The Lamp at Noon // Atmosphere Created by Wind

The Lamp at Noon's personification of the wind is extremely effective at creating an atmosphere. The wind in the story accentuates the sense of conflict between husband and wife, Paul and Ellen. "There were two winds: the wind in flight, and the wind that pursued." such a description of the wind alludes to the dynamic of the couples relationship. This builds an atmosphere of tension, and pursuit.  While the severity of the wind proliferates, the sense of tension in the story increases. Furthermore, describing the wind as 'moaning wind' gives the impression that pain or some form of difficulty is surely present. Finally, as the story's atmosphere lightened and was reaching a resolve, the wind's gravity was reduced.

Myself as a Poem

The stubborn stare emanating from within his soul,

Gazing forward, great intent burning the world’s stores of coal

Wondering wonder, 

Searching, defeat’s aroma remains lurking,

Fearing the empowering scent of loss,

The olfactory sense poisoned by the spores of mold,

Nights, tossing, turning, have become cold

As rigid as stones from the peaks of stonehenge,

Lost within a perilous cycle,

He releases all but a cringe.

Literary Terms

• alliteration: Repetition of the same sound of words at the beginning of the word

• allusion: an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

• assonance: repetition of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences

• blank verse: poetry written in regular metrical but unrhymed lines

• couplet: two lines that rhyme and have the same meter.

• diction: the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing

• end rhyme: a rhyme that occurs in the end syllable of a verse

• enjambment: is incomplete syntax at the end of a line

• epic: is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation.

• foot: a unit of metre, consisting of a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables

• meter: a unit of rhythm in poetry and is also called a foot

• ode: a lyric poem typically of elaborate or irregular metrical form and expressive of exalted or enthusiastic emotion.

• onomatopoeia: Words that similar to the sound they describe

• simile: a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid

• stanza: any division or grouping of words in a poetic composition, with groupings traditionally having been referred to as stanzas. 

Response to Ozymandias

I really enjoyed the poem. Though I had to read it a couple times to really get a feeling for the atmosphere. Ozymandias presents a sort of myth, due to its ambiguous context. Nobody really knows if what it speaks of is true. It's just the story of an ancient statue in the middle of the desert. No context to the statue's construction is given, only a slight description and a reference to Ozymandias. It being vague like that allows the reader to really create their own story behind it all and take their own meaning from the it. It is a poem for everyone to read.

How to Read Ozymandias

Look at the poem’s title:
Looking strictly at the title, I figure the poem is perhaps about Ozymandias. Ozymandias could maybe be an person of social importance. The poem could be describing him, physically and/or psychologically, it could be describing his importance, or maybe difficulties he's encountered or difficulties he's created.

Check for understanding:

From what I could decipher, it seemed as though the poem spoke of a location. The location of a long lost sculpture, lost under thousands of grains of sand, the desert. It is perhaps marked by the remains of some of the pieces of the statue. Ozymandias was the sculpture's architect.

Look for patterns:

I noticed that the poem will physically describe the town, then it will describe the relic in a metaphorical manner, inciting an emotion with the image. The poem does this at the first part, then again when Ozymandias' quote is introduced. There is also some rhyming.

Look for changes:

Well at the beginning it goes from someone mentioning a lost artifact, to a quote of Ozymandias speaking.

Identify the narrator:

The narrator is an unknown traveller, or rather some bystander who just met a traveller.


Check for new understanding:

Ozymandias spoke of being the king of kings, perhaps the location of the statue he created is also the location of a lost town, or village that he once ruled. Why else would someone build a statue in the middle of the desert? Where would you get the marble? There must have been some form of settlement or something important in the area of that statue.

Find the crucial moments:

A crucial moment would be when the poem mentions 'a shattered visage lies'. This alludes to the fact that there was a statue that was built. Another important part, would be when Ozymandias says he is the king of kings, implying he is a leader of some nature.  'Look on my works,' implies that Ozymandias build whatever was buried in the sand. Another one would be how the poem quotes a plaque on the lost statue.

Consider form and function:

The poem uses rhyming to make it phonetically appealing. It uses enjambment on certain lines to keep a continues flow for certain ideas. 'King of Kings' is capitalized, putting an emphasize on that declaration.

Check for improved understanding:

Perhaps this story is not about Ozymandias at all. Perhaps, it is about whether or not one could believe what might be mythical. The poem gives no idea as to whether or not what this traveller claims is true. It presents no reaction from the narrator. It only speaks of this relic deep in the desert, and alludes to some context. The concept of a lost relic has a certain appeal, it is unknown, it evokes creativity and has a sense of myth.

