Thursday, October 27, 2011

Medusa In Poetry?

Based upon your understanding and analysis of the Bogan Medusa Poem, what tone does this poem exhibit?  What connecting elements do you see regarding the Perseus myth?  Does it connect with the final scene with Polydectes or other scenes?  Did you notice other thematic or poetic elements on display?  Please respond to this post during today's class.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the tone of the poem is pretty morbid. The whole idea of the poem is what this guy is feeling when he is getting turned into stone by Medusa. The only connection i can see is its about Medusa and Perseus killed Medusa. Yes i think it does because maybe this could be Polydectes point of view as he is being turned into stone by the head. The only thing i notice is it kinda drags it out and doesn't get to the point of him being turned into stone by Medusa till the last stanza.

Anonymous said...
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Kati A. said...

I think that before the line "And the hissing hair," this poem could appear to be about anything, but after that line is is apparent that it is about Medusa or some form of Greek Mythology. I think it has to do with the Perseus myth when it talks about Medusa staring at her through the window and that everything seems dead because in the myth Medusa is dead. The part at the very end about never drifting away is interesting because it relates back to her personally instead of being just about Medusa.

Anonymous said...

This poem shows a tone that sounds as though it is solemn or despair after the character is turned to stone. It connects to the Perseus myth because a hero is trying to slay Medusa. The end of the poem could resemble Polydectes because he was turned to stone by the head when "He held up at a window, seen through a door." There as some personification of the statue that he became in the end. When you think of a statue you don't think that they have consciousness as it appears to have in this poem.

JeremyD2013 said...

The "Medusa" poem has a slow almost sad tone to it as a character discovers Medusa's layer but sees the eyes of her and turns to stone. He continues to show how his character will forever remain in a sandy area to watch the sun rise and set without feeling or human contact. This does relate to Perseus because it tells of what the men who have already turned to stone go through in a way while also foretelling a possible outcome that would be the opposite of his goal to give the King a wedding gift. The poem slow builds on description of the area without actually revealing what happening leaving the reader to guess at the outcome that the character is living in.

Tanner L said...

I feel like the poem represents Medusa entirely, but in a more specific manner, possibly Perseus' approach to the cave of the Gorgons. I had come to the house, in a cave of trees, kind of makes me conclude to that the poem may be about someone who is about to approach Medusa and discovers her lair and possibly the scenery that surrounds it for the most part. It describes the dead-like surroundings of the area and possibly that the person at the end is aware they might become (or possibly already is) stone.

Brianc2012 said...

I think that the tone shown in this poem is a mysterious tone. The poet talks about time being frozen, which relates to Medusa's power of having a freezing gaze. This poem seems to take the original Perseus myth and change some aspects around, like a house instead of a cave or a window instead of a shield. These changes still make the poem seem like a myth, but with a more common setting of a house and grasses all around it. It takes a thematic look on the fighting scene because it is a description of a moment frozen in time, which allows the poet to look at this moment with a lot more detail. I don't really see anything that connects it to the final scenes of the Perseus myth, but it does show a major connection to the fighting scene with Medusa.

JoeJohnson said...

The tone in this poem is almost a tone of stealth and silence. It has certain eerie stillness to it. I see this in one of the lines "And I shall stand here like a shadow". this line also leads me to belie this poem is about not only Medusa but also her encounter with Perseu. I believe it is describing him in her lair trying not to be noticed and it as if everything is frozen in time. this narrative element I think also is trying to give the impression of what it would be like to be frozen by Medusa.

Anonymous said...

The tone that the poem is taking is that of a lifelessness.
"This is a dead scene forever now.
Nothing will ever stir." It paints a dull picture which we can feel the power of Medusa she makes all she who look upon her turn to stone. When reading this the stone can be felt the cold touch of it making the tone what it is. Using the stone tone it connects well to the tale of Perseus when he goes forth on a quest to kill Medusa and bring her head back as a gift. Then as he returns he turns them all to stone with his gift that none thought he would be able to obtain but the gods were with him giving him direction and the tools for victory. But before his triumph many feel to the power of Medusa like the author of the poem who is encased in stone

Anonymous said...

