... many of nature's elements by attaching descriptions of remains of death that are typically human. He begins the poem with a simile by comparing the autumn leaves to ghosts. Though leaves are in fact, living things, the term "ghost" implies a spirit or presence from a living being who has passed on. To become a ghost ... in the second stanza of his poem as well. In the fourth line, he uses angels as a metaphor for decaying leaves. Here, the reader is compelled to envision spirit beings falling from the sky with the rain and lightning. In another area of the poem where Shelley applies huma...

• Word Count: 1115
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... none, or few do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang." Leaves changing to yellow and falling from the trees mark the end of autumn and the beginning of winter. In these lines, the changing of seasons from autumn symbolizes Shakespeare's loss of his youthful qualities that ... he once held to changing into an old man waiting for his death. Bare tree limbs, stripped of any leaves can also represent his own dealing with change ... ...

• Word Count: 672
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... the passage of time. The happiness in the stanza is overshadowed by the grief in the final two lines. The final line especially is the most ominous. The "sick leaves" foreshadow disease and death, which is reinforced by how they "reel down in throngs." The word "reel" also has connotations of illness as a person might reel ... "reel" also means a Scottish or Irish dance. This creates a strange contrast in sad final lines. The word "throngs" is used to express the multitude of the leaves falling down which creates an image of uncontrollable death and passing time. In the second stanza Ha...

• Word Count: 905
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... at the beginning of the Modernist period, yet both have very similar ideas about a poet's dedication to "things." Whitman believed that a poet's thoughts were "hymns of praise" (1855 preface to Leaves of Grass) to things, and Rilke believed that a poet had to "win the confidence" (Letters to a Young Poet) of things. Both poets also felt that we have to reach a certain ... . Rilke connected us all through a "life source" as well. His life source was what we were missing about the world, but could never achieve. It is in "the way a fountain's / falling is caught by its next jet as though i...

• Word Count: 2891
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: High School

... is his best friend, And Gene is touched by this and it makes him very happy. The reason it touched Gene so much is because he felt responsible for Finny falling and breaking his leg because while Finny was on the limb Gene moved it and it caused Finny to lose his balance and fall. Finny told Gene that it wasnt ... Leper is different, and that he is mentally hurt. Leper brings up the incident of Finny shattering his leg. Gene is certain the Leper is crazy in the head, and leaves. When Gene finally gets back to school he finds Leper. Leper got Finny and Gene together, Leper told that Gene...

• Word Count: 618
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... leaf/ The chestnut pattering to the ground" (11.1-4).  His natural surroundings are quiet, which he feels are suited to this stage in his grief. It is fall and the leaves are falling off the tree along with the chestnuts. Still there is imagery of death and dying. It is quiet but the world to him is dying. A particular moving part of the ... ...

• Word Count: 5237
• Approx Pages: 21
• Grade Level: High School

... an immoral person is his lack of emotion concerning the death of his mother, Maman. Meursault disobeys the general rules of etiquette by refusing to see his mother's cadaver, and falling asleep and accepting coffee and cigarettes at the vigil. In addition, he does not observe a period of mourning. The day following the funeral, Meursault goes swimming, sees a comedy film with ... sun and the sea. These small gratifications are the key to Meursault, expressing his acceptance of the tangibility and reality of life. Marie visits Meursault in prison, and before she leaves she shouts to him ...

• Word Count: 1082
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... summer was now dead, but autumn had not yet been born. Also, in "The Summer of Two Figs," James Hurst created the statement: a summer born of fulsome promise faded into falling leaves unfulfilled. A feeling of desolation was presented here when Hurst implied that summer was born with great promise that eventually evanesced without being fulfilled. Another emotion stirred up by the two ... ...

• Word Count: 345
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School