Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Beginnings and Endings - Middle Level

Response Stance

Respond to Blake's Songs Of Innocence and Experience.
In particular, discuss Blake's evocative beginning and ending. What resonated with you - is it an image, a feeling, a message?

Atwell (2006) states that if a poem were completely original, we would not be able to read it or understand it. Every poem alludes to previous poems and poets. There may also be times when something you see, hear, taste, even smell provides a sudden flashback into your childhood. What mentor texts have inspired you?

How will you bring your own voice and your own vision to your mentor texts?

26 comments:

  1. I read the La, and I like the Lamb bettermb and the Tyger.

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  2. I think the tyger is the devil.

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  3. I think that The Lamb was supposed to make you feel happy and joyful. The lamb might be an angel or a child and the tyger might be the devil or a demon.

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  4. I think the poems Tyger and Lamb are poems with lots of meaning. Reading this poem made me think of a peasent and a king. The Tyger is the king and the Lamb is the peasent. The peasent is innocent but the Tyger still takes power.

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  5. William Blake was different. He wanted to write different poetry instead of just nature poems. When we read The Lamb, I knew right away that it was supposed to be a gentle, happy poem. I got a vision of a lamb in a meadow, innocent and calm. I think Mr. Blake was trying to get the vision of a small child, or maybe Jesus Christ. But when we read The Tyger, I got the image of a fierce tiger, mean and viscious. I also got the image of flames. I think in this poem, Mr. Blake was trying to make the image of an evil person, a demon or Satan. There were lots of words like fearful and dread. I think it's interesting that he did something different. He changed poetry, and made it better. I also like the fact that he wrote two poems, and made them opposites. William Blake must have been a very smart man.

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  6. I heard a big diffrence between those two pieces of poetry. The first peom Mrs. Walter read to me and my class was titled "The Lamb". It sounded peaceful and humble. I imagined myself being in the prairies and it was queit and peacful. Now the next poem Mrs. Walter read to us was called "The Tyger". When she read the piece her voice changed from calm to angerish voice. I imagined being in Hawaii and the nearest volcano was about to erupt and as tsunami was going to hit and I was in panic.
    William Blake is a very interesting poet. I found his past and his love for writing poems very interesting.

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  7. I think that the Tyger is sort of like a very selfish and horrible king or ruler. The Lamb is trying to make the Tyger to do good for people. The Lamb might be something like a preacher. William Blake might have also wanted good so he wrote about a good do-er in the place of the Lamb.

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  8. I think the Tyger is jealous of the Lamb and wants to be kind like him and wants people to like him and that is why he is cruel. He wants respect but doesn't know how to get it and he's angry so he takes it out on everyone hoping they'll think of him as strong and brave though they just think of him as evil. The Tyger is not understood and doesn't understand.
    The Lamb wants everyone to be calm and kind but the Tyger won't listen to the Lamb and decides to be mean.

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  9. Hi. It's me, Anya.

    THE LAMB
    I thought Blake's "THE LAMB" was a very . . . different poem. I was a little confused with all the words like "thee" and "doust thou". But it kind of gave it a cool effect. It was well written, and I loved it. I could read it a thousand times and I wouldn't be tired of it.
    While I was listening to Ms. Walter reading it, i could picture the little lamb in my head. It was like I was standing right beside it. Like I could reach out and feel its wool.

    THE TYGER
    I found that "THE TYGER" was a very different poem from "THE LAMB". Instead of that cute little lamb, i saw a fierce tiger in my head. I was in Hawaii, trying to find my way out of the jungle. I pull back the last bit of ferns and I'm face - to - face with a tiger. It has blood red eyes that are power - hungry. I try to run but my feet won't move. Suddenly, a volcano errupts and I have to run. But the tiger is close behind me! It's swiping at me. The poem ends. I am thrown back into the present. Wow. That was amazing. Totally well written!

    Well, I got to go.
    Thanks for reading!

    Anya

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  10. In 'The Tyger' I thought the line ' Did he who made the Lamb make thee?' it could mean that the lamb and the tiger are siblings,and they are the same in some ways and different in other ways. I also think that it would take a long time and a lot of brain power to write either of the two poems. I wouldn't be able to write a poem as good as that. I admire Blake for that. It seems that he was an outcast in his time.

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  11. In Blake's 'The Lamb' after the first line I started to picture a lamb grazing on a sheet of loose grass with a child sneekly following the lamb from behind. Whereas while listening to his 'The Tyger' I pictured a man of power commanding "his" slaves to work on a special monument to him.

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  12. The Lamb and The Tyger are complete opposites. His writing was very interesting. I can feel that The Lamb and The Tyger would represent a village, full of lambs ruled by the fierce, evil tygers. I would think he would be a lamb, meek and mild.

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  13. In the line "Little Lamb, who made thee?" from The Lamb makes me think that the lamb is Jesus Christ because in the bible people asked are you the son of god.

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  14. I think the tyger is like a power-hungry devil who reigns over a kingdom, has everything, and strips the people of all their rights.
    I think the lamb is like an angel villager who tries to bring joy, hope and happiness to the kingdom even though no one has anything more than a set of ripped clothes and a pup tent they share with their family and lost their hope long ago.

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  15. He is great writer and opened up a whole new door of poetry. I think it is sad that his work became famous only after he died I guess it takes most people that long to reconize a true writer like him. I also think his artwork is quite misterious but yet still wonderful.
    Back to the poems of the lamb and tyger. The lamb is elegant and gentle while the tyger is evil and greedy, reminds me of a angel and a demon.

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  16. The beginning of The Tyger was very strong. It made me feel cheerful, but at the same time, it made me feel scared. The ending was the same, so it made me feel the same. The beginning of The Lamb reminded me of a soft wool bed. I don't know why. It just dose. The ending felt like hallelujah for some reason.

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  17. William Blake did not change who he is or what his poetry was about because other people told him to write about nature. He wrote what he wanted to write about. His poem The Lamb made me feel relaxed, peaceful, and calm and The Tyger made me feel alert and angry. When I read The Lamb I read it softly and slowly. When I read The Tyger I read it fast, loud, and with anger. I think the lamb represents Jesus and the tiger represents Satan or someone evil.

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  18. The poems are kind of confusing, especially the The Lamb. The tone is sad. I think the lamb is himself. The Tyger is powerful like a king and the lambs like a peasant or worker.

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  19. When I read the lamb, I thought it was an angel, but when I read the tyger it was a devil.

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  20. I read the poem, tyger and I thought the tyger was a devil. I think that the poem was strong. I think that the tyger was an evil devil. I also read the poem, lamb and it represented god.

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  21. In the Tyger, I think the phrase "Did he who make the lamb make thee?" means that he's asking if whoever made the lamb, maybe God, made the Tyger too. I think the Tyger might also have been a good person before but maybe he got framed by someone, as said in the line, "What immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?"

    In the lamb, I think that he means that the lamb is like a innocent and tender child and anyone that is meek and mild, is like a lamb. I think the line, "Little lamb, God bless thee!" means that God created the lamb. He also says that, "Gave thee clothing of delight" which is probably the lamb's fleece made into clothes.

    The Lamb and Tyger are like two opposites. The Tyger is described as a powerful, dominant, and forceful person, like a king, while the lamb is described as a soft and innocent child.

    William Blake might have been talking about himself in these poems. He might have been the lamb, while people who made fun of him might have been the Tyger.

    Jerry

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  22. I think the tyger has lots of power, and cruelty inside of him. On the other side, the sheep is a good hearted animal.

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  23. Vladimir ShevyakovJune 3, 2010 at 11:10 AM

    The tyger is a intresting poem. It seems that the tyger is terror and menace, while the lamb is light and peace.

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  24. The tyger seems like a poem with a sort of STAR WARS sides. The tyger is more of a side that uses hatred and anger to accomplish what it oes, while the lamb has the benefit of a peaceful mind.

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  25. The tyger by William Blake is a intence poem that I think is sopposed to shake you. The tyger in this poem seems to be a very evil person.

    The lamb by William Blake is a sweet poem which makes me think that the lamb is a nice person. The poem has some words such as thee which is a bit confusing, but it is still okay.

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  26. I think the lamb is supposed to represent lucifer(angel) a loyal angel one of god's best.
    however the lamb, like the devil(lucifer also)can change in a relentless quest for power!!
    anywho that's where the tyger(tiger) comes in mind. and well yeah... welll thats my comment peace.Oh and Eat Pie

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