Spontaneous Me lit response

Markeia Scruggs
September 16, 2009
2 page lit response
When first receiving “Spontaneous Me”, “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” and “Facing West from California’s Shores”, I was expecting to read interesting poems. To my surprise, they are extremely difficult poems to understand. Very good diction and figurative language was used in these poems in order to appeal to pathos.
In “Spontaneous Me”, a lot of imagery is used. For example, “The loving day, the mounting sun, the friend I am happy with, the arm of my friend hanging idly over my shoulder, the hillside whiten’d with blossoms of the mountain ash, the same lat in autumn, the hues of red, yellow, drab, purple, and light and dark green” states the poem. The diction used in this quote give a sense of nature in its purest state. The diction also sets a tone of calmness and serenity. It makes the reader feel like an aesthete, or lover of nature. The quote appeals to pathos to make the reader feel the way the author does.
“Spontaneous Me” also has a tone of love and security, which is set by this quote, “Love-thoughts, love-juice, love-odor, love-yielding, love-climbers, and the climbing sap, arms and hands of love, lips of love, phallic thumb of love, breasts of love, bellies press’d and glued together with love, earth of chaste love, life that is only life after love, the body of my love, the body of the woman I love, the body of the man, the body of the earth.” This quote uses strong diction to express love of many things.
In “Facing West from California’s Shores”, the poem states, “From Asia, from the north, from the God, the sage, and the hero, from the south, from the flowery peninsulas and the spice islands, long having wander’d since, round the earth having wander’d, now I face home again, very pleas’d and joyous” This quote sets a tone of respite and relief. This quote creates an image of the long journey to find home. It appeals to pathos by giving the reader a sense of relief.
In “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry”, it is stated, “Flood-tide below me! I see you face to face! Clouds of the west sun there half an hour high I see you also face to face. Crowds of men and women attired in usual costumes, how curious you are to me.” The author sounds confused and appeals to pathos by making the reader feel the same way. The diction creates an image of business men and women attired in business clothing.
All of the poems use extraordinary word choices to enlighten the reader on the wonderful things in life, such as nature, love and home. Figurative language was used to do the same, and imagery brought the entire project together.