The Duke's Revenge

3. The Duke eliminated (divorced? sent to a convent? had executed or poisoned?) his last duchess because (he felt) she undervalued him and treated him much as she treated other men. Which trivial incidents in particular seem to have produced this response in the Duke?

            The Duke is a cold and controlling man who, if the object is not up to his standards, he sees it as worthless and must be removed. He similarly treated his last Duchess as an object, and because she undervalued him, he eliminated her. The incident in particular that created the particular response was her treating him the same as everyone else, when “she smiled…Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without Much the same smile?” The Duke was treated the same as her other male admirers- men who “broke in the orchard for her” were the same as the man who gave her the “gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name”. His love for the Duchess was unrequited, so he “gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together”. The Duchess was finally eliminated, because the Duke felt that no smiles were better than the generic ones. 

Loved, But Wasn't Loved

3.        The duchess was a man magnet; they were all in awe of her. She was married though, her husband loved her so much, “she had a heart” he says but she didn’t love him as much as he loved her. This was upsetting to the duke and he hated the way she treated him. Here was her husband and she treated him like any other man. In lines, 30-39 says ,”she thanked men, - good! But thanked somehow-as if she ranked My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody’s gift…” He feels undervalued. This hurt him the most, he would show is love for her, shower her with complements and she treated him the same way when she got compliments from any other men. Eventually he cuts her off, he kills her, divorces her, something, ”oh sir, she smiled no doubt, whene’er I passed her; but passed without much the same smile? Then all smiles stopped together.” (43-46) he got fed up with the way she treated him, and he let her go.

The Duke of Hazard

There are several trivial incident that may have sent the Duke over the edge to divorce/ kill his Duchess. One instance is when his Duchess is when he let her ride a white mule around in a white orchard and thanked many men, not just her husband which made the duke think that she was ungrateful. This is shown in the quote “The bough of cherries some officious fool Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule She rode with round the terrace -- all and each Would draw from her alike the approving speech, Or blush, at least. She thanked men, -- good! but thanked Somehow -- I know not how” which describes the whole incident. Another incident is when the Duchess seemed to dislike/ stop being happy around the Duke when he gave her commands which made him feel like she was not happy to serve him. This is shown in the quote “ but who passed without Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands”. Lastly there was one incident where the Duchess suspected that she loved someone else as shown by the quote “'twas not Her husband's presence only, called that spot Of joy into the Duchess' cheek” when he was thinking that perhaps he was not the only one she loved. Those are all of the trivial incidents that may have sent the Duke over the edge to divorce/ kill his last Duchess.

Divorcing the Duchess

"She rode with round the terrace -- all and each
Would draw from her alike the approving speech,
Or blush, at least. She thanked men, -- good! but thanked
Somehow -- I know not how -- as if she ranked
My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name
With anybody's gift." ('My Last Duchess'-Robert Browning)

The speaker, being a duke, seems to have some personal problems with his marriage to his wife, who is a duchess. He divorced his duchess because he presumed she did not love him as her husband; treated him like any other man she met. He thought that she treated their marriage as if nothing but a promise, yet she had broken it. It seemed she loved all men equally to her husband and he didn't think this was righteous.


"Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; 

Then all smiles stopped together [...]

The Count you master's known munifence

Is ample warrant that no just pretence

Of mine for dowry will be disallowed;" ('My Last Duchess'-Robert Browning)

Of course the duke loved his wife, but if she did not handle the reins of their marriage with every ounce of her blood from her heart and within her, he had no choice but to divorce her if things weren't working out.
He was afraid she wasn't happy with him; he wants nothing but for her to be happy, so he thought it best they split the reins of their marriage in the midst of her appeal to other men in relations to him. The duke had questioned her authority and who her heart belongs to, and it seemed that he had judged his last duchess wrong. She loved him, but he was blinded and overly jealous by how she had treated other men in that sense. She was not happy when they had divorced, and in the hands of fate she had died in misery. The duke felt empathy for his wife in her death, and wished he had not divorced her knowing she had actually loved him more than any man. He would give up all his possessions for her happiness and in the face of the trivial incidents he assumed would end their marriage and make her happy, but it didn't.

