Question

OPEN ENDED QUESTION PLEASE HELP I NEED IT QUICK!!!!

Reread the poems "End of April" and "End of August" by Heather Burns.

End of April
In an effort to become more like spring
She put on bright socks – fuchsia pink like the Azaleas in the gardens she sought
Out often to escape what winter still
Kept lodged in her mind. For who would go to
A garden to worry? Wanting to blend
In more, she began to clothe herself with
Wisteria, honeysuckle, trumpet
Vines so the hummingbirds came to know her
As spring itself. Whatever remained
Of her winter evaporated and then
Rained down in homage. When clouds were broken Open by the sun, she was gone – no one
Could say for sure what she used to look like.

End of August
We gather at the place where history
Wounds our future and it’s too bad that the
Balance gets thrown off again and we fall
Like peaches out of a bag, tumbling to
Bruised stops on the countertop. Summer is
Really over. All of our desires for how
To best spend it we wrote on paper plates
In June, in parables that made us laugh.
The thistle has bloomed, scattered. Our hearts cracked Open like thunderstorms that clustered on most Afternoons in July. No grief draws a
Ring around us like the end of August.
Our focus must shift to a new season,
A new frontier of weather, land, and fruits.

Identify and explain characteristics of Romantic poetry and Realist poetry in these poems. Then explain what makes these poems contemporary.

Answer 1

The two poems by Heather Burns blend characteristics of Romantic poetry, such as an emphasis on nature and emotion, with Realist traits, like focusing on the tangible experiences of life. They are made contemporary through their use of free verse and informal language.

Step-by-step explanation:

The poems "End of April" and "End of August" by Heather Burns exhibit a fusion of Romantic poetry traits and Realist poetry characteristics, while also embodying aspects that render them contemporary. Romantic poetry often embraces an emphasis on emotion, nature, and individual experience; these elements can be identified in the vivid descriptions of spring and natural transitions in Burns' work. Realist poetry, contrarily, aims to reflect life as it is, without idealization, which can be seen in the candid acknowledgment of change and decay in "End of August."

Both poems are contemporary in their informal diction and free verse form, a departure from the traditional constraints of earlier poetic forms. The presence of personal emotions and an intimate connection with nature aligns the poems with Romantic sensibilities, while their unvarnished look at life's cycles and endings resonates with Realist themes. Moreover, the themes discussed are timeless and universal, encompassing the cyclical nature of seasons and life, which remain relevant in contemporary discourse.