Apostrophe To The Sea Analysis

Improved Essays
INTRO: During the Romantic Era, a lot of poets came alive with the newfound love of nature. George Gordon (Lord Byron) and Percy Bysshe Shelley are just two of the six poets that wrote poems about nature and what it meant to them. the introduction of “To the Skylark” by Shelley and “Apostrophe of the Sea” by Byron really made the Romantic period burst with literature. Although the poets are similar with some aspects, they have very different writing techniques and you can tell through their poems. (need to be exact: “voice”, form, and theme of nature.

FIRST: George Gordon Lord Byron was born in London, England on the 22nd of January in 1788. When he was born, his parents abandoned him because he had a deformed foot. Due to his parents
…show more content…
This section of his poem is an apostropher, which is the poet addressing someone or something. which showed his deep love for country sides, rivers and mountains. This poem was written due to Gordon loving the ocean as a child and loved going there rain or shine. The theme of this poem is the love of the ocean or in other words, nature, of course due to the Romantic Era. The line that made me realize the theme was “I love not man the less, but nature more.” Here it shows that he was an outcast because he didn’t get along with a lot of people due to his differences. “And I have loved thee, ocean!” made the tone of the poem very compassionate and loving towards the ocean. Almost like a relationship, it was very sentimental and light­hearted. In “Apostrophe of the Ocean” contained an iambic pentameter followed by an Alexandrine. The literary devices in contained were hyperboles, metaphors, personification, and paradoxes towards the beauty of the ocean. An example of the metaphor is "Thy shores are empires..." Line 37, which is acting as if the shores are actual empires. The personification was very unhuman due to the man marking the earth with …show more content…
This poem reflects natural beauty showed in line 4­5 "Pourest thy full heart / In profuse strains of unpremeditated art." when the skylark sings its pure and natural songs, and also freedom that showed in line 14­15 "Thou dost float and run, / Like an unbodied joy whose race is just begun", which reflects back to when he struggled with authority. The poem shows that the speaker is jealous of the skylark, which is a bird, because it has more freedom than himself. It also contains metaphors comparing living objects in nature for example worms and roses, representing love, pain and sorrow. Another metaphor was contained in line 30 “The moon rains out her beams, and Heaven is overflow 'd” comparing the moonlight to the rain. Since no one knows where the bird gets its joy and happiness from it is confined to being inhuman. But the skylark continues its journey and doesn’t give up, just like Shelley never gave up writing. The poem shows the struggle of Shelley has towards intellectual knowledge and the stress of writing

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The use of alliteration, assonance, and the repetition of words, allows the poem to successfully mimic the mood and instability of the narrator as he mentally declines into insanity and depression. The complex rhyming and structure of the poem in lines such as ““Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting—/Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!”” (97-98) coupled with the fact that he is shrieking at the bird and accusing it of being a “devil” (85) sent to torment or haunt him also supports the unreliability of the narrator as he is clearly having a mental…

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The first example of where diction shows the poet's lesson in the work is when the shipmates say the Albatross was a bad sign because it brought bad weather. "Then all averred, I had killed the bird / That brought the fog and mist. / Twas right, they said, such birds to slay, / That bring the fog and mist" (96-99). This diction shows the negativity from the shipmates, and the the word choice of "averred" shows their selfishness, deciding the rightfulness of the action based on how it benefits them. The whole quote is exemplary of the poet's message because it shows the original thoughts of the crew, all of who do not care about the preservation of this part of nature. Another example of diction revealing the author's message is when the mariner has remorse for killing the Albatross and is admiring the water-snakes. He says, "O happy living things! no tongue / Their beauty might declare: / A spring of love gushed from my heart..." (279-281). This quote shows the change of heart the mariner undergoes. At the beginning of the story, he shows a complete lack of respect for the bird, even wearing it as a trophy after killing it. Now, the mariner has a respect for nature and the word choice of " a spring of love gushed from my heart" demonstrates how he has a new appreciation for the beauty of creatures and the sanctity of them. The last example is when the mariner is talking about the spirits of his shipmates being freed from their bodies. He says "Around, around, flew each sweet sound, / Then darted to the Sun; / Slowly the sounds came back again, / Now mixed, now one by one" (351-354). This quote indicates the light and joyful outlook on the situation that the mariner did not have before. At first, the mariner was very distraught and suffered under the curse of the dead men, but now he is happy as he sees and hears their…

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The first stanza serves as an introduction. It reveals to the readers what the poem is about. One can infer that the poem is about a person who misses his love because the poet writes that “his love is smoldering on the waves”. Also, it is revealed that the poet is upset because the girl left him. In the second stanza, the sea gull is the representation of the poet. The seagull is flying over the sea, and it feels melancholic. The girl lingers in its mind. In the third stanza, the setting is described. The waves are shining ruby red under the Sun. The sea gull is using its instinct to guide through the vast ocean. In the fourth stanza, it is revealed that the girl is also upset. She plunges into the water and her wing is bruised, and when she flies again, she cries sadly. The last stanza is the repetition of the first stanza to reiterate the meaning of the…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Starting with the visual aspect of the poem, Pratt uses a pattern of line length to imitate the visual aspect of waves hitting their mark and then shrinking away. This represents “the sea” (1) which, although are usually assumed to be associated with inconsistency and unpredictability, in this poem takes a different meaning. In “Erosion”, the sea takes on the meaning of a constant force that wears away rock throughout time. The consistency of the poem’s line sizes emphasizes the…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    (Stanza 1) the grasp of the speaker’s attention is referred to within this imagery. As the author’s name sinks, her urge to grab and observe the book likely increases, the poem seems to have spiked her interest in different ways than other poems usually do. As the poem progresses the speaker’s own passion for writing poems emerges, along with the indication that “The Blue Estuaries” inspires her.…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Its five stanzas represent different “events” in the story unfolding in front of the reader, and the use of imagery helps make the distinction. The first stanza is describing rough waters. “Wrinkled hide of water” (624) and the boat “peels the crest” (625) are examples of the images describing the texture. The second stanza focuses on the struggle of the man. The words “taut” (625), “bucks, stalls, shudders, yaws, and dips” (625) express the balancing act of the man trying to run a sailboat. These same words suggest a lot of emotion, too. The third stanza is built around a metaphor. The sailboat is compared to a dolphin, “springing toward its prey” (625). We can sense speed as “springing” (625) effortless movement (“tossing spray” as opposed to first stanza’s “peeling the crest”) and freedom (“salt glare of distance”). The fourth stanza signals the transition to quiet waters. Although there is still some struggle (“the wind snapping and lashing” (625)), the sailboat enters the “haven of the breakwater” (625). This metaphor, although trite, expresses the change in the environment. The last stanza filled with visual images like “gliding elegantly” (265), “a film of water” (as opposed to first stanza’s “wrinkled hide of water”), “obedient legend” suggesting peace and…

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Imagery is another focal point of the poem; it creates the tone of unsure terror and horror that will occur. “Silken, sad, uncertain…felt before,” these lines determine the setting, with this imagery the not only is it apparent that the narrator is descriptive but from the text its obvious that the narrator is thrilled – he is excited by the paranormal activities. “And his eyes… on the floor,” the narrator is haunted by the features of the raven, it almost seem demonic. From this imagery the reader can comprehend from the text that the bird and the narrator are…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many instances exist where Plath uses imagery to appeal to all 5 senses in this poem. By enticing the readers with descriptive sensory details, the theme reveals itself with vigor. Another component of this poem is that she references the sea a plethora of times. For example, in the first stanza, Plath writes, “A blackberry alley, going down in hooks, and a sea/Somewhere at the end of it, heaving.” (3-4). The many mentions of the sea relates to her childhood because she and her father spent a lot of time by the sea when she was young.…