Hills Like White Elephants Dialogue

'Are you sure? You don't look fine. We won't do this if you really don't want to,' he suggested with an air of concern.

'I know, I know,' she said. 'I just need to process it all.' Nervously, she smiled.

They both sat at the table looking deeply at each other. Gazing into each other's eyes, words were not necessary, at that moment they both understood each other. They had almost completely forgot about the scorching sun.

After that moment of intimacy, he said, 'Whatever happens, I'll always be right by you.'

As he felt her soul somewhat relax, she smiled with him, looking out the window.

'And I mean, given what we've already been through, this should be no problem,' he confessed, ' we've got this, you've got this.'

He cradled her nervous extremities. A moment passed while they overlooked the train platform, they could hear the tremble of a moving locomotive.

'Looks like our train is about here', her voice cracked mid sentence. Taking a deep breath, she said, ' I'm ready.'

He stood up first, looking at her intensely. He hoped he understood what she was about to go through. He knew it was going to be tough for her. He knew it would difficult for him to see her that way. He worried that he could not stay strong for her, because how could she remain solid, if he displays the utmost fragility at such an emotional situation. He braced himself.

They stood side by side at the edge of the platform, like a legion awaiting the first wave of an enemy invasion. 

‘You still fine?’ he asked, once again.

‘I think so,’ she declared, ‘I’m ready.’

The train entered the platform’s open arms. Despite declaring a sense of boldness, she felt in no way ready. It was a false declaration. She did not know how she would react to meeting her mother after their separation. She tried not to think of the possible ways her mother could react, such a contemplation would be far too much. After an eternity the train finally comes to a stop, she reminded herself to be strong, especially because her partner was a fragile specimen. The doors opened.

‘Alright let’s do this,’ she asserted, ‘ The letter said she would be in the third car.’

‘Okay, let’s go,’ he replied.

‘Why don’t we sit for a minute first?’ she asked.

‘ Are you sure you want to prolong the anticipation?, he replied, ‘I feel like that could make things worse.’

‘You’re probably right,’ she supposed, ‘I’m feeling a little light headed, I think it’s that drink.’

‘Alright...’ he was a little annoyed, ‘ You do realize that if we sit down, you’ll never be able to go over there. You don’t slow down before the finish line, do you?

She thought for a moment, knowing he was completely right. Emotion however, very often, finds a way to override logic. 

Taking a deep breath, she stated, ‘Let’s really do this.’

They walked down the train aisle and entered the third car.

The Address Reading Response

The Address is a short story following the first person narrative of Marga Minco. Taking place in the post Holocaust era, the story demonstrates the effects the war had on her. Her story doesn't go into detail about how she fared during the war, or the difficulties she would have encountered. It takes a more personal tone, explaining how being a fugitive, on the run, has affected her, without any account of her journey. The story speaks merely of nostalgia.

Returning to see relics of her past, it should be assumed the narrator was searching for some form of closure. However, once she found 46 Marconistraat, and entered, nostalgia struck. This was where her family's belonging's had been kept. She seemed to however feel relatively disappointed, as though rediscovering her past belongings should summon all that was once good.  I find I can greatly relate to this sentiment. I, like many people, try to find closure in various things, and I always seem to end up unsatisfied by the closure, or at least, not satisfied in the way I would expect. I figure this is due to the fact that I develop a vivid memory of how something made me feel, and how it affected me. This sets a certain precedent for how I should feel when I encounter it again. The problem is that I have evolved since my past experiences and so the things that made me feel a certain way, say five years ago, no longer have that same effect. I would assume that having experienced the war, the narrator would have obviously changed after going through that, making her past items a little less valuable sentimentally.

'But gradually everything had become normal again. There was bread which was steadily becoming lighter in colour.' This passage essentially says that the war had changed her perspective. It had perhaps made her apathetic to the world around her. Not being able to enjoy the world to the same extent, seeing everything as 'darker', could be compared to some form of clinical depression. It also implies that her view of material possession had changed, objects became less important. This reminded me of when I had good friend of mine killed in a car accident, a couple years. I went through a very similar period of darkness, and possible depression. The circumstances were obviously different, but i believe that they don't have to be to feel that way.

The whole story reminded of the details of grandfather experience through out the war. He was a Polish and Jewish citizen who was taken captive by Russians and brought to a syberian work camp. When he would recount the story he explained everything with a very disconnected tone, as though it didn't matter or it wasn't a substantially difficult experience. He was almost indifferent about it, as was the narrator in 'The Address'.

The Address Article Source Citation

Minco, Marga. "The address." TriQuarterly 78 (1990): 243+. General OneFile. Web. 24 Apr. 2014

Finding the source citation was very easy to find, however I could not find an actual copy of the article as easily.