Poetic and rhetorical devices are used to create the tone of a poem. With a defined and structured tone, the meaning of a poem can be more clearly and effectively conveyed. The poem “Jehovah buried, Satan dead” by E.E. Cummings has a distinct meaning that has been heightened by its tone. The tone is also accented through the use of rhetorical and poetic devices. A few of these devices include onomatopoeia, conceit, slant rhyme, the form, sound, and repetition. Starting with an evaluation of the meaning, the tone and rhetorical and poetic devices become identifiable.
An interpretation of the title and first line, “Jehovah buried, Satan Dead” gives an immediate insight at the meaning of the poem. The absence
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This has become an even more frightening truth with the world’s present reliance on computers and the Internet for a majority of functions. These technologies and the loss of spirituality, cause mankind to do anything possible to achieve material success. All of this culminates into the deterioration of society. Cummings tells that the only way to prevent this catastrophe is for man to becomes more Christ-like, more individualistic. Mankind must stop its slide into a rut of materialistic irreverence by becoming more self-reliant.
An established meaning makes the tone more evident. The biggest challenge here is to find words strong enough to describe the tone so expertly conveyed by Cummings. The adjectives cynicism, alarmed, and disgust describe the tone. However, it is the use of rhetorical and poetic devices that create this tone.
The most prominent and affective devices include the poem's form, onomatopoeia, metaphor, rhyme, sound, and repetition. “Jehovah buried, Satan dead” is written in a strict ballad form (100 American Poems of the Twentieth Century, 148). This specific type of ballad consists of three eight-line stanzas and a final four-line stanza. The rhyme scheme goes a-b-a-b-b-c-b-c for the first three stanzas and b-c-b-c for the
In the text “The Loneliness of the Interconnected” by Charles Seife, he writes about the influence of the internet and how it can further push people into isolation. Seife conveys to the readers that through the internet today, people are a lot more close minded when it comes to what they believe in. People tend to shy away from the variety of information out there that can possibly prove their own beliefs to be wrong. Seife portrays one’s original beliefs to only get stronger when one encounters new information that challenges those beliefs. Through this text, Seife urges people of today to not be so narrow-minded when it comes to new information and new potential beliefs. Once people become more open minded and take on many different beliefs, our society can make more progress and grow as a whole.
the poem. Not only does the choice of diction determine the tone, but also the order in which
Technology, the advancement of knowledge and productivity through the application of tools, information, and techniques to create an effortless process, has ultimately lead to the declination of our society and our future. In “A Thing Like Me,” Nicholas Carr addresses the development of technology from the day it was created and how it initiated an immediate impact within the lives of humans leading to an unhealthy dependency. Carr establishes how technology, what was intended to be a tool, has become the “pacifier” of our generation. This “pacifier” causes a loss of freedom, not through the laws of the government, but rather with the values of freedom one holds within themselves. This freedom is the individuality that distinguishes each person from the next, and forms a desire for the development of oneself through the experiences of life and the wisdom that is acquired along the way. Technology has blinded man from this pursuit of self-enhancement and with the advancement of technology occurring daily, there is no resolution. Each day people are confined within themselves and the pieces of technology that will continually limit them in their lives. Freedom is more than just a concept of laws instilled by the government, it is the thought process found within each individual person and their “hunger” to become more. With technology, social media was created and immediately immersed within our lives. The society of today has
The printing press and development of writing were another example where people’s way of thought changed. However, Carr makes the statement that writing would go on to “expand human knowledge” and the printing press brought a “myriad of blessings.” Such statements could undermine Carr’s entire essay. He continues to say that the Internet could be such a success as well. However, he then states that the Internet is different from such inventions. Carr notes that what people would lose because of the Internet is much more valuable than what was lost from writing and the printing press. Such a refutation is a major appeal to logos. Additionally, in the beginning of this section, Carr calls himself a possible worrywart. By accepting the possibility that he may be wrong and then going to show how he cannot be wrong greatly appeals to ethos. Finally, he turns back to the use of fear as an appeal of pathos by stating that the Internet could transform humanity into “pancake people.” In effect, this section holds Carr’s entire thesis: to not rely too much on computers and the Internet.
The last technique or literary device is tone. The tone portrayed through this speaker is rather confusing. There are determined, frustrated and harsh aspects along with sad, useless and bittersweet emotions portrayed throughout this poem. The speaker was determined to speak to the dead, in a pure fashion, yet because of human nature, this is virtually impossible, which made the speaker frustrated. The tone was harsh because of some of the diction throughout. Yet, the tone saddened when the speaker said “and I have nothing to give you”. It made the tone come out as feeling useless and regretful. Finally, in the last bit, the tone was
This poem kind of reminds me of Hitler and the Germans in World War II. The Germans was inspired by Hitler motivational speeches and believed in his vision just as the fallen angels believed in Satan’s vision. I made this comparison because a lot of people believe in order to be a hero you have to be fighting for the greater good. That’s not necessarily true. Just because one may not agree with you doesn’t mean you’re not a hero in others eyes. No matter what’s your goal if you have any followers you can be considered a hero because someone admires you and look up to you. The falling angels admired Satan rebelliousness and they looked up to him because they all had a common goal, but he took charge and was the aggressor to lead the
Next there is a movement to find that there is also an appeal of intelligence. "Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there. I do not sleep" this is a biblical allusion of when the angels are telling merry that Jesus is no longer in the tomb and so on. This is an example to an appeal of intelligence because it shows us that he is not there. He is all around he is a spirit now and to open peoples minds to what might be beyond death. The poem is written in first person point of view. The use of "I am" shows significance stating that even though he is gone he doesn’t want his family to be in pain as he is always with them. Also this gives the poem a personal view on things and enables him to include his feelings and emotions. The fact that it is that he is gone and that he is with us is an overstatements and he is everywhere when he really isn’t. How can he be when he's not in person? That’s an overstatement.
