Elegy

Range Finding is composed of two stanzas, in which consist of unequal lines. (The first stanza consists of 8 lines, while the second stanza has 6.) This consists of 14 line breaks, individually standing alone and telling a story, yet there is no need to pause as if you were reading an end-stopped sentence. Each line Frost has written is a beautiful enjambment of its own. The overall shape of this poem is perceived from more of a conveying meaning rather than a verbal significance. *This poem can…

deep adoration for them. One hero, Beowulf, inspired his fellow warriors and followers while he was alive, and decades after his departure from Earth. After the death of Beowulf, the Geats built a lighthouse in honor of Beowulf, their own kind of elegy for a man they thought so highly of. A person whom I hold a lot of respect for is my great grandma Alvina who passed away in June of 2014; I respect her because she was hardworking, enduring,…

Frost was a very intelligent young man and graduated high school at the top of his class. He was deeply invested in the art of poetry and attended Dartmouth College to further his knowledge. While in college, he had his poem, titled “My Butterfly: An Elegy”, printed by a popular literary journal, called The Independent. However, Frost was unhappy with how slow his academic plan was going, so he dropped out of college to start a poultry farm with his family. He became disheartened that none of…

Many contemporary artists derive their themes from Anglo-Saxon texts. One instance of this is the presence of ofermode, or too much pride, in both the anonymous poem, The Battle of Maldon, written in A.D. 991 and George Orwell’s modern story, Animal Farm. In The Battle of the Maldon, the pirates succeed in using Earl Byrtnoth’s pride in order to allow them onto his land despite the Earl knowing it will most likely have devastating effects on his men and the people he defended. In Animal Farm,…

others would argue that living is the reward and death is the end. Keats pours his own emotional depth into this poem because of the various losses he suffered before being diagnosed with tuberculosis. Perhaps he was channeling in the fact that poetry, beauty, and fame were important, but death would be the end of it all. The sonnet challenges mortality the most because it seems as if the speaker is ultimately content with dying eventually. He will take pleasure in the joys while he is on Earth…

death. However, unlike the book series people have not always been able to simply tell death "not today," and have a talented swordsman defend their life. In fact, from Everyman to modern day texts death is constantly studied. Thomas Gray's poem "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," shifts between a seemingly political poem to a in depth exploration of the concept of death. In a staunchly economically divided country, Gray pushes the reader to question the value of life through contemplating…

“Sailing the Byzantium” illustrates how William Butler Yeats use of artistic diction and symbolism reveals the parallels between ancient civilization and the cycle of life and communicates the dual themes of obsolescence and perpetuity. Yeats’ elegy, details a metaphoric spiritual journey of renewal to “the holy city” seeking intellectual refuge within an “artifice of eternity” (Yeats, Lines 16,24). His use of figurative language elicits both the somber and nostalgic tones evident…

Beach Burial written by Australian poet Kenneth Slessor is a harrowing elegy which mourns the vast destruction of war. Grasping a thorough understanding of the historical context of the poem is imperative in order to recognize the purpose and impact of the poem. The poem demonstrates a powerful critique of the nature of war through the exploration of ideas such as the anonymity of soldier’s deaths and how it is death that delivers soldier’s from the horrors of war. The success of the poem can be…

Billy Wilder’s “Sunset Boulevard” and Judy Grahn’s “I Have Come to Claim Marilyn Monroe’s Body” both detail how the intense Hollywood cult of celebrity can lead to dizzying heights of fame, transforming ordinary people into worldwide stars with legions of adoring fans and admirers. Such fame and notoriety, however, does not come without a cost. Both Norma and Marilyn, Hollywood stars of these respective narratives, came to see the fame that once dominated their lives devolve into a destructive…

The famous Martin Luther King Junior stated in his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech that, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Has his dream really come true? Has racism completely been ridden of or is it still alive? The cases of Sandra Bland, Treyvon Martin, Mike Brown, Rodney King, and many more African-Americans prove that racism is just going to be an ongoing…