The Death of a Toad
The poem “The Death of a Toad” incorporates the literary devices of structure, syntax, imagery, and diction to portray the speakers’ sarcasm. The poet leads the reader through the detailed stages of the toad’s death through out every stanza. The grammatical forms that the speaker uses is to help depict the scene of the dying toad. Another tool the speaker uses is to refer to death in an indirect way. The stanzas progressively illustrate the dying toad as well as the cynical view of the speaker.
The first stanza incorporates a lot of imagery and syntax. “A toad the power mower caught,”(line1). The use of syntax in the very first sentence is to catch the reader’s attention and to paint an image for them. The stanza goes on to talk about how the toad hobbles with it’s wounded leg to the edge of the garden, “Under the cineraria leaves”(line4). The speaker uses the word cineraria, which is similar to a cinerarium, a place where the ashes of the deceased are kept. By using this, the speaker further illustrates the death of the toad. “Low and final glade.”(Line6) this line is like a metaphor for the dying toad, the final rest for the toad could be the final glade. In the first stanza it seems as if the speaker is making fun of the dying toad saying the garden sanctuaries him as if he were a person. The opening line even seems a bit humorous to the reader. The following stanzas also have a tone of sarcasm.
The second stanza is the toad in the final stages of its life. The blood is flowing from the toad onto the earth while his eyes become stone like. The speaker says “Toward some deep monotone.”(Line12) by using monotone the speaker gets a feeling of endless death with out emotion. The speaker also talks about the staring eyes of the toad as if he felt pain. The first sentence uses syntax, as in the first stanza, to illustrate the dying. The sarcasm is not so apparent in this stanza. However there are small significant hints to it, such as the overly dramatic the tone the speaker portrays.
The dramatic tone is carried over to the third stanza.
"The thing could barely stand." ("The Bull Calf" line 1). The calf is referred to as a thing not an animal or creature. This is the way the author blocks emotion. The first line in the first stanza is a contradiction from the rest of the stanza because the rest of it has a positive attitude and the first sentence shows that the animal is weak. The third and the fourth line show the glory of the animal by hinting to royalty. The last line in the first stanza helps to back this information up by pointing to Richard the second. In the fifth line the narrator uses thee word us this connects him to the event. "The fierce sunlight tugging the maize from the ground" ("The Bull Calf" line 6). This is imagery, the sunlight showing promise and hope, maize is yellow this refers us back to the sun through the similar color. The last line refers to Richard the second this makes the poem flow better into the next stanza, Richard the second was lowered from his rank much like the calf is going to be.
The imagery in this passage helps turn the tone of the poem from victimization to anger. In addition to fire images, the overall language is completely stripped down to bare ugliness. In previous lines, the sordidness has been intermixed with cheerful euphemisms: the agonizing work is an "exquisite dance" (24); the trembling hands are "white gulls" (22); the cough is "gay" (25). But in these later lines, all aesthetically pleasing terms vanish, leaving "sweet and …blood" (85), "naked… [and]…bony children" (89), and a "skeleton body" (95).
In the first instance, death is portrayed as a “bear” (2) that reaches out seasonally. This is then followed by a man whom “ comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse / / to buy me…” This ever-changing persona that encapsulates death brings forth a curiosity about death and its presence in the living world. In the second stanza, “measles-pox” (6) is an illness used to portray death’s existence in a distinctive embodiment. This uncertainty creates the illusion of warmth and welcomenesss and is further demonstrated through the reproduction of death as an eminent figure. Further inspection allows the reader to understand death as a swift encounter. The quick imagery brought forth by words such as “snaps” and “shut” provoke a sense of startle in which the audience may dispel any idea of expectedness in death’s coming. This essential idea of apparent arrival transitions to a slower, foreseeable fate where one can imagine the enduring pain experienced “an iceberg between shoulder blades” (line 8). This shift characterizes the constant adaptation in appearance that death acquires. Moreover, the idea of warmth radiating from death’s presence reemerges with the introduction to a “cottage of darkness” (line 10), which to some may bring about a feeling of pleasantry and comfort. It is important to note that line 10 was the sole occurrence of a rhetorical question that the speaker
First, tone is a very important aspect of the poem “Thanatopsis.” While reading the poem, the reader may feel a slight change in the tone of the poem. At first the poem seems as though it were about nature and its beauty. For example, in the poem Bryant writes “She has a voice of gladness, and a smile/And eloquence of beauty, and she glides.”(4-5) Here, the tone is happy and elegant. Also, the reader is under the impression that nature is a safe and beautiful place. However, as the reader continues on, one may notice a sudden shift in tone. Bryant writes, “Into his darker musings, with a mild/And gentle sympathy, that steals away/ Their sharpness, ere he is aware.”(6-8) Here, the tone shifts to dark and gloomy. Throughout the poem Bryant uses numerous words or phrases that relate to death. One very noticeable instance of this is in lines nine and 11. Bryant uses the words such as shroud, pall, and narrow house. Shroud and pall are both word related to coffins. A shroud is a cloth used to wrap a body before burial. A pall is the cover to a coffin. This depicts the sinist...
Death, despair, and revenge, these three words form a treacherous triangle to any reader who dare enter the mind of Edgar Allen Poe. In many of his works these expressions seem to form a reoccurring theme. Comparing the works "The Mask of the Red Death" and "The Cask of Amontillado", we will discuss these themes while analyzing the method behind Poe’s madness.
