The Bull Moose Analysis

Down from the purple mist of trees on the mountain,

lurching through forests of white spruce and cedar,

stumbling through tamarack swamps,

came the bull moose

to be stopped at last by a pole-fenced pasture.

 

Too tired to turn or, perhaps, aware

there was no place left to go, he stood with the cattle.

They, scenting the musk of death, seeing his great head

like the ritual mask of a blood god moved to the other end

of the field and waited.

 

The neighbors heard of it, and by afternoon cars lined

the road. The children teased him

with alder switches and he gazed at them

like an old tolerant collie. The women asked

if he could have escaped from a Fair.

 

The oldest man in the parish remembered seeing

a gelded moose yoked with an ox for plowing.

The young men snickered and tried to pour beer

down his throat, while their girl friends

took their pictures.

 

And the bull moose let them stroke his tick-ravaged flanks,

let them pry open his jaws with bottles, let a giggling girl

plant a little purple cap

of thistles on his head.

 

When the wardens came, everyone agreed it was a shame

to shoot anything so shaggy and cuddlesome.

He looked like the kind of pet

women put to bed with their sons.

 

So they held their fire. But just as the sun dropped in the river

the bull moose gathered his strength

like a scaffolded king straightened and lifted his horns

so that even the wardens backed away as they raised their rifles.

When he roared, people ran to their cars. All the young men

leaned on their automobile horns as he toppled.

"The Bull Moose" by the deceased Canadian poet Alden Nowlan, talks about a massive beast, a bull moose, escaping from somewhere and running away, before being stopped by a pasture fence.  The bull moose is then mocked by humans, but is able to remain calm for the entire day, before losing his cool at sundown, roaring, and toppling over the fence.  Consisting of seven verses, literary devices used in this poem include similes, imagery, and the occasional metaphor.

The first verse opens with powerful imagery, as the first four lines give the reader a clear picture of the challenges facing the bull moose from the very beginning: "Down from the purple mist of trees on the mountain,/lurching through forests of white spruce and cedar,/stumbling through tamarack swamps,/

came the bull moose."  As a reader, I believe the author wanted to portray the bull moose in such a way to make him seem very mysterious.  The first clue is "purple mist" from the first line.  Mist, especially darker coloured mist, is generally associated with the mysterious genre, or uncertainty. 

In the next verse, the author makes us aware of the bull moose's possible intelligence, saying: "Too tired to turn or, perhaps, aware/there was no place left to go, he stood with the cattle."

This invokes an entire new level of depth into the poem, considering a side that not many people would-the intellect of the animal.  I believe that the author wants to invoke feelings of remorse for the animal, who, after such a long journey/escape, has found out that he is still trapped.  Quick contrast follows, as the cattle see the great bull moose in the pasture and the author quickly contrasts the remorse in the previous line with fear, using a simile:   "They, scenting the musk of death, seeing his great head/like the ritual mask of a blood god, moved to the other end/of the field and waited."  This is a very surprising turn of events, once again creating an entirely new identity for the bull moose.

Verses 3,4, and 5 portray the bull moose as an attraction, something to be seen and played with.  The bull moose does nothing to prevent this, as several new themes arise, including helplessness, abuse, and "dumb animal."  The author uses a powerful simile to help the reader realise these themes: "The children teased him/with alder switches and he gazed at them/like an old tolerant collie."  I believe that the bull moose as a powerful creature, does not have the brainpower (at first) to stop this unnecessary abuse, and that the author is very proficient at portraying the different sides of the bull moose in this poem.

The second-to-last verse compares the enormous bull moose to a cute, cuddly teddy bear: "He looked like the kind of pet/women put to bed with their sons."  At this point it may be argued that the author has shown too many sides of the bull moose's personality, and this could confuse readers, however, this is necessary to build up the tension of the bull moose before it overflows in the last verse, causing an unforgettable ending. 

The final verse combines imagery and a simile to create a powerful ending, the simile being: "But just as the sun dropped in the river/the bull moose gathered his strength/like a scaffolded king, straightened and lifted his horns/

so that even the wardens backed away as they raised their rifles."  This raises a new theme, anger, a theme that I believe should have been used much earlier in the poem, to help build up the tension between the bull moose and the crowd of people to a higher level for maximum effect.  The last two lines of the poem use imagery so great, one can imagine the situation exactly: "When he roared, people ran to their cars. All the young men/leaned on their automobile horns as he toppled."  This, I believe, is an amazing send-off to a giant, the bull moose, who finally got angry enough to takes matters into his own "horns."


What should also be stated is that there are several major biblical references in this poem, most notably, the "purple cap of thistles" (the crown of thorns that Jesus Christ wore) that was planted of the Bull Moose's head.  

  

On this Day-Dec 27

Joe Sakic, A Hall-of-Fame hockey player from Burnaby, BC recorded his 1,000th career point, an assist against the St. Louis Blues on Dec 27, 1999.

Comments

Hey Everyone,
Feel free to comment on any of my posts and share your recommendations on poems I should analyze

Yalong

The Rockies-My Favourite Place in BC

Where to Live in BC-Original Composition

Too big, too cramped,
Too dark, too damp.
The Big City's not for me,
For here, I cannot be free.
Where to live in BC?

Resort towns are very nice,
But come at a substantial price.
The North is aged, like a good wine,
But can be less than divine.
Where to live in BC?

The Fraser Valley is growing,
A river, there, flowing.
The Okanagan mountains are tempting,
But my brain cells are still wrestling.
Where to live in BC?

The Cariboo, like an atlas,  is full of history,
It could be quite a mystery.
Vancouver Island, maybe?
It has plenty of trees.
Where to live in BC?

The South Desert is like a habanero pepper; hot, hot, hot,
And a house there would not cost a lot.
The Kootenays have frigid winters,
Which will make me whimper.
Where to live in BC?

Through this poem I have found;
That there is no common ground.
And instead of continuing on,
I'll try the land of the living skies: Saskatchewan!


This original poem, titled, "Where to Live in BC," is my own work.  On the surface, the primary intention of this poem seems to be me as the author using my knowledge about the different regions of British Columbia to help others (potential buyers) make a decision on where to live in our great province.  Obviously, every region has pros and cons, and after naming enough of British Columbia's various regions, the reader (a potential homebuyer) should have absolutely no idea which region to choose.  So, my hidden goal as the author of this poem is to sufficiently overwhelm the reader to a point where he or she has to make a choice:  To continue to blow his or her brains out, or to walk away from BC and research an entirely different province.  In the case of my poem, the speaker make the wise decision; to walk away and try Saskatchewan instead of blowing his or her brains out trying to find the absolute perfect region in British Columbia.

"Where to Live in BC" follows the rhyme scheme AABB, with the exception of the first verse, which follows AABBB.  The reasoning behind this decision was to engage the reader on a higher level, as I find (and am sure others have as well) that longer poems that do not rhyme can often be highly disengaging.  As a result, any assignments and tasks related to these poems that may be handed out by your teachers will be more mundane and seem like more of a chore than if the poem has a rhyme scheme.   Perhaps this is personal preference, however, I encourage you, as readers of this blog, to find a long poem without a rhyme scheme, and read it.  Then, re-read my poem, and make a decision about which one is more interesting. Comment on what you think.  Enjoy "Where to Live in BC."

A Belated Merry Christmas to everyone!

Saskatchewan Analysis

It's where the horizon never ends.
The roads are straight forever.
The fields,
stretching as far as the eye can see,
like a patchwork quilt.

It's the cold winters.
The cold wind biting your face.
The drifts against the trees.
The snow days,
of snowmobiling and having snowball fights

It's fishing
and swimming
and exploring the bush.

It's the hot summers.
Looking for shade and coolness all the time.
The hope for rain,
so the crops can grow.
The sweet taste of lemonade on a scorching day.

It's the springs and falls.
That don't know if it should be winter or summer.
Hot one day,
snowing the next.
The grass turning green again.
The wheat ripening,
the crops being harvested.

It's eating in the field.
Camping in the woods
Fishing on the river.
Snowmobiling on the lake.
Mudding in the fields.
Tobogganing down the hills.

It's the place where we live.

This poem, titled "Saskatchewan," which I found on another blog, Maymont ELA 30, uses plenty of imagery, some exaggeration, and the occasional simile or personification to give readers a sensual experience of Saskatchewan, "The Land of the Living Skies."  It is free verse, does not follow any rhyme scheme, however, every verse begin with It's.   

