Proposition 64

Illegal money that pays legal taxes,

Funding the schools, fixing the roads, 

Providing healthcare. 

They relished in the benefits, but hated 

How it was made. 

They put up a front, lying to the country about 

the dangers of our livelihood;

It was similar, yet more dangerous, to the way 

families in my county put up

storefronts to hide their farms.

This had harmful consequences. 

Fall was the busy season; fourteen hour days

and fourteen hour nights.

It is long, but it must be done. 

And illegal draws in illegal. 

But how can a person be illegal?

And how can working for your

Family be 

Illegal?

My biggest secret was my entire life; 

Everything I new must be hidden

Even if it was not my secret to hide. 

Where I come from, being honest could a character 

Flaw;

Dangerous to those you loved. 

It meant that there was a possibility 

You would say the right thing to the wrong person 

And suddenly, 

As if in the blink of an eye,

Someone you knew could be 

Gone. 

It was for this same reason I 

Was scared of Helicopters. 

I told people it was because I was scared of heights 

(this was both a truth and a lie)

But really, it was because helicopters meant 

They were 

Searching

Searching for what?

For family, my family. 

To take them 

away 

But now things have changed. 

The sounds of helicopters no longer scared me;

I knew that all the necessary ducks were in a row 

The necessary paperwork filled and signed. 

For most everyone else, the fear was gone, too.

Now, when the cops come looking for someone, you are complicit

“They are on that side of the fork”, you say. 

It sucks, but you have kids to feed, payments to make. 

But what about those who are still being punished for 

Doing something to feed their kids. 

That thought is always in the back of your mind. 

You can’t help but think of those you know who 

Have been to prison before, but are now 

being featured on national television

For the same reason as their incarceration. 

You tell yourself there’s nothing you can do, but again,

You are being complicit.

You’re accepted by the Man, but at what cost?

Your privilege is heavy, almost like the soil 

You carry daily, but you tell yourself it’s the cost of the job. 

Yet, you ask again, is the cost worth it?

Review: 

Dear Julia Alvarez,

Like you, identity is important to me, but it can also be easily changed by an outside power. My community’s acceptance in the eyes of different individuals has shifted my identity and made me more aware of my privilege. I know that because I am white, and I grew up is predominantly white community, the legalization of the marajauna based economy that I grew up in had more of a positive impact on my life than it would have if we were not white. This is a reflection of my privilege. This is similar to the privilege that I think you hinted at feeling as a young girl in Queens. The privilege of being accepted when you weren’t previously, while witnessing those in the position you were in not long ago still being viewed in a negative light. Your poem inspired me to write about my own experience with gaining a certain privilege that I had not previously had, or at least not been aware of, and how that affected me.  

In your poem “Queens, 1963”, you briefly talked about the “before” side of acceptance. I found this to be something I could resonate with. Because of this, I focused my poem on the “before” and only briefly touching on the “after”. Most of what I know, or rather knew, falls in the “before”, which is why I made this choice, as well. In a way, it contrasts your poem.  

I know that our poems are not obviously similar. They talk of different experiences. But that is okay. When I read your poem, it was not the words you wrote, but rather the feeling you created that stuck out to me. I think you were recreating the emotions you had during this time in your life, which you did with your words, and I think also with the use of free verse and the creation of similar line lengths. This is why I chose free verse as well, but also made it so the lines went from varying in size to being more uniform. It was meant to show the anxiety I felt growing up in the “before” and the sense of security I felt in the “after”. I wanted to try to replicate the feeling you created, despite having a different story to tell, with the use of free verse and line arrangement. I can only hope I was successful.

Sophia Wallace-Boyd

The Importance of Creativity

Grading “Tropic Shadows” was a difficult task, but it had to be done. This is because it is a good blog post, but it was lacking something, leaving me unsure of what grade to give, at first. The post provided the reader with a clear thesis, one that was interesting and unique, but it lacked a sufficient amount of evidence. Additionally, the evidence that it did provide was not expanded on and thus was unable to support the thesis efficiently. For example, the author talks about how both poems they are writing about, “Subway Wind” and “The Tropics of New York”, are sonnets, but they did not really provide a compelling argument for why that aspect of the poems is significant. Because of the post’s lack of contextual evidence, the grade I am giving “Tropic Shadows” is a B+.

“White Americaaaaaaaa”, on the other hand, was rather easy to grade. This is because the thesis was unoriginal, in the terms that I felt like I had seen it a million times. Additionally, the post did not tie the contextual evidence that was provided in a manner that convinced me of what the author was trying to say about the two poems. However, despite the posts lack of a unique thesis and contextual evidence, I am unable to give it less than a B-. This is because it make an honest attempt at providing an interpretation of of the two poems and it did do what the prompt was asking. However, it lacked any creativity, leaving it with a B- grade.

Finally, on to my favorite post: “The Great Divide”. This post was the best because it offered a rather interesting thesis as well as well interpreted contextual evidence. Despite all of this, though, the post deserves only an A-. This is because, although it does have all of the important qualities of a blog post, it is not truly exquisite. This is because the author does not actually provide the lines from the poems that they use as evidence, they simply state their significance and role in the poems. This is why the post deserves an A-.

Out of the three blog posts, “The Great Divide” Deserved the highest grade because it provided a a clear and creative thesis, as well as contextual evidence that really provided convinced me of what the author was trying to say.

Sophia Wallace-Boyd

The Plight of the Worker

Oftentimes, when a poet creates, they intertwine various pieces, making one reflect the other. This is exactly what was done when Claude McKay wrote his two poems, “Outcast” and “The Tired Worker”. Although it may not be obvious, there is a clear relationship between the two poems; more specifically, the sentiments and emotions expressed in “The Tired Worker” reflects the plight of the worker who is being represented in “Outcast”.

The voice of the working-class is very powerful and prominent in “Outcast”. It embodies the tone and the distress that a person in that situation feels and experiences. It creates an image of this worker as emotionally dead, which is seen in lines 11-12 when the speaker says, “and I must walk the way of life a ghost among the sons of earth; a thing apart”. The image of the ghost that is seen here paints a picture of someone who is spiritually disembodied while simultaneously still physically present. In other words, the speaker is saying that their spirit has disconnected from their physical being, and based on some of the lines in the poem, it can be easily assumed that this example of the working-class existence is a direct effect of what their work has put them through. For example, in line 6 the speaker says “but the great western world holds me fee.” The most important word here is fee because it indicates the feeling of debt that the speaker feels, specifically debt to the society that they have been living and surviving in. Throughout the entirety of “Outcast” there is a picture of despair and hopelessness within the working class. This feeling is then reflected and represented in “The Tired Worker”. 

Unlike many of his other poems, “The Tired Worker” represents what happens when someone gives up and is hopeless, which is exactly the reason it represents the voice of the working-class that the speaker is talking about in “Outcast”. Although the poem may seem hopeful, especially for the night to come, the language used creates an image of someone who is tired by expressing both the emotional and physical impact of what the have been put through. The speaker shares the weariness they feel after a days work when they state “and with a leaden sigh thou wilt invite/ to rest thy tired hands and aching feet”. (lines 7-8). This shows an image of someone who yearns for some rest and a break from their work. The speaker also expresses the despair that the working-class feel. This is seen in lines 12-14, when the speaker cries out “O dawn! O dreaded dawn! O let me rest/ weary my veins, my  brain, my life! Have pity!/ No! Once again the harsh, the ugly city.” This language is tired and heavy, expressing the distress the worker feels when the see dawn break, because they know their hours of rest are ending soon, and they will once again have to slave away.    

Both of McKay’s poems, “Outcast” and “The Tired Worker”, are about the working class. Placed side by side, it is made obvious that one, “The Tired Worker”, reflects and represents the sentiments of despair and hopelessness that are present in the other, “Outcast”. They are both powerful poems with powerful messages about the plight of the working-class.

Sophia Wallace-Boyd

A Man Does Not Dictate a Woman’s Worth

“My Mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”, otherwise known as Sonnet 130, is a sonnet that reflects on one specific type of sonnet; the type of sonnet that portrays the love a man has for his “perfect” love and how he compares them to certain “ideals” of beauty. The sonnet is ridiculing that type of sonnet by saying that the worth of a woman is not dictated by the comparisons that are made about her by a man, while also pointing out that these comparisons are unfair in the first place. This idea is enhanced by Catherine Tate’s classroom performance. 

The critical tone is present throughout the entirety of the poem, although it is rather subtle. The poem is made almost entirely of lines that compare the “mistress” to things that represent conventional beauty, but never in a way that favors her. This can be seen in line one, when the speaker says “my mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”, which implies that they are dull in comparison. This differs from the way most romantic sonnets are written because it is opposing this idea that women live up to these natural phenomenons that represent beauty. This idea of comparing something that does not seem worthy of attention to something “extraordinary” is seen explicitly in the Catherine Tate classroom scene when David Tennant, playing Mr. Logan, compares Tate’s character, Lauren, to Shakespeare. He states that “Shakespeare was a genius…” and that Lauren is “definitely not”. This comparison is blinding, and perfectly reflects the theme of “My Mistress’ eyes”. Just as the reader might think that the “mistress” that is being described in Sonnet 130 is not worth much simply based on the words of the speaker, the viewers of Catherine Tate’s classroom scene might think that her character is not worth much based on the words of Tennants’s character, as well as her actions. Boths of these beliefs, however, are refuted further into each respective piece. 

Although the speaker in Sonnet 130 is saying that the woman he loves is nothing similar to the ideals that represent conventional beauty, that does not mean he loves her any less. This can be seen in the last two lines when he states that despite all of the characteristics of beauty that she may lack, he still loves her. In fact, he says in line fourteen “by heaven, I think my love so rare”. These words easily and quickly counter any idea that the previous readers may have had about this woman by implying that it is not the “perfection” of a woman that makes her worthy of love. Similarly, in the classroom scene, the audience’s idea of who Lauren is intellectually is refuted. As one continues to watch the scene unfold, Lauren’s antics continue, leaving it easy for the viewers to continue with the assumption they had made previously. Although it would be difficult to argue against the idea that Lauren’s actions are irritating and annoying, the belief that she is intelligent is disproven when she recites Sonnet 130, line for line, with no pauses and stutters. In fact, her delivery is flawless. This performance disproves the audience’s, and Mr. Logan’s, idea that she is nothing compared to the “genius” Shakespeare. This holds the same idea that a women has more worth than what is “given” to her by a man that is apparent in Sonnet 130. 

When it comes to the idea that Sonnet 130 is criticizing the conventions of sonnets as they usually are, it is successfully done when the speaker says “and she belied by false compare”. By saying this, the speaker is saying that comparing a woman to something in a completely different category in no way benefits her because the characteristics that are being compared can never, actually be obtained by her. This idea is enhanced in the classroom scene because the whole video points out the flaw with Mr. Logan comparing Lauren to Shakespeare by portraying her as they did. She is a student, with much to learn, so making a comparison to one of the literary geniuses of the world is unfair, because at this point in her life, there is no possible way she could measure up to Shakespeare.

In Sonnet 130, the speaker compares his ideal woman to beautiful things in a negative manner, but goes onto say that he still loves her, which portrays the idea that a woman is worth more than what a man says she is worth. In Catherine Tate’s classroom scene, her characters intelect is worth more than Tennant’s character assumes, which is shown through character. Because of this, the classroom scene enhances the idea about the worthiness of a woman that is present in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130. It also embodies the point that is being made in Sonnet 130 about how many of the comparisons that are made in sonnets are unfair.

