A lot of poetry deals with race and gender, not necessarily in that order. The video of Lucille Clifton reading at Dodge should help develop a sense of voice for her poems. She looks and sounds like a poet. Not that a poet looks and sounds like anything or anyone in particular, but she exudes poetry. She commands her audience to listen with the strength of her lyric.
Present in most of her work are issues dealing with the human body compounded with the aforementioned topics. Mark Bernard White believes, “Clifton often rhapsodizes about her body” (White). Her body becomes symbolic of other bodies.
Relationships in any form present conflict. The William Carlos Williams poem, “This Is Just To Say,” is a simple, short verse. Simple, short poems usually carry much weight. Here, a plum is not just a plum. An ice box is not just an ice box. Janice Michaelson avers, “the situation is more complex than first meets the eye” (Michaelson). While Clifton focuses on women’s issues, Williams takes that a step further to focus on women and men.
Michaelson, Janice. "Another meaning of plums in Williams's This Is Just to Say." The Explicator 66.2 (2008): 95+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 31 Dec. 2012.
 |
| These are plums. Or ARE they????? |
Michaelson, Janice. "Another meaning of plums in Williams's This Is Just to Say." The Explicator 66.2 (2008): 95+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 31 Dec. 2012.
White, Mark Bernard. "Sharing the Living Light: Rhetorical, Poetic, and Social Identity in Lucille Clifton." CLA Journal 40.3 (Mar. 1997): 288-304. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 162. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center. Web. 31 Dec. 2012.
DO NOW:
Please click on Comments and give your ideas on these poems. Compare and contrast their speakers, tones, structure, and conceits. What does each say about love? Sign your comments with your first name and last initial.
I really liked Cliftons poem. It was my favorite out of the two of them because it was about being happy in your own body. Williams tone was apologetic but to me it was boring and was obviously written a while ago. Cliftons is more about loving yourself while Willams was more about the compromises that come with love
ReplyDeleteAshley H.
The speakers from these two poems portray two different tones. The speaker in Cliftons poem which sounds like an experienced and older women, gives the reader thoughts of how life is in her own body. Whereas the speaker in Williams poem sounds like a guilty man who uses plums and an ice box as a way to apologize to his spouse. Both passages made me think twice of what was actually happening and the point that the speaker was trying to get across.
ReplyDelete-George C.
While I liked both poems, I can't really consider "This is just to say" a poem. As said in class, it is just a message left on the fridge. It was kind of interesting to over-analyze it but to me it just seems like words on a paper, meant to be taken literally. Clifton's poem was more interesting to however as it seemed to not only be about her hips.
ReplyDeleteJake G.
We can guess these two speakers from both poems are a man and woman respectively. The tone of the speaker in Clifton's poem is confident and active. The tone of the another speaker in Williams' is a bit different. It's a kind of apology, but the apology does not come from the heart. Structures of both poems are a lot different because Clifton's poem is not divided into several stanzas like Williams' poem. The keywords in both poems are "resistance" and "confession" respectively. Furthermore, in Clifton's poem, love is described as what women totally can control, and in Williams' poem, love is described as something which cannot be disturbed by a tiny problem.
ReplyDeleteDonghwan K.
I found that both poems were creative. Williams poem, "This Is Just To Say" was simply a memo left for his wife on the refrigerator. He seemed to have an apologetic tone for eating the plums, although he goes to further explain how delicious they were. Clifton's poem, "Homage to My Hips" had a much more intense tone, and I felt that it carried more meaning.
ReplyDeleteMegan H.
Both of these stories were very alluring, but if I had to choose between the two it would be “Homage to my hips” by Lucille Clifton because the tone was very much lively and free. It not only speaks about hips it speaks about body image and how all women should love themselves just the way they are. Women should be able to embrace what they have or may not have. While in “This is Just to say” by William Carlos has a funny and an apologetic tone, but speaks about making compromises in a relationship. This poem had me thinking a lot because in class we were overthinking and come to find out it was just a note left on a fridge. Also from reading his wife note made a lot of sense afterwards. –Vanessa G
ReplyDeleteThese poems are very interesting. "The Homage to My Hips" by Lucille Clifton and "This is Just To Say" by William Carlos Williams can both be dissected and looked upon differently. The "Homage to My Hips" is written by a woman, explaining her pride in what they are. "These hips have never been enslaved," this is the longest line in the poem emphasizing her happiness. The structure of the poem is also interesting as it creates a silhouette that can suggest a woman's hips. "This is Just to Say" is written by a man. He eats plums that he knows his wife was saving for breakfast. He eats them anyway and states "they were delicious." It gives the essence of a married couple engaged indirectly in a witty banter. Its like a child saying "Ha! I knew you wanted those but I took them now they are mine." Many will characterize the male as a "jerk" but really this may be simply how they function happily in their marriage. Both poems give interesting points.
