Astigmatism

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Even the best of people can become jaded at times. Looking carefully for beautiful things can cause one to lose sight of the things of simple beauty in life. An aged poet has over-analyzed the world for the most coveted items of beauty. This aforementioned man has lost sight of the things that are truly breath-taking. One can relate this poem to the Modernism time period, because of the characteristic that "truth was at best a fleeting, impermanent, intensely personal moment that the artist could strive to capture" (Quinn).

The central character of this poem seeks truth in the form of beauty. However, beauty fades, and cannot always be found in the familiar. People age and lose their beauty, flowers wilt and turn brown, and many more things do not last. This protagonist strives to find the meaning of life through the finer things, and loses sight of just appreciating those that are simpler. Amy Lowell considered herself to be a serious poet, yet she dressed rather outlandishly. She wore more androcentric clothing, and smoked cigarillos, which was considered scandalous for the time period. Lowell often seemed to write about the sufferings of human beings. Along with //Astigmatism//, one of the written poems that agrees with this idea is "//A Fairy Tale//": So I behold my visions on the ground No longer radiant, an ignoble heap Of broken, dusty glass. And so, unlit, Even by hope or faith, my dragging steps Force me forever through the passing days (Lowell. "A Fairy Tale.")

One can compare this to the other poems because of the aspect that humans all go through periods of suffering. In this poem, the suffering is brought on because the poet struggles to find beauty in life (Lowell. "Astigmatism."). In "//The Egg,//" suffering occurs because of failure to do well in one's business. In "//The Egg//,//"// the family's egg selling business is not prosperous, and a hard time making ends meet comes about (Anderson NP). "//Eating Poetry//" describes the despair that occurs when a man has run out of poetry to read (Strand. "//Eating Poetry.//").

In conclusion, //"Astigmatism"// is an excellent example of poetry in the Modernism time period, because of the characteristic that "truth was at best a fleeting, impermanent, intensely personal moment that the artist could strive to capture" (Quinn). "//Astigmatism//" fits this description because of the fact that, in the poem, the central character seeks to capture truth in the beauty of things, but is not able to effectively because he looks too hard and loses sight of true beauty (Lowell. "//Astigmatism."//). Lowell, Amy. "Astigmatism." //Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More//. Web. 04 May 2010. .
 * __Works Cited__**

Taylor, Karen L. "Modernism." //Facts On File Companion to the French Novel//. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. //Bloom's Literary Reference Online//. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CFN346&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 27, 2010).

Quinn, Edward. "modernism." //A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition. New York:// Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gfflithem0508&SingleRecord=True. Web. 26 Apr. 2010 Lowell, Amy. "A Fairy Tale." //PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine//. Web. 04 May 2010. . Anderson, Sherwood. "The Egg." //Ibiblio.org - Math//. Web. 27 Apr. 2010. [].

Strand, Mark. "Eating Poetry." //SCCS - Swarthmore College Computer Society//. Web. 03 May 2010. [].