Kevin Hu

This Thing is this Thing Because

For the last few weeks of my writing two class, we have been analyzing various type of
texts. We discussed writing conventions, the expectations of them, and how they make a piece of
writing so successful in conveying a message. We talked about different genres, what are
expected within these genres, and how when you view a genre, these expectations help form an
opinion for when you actually read the text. The two genres I have analyzed were poems and
news articles about the rain. I looked in depth what makes them unique, but also alike other
works under the same genre. Analyzing two specific texts, How Beautiful is the Rain by H.W.
Longfellow and an online news article, South Carolina governor calls deadly rain a 'thousandyear' event by CNN, I have realized the characteristics these two have that make them so
successful.
The people who read poems similar to How Beautiful is the Rain are people who enjoy
poems or that also share his love of the rain. They should expect an entertaining poem that they
can relate to. I enjoyed the poem in many different ways, one, for example, his rhyme scheme.
Throughout the poem, the writer talks about his profound love for the rain. After every stanza, I
wondered how he could still talk about the rain, yet continue to rhyme.
Another way is really connecting his writing to the reader. For me, it was his
characterizations of the rain bringing back memories and creating vivid imageries that made it
much more enjoyable. First, he characterizes the rain as animals. One example is as a horse,
How it clatters along the roofs, Like the tramp of hoofs! (H.W. Longfellow 6-7) When reading
this, I imagined the patter above me as horses and it made me laugh at the idea of horses flying

from the sky onto the roof of my house. He does it again when trying to characterize it like the
spots on a leopard: In the country, on every side, Where far and wide, Like a leopard's tawny
and spotted hide, Stretches the plain. (H.W. Longfellow 30-33) On the only day it rained since I
got to Santa Barbara, I wore a grey sweater. Wherever the rain hit on my sweater, it darkened it.
It reminded me of this poem, where the spots on my sweater were alike to the spots he describes
the rain as. Another example is when he talks about a man sick with a fever. It says he sees the
rain, feels each drop, his brain calms down, and he breathes with relief because of the rain. It
helps me to remember the times when I was sick and it rained. For me, there was nothing more
smoothening than the constant rhythm of raindrops above me that lulled me to sleep.
With detailed imageries and characterizations, I was able to connect to the poem on many
levels. However there was one writing convention that confused me. Seven stanzas down, there
was an extra-long stanza that talked about how the oxen enjoying the rain, inhaling the vapors
and gale. The way he pronounces their love puzzled me in a way. Their large and lustrous
eyes, Seem to thank the Lord, More than man's spoken word.(H. W. Longsworth 46-48) The
rest of the poem mostly emphasizes human love for the rain, but these lines refute them all, when
it says that only the eyes of the oxen were enough to show their love.
The audience of these news articles are mostly people who want to be informed of
current events. They expect an informative article that provides detailed accounts and solutions
to issues. That is why the main purpose of this article is to inform people of the disaster. It
includes the current situation, what is being done about it, and the future forecast of the event. It
is written in a way that was concise and appropriate for people of all reading levels. It is split into
different sections so that someone could easily find the information they are looking for.

Articles also try to keep reader's attention in a few ways. The article does this in a few
ways. The first example is the mind grabbing title. Some people might not be able to fathom how
something like this has not happened in a thousand years. The reader might expect the thousandyear event part of the title to be an exaggeration, but at the very beginning of the article, it says,
We are at a 1,000-year level of rain," Haley said at an afternoon news conference. "That's how
big this is." It wasn't hyperbole. It caught my attention because I have never heard or seen such
large a rainfall and neither has anyone else for a thousand years. Another interesting part was that
the rain actually resulted in the deaths of five people. This really contrasted to the poem I
analyzed, How Beautiful is the Rain where the rain was described in such a way that would
never hurt someone.
For those who are not from the area, there are things to help them get an actual sense of
what is happening. An example is, Regardless of where you are in the state, stay home,"
implored the governor. "Stay off the roadways. Another example is, Do not attempt to drive
into flooded roadways ... it takes just 12 inches of flowing water to carry off a small car. Turn
around, don't drown," it said. These quotes really help the reader to get an actual sense of how
dangerous it is. The website also includes videos. One video was of a car getting carried away by
the rain, which shows that they were not making up the last quote. These are all to tell the reader
that what is happening is very real.
Through analyzing the two genres, I learned some important elements in order to create a
successful poem. They have to have detailed characteristics and imagery to really grab the
attention of the reader. A successful article has an eye-catching title, simplistic information, and
enough details to put the reader in the spot.

"In South Carolina, 'it's a Historic Flood' - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 12
Oct. 2015.

"How Beautiful Is the Rain! : English Poems : English Poems for Kids and Children." English
for Students. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.