Levine, Gail Carson. Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems. Ill. by Matthew Cordell. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2012. ISBN: 978-0-06-178725-6.
SUMMARY
Gail Carson Levine creates a daring and witty spin-off from William Carlos Williams' poem "This is Just to Say" in Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems. Filled with humor, a touch of sarcasm, and a bit of self-indulgence, the poems reveal the real intentions behind actions committed by some that others may have found upsetting. She includes famous literary characters, family members, and even herself as the insincere confessors in her collection of light-hearted poems that will leave readers laughing as they may see a little of themselves in some of those false apologies!
ANALYSIS
Following William Carlos Williams' poetic style in his poem "This is Just to Say," Gail Carson Levine compiles an anthology of insincere apologies. Her gift of finding humor and insight into the simplest of offensive actions reveals that sometimes even the most questionable action could have logical justification behind it, logical, that is, from the transgressor's point-of-view. In her introduction, which she places in the middle of the anthology with a poem of insincere apology to her editor about its placement, she tells the reader that to write false apology poems one must be in a grouchy mood. Her poems say otherwise, though, as Levine's playfulness and sense of mischief rings out from each poem. Adding to the humor of the poetry, Matthew Cordell's ink drawings are comical in their depiction of the offensive action in each poem. An example of this is seeing Jack's cow angrily chewing the beanstalk in two at its base (after Jack reaches the top of the beanstalk) in retaliation for being sold for a mere handful of beans. Revenge is sweet!
Every poem in her anthology is titled "This is Just to Say" and follows the three stanza format of Williams' original poem, although not all poems have four lines per stanza. The opening stanza explains the offense, the second stanza offers the explanation that caused it to happen in the first place, and the final stanza begins with "Forgive Me" and then finishes with a humorous twist of logic that shows the apology is actually false. The rhythm of the poems reflects her seriousness as a poet, each word carefully selected so the poem glides along when spoken. Her use of literary characters in some of her poems lends to the humor of the anthology. In her poem "This is Just to Say" a famous character deviates from the original story when she writes, "A single rose/adorned the table/while I breakfasted/on your daughter/ /which/proves regrettably/that I am/just a beast/ /Forgive me/please send/her sisters/by the next coach". What a mind-bender this poem is! After the whimsical romance from the fairy tale, Levine manages to bring the beast back to beast-level. Perhaps she was in a grouchy mood when she wrote this. . .
Not all poems include literary characters.The little brother who destroys his sister's Barbie doll, the kid who plants poison ivy in his neighbor's yard for non-payment of a lawn-mowing service, and the student's explanation about a phone call from the principal to his parents are poems that appeal to younger readers who can relate to these real-life incidents. Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems is a fun poetry book to read and share with others. Levine's approach to talk to her readers in the introduction and even in some of her poems gives a personal touch to the book, even though one of the poems puts a curse on the reader who dares to read the poems out of the order they appear in the book! It's all in good fun, and younger audiences will probably want to read more of her books after reading this collection of quirky poems.
Gail Carson Levine creates a daring and witty spin-off from William Carlos Williams' poem "This is Just to Say" in Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems. Filled with humor, a touch of sarcasm, and a bit of self-indulgence, the poems reveal the real intentions behind actions committed by some that others may have found upsetting. She includes famous literary characters, family members, and even herself as the insincere confessors in her collection of light-hearted poems that will leave readers laughing as they may see a little of themselves in some of those false apologies!
ANALYSIS
Following William Carlos Williams' poetic style in his poem "This is Just to Say," Gail Carson Levine compiles an anthology of insincere apologies. Her gift of finding humor and insight into the simplest of offensive actions reveals that sometimes even the most questionable action could have logical justification behind it, logical, that is, from the transgressor's point-of-view. In her introduction, which she places in the middle of the anthology with a poem of insincere apology to her editor about its placement, she tells the reader that to write false apology poems one must be in a grouchy mood. Her poems say otherwise, though, as Levine's playfulness and sense of mischief rings out from each poem. Adding to the humor of the poetry, Matthew Cordell's ink drawings are comical in their depiction of the offensive action in each poem. An example of this is seeing Jack's cow angrily chewing the beanstalk in two at its base (after Jack reaches the top of the beanstalk) in retaliation for being sold for a mere handful of beans. Revenge is sweet!
Every poem in her anthology is titled "This is Just to Say" and follows the three stanza format of Williams' original poem, although not all poems have four lines per stanza. The opening stanza explains the offense, the second stanza offers the explanation that caused it to happen in the first place, and the final stanza begins with "Forgive Me" and then finishes with a humorous twist of logic that shows the apology is actually false. The rhythm of the poems reflects her seriousness as a poet, each word carefully selected so the poem glides along when spoken. Her use of literary characters in some of her poems lends to the humor of the anthology. In her poem "This is Just to Say" a famous character deviates from the original story when she writes, "A single rose/adorned the table/while I breakfasted/on your daughter/ /which/proves regrettably/that I am/just a beast/ /Forgive me/please send/her sisters/by the next coach". What a mind-bender this poem is! After the whimsical romance from the fairy tale, Levine manages to bring the beast back to beast-level. Perhaps she was in a grouchy mood when she wrote this. . .
Not all poems include literary characters.The little brother who destroys his sister's Barbie doll, the kid who plants poison ivy in his neighbor's yard for non-payment of a lawn-mowing service, and the student's explanation about a phone call from the principal to his parents are poems that appeal to younger readers who can relate to these real-life incidents. Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems is a fun poetry book to read and share with others. Levine's approach to talk to her readers in the introduction and even in some of her poems gives a personal touch to the book, even though one of the poems puts a curse on the reader who dares to read the poems out of the order they appear in the book! It's all in good fun, and younger audiences will probably want to read more of her books after reading this collection of quirky poems.
REVIEWS
Booklist
starred, 03/01/12
Publishers
Weekly starred, 02/27/12
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
After reading the poem about the beast and
the following poem about Pinocchio, discuss famous literary characters who always turn out
doing the right thing at the end of the story. How could the story have changed
if one of the characters acted differently? Have the students select a literary
character of their choice and decide how they think the character really felt, and then write a false apology poem using the
format suggested by Levine, or as Levine says, "...you can abandon the
form completely and write false apology poems in your own cruel way" (p.
23).
"This is Just to Say"
I have shortened
my nose
with your saw
because
honestly
telling lies
is so much fun
Forgive me
I don't care
about becoming
a real boy
No comments:
Post a Comment