The Assignment:

Compiled Messages:Message no. 1: posted by Deborah Vess (IDST_2310) on Tue Jan 09, 2001 23:44 Subject: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm includes attachment

You are a famous poet who has gone to the museum for a day. Among the many art works you are privileged to see are the three contained in our online gallery as an attachment to this posting. Look at these three paintings. You will find Raphael's Alba Madonna and his School of Athens and, finally, a portion of Picasso's Guernica.

One of these paintings makes a deep impression on you, and your poetic mind is stirred. You sit down,pull out your pen and paper, and begin to express your feelings through poetry. Before writing, you will probably need to first consider what affect the painting has on you; for example, if a painting produces feelings of harmony and regularity for you, you might perhaps use a short, regular meter, lines of the same length, and a regular rhyme scheme. Your finished product should be a short poem which expresses through the poet's use of meter and language the affect created by the painting's use of colors, lines, shapes, textures, and rhythms.

Record your poem here, and then try to explain how your use of meter, feet, rhyme, and language captures the affect of the painting. In order to do this well, you will, of course, have to explain not only the reasons you constructed your poem as you did, but also the painting's use of color, line, shape, texture, and rhythm. Does this painting have a rhythm like your poem does? Think about the movement of the work, to where your eye goes, what draws your attention, and why as possible examples of rhythm in painting). Does your poem create the same affect and if so, how? Does the painting have a particular color? Does your poem capture that and if so, how? Does the painting make use of horizontal,diagonal, or vertical lines? How does your poem capture this use of line? What shapes are predominant in this painting? What affect do these shapes create and how does your poem duplicate this affect? Is the texture of the painting dense or light? How does your poem capture this texture?

Finally, did these three paintings all create the same affect? Did one or two of them seem to differ from the others in the affect it produced? Why or why not?

I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Message no. 148: [Branch from no. 1] posted by student 8 on Tue Jan 30, 2001 15:56 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

Down the marbled halls of antiquity,

The breath of past years blow.

On it wings, the wisdom of kings guides our steps

As the light of a new day casts a glow

On corners formerly lost in shadow.

Raphael's painting of the school with people swarmed on the steps stirred a feeling of change, but change that was based in the wisdom of the past. In this poem I tried to use rich, flowing language to capture the essence of the rich history and many years of wisdom and tradition that comes from the painting, but use an up beat, vibrant meter to to portray the change and growth of the painting. The use of triad harmonies in much of the painting gave you the feeling that there was peace there, but at the same time Raphael used some complementary colors to show that there was at the same time life and vitality there. The lines of the steps are horizontal, which suggest a feeling of calm, but several of the people are arranged in a very diagonal line, suggesting that there is also some movement in the piece. His arched lines in the painting draw our attention to the two men in the center of the painting, as do the diagonal lines of the people below them. Here we see an older and a younger man, again showing the blending of the older wisdom with the new learning. His arches also draw your eyes upward to the blue of the sky, which suggests to me that they are "upward" thinkers. In my poem, the first two lines are very fluid, but the middle lines become a little more upbeat while the last ones again return to the more serene beat, but they rhyme with the middle two connecting them. This should mirror Raphael's use of horizontal and diagonal lines to create a feeling of serenity mixed with activity. The colors are calm, yet bright, so we feel serene but alive. There are a lot of squares and rectangles in the painting, givein ghte effect of stability and security. The overall shape has a trianglish effect, what with the whole painting being inside an arch making the top narrower than the bottom. Triangles generally symbolize change. The rhythm of this piece was a steady, moderate pace that calmy walked on ahead. Moving on but at no great pace. My meter was written to convey this...the poem is upbeat, but with plenty of calmness as well. The texture of the painting is slightly dense, lightening as the painting moves upward. It suggests depth, that there is more going on internally than we see. I feel like the words of my poem created this same depth of meaning by having a surfact meaning that also carries a deeper meaning. The light of a new day could be the light of the sun or new learning. The corners lost in shadow could be just that or things we had never botherd to think of or listen to. Corners of our minds that we never bothered to use before. All of these paintings did not create the same feeling. Raphael's paintings both carried a sense of stability and peace, while Picasso's lines and diagonals gave you the feeling that the whole world was falling apart to be put back together in the wrong order. But, the two Raphael paintings were different as well. The painting of the Alba Madonna had very deep rich tones that drew your attention to the center of the painting and gave you a very settled, almost melancholy feeling. The School at Athens made you feel alive, yet peaceful. All three of the pieces had their own rhythm and emotion.

