Fear in Cellar Stairs Poetry is about emotion -- not only the emotion displayed in the many layers of a poem's language, but also the emotional layers created in the reader. Some poetry can be light and happy, other poetry can be ecstatic and ethereal; and at the opposite extreme, poetry can be dark and downright threatening. Such a poem is "Cellar Stairs" by the contemporary poet Thomas Lux. "It's rickety down to the dark," states the first line. The poem starts out with
Theodore Roethke's "Root Cellar" Theodore Roethke was raised in Michigan, where cities and towns are woven with lakes, streams, and rivers. This atmosphere gave Roethke a “mystical reverence for nature,” (McMichael, 1615) and allowed him to take a grotesque image and transform it into natural magnificence. A great example of this is Roethke’s poem “Root Cellar.” The poem describes a cellar, which most people would consider to be a death-baring, cold place. Instead, Roethke gives the dungeon
The Old Root Cellar Our summer trips to Colorado seemed to take forever. I was an eager four year old child who couldn't wait to get to my secret place. Every child has a special place: it might be a fort made out of sheets and couple of chairs, or maybe it's an easy chair that serves as a stage coach or a fighter plane. Maybe its a bed that becomes a ship protecting you from sharks. My special place was at my grandparents farm. My childhood was spent on military bases or in suburban neighborhoods
stage was a higher acting area which symbolized a porch or balcony. This was useful in the story of Romeo and Juliet, when Romeo stood below Juliet and told her how he loved her. In the stage floor was a trap door which was said to lead to "hell" or a cellar, this was especially useful for ghosts or devils who had to appear and disappear throughout the play. The stage itself was shaped in a rectangular platform that projected into a yard that was enclosed by three story galleries. The building was round
comfort to assuage the misery brought on by my scholarly defeat. A mostly filled bottle of bourbon sat in the foremost corner of the cabinet. I swallowed it all down that afternoon, and was left with an empty decanter - which I stowed away in the cellar, lest my parents know of this newfound pastime – and a somewhat intriguing sense of inebriation. Days, weeks, months passed, and I found myself indulging in alcohol much more often, for a myriad of reasons. One day, I had a terrible quarrel with my
now he said nothing. He was not crying. He jut stood there." (Faulkner 173) In comparison, Paul and his father also have conflicts and Paul too seems to be afraid of his own father. He decides that he would much rather spend the night in the cellar of his house than go inside and face his father. Paul does not feel as much at home when he is at his father's house as he does at Carnegie Hall where he works as an usher and spends most of his time. Paul's teachers and his father believe his
niches for household gods. A small cellar was often located under this room, approached by a small flight of steps and covered by a wooden trapdoor. Several small rooms may have led off the main room, possibly for sleeping, work or storage. At the rear was a small walled court, which served as the kitchen. It contained an oven for baking bread, a small grain storage silo, a container for water and grinding equipment. Another family shrine and another small cellar may also have been here. A staircase
beginning of the movie. The first image we see is Mrs. Cooper (Gish) telling children a story as they are superimposed over the night sky. The next image is a bird’s eye view of children playing hide and seek and then finding the dead body of a woman in a cellar (which we are later led to assume was a crime committed by Powell). Following this we see Preacher Harry Powell (Mitchum) as he travels, views a burlesque show, and is arrested. Powell’s scenes are interspersed with Ben Harper’s scenes where he speaks
causes misunderstandings and unnessary arguments. Plainly expressing one's thoughts is a lesson that many do not learn. The staggering number divorces in recent years may be the effect of ill-communication. Even with all the conveyances of modern day (cellar phones, modems, pagers), important ideas, somehow are not being expressed. In a relationship one can easily misinterpret a statement and become upset. Openly expressing full thoughts, and carefully listening to what your mate is saying are two worthy
that rules were set by the Germans. Jews were confined to their homes for three days and they could no longer keep valuables such as gold, jewelry and other objects. The Germans took it all. Elie's father managed to bury the family's savings in the cellar. After the three days Jews had to wear a yellow star. After this more rules were set. Jews could not go to restaurants, travel on railways, go to synagogues, or go out after six o'clock. As if the rules and restrictions were not enough. Soon Jews
