Memories can be painful but taking the time to remember brings great joy. A way you can remember the presence of lost loved ones is through the use of material items. The poem “ My Father's Old Blue Cardigan” by Ann Carson is about someone who is holding onto the memory of her father through special materialistic items. Have you ever held onto a particular item that reminds you of a certain special memory? This poem demonstrates the theme of using material items to remember the presence of lost loved ones through imagery and symbolism. Throughout the poem the reader can identify many different examples of imagery being used to convey the theme. For her the chair is one of the most important items that holds a special place in her heart because her dad would always sit on it. It being empty shows how empty her life is after her father’s death. Also, while the poet puts on her father’s blue cardigan, she feels cold in the dark. This shows the loneliness and sadness she feels after losing her father. Another example is when she says the hot July afternoon her father is wearing …show more content…
In the stanza “On cold trains and windy platforms will sit very straight at the edge of his seat while the shadows like long fingers over the haystacks that sweep past keep shocking him because he is riding backwards”. This stanza represents that this was a hard time in her father’s life and him sitting on the edge of his seat represents him being on the last stages of his life because it shows him being close to death. The shadows like long fingers indicate that many obstacles have come in his life but death is also approaching him. The remaining lines shows that his life is basically declining backwards while he can only watch it take place. Moving on, the haystacks represent memories about him which he finds difficult to remember. This results in him being scared because he is unable to treasure
At the beginning of the poem, the speaker starts by telling the reader the place, time and activity he is doing, stating that he saw something that he will always remember. His description of his view is explained through simile for example “Ripe apples were caught like red fish in the nets of their branches” (Updike), captivating the reader’s attention
“Like cattle bought for slaughter.” this simile reveals the awful and crowded conditions that the immigrants are experiencing. The third stanza tells us about the family groups and that they huddled together with blankets ‘Families stood with blankets’ with the parents having to keep a close eye on their children ‘Keeping children by their sides’. ‘Watching pigeons that watched them’ this suggests that the immigrants are fascinated by the natural wildlife, it could be a metaphor for the local people at the station who just stare at the immigrants as they wait for their train. The fourth stanza portrays the fear and uncertainty of these immigrants and also reveals the impact of the whistle. “It was sad to hear” this is the repetition of the opening line of the poem. It seems like this journey was a forced journey that is controlled by man made machines “like a word of command” this represents the whistle, “like a guillotine” the use of simile suggests being cut off a kind of death as a guillotine is an instrument of
When writing poetry, there are many descriptive methods an author may employ to communicate an idea or concept to their audience. One of the more effective methods that authors often use is linking devices, such as metaphors and similes. Throughout “The Elder Sister,” Olds uses linking devices effectively in many ways. An effective image Olds uses is that of “the pressure of Mother’s muscles on her brain,” (5) providing a link to the mother’s expectations for her children. She also uses images of water and fluidity to demonstrate the natural progression of a child into womanhood. Another image is that of the speaker’s elder sister as a metaphorical shield, the one who protected her from the mental strain inflicted by their mother.
Part I is particularly anecdotal, with many of the poems relating to the death of Trethewey’s mother. The first part begins with an epitaph from the traditional Wayfaring Stranger, which introduces the movement of the soul after death, and the journey towards the ‘home’ beyond. In “Graveyard Blues”, Trethewey examines the definition of “home” as a place of lament, in contrast to the comforting meaning in the epitaph beginning Part I, and the significance of the soul’s movement after death. The ‘home’ described in the epitaph is a place of comfort and familiarity, where the speaker returns to their mother. In contrast, Trethewey describes the ‘home’ she returns to after her mother’s death as a hollow place, the journey back to which is incredibly
Imagery is a key part of any poem or literary piece and creates an illustration in the mind of the reader by using descriptive and vivid language. Olds creates a vibrant mental picture of the couple’s surroundings, “the red tiles glinting like bent plates of blood/ the
Although the little girl doesn’t listen to the mother the first time she eventually listens in the end. For example, in stanzas 1-4, the little girl asks if she can go to the Freedom March not once, but twice even after her mother had already denied her the first time. These stanzas show how the daughter is a little disobedient at first, but then is able to respect her mother’s wishes. In stanzas 5 and 6, as the little girl is getting ready the mother is happy and smiling because she knows that her little girl is going to be safe, or so she thinks. By these stanzas the reader is able to tell how happy the mother was because she thought her daughter would be safe by listening to her and not going to the March. The last two stanzas, 7 and 8, show that the mother senses something is wrong, she runs to the church to find nothing, but her daughter’s shoe. At this moment she realizes that her baby is gone. These stanzas symbolize that even though her daughter listened to her she still wasn’t safe and is now dead. The Shoe symbolizes the loss the mother is going through and her loss of hope as well. This poem shows how elastic the bond between the daughter and her mother is because the daughter respected her mother’s wish by not going to the March and although the daughter is now dead her mother will always have her in her heart. By her having her
The poem starts out with the daughter 's visit to her father and demand for money; an old memory is haunting the daughter. feeding off her anger. The daughter calls the father "a ghost [who] stood in [her] dreams," indicating that he is dead and she is now reliving an unpleasant childhood memory as she stands in front of his
The entire poem uses images to enlighten its meaning. For example, in lines 2-3, "Into the dangerous world I leapt: Helpless naked piping loud..." Blake writes in such a way that allows the reader to see the change that takes place, when a baby enters this world. The poem reveals that it is not a pleasant and peaceful entrance, but an unkind and dishonest world that the innocent is forced to come into. Also, lines 5-6, "Struggling in my fathers hands: Striving against my swaddling bands..." give the reader vivid images. In these lines, the reader can see the baby squirming and trying to move in the tightly wrapped blanket. This shows how the baby will have to go through many struggles in life and the parents will try to protect the child and try to hold the child back from all the harms and troubles that he or she might have to go through.
