Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Period 2 Red Shift Class Discussion






The Assignment:

1. Post a paragraph in the comment field on a theory you have about the poem. You will not be graded on whether you are “right” or “wrong” but rather on the depth and your effort to achieve intellectual conversation. This is worth ten points.
2. Respond to someone else’s post specifically in this class (about a paragraph). It helps to start with something like: “Dear (blank), I was interested in your comments on (blank).” Then you may want to quote something he or she said and continue the idea or move on to a related topic. Intellectual dialogue is the key here. This is worth ten points.

Some questions to get you started:
What is “Red Shift” and why is it the title of the poem?
What is an arabesque and why did Berrigan choose that word?
Who are Frank and Allen and why are they in the poem?

Your paragraphs must be posted by Thursday at noon.
Period 2 post here. Period 2 post here. Period 2 post here. Period 2 post here.

45 comments:

Tony Seng said...

In my opinion the Red Shift is about the narrator’s new life in America, in specific he means New York. The way he describes how Long Island came and how he separated now the man smoking, kind of tells me how New York is now polluted a little. Then he talks about the smiling attentive women, which can be the statue of liberty. Then towards the end he mentions that he slips softly into the air, gives me the idea he is about to enter this crowded city full of new immigrants that just had came along with him or came separate from a different country.

Anonymous said...

The poem “Red Shift” by Ted Berrigan poses many questions to me, I read this poem many times and I tried to understand it as a whole. This was a mistake since the narrator seems to be thinking not writing, not organizing his or her thoughts to make sense, only to them does it make sense. Once I started to break it down into segments and then asked questions did it start to make sense. I see a person, his or her gender is unknown, sitting in a bar drinking by themselves and reminiscing, having a midlife crisis afraid of being alone and not letting go of anyone, of dieing and of life it self. I read an article about Ted Berrigan and found out he was in the Korean War, this may of lead to some of these feelings being expressed into the Narrator. The Narrator seems to have had a hard life; maybe they were married and got separated and is bitter or feels alone. If you read this poem without thought and read it as a whole it seems like incoherent babble making no sense whatsoever, but you have to think of it as a thought process, why would you say it? Why does this Narrator say they “live only to nag”? Is it because they were made to believe it or do they truly believe that’s all they do? I believe that he or she was told that on numerous occasions, and since I believe the Narrator is drinking the alcohol or “American poison” is making the Narrator bitterer as he or she continues thinking.
When this poem was read it sounded calm and thinking and then got angrier and angrier in their thoughts until they stop and calm down and leave the bar.
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Jesse L. 2 said...

According to the poem, The Red Shift, the main character is introduced as a person who is walking on the street at 8:08 pm, spending his time drinking. He then mentions specific names of people, Allen and Frank. Also, the person mentions about success in terms of money, love, and fame. Further, a girl at an age of 19 was mentioned with a boy in a corduroy coat. This leads to my theory that the boy in the corduroy coat is the narrator of this poem and that the girl at an age of 19 is his mother. I also believe that Allen and Frank are his children. Also, since the narrator mentions that he is currently 43, this could resemble his flashback of his childhood. It also mentions that the girl, proclaimed by me as his mother, had to go somewhere, leaving the boy behind. This could mean that the narrator, with the given information, is expressing his feelings of loneliness because he was not a good man who was only a drunk. This results into having Allen and Frank being taken away by the mother.

MikeL P.2 said...

After reading the poem Red Shift by Ted Berrigan, it has made me think on what this poem actually means. In the beginning of the poem I thought he was a homeless man that wanders in the streets of Long Island. The speaker of the poem drinks a lot of alcohol according to the poem when it says “I drink some American poison liquid air with bubbles.” (Line 4) This quote in my opinion stands out to because he might be depressed that might be the cause of his drinking. Another line in the poem that it says the speaker is an alcoholic is “The Calvados is being sipped on Long island” (Line 10) Since I didn’t know what Calvados I looked it up and it means an apple orchard wine. So this quote also represents that he might also be depressed because of drinking alcohol. Towards the end of the poem the speaker says “I will never go away, & you will never escape from me” (Line 32) after reading this quote it seems to me that he’s speaking to another person in his life. I might think this poem might have to do with family dilemmas.

