In Julia Alvarez’s poem “On Not Shoplifting Louise Bogan’s The Blue Estuaries”, Alvarez skillfully employs poetic devices such as imagery and personification to help convey the speaker’s discoveries. Alvarez’s use of imagery paints a vivid picture of the setting for the reader, allowing for a better understanding of the context of the poem, and a clarification of what goes on within the college bookstore. The use of personification highlights the significance of the special book of poems and its persuasive effect on the main character. The title of the poem- “On not Shoplifting Louise Bogan’s The Blue Estuaries” may appear confusing to the reader at first, due to it not being similar to typical poem titles; however the title and setting have a very strong connection- which is solidified through the use of imagery. The poem opened with the line “your book surprised me on the bookstore shelf-.” This directly and openly presents the setting, shifting the reader’s focus to more significant aspects of the poem. The imagery then targets the appearance of the book, highlighting its significance and seemingly ‘one of a kind’ appearance with lines such as “swans gliding on a blueback lake”...”No sassy big haired picture to complicate the …show more content…
This shows how bold and captivating the unique appearance of the book was; it contained only an illustration and name, without the boasting of achievements. Imagery played a key role in
In the short story,’’Checkouts,’’ the author uses figurative language such as similes, imagery, and hyperboles. In structure, using figurative language allows the reader to understand the story better and make it more creative, along with it becoming interesting. For example, on (page 47), it states, ”Like a Tibetan monk in solitary medication, she calmed to a point of deep,deep happiness.” Next, there is also imagery in the short story. An example of imagery in the story is how the narrator describes when the girl and the bag boy meet for the first time. “She interested him because her hair was red and thick, and in it she had placed a huge orange bow, nearly the size of a small hat” (47). For example, there is also some hyperboles in the
In Terrance Hayes Book of poetry Wind in a Box, one can see that the poems are devoted to personal history, blues variation, prose poems, and attempts at getting to the core of defining one’s lineage. The blue poems in particular consider 20th century representations of race, culling wisdom, and impressions from many famous people. Hayes uses the word blue in many different titles of poems in order to show various themes throughout them that tie them together using popular cultural icons. It is obvious to see the significance the word blue plays throughout the Wind in a Box poetry collection. Hayes poems “The Blue Suess” and Booker’s Tomb” from the collection Upright Blues emphasize the times of tradition, rare and freedom in the most interesting ways.
The author’s writing style is that of simplicity but at the same time that of deeper meaning. While the author makes it easy for one to find the symbols and unravel their meaning, the author also adds a whole new weight to meaning behind certain objects and
Poetry is a very subjective art it is up to the authors to determine how they want to convey their message to the readers. Both Ezra Pound’s poem “In the Station Metro” and Emma LaRocque’s poem “The Red in Winter” use imagery, that is very subjective to interpretation, to convey their message in an economic manner. Pound’s artistic imagist poem shows that art isn’t just visual but it can also be portrayed through words alone; and that imagery is a powerful aspect of poetry. LaRaque’s however is focused on how images can portray political issues among differing cultures.
Martinez, Elizabeth Coonrod. "Humble creator of an iconic novel." Americas [English Edition] May-June 2009: 62+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 8 Mar. 2014.
The specific word “after” shows that the previous poems were about the before and the poet is now in the future. The second and third line in the same poem “the bluebird dived just over the rail / into a dogwood” alludes to the new day. The reference to a bluebird generally shows a moment of clarity, hope and focus on a new day. The poems are not presented in a disconnected style and are placed evenly throughout the book. The use of white space allows the reader to follow the poet’s train of thought and the concrete imagery running alongside the enjambment adheres to a presentation that is pleasing to the eye. This particular chapbook was the easiest to read yet the context was unnerving and disheartening. Clearly, the poet is trying to convey the painful parts of a time when the world was encased in violence and
In the poem “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out,” by Shel Silverstein, the poet conveys his message to the audience extremely clearly. Shel Silverstein uses a mask of humor to make his message to the audience more impressive and strong than other poems. Three reasons contributing to making Shel Silverstein’s message clear are the fact that there is a funny part in the poem that people can relate to, that the poem itself is very descriptive to get lots of information from, and that the message is very deep and therefore readers really have to think deeply.
It is very easy to agree with Moebius statement that ‘good’ picture books contain some form of invisible and intangible concepts that keeps the reader returning. In Voices in the Park it is very easy to see Moebius idea due to the ability of technology to create detailed and complex books. In contrast, Potter has produced a book that more subtle in showing this relying not on technology like Voices in the Park but working within severe limitations. Blending page turns, text, colour to create understandable concepts. Goodman comments that some would argue that these elements in pictures interfere with and detract from the text, and thus undermine the confidence of the reader. An extrapolation of this idea is that preconceived ideas and pictures of another spoil the reader’s entrance to literacy.
Bishop’s use of imagism in “One Art” helps the reader to comprehend the ability of the speaker to move on from lost items such as a mother’s watch or loved houses.
