The+Niagra+River

//**Poem analysis** Hanan Annie Conrad//

By: Kay Ryan
 * The Niagara River**

//As though the river were a floor, we position our table and chairs upon it, eat, and have conversation. As it moves along, we notice - as calmly as though dining room paintings were being replaced-- the changing scenes along the shore. We do know, we do know this is the Niagara River, but it is hard to remember what that means.//


 * Citation:** Ryan, Kay. //The Niagara River//. New York: Grove, 2005. Print.

The Niagara River is like a reliable surface, almost like a floor where we can place our table and chairs, and upon which we can eat and talk. The river flows along the changing scenes of the background and it's just like changing the paintings on the wall, the views are beautiful. We think we know what this river is, but it's difficult to truly understand what it stands for.
 * Paraphrase:**

The title of this poem states what the main theme of the poem is, which is the Niagara River. The title is not unusual at all, it gives us insight into what the poem will be saying. **
 * Title:

Kay Ryan was born on September 27, 1945 in San Jose, California. She obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees in English from the University of California and became a part-time English teacher. Her first publications of her poems were largely obscure. It wasn't until 2004, when she won the Ruth Lily Poetry Prize that she started gaining the attentions of the public. Her poetic style has been described by the Poetry Foundation as "... quirks of logic and language and teases poetry out of the most unlikely places. She [Ryan] regards the 'rehabilitation of clichés,' for instance, as part of the poet’s mission. Characterized by subtle, surprising rhymes and nimble rhythms, her compact poems are charged with sly wit and off-beat wisdom." She is currently the sixteenth Poet Laureate of the United States. **
 * History Regarding the Author:

//The Niagara River// is like most of Kay Ryan's other poems, a "poem of hidden wonders". //The Niagara River// is the third collection of Ryan's "Grove Press Poetry Series" (The Niagara River, 2009). Ryan intended for this poem to be a thought provoking book. She did not want one way of interpreting this poem, but intended many ways of interpretation. Magnifying the importance of objects and brevity is Ryan's specialties. This poem is one of many poems Ryan wrote to get the point of ignorance in humans of other creatures (Byrne, 2009).
 * History Regarding the Poem:**

Ryan is known for her usage of choppy prose lineation that is common among contemporary free verse (Byrne, 2009). To us, this poem sounds more like a speech than a poem that's meant to be read aloud. This gives us, the readers, a sense of familiarity with the river.
 * Observations About Poetic Structure:**

-"Tables and chairs/upon it, eat and/ have conversation-refers to our ignorance of how we take nature for granted and never help the environment. -"as/calmly as though/dining room paintings/were being replaced"-we dont notice that the damage of nature is growing and ecosystems are being ruined, the damage is not disturbing us at all and is very calming.
 * Allusions:**

The main poetic device Ryan uses is similes and repetition. Ryan mostly compares using "as". "As if the river/ were a floor". Ryan also uses repitition "we do know/we do know". She uses it to emphasize how ignorant we are of the fact that nature is being destroyed infront of our eyes without us taking any actions against the destruction.
 * Poetic Devices:**

We're planning to do a group reading of the poem to background music (possibly an instrumental song with a nature feel to it) with some pictures of nature, mainly the Niagara River. That will be the beginning of poem for the first line, where it introduces the beauty of the nature. Then for the rest of the poem, where it starts going into the last two sentences when the poem starts to talk about how people don't respect nature enough, we're hoping to include some pictures of pollution of nature by mankind. At the end, we would like to show pictures of people trying to make a difference in this world by helping pick up trash and such to end on a hopeful note.
 * Video Storyboard:**

media type="youtube" key="bsY7divop30" height="364" width="445" align="center"
 * Video:**

The name "The Niagara River" is the main topic of the poem, which talks about the river. Something about not respecting or appreciating the river enough although it helps us in so many ways. Niagara Falls is a historical landmark in Canada and is one of the most famous in North America and a very high tourist area. The author uses a lot of as though, as it, as calmly.
 * Group Notes:** (Please refer to our own pages on top of this page via links by our names for more detailed notes.)

Byrne, Edward. "Kay Ryan: The Niagara River." //Blogspot.com//. N.p., 10 Feb. 2007. Web. 6 Dec. 2009. .
 * Citations:**

"The Niagara River: Poems." //flipkart//. N.p., 2009. Web. 6 Dec. 2009. .

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