...I Wanna Hold Your Hand..

("Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night", Thomas)

Honestly I first reaction I had with this poem was a connection to the latest Glee episode. Call me a geek for referencing to English class or a gleek for watching the show, but the two medias are quite similar. The following clip is a song sung by a grief-struck son who simply doesn't want to lose his father who is sick in the hospital. He wants to return to a time of comfort and ease, displayed in the song "I Wanna Hold your Hand" a cover of the Beatle original.

Both the poem and the video clip express a similar emotion: to fight death and to find comfort here on Earth. Both hold tones of anguish and sadness and describe their fathers with honor and love. The poem also captures feelings of confusion and pain shown through the many paradoxes, as the son wishes for the saving of his father. These examples of family love and bond are remarkable. All children should be thankful for what parents they have and strive to maintain good relationships with their parents, who in turn should show support and love to their children.

But Now the Days Grow Short....

("That Time of Year", Shakespeare)

This poor speaker has reached/is nearing "the autumn of the year", meaning they are growing old. They certainly lack the positive attitude of Frank Sinatra:

But now the days grow short, I'm in the autumn of the year. And now I think of my life as vintage wine from fine old kegs from the brim to the dregs, and it poured sweet and clear; it was a very good year" ("It was a Very Good Year").

Rather this speaker seems to be fearing the "end of autumn" as much as a night terror. This is displayed through the negative imagery such as the "bare ruined choirs" and "black night" and "deathbed whereon it must expire". The end is in wight for this speaker, and rather than joyfully reflect on their life, they desire to blindly turn away. This speaker wants to look away from the past and future and desires to be nourished and consumed by present love. The tone is urgent and reflects the strength of love through the toils of time. This fear feeds into the strength of love.

..Hey Stupid, that Ain't News No More...

("Lovely Hearts", Cope)

"Can someone make my simple wish come true?"

This entire poem is centered on the irony of this phrase at the end of every line. Each stanza brings a new desperate seeker of love. All of the characters yearn for life's simple call of love, yet they all reject fate and try to create the perfect match rather then find the perfect match. These characters all have similar characteristic of fear and laziness despite their different sexual orientations and backgrounds. The chance of finding these specific lovers is slim, even with an ironic new paper ad. This poem reflects the natural instinct to hope that issues and desires will just appear without much work. This laziness and lack of confidence plagues our world, and has ruined the concept of love. Love is not meant to be given to us through a newspaper, rather love is to discovered by sharing a newspaper.

I'm Gonna Live till I die

("Death, be not proud", Donne)

Death is personified multiple times within this poem; it's described proud, a slave, and even a victim of death. This personification serves two purpose, the first being to exaggerate the role of death. The poem tries to decrease the effects of death and instead tries to focus on the life after death. This "short sleep" is rejected; it seems kinda like an awful ad between two excellent shows, pointless and thankfully short. The second motivation to personify death is to have a source to blame for the sadness and bitter feelings of death. Mr. Costello are you even reading this? The kings, war, desperate men, or sickness are not to blame; rather death is a pride-seeking being causes the negative imagery with death. The speaker calls for more pleasure from death, for even "our best men with thee will go". This poem desires a death of death; a world free of the fear and horror of dying.