Are we supposed to post even if we did it in class?
I pictured this to be read by James Earl Jones.
There's definitely a bittersweet tone to it. What the father is saying to his daughter is beautiful; the idea that they will always be together, but truth be told, he's dying. Or going to die. I have a feeling that his time is coming though, otherwise he probably wouldn't be speaking of this. As the poem progresses, it gets more and more dark, which is reflected in the diction. Beginning: not abandoned, not forgotten, choose a star, such a star End: join me in darkness, silence together
The poem's bittersweet tone is conveyed with the implication that soon the father will die, but since the daughter was like a beautiful shining star, the father wants to name a star after her to watch over her, like she has watched over him. In the last lines they will be reunited in death and remain "in darkness and silence together". The light and dark imagery of the star that "may shine down on you, until you join me in darkness" contributes to the bittersweet tone and also characterizes a flickering star that is fading like the father who will soon die, as seen with the repetition of "When I die". The second "When I die" is an isolated line, which means that he feels alone and "abandoned or forgotten" and fears that after his death, he may be forgotten and his life would not have mattered, so he assures that his name will live on through a star "For My Daughter".
Like I said in class, I feel that the father is on the brink of death. The father wants his daughter to name her son after him to remind how important she was to him. He now wants her to have her own star and be able to enjoy all the things he had raising her. Even though he will be gone, she will have her own "star" to remind her of this. The simple diction makes it seem like the speaker is losing his ability to speak and may be reciting his last wishes or words. The first half of the poem is sweet and heartfelt. The second half is dark and depressing. "Join me in darkness, silence together."
Just to recap what I said in class, I thought it was significant that the speaker chose a star for his daughter to use as a memory because a star is always there and it is in the sky which relates to the idea of being close to Heaven. It reminded me of The Lion King when Mufassa tells Simba that even when he's gone, he'll be there looking down on him from the stars.
I kind of forget what we discussed in class but I believe it was something like the speaker is more dependent on the daughter by the need to be remembered than hoping to be remembered. the placement of "my" before "your" in line 8-9 shows her dependence. Its also like she's dragging her down by bringing her daughter "into the darkness" just because she needs her.
I know we went over this as a class but just a reminder.. I thought that the stars were a universal theme because no matter what part of the earth you are on, you can see the same night sky and the same stars from anywhere, alluding to the fact that they will still be connected by this star even after he has passed away. "You were such a star to me" says that this person was the light in the speaker's life, and they hope that they can continue to be that light in influence in the subject's life as well, even after the speaker passes away. The juxtaposition of lightness and darkness stands for allowing the star to shine on even brighter after the darkness of death.
So! I'm trying to remember what I said in class... I think it was along the lines of:
Since the father tells his daughter that "you were such a star to me", that when he asks his daughter to pick a star and name it after him, he may be asking her to name her kid after him if he dies as a way to remember him. If that's too deep, then the father is dying and simply wants a way for his daughter to remember him, as his way of consoling her when he's not around. The tone is incredibly loving, like a father who is trying to seem strong for his daughter even though he really isn't.
I think the main thing I tried to say in class was this was a more mournful piece, and not something hopeful. I think the father knows thathe is going to die, an dhe doesn't want his daughter to be depressed about it. I think that this poem was really his goodbye portion of their life, and I can picture him crying as he is writing it, and the daughter crying as she reads it. I feel as though this was a single dad and his daughter growing up because he says "my hand in your hand". I just kind of thougt their bond was more special and they have been through a lot. The main devices to focus on are imagery, diction, and figurative language. The tone is very mournful and overall it is was very symbolic because he said to choose a star. I think he chose a star because it will never go away and he knows that there is always a way for her to find him. -Katie
The way that I interpreted the piece was that the father feared that he would be forgotten, thus, he requested his daughter to name a star after him as to remember him forever. The piece as a whole gets progressively negative with words such as darkness and silence, and by the end, he's almost welcoming her into the loneliness of death.
Are we supposed to post even if we did it in class?
ReplyDeleteI pictured this to be read by James Earl Jones.
There's definitely a bittersweet tone to it. What the father is saying to his daughter is beautiful; the idea that they will always be together, but truth be told, he's dying. Or going to die. I have a feeling that his time is coming though, otherwise he probably wouldn't be speaking of this. As the poem progresses, it gets more and more dark, which is reflected in the diction.
Beginning: not abandoned, not forgotten, choose a star, such a star
End: join me in darkness, silence together
The poem's bittersweet tone is conveyed with the implication that soon the father will die, but since the daughter was like a beautiful shining star, the father wants to name a star after her to watch over her, like she has watched over him. In the last lines they will be reunited in death and remain "in darkness and silence together". The light and dark imagery of the star that "may shine down on you, until you join me in darkness" contributes to the bittersweet tone and also characterizes a flickering star that is fading like the father who will soon die, as seen with the repetition of "When I die". The second "When I die" is an isolated line, which means that he feels alone and "abandoned or forgotten" and fears that after his death, he may be forgotten and his life would not have mattered, so he assures that his name will live on through a star "For My Daughter".
ReplyDeleteLike I said in class, I feel that the father is on the brink of death. The father wants his daughter to name her son after him to remind how important she was to him. He now wants her to have her own star and be able to enjoy all the things he had raising her. Even though he will be gone, she will have her own "star" to remind her of this. The simple diction makes it seem like the speaker is losing his ability to speak and may be reciting his last wishes or words. The first half of the poem is sweet and heartfelt. The second half is dark and depressing. "Join me in darkness, silence together."
ReplyDeleteJust to recap what I said in class, I thought it was significant that the speaker chose a star for his daughter to use as a memory because a star is always there and it is in the sky which relates to the idea of being close to Heaven. It reminded me of The Lion King when Mufassa tells Simba that even when he's gone, he'll be there looking down on him from the stars.
ReplyDeleteI kind of forget what we discussed in class but I believe it was something like the speaker is more dependent on the daughter by the need to be remembered than hoping to be remembered. the placement of "my" before "your" in line 8-9 shows her dependence. Its also like she's dragging her down by bringing her daughter "into the darkness" just because she needs her.
ReplyDeleteI know we went over this as a class but just a reminder..
ReplyDeleteI thought that the stars were a universal theme because no matter what part of the earth you are on, you can see the same night sky and the same stars from anywhere, alluding to the fact that they will still be connected by this star even after he has passed away. "You were such a star to me" says that this person was the light in the speaker's life, and they hope that they can continue to be that light in influence in the subject's life as well, even after the speaker passes away. The juxtaposition of lightness and darkness stands for allowing the star to shine on even brighter after the darkness of death.
So! I'm trying to remember what I said in class...
ReplyDeleteI think it was along the lines of:
Since the father tells his daughter that "you were such a star to me", that when he asks his daughter to pick a star and name it after him, he may be asking her to name her kid after him if he dies as a way to remember him.
If that's too deep, then the father is dying and simply wants a way for his daughter to remember him, as his way of consoling her when he's not around. The tone is incredibly loving, like a father who is trying to seem strong for his daughter even though he really isn't.
I think the main thing I tried to say in class was this was a more mournful piece, and not something hopeful. I think the father knows thathe is going to die, an dhe doesn't want his daughter to be depressed about it. I think that this poem was really his goodbye portion of their life, and I can picture him crying as he is writing it, and the daughter crying as she reads it. I feel as though this was a single dad and his daughter growing up because he says "my hand in your hand". I just kind of thougt their bond was more special and they have been through a lot. The main devices to focus on are imagery, diction, and figurative language. The tone is very mournful and overall it is was very symbolic because he said to choose a star. I think he chose a star because it will never go away and he knows that there is always a way for her to find him.
ReplyDelete-Katie
The way that I interpreted the piece was that the father feared that he would be forgotten, thus, he requested his daughter to name a star after him as to remember him forever. The piece as a whole gets progressively negative with words such as darkness and silence, and by the end, he's almost welcoming her into the loneliness of death.
ReplyDelete