“Always Something More Beautiful” Explication The poem “Always Something More Beautiful” by Stephen Dunn is certainly about running a race, but the speaker is also arguing that pursuing something beautiful can help guide us through life. Through the title, we can see that we should constantly look for more beautiful things in life. The poem begins with the speaker describing his experience before a race. He uses words like “best” and “love.” The tone is extremely enthusiastic. In the first line, he talks about coming to the starting place. This can be a metaphor for beginning our lifelong journey. The speaker also implies that we need to approach it with a positive attitude. In the next few lines, the speaker indicates being tested in excellence …show more content…
He states, “as I came up along his side. I was sure now I’d at least exceed my best time.” Meanwhile, his opponent began to pick up his pace and sprint to the finish, “but the man with the famous final kick had already begun his move.” This pertains to how we need to approach challenges feeling self-assured even though we might not end up on top every time. All we need to do is focus on our own goals and finding ways to achieve them. These lines also imply that we need to push ourselves until the very end and never give up. The poem concludes with the speaker hearing a spectator say, “Beautiful,” as if something unavoidable was about to happen out of nowhere. This part of the poem is an excellent reminder that you should always expect the unexpected and never count anyone out. This stanza has a determined and admiring tone. We can see the determination when the speaker says, “I was sure now I’d at least exceed my best time” and the admiration when he says, “Beautiful, I heard a spectator say.” The overall themes of this poem are beauty, love, and destiny. The speaker constantly discusses beautiful things and how they can help us. Love can be felt throughout the entire poem. In the first stanza, the speaker verbalizes how he “came with love of the race.” He also expresses love for the beautiful things around him. The theme destiny can be seen in the third stanza when the speaker talks about staying on course. It can also be identified in the last stanza when he describes something inevitable that was about to
In Tim Seibles' poem, The Case, he reviews the problematic situations of how white people are naturally born with an unfair privilege. Throughout the poem, he goes into detail about how colored people become uncomfortable when they realize that their skin color is different. Not only does it affect them in an everyday aspect, but also in emotional ways as well. He starts off with stating how white people are beautiful and continues on with how people enjoy their presence. Then he transitions into how people of color actually feel when they encounter a white person. After, he ends with the accusation of the white people in today's world that are still racist and hateful towards people of color.
The first stanza is representative of the symbolic speech in which Paul Laurence Dunbar uses to describe the condition of African Americans. The first stanza also states how the conditions of African Americans are similar to that of a cage bird. The symbolism in the first stanza is that of nature. Dunbar speaks of the chalice, river, and grass which are parts of nature that a person who is not oppressed, may enjoy and take for granted. Unlike the non oppressed people; chalice, river, and grass are parts of nature in w...
In order to understand this poem one must look at the themes that are relevant throughout. “To an Athlete Dying Young” exemplifies the theme of glory. For example in this poem the athlete is glorified for the winning of the race. Even when death comes upon the athlete he is still praised by the townspeople. In addition the athlete is also commended by the dead for his wiliness to die a champion (Ruby 233). The townspeople will now remember the athlete forever at his peek of his powers instead of watching t...
Some people are born into this world without as many chances to get a better position in life. This can affect the people born into a lower class for the entirety of their life. In the poem “Saturday’s Child,” Countee Cullen uses imagery, personification, and similes to suggest the differences between people that are born into poverty and those that are born into an upper class part of society. Throughout this poem Cullen speaks about how the different social classes affect people; he does this with a pessimistic tone throughout the entirety of the poem.
The definition of theme in the dictionary is, a subject of discourse, discussion, meditation, or composition; topic. There are numerous works of poetry with a wide variety of themes. This paper will discuss the themes of three poems written by a young lady brought to this country as a slave, and whom left as a free woman. Phillis Wheatley uses eloquent, religious, and themes of freedom in her poems.
This poem represents the resiliency of the African American spirit, Although African Americans were enslaved, overworked and victimize the speaker is still proud to be a “Negro.” The speaker wanted to be the voice that represented all the unfair and injustice experience African American endured. Most importantly he wanted to end the poem they way he started the poem… Proud to be a “Negro.”
