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Use of nature in poetry
Nature as source of poetry
Use of nature in poetry
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The lyrics burn into my head and I am no longer on a walk through my neighborhood, I am on a walk in a forest. The voice of Passenger helps me escape the weight that various aspects of life have put on my shoulders as he uses his lyrics in "Start a Fire" to light up the new world before me. A world in which I look through the trees to see the "last sun glows" despite the dead leaves and snow around me.
Step by step, I walk closer to this sparkling sun. I don't even notice the freeze of my body as I walk beside a stream during this winter evening. I don't even want to notice, because the beauty of the sunlight is what I want my focus on. This beauty is what I thrive on.
"Oh, I think I'm gonna start a fire."
I pick up my pace and "walk amongst the trees," but I can not figure out what comes next. What trees did I just pass by? What trees are currently surrounding me? The cold catches up and I don't know where to go. I feel the cold prickling my skin and there is nowhere to go. My mind freezes like the nearby stream.
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I take a step toward it, before looking down and seeing that the stream has started to flow again. I take another step and the cold is forgotten. I take more and more steps and work to get to this sun, to this warmth. I begin to feel green grass beneath my feet and notice that there are now red, orange and yellow flowers blooming all around.
Then I find myself at a cliff, not able to take another step forward to keep chasing this sun. The last of the sun rays leave my skin glowing, and I suddenly realize that this warmth doesn't have to leave. With a match from my pocket, I can get what I yearn for despite the setbacks and struggles I had experienced along the
The immense power of a text is gained through the distinctive ideas portrayed within. John Foulcher, Australian poet and teacher, outlines his observations of the environment surrounding him and the conflict within it through his poetry. These poems include ideas such as the brutality in nature trumping its beauty, as represented in the poems For the Fire and Loch Ard Gorge. As well as how observing nature's savagery can give insight into human mortality, as is prominently expressed in Loch Ard Gorge, and lastly the mundanity and complexity of society compared to the simplistic divinity of the natural world as displayed in Summer Rain. The distinctive ideas portrayed in these texts create powerful meaning and affect those reading them, allowing
The short story "To build a Fire" by Jack London, tells about the relationship between man and nature. The story takes place in the Yukon during one of the long night. The main character who is unnamed travels with a dog along a small trail to a mining camp. The man leaves against the advice of a local and after a short time realizes that he should have waited. The temperature is extremely cold because the mans spit freezes before it hits the ground. The main obstacle of his journey is the many covered springs that mean death to whoever falls into them. The man sends his dog in front of him to make sure that the trail is safe. Eventually the dog falls into one of the springs and gets his paws wet. Immediate, acting solely of instinct, the dog begins to chew the ice off of his feet. Further down the trail a similar incident happens, but this time the man falls into the spring. In order to keep his feet from freezing he has to build a fire. The first attempt to build a fire is flawed by the location the man chose under a tree. After the man is unable to light a second fire because of the loss of dexterity in his fingers, he becomes panicked and blindly runs, until totally exhausted, and dies. Throughout the story the mood gives the impression of extreme cold, and the tone is ironic. Through the actions of the main character, Jack London shows that man must be humble to nature.
Jack London had already established himself as a popular writer when his story "To Build a Fire" appeared in the Century Magazine in 1908. This tale of an unnamed man's disastrous trek across the Yukon Territory near Alaska was well received at the time by readers and literary critics alike. While other works by London have since been faulted as overly sensational or hastily written, "To Build a Fire" is still regarded by many as an American classic. London based the story on his own travels across the harsh, frozen terrain of Alaska and Canada in 1897-98 during the Klondike gold rush; he is also said to have relied on information from a book by Jeremiah Lynch entitled Three Years in the Klondike. Critics have praised London's story for its vivid evocation of the Klondike territory. In particular, they focus on the way in which London uses repetition and precise description to emphasize the brutal coldness and unforgiving landscape of the Northland, against which the inexperienced protagonist, accompanied only by a dog, struggles unsuccessfully to save himself from freezing to death after a series of mishaps. Involving such themes as fear, death, and the individual versus nature, "To Build a Fire" has been categorized as a naturalistic work of fiction in which London depicts human beings as subject to the laws of nature and controlled by their environment and their physical makeup. With its short, matter-of-fact sentences, "To Build a Fire" is representative of London's best work, which influenced such later writers as Ernest Hemingway.
It's still snowing. The wind is so strong; it is hard to stay upright. I'm lost in a blizzard. Ahead of me, I see a faint glow. Is it a lamp in my house? I tell myself, "Keep moving toward the light." Left, right, left, right, up, down, I keep walking. I'm so cold. I press on, but the light remains just out of range. Left, right, left, right, up, down. The light grows brighter. Now it dims. I suddenly realize that I'm walking in circles.
