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Essay on Hardy's poetry
Life and death in literature
Thomas hardy the impercipient analysis
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The circle of life is present in everyday life and is the repetition that keeps the world round creating a balance. The idea of the circle of life is if a person or idea dies, another is born keeping a balance in all things. This would make a circle motion that would repeat rightly called “the circle of life”. This theme is displayed in Thomas Hardy’s His Immortality, in the song lighting crashes, and in Disney’s The Lion King.
In His Immortality by Thomas Hardy, the theme of the circle of life is in the form of memories. As some memories are passed down from generation to generation, others memories can die just as easily. This poem describes a person who dies. This person is very kind and effects many people through his life. After he passes away, the memories of him venture on. Time goes by, there were only one soul in which those memories lie in. The person who owns that soul is the speaker of this poem. This man is starting to grow old while all of his friends are passing taking those memories of the initial man is the ground with them. When his day came to say goodbye to the world, the memories of his late and kind friend will die as well. A new circle will be born soon after this occurs. This latest man has affected many people as did the initial man. At the beginning of the poem, the speaker of the poem sees his dead friend saying he “saw a dead man’s finer part” (Hardy). The first man’s great qualities have made people keep his memory alive. Sadly, after time passes, the memory of this man is fading fast. This man’s friends are dying off, alongside with the memory of him. Those loving memories in many are now only in one, “And find in me alone, a feeble spark” (Hardy). When this man dies so will the memory of the first ...
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...r king displays the theme of the circle of life. It uses both light and dark to show life and death.
The theme of the circle of life is represented in the His Immortality poem by Thomas Hardy, the lighting Crashes song by Live, and in The Lion King by Disney. In His Immortality, when one memory of a person dies, another range of memories are born. The song, lighting Crashes, is about a baby being born and an older woman dying. In Disney’s The Lion King, shows how after on great leader that has ruled over Pride Rock dies, another will soon take his place. This would be the birth of another wise leader. In all of these stories, the circle of life theme is present. The circle of life keeps balance meaning if one person or thing were to die, another would be born and will always repeat. Not only is this theme current in these three stories, but also in everyday life.
All eight stanzas Lee wrote combine to inform readers his experience of grief and how it went from beginning to end. In the beginning, Lee opens readers with his vision of life, which is everyone are circuit boards, who absorb the electricity of life. In other words, Lee is explaining how every person’s life goes, but it always comes to an end at some point. From Lee’s life, he has lost a friend as stated before named Stephen. “Pass On” then looks back at the memories of Stephen such as, how he enjoyed dribbling the basketball or singing his favorite songs. However, Lee begins to realize he should not mourn over his loss nor grieve as he looks back at memories, but instead find Stephen. Near the end of “Pass On” and Lee’s journey concluding, he believes that Stephen and everyone else who is not physically alive are in the breeze of the wind. More specifically, whenever someone feels a strong breeze of wind, a loved one of theirs is most likely right beside them. Furthermore, Stephen and everyone else dead are not only in the wind, but indirectly in people you see every day. With Lee, after nine years of searching for Stephen he has found him in Wilt Chamberlain, who plays basketball, his voice in a musical young boy who sings, and his smile in a young girl’s shinning teeth. With Lee’s beliefs and his own
First of all, he starts with the hummingbirds, maybe just to get us interested. He starts with how the hummingbirds are discovered, but then, he suddenly starts talking about “their hearts hammering faster than we could clearly hear if we pressed our [huge] ears to their [small] chests” (line 12-14, pg 29), and that proves that he always comes back to the heart. But why does he do that? Perhaps if we continue on we’ll see that he starts talking about “torpor” and death because of the heart that fails to provide oxygen. He mentions that “Every creature on earth has approximately two billion heartbeats to spend in a lifetime. You can spend them slowly... and live to be two hundred years old, or you can spend them fast... and live to be two years old” (line 55-60, pg. 31). Is he trying to tell us that we have a choice on how long we live? I mean, we usually spend our heartbeats moderately, but if we wanted to, we could live for years? If you think literally, you’ll find that this is physically impossible, considering the conditions of old age. But, we can live life to the fullest, which we can either live life on the couch, where the time drags by, or we can live life excitedly, like taking risks and conquering even the hardest of things.
In May Miller’s Poem “Death is not Master” the persona explains that death is not the master that will increase the desperation but it is a way to become eternally calm. Many poems on the topic of death explain it as powerful thing that fears the existence of human beings, but Miller’s persona death is a way to achieve eternal serenity. She explains death as something that can end all the worldly tears, desires and tension and transform the human memory into a sculpture which is unaware of tensions. Miller’s persona believes that blocking death will be unfair as it will be a barrier to the everlasting happiness and calmness that lies inside the grave. Miller’s persona is an elaboration of Christian beliefs that death ends all worldly problems
The cycle of life always ends in death, but the frightful aspect of death is not necessarily death itself, but the concept of timing. Mark Twain states that “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die anytime” which means people’s fear of dying stems from their fear of living, and this frightful emotion takes over people’s lives and prevents them from living each day like it is their last. This fear prevents many from taking action on their dreams and ambitions which inevitably is giving one’s life up too quickly. Dylan Thomas, a famous contemporary author, believes existence is taken advantage of and when one’s existence is threatened, most people are too quick to give up. In Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” the speaker of the poem confronts his deceased father about releasing one of the most valuable things in nature: life (Pattern #3).