Message no. 186: [Branch from no. 148] posted by student 11 on Thu Feb 08, 2001 21:55 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

Picasso/ Can this really be?...

I see, Man, animals and beasts...

I see, taking the time to gather...

I see, Is it tragic...

I see, Or is it a gala affair...

I see, Whatever it is,

I see, All are gathered as one...

I see.

This poem is a short metered poem in which we see a lot of brown, black and white. The brown representing earth colors and emotionsand the white icy cold colors and emotions, as you can tell in my poem, emotions are shown because you aren't quite sure here what is really happening. You can feel where the accent falls as you read the lines. You can also feel the rhythm as you read the lines. When I viewed the Piccaso's painting I feel it was man against time and elements.

Message no. 157: [Branch from no. 1] posted by student 17 on Wed Jan 31, 2001 23:33 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

Screaming, grasping,dying.

bellows of RAGE, heart's despairing!

A tragedy a waste a pity

Depths of hell or corrupted SOUL?

screaming dying raging bellowing braying rolling despairing.

I chose to write my poem about Picasso's painting. I tried to construct the poem to reflect the painting as best as possible. The painting was very chaotic and jumpy with lots of movement. The colors contrasted greatly with a dark background and with the main figures being light. I tried not to use a regular meter to show the chaos of the painting, and I used the language of the poem to show the feeling that the color contrast along with the actual picture portrayed. The most predominate type of line used were spirals or swirls that gave a feeling of movement to the painting. The lines and shapes gave the painting a feeling of vigorous action that I tried to capture in the poem by the "shape" of the stanza's in the poem. The overall feeling that the painting left with me was of a evil energy moving violently through a dark place reaping destruction without mercy and at random. This is what I tried to convey in the poem through the language, meter (or lack of meter), rhyme, and visual presentation of it. What captured my eye in the painting was the figures painted in a light color. The bull stood out the most and I found that my eyes wandered from there to the other figures in a counter-clockwise motion. I tried to memic this in the poem by having some of the words capitalized so the reader would be drawn to them. The dark colors in the painting seem to dominate it so I used language in my poem that would produce a dark image to the reader. To me, none of the paintings gave me the same feeling. Raphael's gave me a similar feeling, but they were different. In the one with the mother and the two children I felt a sense of peace and happiness while with the other I felt a sense of nervesness because of the crowd and the movement in the painting. The Picasso painting was radically different. The use of sharply contrastin colors and wavy lines a spirals gave it a sinister moving quality.

Message no. 164: [Branch from no. 1] posted by student 6 on Thu Feb 01, 2001 23:33 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

Longing, Yearning, dying in pain

Mutants, screaming, all's in disarray

Turmoil, destruction, wanting some light all will perish before the night.

Picasso's Guernica really caught my attention at first sight so this is the painting my poem tries to express. To me the painting gives off a sense of confusion and chaos and I try to express this in my poem. The strange figures shown in the paint seam to be longing or desiring something. The disfigurement of these "creatures" gives off a sense of pain and hopelessness. I try to express this through the choice of words and rhyme.The disfigurement is really express in the painting by the contrast of the light and dark colors. This contrast draws my eyes toward the bull like creature at first sight. In my poems i try my best to express the same feeling and affects the lines, colors, and shapes in the picture express. All three of the painting in my opinion give off a different affect. The School of Athens makes me think of mischief, like something supecious in going on between all of the people. The Alba Madonna seems to give off a calming, soothing feeling. And of course Picasso's painting gives off a real disturbing feeling.

Message no. 165: [Branch from no. 1] posted by student 15 on Mon Feb 05, 2001 15:10 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

Harsh and strong lines moving across the plain with only random direction as a point, Fierce and strong conjured thoughts,

Sharp and definate images coming full circle leaving only more questions to be questioned,

And answers barely known.

I chose to write about Picasso's painting because it was the one that had the most impact on me. Generally, I do not enjoy his work, but this painting was very strong and created lots of emotion. I wrote this poem to reflect how I see the poem. If each part of the painting is divided up and viewed, it does not invoke much of a responce or any emotion. However, if viewed as the whole painting it takes on a certain meaning. There was no rythum to his painting so I did not put any in my reflective poem. He painting shows short, choppy, dark lines. They viewer is not quite sure what Picasso is trying to say exactly, many questions arise after seeing it. The painting is just very dark and strong and harsh. I tried to make the poem like the painting in that the meter is virtually absent as Picasso's painting is ever-changing and many images are present none being consistant. I really did enjoy the guest speaker and his presentation of poetry. I really did not realize that poets had so many things in mind when creating their poems.

