F08250_mthielke

"To Television" by Robert Pinsky (1988)
Maria Thielke Not a "window on the world" But as we call you, A box a tube

Terrarium of dreams and wonders. Coffer of shades, ordained Cotillion of phosphors Or liquid crystal Homey miracle, tub Of acquiescence, vein of defiance. Your patron in the pantheon would be Hermes

Raster dance, Quick one, little thief, escort Of the dying and comfort of the sick,

In a blue glow my father and little sister sat Snuggled in one chair watching you Their wife and mother was sick in the head I scorned you and them as I scorned so much

Now I like you best in a hotel room, Maybe minutes Before I have to face an audience: behind The doors of the armoire, box Within a box--Tom & Jerry, or also brilliant And reassuring, Oprah Winfrey.

Thank you, I watched, I watched Sid Caesar speaking French and Japanese not Through knowledge but imagination, His quickness, and Thank You, I watched live Jackie Robinson stealing

Home, the image--O strung shell--enduring Fleeter than light like these words we Remember in, they too winged At the helmet and ankles.

Way 1: First Impressions
My first impression about Robert Pinsky's poem "To Television," was that I found it to be confusing, yet very intriguing. It made me ask why someone would go as in depth and write a poem about a television. Pinsky is conveying that the television is a place that anyone can go and watch many different things and learn about them. He states "Now I like you best in a hotel room/Maybe minutes/Before I have to face an audience," which makes me realize that the television can be a place to go for enjoyment, or to go and just relax (18-20). The lines "In a blue glow my father and little sister sat/Snuggled in one chair watching you," show how it is a place for families to be together and spend time with one another (14-15). Television is a place where you can use your imagination and watch your wildest dreams come true.

At first glance, I did not understand the relevance to Hermes in the poem, "Your patron in the pantheon would be Hermes"(10). I am not that familiar with ancient mythology or gods, so this was a bit confusing to me. I know that Hermes is a messenger of the gods, but I do not know much more than that. Hermes is shown to be a "little thief, escort/Of the dying and comfort of the sick"(12-13). Pinsky must be relating a television to this also. The television can be a comfort for people that are sick. They can lie in their beds and watch the television, forgetting their sickness for a moment while they are entranced in the television show. This is a very interesting metaphor used in the poem that shows many ways that a television can be viewed.

Way 2: Engaging with the Text
As I started engaging with the text and reading this poem out loud, I noticed a few things that affect the sound and the flow of the poem. I noticed that it was a free verse poem because it did not have any specific meter to it and the stanzas were all different lengths. The line breaks in the poem were very evident for me right from the beginning. It was hard to read out loud because of the irregular breaks in the lines. These line breaks emphasize the words that end one line and begin the other. It either ends one idea and starts another, or continues on with the idea that is being said. For example, "I scorned you and them as I scorned so much," suggests that he used to hate how the television took control of their family time (17). But, in the next line, he has changed his mind and actually enjoys watching the television, "Now I like you best in a hotel room" (18). The line breaks end one idea and begin a new one, emphasizing the meaning between those two lines.

Alliteration is a device that is used frequently throughout this poem. Right from the start, Pinsky uses the phrase "window on the world" (1). The words "window" and "world" are used as alliteration to help control the reader's attention and focus it on these words. There are many examples of alliteration in the poem, used in almost every stanza. The place where I find the most alliteration is in the sixth stanza. "Before I have to face and audience: behind/The doors of the armoire, box/Within a box--Tom & Jerry, or also brilliant" (18-21). "Before," "behind," "box," and "brilliant" are all examples of the use of alliteration. It seems that these words are also singled out by the use of punctuation, which helps the reader understand that they should be emphasized, which helps the reader better understand the text.

Way 3: A Point about Form and its Relationship to Content
There are many different varieties of form in this poem, but the one that is the most prominent is alliteration. In the first line, "window on the world" is alliterate (1). The use of the repetition of the initial constanent sound is a very effective device to use. In stanza number two, alliteration is used quite frequently to emphasize what the author is trying to say. "Terrarium of dreams and wonders./Coffer of shades, ordained/Cotillion of phosphors/Or liquid crystal"(4-7). The words "coffer,"cotillion," and "crystal" are all examples of the use of alliteration. This makes the reader pay attention to these words more and to analyze them. Pinsky uses these words to describe the television in a way that many people would not think about. The use of this alliteration grabs the readers' attention and forces them to understand this idea. It gives more of an emphasis on the wonders of the television and all of the great things about it.

