English 253 May 31 2011 Creative Project Responses

Group 21

Group 21’s presentation was the most meaningful to me because I watch a lot of talent TV shows. Their rendition of “Soldier’s Got Talent” was entertaining as well as very moving. The first song performed, “If I Die Young” was a mellow tune whose lyrics had an optimistic view of death.  The group incorporated slight humor with the judges’ comments and criticism to bring out the deeper meaning behind the lyrics.  The second song performed was a rendition of Robert Grave’s poem “I Will Remember You”. I felt that this song and lyrics are the most commonly known to our audience because of Sarah Mclachlan’s modern day remake of the poem.  I enjoyed the powerful pictures of soldiers that were displayed during the presentation to compliment the song’s lyrics.  My favorite quote from the second song is “weep not for the memories”. I never fully understood what Mclachlan was singing about; Group 20’s presentation, allowed me to fully understand and appreciate the meaning of the song by reading the lyrics and follow along with the song.  Lastly, the group performed a song by Wilfred Owen.  This song had a distinct style to it what was vastly different than the first two songs.  It had more of a rock, heavy metal style, which made the poem’s lyrics much more powerful and in your face. This song addressed the fact that even tho a war may end, wounded soldiers would experience misery for the rest of their lives.  My favorite quote from the poem is “there is not much left of me after war”.  At the end of the performance, one of the judges elaborated on this quote’s meaning, it seemed to really hit home for our audience.

The presentation from May 31 I found most interesting was group 21's "Soldiers Got Talent."  The group compared the World War I poems they were analyzing to familiar songs that the majority of the class knew very well.  The comparison was very well discussed, and they provided good text evidence to support their song choices. As they did this analysis, they entertained the class with a singing competition theme, which kept the presentation lively and enjoyable.  I thought it was very unique and well-done.  

I felt the best presentation out of today’s groups was definitely group 21. All of the groups focused on Mary Oliver and the World War One Poets and I was shocked to see that no groups attempted To the Lighthouse by Virginia Wolfe. Anyways, group 20 shot all of the other groups out of the water with their creative rendition of America’s Got Talent/American Idol. It was interesting to see how the group found different songs to portray the word of the differing poets. The songs chosen for each poet was appropriate for each style of poet that was presented during class. However, I think it would have been better to have each poet perform his or her own poems in a singsong manner. This particular type of reading was difficult to put into a presentation because it is uniquely about World War One soldiers, so I think the group did a really great job putting it into a creative presentation and interpreted the poems very well. I probably won’t have been thought of doing this for these poems but group 20 executed the presentation excellently. 

The group that I found to be the most interesting was certainly Group 21, who chose to do their report as a game show, similar to America's Got Talent. I think this presentation method is very clever, because it uses the idea of a popular show that many young people our age know a lot about. In this way, we can relate to the presentation easily. Some works that this group chose to report on were "The Soldier" and "When I'm Killed." The format of the presentation was that of a game show, where the judges hear each performer, in this case, poet, perform his or her song and then give their feedback. Each poem was represented by a popular song that was in very close comparison in it's content, such as "Will You Remember Me?" by Sarah McLaughlin in place of "When I'm Killed." In their feedback, the judges provided a great analytical breakdown of what was behind the words of these great poets, such as the long-lasting effects of war on human beings (PTSD and others.) Overall, I think this group really captured what the authors were trying to portray in their poems, about the heartbreak of warfare and the pain and suffering of loss. Having songs that we could hear in class along with the lyrics of the song and poem side-by-side were a great way for the audience to really engage itself in the presentation. I appreciated the work put in by this group, as well as the creativity that went into making their PowerPoint. Great job!

The group that I enjoyed the most was Group 21. They started out with an idea based off of a reality contest show called Soldiers Got Talent. There was an announcer and three judges much like actual shows we now see an abundance of on television. The group showcased three artists, through PowerPoint with the song, the lyrics, and pictures. The group then tied the renditions of songs about war to how they related to the World War I poems. The judges went on to further explain specific parts and lines closely related either in exact words or similar ideas that were correlated. The songs to me had a personal experience as I've heard them throughout my life, and the way the group included both the lyrics to give an even larger impact and photos really connected to me. I liked how they gave their own thoughts of how they were connected because I had never really thought of it that way though the songs and poems are so similar. All in all, I thought Group 21 did a great job in illustrating correlations, their own opinions, and creating an extremely touching presentation.

Group number 21 did a rendition of America's Got Talent and changed it to "Soldiers Got Talent". They used the World War 1 poets as the contestants. Three different poets sang a song that correlated and complimented a poem of thiers. The first song was "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry. This song, when put in the context of war, was very touching and meaningful. One of the lines that really stood out was, "Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother
She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors". This reveals another way to think of dying for our country, you are protecting your family, friends, and fellow citizens. Another stanza that really stood out to me was, "A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I'll sell them for a dollar They're worth so much more after I'm a goner And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin' Funny when you're dead how people start listenin'. " We need to appreciate our soldiers that are out their fighting and riskinig thier lives for our country, not only the ones that have died for us. This group did a great job with all three of the songs but this one in particular worked very well with the World War 1 poets and the message they were trying to send to the nation.

I love the song, If I Die Young, so I had to pick group 21 as my favorite. Group 21 did a talent show named Solder’s Got Talent featuring Rupert Brooke, Robert Graves, and Wilfred Owen. We never found out who was actually singing the poems from these artists. If it was one of the group members, props to them, it was good. It was very interesting to hear and contrast If I Die Young to Rupert Brooke’s The Soldier. I had never thought of that song in the way The Soldier presented it. The Soldier was about a soldier going off to war and as a nobody and dying a war hero. The point is that people think of you and all your accomplishments after you after you are dead. The real song to which they contrasted is about a girl faking her death so people would realize her accomplishments. It is a funny trend how people are recognized to a greater extent after their death. The poem by Robert Graves called, When I am Killed was interesting to compare to I will Remember You. I believe the messages from both songs are similar but are from different settings and time periods. The poem When I am Killed is talking is saying that him or a soldier will live on in and through those who love and know him or her. What is interesting is that in both songs the artists say not to mourn them (or the dead if you will). Overall good job

I really liked group twenty-one’s presentation on Rupert Brooks. I thought the analysis of Rupert Brooks through the song “If I Die Young” was intelligent and got right to the point about Rupert Brooks, The Soldier, about remembering those who had die for our country. Another cool part of their project was they way the presented it in the same format as the show America’s got talent with three judges relating the ideas of the song to Rupert Brooks poems. This definitely made the presentation more captivating. I thought Group twenty two’s presentation on Mary Oliver was captivating as well. It was interesting and very creative how the mimicked Mary Oliver’s writing style to write a poem of their own emotions and feeling relating to a companionship they had with a horse. I thought that the way the group compared some of Mary Oliver’s poems and their messages to the song “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles was an interesting take. I felt the song truly grasped the meaning behind “the Sun” and “Summer Day”. It was similar to “The Sun” because the poem talked about how everything was going to be okay in life and this was definitely the same type of feeling I got from the Beatles song. I liked Group twenty three’s presentation too on the War poets and the innocence and experience of the soldiers. Their comparison between Rise Against’s “Hero of War” and Rupert’s “The Soldier” was brilliant. The message between the two was pretty similar. They talked of the innocent feeling of going into war, dying for one’s country, and being immortalized as a war hero. Although as you delve deeper into the meaning of the two you could see  a questioning arising about this way of thinking and this resembled an almost experienced emotion of the true meaning of war.

I thought group 21 performed the best and had the most interesting project.  I really liked how they took a soldiers life and explained it in different modern songs.  They were very clever in how they tied in pictures with the lyrics of the song, and turned it into an interview/american idol.  They related modern songs with words and phrases from the WW1 poets.  They were somewhat comical in their performance and were fun and easy to listen to.  They took to heart the words from the poems and enlightened them to us.  They had voices that were easy to hear and follow.  It also sounds like they sung the songs and recorded them with their own voices.  This group put forth a lot of effort in appearance and originality for their project

I liked the presentation of group 21 the best. The presentation was based on Dover’s, Anthology of World War I poets.  It involved a episode of a mock television show that they called Soldiers’ Got Talent.  The show was like a mock American idol. The “soldiers” sang songs that were similar to their poems and the judges compared the poems and the songs. The first soldier was Rupert Brooke with his poem “The Soldier” and the song “If I die Young”.  The second soldier was Robert Graves with his poem “When I am Killed” and the song “I Will Remember You”. The third and last soldier was Wilfred Owens with his poem “Mental Case” and the song “One”. This presentation exemplified the fact that soldiers all experienced war differently. The judges gave the presentation an interesting twist because it showed that people have different views and do disagree with each other. This presentation was relatable because it made the soldier’s poems into a more present day format with the songs. This conversion expressed that these view transcend time and place. People in World War I felt the same way about war that people feel about the conflicts and wars today.  Overall it was a very entertaining and enlightening presentation.