The tone in this poem is a sad one.The theme of this poem is that the author feels as if Medusa turned him to stone.I see a connection between how Perseus killed Medusa and He used her head to turn Polydectes to stone, so I think this could maybe be his point of view, but it could be anyone else she turned to stone.

Lizzie said...

I think that this poems tone is that he or she has been turned into stone by Medusa prior to this poem because it sounds like the author was looking at Medusa and she looked at him/her and he/she was turned to stone. The poem also makes me think that the author being turned to stone was an obstacle that he/she had to overcome and make the best of because when your stone you can't move or anything so you have to overcome that struggle.

Anonymous said...

I think the tone of the poem is from the person himself being turned to stone by Medusa; Pretty bleak. I noticed some poetic elements that said the narrator was frozen like a shadow, no emotion, no feeling and no movement.

Anonymous said...

This poem by Louise Bogan provides us with an interesting tone for the Medusa poem. She talks in a very calm voice like there isn't a huge amount of panic but in actuality all heck has broken loose. She has been frozen by her eyes and her life has been cut short. One of the major elements that connect the Perseus myth and this poem is Medusa. on a more literal view, Medusa is actually in there for both of the pieces. On a more metaphorical view on this, the scene is calm when in both most people would be having a panic attack. I believe it does connect with Polydectes. In all these myths, the hero's all remain very calm and are guided by the gods. Some of the themes that cross over would probably be doen't try to mess with what has been set already.

GrantK said...

I think this poem has a bitter tone to it and i think it relates with the Perseus medusa myth. I think its obvious once it gets to the part about her hair. With Medusa being involved and also the author being turned to stone it relates to someone trying to slay medusa or come in contact with her, also I think it may be relating to the myth showing how lucky Perseus is to have been helped by the gods and not been turned to stone

NgocN said...

The tone of the poem to me is calm but yet shows a little fear and despair before the person turns into stone. In Perseus myth you can clearly see the connection between Polydectes and the guy in the poem point of views before they are turned into stone by Medusa’s eye. The line, “Held up at a window, seen through a door. The stiff bald eyes, the serpents on the forehead. Formed in the air.” reminds me of the part in Perseus when Perseus uses his shield to fight medusa by using the reflection on his shield. A poetic element Bogan uses is imagery because you can really see what is going on around him as he is slowly turning to stone.

Anonymous said...

This poem takes a tone of death and the ending of life. This poem connects to the Medusa in the myth; by sticking to the description of her body and her power. I think that this does connect to Polydectes because it shows what he would have in his vision for the rest of his life.

Anonymous said...

I think the poem show the sad tone and show how people turn stone by looking at Medusa. I think the poem is an irony show how Medusa make people and everything dead.The last part of the poem"And I shall stand here like a shadow Under the great balanced day, My eyes on the yellow dust, that was lifting in the wind,
And does not drift away."show how their spirit still life even thought Medusa had a sad ending.

Anonymous said...

In the poem, the overall tone is a bit dreary, the author describes a man slowly being turned to stone by Medusa the gorgon. So obviously the poem isn't a light one. The connection between Medusa and Perseus is close because he killed the monster, only in this story, the man wasn't successful in beheading the gorgon. The author used literary elements such as imagery and metaphor to describe the dramatic scene, but oddly the hectic scene is described with a degree of calmness.

Adam L said...

The tone of the Medusa poem seems a bit moribund and dreary. The narrator seems sad, almost waiting for death by the Gorgon. This man seems to know he must eventually face Medusa, much like Perseus did. Expect Perseus was hopeful, set on defeating the monster and bringing her head back. While this man seems to hide and sadly await death. The author leads up to how his death will occur, waiting until the last stanza to truly allude to death by Medusa and being turned to stone.

KendallC2014 said...

The tone of the poem is very serious and a little regretful. The poem is from the point of view of one of Medusa's victims. This has a clear connection to the Perseus myth because of the mention of Medusa. Medusa plays a major part in both the poem and the myth. In contrast to the poem, Medusa becomes the victim in the Perseus myth. The feelings that the victim had are probably very similar to those of Polydectes before his death.