"The Way": Short Answer (125 words)
Post your homework here as a comment. Please also bring a paper copy of your writing to class next Wednesday.
NOTE: It is acceptable to respond to the poem with feelings rather than meanings if you wish. By that I mean respond to something specific Goldbarth suggests with your emotional response, for example.
21 comments:
Albert Goldbarth, in his poem, “The Way,” repeats his title words three times and in their first use, he completes an interesting and unsettling irony.
we frame
in the lenses of our super-duper telescopes the way
we would those other completely incomprehensible
fecund and dying subjects at a family picnic.
After introducing us to the birth and death of galaxies, Goldbarth suggests that what we look at in the heavens is as “completely incomprehensible” as the “fecund and dying subjects at a family picnic.” He takes us from galaxies to a “family picnic” where, we assume, are people, those he calls “dying subjects.” Most would argue that such “subjects” are comprehensible. The irony he gives us is that our own birth and dying is no more understandable to us than is that of a galaxy’s. No matter how we “frame” it with words, the “enormity” of the universe is beyond our capability to understand. –129 words (not including quoted poetry)
this is my answer on the way, i hope u like it...
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“The Way” by Albert Goldbarth uses the quotation of amazing things throughout this poem. I like when he mentions about how we, the human beings, like to cut out our languages that are hurtful to us.
The way
our language scissors the enormity to scales
we can tolerate. The way we gild and lubricate
in memory, or edit out selectively.
In the second stanza “The Way,” he uses “frame,” “scissors,” and “edit out” to emphasize the meaning of the poem. Especially when he uses “frame,” he wants to explain the way of life. Also, when he writes of “scissors” the horror, he expresses how we are immune to our cruel life. He also wants us to remember everything that happening to us, even if events are painful.
Words: 129.
In the last three lines of this poem,Albert Golbert argues toward William Wordsworth’s description of daffodils to support his idea about measurement. But, I feel that there is a difference in their way of thinking.
William Wordsworth belongs to Romantic poets who look to nature in very emotional way. For instance,when Wordsworth says,“Ten thousands saw I at a glance,” He uses exaggeration to the number of daffodils just to make us imagine how the field looks nice and big.
While Golbert is one of Modern poets. He supports philosophy rather than feelings. He thinks that measurement is important, but if Wordsworth, for example, said, “Ten thousand and fifteen daffodils,” we will focus on how he counts all those flowers,which makes the image unclear.
( 129 words)
Throughout the poem “The Way”, Albert Goldbarth employs irony to successfully reveal his theory. For example, in the second stanza, Goldbarth defines telescopes with modifying phrase “super-duper”. In fact, such an advanced tool for the human eyes only makes us realize the “incomprehensible subjects”—ourselves. In this way, the writer implies that compared with the endless universe, human powers are infinitely weak.
Another example is in the last stanza, “Ten thousand saw I at a glance: by which he meant too many to count, but could only say it in counting.” Obviously Wordsworth has no way to count the flowers, so he just gives us a large number on it. And then the poet explains further ironically: at least, he’s counting it anyway. Here Goldbarth suggests that humans want to name, measure, or give meaning to everything, but it’s not possible.
141 words (including quoted poetry)
The Way
The first two stanzas convey the feeling of eternity. The author uses noun to express the feeling of randomness and catches the reader’s thought that jumps altogether in random orders.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, now the earth was formless and empty darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Genesis 1: 1-2
The nouns and adjectives are so carefully chosen; the combinations of sound are beautiful, like orchestra. They inspired me with all the imagination floating in the air. The “rose” made me imagine the love and passion of human kind; however, “devastating” offered a precise feeling of love which perfectly matches the following adjective “fatal”.
The Lame - the rich and intoxicating beauty of gold and silver and the touch of silk and wool – binding together with “fatal” represents how fragile and brilliant life is.
Following extravagant imagination of rose and lame, the author brought the reader back into the world of reality “a family picnic”.
Again, it is random, fantasy and ordinary. That is the way of life.
186 words
In the first paragraph, Goldbarth labels the sky as being “random.” I think that this statement is very truthful because with the weather, at least in Vancouver, you never know what you’re going to get. The sky is indeed random. In the next sentence he states “Even calling it ‘sky’ is an attempt to make a meaning, say, a shape, from the humanly visible part of shapelessness in endlessness.” I really love the choice of words that he uses in the first sentence of the first stanza. They capture a clear picture of how he’s describing the sky. I think that the words flow together nicely.
In the second and the end of the first stanza, I had delight reading the line in which he wrote “It’s what we do, in some ways it’s entirely what we do - and so the devastating rose of another galaxy’s being born, the fatal lamé of another’s being torn and dying….” Again, I liked the choice of words that he used in this line. I think that this poem had an excellent mood and had a very expressive way of showing his feelings about certain aspects of life.
Albert Goldbarth, in his poem, “The Way,”uses repetition for the purpose of making a deeper impresson on the readers.