The first two lines in the first verse use exaggeration to give a picture of a land that never ends.  "It's where the horizon never ends. /The roads are straight forever."  The word choice is very important in this poem, and the emphasis put on it by the author creates a higher-level reading experience, by using certain words in the right places.  This awareness allows the author to invoke imagery by using exaggeration, a higher order skill that many poets do not possess. The next (and last) three lines in the opening verse use a combination of exaggeration simile to, once again, invoke imagery.  The author describes the fields as a patchwork quilt, a beautiful arrangement of crops in unique patterns, stretching as far as the eye can see.  This simile combined with the exaggeration, not only invokes imagery, as it invokes thought as well.  Is this simile accurate, or does Saskatchewan take on another shape entirely?  

In the second verse, imagery is the predominant literary device, creating a picture of an entirely different season altogether.  The author jumps quickly to winter from the initial description of the province, creating a compare and contrast effect that continues for most of the rest of the poem.  Through doing this, the author is able to portray a diverse place, different from any other place in the world.  This place, this Saskatchewan is somehow special and unique from where we live, from the cold winter to the patchwork quilt-like fields.  In this verse, the author also personifies the wind: "The cold wind biting your face."  This use of personification is used to help the reader feel the effects of the harsh winter in Saskatchewan, as is this entire verse.

The third verse is very short, describing diverse actions that one might do in Saskatchewan, while transitioning from the cold, desolate winters to the hot, scorching summers.  This part of the poem is deficient, when compared to the other verses, not only in length, but in meaning as well.

The next three talk about the other seasons (summer, spring, and fall) and effectively use imagery to give the reader insight on the crazy weather and exciting events that happen in Saskatchewan every day. There are many great examples of imagery in these verses, but the one most pertinent to my life is the following: "Tobogganing down the hills."  The reason for this choice is that here, in coastal BC, snow is not plentiful.  This particular line shows the greatest contrast between weather in Saskatchewan and weather much of the world, once again giving the reader a greater picture. 

I believe that this poem is superb, giving the reader a reading experience beyond the words.  The last sentence is crafted masterfully, ending an amazing poem on an even better note.  However, it could be argued that this poem is highly stereotypical of Saskatchewan, because most Canadians that I have talked to believe that those from the prairies exaggerate way too much, and their works are therefore devoid of any actual meaning.  However, as a Canadian with connections to Saskatchewan, (my maternal grandparents live there), I can dismiss all of these allegations, as I have built relationships with many Saskatchewanians.  They are very caring, and true to their words, and this poem about Saskatchewan is no different, providing great, down-to-earth insight to life in "The Land of the Living Skies."


    http://maymontela30.blogspot.ca/2010/10/saskatchewan.html

The Base Stealer Analysis

Poised between going on and back, pulled

 Both ways taut like a tightrope-walker,

 Fingertips pointing the opposites,

 Now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball

 Or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on,

 Running a scattering of steps sidewise,

 How he teeters, skitters, tingles, teases,

 Taunts them, hovers like an ecstatic bird,

 He's only flirting, crowd him, crowd him,

 Delicate, delicate, delicate, delicate - now!

"The Base Stealer," a 1948 poem written by Robert Francis, provides very good insight on how to steal a base in a baseball game, using several similes, imagery, and an occasional alliteration to provide direct instruction to the base runner to ensure a successful steal.  Obviously, this poem may be slightly out of date, but this advice is still very useful for baseball players today.

The first line instructs the runner to take a lead, meaning to take a couple of steps off of the base, towards the base that you as a runner are trying to advance to, or steal, in baseball lingo. 
The rest of the first line, instructs the runner to be ready to go-both ways, back to the base or forward to the next base, as the pitcher may attempt a pick-off.  This is when the pitcher, instead of throwing towards the plate, throws to one of the bases, so that the runner can be tagged out by one of the position players.  The next line uses a simile and imagery to enhance the instruction.  The runner must be "Pulled both ways taut like a tightrope-walker."  This simile uses imagery (and perhaps exaggeration) to give the runner an idea of how taut, or stretched he or she must be to make sure running either way is easy and quick to do.  The third line uses purely imagery, once again giving the runner clear instructions, as the line reads "Fingertips pointing opposites."  The fourth and fifth lines use similes and imagery once again, "Now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball/Or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on."  This author tends to use commonplace actions to describe, in exaggeration, what must be done to be ready to steal a base.  For such a simple action, the author describes in detail how to complete it, and the amount of build up and suspense to the actual stealing of the base is exceptional, as very few other poets that I have seen in my life have been able to stretch out, in extreme detail, a simple, four-second action, such as stealing a base. 