Stanza one is a ballad that uses symbolism as a technique, ‘grinned at life in empty joy’, this symbolises the boys’ youth when he was pleased by anything, and life was easy, he had no worries, as he would grin at anything. This phrase gives an outlook at life before joining the war, it is demonstrating the boys’ life when he was contented with anything. Another symbol is found in the first stanza, ‘whistled early with the lark’. The phrase suggests the boys’ youth in the early days, oblivious to the future laying ahead oh him. The lark symbolises cheerfulness and the beginning of the day. The boy whistling with the lark shows how he is excited for every new
Conclusively, Edgar Allan Poe’s distinctive writing style comes from his use of punctuation, sentence structure, word choice, tone, figurative language. Commas, dashes, semicolons, and exclamation marks appear frequently in his writing. Simultaneously, they affect the organization and length of his sentences. Word choice sets the tone. Literary devices imbue it with life. On comparing “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”, this is observed.
related to the death of the dead. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The last paragraph is a near enough repeat of the first, with the last paragraph. knight describing him on the hill by the lake, as this is where he woke up after his dream. This means the poem has completed a full circle, as does the knight.
“The old man must’ve stopped our car two dozen times.” It was a rainy summer night when the speaker and Grampa were driving down the road. Grampa did not give a thought about the fact it was raining and still got out of the car to help the toads. In the poem, line 5 “Small toads blinded” the toads are described as blinded because they’re not aware of how small they are compared to the rest of the world. They are so small compared to humans and the other types of life in this world but are not aware of it. So, Grampa knew this and saw that, which is why he helped the toad’s cross safely. The character in “Traveling Through the Dark” is showing a lack of judgement and wisdom. He is a very shortsighted person and doesn’t open his mind to anything but his own views. The character in “Traveling Through the Dark” is the complete opposite of Grampa. The character is very naive in the sense of his actions. Lines 3-4 “It is usually best to roll them into the canyon.” The word usually is normally used when someone has little
Though each of the above works varies in the degree of satire employed, the pattern among them accentuates how satire can best be understood not only as a lens of criticism, but also in captivating the audience into considering their own role in the criticism. Often times, as has been shown, the authors’ utilize the end-states of protagonists to emphasize critique made throughout the literary work. Yet, the degree of ambiguity serves to engage the audience, which leads to a greater effectiveness of the satire. Therefore, returning to Swift’s quote on satire, the most effective satires not only allow for beholders to discover everybody else’s face, but through degrees of ambiguity, they also are able to discover their own.
The consistent pattern of metrical stresses in this stanza, along with the orderly rhyme scheme, and standard verse structure, reflect the mood of serenity, of humankind in harmony with Nature. It is a fine, hot day, `clear as fire', when the speaker comes to drink at the creek. Birdsong punctuates the still air, like the tinkling of broken glass. However, the term `frail' also suggests vulnerability in the presence of danger, and there are other intimations in this stanza of the drama that is about to unfold. Slithery sibilants, as in the words `glass', `grass' and `moss', hint at the existence of a Serpent in the Garden of Eden. As in a Greek tragedy, the intensity of expression in the poem invokes a proleptic tenseness, as yet unexplained.
death is of the way the poet feels about the frogs. In the first verse
One piece of the poem hints towards imagery involving slavery, this occurs when the speaker talks about the “charter’d street….charter’d Thames” and later on mentioning “The mind-forg’d manacles”. The street and Thames being described as charter’d shows the power of the government having the control of parts of the city such as a river and the streets. The use of “the mind-forg’d manacles” is symbolic by showing that their brains or minds are being controlled and limited by the government and is a symbol of enslavement. The poem seems to express a lot of imagery about death and sadness, terms such as cry, curse, plagues and hearse are used. The use of such words tells the reader that the soldiers are being forced by the government to kill. Therefore, causing the soldiers despair. Another portion of the poem uses phrases such as “in very infants cry of fear” and “how the chimney sweepers cry” to show an image of child labor. The term “appalls” is used to describe the “blackning Church” to allow the audience to realize that the church is horrified of the child labor. The chimney sweepers are a specific example of child labor. And the use of the word “blackning” suggests that a sin such as child labor is occurring. Lastly, imagery is used in the last stanza to show the horrifying cycle of living in London, England. “How the youthful Harlots curse, blasts the new-born Infants tear” describes how prostitutes are
The first section is called “Burial of the Dead” which is a reference to a burial service in a church. In the poem it says that April is the cruelest month, which is ironic because April is normally considered to be the month of renewal. In the beginning of the poem, the passing of seasons, symbolizes a natural cycle of death and a “new beginning”. In this section of the poem, historical context is represented because the deaths are symbolically the soldiers and other casualties that were lost in the war.... ...
The color symbolism of the "green bay" lets us know that the speaker refers to the young and new generation of yesterday. Stanza four's reference to "wild men" concerns the living part of life. It reveals the fact that men often learn too late to change their actions. The fifth stanza depicts the dying part of life in which the senses deteriorate. How the speaker depicts that "Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay" refers to the bright light many often reported seeing in near-death experiences. The blind may once again see this sign that death knocks on one's door. In the line "Do not go gentle into that good night," the speaker refers to the night as good. Night replaces death in a metaphoric manner. The reference to that "good night" displays how good death may appear and how easily one attains it. This shows the reason the speaker persists for his father to hold on to life and not "go gentle into that good night." Likewise, to "rage against the dying of the light" as the speaker pleads shows a similar appeal by the son. The dying of the light refers to life as a light that shines to prove existence. If the light dies, then the life has ceased to exist. This poem, in villanelle form, artfully implies the universal theme of death's inevitability. The son's pleads to his father and the father's pleads with death show conflicts that may arise in one at his deathbed. This man, the grave man, finishes the remainder of his life. From the stages of his life, hefinally reaches this one. The poem ends ambiguously hinting the acceptance of death by the father and the