Hidden in Black Expressed deeply from a single object, imagery is brought to life through a single portrait depicting a cypress against the sun in the horizon. The title was alluding us to the idea of a literal “black finger.” Sometimes forgetting to look at the whole picture, we shouldn’t look at it from only a single point of view. In the poem, “The Black Finger” poet, playwright and forerunner, Angelina Grimké questions why a “black finger” she saw was “black,” as well as why it is pointing upwards. Grimké’s use of vivid imagery to express her feelings towards a single object within this poem explains that we should continue to ask questions, rather than taking something in the first time and not stepping back to look at the whole picture. …show more content…
As well as to what. Could it be just as simple as to say it was just a tree pointing towards the sky to receive more sunlight? Or could Grimké just described to us of what she had thought to be a silhouette of a finger from some person pointing up to find freedom? Relating to that, Angelina Grimké wrote articles and poems expressing her concern about racism (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). With knowing that, the symbolism Grimké added, being the “black finger pointing upward” and the cypress can be translated as to the finger pointing for attention and letting those looking to know the owner of said finger is there in all its beauty. The cypress, known for its symbolism of mourning, could be related to the issue of racism during her time.
Although, another meaning to that from my point of view is somewhat similar to Grimké’s stand is, the finger could be alluding us to take it as an outstretched arm pointing to paradise. The vivid imagery of the cypress lead to that conclusion I had of the silhouetted finger in the distance, attempting to feel what “paradise” their god(s) has to offer after they find peace from this
Authors use many different types of imagery in order to better portray their point of view to a reader. This imagery can depict many different things and often enhances the reader’s ability to picture what is occurring in a literary work, and therefore is more able to connect to the writing. An example of imagery used to enhance the quality of a story can be found in Leyvik Yehoash’s poem “Lynching.” In this poem, the imagery that repeatably appears is related to the body of the person who was lynched, and the various ways to describe different parts of his person. The repetition of these description serves as a textual echo, and the variation in description over the course of the poem helps to portray the events that occurred and their importance from the author to the reader. The repeated anatomic imagery and vivid description of various body parts is a textual echo used by Leyvik Yehoash and helps make his poem more powerful and effective for the reader and expand on its message about the hardship for African Americans living
The first two lines of the poem set the mood of fear and gloom which is constant throughout the remainder of the poem. The word choice of "black" to describe the speaker's face can convey several messages (502). The most obvious meaning ...
Up until and during the mid -1800’s, women were stereotyped and not given the same rights that men had. Women were not allowed to vote, speak publically, stand for office and had no influence in public affairs. They received poorer education than men did and there was not one church, except for the Quakers, that allowed women to have a say in church affairs. Women also did not have any legal rights and were not permitted to own property. Overall, people believed that a woman only belonged in the home and that the only rule she may ever obtain was over her children. However, during the pre- Civil war era, woman began to stand up for what they believed in and to change the way that people viewed society (Lerner, 1971). Two of the most famous pioneers in the women’s rights movement, as well as abolition, were two sisters from South Carolina: Sarah and Angelina Grimké.
Symbolism: sign of peace, often used when the characters are looking for some relaxation and distraction from their problems
In a literary work, a symbol can represent numerous things to a character and also a story as a whole. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston often used the recurring symbol of beauty/ appearance and hair throughout Janie’s life through illuminating incidents.
Throughout the many forms and language of literature, responders are able to create and visualise images within their mind. It is through the power of the images one creates, that enables reader’s understandings to be questioned and furthermore, structures meaning towards the array of experiences being evoked. This is, ‘The Distinctively Visual’.
In John Updike’s poem “The Great Scarf of Birds”, he uses diction and figurative speech to depict the beautiful autumn season to show how inspiring and uplifting nature is to man. Updike chooses autumn as the season to set his story in because generally, it is the season that has the most vivid vibrant colors in nature such as the ripe apples which are described as “red fish in the nets (limbs)”. (Line 3) Updike paints the picture of the beauty of nature with the simile about the apples to show the reader what a powerful effect nature has on man. Updike goes on to discuss the elm trees that were “swaying in the sky” (Line 7) and the “dramatic straggling v’s” of geese. Updike uses these descriptive portrayals of na...
