Weighing the Dog Poetry Analysis

In the poem Weighing the Dog, the speaker uses the act of weighing his dog as a metaphor for his own break up with a past significant other. Throughout the poem, a shift in tone occurs, making the reader clear of the metaphor that is created throughout the poem. The speaker emphasizes his tone through the use of different literary devices, and makes clear the purpose of the poem.

At the beginning of the poem, the speaker describes the process of weighing his dog. He uses language such as, "awkward," (1) "bewildering," (1) and "balancing" (3) to describe the strange and uncomfortable nature of weighing the dog. Although the scene of weighing a dog has a deeper meaning than simply finding the weight of a pet, the speaker's language makes clear the uncomfortable tone at the beginning of the poem. As the poem progresses, it becomes clear that the speaker's description of weighing his dog is a metaphor for his own break up. The speaker felt uncomfortable in his relationship, which is made clear by the inclusion of detail, "all those awkward and bewildering months" (14). The physical act of weighing the dog comes before the subtraction of the speakers weight, suggesting that the opening lines of the poem represent the awkward relationship of the speaker with a significant other before a break up. In addition to describing the uncomfortable nature of weighing his dog, the speaker's awkward tone at the beginning of the poem is meant to describe the uncomfortable nature of his romantic relationship.

As the poem progresses and it becomes clear that the speaker's description of weighing his dog is a reference to a past romantic relationship, a transition in tone occurs. The speaker explains his new found clarity when he says, "I never figured out what you amounted to / until I subtracted myself from our combination" (11-12). The speaker's realization gives the poem a tone of clarity and acceptance, but the accepting tone becomes especially regretful when the speaker says, "Now we are both lost in strange and distant neighborhoods" (15). Although the speaker felt awkward in his relationship, separation allowed him to realize the worth of his significant other. His realization gave him a sense of appreciation for his old relationship, which allows the speaker to recognize the contrast between what he has now, and what he had during his relationship. It becomes clear that the speaker feels regretful for breaking up with his significant other, and that he feels even more awkward now than he did when he was in a relationship. Although the break up was caused by his awkward feelings, ending the relationship did not help because the speaker is now "lost in strange and distant neighborhoods" (15).

Sound & Sense Chapter 11-13 Notes

Chapter 11: Musical Devices
-Musical quality in poetry is achieved by the arrangement of sound and accents
-Repetition is good
-People like repetition because it provides familiarity
-Appeal in poetry is not always about what the poem says, and rather how it sounds
-Changing words in a poem alters the sound, either adding to or detracting from the quality of the poem
-Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds
-Consonance: repetition of final consonant sounds
-Rhyming:
-Masculine: rhyme sound only involves one syllable
-Feminine: rhyme sound involves multiple syllables
-Internal: one or more rhyming words within a line
-End: when rhyming words are at the ends of lines
-Approximate: words with any kind of similar sound

Chapter 12: Rhythm and Meter
-Rhythm: wavelike recurrence of motion or sound
-Accented/Stressed: the part of a word given more emphasis
-Rhetorical Stresses: emphasis on sections of phrases to clarify meaning
-End-stopped line: end of a line corresponds with a natural speech pause
-Run-on line: Line moves to the next line without pause
-Caesuras: Pauses that occur within lines
-Meter: identifying characteristic of rhythmic languages that "we can tap our feet to"
-Foot: one accented syllable with one or two unaccented syllable
-Iambic: unstressed, stressed, unstressed, stressed
-Trochaic: stressed, unstressed, stressed, unstressed
-Anapestic: unstressed, unstressed, stressed, unstressed, unstressed, stressed
-Dactylic: stressed, unstressed, unstressed, stressed, unstressed, unstressed
-Spondaic: stressed, stressed
-Stanza: group of lines with the same metric pattern throughout the poem
-Metric Variations
-Substitution: replacing regular foot with another one
-Extrametrical Syllables: syllables added to the beginning or end of lines
-Truncation: omission of an unaccented syllable at beginning or end of lines
-Expected rhythm v. Heard rhythm
-Grammatical & Rhetorical Pauses

Chapter 13: Sound and Meaning

-Poetry meant to convey meaning or experience through sounds
-Onomatopoeia: words that sound like what they mean
-Phonetic Intensives: words which sounds are somehow connected to their meaning
-Letters have hard and soft sounds
-Euphony & Cacophony to create nicely sounding combinations of words
-Synesthesia:  stimulation of two or more senses at the same time

