Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Essays on death in poems
Essays on death in poems
The tide rises the tide falls questions and answers
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Essays on death in poems
Art is sometimes kind, and gentle; it’s purpose is meant for pure amusement. Other times art is harsh, and uncaring for the emotions that may overwhelm the audience; this art is brutally honest. “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls” not only conveys the truth, but the poem is also accepting of the truth, which is what drew me into the poem. “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls” addresses death, along with time. The poem gets the audience to understand that death is inevitable by saying “The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;”.
Published in 1944, the poem itself is an elegy, addressing the melancholy and sorrow of wartime death, as indicated by the title ‘Beach Burial’. This title gives clear meaning to the sombre nature of the work, and the enigmatic nature of it holds the attention of the audience. The entirety of the poem is strewn with poetic devices, such as personification of dead sailors as “…they sway and wander in the waters far under”, the words inscribed on their crosses being choked, and the “sob and clubbing of the gunfire” (Slessor). Alliteration is used to great effect in lines such as that describing the soldiers being “bur[ied]…in burrows” and simile in the likening of the epitaph of each seaman to the blue of drowned men’s lips and onomatopoeia is shown in the “purple drips” (Slessor). The predominant mood of the work is ephemeral, with various references to the transient nature of humanity. The ethereal adjectives used to describe and characterise objects within the poem allow a more abstract interpretation of what would normally be concrete in meaning. The rhythm of this piece is markedly similar to the prevalent concept of tidal ebb and flow, with lines falling into an ABCB rhyme scheme and concepts
Carson has written this essay to provide insight about the tide currents of the deep waters. She also raises insight awareness on planetary forces and physical dimensions. Carson’s main focus consists on informing the readers about the size, timing, and occurrences the tides correlated with. Statistics and studies are given to further elaborate and assist Rachel’s theory that states “In every country the moon keeps ever the rule of alliance with the sea which-it once for all has agreed upon." From the tone of the essay, it can be seen that the theme contains educational content that has significant importance to the global being.
In the first instance, death is portrayed as a “bear” (2) that reaches out seasonally. This is then followed by a man whom “ comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse / / to buy me…” This ever-changing persona that encapsulates death brings forth a curiosity about death and its presence in the living world. In the second stanza, “measles-pox” (6) is an illness used to portray death’s existence in a distinctive embodiment. This uncertainty creates the illusion of warmth and welcomenesss and is further demonstrated through the reproduction of death as an eminent figure. Further inspection allows the reader to understand death as a swift encounter. The quick imagery brought forth by words such as “snaps” and “shut” provoke a sense of startle in which the audience may dispel any idea of expectedness in death’s coming. This essential idea of apparent arrival transitions to a slower, foreseeable fate where one can imagine the enduring pain experienced “an iceberg between shoulder blades” (line 8). This shift characterizes the constant adaptation in appearance that death acquires. Moreover, the idea of warmth radiating from death’s presence reemerges with the introduction to a “cottage of darkness” (line 10), which to some may bring about a feeling of pleasantry and comfort. It is important to note that line 10 was the sole occurrence of a rhetorical question that the speaker
The poems “Sea Rose” by H.D and “Vague Poem” by Elizabeth Bishop were both written by two women who took over the Victorian era. H.D’s works of writing were best known as experimental reflecting the themes of feminism and modernism from 1911-1961. While Bishop’s works possessed themes of longing to belong and grief. Both poems use imagery, which helps to make the poem more concrete for the reader. Using imagery helps to paint a picture with specific images, so we can understand it better and analyze it more. The poems “Sea Rose” and “Vague Poem” both use the metaphor of a rose to represent something that can harm you, even though it has beauty.
Relief,” Millay used a similar form of imagery to describe the rain that resulted in the remembrance of the persona’s love: “…I miss him in the weeping of the rain…” (Millay, 3). This description of the rain not only helped better visualize the rain itself, but also emphasized the sorrowful and desolate undertone of the poem. Another exemplification of visual imagery utilized in Millay’s poem was used to illustrate the tides: “…I want him at the shrinking of the tide…” (Millay, 4). The retreating of the tides was easily concei...
