Analysis Of The Day Is Done By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

HW MONDAY night, 3/19.  INTRODUCTION: Read + take 1-page of Test-Review Notes on lined paper (or type them) for pages 641-646; copy definitions/lists as found on pages: EPIC POEM, EPIC HERO, CONCEPTS/top/p.643.

For as long as it can be remembered people have used multiple forms of literature in order to gain knowledge, entertain, and even express a certain idea. Poetry is in fact one of those forms of literature, and before people began to write it, it was known to be told verbally by many. A person would tell a tale and those who listened would memorize it, what eventually caused poetry to spread around. Still to this day, many come to fall in love with the magic poetry possesses. It is the writer’s decision to either have a specific rhythm to it or just have a simple list of words. This essay argues that poetry is a creative way of expressing one's emotions and that it should be, not only preserved, but celebrated, even by those who have not considered themselves poetry fans in the past.

Poetry has a role in society, not only to serve as part of the aesthetics or of the arts. It also gives us a view of what the society is in the context of when it was written and what the author is trying to express through words. The words as a tool in poetry may seem ordinary when used in ordinary circumstance. Yet, these words can hold more emotion and thought, however brief it was presented.

To help Year Twelve students that are studying poetry appreciate it's value, this pamphlet's aim is to discuss a classic poem and a

Despite living in a solemn society of despair and disillusionment, people find ways to see the light from the listless darkness. In many poems, authors write about the distinct world of happiness and freedom; however, not all of the poems explore the meaning of life deeply enough. In W.S. Merwin’s traditional verse poem, “Thanks”, Merwin strives to address the significance of gratitude through his proper diction and detailed sensory imagery. Likewise, Marge Piercy, the strong, independent feminist, who also wrote an inspiring poem “To be of use”, emphasizes the hard work that is unappreciated in the world. Although Merwin and Piercy consider the power of gratitude as a necessary life essential for positive outlooks and self-confidence, Merwin’s patterns of imagery and symbolism points to a painful price for the rediscovery of self-worth, while Piercy emphasizes the happiness that the world contains.

“From the sphere of my own experience I can bring to my recollection three persons of no every-day powers and acquirements, who had read the poems of others with more and more unallayed pleasure, and had thought more highly of their authors, as poets; who yet have confessed to me, that from no modern work had so many passages started up anew in their minds at different times, and as different occasions had awakened a meditative mood.” (2) (paragraph 31).

The story of Beowulf is clearly an epic of mass proportions. It takes its readers through an immense journey of great battles with horrific beasts and also manages to teach about pride and honor. The main character Beowulf faces many challenges throughout the epic but conquers them in the end, giving the word “epic hero” its true meaning. The use of Alliteration, the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words, emphasized the certain image of nobility and principle.

What is the meaning of life? Probably one of the biggest questions in human history, yet people still have not come up with one solid answer. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow expresses his beliefs of people’s purpose in life by writing about his own experiences and how he has allowed them to shape him and his writing. Through Longfellow’s poem A Psalm of Life, the emphasis on living life to the fullest is accentuated through his beliefs of being courageous and living life for the sake of doing, rather than for the sake of death.

In war ,many terrible tragedies occur, leaving many people scarred and in grief and who can never forget the nightmare of war.This paper will discuss“ In, Flanders fields by John Mccrae’s,Dulce et Decorum EST by Wilfred Owen and I sing of Olaf glad and big by ee cummings.This paper will be discussing the different points of views that poets have about war and how it shapes our own opinion ,of it because none of us have experienced war firsthand and have only heard about the nightmare from those who have survived and lived to tell us their story.

There are many poets that have been writing some of the most amazing poems in the world for years upon years. Poetry is a great way to write about some of the most meaningful things in one’s life, without directly having to state what you’re trying to say some of the times. A lot of poets write about events within their lives as well as things in everyday life in the lives of everyone in the world. The poems “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) and “Psalm of Life” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) both use great diction and varying tone in their poems to portray their individual perspectives about life.

The last stanza however, gives a sense of peace and rest, as the elder finally ‘descends into the dreaming.’ Jonathan Hill uses many poetic devices and techniques to help achieve the images and meanings that are conveyed. The alliteration used in the poem give a sense of the growing grief and loss, as well as movement. The use of alliteration in the last stanza, conveys a sense of sinking and resting at peace. The poem itself maintains a rhyming pattern throughout the six stanza’s, with the exception of the 4th and last stanza.

The woman in the poem feels as if she is being forgotten by her husband and children. As she gets older, she experiences loss of loved ones until she is seemingly alone. Not surprising whatsoever, Gwendolyn Brooks has made yet another relatable poem. Whether they admit it or not, everyone in their lifetime feels as if they are lonely in some hard times. Brooks has the ability to create a character that portrays a complicated feeling incredibly well, which is a quality that every writer would wish to accomplish. Brooks’ talent as a writer is heightened in this poem, mostly because she shows how much she truly can transform her writing into a complex poem for audiences to think about. In doing this, she uses personification to add to the creativity of this poem in the line “the grasses forgetting their blaze and consenting to brown.” This is symbolic for autumn and the aging of a person’s physical features, because just as plants age from spring to fall, people age from a child to grow wrinkly, shriveled and no longer full of youth. Brooks incorporates repetition into this specific poem. For example, in this piece of poetry she repeats “I am a woman,” ”it is summer-gone,” and writes “I am cold in this cold house this house.” All of these uses of repetition emphasize the development from a younger woman to the older-age of womanhood. The manner Gwendolyn Brooks goes about writing this poem hints to the

. . .The treatment in the three great fights of the motives of weapons, treasure and society implies a moral idea in which the poet believed: that a man should not trust in the things of this world, for they will fail him. Another aspect of this idea comes out clearly in the account of the first fight: that a man should trust rather in God and in the natural powers God gives him, for these will not fail him(234-37).

The word “epic” ignites a multitude of reactions in the minds of literature lovers and passive readers alike. Some people may think of the slang version of this term while other may fondly remember the theater. However, when one is conscious of literary analysis and literature, they can always fall back to the genre of an epic poem. In literary terms, an epic poem is considered to be a lengthy, narrative poem that has a focus on the exploits of a hero and is full of immense amounts of style and figurative language. Normally, by following this hero throughout the poem, the readers are introduced to the alignment between the poem with a specific nation or national identity. Several characteristics of epic poetry lend to this concept, especially those found in both The Faerie Queene and Paradise Lost. Both epic poems focus on historical context and on the characteristics of a heroic journey, the scale of the setting, and divine intervention in order to establish a trend of English nationalistic and religious identity.

This is expressed by the multiple examples of old men whom regret certain aspects of their lives and defy death even when they know their time is up. The speaker is urging his father to fight against old age and death. The meaning and subject of the poem influence the tone and mood. The tone is one of frustration and insistence. Thomas is slightly angry and demanding. His words are not a request, they are an order. The mood of the poem is is serious and solemn due to the poem focusing mainly on the issue of death. This mood and tone is created by words such as “burn”(2), “Grieved”(11) and “rage”(3) along with phrases such as “crying how bright”(7), “forked no lightning”(5), “near death”(13) and “fierce tears”(17). The insistent feeling is also created by the repetition of the lines “Do not go gentle into that good night”(1), and “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”(3). The figurative language used also affect how the meaning, tone and mood are interpreted.