The water was calm, like the morning; both were starting to get ready for the day ahead. The silent water signals that although rough times occurred previously, the new day was a new start for the world. As I went closer to the water, I heard the subtle lapping of the water against the small rocks on the shore. Every sign of nature signals a change in life; no matter how slight, a change is significant. We can learn a lot from nature: whatever happens in the natural world, change comes and starts a new occurrence. I gazed over the water to where the sky met the sea. The body of water seemed to be endless under the clear blue sky. The scope of nature shows endless possibilities. Nature impresses us with the brilliant colors of the sky, the leaves, the water. She keeps us all in our places and warns us when we are careless with her. After all the leaves have fallen from the trees, she will offer us the first snows of the year to coat the earth with a tranquil covering. That will only be after we have recognized the lessons of autumn, the gradual change from warm to cold, rain to snow, summer to winter.
To Build a Fire - Jack London The short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London is a comprehensive story that tackles the struggles of a newcomer trying to survive a day in the Yukon with very harsh and cold weather. The man travels with a big native husky and tries many times to build a fire but fails due to his inadequate personality. The man repeatedly lets his ignorance and arrogance dictate his decisions, which soon leads to his demise. The theme of the short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London is that being ignorant, arrogant and foolish can lead to bad decisions.
“I’m not saying I’m perfect; in fact I know I’m far from it; I’m just saying I’m worth it. ”Hanging Fire she doesn’t like herself or her skin color. She is raising herself almost, and she talks about dying and suicide a lot. I can relate to this poem a lot.
In the book “To Build A Fire” by Jack London, the story starts with a man and his dog walking to an old claim so he can meet with his friends. The setting of the story is during an extremely cold winter with a temperature of 75 below 0. There are springs that bubble up from the ground and don’t get frozen over so there is pockets of water from 3 inches to 3 feet deep. These can be an extreme danger and the man happens to step in one, this one being deep enough to wet up to the middle of his shins. The man then tries to build a fire and it fails because he built it under a tree and all the snow came tumbling off of it. He then tried to build another fire but failed again because he had gotten some moss on it and when he tried to poke it off
In this story, “To build a fire”, there is a man who has many failures in life. The man was not prepared for the cold. Steven took food over clothes. His clothes were frozen and he used the fire to cook food. He made the mistake of not taking someone with him when he went on the trip. He made a lot of mistakes, in which led to his death.
This year has been great. It has been full of many stories and many lessons that we can learn from. But, to be specific my three favorite stories out of this semester have to be; To build a fire, yellow wallpaper, and finally story of an hour. I chose these because they have very good imagery in the stories, and unlike a few of the others, these ones actually stuck in my mind.
With stress on my mind and a cookie in my hand, I headed towards the wooded area behind her home. At the beginning of the trail, there was an old rotting tire swing barely hanging onto a low-hanging branch. The extensive amount of muddy puddles and the surrounding damp grass made me hesitant to follow through with my grandmother’s suggestion; the mountain of homework that waited for me back at home convinced me to continue. Trees towered over me, adding to the existing weight of stress that sat upon my shoulders, as I carefully maneuvered around the biggest puddles, beginning to become frustrated. Today was a terrible day to go for a walk, so why would my grandmother suggest this? Shaking my head in frustration, I pushed forward. The trail was slightly overgrown. Sharp weeds stabbed my sides every few steps, and I nearly tripped over a fallen tree branch. As the creek barely came into view, I could feel the humidity making my hair curly and stick to the sides of my face. After stopping to roll up the ends of my worn blue jeans, I neared the end of the trail. Bright sunlight peeked through the branches and reflected off the water. The sun must have come out from behind a cloud, seeing as it now blinded me as I neared the water. A few minutes passed by before I could clearly see
He appears to be in disbelief at what he sees; the place he once called home is now ...
We trudged on towards the bright, looming inferno ahead. The sound of our heavy footsteps crunching over dry leaves was all that could be heard coming from our otherwise silent group. The intense heat was sweltering and I could taste the saltiness on my lips as beads of sweat rolled down my face. I knew it was unlikely something would go wrong, but I couldn’t shake my nervousness anyways. I pushed this away and concentrated on what was ahead.
The two minute time constraint is putting some serious pressure on me. I had planned to make it all the way to the water in my timed session of observation, but already it is clear that is impossible. As I walk, I try to divert my attention from the cold by taking a deep breath. The air tastes clean and crisp but burns my lungs going down. I’m sure the near freezing air isn’t conducive to my lungs healing from my recent pneumonia battle, but I brush of the thought of self preservation by reassuring myself that by wearing many layers, I have taken all necessary precautions to not get sick again. The sun is just barely starting to dim the lights and the clouds are a bit ominous, but in a wonderful, calming way.
I brush my eyes awake, feeling the cold seeping in from my window. It’s 9 AM and it’s winter in Minnesota. Feeling sleepy, I stand up and go outside. I love the winter air. It always refreshes my mind and there’s just a cold bite to it that I enjoy. Coming back inside, I boot up my computer, hoping to enjoy it a little before heading out. The winter days swim together, phasing throughout my mind, and I fall asleep again, or I have woken up.