Use this space to discuss the two poems we read in class. Your assignments requires you to submit at least three comments total. You may respond to my prompts or you may respond to what others have said, but please remember the classroom expectations.
First names, last initials ONLY. Complete Sentences. Be POLITE when responding to or disagreeing with a fellow classmate. No text jargon (i.e., lol, omg, etc.) Check your spelling and use complete sentences.
Possible Prompts (Defend your answers) You do NOT have to answer all of them:
What is the tone of each?
Do you feel as though Pain for a Daughter expresses a beautiful thing despite its use of figurative language?
Which stage of man, according to the poem, is the most favorable stage?
Which line(s) from each are the most powerful?
Which poem do you like better?
Which poem more accurately describes the “human condition”?
August 25, 2009 at 11:59 am
Do you feel as though Pain for a Daughter expresses a beautiful thing despite its use of figurative language? No, I think the writer was trying to show all the pain that women endure, and pain is not a beautiful thing
August 25, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Which poem do I like better? Strictly for the amount of figurative language I think “Pain for a Daughter” is much better. I do really enjoy the content of “Seven Ages of Man”. My final answer would have to be “Seven Ages of Man”.
August 25, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I do not agree with Gray because the poem is sort of about a beautiful thing, a girl becoming a woman. I do think the author is just trying to be very descriptive, though.
August 25, 2009 at 12:34 pm
I think that “Pain for a Daughter more accurately describes the human condition more descriptively, but I think the “Seven Ages of Man describes the stages of life as opposed to a more descriptive poem about only one of the seven stages.
August 25, 2009 at 1:45 pm
I felt that A Pain For A Daughter was not a beautiful story because it was kind of gory. I liked the story, but the figurative language was a little bit too descriptive.
August 25, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I liked the Pain For A Daughter story more mainly because i did not understand the other story very well. I thought the other story was the kind of story that is hard to read.
August 25, 2009 at 1:50 pm
I agree with Aaron when he says the Pain For A Daughter story was beautiful because it was about a girl becoming a woman. When I said it was not a beautiful story because of the gore, I was never thinking about it that way.
August 25, 2009 at 2:03 pm
I have to say, I was not a big fan of either poem we read today. As Elizabeth said, I agree that Pain for a Daughter was a bit to graphic and the figurative language made the poem even more gory. As for the other poem, I found it was a little difficult to understand and not as descriptive as the other poem. Out of the two, I liked Pain for a daughter because I felt like the poem got its point across better.
August 25, 2009 at 2:04 pm
I liked The Seven Ages Of Man better than Pain for a Daughter because Pain for a Daughter was depressing and very strange. The Seven Ages of Man made a certain amount of sense when I was reading it.
August 25, 2009 at 2:06 pm
I definitely agree with Aaron that the poem Pain for a daughter describes human condition better based on how it describes what humans have to go through. The poem Seven Ages of Man was a bit to brief and was more like a story book than a comparison to real life.
August 25, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I believe that the poem “seven ages of man” best describes life because it is talking bout life and the different stages. Well the other poem just makes it sound like a girl has a very bloody and painful cut which she does. Although you dont need blood and gore for it to mean something.
August 25, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Adding on to Jack’s comment, I found both poems depressing because in the poem Seven Ages of Man, I found how the author described very old age as the second stage of childhood very depressing, because its almost like the person is already dead, and then in the poem they do die. in the other poem, I found it depressing when the author was talking about how her daughter would have to go through more pain in her life and eventually die.
August 25, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I agree with Greta and Elizabeth that Pain for a Daughter was a bit to gory and sadistic for me, but I liked The Seven Ages of Man because it was indirect an you had to think to figure out what it was saying.
August 25, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I liked “The seven ages of man” better because it wasn’t really gory but still made a good point.
August 25, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I liked pain for a Daughter because it is a biter truth. Although I liked seven ages of man more because it was less dark and seems like it is realistic to predicting most lives.
August 25, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Which stage of man, according to the poem, is the most favorable stage? The stage of adulthood, because it has a more power full meaning of a mature adult.
August 25, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Pain for a Daughter more accurately describes the “human condition”, but it described it in a bad way. I think that writing how a mom sees her daughter’s life “stretch before her” is not a very interesting way of writing a poem.
August 25, 2009 at 2:51 pm
I agree with Greta on the part that says, the last stage of life is like a second childhood, I think that that was very depressing because when my grandfather was dieing the last time I saw him my dad asked him if he wanted his watch and he kind of looked like a toddler who didn’t really know what was going on. I just remember thinking how did this strong man become so weak and vulnerable, just like a baby?
