The poem “No Ordinary Sun” written by Hone Tuwhare uses extended metaphors comparing the sun to a bomb and trees to humans. The extended metaphors in this poem addresses an issue of socialism that was a major concern when this poem was published in the sixties. The author, Hone Tuwhare, commonly used his poetry as a creative outlook to write about societal concerns. This poem addresses the horror of nuclear warfare toward nature and mankind. This poem uses personification, extended metaphors, and imagery in order to deepen the poems central message. The author wrote this poem as a creative outlet to address a societal concern over the impact of nuclear warfare.
For this specific poem it is important to be knowledgeable about the historical …show more content…
The textual evidence for the extended metaphor starts right in the poems title “No Ordinary Sun”. From Merriam Webster the word ordinary can be defined as, “normal or usual and to be expected”. The sun is generally an ordinary sight because it is seen every day but this poem makes it out to be an unusual and devastating sight. The author titling the poem “No Ordinary Sun” leads the reader to believe that the sun is metaphoric to a nuclear bomb. Due to the authors background and the historical context of this poem the idea of a sun actually representing a bomb is very logical. There is also in-text evidence which supports that the sun is an extended metaphor for a nuclear explosion. In the fourth stanza there is a quote that states, “The fading green of your magic/ emanations shall not make pure again/ these polluted skies…for this/ is no ordinary sun” (21-24). The sky is polluted due to an exploding bomb in the sky which has destroyed all the surrounding nature. This quote also shows the destructive qualities of the bomb and that nature cannot be pure or grow again due to this explosion. The poem generates a feeling of hopelessness because once a bomb is exploding in the sky there is nothing you can do to stop the destructive effects. This extended metaphor of a bomb representing a sun is supported through textual evidence and historical
For this specific poem it is important to be knowledgeable about the historical …show more content…
The textual evidence for the extended metaphor starts right in the poems title “No Ordinary Sun”. From Merriam Webster the word ordinary can be defined as, “normal or usual and to be expected”. The sun is generally an ordinary sight because it is seen every day but this poem makes it out to be an unusual and devastating sight. The author titling the poem “No Ordinary Sun” leads the reader to believe that the sun is metaphoric to a nuclear bomb. Due to the authors background and the historical context of this poem the idea of a sun actually representing a bomb is very logical. There is also in-text evidence which supports that the sun is an extended metaphor for a nuclear explosion. In the fourth stanza there is a quote that states, “The fading green of your magic/ emanations shall not make pure again/ these polluted skies…for this/ is no ordinary sun” (21-24). The sky is polluted due to an exploding bomb in the sky which has destroyed all the surrounding nature. This quote also shows the destructive qualities of the bomb and that nature cannot be pure or grow again due to this explosion. The poem generates a feeling of hopelessness because once a bomb is exploding in the sky there is nothing you can do to stop the destructive effects. This extended metaphor of a bomb representing a sun is supported through textual evidence and historical