Imagery, Diction, And Tone Of Roethke 's Root Cellar

Analyse (tell me how the poet creates this image - choice of words, literary devices, implication etc)The idea of a freezing, harsh climate is emphasized with "winter's city" and "winter's leaves". The poet uses words like "death" and "terrible" to highlight the freezing, barren winter.

In the short chapter, “The Branch,” from the book The Beet Queen by Louise Erdrich, the author substantially relies on imagery and mood to paint the abstract concept that environmental impact can seduce to transformation. Structuring the setting, Erdrich establishes the two main characters, Karl and Mary, whose hope is deeply devastated by new surrounding conditions as encountering “dirt,” “chill,” and “watery wind.” Marking the period of the Great Depression in 1932, the author adopts the historic setting to echo the hopeless atmosphere in the American society, which makes it possible to inspect the main characters’ mood. Individuals perceive the world differently; in lieu of analyzing the environmental impact on the two children in general,

The narrator shares this story from his youth in the words of an educated man. His actions as a teen are in stark contrast to his phraseology as an adult. Early in the story, he viewed “nature” as sex, drugs and rock and roll (Boyle 112-113). However, as the story ends and the turmoil subsides, the narrator sees nature for the first time, through the eyes of a person matured by this traumatic experience. The “sun firing buds and opening blossoms” replaced the once revered beer and

In the essay, “A Literature of Place”, Barry Lopez expresses the importance of nature as it applies to human life. Through this he states that humans’ imagination are inspired by the scenery around them. Lopez revolves around a central perspective; Ancient american literature has always been rooted in nature. By acknowledging that modern human identity has been interpreted by nature, Lopez describes how the landscape of an area can shape the structure of the communities and how it can help with spiritual collapse. Nature writing has often been summarised by being one of the oldest threads in american literature. With our nation's aging one needs to reflect on their literary past; therefore, Lopez insists that we find our path to nature that

The imagery causes this feeling to seem tangible to the reader, together with using imagery to accentuate the grimy environment, lack of safety and eerie mood. The “strange light, the colour of an egg yolk” (p. 302) is very pictorial. This visual imagery allows the reader to clearly picture the yellow light bathing the lounge, in the same way the atmosphere of eeriness and gloom is highlighted. The smell “of dust and turpentine” (p. 302), is another description, this time olfactory, that feels extremely real. As the reader, you can feel the musty, chemical filled air burn your nostrils. It’s as though you are right there beside Charlie in the dusty, rundown

The reek of death hangs in the air throughout the land. Filling the mouths of those who lived in this abandoned land was the taste of burnt garlic. The screams and cries of terror undistinguishable between beast and human fill the ears of the last ones living. The sky, which was lit by the glow of fires, is grey and empty. Decaying bodies and

Dark words and phrases are initially sprinkled throughout the poem giving it a sense of despondence. For example, Oliver uses the phrase, “the dark burred/ faintly belching/ bogs” which describes the swamp as dark and grim (6-8). The imagery of the swamp is very dark because it symbolizes the hardships that people may have during their lifetimes. Crossing the swamp is a very difficult task, and Oliver compares it to the challenges of life. Therefore, she states “My bones/ knock together at the pale/ joints” (13-15). This once again demonstrates the difficulty of crossing the swamp as Oliver faces many physical challenges including the pain of her old bones. The author transitions from these dark and negative images to illustrations of hope and growth in the next few lines. For example, she describes “a poor/ dry stick given/ one more chance by the whims/ of swamp water” to take root and grow (28-30). This demonstrates how people may face tremendously difficult obstacles to overcome in their lifetimes similar to a dry stick having difficulty taking root. However, these challenges allow people to attain success. Without struggle, there would be no achievement in life. It is the hardships in life that truly allow people to appreciate success once it is achieved. Oliver concludes the fabulous piece with more uplifting and positive imagery of a

The writer wields literary devices such as figurative language to establish an earthy connection between the swamp and mankind. Then, he uses personification to coalesce life within the swamp and relate the harsh environs of the swamp to the struggles we encounter in life as human beings. Finally, the author uses a shifting tone to enlighten both the harsh swamp and struggling speaker with a sense of optimism. After all, even in the darkest times and in the darkest swamps, we can take a mere stick, nurture it, and "make its life a breathing palace of leaves"

The swamp’s characterization carries density and weight, referring to life’s repeating rhythm that seems perpetual. The pressure of the “endless, wet thick cosmos,” prevents progression through the passage, as the heavy words slow the pace of interpretation. Oliver considers density in the opening lines to deliberately present life’s slow and repetitive movement.

