Wednesday, April 1, 2009
She Had Some Horses Response
In the poem, She Had Some Horses, Joy Harjo allows several subjects and arguments to be discussed through her interesting take on who these horses are. Are these horses representing spirits? I believe that they are. By using the past tense, the speaker talks about what all these "spirits" went through, along with their struggles or situations that they faced. Within this poem, the horses represent some contradictory feelings. Throughout the whole reading, the speaker will say something in one line and then in the next contradict it. For example, she says: "She had horses who had no names/ She had horses who had books of names". I think that by adding in all the contradiction, Harjo adds struggle and conflict to the speaker. This brings color to the poem in that sense.
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Your take on the poem is straight-forward and easy to follow. I admit that I did not see it the same way you did, but I enjoy reading your perspective.
ReplyDeleteI didn't exactly believe that every line was contradictory, however I do agree that she does encounter inner struggles, and situations, that bring light to the poem, as well as involve the reader.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you arguments but some more evidence to support the analysis would have made it stronger. You have clear ideas about the theme but do not elaborate on most of them. I like the idea of the contradiction and struggle bringing color to the poem but the argument is unclear. As already stated, this is an interesting response, but evidence from the text and further explanation would help greatly.
ReplyDeleteAs one has already commented, I don't believe every line in the poem is contradictory; however, you do provide a nice example of this in your analysis.
ReplyDeleteI agree and like the idea that the contradictions throughout the poem bring color or give an edge to the piece.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is the first I have read that says that the horses are spirits and I liked your take on it. Even though we do not have the same interpretation of what the horses are, I think the horses as spirits makes sense. The spirits could be good or bad. I feel like the spirits haunt the speaker and are a constant reminder of her past.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I agree with your take on the poem being easy-to-follow and relatively straightforward or that every line in the poem is contradictory. Your perspective, however, was enlightening to view the poem with so little apparent conflict. I did not even notice the past tense in reference to the spirits. Good observation. Some more explanation and evidence would have been nice, though. A very concise, well-articulated post. Good job!
ReplyDeleteyour very direct approach to the poem was interesting. I agree in some sense that it seems as if every line was contradictory but i also believe that was the point also. Good job!
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