Sophia Wallace-Boyd

The Power of the Voice

Each person has a story to tell, and each story has a meaning behind it. This meaning can also be easily changed, or enhanced, just by changing the mode of communication. Although I would not call it a change, I do believe that there is an enhancement of meaning when one compares the written version of Javier Zamora’s “Second Attempt Crossing” and the spoken version. This enhancement of meaning is brought on through Zamora’s way of speaking and saying certain words. 

One’s accent is an important part of who a person is and what their story is. In a way, it is a more powerful conveyer of said story than the words used in the story. It allows the listener to hear where the storyteller comes from, which, in a way can give more detail than any written word ever could. This idea is the sole reason the spoken version of Zamora’s “Second Attempt Crossing” conveys the meaning of the poem, which is largely about the story it is telling, much more than the written version; it allows the listener to hear who he is and where he is from as the storyteller. 

Although Zamora’s accent is but a subtle undertone for much of the poem, it makes a spotlight appearance when he says certain words and phrases. For instance, when Zamora speaks of their, his and Chino’s, surroundings while in the desert in line three, you can hear his accent when he says “coyotes”. When I first read the poem, I heard the word said differently in my head, and this is because I did not take into account that the speaker would have an accent. I forgot to take into account that this poem was someone’s story. In fact, I forgot to take into account that this story belong to someone that came from a different country. Although unconsciously I knew this fact because of the content of the poem, I forgot to take into account the reality of it until I heard the poem spoken aloud. In this instance, Zamora’s accent was what shed light onto the true meaning of the poem, at least for me. 

Another important instance where accent plays a powerful role in conveying the meaning of “Second Attempt Crossing” is when Zamora is reciting certain lines from the poem that include spanish words. For instance, in line 14, when Zamora spoke of how he and Chino ran from the trucks, he mentioned that he asked Chino to stop running by saying “Freeze, Chino ¡pará por favor!” The way Zamora spoke this phrase, with the accent of a natural born Spanish speaker, further accentuated the meaning of the poem. 

The spoken word is a powerful method of storytelling, and often times it is able to convey a much more powerful meaning for the story, which can be seen when comparing the written version of Zamora’s “Second Attempt Crossing” to the spoken version. The way Zamora as the speaker is able to use his voice to remind the reader of what the content of the poem truly represents is powerful and it successfully enhances the meaning of the poem.

Sophia Wallace-Boyd

Let the Angels Die

Disclaimer: When I mention “Christian America”, I am not referring to christianity itself, but rather those who used their religion as an excuse for the atrocities they committed towards Native Americans. I am also referring to it as “America” rather than the “United States” because some of the events that are referenced in the poem happened as early as the colonization of the Americas. 

When you are told time and time again that those who caused catastrophes in your life are a godsend, meant to bring you salvation, it feels as though a part of your identity has been stripped away and you have been ripped from your body. And it is the same people that are telling you this that want to keep you from returning to your body. For some, they may never return, but for others, they storm in unapologetically and reclaim their identity, making as much noise as possible. This loud reclaiming of oneself is seen in Natalie Diaz’s poem “Abecedarian Requiring Further Examination of Anglikan Seraphym Subjugation of a Wild Indian Rezervation”. Through the criticism of Christian America and what it represents, Diaz is able to successfully create symbols that act as a map towards reclaiming one’s body. 

The criticism of Christian America is hinted at, if not blatantly mentioned in the title of the poem. Firstly, the title brings up the point of the “angels” and their suppression of the native Americans. This automatically counters what many people know about the treatment of Native Americans, both in the past and currently. Secondly, by referring to the speaker of the poem as a “abecedarian”, which is someone who is just beginning to learn, and then going on to misspell certain words in the title, I believe that Diaz is bringing to light the matter of “educating” that the Native Americans have been subjected to. In a way, Diaz is actively mocking the beliefs of Christian Americans who thought it was their duty bestowed upon them by God to “educate” and civilize the “savage indians”. Bringing this up also acts as a way to disown this identity as well as reclaim the true identity of the Native American. 

