William Butler Yeats poem, Leda and the Swan and Fred Chappel’s Narcissus and Echo
Poets use many different stylistic devices to capture the attention of the reader. After all, who wants to read a boring poem? Many times, it is the opening line that acts as the "hook." What better way to capture someone's attention than to incite emotion with the first word. Some poets use form to their advantage. Perhaps by writing the words out in different shapes, they will create a broader readership. Some poets use symbolism, or structure to benefit their artistic license. I prefer the subtler and less common stylistic devices. Fred Chappel, in "Narcissus and Echo," and William Butler Yeats poem, "Leda and the Swan." use different, yet effective stylistic devices to capture the attention of the reader and hold on to them throughout the entire poem.
By echoing the last sound of each line in his poem, Chappel is able to create two separate poetic rhythms. The first is the fundamental poem written about two mythological characters. Narcissus, the first character, was so enthralled with his own beauty that he fell in love with his own reflection in a pond. He, being so brokenhearted that he could never be with his true love (himself), wasted away until all that was left was a beautiful flower. Hence that flower called Narcissus. Echo is the other character in this "tragic" love story. She fell in love with Narcissus. This was before he turned into a flower, of course. She followed him, trying to speak to him but in his vanity he did not notice her. She was heartbroken and withered away until all that was left was her voice to follow him. Hence the echo. It was her voice combined with his reflection that Narcissus fell in love with. After all, who wouldn't want to hear their words echoed back to them by their lover?
Chappel uses this story as the base for his poem, which seems to be of Narcissus' love. The difference is that the words that are echoed back are not quite the same as the original. They seem to be almost an ironic look into the shallow nature of this character. In the seventh line, Chappel brings this irony to light when he writes, "teasing playfully the one being. Unbeing" (181), almost as if he is trying to tell Narcissus that his love is a pretense.
The first stanza describes the depth of despair that the speaker is feeling, without further explanation on its causes. The short length of the lines add a sense of incompleteness and hesitance the speaker feels towards his/ her emotions. This is successful in sparking the interest of the readers, as it makes the readers wonder about the events that lead to these emotions. The second and third stanza describe the agony the speaker is in, and the long lines work to add a sense of longing and the outpouring emotion the speaker is struggling with. The last stanza, again structured with short lines, finally reveals the speaker 's innermost desire to "make love" to the person the speaker is in love
Poems are unique in that there are no set rules for how they are formatted (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). Poems may rhyme, or not. They can be presented in a narrative or lyrical format. The use of proper punctuation can be omitted such as periods, commas, or question marks (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). The use of punctuation or lack there of, brings into play the use of enjambment, which is another term for what is commonly known in poetry as run-on lines (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). If a poem is considered more proper and the author wants the reader to clearly understand how a line in the poem is read, the use of punctuation such as commas and periods are used to stress this point. This style is commonly known as end-stopped lines. (Kirszner
Therefore, Oliver’s incorporation of imagery, setting, and mood to control the perspective of her own poem, as well as to further build the contrast she establishes through the speaker, serves a critical role in creating the lesson of the work. Oliver’s poem essentially gives the poet an ultimatum; either he can go to the “cave behind all that / jubilation” (10-11) produced by a waterfall to “drip with despair” (14) without disturbing the world with his misery, or, instead, he can mimic the thrush who sings its poetry from a “green branch” (15) on which the “passing foil of the water” (16) gently brushes its feathers. The contrast between these two images is quite pronounced, and the intention of such description is to persuade the audience by setting their mood towards the two poets to match that of the speaker. The most apparent difference between these two depictions is the gracelessness of the first versus the gracefulness of the second. Within the poem’s content, the setting has been skillfully intertwined with both imagery and mood to create an understanding of the two poets, whose surroundings characterize them. The poet stands alone in a cave “to cry aloud for [his] / mistakes” while the thrush shares its beautiful and lovely music with the world (1-2). As such, the overall function of these three elements within the poem is to portray the
They are many different forms of poems that writers make. Poems are meant to read in order to go beyond traditional form of thinking. The poem “Read This Poem from the Bottom up” by Ruth Porritt is a reverso poem in which you can read the poem from bottom up to top down. This would be consider a free verse poem and yet saying it’s a free verse could be consider an oxymoron to free verses because it must have the same words to read from the top down to bottom up. This poem has all the ingredients to be consider a good poem. The purpose of the poem is to break traditional form of thinking and challenge the narrator to break the rules of how poem can be written.
