Seasons can convey a multitude of meanings. Though the Kokinshū consists of numerous sections, the seasonal sections are the best at conveying the power of human creativity. The seasons in poetry are used to show everything from the passage of time as well as evoke feelings such as loneliness and love. As shown in the spring sections of the Kokinshū, seasons are treated in poetry through their progression from one part of the season to another, seasonal imagery in describing the season, related emotional expressions, and the linking of human emotion to the natural surroundings.
For each seasonal section, there is a progression from beginning to end within the season. Each season is compiled in a progressive nature with poetry describing the beginning of a season coming before poetry for the end of the season. This is clear for spring, which starts with, “fallen snow [that] lingers on” and concludes with a poet lamenting that “spring should take its leave” (McCullough 14, 39). The imagery progresses from the end of winter, with snow still lingering around to when the signs of spring are disappearing. Although each poem alone does not show much in terms of the time of the year, when put into the context of other poems a timeline emerges from one season to the next. Each poem is linked to another poem when it comes to the entire anthology. By having each poem put into the context of another, a sense of organization emerges within each section. Every poem contributes to the meaning of a group of poems. The images used are meant to evoke a specific point in each season from the snow to the blossoms to the falling of the blossoms. Since each poem stands alone and has no true plot they lack the significance than if they were put into th...
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...nging feeling. The longing feeling is not exclusive to the cherry blossoms, but can be subtly directed towards a person also. Spring brings beauty in the form of the cherry blossoms, but ends with a desire to see it again. Furthermore, life, whether human or natural, is not eternal. It will only go on for so long before it reaches an end. Each season only comes once a year, and everything associated with it will not return till the next year. As a result, the relatively short-lived life is regarded as a reason to appreciate every last bit of beauty in the season however minor or seemingly insignificant. Everything is taken into account and admired. Once it is gone, the only choice is to wait for it to return in a year. Throughout the seasonal sections of the Kokinshū, this connection between natural beauty and the human condition can be seen through the poetry.
The common factor found within these two poems were in fact, metaphors. The writers Waddington and Tennyson both apply them to accentuate crucial opinions that influence love relations. In the third stanza, line one Waddington writes, “late as last autumn…”, however in the beginning of the poem he had written, “Late as last summer”. Therefore, autumn is a metaphor for different phases of life; spring represents childhood, summer is young adulthood and in this case autumn represents the middle age as winter would be death. Metaphorically speaking, as the season changed from a blissful summer to a dry autumn, so did their relationship. And we can all agree that as long as the clock remains to tick, time can change everything, even love. In Tennyson’s poem the fourth stanza, line two it mentions, “A shinning furrow, as thy thoughts in me”. This charmingly written metaphor refers to the author and his significant other. Tennyson uses a farmer’s tractor which produces furrows on the ground to relate to his sense since this person has had furrows of her thoughts leave a shining trace in his mind.
In John Knowles’ novel, A Separate Piece, the main Character, Gene Forrester, has to learn to become friends with his hazardous roommate, Phineas, at his school, Devon, in New Hampshire. The novel is affected by a number of changes, however the largest and most significant change is the change in seasons. In Thomas C. Foster’s novel, How to read literature like a Professor, chapter twenty explains the significance of the seasons. Foster states that, “Summer [symbolizes] adulthood and romance and fulfillment and passion,” while, “ winter [symbolizes] old age and resentment and death.” John Knowles’ book A Separate Peace, all aspects of Summer, Fall, and Winter are excellently represented as explained in Thomas C. Foster’s novel, How to read
In “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why?” Edna St. Vincent Millay says that “the summer sang in me” meaning that she was once as bright and lively as the warm summer months. In the winter everyone wants to bundle up and be lazy, but when summer comes along the sunshine tends to take away the limits that the cold once had on us. She uses the metaphor of summer to express the freedom she once felt in her youth, and the winter in contrast to the dull meaningless life she has now. There are many poets that feel a connection with the changing of seasons. In “Odes to the West Wind” Percy Bysshe Shelley describes his hopes and his expectations for the seasons to inspire the world.