Message no. 175: [Branch from no. 165] posted by student 20 on Wed Feb 07, 2001 19:01 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

I think this is the second one I am posting. My first was not right.

Peaceful, flowing

Giver of hope Representer of light

Soft and smooth

The Trinity

I chose Raphael's Alba Madonna, because it represented hope to me. I liked the way he used the three figures--Mary, Jesus, and John the Baptist. For me, it made me think of the trinity. The colors he used made me feel peaceful and serene. Everything seemed to flow together and have a sense of unity. He used a good source of lines when seperating the people from the background. It made them stand out and showed their importance. I tried to write my poem so that it would flow and give a warm thought, like the poem made me respond. It seemed to give a sense of hope and for me the trinity gives me hope and assurance. It kind of had a hidden meaning for me. Mary represented birth, Jesus represented life, then death and John the Baptist(who baptized Jesus in the New Testament) respresented new life. I liked both of Raphael's paintings. This one just made me feel the warmest inside. Picasso's painting seemed rigid and heartless.

Message no. 166: [Branch from no. 1] posted by stgudent 22 on Mon Feb 05, 2001 15:11 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

Innocence and beauty

Beauty and love

Love and peace

Peace and salvation

Salvation come to life

I wrote my poem on Raphael's Alba Madonna. I chose this poem because of the three, it had the most order and was easiest for me to understand. The painting, of Mary, Jesus, and John the Baptist, conveys a sense of harmony and peace. The colors of the background seem to flow into each other and work well together. I conveyed this in my poem by repeating the last word of each line to tie the lines together and help them flow into each other. The colors in the foreground, in the people and in their clothing, stand out. They create definate lines and shapes, and clearly contrast with each other. I conveyed this in the short, somewhat choppy lines of the poem. The words in my poem show what I feel the painting to represent. The painting has an overall sense of beauty, and the love between Mary and the children is evident. The innocence of the young children stands out as well. When looking at the painting, I felt a sense of peace, everything seems to be in order, with nothing out of place, which is one of the reasons I ended the poem with the lines "Peace and salvation/ Salvation come to life." I also ended it with those lines because Jesus in the painting represents the salvation God sent to us, Salvation come to life.

Message no. 167: [Branch from no. 1] posted by student 13 on Mon Feb 05, 2001 23:29 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

Round like Mary's belly,

The colors soft and subtle

With Mary's gentle touch.

Admiring the holy cross

With light shinning on them

Mary and Children follow close and

You shall not fear.

Stay from evil and follow Mary's light

Children of our father

Look closely and stay

Forever focused

Look where they look

Admire him in all his Glory!

This is the poem that I created by looking at The Second Raphael 32. I'm not sure why but most of my lines start with unstressed and end with stressed. The only exception I can find is when the line ends in "and" then both the beginning and end are unstressed.I feel the painting can with stand any stress put upon it. Time, wars, religious struggles etc. It gave me hope and inspiration to go to church and follow Gods light. My eyes were drawn to the baby boy (Jesus) because of how the artist highlighted his forhead down to his toes. Then my eye followed another highlight leading off the baby's arm to the cross. Which everyone is admiring. I think this painting is really pretty. The most predominant shape is the circle. It is the shape of the painting with the figures in a triangle. These shapes create a sense of togetherness and stableness. "Forever lasting" is what this painting says to me. The texture of this painitng is soft as I express in my poem. The colors are very smooth and flow together. Most of the colors seem to be Triad and Analogous harmonies. They are very earthy-forever colors. The painting has all lines horizontal as the horizen. Diagonal lines in the clothes and vertical for the baby boy and the cross. I think my poem is an okay representative of all lines. But I think my poem is soft and warm, which matches the poem very well. I think the raphae paintings are very similar and Picasso is very different and hard. The two raphae are very soft and gentle and light. But the Picasso is hard and dense.

Message no. 173: [Branch from no. 1] posted by student 5 on Wed Feb 07, 2001 13:11 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

How the heavens up above give a wonderful glow

Peace, love and harmony for all the people of the earth.

