In his own fantastical world, where words are play-things and sanity is a bygone, sits Ogden Nash atop his throne. Anyone who says that he is just another poet is gravely unaware, and those unaware should then find themselves asking: “Well, the what is Ogden Nash?”. Whimsical, bold, crazy. That is Ogden Nash. To go into further detail, Ogden is risk taker, a word maker, and perhaps a world shaker, often using controversial topics and makeshift rhymes to add intrigue and humor to his works. A fan of nonsense, the late Ogden Nash often took seemingly typical literary devices and adding hidden depth to what they mean. Some of the more notable examples are his use of repetition and rhyming, but a less obvious case would be his subtle touches of alliteration. All of these are few in the long list of literary devices he uses to get a deeper meaning across to the reader.
To start, the aforementioned author was fond of repeating. Sometimes just one word, other times entire clauses, he even goes as far to repeat components as obscure as ideas. One of the most prominent cases of all of the former is in his poem “Adventures of Isabel” in which, he repeats the name Isabel numerous times along with the lines “Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry,/Isabel didn’t scream or scurry,”. In those examples it appears that Ogden simply wanted to emphasize a.) that the poem is about her, Isabel, and b.) that she is not afraid of the problems she encounters in her “adventures.”
But, on closer inspection of the poem, the reader may begin to notice that not only are these ideals where this, presumably, little girl defeats these horrifying fiends and walks away unperturbed, blatantly insane, but they are also completely made-up. Not only by Nash, but by the girl ...
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...n some of his theoretical uses of rhymes and repetition, and even a little reassuring that Ogden Nash wasn’t always trying to confuse his fans, but rather support them instead.
In short, the beloved Ogden Nash was an staggeringly brilliant, and possibly completely mad, eccentric man. Who, through his amusing poems and idiosyncratic charm, won over the heart of many children, and even inspired a few to be poets of their own. His stylistic choices set him apart from the rest along with his idealistic views and approaches on telling stories. Often confusing his tentative admirers with hidden meanings in his literary choices, his way of poetry will continue to live on in more modern beings such as Shel Silverstein. And with that, it should be safe to say that Ogden may be gone, but his mark shall remain embedded in the base of poetry for decades upon decades to come.
Many poets use different types of figurative language to express themselves and convey a message, theme, or idea. In the poem The Day Brushes Its Curtains Aside, by Jimmy Santiago Baca, he describes a man in prison by using figurative language. Reading this poem has helped me grasp a deeper understanding of different ways an author can incorporate figurative language to make the reader feel as if they are in the story right next to the character.
1) This quote is an example of an allusion because Holden is referring to the book, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. Moreover, it doesn't describe it in detail, its just a brief comment.
The first three lines of the poem were, “Much Madness is divinest Sense- To a discerning Eye- Much sense- the starkest Madness.” These lines are saying that because she is mad or insane she is godly but, if you are trying to make sense of things then you can easily be driven to madness. That is like what happened in the story. These people lived their life normally everyday. They never expected anything to go wrong, which is why when it went wrong things were so much worse. They never had mayhem in their life so, they didn’t know how to respond. They lost all sense and, they formed a mob mentality. Their fear pushed them to do unreasonable things.
Blyth, Steve. “Rebel Without a Pause.” The Poetic Structure of Ogden Nash.” 2000:1-4. 02 May
A Polack walked into a pizza parlor and ordered a pizza. The pizza man asked him, "Should I cut it into six pieces or eight?" And the Polack answered, "Cut it into six; I couldn't eat eight." Like it or not, Polish people, or as they are sometimes called, Polacks, are referred to as stupid, extremely poor, and useless. Why do people regard Polish people as this, and is there a reason for this terrible stereotype to exist?
American poetry, unlike other nations’ poetry, is still in the nascent stage because of the absence of a history in comparison to other nations’ poetry humming with matured voices. Nevertheless, in the past century, American poetry has received the recognition it deserves from the creative poetic compositions of Walt Whitman, who has been called “the father of American poetry.” His dynamic style and uncommon content is well exhibited in his famous poem “Song of Myself,” giving a direction to the American writers of posterity. In addition, his distinct use of the line and breath has had a huge impression on the compositions of a number of poets, especially on the works of the present-day poet Allen Ginsberg, whose debatable poem “Howl” reverberates with the traits of Whitman’s poetry. Nevertheless, while the form and content of “Howl” may have been impressed by “Song of Myself,” Ginsberg’s poem expresses a change from Whitman’s use of the line, his first-person recital, and his vision of America. As Whitman’s seamless lines are open-ended, speaking the voice of a universal speaker presenting a positive outlook of America, Ginsberg’s poem, on the contrary, uses long lines that end inward to present the uneasiness and madness that feature the vision of America that Ginsberg exhibits through the voice of a prophetic speaker.
