The poem, “Apostrophe to the Ocean,” is one of the most renowned masterpieces of George Gordon Byron, which conveys the author’s love for nature by including his unique, romantic style of writing. As this poem is entirely dedicated to the mighty ocean, the main subject of this work is about man versus nature. George Byron also discusses his views about the industrialization; throughout the poem, he hints on the deleterious effects of human exploitations. Therefore, the poem, “Apostrophe to the Ocean,” paints George Byron’s view of the concept – man versus nature – by revealing his belief: the power of nature is insurmountable.
To begin with, unlike the other romantic poems that were written during his era, this poem is entirely focused on the wild beauty of the ocean that the author finds fascination in, rather than on his beautiful, loving woman. The title of the poem also indicates its subject; the first literary device used is portrayed by the title. The apostrophe is “when the writer speaks to an absent or dead person as if they were present or personifies an inanimate object as a person not present” (Chrisholm). In this poem, Byron speaks to the inanimate object, the ocean, about his feelings toward this mighty part of nature and its powers that can easily dominate human beings.
The poem consists of seven Spenserian stanzas; the Spenserian stanza is composed of “nine iambic lines where the first eight are iambic pentameters and the ninth is an iambic hexameter; its rhyme scheme is ababbcbcc” (Spenserian stanzas). Thus, this work has a rather complicated form. Following this form, every stanza includes deep and thorough meanings that subsequently convey the author’s notions.
The first stanza underlines the author’s feeli...
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...oth a memory from his childhood and pleasing fear for the future.
The poem, “Apostrophe to the Ocean,” encompasses distinguished insights on the nature and civilization. By revealing his love for the ocean, Byron was able to include the romantic elements; he wisely discussed his hatred toward the industrialization and described the mighty capacities of the ocean. Therefore, I believe that George Gordon Byron was successful in painting a powerful picture of the ocean.
Works Cited
Chisholm, Marshall. “Poetry analysis: Apostrophe to the Ocean.” Helium.com. 24 April 2009.
3 April 2011. .
James T. Carlton. “Apostrophe to the Ocean.” Jstor.org. 3 April 2011. www.jstor.org/pss/2989831>. “Spenserian Stanza.” Thinking Poetry. 3 April 2011.
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The poems “Sea Rose” by H.D and “Vague Poem” by Elizabeth Bishop were both written by two women who took over the Victorian era. H.D’s works of writing were best known as experimental reflecting the themes of feminism and modernism from 1911-1961. While Bishop’s works possessed themes of longing to belong and grief. Both poems use imagery, which helps to make the poem more concrete for the reader. Using imagery helps to paint a picture with specific images, so we can understand it better and analyze it more. The poems “Sea Rose” and “Vague Poem” both use the metaphor of a rose to represent something that can harm you, even though it has beauty.
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“The Fish,” written by Elizabeth Bishop in 1946, is perhaps most known for its incredible use of imagery, but this analysis does not merely focus on imagery. Instead, it is based on a quote by Mark Doty from his essay “A Tremendous Fish.” In it he says, “‘The Fish’” is a carefully rendered model of an engaged mind at work” (Doty). After reading this statement, it causes one to reflect more in-depth about how the poem was written, and not just about what its literal meaning lays out. In “The Fish,” Bishop’s utilization of certain similes, imagery in the last few lines, narrative poem style, and use of punctuation allows the audience to transport into the life of the fish; therefore, allowing them to understand Bishop’s ideas on freedom and wisdom.
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The poem is based on Lord Tennyson describing of a huge sea monster that is
Conclusively, Whitman’s poem is one artistic material that is devised in a peculiar style that exemplifies a dynamic freedom in poetry. Even though the poet defies some regular conventions of poetry, a great success in autobiographical conveying the message is realized. Therefore, it is a poetic work that poses a challenge to the philosophy of poetry as far as poetry orthodoxies are concerned.