Fatal Happiness

The Duke seems to be very insecure with his marriage and turns to methods of elimination to get rid of his Duchess. He does this because he feels as if his Duchess values other men as much as himself. The duke says this in the line 24 when he says “She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.” The Duke feels as though he should be valued more than others. There are many situations where it seems questionable if the Duchess was faithful to the Duke. One of these times is when many other men could please her with gifts very easily. The Duke describes this in line 27 through 31 “The bough of cherries some officious fool/broke in the orchard for her…all and each/would draw from her alike the approving speech, / of blush at least…” The Duke felt as though he always gave the Duchess so much and she did not care. He states this in line 32 and 33 “ Somehow- I know not how –as if she ranked/ My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name/ with anybody’s gift.” These few incidents are simple things that made the Duke jealous of other men. The Duchess did not believe she was doing anything wrong but she later found out that these simple things were worthy of death.

The Cruel and Unusual Duke

     
    The Duke is a person who saw much fault in his wife. There were many things he saw in her that displeased him. It often makes the reader wonder how they even got to the point of marriage. Line number 45 states "This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands as if alive." This statement by the speaker suggests that he did something to get rid of his wife, which can be assumed was a violent or cruel act. However, throughout the poem, the reader may observe that the Duchess annoyed in more subtle, peculiar ways. On line number 22, the author writes, "A heart - how shall I say? - too soon made glad, Too easily impressed;" This statement suggests an idea of annoyance from the speaker. A flaw of being "easily impressed," is one that is commonly thought of by people who are annoyed by the person they are criticizing. The fact that the speaker chose to classify his dead wife this way shows that he is not going to mourn her death, but instead enjoy the fact that he can point out her flaws freely. Secondly, the speaker says on line 32 "Somehow - I know not how- as if she ranked My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name With anybody's gift." This statement by the speaker shows that the Duke was angry with the Duchess because his gift was not valued over the gifts of other men. She did not show extra appreciation for the Duke's gift and that enraged the Duke. These two are great examples of how the Duchess angered the Duke.

The Duchess's Equality Policy

Question 3- In “The Last Duchess”, the Duke orders to have his Duchess eliminated because he felt that the duchess did not value him. He tells the audience that there were reasons that caused this feeling. He stated, “ Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt, whenever I passed her; but who passed without much the same smile?”( Lines 43-45).  At first, he thought that she smiled at him only, but then realized that she smiled at everyone. She found it a courteous gesture and so she smiled at everyone. It did not mean anything for her, but for the Duke it was a symbol of love. In the beginning, he doesn't mind the smile, but later on he gets sick of the smile. The smile starts to become a symbol of hate. A trivial thing like a smile caused him to punish his wife. Another example of a trivial incident is that she talked to men and treated everyone equally. The duke wanted to be treated better than the other men, but the duchess didn't sense that so she treated everyone the same. According to the Duke, “ Or blush, at least. She thanked me, - good! but thanked somehow - I know not how - as if she ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years old name with anybody’s gift” (Lines 30-34). The Duke felt like that he was not respected better. He felt that she talked to too many other men and did not talk enough to him. She again treated everyone equally, which was a problem to him. She blushed when she talked with other men, and the duke thought that she was not loyally respected to him. When he states that he doesn't know how his gift was ranked the same means that he doesn't know why he was treated the same as the other men. The trivial actions of smiling and talking to other men caused the Duke to eliminate his wife because he was mad that she treated everyone equally.

Jealousy, Painted on the Wall

3. The Duke eliminated (divorced? sent to a convent? had executed or poisoned?) his last duchess because (he felt) she undervalued him and treated him much as she treated other men. Which trivial incidents in particular seem to have produced this response in the Duke?

There are many trivial incidents that produced the response of killing his wife from Duke. Throughout the book, he explains many events and why he feels that he is unvalued. He says, “She had A heart...Too easily impressed.(Line ” This makes the Duchess seem shallow. Another incident is when he says “She thanked men, - good! but thanked..as if she ranked My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody's gift." The Duke is telling us that she treats anyone's gift equally to his. This makes him feel jealous, and he thinks that his gift should be worth more to him than anyone else's.