The next use of symbolism is the setting of the journey and meeting in the woods. Early Americans looked at the woods as a test of strength, bravery and endurance. It took a lot of courage for someone to enter the forest because it was unknown territory and they would not emerge the same. ?He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all gloomiest trees of the forest?that the traveler knows not who may be concealed by the innumerable trunks?he may be passing through an unseen multitude.? (197) Goodman Brown does not face the dangers of Indians but faces the danger of reality and truth.
Since Welty's tale is such a simple one, readers are forced to find the more obvious symbolism and then must delve deeper into the text to find the more meaningful symbols. In the second paragraph, Phoenix's skin is described as having "a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead." An obvious example of Christ symbolism is the tree being a symbol of life and knowledge gained through the acceptance of Christ. Further analysis of the tree symbol could also conclude that like Christ, trees provide shelter and protection while remaining patient and impassive and still harbor an appearance of imperialistic grace. Most would probably be content to continue comparison between Christ and Phoenix, but one small, almost unnoticed action separates the two. "Her fingers slid down and along the ground under the money with the grace and care they would have had in lifting an egg from under a sitting hen. Then she slowly straightened up, she stood erect, and the nickel was in her apron pocket...Her lip...
...clude this as a symbol that gives evidence to Crane using this story as a microcosm since people are able to relate to this in their life, or even as a society.
One of Emily Dickinson’s greatest skills is taking the familiar and making it unfamiliar. In this sense, she reshapes how her readers view her subjects and the meaning that they have in the world. She also has the ability to assign a word to abstractness, making her poems seemingly vague and unclear on the surface. Her poems are so carefully crafted that each word can be dissected and the reader is able to uncover intense meanings and images. Often focusing on more gothic themes, Dickinson shows an appreciation for the natural world in a handful of poems. Although Dickinson’s poem #1489 seems disoriented, it produces a parallelism of experience between the speaker and the audience that encompasses the abstractness and unexpectedness of an event.
John Steinbeck uses symbolism to give alternate meanings to his short story “Chrysanthemums.'; A symbol is a device used to suggest more than its literary meaning. He uses these symbols to look further into the characters and their situations. The character Elisa has a garden, which is more than just a garden, and the chrysanthemums that she tends are more than just flowers. There are actions that she performs in the story, which also have other meanings.
Bowed head and lowered eyes?” The consecutive rhetorical questions used here show determination and strength. Angelou’s use of “Bowed head and lowered eyes?” suggests submissiveness to challenge tyranny. This recapitulates perseverance and persistence. An antithesis is used to show how she falls, yet, she is still rising: “Shoulders falling down like teardrops.” The contrast of ‘shoulders falling’ and ‘teardrops’ shows the belligerence and controversy but, still gracefully and with refinement. On the contrary, in ‘The Bright Light of Sarajevo’ there is a dark and secretive atmosphere. This is evident when said, “Dark boy-shape leads dark girl-shape away to share one coffee”. Harrison exploits ‘dark’ to create this lexical field of despair and concealment. This concealment shows the lack of identity and insignificance. Furthermore, Harrison uses ‘candlelit cafe’ to devise a hidden and clandestine ambience. The use of ‘leads’ suggests mystery and the boy having an authoritative character .
William Blake is a poet most noted for the engravings that accompany his works of poetry. These engravings included with the poems help to depict the meaning of the poems. However, at times the engravings he includes with his poem can lead to complications for the interpreter of the poem. There are a multitude of variations of the same engraving that accompany a poem, all of them originals; some of these engravings compliment the poem, while others complicate the poem. One example of this occurrence, where one engraving may compliment the poem and the other complicates it, is in William Blake’s work “The Ecchoing Green” which can be found in Blake’s Songs of Innocence. The important thing to recognize is that regardless of whether the poem is further complicated or simplified because of the image, the poem and its accompanying image are still evoking thought, and discussion from the reader.
"A picture can paint a thousand words." I found the one picture in my mind that does paint a thousand words and more. It was a couple of weeks ago when I saw this picture in the writing center; the writing center is part of State College. The beautiful colors caught my eye. I was so enchanted by the painting, I lost the group I was with. When I heard about the observation essay, where we have to write about a person or thing in the city that catches your eye. I knew right away that I wanted to write about the painting. I don’t know why, but I felt that the painting was describing the way I felt at that moment.