Review of Al Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace

                The Pro-technology themes within the poem begin with his first line of each stanza, “I like to think”.  The wording signifies his desire for a world in which the mutual harmony between nature and machines exists as he writes. The imagery of comparing the relationship between mammals and computers to images, such as “like pure water touching clear sky” and “as if they were flowers with spinning blossoms”, shows his belief in the beauty that combining animals and machines could create. He uses both similes and metaphors to describe the possible beauty he imagines. He concludes his poem by describing the benefits of cybernetic ecology will make us “free of our labors” and that we will be watched over by “machines of loving grace”.

                The Anti-technology themes within the poem mostly rely on assuming that the author was employing a large amount of irony and satire. Themes for anti-technology also begin with the trend in the first few lines, except that he is critiquing the way people view technology and technological advancement. The “I like to think” lines and the phrases in the parentheses following them are a form of parody of the general population’s mentality. He represents people’s impatience, desire for immediate gratification, and overly optimistic view of what machines can do and what they are.

                Along with a changed perspective on the first lines of each stanza, the final stanza’s meaning completely changes. The return he speaks of in the last stanza to our mammal brother and sisters would be considered a decay of human thought and ambition. He argues that if we allow machines to control us, we will become no better than animals. Finally, at the end of the poem, he describes machines as having loving grace. He uses irony to describe exactly why machines and technology are wrong, because they lack both the ability to love and feel.           

                Brautigan uses irony and sarcasm to make his stance less definitive, but overall he has an anti-technology theme to his poem. The anti-technology theme is more convincing because it is not explicitly told. By writing from the perspective of an extreme pro-technology perspective, he allows the reader to see the flaws of expanding technology.

D.L
-wonder if he would approve of writing about his poetry in an online blog?

The Strongest Flame Amongst the Inferno

Casabianca by: Felicia Dorothea Hemans

List of imagery: burning deck, flame that lit the battle's wreck, flames rolled on, over him sail and shroud with wreathing flames wrapt the ship and streamed above the ship like banners in the sky, storm, fragments of the ship all around, dead all around, a childlike form, a gallant child

             In the poem Casabiance by Felicia Dorothea Hemans, Hemans employs imagery to illustrate the strength of one child. Heman begins the poem by depicting a lone boy standing “beautiful and bright”, while surrounded by flames and death. He calls him “a creature of heroic blood” that possesses a proud form.  The poem depicts a grand scene, in which amidst chaos and despair a young man’s hope and courage burns stronger than the inferno around him.

                Heman explains how the flame “wrapt the ship in splendor wild” and “streamed above the gallant child, like banners in the sky”. He makes a clear effort to create the image of a veil of flame surrounding the boy that even covers the sky. Heman possibly conveys that epic courage and heroism can only be seen, when surrounded by ordinarily amazing spectacles. Through this scene, he creates both contrast and comparison by placing the flames around the boy. He contrasts the threatening danger around the boy with the boy’s courageous and brave search for his father. During which, the similarity between the heat and passion that drives a person to look for someone dear to them is connected to immensity of the flame. These flames within the poem represent passion, size, fear, and purity. Flames are a pure form of energy that is unhindered. Similarly children, like the one in the poem, are perceived to be pure and unhindered. Flames also invoke great fear and energy within the people affected by them.

                Herman uses the image of fire to express why he says the “the noblest thing that perished there was that young, faithful heart”. His comparison between flame and the boy creates the image of a boy that possessed the courage, strength, purity, passion, and heart of an inferno. The light that the boy generated during the storm was brighter than the flame surrounding him. The hope that the boy had that his father was still alive was a flame strong enough to stay alive, even in that hellish situation.

       

why i choose my title

The reason i choose my title is because it represents various aspects of literature. Within the title, there are the words issues, reading, and then the word issues again. Similiarly to literature, the phrase can be understood in many different ways. It can be read literally, such as their are issues with reading about issues, or even that people often have issues reading about issues. While it can also be percieved as symbolic, such as how the phrase itself is difficult to read and understand, and is possibly a sign of how ambiguity allows for more interpretation and exploration. Ambiguity within literature is both its the best and worst aspect. Although it allows for greater creativity and hidden agendas, it also makes literature extremely subjective and impossible to define. In my personal experience, I have found that english teachers are often either too lenient or too strict about their definitions of literature. For good reason, teachers have a difficult time assessing whether or not students have achieved a proper understanding of literature, because there are almost always multiple interpretations.
Another more hidden meaning within the phrase is that the word hidden is positioned between the word issues. It is surrounded by issues. Literature or reading always involves conflict and problems, and is made to either allow people to escape from them, learn about them, learn about their own, or predict future problems. Using this blog, I will probably define many issues within literature, explain how my own problems relate to the ones that I have learned from the types of literature I will read, and hypothesize about the true meanings within the literature.