Sarah+B.

"I had heard it's a fight" By: Edwin Denby

http://voicethread.com/share/1580493/

**TPCASTT for “I had heard it’s a fight”** Imagery: “Clammy” “kicks you” “gym” Language: Utilizes figurative language such as “crazy” (line 13) to represent madness or something unexpected. Syntax: Each paragraph begins with a clause and then details to elaborate, ending with a period. The last stanza is the only two lined stanza with a semi colon to help it stand out. Form: the first three stanzas have four lines, but the last stanza only has two to set it apart. This is the conclusion and represents the meaning he received from this experience. ||
 * **Title** || Based on the title, readers speculate the poem is going to picture some sort of stressful situation that the speaker has heard things about as people describe their “fight” or efforts to overcome such events. Perhaps, the poem will describe what the author imagined the rumored event would be like, eventually ending with his explanation of the actually situation, proving the rumors of difficulty, to be either misleading or correct as they were originally described. ||
 * **Paraphrase** || In order to begin his poem, Denby begins by restating his title as the first sentence in his poem. Once he has made this claim, he describes the rumors he has heard as people battle against some sort of object that “wrestles” and “kicks” you, ultimately causing a great amount of pain (2). Following his recollection of the events others have shared with him about a certain topic, the next stanza begins with “I don’t know.” (5). This simple statement acknowledges the fact that the speaker is not certain about the rumors he has heard in the first stanza. Following this assertion, the speaker reveals what all of the rumors have been concerning, death. Through this newly revealed topic, the author depicts his sources of information as a “cute schoolkid,” mocking the naive nature of those who attempt to explain things beyond their realm of understanding. Furthering this assertion, the speaker states his own observation of death as he testifies his experience as essentially easy and “quick” proving the rumors to be false (13). ||
 * **Connotations** || Diction: Moderate
 * **Attitude** || Poet's attitude is that people should experience things for themselves and not blindly believe others ideas. The author's purpose is to demonstrate an elevated point and make a powerful statement that people should not simply accept what they hear because the source of information may not be correct. ||
 * **Shift** || The first stanza describes what the speaker has heard through others, and the second is him reflection and considering other options. The third stanza is mocking the sources as he begins to discover that they were not correct and the fourth is his own account of the event. ||
 * **Title Revisited** || <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">My initial interpretation of the title was correct. The poem is about a rumor that the speaker heard about death and it being difficult and a hardship. As the poem progresses, however, he realizes that this information is not valid and discovers the truth for himself. ||
 * <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; text-align: left;">**Theme** || <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">Denby seems to be stating that people should experience things for themselves and not rely on others for information because others' judgements may be biased or simply incorrect. ||

__**Script:**__

Slide 1: <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Based on the title, speculation causes readers to picture some sort of stressful situation that the speaker has heard certain things concerning. The title provides insight that the poem will describe what the author imagined the rumored event of death to be like, eventually ending with his personal testimony, proving the rumors of difficulty in death to be incorrect.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Slide 2: <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Denby begins his poem by restating his title as the first sentence in order to begin his explanation of the rumors he has heard. It is unclear what exactly “it,” in this stanza, refers to and Denby utilizes the reader's unawareness of the topic to explain his recollection of the description others have provided without interfering with the reader's own personal opinions.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Slide 3: <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Stanza two begins with a blunt statement, “I don't know” (5). This statement proves that the speaker has doubts about some of the details others have shared with him and he begins to describe his own experience. He states that “it was a sweet thrill” describing his feeling once he chooses his own stance of the matter (6). This so called sweetness comes from the fact that he is creating his own opinion and discovering the truth instead of simply basing his thought on what others say. Ultimately, it is in the last line of this stanza that it Denby reveals what he was referencing in the first stanza, hell, or in a more general sense, death.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Slide 4: <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Stanza three begins with the ironic expression “Was it Sweet!” which would typically end with a question mark because it appears to represent a question in the poem (5). This technique, however, grabs the readers attention as Denby responds to the question by mocking the naive nature of those sharing incorrect information around him. He criticizes them referring to the whole as a “schoolkid” who “does it for the first time” (9-10). Furthermore, he continues by stating how the people have “cut out liquor” and gone to the “gym” in an attempt to become a better person (11). This is ironic because he states how he has been partaking in this activities all his life. This plays into the meaning of the poem as he wants others to catch up to his logic and stop spreading falsies.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Slide 5: <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">The last stanza is only two lines as compared to the other stanzas that have four lines. This is used to help the last stanza stand out as the theme is finally stated. Denby is finally stating how rumors amaze him or simply make him laugh as he gets a “kick” out of others who truly believe they are correct (13). Ultimately, the theme represents that people should experience things for themselves not simply rely on others for information. This theme is demonstrated through out the stanzas with the idea of death and how everyone believed it to be painful and horrible so they changed their life style to avoid it. The speaker, however, simply lived his life and ultimately died in a quick, painless manner. Continuing, the last line of this stanza has a double meaning, representing his death and his inability to let go of the topic as he continually contemplates rumors and their origin.