Anh C2 said...

In the title, “Red Shift,” to my opinion, red has many meanings. For one, red is the color the Communist uses as their color, along with history during the time, the Red Scare spread across the US. “Shift” of “Red Shift,” can mean change and at the time, it was a change in the people. The US shifts from having a secure feeling to worrying about what would happen the next day if the Communist takes over and US becoming a communist country. Another thought what the shift could mean is the change towards red, towards the communists, and the increase of the people of the world moving toward the communist belief. Red is the color of blood, having to do with the many people who will die to either make the change or keep the change through war.

Unknown said...

In the poem “The Red Shift” by Ted Berrigan and there are so many things about this poem that confuses me. The thing that confuses is what is going on when he wrote this poem. Was he a crazy guy or is he just a homeless man on the streets on Long Island. Why did he write this poem was it meant for a girl that he was with before he wrote this or not. In the poem he is talking about a girl that is 19 years old. So I was wondering if that is or was his girlfriend or wife and even maybe part of his family. He says he changed someone’s life and I wanted to know who it was unless he was to drunk to be saying things. Because in the beginning of the poem it said he drank American poison so I thought that it was alcohol. Maybe he is so lonely that he drinks and thinks back about his past. I guess he acts like this because he drinks too much.

Jameel T2 said...

In the poem “Red Shift” there are many different things that happen, which some how gives this poem it’s name, yet it doesn’t really say how it gets its name in this. There are many questions, I have about this poem, and I’m sure there are many answers to it as well. The first question I have about this poem is it name and how it got it? Why is it called Red Shift? Does the red mean anger, Love, or Just the color? Maybe it has nothing to do with a change in emotion, or maybe it’s something else that it means? Well that I just one out of many questions I have about this poem and all it has to offer. Another question I have is in the poem, he gives a specific time “8:08” I’m wondering why he does that? Why does he seem so depressed in the poem? What is it about, a girl, family, or maybe even death? So many things it could be. This poem could even be talking about something completely different then it states, since there are some poet that have been known to do that. The man in this poem also states that he will never die, that he will live to be 110, yet he is depressed and he wants to live? I didn’t really understand the whole purpose of that. Or maybe he isn’t as depressed as it seems, if he is at all, but it does seem like he is troubled by something or someone. Another quest I have is the people he mentions in the poem, Frank, Allen and Me? Who are these people I’d like to know and why does he talk about them? These are few of many questions I’d like to know about this poem

Miranda V2 said...

I had a couple of theories on the poem “red Shift” by Ted Berrigan. After reading the poem several times I thought hat the speaker of the poem was a female. I had imagined her at the bar having a couple drinks and telling the person next to her the story of her life. To summarize, I thought she was talking about how she fell in love at a young age and got married thinking it would last forever, but then he left her. Also, I think that she married again, but her second husband cheated on her and then left her for another woman. The tone of “Red Shift” changes from being reminiscent, to depressed, and even some anger or hatred.
When I had read “The streets look for Allen, Frank, or me, Allen is a movie, Frank disappearing in the air, it’s heavy with that lightness, heavy on me, (Lines 6-8)” I had thought that she was describing how Allen and Frank left her. When it said “Frank disappearing I air” I figured that Frank might have just left without a word or explanation. And, when it says “Allen is a movie” I thought of a movie where the husband cheats on his wife and then leaves her for the other woman.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shannon D2 said...

