Round Three= Mary Moriarty

From reading One Art by Elizabeth Bishop, I can see that a villanelle has a strict rhyme structure. " The art of losing isn’t hard to master; so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster. Lose something every day. Accept the fluster of lost door keys, the hour badly spent. The art of losing isn’t hard to master." The last word of the first line is used as the last word of the last line in the second stanza. The second lines all rhyme with each other, and the first and last lines of each stanza rhyme.

My Villanelle:
Joy

It is not a feeling felt by all
but one that makes you feel the best
and felt the least by those who fall.

A competition, like playing ball
 knowing you're better than the rest
 knowing that you're the best of all.

 Joy, like many things, can stall
 and leave you feeling stressed
you hit your peak, and then you fall.

Joy is lost, and you start to bawl
the feeling of defeat on a test
joy can be lost by anyone at all.

It will make you feel small
 if you fail in a contest
 all the others stand, but you fall.

 It can be crushing as a stone wall
 To me it is clear
 a feeling liked by all
 but eventually we will fall.

 From reading The Backseat of My Mother's Car I notice that it is a free verse, and is very descriptive. " we nearly touched hands in that vacuous half-dark." It uses this descriptive language to describe the scene to the reader. There are many literary devices that are used in this poem. " I was calling to you – Daddy! – as we screeched away into the distance, my own hand tingling like an amputation." It uses vivid memories, and a metaphor to show the situation to the reader.In the poem Orchard, which is a concrete poem in the shape of an apple, and is a little more structured, it says, " I remember that day, I remember the relief when you spied me". It describes the feeling to the reader, so they can experience it for themselves.

When I read I Go Back to May 1937 I saw that she also uses very descriptive language in this poem. "

I see my father strolling out under the ochre sandstone arch, the red tiles glinting like bent plates of blood behind his head,". She describes the color of the tiles by using a metaphor. She also says what she would do if she were living when the picture was taken " I want to go up to them there in the late May sunlight and say it." It gives us perspective on how someone would react differently if the picture was taken now. Also, in the poem Fatherland by Mary Moriarty, she uses figurative language to express the memories from the photos. " he flicks away the simplest memory", is a description of these memories from the photos.

 My Picture Poem:

The old camp, the family vacation spot.
It may be old and run down, but it is still loved
like the family dog.
If I could go back once,
and see the camp the way it used to be,
 and just appreciate all the memories
 that this old house has given us.
 I would appreciate the cool sound of the waves,
and the calming feeling it gives you, and I would appreciate
 the yard where we played so many games, and the shore, where we
 were always entertained.
 I will never get this opportunity,
 so I appreciate the memories I already have,
 and know that those will always be there.

1/10 Speaker= 3 stars