ReplyDelete-Doug C
I really enjoyed reading Williams' poem "This Is Just To Say" because it is interesting to me that it was a note to his wife about fruit and after people analyzed it, it was taken as an apology about cheating or rape. I do not like Clifton's poem as much but what I do like about it is the narrator's confidence and how she is very comfortable in her own skin and loves her body.
ReplyDelete-Dana N
I really enjoyed Clifton's poems because I sensed a lot of confidence in the way she portrayed herself. I like how she spoke with such empowerment and appreciation for herself. "This is Just to Say" was definitely very interesting to me. I thought the tone and sarcasm in his wife's reply was very entertaining as well. I think that both of the authors are very different and they both structure their poems differently.
ReplyDelete- Christina H
The poems "Homage to My Hips" by Lucille Cliffton and "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Willams, to me, were both very different poems in that both had a different tone and meaning. Cliffton's poem a very confident tone about it. It was obvious that a woman was speaking because of the way she embraces her hips. Between men and women, generally women are more likely to discuss their hips. Cliffton seems to embrace her hips and enjoys that they are larger than the average pair of hips. The poem's structure is also very different from Willam's. In Clifton's, the first couple of lines are short and then gets a little longer on the next line until it gets to the middle line which is the longer. Then, the lines that follow decrease in size. William's poem has 3 stanzas with 4 lines each. William's poem to me sounded sarcastic. Literally, the poem was about plums, but after analyzing it was easier to see that the poem was a note to his wife about how he had eaten the plums. When he states that he knew that she was probably saving them for breakfast, we can tell that there is some sort of routine that was broken and clearly this man had to have known the woman for some time. William's poem represents love and marriage and that something so silly as eating plums could not possibly ruin what they have between them. -Jordan C.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Clifton and Williams's poems very much. Clifton's poem was about loving your body and being free. Williams's poem was about taking something from the woman he loves. Clifton's tone was happy yet Williams's tone was apologetic maybe even a little nervous.
ReplyDelete-Victoria G.
I thought that this poem was funny interesting, it was a straight poem although i though there was many other meanings to it. At the end of the day the poem was direct. Like how that the author was the narrator of the poem.
ReplyDeleteBoth poems talk about love but in different ways. In Clifton's poem the relationship is between you and yourself. You should love your body and be comfortable in your skin. In Williams' poem the relationship is between a married couple. The tone can be understood as playful and apologetic because chances are if you're married to the same person for many years, it is going to take a lot more than eating your partner's plums to destroy the marriage. -Nicole R.
ReplyDeleteThe poems talk about diffrenet types of love. William's is about loving your partner and apoligizing for taking something that wasn't his.Clifton's on the other hand was about loving yourself as well as making your flaws your assets.The tone for both is comical yet serious at the same time.
ReplyDelete-Amanda F
The poems "Homage to My Hips" by Lucille Cliffton and "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Willamsare both great poems in my opinion. Cliffton's poems are very up bringing, strong and confident in her writings. Willamsare's are very metaphoric speaking of one thing but meaning another as far as the stories purpose. More of a apologizing/sarcastic tone. But I like the structure of each both stories get you to think deeper than whats being read.
ReplyDelete-Omari G
Lucille Cliffton's tone is happy and shows that she has good self-esteem. William Carlos Williamsare's tone sounds a bit plain because it was a poem based on what he actually wrote to his wife. Both poems show love in different ways. Williamsare's poem illustrates the love between a married couple and the poem written by Cliffton illustrates the love that someone has for themselves.