The next two lines use alliteration and a simile, the alliteration being: "How he teeters, skitters, tingles, teases, taunts them."  The alliteration, in this case, provides excitement in a poem that could easily disengage readers, if they were not interested in baseball, or if they were not fast enough to steal bases.  Say this five times fast: "How he teeters, skitters, tingles, teases, taunts them."  Isn't it exciting? 
The end of the second line is where the simile comes into play, Taunts them, hovers like an ecstatic bird." The simile once again uses imagery, but this line, and the entire latter half of the poem is much more exciting than the first half, as the big moment is coming, where the runner is instructed to take off.  
The final two lines are instructions, and uses one repetition: "Delicate, delicate, delicate, delicate - now!"


This poem is highly pertinent to me and my life, as I am an avid baseball fan and player.  I am also a very quick runner, so when I play baseball, I steal lots of bases, and this poem is somewhat useful, but not overly, because it is somewhat outdated and the similes are not highly common in our world today.  Although the author provides some exciting insight on how he believes base runners should steal bases, it is too outdated for most people to understand properly.  However, I believe that the basic principles of stealing a base are there, and this poem, if updated, could become very useful for up and coming baseball players, especially base stealers.  
 

As the Penguins Beat their Injured Red Wings Analysis

The Penguins beat their injured Red Wings,
compelling the Rangers to yell,
“To the Devils with the Islanders!”
who, with rattling Sabres, alarmed Predators everywhere –
from Panthers to Bruins to Canucks to Senators…

Now, the Penguins, being non-Flyers,
nestled in nests of happenstance Maple Leafs
carried afar upon stratospheric Lightning Hurricanes,
the Penguins' downy Blue Jackets, the current fashion in the Capitols,
were often mistaken by circling Blackhawks for Wild Ducks,
and for Coyotes by Sharks,
and for an Avalanche of natureware by Kings and Canadiens.

Me? I lay transfixed, gazing through mesmerizing Flames at Stars,
future league expansions fast-dancing through my brain,
even as Rangers yelled, rattling Sabres at Penguins
who beat their injured Red Wings under stratospheric Lightning clouds.




"As Penguins Beat their Injured Red Wings," by Numi Who, finds a simple, yet hilarious and effective way to name all the teams in the NHL (minus the Jets, as they had moved to Colorado, becoming the Avalanche) in just three stanzas. 

Right away, in the first stanza, the author uses many literary devices, including several double entendres that most people would not recognize without a good knowledge of the NHL.  The first line refers to not only penguins flapping their injured, sore, and red wings, but also refers to the Pittsburgh Penguins absolutely destroying a Detroit Red Wings team, which is extremely hampered by injuries.  This action then compels, or causes the New York Rangers to join with the New York Islanders, for the purpose of having a game with the New Jersey Devils, although it appears to be a joint attack against an opposing army, while using their weapon of choice, rattling sabres.  This, however, is a metaphor for the Buffalo Sabres, who the Rangers beat soundly, or rattled, who are, in this poem, a feared team in the league.  Therefore, this leads to another double entendre, as the other strong teams, the Panthers, the Bruins, the Canucks, and the Senators, or predators of the league, become alarmed.  However, the Predators is also the name of an NHL team from Nashville.  
  
In the second stanza, the first line does not refer to the Penguins inability to fly, but rather, talks about their ongoing piece rivalry with the Philadelphia Flyers. The next two lines talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs, and how they snuggle up to the Penguins, or lose miserably.  The Leafs are then carried away, or beaten badly by the Carolina Hurricanes and the Tampa Bay Lightning.  The Penguins then wear their Columbus Blue Jackets, who happen to be popular for the Washington Capitals.  When the Penguins wear their Columbus Blue Jackets, they are often mistaken to be Anaheim Ducks by the Chicago Blackhawks, Arizona Coyotes by the San Jose Sharks, and a Colorado Avalanche by the Montreal Canadiens and the LA Kings.  This means that against different teams, the Penguins play different game plans and have a different approach to each game, and other teams therefore see the Penguins as playing different styles against them and other teams.

In the final stanza, the author uses a double entendre once again "Gazing through mesmerizing Flames at Stars" does not refer to the author gazing through flames on the earth to see the stars in the sky, but rather refers to the author replaying a game in his head, having to remember what the Dallas Stars did, while ignoring the feats of the Calgary Flames, while the Rangers, who rattled, or destroyed the Sabres, providing more distractions for the Penguins, who have just beat their injured Red Wings, their rivals, while the Lightning look on.

I believe that the author is very clever, using many double entendres, while listing all of the teams in the National Hockey League.  This poem, however, is not easy to understand if the reader does not have follow the National Hockey league, since this uses many confusing double entendres that would not be easily understood without a good knowledge of the teams and the game.  Despite this deficiency, this poem is great for any hockey fan, young or old, big or small, who follows the NHL, passionately cheering on their favourite team(s). 

Badlands Analysis

Your father worked Drumheller while you ate and slept at home.

He travelled the badlands, squatted below rocks, read books you never knew he read.

He sat until his eyes strained to know what the prairie insisted he must see.

Once he found a hoodoo,
toppled after centuries of reaching beyond the flattened earth
we all become and remembering that, once, it was a mountain.

He stripped naked and coated himself with spit and dirt,

arched his back into the rocks and let his speckled shoulders

fade under mud, until his whole body became that colour.

When he dressed himself again, jeans over earth-caked legs,

he walked back to the lease, and danced and prayed for the well to flow.

Your father worked Drumheller while you ate and slept at home, he stalked the badlands with his shotgun and a pack of smokes

- See more at: http://www.poetryinvoice.com/poems/badlands#sthash.DVMycDaI.dpuf

This poem, "Badlands," by Mathew Henderson uses imagery very successfully to provide a snapshot into the life of a hardworking, prairie man, who by working harder than anyone ever should, faces all kinds of challenges every day, just to provide water for his family, while working in the Badlands, a region of Northern Alberta, where the climate is very dry and scorching hot, where one must fight to survive.  Particularly, "He stripped naked and coated himself with spit and dirt," shows the extent to which his father, the protagonist of the poem, would work to, fight, in a way, against the Alberta Badlands.  Another powerful quote "When he dressed himself again, jeans over earth-caked legs, he walked back to the lease, and danced and prayed for the well to flow, "reveals recurring themes in the poem including hard work, pain, hope, and an insight into how much this man had to give to let his family and his son stay at home all day. Going back to the third line, the author personifies the Prairie itself , "He sat until his eyes strained to know what the prairie insisted he must see." This poem uses many literary devices to enhance the overall reading experience.  

This poem is very effectively written, as it offers debate and discussion on the main message: Is the male(who provides for his family) or the female (who cares for the children more important in a family? For example, If I were a feminist, I would consider that this poem glorifies the male, taking a massive physical toll to provide for his family, while the woman is completely ignored, as has been the case for much of history.  Although the man is working very hard in the Badlands, the woman is caring for their child, which is just as, if not more important.  However, if I were an male chauvinist, I would counter-argue this point by saying that the average female would not be able to take the physical and mental toll of working countless hours in one of the most barren regions of Canada, while still being able to provide for their families. Also, I would argue that providing for my family requires me (in this case) to do excruciating work, and that it therefore should be glorified.

Although this poem is very powerful, I disagree with this poem on a personal level, on multiple points, including that only the man of the house can do this type of demanding physical work and that the author portrays the Badlands and Prairies as a sort of hell, where only the insane or extremely hardworking people can survive.  Due to my mother's side of the family having roots in southeastern Saskatchewan, where hard work is instilled from birth, all the members of the family had to help out on the farm every day, and even back in the 1940's when my grandparents were growing up, the women and men would work long hard hours on the farm every day.  Also, although it may be true that people from the prairies have to work much harder on average than people living in cities, the people who live in those small towns across the prairies are not insane and do not work hard all the time (they relax when it is too hot).  As an individual, I have learned much about the toughness and work ethic required to live on the prairies and in the Badlands, knowledge that many people will never learn nor appreciate.