Carmel Point

-Robinson Jeffers
To the Field of Scotch Broom []
-Lucia Perillo

Carmel Point
Jefferss bio video
Sees development of land as
NEGATIVE
Develops tension between the
beauty of nature and suburbia
vers
us

*Pasadena Blvd. example

Carmel Point
Odd structure 15 lines (instead of
14 like a sonnet)
Elegy (written in tribute to
someone/something that has died)
What

Farm animals = pastoral world

Spoiler = intruding houses

Carmel Point
First-person plural pronoun use we
used several times:
The Royal We (speaker is a self-appointed
monarch)
The plural we (speaking for a group)

Call to Action in last three lines:

Take the focus off of ourselves
Step outside of our own humanity

Check Yourself
1. What sentiment does Jefferss
Carmel Point MOST clearly express?
a. fury
b. dismay
c. malice
d. ease
e. contentment

Check Yourself
2. Which of the following terms BEST
describes
Jefferss tone at the end of Carmel Point?
a. reverent
b. confident
c. militant
d. resigned
e. jocular

Scotch Broom
Lucia Perillo
Grew up outside of NYC; drawn to the
wilderness
Studied wildlife management & worked as
park ranger
Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in her 30s,
which confined her to a wheelchair
Known for bold and sensitive yet humorous
poems
Has received numerous writing awards
Lives in Washington state

Scotch Broom
Lyric poem (feelings/thoughts)
Addresses a weed (Scotch Broom woody shrub that grows quickly in
spaces that have been cleared out)

 Scotch Broom along a highway in

Scotch Broom Basics

Converging forces of land
development and medical technology
Technology =
Tool of land development
Means of saving lives

Apostrophe (addressing an absent or

inanimate object)

Scotch Broom Themes

Human inventiveness can be both
destructive and life-saving.
Nature can redeem and revitalize human
consciousness.

Scotch Broom Techniques

Punctuation
Medial caesura

No clear rhyme scheme, although

she uses internal rhyme in spots
Shift in forces

Self-Check
1. What personal connection does Lucia
Perillo have with Scotch Broom?
a. She fears its thorns.
b. She retains childhood memories of
it.
c. She likes its appearance.
d. She imagines its existence.
e. She is allergic to its pollen.

2. Which of the following phrases is NOT an

example of anthropomorphism in Lucia
Perillos To the Field of Scotch Broom?
a. As if your purpose were to defibrillate
me
b. soon those gusts/ will mill you
c. you stood/ swaying to the music
d. How resigned you were
e. Mine went a little haywire