The very first performance of the day was the performance that stuck with me. Group 21's presentation was meaningful to me because the songs they related the poetry to weren't obvious and overly popular songs. It gave me the impression that they took a lot of time searching for relatable songs with an abundance of similar lyrics to the poetry of Rupert Brooke, Robert Graves, and Wilfred Owen. The performance itself was just that: a performance. A vast majority of the presentations have been powerpoint presentations or videos or music. Group 21 was a breath of fresh air because they were playing roles while incorporating the music and using the powerpoint slides as aids for the audience to make the connection between the song and the poem. The pictures they hung on the blackboard to make it look like the poet was behind a microphone were humorous, and the graphics of the powerpoint were impressive. The only critique I would have that would make the performance stand out even more would be if the "judges" didn't read their opinions off of notecards. I feel that if they really believed what they had said they would not have had to reference their notes no often. But overall, I really enjoyed this presentation. Bravo!

I think that group 21 did an awesome job on their presentation. Maybe I am a little bit biased in my decision because American Idol is my favorite show, but their presentation was the most creative. I think that the theme of being about a contemporary reality show made the World War One poems more interesting. Reading the poem doesn’t have the same effect as listening to a song that shows emotion and urgency. I liked how the group showed different styles of songs, such as Sarah McLaughlin and Metallica. That allowed the class to look at the poems in a different light, and in styles of music that appeal to more people. I think that each song could have been analyzed a little bit more, instead of only analyzing the singing talents, but it was still really good. Some of the songs gave me chills because they had so much emotion. All of the groups did really well, but overall, this group was my favorite. Even though other groups showed songs that relate to the poems, I honestly think that the American Idol theme sets Group 21 at the top. It added a little bit of humor to the serious tone of the poems.

I thought that all the presentations from today’s class were insightful and entertaining. The most influential presentation to me was Group 21’s presentation. I liked how they created a game show, “Soldier’s Got Talent”, and how they related modern songs to the poems. I like how they used three poems and related the poems to modern songs that most of the class had heard before. I thought this group did a great job at getting into depth in the poems and giving the class an insightful look at the similarities between modern day media and these poems. Great Job!

Of the groups that presented on May 31, the one I appreciated the most was group 21, and their mock game show on World War I poets. I thought this presentation was the most creative out of the ones done on this day, as well as having a certain amount of entertainment value. It was well organized in how it gave each member of the group an opportunity to speak at length on a specific author. The presentation allowed them to make a connection to modern day songwriters while interpreting the meanings behind the poets' original works. I thought that the use of a game show based loosely on American Idol was a very creative method of conveying the ideas in the poets' works and contrasting them with the products of modern artists.

I felt that Group 21 had the best presentation today. It was the most creative making “Soldier’s Got Talent”, a spin off of “America’s Got Talent”, where World War 1 soldiers “sang” songs related to war. Then three group members served as the judges. Not only did this presentation elaborate on the war poems we have talked about, but was also entertaining, playing songs that were recognizable and opening up my mind in a different way. I thought it was really clear and well done. 

I thought that Group Number 21 had the most meaniful presentation.  They created a mock american idol, but made the "idols" British war poets.  There were three total soldiers who each performed a song.  After they song was performed the three judges gave their critiques.  I thought that this was the most insightful aspect of the presentation.  The judges were the ones who compared the performance of the song to one of the poet the soldier had written.  I really like the songs that were chosen, my favorite was If I Die Young.  I am really familiar with this song and the lyrics are quite touching.  It was neat to see how similar these new and popular songs are to old poems written decades ago.

Group 21’s presentation comparing World War I poets to modern, contemporary music affected me the most because it demonstrated how war, pain, and love have sustained throughout time.  I thought the message expressed in Rupert Brooke’s poem “The Soldier” and the song “If I Die Young” were similar in that they both conveyed the fear and pain young soldiers experience during war.  They also show how powerful love is between a mother and son.  I enjoyed the Wilfred Owen poem “Mental Case” matched the Metallica song “One” because they both describe the scars and pain soldiers bring back with them after war.  This unfortunate reality of soldiers returning home with physical and mental scars has been prevalent throughout history and is still occurring today with U.S. soldiers returning from combat with PTSD, brain injuries, physical injuries, etc.  I also liked how the group set up the presentation like American Idol for war poets because it caught my attention and was very humorous.

The group presentation I enjoyed the most was group 21. They did their presentation in a way that had never occurred to me before. They called it “Soldiers Got Talent.” Whoa, it was incredible. The pictures that they had in their were epic. Extremely dramatic war photos that tied the poems and songs together. My personal favorite was the Mental Cases poem backed with the pictures that described the misery of women soldiers. Even better, one of my favorite songs, One by Metallica played as the background music. I felt this was the perfect song to express the dramatic pictures that were presented. Another great aspect of their presentation was the lyrics of the songs they showed on their slides. For many people who do not know the songs being played this is extremely beneficial. One thing I noticed was that all of the groups presented on War today. However, I feel that this group stuck out among the rest. Their take “Soldiers got Talent,” was an interesting twist that I feel was not matched by any other group. Another reason why I enjoyed their presentation over the others was because I did not feel like their presentation was a presentation, if that makes sense at all. I felt it was more like a TV show because of their style of presenting. Overall I think the group did a great job and I wouldn’t mind staying tuned for the next episode of “Soldiers Got Talent.” Haha Ok maybe that wasn’t a good joke. But great job group 21!

The group that I found most entertaining and inspiring was group 21's presentation of Soldier’s Got Talent. I thought the idea to make their presentation a talent competition was excellent it made the presentation definitely stand out from the others as well as made it more entertaining and relatable. I like how they chose modern songs that are relevant to today's time, they were spot on and the similarities pointed out between the songs and the poems were very interesting and not something I would necessarily think of on my own. The additional pictures and lyrics on the slideshow also added a little extra and helped to make the overall presentation a little more visually stimulating. I liked the whole set up of the presentation the way they made it more of a television show then a school project. I also thought it was creative how they had the comparisons of the poems compared to the modern songs during the part where the judges were responding to the performance. The other commentary from the additional judges also added a little comedy relief and made the whole presentation not as heavy and serious. Group 21’s Soldier’s Got Talent was a very creative idea and made for a great presentation that was visually and mentally stimulating.

I thought group 21 was the best of the groups that presented. I really liked their layout and their insights into the authors they choose to analyze. They had a great variety of photographs that went along with the poems and songs they choose. I liked the overall theme of Death, as it is always an ever-changing theme with a magnitude of attitudes about it. You connected what the authors had to say with modern day songs that regular people connect to. You picked songs that both the poems and authors would have as well has songs that your audience knows and can connect to. Group 23: The handout was a really nice touch and unique. It really helped out with following what you were saying and what the songs where saying. It helped all the different kinds of learners connect to your presentation. The band and songs were seemed kinda random and only for a limited group of people.  Group 24 I found kinda lacking. Following all the other presentations this was just run of the mill analysis of a poem. Nothing really jumped out as great or exciting but just a review of what any plain website says.

I found group 21’s presentation to be the most inspiring, although the other presentations were similar and excellent as well.  They compared current songs with poems by the war poets. They compared Rupert Brooke’s poem “The Soldier” to the song by The Band Perry “If I Die Young.” They then compared Sarah Mclachlan’s song “I Will Remember You” to Rupert Brooke’s poem “When I’m Killed.” They concluded the presentation by comparing Wilfred Owen’s poem “ Mental Cases” to Metallica’s song, “The One.” This group was the first group to present, and compared to the other groups, they selected the more appropriate songs that related to the poems that they selected. They were extremely moving and thought-provoking just as the selected poems were. It is amazing that a war poem written decades ago has such a similar message to songs still written today.

