Poetry in Popular Culture

In the movie Billy Madison, Hamlet’s poem To Be, or Not To Be is referenced. Two of the characters are competing in an academic decathlon. I think it’s very important and meaningful that this poem is used in this situation. It shows that poetry is very important to the academic world and that everyone can use it. Although Adam Sandler’s character is making fun of the poem in a way, it does show some significance of the poem and poetry in general. To me, it symbolizes the importance of knowing and understanding at least some forms of poetry and that that knowledge can be used in many situations.

Suicide's Note: machinima video

With the addition of the Machinima video, the depressing feeling of the poem Suicide’s Note, by Langston Hughes was taken to a whole new level. This video definitely added a lot to the effects of the poem, but maybe a bit too much. It amplified the sadness the robot was feeling, and you felt those emotions. I’d say the song contributed a lot to the whole effect of the video.

After watching the video, I feel that whoever made it did a wonderful job of contributing and magnifying the effects of the poem. It was as if all the heart and soul of my existence were being sucked right out of me along with that of the robot. Honestly, after watching this video, I wanted to curl up in a ball and die alongside the robot. It may have had too big of an impact on me, though. With the depressing music, dying robot and sad poem, I think it was more sadness than I could handle.

This video did a good job at staying true to the tone of the poem. It did add much depression and sadness though. Langston Hughes may not have been looking for that result, it may have been a bit over-the-top. That is always a problem with adding on to artists’ work; you never know how much of an impact they are intending to have on an audience. Overall though, this video did a good job of adding meaning to the poem and keeping the same tone.

All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace

All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace is a poem by Richard Brautigan that talks about the combination of nature and technology. This poem could be portrayed as being very anti-technology. Richard mixes the two together, and I feel they are very opposite of each other and shouldn't be combined. In this world that has been made up, “Deer stroll peacefully past computers as if they were flowers with spinning blossoms.” To me, this line makes no sense at all. Deer would not just walk past computers as if nothing was abnormal. Brautigan is illustrating a very unrealistic world that makes no sense at all. He is combining animals and computers, which make no sense at all. To me this shows a very anti-technology approach because mammals are meant to be natural, not completely infested with technology.

This poem can also be seen as pro-technology. Richard Brautigan mixes technology and mammals together, which is exactly how life is today. “I like to think (and the sooner the better!) of a cybernetic meadow.” Brautigan is being very for technology in this line. He is saying that he likes thinking of cybernetic meadows and would like to see this meadow come to life soon. Although some parts of the poem may not make complete sense, the overall message is that the author would like to see a cybernetic world. In this world, mammals and technology could work together as one and live in peace. “I like to think (it has to be!) of a cybernetic ecology.”

Although both interpretations of the poem can make sense, I think that Richard Brautigan is going for a more pro-technology stance. To me he seemed hopeful and excited for technology and the world to change. He wants life to be different, infested with technology and ruined by lack of nature.

Casabianca

The poem I have chosen is Casabianca by Felicia Hemans. There are several different images I found in this particular poem. I found that each stanza shows its own image and when combined they tell a sad story. There are three major images that I feel put together a good understanding of the interpretation of this poem.

“The boy stood on the burning deck” is the very first line in the poem. There are several different questions that may arise just in reading this line. Such as why the ship is on fire and why the boy is still there. It seems to me that Hemans did a good job at bringing up the situation quickly and effectively, leaving you to wonder and read on. The last line of the second stanza is “A proud, though childlike form.” This line helps bring a bit more meaning to the first image I brought up. It makes you understand the story of the poem a little bit more. Instead of just a boy standing on a burning ship, you now have a proud boy standing on that ship for something. He now has a purpose and even though he may be young, he does have a brave soul. Hemans adds to these images in the next stanza with this line: “That father, faint in death below.” With this new image, more of a story is being told and more questions are being answered. Now the reader can see that the reason the proud boy is standing on the ship is because he is waiting for his father.

Once all three images have been put together, you get a better and more understandable interpretation of what this poem is depicting: The bravery of a young boy who is waiting for his father out of love and respect. I very much enjoyed reading this poem, and was moved by the boy’s love and devotion to his father. He would not leave the ship unless his father told him he could do so. “But the noblest thing that perished there was that young, faithful heart.”