| That's Enze, he's a pretty cool giraffe! |
I chose to research on Frances E. W. Harper. Harper was a poet and activist. I found it very interesting that she was an activist for the abolitionist movement. It seems as though she lived a fairly free life since her parents were both freed slaves. I found it interesting how involved she was with the abolitionist movement along with confounding the National Association of Colored Women. I think this is great and interesting because she took on what most freed slaves would not have been able to do, she created an association and was an activist; this seemed like a brave notion for this time period. Here is the link to my source. http://www.biography.com/people/frances-ew-harper-40710#synopsis
The poem I chose was by Frances E. W. Harper and was called Songs for the People. This poem I think speaks to more than just the time period it was written in, but to ours as well. She shares that music is what blocks out the problems and sorrows of the world. I think we all use music to escape and that is what I loved about this poem. I noticed in the poem how strong her tone was, it was like she was reading the poem to me. The language was still above my level of comprehensive but I was still able to make out what she was trying to say. She had a way of making sure that even if you did not know all the words, that you would still be able to understand what she was trying to get across. I currently do not have any questions about this poem.
In Frances E. W. Harper's poem, Songs for the People, I chose the word Strife as my favorite word. I found that it was rather interesting that this words usage was dated back to 1225 and even used in the bible. Although, up until about 1692 I could not really make out the sentences that were being used as examples, as this was a different time period and different languages. The etymology of this word is Old French and comes from the word estrif. My sample sentence that I have created is: My coworkers and I seemed to be having a strife about something our manager said.
I feel like I've seen you before but I can't put my finger on where or how! Anyways, your blog was great and I especially enjoyed reading your last paragraph about the poem Songs for the People. Great work!
ReplyDeleteI also chose the world strife as my word, I really liked your background on the origin of the word, and also figured out how to use the word in a different context. Great work on the last paragraph especially!
ReplyDeleteI am also a huge basketball and movie fan! I can't watch the NBA either, only college. I chose the same poem as you and almost did the same word until I found out Bryson^ was doing it too. Great sentence!
ReplyDelete1225!?!? That's so crazy to think that the word 'strife' has been around that long in our language! I thought that was really interesting when you brought it up in the last paragraph of your post! I thought your sample sentence was funny too! (It happens to me often as well)
ReplyDeleteHey Mackenzie! I never have played basketball but I recently realized that I enjoy watching it. I really like how you interpreted the poem, I see that a lot of our classmates have interpreted it so differently and I think it's pretty amazing to see all of our different interpretations. I too thought it was interesting and cool that she was an abolitionist and I also found it interesting that she was free in the 1820's considering slavery was still an issue in that period.
ReplyDeleteHello Mackenzie, I must first say, wow for being one of seven kids. I can barely imagine having one kid let alone seven. I myself have one younger brother and growing up that was enough for me. So kudos for you on surviving such a large household.
ReplyDeleteInteresting information about the word Strife. I usually lumped it in with conflict or misunderstand but never really dived that deep into its true meaning.
I, agree with you about using music an escape. Usually, for me I use music a way to make me focus on my work. I can't seem to make use of that skill when I am doing my homework for school but for works great for when I am doing something dry and monotonous.