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Bitterness: Poetry and World

Decent Essays

In the past and present, there have been numerous poets who have composed similar pieces to those of other poets. In 1859, Emily Dickinson produced "Success is counted sweetest." In1923, Robert Frost wrote "Fire and Ice." That same year, Wallace Stevens created "Gubbinal." These three poems share much in common. They contain many of the same elements of poetry, such as connotative meaning, imagery, symbolism, and tone. First, the three famous poems all possess a connotative meaning . Within the poem "Gubbinal," Stevens wrote, "The world is ugly". In the quotation, the word ugly isn't merely used to describe what the world looks like. It has a deeper meaning. Ugly represents the evil and corruption of the world. In "Fire and Ice", …show more content…

Line three is the first example. It states, "to
Comprehend the nectar." The nectar represents the value of success. Nectar is considered a satisfying, luscious drink and success can be defined as gratifying and desirable. The second illustration of symbolism is evident in lines six and seven. Dickinson wrote, "the purple host, /who took the flag today." In this poem, purple isn't used as a color. It is used to symbolize the quality of successful people. Purple is considered the arrogant, conceited color. People who are always successful are like the color purple. They are overconfident and stuck up. They take things for granted and are unaware of the true value of their own success. Finally, these three poems all contain one common tone, bitterness. Wallace Stevens shows his bitterness towards the people on earth, in his poem, "Gubbinal." He blames the people for corrupting the world. He says it is ugly in line four. He even goes so far as to compare the sun, which is beautiful and perfect, to the world. The sun is beautiful because it has no humans to destroy it. Wallace Stevens emphasizes his feeling about the world, when he repeats, "The world is ugly,/And the people are sad," at the end of the poem. This shows that he strongly believes the world is corrupt and the people are evil. In the poem, "Fire and Ice," Robert Frost also shows his bitterness towards the people in the world. He feels either our desires or our hate will

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