DDCPoetry

Original poem reprinted online here: "How to Kill" by Keith Douglas Originally read: February 21, 2013 More information about the Poet: Keith Douglas The poem has a parabola rhyme scheme.  Past me drew a picture to demonstrate -- the rhyme scheme is (a-b-c-c-b-a).  Now, sonically, some of the rhymes don't fit; however, look at the words, most of the rhymes are sight rhyme or a play on the last letters of words ("long" "sang").  However, the rhyme scheme "drops" in the middle of stanza two ("ways" "his" [sonic assonance rhyme?]). In any case, the parabola rhyme scheme (as I drew in the picture as well) reinforces the idea of a grenade being thrown since the rhyme scheme creates a curve that goes back down on either the speaker or to another person. This idea is utilized in first stanza when referencing childhood (playing with a ball),  and then the following stanzas when the speaker throws the grenade. In the first stanza t...

Original poem reprinted online here:  "No Return" by William Matthews Originally read: February 10, 2013 More information about the Poet:  William Matthews Three stanzas sestets.  When I think of sestets, I think of Freytag's theory of Narrative -- exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement.  Even though there's five parts to the theory, my mind thinks this way probably because of all the sestets I've read (including Italian sonnet form).  Now what does this mean to the poem that isn't narrative (the last half of the poem is narrative in a sense). Exposition -- "I like divorce"  In the first stanza the speaker drops a pretty loaded word, "divorce" into the poem; however, the speaker redefines the term rather quickly by not dwelling on the definition of the word rather focus on the tone.  "I like divorce," the full first sentence reads a bit sarcastically for me.  I think it's the brevity that punctuates the...