Welcome to the blog for Prof. John Talbird's English 102 class. The purpose of this site is two-fold: 1) to continue the conversations we start in class (or to start conversations before we get to class) and 2) to practice our writing, reading, and thinking on a weekly basis in an informal setting.
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Shooting Wild Poem
The poem entitled "Shooting Wild" by Poet Lore on pg 126 seems to be talking about the point of view from an adult that is reflecting on a childhood memory. This person goes on to talk of a movie term, "shooting wild", which is shooting a movie without sound. He/she compares his mother to the movie term. He/she hints that his/her mother and stepfather had strained relationship. Stanzas 1 and 2 state, "And I think of being a child watching my mother, how quiet she'd been, soundless in our house made silent by fear. At first her gestures were hard to understand, and her hush when my stepfather was near." This sheds light on the fact that their relationship wasn't healthy due to a keyword said: fear. According to stanzas 2 and 3, "Then one morning, the imprint of his hand dark on her face". This means the persons mother was in an abusive relationship. The poem goes on to hint in a way that his/her mother is dead from either being in the abusive relationship or just not standing up for herself.
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Hi Shania: This is a strong poem about abuse, but fyi: I've been teaching film studies and writing about film for 15 years and I've never heard the term "shooting wild." I couldn't find any reference to it w/ a quick Google search. Either Trethewey is mistaken or she just made up the term. It fits w/ her theme, I guess.
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