Imagery in “Barter” In Sara Teasdale’s poem “Barter” life is personified as a salesman who is trying to sell the reader all of the “…beautiful and splendid things” it has to offer. Throughout the poem the speaker uses imagery to further convince the reader of all they have to offer. Broken up into 3 stanza’s the first two stanza’s use imagery to show the reader all that life has to offer, with the final stanza using imagery to persuade to the reader to take all of the wonderful things it has to offer and to embrace them fully and to never take these wonderful things for granted.
In the first stanza of “Barter” Teasdale starts with “Life has loveliness to sell.” (1,7) effectively personifying life as a salesman who is selling loveliness, but the loveliness they have offer can't be bought with money but instead , as we are told from the title, life’s loveliness must be traded in exchange for something else. The lines following are an introduction to all that life has to offer us “All beautiful and splendid things” (2) Teasdale writes before further elaborating, giving us specific examples of loveliness;
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“Scent of pine trees in the rain” (9) “Eyes that love you, arms that hold.” (10) While these two lines feel simple and cliché they are still powerful uses of imagery. These lines serve a greater purpose, by making them simple and familiar they directly contrast the spiritual descriptions seen in lines 11 and 12. “And for your spirit's still delight” (11) “Holy thoughts that star the night” (12) Teasdale gives us an example of the philosophical loveliness life has to offer. The scent of pine, the crashing waves, a lover's arms, these things are familiar and give our bodies great pleasure, while the "holy thoughts that star the night," are intangible and meant only to give our spirts
During the next few stanzas, Amos creates a character that fights to become a strong, independent woman who can withstand storms and brambles, but is not afraid to deeply, genuinely love another human being. Amos addresses love in a unique and unconquered manner. For example, logical men would look at a small island bearing a single pineapple tree as solitary blemish on the face of the ocean, but Amos sings that “this ocean is wrapped around that pineapple tree,” thus implying that the pineapple tree is commandeering the attention of the seas. She is giving importance to what is otherwise lost in the middle of a great expanse; metaphorically, she is addressing life. In essence, human beings are simple spots on this great expanse of earth, but instead of looking at the human race as a blemish, Amos addresses human life as burning and indispensable.
In the stanzas of Elizabeth Bishop’s poem, the speaker very honestly observes the scenes from outside her apartment. From her point of view, she sees a both a bird and a dog in the process of sleeping. The speaker views these animals as having simple lives unbothered by endless questions or worries. Instead, the two live peaceful, uninterrupted existences, rising every morning knowing that “everything is answered” (ln. 22). However, the speaker lives in contrast to this statement instead anxiously awaiting the next day where uncertainty is a likely possibility. Unlike the dog and the bird, the speaker cannot sit passively by as the world continues in its cycle and she carries a variety of emotions, such as a sense of shame. It is evident here that the speaker has gone through or is currently undergoing some sort of struggle. When she states that “Yesterday brought to today so lightly!” she does so in longing for the world to recognize her for her issues by viewing the earth’s graces as so light of actions, and in doing so, she fails to recognize that she can no longer comprehend the beauty of nature that it offers her. In viewing the light hitting the trees as “gray light streaking each bare branch” (ln. 11), she only sees the monotony of the morning and condescends it to merely “another tree” (ln. 13.) To her, the morning is something
In Julia Alvarez’s poem “On Not Shoplifting Louise Bogan’s The Blue Estuaries”, Alvarez skillfully employs poetic devices such as imagery and personification to help convey the speaker’s discoveries. Alvarez’s use of imagery paints a vivid picture of the setting for the reader, allowing for a better understanding of the context of the poem, and a clarification of what goes on within the college bookstore. The use of personification highlights the significance of the special book of poems and its persuasive effect on the main character.
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
This poem was about very religious. In this poem she talks about her admiration of God and how she and all humans are humbled by God's creations. She says, "The higher on the glistening sun I gazed. Whose beams was shaded by the leafy tree; The more I looked, the ore I grew amazed, and softly said, 'What glory like to thee?' Soul of this world, this universe's eye, No wonder some made thee a deity; had I not better known, alas, the same had I". This quote means that a tree because of its beauty amazes her. Also, she is saying that the thing responsible for creating such a thing must just as beautiful if not the most beautiful on the earth.
In Julia Alvarez’s poem “On Not Shoplifting Louise Bogan’s The Blue Estuaries”, Alvarez skillfully employs poetic devices such as imagery and personification to let the reader view the power of literature through the eyes of a young, poverty stricken, estranged woman, inspiring her love for poetry. Alvarez’s use of imagery paints a vivid picture of the setting and the narrator’s actions for the reader throughout her significant experience; all through the eyes of an alienated female. The use of personification and author’s tone brings “The Blue Estuaries” to life for the reader-just as it had appeared to the narrator.
This poem helps us to recognize and appreciate beauty through its dream sequence and symbolism. The poem opens with the Dreamer describing this
In "The Shepherd" the sweet and love-filled diction creates a joyful mood while in "The Garden of Love" the juxtaposition of bright and gloomy imagery creates a depressing and negative mood. In "The Shepherd" the bright diction creates the positive mood whereas in "The Garden of Love" it is the juxtaposing imagery that creates the negative mood. In "The Shepherd" the pleasant setting is established through the opening line: "How sweet is the shepherd's sweet lot!" This rhetorical question exemplifies the sweetness and charm of the atmosphere. The rhetorical question, which is obviously rhetorical due to the lack of a question mark, shows that it is impossible to put into words the true serenity of the environment. On the other hand, the juxtaposition between what the land used to be with what land became, imposes a negative and gloomy mood in "The Garden of Love." Contrasting imagery between the two descriptions allows for the juxtaposition to create a negative mood. The first stanza describes the setting as a place of love and it describes the shepherd's memories of where he "used to play on the green," brining back childhood innocence and thus creating an initial positive mood. The verb "play" assists in creating this moo...
Throughout the poem Stevens uses eloquent imagery to describe the paradise always present in the natural world. The "late coffee and oranges in a sunny chair", "the pungent oranges and bright, green wings" both show the paradise that we can posses everyday on Earth. For the woman, these images also "dissipate the holy hush of ancient sacrifice." "She dreams a little, and she feels the dark encroachment of that old catastrophe." His imagery is used to show that although she is genuinely enjoying these beautiful things, there is still underlying spiritual anxiety. The statements the woman makes about the death of Jesus are negative, yet they are still in her mind and are interrupting her dreams.
Stanzas one and two of the poem are full of imagery. The first stanza sets the scene for the poem “in a kingdom by the sea” (Poe 609) which makes you feel as if the story is going to have a “romantic” (Overview) feel to it. Then Annabel Lee comes into the story with “no other thought than to love and be loved by me” (Poe 609); This sentence is full of imagery in the sense that it makes you feel the immense capacity of love Annabel Lee had for the speaker if that was her only thought. In the second stanza the imagery takes a turn that shifts from loving and inviting to pain; The love between Annabel and the speaker was so strong that
...a silence deep and white” (Line,4) they are talking about how the white snow is beautiful and, how it looks like to me this is a love of nature to some maybe not.Last one is Intuition over fact in this quote “Father,who makes the snow?” (Line,22) says his daughter, “And told of the good All father” (Line,23) and lastly “Who cares for us here below” (Line,24) he is talking about and all father which i believe he is talking about god,and this is a great characteristic for this poem.
The title of the poem is an indication that the reader should prepare himself or herself for some sort of spiritual experience. Whittier uses the word "worship" to title his poem because by the end of the poem the reader will learn that there is much more to the natural world than water, land, and sky. The poem starts with the birth or creation of nature. Whittier explains to his readers that the natural world has existed since God created it. He compares the creation of nature to music. This stanza is very appealing to the senses because nature is musical. The insects, winds, and birds are all a part of this "song" that "has never died away". The poet reminds readers of this very important idea because we as humans have a tendency to forget the value and importance of nature. The second stanza takes readers beyond the initial creation and introduces readers to the many purposes that nature serves. Whittier explains that "prayer is made and praise is given." Personification is an important tool used in this poem. Obviously nature cannot really pray or give praise, but the various functions of nature in this world give the illusion that it does pay homage to a higher being. For instance the lines in the second stanza, "The ocean looketh up to heaven, /And mirrors every star" says that the ocean is a mirror for heaven. If we look into the deep sea, we are in essence looking into a reflected image of heaven. Other instances when Whittier uses personification in this way are the first and second lines in the third stanza, "Its waves are kneeling on the strand/As kneels the human knee". Whittier tells his readers that just as man bends his knee to show respect to God so the ocean waves bend when they reach the shore as a sign of respect.
The setting takes place in the daylight of the woods. I felt that Frost set the poem in the woods because it helps reader imagine trees, leaves, and bushes. Therefore readers know that the speaker is alone without any road signs or knowledge of any direction on which road to take. The “yellow wood”(1) means that its somewhere in the fall when the leaves are changing colors. The “yellow” brings out a beautiful image of the autumn to readers. The “yellow wood” means there is a continuous decision one makes in li...
...ty of the daffodils. The powerful effect that they have on his mind and body snap him out of depression and cause him to experience such a strong and powerful joy. This poem shows the powerful affect nature can have on the emotions of a person.
In the first stanza, the poet seems to be offering a conventional romanticized view of Nature: