Dickason’s poem number 712 and Shakespeare’s poem 13 both offer a look at death, its consequences, and its implications. Yet, the two poems have the incredible habit of both being the mirror image of each other as well as the polar opposite. In opposition, the two poems have an opposite shift in tone and structure. Dickason’s poem seems to start out with a strong powerful tone that signifies a concurring and control of a passive delayed death. This powerful tone comes from phrasing starting on line one. The line starts with “because” signifying hat the speaker already understands and is explaining the situation putting them in a position of knowledge. This goes further revealing that “because I” signifying that the speaker is not only in the know they are also the one initiating that action as seen by the use of “I” as the subject of “because” (). Whereas “Death” is the object of “because” and, therefore, the passive recipient of the action of “I”. Yet, the line goes further by having “Death” right at the end of the first instead of jumping ahead with an enjambment to the prominent starter position of the next line. In …show more content…
Yet, at the end of the poem one learns that the charrette ride with Death is headed “toward Eternity –” (). Eternity used as a noun, in particular, a place, one travels to is commonly a reference to the afterlife. This is further supported by the abrupt ending of the poem on the “—” right after Eternity. This m-dash represents a continuation of thought or when interpreted as an n-dash as an abrupt closure of thought. In both cases, the speaker has gone on to exist beyond where the reader can go such as the afterlife or the speaker has abruptly ceased to exist as in the case of death. Combining this with the beginning the speaker on their own terms leaves with death but eventually must reach their end in
Although Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman had different styles of writing, they did convey the same attitude and acceptance toward death. Both Dickinson’s “712” and Whitman’s “From “Song of Myself” poems showed death was something natural that had to happen and we need to accept it at a certain point in life. Both wrote poems about it as if it were no big deal, but something peaceful. Both poets used much imagery to convey this message very clear to their audience.
Death is a controversial and sensitive subject. When discussing death, several questions come to mind about what happens in our afterlife, such as: where do you go and what do you see? Emily Dickinson is a poet who explores her curiosity of death and the afterlife through her creative writing ability. She displays different views on death by writing two contrasting poems: one of a softer side and another of a more ridged and scary side. When looking at dissimilar observations of death it can be seen how private and special it is; it is also understood that death is inevitable so coping with it can be taken in different ways. Emily Dickinson’s poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and “I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died” show both parallel and opposing views on death.
In literature, themes shape and characterize an author’s writing making each work unique as different points of view are expressed within a writing’s words and sentences. This is the case, for example, of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” and Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death.” Both poems focus on the same theme of death, but while Poe’s poem reflects that death is an atrocious event because of the suffering and struggle that it provokes, Dickinson’s poem reflects that death is humane and that it should not be feared as it is inevitable. The two poems have both similarities and differences, and the themes and characteristics of each poem can be explained by the author’s influences and lives.
Compare William Shakespeare’s Sonnets 12 and 73 William Shakespeare (1564-1616) wrote a group of 154 sonnets between 1592 and 1597, which were compiled and published under the title 'Shakespeare's Sonnets' in 1609. The 154 poems are divided into two groups, a larger set, consisting of sonnets 1-126 which are addressed by the poet to a dear young man, the smaller group of sonnets 127-154 address another persona, a 'dark lady'. The larger set of sonnets display a deliberate sequence, a sonnet cycle akin to that used a decade earlier by the English poet Phillip Sidney (1554-1586) in 'Astrophel and Stella'. The themes of love and infidelity are dominant in both sets of poems, in the larger grouping; these themes are interwoven with symbols of beauty, immortality, and the ravages of time. Lyrical speculations of poetry's power to maintain bonds of love and to revere the beloved can also be found in the larger collection of sonnets.
Death is an eternal mystery and the most controversial subject stemming from human inexperience. Its inescapability and uncertainty can give insights on the core principles and vulnerability of human nature. In Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet he skilfully makes use of death as a lashing force to explore the depths of his characters along the way illustrating man’s continual dilemma “To be or not to be”?