Praise you O'Lord for the beauty

Raphael's Alba Madonna is the picture I chose to write my poem on. All of the pictures brought about feeling me, but this one brought the most emotions and fellings. Raphael's painting of the mother and child brought a sence of wellbeing and comfort over me. In this poem I tried to use comforting words and flowing language to capture the essence of the special love shown to me in the painting. The painting gave me a sort of peace of mind and the colors also did so. The shape of the circle shows the completeness and continous cycle with no beging and no end. Which for me represent the after life with Jesus Christ. The lines in the background are horizontal that represent calmness and easy movements. In my poem this is where I bring in the picture to the reader of the heavens. I think that my poem has the same regular rhyme scheme that the painting does because of the fellings of calmness and peacefulness. My attention is drawn to the naked child (Jesus) and my poem gives a sence of Jesus and your eyes are drawn to the word Lord. The painting has a color of darks and lights, which I interpreted as not much movement, like a calm atmosphere. The poem is light to me therefore I created a poem that has a light tone, not depressing just kind of uplifting. The three paintings did effect me very differently, but all created some affect. The painting by Picasso was very differnt. it made me think that it was a crazy time with all of the different lines in the painting, very chaotic. The School of Athens brought a very diffent feeling to me than the first one did. It seemed very peaceful, there were many people in tehe painting that you could draw different backgrounds to. There was lines made me sence movement, but not very much, the differnt colors symbolized a time of great calmness almost like the people were all studying. All of the pieces brought a differnt rythm and fellings.

Message no. 174: [Branch from no. 1] posted by student 24 on Wed Feb 07, 2001 18:25 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

The virgin mother, wholesome and true,

Is the protector of all the baby Christ knew.

So young, yet divine with the cross in his hand,

Oh how I weep to think of that man.

The one who died on the cross for our sins,

So lets make sure the devil never wins.

The painting draws your attention to the baby Jesus. I makes somewhat of a line with both Mary and John leaning towards the baby. In my poem I try to reflect both Mary's role as Jesus's mother and also the importance of Jesus as he grew from his childhood into the Savior. I tried to make the poem rhyme so that it would flow quicker and would be easier to read. The painting also seems to have a rhythm that flows and is easy to look at. I think that Raphael did a good job of using color, in that the color s used give the painting life and makes it appear real. It seems almost as though you could feel the texture of Mary's dress, just from looking at the painting. All in all I think this is a good painting. I also like the other painting by Raphael it was also very rhythmic and easy to look at. On the other, the painting done by Picasso is very disturbing to me. It is very confusing to look at, although I'm sure that it the effect he was trying to get, I don't like it at all.

Message no. 176: [Branch from no. 1] posted by student 16 on Wed Feb 07, 2001 20:21 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

Chaos and termoil anger and rage

begging and pleading

fearing the fire of the depths of hell

wanting for the light of heaven's eternal bliss

I chose to write my poem on picasso's painting because I tend to like more abstract or pastoral paintings as opposed to paintings with people in them. I also felt like I could sometimes relate to the chaos and anger that is shown in this painting. Picasso shows a huge contrast by painting most of the picture in black and white. By doing this one can infer the battle that is going on between good and evil, or heaven and hell, or light and dark. The painting itself looks chaotic and choppy, with no organization. This is the reason I did not use any organization in my poem. I wrot ein free verse and just wrote what had come to my mind when i looked at the painting. Your eyes seem to be drawn to the light parts of the painting first, however these light faces are full of torture and dark feelings, therefore giving the painting a dark feeling as well. The words I chose to use in my poem also create a dark sense and a sense of a battle between dark and light or good and bad. These three poems did not create the same effects at all. While the two raphiel paintings were somewhat similar, the picasso was definatly different. In the raphieals there was many colors and smooth and curved lines while the picasso was only black and white and brownish, and the lines were short and choppy.

Message no. 178: [Branch from no. 1] posted by student 10 on Wed Feb 07, 2001 23:13 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

Surrounded with peace we view the cross

Remembering how Jesus saved the lost.

With our thoughts of peace we sit at her feet

Wondering when Jesus and I will meet.