The poem is structured as a free verse poem with no set line pattern or stanza grouping. Pinsky uses many line breaks and stanza breaks in the poem. It is important because it separates the ideas that the author has about the television. Many of the stanza breaks force the reader to go into the next stanza and tie the two together. These line breaks add an interesting aspect to the poem. Without the breaks it would give a completely different effect. It forces the reader to analyze the meaning of the poem more than if it was all just easily written on the paper, sentence by sentence. The sentence formation and the line structure makes the reader think about what is written. The unlikely rhythm of the poem makes it more interesting and helps engage the readers mind.

Way 4: Unpacking an Instance of Figurative Language
Figurative language is an important aspect when trying to unpack a poem. An instance that I thought tied the whole poem together was the line "your patron in the pantheon would be Hermes" (10). It is a metaphor comparing the television to Hermes. According to Wikipedia, Hermes is considered to be a messenger of the gods in Greek mythology. He is also known for his trickery and cunning ways. He was the comforter of the sick and the escort of the dying. Besides that, Hermes was also known to be a minor patron of poetry and was worshiped throughout Greece. Pinsky is comparing Hermes to the television because they are similar in many ways. The television is a messenger of many things to the viewer. We can see anything we want nowadays on the television, and are not really limited to anything. We have access to thousands of shows, ideas, and local news. This whole concept of Hermes relates to the rest of the poem very nicely as well. Hermes is not only the messenger of the gods, but also a god of trickery and cunning. "Quick one, little thief, escort/Of the dying and comfort of the sick" (12-13). Pinsky writes this to describe the fact that television can also be tricky and cunning to many people. The term "thief" may mean the fact that the television takes time away from their families and they do not get to spend as much quality time together. Also, Hermes leads the sick and dying to Hades, just as the television comforts the sick and dying. There are many dying people in nursing homes and other places where people are sick, where televisions are in each and every room comforting these people. They are comforted by the voices and images on the T.V. These comparisons between Hermes and a television are important in understanding the concept of the poem.

Way 4: Another Instance of Figurative Language
Another instance of figurative language is a group ofvmetaphors at the beginning of the poem. "Coffer of shades, ordained/Cotillion of phosphors/Or liquid crystal,/homey miracle, tub/of acquiescence, vein of defiance" (4-9). Since these words are not used on a daily basis, their meanings were not clear to me. According to dictionary.com, coffer is defined as a "box or a chest", cotillion means "a lively French social dance originating in the 18th century", and acquiescence is defined as "an agreement or consent by silence or without objection; compliance." Phosphors are "any of various substances that can emit light after absorbing some form of radiation. Television screens and fluorescent lamp tubes are coated on the inside with phosphors" (dictionary.com). Liquid crystal is also used in T.V. sets and "display unusual and often manipulable optical properties such as anisotropic scattering" in certain television sets, such as LCD (dictionary.com). Defiance is considered "bold resistance to an opposing force or authority" (dictionary.com). All of these denotative meanings mean nothing until they are put together by analyzing them and trying to figure out what Pinsky is really trying to convey through these metaphors. The metaphors, put more simply, means that the television is a chest of many different colors, a special dance of many lights and sights that are seen on the T.V., a miracle that has come into people's homes, a place where people can go and feel compliance or acceptance, and a path that people can take to resistance from other things in life. Anything is possible with the television. It can show us anything that we want to see, either positive or negative. It is a wonderful technology for people to have access to in their homes, which gives them access to it all day long. There are shows that can really be positive for people's lives and teach them important aspects, but on the other hand, there can be negative shows that teach violence and hatred. Either way, the television is a place where anyone in the world can learn and see a variety of new and exciting things each day.

Way 5: Analyzing the Setting
The setting for this poem would be described as in front of a television. Many people watch television in their living rooms or in places where they can just relax and be comfortable. "Snuggled in one chair watching you" describes his father and sister sitting in a chair watching the T.V., snuggling up next to each other (14). It shows how the T.V. can help people be with each other and spend time together, but it can also do the opposite and isolate someone in front of the television. Pinsky also uses the setting of a hotel room to describe where someone can watch television. "Now I like you best in a hotel room" (18). This is where someone can relax and watch the television and not be bothered by anything else. The television can distract people from worries in life and, when in front on the T.V., other things can be forgotten for the moment. The setting in front of the T.V. suggests a calm and comfortable one because the T.V. tends to be a sense of comfort to many people.

