The Literature Observer

James finally reviews The Tyger by William Blake! The Tyger (or, The Tiger) is a beautifully haunting poem that he hopes you think of if every you come across the "fearful symmetry" of a tyger. Here is the poem: Tyger Tyger, burning bright,  In the forests of the night;  What immortal hand or eye,  Could frame thy fearful symmetry? In what distant deeps or skies.  Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On...

James celebrates the passing of one season to the next with a poem, "Spring, the sweet spring". As he notes in the introduction of the episode, the audio was recorded live and unscripted, so there are imperfections. Live recording, however, ensures that all of the thoughts you hear are created on-the-spot, which is a fun way of peering into the soul based off of what it chooses to focus on.  Here...

James analyzes one of William Blake's poems, The Lamb . He thinks about the complex topics in the poem and how they are represented as simple questions with accompanying answers. It's odd that he should review a lesser-known poem written by William Blake, considering that The Tyger is much more famous. Here is the poem: Little Lamb who made thee           Dost thou know who made thee  Gave thee li...

In this episode, James reviews four very short, fun poems (because poetry is meant to express and entertain, not bore) which benefit from being seen in words on top of being heard: Untitled   By Muhammad Ali Me. We. On Going to Meet a Zen Master in the Kyushu Mountains and Not Finding Him to A.G. By Don Patterson Poem Recognizing Someone In The Street By Aram Saroyan                        ey?h  ...

James interviews the current Washington State Poet Laureate Derek Sheffield and analyzes one of his poems! Like most poems, Sometimes I Risk benefits from reading along, so a copy is included in the description, or you could navigate onto Derek's website. Sometimes I Risk combines humor with contemplation, highlights the feeling of cherishing memories, and reminds readers of the many times they fo...

In this podcast episode, James analyzes Shakespeare's Sonnet 30 . He conquers three different interpretations of the poem in a slightly confusing, but resolving way (kind of like how the poem navigates the narrator's emotion). Please excuse the fact that his voice was corrupted by sickness at the time of recording! Here is the poem if you would like to read along: When to the sessions of sweet sil...

For the first episode of the Literature Observer, James analyzes The Road Not Taken  by Robert Frost. James touches on Robert Frost's biography, and reflects about the typical reader response to the poem.  Here is the poem if you would like to read along: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could T...