In the poem “Red Shift” by Ted Berrigan, there are a few things that confuse me, but I have my own ideas about what the poem is about. My first opinion of this poem (not looking at the gender of the author) was that it was about a woman going through a divorce. What made me think that it was about a divorced woman was how bitter the tone was during the last lines during and after the line “To burn, & to burn more fiercely than even she could imagine…” After hearing the recording in class of Ted Berrigan reading his own poem, I got another idea in my head about the poem potentially being about a depressive alcoholic whom in which has nothing better to do than to reminisce about times prior to the dark ones in which he is living in now. “I drink some American poison liquid air which bubbles…” is the quote that led to the idea of the narrator having an issue with alcoholism. “The streets look for Allen, Frank, or me, Allen is a movie, Frank disappearing in the air,” when the narrator speaks of “Allen” and “Frank,” it makes me believe that “Allen” and “Frank” are people that have died long ago, but the narrator has not yet let their death sink in because he has been too intoxicated to realize and dwell upon it. Although I have a couple of theories, I still find this poem to be confusing. The poem could be interpreted in a handful of different ways, until I find out what the author actually meant I will probably come up with a few more ideas.

Heather M Per.2 said...

The poem Red Shift is very deep and was written by a man named Ted Berrigan. My theory of the poem is that he is expressing his feelings of anger and disappointment or his feelings about his life and maybe even love. I think he was mad or upset one day about something had a bunch of thoughts about his life and the way he lived and just put all those thoughts onto paper and called it Red Shift. I think this poem is very hard to understand, you can get an idea of what he’s talking about but you can’t be sure. He kind of just skips form thought to thought, feeling to feeling. I think that maybe this poem is to someone, like in a way its directed at someone he knows. In line 39 he says lonely and crowded. I think he means that he is lonely but at the same time has many people surrounding him. He is pretty much saying on the outside he seems one way but on the inside there is something totally different if u just look deeper, kind of like his poem. It seems like the poem means one thing but if you read a bit closer you realize it means something completely different.

MikeL P.2 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
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Jesse L. 2 said...

Dear Tony,

I was interested in your comments on how you think that the narrator of the poem is an immigrant who is trying to experience his new life in America. Since you pinpointed Long Island and its bad environment, I liked how you used the evidence of the immigrant being a smoker. Also, I liked how you put in your idea of how many other people want to live a new life and wants to follow his idea of immigrating to America. You explained your thinking well.

Anh C2 said...

Dear Tony, I like how you have connected the Statue of Liberty to the smiling girl in the poem. “Then he talks about the smiling attentive women, which can be the statue of liberty.” The fact that he is in New York at the time makes it to be very true.

Tony Seng said...

Dear Mike,
I think your point of view on the poem is great, how the narrator is an alcoholic living on Long Island, due to his past problems. I liked how you quoted your passage of the poem and, it reminded me to do the same because I didn’t do that. I liked the point that you researched the Calvados, to find out it is some sort or wine. You did a very nice job on the paragraph.

Jameel T2 said...

Dear Tony dude,

I like your idea about New York, because it sounds like it could be something like that, and the polluted idea is another good idea I like to this. It does sound like he is in a city somewhere, New York or where ever in the world in some city. This also could mean he is trying to get away from something by going to the city or something like that, because that’s what I’d do if I where in a jam and couldn’t get away from it, so I’d just run away from it more or something like that…. No idea? Whatever well that’s pretty much all I have to say to you Tony, and good work and what not. Peace out homie dawg person guy!

william w2 said...

My theory to the Poem Red Shift has to do with a man or a woman living on the street. That person whom I think represents him in some sort of way. This person in the poem is a heavy drinker maybe not an alcoholic. Also lives on the street all by their lonesome with no one to be with. Also when he talks about Allen, Frank, and himself I think he might be a little bit crazy. Those four lines make no sense to me. He or she might just be so drunk at the time and has no clue where or what he or she is. In this poem I think the person has a lot of depression or hate toward the world it self and every one in it. He also talks about, “Who would have thought I’d be here…” I think he or she thought that they were going to be successful in life and loved everything about life. But now hates the world the why they turned out. Also when he says, “When will I die?” I think he or she is hoping to die sometime soon. But with all the agony that has happened in his life it feels he or she will never leave.
And also a the end of them poem I myself think he is talking to him self again and that he is a little insane. This poem is kind of hard to understand but going over it more I truly like it.

