Funeral Blues Analysis

In “Whoever We Are, Loss Finds us and Defines Us”, by Anna Quindlen, she brings forth the discussion grief's grip on the lives of the living. Wounds of death can heal with the passing of time, but in this instance, the hurt lives on. Published in New York, New York on June 5, 1994, this is one of many Quindlen published in the New York Times, centered on death's aftermath. This article, written in response to the death of Quindlen’s sister-in-law, and is focused on an audience who has, currently is, or will experience death. Quindlen-a columnist for the New York Times and Newsweek, Pulitzer Prize winner and author-has written six bestselling novels (Every Last One, Rise and Shine, Object Lessons, One True Thing, and Black and Blue) and has

In the poem “Because I could Not stop for Death”, Emily Dickinson describes death as an experience that she is looking back on. Dickinson uses a variety of elements, such as personification, imagery and irony to get her point across that death is not a dreadful event, but actually a pleasant experience. Although death is often perceived as being depressing and frightening, it should be viewed in a positive way realizing that it is the beginning of eternity.

The theme of parental mourning has been a universal one throughout the centuries. In the literature on bereavement, writers repeat certain themes, thoughts, and reflections; they talk of the powerful and often conflicting emotions involved in "the pain of grief and the

The visual representation of the poem Homecoming, by Bruce Dawe, explores a few of the key themes represented in the poem. These themes include: the depiction of a journey, death, futility of war, sadness and dehumanisation. Which are communicated in the poster through the use of its content, ideas, themes and techniques used. The use of colour sets the tone of the visual representation.

As the poem goes on it gets deeper with meaning, sadder even. Lines four and five are the most crucial lines of the poem. Line three ends with the head giving the heart advice. “You will lose the ones you love. They will all go,” this isn’t the first thing someone wants to hear, especially not someone who is aware that they have just lost someone they love. But this is classic, logical advice that your emotions need to hear. What it means is that one day everyone you love will be gone, it is the sad truth of the world we live in. Nothing is forever. “But even the earth will go,

beloved’s death and that he feels that he will never recover. The speaker talks about how he feels

There is one thing in life that is inevitable - death. This fact makes it hard to lose loved ones. After reading the short stories “Removal of the Cherokees” by Burnett and “Christmas Eve on Lonesome” by Fox, Jr. it is apparent that the main theme is loss. Throughout these stories, the characters’ experience a loss of something that is exceedingly significant. The idea of losing someone you love is very agonizing.

The bereavement of a friend can cause one to feel regret and guilt as they begin to blame themselves for the circumstances. Filled with self-condemnation Jericho stated to Mr. Tambori “I told him to jump. I cheered him on, then stood there like a fool and watched him die. I will never forgive myself.” (Draper 23). Jericho is afflicted with a guilty conscious as he participated in the events that led to the unfortunate death of his friend. He feels he should have prevented Josh from jumping and could have potentially saved him. November, Josh’s girlfriend, also has the undying feeling of regret “I never really loved Josh. I know I said I loved him. Isn’t that what you’re supposed

When a loved when is gone it feels like a hole in the world. With much grief he says, “Never again will anyone inhabit the world the way he did. Questions I have can never now get answers. The world is emptier. My son is gone. Only a hole remains, Avoid, a gap, never to be filled”(33). This phrase describes his emotions and how he views the world without his son. The author gives advice on what to say to someone who is mourning. He says to never say its Ok because its never okay and death is awful. “ What I need to hear from you is that you recognize how painful it is. I need to hear from you that you are with me in my desperation” (34). When some passes away no one really knows what his or her loved ones are feeling because each death is unique and each person is different. The wisest of words don’t even make the pain go away, and all that can be done is lending an ear to listen, a shoulder to lean on.

“Funeral Blues”, the speaker feels completely devastated about the beloved’s death and how he feels that nothing will ever be the same now that his beloved is gone. The speaker projects his anguish to the readers and vividly describes how he wants the whole world to feel his pain. Also, the speaker basically wants to turn everything off in the world, thus making the world immersed in darkness and completely silence, which I believe mirrors the way the speaker is feeling on the inside. An example of this is “The stars are not wanted now; put out every one” (Auden Line 13). This helps to show the

He seems to suggest here that grief is but an illusion, because man is incapable of touching the human soul. Emerson continued with, “Grief too will make us idealists. In the death of my son, now more than two years ago, I seem to have lost a beautiful estate, - no more. I cannot get it nearer to me.” Now, Emerson reveals his inspiration for writing Experience. With the death of his son, Emerson had suffered the fourth major loss in his family, which had been long plagued by tuberculosis. His first wife died of the disease and had claimed the lives of his two beloved brothers. Emerson was no stranger to grief, and the more he tried to psychoanalyze it, the emptier he felt. After sustaining so much loss, one must steel oneself from any further blows.

Both the “Valediction Forbidding Mourning” by John Donne and “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson contain age-old themes. These themes focus on inevitable feelings and events of life; love and death. Although both “Valediction Forbidding Mourning” and “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” contain the two themes, they differ greatly in how they are presented and what they represent. In “Valediction Forbidding Mourning,” a husband traveling away from his wife is consoling her.

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 poem that I have selected for this essay is “Talking to Grief” by Denise Levertov. I chose this poem because it talks about grief. It also talks about the place that grief should have in a person’s life. The poem describes grief, and compares it to a “homeless dog.” It also describes how a dog deserves its own place in the house, instead of living under a porch or being homeless. This poem talks about how a person can be aware that grief is present, but that it is not always acknowledged and accepted. We all experience grief in different ways, and for different reasons. Everyone deals with grief in their own personal way. This poem describes a point in a person’s life when they are ready to accept grief as a part of their life

The astonishing level of agony presented in a person when losing a loved one is described in the poem, “Stop All of the Clocks, Cut off the Telephone” by W.H. Auden. In this poem, the poet describes the pain of ending an intense sensation of love when one of the partners passes away. The inability to cope once one’s love has ended provokes the feeling that life has ended due to the thought of not being able to live alone. This is found in the poem when Auden states, “For nothing now can ever come to any good” (Auden, 16). The author’s use of figures of speech, imagery, and diction allow her audience to understand the speaker’s true emotions over its’ overwhelming grieving period.