Bulb to Blossom: An Explication of Connie Wanek’s “Amaryllis” Amaryllis by Connie Wanek is a strong literary poem capturing the resilience and beauty of a flower throughout its journey in life. The seed planted in the ground has grown and become something that serves a purpose. Although the process is important, the amaryllis now serves a small purpose for a huge perspective on one's life. The poem has a wonderful structure, using each stanza as a storyline into the journey of the flower. The poem has a beautiful use of stanzaic symmetry, allowing the poem to have a free flowing aspect, thus maintaining consistency throughout. The poem structure provides the feeling of the flower growing. How each part of the process is equal and important, thus the use of stanzaic symmetry. This poem doesn’t use any …show more content…
The second interpretation of this line is that the flower is also a metaphor for bringing beauty into a bland environment. Looking into the second stanza, the author is still using figurative language in order to allow the reader to more deeply understand the poem. “Stuck out its green tongue” (l. 8). When she talks about how the onion is sticking out its green tongue, she is metaphorically referring to the stem of the flower that will sprout. Using this type of figurative language in the poem strengthens the reader's engagement. Adding this creates an image in the reader's mind which will allow the reader to make connections and connect with the poem on a more emotional level. She allows the reader to connect early in the second stanza, this is important because there are only 4 stanzas so by making early use of figurative language it boosts the overall message and meaning of the poem. In the third stanza, we see a shift from what the reader thinks to something completely
word “art” which may imply something about the materialistic world that she tries to be a part of. Interestingly, and perhaps most symbolic, is the fact that the lily is the “flower of death”, an outcome that her whirlwind, uptight, unrealistic life inevitably led her to.
Fully bloomed roses conjure the image of a flower whose petals are at the stage of falling off.... ... middle of paper ... ... She creates, first, an image of the fish as a helpless captive and the reader is allowed to feel sorry for the fish and even pity his situation as the narrator does.
The ending of this poem is all one large metaphor. When the hickory leaf is mentioned, it symbolizes the speaker; she is the hickory leaf. While the leaf is hanging and green, it symbolizes the speaker being home for the summer. In addition, when the poem talks of the leaf blowing loose, it symbolizes the speaker leaving for
There is something to be said about the onion in the poem. It is most definitely a living, breathing character within the work and displays a number of characteristics. The onion comes across as sometimes immensely cruel and mocking, but it also seems to carry with it a gr...
But after reading it a few more times, I started to pick up the subtleties that lay within the poem. The way she makes you have to read between the lines to get the true meaning behind the poem is what really struck out at me. I was used to the usual universally known forms of symbolism that many other poets I have read used, such as a how a rose symbolizes love, black symbolizes death. Though, Plath took it a step further. It made me really have to think about what the blackberries and the sea might have represented, due to them not being a universal symbol. Overall, I really enjoyed "Blackberrying" and finding out how it connected to Plath's life. I was in awe about how much emotion Plath conveyed in such a short poem. The poem was truly about Plath's awakening experience, the transition of having to go into the real world. I can relate to this, not in the same terms as Plath but rather, due to me going to college soon. I'm realizing that soon I'll have to go out into the real world by myself and won't have someone to hold my hand the entire time. I thought that the sheep path that leads down to the ocean really represents that transition, you don't know what is around the bend and the path is crowded because everyone is on it. After extensive research on the poem, I've gotten a really good basis for what "Blackberrying" is really about. There are four main symbols that Plath really focuses on in the poem. The first main symbol is the blackberries and how they're personified (Plath 1). They bleed the same blood as her, yet she seems appalled by that fact. It's as if she's appalled to be associated with mankind. They also easily conform to the bottle, possibly representing conforming to society's standards and how easily people can be easily manipulated. The second main symbol is the crows.
