xinyan

=**"To Television" By Robert Pinsky(1988)**= Xin Yan 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, for 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.

When I first read this poem,from the title and the body, anybody would easily figure out that it is talking about the television.However,when I continue to read the poem itself,it is hard for me to catch what the author's real meaning of creating this poem.In the poem,he is talking about television's functions and features,on the other hand,the author also mention that when he and others watching televisions, they can all enjoy and learn a lot.But, actually, I am not really sure what the author is trying to express himself in the poem.
 * Way 1:First impression.**

When I read the poem loudly,I feel like every first word of the sentences are being automatically accentuated,which,I think it is where it's most important rythem might be ,and also,those parts should be the author's most emotion's positions,once again,I read the poem loudly,my instinct comfirms it and then I followed my instinct,then I get a new understanding about the poem is that maybe the author is trying to thank the television because it brought many happiness and convinences to his/her life,besides,the author is able to imagine through the television as some of the fair tale could be brought in front of the eyes which could never become true before.
 * Way 2:Engaging with the text**.

Way 3: A Point about Form and Its Relationship to Content
 The poem has some figurative languages like "Terrarium of dreams and wonders"(4),it is obviously a discription of the television,but no doubt it is showing a metaphor form as it describes the television as a terrarium of dreams and wonders,since the television is just kind of metal work.As author said the it is filled with dreams and wonders,when connecting with the rest of the poem,showing that the television really help people store hope and wonders,this piece of sentence is just a prior expression to impress readers at a former step.

Way 3: Another Point about Form and Its Relationship to Content
An other figurative language in the poem is of sentence "Raster dance"(13),which,of course describes the showing movements of the pictures on the television as a raster dance, we know that raster is just moving by the program or electric ,and dance is a unique human movement,when they have been combined together,give the reader a more specific and vivid impression of the television shows.

Way 4: Unpacking an Instance of Figurative Language
In the poem.the author describes the television as a terrarium of dreams and wonders(line 4),since the "terrarium" means a glass container, chiefly or wholly enclosed, for growing and displaying plants.(dictionary.com),it makes a really vivd sense that the television give us a hope and wonder as it is contain in the television,denote the television's true function in author's mind,which,makes the rest of the poem's expression a lot more clear that the author regards the television not just a some kind of digital device but as containers of dreams as it give the author hopes and wonders.This use of metaphor directly define the figuration of television in author's mind vividly.

Way 4: Unpacking Another Instance of Figurative Language
In the poem,author also express television as Raster dance, Quick one, little thief, escort Of the dying and comfort of the sick,(line11),which, dance in dictionary defined as to move one's feet or body, or both, rhythmically in a pattern of steps, esp. to the accompaniment of music.(dictionary.com),and raster as a pattern of scanning lines covering the area upon which the image is projected in the cathode-ray tube of a television set(dictionary.com),we can tell these in author's eyes have already become some kind creature that is alive,as a metaphor use of that raster is able to dance from moving by program,it is obviously that author want to express the television in his mind become living creature,connected with the former and the rest of the poem,simply we can tell the television offer the author knowledge and dreams or wonders,hope.Though it is just a digital device in common sense,in the author's mind it has already become a window of contacting with the outside and a box of information which brought him wealth of things,these feelings,all inserted in the figurative language which have been used in the poem.

Way 5: Analyzing the Setting
 In this poem,the author make the setting in such shelter like home or hotel.Since in the poem there states"Now I like you best in a hotel room(line18)"and "Home, the image--O strung shell--enduring"(line29).From here we can obviously recogonize that the author make the backgroud at a comparatively isolated room,which do not have much contact with the outside,then the television become more important as it give the author knowledge and so as to brought a window to the author as to inform him the things happened outside.This setting make a proper beckgroud as to show the importance of the television.

Way 6: Identifying and Analyzing Point of View
In the poem"To Television",the author used the first-person to show his point of view,since in the poem, the author used "I" and "me" to express what he was trying to say,like,"I scorned you and them as I scorned so much"(line17).This kind of way of point of view is really clear to express the author's thoughts and the author was able to directly give the readers an impression of what in his mind,when expressing something,it is more impressive,like in the poem"In a blue glow my father and little sister sat"(line14) and "Now I like you best in a hotel room(line18)",when reading these sentence, the readers were able to feel as themselves were the ones in the poem to feel the goodness of the television.

Way 7: Analyzing Complexity, Ambiguity, & Difficulty
For this poem, as the author was trying to make every sentences straight forward, there might not be as many difficults as other poems, if really some exsits, the last two sentences which says"Remember in, they too winged, At the helmet and ankles."it is obvious describing the television as the whole poem is, but how is a television able to winged, whether at the helmet and ankles,the real meaning is hard to explore from this single piece without connecting with the former parts as to describe the television could brought knowledge and news through its window. For the ambiguity parts, which impress me most is that "I scorned you and them as I scorned so much", why did the author scorned the television and his father's and brother's wives and sisters, the ridiculous thing is that he then said he love the television in his hotel room in the next sentence, also, in this sentence, it is unlikely for the readers to know why he was scorning and what he was scorning about ,which makes the ambigity that did he love the television for hate it, may be it is a process of himself feeling of the television, but here really makes the ambiguity.

Way 8: Considering Canonicity
In the poem of "To Television", as it is considered to be categorized in the canon, it must has its own significances as in the proffersor's notes said the canon denotes the entire body of the literature traditionally thought to be suitable for admiration and study and the word is refer to the work in anthologies which was been an inclusion of publishment or so on.For this poem's canonicity,we rather considered it not an traditional form of strict pattern, rythme or iambic,it is more to refer to be a free verse,futhermore,it got itself break sentence and group stanzas to break the whole poem into serval pieces.In each small group, it is like to show the television's beauties whether from outside or inside.In expressing the aesthetic value the author used a lot of figurative languages and imagery like "Raster dance, Quick one, little thief, escort Of the dying and comfort of the sick"(11) and "terrarium of dreams and wonders"(4),these sentences all in similar way being used to decribed the television's aesthetic value,and for more inside,the author considered the television as a box of knowledge and terrarium of hope and wishes,as nowadays the television still plays an important part of our daily life,which, showing its longevity and significance.

Way 9: Biographical Context
When first reading the poem, it might hard to find out why the author want to express the television this way,by the understanding of the futher and deeper reading, I was able to get the peoper meaning of how Pinsky inform us the television in his mind,which is a box of dream and wonders,also a terrarium of knowledge,however,some sentences in the poem showed a totally different thoughts of the television "Raster dance,Quick one, little thief, escort.Of the dying and comfort of the sick,"(11,12,13)which was saying that television was stealing time from people and kind brought people a slow death.How come an author praise and against for one object in one poem,just hard to understand based on former reading. And with the help of reading the biography of Robert Pinsky,helped me a lot to get through these as in the biography states that " Pinsky’s need to “find a language for presenting the role of a conscious soul in an unconscious world.” Pinsky’s approach to poetry incorporates psychological insight, historical accounts, and even comedic relief. "(psu.edu,Biography of Pinsky),by this,not hard to recogonize Pinsky want to express some psychological insight through a specific object as here - television.

Way 10: Historical and Cultural Contexts
Of this specific poem "To Television",which was written by Pinsky in 1988,at the time of his publication of "//Poetry and the World//. Pinsky's second collection of criticism explores the impact of words on his life and the importance of the literary tradition."(answer.com),and by the reviewer Amy Edith Johnson"praises its "jargon-free analyses" and commitment to larger issues, which confirm "the dignity and creative dimensions of... the function of criticism at the present time."",it is then easy to explore that in this work,Pinsky was try to express the critique through creative dimensions which in this poem was the television.By the reading of the sources,I would be much easier to discover how the poem been formed and could be able to get deeper understanding of the poem for not only the meaning but also the history and the intension,even author's provokation.

Way 11: Theoretical Application
Probably the new criticism would be fit for such poem as when reading the poem "To Television" ,the new critics considered the text could be reflected its meaning by its own words without the explainations of the author's intensions,cultural contect ot biographical allusions.Besides,the new criticism focus more on the meaning itself of the text rather than the author's wish or original motivation of the work,consider the function of a particular word in the text of more importance than the effect brought by the text.In this poem,based on the understanding of the new criticism,the text itself is prepared well enough for readers to explore the real meaning only by the text without the help of related information.The poem "To Television" by Robert Pinsky,which was describing the television's vision from author's eyes,is clear to be dug out the meaning as from sentences like "Terrarium of dreams and wonders." and "Quick one, little thief, escort",which typically expressed the appearances of the television from opposite sides and indeed was author's meaning in the text,on the other hand,many metaphor and similar figurative language use in the text as well been claimed as the essential segment by the new criticism.

Way 12: Another Theoretical Application
Psychoanalytic criticism,when being focused onto this piece of work,is not that easy for me to get through those pyschology theory by Dr. Freud,but considering to the most basic elements in the psychoanalysis in the such a literary text,by using the first point of view "I" as the narrative vision side,it is more appropriate to set its position as the superego who has the clear conciousness of what he was trying to do and express here in the poem.Whereby describing the impression of the television into the box of wonders which brought knowledge and hopes,while on the other side steal time from people and make them a waste of time,from the text book the psychoanalytic criticism suggests by psychoanalyze the author and text as a diagnostic tool into similar kinds of therapy ,while other psychoanalytic critics hold that such text would light their effect on the readers.Whichever kind of psychoanalytic literary criticism apporaches,it is just a method of studying the specific text comparing and relating with phychoanalysis contributing to various relations between human minds and literary text.

Way 13: Unifying Interpretation
For a unifying interpretation ultimately,this poem "To Television" written by Robert Pinsky,it is a perception of the object television. Author initially inform the readers of the figure of televison,which "A box a tube,Terrarium of dreams and wonders." (3,4)and "Raster dance,Quick one, little thief, escort",(11,12)from an objective angle in expressing such elements providing us whether negative or positive information as a transparent terrarium. Apart from simple explaintion, further sentiments stand out as forms of metaphor and imagery,as perspectively Pinsky would admire television as a dream and wonder box,describing it consisting of liquid crystal, homey miracle,indeed it is "Hermes" who is the messenger and herald of the gods; god of commerce and cunning and invention and theft; identified with Roman Mercury in greek mythology(dictionary.com) in the mind of the author,whereas contrasting to such beneficial item Pinsky claimed that television as Hermes would lead people to a waste of time which literarily reflect as time theft. Psychologically author would considered to be superego and since consciousness would dominate part of time,coin's both sides reflected and from angle of new critics on the other hand,text itself in doing the clarification of the meaning to the readers would undoubtedly considered to be execellent.Whether or not,by all means I do admit this poem in dercribing object as form of free verse is marvelous,not only of its impression of solely the television but with an comprehensive and thoroughly vision regarding normal things.

Works Cited and Consulted
Brown, James S., and Scott D. Yarbrough. __A Practical Introduction to Literary Study__: Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2005.

__An ask.com service__.Dictionary.30 July.2009

Phillips,Kimberly.__Pinsky,Robert Neal__:

