Mother to Son Performance Video

Amy Gibson, Cole Baker & Percy Dong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im718C_dKtk

Creative Theatrical Response - What are we doing and why!

We have chosen to put a modern twist on this very classic poem. We are going to have Percy portray the role of a teenager very upset with his reading assignment who throws his book on the floor. I will be portraying the mother who comes in to talk to him but Cole will be reading the lines for me. Percy will be paying little attention to me at first, looking down at his IPhone at the beginning of the lecture. When Cole says the line "bare" that will be my cue to grab the IPhone from Percy's hand so that he is paying more attention to me. Cole will continue to read and I will be making mannerisms as if I am speaking the lines to Percy myself. The performance is expected to take about a minute, 15 seconds for the acting in the beginning and 45 seconds for Cole to read the lines. We are choosing to highlight that the boy is having a rough time which is the reason the mother is giving the lecture in the first place. We have done this rather than focusing on the unfortunate life events of the mother so that the performance it is not all about the mom. We wanted to focus more on the son rather than the mother, and the parent/child relationship.

Mother to Son Poetry Response

My very first impression of the poem Mother to Son by Langston Hughes was that it was a poem that was highly focused around a mother's extremely negative situation. However, she was still trying to look at everything in a positive light and prepare her son that the same thing could happen to him if he is not careful. I realized after reading this poem over many times that the mother in the poem reminds me a lot of my own mom. This is not because my mom has a miserable life, rather when bad things do happen to her she always tries really hard to see the positive side of the situation. Something I really like about this poem is the way the poet uses vivid imagery and strong symbolism. The line, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” is a great use of imagery. Symbolism is shown as the staircase is used to represent hardships. The first question I would ask the poet would be, is this poem about something that happened in their own life? I would ask this question because I believe it would be interesting to know if the author was ever in the position of the mother or the son in the poem. In addition, the next thing I would want to know would be, why the poet chose to use slang in their poem? This is interesting to me because in my opinion, Mother to Son has a very serious topic and I wondered when reading to myself if there was a reason why the mother did not use proper English. After that I would want to know why the author chose not to use stanzas? The reason I would want to know this is because I am very interested if there was an intentional purpose in not categorizing the lines. I believe the final line in the poem ”I’se still climbin’, And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” is very powerful. Therefore, for my last question I would want to ask the poet to tell me about any hardship that they experienced in their own life. I would want to hear them speak about this because everyone has something they have to deal with and it seems to me the mother is a very strong character despite what has happened to her. In my opinion, this could very well also be the personality of the poet and I would like to know how they choose to deal with their own challenges in life.

Poetry Notes 10/23

Eating Poetry by Mark Strand

A man has been eating poetry which upsets the librarian. The man turns into a dog and starts licking her hand. It becomes beyond her understanding and she cant take it anymore!

Six stanzas, 18 lines, tercets (three line stanzas), no rhyme scheme or meter

Anaphora: repetition of certain words (The poems, The light, The dogs)

Alliteration- “walks with her hands in her dress.” “their blond legs burn like brush.”

Assonance- believe what she sees, feet and weep, she screams

Mother to Son by Langston Hughes

20 lines, no rhyme scheme, no stanzas

Poem is about the thoughts of a mother whose life is fairly miserable. However, she knows that the best way to fight everything she goes through is to be strong.Despite her challenges, she managed to move forward. She encourages her son in this poem to follow her path and to  push through life also.

Major Themes: Hardships, hope, courage, dignity, and determination

Assonance:  “So boy, don’t you turn back”

Imagery:  “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair"

Metaphor: The mother's life is compared to a staircase.

Symbolism:  “Staircase” (hardships)

Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House by Billy Collins

Heavy title for light, imaginative poem, no further mention of a gun

Narrative is mainly about a barking dog and an annoyed neighbor.

Repetition in the first three lines (barking, barking, bark, barks) and the steady iambic rhythm

Entire sentence is repeated to emphasize his annoyance over the dog next door.

