Maths

by Phillauthet

Published July 13, 2021

In Poetry

Some say Math is tough.
Some say Math is frightful.
Some say Math is rough,
some say it's just spiteful.

But Math has proven, many a time,
to be our greatest ally.
With it, one can easily climb,
to positions, most high.

But allies must be won,
through the utmost patience.
Unless practice is done,
one cannot master the science.

Once you know how to wield it,
you can Add to your success,
Subtract from your quits, 
and Multiply happiness.

Comments & reviews · 4
User avatar
EllieMae
Review
EllieMae wrote a review Review · Aug 2, 2024

Hello, hello, it's me again :D but not waste any time, and let's just jump right into this review!

OK, so this poem was very unique, but fantastic! You speak about the topic of math. Right from the first line, it caught my attention, because I am one of those people who thinks math is very tough and frightful and rough and spiteful. But then you move on to explain how math has become our greatest ally and help us overcome a lot of challenges. I really like how you explain that math is like this tool that enables us to win a battle of patience. It's not easy, but it is a practice that reaps this elegant tool of success.

Once you know how to wield it,
you can Add to your success,
Subtract from your quits,
and Multiply happiness.


First of all. Lovely rhyming in this poem, too. I noticed you mixed up. The rhymes came a little bit compared to your other poems, which I really enjoyed. This last verse was my favorite, because of all of your play on words. You go through addition, subtraction, and multiplication. But you use these clown words, sentences, such as adding to our success, subtracting from things that we quit on, and multiplying happiness. I love the simplicity. This phone was not an overly complicated metaphor, but felt more instructional and formal, talking about the importance of math, and how it can actually be a good thing, for those of us to see it as more of a chore. Overall, I love the topic, I love the word puns, I love the rhyming, and I love the tone! I look forward to seeing more of your poetry very soon. Have a wonderful day!

Your friend,
Ellie

Image

Thanks for the review!!

MailicedeNamedy wrote a review Review · Jul 14, 2021

Hi Phillauthet,

Mailice here with a short review! :D

That was a very interesting and inspiring poem on mathematics you presented. I like the uniqueness you brought out behind it.

I like how you start with the first paragraph, repeating yourself to describe some different points of view before going deeper into some examples to show what Math means to you. I think it's a brilliant and fun start. At first I thought that the omission of Math in the fourth line would make the paragraph a little harder to interpret, but on second reading I found it to be a good method. It's like a song that's just starting and you're making a transition with the last line into the next verse.

I like how in the second paragraph you focus on showing how Maths can change life for the better and how it can also benefit the person. However, I also feel that the first two lines can be interpreted as something negative, as Maths is also responsible for giving results in tests / statistics and as human lives as individuals are seen as secondary. Apart from the fact that the second and fourth lines don't rhyme so well, I thought it was a good "start" to your argument.

I like the contrast you create between the second and third paragraphs. I think the second section is more about practice and working life and the third section goes deeper into theory/study/school. You tell, on the one hand, how hard and long it can take to have successes in learning, but also that this can deliver a result that helps to have a good ally in the second section.

The way the middle sections link together, I also thought you made a great combination with the first and this last section. Again, I get this feeling here that you have a song and this teasing, joyful tone comes out, which comes out through the types of calculations that you present here.
I like this approach of presenting it in a playful way and yet there is a certain seriousness inside.

I didn't think I would ever read a poem about mathematics and I am amazed at how well you have managed to present it. I especially like how you managed to make it rhyme all but once, and how much sense it makes when you read through it several times and realise how important and necessary Maths is to life. I would only try to close the last gap to rhyme every line. :D

It was a fascinating poem. I liked the way you presented it.

Have fun writing!

Mailice

Thanks a lot for the review! It means a lot to me.

NightsInWhiteSatin commented Comment · Jul 13, 2021

Haha, I love the irony of this one. Poetry isn't a thing of mathematicians, yet here you are writing a poem about it <3

%uD83D%uDE02 Thanks! I actually never saw it that way. I like Math, and I write Poetry, so I thought, why not?

User avatar
mordax
Review
mordax wrote a review Review · Jul 13, 2021

Hey there! Mordax here for a review, so let's get started!

First off, I love how you used math in this poem. You start off with this repetition of the word "math" followed by adjectives relatable to the subject (lol), and this repetition not only gives this sense of monotony, it also delivers a message of its own, which to me, was how this constant dwelling on the negative provides no progression.

Then, as the poem does progress, the word "math" is ceased to be used because the poem is now focusing on the good, acknowledging the negative then moving forward. The last stanza is particularly clever as math is now wielded in a way that does provide progression, contrary to the first stanza. This was all a very clever way to deliver a message much deeper than the trials of math.

As for critiques, I have very few. For starters, I like the rhymes you establish, however, "patience" and "science" are not quite rhymes. While they end the same way in spelling, the sound is very different. This may have been intentional on your part, but I believe it disrupts the flow just a bit.

My other critique is also minor. You establish this flow in rhymes, however the flow in syllables is not established. While it doesn't need to be in poetry, I think this poem would have a larger impact if it lulled throughout the entirety as it does in the first stanza. For example...

But Math has proven, many a time,
to be our greatest ally.
With it, one can climb,
to positions, most high.

The first two lines of this stanza establish a flow which is discontinued in the next two lines. In the first stanza, for example, you swap between five and six syllables. Here, you go eight, seven, five, then six. Perhaps if you changed the wording of the following lines, such as "With it, one can possibly climb,
to positions far more high"
Of course, this is just my suggestion. It is still perfectly fine as it is and there is nothing wrong with stylistically choosing to not have repetition within the syllables.

Overall, wonderful poem!! I love the structure and the message is conveys.

Great job!

Mordax

Thanks for the review!
I guess 'patience' and 'science' don't rhyme much... But I think it depends on the accent as science can either be pronounced as 'syns' or 'sye-ens'

Thanks for that point on the flow of syllables, I'll change that now.



The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.
— Richard Price