I enjoyed group 21’s presentation in class on Tuesday. The idea to use a popular television show to analyze World War I poets and their work was very creative. First of all, I appreciated the background of the PowerPoint was in camo print, and gave it more of a military feel. Second, using pictures from both previous wars and the current war in the Middle East really put things into perspective. This presentation was a nice comparison between war 100 years ago and war now. The first song discussed the romantic side of war and made death seem appealing to a young soldier. This is a topic that is still relevant today and I liked the analysis of both the poem and song given in the presentation. The last song and theme of hurt soldiers really came into light when the speaker compared it to PTSD and other diseases caused by war. The songs were enjoyable to listen to and overall I fell like this presentation was the most fluid and easiest to follow of all the groups to present on Tuesday. Great work group 21, very original and comical with the adlibbing by the judges when it wasn’t their turn to analyze the song/poem.

Group 21's presentation was my favorite of the last group of presentations. I liked the "Soldier's Got Talent" idea and that they used modern songs to connect with the World War II poets. The fact that they only played part of the song was appreciated, as it meant we got to hear more of their analysis, which was thoughtful and measured. I liked that we got to hear from each group member, or judge, and that there were different poets represented. The slideshow of pictures during the song was nice, as it added another layer of meaning to the songs. The visual cue was helpful in maintaining a connection between the modern song and the early 20th century poetry. Good job group 21!

I really enjoyed Group 21's presentation of the Soldier Hero. I really enjoyed the way that the group related modern war themed songs to the Brittsish war poets that we studied in class.  Songs have an amazing power to persuade and tell a message, and I was interested to see that many of the themes discussed then are being discussed now.  The presentation was very nice and I liked the depth of analysis for each of the poems/songs discussed.

I enjoyed group 21's presentation because it was something we had not seen before. The presentation was funny but it also took some good insight on characters personalities to be able to pick modern songs that would suit them. I think they did a good job of this. The commentary after the songs reiterated why the song was picked and it helped me pick up things I missed about the song and how it related. This group stood out the most for me because they chose a unique project, but all of the presentations that went today were entertaining and thought provoking.

On Tuesday, I enjoyed the project presented by group 21 the most. It was a very creative way of linking the World War 1 poems to current songs. My favorite song/poem was "If I Die Young" and it was linked to the poem "The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke. I really liked how with each song, one of the judges analyzed not only the "singing" of each performer on "Soldiers Got Talent" but also how it relates to their poem (which is presented excellent analytical insight). It was a very well-thought out presentation and not only kept the audience entertained with humor and relevant songs, but showed the audience that they had a strong understanding of the content of these poems.

I thought that all the presentations from today’s class were creative and entertaining. The presentation that I enjoyed most was probably Group 21’s presentation. I really liked how they made up a game show, and then took modern songs and related them to the different poems from three of the poets. I think the songs really captured the essence, feeling and the message of the poems all really well, especially the second song, “I Will Remember You.” Overall I think they did a really good job presenting in class as well, and definitely kept me entertained!

group 21 did there project on the "World War One British Poets". There Project was well done, creative and very organized. This project was done in the form of a Game show, much like the popular tv show American Idol. At first I did not care for the approach to the project. But after hearing the music and What each person had to say about selected poems from the text, the project gained my interest. What they said about the poems really opened my opinion. It gave me another perspective. I believe the group worked well together and showed great thought and hard work that was put into this presentation.

The presentation that was the most meaningful to me was the presentation by group 21. They had a very creative idea to find songs that related to the World War One poets and compile them into a “Solder Idol”.  I actually really love the song they played by The Band Perry and it was interesting to see how it related to Rupert. I never made the connection when we were reading the poems or discussing them in class but I loved seeing how modern day artists are influenced by classic writers. Group 23 also used songs by Rise Against to make comparisons to in their presentation.  I do think that the songs that group 21 found better reflected the themes and the meanings behind the original poems. I really liked that these groups incorporated part of pop culture into their presentations and how many modern things are influenced by works of the past. This is something that is very common for artists today, and it was very interesting to see where some of those influences may have potentially come from. 

The group that I thought did the best job with their presentation today was group number 21.  Along with being the most creative, it was also very original.  They took the idea of the reality show, “America’s Got Talent,” and used that to display their thoughts and critiques on the poems the World War Two poets had written.  Matching the poems with a song that, “Kind-of sort-of,” resembled the poems themselves was a good idea, and is also what made the whole presentation what it was.  They used songs that are very popular in today’s culture, that, in fact, I was singing along with.  The representing song connected me to the poem and made me realize what it was trying to say.  Another thing the song choice made me realize is the connection between World War Two and the war in Iraq today.  The times are different but the art people but forth still talk about death and honor.  This presentation was very insightful to me and this group did a great job.

I really enjoyed all of the presentations from this past Tuesday but my favorite would have to be the first group to go, Group 21.  This group presented their information in a skit type form that proved to be most entertaining and informative.  They showcased "Soldier's Got Talent" and presented some of the poems we have read in class through the eyes of soldiers.  It was nice to see the entire group working together to form a cohesive project.  At this point in the course we have seen many groups present their projects in very analytical "lecture-like" ways and it was nice to see a group branch away from the norm and present the information in a manner that actually shed new light onto the poems.  These presentations have served as a chance for students to be creative with their personal insight and Group 21 did exactly that.  Great job, Group 21!

Group 21 was by far one of my favorite groups this quarter. I was really excited for these rounds of presentations because they were really able to utilize music. This group was extremely creative in how they made their presentation like the show “American Idol.” This “Soldiers Got Talent” theme was very upbeat version of the material that we had been reading.  The group would play the song as it was pared with a slideshow with pictures that followed along perfectly with the war hero actions that were portrayed in the literature. It made the material very entertaining and worth listening to instead of the dramatic war time terror. Not only did they use the songs but they compared and contrasted the different songs to one another like “If I die young” and “The Soldier as well as “I will remember you” and “When I am killed.” Music is a universal language no matter what type of music it is people can appreciate the story behind the music. It was really worthwhile that the group shows all different kinds of music from country, pop, to metal like the last part Metallica. This way it was much easier for all of the class to become engaged with their presentation. I truly think that this idea for “Soldiers Got Talent” was the best way to portray this literature of war. It gave life to the literature and the music that they chose to display along with making it extremely entertaining. Overall, great job group 21.

I really liked Group 21’s idea of having a singing talent show for the present.  The name “Soldier’s Got Talent was clever and great for the WW1 poets.  They played the poems as songs, and gave an excellent interpretation for every song.  The played the World War 1 poems by Rubert Brooke, Robert Graves and Wilfred Owen.  The presentation certainly kept my attention and it was amusing how the judges had different opinions of each poem.  They showed how each poem demonstrated the devastation of the war, and the poets’ differing perspectives on the war.  World War 1 seemed like a tragic event, especially for the ones that was living at the time and ones who were told of it by their parents or grandparents.  Although we weren’t alive at the time, I feel like the war was not the right move, and the negative effects it brought to the people of our country was not worth it.  The poets fortunately were able to demonstrate their strong beliefs of the war, and were able to grasp the attention of readers, such as me.  I hope every one who reads the poems are able to visualize and sense the tragic events that happened to our country.  The judges’ interpretations of each of the poems, demonstrated what is being explained and helped me better understand the poems’ objectives.  They did a great job and I definitely prefer listening to the poems being sung, rather than reading from the book.  It was easier and more helpful.

Group 21 Soldier’s Got Talent:  It was different but I thought the group could have done a better job at presenting. They seemed to be just reading off of their papers and I could hardly hear them.  I thought that the idea of how they approached the topic was unique and different but I didn’t take anything away from it. I like the songs that the group picked for each of their soldiers, with that said I could not hear exactly why they pick those songs for those soldiers. Group 21 great idea but focus more on content that just creativity. I felt like I did not understand what your project was trying to convey to the class.

The project that I thought was the most interesting was Group 21, or the Soldier's Got Talent group.  I really liked the songs they chose; not only did the words match up to the poems they used but they also were the right genre.  They were slower, wistful songs that I thought fit the theme of the presentation really well.  The group also did a great job lining up the poems to the songs and interpreting them.  The ideas between the songs and the poems were really well correlated, and they did just the right amount of interpretation and song length so that the presentation stayed interesting and the listeners could really focus on the comparison the group was making.  All of the groups that presented on Tuesday did more or less the same type of presentation, but this one really stuck out.  I thought it was ingenious of the group to incorporate American pop culture in the way of America's Got Talent, because its something that we can relate to in addition to their songs.

