Lethean Flood Allusion

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1. The speaker in this poem seems to be a man who is eager for forgiveness from God and that is also seeking his mercy. The speaker is a very eager and bitter person as he does not think it is fair that his sins are more evil just because he possesses reason and intellect.
2. The speaker appears to be speaking to God although it seems to be more of a one sided rant as he is talking and expressing his thoughts to a God that does not seem to answer him back. An appropriate audience for this poem would appear to be sinners who do not feel that they should be punished as the speaker is emphasizing that he himself should not be punished more for possessing reason and intellect but still choosing to sin.
3. The word persona is applicable for this …show more content…

The speaker makes an allusion to the “tree whose fruit threw death on else immortal us…” probably referring to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden referred in Genesis. The “serpents envious” is also probably an allusion to Satan, who takes the form of a serpent in Genesis. “Lethean flood” alludes to the river Lethe in classical mythology, a river that makes a person forget everything once they have touched it.
10. The tone of the poem appears to be angry and dark due to the way that the speaker is arguing to God in a very personal and almost demanding form. The speaker refers to God in a very close and personal way as he seems to be demanding for his mercy rather than asking for it at this point.
11. The speaker’ diction is very appropriate and well-chosen throughout the poem. “Lecherous” and “envious” seem to be good words that highlight the evil of the goats as well as the serpents. “Heinous” also comes off as a good word choice as it portrays the speaker’s sin seem to be very evil. “Sin’s black memory” also seems to reveal the extent of evil of sin.
12. The author’s diction makes it very easy for some images to pop up. The image of the Lethean flood seems to be the most powerful because it describes one of the five rivers in Hell, and the tree whose fruit threw death as well as it describes the tree that held the poisonous apple which led to humanity’s first

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