Why I Chose Insomnia

I chose Insomnia by Dana Gioia because, as someone who has experienced insomnia, I understand what the author was trying to convey to the audience. When you are awake at night, you feel as if you are the only one alive. You start noticing noises that you would not normally notice. Ordinary objects suddenly seem to come alive. Dana shows that he understands this experience when he chooses the line, "the murmur of property, of things in disrepair." The idea of inanimate objects making taking on lives of their own is an almost unbelievable experience that only someone sleep deprived can truely understand. Dana seems to understand this perfectly.

The tone of this poem is very dark. The narrator seems to be questioning an insomniac. The questions are ones that are aimed at making the said insomniac feel helpless. The reader in turn feels sorry for the poor sleep deprived individual being questioned.

When I read this poem out loud, I don't want to be to enthusiastic or dramatic, as this is not how the poem is intended to be read. I want to be calm, appear almost wise. I will translate the poem's dark helpless feeling by reading slowly and in a cruel questioning manner.

The diction is not very complicated or formal. I would call it neutral diction. But aside from that there weren't many connotations I could identify. Connotations could identify were useless, dark, endless, drone, and discomfort. These words contribute to the poem's dark tone.

Poems!

1. BARTER
2. HARTLEY FIELD
3. KEEPING THINGS WHOLE
4. ALL THIS AND MORE, ISRAFEL

It is difficult to choose my favorite poem of these five. I enjoyed them all in different ways. But, because I am an avid Poe fan, I'd have to say I enjoyed Israfel the most. It is a poem about the Islamic angel of the trumpet. It describes the beauty of his song while the Earthbound poet is limited to his own music. I also enjoyed All This And More, simply because of its dark tone, but I can't really tell what it is about. The language in it is much easier to understand than that of Israfel though.
I didn't really dislike any of these poems. Probably my least favorites were Barter and Keeping Things Whole. They were the shortest and the most simple, and I found that that took away from my interest in the poems content. I did not have to think hard or search for meaning while reading these poems, which made them seem almost boring compared to the other poems.
Of these five poems I will either choose All This And More or Israfel. I've read Israfel many times so I feel like I have a deep connection with it. But on the other hand, All This And More would be more of a challenge because its meaning is hard to decipher, which could be more fun. I think if I had to choose between the two though, I would choose Israfel, simply because I am a dedicated Poe fanatic. ALL HAIL THE AMAZING EDGAR ALLEN POE!
I think physical presence will be easy for me because I have good posture and can make eye contact. I also think the level of difficulty will be easy for me because I'm good at memorization and have no problem taking my time with difficult poems. Dramatic appropriatness will be difficult because I have trouble being in front of people and might mess up.
The two poems I watched were by Stanley Andrew Jackson and Jackson Hille. Stanley was able to completely memorize a complicated poem and performed it very well. He was sometimes over dramatic but overall he did very well. Jackson's tone was excellent throughout the reading of his poem and the audience really got the sense that he understood his poem.
I'm a little nervous for poetry outloud, simply because I'm scared of speaking in front of a group. But hopelfully my enjoyment of the poetry I've chosen will shine through in my performance and I will be able to overcome my shyness.