First-person narration can provide an exotic and perhaps unreliable viewpoint. The narrator’s thoughts and feelings are conveyed more clairvoyantly than possible in third or even second person, an effect that develops a more intimate and relevant story to the reader. In "Cathedral," Raymond Carver uses conversational tone and diction to expose the narrator 's character: prejudicial at first, sympathetic by the end. Knowing his character simplifies the understanding of major components of the story such as the narrator 's hostility to Robert and his epiphany at the end.

The setting is in a graveyard, as it mentions in the story ‘’bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard’’. This negative language creates a barren and colourless setting and nettles in particular are seen as unfavourable objects. ‘’overgrown with nettles’’ states that it was deceived and not looked after. In addition ‘’the dark flat wilderness’’ is used to describe the marshes part of the setting, this shows that it is dark there and it states that there is nobody

In Theodore Roethke “Root Cellar”, there is a heavy use of vivid and stylistic imagery. In the first line, the speaker states, "Nothing would sleep in that cellar, dank as a ditch." We are given that something is refusing to sleep--that is, to die--and at the same time being "dank" gets us thinking about things that are “undead”. In line two, the speaker states, “Bulbs broke out of boxes hunting for chinks in the dark.” This tells us that things are still growing and they are looking for the light. In the next following line the speaker mentions, “Shoots dangled and dropped” (3). This gives us the image of the shoots coming out of the bulbs. The shoots dangle and droop towards whatever light possible. In line four, the speaker gives us an idea of the type of housing they are in, “mildewed crates.” The moisture creates mold and mildew. It also creates prettier life like plants. As you can see, mold and mildew are life, and they grow alongside the plants. In line six, the speaker brings us a smell by saying "congress." Roethke must mean just the coming together or gathering of smells. In line seven, the speaker give us another sense of smell, "Roots ripe as old bait, pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich, leaf-mold, manure, lime, piled against slippery planks.” He gives us this image and the sense of smell of mold and rot to show it is still life. These words for example would be ripe, pulpy, rank, and rich. The last two lines, “Nothing would give up life: Even the dirt kept breathing

“In a Dark time” by Theodore Roethke gives a retrospect into the inner turmoil’s of finding oneself through a haze of doubts in till reaching a moment of clarity. Each section of the poem describes a different emotion, or inner thought that spirals from fear of death, to emotions of desire. The use of imagery between nature and uncertainties of the narrator give a glimpse into Roethke’s own mind during the time he wrote this poem. Without hundreds of pages Roethke created a poem that connects readers to their own self-doubts and struggles of finding ones way again.

Coleridge’s ‘This Lime Tree Bower My Prison’, is a poem describing a man’s changing views as he contemplates the natural word which he has been prevented from seeing. Coleridge’s poem demonstrates the ability of individuals to modify their morals and values upon receiving a cathartic release from their relationship with nature, as predicated almost entirely on the imagination. Through allowing the persona to visualise the encounters his friends are making with nature along their journey, Coleridge first demonstrates the capabilities of the imagination in allowing us to picture things in certain detail, as shown through “now my friends emerge,” which in all exemplifies the presence of imagination in our relationship with nature. Furthermore, the description of their journey demonstrates the liberation received from engaging with nature, as shown where they “wander in gladness,” which relates to the cathartic release obtained from viewing nature that pushes us to reassess our ideas and perceptions. By showing his gradual change in tone, the influence of the persona’s imagination is shown, which when in conjunction with his exclamation of “yes!” reveals our emotional capabilities if becoming engulfed in our imaginations of nature. Also, by choosing to allow the persona to speak in a melodramatic tone, the poet is able to again explicitly demonstrate his

The first landscape feature that is described are, “the tops of trees” (Chopin 203). Trees are commonly attributed to nature and the symbol of life. Although the author has attributed the trees in this story with the literary term personification, as the trees, “were all aquiver with the new spring life” (Chopin 203). The author has attributed the trees to movement as the protagonist begins to desire to be in the cycle of nature. The protagonist relates to the trees because the trees are no longer weighed down by the heavy snow, thus allowing the trees to grow again, which is similar to the protagonist, as she is no longer confined by her husband, but she desires to be rebirthed (Lucas). Consequently, the protagonist was learning her desires to participate in life as an independent individual and to have restrictions a memory in the past. Therefore, the protagonist is beginning to participate down the path of becoming