Comparing Elegy For JFK And O Captain ! My Captain

The deceased are often remembered in either the best of themselves or the worst. Family and friends usually look back and reminisce on the most striking qualities held by their lost loved ones. Death is a shocking and confusing period for those affected by it and the whirlwind of emotions, such as the various stages of grief, catch many by surprise. Born in 1908, Theodore Roethke was an American poet who was deemed one of the most proficient and leading poets of his generation. In his poem, “Elegy for Jane”, Roethke uses a variety of poetic devices to express the different themes of love, happiness, and grief. His use of imagery, symbolism, persona, tone and word choice, contribute to the deeper meaning of the poem, assisting in the expression of the speaker’s feelings for Jane and of how, Jane, herself felt.

First of all, “O Captain, My Captain” uses extended metaphors, while “Shiloh: A Requiem” does not. Walt Whitman uses many extended metaphors, such as “Captain” referring to Abraham Lincoln, and “fearful trip” meaning the Civil War. This shows how “O Captain, My Captain” uses extended metaphors to give the poem a deeper meaning than it seems. Meanwhile, Herman Melville does not use extended metaphors in his poem. Additionally, “Shiloh: A Requiem” uses personification to convey the mood, and “O Captain, My Captain” does not. For example, Herman Melville uses the phrase “The church so lone” to help convey the mood. This shows personification because loneliness is an emotion, and an inanimate object cannot feel emotions. However, “O Captain, My Captain” does not use personification in the poem. In conclusion, this shows that the two authors use unique means to get their messages

Although the poem “Annabel Lee,” is a darker poem about losing someone, it still mentions the theme of love and how it can take over a person. To add on, the poem “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart),” was more of a warm poem about love and the happiness it brings. The theme of love is presented in both of the poems and Cummings wanted the reader to know that love can fill a person’s heart and heal it, but can also break it and leave a permanent scar on someone. Both of the poems have a sense of attachment towards the narrator’s loved one. This expresses the fact that they cannot live without them because they are their whole world. The two poems carry the theme of love in a person's heart and shows that love can bring both negative and positive feelings in one’s life. Clearly, the two poems “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe and “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)” by E E Cummings, share many similarities due to the theme of love, the emotions, and feelings it can convey to the

Compare how the theme of loss is communicated in the poems ‘Disabled’ by Wilfred Owen and ‘Out, out-’ by Robert Frost

This poem is based on families throughout the war, making sense of their loved one’s death. While they are overcome with grief and sorrow, they have an overwhelming sense of appreciation for what their loved one had achieved in fighting for the country. Chaplain Jim Cosgrove has portrayed Australians as being very sacrificial, resilient, courageous, this can be seen through several examples in the poem. In addition to that, throughout the poem it can be seen that the poet believes mate-ship is a fundamental aspect of the Australian identity. ‘Their courage and belief are even stronger than their grief that their sacrifice is for a worthy cause.’ This example, in lines 13 and 14, shows the poets views of Australians, that they are brave, courageous and sacrificial. This is reflected in the Australian identity and supports Australia’s dominant cultural values. Another examples of this is in lines 23 & 24, ‘In the history of their nation there are many generations whose sacrifice has made our country free.’ An example of the poet displaying mate-ship as being a significant aspect of the Australian identity is in lines 17-18, ‘They want to tell their mates to never doubt or hesitate, to fight this fight against the reign of terror.’ The poet has used imagery throughout the poem, to help the reader construct an image. Furthermore, Chaplain Jim Cosgrove has set a somber and melancholy mood and tone through the choice of words that highlight the sacrifices made by soldiers in the war. Thus, giving the poem more

One way in which they are similar is how they’re both about Us presidents. “Oh Captain my Captain” is about Abraham Lincoln, and “Elegy for JFK” is about John F Kennedy. Some examples in “Oh Captain my Captain” would be “Where on the deck my Captain lies“ which references lincoln's assassination, Or “The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done” which references the civil war. Though “Elegy for JFK” doesn’t have any metaphors for JFK specifically, it talks about how we should treat his death. One of those being “Remembering his death, How we choose to live will decide its meaning”, saying that how we treat his death will determine its impact.

