Iceberg As Metaphor For Life
The poem " The Iceberg" by Sir Charles G.D. Roberts was written in 1931 when Roberts was 71 years old. When one is amidst old age a person tends to reflect on life. Experience of the past come to mind and you begin to reflect more on birth and death. This poem is an interpretation of Roberts's reflection on life and death and his course throughout life.
The poem "The Iceberg" is a metaphor for life, it is the voice of something that has approached the end and is facing death with the peacefulness of calm waters but with the forcefulness of a massive iceberg. What makes the poem more personal is that it is written in free verse. Free verse is known as "open form" verse. It is printed in short lines rather than continuity of prose, it differs because its rhythmic pattern is not organized into meter. Most free verse also has irregular line lengths and lacks rhythm1, all of which this poem possesses. Writing the poem in free verse allowed the poet to express himself fully and without any limitations. This coincides with the poem being written in the modernist period, which was first and foremost an era in which all traditionalist literary forms of the 19th century were abandoned.
Roberts had many philosophical influences and they are clearly seen in his poetry. The iceberg can represent the human consciousness and the three levels (id, ego and the super ego) which in psychology are often put into a iceberg like diagram. Throughout the poem the reader should realize that the iceberg is a metaphor for life and the human form. Essentially we are like the iceberg in which only the tip is showing. Therefore the iceberg in the poem becomes a human life form and is personified in that it is able to think and speak on a human level.
"The Iceberg" leads the reader through the road of life, its very much like a map outlining the many hardships and stages the human form and psyche will go through . The poem is most of all a reflection of Roberts coming to terms with the possibility of death and the memories of childhood and birth. The poem starts with the birth of the iceberg as it is "spawned" from something larger.
The book entitled “The Iceberg Hermit” is about a leading character, Allan. This was written by Arthur Roth. This is about a story of Allan who is a living survivor of a wrecked ship and how he is to continue surviving without any signs of rescue. Summary
Frost uses quite a bit of personification throughout the poem to give the sky and ocean human like traits. The use of this literary device helps embody the meaning of the poem. The first use of personification is seen in the second and third line “Great waves looked over others coming in/ and thought of doing something to the shore”. This illustrates how the waves were smashing upon each other and getting larger and larger than the ones before. The personification of the waves in line three, suggest that the waves have an actual mind of their and shall do what they wish.
He describes how the sand on the beach flows and moves on the shore. For example, in the first line of stanza two, he says, “Slush and sand of the beach until daylight.” This description of the sand really helps you visualize it.
In this poem, Frost includes his fear of the ocean and exaggerates its destructive power. As Judith Saunders stated that “The first thirteen lines have depicted an ocean storm of unusual force, and through personification the poet attributes to this storm a malign purposefulness” (1). Frost provided human characteristics on the storm to help prove his point that the ocean has bad intentions and its only purpose is to hurt him. Frost does not describe the waves as a result of unfavorable weather; he explains them as having a malignant intention to destroy the world. This poem revolves around the forces of nature and could be included in the long list of nature themed poems by Robert Frost.
The characters of the poem are also some very meaningful keys in showing the hidden meaning. The first stanza describes the crowd that has gathered to watch the enactment of our human lives. Lines three and four states "an angel throng, bewinged, and bedight in veils, and drowned in tears." Poe is stating that a group of angels is going to watch the spectacle put on for them, although they are already drowning in the tears from plays before. The orchestra that plays for them is another set of characters that have meaning. They represent the background in everyone's life by "playing the music of the spheres." A third set of characters that show hidden meaning is the "Mimes, in the form of God on high." They denote the people that inhabit the earth. Poe describes them as "Mere puppets they, who come and go at bidding of vast formless things." The vast formless things are the ideas that we have. Ideas like the things that we think we have to do for ourselves to survive and succeed. They also make up drama of the play. A final, prominent figure in this dramatic performance is the conqueror worm. Poe illustrates it as "a blood-red thing.
John Riquelme’s essay For Whom the Snow Taps: Style and Repetition in “The Dead” proposes two possible interpretations of the story. The essay describes the variations of meaning behind the recurring thematic purpose of the story, but even more so, points out the repetition of the symbol of snow. Focusing mainly on the celebrated last passage of the story, Riquelme harps on the transformat...
The poem is notable for Hayden's characteristically accurate evocation of imagery. Just like his other poems, Hayden’s imagery in this poem is very vivid. The reader is able to imagine or see these images in their inner minds. Thus, the diver “sank through easeful/azure/swiftly descended/free falling, weightless/plunged” he described the diver’s carefree attitude and relaxed attitude as he dove into the sea. Thrilled and enchanted by what he sees in the wrecked ship, he lingers for more than intended. When he was brought to the reality of the danger he was in, he, “...in languid/frenzy strove/began the measured
the poet is trying to portray the fragility of a life, as it is created with the intent to be lost (death
The conceit in line 8, “like an iceberg between the shoulder blades” (line 8), illustrates the briskness death emanates whilst taking the life from the warmth of your body. This ice and fire comparison coaxes the reader to pursue the unwelcoming thought of death as the adverse path to travel by. By no means does Oliver attempt to romanticize the idea of a brief and painless endeavor. Furthermore, the recurrence of cessation illustrated by the “hungry bear in autumn” (2) simile suggests the seasonal regularity death’s toll takes on the living. The presence of frequency characterizes the shift in forbearance to the acceptance of the inevitable. Oliver is caught up in reminiscent thought as she employs worldly imagery to describe life. For example, in lines 15-16 Oliver writes “and I think of each life as a flower, as common / as a field daisy.” This line stands out in the fact that it represents the first occurrence of communal thought. Describing each life as a “flower” in a “field” suggests that life is supposed to be about the people whom you surround yourself with, and less about the solidarity that stems from the notion of darkness. Oliver’s implication of poetry and down-to-earth imagery captures not only the progression of thought, but also her feelings towards the concepts of life and
The setting of the poem is a day at the ocean with the family that goes terribly awry. This could be considered an example of irony, in that one would normally view a day at the beach as a happy and carefree time. In “Feared Drowned,” Olds paints a very different scenario, using dark imagery to create the setting: “…suit black as seaweed / Rocks sticks out near shore like heads.” The poem illuminates moments of intense fear, anxiety and the element of a foreseen sense of doom. Written as a direct, free-style verse using the first-person narrative, the poem opens with the narrator suspecting that her husband may have drowned. When Olds writes in her opening line: “Suddenly nobody knows where you are,” this signals to the reader that we are with the narrator as she makes this fearful discovery.
In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, the author employs the use of the iceberg theory to convey a hidden message within the lines of the story for the reader. Through the use of strictly dialogue, Hemingway allows the reader to only see the part of the iceberg that is above water. The rest of the story is inferred by the reader. For example, Hemingway uses simple sentences rather than complex sentences to get straight to the point. All of Hemingway’s use of detail and explanations of scenery or background is made simple.
There are many distinctive qualities in the poem "Sailing Home from Rapallo" by Robert Lowell. One of the most distinctive characteristics of the poem is the fact that the reader experiences Robert Lowell's personal journey. Lowell focuses on a specific event rather than emotions, and he constantly changes his tone of voice, interrupting the poem. Lowell also brings other exterior characters and emotions into the poem. Lowell uses many poetic devices to bring his poem to life; Lowell uses onomatopoeia and extreme juxtapositions to enhance his poem. He also uses symbolism and irony to convey his ideas and emotions. Robert Lowell likewise uses irony and sarcasm to enrich his poetry.
Whitman wrote in ambitious proportions, while creating a style of rhythmic structure, creating stanzas and complex lines. By Whitman making his works synonymous it truly recognizes him as a great American Poet. With Whitman using free verse poetry he was able to change the original idea of structure with the rhythm of cadence, this helped people to emphasize poetry as an expression. With Whitman he uses non-orthodox type of structuring his poetry; he traditionally does not have a type of length for his works of stanzas, poems, or his lines.
“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.
The main theme of the poem that Frost attempts to convey is how important the decisions that one makes can be, and how they affect one’s future. In lines 2-3, he expresses the emotions of doubt and confusion by saying, “And sorry I could not travel/ And be one traveler, long I stood”, which explains how the speaker contemplated their decision of which road to take. In the closing, line 20 of the poem further reestablishes the theme when it states, “that has made all the difference”, meaning that making the decision of which road to take for themselves is the important key for a successful future. Frost helps to express this theme by using symbolism to portray a road as one’s journey of life. Using symbolism, Frost suggests that the speaker of this poem is taking the harder of the two roads presented before them, because the road the speaker chooses, “leaves no step had trodden black” (12...