The psychological development of experiencing death during childhood creates the journey from innocence with guidance to experience. This is a prominent theme in Harwood’s poem “Barn Owl” as the “child who believed death clean and final, not this obscene” comes to the realisation of the pain and suffering of death. In the first stanza Harwood uses the metaphors “A horny fiend” which represents the child rebelling against their father and juxtaposed from that “angle- mind” which is a contrast from the father’s vision of the child. This is also a biblical reference displaying the purity of childhood. Harwood uses in stanza three’s line “master of life and death” and “a wisped- haired judge” to represent the idea that the rebellious child has…
The poem, “Daystar”, by Rita Dove expresses the monotonous duties of the main character, a mother and wife, who struggles with the continuing lack of peace in her everyday life. Throughout the poem, Dove highlights the exhausting duties of the main character through gloomy diction, a sympathetic tone, and subtle types of figurative language. Through these few aspects, the reader is able to understand the theme of the underappreciated and overworked mother that the poem focuses itself on. The author repeatedly uses negative types of diction to emphasize her tone.…
Benjamin Banneker correspondence with Benjamin Franklin is simply an extraordinary example of pose and articulation on Mr. Banneker’s behalf. The words dance off the paper as if they were performing the Waltz. The tone of this piece of writing is dripping with serious, but passionate details of Banneker’s experience with freedom; thus, embodying the spirit that once fueled the abolition of slavery. Banneker ties in multiple elements of freedom throughout the correspondence. I wanted to read the letter once before performing any research about Mr. Banneker.…
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.…
“Ballad of Birmingham”, written by Dudley Randall, was written as a tribute to the four young girls that were fatally killed in the 1963 bombing of an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama. The four young girls that were killed in the bombing were, Addie Mae Collins (age 14), Denise McNair (age 11), Carole Robertson (age 14), and Cynthia Wesley (age 14). The poem begins with a mother and daughter discussing a Freedom March that is supposed to happen that day. The mother refuses to allow her young daughter participate in the march fearing that “those guns will fire.” (line 14).…
The tone of stanza 1 is horrific. It includes this quote, “Shook all our coffins as we lay, And broke the chancel window-squares, We thought it was the Judgement-day.” This quote includes multiple words to make the poem feel horrific like coffins, broken windows, and Judgement-day. This shows that the world is in pieces and may be coming to an end, which for most is a horrific event. Coffins also shows this since, they hold dead bodies which since the mid-1800s has been the center for horror stories.…
I choose Robin Robertson’s poem Three Ways of Looking at God because of how it evolved over time. It starts off being about nature, but soon changes to a deep analysis of the Christian faith. Being a devoted Christian myself, the title gave me reason to unpack this poem more than any other. Having a connection through faith was the motivation I needed to commit to fully understanding this complex poem. When I first looked at this poem the title stood out to me.…
In her case it is housework. Dusting, cleaning, and cooking is all she knows (Bethel 1). Analysis of the theme, tone, and symbolism of “Dusting” help depict a strong resentment towards Alvarez’s mother. Her desire to be something greater took hold of her and directed her to search for a better future. Like the poem illustrates the daughter was not shaped by the outside world.…
Analyze the imagery in this poem. Imagery is all about what the reader thinks they would sense if they were present in a situation. If I were to put myself in the shoes of the narrator, I must…
“The Last Wolf” is a poem written by Mary TallMountain, born on June 19th, 1918 in the small village of Nulato, Alaska. She wrote about her many life touching experiences that she shared with the world. She had an interest in the Roman Catholic religion, her Athabascan heritage and Native spirituality; Mary has incorporated all of her beliefs into her poems and stories. In her poem “The Last Wolf”, a lonely, vulnerable wolf wanders through a devastated city where destruction is clearly visible. The sight of wreckage illuminates the deteriorating state of the abandoned city.…
The speaker utilizing the first person ‘I’ to informs us that the father is busy in blazing the fires in order to provide warmth to the family. The speaker comments upon the poor conditions that they were suffering from. The poet describes his fears, and personifies the house by mentioning the house’s ‘chronic anger’ while waking up and moving around the house. The technique emphasizes the poor condition of the family and the house.…
The women in the village would do anything to help their children, as they are driven by love, instead of hate, fear, and spite. In this novel, the actions of the characters affect the whole village based off of how they were treated as children. When shown love and positivity, children grow up to love and respect their parents, and be like them. If they are shown abuse and neglect, though, they become opposites of their parents in attempt to forget them.…
“The Lamb” by William Blake contains a literal and a metaphorical meaning, the use of many literary elements, and the hidden symbolism contained within. Firstly, “The Lamb” was written by William Blake published in Songs of Innocence in 1789. Much like this poem, many of William Blake’s works were about Christianity. The Lamb is a counterpart to William Blake’s “The Tyger” in Songs of Experience.…
Milton was only in adolescence when he wrote "On the Death of a Fair Infant Dying of a Cough" but he still managed to cram all manner of patterns into his poetry. One of these patterns was textual. In poetry, texture is defined as: "The "feel" of a poem that comes from the interweaving of technical elements, syntax, patterns of sound and meaning" ("Glossary" PG). Certainly, Milton is able to do all those things and his skills are exemplified in this particular early work. Milton's "On the Death of a Fair Infant Dying of a Cough" certainly is replete with textual density as its every stanza is rich with elements that helps elicit feeling.…
Renzo D. Lasam Angelica De Asis-Tomintz Lit14 R18 March 4, 2016 Understanding the Dramatic Situation in Angela Manalang-Gloria Soledad In every culture, there are norms, patterns and standards that are expected of a group, which dictate how an individual’s social behavior and way of thinking is. To talk about issues and to do acts that go against these norms, more often than not, merits judgment from the community and are defined as ‘taboo’. In the Philippines, it is part of the norms of society to reverently practice Catholicism, the most followed religion in the Philippines, which in turn, to also practice to be conservative.…