Poetry Synthesis Essay

Martin Luther King Jr once said“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that”. This shows us that light exhibits love, however can be destroyed by the darkness. In the book Honest Truth, a 12 year old, Mark exhibits that love is unbreakable when built a strong bond with someone. “Dogs die, but the dogs live as well. Right up until they die they live.They protect their families . And love us. Make our lives brighter. And they will not waste time thinking about tomorrow”-(Gemeinhart 140) . He shows the bond not breaking despite experiencing various consequences. In the poem, The Gardener XVII, the poet shows that light is inevitable, but darkness can lurk around.For example, in Line 4 the poet mentions”Your words are too dark I cannot understand them”(Tagore 4). This shows that dark cannot be incomprehensible, but light can show us that there are many paths of life. Despite these two passages being written years apart, they still use proper language to show us the differences between light and dark. The poet and author use of literary devices such as similes alongside vivid imagery as well as irony to ensure that the poem and the book shows the proper emphasis of the theme.

In the book the Honest Truth, the author uses extreme exaggeration and personification to display that his bond is completely with his dog.

For example, ““Across far, dark miles a friend can still hold your hand and be there with you.”-Gemeharit(167). This quote is showing that there will be no end for those who stick together and build a strong relationship. In the poem we can see that the poet took a different approach towards mentioning that love can generate light, however could be spoiled by darkness. In line 11 the poet mentions “ Lotus blooms in the sight of the sun and loses all it has.” This is showing us the darker angle of the sunshine, your heart starts turning dark, that shows that light can be consumed by darkness in various

circumstances.
In the book the Honest Truth, the author specifies that love can be taken by darkness. We can see this throughout the book by the use of paradox and rhetorical devices. Despite the use of irony, we see that paradoxes gives the story a deeper meaning. For example, the quote “Dogs die, but the dogs live as well. Right up until they die they live.They protect their families . And love us. Make our lives brighter. And they will not waste time thinking about tomorrow”. Gemeharit 140. This is showing a little bit of irony because I personally believe that animals have any thoughts because they do things without noticing their consequences. The use of a paradox in the quotes was where it said that “ Right up until the dogs die they live’’. This statement is portraying a regiment of irony, however contradicting itself to make it sound like a paradox.
In the poem the Gardener XVII, the poet uses a vivid imagery and figurative language to portray that light will be everywhere and opportunities may rise. Although one bad fault you could be smashed, this is the role of the darkness. In the poem the quote “Pleasure is frail like a dewdrop, while it laughs it dies”. The use of the metaphor and simile shows us how vivid and descriptive the poem is on the certain ideas. We can relate this to the over theme, by inferencing that pleasure feels good when you have it, however when it is lost it dies. So we can see that Pleasure is as delightful as light, although when it shines too much you turn dark.
Both of these stories have pros and cons that make them special in unique ways. However it is the use of the literary devices and figurative language to show its point. The overall theme of these stories show us that enjoy life as much as you want, but don’t divert yourself from mandatory accomplishments.