Ezra Pound and Raymond Carver

Ezra Pound's poem "In a Station of the Metro" to me was very confusing at first. Being only two lines, the poem was hard to interpret and thus hard to understand. After analyzing each word separately, however, a meaning i feel to be correct was portrayed. The first word that stuck out to me was the word "apparition". Apparition in most cases stands for a ghostly figure. From my interpretation, i feel that this word stands for more of a surprise from the mixture of people the author sees in the station rather than an actual ghost itself. The next word that i noticed was the word "petal". Petals in most circumstances portray beauty as they are the most colorful and distinctive part of a flower. As a result, i feel the main message from this poem is the fact that although their is a large array of people in the station, many with different characteristics and features, each individual represents a different yet positive type of beauty.

The second poem "Photograph of my Father" by Raymond Carver to me seemed more interesting and easier to understand. With more details and information, i feel I reached a more accurate interpretation. The main idea of this poem involves the main character looking at a picture of his father, remembering his negative aspects and poor qualities as a father yet showing some compassion and love for him. Two times within the poem the author recognizes the "perch" and "beer". I feel this represents the father being an alcoholic and as a result not being trustworthy. The poem states the "all his life my father wanted to be bold" which in my opinion shows the fathers recognition of not being a good father and living the way he ought to. The final three lines in my opinion were the most important to the message of the poem. It shows the desire the main character had for a role model and true father figure, one that would guide him in the right direction and do simple things like show him "places to fish". Overall "Photograph of my Father" had a sad tone, showing conflict between a family and the father son relationship.

Both poems had very different characteristics, representing the overall theme in message in varying ways. One was very short leaving room for self interpretation while the other was long and more self explanatory. Overall, each was successful and interesting.