In his poem “Field of Autumn”, Laurie Lee uses an extended metaphor in order to convey the tranquility of time, as it slowly puts an end to life. Through imagery and syntax, the first two stanzas contrast with the last two ones: The first ones describing the beginning of the end, while the final ones deal with the last moments of the existence of something. Moreover, the middle stanzas work together; creating juxtaposition between past and future whilst they expose the melancholy that attachment to something confers once it's time to move on. Lee’s objective in this poem was to demonstrate the importance of enjoying the present, for the plain reason that worrying about the past and future only brings distress.
The use of visual imagery in each poem immensely contributed to conveying the theme. In the poem “Reluctance”, Robert Frost used this poetic device to better illustrate the leaves of autumn:
In the poem “Calendar Fragments” by a Qee’esh Indian, the two themes of Native American literature are displayed. The theme of “all things in nature are related and should be respected” is evidenced when the Indian writes, “February… the season of sprouting… snakes crawl forth and frogs sing, trees awaken and put out leaves”. By this, the Indian probably means that due to the trees putting out their leaves and everything sprouting, the snakes and frogs come out. This shows the interdependence between the two aspects of nature - animals and plants. The animals use the trees as a sign that it’s time to appear from their hibernation; eventually, a whole ecosystem evolves that revolves around the plants. Next, the theme of “all things in nature
Robert Frost doesn't use a particular month or season in his poem. Even though he doesn't use a certain month or season in his poem he is referring to spring in his poem.
The word order of the poem helps give us a tone for the poem by allowing us to feel the irritation or annoyance that the narrator feels toward the month of February. The way in which the words appear in the poem show us how the attitude progresses as the poem continues. For instance, the first word of the first line of the poem is “Winter” which gives us the idea that it is cold and that the days drag by. The last word of the poem is “Spring” and connecting winter to spring shows us the evolution of time through the seasons. This shows the connection between the seasons and the overall attitude that the narrator portrays to the seasons. Atwood places the word “fat” in the first line, shows helps to connect the winter with eating fatty foods because our bodies need it throughout the long winter to survive. In the summertime and even in the spring our bodies do not necessarily need to eat fatty French because bodies are able to evolve to the climate conditions and we do not need to stay as warm. Also, snuggling up to bed sheets and an eiderdown blanket are just not things that you would do in the spring when the climate is
We get the idea that the poem starts out in the fall, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood" (5). The season fall represents the year coming to an end, and e...
In both, out of some onomatopoeic words for a bird song and realistic sceneries of nature, the true beauty and ugliness is doubted. While we all suppose spring to be the most beautiful fantastic global fete, the poet shows us a mocking unpleasing view out of that. Or on the other hand he shows us a delicate heartsome scene in the lifeless vapid "Winter."
In this poem, the author is portraying the general feeling that everything must come to an end and after that nothing will come. The cold weather shows us the reader or audience that there is an influence from the beginning with the first line having September to show us the reader an instance of foreshadowing. A lot of literature uses the seasons as symbols, Spring for rebirth, Summer for the prime of life, Fall for decline, and Winter for death. September is mentioned in the very beginning of the poem “Sestina” in the first line and if we follow the way seasons are used, and then this poem is placed in the second worst setting for literature. Even though winter is known for death this poem has a sense of sadness, of lose but it is unclear if it has happened or it is foreshadowing death and despair. We are given more evidence about the sadness when bishop wrote “reading jokes from the almanac, laughing and talking to hide her tears. (Line 5-6)”. This can mean she laughing so hard that the grandmother is starting to crying but by the evidence of the lit...
The poem has some behavior, such as when the trees bloom and have flowers in the spring then fall and leaves replace for summer and early fall, then the leaves fall and die during late fall and winter.
In the poem “To Autumn” the initial impression that we get is that Keats is describing a typical Autumn day with all its colors and images. On deeper reading it becomes evident that it is more than just that. The poem is rather a celebration of the cycle of life and acceptance that death is part of life.
Lines 7-10, Basically let us know that this poem took place in the summer time.
Keats also chose to write about autumn as to give ‘her’ a sort of pick me up about herself. He says I know that you will end in winter and you get the shortest days and most mourn as you lead to death, but you are still beautiful. There is still a reason for you, just look at what you bring. But Keats is more reminding himself that it isn’t over yet, that he can still find beauty in the time that he has left as it is all he has left to