Next, "I Felt a Funeral in My Brain" creates an illusion of a mind becoming unstable by describing the speaker's irrationality. The speaker's irrationality is represented in the third stanza and fourth stanza. It is evident that the speaker is beginning to hear voices, which is why she states "And then I heard them lift a Box" (line 9). The voices that the speaker is hearing are beginning to take over her mind as she expresses "And creak across my Soul," which gives the reader's the illusion of the speaker losing all control. All the problems that the speaker is experiencing as a result of her mental stability are beginning to take their toll, which is evident through the statement "Boots of Lead, again, Then Space - began to toll" (line 11-12). The speaker has now fallen into a state of irrationality, and her mind has suffered enough, and consequently thoughts of suicide plague the speaker. The statement "As all the Heavens were a Bell" represents the speaker's feelings that her mind has a chance of being at peace again if she ends her existing insanity, and she must therefore act upon her suicide thoughts (line 13). The speaker is trying to convince herself to follow through with her thoughts of suicide, as clearly indicated in her statement "Wrecked, solitary, here-." The speaker
In the poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, by Emily Dickinson and “Home Burial”, by Robert Frost, literary elements are used throughout both poems to get the message the authors are trying to portray. One main important literary element that is used to entice the reader, is symbolism, because it helps the authors describe something without actual describing it. Symbolism is also used because it shows how significant an object is. Characterization is also an important literary technique because it, gives the reader an idea on how the character would act, work, and their values in life. Death is a topic that is used in both poems. Also, every character express their opinion about death differently.
E. E. Cummings, an author known for his various poems and other forms of artwork, wrote numerous works of poetry over a vast amount of subjects. While the subject matter of the poems differ, a few elements of Cummings' style stays the same in virtually all his poems, some of which is important and some of which is not. The fact that Cummings uses enjambment in his poetry is a stylistic trademark that however annoying its use may be is consistent. Other stylistic trademarks of Cummings' poetry are that Cummings has a control over the tone of each of his poems and that each of his poems has its theme located near the end of the poem. While these traits that may not be highlighted in most of the analysis of his poems, each does occur quite
Stanza four introduces the "Bell" as a metaphor for the heavens, and goes on to say that "Being (is), but an Ear". The bell is representative of a church bell, and all the mourners (Beings) are listening to its ring. The use of the word bell in the poem’s context forms a vision of a slow ringing church bell, characteristic to a funeral. The next line, of the fourth stanza, pairs up the poet and silence as castaways. They are strangers in a foreign place, and are all alone. One could infer from the poem that "here" represents purgatory. This
Edward Estlin Cummings is a famous poet and novelist. A true man of the arts, he also enjoyed playwrights, painting, and drawing. His lifetime lasting from 1894-1962 was vivaciously lived! He spent a large portion of his life in his birth state, Massachusetts, although certain life events lead him beyond the United States. Cummings served in the U.S. Army during World War I, and was a volunteer in an ambulance unit as well. A great portion of his life was also dedicated to his Harvard education and multiple romantic relationships. Despite these things that took up most of his time, Cummings managed to find time for his passion, writing. E.E. Cummings’ unique style of writing is attributed to his free spirit, which amounted to all of
In this literary analysis it is essential to compare and contrast Cathy Song’s poem “Heaven” and Bryan Thao Worra’s poem “Pen/Sword” to give the reader a better understanding of what the authors’ are conveying to their readers. The similarities in the style, word choice, and theme will be compared, along with the differences of style, word choice, and theme reflected throughout each poem. Furthermore, I will determine the meaning behind the broken up and/or the way the lines of each poem while describing why the lines are strategically placed throughout the pieces. This will allow me to identify the meaning that the authors’ are explaining to the reader. Each poet specifically writes to give the reader(s) a picture of what they are feeling and defining their emotion through their writing.
The third line, "Terror, the Human Form Divine," represents the purest feeling of humanity. People want to believe in God, but no matter how much they want to believe the terror resides in their soul they are wrong. Satan feeds off of this terror to make people doubt Heaven and come towards Hell. Line four, "And Secrecy, the Human Dress," represents how well humans hide these feelings of doubt and terror.
Today, the world is much different than it was fifteen years ago, much less fifty years ago. The progression of technology has been even more significant than ever before in the last several years, but has ultimately lead us astray from our core character. The production of cell phones, social media updates, websites, and technological tools is constant, but these new and improved technologies have left the world with very few longstanding advancements. Though the internet has brought the world innumerable innovative opportunities, life before technology was much more efficient, filled with many more promising benefits: responsibility, socialization skills, and controversy.