The poem itself is heavy with criticism and the claiming of one’s identity, as well. This is seen immediately when the speaker speaks of angels and the reservations lack of angels in line one. To emphasize this point, the speaker then goes on to mention different animals that hold certain spiritual meaning in Native American Cultures. More specifically, in lines 2-3, the speaker mentions bats, owls, and coyote, all of whom, as the speaker points out in line four, represent death. The speaker then talks of the possibility of the angels dying, which could be referring to the eventual death of the control that Christian America had over the Native Americans. 

Later on in the poem, in lines 17-26, the speaker goes onto indirectly mention the tragedies that Native Americans faced at the hands of Christian America. In line nineteen, the speaker talks of a “white god… floating across the ocean”, which is referencing Columbus and his “discovery” of the Americas, an event that has brought pain to the Native American community since its occurrence. In lines 25-26, the speaker then references the Trail of Tears, one of the largest horrors in American history, saying that one should hope that the angels do not come to the reservations, because there is a high probability that they will do just as they did before when they “[march] you off to Zion or Oklahoma, or some other hell they’ve mapped out”. 

In addition to the criticism of Christian America that is seen in lines 17-26, there is also the act of reclaiming one’s body. This can be seen in lines 23-24 when the speaker is describing angels as “rich and fat and ugly… in their own distant heaven”. The use of “their” when describing heaven successfully separates the speaker and anyone who identifies with the speaker from Chrisitan America. 

Although the act of reclaiming one’s body can be a difficult one, Natalie Biaz is able to do so in her poem “Abecedarian Requiring Further Examination of Anglikan Seraphym Subjugation of a Wild Indian Rezervation” through the use of criticism, mockery, and historical references. Each of these elements helps Diaz reclaim her own body and aid those who have been marginalized by our country in their reclaiming of their body with chaotic grace. 

Sophia Wallace-Boyd

The Resurrection of Faith

The Christian message is often times shared through poetry and other forms of art; some would even say that the Bible is poetry itself. Two of the most prominent poems that share the Christian message are “The Altar” and “Easter Wings”, both written by George Herbert. Both are great poems that offer a powerful Christian message, but through mirroring the structure of the poem with the content, Herbert is able to convey a more profound message of Christianity in “Easter Wings”. Through the shape of the poem, Herbert is able to share the journey Jesus, as well as human kind. 

In “Easter Wings” the relationship between the content of the poem and the structure of wings is obvious at first glance. The poem is made to replicate the shape of wings, more specifically, angel wings, which creates a tie between the title and the poem itself. The easter wings is a reference to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. This relationship is seen throughout the entirety of the poem, and is made most obvious that the movement of the poems shape reflects the actions portrayed in the poem. In the third line of the poem, it is said that the Lord, or Jesus, is “decaying more and more”, referencing his crucifixion. This image of decay is carried over from the content of the poem to the shape of the poem, as the reader can see the way the lines start to shorten, thinning the the look of the poem itself. The opposite effect is also seen in the poem. For example, the expansion of the lines in the first stanza is seen as after the line “O let me rise” (line 7). This expansion of the lines is meant to reflect the resurrection of Jesus. 

“Easter Wings” is about the resurrection of Jesus, but it is also about the true meaning of Christianity. If you replace the presence of Jesus with the presence of anyone who has strayed away from the word of God, you can see a new yet similar story as before. The poem is about celebrating those who have been lost and then found; those who have questioned their beliefs, perhaps, but came back to God and the church. The image of straying is seen in the same line that represents the crucifixion of Jesus, but this time the image of decaying is meant to represent the sins that cause one to wander from the path of God. The image of ones return to God is seen in lines seven and eight, when Herbert writes “O let me rise/ as larks harmoniously”. This line is meant to create a picture of those who strayed from God, returning to him as they sing his praise and are welcomed back. “Easter Wings” shows that just like Jesus, some may fall, but upon their return, the church will honor them and their journey. 

Although “The Altar” shares a strong Christian message, “Easter Wings” creates a more powerful one. This is done by creating a pattern with the poem that matches the content of the poem. The literal image of wings that is created by the poem acts as a map for both Jesus’s journey and the resurfacing of Christian faith in those who stray.

