Fire and Ice

In English, we have to do a parody of a poem. Honestly, I would never, EVER touch these poems. I think they are already perfect. So, here are some of my favorite all time poems.

Holy Sonnet X

By John Donne

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou'art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy'or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

What I think it means: It is pretty self-explanatory. Death isn't the end. It's just another beginning. 

Fire and Ice

By Robert Frots

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice. 

What I think it means: I had to read this one a bit slower, but what I got from it is, that if it weren't for God, we would destroy ourselves. Really, I think it's a blessing the world will end in fire, and not in ice.

Shakespeare

What win I if I gain the thing I seek; 

a dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy? 

Who buys a minutes mirth to wail a week, 

or sells eternity to gain a toy? 

For one sweet grape, who would the vine destroy; 

or what fond beggar but to touch the crown 

when with the sceptor straight be strucken down.

Interpretation: The context of the poem is this prince is going to do something he knows he shouldn't, and because what he is going to do, his father's kingdom will fall. But he knows this too, and he reasons with himself, saying this poem aloud. So, why is it we do the stuff we do? 

If

Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son! 

What I think: Rudyard Kipling wrote this poem beautifully, and it says, be better than the world, be humble about it too, and you'll be the best person ever. period.

Julius Ceasar

Shakespeare

lowliness is young ambition's ladder,
Whereto the climber-upward turns his face;
But when he once attains the upmost round.
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees

By which he did ascend.

What I think it means: There is no real title for this little poem, so I titled it after the play it originated.

This poem basically says, "Hey! I want to be better than that dude!"

So you climb the ladder. Once you have reached your goal, you belittle everyone else, you turn your back on them. 

The end.