Elsa Wertman By Edgar Lee Masters

This poem by Edgar Lee Masters was the first poem that we were assigned to read that I actually understood what it was talking about after the first time I read it! I was very excited because it is a very interesting poem about a young woman getting pregnant and giving away her child. It was clear to me that the girl was very ashamed for getting pregnant and Mrs. Greene agreed to adopt it. Mrs. Greene was very clever about the pregnancy by spreading rumors by saying that she was the one that was pregnant and locked herself at her house in order to make it seem believable. In the end, the boy that was born turns out to grow up to be a powerful political leader and the young women who gave him away seems to feel guilty about it. “That’s my son! That’s my son!” is what the woman wants to yell when she sees what could have been her son has grown up to be (line 24). The ending is very sad because you can sense the regret the woman feels for giving up her child.

He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven by W.B. Yeats

 I really enjoyed this poem by W.B Yeats. At first I did not really understand its meaning but after reading other people's interpretations of it, it really turned out to be a beautiful poem. What drew my interest to the poem is the fact that it reminds me so much of my boyfriend and me. This poem is basically about Yeats and his lover and how he would do anything for her even though he is very poor. "I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams" I think this line is so romantic and describes exactly how I feel about my boyfriend that I've been dating ever since the 8th grade! I would give anything to my boyfriend and I know he would do the same. It’s not like we have much anyway because of the fact we’re both two poor college students.

Hap by Thomas Hardy

Out of the three poets we were assigned to read, I thought that Thomas Hardy was very interesting. His poem, “Hap”, is a short, three-stanza poem that describes how Hardy feels about a more powerful being running his life. “Half-eased, too, that a Powerfuller than I/Had willed and meted me the tears I shed” He shows hints of being agnostic to religious views by describing how God does not technically control your life. The thought of having something and/or someone to blame all of your sorrows and hardships on is comforting to him. Hardy does not capitalize the word “God” but capitalizes the words “Casualty” and “Time”. I believe that this is because in his poem, he is trying to explain that casualty and time is what determines the sorrows and joy you will have in your life. It is interesting to me that one would find comfort in blaming a higher being for the faults and joyous moments in their life.