I thought that this was a very clever presentation. They clearly took a lot of time to not only read and analyze the poem but to also find comparable songs. The set up was very innovative but I did think like the beginning analysis was a bit lengthy and read really fast. Some of the message was lost. I thought that the analysis was very good and well thought out. It was complete and deep. I was one of the better analysis that a group has done this quarter. Most groups just take a poem and compare it to something like Group 22 did. Again, I thought that a lot of their analysis was lost though. I liked how in the last poem the lines that were similar were highlighted. Good use of Powerpoint! The presentation was short and easy to listen to and was well adapted to their audience. They are one of the only groups to think about the audience and not just the grade. I did think their presentation was a little short and they could have picked more songs even if the correlation was not as strong. The songs they did choose though had a very strong correlation to the poem which I thought definitely added to the effectiveness of their presentation. I wish though that they had given a little more background on the authors. I thought it was unfortunate that they did not discuss this.

Group 21's presentation i feel resonated with the class very well. They performed a mock America's Got Talent by staging a "Solder's Got Talent". During this presentation they proceeded to have various World War poets singing modern songs for a panel of judges. The judges would then comment on the songs sang by the poets and would relate what they sang to poems they have written. This was a very effective measure taken to include the class and to help us all realize the relevancy of when the poet had written. One song that specifically jumped out to me was a Metallica song which the group compared to the poem 'Mental Cases". This comparison help me to see the universality of the poem and was very enlightening. Even many years after it was written, the poetry was still influencing our modern culture in a very strong way. I liked this group presentation because of their ability to take the past and merge it with the future. There use of current song and entertainment competition really captures the audiences attention and pushes the subject matter forward for the audience to see. The struggle of those that experience was is often over looked by today's society. It was very refreshing, especially after memorial day, to remember the struggle of our current U.S solders and the difficulties that they face. 

The group's presentation that I found the most interesting was the first group that presented, group #21 who did the soldier's got talent presentation. I thought it was original (even though the whole reality show thing has been way overdone) and it allowed the group to present how they thought each person would speak. It allows them to step into that role of the speaker and gain deeper insight to them. I also liked group #22 who did a few things, one being a poem in Mary Oliver's style. I think that takes commitment and creativity, not only to pen an original piece of work, but to also constrain that originality into the style of another. They also had some more interesting responses, but the poem stood out to me.

Group 22

Overall all the presentations were very good, but the one that spoke to me the most was the one presented by group number 22. I loved the way the presentation began with a poem written by one of the group members. I thought it added a very personal element to the presentation that everybody could connect with. The poem was very reminiscent of poems written by Mary Oliver. The poem held a depth to it that could be explored and discovered after thought and reflection, just like that of Mary Oliver. I really enjoyed the way an animal was described because I am very interested with working with animals as a career. I also thought how it was very clever how the song “Here comes the Sun” was related to Mary Oliver and the Sumer day poem. I could see the similarities behind the meaning of each and how they compared and contrasted. It was very cool how they showed a clip from Planet Earth. It showed a new view on nature, the world seen from the eyes of the ant. To conclude their presentation one of the members got very personal and gave a couple personal accounts of how a couple passages related to his life. It was awesome to hear his perspectives on how school had entrapped him in a way where he forgot about the wonders of nature. I can definitely relate to that.

I liked group 22's response the best. The intro with the poem of the horse was very fitting after spending class last week with nature. The planet earth clip was extremely applicable to Mary Oliver's poem. It is not very often I stop to look closely at nature. This clip reminds us of Mary Oliver's message of stopping to enjoy the details of this world we live in. The song here comes the sun also conveys this message of slowing down and appreciating nature. The lyrics of the song are very simple which shows us to slow down and appreciate the simple things in life.

Group 22 did an excellent job at giving personal interpretations on the poems by Mary Oliver.  I personally enjoyed reading the works of Mary Oliver because I have a great love and appreciation for nature.  The first one they did was on the poem about the horse.  They even came up with their own poem and I thought it was cool how one of the members actually rides one of the horses on campus.  She certainly felt she had a great understanding and appreciation for horses, and so her interpretation was genuine and thoughtful.  The next poem was done on the sun, and one of the members played a song by the Beetles.  I can see the mutual relationship with the song and the poem, and was a great way to sense the warmth and security of the sun.  The third poem they interpreted was “The Summer Day,” was personally one of my favorites.  They related to Virginia Wolfe’s book, the lamb and the tyger from Song of Innocence and a video on planet Earth.  They helped me see how precious life is, and that we don’t see the little things that happen everyday.  It was shocking to hear that one of the members got into a bike accident the other day and had a concussion.  He was lucky to be allright, and made me think what if this was my last day to live.  If it was, I would definitely want to live to the fullest and have no regrets.

I enjoyed group 22's presentation because of their outgoing personal interpretations of the texts. It showed that they each invested a lot of time and effort to truly reflect on the poems by Mary Oliver, instead of just coasting along on the group effort. Danielle’s horse poem was obviously something that she had put a lot of work into and strongly identified with. The ant video and beatles song were nice to see because I wouldn’t have really connected either one with Mary Oliver’s work, and it was interesting to see the connections that the group made between the different media pieces. Their emphasis on the continuity of life and the importance of paying attention to the little things is a lesson that we could all learn in today’s bustling society. What really got to me was the final piece of their presentation, when they related their project directly to our lives as students by asking us what we were going to do with our finals week. It’s easy to get obsessed with grades—hearing other students stepping in and telling us to take life one day at a time and live it to the fullest was a nice change from the typical complaining that we all hear at the end of the quarter. All things being said, I thought that they could have made their individual presentations more connected, so there was a stronger overarching theme that linked their segments to each other’s parts of the presentation. Regardless, I enjoyed the attention and effort that they employed to not only relate Oliver’s poems to their own lives, but also show us how it affected our own.

This second to last day of presentations was filled with many good, but similar presentations. For me, group 22’s stood out the most out of the four that were presented. It was easy for one to notice that this group had spent time preparing their project. The way that they took Mary Oliver’s writing style and incorporated it into a poem of their own was very creative and well done.  Then they compared Mary Oliver’s poems “The Sun” and “Sunny Day” to The Beatles famous song, “Here Comes the Sun”.  The meaning behind the Beatles notorious song has many parallels with Oliver’s works.  The feelings that both portray are a feeling that everything will work out and one should not worry. They are all very beautiful and uplifting writings. Along with group 22, group 21 had a pretty creative aspect to their presentation. They portrayed their topic through a simulation of America’s Got Talent show.  This was a clever way of showing the underlying meanings of the poems written by the various war poets. 

Out of the four groups that presented on Tuesday the one that stood out to me the most was group 22. Starting with the horse poem that was written by one of the members. This was a nice touch especially since she was speaking of her own horse, being someone who rides now and then I was able to understand the points she was speaking of. Next they went on to discuss  a Beatles song, Here Comes the Sun, this was also relevant to me because I just took a Beatles class last Fall quarter. I related to the song because I wrote a paper on the Album it came out on. They did a great job relating this to the readings from class.

Group 22 had the best and most meaningful presentation of all the groups today.  They did a great job analyzing Mary Oliver and her work and comparing it to their lives and other songs.  The girl that wrote a poem called, “The Horse” did a great job.  It was very fitting to the topic and the course.  It was something the entire class could relate to after our experiences with the class period outside.  While we were outside, the professors were mentioning how fitting it would be if Mary Oliver had written a poem about horses given our current situation surrounded by the sights and sounds of horses running in the fields.  The next student compared the poem, The Sun, to a Beetles song, Here Comes the Sun, which tied together very nicely.  The third student took Oliver’s poem, The Summer Day, and compared its themes and messages to those from other authors we studied (including Blake, Woolf, and Thoreau’s “Learn by doing” philosophy).  The final student did a very nice conclusion wrapping up the previous poems with the way he gave his personal experiences and how they tied into the poems and their themes.  I especially liked how even though all the members analyzed Mary Oliver and her works, every member of the group had a different way of doing so (writing their own poem, comparing it to a song, comparing it to previous authors, and relating it to their personal life experiences).