Sophia Wallace-Boyd

Disfigured Beauty

When asked to think about what the rose symbolizes, I’m sure that most people think of love, romance, elegance, perfection, and beauty. But what if the symbolism of the rose changed? In both Adrianna Puente’s “The Rose and the Poppy” and H.D.’s “Sea Rose” the classic meaning of the rose is challenged, but one of the poems does a better job at doing so. Through the use of imagery and diction, “Sea Rose” is able to effectively challenge what the rose traditionally symbolizes. 

From the first line, the reader can tell that there is a possibility that their idea of what a rose symbolizes will be contradicted, all with the word “harsh”. As the first stanza continues on, The author uses words such as “meagre”, “thin”, “marred”, and “sparse” to describe the qualities and features of the rose in the poem. The diction here is important because it seems to point out the flaws of the rose, making it seem “less than” the traditional idea of a rose. After reading this, the reader might think that the speaker does not enjoy this rose or see beauty in it, but that idea will shift after moving on to the second stanza. 

To start the second stanza, the speaker says the rose is “more precious than a wet rose” (lines 5-6). This word choice acts as a way to draw the reader’s attention. Perhaps it is meant to cause the readers to feel a shift in tone. This phrase creates a paradox within the poem. Additionally, it shows that the speaker thinks highly of the “harsh” and “meagre” rose, more so than the traditional rose. The rest of the second stanza explains why the speaker enjoys the rose they are describing. It does so by saying the rose is more lovely than the typical rose because it sits alone, “caught in the drift”, rather than in a vase. This imagery helps show the readers the experiences the rose has gone through in comparison to others. I think that this is meant to call on the audience to see the beauty in the disfigured and mistreated. 

In Puente’s “The Rose and the Poppy” the traditional symbol of the rose is still challenged, but, in my opinion, less effectively. When talking about the symbolism of the rose, Puente mentions the traditional meanings and it isn’t until she talks about the other flower, the poppy, that the reader might think to themselves, “hey, maybe the rose isn’t as great as it’s made out to be.” I got stuck on the fact that Puente mentions the romanticism of the rose a large amount, which left me unable to feel the effects of the poppy. For me, it was the execution of the poem that left me struggling to understand the meaning.

I enjoyed both poems, but one of them affected my view of the rose more. Because H.D. does a fabulous job at weaving diction and imagery into the poem, painting an elaborate picture that alters the reader’s view of the rose, “Sea Rose” is able to challenge the traditional symbol of the rose much more effectively than Puente’s “The Rose and the Poppy”

Sophia Wallace-Boyd

Religion and Heartbreak

Sophia Wallace-Boyd

Hafez’s poem, “Ode 487” is supposed to be a poem about love, and it is, to an extent; but it is not about love between two people. Instead Ode 487 tells the story of a heartbroken man, one who loves a woman who does not love him back. The story is sad, but in a paradoxical way, beautiful at the same time. It shows a man’s devotion to love, or the idea of love, and what happens when he loses that love. 

Through its use of figurative language, the poem also lead me to see love and everything that comes with it, including heartbreak, as a religious experience. At first I thought this was a poem about a man who frequents a bar and finds himself needing the comfort of a woman, but my interpretation changed after reading the line “if you would reach the daily destination, the holy city of intoxication” (Hafez 8-9). In my opinion, this was an indicator that love was being compared to something deeper than just its shell meaning. This line meant that Hafez viewed the journey you go on while falling in love and feeling heartbroken as a spiritual experience. I saw this as comparing the journey of falling out of love, or what you though as love, to the journey one have gone on to reach the Holy City. But still, even after this metaphor was made, I was unsure; but then I saw Hafez using an allusion to compare heartbreak to a literal religious journey: Noah and his ark. This is seen in lines 24 and 25 when Hafez says “then I took shelter from the stormy sea in the good ark of wine”. In Islam, the flood, Noah’s flood, was brought on after people failed to listen to Noah’s urge to stop worshipping anything that was not God. Because of this, I think that the reference to the flood is Hafez’s way of saying this man, or men in general, put too much emphasis on the love of women, or what they think is love, and stray from the path of God in the process. This man focused on a sinful idea of a woman and as a result, abandoned his belief. This straying is seen in the final line when Hefez writes “there is no answer to it but this cup,” which is referring to alcohol. 

