Levine Himself
Please read this poem by Phillip Levine. In the top right you will see a number that is the page (313)...click on the forward arrow to get the next page...the poem is over two pages!
Then in the comments section, write about anything you see in this poem that connects to the poem "What Work Is." Do you see any patterns or motifs emerging? Do you see the poet working on some of the same Big Ideas?
Remember that you are writing as a member of the class...be sure we an ID you...be sure you write like the smart man you are becoming! Present as Smart!! Be insightful.
The three most insightful comment sections will be rewarded.
When you get done with the comment, learn more about Levine here...(or anywhere else on the web you think you an learn!!)
I noticed a few patterns that occurred between both of these poems. The first thing was that just like in "What work is" it starts off with a rainy setting, giving it sort of a depressing sense. I also noticed that in both poems the tone changed half way through the poem. Like in "What work is" it goes from regretful to loving in almost no time at all. Also the overall tones in both of these stories were very similar. They were regretful. In this poem he regrets how he turned down manhood, and just kept walking. In "what work is" he regrets not showing enough love to his brother. That was another thing I noticed, both of these stories mentioned his brother, and what their occupation was. These were a few things that I thought made these two poems very similar to one another.
ReplyDeleteI see three similar patterns in these poems. One is that the narrator goes from a dark, gloomy mood, to being happy and talking about how he will care for others. I also noticed that he mentioned his brother in both poems and described him. Also in these two poems, there is a sense of regret and wishing to go back and change it all. These are the main similarities I see in both these poems.
ReplyDeletePhillip Levine regrets his past and how he acted with his brother. In both poems he brings up his brother and he sees him appear when it's really not him. Phillip shows that he is jealous of his brother ,in both poems, by wanting to trade places with him. He wants to become younger again in "Long Gone March" and he describes his brother as having a job in "What Work Is", which is what he wants. Both poems have a sad tone the whole time but it becomes less sad in the end of each poem. In the end of each he wants his brother back by "seeing" his brother, showing love. Lastly, each poem starts raining, showing sadness, then as the poem matures the rain stops being described.
ReplyDeleteAfter I have read both of these poems there are many similarities in the setting and tone of the poem. In both of these poems, the setting is a rainy kind of gloomy sad day that comes across to the reader as depressing which also ties into the tone in both of these poems. In both of these poems, the speakers talks about their brother in some way, both mention how they love their brother but also some regrets they might have. I noticed that a similar line was used in both poems. In the poem "What is work" the speaker said that he rubbed his glasses from the rain and it blurred his vision. In the poem by Philip Levine he uses the words the wind rose blurring my sight. This appears in both poems and has to do with the condition of the setting. I think in both of these poems that the blurred vision is symbolizing the speakers futures and the surprises that will come later in time.
ReplyDeleteThese two poems are alike, because they both talk about daydreaming. They both give a depresing and gloomy setting, but talk about love and family. They both talk about waiting in a park. They both talk about his brother, who must be a very big part of his life and who he is. I think his brother is the reason he became the poet he is and so mentions his brother in a lot of his poems as a sign of respect and gratitude. He feels like he at least owes rhat to his brother, for all he has done for him.
ReplyDeleteIn hindsight of reading two Phillip Levine poems, "What Work Is" and "Long Gone March," quite a few similarities can be drawn up between the two. One reoccurring visual that Levine shows us between the two poems is the rainy, gloomy weather in the setting of both poems, as well as the blurred vision the rain gives the speaker. The speaker also has a similar setting for both of his poems. In "What Work Is," the speaker finds himself standing in line at Ford Highland Park in the rain waiting. Yet again, in "Long Gone March" the speaker is between warehouses, in the rain once more. Do these poems have the same speaker? A motif these two poems have in common is the emotion of love. Both poems seem to shift from a gloomy or sad tone, to the speaker telling the audience of a deep love that he feels. All in all, these poems are extremely similar in almost every element.
ReplyDeleteThese two poems are very similar in the motifs that are shown. They both start out with rainy, gloomy settings and both mention the Phillip Levine's brother. The conjecture that I have made about his brother is that he was a hardworking man, and that Phillip Levine never showed any love or affection towards him. This causes there to be a motif in tones and the tone is regret. In both poems Phillip Levine is on the verge of manhood. In “What Work Is,” he is looking for work and this may be his first job. In “Long Gone March,” he talks about leaving his childhood behind. In both poems he focuses on the fact that his brother has taken this journey before him, but he seems to have wanted to be with his brother on the journey to manhood.
