Everything is Going to be Alright
by Derek Mahon
How should I not be glad to contemplate
the clouds clearing beyond the dormer window
and a high tide reflected on the ceiling?
There will be dying, there will be dying,
but there is no need to go into that.
The poems flow from the hand unbidden
and the hidden source is the watchful heart;
the sun rises in spite of everything
and the far cities are beautiful and bright.
I lie here in a riot of sunlight
watching the day break and the clouds flying.
Everything is going to be all right.
1) The title is significant because it foreshadows the purpose, meaning, tone, and mood of the poem. The author might have chosen this title to get his readers thinking even before reading the poem and analyzing how the author will structure it.
2) The tone of the poem is hopeful, encouraging, assuring, inspiring, and calculating.
3) Our mood was hopeful, acquiring strength, and motivating.
4) Yes, there is a shift. The shift is "the sun rises...beautiful and bright." It shifts from darkness, pain, and negativity surrounding him to all of a sudden positivity, happiness, and calmness around him. It not only shifts tone and mood, but it also shifts to the actual theme, resolving the main conflict and progressing towards climax.
5) The theme of the poem, what we discussed, is it encourages his audience to not give up based on couple hardships going around. We also discussed how he initiates movement and motivates his readers by involving himself and saying he has suffered through dark times too but they ended and joy and light came: from "How should I not be glad to contemplate the clouds..." to "I lie here in a riot of sunlight watching the day break and the clouds flying."
P.S. At first, we thought the author was creating juxtaposition by using a negative word with a positive one to create effect - "riot" with "sunlight" but then when we searched for the different possible meanings of riot, we came across this (which was perfect!!!): Riot: an impressively large or varied display of something; like "the garden was riot of color".
Sounds a lot similar to "I lie here in a riot of sunlight..." The author was getting his point across about how just as pain, darkness, and problems come together at the same time, happiness and hopefulness can also come together at the same time.
by Derek Mahon
How should I not be glad to contemplate
the clouds clearing beyond the dormer window
and a high tide reflected on the ceiling?
There will be dying, there will be dying,
but there is no need to go into that.
The poems flow from the hand unbidden
and the hidden source is the watchful heart;
the sun rises in spite of everything
and the far cities are beautiful and bright.
I lie here in a riot of sunlight
watching the day break and the clouds flying.
Everything is going to be all right.
1) The title is significant because it foreshadows the purpose, meaning, tone, and mood of the poem. The author might have chosen this title to get his readers thinking even before reading the poem and analyzing how the author will structure it.
2) The tone of the poem is hopeful, encouraging, assuring, inspiring, and calculating.
3) Our mood was hopeful, acquiring strength, and motivating.
4) Yes, there is a shift. The shift is "the sun rises...beautiful and bright." It shifts from darkness, pain, and negativity surrounding him to all of a sudden positivity, happiness, and calmness around him. It not only shifts tone and mood, but it also shifts to the actual theme, resolving the main conflict and progressing towards climax.
5) The theme of the poem, what we discussed, is it encourages his audience to not give up based on couple hardships going around. We also discussed how he initiates movement and motivates his readers by involving himself and saying he has suffered through dark times too but they ended and joy and light came: from "How should I not be glad to contemplate the clouds..." to "I lie here in a riot of sunlight watching the day break and the clouds flying."
P.S. At first, we thought the author was creating juxtaposition by using a negative word with a positive one to create effect - "riot" with "sunlight" but then when we searched for the different possible meanings of riot, we came across this (which was perfect!!!): Riot: an impressively large or varied display of something; like "the garden was riot of color".
Sounds a lot similar to "I lie here in a riot of sunlight..." The author was getting his point across about how just as pain, darkness, and problems come together at the same time, happiness and hopefulness can also come together at the same time.
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