Formalistic Approach to Ode to the Death of a Favorite Cat (Favourite)
Ode to the Death of a Favourite Cat is a very interesting poem especially when you begin to break it down using the formalistic approach to literature. This poem at first glance could be taken as just another story about a cat that drowns trying to eat his prey, the goldfish. As we look more closely we realize that the poem has so many more meanings.
The form of a poem is also a large component on the effectiveness. This poem has 7 stanzas with 6 lines in each. The third and sixth line in each is shorter and is indented. Thomas Gray used a rhyme scheme of AABCCB.
The first way that an author can write his poem is by using a point of view that is either from the cat, goldfish, or a separate all together person, the observer. Thomas Gray chose to use the narrator approach. This use is very effective because it gives us the opinion of all of the characters involved. This also gives us a view of the entire story not just one persons perspective.
Also the symbolism in this poem is largely effective. Gray doesn't simply describe things like green eyes. He goes into detail by using descriptive adjectives like emerald eyes, ears of jet, tortoise vies, snowy beard, and pensive Selima. The usage of these words adds to the ornamentation of the poem.
The cat is also a symbolic character. She is described as a character that is somewhat closely related to what Freud describes as an Id. This is someone who is much like a two-year-old child. They only see what they want and go for it. In this person there is no sense of obstacles or that you might have to work to receive the prize this is not a thought in that person's head.
In this poem there are many examples of assonance . Assonance is a technique that repeats the beginning letters in a phrase to add emphasis. He uses phrases such as emerald eyes, golden gleam, and heedless hearts. This is effective because it adds to the use of metaphors and the distinction of the description.
The structure of Thomas Gray's Ode to the death of a Favourite Cat is in order of events how they happen.
The poem opens upon comparisons, with lines 3 through 8 reading, “Ripe apples were caught like red fish in the nets/ of their branches. The maples/ were colored like apples,/part orange and red, part green./ The elms, already transparent trees,/ seemed swaying vases full of sky.” The narrator’s surroundings in this poem illustrate him; and the similes suggest that he is not himself, and instead he acts like others. Just as the maples are colored like apples, he
In the world, there exist people who have beliefs strong enough that they are willing do die for them. Their convictions may be for their country, their family, or their religion. Some people chose to die for their beliefs while others are just objects of fate and die because of their beliefs while in the hands of others. For example, American soldiers don't often chose to die. They die because they are standing up for what they believe in and are killed because they are protecting what they believe in. They know they can potentially die but don't take their own lives. On the other hand, suicide bombers offer themselves fully as they kill themselves for their beliefs. People have been standing up and fighting for their beliefs for centuries in order to defend and protect their valued views. If they die protecting their sentiments, then they have died noble deaths. In Greek Literature, two women face their fates of dying by defending what they believe in. Ipheigeneia loves her father and in order to win the Trojan War, she must be sacrificed. She resists her fate at first but as expected she allows her father to do the necessary. Ipheigeneia is sacrificed. Additionally, Antigone faces her fate defending her brother Polyneices. He was murdered by his own brother; however, he was considered a traitor since he returned from exile and therefore was not allowed be buried properly. Antigone felt as his sister she must give him the proper burial. Kreon -the king of Thebes- was furious and sentenced her to death Later, he changes his decision but it is too late as she has taken her own life. These young, brave women are obviously similar while maintaining differences in their deaths.
Billy Collins has used a specific metaphor, simile, rhyme and personification in his poem ‘Introduction to poetry’ in order to show how one should better understand a poem. This poem focused on what the poem actually mean and how a poem should be clearly understood. Throughout the poem, Billy Collins has presented a clear way of understanding the poem by using a very interesting imagery, symbolism, metaphor and a very sensitive sound. The words used in this poem are so powerful that the readers are convinced to think about the issue presented in the poem.
...ion of the situation to the Ancient Mariner. Moreover, the way in which the dialogue is presented, makes the structure seems more of a script of a play. The structure of the poem is a key characteristic in displaying the theme, for by telling the story as a personal experience, it helps the reader understand the moral and theme intended as a warning to people.
The paper discusses the sound of the poem and how those certain words, said aloud, help to emphasize the meaning. Looking at the form of a poem in this way gave me a new way of looking at the text and finding the meaning. Personally, I have not had much familiarity looking at the sound of a text, but now see how the sound can be valuable when looking for the meaning of a text. I like to look at the imagery that is utilized in a text because I believe it works well in giving the reader a look into the text and bringing the text to life. What I have discovered reading about the formalist approach is to look at the overall form and how the text itself affects the meaning. Looking at the imagery and symbols helps me personally find the meaning in a text, so learning that the form of the text also can contribute to the meaning was
accomplishes so much in only eight lines, it cannot be argued that the poem has literary
They have many beliefs based on their religion. One is that they believe in deity, which is their god. They also believe in more than one deity. Another thing that they believe is in reincarnation that once you die you come back in a different life form. Something else they believe in is karma that what you do, say, and think comes back at you. They also believe that we all have a guide in life during different stages and they are called guru, which are our teachers. In addition, our mothers are our very first guru. In addition, we should all try to build our own Mandir inside of
In relation to structure and style, the poem contains six stanzas of varying lengths. The first, second, and fourth stanzas
Furthermore, Kant uses the phrase moral worth which he defined as a special value an action has that only deserves credit when it is done from the motive of duty, that is, when someone does an action because it is done from the motive of d...
Immanuel Kant developed a moral theory on the sole perspective of a person’s motive or intent of their action. Kant does not believe that the consequences and outcomes of a person’s action define how morally right it is. He focuses only on the reasoning and puts these intentions into a duty and good will definition. The studying and emphasis on morality being based on duty is why we call Kant’s theory deontological. When a person does an action out of duty, it is because the duty is something a person is ought to do, deeming the action to be morally worthy. This goes the same for the intention of good will. When a person does an action out of good will, it is because the action is simply the right thing to do or good thing to do (85). Kant goes to the ...
There is a lot of complexity in understanding risk management and its correlation to homeland security. Risk management is a way to approach the fact that securing the homeland is not certain and there are unknown variables in every aspect of life; risk management is a way to narrow down the focus based on quantifiable information determining probability against capability. Risk management plays and integral role in homeland security. Risk management is employed using a formula described in the NIPP for establishing a narrow scope to make the best decision about protecting infrastructure. The risk management formula lays down the foundation to make the most reasonable determination based on the potential consequences, vulnerability, and
The image of the cat clawing at the reeds stands out the most. A person reading this poem can envision the cat clawing the reeds and screaming as the young boys hold it under the water bringing the cat closer and closer to death with each passing moment. The purpose that the young girl tries to explain is that she understands the way young boys are and that they do not love anything.
Death is inevitable. Chidiock Tichborne and John Keats in their poems “Tichborne’s Elegy” and “When I have fears that I may cease to be” convey death in opposite ways. Tichborne through his poetic style, shows an acceptance of his death, as a result of reflecting on a life fulfilled, but unrecognized. While Keats, expresses a fear of death, where he contemplates that he will not be able to experience love or fame. Both these poets have lead lives that varied from each other in ways that are most revealed through their use of form, metaphors, repetition, punctuation and rhyme schemes. Moreover, both poets express and explore deep rooted human emotions such as, nostalgia, pain, love and a feeling of insatiability. Although “Tichborne’s Elegy” and “When I have fears that I may cease to be” share a common theme because each speaker contemplates the inevitability of his death, their perceptions differ mainly as a result of their circumstances.
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society towards a classless one; thus, leading to the fulfilment of the vision of Karl Marx and Engels Fredrick in the creation of Marxism.