Both “The First Snowfall,” written by James Russell Lowell (a member of the Fireside Poets), and “The Snow-Storm,” written by Ralph Waldo Emerson display factors of Romanticism: the influence of nature concept through figurative language, the imagery concept through excessive details, and the infinite concept through mentioning of God and the Bible. These poems share similarities in how they achieve imagery, but, these poems differ in the types of figurative language used to obtain an influence of nature and with how they express the Infinite idea of Romanticism. The influence of nature theme, seen in Romanticism, prevails in “The First Snowfall” and “The Snow-Storm” through figurative language, but through different types of figurative language: similes and personification. “The First Snowfall” employs similes in lines 13 to 16 and 19 and 20; “The Snow-Storm” uses personification in lines 3 to 5. The simile in lines 13 to 16, “I stood and watched by the window, the noiseless work of the sky, and the sudden flurries of snow birds, like brown leaves whirling by,” describes the birds that the narrator sees as leaves falling, which presents an influence of nature. The simile in lines 19 and 20, “How the flakes were folding it gently, As did robins the babes in the wood,” again mentions birds. Whereas, the personification in lines 3 to 5 of “The Snow-Storm,” “...the whited air, Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven, and veils the farm-house at the garden’s end. “ personifies snow, (or “the whited air”), and claims that the snow hides and veils; snow, another element of nature, acts as Emerson’s gateway to bring nature into his work; Lowell’s birds act as his gateway. Lowell’s “The First Snowfall” and Emerson’s “The Snow-Sto... ... middle of paper ... ...God’s presence again. The two poets connect God and Nature by using Nature to talk to God and see God’s presence in daily life, which helps them to display their use of the Infinite feature. “The First Snowfall” and “The Snow-Storm” compare in that both poems share the influence of nature, the imagery, and the infinite concepts of Romanticism, but, the two poems only truly compare in using the same rhetorical strategy of over-detailing their settings to convey imagery; the two poets, Lowell and Emerson, both use figurative language to express an influence of nature in their works, but they use two different types of figurative language: similes and personification. In showcasing the infinite aspect of Romanticism, one poem directly mentions God, “The First Snowfall,” while the other indirectly mentions him through acknowledging events in the Bible, “The Snow-Storm.”
“Winter Evening” by Archibald Lampman, and “Stories of Snow” by P.K Page are two poems describing the human experience of winter. Winter is seen, by some, to be blissful, magical and serene. Winter could also be described as pure and heavenly, with the white snow resembling clouds. However, others have a contrasting viewpoint; they paint winter in harsher light, giving the impression that winter is bitter and ruthless. Others still, have a mixed viewpoint and may recognize both the positives and negatives to the season.
Mary Oliver uses the vivid descriptions to show how she saw the first snow. Oliver accounts for every scene of the beauty she encountered. In this poem, she shares many different images, all which have very intense and powerful meanings. She used words such as smolder, glitter, and shining to show an intense way to describe snow. For example “the broad fields/ smolder with light” (Oliver 645, 24-25), which means the fields glisten mildly. Also “Trees/ glitter li...
Joyce’s intentions of the snow will forever be open to interpretation, however it is reasonably evident that his intentions of the snow provide the reader with a symbol used to depict the unification and vulnerability of humanity. It is the snow that first showcases Gabriel’s dominant and superficial personality, and reciprocates itself as it serves as reasoning for the epiphany that illuminated his flawed humility.
Within “Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant, he states “She has a voice of gladness, and a smile/And eloquence of beauty, and she glides/Into his darker musings, with a mild/And healing sympathy (Bryant, 4-6).” The “she” Bryant is referring to is Mother Nature, which makes his statement that nature can take away a man’s pain that much more powerful. By personifying nature, the reader feels as though they can relate to “her” in a different way. A poem that uses powerful metaphors is “The First Snowfall” by James Russell Lowell. Within his poem, he states, “From sheds new-roofed with Carrara/Came Chanticleer’s muffled crow/The stiff rails were softened to swan’s-down/And still fluttered down the snow (Lowell, 9-12).” The line “from sheds new-roofed with Carrara” is referring to how pure and white the snow that had just recently fallen looks. Carrara is an expensive white marble. So, Lowell is comparing expensive items to the snow, which helps put an image of a beautiful snowfall into the reader’s head. By using both personification and metaphors, the reader can relate to the words being said in a completely different way, and thus understand the abstract ideas that the authors are trying to convey in their Romantic
The chapter entitled “It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow” explains the significance behind the use of snow or rain in literature. Foster states that “Wallace Stevens uses snow to indicate inhuman, abstract thought, particularly thought concerned with nothingness” (Foster 75). Salinger also uses snow to express Holden’s mental state, the bitter cold and longer periods of darkness in winter emphasize his depression. Alternatively, the clean, white snow symbolizes innocence and purity which Holden strives for for the entirety of the novel. EXAMPLES
Frost uses different stylistic devices throughout this poem. He is very descriptive using things such as imagery and personification to express his intentions in the poem. Frost uses imagery when he describes the setting of the place. He tells his readers the boy is standing outside by describing the visible mountain ranges and sets the time of day by saying that the sun is setting. Frost gives his readers an image of the boy feeling pain by using contradicting words such as "rueful" and "laugh" and by using powerful words such as "outcry". He also describes the blood coming from the boy's hand as life that is spilling. To show how the boy is dying, Frost gives his readers an image of the boy breathing shallowly by saying that he is puffing his lips out with his breath.
