Richard Wilbur’s “The Writer” as well as “High School Senior” by Sharon Olds, are two poems that focus on the growth of someone’s child as person. The narrator in “The Writer” speaks about watching his daughter explore the freedoms associated with growing up as she writes a story. In “High School Senior” the speaker describes her feelings as her daughter prepares to leave for college, and describes the eternal bond the two share. Both authors tackle a similar theme and portray their love for their daughter, as well as their ideas on growing up, using similar and distinctive literary devices and techniques from the other.
In “The Writer”, Richard Wilbur depicts a scene where his daughter is writing in a room. He recalls memories of an event where a small bird was trapped in the room his daughter now likes to write in. He describes it repeatedly trying to escape it’s prison and how after becoming all bloodied and battered it finally escaped. This can be viewed as an allegory for his daughter trying to find her freedom within the story she’s writing. This can also be seen as foreshadowing of the trials that growing up faces people with. Sharon Olds’ style of writing her poem “High School Senior” is more straightforward and descriptive of her actual daughter, verses Wilbur’s thought evoking allegory. She describes aspects of her daughter to try to cope with her leaving for college. She describes things like her daughters scent and the way she breaths and while using similes, for instance when she says her daughter squatted ‘like a bright tree-frog’ within her womb, creates a more open poem that is clear and straightforward the first time you read it.
After reading Wilbur’s poem multiple times the reader can notice a theme with ...
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...ewhat reserved like the narrator in “The Writer”, usually watching me and my sister and rarely speaking his feelings unprovoked.
“The Writer” and “High School Senior” by Richard Wilbur and Sharon Olds, respectively, are two poems that speak about a parents child growing up and finding themselves. The storyteller in “The Writer” watches his daughter explore the liberties associated with maturing as she writes a story. The narrator in “High School Senior” describes her thoughts as her daughter prepares to depart for college, and describes the immense love and connection she has with her daughter. Both authors attempt a similar theme and show affection for their daughters, as well as their views of life and growing up, using like and unique literary devices and techniques from the other two create two poems with many similarities written in different ways.
Ten year old Esther Burr creates a cheerful, reminiscent journal entry describing her day out with her father by using sophisticated word choice and an informal sentence structure. Burr’s purpose is to reveal her adoration for her father with flattering words and to also describe her day with such detail that she won’t forget it. She develops a complimentary tone in order to not only have a good memory of her father later in life, but also to appeal to her mother, who regularly reads her diary.
...r’.” Poetry for students. Ed. Sara Constantakis. Vol. 43 Detroit: Gale, 2013. Literature Resource Center. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?>.
I have elected to analyze seven poems spoken by a child to its parent. Despite a wide variety of sentiments, all share one theme: the deep and complicated love between child and parent.
Throughout the story, the different roles and expectations placed on men and women are given the spotlight, and the coming-of-age of two children is depicted in a way that can be related to by many women looking back on their own childhood. The narrator leaves behind her title of “child” and begins to take on a new role as a young, adolescent woman.
Growing up is a natural part of life. Everyone grows up. The loss of childish innocence and blind faith in what is said is one chief mark of growing up. Loss of innocence, however, presents itself in many forms, even to adults, and with it brings a greater understanding of the world at large. In literature, authors use the process to explore society and humanity. Through the characters’ loss of innocence, the authors of both To Kill A Mockingbird and Of Mice & Men discuss ideas of prejudice, family, and courage.
Ferguson, Margaret W., Salter, Mary J., and Stallworthy, Jon. The Norton Anthology of Poetry. fifth ed. N.p.: W.W. Norton, 2005. 2120-2121. 2 Print.
These final words sum up her feeling of helplessness and emptiness. Her identity is destroyed in a way due to having children. We assume change is always positive and for the greater good but Harwood’s poem challenges that embedding change is negative as the woman has gained something but lost so much in return.
Fulfilling the roles of both mother and breadwinner creates an assortment of reactions for the narrator. In the poem’s opening lines, she commences her day in the harried role as a mother, and with “too much to do,” (2) expresses her struggle with balancing priorities. After saying goodbye to her children she rushes out the door, transitioning from both, one role to the next, as well as, one emotion to another. As the day continues, when reflecting on
When writing poetry, there are many descriptive methods an author may employ to communicate an idea or concept to their audience. One of the more effective methods that authors often use is linking devices, such as metaphors and similes. Throughout “The Elder Sister,” Olds uses linking devices effectively in many ways. An effective image Olds uses is that of “the pressure of Mother’s muscles on her brain,” (5) providing a link to the mother’s expectations for her children. She also uses images of water and fluidity to demonstrate the natural progression of a child into womanhood. Another image is that of the speaker’s elder sister as a metaphorical shield, the one who protected her from the mental strain inflicted by their mother.
The author uses imagery, contrasting diction, tones, and symbols in the poem to show two very different sides of the parent-child relationship. The poem’s theme is that even though parents and teenagers may have their disagreements, there is still an underlying love that binds the family together and helps them bridge their gap that is between them.
Laura Ingalls Wilder may be viewed as one of the greatest children’s authors of the twentieth century. Her works may be directed towards a younger crowd but people of all ages enjoy her literary contributions. The way that Wilder’s books are written guarantees that they have a place among classics of American literature (“So many…” 1). Laura Ingalls Wilder’s form of writing portrays an American family’s interworking in a journey through childhood.
As every well-read person knows, the background in which you grow up plays a huge role in how you write and your opinions. Fuller grew up with a very strict education, learning multiple classic languages before she was eight years old. Fern grew up with writers all throughout her family and had a traditional education and saw first hand the iniquities of what hard-working had to contend with. Through close analysis of their work, a reader can quickly find the connections between their tone, style, content, and purpose and their history of their lives and their educational upbringing.
Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. Ed. Joseph Terry. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc, 2001. 123-154.
closes the school and writes Thoughts on the Education of Daughters. She then goes on to become a...
In the poetry of William Blake and William Wordsworth, this difference between children and adults and their respective states of mind is articulated and developed. As a person ages, they move undeniably from childhood to adulthood, and their mentality moves with them. On the backs of Blake and Wordsworth, the reader is taken along this journey.