Guy O2 said...

The poem red shift was kind a hard to understands because it had too many different thing he was doing at once like the first line in the poem he was talking about the places the weather like you cant really defined it. I still can’t tell what’s really happening thru out the poem who is he talking to why is he talking like someone did something bad too him his taking his anger out or is he going crazy or he was in love and things went wrong and his girl left him but you cant really tell because he change it and talk about something else like long island no ideas where that is, and a song called califonia dream or may be this is a dream to him I don’t know the lyrics to the song and that’s what confusing about the poem well I thinks it really about him and a women that he was really in love with and now his going thru memories of her. Well I just hope that I get to really understand the poem and to no who was he speaking to too just understand it better

Unknown said...
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Gradey S. H. 2 said...

The speaker, who (to me) sounds like the author, Ted Berrigan, is upset and goes out for a walk. At the beginning of the poem, is thoughts are focused. He knows exactly what time it is and defines himself as “indefinable”. He sounds depressed and is alcoholic. It sounds as if he was trying to keep himself occupied on one think to keep away from another but eventually gets to it towards the end. Information begins come out which either come from scenes on the street that are seen as he walks or thoughts: Love, children, ethics, “at 6th and Bowery in 1961”, ‘” California Dreaming”’. These scenes and/or thoughts seem random but have a subtle flow and meaning which in turn leads him to the fact he didn’t want to talk about from the start. I haven’t figured out what exactly what he is talking about, whom he is talking to, or even what most of the lines mean, but I know he turns from depressed to angered by certain thoughts. I just don’t know why…

jameelah s2 said...

The poem Red Shift had many parts that I didn’t quite understand. The way it was written was as if the speaker was reminiscing. He seemed like an annoying person when he said he is a spirit who lives only to nag. He also said he feels alone. That could be why he nags, because he is lonely. His loneliness reminds me of a spirit because spirits are known to travel alone. His loneliness can also make him feel dead. Because he is unhappy, he wants everyone else to be unhappy. That way he won’t be alone suffering. I believe he is married to the painter. I also believe the painter is a man because in the line that says “Only our human lot & means nothing” it also said “No not him”. It seemed like they were married by the way he talked about their relationship. He said he wouldn’t leave him for anything. Not even for a better place. When the speaker said “I slip softly into the air” It was as if he died.

Anonymous said...

Well in one part of the poem says: “I would never & never will leave alone until we both vanish
into the thin air we signed up for & so demanded to breathe & who will never leave me, not for sex, nor politics nor even for stupid permanent estrangement which is only our human lot & means nothing. No, not him. “So that maybe means he was in love with a woman and they promise to be together for ever, but I the other paragraph says:
“There's a song, "California Dreaming", but no, I won't do that I am 43. When will I die? I will never die, I will live to be 110, & I will never go away, & you will never escape from me who am always & only a ghost, despite this frame, Spirit Who lives only to nag.”
That’s a little bit weird because at this paragraph he sounds like more anger and something like more upset; I don’t really understand what the reason for his anger is? Does he was hurt for that woman?
I think maybe that woman brook up whit him and he wrote that poem to be relieved of that depressive feeling that sets a trap it.

MikeL P.2 said...

Dear Tony,
I liked your opinion towards the Red Shift poem. What I liked most was how you compared smiling attentive women to the statue of liberty. Another thing that I liked what you did was saying how he’s an immigrant becoming new to his new society. Overall I thought that you used your imagination a lot for this comment saying how comparing the statue of liberty with the smiling women which makes sense since the speaker is New York. You did a great job pal!!!!!!!

Nicke F2 said...

