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Essay about understanding depression
Promote effective communication
Essay about understanding depression
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Depression is an epidemic in our society and a misunderstood one at that. Due to a lack of quality communication, countless people suffer in silence, believing that no one is listening to their cries for help; when their cries are finally heard, they are misinterpreted or ignored. The constant struggles faced by those with mental illnesses and society’s inability to understand those afflicted, are the two themes in Stevie Smith’s poem “Not Waving but Drowning”. The main character in the poem, the dead man, still yearns for the attention in death that he was denied in life, so that the true cause of his demise may be revealed. The poem is a quatrain, meaning that each of the three stanzas has four lines. Additionally, the rhyming pattern of each stanza is a/b/c/b. Through the organization of the poem, Smith was able to demonstrate society’s inability or refusal to recognize signs of depression. The reader, unaware of what was truly happening, took the poem literally until the last …show more content…
As discussed earlier, the reader must see past the literal drowning man trying desperately to call for help as his tired body struggles to stay afloat. The purpose if this poem is to showcase the importance of open and honest communication relating to mental illnesses. Stevie Smith is warning people with depression to quit messing around and come right out and tell someone what is going on. Signs of depression go overlooked because society is not willing to invest time and energy in solving other people’s problems. “Not Waving but Drowning” is an incredibly effective poem that shows what depression looks and feels like from both perspectives. Depression is a hard concept to grasp unless you have struggled with it yourself, but with improved communication and increased general knowledge about mental disorders, countless lives could be
There are diseases in the world that we can touch and see and there are those which we cannot feel or see. Depression and suicide are one of the few that are not physical diseases but mental. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of deaths in America, and 20-25% of Americans eighteen and older have depression. The two poems ‘Summer Solstice, New York City’ by Sharon Olds, and ‘The Mill’ by Edwin Arlington Robinson are both discussing the different ways that suicide and depression can affect an individual. The first poem by Sharon Olds goes into details of suicide prevention whereas the poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson goes into the details of how suicide and death affect the loved ones of the deceased.
Depression has a major effect on a person life. The accumulation of hidden emotion could cause difficulty in life. The consequences could be irrational thinking, suffering in ceased emotion or lead to a total disaster. In “Horses of the night” by Margaret Laurence and “ Paul’s case” by Willa Cather, both authors introduce the concept of depression. Although both selections offer interesting differences, it is the similarities that are significant.
last, which is four lines. In the first three stanzas, the poem is told in
My heart ached. As constant as the waves of the sea slap the rocks, so the emptiness lurked. The icy hand of desperation wrapped me up and constricted. I was suffocating in that dismal abyss of loathsome sitcoms. I lamented but nobody heard, my pain had no companions.
In her poem entitled “The Poet with His Face in His Hands,” Mary Oliver utilizes the voice of her work’s speaker to dismiss and belittle those poets who focus on their own misery in their writings. Although the poem models itself a scolding, Oliver wrote the work as a poem with the purpose of delivering an argument against the usage of depressing, personal subject matters for poetry. Oliver’s intention is to dissuade her fellow poets from promoting misery and personal mistakes in their works, and she accomplishes this task through her speaker’s diction and tone, the imagery, setting, and mood created within the content of the poem itself, and the incorporation of such persuasive structures as enjambment and juxtaposition to bolster the poem’s
In Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” she uses the structure of her poem and rhetoric as concrete representation of her abstract beliefs about death to comfort and encourage readers into accepting Death when He comes. The underlying theme that can be extracted from this poem is that death is just a new beginning. Dickinson deftly reassures her readers of this with innovative organization and management, life-like rhyme and rhythm, subtle but meaningful use of symbolism, and ironic metaphors.
Not only the words, but the figures of speech and other such elements are important to analyzing the poem. Alliteration is seen throughout the entire poem, as in lines one through four, and seven through eight. The alliteration in one through four (whisky, waltzing, was) flows nicely, contrasting to the negativity of the first stanza, while seven through eight (countenance, could) sound unpleasing to the ear, emphasizing the mother’s disapproval. The imagery of the father beating time on the child’s head with his palm sounds harmful, as well as the image of the father’s bruised hands holding the child’s wrists. It portrays the dad as having an ultimate power over the child, instead of holding his hands, he grabs his wrists.
Even though we believe there are so many happy things around us, these things are heartbreaking. The poems “Tips from My Father” by Carol Ann Davis, “Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith, and “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop convey the sorrow of growing up, of sorrowful pretending, and even of life itself. The poem “Tips from My Father” depicts an episode of the life of a father and his son. The pain from the childhood, the betraying of a lover, countless secrets are settling during the period of life, which can absolutely not be shared and understood by others.
