The Scarlet Ibis" James Hurst effectively uses symbolism in the first paragraphs of his short stories to create a mood filled with despair, gloominess, life, and death. To create a gloomy feeling, James Hurst used the changing of seasons. In "The Scarlet Ibis," he wrote that summer was now dead, but autumn had not yet been born. Also, in "The Summer of Two Figs," James Hurst created the statement: a summer born of fulsome promise faded into falling leaves unfulfilled. A feeling of desolation was presented here when Hurst implied that summer was born with great promise that eventually evanesced without being fulfilled.
To begin with, Duffy writes about childhood as ultimately a loss of innocence as children ‘come of age’. This is clearly portrayed in ‘in Mrs Tilcher’s class’, as in the last stanza of the poem Duffy writes “sexy sky.” This use of the word “sexy” represents the protagonist of the poem growing into adolescence and becoming aware of sexual interests. The use of assonance emphasises this message as the repeated ‘s’ sound rolls off the readers tongue in a very sensual sounding way which forces them to mirror the exciting and intriguing experiences now known to the growing child. A loss of innocence is also revealed in ‘Lizzie, Six’ as initially the repetitive questions at the beginning of every stanza appear to be innocent “what are you doing?”, yet as the poem progresses, the true nature is revealed as Duffy writes “I’ll give you dark and I do not care”, illustrating the true nature of the poem and the child’s “dark” loss of innocence. The use of the term “I do not” as opposed to the abbreviation “I don’t” is very successful as it creates a harsh monosyllabic rhythm and a hollow, eerie tone.
Both stories share the same theme of a child’s experience of war, but from different sides of the fence. Elizer is experiencing the worst of the war and although he is young also, his innocence is not as noticeable as he is experiencing the inhuman conditions of war and is forced to be inhumane himself. Rose’s innocence stays with her throughout the novel all the way to the very end of the book where the theme of innocence is still present. The last page is full of colour and happiness showing spring overtaking the dark midst of the war. The last block of text is a metaphor, it is describing the way spring has triumphed over the cold winter and how what was once a field covered with mud and snow is now a field of green new life.
Heaney cleverly intertwines the poetic elements of setting to provide a description of the characters’ sentiments. He purposely picks spring, ‘la saison de l’amour’ (the season of love), to emphasize the breathtaking experience that these two adolescents endure. The two are youthful and inexperienced but spends a heavenly time together. The twilight dusk of March comes out as a “vacuum of need” and at the same time also mocks the unstable and hesitant feelings of the two youngsters. Heaney picked March because it is the mating month
The first stanza depicts a “melancholy” setting where “frail” violets excite the persona’s recollection of a poignant childhood experience. In correspondence with Elizabeth Lawson’s psychoanalytical assertion, ‘Harwood interweaves past and present’, the reoccurring flower motif of ‘spring violets’ arises in both memory and reality, epitomising the persona’s acceptance of the present’s ‘dusk and cold’ contrasted with the childhood memories of a ‘hot afternoon’. The persona’s period of transition is symbolised by the rich imagery of the sunset being “striped like ice-cream”. The use of simile is effective at both describing the dusk as well as alluding to images of childhood (i.e. ice-cream), reflecting the beginning of the persona’s introspective retreat into her thoughts.
“Lovers, forget your love, And listen to the love of these, She a window flower, And he a winter breeze. The first paragraph sets the tone and scene of the poem in its entirety due to the comparison of two opposing things. Metaphors used, helped me connect and experience what the narrator wanted to express. In the poem the window flower referred to someone soft and sensitive, whereas the
However in this poem she cannot find a happier memory and recalls a dream instead, “I dreamed once long ago, that we walked among day-bright flowers.” Her use of positive imagery such as the “day-bright flowers” lightens the mood and achieves the same effect of the memories in The Violets, as she stops thinking of death and causes the reader to forget the unhappy nature of the initial memory and be emotionally moved by the warmth of the following memory where she is “secure in my father’s arms.” In her poems The Violets, Father and Child and At Mornington Gwen Harwood demonstrates through her use of memories, her loss of innocence, the love for her parents and how quickly time moves. Her memories also serve to engage the reader and make us feel her sense of happiness, sorrow and
How do the differing structures, forms and language change the feel of ‘March’ and ‘But These Things Also’ Both ‘March’ and ‘But These Things Also’ comment on the ways in which winter transitions into spring. They both specifically focus on the theme of cycles; spring is seen as the season of new life, a fresh start, and new beginnings. Therefore both poems show a hope a search for spring. The poem uses two specific species of birds to represent the promise of spring. In March the poem describes thrushes as a sign of spring.
Eliot immediately starts the poem with an assertive tone, which straight away sets a dark, elegiac atmosphere that persists throughout the poem. The actual word “April” comes from the Latin word “aperire” that means to open, and therefore is a good way to open the poem. “April” is the start of spring and is the month of regrowth and birth, yet he still refers to it as the “cruellest month”. Birth eventually leads to death so life itself obviously loses value – this is Eliot showing the bleakness through even the most beautiful of things, in this case a new life. The word “cruellest” indicates that all of the other months are cruel to a certain extent, but April is apparently the worst.
Regina DeSandro Daigle ENG 125 December 17, 2008 The poem “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” by Sir Walter Raleigh reflects a women’s view of love toward the shepherd. The poem is written with imagery and vivid speech to enable the reader to envision the outlook of love throughout life’s changes. The poem reflects the seasons of the world and the physical changes made during the changing of the seasons. Love is like a season, forever changing with happiness and sorrow. The poem is a response to the offering the shepherd made to the nymph is she agreed to be his lover.