Eng 125 Week 1 Assignment

ENG/125 8/6/2012 A Poem Poetry is non something that I would normally be interested in. Ive essay writing poetry only to end up a dismal failure. Ive tried to read poetry only to end up bored halfway through. Ive always wanted to be one of those soulful poetic types who flip strong-nigh with a serene look on their faces, snapping their fingers when something tickles their fancy but Ive never quite made that transition. Poetry, to me, seems to be a fanciful, ethitheral by-line that has somehow always gone over my lead no matter how hard Ive tried.Since Ive failed miserably at being a poet or even enjoying poetry, you fecal matter imagine my surprise when I read Dogs Death and not only enjoyed it but it touched my heart. A vertical song knows how to grab not only the readers attention but will snag the readers emotions and take them on a roller coaster whether it has a happy or a sad ending the poem should keep the readers interest until the end. The poem Dogs Death is a poem about a dog that has become a part of a family only to later be injured and get around a slow death from a liver laceration.The author talks of how the dog learned to use the bathroom by going potty on newspapers and then moves on to being potty trained. The author talks of how the family plays with the dog though the dog is hemorrhaging the whole time. The author talks of how they finally saw that there was a problem and rushed the dog to the vet but the dog died on the way and, finally, the author talks of how the dog, in the last hours of her life, has diarrhea in the house but has found a throw away newspaper to go on so as not to soil the floor.The tone that the author uses is a ton of wistfulness and sadness. One might expect the author to use a tone of urgency as they rush the dog to the vet but the poet is memory the event and the tone has been glazed over with a sadness that downplays the urgency. The author also uses a poignant metaphor Definition. (2005-2010) when he sa ys As we teased her with play, phone line was filling her skin/and her heart was learning to lie down forever.I can clearly picture the dog trying her hardest to play with the family because she loves them so often but knowing that something is wrong and probably being in a lot of pain at the same time. The faithfulness that the dog shows is heart tear and so very sad but uplifting at the same time. The formalist attempt to critiquing literature is the most widely used form Clugston, R. W. (2010). In the formalist approach the reader is asked to look into the piece of literature to see what parts make the piece interesting.The formalist approach asks questions like Was there a surprise? How were the characters described? and wherefore was the plot interesting? Clugston, R. W. (2010). The formalist approach really gets the reader thinking about why they liked the piece, what part was their favorite part and which was their favorite character. The formalist approach can really get to the heart of a piece of literature. In Dogs Death the author uses the main character (we assume the male head of the family) to describe the dogs beginning as well as the dogs last moments in life.The characters werent around for long so they didnt have a lot of time to develop but we know that the dog was faithful and loving, the man was loving and form and the rest of the family loved the dog very much. The setting was memorable because you very quickly realize that there is something wrong with the dog so the readers interest is quickly snagged and is snagged again at the end when the main character realizes that the dog had one last accident but used a discarded newspaper in order to keep the floor clean.The flow of the poem adds to the appeal because the meter of the poem makes the words roll off of the tongue without weak over superfluous syllables or complicated words. The idea of the poem is a simple story of a family and their dog and the circumstances surrounding the dogs demise. If the author had put large words with complicated meanings it would detract from the idea of the poem. A Dogs Death is an emotional poem that is very well written, flows naturally and uses terms, tone and characters that all readers can relate too.The poem, told in the first person, is thought provoking, interesting, has highs and lows and leaves the reader really feeling the meaning of the poem and that is what a poem is meant for. References Definition. (2005-2010). Retrieved from http//www. poetryarchive. org/poetryarchive/glossaryItem. do? letter=M&id=8079 Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, Ca Bridgepoint Education, Inc.