Language Barrier

This was quite an interesting reading as a series of lines appeared to have a similar idea although the wording changed. When reading Julia Alvarez’s “Sometimes the Words Are So Close”, I felt that her earlier drafts have enhanced the meaning of her poem. Something I noticed within her earlier drafts was the way that everything was written more or less emphasizing finding herself as well as the perspective of women. Within her drafts, her thought process seemed to be very chaotic and appeared to have lots of “X’s”. Perhaps demonstrating that she is potentially very critical of herself and her ability to use English. 

Although it seems as if Alvarez initially focused more on a feminine perspective, she still wants to connect to a generalized audience. “The voice of the speaker to sound like a real woman speaking” (432), this is quite interesting as she appears to start by focusing more on feminine features but later decides to transition to a more general audience. This is something that I noticed once again within her thought process, with the scribbles. The scribbles can not only show her unsureness but also the language barrier, to some extent, where she may struggle to find the right words to describe her experiences. There may be some words that mean one thing in Spanish but cannot be accurately translated into English, which could be difficult especially when writing a poem. I found that quite a bit of her struggles were just with finding a “correct” way of portraying her story, whilst still finding a way to maintain her own culture without being too self-cautious. It definitely is difficult to tell your story in another language.

Same Structure Different Struggles

The poems “Outcast” and “The Tired Worker” both written by Claude McKay do appear to share some very specific parallels, which relate to the overall meaning of both of these works. Each of these poems represents a sense of unfairness or struggle that McKay personally experienced throughout his lifetime. “The Tired Worker” is a piece that focuses on the harsh life of a working-class citizen at that time and how overworked each person was. With lines such as “To rest thy tired hands and aching feet” (line 8) it is clear that McKay was trying to convey the struggles of everyday working people during a time where bylaws were not yet made in which workers were protected and treated humanely. In comparison the poem “Outcast” also speaks about the mistreatment the author experienced, however this time it was not for his employment as a working class citizen but instead as a black man in the United States.

McKay’s poem “Outcast” does represent the hopelessness and despair of that time, however instead of hearing it from the perspective of an overworked and underpaid middle class worker it is from a black man who is constantly persecuted in a foreign land. The quote that best supports this claim can be found in the last line of the poem stating “Under the white man’s menace, out of time”(line 14), which specifies the segregation and racism present at that time. Although the meanings of these poems may be different the structure of these works do appear to be the same, since there are 14 lines present in both works with a rhyme scheme of iambic pentameter and a one stanza foundation. Both of these poems being a sonnet may be one of the only common factors but it does greatly contribute to the overall effect of each poem.

Jamey Cain

“Belied with False Compare”

By Alex Luna

William Shakespeares “Sonnet 130,” discusses the cliche of comparing one’s significant other to something grandiose, by bringing these notions back to reality and say that no, one’s significant other is no this grand beautiful thing but that doesn’t make them not special. In the video in which Catherine Tate mockingly recites the piece to her teacher (David Tenant), the poem takes on a very comedic tone. The sonnet’s meaning is enhanced when we look at Tate and Tenants’ interaction as a reflection of the poem itself. 

The poem begins with a statement, “my mistress’ eyes are nothing like the suns.” The speaker is saying that there isn’t much uniqueness to their lover’s eyes, certainly, not of that of the suns. The poem continues with comparisons like this and deconstructing them, continuing with “Coral is far more red than her lips red.” Here, the speaker again says that their significant other features are nothing special to marvel at. When considering the video, Tenants’ role as the teacher seems to take on the idea of these grandiose attitudes towards poetry and things. He calls Shakespeare’s work genius and says that Tate is not compared to Shakespeare’s work. Immediately, we see a correlation between the scene and the poem, with that declaration that something is not this concept which is far greater.  Tate’s character than follows up with a complete recitation of the poem, to the shock of Tenants character. 

At the poems volta, identified in lines 13-14, in which the speaker states “And yet by heaven I think my love as rare.” The speaker implies that even though their lover is not this grand goddess, they are still special and unique in the eyes of the speaker because of this love. When Tates character suddenly beings reciting the poem, that in a sense is like the Volta of the poem, where a sudden shift occurs. Sure, Tate’s character most likely wouldn’t be a genius compared to Shakespeare, but this scene corroborates the idea that despite subjects like the lover in the poem aren’t so grandiose, our own idiosyncrasies and uniqueness still stand out and make things more meaningful. Her ability to mockingly recite the piece also reflects the conventions of sonnets, like some exclusive club when really Shakespeare is accessible to everyone. Sonnets throughout history have been confined to these set rules, rules that would be seen as blasphemous if broken by a bit. Shakespeare himself transformed the sonnet form into one we know today. If he himself chose to challenge these rules than Tate’s character has every right to criticize it as well. Sonnets are accessible to everyone, and shouldn’t be constrained to such rules.

The final lines only continue this trend. “As any she belied with false compare.” If you look at Tate herself and Shakespeare, there is no point in comparing, just like there is no point in questioning or comparing Petrarchan Sonnets to Shakespearean sonnets, they are each unique in their own right. One has the ability to challenge and reshape whatever they wish, and in comparing you are just creating a new divide that shouldn’t be there. Just like mistress eyes and the sun, there is no point. Just like calling their lover a Goddess, there is no point. The speaker knows their lover is not a goddess, but they still love her. Because poets of the past made these initial comparisons, significant others got put on a pedestal, so by Tate’s character breaking this sonnet down, we return to the very nature of reality. One in which people, while not perfect, are still unique and beautiful in every way. While one may be grander than the other, there is beauty in the other as well.