Gordon Zhong

The unfaithful duchess

Question #3

The Duke eliminated his last duchess because she undervalued him and she treated him like she treated other men, some events occurred that produced this response from the Duke. The Duke talked about in the poem about the way she looked and talked to men,

“Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er she look on, and her looks went everywhere.”

As the Duke described she was a beautiful woman to him and all other men, but there was a price to pay for her looks and that was she wasn’t very faithful in the relationship between her and the Duke. The Duke discussed how she always had men give her gifts, such as cherries, but she never appreciated the Duke as much as she should have being his wife. The duchess never cared about how faithful the Duke was, so the Duke ended the relationship, (execution, divorce, etc.)

She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

The Duke killed his last duchess. He did this because he felt that she undervalued him and treated him like all the other men around; he was nothing special to her.

 “Oh sir, she smiled no doubt,

 Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without

 Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands;

 Then all smiles stopped together (Browning, 43).”

The poem “My Last Duchess” shows that she doesn’t really care. She smiles the same way to every man she sees, I would want to kill her for that too. Even now when you love someone there is a different feature they have towards you and no one else, like a smile, it is not an intentional change, but there is an uncontrollable change that is unexplainable. The Duke can see that there is no change and wonders why because his probably changes and then he realizes that he is the same as all the others and that she doesn’t really love him.

The Duke Wants the Truth

The Duke does seem like a very negative character from the start especially when he says and he is very selfish. The duke must have been very overpowering especially when he describes how his wife died. The duke stated,” I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together”, In other words he was a very negative person. However he does value his art and the duke has certain values and expectations that he wants in art. I think these values consist of detail and truth. This is because the man really focuses on the small things such as the grin of his wife and what his wife is wearing. On line seven, the Duke says,” That pictured countenance, the depth and passion of its earnest glance” this is just one example of the many references to detail of the painting in the poem. Lastly, the duke values truth in his artwork, while most people have a blank look or they are smiling in a picture, his duchess has a pessimistic look. He does not want people with fake smiles or looks he wants something to be reminded of as he looks at the piece. Possibly, he would like to be reminded their character and what they were like in real life. Anyways, that’s what the duke values in his art.

The Duke be Tripping SCR #3

                     The Duke is easily angered and selfish.  He unnecessarily gets angry at frivolous things.  The Duke made his last wife “disappear”.  One the main reasons he did was because he felt his wife did not appreciate him enough.  He says, "She had A heart-how shall I say?- too soon made glad, Too easily impressed; she like whate'er She looked on and he looks went everywhere... My favour at her breast, The dropping of daylight in the West, The bough of cherries by some fool."  He is being really jealous over something simple.  This jealousy leads to her disappearance.

The Duchess's Mistake

(Prompt #3)

The Duke eliminated his wife, the Duchess; because he felt she treated him just like all other men, and not as her husband. One event that suggests this is when the duke describes her in the terrace, riding a white mule, thanking a man for getting her cherries. She also received several compliments from other men, and gladly thanked them for them.

 “The white mule she rode with round the terrace-all and each would draw from her alike the approving speech, or blush at least. She thanked men”

 This angered the Duke very much, (even though saying thank you doesn’t mean that she is in love with another man) and provoked him to have her executed. 

The Dukes Envy

Prompt 3

There are many events that seemed to make the duchess “disappear”. Some are trivial while some are obvious. She seems to have been a happy and cheerful girl, but he was always jealous because of the attention she gave to others. “She had a heart to soon made glad. Too easily impressed. She liked whatever.” I think all this kindness to others hurt his feelings. I can see why he was jealous, but he overreacted. He seemed to become overalls obsessed with her, like stalking her. He would see whatever she did and whoever she talked to. He became too selfish, and owning of her. “I gave commands; then the smiling stopped all together.” He seemed to get crazier throughout the poem. Becoming more relentless and jealous. He starts off saying how great she is to how she wanted to end her happiness. It’s apparent that he is a jealous, selfish, evil, and terrible husband/person. 

The Jealous Duke

The Jealous Duke

Question-
3. The Duke eliminated (divorced? sent to a convent? had executed or poisoned?) his last duchess because (he felt) she undervalued him and treated him much as she treated other men. Which trivial incidents in particular seem to have produced this response in the Duke?

In the poem “My Last Duchess,” it tells the story about a Duke who is telling a story about his wife through a painting he had done of her. This painting was painted by an artist named Frá Pandolf who accurately portrayed his wife’s personality through the expression on the Duchesses face. The duchesses was a very loving person, she treated everyone equally and with respect. For example she would smile at her husband, the Duke, the same way she would smile at a commoner/ a complete stranger.

 “Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt, whene’er I passed her; but who passed without much as a smile” (line 42). 

 This quote is expressing how he was jealous of hoe she treated everyone equal, and how she would smile at everyone the same way; not giving him any special recognition. Even though he says,

 “E’en then would be some stooping, and I chose never to stoop” (line 41).

 This quote is saying how he would not stoop to tell her of his jealousy toward him “flirting.” Although later in the story he implies that after he confronted her about her smiling and flirting she later died. This was implied by the line saying, 

“then all smiles stop together” (line 46). 

In analysis of the poem, these lines implied that due to his jealousy he killed her. These were the trivial events that led to her death, which hidden in the poem, hinted that she died due to her husband murdering her.

By Whitney Marshall

Sympathy Towards a Conceited Duke?

                The Duke of Ferrara has a condescending, conceited attitude in the poem "My Last Duchess". He is the narrator of the story and speaks directly to the reader. The Duke causes us to have much sympathy for him even though he has such an offensive personality. Robert Browning makes us feel sympathy for this persona because his choice of Diction and syntax makes us read what he did but not fully acknowledge it. Browning’s choice of diction is selected in a time from the 1800s so the word choice is very timeworn. The use of words he picks may not be very clear to the reader, so we do not automatically get the hidden meaning of the poem. So we do not know that the Duke has eliminated his wife because she was flirtatious. Browning’s syntax also makes us feel sympathy for the Duke because at first he insinuates that his wife died of a tragedy. In line 1 he says, “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, Looking as if she were alive” (Browning).  The reader may think that the Duke is mourning the death of his wife, but as you continue to read the reader realizes that the Duke was jealous of his wife and her enticing behavior towards other men.  You feel sympathy for him then again because he does not feel loved by his own wife. Robert Browning has the reader feel sympathy towards the Duke of Ferrara because his syntax and diction of the poem. 

-Tiana

The Duke's Jealousy

3. The Duke of Ferrara is a conceded man. He disposed of his wife because he felt that she treated him just like all other men, not like her husband. Two examples of this is on lines 22 23 where it states, “A heart-how shall I say?-too soon made glad,” and “Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er.” These lines are talking about how easily she was amused or impressed by other men who were not the Duke. She gave smiles to all of them in the same way and appreciated their efforts. On line 27 it says, “The bough of cherries some officious fool.” This is talking about how some unimportant fool in the Duke’s eyes, and the Duchess appreciated it just as much as his, “gift of a nine-hundred years old name” which is the marriage between them and the title of Duchess. The Duke becomes so jealous and angry that he finally decides to execute his wife. One lines 45 and 46 the Duke says, “I gave commands; Then all the smiles stopped together.” The Duke knew now that the Duchess would never again smile, at any man, or at himself.

-John-Michael Osley

Question 3: Trivial Incidents Against the Duke

3. The Duke eliminated (divorced? sent to a convent? had executed or poisoned?) his last duchess because (he felt) she undervalued him and treated him much as she treated other men. Which trivial incidents in particular seem to have produced this response in the Duke?