    • 1355 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The main idea conveyed in the first stanza is being desperate for freedom. In the poem, the speaker implies that the bird is desperate because it is able to see the beauty and nature of the outside world, but the bird is unable to experience it. The speaker describes the "wind [stirring] soft" and the river flowing "like a stream of glass." These images that the speaker creates makes it for the reader to believe that the bird is desperate to soar through the beauty the world has to offer and not be stuck inside a cage. (The idea of being desperate for freedom is mentioned in stanza three as well. The line “a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core” because it is able to convey the message that the bird sings its song as a sign of desperation to be free.) …

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The poem begins with a saying that the bird did not notice her. This shows how human interaction on the planet we are not noticed. That the human race has broken so much that we no longer see the beauty in things. When the bird noticed her the bird ran around frightened. Showing that the human race scares the other animals because of our destructive nature. When she says “like one in dander, cautious” she symbolizes with the bird showing that they are both scared. That both would have to learn to live and trust each other if they wanted to survive. She gives the bird a crumb to show kindness. This shows that if the human race tried harder to work together then the world would be a better place. She uses imagery when she says, “that looked like…

    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    It also represents that even as big as the ocean may be, strong bonds cannot be unbroken and will manage to find their way back to each other because they have hope. Even through all the struggles that Marlin went through, when he felt like giving up, there had always been that one reason to keep him going. Same with the speaker in the poem when he knew that the separation from his lover and him would not be eternal, but that it would take time and he would have to wait to reunite with her. In both narratives the ocean represents the distance and space that keeps the bonds apart, but in the end they become hopeful outcomes. Both Marlin and the speaker had faith and never gave up on the day they would reunite with their loved…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are many similarities between Romanticism and Transcendentalism. One of the similarities between the groups is the incorporation of nature. Writings by authors of both types seem to tie nature into many of their works. For example, in Walt Whitman’s piece “A child said What is the grass?” he…

    • 1177 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Imagery In Annabel Lee

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The speaker mentions the image of the "kingdom by the sea" which implies the upcoming death. This kingdom is placed near the sea where the sun sets, and the sunset symbolizes the end of something and death. Moreover, the kingdom belongs to the powerful, so if they were in a different place it would not have occurred. In the eleventh line the "winged seraphs of heaven", that are supposed to represent something holly, are reaped apart by the enjambment like they "coveted"(12) and reap apart Annabel Lee and the speaker. In the third stanza the speaker uses a dismissive tone accompanied by the "H" consonant and says "The angels, not half so happy in Heaven"(21), and even capitalize "Heaven" to emphasize how wrong they are for "envying"(22), because they have the great heaven why do they interfere in his love life. The "D" consonant in line 31 emphasizes the anger the speaker feels and how determined he is to stay with his beloved. The image of the wind that "came out of the cloud"(25) can be seen as the wind pushes Annabel Lee away from the speaker and makes distance between…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The forty-eight total lines of the poem are broken down into six stanzas consisting of various amounts of lines, each line having no particular length. These six stanzas provide details about Prevert’s intentions for the poem and the progression within it, with each stanza describing a step in the process of capturing the bird through paint. At the beginning of the poem, the lines are mostly short which provides some insight into what comes next, but at the end of the poem line lengths are highly irregular. Events are described chronologically, creating a sense of order despite irregularity in other aspects. The first two stanzas give information about what to paint in the background, both for the cage and the surrounding nature the cage will exist in. These stanzas are similar in number and length of lines. The brevity of each line results in a choppy and fast paced rhythm. The third and shortest stanza describes the actions of the bird, and the timeline to expect to wait to see it. This stanza allows the reader to see that the bird is in control, yet the mere three lines used to describe the bird create a sense of mystery and hope that the bird will one day come. The fourth stanza teaches the importance of patience while waiting for the bird, followed by the fifth stanza which provides instructions about what to do when the bird actually arrives. In these stanzas the lengths of lines increase and words are more varied and complicated.…

    • 1442 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Through this poem William Wordsworth is expressing both the beauty and importance of nature. Throughout his life he was heavily influenced by his surroundings, and this is evident through the themes of nature and it’s awe “quote”.…

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays