tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post2499559635042431641..comments2023-11-05T04:15:44.564-08:00Comments on Robert Frost's Banjo: “The Bereaved Swan”Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15687192784861682991noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-4165413461274592622010-02-08T06:24:00.366-08:002010-02-08T06:24:00.366-08:00Hi Ginger: Ah well, S Smith may not be everyone...Hi Ginger: Ah well, S Smith may not be everyone's cup of tea. I actually agree with you on Plath--I'm pretty lukewarm about a lot of her poetry. It's possible you might like a couple of the upcoming Stevie Smith poems better.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15687192784861682991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-67659051117361539802010-02-07T23:50:30.702-08:002010-02-07T23:50:30.702-08:00Hmm. At first I didn't like it...then I reache...Hmm. At first I didn't like it...then I reached 'On the lake? He has abandoned hope,' and I did like it...but by the time I reached the end, I disliked it again. <br /><br />Ha.<br /><br />I guess I'm just not into 'female' poetry.<br /><br />Sylvia Plath is especially Blah. <br /><br />-- Give me Kenneth Patchen, or give me death! ;)<br /><br />I'll go marching down the street with my roses, and Plath can go stick her head in the oven.<br /><br />What in the world does 'The swan saith' mean? The Swan said?? Says??<br /><br />Oh baloney. I miss Patchen month already. ;)Ginger Ingenuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06904339551806493214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-32889976763628589612010-02-06T07:44:03.239-08:002010-02-06T07:44:03.239-08:00Hi Karen, Dominic, Dave & Kat
Karen: Glad you...Hi Karen, Dominic, Dave & Kat<br /><br />Karen: Glad you like Stevie Smith! I'll look forward to checking out your sonnet later today--will be traveling this morning. Personally, I have a kind of love-hate relationship with WCW.<br /><br />Dominic: Those are interesting comparisons--Sitwell is pretty clear in this one, Stein a bit more subtle, but accurate I think in a deeper way. Yes: let us all be safe from taking things too seriously!<br /><br />Dave: Agreed--glad you stuck with it!<br /><br />Kat: So glad you liked this & that it touched your imagination!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15687192784861682991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-9025998279243901312010-02-06T07:27:05.941-08:002010-02-06T07:27:05.941-08:00I can just imagine how this came to be—a picnic pe...I can just imagine how this came to be—a picnic perhaps, by a pond and the dark thoughts come tumbling in, despite the loveliness of the day and the camaraderie...perhaps.<br />I was amazed to learn that Stevie Smith had thoughts of suicide even in her childhood—that she was comforted by the knowledge that her own death was in her power.<br />I love the simplicity of this poem and the natural element that belies its true meaning. That word "wan" is so perfect, isn't it? When everyone is exclaiming about the beauty of a swan's whiteness, she sees the pale and death.<br /><br />Thanks for this, John! You were right; I really like this.<br /><br />KatKat Mortensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16877694888419628533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-53952283361367376122010-02-06T06:54:46.550-08:002010-02-06T06:54:46.550-08:00The effect is cumulative. I do know her work, thou...The effect is cumulative. I do know her work, though I had not known this one.<br /><i>On the lake<br />Like a cake<br />Of soap</i><br />almost caused me to give up hope, yet by the time I had reached the end I was completely won over. In the hands of a lesser poet, though...<br />Fine post.Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-8733188795494190492010-02-06T06:03:15.988-08:002010-02-06T06:03:15.988-08:00This seems to inhabit a no-man's land between ...This seems to inhabit a no-man's land between Gertrude Stein and Edith Sitwell and I warm to it more than I do to either of them.<br /><br />"From my viewpoint, a “form” ...becomes “reactionary” when it abandons play."<br /><br />What you say about poetry here is true for life, I think.Dominic Rivronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02618013365521035400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821243838031243709.post-59688407231710965662010-02-06T05:11:59.755-08:002010-02-06T05:11:59.755-08:00I love the work of Stevie Smith! This one is decep...I love the work of Stevie Smith! This one is deceptively simple yet full with meaning. I'm glad she's your featured poet.<br /><br />Interestingly, I've just posted a sonnet. I didn't know WCW made that comment. Guess he wouldn't love me today!Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12003379181294550035noreply@blogger.com