Picnic on the Lawn

1366 Words6 Pages
“Picnic on the lawn” by Vernon Scannell “Picnic on the lawn" by Vernon Scannell is a very well written poem that is full of similes, metaphors and personification. The poem is based on three women talking about what they dream to do. The poem gradually changes the mood as the poem gets more and more depressing. At the start of the poem, Scannell portrays the women as being tranquil and relaxed by his large range of techniques. His very first sentence is a simile to describe the women’s appearance: “Their dresses were splashed on the green Like big petals” This image makes us think of their dresses as being large petals on a flower. This makes their colourful dresses vivid against the green background of the grass. This is natural and makes their dresses seam alive. The poet also uses good word choice in this simile by using the word “splashed”. This again makes us feel as if their dresses are living, moving things, relaxing themselves on the cool grass. This also makes us feel that there is a very happy feel to this scene giving off a content mood. The poet uses lots of effective personification in the second verse as he tries to make the area surrounding the women seem as if they are watching them like an audience. Scannell says: “Above them soft green applause Of leaves acknowledge their laughter” He makes the trees out to be watching them like an audience watching a play or a movie, applauding the women’s happiness as if they approve their performance. This makes this scene also a very happy scene, the women laughing without a care in the world. Scannell also suggests that the women are relaxed when he writes “Their voices moved at a saunter” meaning that they aren’t rushing anything just sitting and watching the day go by talking amongst themselves amusing each other and making themselves laugh. There is nothing urgent to do, nothing to panic about,
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