By closing one’s eyes, the words of the poem bring images. “Like any good son, I pull my father out of the water, drag him by his hair through the sand, his knuckles craving a trail the waves rush in to erase it” (Vuong stanza 1-3) and “I kneel beside him to see how far I might sink” Vuong stanza 3-4) are two very descriptively lines that can be easily visualize and pictured. This showcases example of the literary device, imagery, where the author, Ocean Vuong, creates mental images for the readers. Ocean Vuong allows the readers to see the different memories or associate with his memories when reading his very vivid
Walt Whitman’s poem Time to Come explores Whitman’s curiosity of what happens when people die. Rather than taking a pessimistic approach, his writing is more insightful about the experience. The title alone introduces an aspect of his purpose; to point out that dying is inevitable. With Whitman captures the reader’s attention and shares his curiosity with vivid images, sophisticated diction, and his use of metaphor and personification in Time to Come.
Predominantly the poem offers a sense of comfort and wisdom, against the fear and pain associated with death. Bryant shows readers not to agonize over dying, in fact, he writes, "When thoughts of the last bitter hour come like a blight over thy spirit, and sad images of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall, and breathless darkness, and the narrow house, make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart -- go forth under the open sky, and list to Nature 's teachings." With this it eludes each person face their own death, without fright, to feel isolated and alone in death but to find peace in knowing that every person before had died and all those after will join in death (Krupat and Levine
Owen’s poem uses symbolism to bring home the harsh reality of war the speaker has experienced and forces the reader to think about the reality presented in romanticized poetry that treats war gently. He utilizes language that imparts the speakers experiences, as well as what he, his companions, and the dying man feels. People really die and suffer and live through nightmares during a war; Owen forcefully demonstrates this in “Dulce et Decorum Est”. He examines the horrific quality of World War I and transports the reader into the intense imagery of the emotion and experience of the speaker.
The speaker started the poem by desiring the privilege of death through the use of similes, metaphors, and several other forms of language. As the events progress, the speaker gradually changes their mind because of the many complications that death evokes. The speaker is discontent because of human nature; the searching for something better, although there is none. The use of language throughout this poem emphasized these emotions, and allowed the reader the opportunity to understand what the speaker felt.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls”. Elements of Literature: Fifth Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2008. 196. Print.
Death is introduced right away in line 1. The narrator reminds us that our time of death is not something we choose, but rather something that is determined by forces outside our control. This begins the attitude of “why worry about things I cannot change?” found in the rest of the poem. There is no resistance to death, nor any fear. In line 5, we are reminded that death is in control. He is in the driver’s seat. We are also reminded that death is not necessarily a quick process. The poem shows the dying process, and according to narrator, her life crawled away slowly. The pace seems to reflect the ...
...derstanding of time passed and time that remains allows one to become comfortable with such circumstances and express a love that must soon retire.The metaphors that represent the theme throughout the poem are similar in the way they all show the devastating and destructive factors of time. Further more, they provide a discourse surrounding the issue of mortality. With anticipation increasing from beginning to end, Shakespeare is able to demonstrate a level of comfort surrounding the inevitable. The continual imposition of death on life is a universal experience. Autumn turning into winter, day turning into night, and a flame diminishing entirely all illustrate this. The increase in intensity of associated color with metaphors mimics the intensity of the ending. As the end draws increasingly near, it becomes undeniable and provides the catalyst for the lesson of love.
[Line 7]* - 'black night' is a metaphor for death itself. As 'black night' closes in around the remaining light of the day, so too does death close in around the poet.
The fundamental theme of this poem is regarding the significance of succumbing to death, for after having a full life everyone must fearlessly face the end. In addition, the poem emphasizes that one should not fight against the arrival of death in any of its forms. In fact, this argument is first introduced in the title and further displayed throughout Shakespeare's poem. In the first line of all three stanzas, the author begins with the phrase, "Fear no more," openly showing his belief that one should willingly submit to mortality. Furthermore, the poem's theme is displayed through the phrase "all must … come to dust." By acknowledging that death is inevitable for all of humanity, the author attempts to emphasize his belief that one should not "fear" fate. The theme of the poem is also reinforced through repetition. For example, to emphasize his stance, the author repeats the phrase, "Fear no more" in the first line of the first, second, and third stanza of the poem. Once again this occurs with the phrase, "must… come to dust" in the fifth and sixth line of the first, second, and third stanza. This is of importance