The Red Shift for me was a very confusing poem. The first time I read the poem I thought the speaker was a male but as I continued read he started to seem more and more as a female. I then read through it a second time and thought the narrator was a male the whole poem through. It seemed like he was reflecting on a past relationship he had. This relationship he had seemed in the poem to me to depress the speaker. In this quote, “The Calvados is being sipped on Long island…” it seems as if the narrator is drinking his sorrows away. He’s probably doing so because his wife left him and he doesn’t know of a better way to compose himself. Throughout the poem Red Shift there was a lot of anger expressed by the speaker. Looking back on the quote, “I am 43. When will I die? I will never die, I will live To be 110, & I will never go away, & you will never escape from me who am always & only a ghost, despite this frame, Spirit Who lives only to nag.” Here the speaker seems to be very angry with what seems to be an ex-lover of his that left him. He shows he also has feeling for that person in this quote, “To breathe & who will never leave me, not for sex, nor politics nor even for stupid permanent estrangement which is Only our human lot & means nothing.” His love turned form sorry to rage and I think that’s what he reflects in the poem the Red Shift.

Miranda V2 said...

Catherine,

After reading our response, I have to disagree when you say that, “If you read this poem without thought and read it as a whole it seems like incoherent babble making no sense whatsoever…” Even after reading the poem once I had an idea of what it was about, I just didn’t understand all of it. I could tell that yes, it was a string of different thoughts and memories, but they were all tied together in a way that made it make sense. I think you may not have understood the context in the line “live only to nag”. If you look at lines 31-34 as a whole it might make more sense. In those lines it says “I am 43. When will I die? I will never die, I will live to be 110, & I will never go away, & you will never escape from me who am always & only a ghost despite this frame, Spirit who lives only to nag.” I think as a whole it makes more sense. I thought that the narrator (who I think is a woman) was saying that “no matter what, I will haunt you,” but I don’t think it is in the sense that her “spirit” will haunt the people. I think that it is meant that the person who left her will always think of her and what he did to her and because he did those things, his guilt will bother him forever.

Unknown said...

Dear,
Anh I like your opinion on the poem it had nice history background. Maybe that drunken guy in the poem is going crazy because he is thinking too much. He’s probably thinking he is going to die the next day so he’s just thinking back on his life maybe.

Diana B2 said...

The poem The Red Shift by Ted Berrigan my theory is that it is about the speaker’s life. He feels lonely, disappointed, cold, and betrayed. As the poem goes on the speaker seems to be getting more and more upset. In my opinion the speaker wrote this while being drunk.” I drink some American poison liquid are which bubbles and smoke to character and to lean in.” He also states “The calvados is being sipped on Long Island now twenty years.” Calvados is an alcoholic drink dating all the way back in the 8th century by the French. The speaker is disappointed with himself and where he ended up in life. The speaker states “Who would of thought that I’d be here, nothing, wrapped up, nothing buried,” I believe the speaker was once in love then was betrayed by his wife. I don’t understand why he would want to live for so long if his life is miserable and lonely. The speaker states “I am 43. When will I die? I will never die, I will live to be 110 & I will never go away,” The speaker is very confusing because he doesn’t make a lot of things clear. He is very vague about the events in his life and why he feels the way he does.

Shannon D2 said...

Miranda,
After reading your thoughts on the “Red Shift” by Ted Berrigan, I would have to say that it made my thoughts about the narrator being a female stronger. When you wrote “I had a thought that she was describing how Allen and Frank left her.” And you had the ideas of “Frank disappearing in air” and “Frank might have just left without a word” and that “Allen is a movie” along with “I thought of a movie where the husband cheats.” I began thinking of how much sense that would make if the narrator were actually a woman bitter about divorces or breakups. Pretty much everything that you wrote tied me to the quote towards the end of the poem that states, a “Spirit who lives only to nag” because when married couples get into harsh arguments, men often accuse women of “nagging.” Very good ideas, I agree with you completely.

kai.L2 said...

