Mihir Waykar
Mrs. Spillane Period 3
01 29 16
The Art of Analysis: Actaeon
The poem “Actaeon” by A.E. Stallings is a poem describing the Greek story of Actaeon. In her poem Stalling describes Actaeon and his way of life in the eyes of a goddess. The voice of the speaker creates a tone that shows mockery and the mood is quite contemptuous toward Actaeon’s fate. The hound dogs play a significant part in this poem because its shows Actaeon’s ownership and how he is able to command them.
The tone of the poem is mocking the way Actaeon’s experience and relationship with the dogs is described. In the first four lines of the poem Stalling represents Actaeon’s care for the hunting dogs. “you fostered them from purblind whelps” line 2 of the poem is a metaphor claiming the dogs to be in his care since out of their mother’s womb, emphasizing the care Actaeon has toward …show more content…
Describing the dogs as “high-strung”, describes the owner's pride, “flee-coated” diminishes the value of the dog and the state they are in considering they are important to Actaeon and “could fetch a pretty price” implies that Actaeon would sell his dogs, pretty much mocks the dogs and their value considering the high esteem in which they are regarded and the negative characteristics they used to describe them.
On the third stanza of the poem the hunting dog’s abilities are mentioned without negative words emphasizing their effectiveness. In hunting with words such as “fleet on foot” regarding their speed, “swift to scent” meaning they can track effectively and “Inexorable once on track” hinting to the fact that they are unstoppable. We can also see a comparison with the hunting dogs’ capabilities which are unstoppable to the commands Actaeon gives. Changing the tone of the description to a positive one which gives the reader the impression of mockery and the feeling their abilities will be of
Mrs. Spillane Period 3
01 29 16
The Art of Analysis: Actaeon
The poem “Actaeon” by A.E. Stallings is a poem describing the Greek story of Actaeon. In her poem Stalling describes Actaeon and his way of life in the eyes of a goddess. The voice of the speaker creates a tone that shows mockery and the mood is quite contemptuous toward Actaeon’s fate. The hound dogs play a significant part in this poem because its shows Actaeon’s ownership and how he is able to command them.
The tone of the poem is mocking the way Actaeon’s experience and relationship with the dogs is described. In the first four lines of the poem Stalling represents Actaeon’s care for the hunting dogs. “you fostered them from purblind whelps” line 2 of the poem is a metaphor claiming the dogs to be in his care since out of their mother’s womb, emphasizing the care Actaeon has toward …show more content…
Describing the dogs as “high-strung”, describes the owner's pride, “flee-coated” diminishes the value of the dog and the state they are in considering they are important to Actaeon and “could fetch a pretty price” implies that Actaeon would sell his dogs, pretty much mocks the dogs and their value considering the high esteem in which they are regarded and the negative characteristics they used to describe them.
On the third stanza of the poem the hunting dog’s abilities are mentioned without negative words emphasizing their effectiveness. In hunting with words such as “fleet on foot” regarding their speed, “swift to scent” meaning they can track effectively and “Inexorable once on track” hinting to the fact that they are unstoppable. We can also see a comparison with the hunting dogs’ capabilities which are unstoppable to the commands Actaeon gives. Changing the tone of the description to a positive one which gives the reader the impression of mockery and the feeling their abilities will be of