The seventh poem describes the speaker's growing emotional imbalance. As a result of his obsessive desire, he is caught between fearful uncertainty and hopeful longing. He cries, he cannot sleep, and he cannot take comfort from anything or anyone. Unlike in the previous poem, the speaker does not address anyone directly. The poem consists of only one sentence. The quick succession of three main clauses followed by four subordinate clauses conveys the speaker’s agitation and anxiety.
His emotions have overwhelming physical effects. He feels oppressed and constricted (“beklemmen”, v. 1) by fear and hope and pressed (“bedrängt”, v. 3) by yearning. While it is easy to imagine that the uncertainty and apprehension about his future with the beloved
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The German phrase “sich an etwas nicht kehren” means to not care about something. The verb “schwemmen” (to flood) hints at the large amount of tears that drench the speaker’s resting place. The last two verses are strikingly symmetric with almost identical vowels and the resembling nouns “freude” (pleasure, happiness) and “freundes” (friend's). Both clauses express a similar sentiment that is underlined by opposite grammatical structures: The speaker does not want any comfort. He refuses every (“jede”, v. 6) pleasure and needs the comfort of no (“keines”, v. 7) …show more content…
Due to the small note values and the large leaps that make the vocal lines, particularly in the beginning and in bar 9, difficult to sing, the indicated tempo feels very fast. However, the song can turn out “harmless” in this fast tempo if the performers do not feel a certain resistance. For coordination purposes, it might be easier to ignore the changing time signatures of 2/4 and 6/8 and just feel two beats with different rhythmic subdivisions in each bar. However, the “pull” of the speaker’s emotions can be better conveyed if each performer feels the music in the notated time signatures. Although many of the other songs contain phrases where voice and piano are not aligned, here the tension between the phrases seems to be particularly strong. In my playing, I “translate” the text’s emotional quality into a feeling of stretching, a way of phrasing with an immense gravitational force. It is vital that both performers are aware of each other’s timing and phrasing, so they are together despite feeling drawn in different directions. The two major tempo changes are difficult to coordinate, but a feeling for the entire song as one long sentence makes it easier to get a feeling for the proportions. In this song, the performers can easily get caught up in the agitation the text conveys and start the crescendi too early or play too
However, the poem has fluidity despite its apparent scarcity of rhyme. After examining the alteration of syllables in each line, a pattern is revealed in this poem concerning darkness. The first nine lines alternate between 8 and 6 syllables. These lines are concerned, as any narrative is, with exposition. These lines set up darkness as an internal conflict to come. The conflict intensifies in lines 10 and 11 as we are bombarded by an explosion of 8 syllables in each line. These lines present the conflict within one's own mind at its most desperate. After this climax, the syllables in the last nine lines resolve the conflict presented. In these lines, Dickinson presents us with an archetypal figure that is faced with a conflict: the “bravest” hero. These lines present the resolution in lines that alternate between 6 and 7 syllables. Just as the syllables decrease, the falling action presents us with a final insight. This insight discusses how darkness is an insurmountable entity that, like the hero, we must face to continue “straight” through “Life” (line 20).
The poet uses many metaphors, repetition and morbid diction to illicit the response I had to this poem. Firstly, Butson compared the emotions and internal struggles of a
The poem’s structure as a sonnet allows the speaker’s feelings of distrust and heartache to gradually manifest themselves as the poem’s plot progresses. Each quatrain develops and intensifies the speaker’s misery, giving the reader a deeper insight into his convoluted emotions. In the first quatrain, the speaker advises his former partner to not be surprised when she “see[s] him holding [his] louring head so low” (2). His refusal to look at her not only highlights his unhappiness but also establishes the gloomy tone of the poem. The speaker then uses the second and third quatrains to justify his remoteness; he explains how he feels betrayed by her and reveals how his distrust has led him
In Ted Kooser’s “A Birthday Card”, the poet is expressing how much his aunt cares about and loves him. This poem is about the relationship between the poet and his aunt show in this birthday card. Even though his aunt is very sick and weak, she still trying her best to write him a birthday card and wishes him with love. The setting for this poem is in poet’s forty-fourth birthday, his aunt who is in her eighties with a lot of illness and still uses all of her strength to write this birthday wishes to him. In this poem, the poet uses the third person point of view to describe the birthday card and the love though it from his aunt. This poem does not have several stanzas. It is a one piece, unbroken and continuous poem. The poet is writing this poem mainly from his feeling to tell his reader how great his aunt is. Ted Kooser always writes his poem from his past experiences and life events. In this poem, he is using the birthday card to show the reader one of the important person appears in his life and what did that person do to touches his heart. This poem is about the love from his aunt and how the poet expresses it on a short length poem.
The speaker uses words such as “louring” (line 2), “deep deceit” (line 8), “grievous” (line 11) and “bale” (line 140. All of these words have sorrowful and despairing meanings to them which gives the whole poem an unhappy tone. The third and fourth lines discus that the speaker cannot even look at the beautiful face, which appears to grow more attractive daily, of the woman he loves. Moreover, the couplet tells the readers that the sorrow in the speaker’s eyes is there because of the pain he has felt due to his faulty relationship. The mouse that “lies aloof for fear of more mishap” (line 7) shows the misery felt by the speaker by using the words “aloof” and “mishap”. “Aloof” means to be stand-offish or reserved, which the speaker is because if he gets too close, he will be hurt again. “Mishap” means disaster or unfortune which altogether sounds miserable. Had the speaker used diction that was lighter or less depressed, the reader truly would not understand the misery the speaker has went through. The miserable diction depicts the deep wounds the speaker received from his love, shedding light to how much he really loved her and how bad she really hurt
Furthermore, Nemerov also employed alliteration to the poem, reflecting the widower’s constant sorrow and agony. “And still the hungry, angry heart/ Hangs on and howls, biting at air.” (lines 14-15). The repetitive use of ‘h’ in words ‘hangs’ and ‘howls’, as well as the similarity of pronunciation in words “hungry” and “angry” adds emphasis to the suffering of the widower.
The tone of the poem changes as the poem progresses. The poem begins with energetic language like “full of heroic tales” and “by a mere swing to his shoulder”. The composer also uses hyperboles like “My father began as a god” and “lifted me to heaven”. The use of this positive language indicates to the responder that the composer is longing for those days – he is nostalgic. It also highlights the perspective of a typical child. The language used in the middle of the poem is highly critical of his father: “A foolish small old man”. This highlights the perspective of a typical teenager and signifies that they have generally conflicting views. The language used in the last section of the poem is more loving and emotional than the rest: “...revealing virtues such as honesty, generosity, integrity”. This draws attention to a mature adult’s perspective.
The use of symbolism and imagery is beautifully orchestrated in a magnificent dance of emotion that is resonated throughout the poem. The two main ideas that are keen to resurface are that of personal growth and freedom. Furthermore, at first glimpse this can be seen as a simple poem about a women’s struggle with her counterpart. However, this meaning can be interpreted more profoundly than just the causality of a bad relationship.
Secondly, the author uses word choice to show the speakers overall sorrow. Throughout the whole poem there are word scattered everywhere that describe the general emotion of sorrow, some of those word being “restless” (19), “torment”, and “troubled” (4). These words instantly give the connotation of feelings like despair and sadness. The speaker also uses literary elements such as simile to express sorrow, like when she says “These troubles of the heart/ are like unwashed clothes” (27, 28). Everyday people usually do not pay much mind to unwashed clothes, and usually look at it as something unimportant or irrelevant. When the speaker compares her internal troubles to something that holds little importance to everyday life and is also seen as unpleasant, the readers really get a look into the sorrow and sadness that the speaker is truly feeling. The speaker also uses word choice to help show the readers the true intensity of what she is going through.
“The relationship between the energies of the inquiring mind that an intelligent reader brings to the poem and the poem’s refusal to yield a single comprehensive interpretation enacts vividly the everlasting intercourse between the human mind, with its instinct to organise and harmonise, and the baffling powers of the universe about it.”
The poems in this section are about the hardships of life and the problems that people have to face, yet there is an undertone of hope in them too, the problems may not be solved, but the poems show that there is a sense of faith in human resilience.
A deeper level is achieved in the mind of the narrator when she acknowledges her own mental state and that she is eager to leave her sad mood. While the man is described as animal-like and savage, she stands “In moody sadness, on the giddy brink” (9) full of contemplation and reflection on her own worldview. The poet is quite self-aware while the lunatic is not, and through her intelligent banter, the reader can see the extreme difference in personality. The poet’s own self-conception, however, is ironic in that she is wishing for ignorance that can only be achieved by lack of a self-concept. The catch-22 she experiences is perplexing, both to her and the reader.
Despite the flowing syntax, the poem has a clear and predictable structure to replicate the persona’s calm familiarity with experiencing and answering to “storms” in their life. It is interesting to note that even though parlous weather is on its way, there is a lack of panic, chaos, and anomalies in the structure of the poem. There continues to be seven lines in each stanza throughout the piece;
In order to describe the form which Donne gives to true love he chooses to create a scene of separation. He insists that when in love, absence is not a cause for despair. Stanza two describes the usual reaction lovers have to separation but explains that such reactions of tears and sighs do not prove one’s love but rather the
This piece has several “mini” themes given to almost each stanza, emphasizing reminiscing, grief, and isolation. Appearing to be from the point of view of a man (apparently the writer himself) profoundly grieving the departure of a lover who has passed on. He starts by calling for quiet from the ordinary objects of life; the phones, the clocks, the pianos, drums, and creatures close-by. He doesn't simply need calm, but be that as it may; he needs his misfortune well known and projected. Its tone is significantly more dismal than earlier versions, and the themes more all inclusive, despite the fact that it talks about a person. There is almost an entire stanza demonstrating a bunch of analogies that express what the speaker intended to his lover. The style in the piece readers typically perceive it as a dirge, or a mourning for the dead. It has four stanzas of four lines each with lines in