... poetic diction at large really started to take off. It also marked a distinctive break with the bourgeois morality of the Victorian Age, rejecting 19th-century optimism and presenting a profoundly pessimistic picture of a culture in disarray. From 1911 to 1914 Eliot was back at Harvard, USA, reading Indian philosophy and studying Sanskrit, but then he returned to France. After several years of ... humanistic ideals. The Waste Land is a reckless experiment in poetry; its style and language are highly complicated and symbolic and full of erudite allusions. In 1936 the poet even attached N...

• Word Count: 1915
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Throughout American history, various authors, journalists, and poets, have been recalled to have changed the view of American society. But one of these poets emerges from this group of people; an influential poet of the 19th century was Walt Whitman, author of the famous poems, "Leaves of Grass," an...

• Word Count: 672
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... female lovers and paramours, yet this poem professes adoration of a man. These seeming contradictions raise questions as to what constitutes femininity and masculinity, and how we ought to view the gray areas of gender roles-questions which the speaker grapples with in coming to terms with homosexual feelings, as evidenced by the resignation in the poem following the volta. However, the ... ...

• Word Count: 1124
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of conventional similes and other comparative strategies. In his endeavor to redefine beauty in a love poem, Carew plays with a combination of words in each stanza that help to paint a deeper picture that a simple simile would not be able to accomplish. This stanza, and every stanza thereafter, begins with the phrase, "Ask me no more" which Carew repeats for the ... ponder these occurrences any longer since he's found the answer, and possibly even the source, to what was not able to be answered before. This helps to paint a more vivid picture in the reader's mind when compared to a simi...

• Word Count: 1528
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... that human life is being debased and shamefully humiliated through war is contained in the last stanza. With phrases such as "the white eyes writhing" and "his hanging face", we picture the agonising outcome of the last few distressing moments of one soldier as he dies from breathing in mustard gas. Wilfred then compares the soldier's face to the phrase "devil ... overwhelming sentiment that these horrors should never be permitted by humans again. He then adds to the hellish scene of death as he vividly brings before the reader the final picture of a poor wretch choking on his froth cor...

• Word Count: 1029
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the shedding of blood in high places -"church" "palace". "Charter"d" meaning "bound" also captures the city's human slavery describing the river as "bound" between its London shores; it provides a dismal picture of London. Blake also depicts the anger, loyalty and suffering of the solder by relating a powerful image of blood running down the palace walls to accuse the ruling palace of ... through imagery, love is depicted in Plath's poem, "Elm" as a "shadow", the shady choice of words allow the mind to picture love as a burden and a dark sentiment. Although the phrase is also a metaphor...

• Word Count: 963
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... a millionaire might not be the best situation in the world. Like Lindsey Lohan is always getting in trouble for the most obscure crimes or Kanye West frowning in every single picture Kim Kardashian takes of him; someone rich might not actually be able to live his life contently without a society around to support him. Angelou's words are: "There are some ... " can't use "money", "their wife" runs around like a fairy woman from Gaelic mythology, or a "heart" being of "stone". In the bigger picture when an individual really tries to visualize, this is just an enchanting use of diction. The...

• Word Count: 1766
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , political and religious metaphors to emphasize the depth of her love for her husband. Although there isn't necessarily a "clear" volta in terms of its use as a "twist," something Paul Fussell notes as "indeed indispensable" due to its lack of execution, we see the seventh and eighth line summarize the metaphors in just one line as opposed to it being spread over ... ...

• Word Count: 1540
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the emotions that generated this form of artistic expression was not on a par with the expression itself This is indicated by the last line of the poem, where the speaker notes that the piano player "slept like a rock or a man that's dead." The key word here is "or," for it denotes the imprecision of the speaker's understanding. What the blues articulates ... ...

• Word Count: 547
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... side of him is vulnerable to Montresors pompous and skillfully wicked character. The descriptions of what chracters wear and how they act makes the story more realistic and easier to picture the characters as realistic people. In depth scene descriptions including carnival as well as the Montresor cellar really engulf the reader in these realistic surroundings. The ... picture that Poe paints in the reader's mind about each scene really proves the story is a true literary piece. Descriptions are given about room sizes, materials the walls are made of, ... ...

• Word Count: 557
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... realise so, his style is referred to as "lyrical" and this I agree with. His choice of words may not make a great deal of sense, however, they still manage to paint a picture for us. For example in "Carrion Comfort" one of his "Sonnets of Desolation" whereby his music is less exuberant and more intense than in previous poems, he creates a sequence of ... of alliteration and hyphenation of words in the phrase "Fresh-firecoal chestnut falls" makes the general idea of burnished, glossy chestnuts, falling in a sunny blaze of colours into a single mental picture, like a snapshot taken on a b...

