2. Just so you know
alumna/alumnae; alumnus/alumni: literally “foster
daughter” and “foster son,” these words refer in American
usage to graduates of an educational institution. Most
universities tend to use the masculine forms only.
crisis/crises: singular crisis (krahy-sis). Latin plural crises
(krahy-seez). You can have one crisis and several crises
criterion/criteria: One judges the worth of a book
according to a set of criteria. One criterion might be style.
Another criterion might be accuracy.
phenomenon/phenomena A tornado is a phenomenon
of Nature. Other phenomena are earthquakes,
thunderstorms, and floods.
3. AGENDA
New teams
Lyric Poetry
o “The Snow Man” 1923
o “The Emperor of Ice Cream”
Stream of Consciousness
o “Parturition”
Exam Preparation
4. Choose NEW TEAMS
1. You must change at least
50% of your team after
each project is
completed.
2. You may never be on a
team with the same
person more than twice.
3. You may never have a
new team composed of
more than 50% of any
prior team.
6. Lyric Poetry
Lyric poetry has a long history. Its most basic
definition is poetry that has a rhythmic quality that
makes it able to be sung. Originally, it was
accompanied by a lyre.
Lyric poetry is likewise identified by its expression of
intense, personal emotion. It is quite powerful
because it draws readers into personal worlds. It is
often, but not always, written in the present tense.
7. Lyric Modernists?
Modernist poetry is generally a turning away from
inherited models of poetry.
With the imagist movement, poets distanced
themselves from the reliance on musicality and the
richness of sound, focusing instead on the
complexities of image, the precision of words, and
the directness of language.
T.S. Eliot says, in “Tradition and the Individual
Talent” that “poetry is not a turning loose of
emotion, but an escape from emotion.” Yet, lyric
poetry seems to be about emotion.
8. How is it possible for poetry to be both lyric and
modernist?
Wallace Stevens says in “The Figure of the Youth as
Virile Poet,” that “It is the mundo of the imagination
in which the imaginative man delights and not the
gaunt world of reason. The pleasure is the pleasure
of powers that create a truth that cannot be arrived
at by the reason alone, a truth that the poet
recognizes by sensation.”
Wallace Stevens’ lyrical poetry is modern in that it is
a continued and methodical experiment with new
ways of using language, another focus of the
moderns.
9. THE POETRY OF
WALLACE STEVENS
• PARAPHRASE
• MODERNISM
• NEW CRITICISM
• QHQS
Group Discussion
Take 10 minutes
10. The Snow Man
By Wallace Stevens
One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;
And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter
Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,
Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place
For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
Paraphrase?
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=MM7LrsIhWqc
11. Paraphrase “The Snow Man”
A human must have an intellect of the year’s coldest season, in
order to observe the ice crystals and branches of the evergreen
trees covered with frozen rain droplets
The also much have been chilled for an age to gaze upon the
junipers veiled with frost, the branches of the pines are coarse in
the far-off twinkle
Of the mid-winter light, to not recognize the wretchedness heard
in the howl of the air, or the rustling of some leaves
This is the noise of the countryside, abounding with the identical
breeze which is sweeping across the very same desolate area
For the individual who perceives sounds in the winter landscape,
sees both the nothing that does not exist there and the nothing
that does
12. Another Paraphrase
One must be of the coldest season to experience the chill
in the air and the ice-caked limbs of the conifers; and
have been nearly frozen to the core for as long as he can
remember to witness the cedars smothered with crystals,
the Christmas trees scraggy in the dim twinkling of the
daytime star of Janus’ month and be free from all
melancholy apparent in the whisper of the breeze, in the
rustling of a scattering of dead foliage which is the tone
of the season, a seemingly endless gale in a never
changing decaying landscape. For the one who exists in
the packed frozen rain blanketing the land doesn’t
actually exist at all and therefore, cannot understand
what he has and what he does not.
13. QHQ: “The Snow Man”
1. Q: What is the significance of the title, “The Snow Man”?
What does a snow man represent in this context?
2. Q: Is it really necessary to “have a mind of winter”?
3. What is the role of nature in this poem? What does it
convey to the speaker and the reader?
4. What do these lines mean?
For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
14. The Emperor Of Ice-Cream
By Wallace Stevens
Call the roller of big cigars,
The muscular one, and bid him whip
In kitchen cups concupiscent curds.
Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
As they are used to wear, and let the boys
Bring flowers in last month's newspapers.
Let be be finale of seem.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.
Take from the dresser of deal.
Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet
On which she embroidered fantails once
And spread it so as to cover her face.
If her horny feet protrude, they come
To show how cold she is, and dumb.
Let the lamp affix its beam.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.
Paraphrase?
https://www.yout
ube.com/watch?v
=TrsspndTRXo
15. Paraphrase “The Emperor”
Call the muscular man who rolls big cigars to come
in kitchen cups with the lustful dairy product Let the
wenches wear the dresses they are used to wearing
and let the boys bring flowers in whatever is
available let this end be the end of keeping up
appearances the only emperor is the emperor of ice-
cream Take the embroidered sheet from the plain
dresser that is missing three knobs and spread it to
cover her face If her used up feet protrude they come
to show how cold she is and dumb let the lamp point
its beam at a direction the only emperor is the
emperor of ice-cream
16. Paraphrase “The Emperor of Ice-Cream”
Beckon the experienced, strong man who rolls cigars to
come and make ice cream. The females will be allowed to
attend in their normal outfit, and the males will bring
flowers with them – no need to present them in any fancy
way. Everything should be natural, and no effort should be
put into fostering anything but reality. All other rulers are
false but the one who rules over the ice cream.
Someone is commanded to pick up the veil from the cheap
cabinet. The veil was created by the deceased, and it is now
used to conceal her face in the casket. Her body is cold and
she is silent, with only her feet distinctly showing her
individuality within the casket. Allow clarity to fall upon the
scenario. All other rulers are false but the one who rules
over the ice cream.
17. QHQ: “The Emperor of Ice Cream”
1. Why did the author decide to make the title of the
poem, “The Emperor of Ice-Cream?”
2. Q: Who is the Emperor of Ice cream?? What is the
symbolic significance of Ice-Cream?
3. Q: Why does Stevens proclaim, “If her horny feet
protrude, they come to show how cold she is, and
dumb” (285).
4. Q: How does the concept of an “emperor of ice-
cream” help you cope with the reality of death?
19. In literature, stream of consciousness is a method of narration
that describes in words the flow of thoughts in the minds of the
characters.
The term was coined was initially coined by a psychologist
William James in his research “The Principles of Psychology”.
He writes:
“… it is nothing joined; it flows. A ‘river’ or a ‘stream’ is the
metaphor by which it is most naturally described. In talking of it
hereafter, let’s call it the stream of thought, consciousness, or
subjective life.”
20. "The irresponsibility of the male
Leaves woman her superior Inferiority
He is running up-stairs
I am climbing a distorted mountain of agony
Incidentally with the exhaustion of control
I reach the summit" - Mina Loy "Parturition"
In this section of her poem "Parturition," Mina Loy reveals the struggles
behind childbirth, comparing the process of contractions to scaling a
mountain. She also uses this to show the strength of women compared to that
of men. Views at the time held women at an inferior status, but Loy claims
that women are superior because of strictly feminine things (childbirth),
because they create life within themselves. Men, she claims, are irresponsible
to the challenge. Their obliviousness to a woman's suffering makes them
intellectually inferior despite their physical superiority to a pregnant woman.
Example of Modern Stream of Consciousness
21. "The irresponsibility of the male
Leaves woman her superior Inferiority
He is running up-stairs
I am climbing a distorted mountain of agony
Incidentally with the exhaustion of control
I reach the summit”
But notice, too, the lack of punctuation and the way the lines
are broken. This is a terrific example of a Modernist author
experimenting with a new forms: the lack of grammatical. The
breaking up of lines gives the poem a more realistic feel,
almost as if these were the exact, thoughts of a women in
childbirth recorded as they happened. This stream of
consciousness is clear and important characteristic of
modernist poetry.
22. A Discussion
“Parturition”
1. QHQ on the “Parturition”
2. Discuss “Parturition” in conjunction with Loy’s Manifesto.
3. Discuss “Parturition” in conjunction with one critical theory
23. Feminist theory
The process of giving birth is a metaphor of patriarchal oppression. The
first indication of this is in the line “The business of the bland sun” (296).
The bland sun is symbolic of the patriarchy; all the planets in our solar
system revolve around the sun as our society revolves around patriarchy.
Women become pregnant from sex which at this point in time, only men
are allowed to enjoy. From men’s pleasure, women receive great pain in
parturition. “The irresponsibility of the male leaves woman her superior
Inferiority” (297). The term “superior Inferiority” is ironic and an
example of the patriarchy taking a great feat of strength like giving birth
and diminishing it to “trifles”. “[Bland sun] Has no affair with me in my
congested cosmos of agony” (296). In the throes of giving birth, a process
only women are capable of, the patriarchy has no influence on her. [. . .]
Mina Loy offers a fresh perspective on giving birth as a gift and not a
punishment as the Bible claims it is. It begs the question: If women are so
inferior, then why were they given the power to create life?
24. “Parturition” in conjunction with feminism
In Mina Loy’s “Parturition” the speaker is capable of
representing the difference between men and women’s roles in
society. The first line of the poem is “I am the centre/ Of a circle
of pain,” which emphasizes the speaker’s poor psychological
state because by using the word “circle” she is stating that her
pain is infinite, and extends past her childbirth (Loy 2).
From the start, Loy states that “the business of the bland sun/
has no affair with me.” (4-5) The meaning in the metaphor of
the sun is twofold: it is an insignificant body to Loy who holds
the power of “cosmic reproductivity”, dwarfing even the sun in
its size and brightness, but it also suggests “son”, as in males,
who play no part in Loy’s horrific and divine parturition (105).
25. Loy and Feminism
I believe [Loy] is questioning the Christian dogma that a
woman should stay pure until marriage, and once she is
married she obeys her husband’s commands. This
dogma, that is solely followed, is full of lies and
intimidates people. In her Manifesto, Loy writes, “The
lies of centuries have got to go” (338). Loy’s objective is
to destroy the negative thoughts that come with
childbirth and the “burden” of being a woman. No, we
are not equal as she states; women are strong and have
been blessed with the gift of giving life. Women need to
embrace their sexuality and not feel inclined to wear a
halo because she is told at church or at home. Women
need to be liberated; otherwise, they are not fully living
life.
26. Loy’s Journey
The poem “Parturition” encompasses the journey of
a woman becoming a mother. The title lends itself to
this interpretation because parturition means the act
of giving birth. The poem is almost structured like
that of a hero’s journey, with a beginning, moment of
climax, revelation, and return to the normal world as
a changed person.
27. Discuss “Parturition” in conjunction with Loy’s
Manifesto
“Feminist Manifesto” acknowledges that men are women are not the
same, and one of the definitive, inherent differences between men
and women is the fact that women can bear children. […] Though
Loy expresses that women and men are different in her manifesto,
this also means that they are both valuable, as they cannot simply
fulfill all the roles of the other sex. In the case of “Parturition,” we
have the role of childbirth being described […] The poem is not just
acknowledging the value of childbirth, but also the pain that comes
with it. […]In the poem the pregnancy is blamed on “The
irresponsibility of the male” which “Leaves woman her superior
Inferiority.” In the “Feminist Manifesto” Loy tells women to be
proud of sex and motherhood, and in “Parturition” we see that
women are the ones that must deal with the consequences of sex
and the subsequent pregnancy. Reproduction, and thus the survival
of humanity, is dependent on women giving birth, and it does not
make sense according to the “Feminist Manifesto” and “Parturition”
that women should be subservient in society, nor should feminism
mean a denial of motherhood or desire to make women like men.
28. Discuss “Parturition” in conjunction with Loy’s
Manifesto
I found that through my first read I experienced an emotion
that I have known before. Loy pulls me into her orbit and I
realized that I am reading through her poem feeling pushed
and pulled. […]Compared to her manifesto, where I felt off-
put by her tone, this work gives me a new insight and respect
for her as a female artist. Looking back at her manifesto on a
small sticky note I wrote a few questions I tried to do a QHQ
on- Does she have kids? If she lived in a different culture
would she have the same thoughts? And Does the society she
live in influence her angry tone?- I now can see that her loud
vernacular is directed toward the patriarchy in that, she wants
Man to feel Our wrath, and in context to this poem, she wants
man to get a small taste of our “lascivious revelation” in
childbirth.
29. QHQs “Parturition”
1. Q: Why is a clinical term used as the title for
“Parturition”?
2. Q: How is Mina Loy reclaiming the woman body?
3. Q: Why does Loy mention pain and misery so
much in this poem?
4. Q: Does this poem also […] ridicule […] men’s
oppression and the bible? Or [is it] simply an
outraged cry for a social reform?
30. QHQ: “Parturition”
1. Q. At the end of the poem, Loy writes “Each woman-of-the-
people / Wearing a halo / A ludicrous little halo / Of which
she is sublimely unaware / I once heard in church / God
made them” (128-133). There are no other religious
references throughout the poem, so what is Loy trying to
comment on in this last stanza?
1. Q: What is the significance of the stanza about the cat in
Mina Loy’s “Parturition”? What kind of imagery does this
convey?
31. Form, Word Choice, and Punctuation
Q: There are six lines where Loy begins a line with “I am… ”, and
one line where she ends a line with “I am”, what exactly is Loy
trying to connect herself with, or imply with the words “I am”?
Q: What is important about some of the word choices that Loy
chooses? We see the constant repetition of the word “cosmos”
and even some scientific references in the first stanza while there
are some references to god in the last one. Is there any
importance to the use of these words/ideas?
Q: What is the purpose of Loy’s form in her poem? What affect
do the giant spaces in between words have on the reader and our
understanding of the poem?
Q: Is there a purpose to why Loy capitalizes some words and not
others?
33. Exam Review
1. Rules of writing based on introduction slides
I will lie/lay down soon.
2. Passage identification by work
“But Mrs. Hale, the law is the law.”
3. Character identification
The Black Hawk moneylender.
4. Who said it? Name the Speaker
“It is better to present one Image in a lifetime than to produce
voluminous works.”
34. Exam Review
5. Author identification
In 1912, on a visit to her family in Red Cloud, she stood
on the edge of a wheat field and watched her first
harvest in years.
6. Terms: Fill in the blank
__________________________ is the phenomena of
the awareness of the “two-ness” of being both American and
African American.
35. Exam Review
7. Identify the Theory
This theory maintains that a literary work contains
certain intrinsic features, and the theory “defines and
addresses the specifically literary qualities in the
text."
8. Short essay/Long answer 3-4 paragraphs
Name and explain one important symbol from Trifles
Discuss gender and gender identity as it appears in My
Ántonia. You may consider the homoerotic.
36. HOMEWORK
Review for Exam (at our
next meeting)
Vocabulary, Theory, All
Reading
a. Rules of Writing: Multiple
Choice
b. Fill in the blank
c. Theory Identification
d. Passage Identification
e. Character Identification
f. Who said it?