Through the groups that presented this Tuesday, I felt the most connection and relevance to Group 22's presentation on their personal interpretations and reactions to Mary Oliver's poems and themes. The group began by relating that their interpretations of Oliver's poetry was largely impacted by the nature hike and poetry reading our class did last week. One of the girls was able to ride her horse to class and listen to poetry next to him, and her experience lead her to create a poem about her horse adapting Mary Oliver's style. Her poem was very in-depth and reflected Oliver's style very well with it's short, abrupt phrases and loaded words. Moving from someone with a lot of daily experience in nature riding horses to another group member who hasn't really been around horses before was a refreshing change of perspective and this contrast brought to light a sense of innocence and experience within nature. One of the guys shared his experience petting and posing for a picture with one of the ponies in the field and how cool of an experience that had been for him. Besides the extensive amount of breadth and depth this presentation covered in its short ten minutes, the contrasting perspectives both coming together to appreciate and find wonder and beauty in nature wound up pulling at my heartstrings. I have ridden and trained horses since I was 14, but recently I have strayed away from it to get through school. Working both a full time job and studying for full time classes, it has become impossible for me to keep up on my riding and little by little I have fallen out of it completely, reassuring myself that sometime soon I will have time to get back into it. Nevertheless, I long to quit my job and drop out of school to ride horses, get sunburns and have sore muscles and scraped knees all the time. Therefore, I can definitively say that this, albeit simple, presentation had a major effect on me personally, and it's message has me squirming in my chair to go run outside and play. 

The project I liked the best was that of group 22. They chose to tackle Mary Oliver’s poems in many different and interesting ways including song, video, and poems that were interesting and fun.  The poems “the sun” and “the summer day“ by Mary Oliver were good choices and I enjoyed how they tied in the Beatles song – the sun.  I also thought it was neat how we got to watch a Planet Earth segment and pay attention and study the ant just as closely as Mary Oliver did with the grasshopper.  The closing points were nice and hit home as well.  Taking some of the wisdom out of the poem “the sun” and the story about the senior project and how we need to get outside more and experience nature. I thought that was true from my own experience because after our class field trip outdoors last week I wanted to spend more time outdoors and did so over the long weekend.  The bike accident story was also moving and showed that even though we are young, life can be cut off at any moment and you should live it to the fullest while you can in you “one wild and precious life.”

The group’s presentation that most appealed to me was group number 22. They captured my attention with the poem written by one of the group members about the love and beauty she sees in her horse. Her poem was well written and very eloquent. She used short lines and specific details just the way Mary Oliver does in her poems. Her appreciation of nature and the small details about her horse really moved me and spoke to me. The group then went on to compare the Beatles' song, “Here Comes the Sun” to the poems “The Sun” and “The Summer Day” by Oliver. Both poems and the song are reminders that even in the darkest times, things can get better. The Planet Earth clip was nice because I really did pay attention to all the tiny little details of the ant that I otherwise probably would have looked over. I liked how they ended their presentation with the question of how are we all going to live our lives. Recently I’ve found my true self and this question made me think about how I truly want to live my life and enjoy all the tiny little beautiful aspects of the world around me.

I enjoyed group 22's personal interpretations of Mary Oliver.  By adding their own personal spins on the nature poetry, the poems seemed more relatable and enjoyable.  I particularly enjoyed the poem about the horse.  I have a horse, so I found that one the most relatable.  They proposed that the poems were the most relatable work yet, and I agree.

I especially enjoyed the presentation of group 22 who did the mary oliver's the sun. I enjoyed the fact that they made the entire presentation very personal and each member of the group took the presentation to heart. I especially enjoyed the photos of the one of the presenters and her horse because I felt that she put a lot of focus into it. I felt the use of the song was the weakest part of the presentation but that may stem from the fact that I hate that song so I had a hard focusing on the point of the song. The strongest part of the presentation was how they related the poem to many other works that we have covered previously in class. The relation back to the tyger and the lamb was a great point to be made and I actually noticed it when I first read the sun. The presenters use of media was very well done. The powerpoint slides helped the flow of the presentation, but overall the best part was the use of the Planet Earth clip. The show itself is fantastically done and it directly related to the material being presented. I liked the focus on the single ant in the video because it was just like how Oliver focuses on a single insect in her poem. The presentation as a whole was very detailed and well delivered.

I enjoyed group 22’s presentation mostly because they seemed creative and different compared to the other presentations.  The opening poem was creative and the style reflected that of Mary Oliver.  I thought it was cool to hear how the horse affected the girl’s life.  It seemed applicable especially because the previous class period was in the hills and horses were galloping around the fields.  I also enjoyed the group’s comparison between The Beatle’s song, Here Comes the Sun, and the poem called The Sun.  Lastly, I liked hearing how the presenters reflected on a specific poem that they read.  I thought it was cool that the group discussed how certain poems have influenced the group to look back on life and realize they should enjoy the life they are given.

Of all the presentations from this round, group 22’s presentation was most inspiring.  They offered creative personal responses to Mary Oliver’s poems “The Sun” and “The Summer Day”.  The first member shared an original poem about being in nature and the relationship she has with her horse.  The day we had class in the field I did not realize that she was a student.  I thought she was supervising us in the field instead and taking care of the horses.  Now that I know the truth, I think it is very cool that she was able to ride to class on her horse the day we focused on experiencing nature first hand.  Her poem was written in the style of Mary Oliver, with short lines revolving around a nature theme.  Another member compared The Beetles’ “Here Come the Sun” with Oliver’s “The Sun”.  It was interesting to hear another work about the sun with essentially the same message.  He pointed out that both acknowledge times of darkness will be made better by the rising sun.  It was hard for me to make these connections for myself though during their presentation because I cannot read one thing, listen to another, and comprehend both.  The part of the presentation that had the greatest impact on me was the end.  I appreciated the final member’s contribution.  He made direct ties to recent events in his life and Oliver’s “The Summer Day”.  The poem makes one realize how valuable life is.  The presenter shared the personal story of how he was recently hit by a car while riding his bike.  He was lucky and only suffered a concussion.  The accident made him realize how precious his life is.  He ended the project by posing Oliver’s question, “What is it you plan to do/with your one wild precious life?”

The best group that presented today was the second group, group 22.  This was the group that titled themselves “An Eclectic Mary Oliver Outlook”.  I really enjoyed this group’s presentation because they all definitely took it very seriously and added a lot of creativity to it.  The first person wrote a poem called the horse, which was very good, and it really made me think about how amazing of an experience it was to get to go up on the hill and be apart of the nature of Cal Poly even if it was only for two hours.  I have never gotten to see horses run freely and to listen to the communicating was also very enjoyable!  Then this group used a popular band (The Beatles) to draw the students in and discuss their thoughts on how these songs related to Mary Oliver’s poems.  They played “Here comes the sun” and discussed how shares a lot in common with The Sun and The Summer Day.  Specifically how long, cold and lonely winters….and every evening and every morning the sun slides behind the hills and yet everything is all right in the end.  My favorite part about this group though was probably when they showed the clip from Planet Earth.  I thought that was a really neat idea and allowed the students to sit and ponder a small insect for a period of time and realize how truly spectacular and wonderful nature truly is.  I really took away from this presentation that humans need to spend more time in nature and appreciate its true beauty.

After watching all of the presentations on Tuesday, I felt that Group 22 had the best presentation about Mary Oliver’s work.  I enjoyed how  group 22 used three different methods to interpret three of Oliver’s poems. They started off their presentation with a poem entitled “The Horse”. They created this poem based on Oliver’s style of short lines and revolving around the theme of nature. The poem really captured the passion of how the author felt about her house.  She was able to convey the theme of appreciating nature and the essence of having a relationship with nature. The next thing the group did was play the song Here Comes The Sun by The Beetles, which they used to compare to Oliver’s “The Sun”. The group pointed out how the song parallels with the poem, “The Sun” because both remind listeners that even in the darkest times, things do get better rather than worse. Next they compared “The Summer Day” back to William Blake’s “The lamb” and “The tiger”. I thought this made their presentation well rounded because they were including previous author’s works. They also compared “The Summer Day” to Virginia Woolf’s Ms. Ramsey, because of her good outlook on life and nature. They included a clip of an ant from Planet Earth. I thought this was an interesting visual choice, because it made me realize that a lot of people take nature for granted. Lastly they ended the presentation with a real-life experience which makes Oliver’s overall message of being in tuned with nature apparent.

