Driving in Oklahoma and Freeway 280

A detailed Summary of Driving in Oklahoma and Freeway 280

The poems, "Driving in OklahomaaE? and "Freeway 280aE?, are different in many ways, but they also have a lot in common. First, they both are modern poems, so we cannot find rhymes or clear meter in them. Almost all contemporary poetry does not have rhymes. This style has even a name - "free-verseaE?. In my opinion, it is the easiest way to write poems: a poet does not have to think carefully about phrases and rhymes that create a finished thought and music of words at the same time. A poet just has to put some poetic images and ideas in his creation to call it "poetryaE?. But this is only my opinion. Nowadays critics call that kind of literature "poetryaE?, so I will do as well.

The next and very important thing that is shared by both authors is comparing two different worlds in their poems. Lorna Dee Cervantes speaks about her past and present. She looks back on her past, to the place where she spent her childhood, where she grew up. She tries to bring back to life her memories, hoping to find the part of her that is missed. Carter Revard compares the world of a modern person with all its complicated technology and civilization, where he belongs, to a world of simple nature that really is much more sophisticated than any human-

The author of this poem realizes that the only thing left of her past is memories. The place where she is from is destroyed, but nothing can destroy her memory. Lorna Dee Cervantes realizes that all her life she tried to get out, she says: "I wanted out, wanted the rigid lanes to take me to a place without sun, with out the smell of tomatoes burning...aE? Now she is out of that place, but she feels that she has lost a part of herself somewhere behind. She wants to find this part. The only way she would be able to do that is by going back to her past.

The poem "Driving in OklahomaaE? tells us how the poet, Carter Revard, a modern person, suddenly came across the world of nature and realized that this world is his home. In the first part of the poem, Carter describes his feelings and thoughts when he was driving a car in Oklahoma. He draws a picture of a happy and rather careless man who is enjoying the speed, movement, radio music, whistling. He feels he is at "homeaE?, rushing in his car "along this white concrete...like a man halfway to the moonaE?. He notices the prairie out the window, but really he does not see it. He is busy in his aE?bubble of tuneless whistlingaE?. It seems to him he has everything - technology, which is freedom to him. The whole first part of the poem is very dynamic, energetic, and rich in actions. It helps us to see that a hero is an active person and that he is far away from lyric. But unexpectedly the author sees a small bird, "a meadowlark comes

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Approximate Word count = 1003
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous