Grass

Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)

PILE the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work-
I am the grass; I cover all

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and the passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?

I am the grass.
Let me work.

T-title: From the title only, I pictured a field of grass. Fresh grass, but it isn't in a perfect condition.

P-paraphrase: Bones of our ancesters who faught for freedom for us. It even fertilizes the grass which helps grass to grow richer and faster. As time passes, grass covering up the bodies of men represents that it moves on and it never stops growing. Therefore even when the most pernicious things happen, life still goes on like grass. So get over it, deal with it, and keep on moving.

C-connotation: Some of the worst and the bloodiest wars which took places around the whole world are Austerlitz, Waterloo, Gettysburg, Ypres, and Verdun. The first word of the poem, PILE represents that the height of the dead bodies PILED up doesn't even matter, because grass will grow on it and sooner or later it covers all. Two years, ten years, and the passengers ask the conductor: What place is this? Where are we now?
meaning that nobody will know what happened at the place even when they're right there, because the grass covered all. (Grass moves on)

A-attitude: The author is speaking as if he is the grass. Maybe he is saying that he is a person who knows how to move on even when the worst things happen in life. He is also trying to teach us to be that way.

S-shifts: I think the tone and the rhythm changes when the passengers ask the conductor: What place is this? Where are we now? All through out the poem before when the question is asked, the tone is very firm and serious. The questions being asked suddenly makes the poem a bit mysterious. Also the repititions at the end helps the poem to be firm and serious again.

T-title: In this poem, grass isn't just an ordinary type of grass. It actually teaches us a lesson

T-theme: to never stop growing like grass even when the worst things happen in life. Get over it and move on.

Mother to Son

Langston Hughes

Well, son , I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor-
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now-
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair

T-title: Mother to Son. Even from the title, I can feel the love between the Mother and the Son. Mother TO Son. The poem isn't titled Mother with Son or Mother and Son, but Mother to Son. Therefore the to sounds like if the Mother is teaching the Son or maybe she is giving something to the Son.

P-paraphrase: The mother is trying to teach the son with her experiences that life isn't always
great. She is illustrating the bads by tacks, splinters, boards torn up, and places with no carpet on the floor. Also with the last line of the sentence. Bare. Then she is explaining about how she never gave up, even during the most difficult moment. For the rest of the poem she is cheering and warning the son to never give up and to keep on going forward without looking back. The last four lines are the most touching part of the poem for me. It definitely describes the love of
the mother to the son.

C-connotation: In the poem, the mother is very serious and calm until the end where she repeats. (She is also loving and caring)
The crystal stairs. The stair is representing life or the steps in life.
The tacks, splinters, boards torn up, and the places with no carpet on the floor represents the difficult moments in life. The word Bare means without hope or the moment when she loses everything and was left with nothing.
Climbin' on, reachin' landin's, and turnin' corners are talking about when she had risks in her life, but she never gave up.
And again, in the next two lines.. And sometimes goin' in the dark Where there ain't been no light. The light represents no hope. no light = no hope.
After all the difficult moments, she survived.
So now she is teaching her son by her experiences.
The crystal stair being compared with Life is a metaphor.
In the beginning of the poem on the second line, where it says Life for me ain't been no crystal stair is repeated in the last line of the poem. The lines are repeated, but the last line is alot more affecting to me, because unlike the second line, the last line has alot of emotion in to it.

A-attitude: When I read this poem, it seems like if the mother is talking to me. The best reason
why is probably because the poem is informal. If the poem was written formally, it wouldn't be as touching or impressive. The authors tone is very calm in the beginning, but towards the end it is very emotional. The writer is speaking through the mother. The voice of this poem is extremely clear. It also sounds like if the mother and son is African American.

S-shifts: In the first half of the poem, the mother is advicing and teaching the son. As the poem goes on she has trust and believes in the son by cheering. For example, in the beginning when she says: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair, Her tone isn't emotional or anything, but she is only telling the son about life (She is only beginning to talk to the son). The shift is when she repeats the same line after explaining and cheering for the son. The last four lines are sensational and especially the last line being repeated.

Don't you fall now-
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair

T-title: The mother is very firm, but loving. She is advicing and teaching the son with her experiences in life.

T-theme: Personally, I think the poem is saying; do not expect too much from life, because it may be disappointing for you, but still try your best to live your best without regrets. The poem really provides the deep love from the mother to the son.