Choosing the first person form in the first and fourth stanza, the poet reflects his personal experiences with the city of London. He adheres to a strict form of four stanzas with each four lines and an ABAB rhyme. The tone of the poem changes from a contemplative lyric quality in the first to a dramatic sharp finale in the last stanza. The tone in the first stanza is set by regular accents, iambic meter and long vowel sounds in the words "wander", "chartered", "flow" and "woe", producing a grave and somber mood.
Alliteration is a key aspect to how the reader experiences the poem; it especially gives interest toward alliteration of the letter T. This alliteration begins in the very first line “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant-” (1.1). The alliteration on the T is used three times within the first line; however, it does not stop there. Dickinson uses the “T” sound to continually draw back to the theme of truth. Dickinson, through the use of two stanzas, four lines each, uses quite a distinct rhyme scheme to organize her poem. The second and fourth lines of each stanza are clearly examples of end rhyme, by using words such as “lies” (1.2) and “surprise” (1.4). However, every single line is not an example of end rhyme. The first and third lines rhyme words such as “slant” (1.1) and “delight” (1.3); which can be described as near rhymes for they give a small sensation of rhyming. This rhyming pattern continues for the second stanza as well. The sequence of rhyming is not arbitrarily put into practice, rather, it also adds on to the truth theme. The near rhymes Dickinson stresses to not tell the truth in its entirety, but rather, convey a little bit of truth. This is being directly compared to the almost rhyming sensatio...
The process of mourning will be different for ever individual, the emotions that are felt during this time can range from hate to love. W.H. Auden’s “Funeral Blues” describes the day of someone who is mourning a loved one and experiences feelings such as denial and depression. Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could Not Stop for Death” on the other hand describes the events someone feels as they being to accept death. There are many similarities between these pieces of writings such as the poet’s use of metaphors, imagery, tone and structure. Although these two poems express death in opposite ways they have a common theme which states that death is a part of life. Both of these poems express the different ways that people deal with death; Auden’s poem depicts dark emotions while Dickinson’s tone suggests understanding and acceptance of death.
This poem is a lyric poem since the speaker isn’t telling a story or an observation the this is a lyric poem. The speaker is expressing his or her feelings and emotions. The rhyme scheme in the first stanza is ABAAB, in the second stanza it is CDCCD, in the third stanza the rhyme scheme is EFEEF, and in the last stanza it is GHGGH. Knowing the rhyme scheme of the poem helps the reader be able to stress the syllables that make the poem flow and sound
The poem dramatizes the gradual process of falling apart. Dickinson speaks abstractly of the crumbling of the soul as a dimension of time, rather than being instantaneous. Man falls as a result of a continuous and small-scale decay of the spirit by way of evil inclinations. The complex structure of the poem reflects the underlying figurative meaning. The poem consists of three quatrains in iambic meter, alternating between tetrameter and trimeter. The poet’s use of hyphens guides the reader to read the passage slowly and thoughtfully. The slow pace mirrors the theme of slow decay. The most obvious factor of the poem’s structure is the seemingly random capitalization of mid-sentence nouns. The stress and personification of certain nouns emphasize the small elements of crumbling. The figurative meaning of the poem is built upon by showing that all things can be broken down, slowly but surely.
Poetry is the wind for a trapped and wounded soul. A great example of a wounded soul is, Sylvia Plath. She was an immaculate poet, who expressed her personal troubles through writing. As Plath’s life smouldered into a heap of dust at the age of 30, her poetry grew and bloomed. In the years before her death, her most troubled period, Plath penned three of her most well-known poems, “Daddy”, “Lady Lazarus” and “Tulips”—all three illustrating the horrors of despair with strong, expressive literary devices. Plath, who committed suicide in 1963 at the age of 30, has been hailed ubiquitously as one of the most acclaimed and preeminent poets of the 21st century. Plath’s poetry was influenced by tragic events in her life and her prolonged battle against her deep depression and obsession with death. Plath’s personal issues made her the definition of a confessional poet. In the poems, “Daddy”, “Tulips”, and “Lady Lazarus”, Plath confesses her emotional and nervous breakdowns during her endless depression.
The construction of the poem is in regular four-line stanzas, of which the first two stanzas provide the exposition, setting the scene; the next three stanzas encompass the major action; and the final two stanzas present the poet's reflection on the meaning of her experience.