It is a "terrarium of dreams and wonders" which can make any sort of setting that the viewer watches in their home (4). Many people seem to be captivated by the television and are taken where the television seems to be going. So the setting can really be anywhere that the television takes the viewer's mind. If the viewer is watching Oprah Winfrey, as described in the poem, the viewer will be right there with her. If the viewer is watching baseball, such as Pinsky describes Jackie Robinson, their setting will be right there in the baseball field (23 28). The television has endless possibilites and can take people wherever they want to go.

Way 6: Identifying and Analyzing Point of View
The point of view that is used in this poem is the first point of view. The word "I" is used to describe things in this poem. Pinsky describes his father and little sister sitting on the chair together watching the T.V. "In a blue glow my father and little sister sat" (14). The word "my" describes the first point of view because the author is describing his father and sister and his view on how he sees this. We see only his point of view and how he describes the concept of the television. "Now I like you best in a hotel room" and "Before I have to face an audience..." describes the author's experiences watching T.V. in a hotel room and how he is feeling relaxed from this. The first point of view works well in this poem because we get some specific instances of actual feelings behind watching T.V. In another point of view, many of these instances would be lost and it would not mean as much and we would not get the same ideas from the poem. For instance, if the third point of view omniscient would be used in this poem, the reader's would not understand the specific personal experiences that the writer feels. That personal experience would be lost from the poem and it would not have the same effect.

Way 7: Analyzing Complexity, Ambiguity, & Difficulty
At first, while reading this poem, I found a few things to be a little bit difficult to understand. There were words that I did not understand, such as "coffer", "cotillion," and "terrarium" (4-6). I knew that they were somehow describing a television, but I did not know what they meant. Looking into these words made the poem much easier to read. On dictionary.com, coffer is "a box or chest," cotillion is a "lively French social dance originating in the 18th century," and terrarium is "a glass container for growing and displaying plants." These words were used in metaphors so they needed to be analyzed before I knew what Pinsky meant by them in the poem. Another concept I thought was difficult in the beginning to understand was about Hermes. I knew that Hermes was a Greek god, but I did not know much else after that. This made the poem hard to comprehend and to really understand the meaning behind it. As I researched the history of Hermes, the whole poem became more clear to me and I now understand how Pinsky ties him into the entire poem. Without knowing about Hermes, there would be a lot less meaning to the poem.

There is some ambiguity in the poem that gives multiple meanings. The lines "Raster dance,/Quick one, little thief, escort/Of the dying and comfort of the sick" could mean a couple different things (11-13). First, Pinsky could be talking about Hermes and how he is traditionally known to be. Hermes is historically known to be tricky and cunning. These lines could be specifically talking about just Hermes and how he acted historically. He was quick and cunning and he would escort the sick to Hades after they died. In actuality, Pinsky is describing how Hermes can be related to the television. The television can be tricky in some ways. It gets people's attention and sucks them into watching more and more television. It steals people away from their daily duties and even from time that they could be spending with their loved ones. The television is also a great comforter of those that are sick. Many people just lie in front of the television when they are not feeling good, drowning their sickness away in the sights and sounds of the T.V.

 Horizontal Thinking: Connecting the Text to Wider Contexts Way 8: Considering Canonicity
This poem would be considered to be in the literary canon. It is definitely a poem that would be hard to understand at first glance. It is necessary to read the poem again and again and look deeper into what Pinsky is trying to say. His reference to Hermes, "Your patron in the pantheon would be Hermes" is a good example of why this piece of literature would be in the canon (10). It is more complex and it really needs to be analyzed to understand the meaning behind the poem. Pinsky is using a metaphor to compare Hermes to a television. In further lines, he is describing how both Hermes and the television can both be tricky and cunning. They both comfort the sick and dying when they are needed. Without understanding this one point, the poem would be hard to understand. This poem needs to be read deeper than just the words on the page.