In the poem “Red Shift” by Ted Berrigan, in the first time, I wasn’t understand what is he talking about, what did he writing for, and I don’t have any idea for this poem talking about. But, after re-reading it again and again, I try to understand this poem. I find some meaning in this poem, is talk about the narrator feels lonely, sad, and depressed. He feels everyone wants to leave him, although, he die, also, nobody will know it or to find him. Nobody cares about him. Now, that is why the title is calling “Red Shift”. I think Berrigan chose “arabesque” because it means some special design, and it can describes his feeling. But, who are Frank and Allen in this poem, that I don’t know either, I tried to search in google.com. But I still couldn’t find them; also, I don’t know why they are in the poem. And make me confusing is “The streets look for Allen, Frank, or me, Allen is a movie, Frank disappearing in the air.” in this poem. Is Frank a kind of scent? It cans smell? I don’t know, can someone to tell me who they are?

Nicke F2 said...

Dear Jamh,
I realy agreed with your idea that the speaker in the poem was reflecting about his past.I wrote about that as well.

Yan X.2 said...

I feel the narrator of the poem red shift felt so negative about his life. In the first sentence “Here I am at 8:08 p.m.”, the author wrote down the time, I think he wanted to show the narrator felt life is so hard, lonely and disappoint for him every second. The narrator might always looked at the watch and wanted the time past faster.

Heather M Per.2 said...

Dear Dianab2,
I like your theory on the poem Red Shift, I thought it was interesting. It seems we both agree that the speaker of the poem is disappointed and not exactly happy. I’m not sure I agree with his being drunk, it’s definitely a possibility but I don’t think he was when he wrote the poem. It may seem like that because of the way he jumps from thought to thought but I think he did this on purpose I think he wanted his poem to be a bunch of scrambled thoughts about his life. I also like your theory about his wife betraying him because he says “nothing wrapped up, nothing buried.” I agree with this I think maybe someone did betray him and he is saying hey it’s all out in the open no more secrets. I’m not sure this person was his wife, it could also have been a family member or a friend or maybe even his kids. I also agree with your question on why would he want to live for so long is his life is so miserable but, I also think that the speaker’s life wasn’t always miserable. I also think that during this poem he is reminiscing on his life and how it once was and how it’s changed so much over time. How bad can his life really be if he wants to live to be 110?

kai.L2 said...

Dear Yan,
I like your comment; yes I agree the narrator of the poem "Red Shift" felt so negative about his life. He didn't have any hopes in his life, any happy things in his life. He thought he had an unhappy fate. Everybody was leaving him. So, I agree your comment.

Diana B2 said...

Dear Heather,
We both believe feel that the speaker is angry and disappointed I liked your theory about the poem being written to someone. I had never thought of it that way. We also both feel the poem is very confusing and hard to read. As you read the poem more and more you start to understand it. He gives very vague thoughts but at the same time his thoughts are filled with emotion and anger. In line 39 when he states I feel lonely and crowed; my theory is that he has all these people around him that he cares about but the speaker feels they are just disappointments in his life.

jameelah s2 said...

Nicke,
The poem is confusing for me too. As for the gender of the speaker, I'm not sure. I'll go with male. I agree with you that the speaker is drinking away his sorrows, a lot of people do that. He does express a lot of anger and love in the poem. I think he's angry not just because his wife left him but because everyone left him. If you think he's a female, then why did you write: his wife?

SoloDolo1025 said...

Charline C2
In the poem Red Shift by Ted Berrigan there is alot of different things happening. When you read this poem you have no idea what this guy is talking about, but when you do the research on him you can make out an understanding. In this poem you get a lot of thoughts in your head about love, death, and friends. Ted Berrigan got married twice, his first marriage did not work out and it brought him a lot of heartache. I think in this poem he lets some of his feelings out in these lines in particular:(Who would have thought that I'd be here, nothing wrapped up, nothing buried, everything Love, children, hundreds of them, money, marriage-ethics, a politics of grace,
Up in the air, swirling, burning even or still, now more than ever before?). He speaks about death i think because alot of poets, writers, and people were dying of drug problems during the 60's. He spoke about a man named Allen because he was one of his fellow poets who wrote a poem with him and it was featured in a book called "Nice to See You: Homage of Ted Berrigan. I dont really understand the poem fully and I dont think anybody does only Ted Berrigan knows what he wrote about it.