When I first read the poem, I did get a sense of a dark, cloudy day, kind of gloomy day. However, by the end, I did have a more uplifting feeling afterwards. In the first two lines, the reader is exposed to a cold, rough ground, with the speaker picking the last available onions of the year (Lee, 1-2). The tone of the poem does progress into a much
At the beginning of the poem, the author utilizes similes to describe the plump and lush blackberries the narrator encounters and enjoys. He remarks how the blackberries were “hard as a knot” and “like thickened wine.” The author uses this figurative language in the first paragraph to compare when the blackberries were plentiful and ripe to the narrator who was youthful and full of promise. The similes are then noticeably missing in the second stanza, highlighting the shift from the author’s adolescence to a time when he “hoarded” the sweet flesh like the most valuable jewels to try to remain in his prime days for as long as possible before it “would turn sour.” This clarifies to the reader that something inherently important to the narrator, his youth, eventually fermented and rotted away just like the blackberries. This
This also reflects their sexual encounter together during the night, which will be coming to an end soon. Symbols are used numerous times throughout the poem. The flowers, "Our lilacs" (22), expresses they desire to be a couple, as the word "Our" (22) is symbolizing togetherness. The flowers in the vase symbolize the relationship between the two and how lively they are together. The author creates many images using symbolism, especially with the lilac flowers. He could have used just the word flower, but instead, he chose to use lilacs. Lilacs create an image of a delicate, although fresh and vivacious emotions between the two. By using lilacs we are given the indication that this meeting took place in the
As the poem progresses, the flower blooms underneath the touch of the man, representing that their passion for each other allows her spirit to bloom just as a flower does. Philip Jason notes the effectiveness of Williams’ metaphor to Queen Anne’s lace, writing, “…it is mainly through metaphor that he transforms his observation, his still life, into a dynamic field of action that reveals the life and energy hidden.” Just as Jason proves, the metaph...
The speaker personifies the flower by describing how the moon-lily sings: “…it is singing—very far/ but very clear and sweet” (10-11). The voice of the flower is the voice of the woman. The flower is calling out to the man. The fact that the flower has to call out to the man implies that he does not accept the love of the woman. The speaker also describes the distance between the two people. He states, “The voice is always in some other room” (12). Once again the speaker is describing distance, but the man does not try to close the distance. The reason the man does not try to close the distance is because he does not love the woman. The lily represents the female and their love. In the poem, the speaker talks about a “garden” which is a metaphor for the female’s life (13). In the garden the speaker describes the flower as “in bloom” and that the flower “stands full and/ proud” (13,14-15). This section of the poem tells the reader that the woman’s love is strong and unwavering. The speaker compares the woman’s love to a lily because the love is pure of heart and beautiful. The relationship that the poem depicts is unhealthy for the female. The woman is putting too much effort into a nonexistent
In “The Flowers,” by Alice Walker, the flowers are used throughout the story to symbolize the beauty and naivety of childhood. In the beginning of the story the author shows the main character Myop walking down a path along the fence of her farm. Myop sees “an armful of strange blue flowers with velvety ridges…” The flowers are bright and colorful, reminding the reader of an innocent type of beauty often associated with them. This suggests the flowers were inserted in the story by Walker to reveal how young and innocent Myop appears to be. Later in the story, after Myop had discovered the dead body of a man who seemed to have been hung “Myop laid down her flowers,”. As Myop put down the flowers she was also putting down the last of her innocence.
...en a woman conforms to a society’s standards she is not as beautiful as someone who is unrestricted of these limitations. Consequently, comparing her to a “goldenrod ready to bloom” (19) draws implications of flowers blooming in springtime, which are lovely. This allows the reader to see natural life growing from the woman and beginning to break free of the shell society creates. She shows resistance to the ideas of how women should act be look like. The poem ends with potential: the women can change how she is viewed in the world but she has to take the first step.
The theme throughout the poetry collection is the emotion of melancholy and the speaker speaking with a wise and philosophical tone. She has also used the repetition of nature and religion-based implications in her poems. Most of the poem titles is named after a specific plant because it fits in the meaning of her entire poem collection. The title of the poems hold symbolism because of the flower language. You can constantly see the cycle of rebirth through the beautiful description of a nonphysical form of a soul and develop into beautiful flowers in her garden. The vivid imagery of the flowers by describing the color and the personification of these living beings. She is also trying to explore the relationship between humans and their god. The poet is a gardener who tends to the flower and she prefer the flowers in her garden over her god, “knowing nothing of the
The title of the poem is ironic, because The "White Roses" suggest youth, beauty and innocence. The poem starts with a slew "Outside the Green Velvet sitting room" This suggests luxury and wealth. The use of the colour green is also very indicative, because the colour green suggests spring and fertility and overall health. This is in contrast with the theme of the poem, which is supposed to be one of death, but in actuality, it is.
The tone at the beginning of the poem is meant to be one of awe than somber because the main components of the sonnet: the spider, moth, heal-all flower, and cloth are all white. The reader is also given a fresh perspective as the speaker, Robert Frost, is observing this in the morning. During the first stanza, Frost uses euphony to set the scene and tone as he describes the spider as dimpled and on a flower. As the second and third lines continue, the use of simile is portrayed when Frost compares a white flower to a satin cloth. A heal-all flower is usually shades of purple (Kansas Herbs), not fully white, which symbol...