this desire in the outside world, by simply interacting with the everyday life. Faust shows no weakness towards the lustful drinking party in auerbachs cellar, on the contrary he openly says that he is “inclined to leave immediately.” (line: 2295) Here he holds on to his individuality which he had shown a clear part of it before entering the cellar when he said “I never was at ease with other people, they make me feel so small and continually embarrassed.” (lines: 2058-2060) the people around the
sees. The ghost town "made simple by the loss of detail" (2-3) is dazzlingly rich. If, as Frost habitually does, we were to conjure up a fully-fleshed intent behind this simple condition, perhaps we would guess that a scene of scraped land and "forty cellar holes" is more than enough grist for Frost's mill, and anything else would call for poetic fireworks that would overshadow his theme. This poem is an insightful allegory on the Grail symbol, made strange by Frost's characteristic subversive and introverted
Affirmative action is still needed, but its efforts must be redirected. The truth is that minorities poised to break through the glass ceiling will do so, based upon sheer ability, but minorities on the bottom rungs of society need help to break through the cellar ceiling. These are the individuals for whom affirmative action can do the most good, consequently, these are the people upon whom our efforts should be focused. When affirmative action was first instituted, the majority of Americans supported its
the introduction of Mr Pugh, the retired school teacher. First voice: “Mr Pugh” Mr Pugh: “remembers ground glass as he juggles his omelette” It does the same thing further down the page when it says, First Voice: “Mrs Pugh” Mrs Pugh: “nags the salt cellar” The Voices also build a relationship with the listener, they seem to be trustworthy and to have a sense of humour, and this helps the listener to learn about the characters and to understand the town. An example of this could be found in the prologue
example of a divided character I would like to discuss is that of the cardinals in Rome. It seems as if the heads of the Catholic Church indulge in worldly possessions to fulfill their spiritual desires. "...I had this wine brought up from my cellar especially to warm away the chill of your twenty Canadian winters. Surely, you do not gather vintages like this on the shores of the Great Lake Huron?"(9). These high cardinals seem to have grown devoted to luxuries of life than to God and the
According to one critic, the brightness connotes an optimistic viewpoint that is new to Invisible Man (Parker ). He believed that "[his invisibility] placed [him] in a hole- or showed [him] the the [he] was in" (Ellison 572). He remained in the cellar to get away from "it all" (Ellison 573), and to contemplate his life and his grandfather's words- to po... ... middle of paper ... ...ng] the foul air out" (Ellison 581). It is here that he wants to put his past behind him and move forward. He
given to him by outsiders that provide him with a role: student, patient, and a member of the Brotherhood. One by one he discards these as he continues to grow closer to the sense of his true self. As the novel ends, he decides to hide in an abandoned cellar, plotting to undermine the whites. The entire story can be summed up when the narrator says "I'm an invisible man and it placed me in a hole- or showed me the hole I was in...." During the novel, the narrator comes to value several intangibles that
characteristics. Some particular conversations are especially demonstrative of these elements. Heller uses these dialogues to communicate his ideas to the reader. In chapter XXXVI, several military police officers pick up the camp's Chaplain, take him to The Cellar, and interrogate him. The dialogue between the three MPs and the Chaplain is typical of dialogues throughout the book in many ways and the conversation reflects numerous themes central toCatch-22. The interrogation scene offers many insights into
narrator of the story faces persecution because of the color of his skin. The journey that the narrator takes has him as a college student as well as a part of the Brotherhood in Harlem. By the end of the book, the narrator decides to hide himself in a cellar, thinking of ways he can get back at the white people. However, in the novel, the man learns that education is very important, he realizes the meaning of his grandfather’s advice, and he sees the importance of his “invisibility.” Through this knowledge
their farmhouse, and developed a system of communication with the spirit by clapping. They learned the ghost was Charles Rosa, who claimed his throat was slit by the home's former owner, John Bell, and he had been buried in the cellar (Guiley). When they dug up the cellar floor, it contained teeth, hair, and bones. Margaret and Catie's oldest sister Leah smelled a gold mine and opportunistically took her younger sisters on tour doing stage shows. When their story reached Rochester, they quickly