The Figure a Poem Makes

          Written by Robert Frost, The Figure a Poem Makes is an essay about the craftsmanship of the perfect poem. Frost is a highly regarded poet who blends a unique still with a delicate tone, making him such a credible source for such an essay. There are three main topics of his essay: a poem should consist of a sense of wildness, a poem should be fresh and keep its freshness, and the Poem should begin in delight and end in wisdom. Through rhetorical questions and similes, Frost delivers his purpose, which is that a poet should be original and should have a sense of initiative. They can take the poem in any way that they want, but should remain original throughout the whole process. The author argues that a poem of a "precious quality" should carry away the reader by beginning with delight, then ending in wisdom. That is the key to creating a poem with the desired freshness of a great poet. One example of how he delivers this message is through a rhetorical question, as I mentioned before. Frost asks, "Why can't we have any one quality of poetry we choose by itself?" (Pg. 176). By asking rhetorical questions like this, he requires the reader, which is most likely a poet, to think by himself and come up with an original answer. This creates the thinking style of a great poet. He then also used a simile to accomplish the same purpose when he stated, "Read it a hundred times: it will forever keeps its freshness as a metal keeps its fragrance" (pg. 178). Frost uses this to give a good reader an idea of what a fresh poem should resemble, and once the poet has this in mind, he can then apply it to his work. For this reason, I believe Frost created a well crafted essay that successfully displays his purpose.

Caption: No matter how long grass is around, and as long and it is well tended to, it will remain fresh no matter how many time you look at it. This is one of the main point Frost tries to make; that a poem should remain fresh, even after you read it 100 times.

Title: Morning Dew on Fresh Grass

Source: Wallcraft.com

The Lives of a Cell

          In The Lives of a Cell, Lewis Thomas gives a fun and interesting spin on the world of biology. Through analogies and metaphors, the author connects man to nature in a very though provoking way. He begins by stating that we have been trying to detach from nature in recent years. He then continues to provide several examples of certain cells, revealing that without them, we are nothing. Take the mitochondria for example: without them, we wouldn't be able to eat, sleep, move, or even think! Considering the scientific content, as readers, we might not buy into what the author is revealing because, well, he is an author, and biology is probably not his forte. However, he was a graduate of Princeton University, and also Harvard Medical School. That certainly gives him credibility relating to the content. In the year of 1971, which was when the essay was written, biology wasn't much of a norm in society. However, through his findings, research, and essays, he opened up a whole new world, and stimulated others to enter the field. This further displays the purpose of his essay, which was to inform the uneducated public about the wonders of cells and how the function in the human body. He then goes on to connect humans to nature, arguing that Earth is most like a single cell. To get this point across, Lewis Thomas uses metaphor as a rhetorical device. During the last paragraph, he starts of by stating, "I have been trying to think of the earth as a kind of organism," (pg. 360). Then he later makes his argument by saying that the earth is most like a single cell. This helps to deliver his purpose and his argument because through his research, we as readers are then able to connect that human interactions on Earth are similar to those, such as the mitochondria, in a single felled organism.

Caption: One of the overall messages in Thomas' works was that humans cannot separate themselves from nature because, like the earth, we are very complex consisting on of many working parts. He goes on to state that, ""Man is embedded in nature" (pg. 358).

Title: We Are The World

Source: Eric Yahnker

Bop - Langston Hughes

          In the essay Bop by Langston Hughes, a type of music called "Bop" is discussed between a couple of friends during the time of strong racism and the Jim Crow Laws. African Americans were viewed as second-class citizens, and were treated quite poorly in the U.S. The narrator displays a sense of ignorance to his friend Simple, when he expresses his opinion about the nonsensical and silly lyrics. To that, Simple describes the meaning behind the music, which is to resemble to noises of police officers beating African Americans' heads. Thus exploiting Hughes' plain ignorance. Hughes' purpose of the lesson on "Bop" is to display how we treat different races, and to reveal the societal flaw of the unfair prejudice we place on African Americans. Langston Hughes was a man who at the time, dealt with the racism and unfair treatment, making him a very credible source to deliver the message he introduces in his essay. Being a civil rights activist, Hughes, and the whole African American community, is striving towards desegregation and equal rights, providing the argument in his essay. In order to deliver the message, he uses juxtaposition as a powerful rhetorical device. He places the treatment of blacks and whites during the time; comparing how they differ. He first describes how the police poorly treat the blacks, then explains treatment of white people. "White folks do not get their heads beat just for being white" (pg. 191). This helps by allowing the audience, most likely the majority of the white population and police officers, to compare and understand the struggle black people had to deal with in overcoming the prejudice we placed upon them. In my opinion, this allows Hughes to successfully convey his purpose and his message to the reader. By using strong rhetorical devices, and giving vivid visualizations, Hughes creates a well organized and meaningful essay.

Caption: Even though we have abolished the Jim Crow Laws, and limited racism over the past 50 years, it still continues to exist in today's society. Although a mojo rite of the violence is claimed to be in self defense, racism seems evident meaning that the work of Hughes and other civil rights activist has simply gone down the drain.

Title: Stop Police Brutality

Source: Revolutionary Web Design.com