question about thesis

i have just realized that my first thesis is rediculous. i have read over the poem a couple of more times closely and can barely figure out how i came up with it in the first place, so i was questioning about altering my thesis to make more sense. also, there are 2 rough copies of the poem i selected in the book, i have chosen to write about the final one, but i was wondering if i could reference the other to for certian instances where the poet changed or altered lines, in order to support my thesis? the poem i picked was "ode on solitude" by alexander pope.

Thesis Statement

Since we were assigned our first thesis statement, I thumbed through our Norton book to find a poem to write about. I found a few that I liked, and was torn between two. Finally, I decided on one. The one that caught my attention but did not write about was "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" by Francis William Bourdillon. [The poem can be viewed here: http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/1240.html].This poem was published in 1889. I believe the genre is somewhat of an ode. It is not long enough to be a sonnet, but it has a definate rhyme scheme. I feel this poem is about what happens to one when they have their love taken away. He makes a comparison by using night versus day; this makes it easier to make the connection.This poem really caught my attention mainly for the title. It fascinated me; what could one write about the night and the stars? I had to keep reading. Once I finished it, I was extreamly moved. I had never thought to make the connection between light and love the was Bourdillon did. I found the comparison quite beautiful.In Thom Gunn's "A Map of the City" he also uses the night to mirror his feelings, however, he does this in a much different was than Bourdillon. Gunn uses the night to symbolize the mysteriousness of his city and how unsure he feels about his city. Bourdillon uses the night to symbolize how love can disappear. Both pieces of literature use night as a symbol, but in two extreamly different way.

Irish Lit. Lecture

The West European Studies Committee will be sponsoring a lecture on Irish Literature and Culture this coming Thursday, February 14th, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm. The speaker is Dr. Bataillard, from Universite Lumiere-Lyon II, France, and the title of his lecture is: "'Tinker-ing' with Irish Tradition: Synge, Joyce, Beckett, & Co." This event will take place in Vance 105.

deviantART. 2007. 7 Feb 2008 .

In this romance poem the speaker is in love with her best friend, and he is in love with another girl. The speaker does not understand why her best friend does not love her, however, not wanting to ruin his happiness, she keeps her pain to herself.

This poem intrigues me because the speaker is so desperately in love yet her best friend has no clue about how she feels and I do not understand how this happens. Is the speaker really in love or is just feeling lonely? At one point in the poem she says that she feels alone which made me wonder if she was just trying to make a romantic relationship out of a friendship.

This poem is similar to Shakespeare’s sonnet Time because in both selections the speaker talks about losing the one that they love. In the poem from deviantART the speaker realizes that she will never have a chance to be with her true love and she regrets this deeply. In Shakespeare’s Time the speaker has had an hour to spend with the one that he truly loved yet he misses his lover after they leave. In both pieces the speaker misses the person that they love even though they have been able to spend some time with them.

Rebecca Zinsser- 12:00 class

Thesis Statements

Here's the kind of thing I'm looking for on Friday:

In his ode "To Autumn," John Keats offers images of overabundance, which lead to enervation, and stasis. For all its productivity, the speaker suggests, autumn points the way to death. In the final stanza, however, the speaker finds in autumn a particular music. Combining visual and auditory impressions, the poem demonstrates the energy and even life of things as they disappear from sight.

Wednesday's Quiz

A reminder: there's a quiz on Wednesday on the concept of the poetic speaker. What's on it? You'll be asked to define a couple of terms, so be sure you know all the terms that have been assigned so far. That includes not only "persona," "lyric," "author," "New Criticism," "ode," and "ambiguity," but also the terms defined inside the GLT entries, such as "tone" and "voice" inside the "persona" definition, for example.

Also, you'll be asked to read a short poem and discuss its speaker, so be sure to bring your books (though of course you're bringing your books EVERYDAY anyway).

Literary Event (11:00 Students)

Here's a link to this semester's lineup of the Central Authors Series. These are very short presentations by our faculty members about the books they have recently published. Usually, the profs. give a short narrative about what prompted them to write a particular book and what's in it. The audience has a chance to ask a few questions after.

http://tinyurl.com/2xv93u

These are great events--short, informal, informative--to find out more about what your faculty is up to, and of course they all count for your assignment "Literary Life at Central." Let me offer a particular plug for three by English faculty, Barrington on Chaucer (3/26), Dowling on slumming (4/16) and Cohen on Shakespeare (4/23).