Poetry Out Loud Performances

I watched Stanley Jackson recite the poem "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The first thing that stood out to me about Stanley's performance was his physical presence. He seemed very confident and when he made gestures they were meaningful. His voice and articulation were also really great, he changed the quality of his voice throughout the poem to convey different emotions. He had a very repetitive poem, but he managed to keep it interesting by subtly changing how he said the line each time.

Stanley did a really nice job of conveying the poems meaning with his voice. At the beginning he uses a wistful tone to describe the bird, but throughout the poem shifts to a more angry tone, then desperate. My interpretation of the poem was that he understands that the bird won't give up hope to escape, no matter how much it hurts him. He related this to his own life somehow and felt sympathy for the bird. He knows the pain and realizes that the bird is crying for help, not singing a song. I think the meaning of this poem is perseverance, and fighting to change things.