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The Temperature of Poetry

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The Temperature of Poetry
Poetry is one of the stranger parts of the literary world. A poem can be anything, from a three-lined poem known as a haiku to a giant epic poem like the “The Odyssey.” They can be rhyming or non-rhyming, long or short, sensible or nonsensical. Even lyrics in songs can be considered poetry, seeing as how they are rhyming and flow so well. The parameters for a poem are wide, the requirements few; but no matter what kind of poem you read, from Homer to Doctor Seuss to John Mayer, symbolism is the driving force behind it all. Symbolism is the basis for almost every piece of poetry written so far, barring some of the works of Doctor Seuss. One recurring piece of symbolism found throughout the literary world is the use of temperature. The warmth of the sun or a comforting smile, the cold of night or a dark hospital room, temperature plays a part in many poems and plays its part well. But the part it plays can vary from writer to writer, poem to poem. The three major uses of temperatures though are to show the warmth of memory versus the harsh cold of reality, the warmth of comfort, and how warmth is used to show life and vitality while cold is used to signify harshness and cruelty.
The first two poems to discuss are “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth and “Disabled” by Wilfred Owen. These two poems are very different in their subject, but their usage of temperature in the form of memory gives them a common denominator. Both speak of

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