Also included in the poem is the image of a young child being embraced by their elders. This shows the gap in life and the aging process that we go through. When we are young we are carefree, but as we age we hold on to the ones we love because of the knowledge that we will one day have to make our departure. Out of this idea of death, Whitman shows that this is a natural part of life and

In W.H. Auden’s “Funeral Blues” (pg. 762), the poem takes place a short time after the speaker’s beloved has died and how the speaker feels that his life has been forever changed and that he will never recover. In Elizabeth Bishop’s “One Art” (pg. 767), the poem takes place a short time after the speaker’s beloved has passed away and how she feels that she can master the feeling of losing someone the she loves. However, she seems to be in denial over her true feelings. Between the two poem’s, Auden’s “Funeral Blues” seems to do a better job than  Bishop’s “One Art”, in using rhyme, alliteration, and structure to show the reader the feelings and emotional state of the speaker after their beloved has died.

In the third stanza, Longfellow uses pathos very well, as his description of the British ship in the harbor makes a very bleak and slim chance of success for the Americans. One could become especially emotionally connected to the story after reading this, as a sense of urgency is omitted about the need for Revere to be informed of how the British shall charge, and that he must ride even

His hopeful mood allows the reader to comprehend the level of emotional connection he had to Annabel. This proves the speaker’s love never being deceased, despite being separated from his true love forever. On the contrary, in “Funeral Blues” though the deceased loved one is not revealed to be either a family member nor a partner to the speaker, it evident to see the pain and grief brought upon the speaker as he/she demands the whole world to

The author uses several types of poetic terms in this poem to develop the theme of a person accepting grief in their life. One poetic term she used was a metaphor. The metaphor is “Ah, grief, I should not treat you like a homeless dog.” Although grief is not a type of dog, the author wants us to think of grief in the same way that we would think about a homeless dog. The same phrase can also be considered a simile. The author intends for us to think of grief as being like a homeless dog. Another way that the author expressed her theme was by using a specific kind of repetition like anaphora. Several words are repeated at the beginning of two or more lines and sentences in the poem. These words are “you,” “your,” “my,” and “and.” There are also several phrases that are repeated throughout the poem. These phrases are “your own,” “I should,” and “you need.” She uses these repetitive words and phrases in the poem to describe a conversation that a person is having with grief.

The depressing realization of the captain’s death is evident and seen most within the last stanza as the tone changes from that of triumph and elation to heartbreak and grief. This is shown through Whitman’s use of imagery as the speaker states, “My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, / My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will” (lines 17-18). This provides a detailed description of the lifeless captain as he lies on the deck. The following lines describe the successfulness of the mission as the captain has led his crew to safety after accomplishing the goals which were set. This alteration in tone

By repeating “O” throughout the elegy, it creates a sense of rhythm throughout the free verse without creating a constant structure. The repetition of “O” emphasizes the importance of the word, and enacts Whitman’s misery on death. The sound “O” also resembles the sound of wails from grief, correlating to Whitman’s first notion of death, questioning his relationship with it. Because it is a pastoral elegy, Whitman incorporates a thematic imagery of death to address his own grief. One important element he uses is the image of the coffin. It is decorated with “Blossoms and branches green” (Whitman 47), which

Throughout the poem, W.D. Auden did an exceptional job incorporating the several examples of figures of speech. By including these devices, Auden drew deeper connections to the overall themes of death and love with the readers. For example, “let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead/ scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead” is an illustration of personification (Auden, 5-6). Auden personifies an airplane to mourn over someone and scribble in the sky. Both human like characteristics suggest that the speaker wishes for everyone to know that his loved one has passed, so that everyone can mourn over the deceased, like the speaker. Another example of this is shown through a series of metaphors in lines 9-12 “…my North, my South, my East, my West,/ My working week and my Sunday rest,/ My noon, my

Whitman's Poem "Out of the Cradle, Endlessly Rocking," is not, at first glance, an obvious love poem. Most readers would probably consider this a tragic poem about death and love lost. In spite of the fact that the poem is about intrinsically sorrowful events, or perhaps because of it, Whitman is able to capture a very unique and poignant portrayal of love. There are three major perspectives to examine how Whitman develops the theme of love in Out of the Cradle, and by examining each reoccurring theme in the poem separately, we can come to a more complete understanding of how they work together to communicate Whitman's message about love.