To Night by Charlotte Smith *AP

To Night by Charlotte Smith is an ode to nighttime. The title of the poem is two sided. To anything is a common title for an ode, and this poem is talking about nights. To Night can also be pronounced tonight, meaning this night. Though the poem is about all nights, they seem to meld into one. Each night, the same processes happen and the same feelings are evoked according to the poem. Smith starts out by calling night mournful, but in the end she says why she enjoys night. She calls it cheerless but calm and peaceful, depressing but not hopeless. She calls the night resigned. Though night evokes a feeling of sadness, those feelings can be conquered and only last a few hours as night fades to day. The poem also mentions that the night brings out a cycle of winds and waves. They go largely unnoticed by people most of the time, but in heaven, they are heard and from heaven, in a metaphorical sense, is where they come. Personification is a major part of this poem. In one of the first lines, it mentions “uncertain light.” We get an image of the light being too nervous or timid to come out in the night and must wait for the day to come before the confidence brings the sun to shine. To Night also mentions that night is resigned and has sorrows. There is also some great alliteration in this poem, a few being “sullen surges”, “cold… complain”, and “winds and waves”. To Night really makes one think about how night really makes him or her feel. I know I personally relate to everything Smith says about night. She says it is depressing, but it is also nice and peaceful. I agree 100% and will definitely see night in a more poetic way.

George Orwell's Politics in the English Language *AP

George Orwell's Politics in the English Language did intrigue me. I figured that it would be extraordinarily boring. I mean a six page essay to read when I had dance and drama and who knows what else? Actually, it was really very imformative and beyond that, entertaining. I was surprised. Orwell talked about the decline of the English language throughout the years. He basically said that we jumble words up and use phrases that do not even make sense anymore. I never really thought of language that way, but I realised that what I thought was good writing turned out to be meaningless slop. I always thought that when I wrote papers with all of those fancy words that it sounded a little off. Orwell showed me why. And of course all of my teachers squawked at me for years telling me to stay away from cliches,but Politics in the English Language actually explained to me why I should avoid using cliches. I realised that they really do not make sense most of the time. They are just fillers. I am the queen of fillers. I'm so glad I read this essay because had I not, my writing would have continued to be slightly terrible and I would not have ever known why. *backspace I would never have known why.* Orwell has really made me think of my writing, and I plan on taking all of his advice to heart and cheating my way into college by using his tactics on all of my essays for both high school, college applications, and of course for use in the actual college that I attend.

Just Keeps Getting Better

So I'm not getting really fancy with my first blog. I just want one to have. Anyway, all I want to say is that I'm super excited because I have a blog and a Halloween costume, my dance teacher liked the song I suggested for the audition, she will probably let me perform my audition dance in the recital, and I'm done studying for Lifestyles. I'm just so happy right now! OH and also I just want to let you all know that I love Alex Day. He really is a good guy, and he always mentions how people complain about him. I think he's great. (I watched a video of him today on the youtubes) So that's it. I'll be posting more interesting/educational blogs in the future.
XOXO
Me

PS Here's the video I watched if you'd like to use it for your own viewing pleasure <3

Yup that's it