Group 22’s presentation captured my interest and attention the most.  The focus was on the poems of Mary Oliver, whose poetry is easy to relate to for nature lovers and conservationists.  I liked the original poem about horse-riding.  I have never ridden a horse, but I imagine it does make one feel more in tune with nature.  Certainly the poem seemed to convey a feeling of freedom from human civilization.  I enjoyed the comparison of Mary Oliver’s “The Sun” to the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun”.  In Oliver’s poem, the sun is seen as a wonderful and relaxing sight.  In the Beatles song, the arrival of the sun means the return of happiness and good times after a winter that is described as lonely.  Personally, I have never associated the winter with loneliness, nor do I automatically associate the summer with good times, but that is certainly the case in American culture (if not other cultures as well).  In both the poem and the song, the sun is adored with a “wild love”, just as Mary Oliver said.  William Blake’s “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” poems were compared to Oliver’s poem “The Summer Day”.  I thought that this was an appropriate comparison.  “The Lamb” asks who made the lamb and answers this question, while “The Tyger” asks who has the capability and will to create the fearsome tiger, but does not answer this question.  All three poems have questions comprising a large section of the poem, and most of these questions ask “Who is responsible for creation?”.  “The Summer Day” is specifically similar to “The Tyger” in that the questions are left unanswered, and it is specifically similar to “The Lamb” in that the tone of both poems is soothing and calming.

The group that was the most interesting to me and brought the most refreshing analysis to the table was the second group that presented on Tuesday, group 22. They did their presentation on poems by Mary Oliver and had various styles of analysis which kept my interest throughout their presentation. They wrote their own poem, compared one of Oliver’s poems to a well known musical artist, The Beatles, and also showed a Planet Earth clip which I found very entertaining. All three of these were efficient ways of analyzing Oliver’s works, and contributed to the overarching theme of appreciating nature for the small yet complex details that exist all around us yet often go unnoticed. The Planet Earth clip especially brought that theme to the audience’s attention, and made me realize that I often overlook the basic simplicities of nature, and don’t take enough time to observe the beauty of God’s creation in nature. This fit in perfectly with Mary Oliver’s poems, which commonly described nature at face value. Also, playing the Beatles song was effective in my opinion because a very large majority of the audience was most likely familiar with it, and would never think to analyze it in the way they did, and compare the song to an author from our English class. Overall well put together and executed presentation.

Of all the groups we saw during the presentations on May 31^st I would have to say that group 22 had the best presentation of the day. I liked how they all had different parts and ideas, and they were still elaborating quite well on the concepts involved. They had the poem about the horse, The Beatles comparisons to “The Sun”, and “Summer Day” in relation to Planet Earth footage. The poem about the horse was really well done, I thoroughly enjoyed the tone and how the poem progressed as a whole. It created a good sense of nature while at the same time not being too straight forward and keeping some things to the listener’s interpretation. Probably my favorite part was The Beatles, comparison to “The Sun.” It was an interesting decision and one that in the end paid off as there were many parallels and I think that it was very enjoyable and maintained the audience’s attention. Finally, the Planet Earth footage was used in relation to the poem “Summer Day.” Once again, it was something I wasn’t sure would really work together, but in the end it worked really well and the conclusions drawn were very strong. The group did a great job making an original and creative presentation that grabbed the audience’s attention and was able to draw some interesting conclusions through it. Good job 22.

The presentation that struck me the most was the group that compared various songs about the sun to Mary Oliver's The Sun poem and demonstrated how it related to them. I personally enjoy the songs like Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles because it seems so innocent and about a simple concept but the sun is so important so us and our well being. Finally, the part of the presentation that I could most personally relate to was the last segment. When the kid at the end spoke of his bike crash with a car and asked us to think about the value of our life on this planet. I recently crashed into a car as well but while skate boarding and have had a similar reflection period and a desire to change things in my life.

Group 23

Group 23 did an excellent job of relating music of our generation to war poems of World War I. They showed how both have innocence and experience as welll as both relate to war. The group compared songs by Rise Against such as "Hero of War" and "Survivor Guilt" to poems such as "The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke and "They" by Siegfried Sassoon. Comparing the two really brought up the point of dying for your country being a just way to die. They asked questions like "Is dying for your country serve as a purpose to die?" Its seems that there are also different views on how to treat the answers to these questions. Some agree and others do not. It comes down to the soldiers feelings and their experience in times of war. I liked group 23's project because of the slideshow they had of our current soldiers and the handout the gave. They did an excellent job of relating our current music to the poems of the past.

Group 23 had an interesting presentation style. The way they compared poems we read in class to modern songs, which dealt with the same motif, was impressive. On top of this they were able to cover the main genres of war poetry, not just one aspect such as experience. The hand out they passed around was useful because I was able to read the lyrics before the song came on, therefore letting me enjoy the comparison they were trying to make. Though two songs were by the same artist, Rise Against, each song fit the poem it was being to compared to very well. I would have preferred if they worked through their power point as it seemed a little sloppy. Some comparisons to Blake were mentioned but not elaborated on, which was a shame since they had the innocence and experience of war poetry. This presentation was most important to me because I have a cousin in military action, and I have watched a slight change from before he joined to after he saw combat, and the comparison this group brought up of innocence and experience is very relatable.

Group 23 did a good job finding songs that related to poems about the war. The way they analyzed and found modern examples of the poets we're looking at was very similar to how my group presented William Blake. I found it interesting how the same artist has written two songs with different feelings towards war. The song "Hero of War," talks about patriotism and the positive side of enlisting. Maybe the true feelings behind this song are expressing how soldiers are fooled into believing that going to war would be a good thing for them. The second song they played, "Survivor Guilt," showed a darker side of war. The line "freedom isn't free" is a common saying that seems to be paradoxical. It is true though that we have fought for our freedom and many men have lost their lives so that we could have the liberties we have today. This is the price we've paid.

The presentation that I enjoyed the most was that of Group 23.  They chose to take poems we had read in class and compare them to songs (or lyrical poems) of today's modern rock world.  They chose to read us The Soldier from Rupert Brooke, which they determined meant being a hero of war makes you a national celebrity and absolves you of all your sins and makes you immortal, or at least that's what people tend to believe.  They chose to set this side by side with Hero of War by Rise Against (which was already a song that I personally enjoy) which begins with the mentality that going to war will bring you respect and fame.  However, as the song progresses it opens the audiences eyes to the truths of war and that it is not all honesty and bravery, but that sometimes unethical things may happen, creating a feeling of guilt in soldiers that many people are probably unaware of.  Their presentation was simply an eye-opener for me as to some of the hardships that veterans must face despite the respect they receive when they come back to the states, and I also enjoyed their music selection just on a personal note.

Throughout todays presentations, I thought that group 23 did the best job.  They really spoke to the audience and me by using information that relates to us today.  They used music that people listen to in this day to represent the message they were trying to get across about the symbolism of war and love.  The music they played by Rise Against described how war effects people and their mind set about life.  The song "Hero of War" described how if you are going to die, it is perfectly normal and appropriate to die for your country and be proud of it.  The group described after the song that the lyrics of the song described how a soldier did not mind going into the war because he knew that it was for his country and the outcome will be him being a hero to all no matter what happens.  At the end of the song, the soldier and everyone accepts war and death within the war.  The next song the group presented to the class was called "Survivor Guilt" in which the lyrics portrayed how war overpowers the innocence and it is acceptable.  The song describes how fighting and giving it your all serves as only something you can personally accept understand what the real meaning is.  In the song, there is a part where an innocent person speaks up to one fighting and the one fighting overrules because war overpowers all that there is.  This group allowed me to see the meaning of war within society and the eyes of the people actually participating in war and fighting.  They showed how war in the toughest answer and the one answer that can dominate over everything.

My favorite group that presented was group 23 who compared "The soldier" by Brooke to Hero of War by Rise Against and another song and poem. I thought it was really genuine to take today's music and compare it to something so descriptive as "The Soldier." My favorite lines that really illustrated the two to me and that the group spoke about was in the "Hero of War" it says, "I'll carry this flag/ to the grave if I must/ Because its flag that I love/ And a flag that I trust." This really showed how even today people feel the same about war and probably very similar to how Brooke did, even though they hadn't been in war first had. Using an artist like Rise Against was very wise because they're seen as anarchist and Brooke was persecuted for his poetry also. I also really enjoyed how they passed out lyrics to the songs they compared so that the class could follow along and find comparisons on their own also. Great Job I was impressed!

