While reading the poems of Millay, Hughes, and Young two similarities jumped out
of the text. Between “God’s World,” “As I grew Older,” and “For
Poets” the theme of enjoying life became very evident. The other theme that
jumps out falls along the lines of looking to nature for happiness and
inspiration. Many lines in these poems support their themes so people find it
easier to understand the message of what the poems mean. Enjoying life and
experiencing different aspects of it becomes evident as people read through
Langston Hughes’s poem “As I Grew Older.” In lines one and two, it reads,
“It was a long time ago. / I have almost forgotten my dream.” A feeling of
forgetting a dream doesn’t help people to enjoy life. The person in the poem
that has forgotten his or her dream cannot experience different things because
he or she has no motivation for experiencing life. If someone has a dream of
becoming an astronaut, then they should pursue that dream. Instead the world
tells people that they must have certain criteria for becoming that astronaut
and if they don’t measure up they cannot become an astronaut. Hughes’ poem
should help people remember their dreams of childhood. Lines six through eleven
“And then the wall rose,/ Rose slowly, /Slowly, / Between me and my dream. /
Rose until it touched the sky-- /The wall.” These lines symbolize the act of
losing sight of a dream, reinforcing what was mentioned previously. In Edna
Millay’s poem, “God’s World,” lines for and five help convey the theme
of getting out and delighting in life. “Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache
and sag / And all but cry with color!” This reminds people that they could be
missing out on a beautiful day. Presenting a new look on an autumn day helps the
reader know what the author was feeling when he or she wrote the poem. Instead
of looking at an autumn day and thinking that everything is dying and winter is
coming soon, it’s looking at the trees, and the colors, and how wonderful
everything looks. “For Poets” may be one of the biggest poems for getting
people to seize the day. Just to use an example, lines one through seven,
“Stay Beautiful / but don’t stay down underground too long / don’t turn
into a mole / or a worm / or a root / or a stone” Not staying underground too
long is a great way to enjoy life. Staying underground too long doesn’t allow
for someone to accomplish a lot of things. “Staying Beautiful,” seeing
things, knowing things, combine to make what is known as life. Life should be
experiencing and seeing and learning. Staying underground and being a mole or a
worm doesn’t allow for learning. Nature accomplishes more then just a
beautiful background to a wonderful poem. Nature helps an author bring his or
her point across easier. “As I Grew Older” uses lines four through six to
portray the theme of nature. “In front of me, / Bright like a sun- / My
dream” The suns brings life, life brings happiness. A major step towards
helping the audiences understand what the author is saying is to use symbolism.
Referring the dream to the sun means that the dream was just as big and
beautiful as the sun. The dream of “a better future, free from the shackles of
oppression and racism.” (Responding to Literature p. 383) Langston Hughes was
an African American writer so he would want to write about this type of dream,
and the sun was the best way he could describe it using nature. Lines one
through three in God’s World, “O World, I cannot hold thee close enough! /
Thy winds, they wide gray skies! / Thy mists that roll and rise!” This poem
describes nature and how it can be enjoying. These lines describe nature so they
are a prefect example of how nature is used in poems. It’s showing how life
can be and how beautiful the world can be. Having to go see what is out there is
just saying that experiences are a part of life. The nature in “For Poets”
symbolizes just about everything that we shouldn’t become. In lines four
through seven the poem mentions a mole, a root, a stone, and a worm, all
examples of the wrong thing to be. Al Young wanted everyone to realize they
should get out in the world. Using nature gives people an idea of what they
should be doing. Not becoming a worm or a root or a stone Finding similarities
in poems can always be helpful. Understanding what the author says in the poem
can be useful in everyday life. Here the authors are telling the audience to
enjoy life to the fullest. Evidence found in each poem suggests that getting out
and enjoying nature can be good for you. Finding happiness in life and nature
are great themes for all poets to write about, which these authors utilized this
to the fullest.