On the other hand, Robert Frost, did not lose someone he loved, instead he lost himself. Nature to him was more of a get-away, learning that eventually, everything has to go on. The young boy in the poem decides to swing on the branches of the trees, which would more effectively represent the man, leaving his responsibilities. He reflects on the thought of the cold ice storms bending the birches to create an unhappy tone. In comparison with Tonight… nature starts off as something to be gloomy about. It becomes the sense of depression, where the cold is depicted as the frozen heart, which they have. However, towards the end, the narrator realizes that this is a step he must take to overcome this. Then, he describes the trees reaching out to heaven, being everything it can, to let go. Then, he reminisces about the time, which sets a lighter mood.
Frost uses metaphor to convey his point. He writes about his understanding of nature when he writes, "Her early leafs a flower." In this line, he compares natures first leaf to a flower. But the leaf does not start out as a flower, it eventually turns into that. In this poem, Frost uses many different literary devices in the same line. While this is a metaphor, it also shows an example of paradox. This is because in the previous lines, he writes about natures first green and we think of the buds or the leaf of a flower. But it is only a part of the bigger flower. The poem has imagery for the reader to visualize and relate while reading.
...a silence deep and white” (Line,4) they are talking about how the white snow is beautiful and, how it looks like to me this is a love of nature to some maybe not.Last one is Intuition over fact in this quote “Father,who makes the snow?” (Line,22) says his daughter, “And told of the good All father” (Line,23) and lastly “Who cares for us here below” (Line,24) he is talking about and all father which i believe he is talking about god,and this is a great characteristic for this poem.
In both, out of some onomatopoeic words for a bird song and realistic sceneries of nature, the true beauty and ugliness is doubted. While we all suppose spring to be the most beautiful fantastic global fete, the poet shows us a mocking unpleasing view out of that. Or on the other hand he shows us a delicate heartsome scene in the lifeless vapid "Winter."
Nature is an important theme in every frost poem. Nature usually symbolizes age or other things throughout Frost’s poems. In lines 5-10 it says, “Often you must have seen them loaded with ice a sunny winter morning after a rain. They click upon themselves as the breeze rises, and turn many-colored as the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells.” This demonstrates how nature can sometimes symbolize something. Also in lines 29-33 it says, “ By riding them down over and over again until he took the stiffness out of them, and not one but hung limp, not one was left for him to conquer. He learned all there was to learn about not launching too soon.” In lines 44-48 it says, And life is too much like a pathless wood where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs broken across it, and one eye is weeping from a twig’s having lashed across it open. I’d like to get away from earth for a while.”
Stevens’ message reveals itself as the poem unravels: there is never one true understanding of a reality outside of one’s interpretation. The author suggests that one can’t help but transfer their own beliefs and ideas onto what they see; in this case, the “listener” is projecting an impression of misery onto the scenery that lies before him. For example, the first two stanzas are filled with decorative language that serves to describe the visual image of a winter landscape. Using phrases such as “crusted with snow” (3) instead of “covered” with snow provides an evocative illustration of the snow’s roughness. Other phrases such as “shagged with ice” (5) and “rough in the distant glitter/Of the January sun” (6-7) force the reader to experience the miserable portrayal of winter. These are not the descriptions of an observer who “beholds nothing that is not there” (14-15), but rather the objective, poetic appreciation for the snowy
Frost’s diction could be described as simplistic. Frost does not use large vocabulary words, but rather uses simpler everyday words that most people word use. By using a simpler vocabulary it allows the one to understand the meaning of the poem more clearly. The language used is a testament to Frost’s style of writing that he is known for. The language used is clear in this poem, such as “And both that morning equally lay / In leaves no step had trodden black. / Oh, I kept the first for another day!” (11-13). This type of diction helps the reader to analyze and interpret the poem more deeply. As the use of everyday language allows the poem to become more relatable and reach a more diverse audience. Diction is an important element of this poem as it adds to the poem’s
Frost's poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", seems to be a simple story of a man and his horse. It portrays beautiful imagery with an enjoyable rhythm and rhyming scheme. Taking a second look at this poem may bring a more complex curiosity about what Frost is exactly trying to achieve through his words. It is apparent in the breakdown of the poem that new meanings and revelations are to be found. This is seen by relating almost all of his statements to each stanza and line. Robert Frost's aesthetic philosophy about "Stopping by Woods" gives a more penetrating view into his work.
Frost uses nature as his scene, natural processes and features, such as the snow in Frost's work "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" are used to signify events in human lives and draw conclusions about human nature.(http://www. litertureclassics.com/authors/Frost/). In this poem the rider is returning home one late evening, but is tempted by the beauty of the snow filled woods, perhaps evil lurks behind the branches. The mystery continues with the contrast between the light of the village and the darkness of the woods. This mystery is an allure to humans, as we try to conquer nature, but it still has the power to drag us behind its change...