I thought all the groups that presented this Tuesday did an excellent job, but I especially enjoyed group 22’s presentation. They explored Mary Oliver’s poems through an array of media. One group member decided to write her own poem with Oliver’s style and themes. Oliver writes about her experience in nature, so the group member reflected on her own experience in nature specifically with her relationship with her horse. She used the same short phrases and descriptive words like Oliver. I thought her poem was creative and beautifully written. I thought she executed Mary Oliver’s style perfectly and I appreciated her attention to her horse. The next group member compared “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles to Mary Oliver’s poem “The Sun”. I enjoyed this part of the presentation because that is one of my favorite Beatles’ songs. The overall comparison seemed just a little too obvious, but I appreciated the connection all the same. Lastly, the group showed a clip from Planet Earth that showed an ant in its environment. This clip captured the incredible detail of the ant’s anatomy and movement. I thought that this was a perfect clip to show because Mary Oliver describes nature with equal detail. This provided a visual to Oliver’s work. Even though we experience nature visually during our nature class, I felt we couldn’t connect fully to Oliver’s work because we could not study species or nature in the great detail like Oliver. So, this clip was a much needed visual. Overall, I loved the variety of the presentation, and each group member did a solid job.

Group 23 did an excellent job with their presentation on Tuesday! I really liked that they got the class somewhat involved by giving us a handout with the words to the songs on it. I had never really paid much attention to the lyrics of those songs before and I seriously got goose bumps while reading them while they were presenting. I liked that they picked on poem that demonstrated a sense of innocence and one poem that demonstrated a sense of experience. When they compared “Hero of War” by Rise Against to the poem “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke I got the goose bumps! The chorus of the song “… because it’s a flag that I love and a flag that I trust” shows me that the writer was willing to do anything for his country and that he knows he has the support of his country. “Survivor Guilt” was compared to the poem “They” by Siegfried Sassoon. These two both showed the experience that men and women go through while at war. They ask questions like “What is the purpose of dying” etc. Those are big questions to be asking. By using that poem and that song is almost as if those questions got answered. Everyone seemed involved in the project while presenting. All the members knew what was going on and incorporated their own bits and pieces to the project which made it entertaining. I thought group 23 went above and beyond with this presentation! I guess any group that can give me goose bumps must have been pretty dang good!!! So great job to you guys!

Group 23 had the most meaningful presentation to me. Their outlook on World War I poets was quite unique and allowed me to see some underlying values that accompany war. Being that many friends of mine actively serving in the military and some even fighting overseas, this presentation really touched me with the values that were presented. It was amazing how well the poems correlated with the songs written by Rise Against. In the first song, Hero of War, group 23 tied in how the soldier started off being innocent and eventually was overtaken with experience. I thought it was awesome that they brought forth the universal themes of Blake and related them to these songs. I agreed with the ideas that a soldier enlists to fight for their country and benefit from the potential pride they will receive upon returning. I enjoyed how the group presented both sides of going to war such as being a hero and the dark side of guilt. They seemed to cover the entire spectrum and look at war from all perspectives. Their power point was  organized and full of intense imagery of all the aspects of war such as gun battles, death, pride, explosions and the living quarters of the soldiers. Overall, I really enjoyed this presentation because it allowed me to understand the reasons behind war and the true motives on why a soldier risks his life to fight for his country. Thanks group 23 for shedding a new light on the dark topic of war.

My favorite presentation was from Group 23.  They took two poems from the WWI British Poets book and compared them to Rise Against songs.  They explained how the lyrics showed the change from innocence to experience.  First off, I liked how the group passed out a handout for the class so we could read the lyrics.  The first song, which compared to “The Soldier” by Brooke, really hit home.  This song was extremely powerful and moving.  The singer put a lot of emotion into these lyrics which made the audience feel for those off in the war.  I was a little disappointed that we couldn’t finish the first song because I liked it so much!  The second song, called “Survivor Guilt” compared to the poem “They” by Sassoon.  This song was a bit more angry and forceful.  However, after we read the stanzas of the poem, the audience understood the frustration and almost desperation in the lyrics.  This group excelled at finding songs that related to the poems.  I was surprised at how well they fit with each other!  Someone really knows their music!  Although this presentation wasn’t comical, the seriousness of their presentation made it powerful.  I definitely thought that it stood out as the best presentation because of the dramatic feeling the audience felt after we heard the Rise Against songs.  Also, the slideshow was amazing as well.  It gave the audience the option of following along with the lyrics or looking at pictures.  Great job Group 23!

I considered all of the presentations very creative and thought provoking, but I thought one stood out from them all.  The group that stood out to me was group number 23, how they compared World War I poems and poets to a present day punk rock group that expressed the same views of war.  Adequately displaying how history does in fact repeat itself, this group successfully compared two poems to two Rise Against songs.  The first poem, The Soldier by Rupert Brook, described the glory of death if it was for your own country.  This illuminates the immense amount of patriotism that was apparent during the World War I era, love for ones country and pride was something that could be found in most of society.  This poem was compared to Hero of War by Rise Against.  The first stanza depicts innocence by presenting a conversation with a father and son.  This conversation repeats the father saying, “Son, Have you seen the world? Well, what would you say if I said that you could?” at the beginning and end of the song.  The song continues into the evils and tortures of war, thus ending in experience.  The second poem, They by Siegried Sassoon, illuminated the darker side of war and the difficulty for the soldiers to return to civilian life when brought out of the war.  This was compared to Survivor Guilt by Rise Against.  This song shows the life soldiers have when they return from war, usually brushed aside and not even praised by society for putting their life on the line for freedom.  This is apparent in the line, “Carry on, don’t mind me/ All I gave was everything/ And yet you ask me for more.”  This shows the views of the countercultures of each generation, the ones against the wars.

I was moved most by group 23 and their message to get out and enjoy nature for a second or two. It is extremely easy to get lost and caught up in things when your life is revolving around finals week. Rather than locking yourself up in Kennedy Library, why not walk up to the arboretum to study. The song by the Beatles, Here Comes The Sun was a great way to incorporate Mary Oliver, and the idea that the sun is what powers us all and nature is the true center of life, not finals! Once you surround yourself with nature and remember how everything is insignificant in the long run, things can get less stressful in a busy day or week, and I think group 23 did a great job for relaying this message to the class through their presentation. 

I really liked group 23's project on WW1 poets. I like how they took to WW1 poems and then compared them to two modern day songs and showed how different soldiers points of view. They started off by reading the Rupert Brooke poem and playing the song Hero of War by Rise Against. I liked how they tied these 2 pieces to Blake's innocence. The 2 pieces expresses innocence before going to war and that death was good and glorified and if you were to die for your country you would be forever immortalized. The second 2 pieces, a WW1 poem and Survivor Guilt by Rise Against showed Blake's experience. The pieces showed soldiers individual experiences, and it shows the contradicting view points of the public who think the war is a "good" and "justified" war and the soldiers who talk about their losses. I thought it was interesting that they brought up the point that all 4 of these pieces discuss and illustrate the two sides of the people for and against wars and how people's view points can change. I thought their presentation and powerpoint was well done and i liked how they can handouts with the lyrics so we could easily follow along.

Of the groups that presented their creative projects on Tuesday, May 31^st, group 21 and group 23 were the best. Group 21 gave us a game show version of how they related modern songs they knew to the poems. All three songs seemed to accurately reflect some of the thoughts in the poems that they chose. I thought the choice they made to turn their presentation into something reminiscent of America’s Got Talent or American Idol was a good choice since it probably gave people that watch those shows an even better way to connect to the presentation. I also really liked the art-work of the opening slide. Someone besides those soldiers “Got Talent.” Group 21 related two poems to two songs by Rise Against, a band which I am largely unfamiliar with. The lyrics of both songs seemed to accurately reflect the thoughts and feelings of the poets during World War I. It also helped that they handed out the lyrics to the songs so we could follow along as the tracks were played. The first and third stanzas in “Hero of War” seemed like they might be along the lines of what many people were thinking going into World War I and sometimes even today. “He said, ‘Son, Have you see the world? Well, what would you say If I said that you could? Just carry this gun and you’ll even get paid.’ I said, “That sounds pretty good.’” These as well as the first repetition of the “A hero of war” stanza seemed extremely applicable. Both of these presentations gave us a better way to connect with the poets if we couldn’t already through our various family members who may have fought.