The Second picture by Raphael had the most affect on me. When I first looked at it the colors gave me a sense of peace and serenity. The mother reminds me of Mary the mother of Jesus. The color red symbolizes the shedding of christ blood. The blue background made me think of a calm quiet area where a mother sits with her children. The use of the circle overall gives it a sense of wholeness and completeness. It kind of makes me think of the way that the circle of life continues on no matter what. There is no beginning and no end. With the equidistant cross Raphael shows the relationship between the mother and her children. the cross symbolizes the quality of time being spent betweent the mother and her children. The sense of relaxation and peace continue to be shown through the use of horizontal lines. The texture of the painting seems to be very smooth and soft. The child being bare also gives me a sense of softness and innocence. The texture is very light. It does not have a heavy tone due to the use of lighter mild colors. The poem does not have a very upbeat rhythm. It kind of just flows along as does the picture. The poem gives off a sense of peace when you think about that glorious day when we will meet Christ. The painting gives that same sense of serenity and peace that you would imagine feeling if Christ were sitting here in the room. The poem and the painting both seem to have a peaceful rhyme to them and Raphael uses the the smoothe texture, the mild colors and the implied lines to give off that sense of relaxation. All of the paintings did not create the same affect when I saw them. The Picasso painting gave a sense of death and turmoil. It seemed to me that Picasso was trying to portray a city in the midst of a crisis or war of some such. The first painting by Raphael remimded me of when The peolpe were selling in the temple and Jesus came in and threw them out. I guess in a way both of Raphael's paintings gave me a spiritual view, but he first one was a little busier and the second one was peaceful and quiet.

Message no. 182: [Branch from no. 1] posted by student 25 on Thu Feb 08, 2001 15:47 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

Warrior screams, war he lost

Mother cries, baby she lost

Pain and Death

The night has come

Another day, another battle

Another life, another struggle

Death and pain

For light we pray

I chose Picasso’s Guernica, because it is not static, it is full of motion and very abstract. His picture is very strong, emotional and it is trying to send a message, but in a very strange way. I think this picture is a result of something like a bad dream. And very usual thing for a bad dream is fight between good and evil. There are also different parts of picture that can stand by itself, and they are all united in one piece. 1.In lower left part we can se a mother holding a dead baby and there is a bull standing just beside her. 2.On the bottom of the picture there is a fallen warrior struggling for his life, begging for mercy 3.There is also a wild horse who is attacking the warrior, and that is obvious because horseshoe is near warrior’s head. 4.There is also a hand holding a candle near horse’s head. This fight between good and evil is represented by heavy and dark colors. Although it may look like there is some equality between light and dark, I had impression that darkness is strong on this picture. But, what drew my attention is a candle in the upper right corner that represents some kind of hope that good will overcome the evil. Direction and style of lines and shapes differs and there is not a particular shape that Picasso was using, texture is very dense, which points on chaos and violence. Generally looking, picture has some circular shape of events, something like battle between good and evil is never ending story. For my poem I tried to reach atmosphere of chaos and darkness, and on the end there is some hope. Every other line is long and confused, but has common issues such as death and struggle, as we can see on the picture. Part that represent light is short and very optimistic. It is obvious that these three pictures don’t create the same effect. Picasso’s picture is very emotional and chaotic, Raphael’s Alba Madonna is also very emotional, but in a different way. It gives a sense of peace and happiness with a strong and easy to understand message. Third picture shows lot of motion, lines are vertical and gives a sense like there’s a lot going on in there.

Message no. 185: [Branch from no. 1] posted by student 18 on Thu Feb 08, 2001 20:57 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

Anger, distortion, devastion, confusion.

Howling, pity, torture.

The painting by Picasso makes me feel like every image is thrown together in mass confusion. Different emotions are displayed through dark colors,and distorted images of humans and animals. The image of what looks like a mother holding her dying baby really disturbs me. The other images look confused, and like they are suffering. The dark colors make me feel like something sad, or something terrible has happened. My poem creates darkness like the painting. My poem describes the most predominant figures, faces twisted in agony and despair. The other two paintings by Raphael use warm colors unlike the dark colors Picasso uses. The same features of the human body are predominant. The Virgin Mary painting makes me feel serene and comforted like a baby being comforted by its mother.= I really enjoyed looking at the different paintings. I especially liked the emotions displayed in Raphael's paintings.

Message no. 187: [Branch from no. 1] posted by student 9 on Thu Feb 08, 2001 22:47 Subject: re: Assignment on color, line, shape, and rhythm

Warmth, security, a mother's caring touch

Love, care, the things we need so much.

The child raises his hand to reach for the predominant figure

Memories of childhood this image does trigger.

I chose Raphael's painting of the woman and two children. The meter and language in my poem are long and soothing. This goes along with the affect of the comfort you feel of the mother. The words are bold like the colors of the painting. It has one central meaning to go along with the one central figure your attention focuses on in the painting. The rhyme is consistent. Each two lines rhyme. This goes along with the consistency of a mother. A mother is always there no matter what. The other two paintings triggered emotions in me. However, this painting triggered more because it made me think of my own childhood and how I always-and still do-look to my mother when I need something.

