To withhold and manipulate knowledge from children has been a method used by adults to maintain a child’s innocence. But when maintaining a child's innocence barricades them from the truth leaving them in ignorance. In “A barred owl”by Richard Wilbur and “The history teacher” by Billy Collins both uses variety of tactics by sugarcoating these harsh realities to ease the concerns and curiosity of children. Both author use literary devices to convey the harm adult figures can do by trying to protect these children. Though both authors have similar messages they use different literary devices which in the end deviates the central message and reveals two different perspectives.Wilbur uses poetic techniques and literary devices such as …show more content…
rhyme scheme, diction, and juxtaposition to try to soothe the child fears. On the other hand Collin uses a variety of allusions, and have more of humorous tone throughout his poem. The first thing we notice in Wilbur's poem is a set rhyme scheme with a total of three couplets in each stanza.
This gives the poem a more childish feel as if it was a nursery rhyme. With that in mind we look within the poem and finds word that grab our attention. Such as "warping night" and “darkened room” which indicates a storm is about to come which is one of the child's fear. There's also the word "domesticate" where in this context the parents are trying to contain the child's fears after the child hears a sound in the forest. They try soothe the child's fear and makes a humorous attempt by saying “Who cook for you.” With the use of onomatopoeia this give a more lighter and humorous tone which eases the child's fears and enabling them to go back to sleep. Then there is a shift in tone from the first stanza that is humorous, protective, parental to a more grave, menacing tone because of the imagery of the owl. Like for instance, “stealthy flight,” “some small thing in a claw,” and “borne up to some dark branch and eaten raw.” The volta here has given a different perspective of that even though the child is eased back to bed by the soothing words of his/her parents, they are became vulnerable to the harsh realities of the …show more content…
world. The use of diction in Wilbur's poem The title of the poem can correlate to this word because barred means to secure and that's what the parents trying to do throughout this poem.
With the use of diction in this poem it gives a more unpleasant feeling which juxtaposes the poem being a nursery rhyme for children. Another one might notice in Wilbur's poem is the volta in the second stanza. In the first couplet in the second stanza it states, "Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear, Can also thus domesticate a fear." These lines stress that words can be use to point out the fears, yet can be easily manipulated to make the fears less important to soothe the children. Although Billy Collins has a similar approach when establishing the central theme of protecting a child innocence he uses different poetic techniques to portray
that. When taking a first glance at Colin's poem there are a lot of historical references. Such as noting the Ice Age or the speakers refers to it as the "Chilly Age." Also he refers to the War of the roses and said it took place in a "garden." The speaker here is sugar coating these critical moments in history to protect these children's innocence. This is similar to what the speaker in first poem was to trying to say about how words can be easily manipulated to ease the fears of children. Yet the speaker here has a more humorous tone than in "A Barred owl." Also the usage of syntax in this poem stresses on some points that can be easily looked over as a reader. Betweens line 12-13, talks about the American plane dropping an atomic bomb on Japan. When reading these lines at first you can go about it as an understatement since the speaker refers to the the atomic bomb as a "tiny atom." Then when you look closely at the sentence structure you'll see there's an enjambment between the lines 12-13 and on line 13 it says "on Japan." This stresses on the fact that the speaker is teaching these children lies to protect their innocence. Especially on a topic of the atomic bombing in Japan which is tragic day in history, which why Collins structured his sentence a certain way.
The beginning of the poem starts with a humorous tone. Kinnell begins his poem with a simile “snore like a bullhorn”, an “Irishman”, or playing “loud music” to express the idea of something that is really loud and noisy, but still cannot wake the son up as opposed to the child’s ability to wake up to “heavy breathing” and a “come-cry” (line1-7). The tone that the...
The two stories “War” and “About Effie” from Timothy Findley’s Dinner Along the Amazon are both told by the same child narrator, Neil. In each of the stories Neil attempts to make sense of a mystery of the adult world. In “War” Neil tries to understand the adult world of war, and explain why it seems that his father has betrayed him, and in “About Effie” Neil tries to understand the mystery of Effie’s strange need to wait for a man in a thunderstorm. Neil reaches an understanding of each of these mysteries in a similar way: through observation of non-verbal clues from adults. However, Neil’s own attempts to communicate non-verbally through his behaviour are unsuccessful. Taken as a whole, these two stories show how very important non-verbal communication is in child-adult relationships.
Sven Birkerts essay, “The Owl Has Flown” taken from The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age 1994 focuses on the immature thoughts of using electronics with our reading. He refers to the past on multiple occasions, giving the reader the sense that Birkerts may think that the past was a much better way of reading. When Birkerts talks about reading he also means learning and interpreting, getting the understanding from what we read. The depth of reading has changed a lot since the middle ages and Birkerts believes that it has changed and will continue to change for the worse. A quote from my reading of this essay that really tore at me is, “As we now find ourselves at a cultural watershed—as the fundamental process of transmitting information is shifting from mechanical to circuit-driven, from page to screen—it may be time to ask how modifications in our way of reading may impinge upon our mental life. For how we receive information bears vitally on the ways we experience and interpret reality.” the reason for this becoming an obstacle for me is that I agree and disagree with him.
