Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869) Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement

looked at him: He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favoured, and imperially slim. And he was always quietly arrayed, And he was always human when he talked; But still he fluttered pulses when he said, Good-morning, and he glittered when he walked. And he was rich yes, richer than a king And admirably schooled in every grace: In fine, we thought that he was everything To make us wish that we were in his place. So on we worked, and waited for the light, And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet through his head.

The speaker of this poem belongs to the lower class. When Richard Cory went to the city, the speaker and his friends would look at him. Richard Cory looked a perfect gentleman. He seemed to be enjoying all the advantages. He was well dressed. He talked very politely. But when he said good morning, he would be over-excited. The jewellery he wore would shine brightly. He was richer than a king. He was trained in every kind of polite behavior. The speaker was jealous of him and wished that he had been Richard Cory. The working class people would work hard but they could afford only bread, not meat.
This modern American poem quietly exposes the irony of a rich gentlemans life. Cory was the only son of an extremely rich merchant who owned almost half the place. He was everyones ideal and dream. But he killed himself suddenly, without apparent reason. The incident has become the subject matter of other poets also, but Robinsons viewpoint and meaning is unique. Irony is the main feature in the poem. Richard Cory is basically an ironic poem. It deals with the irony that rich people are not happy with their life, and the poor think that wealth is the guarantee of happiness. Richard Cory, the character, is also an individual who represents the irony of modern American life.

The Boston Evening Transcript by T.S. Eliot (1917) The readers of the Boston Evening Transcript Sway in the wind like a field of ripe corn. When evening quickens faintly in the street, Wakening the appetites of life in some And to others bringing the Boston Evening Transcript, I mount the steps and ring the bell, turning Wearily, as one would turn to nod good-bye to Rochefoucauld, If the street were time and he at the end of the street, And I say, Cousin Harriet, here is the Boston Evening Transcript. The poem The Boston Evening Transcript by TS Eliot uses many literary techniques to emphasize that people during the time period were easily manipulated. A metaphor combined with a simile is used in the second line of the poem. According to the speaker, the readers of the Boston Evening Transcript sway in the wind like a field of ripe corn. The speaker is dehumanizing the readers of the newspaper and makes the tone negative and derogatory. By comparing people to ripe corn the speaker is clearly stating what he thinks of the readers. Tone is once again shown as the speaker illustrates the contrast between people that read the newspaper and people who do not. Comparing these two groups of people by stating, when evening quickens faintly in the street, wakening the appetites of life in some and to others bringing the Boston Evening Transcript. Stating what the speaker observes in the two separate groups clearly embodies his (the speakers) view on the newspaper. The tone of the entire poem is negative and against the Boston Evening Transcript. Through the poem, readers can see what the effect of this particular newspaper does to people and how easily it can take over their lives. Again stating that the readers prefer to read the newspaper instead of doing something else, influences their opinions on different subjects. At the end of the poem the speaker adds, Cousin Harriet, here is the Boston Evening Transcript, which shows that even though things are not always positive and do have a negative effect on peopl es lives it is just the way things will always be.

In a Station of the Metro The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. Ezra Pound, 1916
This poem is all about imagery and the emotions evoked by these visuals. The image of the faces slowly materializing out of the crowded darkness gives the poem a mysterious effect, yet the image of colored petals on a black branch is a joyful and hopeful one. Putting the two conflicting ideas together create this sort of rounded effect in which the poem can cover two contrasting sentiments in only two lines. This could also represent the complexity of the human mind to feel many different emotions at once something only humans have the ability to do as far as we know. So we can determine that this poem is solely about human beings and the beauty of human life as well as the complexity of our minds.

The winter evening settles down The winter evening settles down With smell of steaks in passageways. Six o'clock. The burnt-out ends of smoky days. And now a gusty shower wraps The grimy scraps Of withered leaves about your feet And newspapers from vacant lots; The showers beat On broken blinds and chimney-pots, And at the corner of the street A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps. And then the lighting of the lamps. T.S. Eliot, 1917 It presents to us a desolate image gallery that captures a squalid, pointless and boring cityscape and its random happenings which only reinstate stasis. The settling down of the winter evening is made to imitate the movement with which a cat settles down or takes its seat. There is a synesthetic imagery that combines sights, smells, taste and so on. There are smells of steaks and the smoke that comes out of the burnt out butt of a cigar is what the end of the day is compared. There is a connotation of exhaustion and boredom everywhere in this landscape. The random shower, the grimy scraps, the heap of withered leaves all symbolize a lifeless hollowness of modern day urban existence, so very characteristic of early Eliot. The lonely cab-horse is the acute symbol of helpless rage, frustration and absolute alienation with which the fragment comes to a close. The lighting of the lamps is like a switch from the darkness so far described and fleshed out in different ways but as the other fragments imply, this lighting is not at all nonproblematic.

IN MEMORIAM JOHN COLTRANE Listen to the coal rolling, rolling, through the cold steady rain, wheel on wheel, listen to the turning of the wheels this night black as coal dust, steel on steel, listen to these cars carry coal, listen to the coal train roll. This poem uses words that create sounds to create other words. I has to be read aloud in order to be understood. John Coltrane was a famous jazz saxophonist and is glorified in this poem, therefore if its read with a jazz-like demeanor, it can be understood best. The first line Listen to the coal is really saying listen to the col as in Coltrane. The second line says, rolling, rolling through the cold/ steady rain, wheel on which can be translated to rolling, rolling through the Colt-steady-trane as in keep playing those steady notes and wheel on can be changed into roll on which once again means play on. In the second stanza the first line says, wheel, listen to the which can be heard as Well listen to the and goes on to say, turning of the wheels this night/ black as coal dust, steel which can be heard as, turning of the wheels this night black has called us still which could be interpreted as the music that Coltrane is playing, is calling them and reaching out to them. The last stanza, on steel, listen to/ these cars carry coal, listen/ to the coal train roll which can be heard as, and still, listen to these cars carry Col, listen to the Coltrane roll which can be translated into the idea that even though hes gone, still listen to his music that carries him on, listen to him play. I found the sound elements in this poem very intriguing. Stillman would repeat the emphasized word from the last line of each stanza into the first line of the next for example the end of the first stanza has the line wheel on and the the first line of the next line is wheel which creates a very rhythmic, much like music and much like that of a train. When the poem is read aloud and put all together the effect that you get is much different than when sitting and reading it word for word on paper. It creates a two-tiered effect when trying to analyze the poem because first, you can analyze the real wording. He uses imagery of a train, a train follows rhythm, and Coltrane most certainly had rhythm. Then you get the idea of moving on, being carried on, as in his legacy will live on. And then listening to the sound you get a different interpretation entirely which is that your listening to him play his music and that he just plays on and on his music and that well still listen . If I were to re -write this poem entirely for the sound effects to ensure that a reader understood I would most likely do something similar to this:

Listen to the Col. Rollin, rollin through. The Col-steady-trane, wheel on! Well listen to the turning of the wheels this night black has called us still And still! Listen to these cars carry Col! Listen to the Coltrane roll!