The poem I chose was “Living in Sin” by Adrienne Rich. The title itself leads you to think that the poem is based on two lovers who are not yet “married under God” and are committing sin. Though in none of the lines does it say whether they are married or not, one is left with that impression by the title alone. Perhaps the author’s tone is meant to show you there is no “sweetest sin”. The woman in the poem speaks of her life as though it were a chore and the man, her lover, is but a bother.
It is debateable whether at the end of the poem the Bishop survives or dies, perhaps in the case the circular structure implies that the bishop dies ( due to circular structures representing life ) it could be suggested that the Bishop is infatuated with this woman because he is always thinking about her. Browning choses this woman to be a mystery, referring to her remaining unnamed but also it is concealed about the relationship between the pair about whether or not they were married or whether or not she was his mistress but the woman also may give the readers sympathy towards the Bishop because in the poem she dies and he has lost her forever. Robert Browning wrote this poem as a monologue, this suggests that this poem has a silent listener. This idea contradicts the poem due to a silent listener being named. “ is
Emily Dickinson and the use of death as symbolism One of the best ways to portray a feeling or expression is by using symbolism, which most poetry does a good job of, however, there are few better than poetry by Emily Dickinson. The poems written by her are abstract enough where she could be talking about death and she is really talking about how she barely left her home town of Amherst, Massachusetts. She also uses symbolism to show the internal struggle of some things, such as losing your mind, symbolizing the felling of emptiness and loneness. “Because of I could not stop Death” is one poem that has the feeling that she is not saying what she means. The overall theme in the poem of death is actually another form of symbolism.
The narrator is clearly miserable with her life and considers suicide to be the only solution. Killing herself would relieve the pain she feels on a daily basis. “Daddy” is another poem that demonstrates Plath’s common death by suicide theme. In the poem, she writes that “At twenty I tried to die / And get back, back, back to you. / I thought even the bones would do (Plath 58-60)”.
The protagonist of The Outsider, Meursault, is estranged because he does not fit into the social norm. At the news of his mother’s demise, Meursault does not feel the agony that normal people do when hearing their parents’ deaths. His lack of emotion is further evinced by his sending his mother to the Senior’s House. In Meursault’s psyche, he feels that his mother is a burden to him. He thinks that the Senior House is a better choice for the both of them as his mother would be happier there.
The poem “Waiting for Icarus”, by Muriel Rukeyser, is written from the point of view of a woman that was in love with Icarus, and mourns his death. This is an interesting point of view on the myth because nothing was really known of a woman in Icarus’ life, and this somehow makes his death all the more tragic. When the poem begins, it is not yet known who the narrator is, which adds a sense of mystery to the poem. It begins with a list of everything Icarus had said to this person, promises they made, things they would do together, and things they have done together. The repetition of “He said” before every sentence shows that this was something the narrator had been thinking about for a while and kept repeating inside her head.
Miss Gee Auden tells the story in Miss Gee through a series of phases in her life which are used to create a big impact. As we read the poem ‘Miss Gee’ we begin with a conservative women who is very lonely and seems to have no relationships with anyone, whether that may be family, friends or something more intimate. Further on we create an image with Auden’s words about the temptations Miss Gee has and the struggles she faces in order to control them and if she does actually want control over them. Then at the end we interpret that Miss Gee has died, however the last few stanzas of the poem contrast greatly from the image we have in the beginning. Through a relatively short poem we invent a lifelong image of a person because of how Auden tells us the story.
Another way the poet shows that the relationship isn’t a very loving one is that he says “’Not near, not near!’ her eyes beseech”, this means that she begs him to stay away from her so therefore the relationship can’t be that good.”I’ve hardly heard he speak at all “is another good indicator that it’s a one sided relationship as to even have a friendship you have to talk to the other person. Despite all of this at the start of the poem it says “I chose a maid“ which gives the impression that he wasn’t interested in romance only lust and her good looks but now he has fallen in love with her but she doesn’t feel the same way towards him. The manhunt In this poem the relationship portrayed is a lost love that was once there a long time ago and is now trying to be rekindled. An example of this is “After the first phase after passionate night and intimate days” this shows that there have been stages to their relationship and at the very start it was good as they had both physical and emotional attraction and love for each other but they are now at a not so good stage of their relationship. Another example of this “the frozen river which ran through his face” this is a metaphor for him being emotionless so he doesn’t show affection towards her.
Within Emily Dickinson’s life, many of her past friends and family past away around her on a regular basis, which could conclude to the reason why death is described as a usual and cherishable thing in ‘The last night that she lived.’ The second stanza reveals the intensity of the poet’s reaction to the death. The quote ‘We noticed the smallest things’ depicts the eeriness that is in the environment as death has caused everything to become still which makes the narrator notice the minor details. The quote also shows that after a death, people see the environment from a different perspective due to the emotions causing the smaller things to take emphasis. The third stanza discusses the poet's feelings about death. It portrays the poet's jealousy of the death Woman because she died peacefully while others has to live and face the ordeals of life.
This however, does not reduce the meaning of either, but strengthens the meaning of both. Each stanza symbolizes two complete opposites, life and afterlife. The actual death of the woman is not spoken of in this poem, it is only implied. Wordsworth’s choice to hide the death between the two stanzas is interesting, possibly illustrating that the speaker is unable to verbalize the pain that comes along with the woman’s sudden death. The choice to keep life and afterlife completely separate illustrates the contrast between what the speaker thinks of the woman while she is alive from when she is dead.