The comparison on music by Rise Against to the poetry of the World War One poets was done decently.  I really enjoy music by Rise Against and Hero of War is one of my favorite songs, so that may have played a factor in my decision.  As far as the actual presentation went, I really liked how they passed out the lyrics to both the songs and the poems.  It helped me see the connections they were speaking about up close, and kept me decently involved.  I do think the depth of the analysis could have been better, but it was a good path to go down.  The song Hero of War is relatively easy to understand, so I felt that the message they were leaving us with was a little remedial and straightforward but if you had not ever heard Rise Against before you may have enjoyed the connection and the message that the group shared with us.  As critical of this group as I may be, I do feel that they “spoke” the best to me, and were the most memorable of the presentations from Tuesday.

Group 24

Group 24 did a really good job with their project. The first reader of the PowerPoint did a really good job of reading the poem in such a way that makes more sense to the reader. The PowerPoint's pictures also did a good job of visually representing the themes of the poem. I like how they explained the beginning open-ended questions in Mary Oliver's poem and how that helped the format of the poem. It was nice that they all brought forth their own personal interpretations of the poem, instead of one really detailed explanation like most of the groups have been doing. This made it much more relatable and gave multiple perspectives to the work. I also appreciated how "Life On Earth", the song they played with the slideshow, also tied into the overall theme. In their conclusion, the group also talked about how Mary Oliver's poem ties into other works and the style of her writings, which helps with understanding the poem.

Who made the world? My favorite presentation was group #24’s analysis on Mary Oliver’s poem A Summer’s Day. The quote that I found interesting was the groups comment on how they found Mary Oliver’s poetry easier to read than other poems that we read in class. The reason I found this intriguing is because I believe the topic of nature is easier to connect to as a reader. Human concept and ideas tend to be vague and confusing and lack concreteness where as nature is simplicity. Nature is something we can connect to wherever we are and doesn’t require that you be in a certain state of mind, you can just be. Mary Oliver’s description of a grasshopper is a prime example of this. She isn’t trying to unearth the meaning behind the grasshopper or its purpose in the world. She just watches it being, taking the actions of the grasshopper at eye value, cherishing it’s every motion. Oliver is in her own form of prayer by honoring nature’s simplicity with her attention. So shouldn’t it make sense that reading these poems of nature should be simple, otherwise how else can one appreciate the simplicity of nature? As human being we are always questioning everything: Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? I feel that Oliver’s poem is mocking these questions with a question of itself, Who cares? Does it really matter? Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? We’re here so why don’t  we stop wasting our time asking questions and start enjoying it.

While all groups who presented on Tuesday did an exceptional job, I thought Group 24 really stood out. They essentially tied in two themes that we’ve worked with, instead of one, and made it very easy to understand at the same time.  I was impressed with how they were able to bring in the notion of “innocence vs. experience” while dealing with the issue of war at the same time.  Contrasting the poems from World War One with modern punk rock music provided a clear, contemporary message while still maintaining the original message from the poems.  I thought it was very interesting to show how the voice of the singer from Rise Against changed from excited and enthusiastic in “Hero of War” to jaded and exhausted by the end of the song.  It goes to show that innocence and experience really do play a big role in our lives, and that without this said experience, a person can actually look forward to going to war and being in the midst of all the death and destruction that comes with it.  The next song analyzed provided a much more experienced viewpoint, one in which the soldier is already back from war, and wants to know why the hell is was there in the first place.   He talks of being lied to, and coming back home to nothing, his entire life lost.  This seems like a realistic account of how a soldier’s experience tends to occur, and shows that the idealized, patriotic way of viewing war is really not realistic, and likely propaganda.

I found that group 24 had the most relatable and enjoyable project. The group focused their project around Mary Oliver’s The Summer Day. The group took animals/insects and related to it to the poem. What I really got out of it was the appreciation of nature and how there are so many things in life we take for granted.  Animals and insects are part of the world and are amazing if you really think about it. For example, the grasshopper represents the spontaneity of life and we should appreciate the little things. The group wanted to remind the audience that we have only one life and we should really think about what we want to get out of it. At any moment we can lose our blessed life that is not very long to begin with and we should live life to the fullest. The group project me reflect on what is going on in my life right now. I feel as though I constantly feel stressed and that I am pursuing goals that society has forced me to conform to. Analyzing the poem has given me a nice calm feeling and that I should really enjoy every single day.

My favorite presentation was Group 24. What first caught my attention were their bright yellow handouts of “Hero of War” and “Survivor Guilt” by Rise Against. Group 24 chose to take on the World War One Poets. They took two poems and made comparisons to music from our generation. They used the idea of innocence and experience. It was neat to see how innocence and experience are in today’s music and in war poems from back in the day. They took two songs sung by Rise Against and compared them to “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke and “They” by Siegfried Sassoon. They used a slideshow with pictures of our soldiers and war times. “Hero of War” is the innocent view of war. It says that dying for your country isn’t a bad thing. Because you are dying for your country, it is a just cause. This is similar to “The Soldier”. “They” and “Survivor Guilt” both show the experience of war. They ask questions like “What purpose does dying serve?” “How many more will lose a life?”. And from “They” “The ways of God are so strange”. You are shown the disheartening feelings of soldiers, and how they give all they have and then are still asked to do more. There are always two different sides of war, those for and those against. It was interesting to see the two sides shown in this way. It is an eye opener to see why people have different sides in every situation. It gives you a new perspective on life. 

On May 31st groups presented their interpretations to differnt poems. I felt each group did a good jon presenting, but I enjoyed group 24's presentation powerpoint. I feel they could have been alittle more creative, but I enjoyed their interpretation on Summer Day by Mary Oliver. I felt each group member presented their parts with confidence and enthusiasm. I liked how they analyzed the poem with a collage. I thought they did a good job analyzing Mary Oliver's poem, making it more understandable and easier to see what Oliver was trying to express in her writing.  Even though I feel each group did a good job on their interpretations, goup 24 caught my attention.

All of the presentations were enjoyable but I think the project presented by Group 24 was the most meaningful and somewhat different from the rest of the group that presented.  They took “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver and interpreted what they think the poem is portraying.  They analyzed the horse and grasshopper which was informative.  From their presentation, I learned that Mary Oliver is portraying that life is spontaneous and that everything comes to an end so enjoy life.  Also, they explained how “The Summer Day” was somewhat parallel to “The Lamb” by William Blake.  I thought that was a good analysis.  Lastly, the question in the end “You only have one life and what would you like to get out of it?” got me thinking of what I really want in life.  I believe that this group worked well together and did a wonderful job in portraying Mary Oliver’s message. Overall, I believe that group 24’s presentation was the best and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Of today’s group projects, I enjoyed Group #24’s presentation the most.  I felt that this group did the best job interpreting the poems written by Mary Oliver, and I appreciated the way that they each contributed their own insight as to how the poems changed their way of thinking and view on life.  The poem one student wrote about her horse was especially meaningful to me.  I have always enjoyed watching and being around horses and our field trip allowed me to be an observer in their environment.  Studying their activity filled me with happiness, much as the student in the group was filled with such appreciation and admiration when she was in the presence of her own horse.  These feelings of awe and respect towards life and nature are present in all of Mary Oliver’s poems and have led me to appreciate being out in the natural environment to experience all of its components, large or small.  I also enjoyed when the students paralleled the poem “The Sun” to the song “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles.  This song has always been one of my favorites and the connections between the two are quite strong.  Both works utilize similar wording and the overall theme of a promising tomorrow- even when the light may disappear for a bit it always reappears during the next day to once again bring warmth and positivity.  The end of the presentation allowed us to utilize our Mary Oliver-esque skills to watch one of the smallest creatures, the ant, crawl around and wash its face, something not many people would notice if they didn’t take the time to stop and enjoy the world around them every now and again.

I enjoyed Group 24's presentation of Mary Oliver's poetry. I liked the way they drew specific details and images from the poem "The Grasshopper" and tied it into larger themes of nature's serenity and the meaning of life. I enjoyed the Band of Horses song that they incorporated that also carried these themes. I thought the background music went well with the illustrations in coordination with reading the poem. One of the group members said "like is captivating and intricate–" and I felt that this was an appropriate summation.