An Analysis Of Robert Lowell's For The Union Dead

The loss of loved one is a tragic event in one’s life that causes a deep feeling of depression, but through his letter, Shaw does not express this. Through his diction and use of detail, Shaw conveys a peaceful and at times, comical attitude towards the passing of his mother.

Yet another distinctive quality of the poem is the way that Lowell focuses on the bigger picture, other family members, rather than just his relationship with and emotions for his mother. It is peculiar that in a poem written specifically about the death of his mother,

His way of writing poetry was not known to many poets. He is considered one of the founders of his way of writing, which is now known as Confessional Poetry. From the 1950’s to 1960’s, “poetry of the personal or “I”,” also known as confessional poetry, emerged through writers like Lowell. Confessional Poetry consists of “private experiences” containing “feelings about death, trauma, depression, and relationships,” (“A Brief Guide to Confessional Poetry”). That is why poems like “For the Union Dead” and “History” are considered to be Confessional pieces of poetry; they are written by past experiences. This movement is unique to Lowell’s time. In fact, Lowell actually taught for some time and part of what he taught was Confessional Poetry. That is why, in some cases, Confessional Poetry “has been taken to describe the work of the small circle of Robert Lowell and three of his students – Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, and W.D. Snodgrass” (Glaser 25). In short, Confessional Poetry is a movement of writing in which a poet writes about “private experiences,” (“A Brief Guide to Confessional

The imagery of the poem, portraying the class as a school of fish, is constructed by the poetic devices of metaphors, similes, and metonymy. Water is used as a metaphor for the teacher's words; the reference to "water [beginning] to fill the room" connects to the later reference to the teacher who "trie[s] to drown [the students] with [his] words" (lines 6 and 13). Fish are used as a metaphor to describe both the teacher and his students; "together [they] swam around the room" (line 18). Another example of this is when the teacher's hands are compared to fins in lines 28 and 29. Finally, the classroom is metaphorically compared to an aquarium; the "hole in the door" (line 22) causes everyone to "leak out" (line 23). The first simile of the poem occurs in line 4 when the students are "as orderly as frozen fish." This image is supported by later similes such as "like gills" (line 16) and "like thirty tails whacking words" (line 19). The first simile describes the students who are eager to take in the "water" or words of the teacher. The second simile refers to the group interaction between the teacher and the students.

“For the Union Dead” opens with descriptions of Boston’s urban landscape. The first is the South Boston Aquarium: cold, decrepit, and strangely nostalgic. The second is the monument commemorating the actions of Colonel Shaw and his unique “negro” regiment. Together they form layers of metaphor that are characteristic of Lowell’s writing. This complex web of metaphor and association is accessible because of signifiers- single words that take the place of conventional poetic techniques and work off of each other to enhance the implicit symbolism and their ability to be associated. Lowell then takes this artfully crafted structure and uses it to level criticisms against modern urban culture. These grievances are Lowell’s, hence the first person perspective. This poem succeeds as an indictment of the modern, industrialized society and it accomplishes this in a subtle, intellectual way. Subtlety is key, my friends, subtlety is key.

The Gulf Stream painting by Winslow Homer depicts what life is like for some fishermen in the ocean. What we see fishermen bring from their long expeditions are ocean creatures of different sizes and shapes. Winslow in this painting is telling the story of a fisherman who went fishing but, in his expedition, he was the main target for the sharks, the fish for the sharks. In this painting, the fisherman who is lying on the boat is shown to have lost hope and believe the worst is yet to come hence, he looked to have accept his faith of death. But, at the background of the picture, Winslow gave some sense of hope and safety for the man.

However, each poem signifies a different approach to the grieving process, and yet describes grief as an event everyone endures in life. “Remember” and “The Cross of Snow” are parallel to each other in the use of structure, metaphors, mood, and the poem centering around a loved one who passed. Both are sonnets which create a poetic and a fluid flow to the poem. A sonnet is restricted to fourteen lines to create a poem with a message of literary devices. The metaphors in each of the poem serve a purpose of showing the reader what come with death.

The third poem “The Song of Despair” could be claimed to be about the loss of someone you love because of the language the author uses. The entire poem could be seen as a simile itself, where the author compares his loss the the leaving of ships from the dock, and the personality of their lover was and is still alive and refreshing as can be. A symbol from the poem is “in you everything sank,” meaning their lover eventually just gave in to the death, such as a ship would have given into the sea after being vulnerable to damage. “Lost discoverer” is another symbol explaining how the author is discovering the feeling of loss. A metaphor from the poem is “deserted like wharves at dawn,” meaning the author could feel deserted from the loss like

Interlaced throughout these poems, one theme is shared, and that theme is how longing slowly turns into death over time. As poets often ask readers to examine more closely the relationship between seemingly opposite themes. Specifically, poems by Agran, Dunbar, Keats, and Stevens explore the tension between desire and death. “Black Umbrellas” is about a ‘new start’ in life while “Why Fades a Dream” is about having a dream and putting it to action. “This Living Hand” is about enjoying the time you are alive and not taking life for granted ,however; “The Brave Man” is about a man that is personified as a sun and going through fears in his life. Poetry, poetry is a literary work in which is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm.

Carpe Diem. I was debating on seizing the day and just sticking to writing Carpe Diem as my paper, but I decided against pulling a members of Dead Poet’s Society courageous move in sake of my grade. Turns out acceptance wasn’t much of a trend during that time, que the magnificent boy, Neil killing himself because his parents weren’t okay with him being happy.

In Stoker’s novel Dracula, Dracula takes the reader down a long and twisted road following Count Dracula as he navigates. Dracula takes an introspective look at the dark and evil side of Count Dracula as he traverses the European countryside looking for his next victim. As you weave your way through this novel, there are a number of important literary elements and psychoanalytical present.

How someone develops as an individual can be a result of their surroundings. Personal development can also be reformed by what the school setting is like, the type of people someone interacts with, and the amount of security which is given. In (Weir, Dead Poet’s Society), the characters attended an all boys private school which is a very different setting than what would be seen at a public high school. Knox Overstreet understood that was the case when he decided to go to Chris Noel’s party and also when he visited her at her public high school. Not only would there be effects from the co-ed aspect, but also the level of authority would be much different from that of an all boys private school. Social mores are the result of a combination of authority, the school setting, and interaction with peers.

Reading the two issues of The Common literary magazines, published at Amherst College, by Jennifer Acker, intensified my curiosity and engagement with “my sense of place” within Lowell. The Common provides numerous articles including stories, essays, poems, photographs, and other artworks that tell a story of the location and history of the origin. Being able to read this magazine allowed me to understand the importance of learning about the world through different mediums of work, which I believe is very fascinating and much more intriguing to read. Not only did I learn a lot about New Zealand, Bolivia, New York, France, etc., through the various mediums, but also about my own city. During the process of reading both issues of the magazine, I was able to indulge myself into a further understanding of the

Pale Death with impartial tread beats at the poor man's cottage door and at the palaces of kings. Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus, 65-8 B.C.)

Every single person goes through certain types of losses in their lifetime. Sometimes losses have a big impact on one’s life, and sometimes they do not. Even with all the losses that life can bring, many times those losses have the appearance of something much worse than the reality. Sometimes loss and sadness are inevitable, just so one can see that everything is survivable, and even in the moments of greatest suffer, that is not the end. Embracing loss can be a wonderful thing when you accept it, being that not all loss will lead to disaster and has potential to grow into something healthy and beautiful once again. In her poet “One Art,” Elizabeth Bishop argues that losing is survivable by showing small and large scale of life’s disasters. This can be seen by her use of repetition, somber tone, and allegory.