The theme of death is prevalent in this novel, and it is often tied to a loss of attachment to the past. Each of these characters are thought of as windows to the past. When one of these people dies, they close off the windows to their memories, and everyone loses a piece of the past Douglas has become aware of death, and he doesn’t understand it. He believes that death is something that happens to other people, and he refuses to acknowledge that death will happen to him. After his great-grandma dies, Douglas realizes death is a part of life, and loses his fear of death.
This links with the line ‘perishing great darkness’ portraying how this ‘darkness’ of the war is taking lives as it spreads, and it can’t be escaped. ‘Darkness closes in.’ also portrays this suffocation that the soldiers could have felt at the time, and the end-stop could be Owen emphasising how it has come and cannot be stopped. This links with the last two lines of the poem as Owen repeats the subject of this ‘wild winter’, however he addresses it differently from the beginning as there is a slight volta in his emotions. This is shown through ‘the need of sowings for new Spring’ which perhaps portrays how Owen is more optimistic about escaping this ‘winter’ as in the beginning the words ‘perishing’ and ‘closes’ portrayed a pessimistic outlook to the war. ‘Blood for seed’ could suggest how Owen is quite a patriotic and heroic figure with blood representing this death for his country and dying would bring upon this ‘new spring’ for Britain or the world.
Death poetry, however, examines that great unknown with a surprising variety of outlooks, from distaste to awe. This paper examines three poems in particular, each presenting a unique perspective on death, with the intent of proving that death is NOT one-dimensional and that deep examination of mortality is necessary to a full life. As Mark Twain said, “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” (Twain). There is a spectrum, of sorts, of a person’s openness to their own death, ranging from active desire (suicide) to firm denial.
How does Dickens create tension in the opening scene of his novel ‘Great Expectations’ The opening pages of any novel have certain features in common. The main charecters and the setting are usually introduced here. Although the most important part is the cliffhanger as this leaves the reader wanting to read more. The vocabulary which was used built up the tension, also when the author (Charles Dickens) wrote, “As I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them.” It is the thought of them him being in a graveyard alone with no parents. People are afraid of graveyards because of the depressing thought that people who have died are buried there, and that the you will die one day.
However the use of such random structure can connect to the context and the actions being described; the characters foot falls through the ice “ the hard snow held me, save where now and then One foot went through. …” the full stop in the middle of the verse creates the feeling of the suddenness of the ice breaking. Moreover the fact that the protagonist fell through the ice implies he doesn’t belong in the forest. Furthermore the woods appears to be a strange midway place between two places, and the character doesn’t know where he is or where he’s going, therefore he is wasting his time in a forest corrupted by the waste of humanity. The only other time Frost uses a full stop mid verse is further on in the poem “still growing, and on one a stake and prop, These latter about to fall.
The poem explores Marianna’s feels about being left alone and also the poem describes how the plants around the house have started to cover the shed and the house, which makes it clear that the poet wants the reader to understand that everything around Marianna is moving on, except her. To begin with, in Mare’s poem, bot isolation and loneliness are presented when the poet states, “And his horse in the silence…forest’s ferny floor: And a bird flew up out of the turret.” The poet is trying to make it clear to the reader that the traveller and his horse have disturbed the silence of the area, which is shown when “[the] bird flew up.” It clearly shows disturbance of peace. Also, the alliteration of the letter, ‘f’ creates a rather dramatic and creepy atmosphere, an atmosphere where there is no life around and an area that is isolated from civilization. Which is another point that reveals the themes of isolation and loneliness. On the other hand, in ‘Marianna’ the themes of isolation and loneliness is revealed when the poet states, “ With blackest moss the flower-pots were thickly crusted, one and all;” Tennyson purposely emphasises that the flower-pots are fully covered in moss to make it clear to the reader, how isolated the house and Marianna is.
Knowles’ diction plays a key role, setting the tone of the novel. In Chapter 7, Brinker refers to the tree as “ that funeral tree by the river” (90). In a description of the fatal accident, Knowles describes the scene as taking place in the “funereal tree.” The accident that occurred in this tree permanently ended Finny’s athletic career. By naming the tree the “funereal tree,” Knowles creates a melancholy tone. Also, “funereal tree” foreshadows the death of Finny.
Even with the keenest eye, one can’t hope to notice these minute occurrences that happen every day around us. He uses this story in his imagination to find one way in order to see his wife before his death. It is only human nature to want to see your loved ones one last time in your final moments. This struggle to see his wife is the reason for Mr. Farquhar’s wandering mind before he is about to be hanged. Since his mind is the only place in which he can see her, he can only funnel this story through his mind and not relive those precious moments with her.
Losing Faith Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, “Young Goodman Brown” is a short story that takes place at sunset in Salem where Goodman Brown is about to go on a journey into the forest. As he is saying goodbye to his wife, Faith, while she begs him not to go and to just stay with her. Before Goodman Brown’s journey, Hawthorne indicates that there is more to faith than just the name when he says, “He looked back and saw the head of Faith still peeping after him with a melancholy air, in spite of her pink ribbons” (100). As the story progresses, we see that Faith is the center theme of Hawthorne’s story; it symbolizes man’s fundamental and instinctive attraction to evil and how understanding one’s faith can destroy a man. Goodman Brown’s story takes place at night in Salem in the nineteenth century, where there is a high population of Puritans.
In line 3 of this stanza, the alliteration ‘wan wistlessness’ describes how the dead wife, presumably a ghost, becomes paler and paradoxically, wistful as well. The environment in the last stanza is used effectively to enhance Hardy’s emotional desolation. The dead winter landscape present reality with phrases ‘leaves around me falling’ and ‘wind oozing’ showing the decay of nature symbolising his ongoing personal guilt. Also, the phrase ‘leaves around me falling’ is an ultimate symbol of death and indicates Hardy’s loss of hope although he writes that the woman is still ‘calling’ to express the unbearable longing for her. ‘Dover Beach’ also has a mournful tone of an elegy with Arnold expressing his