"Patterns" by Amy Lowell
When one hears the words, "I sink on a seat in the shade," they will most likely form a visual image in their head, such as a person sitting under a tree. Amy Lowell, an imagist, uses sharp images, precise wording, and figurative speech as a means of poetic expression to arouse the senses of the reader. In "Patterns," Amy Lowell explores the hopeful liberty of women in the early 20th century through a central theme. A woman’s dream of escaping the boundaries that society has placed on her dissipates when she learns of her lover’s untimely death. Of the many images in this poem, the constant motions of the flowers and waterdrops, the dress the woman is wearing, and her daydreams of her lover are most crucial in developing this theme of freedom.
In the beginning of the poem, as well as throughout the work, the speaker describes daffodils and other types of flowers moving freely in the wind. Using imagery to appeal to the reader’s sense of sight, these flowers are given motion, and they are described as, "…blowing," (3) and "Flutter[ing] in the breeze," (23). This creates a sense of freedom and flexibility. The woman in the poem, presumably Amy, wishes to be like the moving flowers, carefree and jaunty. In the second stanza of the poem, the woman begins to describe the water in the marble fountain. The, "…plashing of waterdrops," (28) and, "…plopping of the waterdrops," (54) describe liquid in motion. ...
In both poems, certain details of the characters’ lives give the reader an impression that the women live pleasant, well-to-do lives, while others give an idea that the women are suffering; this contrast helps to depict the confusion and inner struggles the women are facing. Although they live lives of riches and glamour, they long for something that surpasses the material aspects of life, allowing them to experience freedom from their many social confinements as women. Lowell writes many details in "Patterns" that lead the reader to believe the woman described is upper class:
Lisa Genova, the author of Still Alice, a heartbreaking book about a 50-year-old woman's sudden diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. She is a member of the Dementia Advocacy, Support Network International and Dementia USA and is an online columnist for the National Alzheimer's Association. Genova's work with Alzheimer's patients has given her an understanding of the disorder and its affect not only on the patient, but on their friends and family as well (Simon and Schuster, n.d.).
The preserving modern folk tale that is the invasion of aliens, is fully knotted within the cultural fear that one day in the near future, a threat of some unknown origin will be more powerful, more capable at warfare than we American’s can ever be. No mater the impossibility, it is a perceived end to the very short colonization of the North Americas. In 1947 a few miles from Roswell, NW, Mack Brazel found debris from an unidentified flying object scattered in a three-mile arc on his land. According to the myth told by the International UFO Museum Research Center in Roswell, NW, the metal had strange pictorial writings on the “I” beams and were purple in color. (IUFORMC NM Inc.) This tale is so widely told in Roswell, that there has been a whole industry developed there to preserve this ledged of the alien crash landing and the Military’s collection of the debris and cover-up of the visitors from outer space.
In the short story, "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan, a Chinese mother and daughter are at odds with each other. The mother pushes her daughter to become a prodigy, while the daughter (like most children with immigrant parents) seeks to find herself in a world that demands her Americanization. This is the theme of the story, conflicting values. In a society that values individuality, the daughter sought to be an individual, while her mother demanded she do what was suggested. This is a conflict within itself. The daughter must deal with an internal and external conflict. Internally, she struggles to find herself. Externally, she struggles with the burden of failing to meet her mother’s expectations. Being a first-generation Asian American, I have faced the same issues that the daughter has been through in the story.
Considered by many as a poet for poets, Elizabeth Bishop was one of the most refined voices of the American poetry of the last century. She was known as one of the best female American poets of the contemporary period famous for her style patent with simplicity and precision. Her work was famous for disclosing the mysteries of her personal life by cleverly chosen representations. In her very-famous villanelle, “One Art,” Bishop’s tone seems relaxed at first impression, yet the reader can later feel her disguised frustration. Her internal feelings reflect the pain she has experienced due to loss, and with the emotions wanting to come to life from the page, Bishop converts them into art by controlling and shaping them into a very well- structured villanelle. Although, at first, Elizabeth Bishop portrays an indifferent and casual tone, her use of details, language and syntax to explain her life experiences goes hand-in-hand with the more distraught nature in her poem, “One Art”.
Therefore, Oliver’s incorporation of imagery, setting, and mood to control the perspective of her own poem, as well as to further build the contrast she establishes through the speaker, serves a critical role in creating the lesson of the work. Oliver’s poem essentially gives the poet an ultimatum; either he can go to the “cave behind all that / jubilation” (10-11) produced by a waterfall to “drip with despair” (14) without disturbing the world with his misery, or, instead, he can mimic the thrush who sings its poetry from a “green branch” (15) on which the “passing foil of the water” (16) gently brushes its feathers. The contrast between these two images is quite pronounced, and the intention of such description is to persuade the audience by setting their mood towards the two poets to match that of the speaker. The most apparent difference between these two depictions is the gracelessness of the first versus the gracefulness of the second. Within the poem’s content, the setting has been skillfully intertwined with both imagery and mood to create an understanding of the two poets, whose surroundings characterize them. The poet stands alone in a cave “to cry aloud for [his] / mistakes” while the thrush shares its beautiful and lovely music with the world (1-2). As such, the overall function of these three elements within the poem is to portray the
The speaker begins the poem an ethereal tone masking the violent nature of her subject matter. The poem is set in the Elysian Fields, a paradise where the souls of the heroic and virtuous were sent (cite). Through her use of the words “dreamed”, “sweet women”, “blossoms” and
...sed society with religious overtones throughout the poem, as though religion and God are placing pressure on her. The is a very deep poem that can be taken in may ways depending on the readers stature yet one thing is certain; this poem speaks on Woman’s Identity.
There are a couple of similes the author uses in the poem to stress the helplessness she felt in childhood. In the lines, “The tears/ running down like mud” (11,12), the reader may notice the words sliding down the page in lines 12-14 like mud and tears that flowed in childhood days. The speaker compares a...
Alone, by Lisa Gardner, is a story about a police sniper, Bobby, who was called to a hostage situation and ends up taking actions he will later regret. What you see at first glance is not always what it really is. Bobby thought he saw one thing happening in the house on that night, but the truth was something he could never imagine. In November 1998 Catherine Gagnon had reached her final string. Lives were about to change with just the pull of a trigger. Bobby didn’t know that when he pulled that trigger he was going to be pulled into a whole tangle of lies and secrets. Bobby and Catherine’s lives are about to collide and become their worst nightmare.
Dickinson writes about “every blossom on the bush”(5), often a place where you find birds perched. This is the first time that the reader is directly introduced to something pertaining to nature; therefore, it acts as a turning point in the poem. The use of the word “blossom”(5) parallels to “cochineal”(4), as both are shades of pink. By choosing to use blossoms, as opposed to a harsher word, Dickinson is able to achieve a sense of delicacy and gracefulness. This works in accordance with the way she speaks of the hummingbird’s physical appearance and movements. Dickinson also personifies the bush through her use of the verb “adjusts”(6) and “tumbled”(6). The word “adjusts”(6) implies that there has been an event that has caused a change in position, similar to how a human turns their head when watching something pass. The unusual personification of the bush emphasized the overall unexpectedness of the
The Flowers By Alice Walker Written in the 1970's The Flowers is set in the deep south of America and is about Myop, a small 10-year old African American girl who explores the grounds in which she lives. Walker explores how Myop reacts in different situations. She writes from a third person perspective of Myop's exploration. In the first two paragraph Walker clearly emphasises Myop's purity and young innocence.
Our world is often referred to as our home. We need it to survive, and it provides us with the resources that we need to live our lives as comfortably as we do. Yet, we don’t often take the time to consider our impact on our environment. Let’s say our earth is “literally” a house, could you live in a home that has been routinely and permanently damaged, sprayed full of insecticides, and even torn apart for someone’s personal use? This Idea is represented in Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring”.
Technological advancement has often outperformed scientific knowledge associated with the causes that determine health. Increasing complications in social organization increase the possibilities by which multiple agents can disturb health, including factors such as those that risk physical health like venomous chemicals or radiation, restricted access to sanitary and pure natural resources, and the infinite amalgamation of them all. Decisions taken in areas apparently detached from health frequently have the prospect to have an impact on people’s health in either positive or negative manner due to a large number of links and connections in modern life. Health is an area comprised of highly intricate systems, which can be accidentally disturbed in unpredictable ways and end up in adverse health concerns that may be serious and irrevocable.
In Kew Gardens, Virginia Woolf takes advantage of the liminal quality of the short story in order to highlight the suspended world that she creates in the garden. For Woolf, the lyrical short story’s subversion of traditional narrative structure allows her to focus on creating a world rather than a plot. Further, the short story creates a liminal space by the very nature of its form. Caught in a space where it is not considered a poem or a novel, the short story exists as undefined. The liminality of the short story, however, is both liberating and restricting. Woolf explores this feature in order to suggest the unsustainable nature of Kew Gardens. While Woolf utilizes the form of the short story to create a liminal, impressionistic space that eradicates the boundaries between human and nature, she also uses the transitory quality of the short story to suggest that such a space can only exist for a short duration due to the restrictions of the imposing outside world.