August 25, 2009 at 3:05 pm
My favorite Poem has to be the 7 Ages of Man. I like them both but the 7 Ages is a cool way of looking at life. If you think of it that is what life is just one big play.
August 25, 2009 at 3:07 pm
I agree with Gray on how pain is not a beautiful thing. Because, for example, though what comes out of child birth is beautiful, the process itself is painful and hard to live through. Some women actually die during it (more in the past then now). And the Mom looking into her child’s future is kind of a melancholy thing because she isn’t looking for the happy moments to come she is looking for the pain her child will have to suffer through.
August 25, 2009 at 3:10 pm
I agree with Will about how it is cool to look at life as a play! Because Will (Shakespeare)is saying how like actors in plays we are all just a small part of the greater picture! A play usually follows one persons life. . . or one event, just like our lives are only one thing going on in a huge world!
August 25, 2009 at 3:26 pm
It is hard to say which poem best describes the human condition because they both do. Although i might say Pain for A Daughter because it explains what every person must go through.
August 25, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Well pain for a daughter does not seem like it expresses a beautiful thing, but the poem is about a young girl growing up. Despite the pain she faces it is beautiful in a way.
August 25, 2009 at 3:42 pm
What is the tone of each? The tone for Seven Ages Of Man is more of a lighter tone because it doesn’t have any death related subjects, and it also tells about the seven main things to life. In Pain For A Daughter the tone is heavily dark. It has dark tone because first it talks about the daughter having her toes ripped, second the daughter is blinded by her emotions and third the daughters mother sees death in her life
August 25, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Which poem do you like better? My favorite poem of the two is Seven Ages Of Man. I liked this poem because it did not have much violence in it and it had much more figurative language.
August 25, 2009 at 4:34 pm
I agree with Harjap because seven ages of man does not have as dark of a topic and it goes through a life of a man witch i find interesting.
August 25, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Which poem do you like better? I like Pain For A Daughter better because it is more explanitory. It also describes everything so well it puts a vivid picture in your head.
August 25, 2009 at 4:39 pm
In pain for a daughter it is a painful and gross story. Right at the end of the story you realize that it is just the start of the pain she will go through in her life time.
August 25, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Do you feel as though Pain for a Daughter expresses a beautiful thing despite its use of figurative language? Although the poem is very graphic I think it beautiful in the way that only a truly loving mother can think of her daughters pains and trials of life.
August 25, 2009 at 4:49 pm
I agree with Greta that both poems are very depressing, seeing as Pain For A Daughter is very gory when it talks about bloody toenails and pussy boils. Seven Ages Of Man ends with the ending of the mans life which is not a delightful ending at all.
August 25, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Which poem do you like better? I like Pain for a Daughter Its more unique way of expressing the ways and truths of life in a more colorful and graphic manner. I also enjoyed Seven Ages of Man but in a different way.
August 25, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Do you feel as though Pain For A Daughter expresses a beautiful thing despite its use of figurative language. Pain For A Daughter expresses a beautiful thing half the time. In the beggining of the poem she expressses her love for horses, but near the end she gets injured. Her mother realizes that her duaghter has grown up, and her daughter has much pain ahead of her.
August 25, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Do you feel as though Pain for a Daughter expresses a beautiful thing despite its use of figurative language? no i agree with gray the writer was trying to show more pain than love>
August 25, 2009 at 5:00 pm
I liked seven ages of man the most because it was not Gory.
August 25, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I think seven ages of man describes the human condition because it tells about mans whole life rather than just one incident.
August 25, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Which poem do you like better?
I like Pain of a Daughter. I think the figurative language is great. Reading the poem it sort of feels like you can see puss of the horse or the blood and toenails. I think Pain of a Daughter is really descriptive which is why I like it.
August 25, 2009 at 5:04 pm
What is the tone of each? Both of the poems fall into dark light but they express life all sides not just the good but the bad, the bad is a depressing part of life but that doesn’t mean its not there both writers clearly try to express this gloomy side as well as the beautiful side.
August 25, 2009 at 5:11 pm
I agree with Greta. Both poems are very sad and depressing. The last stage of life in Seven Ages of a Man is as sad as the daughter in pain.
In a way they are sort of similar sadness because each talks about stages of life (and the pain in the stages of life) and each poem ends with a thought of death being the final outcome.
August 25, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Which poem more accurately describes the “human condition”? I think that Pain of a Daughter did a good job showing the cruelty of life, but I think more so for a woman. Seven Ages of Man did lean a bit toward men’s side but I still think that it described the human condition better.
August 25, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Do you feel as though Pain for a Daughter expresses a beautiful thing despite its use of figurative language? I personally feel that Pain for a Daughter expresses a beautiful thing despite its use of figurative language because it is not sugar coating life to make it seem perfect and always happy it is showing the true nature of life and how people deal with what they are given which I think is beautiful.
August 25, 2009 at 5:16 pm
What is the tone of each?
I agree with Kendra. Each poem show good and bad, light and dark.
In Pain of a daughter it shows the love the daughter and mother both had, and the pain both felt.
In Ages of a man it showed the bright stages of being a kid and being in love and growing wise. But it also talks about the sadness of growing old and eventually dying.
August 25, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Which poem do you like better? I liked the Seven Ages of Man. I did also enjoy Pain of a Daughter, but I think it was a bit too, eh.. gory. The Seven Ages of Man is even between happy and sad, I think, and I didn’t find much of a positive side to Pain of a Daughter. The Seven Ages of Man was also a bit more exciting to me.
August 25, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Which line(s) from each are the most powerful?
I think that the most powerful lines from the Seven Ages of Man are: All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players… A captivating and power full line in Pain for a Daughter is: Where a child would have cried Mama! Where a child would have believed Mama! She bit the town and called on God, and i saw her life stretch out,…I saw her torn in childbirth and i saw her, at that moment in her own death, and i knew that she knew.
August 25, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I must say, I agree with Greta that both of the poems are a bit on the morbid side. Both poems included so much pain and agony, I nearly felt the characters suffering myself. I most certainly would dislike having my foot stepped upon by a huge, heavy horse. The blood and gore in the Pain of a Daughter simply disgusts me.
August 25, 2009 at 5:28 pm
I agree with with Chris, because while the imagery in “pain for a daughter” is great the image hurts.
August 25, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I agree with Gray. I think that the poem in the end had a relatively beautiful. The sadness throughout and the sadness to come makes life seem, well, more sad. I think there may have been a happier way for expressing the growing up of a girl.
August 25, 2009 at 5:33 pm
I agree with most of what Davis is saying. The Seven Ages of man goes over the hole life span of the average human and what he/she goes through during his/her life, while Pain for a Daughter describes the pain and suffering that will in time find you, which is only one aspect of your life.
August 25, 2009 at 5:37 pm
I’m sorry Chris, but I disagree with you. I liked the Pain of a Daughter better because the description of the gore dropped me into the girl’s shoes. I liked the Seven Ages of a Man, but its figurative language made my brain churn. Although I enjoyed both stories, Shakespeare writing hides behind metaphors like shields. I must strain to penetrate his words.
August 25, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Which line(s) from each are the most powerful?
I think that the most powerful line from The Seven Ages Of Man is, “And one old man in his time plays many parts.” I think one of the most powerful line in Pain For A Daughter is, “I saw her torn in childbirth and I saw her, in that moment, in her own deth, and I knew that she knew.
August 25, 2009 at 5:41 pm
I agree with Greta on the part that says, the last stage of life is like a second childhood, I think that that was very sad. I think that in that line shows that he is now old and withering and wants to be young and free again.
August 25, 2009 at 5:44 pm
I think that “pain for a daughter” has a lot of very beautiful and painful figurative language. It was just a very touching story I don’t know why i just really liked it i will definitely have to read more of Anne Sexton’s work.
August 25, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Which poem do I like better?
My favoraite poem out of the two is Seven Age of a Man.I enjoyed this poem because it felt like I was reading something new, and fresh. People don’t usally write about what happens in the corse of life.I loved it!
August 25, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Which poem do you like better? I like the poem pain for a daughter better because I think it has a powerful meaning. It shows that the girl has grown up and does not need her mother any longer. It is a sad but intriguing tale.
August 25, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Sorry about the I’s
I agree with Brandi. Those lines that she quoted were very powerful lines in both poems and they were very meaningful and true.
August 25, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Julia,
I agree with you completly. Pain for a Daugher had a lot of unique figurative Language that you don’t hear a lot of.
August 25, 2009 at 5:54 pm
The poem I like better is “pain for a daughter”. “Seven Ages of Men” on the other hand I couldn’t really understand. I like to relate to what I am learning or reading.
August 25, 2009 at 5:55 pm
I think that Seven Ages of a Man is really capures the human condtions. Because it discibes what happens in life, It captures what it desurves.
August 25, 2009 at 6:00 pm
I liked the 7 ages of man more than the pain for a daughter because most of the story was about the girls pain and only in the end did they go into the mothers pain.
August 25, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Did today’s reading reduce or complement to your fear of death?