             The Duke seemed to be pleased with the beauty of his wife but unimpressed with her “defining qualities”. He felt as though she undermined him as a man and as a husband treating other men the same as he; he took this in a way of him having insignificance. In the poem he referenced, “A heart-how shall I say?-too soon made glad, too easily impressed.” This would make any man feel unimportant. He would have been put into a trivial position of not feeling the same as other men she conversed with. This could also be interpreted as her only liking the Duke because she liked everything about everyone. This would have struck anger into any man. This would be what eventually caused him to snap and “eliminate” his Duchess.

-Cooper Snowbarger

Browning And His Trickery

(2) The way that Browning makes us fell sympathy for a character who seems incontrovertibly ignorant is by giving us only one view. An example of this is is a campaign commercial for a candidate, they only give the view of one person that way the audience votes for them, similar to what Browning is doing. If the poet gave us another character to get a good sense of the Duke, then our view of them would probably be different. Also, no other character can highlight the speakers character so we cannot get an appropriate view of how the speaker killed her or how he really feels about her or even if this type of obsession is okay in this setting. An example of a moment that were easily persuaded to have feelings for her is,"The Count your master's known munificence is ample warrant that no just pretence of mine for dowry will be disallowed..."  For all we know, it could be a ritual of some sort to mourn over someones death which is why we feel sympathy for the speaker, because we make up excuses for him because we don't believe what he is doing is appropriate without knowing the views of the other characters.    

A trivial matter

During the poem, the Duke eliminated the duchess for such a trivial matter as the fact that the duchess would smile the same to everyone, saying to the reader ""oh sir, she smiled, no doubt, whenever I passed her; but who passed without much the same smile? this grew; I gave the commands, then the smiles stopped together."(The last duchess, Robert browning). this phrase shows that just because the duchess was being as kind to all as she was to him, he had her "eliminated". Also, earlier in the poem it states that "all and each would draw from her alike the approving speech... She thanked them" The duke was angered by the fact that other men were flirting with his wife, and saw her thanking them as an insult to his authority by the duchess. After The duke had seen this and the smiling at everyone, he felt the problem was growing and must stop so he had her "eliminated.
-Response to Prompt 3

Jealousy of the Duke

3. The trivial incidents that made the Duke want to kill his wife were mostly from her treating other men like she treated him.  In the poem the Duke says “all and each would draw from her alike the approving speech, or blush, at least.  She thanked men-good! But thanked somehow-I know not how-as if she ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody’s gift.”  This is an insignificant reaction towards why the Duke should have killed his wife because maybe she was just a really nice woman to the other men.  Instead of just giving commands to kill her he should have dealt with the problems.  Another trivial incident was when the Duchess would always smile at everyone she passed including the Duke. This means that she was treating his royal self as any normal peasant and wasn’t getting any extra attention.  This is a really vacuous reason for why the Duke had his wife killed.  He was jealous because the duchess didn’t see him as a gift or even as a husband, but this doesn’t give the Duke the right to just execute her. She was a nice women that had never committed a transgressed before. There are more events leading to the Duchess's death and all of them to me are trivial.  All in all, the Duke used his story in a poem format to make his jealousy look less of the problem and to make it harder to understand what happened in order to make him look more innocent of the duchess's death.

Why The Duke's Last Duchess was the Duke's Last Duchess

Prompt 3 -
The Duchess was a very joyful person that valued  everybody equally with respect. She was always joyful. This would make the Duke impatient. The Duke wanted that his very own wife respect him, and enjoy his presence more than any other man. The duchess would thanked all men for their goods. including their willingness to break into fields to get her cherries, as well as their complements. The dutch was really jealous, claiming he wanted to exceed the other men. He had gifted her a nine - hundred year old name but she acted like it was any name. Thus, the dutch had her executed. In the poem, it says: "This grew; I gave commands; Then all the smiles stopped altogether." This implies that the duke did not want to live as if he was equal to other men. He also implies her execution using the fact that he was not subject to a trial in court.

 - Rahul Verma

The Duke's Relationship Problems

3.