However, the proposed systems must be thoroughly examined for their compatibility with Canada’s needs and their ability to resolve the issues outlined in this paper. From distortion in representation to Western alienation and to making the voices of minorities heard, the new system must also ensure that Parliament fulfills its role in representing, legislating, and holding the government. More importantly, after the current government abandoned its promise on electoral reform, it is important for researchers and future governments to build on the knowledge acquired by the Special Committee on Electoral Reform as well as previous experiences of the provinces with electoral
However there is an unexpected twist where the poet just calms down and thinks he can find love again. This shows the poet’s structure of the poem and how ... ... middle of paper ... ... ion and repetition. Another comparison between the two poems is we are both hearing the viewpoint from the poet not from anybody else.
This story gives us a theme revolving around this personality trait. Narcissism is a destructive force to oneself and poisonous to others. Narcissus’ narcissism causes him to waste away, giving up his entire life for a selfish love. His self-absorption becomes his death. His narcissism is poisonous to others as well. He constantly hurts and distresses the men and women seeking his attention. The prime example is, again, Echo. Narcissus’ scorn of her ultimately causes her death. This negativity causes everyone around him to ache, leaving him alone in the end with only Echo’s voice. Narcissism isolates and scars people, just as Narcissus was hateful and alone. The metaphor, “…But while he tries / to quench one thirst, he feels another rise:…,” displays the theme of narcissism and shows that thirsting after oneself only leads to downfall (ln 32-33 93). Said metaphor shows the lust narcissism brings and supports the theme in that the second rising thirst is unquenchable and all-consuming. It proves Narcissus’ cold personality and displays the events leading up to his metamorphosis into a flower hanging over the pond. In the end, this metaphor encapsulates the entirety of the story and the dark themes it
This paper will seek to discuss the historical aspect of the Party Systems of Canada. Moreover, explain how each one of the five parties functioned, how they sought to serve Canada to get Canadians to vote. It will go into deep detail about the parties to get a clear understand of what was going on within Canadian politics when it comes to the Party Systems as well as its structure. This paper asserts that the political realm of Canada went through a major transition in the beginning of 2003 and the rise of a new period of Canadian politics which is the fifth party system.
...ration, onomatopoeia, rhyme etc. One of the sound types I will be looking at is Full or perfect rhyme. This sound type is significant as in Dulce Et Decorum Est at the end of each sentence rhymes with the one before the last. This is significant as when reading this poem you notice this rhyming scheme and take more time to stop and ponder over the significance of the language it is based around and what connotations that word has: “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks” and “Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs”. This is one of the most effective rhyming schemes in the poem. Due to every second line rhyming this makes your remember what the poet was trying to put across in the previous lines as all the different lines have a way of tying in with one another.
By using onomatopoeia, description, and dialogue each poet argues their subject or theme. Although each poet does not write about the same subject or theme they each use the literary device effectively to help support their poem. By using each literary device in different context the poets show the many different styles when writing poetry. Each poet uses the literary devices efficiently to help their overall message in each poem.
Sex education has been widely controversial throughout public schools not only in the United States but across the globe. The debate covers many different issues but currently the main focus is whether abstinence-only lessons should be used versus the more contemporary version referred to as comprehensive risk reduction (CRR). Many factors play into this debate including moral and ethical bias but all of the research for both practices poses the question “which method is more effective in reducing sexual risks and consequences?”
The main line that directs the poems feelings is "The wraith of Love's sweet Rose is here, It haunts me everywhere! ". The ghost of "Love's sweet rose" is in my life and mind. The ghost of that rose is in my presents and is with her everywhere she goes.
I found that throughout this poem there was much symbolism within it. Identifying that it was written in first person form showed that this poem relates to the author on a personal basis, and that it was probably written to symbolize his life. But when talking about people’s lives, you can conclude that people’s lives are generally and individually very diffe...
National Abstinence Education Association. “Comprehensive Sex Education Is Inappropriate And Harmful.” Do Abstinence Programs Work?. Christina Fisanick. Michigan. Greenhaven Press, 2010. 33-42. Print.
There are an assorted of various characteristics included in poetry including Rhyme, Rhythm, and Mood. Some poems use rhyming words to create a certain effect but not all poems rhyme, poetry that doesn’t rhyme is called “free verse poetry”. Sometimes poets use repetition of sounds or patterns to create a musical effect in their poems, rhythm can be created by using the same number of words or syllables in each line of a poem. Rhythm can be described as the beat of the poem. The mood of a poem is the feeling that it has. A poem can be sad, gloomy, humorous, happy, etc. There are many more various characteristics in poetry including shape, figurative language, descriptive imagery, punctuation and format, sound and tone, and choice of