Not only the words, but the figures of speech and other such elements are important to analyzing the poem. Alliteration is seen throughout the entire poem, as in lines one through four, and seven through eight. The alliteration in one through four (whisky, waltzing, was) flows nicely, contrasting to the negativity of the first stanza, while seven through eight (countenance, could) sound unpleasing to the ear, emphasizing the mother’s disapproval. The imagery of the father beating time on the child’s head with his palm sounds harmful, as well as the image of the father’s bruised hands holding the child’s wrists. It portrays the dad as having an ultimate power over the child, instead of holding his hands, he grabs his wrists.
The phrasing of this poem can be analyzed on many levels. Holistically, the poem moves the father through three types of emotions. More specifically, the first lines of the poem depict the father s deep sadness toward the death of his son. The line Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy creates a mental picture in my mind (Line 1). I see the father standing over the coffin in his blackest of outfits with sunglasses shading his eyes from the sun because even the sun is too bright for his day of mourning. The most beautiful scarlet rose from his garden is gripped tightly in his right hand as tears cascade down his face and strike the earth with a splash that echoes like a scream in a cave, piercing the ears of those gathered there to mourn the death of his son.
The grandchild “proudly” shows the grandmother the picture hoping to change the negative aura surrounding them. “With crayons the child draws a rigid house and a winding pathway.” (924) As already stated, “house” represents the grandmother. The winding pathway shows a new path opening up in her life. A look into who may be behind this emotional roller coaster is now featured. “Then the child puts in a man with buttons like tears…” (924) Tears to the child have an entirely different meaning than to the grandmother. The grandchild sees happiness in tears, showing that you can find something positive in anything that seems to be upsetting. The man symbolizes the loss the grandmother is feeling. The grandchild drew this picture to cheer up the grandmother. It is at the end of the pome do we find out what tears mean to the grandmother. The grandmother does not acknowledge the drawing and tries to hide her true feelings. While she is doing this, “secretly…the little moons fall down like tears from between the pages of the almanac into the flower bed the child carefully placed in the front of the house.” (924) The grandmother is coming to the realization that dwelling on the past brings will not make her loss return. Regardless of how much of an impact this loss had on her, pain is part of the grieving process. Only though pain
The poem becomes personal on line 10 when she uses the first person and says “I lost my mother’s watch”. She is letting the reader know what she has lost in reality. Then she gets sidetracked to mention other things she has lost; she then mentions other things she has lost of much more importance such as houses, continents, realms, and cities, but then again mentions it was not so hard to lose those things. But in the end, mention the loss that really matters. She remembers the qualities of the lover she lost.
For example "fire burning in my bones" helps show her struggle or the pain that she has to endure but that she will preserver through her struggles. Also when she uses this phrase "wrecking balls inside my brain" helps over exaggerate how keeping silent has made her eager to speak up. with these examples of Imagery its clear to reader how her pain and struggles maker eager to make a difference which help support the theme of that any one can make a
4. The poem’s theme relates to the idea of death and mortality. It is pretty much everywhere and exists in everything. The depressing thing about it is that people seem to overlook it or choose to ignore it. It is a possibility that the event of death has become a thing to be unnoticed and a norm. They boy knew at least four deaths during that day and witnessed some sickly horrifying stuff about the animals in his neighborhood. Knowing that he and his brother played with the cat’s corpse is really disturbing. The arrogance and attitude of death is so casual that it becomes something that is overlooked.
Poetry is a way of expressing ones thoughts, morals, feelings and ideas through the use of minimum words. Some peoples only escape is through their poetry and that is where Emily Dickenson poems come into analysis. Many authors like Emily Dickenson use their poetry to express everything from love to hate in which they feel. Emily Dickenson’s wrote three poems How Happy is The Little Stone, I Like a Look of Agony, and I Measure Every Grief I Meet which will be analyze today. Throughout her poetry especially in these three poems Emily Dickenson used many different elements of poetry to express her thoughts. The two elements of poetry that will be mention in this essay are imagery, theme, and symbolism.