Even calling it ‘sky”
is an attempt to make a meaning, say,
a shape, from the humanly visible part
of shapelessness in endlessness. It’s what
we do, in some ways it’s entirely what
we do
In the first line, Goldbarth says people attempt to give “sky” a meaning. Next, the poem argues that “sky” is shapelessness and endlessness. If the sky is truly shapeless and endless, then the shape of sky is imagined and imposed by people. It doesn’t exist at all. Afterward, he repeats “it is what we do, in some ways it is entirely what we do”. The poet reveals human nature that people are eager to get answers, to make a meaning, to respond questions. So there is no surprise that people use their own words to try to define the universe, based on only humanly visible part.
English 12- Feb. 17, 2009
Narges Sonya Govahi
Student # 47570
Incomprehensible Eternity
The whole universe is “incomprehensible”, but we, people, “making them ‘subjects’.” The greatness and endlessness of the universe and the life make us feel overwhelmingly puzzled. Then, by “language” we try to “(scissor) the enormity to scales we can tolerate.” It is impossible to understand the meaning of life, universe, and the eternity that “an infant’s gentle snoring, even apportions” them. But, our limited brains and understandings need measures to make them stop in a specific border, not going farther, because nobody knows or understands the farther Object or Subject.
The language is the only tool for us to make the meaning of life and enormous universe measurable and knowable for us in the limitation of our minds. We are human, and we see the world, even by “the lenses of our super-duper telescopes” in “the way” we want.
(156 words with credentials)a
A philosophy is lying in this poem, “The Way”. The author, Albert Goldbarth, is trying to transmit such a hint that the way we choose is leading us to the final destination or killing the possibility to the destination?
Just like our language, “the way” we use to express ourselves, it is so impotent compared with people’s thoughts that anything being tried to be expressed may be being sophisticated, “by which” we hope to “mean too many to count, but could only say it in counting”. We are expressing our uncountable thinking using countable words. What are we missing when we “frame in the lenses of our super-duper telescope the way we would those completely incomprehensible fecund and dying subjects at a family picnic”, or what have we lost when we chose any way to “gild and rubricate” our memory?
A way is always thought as a road, an approach, or a resort which will lead us to the final destination, to the eventual success, or to the yearning paradise. But, maybe it is just the way who murders the possibility to our dream. But, once again, if no way, how could we do?
- 148 words excluding the quoted poetry
“The way our language scissors the enormity to scales we can tolerate. The way we gild and rubricate in memory, or edit out selectively.
An infant’s gentle snoring, even, apportions the eternal.”
In this part of the poetry, Albert Goldbarth uses some examples to give ironic meaning. “scissors the enormity” and “scales we can tolerate” show us how the people try to use language to “making a meaning”. It seems the same way we try to understand the endless and shapelessness university and tame the universe into scales we can tolerate. The poem continues with “gild and rubricate in memory” and “edit out selectively”. It is another “attempt to making a meaning”. For something we don’t know, we find them, explore them, research them, and name them. At the end of this stanza, he mentioned infant’s gentle snoring, repeating to “attempt to make a meaning”. It is the way we created our language and the way we give language meaning.
Goldbarth’s “The Way” is about the human attempt to measure life. He is trying to convey the message that we as human beings are only “one grain of sand on a very humungous beach”. We feel our smallness and we try to justify our existence by attempting to try and make sense of it all.
“The sky is random”: It is meant in a very factual, straightforward way. “Even calling it ‘sky’ is an attempt to make meaning, say, a shape, from the humanly visible part of shapelessness in endlessness”, indicates that Goldbarth feels that we need labels and words to give something like “the sky” order and structure, so that we can feel less lonely, when we think about the fact that the “shapelessness in endlessness”, which is in fact, the sky is all that separates us from the vast universe that is out there. It is a humbling thought.
The fact that we are only one person, out of billions of people on a tiny planet that is dwarfed by all the other planets in the universe, leaves us breathless with the knowledge that we are so tiny and insignificant. Goldbarth feels that this whole concept, on a level, is too mind boggling for the human brain to fully comprehend. As humans, we reach out for some structure, to make us feel safe, reassured, validated and affirmed.
In his poem “The Way” Albert Goldbarth makes a very interesting description of the sky.
the sky is random. Even calling it “sky” is an attempt to make a meaning, say, a shape, from the humanly visible part of shapelessness in endlessness.
I agree with his description because in human’s view, the sky looks shapeless and endless. For example, when we look up at the sky, we might wonder where it ends, but we, human, don’t see the ends of the sky; all we see is “shapelessness in endlessness”. In addition, to support his idea of the general sky, Goldbarth also says that even the name is just “an attempt to make a meaning”, which is also “incomprehensible” to human’s mind.
129 words
Albert Goldbarth’s poem, “The Way” seems to have irregular shapes and difficulties to understand for me. The first sentence has 3 words only but third sentence has 57 words in his poem.
The sky is random. Even calling it “sky” is an attempt to make a meaning, say, a shape, from the humanly visible part of shapelessness in endlessness.
He starts his poem with “The sky is random.” Even though I have no religion, I couldn’t agree with that the sky is random. The sky is highly organized brilliant products created by intelligent creator as described in the beginning of Genesis, Bible. According to the recent report from the astronomer there are thousands galaxies in this universe. Therefore the expression of “visible part of shapelessness and endlessness” are quite appropriate word for the sky.(134 words)
Albert Goldbarth illustrates, in his peom “ The Way”, the human being’s limitation, impotence, and subjectivity compared with the random, enormity and endlessness.
“ The way our language scissors the enormity to scales we can tolerate. The way we glid and rubricate in memory, or edit out selectively.”
By these words, Alber Goldbarth suggests that people’s explanation and understanding to anything are limited by their personal point of view. People’s imagination can hardly break through their own experiences and knowledge. The abstract things can only be measured by figural things. In general, human beings cognition to the world can hardly be objective and comprehensive. The way people cognize the world varies from person to person.
I do agree with the author. Keeping this philosophy in mind, we should be more modest while learning or viewing anything and be more tolerant to anything new or different because we are only an insignificant part of the enormous world.
(132 words not including the quoted peotry)
Sky and Life
Albert Goldbarth, the author of the “The Way”, describes the way of the sky .Our life seem like the sky living in the varied universe.
The sky is random. Even calling it “sky”
is an attempt to make a meaning, say,
a shape, from the humanly visible part
of shapelessness in endlessness.
In the first stanza, it let me to think about how big, deep, and far the sky is. The sky changes varied, so it is shapelessness in endlessness like our life. I try to set up the goal for my life, but during the processing I can not control what will be change in my life because of the natural disaster, or act by the people. Year by year I have to face that means I have too many things to do, but could say it in doing.
“The Way” points out one of the most integral parts of society, even civilization; the undying need to label and categorize everything. Humans go to length to give a name to even the intangible. Goldbarth almost laments the very tool he uses to perfect his craft, language.
It is quite a grand discussion in existentialism. What gives us the right to determine meaning? Goldbarth insists, “Even calling it “sky” is an attempt to make a meaning”. Humans are able to label an expanse of air filled with the stars, clouds, birds, rain and sun. We are able to take this wonder and reduce it to three letters.
Goldbarth squarely put the blame of our veiled perception on ourselves. We see only, “from the humanly visible part of shapelessness in endlessness”. In our humanness, we are so limited, “It's what we do, in some ways it's entirely what we do”. Every new discovery is given it's name. Our sense of awe is dulled by our own need for order. It remains a mystery if we will ever be able to break from the way we have become.
Albert Goldbarth wants to tell us with his poem that the language is only the way for us to express something, but actually the language can not completely express something.
He says “sky” is the word that people “attempt to make a meaning” of “shapelessness in endlessness”, but the word can not show us the real random sky. We fail to say “a shape” of sky because sky is shapelessness.
He also uses metaphor in the second stanza. He thinks “our language” as “scissors” because we edit out something which is filtered by the language in our brain.
In the last sentence, the writer shows us an example of the limitation of the language. In the situation, we want to mean “too many to count” but we have to “say it in counting”.
-133 words
In his poem "The Way", Albert Goldbarth tries to explain how we capture the essence of the indescribable, and by doing so, lose the trueness of our subject.
Goldbarth implies the only way we can glimpse the infinite is to quantify it, by making "shape" in the "shapelessness in endlessness". He says we use our "super-duper telescopes" to scrutinize the incomprehensible, but because the incomprehensible, by definition, is beyond our grasp, we have to "gild" and "rubricate in memory" and "edit out selectively" in an effort to understand it.
In the final line, Goldbarth points out the conundrum of the situation: we need to describe the indescribable to understand it, but by doing so, we limit it, and it is no longer awesome. Words in the dictionary cannot describe feelings in our hearts and since words are insufficient, wonderment is reduced to mundane.
-143 words
FANNIE IBARRA ENGLISH 12
In the first two stanza’s of the poem,”The Way” by Goldbart describes the “sky” is random, which it meant to me that “ sky” is like a life, that you never know what life would be like- sometimes many problems comes along the journey of life. And it is like the sky, life also gloomy and sometimes bright blue sunny. I also agree the way he describes the moods of his poem by using a symbolic irony of the “devastating rose” and “fatal lame” which is beautiful irony of being loved and underlying the lame’.
In the third stanza, I admire the way he presented the meaning of “scissors”, which I agree with Goldbart, man has a tendency to “edit out selectively” that I do practice myself. I only keep the good and meaningful memories. But, on the other hand, Goldbart uses exaggeration when he says, “Dorothy Wordsworth measured their walk to Crewkerne”// “Seven miles”- that is untrue, lies and illusion I thought.
Over all, the meaning of the poem, “The Way” is a shapelessness journey of a vast life in the universe which language can impossibly describe
Albert Goldbarth shows the way how human being understands the world in his poem,"The Way" using their "super duper telescopes" to make situation clearer.
In the third stanza people "gild", "rubricate" and "edit out selectively" in memory. Even though the memories were not that beautiful, it could live in as the most wonderful moment that happened before in their memory. Those edited memories are revised and refined as time goes by, so "we can tolerate".
Also, in the fourth stanza Goldbarth used "seven miles" to show how people like exact number. People like to count thing because they do not like vagueness. If they do not understand things, they try to comprehend it in their ways. Like last line of the poem "but could only say it in counting",people can not tolerate "too many to count."
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