A. E. Houseman and John Keats are two poets who have wrote many poems about death. In particular, I will be speaking about Houseman’s “To An Athlete Dying Young,” and John Keats “When I have fears that I may cease to be.” Houseman speaks about a young athlete who died shortly after winning a race. Many people would think that this was a life that was short lived; however, Houseman believes this is the best way to go. If you die at your prime, that is how people will remember you, and no one will break your record. Keats speaks about some things that he wants in life: success, face, love, etc. He believes these things are crucial to the value of one’s life, and he realizes his death is coming soon, and he will not be able to fulfill these things.
In our lives, we go through stages of mindset and maturity that naturally coincide with aging. One thing that remains the same, though, through all of these stages, is that eventually, we die; we are completely aware of that as humans. Whether because it’s due to the painful reality that is mortality, our ever-diminishing ability to be wistful and imaginative, or merely the impending coming of the Grim Reaper, our entire lives are, ironic as it is, surrounded by and flooded with death. However, as we grow older, our perception of death changes. It goes from taboo in our young ages to something that begins to surround and eventually consume us as we grow older. Between the poems “For the Anniversary of my Death” by
In modern society, death is the end of all things. Death brings nothingness to some and a second chance at life to others; a new and better life than what can be lead on Earth. This idea of the life beyond death was celebrated and anticipated by the ancient Greeks. Death brought with it a reunion of loved ones, an existence with eternal youth, and an abundance of happiness. The most important aspect of this experience, however, was the continuation of love and marriage after death. Several ancient myths delve into this “til’ eternity do us part” motif, exhibiting distinguishing characteristics such as sexually suggestive imagery, the strong influence of Eros, and the reestablishment of oikos in the afterlife.
However, after further analyzing the poem one might be extremely intrigued by the message the speaker conveyed. The audience gets a sense of the setting being in a cold, dark, brooding place. The orator uses language such as, cold, bitter, snow, icy, and white. There is a play on words in the first stanza, eighth line, using the words “coal” and “cold”. Instead of saying “icy cold,” the orator states “icy coal.” At first glance the audience may feel as though someone is in dying in this poem. Comparing this to similar scenarios in films, where a lead beloved character experiences cold shivers as they get ready to pass to the great beyond. The title “Who Will Know Us?,” catches the reader 's attention because as humans, we wander the legacy and effect we will leave behind. It causes the reader to contemplate what happens after death, when the world you left behind ceases to remember you exist. The readers are left with the question of is there a really a “life after death.” There is also use of similes such as, “it is cold, bitter as a penny...with his loose buttons like heads of crucifies saints”(Soto). Nostalgia, a word some readers may not be familiar with is featured in this poem. Nostalgia is a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. Personification plays an integral part on the voice in
This theme of death giving meaning to life is prevalent throughout the Odyssey. Hell is death, heaven is now, in life, in the field of time and action.
As the first poem in the book it sums up the primary focus of the works in its exploration of loss, grieving, and recovery. The questions posed about the nature of God become recurring themes in the following sections, especially One and Four. The symbolism includes the image of earthly possessions sprawled out like gangly dolls, a reference possibly meant to bring about a sense of nostalgia which this poem does quite well. The final lines cement the message that this is about loss and life, the idea that once something is lost, it can no longer belong to anyone anymore brings a sense...
"Everything exists together in a delicate balance. As king you need to understand that balance, and respect all the creatures...when we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. The sun rises from the night, and the winter becomes the spring, so life arises from death. Everything is connected in the great circle of life."
Death is a reality that can be interpreted in many ways. Some people fear the possibility of no longer living and others welcome the opportunity for a new life in the afterlife. Many poets have been inspired by death, be it by the approaching death of loved ones or a battle for immortality. Just as each poet is inspired differently, each poem casts a different hue of light on the topic of death giving readers a unique way to look at death.
Through the progression of the poem the speaker goes from ignoring Death to realizing only through Death can immortality can be obtained. She does not see Death as the blessing that it is, she was all too happy to go about her life toiling away and never paying it any mind. Once she decided to go in a carriage ride with Death and Immortality she saw all the stages of life and through it all Death has the power to give one the ability to live forever.
Life and death, everyone thinks about it at some point in their lives. Questions like, what could’ve been different, or what was done wrong and how could it be fixed. These questions are usually what come to mind when a person is at their final moments of his/her lives. Most of the time, he/she believes there was so much more than what he/she has been through whether for better or worse. Every human goes through this in some form, which leads to the creation of clinical teachings like the 5 stages of dying. These 5 stages consist of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The medieval play, Everyman displays this kind of questioning of life and death. The main character, Everyman, struggles with accepting the fact there is nothing he can do to keep everything he’s built up, which is mostly worldly possessions. Everyman, the play, is a prime example of when faced with death himself, one must come to the realization that worldly
Life then death, life after death, or life and death, and so on. These phrases represent the varying understandings throughout the world’s cultures of the relationship between life and death and its relationship to living creatures. Throughout, it is understood that all organisms spend time on earth in a specific form and after some time that form will wear away and the physical form of that being will die--the body will no longer function and can return to the earth and nutrients from which it came. However, the disagreement lies in whether or not there is a literal end to that organism’s existence, or its being, its spirit. Both a culture’s understanding of this relationship and historic influences, cause variations of cultural attitudes toward life and death.