...h the message is conveyed. Potter’s juxtaposition of picture and word also rewards the reader for trusting the evidence of his or her eyes, rather than simply submitting to the authoritative voice.
The poem “Snapping Beans” by Lisa Parker is about a girl who visits her grandmother. In the poem, the girl and the grandmother talk about their usual things, like how she is going in school. The girl responds with how school is going good, but she knows that her grandmother would not approve of her social circle and what they do and talk about. The narrator does an excellent job of using imagery and personification to help the reader understand on an emotional level of how the student may be feeling while sitting on the porch with her grandmother. One example of personification in this poem would be: “About the nights I cried into the familiar / heartsick panels of the quilt she made me,” (26-27). This use of personification indicates that the panels of the quilt are heartsick because the girl cries each night into her quilt because she misses her grandmother dearly. In Regina Barreca’s poem “Nighttime Fires, the narrator explains her complex view of her father. Imagery plays a big role in this poem because it vividly illustrates the girl’s impression of her father’s...
The speaker reflects on the teenage girl’s childhood as she recalls the girl played with “dolls that did pee-pee” (2). This childish description allows the speaker to explain the innocence of the little girl. As a result, the reader immediately feels connected to this cute and innocent young girl. However, the speaker’s diction evolves as the girl grew into a teenager as she proclaims: “She was healthy, tested intelligent, / possessed strong arms and back, / abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity” (7-9). The speaker applies polished language to illustrate the teen. This causes the reader not only to see the girl as an adult, but also to begin to grasp the importance of her situation. The speaker expresses what the bullies told this girl as she explains: “She was advised to play coy, / exhorted to come on hearty” (12-13). The sophisticated diction shifts towards the girl’s oppressors and their cruel demands of her. Because of this, the reader is aware of the extent of the girl’s abuse. The speaker utilizes an intriguing simile as she announces: “Her good nature wore out / like a fan belt” (15-16). The maturity of the speaker’s word choice becomes evident as she uses a simile a young reader would not understand. This keeps the mature reader focused and allows him to fully understand the somberness of this poem. The speaker concludes the poem as she depicts the teenage girl’s appearance at her funeral: “In the casket displayed on satin she lay / with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on” (19-20). The speaker elects not to describe the dead girl in an unclear and ingenuous manner. Rather, she is very clear and
With fewer than fifty published poems Elizabeth Bishop is not one of the most prominent poets of our time. She is however well known for her use of imagery and her ability to convey the narrator?s emotions to the reader. In her vividly visual poem 'The Fish', the reader is exposed to a story wherein the use of language not only draws the reader into the story but causes the images to transcend the written work. In the poem, Bishop makes use of numerous literary devices such as similes, adjectives, and descriptive language. All of these devices culminate in the reader experiencing a precise and detailed mental image of the poem's setting and happenings.
The author, to entirely convey Jonas’s view of the world in his imagination and the origin of his strong desires, employs vivid, colorful, extensive descriptions of the beauty and horror instigated by nature and freedom. A few of the exemplary integrations of imagery, which paint lush mental images, as written by Lois Lowry, include, “Looking through the front window, he had seen no people: none of the busy afternoon crew of Street Cleaners, Landscape Workers, and Food Delivery people who usually populated the community at that time of day. He saw only the abandoned bikes here and there on their sides; an upturned wheel on one was still revolving slowly.” (p.15), “Soon there were many birds along the way, soaring overhead, calling. They saw deer; and once, beside the road, looking at them curious and unafraid, a small reddish brown creature with a thick tail, whose name Jonas did not know. He slowed the bike and they stared at one another until the creature turned away and disappeared into the woods.” (p.230), “…banquets with huge roasted meats; birthday parties with thick-frosted cakes; and lush fruits picked and eaten, sun-warmed and dripping, from trees.” (p.232). Through such instances of imagery, the author is able to convey and inspire the reader through vivid, emotion-evoking mental
Gwendolyn Brook’s “Ballad of Pearl May Lee” came from her book called Street in Bronzeville. This book exemplifies Brook’s “dual place in American literature” (Smith, 2). It is associated with Modernist poetry, as well as the Harlem Renaissance. This book is known for its theme of victimizing the poor, black woman. “Ballad of Pearl May Lee” is a poem that uses tone to represent the complex mood of the ballad. While tone and mood are often used interchangeably, there are differences even though they often work together in a poem. A poem’s mood refers to the atmosphere or state of mind that the poem takes on. This is often conveyed through the tone, which is the style or manner of expression through writing. In this poem, Brooks uses tone to enhance the mood. This paper will shed light on the idea that the mood of the poem is affected by the tone in several ways in order to make the mood inconsistent. Some of the ways that tone does this is by several episodic shifts in the scene of the poem, the repetition of stanzas at the end of the poem, the use of diction, and the change in the speaker’s stance throughout the poem. These poetic techniques enhance the speaker’s current feeling of self-pity and revengeful satisfaction by her mixed emotions associated with this reflection.