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This document contains summaries of two poems: 1) "The Microscope" by Maxine Kumin, which discusses the adversity faced by Anton van Leeuwenhoek in developing the microscope despite criticism from contemporaries, until its usefulness was proven. 2) "The Bicycle" by Jerzy Harasymowicz, which the author interprets as depicting a man's struggles and adventures facing obstacles in search of identity and recognition in new places. Both poems convey the central message that struggles and difficulties in life help reveal our strengths and should not cause us to give up on our dreams or progress. Perseverance is important for success.

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328 views

Lit11 Report

This document contains summaries of two poems: 1) "The Microscope" by Maxine Kumin, which discusses the adversity faced by Anton van Leeuwenhoek in developing the microscope despite criticism from contemporaries, until its usefulness was proven. 2) "The Bicycle" by Jerzy Harasymowicz, which the author interprets as depicting a man's struggles and adventures facing obstacles in search of identity and recognition in new places. Both poems convey the central message that struggles and difficulties in life help reveal our strengths and should not cause us to give up on our dreams or progress. Perseverance is important for success.

Uploaded by

Alexis Ramirez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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UNIVERSITY OF CEBU

M A I N C A M P U S

Poem title

THE BICYCLE

And

THE MICROSCOPE

Kimberly Clark Lastimoso LIT 11 (5:30-6:30, MWF) Ms. Danganan

Row Seat no. 6-5


THE MICROSCOPE

A microscope – is an instrument used to see objects that are too small for the naked

eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek: A history of the microscope

Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632 - 1723) was a Dutch tradesman and scientist, best

known for his work on the development and improvement of the microscope and also for his

subsequent contribution towards the study of microbiology.

Born in Delft, the Netherlands, on October 24, 1632, Anton van Leeuwenhoek (in Dutch

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek) was the son of a basket maker. At the age of 16, van Leeuwenhoek

secured an apprenticeship with a cloth merchant in Amsterdam as a bookkeeper and casher.

There he saw his first simple microscope, a simple magnifying glass mounted on a small stand,

as used by cloth merchants of the time. After a short period, had acquired one for his own use.

In 1654, van Leeuwenhoek returned to Delft where he started a own successful drapery

business, though it was to be his interest in microscopes and a familiarity with glass processing

that would lead to the significant discoveries he would later make.

The Father of Microbiology

Anton van Leeuwenhoek was an unlikely scientist, since he came from a family of

tradesmen, had no fortune and received no higher education or university degrees. This would

have been enough to exclude him from the scientific community completely, yet with skill and

diligence, van Leeuwenhoek succeeded in making some of the most important discoveries in

the history of biology, considered as "the Father of Microbiology".


Maxine Kumin was an American poet and author. She was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in

Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1981–1982

The poem wrote by Maxin Kumin "The Microscope" suggests that innovation requires

genius, and that a genius is rarely understood by his contemporaries. It was necessary for Anton

Leeuwenhoek to neglect the quotidian details of his life as a shopkeeper (his "dry goods

gathered dust") to pursue his passion for devising a machine that would enable him to examine

the unseen, minute details of the natural world. Innovators are not understood or appreciated

until their efforts are proven to be of use; in fact, the speaker observes that Anton was called

"dumpkof" by those unimaginative observers who were more interested in the practicalities of

life: "pincushions, cloth, and such." These manufactured, prosaic items contrast with the

exoticism of Nature's "mosquitoes’ wings" and "spiders’ spinning gear." The irony is that his

work led him to be considered a pioneer of the very practical science of microbiology.

The Microscope" by Maxine Kumin deals in a light-hearted way with the adverse public

reaction of the Public to Anton Leeuwenhoek's invention of that instrument.

The moral might be "Inventors usually face criticism, before receiving public recognition",

although that stage is not described. The poem uses "Dramatic Irony", in that the modern

Reader is well aware of the usefulness of the invention, whereas the townsfolk did not at the

time.
CENTRAL MESSAGE: No matter how hard life, follow your dreams, It shows

perseverance means not giving up. It is persistence and tenacity, the effort required to do

something and keep doing it till the end, even if it's hard. Just believe in yourself that you can

have strong faith to God everything is possible.


THE BICYCLE

Jerzy Harasymowicz was a polish poet. He was one of the leading poets of twenetieth-century

Poland.

BICYCLE- A bicycle, often called a bike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle,

having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A bicycle rider is called a cyclist, or

bicyclist.

In my own interpretation of the poem The Bicycle by Jerzy Harasymowicz it’s a struggle and adventure

of a man facing different kinds of obstacles in life in search for his own Identity and recognition in

different place.

Struggles shape people’s lives and it is important for success. Nevertheless, people’s response to

struggles is different, while some take them as experiences, others complain, and some stay with no

progress. Struggles shape peoples future outcome and carrier development.

CENTRAL MESSAGE: Difficulties in our life don’t come to destroy but to help us realize your own

hidden potentials. So whatever our hindrance in getting success when should not surrender.

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