Pride and Prejudice #2

In the last section of Pride and Prejudice Mr. Darby tells Elizabeth of his love for her, and the two struggle to deal with the revelation. It becomes clear that prejudice has complicated their relationship, and that pride has gotten in the way of the understanding of one another. In Mr. Darby's letter of explanation to Elizabeth, he reveals his reasoning for convincing Mr. Bingley to not marry Jane. He explains that he had prejudice against Jane because of her social class, and her often shameful family: "The situation of your mother's family, though objectionable, was nothing nothing in comparison to that total want of propriety so frequently, so almost uniformly betrayed by herself, by your three younger sisters, and occasionally even your father" (169). Mr. Darcy did not see Jane's familial and social standing to be fit to marry Mr. Bingley, and so he convinced his friend not to marry the beautiful girl. Mr. Darcy allowed his prejudice to cloud his judgment of Jane, and he ignored the fact that she herself was a lovely person. Because Jane was not outward and open about her fond feelings for Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy did not see an issue with convincing Bingley to give up on his relationship with Jane. In revealing his reasoning for breaking off the expected engagement of Bingley and Jane, Mr. Darcy indicates that he is greatly affected by prejudice.

In addition to Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth is greatly affected by the prejudice she has against others. Specifically, she allows her first interaction with Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Wickman's stories of the wealthy gentleman to affect her feelings towards Mr. Darcy, and she develops prejudice against him. After Elizabeth reads Mr. Darby's letter, she realizes that her opinion of him is unjust and inaccurate: "How despicably have I acted!" (177). Elizabeth has a preconceived opinion of Mr. Darby before she gets to know him, and does not allow any of his actions to change her opinion of him. She acts aggressively  towards Darby and completely rejects his love because of her prejudice, clearly displaying the affect prejudice has on her behavior.

To the Lighthouse #7

At the start of the Ramsay's trip to the Lighthouse, Cam and James make a pact to resist the tyranny of their father. As the family is at sea, it becomes clear that the siblings actually have extremely different opinions of their father. When James is steering the boat, he expects his father to criticize him if something goes wrong: "James kept dreading the moment when he would look up and speak sharply to him about something or other. [...] And if he does, James thought, then I shall take a knife and strike him to the heart" (187). James seemingly irrationally violent thoughts make it clear that he hates his father and he is true on his quest to resist tyranny. James hates Mr. Ramsay's natural disposition, and he does not feel sympathetic towards his father. James' aggressive feelings towards his father at age sixteen mirrors his violent desires from when he was six years old. Time has not allowed the mending of James' relationship with his father, and the boy's dislike for his father is genuine.

Although Cam promises that she will resist tyranny with James, it becomes clear that she is not as wholeheartedly devoted to her commitment as her brother. After Mr. Ramsay attempts to make Cam smile by asking her about her puppy, Cam struggles to resist her father's tyranny: "Cam now felt herself overcast, as she sat down there among calm, resolute people and wondered how to answer her father about the puppy; how to resist his entreaty" (171). Mr. Ramsay purposely asks his daughter about her puppy in order to make himself appear relatable. He is manipulating the situation because he recognizes his children's plan to some degree. Cam, unlike her brother, does not feel a passionate hatred for her father, and she struggles to follow through with her commitment to James because her father is trying to appeal to her interests, rather than assert his superiority.

To the Lighthouse #6

In the opening sections of the third part of To the Lighthouse, Lily struggles to give Mr. Ramsay what he desires. Throughout this section of the novel, Lily desperately tries to avoid Mr. Ramsay because he expects her to provide him with sympathy. When Mr. Ramsay seeks sympathy from Lily, she attempts to change the topic of conversation and talks about the lighthouse. As an internal response, Mr. Ramsay thinks, "Why [...] should she look at the sea when I am here? [...] The Lighthouse! The Lighthouse! What's that got to do with it?" (155). Mr. Ramsay is annoyed that Lily is not giving him what he wants. He is setting her up to easily provide him with the sympathy that he desires but Lily will not cooperate. He is selfish in his quest for sympathy, which is why he is irritated that Lily wants to talk about a topic other than him.