To me, Hafez’s “Ode 487” is an extended metaphor that shows love, or the loss of love seen in heartbreak, as synonymous with a religious experience. In this case, the experience is a loss of religion. I also think there is the underlying topic of the dangers of seeking love on one’s own as a young muslim. Because arranged marriages are common in Islam, I think that Hafez may have been criticizing the idea a young man going out on his own to find love, and I think that this poem is his way of showing that love that is not arranged under the sanction of God is not true love.

I think that if this poem was written by someone who was not Muslim, I would not have interpreted the poem the same way. Language is about the context it is used in; language is manipulated and shaped by its context. Because of this, the religious metaphors and allusions that I saw would have held a different connotation to me because they would have likely meant something different to the author if they had non-Muslim. 

Art and Beauty

Sophia Wallace-Boyd

Two poems: one about the beauty of disorder and chaos, and one about the beauty of neatness and order. Robert Herrick’s “Delight in Disorder” and Ben Jonson’s “Still to be Neat” are two wildly different poems, yet they share some things in common. Both reflect on the beauty of a woman, and compare that beauty to art. 

When I first began scanning the poem,”Still to be Neat”, the one thing that stuck out to me was that the structure of the poem seemed to reflect a theme of uniformity. This is shown by the fact that the poem is made up of two stanzas, both with six lines. In addition, each line seems to be about the same length. The uniformity also helps aid in the identification of the rhythm of the poem. After scanning the poem, one can see that the majority of the lines are iambic. The simplicity of the iambic structure of the poem reflects, in a way, the simplicity of the ideal woman that Jonson describes. In the first stanza, Jonson describes a woman who puts on makeup and dresses up. He says this when he states “still to neat, still to be dressed, as you were going to feast; still to be powdered, still perfumed.” (Jonson 1-3), but he later alludes to the idea that he prefers a more “natural”, simple woman. This happens in lines 7-10, when Jonson says “give me a look, give me a face that makes simplicity a grace; robes loosely flowing, hair as free.” He then compares the look of a woman to art. He states: “such sweet neglect more taketh me then all the adulteries of art. They strike mine eyes, but not my heart.” (Jonson 10-12). To me, this means that Jonson thinks that art is too made up, just like the women who dress up to impress people. In other words, Jonson prefers his art to be clean and proper looking, but in a natural sense.

On the other hand, Herrick’s “Delight in Disorder” talks about the beauty of messiness and disorder, which is made clear by the title of the poem and is continuously made clear throughout the entirety of the poem by the word choice. For example, in line 3 Jonson uses the word “thrown” to describe what has been done with an article of clothing the woman is wearing and in line 8 he says “ribbons to flow confusedly.” His use of words and phrases like these help emphasize Herrick’s love for a nontraditional look for a woman’s dressing. Although “Delight in Disorder” is also iambic, it seems to serve to show how disorder can be beautiful, how there can be a sense of order in it. The poem is about a woman who is not prim and proper, but that does not mean that all aspects of her are chaotic, which is reflected by the juxtaposition of the content of the poem and the structure of the poem. I think it proves Herrick’s point that there is beauty in disorder. I believe that this is also shown when Herrick compares women to art in lines 13-14 by saying “do more bewitch me than when art is to0 precise in every part.”

Jonson’s “Still to be Neat” and Herrick’s “Delight in Disorder” are both about women, and what they find beautiful in how a woman presents herself. They also both compare a woman’s appearance to art, which reflects how they view art. Whereas Jonson views art most art as something that is aesthetically pleasing, but not emotionally pleasing, Herrick views art as something that is too careful and meticulous.