Another reason I believe this poem to be in the literary canon, is because it references the past and the present cultural values. It refers to Hermes, which is a Greek god that was worshiped a lot in the past. It also refers to present time individuals that are well known by many people. "And reassuring, Oprah Winfrey" (23). Oprah is a famous TV personality that many people know and love. Many people will sit down on the couch and watch her show faithfully every day. The poem also references to "Sid Caesar," a very famous actor and comedian. "I watched/Sid Caesar speaking French and Japanese" (24-25). Many people loved to watch his comedy shows and his movies and found great pleasure in seeing him. These reference to the past and to the present is important because it gives us a wide cultural perspective into the poem. Many poems do not offer the wide cultural differences. This is another important reason why I think that this poem is considered to be in the canon.

Way 9: Biographical Context
"To Television" by Robert Pinsky is, at first glance, simply about a television. Pinsky took this seemingly simple piece of technology and evolved it into a complex poem with many angles to look at. Reading Robert Pinsky's biography helped explain why he would take such a simple thing and create a complex poem out of it. From a biography on WilsonWeb, Pinsky has described why he writes his poetry the way he does. He states that he likes to connect to others and wants "Americans to appreciate poetry" (WilsonWeb). Many American's have obsessions with new technology, and television is one of the most popular. I believe that by writing about television, it would captivate many people's attention. He describes the excitement of a television and the fact that many people can enjoy its use. "Terrarium of dreams and wonders" describes the fact that a television can bring so many dreams and wonders right into the home of the person watching it. Reading this biography made me realize that Pinsky also likes to explore history in his poetry. That explains a lot about this poem, because he describes the concept of Hermes. This is a historical figure that is known by many people. He incorporates a contemporary and historical feel into the poem, which can be very interesting for a lot of readers. In the biography on WilsonWeb, it states that "Pinsky believes that contemporary poetry exhibits more continuity than change" (WilsonWeb). Although Pinsky talks about Hermes in his poem, he does not go into much detail about him. He describes that fact that Hermes can be connected to the television in many ways and is very similar to a television. I think that this is a form of continuity. The fact that Hermes, who is hundreds of years old, can be related to a television, shows the fact that many things are continuing and not as many things change as much as people think they do.

Way 10: Historical and Cultural Contexts
This poem, since it was written in 1988, talks about the concept of modern technology in a television. This is a well known piece of technology that many people know of and own in this day in age. It has become a cultural phenomenon and people go to it for their daily knowledge, for comfort, and for laughs. Many people can relate to the television and relate it to their life each day. In Pinsky's poem, he relates this poem to Hermes, a Greek god. He takes this historical aspect and relates it to something very modern that people can understand. Historically, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, Hermes is known as a messenger of the gods and escorts the dying to Hades when it is their time. He is also known to be tricky and cunning to people. This becomes an important historical aspect to understand while reading this poem. The way that the poem is tied together in two completely different time periods and two different cultural elements, makes it more interesting to understand. Poetry has been being written for centuries, and always has some sort of cultural influence in it. In this poem, the central topic is the television, which is very culturally important in the most recent years. Taking topics from history, such as Hermes, and incorporating it into present day poetry shows the similarities from the past and present times.

Way 11: Theoretical Application
Using the psychoanalytic perspective to understand this poem was a very interesting approach to take. Psychoanalytic critics would look at the fact that "To Television" might reveal some of Pinsky's own Oedipus complex. Is this poem a flashback from Pinky's past or is it another character entirely? Does this poem really relate to Pinsky's childhood? In the poem, it seems that Pinksy goes back to his own childhood and relives a moment when his family was in front of the television watching it. "In a blue glow my father and little sister sat/Snuggled in one chair watching you" (14-15). At this time he did not completely condone watching television all of the time because he believed that it took time away from the family. "I scorned you and them as I scorned so much" (17). But now as he watches television and enjoys it, he wants to relive those moments from his childhood. He now enjoys watching television in his hotel room; "Now I like you best in a hotel room" (18). The thoughts of watching "Tom & Jerry" as a child brings back the happy memories for him (22). To a psychoanalytic critic, it would seem that Pinsky has some Oedipus complex issues that have not been resolved as a child, due to the television.