Being that death is a universally explored topic, William Shakespeare, a master of English literature, opted to thoroughly investigate this complex notion in his play Hamlet. Shakespeare cleverly and sometimes subtly brings the reader/viewer through a physical and spiritual journey of death via the several controversial characters of Hamlet. The chief element of this expedition is undoubtedly the funerals. Every funeral depicts, and marks, the conclusion of different perceptions of death. Shakespeare uses the funerals of the several controversial characters to gradually transform the simple, spiritual, naïve, and somewhat light view of death into a much more factual, physical, serious, and down to earth outlook.
I will discuss the similarities by which these poems explore themes of death and violence through the language, structure and imagery used. In some of the poems I will explore the characters’ motivation for targeting their anger and need to kill towards individuals they know personally whereas others take out their frustration on innocent strangers. On the other hand, the remaining poems I will consider view death in a completely different way by exploring the raw emotions that come with losing a loved one.
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
Another way in which Dickinson uses the form of the poem to convey a message to the reader occurs on line four as she writes, "And Immortality." Eunice Glenn believes in the word "Immortality" is given a line by itself to show its importance (qtd). in Davis 107). Perhaps The most notable way in which Dickinson uses form is when she ends the poem with a dash of the. Judith Farr believes that the dash seems to indicate that the poem is never ending, just as eternity is never ending (331).
“Sonnet 73,” published by William Shakespeare in 1609, reveals through symbolic imagery and metaphors mans promised fate, death. The theme of “Sonnet 73” is that, as life draws to an end, it becomes more valued. In a melancholy mood, the narrator concedes that many years have passed by and that the end of his life draws ever near. He reflects through imagery, and with a sense of self-pity, the loss of his youth and passion to the ravages of time. In this essay I will detail the use of symbolic imagery and metaphors in “Sonnet 73” and how it portrays the author’s experience of aging.
In the 1862 poem, After Great pain, a formal feeling comes--, Emily Dickenson presents death from the perspective of the bereaved. This poem is written in the third person, and informs the reader as to the actions and thoughts of the mourners through an omniscient narration. In contrast, most of Dickenson's other death related poems show the reader the perspective of the dead. The vivid imagery in this poem functions to enhance the reader's perception of the poem. The following passage conveys a resplendent physical sense of coldness as someone is frozen to death: "This is the Hour of Lead-- Remembered, if outlived,
“Because I could Not Stop for Death” is one of Emily Dickinson's most discussed and famous poems due to its unique view on the popular subject of death. Death in this poem is told as a woman's last trip, a trip where she is going into toward eternity. The way that the poem is written it makes the reader feel the woman‘s tragedy on a much more personal level. Different from the more popular views of death being brutal and cruel, Dickinson makes death seem passive and easy. The theme of the poem is that death is a natural stage in our life cycles, but at the same time she gives comfort to the reader that death is not the end of our journeys, but more like another beginning. The form and tone that Dickinson uses throughout the poem helps her reader to understand the message that she is trying to get across in the poem. The way that the poem is written is that each set of verses tells the reader one little story and as you read the poem all the stories ...
Many people find it hard to imagine their death as there are so many questions to be answered-how will it happen, when, where and what comes next. The fact that our last days on Earth is unknown makes the topic of death a popular one for most poets who looks to seek out their own emotions. By them doing that it helps the reader make sense of their own emotions as well. In the two poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickenson and “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas, the poets are both capturing their emotion about death and the way that they accepted it. In Dickenson’s poem her feelings towards death are more passionate whereas in Dylan’s poem the feelings
In John Donne’s sonnet “Death, Be Not Proud” death is closely examined and Donne writes about his views on death and his belief that people should not live in fear of death, but embrace it. “Death, Be Not Proud” is a Shakespearean sonnet that consists of three quatrains and one concluding couplet, of which I individually analyzed each quatrain and the couplet to elucidate Donne’s arguments with death. Donne converses with death, and argues that death is not the universal destroyer of life. He elaborates on the conflict with death in each quatrain through the use of imagery, figurative language, and structure. These elements not only increase the power of Donne’s message, but also symbolize the meaning of hope of eternal life as the ultimate escape to death.
Throughout Emily Dickinson’s poetry there is a reoccurring theme of death and immortality. The theme of death is further separated into two major categories including the curiosity Dickinson held of the process of dying and the feelings accompanied with it and the reaction to the death of a loved one. Two of Dickinson’s many poems that contain a theme of death include: “Because I Could Not Stop For Death,” and “After great pain, a formal feeling comes.”