The author’s use of certain images is important to the theme of the poem because they define the setting and they set the mood for the different parts of the poem. The first image introduced to the reader is that of the loaded gun. This is one of the most powerful images throughout the poem as it is, as we find, out also the speaker. A the first thing that is brought to the readers mind is the aurora of potential. The sheer potential for destruction and death that is associated with a loaded gun sets the mood for the rest of the poem to build from. The next image that is introduced is that of the “Corners.” This can be understood in multiple contexts. The first being a crossroads, a corner is an intersection between two walls or metaphorically two paths. The second interpretation is that of a dark and shadowy place for someone to lye in wait. Both of the interpretations are equally significant and the authors diction here was surely intentional. This image is particularly important because it defines the opening setting of the speaker. The following images such as “Sovereign Woods,” “Doe,” and “Mountains” serve to change the setting. In the next stanza images such as “cordial light,” “valley glow,” and “Vesuvian face” serve to change the mood to an eerie almost frightening allusion to power. The next images “Yellow Eye,” and “emphatic Thumb” are incorporated into the poem to further the setting of this mood.
The purpose of this essay is to analyze and compare and contrast the two paired poems “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning and “My Ex-Husband” by Gabriel Spera to find the similarities presented within the pairs. Despite the monumental time difference between “My Last Duchess” and “My Ex-Husband”, throughout both poems you will see that somebody is wronged by someone they thought was a respectable person and this all comes about by viewing a painting on the wall or picture on a shelf.
The poem overall compares life to a dream through many aspects. The fact that man cannot control what he dreams of, or how as the day goes on the memory of the dream fades. The speaker in the poem loses control of his world when his love passes on, then as he ages his fond memories of their time together are ebbed away by the tides of time. This poem is enjoyable through the darker experience of loss that throughout time many people go through, and it leaves the reader with the forlorn helplessness that the speaker feels through the poem. “Grief changes shape, but it never ends.” (Keanu Reeves)
To me, the theme of the poem is surely humbleness and if not it 's surely spirituality because many situations the trumpet player endured will cause one to be calm and collective. Hughes touched many points to the viewer interpret the message of the poem. To me, the message Hughes cloaked throughout the poem is that when trouble comes one has to beat the situation and don’t let the past situations hold you back from a better
Many people believe that the worst part of remembrance is all the pain that comes with it. But what actually causes all the suffering is loneliness. Memories, thoughts and ideas all have to be shared in order to understand them better, or to let go of them. In this essay I will be looking at 6 poems: “Piano” by D.H. Lawrence, “Poem at 39” by Alice Walker, “Stop All The Clocks” by Auden, “War Photographer” by Carol Ann Duffy, “Praise Song” by Grace Nichols and finally “Digging” by Seamus Heaney and how they present their memories.
...ut illuminating speaking from the start of evolution, to the dawn if civilization, ultimately to the founding of America and the New World. All these discussions lead the writers till today, the bright and golden morning the writer’s eventual destination. The loss of a dreadful, terrible, deplorable past brings us to this bright new glorious morning. The travel to time to nowadays much relates the poem to American history and the current society. The bright new day, the tree planted by the river, the deeply rooted plants in a garden of society, the solid rock where mankind stands now all pins down to the what the poet is trying to express. The stanzas graphically elaborate on the rock, river, and tree. The stanzas have no definite rhythm and no certain pattern. I think that the three main features-tree, rock, river-may affect everyone in some aspects of life.
A theme that prevails through this poem is the speaker's, or author's, realization of a specific concern. No matter what the author or speaker intends to generate through a work of literaturein general, it is up to the reder to truly decidee its meaning. Again and again in the realm of poetry there lies the possible nabilty for the reader to grasp whatever message the speaker has put forth. Ashbury's "Paradoxes and Oxymorons" demonstrates this theme by saying "The poem is you" - that is, to each his won interpretation. The reader must interpret for herself what a poem's purpose truly is, regardless of the speaker's intentions.
The theme of this poem is determination and the value of experience. The mother is telling her son that no matter what happens, he should never give up. Even though this is a rather sad poem, there is a glimpse of hope because she never gave up. She never let the trials of life bring her down and that gives the readers a sense of hope.
Theme: The overall theme of the poem is the pain of not being able to do, as your heart desires. Other themes are about the pain of old age versus the joy of youth. The poem also considers the ideology of artificial superiority over natural life.