Emily Dickinson’s body of work contains different experiences of death that contain moving reactions to the body’s trek into darkness and madness. Her poems’ magnitude comes from the complicated and deliberate use of literary techniques to breathe life into death, and the uncertainty of meaning that permits different viewpoints of these experiences. Although the views presented by Dickinson can be conflicting at times, they all underline her views that death comes in many forms and in just as many experiences. "I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I Died" gives the reader a view of what death is when there is no afterlife as it spotlights on the decay that happens after the death of the writer, a course that leads to darkness and emptiness. The tone of the poem could, depending on one’s station in life, be about fear or peace.
Death is a prevalent theme in the poetry of both Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickinson. They both examine death from varied angles. There are many similarities as well as differences in the representation of this theme in their poetry. Plath views death as a sinister and intimidating end, while Dickinson depicts death with the endearment of romantic attraction. In the poetry of Plath death is depicted traditionally, while Dickinson attributes some mysticism to the end of life.
Each of these poems are different their themes, tones, and rhyme schemes, but they both show how the author perceives death. “Thanatopsis” shows death as something that should be embraced while “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” shows death as something that should be confronted. Death is a major fear that many people have, and these two poems both show ways that this fear can be conquered.
Next, in the first line of the poem, “I have done it again” (1), suggests disappointment and sadness in this woman’s life. This first statement therefore, brings the ... ... middle of paper ... ... tone of the speaker through her attitude. In conclusion, Plath’s exercises various poetic devises that emphasize the attitude towards death by the speaker. Diction as a poetic devise shows though the choices that Plath makes in the selection of her words to depict the unenthusiastic tone of the poem. Then, the next poetic devise used is imagery, which was the most affective devise because of the vivid images the audience can imagine in their own minds.
The two poems, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”, by Dylan Thomas and, “Because I Could Not Wait for Death”, by Emily Dickinson, we find two distinct treatments on the same theme, death. Although they both represent death, they also represent it as something other than death. Death brings about a variety of different feelings, because no two people feel the same way or believe the same thing. The fact that our faith is unknown makes the notion of death a common topic, as writers can make sense of their own feelings and emotions and in the process hope to make readers make sense of theirs too. Both Dickinson and Thomas are two well known and revered poets for their eloquent capture of these emotions.
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. The use of metaphors is present throughout each of these poems. In “Funeral Blues” Auden uses metaphors to allow the readers to understand the speaker’s pain.
However, although the poets write about the same theme, they discuss different sides of it. Their poems contradict; Wordsworth describes the beauty of nature whereas Cheng describes how nature has been laid waste. By using Wordsworth and extracts from his poems actively throughout ‘Report to Wordsworth’ ... ... middle of paper ... ... the ashes of language’ which similarly creates an idea of apocalypse and doom. The ‘ashes of language’ could imply the end of civilization which would be caused, again, by mankind. ‘The ashes’ is a metaphor for death.
Emily Dickinson And the Theme of Death Emily Dickenson, an unconventional 19th century poet, used death as the theme for many of her poems. Dickenson's poems offer a creative and refreshingly different perspective on death and its effects on others. In Dickenson's poems, death is often personified, and is also assigned to personalities far different from the traditional "horror movie" roles. Dickenson also combines imaginative diction with vivid imagery to create astonishingly powerful poems. In the 1862 poem, After Great pain, a formal feeling comes--, Emily Dickenson presents death from the perspective of the bereaved.
These characteristics are displayed in “ Two Thousand One, Nine Eleven,” by Paul Spreadbury. While disaster has many other forms “Auto Wreck,” by Karl Shapiro speaks from the other side; witnessing a disaster. Even though these two poems have no relation to one another event wise, they both speak in fascinating ways on the aftermath and reaction one endures; while faced with disaster. The authors Paul Spreadbury and Karl Shapiro both used very different writing techniques while at the same time capturing the imagery needed to feel as though you were there in the scene. In Shapiro’s poem he directly contrasts everything he says while leaving a very visual impact and understanding.
The Waste Land: Water and Religious Motifs In his poem "The Waste Land," T.S. Eliot employs a water motif, which represents both death and rebirth. This ties in with the religious motif, as well as the individual themes of the sections and the theme of the poem as a whole, that modern man is in a wasteland, and must be reborn. In the first section, "Burial of the Dead," water (or the lack thereof) has a primarily negative meaning. It is first mentioned in lines four and nine, in reference to April, which the narrator calls "The cruellest month."