In “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” (1999), Francine Prose argues that literature is not being exposed to and taught to high school students in the way that it should be and that students learn to “loathe” it due to this. Prose provides her audience with her personal experience as both a mother and a college professor along with her own research on the books and suggested purposed of them. She continues to expand on this topic in order to help illuminate the importance of literature itself, not being associated with personal experiences or morals. Prose’s position is valid and she makes her essay directed towards school boards, teachers, and students and continues to maintain a critical tone throughout her essay.
The ability of words to calm a child’s fears is shown in “A Barred Owl.” Additionally, the author conveys the idea that even though one may say everything is alright, what one makes up in one’s mind is often worse than reality. The rhyme scheme in “A Barred Owl” helps depict the simple and soothing tone of the poem. Not only the rhyme scheme but also the repetition of certain consonants and sounds such as, “the warping night air having brought the boom / of an owl’s voice into her darkened room” help emphasize Wilbur’s i...
In this poem called “Creatures” by the author Billy Collins there are three examples of figurative language helps convey the meaning that the author Billy Collins is conveying. The three examples of figurative language that the author Billy Collins uses are a metaphor, enjambment, and imagery. These three examples of figurative language help illustrate Billy Collins” theme in this poem called “Creatures” that he is writing because these three examples of figurative language help emphasize the theme of the poem. These three examples help emphasize this poem called “Creatures” meaning because it makes the theme of this poem have a deeper meaning. The theme of the author Billy Collins poem called “Creatures” is that the reader has to imagine
With the use of irony and a free rhyme scheme, Collins’ poem vocalizes his opinion on how lying to children about significant facts can only serve to make them ignorant. The way he communicates this to us is by ironically emphasizing events by understating them. He shows how important an event is by mocking the teacher’s portrayal of the event. One example of how he does this is how the teacher tells his students that the ice age was just the “chilly age, a period of a million years when everyone had to wear sweaters.”(3-4). Collins does this several times with other important events in history, such as the Spanish Inquisition, where “[It] was nothing more than an outbreak of questions.”(7-8). The teacher’s interpretation of events, when compared to the actual events themselves creates a sense of unease, as the lies stray far away from what actually happened, and brings up the question of whether or not these lies should be told. Collins uses events that involve death and destruction to accentuate how big the contrast between the teacher’s explanation and reality is. After the class ends, the children leave the classroom to “torment the weak and the smart” (15-16), while the teacher is oblivious to it all. Note that Collins puts “and the smart” (16) on a separate line from “torment the weak” (15). The children in the class aren’t smart because they did not learn about the true events in history. This distinction emphasized the ignorance of the children. This contrasts with Wilbur’s poem, as the lie told there served to soothe a child’s fear, rather than breed ignorance. The rhyme scheme is different as well. Collins’ free rhyme scheme is used to create a sense of unease, whereas Wilbur’s rhyme scheme creates a child-like feeling to his poem. Unlike the parents in “A Barred Owl”, the teacher is portrayed as an ignorant man, unaware of what happens around
Sipe highlights five different expressive engagements—dramatizing, talking back, inserting, and taking over—that children portray during story book read- alouds. He believes that teachers must encourage these behaviors in children because it shows participation and it inspires children to take over the story. Some of these expressive engagements are reasonable while some serve as a disfavor to children’s learning. On page 482, he gives instruction on how teachers can implement the expressive engagements in their classroom. Sipe claims, “the first type of expressive engagement, dramatizing, can be encouraged through dramatic reenactment” (481). This can be problematic for fairy tales such as “The Juniper Tree”. This story about a stepmother killing her stepson by beheading him then cooking him in a stew, and a little boy turned into a singing bird who then later kills his murderer by “…dropping a millstone on her head and crush[ing] her to death” (252) can be gruesome for children to dramatize. Another expressive engagement that Sipe mentions is “inserting”. Sipe claims that if children are encouraged to insert themselves or other people around them into the story that they are reading, they can exercise their power over the tales. Through this process, Sipe claims “children in process of becoming one with the story, to the extent of assuming their stance as fellow characters with equal agency and presence in the story” (478). The story of the little boy in “The Juniper Tree” suggest a different view about mechanically inserting characters in a story. The little boy must learn about what each of his family members did to contribute to his death. When the little boy died, he did not know anything about the causes of his death and the things that happened after. He had to learn that his “mother, she slew [him]”, his father