After Mr. Ramsay realizes that Lily will not accept his subtle hints to give him sympathy, he begins to dramatize his pain. He talks about how painful it is going to be to go to the Lighthouse because of his wife's previous involvement with the Lighthouse. Instead of giving Mr. Ramsay what he wants, Lily compliments Mr. Ramsay on his shoes: "What beautiful boots!" (157). Although Lily understands that it would be easier to give Mr. Ramsay sympathy, she cannot bring herself to give him what he wants. To her surprise, Mr. Ramsay is thrilled by her comment about his boots and it becomes clear that Mr. Ramsay enjoys talking about himself. He needs sympathy because a sympathetic conversation revolves around him. Lily realizes that Mr. Ramsay is so desperate for sympathy because he no longer has Mrs. Ramsay to provide it for him. Additionally, Mrs. Ramsay is no longer alive for Mr. Ramsay to talk about himself to.

To The Lighthouse #3

As the novel continues more is revealed about the workings of the Ramsay's marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay are fundamentally opposite people, where Mr. Ramsay is driven by his quest for truth, and Mrs. Ramsay is driven by her value of emotion. It does not seem like they could be a successful couple, but insight into their feelings for each other provide explanation for their lasting marriage. After James is taken away for bed, Mrs. Ramsay feels relieved that she has time to herself: "It was a relief when they went to bed. For now she need not think about anybody. She could be herself, by herself" (65). Mrs. Ramsay's alone time is almost ended by her husband's interference, but he chooses not to interrupt: "She was so lovely, lovelier now than ever he thought. But he could not speak to her. He could not interrupt her" (68). Mr. Ramsay's decision to leave his wife alone displays the unspoken communication and mutual respect within the Ramsay marriage. Although Mr. Ramsay wants to speak with his wife, he knows that she needs time alone, and he puts her desires over his own.

As the couple waits for all of their children to return home, they talk about potential scholarships for their oldest son: "They always disagreed about [scholarships], bit it did not matter. She liked him to believe in scholarships, and he liked her to be proud of Andrew whatever he did" (70). The topic of scholarships displays the couples ability to work through and embrace differences in opinion. Each respects and value's the other's opinion, which allows differences to exist in the relationship. Although the couple did not agree on how to approach the discussion of going to the lighthouse, they are able to agree on other things, and they do not resent each other for opposing thoughts. Insight into the couple's relationship provides explanation for how fundamentally opposite people have managed to stay happily married.

To the Lighthouse - Point of View

The ever-changing perspectives in To the Lighthouse presents the reader with a better overall character understanding. Learning about a character from more than one point of view prevents bias judgment by a reader, and in turn enables a reader to further understand a character as a whole. Mr. Ramsay is addressed in several different narrations, but specifically those of James and Mrs. Ramsay. After Mr. Ramsay crushes James' hopes to go to the lighthouse the following day, the six year old has violent thoughts about his father: "Had there been an axe handy, or a poker, any weapon that would have gashed a hole in his father's breast and killed him, then and there, James would have seized it" (8). Although not going to the lighthouse seems like it should be a minor disappointment, James obviously feels passionately about wanting to go, and he does not appreciate his father already saying no. Mr. Ramsay's insensitivity towards his youngest son provides the initial introduction for his value of reality. He does not believe in false hope, and he does not want his children to either, which is why he is blunt with James. Mr. Ramsay is trying to help his children prepare for the disappointments of the future, but his seemingly pessimistic outlook on life does not make him liked by his children. The initial introduction of Mr. Ramsay comes from James' point of view, and it makes the philosopher appear brutally honest and insensitive.

Although Mrs. Ramsay believes her husband to be harsh, she does not feel the same hostility towards Mr. Ramsay as James. Mrs. Ramsay does not approve of her husband's quest for truth, and reflects on his behavior: "To pursue truth with such an astonishing lack of consideration for other people's feelings [...] was to her [...] an outrage of human decency" (35). Initially it appears that Mrs. Ramsay is furious with her husband's insistence on disappointing James, but immediately after her reflection she thinks, "There was nobody whom she reverenced as she reverenced him" (35). Although Mrs. Ramsay does not approve of her husband's behavior towards James, she whole-heartedly respects Mr. Ramsay. Unlike Mrs. Ramsay, Mr. Ramsay does not align his actions and decisions with emotions, and he is only concerned with the truth. Mrs. Ramsay respects her husband for his views on life, even though she does not like that he preaches his apparent cynicism onto her innocent and sheltered children. She understands that her children will have to face the cruelty of the world in the future, but she wants to spare them from the pain until it is inevitable. Both James and Mrs. Ramsay do not like Mr. Ramsay's behavior, but Mrs. Ramsay is mature and experienced enough to understand why her husband behaves the way he does.