A lyric poem is written for readers and “contains less word-music and more thought”, than the earlier lyric poems that were “sung to the music of a lyre” (Kennedy & Gioia, p.9). An example of this type of poem is “Because I could not stop for Death”, by Emily Dickinson. Whereas, a narrative poem relates a series of events to tell a story (Kennedy & Gioia, p.10). For instance, “Ground Swell”, by Mark Jarman would be a narrative poem. Even though these are two different types of poetry they both attract the mind and feelings through their components of poetry such as persona and theme, tone, diction and structure and denotation/connotation. The persona, or the speaker, is the voice that speaks to the readers. Understanding the background of
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Even though the speaker is dead and one of the main themes is mortality, the speaker seems to speak of death in a calm tone. Although matters like death are usually depressing, Dickinson makes it seem neutral as the persona she uses seems to not fear it and seems lighthearted and accepting as she uses words like “kindly” and “civility” to describe Death. However, there is a bit of shock that comes from the speaker as she mentions that she was not prepared to die, “Because I could not stop for Death”, alludes to her unsolicited and slow departure as she also mentions that death “kindly” waited for her. Even though the woman recounts her death so calmly and vividly, it is ironic when it is unveiled in the fourth and fifth stanzas that the speaker has been dead for centuries. It is implied in the fifth stanza, “We paused before a House that seemed A Swelling of the Ground”, the house is not actually a house, but a tomb. In addition, the stanza reads, “The Roof was scarcely visible”, meaning the tomb is old and falling apart. The reader could at this point guess the tomb is the speakers, and carriage ride is an old memory, which also alludes to the speaker is in some sort of afterlife, however it is never told if that is the case. In the contrary, “Ground Swell”, by Mark Jarman, starts off with a cheery and almost passionate tone which switches to a dark and depressing …show more content…
Dickinson uses the word “stop” in the beginning to capture death as inevitable, whether someone may stop for death or not death will always be waiting. Dickinson also describes life in her poem when she describes herself passing a school, grain fields, and the setting sun. These images of life help contrast life and death. The accepting tone throughout the poem is also created by how much Dickinson refrains from using diction that conveys the feelings of sadness or lamentation. Allusion is also present, the fact that the person being dressed up in a gown, “Tippet” and “Tulle”, as if on her way to marry alludes to the Christian thought of love of Christ and the reunion that is consummated through death. Dickinson’s quatrains don’t rhyme perfectly; however, they do follow a steady metrical pattern. The first and third lines of each stanza is made of four feet. For instance, the first verse would be, “Be-cause| I could| not stop| for Death”, which is an iambic tetrameter. However, the second and fourth verses of each stanza follow an iambic trimeter. Dickinson also integrated capitalized nouns and dashes so that readers would pause and be guided to the next line. The structure of the poem makes the meter undulating so that it is soothing and attractive. It is almost like the clomping of hooves as the persona and Death are on their way to eternity. It not only adds to the
Even though the speaker is dead and one of the main themes is mortality, the speaker seems to speak of death in a calm tone. Although matters like death are usually depressing, Dickinson makes it seem neutral as the persona she uses seems to not fear it and seems lighthearted and accepting as she uses words like “kindly” and “civility” to describe Death. However, there is a bit of shock that comes from the speaker as she mentions that she was not prepared to die, “Because I could not stop for Death”, alludes to her unsolicited and slow departure as she also mentions that death “kindly” waited for her. Even though the woman recounts her death so calmly and vividly, it is ironic when it is unveiled in the fourth and fifth stanzas that the speaker has been dead for centuries. It is implied in the fifth stanza, “We paused before a House that seemed A Swelling of the Ground”, the house is not actually a house, but a tomb. In addition, the stanza reads, “The Roof was scarcely visible”, meaning the tomb is old and falling apart. The reader could at this point guess the tomb is the speakers, and carriage ride is an old memory, which also alludes to the speaker is in some sort of afterlife, however it is never told if that is the case. In the contrary, “Ground Swell”, by Mark Jarman, starts off with a cheery and almost passionate tone which switches to a dark and depressing …show more content…
Dickinson uses the word “stop” in the beginning to capture death as inevitable, whether someone may stop for death or not death will always be waiting. Dickinson also describes life in her poem when she describes herself passing a school, grain fields, and the setting sun. These images of life help contrast life and death. The accepting tone throughout the poem is also created by how much Dickinson refrains from using diction that conveys the feelings of sadness or lamentation. Allusion is also present, the fact that the person being dressed up in a gown, “Tippet” and “Tulle”, as if on her way to marry alludes to the Christian thought of love of Christ and the reunion that is consummated through death. Dickinson’s quatrains don’t rhyme perfectly; however, they do follow a steady metrical pattern. The first and third lines of each stanza is made of four feet. For instance, the first verse would be, “Be-cause| I could| not stop| for Death”, which is an iambic tetrameter. However, the second and fourth verses of each stanza follow an iambic trimeter. Dickinson also integrated capitalized nouns and dashes so that readers would pause and be guided to the next line. The structure of the poem makes the meter undulating so that it is soothing and attractive. It is almost like the clomping of hooves as the persona and Death are on their way to eternity. It not only adds to the