ReplyDelete- Christian G
I thought both poems were very intriguing. I really enjoyed the narrators personality in "Homage to My Hips". The narrator seemed very lively and had great self confidence. When I read "This is Just To Say" I thought at first it was just a simple note from a husband written to his wife. When I looked into the poem more closely I thought maybe there was more to it. Turns out I just over thought it.
ReplyDeleteMegan S.
The poem "This Is Just To Say" by William Carlos Williamsare is interesting to me because it was a note to his wife that we can make into something so abstract but it is really so simple. The note is about fruit and an apology for eating the fruit. Some can analyze it and say it is about cheating or rape. I did not connect to Clifton's poem as much. Although I did like the concept of loving and having respect for oneself. -Emily Z.
ReplyDeleteBoth these poems were good. "homage to my hips" was interesting because the letters that were supposed to be capitalized were not capitalized and the only letter that was was "I". Was the style of the poem meant to catch peoples attention? It got mines, so maybe? "This Is Just To Say" seemed very simple. A note about eating plums that weren't supposed to be eaten til breakfast and later asking for forgiveness in the end of the note. I can see people thinking that there is way more to this note than eating plums that weren't supposed to be eaten and that's what makes this poem good because it gets people thinking.
ReplyDelete- Darwin U
DeleteThis is a love poem. William is sorry he took the plums because he knew how precious were them for his wife.
ReplyDeleteMarie
I found both poems to be quite interesting. "This Is Just To Say" is interesting because it is such a simple note and seems so innocent and basic, but when broken down, analyzed, and thought about, the poem could mean a variety of different subjects that aren't as basic or innocent. As for "Homage to My Hips", the use of punctuation and capitalization seem as though Lucille Cliffton was trying to send some sort of message or meaning. I is the only capitalized word and enslaved is the only word that's not basic and it's the longest word at the end of the longest sentence and the only one with a comma. It is almost like she is underlining that word and wants it to stick out, because this poem is about her, not her hips. It is about her self love and her freedom to do whatever she chooses.
ReplyDelete-John D
"Homage to My Hips" by Lucille Clifton proves to more about society and how she doesn't want to feel restrained by it. She uses her hips as a metaphor to show she wants to be in control of her own life and love. I think the punctuation is interesting but I cannot determine as to why it is like that. The second poem "This Is Just To Say" can have a variety of meanings. I think it's to get someone thinking about how just looking at someone or something doesn't mean that the name their given is what they truly are.
ReplyDelete-Julianna C
"This is Just to Say" by WIlliam Carlos Williams is an interesting poem, not only for its style; but because there is a reply poem. When first reading the poem, it seems as if it were an innocent apology for eating someones plums. The more you look into the poem other themes appear, such as rape or virginity. Then there is Flossies reply, which helps understand both of the poems for what they really are. On the other hand "Homage To My Hips" by Lucille Clifton, can be interpreted as her reflecting self image, and societys role in how a woman views her self.
ReplyDelete-Laura R
In two poems both speakers portray different structures as well as different tones. Both poems have to do with an emotion, love. In the poem "The Homage to My Hips" by Lucille Clifton, she touches upon love for one’s self. She explains how she loves her mighty hips and how her hips do whatever they want to do. She also tells about how her hips are free. This poem is probably a reminder to women to love themselves no matter what anyone else thinks about you. Whereas the poem “This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams, is a apology letter to his wife. This poem expresses his sincerity towards his wife for taking her food. It’s hard to understand but after reading the return letter from his wife you can get a better picture. George P.
ReplyDeleteThe Clifton poem is about the love of ones body, despite its flaws. This poem has a happy and proud tone and the structure of it is short sentences, which help contribute to its happy and revitalized tone. The Williams poem was really great because it explained that love can be very simple, with little things, and not be so complicated. Do to the poem being polysemous, it can be interpreted in many ways. It also shows how with little words, the poem still brought forth so much meaning.
ReplyDelete-Tyler P
Both poems, “homage to my hips” by Lucille Clifton and “This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams, express themes about love. Clifton’s diction, or word choice, proves that the voice of the poem is most likely an adult woman, and not a teenager or a child. This is clearly shown with using the word “enslaved” and her experience with putting “a spell on a man”. This tells us that this woman has a love for her body and that it has given her attention and love from other men. The poem, “homage to my hips” has a confident and proud tone, revealing how she accepts and appreciates the shape of her body, specifically her hips. Although the structure of the poem is different than most, it gives a message of acceptance and love for your body image. All of the words in the poem are lowercase except for one, I. I, as in, herself, meaning she is the main focal point of the poem. I enjoyed reading this poem because as you read the words, the confidence the speaker gives off, rubs off on you, and you start to realize that you should love your body too because it is yours.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Carlos William’s poem, “This is Just To Say” also uses diction to prove that the voice of the poem belongs to an adult, probably an adult man. The words, “icebox” and the phrase, “Forgive me” indicate that this is a much older man, because icebox means a refrigerator or a freezer and was used a long time ago to mean these words. A child would most likely say “I’m sorry” rather than “Forgive me” which is another indication as to why the speaker is an adult. Men are usually the ones who ask for forgiveness and since the speaker knows that the plums he ate, someone else was “probably saving for breakfast”, may mean that the plums belonged to his wife. They were probably married for a while if he knows her habits and if he is asking for forgiveness. The tone of the poem, is unapologetic even though he says “Forgive me”, because this phrase means that he expects to be forgiven and not that he is truly sorry for what he had done. Also, after he apologized, he rubs it in her face saying that the plums were “delicious, so sweet and so cold”. Even though this poem was short and did not intend to be anything meaningful, it can be interpreted in many different ways such as, virginity or cheating. I like how this poem sounds when read aloud especially the “so sweet and so cold” part, only because it sounds good to me. However, I did not like the insincerity of the speaker.
- Esther P.
Poems can deal with any subject, although it would not be remiss to note that many of them are about love, genders, and relationships. The poems “This Is Just To Say” and “Homage To My Hips” by William Carlos Williams and Lucille Clifton respectively, deal with their respective genders. Clifton, a female, wrote “Homage” to not just compliment her hips, but to comment on the female body and how she considers them an important asset to women like herself, how they've never been enslaved and how they can seduce men. Williams, a male, wrote “This Is...” in much more subtle way. The entirety of his short poem reads much like a common note regarding a husband eating plums his wife was saving, however when examined more thoughtfully more interpretations can be grasped. The most common interpretation can be that the poem is a commentary on the relationships married men and women have, especially couples who have been married for a long time. When Williams adds the comments as to the enjoyment the husband received from eating the plums, its more acceptable to believe he's commenting on the comical nature of men and how they're not really sorry for the little mistakes that they make. -Kyle B
ReplyDeleteIn the two poems both speakers display different tones. Both poems have to do with love. In the poem "The Homage to My Hips" by Lucille Clifton, she shows that woman should love their bodies and themselves. She also tells about how her hips are free. The poem “This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams, is an apology letter to his wife. This poem shows how he apologizes to his wife for taking her food.
ReplyDelete-Akram A
In Clifton's poem the speaker must be an older woman who is probably of an African American descent and in William's poem the speaker sounds as if it were to a be an older man. The woman speaking in Clifton's poem projects a very wise, confident tone. However, in William's poem there seems to be a more sympathetic and apologetic tone. The structures of each poem differed quite a bit. William's poem consisted of more stanzas and punctuation was absent. Clinton the narrator brings up the love for her womanly self and her freedom. In William's poem, love is described as being unconditional but comfortable.
ReplyDelete-Marisa R
"This Is Just To Say" by William Carlos, this poem's structure has two quatrain and two couplet. The speaker was an adult male because the way he wrote that was very brief. Although the tone in this poem is apologetic, he did not take seriously. The pattern of this poem is spondaic. Each line is an enjambed line. "Homage to My Hips" by Lucille Clifton, this poem's structure seems like Shakespearean Sonnet. The speaker is properly a black female. The tone is proud. These woman are proud who they are. She also repeated "these hips" through out her poem.
ReplyDelete-Peng Q
Lucille Clifton and Janice Williams have two different styles of writing. Each writer has their own way to write. They speak about different topics and have different ways of approaching each subject they choose. Clifton’s tone of voice during her writing is serious and concerning about women and their body. Compared to Williams’ who is good with “short, sweet and to the point,” poems. Their structures are also different. They way Clifton writes in such an elaborate and serious sense compared to Williams’ who writes shorts, two sentences to get across a point.
ReplyDelete-Anthony C.