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.