preview

Picnic Lightning Poem Tone

Decent Essays
Open Document

The power of Tone Like prisoners inside of a cell, emotions that humans feel are often kept caged behind steel bars. They cry for freedom but the mind does not set them free. Each of the authors in all three poems are experiencing a strong emotion, whether it be sorrow or grief, yet do not directly reveal it, instead they rely on the tone of the poem to establish their hidden emotions and true feelings. The tone in, “My Mistress’ eyes”, “Picnic, Lightning” and “For a lamb” best expresses the author’s purpose by emphasizing and highlighting the emotions that are felt by the authors in each poem. When reading the poem, For a lamb by Richard Eberhart, the immediate impression given off is that the author is perceiving death as an ugly, dreadful and inevitable event. He describes the act of passing …show more content…

Throughout the poem, Collins begins expressing his fascination of how abrupt and surprising death can be. He cites several examples of ridiculous ways to die which gave off a mocking and less serious tone. However, as he continues to speak about his surroundings his perspective on life seems to be changing. The trees, flowers and dirt around him were completely unappealing, yet after his reflection on life and death, he had a greater appreciation for life and stated that “ then the soil [was] full of marvels” when he looked again. (Arp 805). Billy Collins was another poet who, like Richard Eberhart, enjoyed exploring the themes of life and death and the appreciation of life throughout his poems. His career began with a length education and career as an english professor, which enhanced his mastery of the english language. The use of tone in his poems was extremely important because Collins expected the readers to dissect his poems and find the meaning and his true emotions behind

Get Access