Message no. 147: posted by student 3 on Tue Jan 30, 2001 12:15 Subject: poetry student 3

Today's class was very interesting. The guest speaker was funny and entertaining. I had no clue how many elements there were in poetry. I have a whole new respect for poets. I thought they just kinda wrote what came to mind and made it rhyme. I knew there was rhythm but like what I learned today about meters and all the different lines. It was very overwhelming, but very interesting. Poetry has a whole new meaning.

Message no. 150: [Branch from no. 147] posted by student 5 on Wed Jan 31, 2001 09:02 Subject: re: poetry I really enjoyed Dr. Glowa visiting our class. I have always liked poetry, but some I just could not get interested in because I did not understand the rhyme scheme. He really put a new edge on poetry for me. It was so funny how he would sing different tunes to the same poet, that really helped me understand. I loved his lecture and now I can have a better connection between poetry and rhymes.

Message no. 183: [Branch from no. 147] posted by student 2 on Thu Feb 08, 2001 20:23 Subject: re: poetry

Poetry relates to art in that it is a form of expression unexplainable in words. Poetry is so much more than just words, jut as art does not fit one category and is more than just paint and patterns. The rythum of poetry makes it come alive, gives it personality, texture. You can't just sit down and write poetry, you have to feel it. Without that feeling or soul behind it, words do not become poetry but just exist.

Message no. 149: posted by student student 12 on Tue Jan 30, 2001 16:49

Dr. Glowka was very entertaining in class today. He spoke of rythm and meter and explained how you can determine the ryhme scheme of a sentence. I especially enjoyed it when he started to sing lines from literature. He really made me understand the connection between literature and rhythm. He made it fun and interesting to learn about rythm and meter.

Message no. 151: posted by student 23 on Wed Jan 31, 2001 11:33 Subject: Poetic journey through art

I really enjoyed the lecture by Dr. Wayne Glowka on Monday. I have always liked poetry and I have wrote some poems of my own in high school that were published in the school's treasure chest which is a book of poems that students and teachers could submit there writings. I never knew thre was so many ways that poems could be sung, spoken, or read until I listened to Dr. Glowka. He was very entertaining with all the different ways that the patterns was sung. I had a great time in class learning about meter and rhythm in music.

Message no. 156: [Branch from no. 151] posted by student 20 on Wed Jan 31, 2001 21:27 Subject: re: Poetic journey through art

Through Dr. Glowka's presentation, I was able to better comprehend the elements of poetry. Through his interpretation and varoius ways of expressing the poems, he was able to keep my interest. I thought it was neat the way that he showed the difference between meter and rhythm. I never knew there were so many different ways to read poetry or that there was so much contoversy about the meter of poems. I also thought that Dr. Glowka was very funny when singing the poems and using various tunes. I really enjoyed his presentation and it showed me several new things about the art of poetry.

Message no. 153: posted by student 4 on Wed Jan 31, 2001 13:26 Subject: Brittany Shelnutt I really enjoyed Dr. Glowka's lecture on Tuesday. The way he explained the difference between rhythm and meter helped me understand what English teachers have tried to teach me for years. It will definately come in handy in my World Literature class. My grandmother has written poetry for years. She is currently in the process of publishing a book of ecological poems. She is a wonderfully gifted person and her work is incredible. I really have to respect people like that, because writing poetry is certainly a God given gift.

Message no. 154: posted by student 11 on Wed Jan 31, 2001 19:47 Subject: A poetic journey through the elements of art/

Poetry is more than reading and reciting. It is poetic rhythm, it is metered, it is an abstract pattern. The set of rules given to read poetry. Dr. Glowka demonstrated the rhythm of poetry. I was able to apply the rhythm of reading poetry and learned rhythm is the function of performance which is the repeated event in space and time. I learned where to put accents, whether it should be light or heavy. I am sure as we continue we shall appreciate the arts better and especially when we are attending events.

Message no. 155: [Branch from no. 154] posted by student 18 on Wed Jan 31, 2001 21:08 Subject: re: A poetic journey through the elements of art/

I really enjoyed our class with Dr.Glowka on rhythm in poetry. He made learning about poetry fun when he sang different lines of poetry with popular tunes. I have never really understood iambic pentameter or any other rhyming sequence until Dr. Glowka explained it to our class. I appreciate the work poets do.

Message no. 160: posted by student 9 on Thu Feb 01, 2001 15:50 Subject: Poetry

I found Dr. Glowka's lecture to be very entertaining and educational. He explained poetry in a way that I could understand and relate to. I feel that his lecture has given me a new sense of appreciating great literature.

