Written in 1931, The Waves 's unique structure and delivery establishes its place in history as a memorable piece of literature. Written by Virginia Woolf, the book echoes her poetic style of writing, standing as one of her most revered works. Throughout the novel, Woolf steps away from traditional writing forms and explores the possibilities of creative prose. In result, she creates a dream-like aura, following the narrative of six individuals from childhood to old age. The Waves challenges the reader to step outside the realms of comfort and think beyond conventional writing to appreciate its giving nature. .
Word choice plays an incredibly important role in understanding Woolf's novel. From the first page, each sentence is carefully crafted to describe details that may have normally been overlooked. At first, I expected Woolf to personify characteristics of nature as many offers do. Instead she provides descriptions so vivid, things that are deemed inanimate are elevated to near life form. Commonplace things such as the clouds or the horizon are painted in such a way that they do not need to be compared to human life for them to be alive. Woolf uses unique metaphor constantly throughout the novel. For example, on page seven, she describes the moment before sunrise as such: .
"Gradually the dark bar on the horizon became clear as the sediment in an old wine bottle had sunk and left the glass green. Behind it, too, the sky cleared as if the white sediment there had sunk, or as if the arm of a woman couched beneath the horizon had raised a lamp and flat bars of white, green, and yellow, spread across the sky like the blades of a fan.".
The book waxes poetic in style, creating realm of sensory imagery and a grasp of the wonders of nature. A few of Woolf's descriptions tend to be sensual, like when she talks about Jinny's yearning for sheer clothing that falls to the ground the shape of flowers, or her description of the female professors' demeanors.
