"Back Yard" by Carl Sandburg

 

Back Yard

Shine on, O moon of summer.

Shine to the leaves of grass, catalpa and oak,

All silver under your rain to-night.

An Italian boy is sending songs to you to-night from an accordion.

A Polish boy is out with his best girl; they marry next month;

to-night they are throwing you kisses.

An old man next door is dreaming over a sheen that sits in a

cherry tree in his back yard.

The clocks say I must go—I stay here sitting on the back porch drinking

white thoughts you rain down.

Shine on, O moon,

Shake out more and more silver changes.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

                                                    poem video👇

https://youtu.be/8SSmXseTL5E

Who wrote the poem "Who Am I?"

Carl Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967)

 

Carl Sandburg was an American poet, biographer, novelist, journalist, and folklorist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes (two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln). He has often been compared to Walt Whitman for his use of free verse and admiration of the working class.

 "Back Yard" explanation

"Back Yard" by Carl Sandburg is a beautiful reflection on the simple pleasures of everyday life. In the poem, Sandburg captures the serene beauty of a summer evening in a back yard, using vivid and sensory imagery to bring the scene to life. It can be interpreted as a celebration of the beauty in everyday moments and an encouragement to slow down, observe, and appreciate the simple and often overlooked aspects of life.

"For Once, Then, Something" by Robert Frost

For Once, Then, Something

Others taunt me with having knelt at well-curbs

Always wrong to the light, so never seeing

Deeper down in the well than where the water

Gives me back in a shining surface picture

Me myself in the summer heaven godlike

Looking out of a wreath of fern and cloud puffs.

Once, when trying with chin against a well-curb,

I discerned, as I thought, beyond the picture,

Through the picture, a something white, uncertain,

Something more of the depths—and then I lost it.

Water came to rebuke the too clear water.

One drop fell from a fern, and lo, a ripple

Shook whatever it was lay there at bottom,

Blurred it, blotted it out. What was that whiteness?

Truth? A pebble of quartz? For once, then, something.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

https://youtu.be/benq7D7jYJU

Who wrote the poem "Dust of Snow"?

Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963)

Robert Frost was an American poet who was born in San Francisco, California. Frost’s life was marked by grief and loss. When he was 11, his father died of tuberculosis, leaving just eight dollars. Frost’s mother died of cancer when he was 26. Mental illness ran in his family. He and his mother suffered from depression, and his sister and his daughter were committed to mental hospitals. Using realistic depictions of rural life, his poems often examined complex social and philosophical themes. Frost’s first book was published at the age of 40, but he ended up winning four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry and becoming the most famous poet of his time.

"For Once, Then, Something" explanation

In the poem, the poet grapples with his personal exploration and the questioning of the limits of human perception. Looking into a well, the speaker tries to see his reflection. This can symbolize the poet's attempt to deeply understand an object. However, being on the wrong side, he can't see into the well properly, which may symbolize the difficulties we face when trying to understand something beyond our perception. At one point though he saw something more. This could symbolize the truth itself or merely emphasize the importance of personal understanding rather than seeking truth itself. This poem is another example of Frost’s exploration of human life and understanding, and their limits through the lens of nature.

Speech: “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” BY William Shakespeare (from Macbeth, spoken by Macbeth)

 

“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow”

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,

To the last syllable of recorded time;

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

 

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

https://youtu.be/NbMvStsBi-4

Who wrote the poem "A Madrigal"?

William Shakespeare (April 26, 1564 – April 23, 1616)

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor of the Renaissance era. He is regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon." Few public records remain about his private life, causing speculations about his physical appearances, sexuality, religious beliefs and the authorship of some of his works. His works demonstrate a wide range of human emotions and conflicts, touching so many people's minds throughout the world for over 400 years.

“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow”

This speech is a soliloquy delivered by Macbeth in Shakespeare’s famous play “Macbeth.” Upon hearing about his wife’s death, Macbeth deplores the meaninglessness and futility of life.

"Sonnet – To Science" by Edgar Allan Poe

 

Sonnet – To Science

Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!

Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes.

Why preyest thou thus upon the poet’s heart,

Vulture, whose wings are dull realities?

How should he love thee? or how deem thee wise,

Who wouldst not leave him in his wandering

To seek for treasure in the jewelled skies,

Albeit he soared with an undaunted wing?

Hast thou not dragged Diana from her car,

And driven the Hamadryad from the wood

To seek a shelter in some happier star?

Hast thou not torn the Naiad from her flood,

The Elfin from the green grass, and from me

The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

https://youtu.be/tcpgRSQetj4

Who wrote the poem "Sonnet – To Science"?

Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849)

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. He is best known for his poetry as a central figure of Romanticism in the US and short stories as an important contributor in such emerging genres as mystery, detective fiction, and science fiction. He was also the first well-known professional writer, unfortunately resulting in a financially difficult career. Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1809, but his father abandoned the family in 1810, and his mother died the following year. He was raised as a foster child by John and Francis Allan in Virginia. His academic excellence was marred by his bad habits, and he had to leave the University of Virginia when his foster father refused to pay his gambling debts. In 1827, Poe joined the US Army and published his first collection of poems. Later he quit his military career, changed his focus to prose, and became editors of literary journals. In 1836, he married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm. After she died of tuberculosis in 1847, Poe’s depression and alcoholism got worse. Although he died in 1849 at age 40, the cause of his death is unknown and still controversial among disease, alcoholism, substance abuse, suicide, and others.

"Sonnet – To Science" explanation

The speaker condemns science for the damage it caused by revealing scientific truths behind artistic and mythical imagination.