2 Poemz

In the poem "The Quiet Life" by Alexander Pope identity and culture are expressed by the notion that a simple man is a happy man. In the first two lines of the poem, it says "Happy the man whose wish and care a few paternal acres bound." This shows that the man in the poem, symbolizing someone we should all be, has a simple life but is content with it. The poem focuses on one going back to his native roots and "breathing his native air in his own ground." (lines 3-4) It builds the idea of ones identity based on their original native roots, rather than  the contemporary conformity culture. It goes on to discuss traditional ways of life like "herds with milk" and "whose flocks supply him with attire." (lines 5-6) These simple ways of life lead to the idea of a more relaxed, content culture. Pope uses a flowing rhyme scheme to go along with the "flowy" way of life discussed in the poem.

The second, more contemporary poem I chose was "I'm nobody! Who are you?" by Emily Dickinson. In this poem, she almost depicts having an identity is a horrible thing. She even says "how dreary to be somebody!" (line 5) While in "The Quiet Life" all it talks about is having an identity. A simple identity, but an identity nonetheless. Both express their views on identity as a whole, the views are just opposite.