Personally, it drastically reduced my fear of death. These stories added to my belief that everyone dies eventually. Also, as Pain of a Daughter demonstrates, everything will ultimately me separated from you, including your toenails. I doubt that anyone would like to embrace agony, loss, and death in a big hug. However, Death will track and find everyone someday, and when it comes, the wise accept it and refuse to fight.
August 25, 2009 at 6:05 pm
I agree with Abi, those Are both great qoutes, and both stories have good messages. I think that a man in his time plays many parts is an excellent quote because we all do, and we do it un-conciously.
August 25, 2009 at 6:07 pm
The poem that I think more accuratly describes the human condition is pain of a daughter, because it life is full of pain not just happyness like 7 ages of man describeed.
August 25, 2009 at 6:15 pm
I disagree with you graham, because in the 7 stages there was pin as well.
August 25, 2009 at 6:17 pm
I liked the ‘Seven ages of a Man’ better. I didn’t hate ‘Pain of a Daughter’, but I thought it was a bit disgusting. The figuritive language was great, but in some cases you don’t exactly want the image in your head. The ‘Seven ages of a Man’ described joy as well as pain, which I liked.
August 25, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Do you feel as though Pain for a Daughter expresses a beautiful thing despite its use of figurative language?
I think that Pain for a daughter beautifully expressed an unfortunate thing.
August 25, 2009 at 6:23 pm
I think that ‘Seven ages of Man’ describe the human condition best. I think that because it talks about the entire course of a man’s life, not just the painful parts. It talks about joy, pain, and lots of emotion.
August 25, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Which poem do you like better? I personally liked pain for a daughter because it describes life more cut and dry and that we will all have to face it.
August 25, 2009 at 6:27 pm
I agree with Damon. It expresses a truly horrific thing with wonderful figuritive language.
August 25, 2009 at 6:31 pm
I defiantly agree with Kim that the picture in my head form the ‘Pain of a daughter’ was a bit much, but I thought the poem was really deep!
August 25, 2009 at 6:31 pm
I agree with Damon that the poem is life like. For a example if u dieing of cancer it may not be bloody or anything, but it is the same scenario except she badly cut her foot.
August 25, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Which stage of man, according to the poem, is the most favorable stage? I believe that the 6th stage in a man’s life is the most favorable because in this stage the man is able to access his knowledge and experiences that he has seen in his life. Plus he is jolly in this stage so he is not afraid to share this knowledge with a younger more inexperienced man.
August 25, 2009 at 6:33 pm
What is the tone of each? For the pain for a daughter i felt the tone to be anguish and slight happiness that her daughter was growing up. The tone of 7 ages of man was more of a relaxed talk.
August 25, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I agree with Chris the Seven Ages of Man was much more even. Pain for a Daughter was was much more sad.
August 25, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Which poem more accurately describes the “human condition”? I think Seven Ages of Man because it talks about a whole life of a person.
August 25, 2009 at 6:56 pm
I believe that the first poem we read in class described the human condition better then the second poem, because geting your tonails ripped off, and then geting it cleaned by hydrogen poroxide is definetly alot worse then giving child birth. While the first poem talked about true every day pains you go through in life.
August 25, 2009 at 7:01 pm
The pain for a dughter poem showed the pain that she had to endure to become a woman so Aaron I agree with you.
August 25, 2009 at 7:02 pm
I also agree with Justin because Pain for a daughter showed toe girl becoming a woman but Seven Ages Of Man showed every step
August 25, 2009 at 7:02 pm
I agree with Grayson on the terms about pain not being beutiful. I also contradict what Gray has to say, because the mother visions her child in pain during child birth, and I believe that child bith is a happy thing, even though it comes with pain.
August 25, 2009 at 7:03 pm
But yes the Pain for a Daughter poem was powerful but the pictures I got in my head about the toenails i didn’t like a lot
August 25, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Yes, sometimes pain can be one step to get something that will cause a lot of happiness, and like Blake said, childbirth is painful, but after its over your very happy and you think about how the pain was worth it.
August 25, 2009 at 7:08 pm
I disagree with Maddy, and Julia, but i agree with Kim because like she said who whants to think about toe nails swimming in blood. I have a hard time just writing what I wrote. its just……GROES!
August 25, 2009 at 7:08 pm
As Blake said before, the girl’s mother see’s her in pain during child birth. I think that first of all the mother should be happy for her daughter and soon to be grandchild. Second (this is a bit off topic from what I said before) did the mother help in anyway when her daughter was in pain?
