Literature reinforces or challenges our understanding of ordinary situations. Introduction Poetry has the power to awaken the senses of the connections between individuals and the world around them. As an imagist poet, Gray adopts a distinct approach to capturing the essence of ordinary situations through crafting vivid and sensory imagery, thus encouraging readers to see the ordinary in extraordinary ways. Gray’s poetry displays, the power of literature to make us see that ordinary situations can be filled with beauty and profound meaning, challenging us to think that they are insignificant. This is apparent in his collections, Journey the North Coast, Harbour Dusk and Flames, and Dangling Wires, which draw the reader on a poetic journey …show more content…
During the 1970s, Gray was heavily concerned with the urbanisation effects on Australian nature and the changes it brought within the lifestyle. Driven by his romantic and Buddhist beliefs, the free verse poem Journey the North Coast explores the persona's inherent desire to escape the fast-paced city life, reinforcing our understanding of the uplifting effect of even the most ordinary train journey. Grays, employed in the familiar Australian setting may seem mundane in the beginning, but through Grays imagists qualities he transforms it into a scene of profound beauty and introspection. Grays poem recognises the potential for freedom and liberation in even the most mundane experiences, in the visual imagery “the trains shadow like birds/ flees on silver and blue paddock” this encourages us to engage deeper with the ordinary as the birds act as a symbol for freedom. Furthermore, Gray reinforces the idea that an ordinary train journey is insignificant as it spiritual as the journey allows the persona to reconnect with their inner self and the natural world. This is evident in the first person“I rise into the mirror.stow the book and wash bag and city clothes” this slowing tonal shift suggests that the persona feels a sense of renewal and content with leaving behind the city life. This renewal is not just personal, but also universal, reflecting the potential for all individuals to find liberation and transformation in the ordinary. Ultimately,
It is divided into five parts ‘The Encounter’, ‘Philemon’, ‘The Shore’, ‘The Woods’, and ‘The Lost Children’, These profoundly crafted rhythmic lines will endure and resonate forever in the souls who read it. Rarely does a reader encounter such sheer beauty of timeless and compelling imagery in her debut book to stand apart as foremost publication in English literature.
Strand, Mark and Evan Boland. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. New
For many people, the early hours of the morning can hold numerous possibilities from time for quiet reflections to beginning of the day observations to waking up and taking in the fresh air. In the instance of the poems “Five A.M.” and “Five Flights Up,” respective poets William Stafford and Elizabeth Bishop write of experiences similar to these. However, what lies different in their styles is the state of mind of the speakers. While Stafford’s speaker silently reflects on his walk at dawn from a philosophical view of facing the troubles that lie ahead in his day, Bishop’s speaker observes nature’s creations and their blissful well-being after the bad day had before and the impact these negative thoughts have on her psychological state in terms
During a time of great change, both ideally and physically, in Australian history, a young man by the name of Michael Dransfield made his presence known in the highly evolving scene of poetry. Dransfield was an eccentric character, to say the least, and was recognized for his masterful ability of truly capturing the essence of many of life’s situations. Regardless of the “heaviness” or the difficulties of the subject matter being portrayed throughout his poetry, Dransfield was mentally equipped to fully encompass any life experience and dawn light on some of its “eternal truths” in the world. Although he tragically died of a heroin overdose in 1973 (he was 24 years old), Dransfield made a lasting impression on Australian poetry; never to be forgotten and to be forever considered “one of the foremost poets of the ’68 generation of counter-cultural dreamers” (Chan, 2002).
Throughout Stevens' poem, he uses connotation to get his point across to the reader. When he speaks of people, With socks of lace and beaded ceintures, he is describing the physical appearance of normal, dull, people of society who are the ones who dream of boring, black and white images. He contrasts this with the sailor's shabby appearance, drunk and asleep in his boots, but also dreaming of catching, tigers in red weather. This contrast sends his message with a strong, clear impression to the reader. He covers his opinion on the outward and inward appearance of both roles in society, proving his point that the outcast members of a community are the ones who actually are living the colorful, enriched lifestyle.
The poem is launched by a protracted introduction during which the speaker indulges in descriptions of landscape and local color, deferring until the fifth stanza the substantive statement regarding what is happening to whom: "a bus journeys west." This initial postponement and the leisurely accumulation of apparently trivial but realistic detail contribute to the atmospheric build-up heralding the unique occurrence of the journey. That event will take place as late as the middle of the twenty-second stanza, in the last third of the text. It is only in retrospect that one realizes the full import of that happening, and it is only with the last line of the final stanza that the reader gains the necessary distance to grasp entirely the functional role of the earlier descriptive parts.
(ll. 19-24) Wordsworth’s famous and simple poem, “I wandered lonely as a cloud,” expresses the Romantic Age’s appreciation for the beauty and truth that can be found in a setting as ordinary as a field of daffodils. With this final stanza, Wordsworth writes of the mind’s ability to carry those memories of nature’s beauty into any setting, whether city or country. His belief in the power of the imagination and the effect it can have on nature, and vice a versa, is evident in most of his work. This small
His strong resolution of never being poor again and intense yearning to achieve his goals
Poemhunter Inc., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 4 Dec. 2013. Davis, Arthur P. “Hughes.”
In “The Fatal Sisters” Thomas Gray has created a monologue pregnant with references to history, geography, and mythology. These reappearing references and allusions enrich the text, as they allow a closer look at the political situation surrounding eleventh century Britain. The poems’ sixteen stanzas exhibit an ABAB rhyme scheme, which provides for systematic organization and positive aesthetic effects. Closer examination of the setting, tone, and imagery of the poem permits insight into the text’s content and artistic genius.
Ferguson, Margaret W. , Mary Jo Salter, and Jon Stallworthy. The Norton Anthology Of Poetry. shorter fifth edition. New York, New York: W W Norton & Co Inc, 2005. print.
The poems, “Above Tintern Abbey” and “Intimations of Immortality written by the poet, William Wordsworth, pertain to a common theme of natural beauty. Relaying his history and inspirations within his works, Wordsworth reflects these events in each poem. The recurring theme of natural beauty is analogous to his experiences and travels.
In his introduction to the Norton Anthology of English Literature M. H. Abrams attempts to overcome these difficulties by identifying the 'five cardinal elements' of Romantic poetry. According to Abrams, Romantic poetry is distinguished by the belief that poetry is not an "imitation of nature" but a "representation of the poet's internal emotions". Secondly, that the writing of poetry should be "an effortless expression" and not an "arduous exercise". The prevalence of nature in Romantic poetry and what Abrams calls "the glorification of the ordinary and the outcast" are identified as two further common elements, as is the sense of a "supernatural" or "satanic presence" (Abrams, 2000, pp. 7-11). It is with regard to this elemental understanding of Romantic poetry that I will conduct my close critical analysis of 'Frost at Midnight' to examine the extent to which the poem embodie...
William Wordsworth. “Lucy Gray.” English Romantic Poetry .Ed. Stanley Appelbaum. New York: Dover Publications, 1996. 33 – 4.
The poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth is about the poet’s mental journey in nature where he remembers the daffodils that give him joy when he is lonely and bored. The poet is overwhelmed by nature’s beauty where he thought of it while lying alone on his couch. The poem shows the relationship between nature and the poet, and how nature’s motion and beauty influences the poet’s feelings and behaviors for the good. Moreover, the process that the speaker goes through is recollected that shows that he isolated from society, and is mentally in nature while he is physically lying on his couch. Therefore, William Wordsworth uses figurative language and syntax and form throughout the poem to express to the readers the peace and beauty of nature, and to symbolize the adventures that occurred in his mental journey.