         The Duke of Ferrara had an incident with his former duchess, and she’s now dead. There were a few incidents which led up to their breakaway, whether it was divorce or something much worse. They broke apart because the duke felt undervalued, and he proves this when he says, “Too easily impressed, she liked whate’er she looked on, and her looks went everywhere (Line 23-24)”. The duke is jealous that the duchess’ looks did not only go his way. But he’s not just jealous about looks, he’s jealous about her response to gifts. He states, “Somehow—I do not know how—she ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody’s gift (Line 32-34)”. I believe this angered the duke so much he ended up executing her, when on Line 45 and 46 he says, “I gave commands. Then all the smiles stopped together”. I believe the command was death, and she stopped smiling when she knew she was going to die. There were a few events leading up to this event, but these really caused the anger in the duke.

What if-Shel Silverstein

Last night, while I lay thinking here,

some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
and pranced and partied all night long
and sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I'm dumb in school?
Whatif they've closed the swimming pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif there's poison in my cup?
Whatif I start to cry?
Whatif I get sick and die?
Whatif I flunk that test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I don't grow talle?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
Whatif the fish won't bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?
Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance?
Everything seems well, and then
the nighttime Whatifs strike again!

I enjoy this poem because it has a repeating variable of the "What if". It kind of gives each different line a deeper meaning.

-Cooper Snowbarger

"My Last Duchess" Assignment

{Image source}

Select one of the following prompts, and write a short constructed response (here on the blog).  I would advise writing your response in a Word document, saving it to Google Docs or on your flash drive, and then copying and pasting it into a blog post. This is the best way to ensure that you do not lose your work if the blog freezes up. Don't forget to give your post an original title!

1. The Duke reveals himself to be an emotionally cold, calculating, materialistic, haughty, aristocratic connoisseur; on the positive side, he is a patron of such artists as Fra Pandolf and Claus of Innsbruck (both fictional). What does the duke value in art? What does he see as his role in the creation of great art?

2. The speaker is the arrogant, art-collecting Duke of Ferrara. We might even call him the protagonist, for, although we may not agree with him, we are virtually compelled to identify with him since he speaks directly to us, with a mediating narrator. How does Browning force us to place our sympathies with so objectionable a persona?


3. The Duke eliminated (divorced? sent to a convent? had executed or poisoned?) his last duchess because (he felt) she undervalued him and treated him much as she treated other men. Which trivial incidents in particular seem to have produced this response in the Duke?

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Hapy birthday dear____
Happy birthday to you!

I like this poem because it is very commonly used, and i have heard it several times, also, it reminds me of my birthday.
-Allan MacDougall

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Where the Sidewalk Ends
by Shel Silverstein

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

This poem is very creative and fun to read. I like it because it illustrates a very vivid picture and is interestingly perceived in different ways by different readers. It is a vague and perfectly mysterious piece of writing.

I'm not Smart

Smart

My dad gave me one dollar bill
Cause I'm his smartest son,
And I swapped it for two shiny quarters
Cause two is more than one!

And then I took the quarters
And traded them to Lou
For three dimes -- I guess he don't know
That three is more than two!

Just then, along came old blind Bates
And just 'cause he can't see
He gave me four nickles for my three dimes,
And four is more than three!

And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs
Down at the seed-feed store,
And the fool gave me five pennies for them,
And five is more than four!

And then I went and showed my dad,
And he got red in the cheeks
And closed his eyes and shook his head--
Too proud of me to speak!

by shel silverstein 


Shel Silverstein is one of the best poets ever in my opinion.  I remember my teacher reading this one to us in elementary school. I just couldn't believe how silly this kid is. ;)

My Favorite Song

"Blown Away" by Carrie Underwood

Dry lightning cracks across the skies
Those storm clouds gather in her eyes
Her daddy was a mean old mister
Mama was an angel in the ground
The weather man called for a twister
She prayed blow it down

There’s not enough rain in Oklahoma
To wash the sins out of that house
There’s not enough wind in Oklahoma
To rip the nails out of the past

[Chorus:]
Shatter every window 'til it’s all blown away,
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away
'til there’s nothing left standing,
Nothing left of yesterday
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,
Blown away

She heard those sirens screaming out
Her daddy laid there passed out on the couch
She locked herself in the cellar
Listened to the screaming of the wind
Some people called it taking shelter
She called it sweet revenge