Tone is frustration

Assonance: muffled/music, part/barking,

Consonance:barking/can/music/confidently/included/record/section/conductor/respectful/ coda

Personification: Dog is seen as being part of the orchestra, barking out a solo performance.

Themes: Gun law, Pets, Neighbors

5 Stanzas, Stanzas are different amounts of lines, 20 lines, no rhyming

"Visibly Absent" Final Draft Reflection

I am extremely pleased with how my final draft turned out. I believe it is a very detailed examination of the elements and structure of the poem I choose. I worked very hard on trying to form a thesis statement that was argumentative and not just a summary of the poem. I also spent a lot of my focus on connecting the concluding sentences in my body paragraphs back to my thesis.  It was easy for me to make my conclusion and end the essay with the readers having something to think about. However, I found it difficult to use correct grammar and to connect my conclusion sentences back to the thesis. Overall my strengths in this essay were my conclusion and connecting my quotes to my body paragraphs. Nonetheless, my weaknesses in this essay were grammar and the introduction. If I had more time to improve upon this essay, I would have added more of my original ideas about the topic. I also would have made the topic sentence more catchy so that the reader does not decide to stop reading. The three things I believe I will get top points on for this essay are quotes used as evidence in body paragraphs, conclusion reinforces the argument and conclusion leaves readers with something to think about. The three things I will most likely lose points on are the introduction catches the readers’ attention, essay is free of grammatical errors and ideas are original and not just stating the obvious.

Visibly Absent - Final Draft

     The poem “Paralyzed” by NF is representative of the perception of a man who has become so depressed that he can no longer feel anything physically or emotionally. He is currently experiencing something many depressed people go through which is the in-between of despising to continue on earth but still being incredibly anxious over the idea of death. He feels both empty and emotionless and almost as though he is no longer living his life, but just viewing it from the outside looking in. This poem demonstrates that the first step to recovery is to acknowledge one’s own paralysis and the second step which is more necessary is to seek professional assistance.

  Aware of his past self vanishing, the man in the poem progressively gets worse over time. The person that he has known himself to be his entire life is now missing which he struggles to accept. He recognizes his thoughts are contradicting his typical personality, and he passionately states in the poem the lines, “Where’s the person that I know? They must have left” and “Where is the real me I’m lost and it kills me.” These lines display his deep frustration over not understanding where his inactive self is, wondering what happened to that person and questioning if he will ever be able to come back. The man acknowledges that there is a difference between his past self and current self which shows the reader that he wants to see himself change but he is not capable of doing so alone; again highlighting the necessity of getting help from a professional.

  The male in the poem believes he is fully liable for becoming so sad. He feels as though he has become a spectator to his own life. He expresses in the poem the lines, “I’m in a box, But I’m the one who locked me in” and “Waves come crashing over me but I just watch ‘em I just watch ‘em.” He is trying to explain how he feels he trapped himself into this problem he cannot get out of and is just watching the problems come but cannot bring himself to do anything about them. He is observing his life around him rather than experiencing it, fully blaming himself for entering the depressive state he is now in. Because he knows that he is a different person than he used to be, he recognizes the tragic situation he is in, and now needs to understand the importance of seeking outside help.

  This poem demonstrates that when one acknowledges his own paralysis, that is the first step to recovery and looking for someone to provide support is the second, and more important step. The man shows frustration that he is no longer the man he once was. It is evident through his choice of words in the song that he wants answers to why he has become the way he is. The man blames himself for the problems he now endures, and the reader realizes the importance of him finding help. Although paralysis is a state of depression, if treated, a person can resume his quality of life.

Visibly Absent

The poem “Paralyzed” is representative of the perception of a man who has become so depressed that he can no longer feel anything physically or emotionally. He is currently experiencing something many depressed people go through which is the in between of despising to continue on earth but still being incredibly anxious over the idea of death. He feels both empty and emotionless and almost as though he is not living his life but just viewing it from the outside looking in. This poem proves when one is considered “lost” the person they once were is replaced by someone who feels nothing but emptiness.

Aware of his past self vanishing, the man in the poem progressively gets worse over time. The person that he has known himself to be his entire life is now missing which he struggles to accept. He recognizes his thoughts are contradicting his typical personality. He states in the poem the lines, “Where’s the person that I know? They must have left” and “Where is the real me I’m lost and it kills me.” These lines display his frustration over not understanding where his inactive self is and wondering what happened to that person and questioning if they will ever be able to come back. Because the man is so frustrated over being lost he can no longer feel any of his emotions.

The male in the poem along with a good percentage of the human population believes he is fully liable for becoming so sad. Often a depressed person may be advised that they will feel better if they exercise more or spend less time in their room. This is clearly not true and is extremely damaging for the person to hear as it ends up making them feel as though they could have somehow prevented everything that they are going through. He expresses in the poem the lines, “I’m in a box, But I’m the one who locked me in” and “Waves come crashing over me but I just watch ‘em I just watch ‘em.” He is trying to explain how he feels he trapped himself into this problem he can't get out of and is just watching the problems come but can't bring himself to do anything about them. He is observing things around him rather than experiencing them and also fully blames himself for entering the depressive state he is now in. The male feels lost and therefore becomes even more emotionless as he blames his depression on himself.

"Paralyzed" Song Analysis

The poem “Paralyzed” tells the story of a man who has become so depressed that he can no longer feel anything physically or emotionally. He is currently experiencing something many depressed people go through which is the in between of hating living on earth but still being scared to die. People who have already lost all hope feel as though the old them is gone and it is all their fault for allowing that to happen.

The man in the poem progressively gets worse over time knowing he has lost his old self. The person that he has known himself to be his entire life is now gone and he really can't begin to process what had happened. All he knows is that he is now acting much different than he has in the past. He states in the poem the lines, “Where’s the person that I know? They must have left” and “Where is the real me I’m lost and it kills me.” These lines show his frustration over not knowing where the old him is and wondering what happened to that person and if he will ever be able to come back. 

The man in the poem along with many people in his state of mind feels it is his own fault that he has become so sad. Often a depressed person may be told that they will feel better if they exercise more or spend less time in their room. This is simply not true and is very damaging for the person to hear as it ends up making them feel as though they could have prevented everything that they are going through. He expresses in the poem the lines, “I’m in a box, But I’m the one who locked me in” and “Waves come crashing over me but I just watch ‘em I just watch ‘em.” He is trying to explain how he feels he trapped himself into this problem he can't get out of and is just watching the problems come but can't bring himself to do anything about them. He is observing things around him rather than experiencing them and also fully blames himself for entering this depressive state.

Paralyzed - NF (Questions)

The overall tone of this poem is depressed and hopeless.

This poem makes me feel hurt for the person who was able to write such sad and depressing words. They probably dealt with a lot of issues and problems and it just makes me upset that they had to go through that because nobody deserves to go through the extent of pain that this poem expresses.

The overall message of the poem is the person no longer feels like himself. The person he used to be is gone and he doesn't know what happened to him. He is also frustrated with being depressed and no longer in control of himself or his mind, thoughts and actions.

The most important lines are “Where's the person that I know? They must have left”, “Where is the real me? I'm lost and it kills me” and “I'm paralyzed”

I like this poem because although it is really sad, I admire the writer to have the ability to open up and share so much about his own emotions with the world around him. There is a line in the poem that expresses the idea that he believes that it is his fault he got this way. I can relate to feeling like it is my fault that I have certain personality traits that I don't like about myself. There is a line that explains how he wants to be in control however he feels dissociated with his own body and actions. There is also a line expressing the in between of being alive is miserable for this person but he also still is not so depressed that he wants to take his own life. I thought this was an interesting idea because you would think it's either one or the other but you can be in the middle as well.

My favorite lines are “I'm in a box, But I'm the one who locked me in”, “I wanna feel something, I'm numb inside” and “I'm scared to live but I'm scared to die”

The theme is feeling lost in life

At first he is questioning when he let himself become so depressed. He explains how the things he says don't even feel like there his own words. He says he has no emotions anymore and doesn't know where the person he used to be went. He expresses how living is hard but he is fearful of death and he physically no longer feels anything. He's observing things happening around him rather than experiencing them and also fully blames himself for entering this depressive state.

If this poem were an object it would be a light bulb. This is because a light bulb begins life with full brightness but proceeds to dull over the near end of its life. Finally the light bulb goes out and it is unable to become bright again. I find this similar to what is happening in the poem because the person I'm sure began life very happy. However, as they had to go through tough things they got more and more depressed to the point where there “light bulb went out” and they are now in a fully paralyzed and depressive state.

Paralyzed - NF (Analyzing Lyrics)

When did I become so numb?

When did I lose myself?

All the words that leave my tongue

Feel like they came from someone else

I'm paralyzed

Where are my feelings?

I no longer feel things

I know I should

I'm paralyzed

Where is the real me?

I'm lost and it kills me - inside

I'm paralyzed

When did I become so cold?

When did I become ashamed? (ooh)

Where's the person that I know?

They must have left

They must have left

With all my faith

I'm paralyzed

Where are my feelings?

I no longer feel things

I know I should

I'm paralyzed

Where is the real me?

I'm lost and it kills me - inside

I'm paralyzed

I'm paralyzed

I'm scared to live but I'm scared to die

And if life is pain then I buried mine a long time ago

But it's still alive

And it's taking over me - where am I?

I wanna feel something, I'm numb inside

But I feel nothing, I wonder why

I'm on the race of life and time passes by

Look

I sit back and I watch it, hands in my pockets

Waves come crashing over me but I just watch 'em

I just watch 'em

I'm under water but I feel like I'm on top of it

I'm at the bottom and I don't know what the problem is

I'm in a box

But I'm the one who locked me in

Suffocating and I'm running out of oxygen

I'm paralyzed

Where are my feelings?

I no longer feel things

I know I should

I'm paralyzed

Where is the real me?

I'm lost and it kills me - inside

I'm paralyzed

I'm paralyzed (Yeah, I'm just so paralyzed)

Where are my feelings? (Yeah, I'm just so paralyzed)

I no longer feel things (I have no feelings)

I know I should (Oh. How come I'm not moving? Why aren't I moving? Ay yeah)

I'm paralyzed

Where is the real me? (Where is the real me? Where is the real me?)

I'm lost and it kills me - inside (I'm paralyzed, I'm paralyzed)

I'm paralyzed (I'm paralyzed)

Poem Reflection

What was hard and what was easy for you?
It was easy for us to memorize our lines. Because of this we were able to get our performance shot in one take because we all knew our part of the poem. We also did a good job choosing the best parts of the poem and getting rid of the less important parts in order to place emphasis on the more important ideas. We struggled every once in awhile in using class time to rehearse productively. We would prefer practicing the fun parts such as the dancing and focused less on going over the words together as a group. We had a hard time with everyone understanding what our plan for the final day was going to be and all probably imagined our final performance a bit differently from one another.

What made other performances interesting to watch?
Every group chose such different music which made the mood of all the performances come across so amazingly different from one another that you could hardly believe it was the same poem. I also liked how one of the groups split up the lines in a way where instead of each member saying a passage they would say a sentence at a time and the person that was speaking would constantly be changing. Personally, this kept me much more engaged in that groups performance. 

What worked and what didn't in the class as a whole?
Cutting down the lines definitely worked because the performance did not drag for viewers being filled with unimportant lines and instead were short and to the point. I do believe the music needed to be softer for all of us because every group had at least one member that was harder to hear than the rest. I think it’s better to have music playing too soft than too loud in the event of that happening. I feel there was a great benefit in practicing the performance twice before the final. We were able to learn from trying different ideas in front of the class with and without the camera

https://youtu.be/NTiO6fFiXlw