August 25, 2009 at 7:11 pm
I agree with Justin and Chris: I believe “Seven Stages of a Man” more accurately describes the human condition because it talks about a whole life and its different periods, not just the pain in life.
August 25, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Which poem did I like better? Adding on to what Demon said, Pain for a Daughter mostly explains about life and how the mother sees her daughter in the future. But then again Seven Ages of Man shows the basic life and the average man back then.
August 25, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Just like everyone else I think it was a bit odd to read the part when the toe nails were basically swimming in blood. Hope that doesn’t happen to me! Aside from that both poems have good lessons to know about life.
August 25, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Like a lot of you, I also preferred “Seven Stages of A Man” over “Pain for a Daughter”. I liked it more because it was a whole story, not just too focused on one thing. “Pain for a Daughter” had a very melancholic and gloomy style, which is not my style at all.
August 25, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Which poem do I like better? I liked “Pain for a Daughter” better because the author described her realization very well and you could sense her sadness.
August 25, 2009 at 7:27 pm
The poem I liked better was “The Seven Ages of Man”. I liked it better because it wasn’t as morbid as “Pain for a Daughter, I also liked it because he wrote in an old fashioned way no one usually writes.
August 25, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Well in Pain for a Daughter the girl cries for God instead of her mother. I don’t know about every other 13 year old girl on this planet, but hey, I still call for my mama! Although, this poem did make me think of the day I won’t call for my mother. When I’m grown up and I could handle things on my own, it will be sad but that day has to come no matter what. But it will not come for long time! So as for now Mama here I come! P.S. Lex I’m pretty sure you called Damon, Demon, it’s ok, I do it all the time!;)
August 25, 2009 at 7:31 pm
I disagree with Kim and everyone who said the gore was too much because if it weren’t for the girl getting her foot stepped on by a horse the mother wouldn’t have realized that her daughter wasn’t a child and didn’t think like a child anymore.
August 25, 2009 at 7:34 pm
The tone of each poem is kind of dim.Both talk about life but “Pain for my Daughter” talks about only the beginning of life, whereas “The Seven Ages of Man” talks about the whole lifetime.
August 25, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Alexa, you had some wise words about both poems having good life lessons. We should be aware of what may be in the future, yet we must not live a life looking into a telescope trying to predict when the Sun is going to hit us but instead enjoy its sunshine. Do not miss the good because we are too worried about the future or scared about the pain.
August 25, 2009 at 7:35 pm
I’m sure I liked “The Seven Ages of Man” better. It walks you through, life basically, it captures everthing from birth, to manhood, and elderly age. It was an excellent poem and makes you think about how short life is. The two poems aren’t similar at all, but I have to go with “The Seven Ages of Man”.
August 25, 2009 at 7:41 pm
I think the poem that more accurately describes the “human condition” is “The Seven Ages of Man”. I feel this way because it talks about the whole life of a man not just the beginning, like “Pain for my Daughter”.
August 25, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Jess, that’s a very intelligent thing to say, and correct! The poem wouldn’t be what it is if Anne Sexton hadn’t explained in detail about the event, it let us picture everything in our minds and feel the pain for both mother and daughter.
August 25, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Which poem more accurately describes the human condition? I think “Pain for a Daughter” does because it shows how humans feel like that most of the time(even though it isn’t true) there is more sadness in the world than happiness. Also, the poem shows the happiness in dark situations.
August 25, 2009 at 8:30 pm
I think that “Seven Ages of a Man” described the human condition better because its about a life time. “Pain for a Daughter was a great poem i did get a clear picture of what the poem was about. I do agree with Beth that it was gory and detailed.
August 25, 2009 at 8:40 pm
I think that “pain for a daughter” is a great poem its so detailed. I do think that it expresses a beautiful thing because its kind of a mile stone in the mothers life knowing that her daughter wont need as much from her.
August 25, 2009 at 8:59 pm
I think that the tone of each would be depressing because they are both sad, because in “pain for a daughter”, it shows what pain girls go through, and in Seven Ages it shows how every man will suffer in his life, and eventually die.
August 26, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I think the seven ages of man is better. Because I sympathize with the seven ages of man and when we were old, we can’t do everything ourselves. Pain for a daughter was very impressed, however it wasn’t as impressed as the seven ages of man. Then, I think ‘The seven ages of man’ is more better than ‘Pain for a daughter’
August 26, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I like the little girl poem better because It shows a whole lot more detail and is easy to relate to.
August 26, 2009 at 1:28 pm
A powerful statement on the little poem is when the girl cries out ” Oh God!” instead of “Mama”! !n the 7 man poem, a powerful phrase is when william notes that th 7th stage is like a baby agian