• Word Count: 1414
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... with the complete lack of comfort offered in Experience's version. Here the sweep's unfeeling sanctimonious parents have clothed him in the clothes of death and taught him to sing the notes of woe. Religion is seen to be firmly on the side of the parents who are both gone up to the church to pray'. God himself is implicated in the ... ...

• Word Count: 1564
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... are generally very lyrical and of course, particularly in Donne's poetry, they are very witty. In the early to mid 19th century, Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote some rather subjective critical notes on the metaphysical poets and in particular Donne's poetry. He says "to read (the metaphysical poetry) you need only count syllables, but to read Donne you must measure time, and ... ...

• Word Count: 737
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... everyday aspects of life, "a face/ an eye", as a metaphor for human contact to suggests how individuals are able to gain form interacting with new people. Usage of the metaphor "a picture/ of a picture" suggests how by embracing change we can be inspired which then stimulates new ideas. By using "a fog" in the third stanza as a metaphor for confusion, the poet uses symbolism to ... ...

• Word Count: 288
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... is degradated by comparisons to beggars and old women. Their tiredness is described through allusions to sleep and alcohol, as in the phrase "drunk with fatigue", which makes the reader picture the soldiers dragging themselves as drunken people do. An important metaphor is present in the second stanza, which compares the process of gas poisoning to that of drowning. The gas ... of the soldiers by constant pausing that results from frequent punctuation. A different use is given in the second stanza, where the suspense dots create a pause that allows the reader to picture the soldier chok...

• Word Count: 1419
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... in a way where each stanza gradually builds toward revealing the reality of Aunt Jennifer's life and the irony behind her art. The first stanza serves to paint an optimistic, colorful picture of the tigers Aunt Jennifer sews as "Bright topaz denizens of a world of green" (2), confident and fearless, "They pace in sleek chivalric certainty" (4). Contrary to the ... ...

• Word Count: 1245
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... images as well as the language of Plath's poetry to explore more abstract concepts of guilt. Hughes use of the familiar to heighten such an idea is continued in 'A Picture of Otto', a poem at the end of Birthday Letters. In this free verse poem, Hughes seeks to directly access the aforementioned father figure of Otto Plath. In this case, he ... ...

• Word Count: 2183
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... plunged into the horse. The automatic connotations that we associate with the word 'crack', is usually implied with negative actions; such as injury or pain, which the reader can picture in their head to alert them that a painful event is near. However, in the second sentence of the stanza – the interpretation of 'the night [drawing] through the trees ... ...

• Word Count: 943
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... pioneered their own unique style of writing. Whitman's style of free verse develops in complex and expansive lines and stanzas, which are nevertheless visually descriptive, painting to the readers a clear picture of what he wants them to see through a direct and impacting tone. Dickinson's works, in contrast, condense intense feelings and thoughts in a few terse lines, in which, despite innocent and ... ...

• Word Count: 2619
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... were also compared with the twinkle little stars shining on the Milky Way. With imagination and a keen observation, the author has successfully embroidered the outstanding golden daffodils in the whole picture. Notwithstanding, William Wordsworth not only merely described the nature but also reflected the reciprocal relationship between human and nature throughout the poem. Firstly, nature is idealized as a friend. At the ... ...

• Word Count: 969
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... it is about to break and stones are flying all around the house. The poem is a very well written piece with immaculate imagery and other tools which paint such a vivid picture of the storm that you can actually imagine, visualise and put yourself in the poet's shoes and see all that he is describing. The poem follows a very well structured timeline ... ...

• Word Count: 788
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... text and describing the emotion of the reader. By doing this, it emphasizes the actuality of the dangers of being a soldier to the reader and also, it better illustrates the picture by creating a more vivid depiction. The use of "Drunk with fatigue" also is to illustrate the life of a soldier. Through the use of the repeated assonance in the ... ...

• Word Count: 801
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to ensure that the mood of the poem remains light and airy. When we look at the language used by Pope in any sequence concerning the sylphs we can certainly picture these " lucid squadrons" . Pope uses highly evocative adjectives such as "glittering" and "fluid" to describe these creatures, teamed with excellent use of light and sound imagery "Soft o"er the shrouds ... ...

• Word Count: 2068
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... is a planet in space. Moreover, when combined with the chimera of descriptive language and figurative imagery, as in the line: "suspended by a fragile thread of gravity!" the poet conjures a vivid picture that allows the reader to understand that the Earth is not as immense and indestructible as it may seem, instead, it teaches the reader that the Earth is delicate and ... ...

• Word Count: 707
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... dewdrops wet". She here implies that death will almost be a pleasurable relief for her as images such as "dewdrops wet" are luxurious and appeal to the reader's senses. She paints a picture of herself as being completely indifferent as to her lover's reaction to her death "if thou wilt, remember if thou wilt, forget"; proceeding to emphasise her resilience using the rule ... ...

• Word Count: 2526
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: Undergraduate