The poems that most interested me are written by Robert Frost; Fire and Ice, Nothing Gold Can Stay, and Design. In these poem Frost uses the literary such as symbolism and rhyme scheme. Symbolism is used to provide the reader with a meaning other than the literary meaning of object or idea. Rhyme scheme is used to help the reader read and understand the poem. By using these two literary devices and more Frost has achieved many awards for his work.
From the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the youthful protagonist Holden Caufield, employs the word “phony” to describe the behavior of a number of characters including Mr. Spencer and Ossenburger, however it is not them who are“phony”, it is the young main character. First, Mr. Spencer, Holden’s ex- history teacher, is not described as phony, but according to the adolescent, his choice of words are. Secondly, according to our main character, Ossenburger is not the generous philanthropist he portrays himself to be, but rather a greedy undertaker. Lastly, the protagonist could quite possibly be the authentic phony. All in all, the main character’s use to describe many other characters in the book is with the single word phony, when in fact the word phony would be the most probable word to describe the lead character.
These poems represent the idea of allusion by symbolizing the need for poetry. For example in sentence 9 of Introduction to Poetry he uses allusion to demonstrate there is a dream or accomplishment he wants to do with "his students". In sentences 16-19 of Trouble with poetry, he also uses allusion because it looks like he has an idea in mind and has plans set ahead.
He uses powerful imagery and onomatopoeia to achieve the desired effects that make the poem more realistic. All this combined together produces effective thought provoking ideas and with each read, I gradually get an improved understanding and appreciation of the poem.
Unlike writers such as Edgar Allen Poe, Longfellow’s poems were “overly optimistic and sentimental” (Kinsella 256). He stood out amongst any other writer of his time. While most authors wrote dark, gothic works and stories, Longfellow’s were happy, positive and encouraging due to his wonderful childhood. He was inspired by his hometown, Portland, the sea, poets like Sir Walter Scott and Samuel Rogers, literature and music were all inspirations to him (Arvin 8/9). These parts of his childhood along with the new, exciting ideas of Romanticism are what shaped Longfellow’s style of writing. This is what drew in his audience because his poems were relatable and were written from the heart. Even though Longfellow went through some hard times with the loss of two wives and suffering from vertigo and peritonitis, he never allowed these complications affect his writing or his calmness (Kunitz 5). His control over his mind and body helped create some of the most beloved p...
The popular American Poet, Billy Collins, is playing a significant role in the evolution of poetry. His writing style evokes an array of emotions for the reader. Every stanza in his poetry passes the satirical standard that he generated for himself over his career. Collins swiftly captivates his readers through his diverse use of figurative language. More specifically, his use of vivid imagery paired with humorous personification and extended metaphors create his unique style of satirical poetry. This developed form of writing appeals to a large crowd of people because the generally accessible topics that he discusses are fairly easy to resonate for the common man. However, his poetry offers an interesting perspective on what otherwise would be simplistic ideas. The main themes and concepts that are being presented in each of his writings are revered and coveted by the general population. An appealing aspect of his writing is his ability to directly convey the main idea within the poem. As a result, the reader can understand the meaning of his work with ease. The typical beginning of his work gives the reader a slight taste of what is to come. Billy Collins’ unique writing style and various trademarks directly influenced by his ability to propagate an array of emotions for the reader, his humorous tone, and the accessibility of the topics he describes within his poetry.
The opening lines of the poem are more shocking than the grimness of the detail because they illustrate the bleak mood of the hero. He is distrustful "My first thought was, he lied in every word" and bitter: "That hoary cripple, with malicious eye". His despair and paranoia become evident in the inconsistency of his thought: if the man was lying about where to find
George Herbert’s struggle to be humble enough to fully accept God’s undying love can be located within each of his poems. The way in which Herbert conveys this conflict is by utilizing structure as well as metaphysical techniques. This combination of literary devices creates a physical reality that allows Herbert, or the poetic speaker, to “make his feelings immediately present” (245). These devices, at first, appear to be artificial and contradictory to the poet’s goal of making God’s word visible. Instead, literary techniques, for Herbert, help to emphasize how God controls everything from daily life to literature. Therefore, Herbert believes he is not the sole author of his writing; rather, he is an instrument of God chosen to write down poetry praising Him. Herbert battles with this idea as he must refuse the pride that comes with being the author of such beautiful devotional and metaphysical poetry. If Herbert were to give into this “temptation of success” (243), he would be giving himself up to sin and thus rejecting God’s love. This process of rejecting and accepting, or of “conflict and resolution” (243), is done throughout “The Temple,” which leads Herbert to an ultimate acceptance of God and to an “achieved character of humility, tenderness, moral sensitiveness” (249).
her to give him her car so that he can drive to the Ivory Coast.