SoloDolo1025 said...

Charline C2

Dear Jameelah and Nicke,
I agree with both of you this poem is very confusing. I also agree on the gender confusion, but im leaning towards a men also. I think he is in a bar also somaybe your right about him drinking his sorrows away. it sounds legitimate to me. I did some research and it gave me some understanding but not all understanding. He did loose alot of people in his life so that would explain all the hatred, but their is still some things unanswered......

Anonymous said...

Dear Miranda,
Your post on Red Shift sounds great, I love the idea of the Narratior being a woman. Since now we know the origin of the poem your answer is right as is mine. My favorite idea was that you said Allen and Frank might of been Ex lovers. Also thank you for your response back.

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david b2 said...

The poem "Red Shift" by Ted Berrigan brings many questions to my head. After reading this poem over and over again, it still confuses me tremendously. To me it sounds like the narrator is lost and in a daze. Also a few of the quotes make it show that the narrator is in New York. Like the quote "the calvados is being sipped on Long Island", also "the winter twilight at 6th and bowery in 1961". After research I found out that 6th and bowery is a street in Brooklyn, New York. To me the tone that Ted Berrigan brings is deppresion, lonliness, and confusion. This is what i think of the poem "Red Shift" by Ted Berrigan.

david b2 said...

Dear Catherine,

After reading your thoughts on the poem "Red Shift" by Ted Berrigan I've found that your thoughts were very helpful and intelligent. I agree with you that the poem "Red Shift" poses many questions to you. Also I agree that after you reading it many times you couldn't understand it because I couldn't understand it either. But I disagree with you when you say that the poem was a mistake because to me I think Ted Berrigan knew what he was doing he just mean't to say the poem in his own way, a way that confused many. So me and you have some similar thoughts and also different thoughts on the poem "Red Shift" by Ted Berrigan.

Jess J2 said...

In the poem "Red Shift" the author seems to be reflecting on his life. Through the he changes his topic or his thoughts very randomly. This makes the title important because he "shifts" throughout the whole poem. The author changes so much that he even admits he can't be defined. In the title the word red seems to reflect the passion he has in this poem about the many different memories he has.

Jess J2 said...

Dear Dennis C2,
I agree with you that the poem is hard to follow because there is much confusion. The author jumps around so much that its almost hard to keep track of his thought pattern. Also the girl seems to be a past lover. I like the idea that she could have been his wife and that could be why he is so heartbroken.

Nada.A 2~.~ said...

In my opinion, I think that Redshift is the title of the poem because in the poem he shifts from one subject in his life to another randomly. I also think he chose Redshift as his title becuse him and his freinds Allen and Frank did a study in Harvard about the Redshift in the Galaxy. An arabesque is a complex mathmetical desighn, and I think he chose to say "arabesques" rather than "imagine" because maybe he had such a hard and complicated life, or maybe because he has such a strong memory of his past that he can remember the things he's done and been to in detail. Allen and Frank, are probably his freind or collegues because they are writers as well; and when he said in his poem: " the streets look for Allen, Frank or me, Allen is a movie, Frank disappearing in the air" there are a lot of explanations for that. It could either be that he doesen't see them anymore. Or Allen was a critic for a movie that was just released and Frank didn't have any popularity in his works of writing anymore. These are my interpetations, there are much more that I could have probably thought of, but this is what I will conclude with.

Nada.A 2~.~ said...

Dear kai.12,

I agree with you about what you said in the begining of your post, that when you read the poem the first time, it is very confusing and hard to understand. But when you keep on reading it again, and again you start to get it more and more. Uptill now, I cannot understand the whole poem, but a lot of research on google and looking up the vocabulary words in the dictionary helped.