The poem, “Apostrophe to the Ocean,” is one of the most renowned masterpieces of George Gordon Byron, which conveys the author’s love for nature by including his unique, romantic style of writing. As this poem is entirely dedicated to the mighty ocean, the main subject of this work is about man versus nature. George Byron also discusses his views about the industrialization; throughout the poem, he hints on the deleterious effects of human exploitations. Therefore, the poem, “Apostrophe to the Ocean,” paints George Byron’s view of the concept – man versus nature – by revealing his belief: the power of nature is insurmountable.
To begin with, unlike the other romantic poems that were written during his era, this poem is entirely focused on the wild beauty of the ocean that the author finds fascination in, rather than on his beautiful, loving woman. The title of the poem also indicates its subject; the first literary device used is portrayed by the title. The apostrophe is “when the writer speaks to an absent or dead person as if they were present or personifies an inanimate object as a person not present” (Chrisholm). In this poem, Byron speaks to the inanimate object, the ocean, about his feelings toward this mighty part of nature and its powers that can easily dominate human beings.
The poem consists of seven Spenserian stanzas; the Spenserian stanza is composed of “nine iambic lines where the first eight are iambic pentameters and the ninth is an iambic hexameter; its rhyme scheme is ababbcbcc” (Spenserian stanzas). Thus, this work has a rather complicated form. Following this form, every stanza includes deep and thorough meanings that subsequently convey the author’s notions.
The first stanza underlines the author’s feeli...
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...oth a memory from his childhood and pleasing fear for the future.
The poem, “Apostrophe to the Ocean,” encompasses distinguished insights on the nature and civilization. By revealing his love for the ocean, Byron was able to include the romantic elements; he wisely discussed his hatred toward the industrialization and described the mighty capacities of the ocean. Therefore, I believe that George Gordon Byron was successful in painting a powerful picture of the ocean.
Works Cited
Chisholm, Marshall. “Poetry analysis: Apostrophe to the Ocean.” Helium.com. 24 April 2009.
3 April 2011. .
James T. Carlton. “Apostrophe to the Ocean.” Jstor.org. 3 April 2011. www.jstor.org/pss/2989831>. “Spenserian Stanza.” Thinking Poetry. 3 April 2011.
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The juxtaposition of the Titanic and the environment in the first five stanzas symbolizes the opposition between man and nature, suggesting that nature overcomes man. The speaker characterizes the sea as being “deep from human vanity” (2) and deep from the “Pride of Life that planned” the Titanic. The diction of “human vanity” (2) suggests that the sea is incorruptible by men and then the speaker’s juxtaposition of vanity with “the
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 ocean is mysterious to mankind. The unfathomable vastness of the ocean intrigues humanity into exploring it. In life, the immense possibilities that lie in the future compel us to reach for the stars. In the poem “The Story” by Karen Connelly, an individual willingly swims into deep waters even though they are fearful of what may exist in the waters. The swimmer later finds out that their fears were foolish, which illustrates the human tendency to venture into the unknown. The theme conveyed in this poem is that life is like a rough, uncertain, uncontrollable ocean that we must find get through with experience.
Throughout the story the ocean represented Edna's constant struggle for self-realization and independence. From her first flow of emotion on the beach to her last breath of life in the sea, the ocean beckons her. The voice of the sea lures her onward in her journey toward liberation and empowerment.
Harris, Laurie Lanzen. “George Gordon (Noel) Byron, Lord Byron.” Nineteenth- Century Literature Criticism. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1982. Print.
The poems “Sea Rose” by H.D and “Vague Poem” by Elizabeth Bishop were both written by two women who took over the Victorian era. H.D’s works of writing were best known as experimental reflecting the themes of feminism and modernism from 1911-1961. While Bishop’s works possessed themes of longing to belong and grief. Both poems use imagery, which helps to make the poem more concrete for the reader. Using imagery helps to paint a picture with specific images, so we can understand it better and analyze it more. The poems “Sea Rose” and “Vague Poem” both use the metaphor of a rose to represent something that can harm you, even though it has beauty.
“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.
This poem is written in eleven quatrains. All of these quatrains follow an abcb rhyme scheme. An example of this from lines 1-4 are “toune” being a, “wine” being b, “salior” being c, and “mine” being b. This means that the poem was written in closed form. It also follows a meter with four beats in the a and c lines and three beats in the b lines. An example of the four beats from line 5 is “Up and spak an eldern I Knicht”. The example of three beats from line 6 is “Sat at the kings richt kne”.
Dickinson begins the first line of her poem by writing in iambic tetrameter. In the second line she switches to iambic trimeter and proceeds to alternate between the two. This rhyme scheme proves to be particularly effective in complimenting the subject of the poem-- the ocean. When a reader looks at the poem it is easy to see the lines lengthening then shortening, almost in the same fashion that the tide of the ocean flows and ebbs.
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.
“Nothing beside remains. Round the decay / Of that colossal Wreck,” wrote Percy Bysshe Shelly in his poem, “Ozymandias.” This theme of destruction also forms the basis of Lord Byron’s poem, “Darkness.” Although each poem has a very different narrative, tone and plot, they reflect fears about the legacy of human influence and the destruction of civilization. The common theme of destruction, found in Percy Bysshe Shelly’s poem “Ozymandias” and Lord Byron’s poem, “Darkness” reflects the poets’ shared fears about the future by writing about ideas of civilization, the fall of mankind due to nature and natural instincts, life and death.
Is there a deeper meaning behind Byron’s poem? Kukathas states, “[a]t first reading, it might seem that the poem is merely a beautiful tribute to a lovely woman…which does not offer much else of intellectual interest. But, upon closer examination…another interpretation suggested itself that shows the poem to be far richer and subtler than most critics have allowed” (Kukathas 279). Both Kelly and Moran agree that going so far as to judge a person’s character based on her appearance shows something deeper about Byron’s thoughts. While Byron may have been writing about a simple topic, critics today view his poem as an attempt to understand the way people think.
The poem is based on Lord Tennyson describing of a huge sea monster that is
Thus, the speaker of the poem is not only acknowledging the dual aspect of nature, but it is also acknowledging their own dual aspect. Further examples of this duality lie in England in 1819, when Shelley made reference to the Peterloo Massacre, an event that displays the destructive power of mankind over their own kind. Contrary to Hymn to Intellectual Beauty which displays the creative and inventive power of the human mind for constructive purposes. Turning back to the Ode to the West Wind, in the same last couplet the words: everywhere /ˈevrēˌ(h)wer/, destroyer /dəˈstroiər/ and preserver /prəˈzərvər/, they create the sound effect of harmony and musicality considering that they are three syllabic words that all rhyme in the last syllable [3:r]. It is the creativity of the poet to select the right words to convey their thoughts what makes this last couplet a strong conclusion for stanza one. Collins suggests that the Ode to the West Wind “is the voice of the poet attempting to make itself heard (8). In addition to the closing interjection demanding the wind to hear the speaker’s invocation: “hear, O hear!” (15), which seems like a plea to appeal the
Conclusively, Whitman’s poem is one artistic material that is devised in a peculiar style that exemplifies a dynamic freedom in poetry. Even though the poet defies some regular conventions of poetry, a great success in autobiographical conveying the message is realized. Therefore, it is a poetic work that poses a challenge to the philosophy of poetry as far as poetry orthodoxies are concerned.