The poetry book “This Big Sky” is set in a peaceful, but at the same time aggressive, setting. The theme of nature exhibits those two characteristics, which then becomes part of the poetry in the book. The mood shifted multiple times throughout the writing, sometimes a little mysterious, other times peaceful and joyous. A poem on page 13 describes a racoon, swiftly and silently moving up golden stairs. This evokes a feeling of mystery in me due to the fact that I didn’t know where the stairs were going to lead the animal to. The poem even mentioned the word, “mysteriously”. The mood also gave off a peaceful feel when one of the poems talked about an open sky, which made me feel free and full of peace. I believe that this was also the tone
Updike continues his portrayal of the vast splendor of nature through metaphors, similes, and diction pertaining to a large flock of starlings that flew and over and lit on the gold course where the two men in the poem are playing. The approaching flock of birds seem like a “cloud of dots” (Line 16) on the horizon to observers. The author compares The image of the steadily approaching flock of starlings to iron filings (the birds) stuck to a magnet through a piece of paper (the horizon). The men stand in awe of the black, writhing, approaching mass, much like children do when the magnet picks up the filings through the paper. By comparing the approaching birds to the magnet and iron filing scenario in a simile, Updike subtly likens the men reaction to a small child’s reaction when he/she sees the “magic” of the magnet and the iron filings for the first time. The simile purpose is to show how nature can make grown men feel like small, free little kids when experiencing nature at its best. As the observers continue to watch the looming flock of birds, the flock became one huge pulsating mass of birds that seemed as “much as one thing as a rock.” (Line 22) Updike once again eloquently portrays nature as absolutely stunning to show how nature affects man. The birds descended in a huge “evenly tinted” (Line
In line 6 the writer gives us an image in the phrase the snake slides away. Here the writer describes the wonderful movement of a snake that can make you carious to know how it is created. Furthermore in the same line the speaker give us a simile when she describes the jumping of a fish like a little lily which is “type of plant that grows from a bulb and that has large white or coloured flowers”.( Oxford dictionary 2006)The writer also gives us another great image of nature :The gold finches sing from the unreachable top of the tree . Here unreachable top of the tree is connected to the first line of the poem where there are things you can’t reach even if you want to like the gold finches who sing from a far place. In line 7 the writer invites us to look at nature by saying I look and then saying morning to night where she means she looks at nature all day long without feeling bored or done with looking.
Imagine reading a poem and believing it means one thing, but the underlying message is something completely different. Authors like to use different literary techniques to make a valid point, to make the reader feel a certain emotion, or even to share a distinct memory with their reader. Poetry has helped authors focus their readers on their work by achieving themes that may portrayed in several pieces of their work. In May Swenson’s case, she used a variety of techniques to create different emotions for the reader, while expressing certain periods of her life. May Swenson uses nature in her poetry to personify sexuality and make it into a repetitive theme in her work. Many of Swenson’s critics can agree
Ted Hughes illustrates a vital view in his poem to describe to his audience that what we perceive may not always be true. Often times, the first impression that nature gives is one that is calm and beautiful. However, as the artist prepares to paint the scene, he’s challenged with trying to fit in the entire view of nature. The artist’s task is to paint the water lily, but is having difficulty as there are many other features that are hard to see. Hughes reveals the speaker’s attitude toward nature as being not only beautiful, but also dark and violent.
Nature is first described in a peaceful and confident mood as something majestic, with the sun as the powerful being which controls this nature. However, by the end of the first stanza, “The hawk comes”. This phrase is said as if the narrator is afraid of the hawk and its presence is going to change the mood of the rest of the poem. The next stanza suddenly uses sharp diction, such as “scythes”, “honed”, and “steel-edge”, to illustrate the hawk’s stunning motions and the powerful aura of the hawk that is felt just from its existence, causing the mood of the poem to slowly transition to fearful, yet respectable. The narrator adores this change the hawk is causing on nature, and describes the scene with the hawk in awe, showing how the poet finds the changing of nature attractive.
It was a short drive to the hotel, and the scenery was pretty cool, but I was really waiting for arrival time. I couldn't wait to see the hotel, and I had no clue what to expect. I eyes drifted out the window at all the tall trees on the hilly landscape. The trees filled the hill, and there was on sight of the forest floor. Birds of all sizes flew in and out of the forest, keeping a person looking at them and their home forever. But then the landscape began to change.