Message no. 161: posted by student 7 on Thu Feb 01, 2001 17:37

I really enjoyed the lecture that Dr. Glowka taught us on Tuesday. It made me better understand the meter and rhythm that most poems have. Until his lecture I thought poetry was just a bunch of words that sometimes tended to rhyme. He was able to help me understand that almost every piece of literature has a meter or rhythm to it. His examples of the poems: Birches which is represented by iambic pentameter,Henry Wadsworth Longfellow which is represented by dactyllic nexameter,and Easter Wings which demonstrates syllabic verse allows me to understand that every piece of poetry has some form of rhythm and meter. His singing also added to the effectiveness of my understanding of the rythm of poetry.

Message no. 162: posted by student 26 on Thu Feb 01, 2001 20:58 Subject: a poetic journey

I don't think that I really liked the presentation given by Dr. Glowka on Tuesday in class. I did though, enjoy the way that he demonstrated the rythm of the poem through song. But, during the whole presentation I felt as though he wasn't really talking to the class. Kind of like he was in front of the board speaking rather loudly to himself. The point that he was trying to make, I did get. I feel that Dr. Glowka is very intellectual and know a great deal about rhyme and meter. Another reason why I don't think that I enjoyed it was that I have never really understood the whole concept of meter and stressed and unstressed syllabls. i think I would have enjoyed the presentation more if I was actually interested in some of material covered.

Message no. 163: posted by student 10 on Thu Feb 01, 2001 21:32 Subject: Assignment

I had a lot of fun in class today. I enjoyed Dr.Glowka. I really learned a lot about poetry. Although I've studied Rythm in certain high school English classes, I never really took it to heart until Teusday. I saw how poets don't just write something rhymes to us, they have a deeper sense of rythm that the naked eye cannot see. My most enjoyable part of the class was listening to thew different song that Dr. Glowka put the poetry to. Teusday's class was very interesting and enlightening. But, I did enjoy playing the African drums on last week.

Message no. 177: posted by student 12 on Wed Feb 07, 2001 22:53

The distant mountains, the calm sky;

a mother and her children filled with love.

Living in harmony, in a state of serenity;

a mother and her children filled with love.

Out of the three paintings i viewed, Raphael's, Alba Madonna, caused me to feel the most emotion. The colors Raphael uses are soft, pastel colors that made me feel a since of serenity. My poem describes how the way he depicts the mountains and the sky allows one to feel harmony. The shape of the painting was a circle, which represents a wholeness and a never-ending love from a mother to her children. The way Raphael uses his colors made me see a sort of innosense in the childrens eyes and the lighting gave the mother a nourturing side. I chose to write a poem that mainly focused on the mother loving her children and their relationship revolving around God. Alba Madonna immediately made me think of my family and how they have unconditional love towards me. One cannot glance at this painting without feeling love for their family and having a calmness come over them. I feel I express a feeling of innosense, compassion, and serenity in my peom by reiterating how a mothers love for her children is so peaceful and nourturing. This painting sparked a totally different feeling than the two other paintings because the other two didnt make me feel for my family and feel serene as the Alba Madonna does. Raphael definitely knew how to paint subjects that everyone could easily relate to.

Message no. 179: posted by student 1 on Wed Feb 07, 2001 23:36 Subject: ALBA MADONNA

SERENE, DIVINE, BEAUTIFUL

PATIENT, KIND, LOVING COOL, CALM,AND COLLECTED

THE ALBA MADONNA

THE ALBA MADONNA MAKES ME THINK OF PEACEFUL WORDS AND THOUGHTS.IT REPRESENTS A CERTAIN CALMNESS AND SERENESS.THE LINES AND COLOR IN THE ALBA MADONNA ARE WHAT MAKES THE PAINTING SEEM SO SERENE. THE LINES AREN'T STRICTLY STRAIGHT THEY HAVE A KIND OF BLURRY TEXTURE AND LOOK.I REALLY LIKE THE CREATIVE WAY RAPHAEL MAKES THE PICTURE APPEAR ROUND. IT SHOWS THE WHOLENESS OF IT.THE RHYTHM OF MY POEM IS STEADY ANF FLOWING LIKE THE PAINTING. THE PAINTING APPEARS TO GO ON FOREVER AND SO COULD MY POEM WITH MORE DESCRIPTIVE WORDS.THE OTHER TWO PAINTINGS DID NOT HAVE THE SAME CALMING EFFECT ON ME. PICASSO'S PAINTING IS MORE OR LESS DISRUPTIVE AND SCARRY.RAPHAEL'S SCHOOL OF ATHENS LOOKS TOO BUSY.

Message no. 180: posted by student 4 on Thu Feb 08, 2001 01:49 Subject: Alba Madonna

Two children play Atop grass so green.

Many will pray For lives like these.

Looking up innocently To God's chosen one

Loving him endlessly God's only son.

The mountains bow down

And the blue skies, too.

To the heavenly crown

As the baby coos.

The poem is written in iambic pentameter. The flow of the meter reflects the playful and happy mood of the moment captured in the painting. I used a rhyme scheme similar to the one Shakespeare used in his sonnets (ABAB CDCD EFEF). However, I did leave out the couplet at the end of the poem. The painting used complimentary colors such as red and green, and blue and orange (flesh color). Blue is a very predominant color in this painting. The color blue is often used in religious paintings. There are several diagonal lines in the painting. The babies' bodies are leaning towards the Virgin Mary and she is leaning towards them. There is also a mountain range in the background of the painting. Raphael wanted to direct the viewer's eyes towards the heavens and did so by using the diagonal lines. There are many horizontal lines that seem to put more emphasis on the horizontal lines. The texture of the painting is very soft and very light. It gives off a harmonious, happy rhythm. The poem I have written captures the rhythm of the painting because it flows and is very soft. The poem also captures the paintings use of diagonal lines by using phrases such as "looking up" and by referring to the mountains. This poem is a light and simple peom and this reflects the texture of the painting. Of the three paintings we looked at, Picasso's painting "Guernica" was the only one that created a different affect. It was edgy, dark, and dense. This differs greatly from Raphael's paintings because they are bright and airy.

Message no. 181: posted by student 23 on Thu Feb 08, 2001 13:33 Subject: Poetic journey

I would first like to say that I don't understand what you are trying to ask in this assignment. All I can tell you is that the poetic journey through the elements of art is when a writer of a poem actually paints a picture like an artist does except instead of putting it on canvas or using color with paints, a writer uses words as his/her paints and paper as his/her canvas. I really did enjoy the lecture by Dr. Wayne Glowka on the rythm in poetry. This was very interesting in all the ways that the patterns were sung to different songs.

Message no. 184: posted by student 7 on Thu Feb 08, 2001 20:52 Subject: Alba Madonna

Dark and scary faces, starring in different directions

Sorrow, creepiness, and madness.

Confusion is the key,

Distorted images bring distorted feelings.

I chose to use free verse to describe my feelings of Picasso's Alba Madonna because free verse is what I know best. This picture has many differnt feelings and hidden meaning. What first attracted my attention was the white distorted images placed on the figures's faces. The paiting is made up of many dark colors with an emphasis on the bright white faces. A common feeling that may come from looking at this paiting is sadness and torture. The images in the painting appear to be suffering. Another reason I chose to use free verse was because the paiting represents no organization similar to the lack of organization in my free verse of poetry. There are many shapes and lines that are combined in this paiting. Wavy, and vertical lines are present. The wavy lines could represent the madness or lack of organizaion in the painting. The meter in this paiting could be compared to dynamic stress in beats. There could be uneven notes and changes in the contrasts between loud and soft. The music of this paiting could be somewhat scary and mystery-like. Overall, my opinion of this paiting is distortion. There appear to be many faces combined on one face with scary looking faces. The figures appear to be tortured.

Message no. 203: posted by student 26 on Wed Feb 21, 2001 23:39 Subject: poem

This is my second message that I am posting. My first one wasn't right. I wrote my own poem and I am going to tell you why I chose the rythm and meter that I did.

School of Athens

School of Athens how full of knowledge you must be.

To be full to the brim with the knowledge of he,

he who's questionshave no end the people of Greece,

their minds he wants to bend.

Oh, School of Athens now I know in order for my mind to grow question everything

I must do for only then can I have knowledge.

I worte this poem in almost a free verse because of the subject matter that it is about. Greece is full of philosophers that didn't conform. I didn't want to conform to any pattern when I wrote the poem. The rythm of the poem might be hard to pick up at first. But, it is slow moving at first then it kind of picks up as the poem progresses. i feel that the rythm is like someone that is confused then gains more and more knowledge as he asks questions, he begins to see clearer. I amnot a poet of any sort. But listening and learning from Dr. Glowak really helped me understand all that went into poetry. I really enjoyed Dr. Glowak's speech even though I have never been interested in poetry I did learn a lot.