Poetry is a subject that is highly debated on. Whether it should be included in formal education, or even remembered are two long-lasting arguments. Although it is not commonly used later in life, poetry is something that everyone should--at the least--learn the basics of.
Two of the most common themes of poetry are love and death. This is because love and death are things that all humans can relate to. Four poems--two by Emily Dickinson and the other two by William Shakespeare--exist as great examples. Sometimes both themes can be inferred from the poem, but there is truly just one main theme.
Beginning the list of poems is "The Bluebird" by Emily Dickinson. The Bluebird is a fairly short poem that introduces a colorful "fellow in the skies" who slowly and carefully flies up a large, pointy, leafless tree. Next, the bluebird sings a joyful tune to none but
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The outset begins with how the character could not stop for death, so death stopped for her. Afterward, she and death boarded a quaint carriage that slowly drove. The poem states that they passed the school, the fields, and the setting sun--and twists the speech with an "or rather--he passed us", referring to the …show more content…
It begins with the character(William Shakespeare) telling his lover "not to mourn for him when he is dead" and for the lover to forget his name. This precedes with William saying that when he is compounded with clay, not to rehearse his name or remember their love. William Shakespeare ends the poem with "Lest the wise world should look into your moan, and mock you with me after I am gone". What can be understood from studying those two lines is that William does not want his lover to be mocked with his name. The theme of this not-so-happy poem is
Death is pictured at the beginning of the poem as a pretty women. Suddenly the picture changes and the narrator explains seeing death coming for him from out far, moving like the wind and cutting down the flowers in her path. Somehow the picture of the grim reaper appears, death is clearly the main topic
Poetry is often created by an author’s need to escape the logical, as well as expressing feelings and other expressions in a tight, condensed manner. Hundreds of poets have impacted society throughout history through phenomenal poetry that, even with dark tones can be emotionally moving.
She personifies death as a gentleman who kindly takes her for a journey in his carriage. She also personifies immortality as a person riding with them in the carriage of the. She uses the paradox “The Cornice on the ground”. Whitman’s language is poetic and realistic. Both poems discuss the view of death, but from different perspectives.
In Emily Dickinson’s poem #336, the narrator feels a strong sense of despair and laments at having lost the physical ability to see in one eye. The narrator reflects upon the importance of sight in experiencing nature and finds a better appreciation for it now that she has lost her sight. By the end of the poem however, the narrator experiences transcendence, as she comes to the realization that through the act of imagination she is able to see far more than the limited view her eyes provided her with. Through the act of poetic writing, the narrator is able to capture the beauty of nature and engrave in into her soul. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s excerpt from “Nature”, he alludes to the significance in sight when it comes to it being able to merge the human soul with nature to create perfect unity, and as such he lays the groundwork for Dickinson’s ideas that are presented within her poem. Though Dickinson’s poem may initially seem transcendental, it can also be interpreted as a mixture of Emerson’s transcendental ideas and those that support the notion of imagination. Dickinson’s poem serves as a response to Emerson’s ideas because she adds on to his thoughts and unites his idea that there is oneness present in the world with the notion that imagination and sight serve as a bridge that connects human consciousness with nature to create this oneness that Emerson believes in.
The concept of loss is a notable theme in poetry, whether its about love, beauty or even
No matter how bad things may seem, there is always hope for things to ameliorate. When people believe that the future will be promising, they can have something to look forward to as opposed to dwelling on the past or the problems of the present. This hope can give a person a positive outlook on life and motivate him or her to look past what is happening in the present. In the poems “Hope is the Thing with Feathers” by Emily Dickinson and “The Darkling Thrush” by Thomas Hardy, they both convey similar messages about hope. Both works display the theme of hope being present at all times no matter how bad things may seem and is a consistent option for anyone in need of help.
Dickinson writes, “He kindly stopped me” (2). This quote demonstrates that by Death kindly stopping for the woman, the tone of the poem is not one of tragedy but acceptance towards the concept of death. Another major component that is personified is immortality: “The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality” (3-4). In this quote, immortality is also given attributions of a person, which emphasizes the significance of immortality, and this is done because immortality is also given the attribution of a traveler. Literary devices like personification and imagery work together to deliver the meaning of the poem.
Another reason that the poems have a deeper meaning is that poems are filled with passion in the writing. Sometimes the poet can write a poem to make you actually think or feel you are there as he or she
While the impact that popular culture has on perpetuating systems of privilege and inequality for gender is evident, it is necessary to not undermine the importance of literature in perpetuating these systems as well. Shaw and Lee’s Chapter 9 on Women Confronting and Creating Culture discusses the increased importance of popular culture in creating and reinforcing dominant systems in terms of gender, but also recognizes how literature and the arts also reflect and reinforce gender-dominant systems. Emily Dickinson’s poem, “The Wife” nicely connects to this theme as it demonstrates how the institution of marriage perpetuates systems of privilege and inequality for women. By observing the language and strategic structuring of this poem, the ways in which the institution of marriage contribute to the patriarchal dominance will become more evident.
"A bird came down the walk” and “A narrow fellow in the grass” are both best
In the Oxford dictionary hope is defined as, “The feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen” (Oxford University Press). As humans, our desires and expectations are feelings that bring us joy and happiness; Whether that includes a higher position in our career or receiving a higher grade in school. In the two poems “Hope” by Ariel Dorfman, and “Hope Is the Thing with Feathers” by Emily Dickinson the word hope is used interchangeably. Although both poems are based on one word, each poem has taken a different perspective on it. Dickinson’s poem metaphorically transforms hope in to a bird that is always present in a human, while Dorfmans poem takes a profound meaning out of this word, where a mother and father hope for their child to continue on being tortured. Though the authors in both poems circulate their story around one word, each poem contextualizes the
who picks her up in a carriage and carries her to her grave. It describes her journey to death. I believe she is trying to tell the reader that in death there is no haste. It teaches us that death is not to be feared. That death is not an end to life but the beginning of a new journey.
“A Bird came down the Walk,” was written in c. 1862 by Emily Dickinson, who was born in 1830 and died in 1886. This easy to understand and timeless poem provides readers with an understanding of the author’s appreciation for nature. Although the poem continues to be read over one hundred years after it was written, there is little sense of the time period within which it was composed. The title and first line, “A Bird came down the Walk,” describes a common familiar observation, but even more so, it demonstrates how its author’s creative ability and artistic use of words are able to transform this everyday event into a picture that results in an awareness of how the beauty in nature can be found in simple observations. In a step like narrative, the poet illustrates the direct relationship between nature and humans. The verse consists of five stanzas that can be broken up into two sections. In the first section, the bird is eating a worm, takes notice of a human in close proximity and essentially becomes frightened. These three stanzas can easily be swapped around because they, for all intents and purposes, describe three events that are able to occur in any order. Dickinson uses these first three stanzas to establish the tone; the tone is established from the poet’s literal description and her interpretive expression of the bird’s actions. The second section describes the narrator feeding the bird some crumbs, the bird’s response and its departure, which Dickinson uses to elaborately illustrate the bird’s immediate escape. The last two stanzas demonstrate the effect of human interaction on nature and more specifically, this little bird, so these stanzas must remain in the specific order they are presented. Whereas most ...
Because of this avoidance, Death has caught up to them. In Dickinson’s poem, this slow descend into death is expressed through the length of the carriage ride. “Because I could not stop for Death” is full of symbolism that helps to express the meaning. First, the road of which the carriage travels on represents life. This road is the course of the narrator’s life as they unknowingly cross into death.
poems deal with a variety of themes – life, love, loss and pain along with the