Way 12: Another Theoretical Application
Another theoretical application that can be used to critique this poem would be the New Criticism approach. They would look at the metaphorical aspects and the symbolism used in the poem. How does the whole poem fit together into one single point? There are many aspects that are to be looked at in this poem, but the whole idea fits together into one single idea. These critics would also ask: what types of metaphors are present in this poem and how to they relate the unitary meaning behind it? This poem has metaphors that make up the bulk of the poem. For instance, the main metaphor is "Your patron in the pantheon would be Hermes" (10). Here, Hermes is being related to a television. This is to create the idea that a television can be a messenger to people around the world, just as Hermes was the messenger of the gods. Television can be a very important piece of technology to all sorts of people. This metaphor would fit into the entire poem because the poem shows how important a television is to many people. You can see things such as "Tom & Jerry, or also brilliant/And reassuring, Oprah Winfrey" (22-23). And even see legendary events live that might be happening half way around the country such as: "Jackie Robinson stealing/Home" (28-29). All of the different aspects of the poem show that the television can be a very important aspect to our lives, showing us millions of different and unique things each and every day. New Critics would focus on these different aspects and try to connect them all together. They would also question the use of the free verse that Pinsky used to write this poem. Why did he use the line breaks the way he did? Why did he separate some words and sentences from each other? This gives a new effect to the poem and makes it more interesting to read. It gives the poem more of an exciting presence and makes it more fun and interesting to read.

Way 13: Unifying Interpretation
When I began to interpret this poem, I did not even begin to realize all of the different aspects that made it up. While there is a lot of depth and a lot that can be analyzed about it, the poem //is// just about the love of a television. Through the poem, Pinsky shows many different angles on how a television can impact our lives. It is just a simple box that sits in a living room waiting to be turned on. Once turned on, it shines a magnitude of colors that many people want to see each day. The television is a place where anyone can go to learn and see a variety of things. We can see events happening half way around the world, live on our television sets. Seeing legendary events, such as Jackie Robinson stealing home plate in a baseball game, can be done in the comfort of our homes. The television is made for a variety of people and age groups. We can gain information and learn from it or simply watch it to feel relaxed and comforted, such as watching Tom & Jerry, a popular cartoon show. The possibilities are endless with this piece of technology that we now have access to.

The metaphor that Pinsky uses to describe a television helps understand all the possibilities that the television can offer. He compares a television to Hermes, the messenger of the gods: "Your patron in the pantheon would be Hermes" (10). A television in itself is a messenger to many people around the world. It can bring information to many people and help us understand the world around us. Hermes is also a comforter of the sick and dying, which a television can also be thought of that way. When people are sick, they typically curl up next to the television and watch it for hours. It can be a very comforting this to watch, and helps you forget the troubles that you may be experiencing. According to mythology, Hermes can be considered sneaky and a thief. A television can also be related to that scenario. When a family sits down in front of the television at night, they are not spending time with each other, just with the TV. This could mean that the TV is stealing time away from them and not letting them be together. Ultimately, the television can show us a multitude of things from Oprah Winfrey, to Tom & Jerry, to Jackie Robinson. This poem shows the wonders of the television and what it can all bring into our lives.

Works Cited and Consulted
Brown, James S., and Scott D. Yarbrough. __A Practical Introduction to Literary Study__. Pinsky, Robert. "To Television." Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2005.

__Dictionary.com:An Ask.com Service.__ 2008. Dictionary.com, LLC. 24 November 2008. <[|http://dictionary.reference.com]>.

"Hermes" __Wikipedia:The Free Encyclopedia__. 23 November 2008, 23:47 UTC. .

"Robert Pinsky." __Current Biography__. 1999: __Biographies Plus Illustrated__. WilsonWeb. UW-Colleges Lib., Sheboygan, WI. 24 November 2008. <[|http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com]>.

Hoagland, Tony. "Three Tenors: Gluck, Hass, Pinsky, and the Deployment of Talent." __American Poetry Review__. 32.4 (2003): 37. __Academic Search Elite__. EBSCO Industries, Inc., 24 November 2008. <[|http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uwc.edu]>.

"Hermes." __Enclyclopedia Britannica__. 2008. __Encyclopedia Britannica Online__. 25 November 2008. .

Gorton, Kristyn. "There's No Place Like Home': Emotional Exposure, Excess and Empathy on TV." __Critical Studies in Television__. 3.1 (2008): 3-15. __H.W. Wilson Company__. 25 November 2008. .