“I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” This quote, found in Wendell Berry’s poem, “The Peace of Wild Things,” absolutely jumped out at me as my eyes trailed across the text. I have read many, many poems throughout high-school and my first years of college but, none of which have stood out to me such as this poem did. As I read it, I fell in love with the musicality of the short, simple poem. I adored the directness of it; it was straight to the point, no beating around the bush. As I read this work of art, my mind was transported to my favorite place in the outdoors. My imagination was filled with the waving of the tall grass, the stillness of the trees, and the feeling that time is standing still and I’m the only one who notices. For example, it sparked the idea, or memory of how much I love nature and the outdoors, and the great sense of peace it brings to me. In an instant, it showed me how far had drifted from that mind set. I think that this poem has the capability of bringing attention to viewers of how far away all of us have drifted from nature. I think of last week when I visited Sioux Falls for the first time, I was truly shocked as I looked around and saw a large number of people so focused on their various versions of technology that they didn’t see Gods beauty passing by. I think it this piece presents a challenging new idea that the simpler times are truly gone. I believe that it has become uncommon for people to seek out the sense of peace from nature that the author describes in this poem in today’s era. It is truly incredible to me how we can tread along in the mundaneness of life, and then suddenly an old thought is drug from the dark recesses of our minds and becomes new I cannot say how many times I have read those two books, but every time I read them I am reminded how different life used to be during the gold rush. Before reading those books, I had romantic notions about the gold rush; I thought it was just a bunch of guys rooting around in some rivers for gold. I had never considered that they did this rigorous activity year around in such horrible conditions. I think that when we go back and read familiar works it reminds us where we have come from, it reminds us of what our opinions are based on. I always think that we should re-visit the books of our past; they are a major part of what has shaped
Both stories were insightful about the harsh reality of war. They give the reader a view of war. The pieces are filled with visuals and symbolism. I recommend to all readers. Has a true message in both works.
She was free in her wildness. She was a wanderess, a drop of free water. She belonged to no man and to no city”
Despite the beauty described in the first few stanzas of the poem, it was the feeling of doubt and pondering that approached at the end of the poem that truly was the most thought provoking. Instead of just writing of beauty, Poets must realize that they may be leading people to false ideals, and in doing so that they may actually be causing individuals to believe in something that is nothing more than a dream. This realization makes the image of the questioning poet by far the most important in the piece.
According to author Annie Dillard, throughout Teaching a Stone to Talk, nature isn’t only aesthetically-pleasing, but serves a greater purpose. The elements of nature do strike her, often, with beauty, but to her and for her, nature isn’t just something that ‘we’ must rely on for beauty, but is something where we can find answers to our most complex debacles, ones that we -- as a society and as individuals -- often struggle with. It’s evident that nature is of great, paramount importance to her, and isn’t something she just sees physical beauty in, but is something she finds answers and clarity in, and believes that ‘we’ can find that in nature, as well. We can understand life, through nature.
Moore begins the last stanza with an ambiguous “So”. Although one has a heightened awareness of mortality, one “behaves,” one keeps the ego disciplined. This is the same concept as that of the caged bird who, though held captive in a cruelly small space, continues to sing with all his heart. Despite the bird's lack of “satisfaction” because of his loss of flight and freedom, he knows “joy”.
The song of the sirens is a fatal song, but one man out of all the men in existence heard it and lived to tell the story. Odyssey’s story is told in many versions, a poem by Margaret Atwood, and a video called O Brother Where Art Thou? They can all be compared and contrasted based on what they emphasize, what is absent in each, and what is different in each.
The central idea of the poem, “The Peace of Wild Things”, by Wendell Berry, is that even though the world might have many injustices, you must have hope for good and peace in the world. Berry sometimes feels like he’s lost faith in the future of the world. “ When despair for the world grows in me… I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” When Berry can’t seems to be optimistic about the future, sometimes he relaxes with nature, and doesn’t worry about the dreadful events in the world. Injustice might fill the world with awful things, but it’s important to stop and have confidence in a better
I believe that the structure of this poem allows for the speaker to tell a narrative which further allows him to convey his point. The use of enjambment emphasizes this idea as well as provides a sense of flow throughout the entirety of a poem, giving it the look and feel of reading a story. Overall, I believe this piece is very simplistic when it comes to poetic devices, due to the fact that it is written as a prose poem, this piece lacks many of the common poetic devices such as rhyme, repetition, alliteration, and metaphors. However, the tone, symbolism, allusion and imagery presented in the poem, give way to an extremely deep and complicated
...ce, although both writings are interesting in their own ways, the most interesting aspect of both writings together is that they both have a similar plot and theme. It is rare that two
...This is probably my favorite poem that I’ve ever read. It has such influence on so many popular ideas today. It talks about loving and respecting nature, which I agree with completely. When I hear of people killing animals just for fun, it makes me mad. It’s hard to make me mad, but one thing that never fails is total lack of respect for nature, or anything, for that matter. I think we should all take a good hard look at a certain stanza of this poem again. “He prayeth best, who loveth best All things both great and small; For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all.” If everyone understood these lines, and took them to heart, Coleridge would be very pleased, and the mariner’s penance would have not been served in vain. The world would be a better place. Man and nature would no longer be “out of tune.” This is the romantic poem of romantic poems.
Helen of Troy, known as the most beautiful woman of ancient Greek culture, is the catalyst for the Trojan War. As such, she is the subject of both Edgar Allen Poe’s “To Helen” and H.D.’s “Helen”; however, their perceptions of Helen are opposites. Many poets and authors have written about Helen in regards to her beauty and her treacherous actions. There is a tremendous contrast between the views of Helen in both poems by Poe and Doolittle. The reader may ascertain the contrast in the speakers’ views of Helen through their incorporation of diction, imagery, and tone that help convey the meaning of the work.
A prominent theme throughout Mary Oliver's poems is the appreciation of the natural world and all of its little details. Oliver is renowned for her ability to immerse the reader in the natural world through powerful language and imagery, allowing them to truly appreciate the beauty of nature. Her close observation of nature illustrates her intimate relationship with nature and is exemplified in one her most famous poems "The Summer Day," in which she questions the origins of nature. In this poem, Oliver conveys her love of nature through the speaker, who is not only a passive observer and admirer of nature, but also an active thinker and component of nature. By choosing nature as the poem's center of attention, Oliver is able to depict nature as a beautiful and mystical place, evoking the reader's awe and fascination. This poem is so beautiful because the speaker describes to the reader the lovely little idiosyncrasies that she notices within nature, illustrating how nature is infinitely complex and that even little insects are worthy of appreciation.
Avison puts the reader into the poem by making he/she sit in front of a park fountain. It is usually quite relieving to sit in a local park and watch the park fountain spew water from its spout and watch it crash down against the still water in the fountain’s bowl. The sound of crashing water clears the mind into a state of reflection and ease “In the sound of the fountain you rest.” However, a “rushing river of cars” creates “a heart-stopping blurt” that interrupts this state of reflection and ease, causing the reader to be one with the rushing society. In this image, Avison points out that society is not able to take the time to reflect and relax because it is always in a state of rapid motion, there are very little breaks. Avison wants society to take a break and notice the little things in life that can actually mean a
The tone in the first 11 stanzas of the poem seems very resigned; the speaker has accepted that the world is moving on without them. They says things like “I don’t reproach the spring for starting up again” and “I don’t resent the view for its vista of a sun-dazzled bay”. By using words like “resent” and “reproach”, the author indirectly implies that the speaker has a reason to dislike beautiful things. The grief that has affected the speaker so much hasn’t affected life itself and they has come to accept that. The author chooses to use phrases like ‘it doesn’t pain me to see” and “I respect their right” which show how the speaker has completely detached themself from the word around them. While everything outside is starting to come back to life, the speaker is anything but lively. “I expect nothing from the depths near the woods.” They don’t expect anything from the world and want the world to do the same thing in return. This detachment proves that the speaker feels resigned about themself and the world around
I can picture him seeing life and feeling it in every flower, ant, and piece of grass that crosses his path. The emotion he feels is strongly suggested in this line "To me the meanest flower that blows can give / Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears." Not only is this showing the kind of fulfillment he receives from nature, but also the power that nature possesses in his mind.... ... middle of paper ... ...