When the poem is read aloud, the explicit rhyme and rhythm of the lines becomes extremely obvious. In fact, the bouncy rhythm is so uplifting, it occasionally makes the audiences feel like it is too predictable and straight-forward. An example would be “bright with chrysolite”, the word “chrysolite” feels like it is forcefully implemented for the sake of the rhyme. This is somewhat similar to a children’s tale. Most children’s tale as we know it, conveys messages straightforwardly and are easily understood by children, it also has an amiable tone and a merry mood that engages the children 's attention. Similarly, the rhyme and rhythm of this poem is very obvious and explicit, creating a delightful, casual mood that appeals to a young audience. Even though the legend dealt with deep insights about parenting that are intricate and puzzling, the father delivered it in such a gratifying, simple manner that made even the most dark and dreadful matters: like the description of precarious beasts and vicious monsters to sound like a blissful adventure of friendly animals. The sole purpose of this contradiction between the tone and message is to make this seemingly strong and serious topic more tolerable and captivating to the son of the father. Unsensible, impulsive youth is very similar to restless children, a long insipid lecture about deep insights is very difficult for them to buy into. In the same time, a harsh, threatening warning will only make them obey unwillingly, and creating a doubtful relationship will make them uncomfortable to communicate or appeal to their parents. Clearly, the percipient father recognized the ineffectiveness of these unsuitable parenting methods. Instead, he conveyed the message in a uncomplicated, friendly way that made his son to accept his teachings more comfortably. A
Most owls are nocturnal birds that are found everywhere in the world. The fossils of the owls’ existence have dated back 54 million years ago. There are 205 different owl species. The owl species are divided into 2 different groups, one known as the barn owl, and the other as the true owls. True owls are more common than barn owls. The picture above shows a burrowing owl, which is a species of true owls. They have round faces where as barn owls have heart shaped faces. Most owls use their binocular vision to hunt prey. Owls have large eyes that set forward on their heads that allow them to have excellent depth perception. Their eyes have several large special cells called rods that are sensitive to low light. Their eyes are fixed in their
The diction of the play relates to the characters. In Wilbur’s translation, the dialogue is in steady couplets the flow is extremely interesting with one actor rhyming their line with that of the line that came before it. All of the characters speak in this fashion with the exception of the Maid, who finds plain words do a better job of getting to the heart of the matter.
‘Some idea of a child or childhood motivates writers and determines both the form and content of what they write.’ -- Hunt The above statement is incomplete, as Hunt not only states that the writer has an idea of a child but in the concluding part, he states that the reader also has their own assumptions and perceptions of a child and childhood. Therefore, in order to consider Hunt’s statement, this essay will look at the different ideologies surrounding the concept of a child and childhood, the form and content in which writers inform the reader about their ideas of childhood concluding with what the selected set books state about childhood in particular gender. The set books used are Voices In The Park by Browne, Mortal Engines by Reeve and Little Women by Alcott to illustrate different formats, authorial craft and concepts about childhood. For clarity, the page numbers used in Voices In The Park are ordinal (1-30) starting at Voice 1.
Among the characters is Wilbur and Charlotte. Wilbur had Character vs. Self conflict concerning friendship as she thinks of Charlotte, “I’ve got a new friend, all right! But what a gamble friendship is! Charlotte is fierce, brutal, scheming, and bloodthirsty-everything I don’t like. How can I learn to like her, even though she is beautiful and, of course, smart?” Such thoughts of Wilbur indicate that he had fears and doubt on whether to accept Charlotte as her friend (White 41). But Wilbur is helpless and needs friend to rely to save his life so to solve his problem, he tries to be like Charlotte so as to solve his conflict. Such an attempt is comprehensible to readers that Wilbur imitates Charlotte’s spinning of a web, so as to relate to a friend’s ability. Such mimicking is supposed to alleviate the lack of confidence friendship. As their story continue, Wilbur discover that his impression with Charlotte is wrong. Underneath Charlotte’s cruel exterior, she has kind heart and a loyal and true friend to the very
Through the use of alliterations, assonances, and onomatopoeias, “The Bells” expresses a cheerful tone. As the poem progresses, the sounds change to suggest a progression of life. In stanza one, or the beginning of life, Poe’s alliterate words help the poem flow. Sequentially, the flow of the poem helps illustrate the delightfulness of the silver bells and their tinkling. Poe also includes the long i assonance to show the bells joyful ringing. The short e sound also contributes to the merry and delightful tone because it justifies the merry melody that the bells create. In conclusion, the onomatopoeia supports the musicality of the poem. Poe uses words such as tinkle jingling, and tintinnabulation to mimic the chiming of the bells. Ultimately, Edgar Allen Poe conveys a happy tone in “The Bells” through the use of alliterations, assonances, and onomatopoeias.
The choice of words of the author also contributes to the development of the theme. For example, the use of words like "drafty," "half-heartedly," and "half-imagined" give the reader the idea of how faintly the dilemma was perceived and understood by the children, thus adding to the idea that the children cannot understand the burden the speaker has upon herself. In addition, referring to a Rembrandt as just a "picture" and to the woman as "old age," we can see that these two symbols, which are very important to the speaker and to the poem, are considered trivial by the children, thus contributing to the concept that the children cannot feel what the speaker is feeling.