could make the title more interesting than just "Rain." But as his writing style with simplicity in deep meaning, I think this title is very adequate to have. The "Rain" definitely indicates the meaning what author trying to say.

T-theme: I think rain is a symbolism of a big shock or big memory. Because the ran got into his head, he has certain odd behaviors. Walking slowly, stepping softly... Above many possibilities that can represent this big shock event, "love" is the symbolism of rain in my opinion. He says all he hears as he lies in his bed is a slishity-slosh of water. This means he's just full of thinking about his lady (?) or love all day long, since he meets her like rain dropping. I think Silverstein is funny and genius to use brain instead of heart to indicate love;therefore, it gives more strong impression of love effect. Besides, he cannot handstand because he can overflow. I think this means he cannot stand himself anymore to deny the truth of love, or he is just at the edge right before exploding his joy or happiness of love. At the shift, like everyone who become weird and behaves differently than before, author has same consequences of love that can make people think, "I think he changed somehow."

November Rain by Amy Phillip

November Rain


November rain washed away my guilt
November rain washed away my pain
November rain - so tired I felt
November rain was not just any rain

Long I longed with deep torment
For so long my body waited
November rain, , , , Oh, sweet friend
November rain- slowly I faded.

November rain- I cried within
Steady and slowly, it kept on pouring
November rain, watered my skin
And deep inside, I heard my roaring.

November rain, it refused to quit
November rain kept on pouring
And alone outside, in the streets
I wept-dripping... dripping and falling.


Amy Phillip


TPCASTT

Title: November Rain talks about what kinds of impressions that it gives. The reason author took November instead of other eleven months is perhaps because of her memory of November.

Paraphrase: Since author has been waiting for November rain, she washes out her “bad things” such as guilt, pain, harsh memory, and everything that afflicts her. She puts herself into the rain as one.

Connotation: The rain has a great imagery. The imagery of visual as it rains, pours, drips, and flows. Not only is the visual, the feeling also well described too; the sentences and descriptions of rain falling gives readers feel like they are really in the middle of the November rain. Washing the skin, dripping over our heads and bodies, and pouring give us the strong feeling like real.
There is rhyme scheme (abab, cdcd, efef). Every stanza has rhyme scheme.
It has personification of the rain. Author mentions rain is her sweet friend. Besides, author said November rain is not just a rain; therefore, author has extraordinary feeling toward the rain which has human qualities. Rain is author’s sweet friend and refuses to stop; they are the examples that rain has human qualities as personification.
The rhythm is created as verses start with November rain. The verses starts with November have certain rhythms because November rain is repeated in smooth rhythm. Also there is rhyme scheme which makes the poem more like a song (with a rhythm).
I think November Rain has a great symbol. Since author mentioned that November rain is not just a rain, November rain symbolizes or means something special to her. Maybe November rain is a important rain, but does not symbolize anything at all, but I think November rain is symbolizes author’s willingness, volition, purpose, and strong determination to start a new life or to forget about how harsh her life was before.

Attitude: Author’s attitude toward rain is melancholy but otherwise glad. She feels great about November rain. She thinks November rain is special and important to her because November rain can wash guilt, pain, and etc. Although she feels great about November rain coming to her, we can see author’s being melancholy. The description of rain pouring and washing the author can refer to the readers that author has very hard, sad life (or just moments). Pain, guilt, author’s roaring, crying, and fading tell us about author’s attitude of being melancholy and lonely.

Shifts: The shift of this poem is on the verse “November rain- I cried within” on the third stanza. This verse is the shift of this poem because it strongly shows author’s loneliness and sadness. Up to that verse, author is trying to endure tears coming out. It’s like a boy who tries not to tear after fight, but bursts out of tears when he hugs his mother. The moment author cries and roars in the rain is the shift when the author bursts out of tears in the middle of the rain.

Theme: The theme of the poem is about necessity of moment that human must rely on. There is a moment or like a opportunity that every one can think about the past and try to eradicate it in mind for a better future.

Title: First I thought the title is just about love story (memory) she had in the November when it rains. Actually the rain talks about the author’s washing and reforming through the experience of raining of washing the sins and letting out pain and harsh memory from her head. If I would name the title of this poem, (although I think “November Rain” is the perfect title of this poem), “Rain like a river in November” because rain is pouring and dropping continuously like a river flows that can wash the author

Without Warning by Sappho

Without warning
as a whirlwind
swoops on an oak
Love shakes my heart




analysis:
Sappho, the author used the metaphor of wind and oak to represent his love and himself.
The wirlwind is very tall and strong column of air that spins fast. The imagery of wirlwind is very strong, firm, effective, and imminent. so does love. Like a wirlwind, love strikes the author without any warning. Swoop has the same imgery. Rather than touching softly, swoop means aggresive and strong strike that overwhelms or wraps the author. Author is an oak which is shaken by imminent whirland which is love. He, his heart is shaken by love called whirlwind.


I put comment on Hyunjun's

Q 8. Fehrenheit 451

8＊Entry of your choice


Why do we live? How can we live without purpose or dream? How can we live without freedom? Why do we develop technologies for better lives, but make it worse? These questions were overwhelming my brain. These questions seem to be very weird, but these are the truth that I saw in the book and the world; even I am living in this situation too, because I just live in the same pattern any way. The book Fahrenheit 451 was very impressive and affective to me. The book contained so many important meanings that I should remember until I die: The fact of our world and our lives under it. Also this book convinced me to read with strong ideas.

Q 7. Fehrenheit 451

7＊Are there are any current situations in the world that relate to the novel? What are they, and how do they relate? Does the novel shed any light on how current situations could be resolved or "fixed"?

I am definitely hoping that there aren’t any current similar situations in the world, but unfortunately, there are few. In the novel, the government restricts the people from freedom. Also in North Korea, the government is very similar. In fact, it is pretty much the same in my point of view. North Korean government brainwashes the young people that Kim-Jung IL is a great comrade, that they should ever respect them. In the outside world, I guess that just makes us laugh or feel pity for them, because the government is too corrupted by Kim-Jung IL. To solve this problem, it’s the matter of people’s strong will for freedom. The lives under the government and society that oppresses them will be not resolved or fixed unless they TRY it together with courage.

Q 6. Fehrenheit 451

6＊Are there any settings in this novel which you have found to be beautiful? or disturbing? or memorable? Describe these settings and comment on why they were meaningful to you.

I think the whole story was disturbing and dark. From the beginning, it was weird to have people burning books. I was thinking how they would learn from the past to what they have done? Well, I guess the government from Fahrenheit 451 does not care. They destroy every single book, and kill every single person who does not follow the way they want. I have no other opinion but that is just a horrible government that could exist.
Especially the part that Montag had to steal the book to read was very disturbing and made me ashamed of myself. I am also frequently forced to read it, but I never appreciate to read the books by myself to joy. Different from me, in Fahrenheit 451, Montag is willing to read any books. His intension read to book was the matter to live or die against the government; He risks his peace, and even his life.

Q 5. Fehrenheit 451

5＊What is the climax of this novel? What happens? How do the events of this novel make you feel?

The climax of the story happens when Guy Montag kills Captin Beaty at his own house. Beaty tells Montag that his wife, Mildren, has set the alarm, and Montag becomes upset. This reversal of the story was shocking to me. I knew that Mildren was less courageous than Montag about the book that he was keeping, but I never knew that Mildren would actually set the alarm up on his husband.
The more interesting fact is that Montag kills Beaty, but that Beaty was willing to die. Beaty tells Montag to go ahead and pull the trigger. Maybe Beaty had enough of the miserable life, burning all those books after all.
I thought it was double shocking point of the novel, because of Mildren, and Beaty. And I wonder if I were in their situation. Would I do like they have done too? I know there are enough details to get to know those characters, but then again, maybe it is hard to predict by the surfaces of the characters, as in my life, I cannot predict people by their surface. Maybe it was shocking because I was predicting Mildren, and Beaty by the surface. Therefore, I should have read the novel carefully, or should have not look at the surfaces of the characters.