[Chorus:]
Shatter every window 'til it’s all blown away,
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away
'til there’s nothing left standing,
Nothing left of yesterday
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,
Blown away

There’s not enough rain in Oklahoma
To wash the sins out of that house
There’s not enough wind in Oklahoma
To rip the nails out of the past

Shatter every window 'til it’s all blown away (blown away)
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away (blown away)
'til there’s nothing left standing,
Nothing left of yesterday (blown away)
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,

Blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away

I like this song because I can relate to the way she describes her feeling in the song. I also love the song because it gives great imagery of the horrible storm.

Poem Swagg

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

I like this poem because it reminds me of when I was young and hope.  The poem is really nice.

Favorite Poem


My favoite poem is Shel Silverstein's poem "I Can Not Go To School Today".

"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut--my eyes are blue--
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb.
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is. . .Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

I like this poem because I wish I could do this but I never loose track of Saturdays.
Mark Gutierrez

My Favorite Song

Bill Withers- Lean on Me

Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs
That you won't let show
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/bill_withers/lean_on_me.html ]
You just call on me brother, when you need a hand (Chorus)
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'd understand
We all need somebody to lean on

Second Verse
(Chorus)

If there is a load you have to bear
That you can't carry
I'm right up the road
I'll share your load
If you just call me
(Chorus)
Call me (if you need a friend)
Call me (call me)
Call me (if you need a friend)
Call me (if you ever need a friend)
Call me (call me)
Call me
Call me (if you need A friend)
Website: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/bill_withers/lean_on_me.html

This is my favorite song because it is a good cheer-up song if you are feeling sad. I also like it because it puts your life in perspective and lets you know that you aren't alone in anything.

My favorite poem-The voice

The voice.

There is a voice inside of you
That whispers all day long,
"I feel this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong."
No teacher, preacher,parent, or friend
Or wise man can decide
What's right for you-just listen to
The voice that speaks inside.

-Shel Silverstein

I enjoy this poem because it's all about doing what you like and making you're own decisions. Which I personally value, because you are not living you're own life if you let other people influence what you do.

My New Favorite Poem

Little Boy Blue

Little Boy Blue,
please cover your nose.
You sneezed on Miss Muffet
and ruined her clothes.
You sprayed Mother Hubbard
and now she is sick.
You put out the fire
on Jack’s candle stick.
Your sneeze is the reason
why Humpty fell down.
You drenched Yankee Doodle
when he came to town.
The blind mice are angry!
The sheep are upset!
From now on use tissues
so no one gets wet!

Copyright © 2006 Darren Sardelli
All Rights Reserved

I'm going to be honest, I really didn't have a favorite poem, so I went poem-hunting, and after a bit, I found this. This is my new favorite poem because it incorporates a big element of humor. But along with this, it must have taken a lot of creativity to combine all of those characters from different popular poems and nursery rhymes.

Annabel Lee

Annabel Lee

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

 

-Edgar Allan Poe

 

This is my favorite poem because it is by my favorite poet and also because it's a love story. The poem also has a rhyme which makes it easier to follow and makes it more enjoyable to read.

-Sydney B

"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost 

* This is my favorite poem because it portrays a message that it is okay to be different and choose your own path in life because it might just be the best thing that ever takes place in your life. You don't have to fit in to have the best or be the best, but you do have to find the path that you want the most and go for it no matter what other people say or think. 

I Can't Write a Poem

Forget it.

You must be kidding.
I’m still half asleep.
My eyes keep closing.
My brain isn’t working.
I don’t have a pencil.
I don’t have any paper.
My desk is wobbly.
I don’t know what to write about.
And besides, I don’t even know how to write a poem.
I’ve got a headache. I need to see the nurse.
Time’s up? Uh oh!
All I have is this dumb list of excuses.
You like it? Really? No kidding.
Thanks a lot.
Would you like to see another one?
-Bruce Lansky
I like this poem because it incorporates human with showing how things night not be as hard as they seem, and you might end up liking them.
Rahul Verma