Nature plays a significant role in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston uses nature throughout the story where it appears in several different forms including motif, symbolism, and theme. One major motif appears on the very first page, reoccurs throughout the rest of the novel, and at the end the book comes full circle using the motif of the horizon. Symbolism in this novel takes the form of both objects and events, enhancing the meaning of the story and adding color to the narrative style. This use of symbolism helps to express the struggles, circumstances, and traits of certain characters. Often, these symbols of nature are used in conjunction with one another, this is done in such a way that they enhance the meaning of the other. Without these specific symbols, the reader would be void of the deeper intricacies and subtleties of the story that make it so complex, so it is crucial to analyze the meaning of them when interpreting the novel.
The appreciation of nature is illustrated through imagery ‘and now the country bursts open on the sea-across a calico beach unfurling’. The use of personification in the phrase ‘and the water sways’ is symbolic for life and nature, giving that water has human qualities. In contrast, ‘silver basin’ is a representation of a material creation and blends in with natural world. The poem is dominated by light and pure images of ‘sunlight rotating’ which emphasizes the emotional concept of this journey. The use of first person ‘I see from where I’m bent one of those bright crockery days that belong to so much I remember’ shapes the diverse range of imagery and mood within the poem. The poet appears to be emotional about his past considering his thoughts are stimulated by different landscapes through physical journey.
“Continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the milky way, they stretched in never-ending line along the margin of a bay: ten thousand saw I at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance.” This beautiful and lovely description of the daffodils portrayed in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” helps the reader to envision what Wordsworth saw while he was out walking. Such a description makes a reader’s imagination flow and encaptures a reader. Another story that catches a reader’s attention in a similar way to “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is the text “Calypso Borealis”. Authors William Wordsworth and John Muir both write beautiful descriptions of nature that pull readers in and allow them to see the wonders of nature through the authors’
People and the landscape are inextricably linked and consequently each play a role in shaping the other. The texts we have studied show the implications for the individuals present based on their treatment of the landscape, highlighting the connection between the two. Both Judith Wright in her poems “Brother and Sisters” and “The Hawthorne Hedge” as well as Michael Wilding in his short story “As Boys to Wanton Flies” showcase the emotional ties between the individuals and the landscape. Both composers, through their chosen text demonstrate how the individuals are connected, influenced and shaped by the landscape showing that they are not merely inhabitants but are a part of their chosen landscape. This has been done to highlight the involvement
Lastly, the Romantic Era blended human emotions with nature. The interfacing of emotion and nature was emblematic of Romantic poetry, whether it engrossed the idea of bequeathing human emotions to an innate article like a river or connecting the scenery to the temperament of the writer. (James, 491) This kind of beauty that is
Warren begins the first stanza by highlighting the foreboding strictness of nature. He uses harsh, distinct adjectives to describe the evening. The hawk is seen breaking away from the “dark angularity of shadow” into the sun formed “geometries of orchids” furthermore, the time of day is acknowledged as the majestic creature is said to ride upon the fading “tumultuous avalanche” of day light. The use of these cacaphonic adjectives shed light on the foreboding mood of this piece. From this stanza recognizes that nature is being represented as a cold and calculated force that only the hawk can maneuver. Through the use of language the theme of man versus nature becomes apparent.
Poets use many ways when they want to communicate something using poems. Poems are used as a means of passing ideas, information and expression of feelings. This has made the poets to use the natural things and images that people can relate with so that they can make these poems understandable. The most common forms of writing that are used by the poets are the figurative language for example imagery and metaphors. In addition, the poets use the natural landscape in their attempt to explore the philosophical questions. Therefore, this essay will explore the forms that have been used by the poets in writing poems using the natural landscape. The essay will be based on poems such as ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ by
In the poem by Joy Harjo called “Eagle Poem,” Harjo talks about prayer and life and how they revolve around mother-nature. She suggests that while being one with nature, we feel we are in a place in which we haven’t imagined and the things in which we would love to do in that magnificent and calming place. After one reads the poem, he/she enjoys the lyrical type of it. This is because “Eagle Poem” sticks to one idea and extends it throughout the entire poem. For instance, it talks about prayer, nature, and animals from start to finish.
Through intricate construction the poem, Moffett’s form and tone reveals the timeless nature of the power of Earth and its elements. “Route 62” is a free verse poem, reflecting how nature is free from any patterns mankind may want to impose on it. Moreover, the first few lines of the poem establishes a tranquil tone as the mountains are “lying slumbering,” evoking a peaceful image (2). As the mountains sleep, little action occurs, allowing them to match the static image many people would contemporarily associate mountains with. Furthermore, the heat of the landscape drapes its own “spines and ribs” (5). The metaphor of a skeleton reflects how the mountains are merely a shell of what they once were, as described in their formation. Nevertheless, this is not to say they are invariable nor no longer powerful. In a line that transitions between the mountains being described in the present with a serene tone, and the fierce tone that follows, the author says, “history has folded these ranges” (6). The personification of a powerful force like