1. Poetry Project #2 Spencer Webb

2. George Watsky is a spoken word artist who grew up in a divided in house of religion. His dad was Jewish and his mom was Panentheism. Neither of them practiced their religion though. George sometimes writes about religion, encouragement, and many other things. I choose “Letter to My 16-year- old Self. George Watsky

3. In “Letters to My 16-year-old Self,” he is talking about how you should shut out everyone else’s opinion. He says that you can do anything, even if you don’t think you can. He also uses a lot of metaphors in this spoken word piece. He is calling that the person that is telling you that you can’t, a “magical bastard.” He uses another metaphor when he says “you don’t need some motivational speaker feeding you reheated inspirational corn casserole.” When he is talking about how he thinks the universe is great, he uses a simile. He says “It’s like God chunked a bunch of candy into space.” George Watsky

5. William Shakespeare was born in 1564, and died on April 23, 1616 in Stratford- upon-Avon, United Kingdom. He was also known for writing plays and being an actor. What he was best known for though was his poetry. He is often referred to as England’s national poet. Sonnet 73: William Shakespeare

6. The time of year that this poem takes place is in the transition from fall to winter. I know this because he talks about the yellow leaves that fall. He also says that not a lot of these leaves still hang in place. He also writes about how he sees the sun set in the west. He says that this is “Death’s second self.” Shakespeare uses a lot of figurative language throughout this poem. One example is where he uses a metaphor. Says, “As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by-and-by black night doth take away, Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest.” When he says “Bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sing,” he is meaning that an old church has been demolished and it reveals how pretty the birds sing. Sonnet 73: William Shakespeare

7. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, MA on January 19, 1809. He died in Baltimore, MD on October 7, 1849. Poe was known for writing dark scary pieces. In most of his work, someone has to die in a weird way. He was a very unusual writer. The Raven: Edgar Allan Poe

8. On a late December night, There is knocking at the speaker’s door. It was nothing so he opens the window, and fly’s in a raven. The raven keeps saying “nevermore, nevermore.” This symbolizes that the world does not want the speaker do do whatever he is thinking about doing. The Raven: Edgar Allan Poe

9. Countee Cullen was born on May 30, 1903. He died on January 6, 1946 in New York, New York. He was a leader in the Harlem Renaissance. He published many poems in his career. “Yet do I Marvel,” is not as famous as others though. He is known for “A Brown Girl Dead,” “For a Poet,” and others. Yet Do I marvel: Countee Cullen

10. Even though this is not one of his more famous poems, it still has a good meaning. At the beginning of this poem, the speaker does not understand a lot of the world. He doesn't understand why there is suffering. There will always be things that he doesn't understand. In the last two lines he is really confused. He doesn’t understand how God could make “a poet black.” Yet Do I marvel: Countee Cullen

11. James Weldon Johnson was born in Jacksonville, FL on June 17,1871. He died in Wiscasset, ME on June 26, 1938. On top of being a poet, he was a singer, educator, and civil rights activist. This poem later became the NAACP’s theme song. Lift Every Voice and Sing: James Weldon Johnson

12. Being that this poem was written in when segregation was still going on, I would think that this poem would be a cry for equality of man. Even though slavery had ended, there was still hatred between white people and black people. This poem stands for the rights that black people wanted. This poem helped to get the Civil Rights Act going. Lift Every Voice and Sing: James Weldon Johnson

13. Rudyard Kipling was born on December 61, 1865 in Mumbai, India. He died on January 18, 1936 in London, United Kingdom. He was a poet, short-story writer, and English novelists. Often times his poems would include British soldiers in India. He was also well known for his children’s books. If: Rudyard Kipling

14. Alliteration is used a lot in this poem. The word “if” is used over and over throughout this poem. There are multiple rhyming schemes in this poem also. The first stanza goes AAAABCDC. The Second stanza goes ABABCDCD. If: Rudyard Kipling