ReplyDeletePhillip Levine's Poems "What Work Is" and "Long Gone March" are similar in many ways. They both are set in places where it is raining. In "Long Gone March" He sees his brother ahead of him. He does the same thing in "What Work Is" Phillip is also telling both of these poems from the first person point of view. Both of these poems have the Speaker daydreaming. They also both have him showing regret. From these, we can conclude he is regretful that he isn't more loving to his brother because it says in "What Work Is'' that he never showed any love towards him
ReplyDeleteI find that these poems both tell us a lot about the poet, Phillip Levine. There is something in his life that keeps a cloud of gloom over his head at all times like a mother protecting her precious new child. You can see this in the setting of the poem and the type of words Phillip Levine uses. Also, both express an aspect of adulthood. In his poem "What Work Is," he talks about getting a job, which is a huge step in becoming a man. In "Long Gone March," he leaves his childhood in an alley between two warehouses. Lastly, he mentions his brother in both poems. He shows us a love for his brother, but he also feels distant from him. Phillip shows a desire to be with his brother, but they are separated, which is shown in lines 37-42 of "Long Gone March."
ReplyDeleteUpon reading the poems, "What Work Is" and "Long Gone March", I was able to draw may similarities between the two.The first congruity i found was the mention of rain in the introductions of both of these poems. The use of rain early on, paints a sense of darkness and regret early on, perhaps foreshadowing some of the feelings expressed in later lines of both the poems. However, this gloominess soon fades away, as light is shown upon other feelings. Secondly, in both poems, the speaker's brother is a main focus. A love for him, and a sense of regret replaces the previous feelings of darkness, and both poems become slightly more positive. Lastly, in both poems the speaker also has a "blurring of sight." This is not exactly a medical issue involving the eyes, but instead this sight it more along the lines of perception. Perhaps the themes of these two poems are closely related, for the subjects and tones are very similar.
ReplyDeleteAfter I have read both of these poems I have begun to makes connections between the two. First of all, the setting and tone of the poems are very much alike. Both poems start off with a rainy setting which suggest a dark or sort of gloomy tone for the poem. Another similarity or pattern that I found in these poems was that they move from as slightly negative connotation to a more positive one. Both poems seem to do this towards the end. A third subject that both poems share is the way that they both include "the brother" in some way. The brother is not mentioned right away but he is somehow tied in somewhere in each poem. These similarities show a sophisticated form of poetry that makes reading the poems more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteThe biography of Phillip Levine aids the process of identifying recurring themes in "What Work Is" and "Long Gone March". Levine grew up in industrial Detroit during the Great depression. This shows why some ideas are repeated throughout his poems. Levine includes industry and rain in both poems. Industry reflects on where he grew up while the rain could be an indicator of what burdens were inflicted on Levine during his childhood. Manhood, or a sense of growing up, and a brother of the speaker are also mentioned in both poems. Manhood could be a result of forced maturity Levine was required to accept. The brother is often mentioned when the poems transition from scenic to emotional. The transition creates a sense of personal feeling to which more people can relate. Poverty or low-status living, even death, can be observed. This may have a correlation to living during the Great Depression. In conclusion, Phillip Levine is a fine example of how poets write about similar topics based on their personal experiences.
ReplyDeleteThe most common pattern and motif I see running through the poems "What Work Is" and "Long Gone March" is rain. Both poems have a rainy setting, which contributes to a gloomy tone. I also see that the author shifts the main flow of ideas in each poem to the the idea of shame, due to the the author having a sense of regret on certain events. For example, in the first poem he talked about his brother's life and how he worked at Cadillac, whereas he was having huge amount of trouble even getting a job. In the second poem he has a sense of shame and regret that he rejected manhood.
ReplyDeleteThese poems are similar in many ways. The most obvious is the fact that both poems start off with a gloomy tone. The rain effect and kind of dark setting contribute to a sad or glooming setting. Levine also includes qualities of childhood in his poems. In What Waiting Is, Levine talks about how he lived with his twin brother and kind of in his shadow. In Long Line March, he simply talks of how kids live their daily lives on Saturdays. As in most of his poems, these are told using Phillip Levine as the speaker and the author. The speaker in the poems are looking back at events in their life- looking at "what could have been." Levine has a sense of regret of how he lived his life compared to his brother, and he was not as successful until he started writing poetry.
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