Pike and Hunting Snake Comparison

It is apparent from the first line of the poem that author is in a state of overriding fear travelling through the unknown: likening the road to an “old snake shedding its skin.” A snake is a clear representation of childhood fear and youthful paranoia, due to its intimidating nature. Walcott compares the path to a snake because he fears it just like a snake, to him the path is daunting and potentially deadly at first. The author not only compares the road to a snake but a snake shedding its skin. This paints a grotesque image for readers and illustrates how he views his initial journey with anything but enthusiasm. The author is in the unfamiliar wilderness searching for not only the storyteller’s house but himself. His state of childhood terror is only counterbalanced by his encounter with the storyteller.

In the short essay “Why I Hunt” by Rick Bass, the writer gives the reader his personal perspective of what hunting is like for him. Rick Bass goes on to share the story of his family’s move from the hills of Fort Worth, Texas to the very remote Yaak Valley of Montana. The move to this area makes Bass want to hunt more since there is a better variety of prey, and due to everyone that has lived in what Bass calls “the Yaak”, has hunted their entire lives, he feels obligated to do it more than what he did when he lived in Texas (655). In “Why I Hunt, Bass argues that his love for hunting is an enjoyable hobby that develops his imagination and gets him in touch with nature, and that people should put down technology and try hunting. Bass uses imagery to show the beauty of hunting, and pathos to describe his emotions towards hunting.

The detail increases the power the snake exudes in the perspective of the man. “Children, dogs, and horses…who weren’t as strong” compared to the snake, created panic and fear, because of its “six powerful fangs” and “little

Finally, I find that both poems show deep concern for the environment and man impact on the natural ways of nature. Robert Gray has done this with an exquisite choice of techniques and his language to strongly convey his

The third stanza describes the snake as “cool and gleaming as a braided whip” (9-10). Describing the snake as a braided whip demonstrates the intricate woven pattern of the snake’s scales and the poet’s appreciation for nature and its’ beauty. The snake is not a useless piece of rubber, but a beautiful and vibrant part of nature. “He is as beautiful and quiet as a bead brother” (10-11). The snake is quiet, makes no sound, and snuggles into

The poem “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver connects the both the natural and human world as it compares human life to the travels of wild geese. Touching on the landscapes of the natural world and emotions faced by the average person; Oliver manages to use devices such as tone, metaphors and descriptive images to convey a message that helps a person view life from a different perspective. Oliver makes it clear that the relationship between the wild and the human is coexistence; where one universe continues on if the parallel seems to have stopped. Thus, Oliver is able to move the reader on a comforting journey as she entangles the natural world and human world, showing that the natural world has more

The poems “A Blessing” by James Wright and “Predators” by Linda Hogan share many similarities and differences on how people and animals are presented. These poems have many different similarities and differences that you may not know about.

So her trek into the woods was to kill an elk, like she had done with her father. However, it was the encounter with two older men, who assisted in gutting out the elk, that she had learned the most. “Did this make them somehow, distinctly like… fathers and daughter? The two men becoming the soil then, in their burial, as had her father- becoming as still and silent as stone.” Here, the connection between human interaction, and experiences with nature is shown vividly.

In the story, “Man’s Dependence on Animals,” it is clear that the Native American culture understood the importance of the relationship that existed between man and animals. In keeping with the tradition of storytelling, the storyteller carefully uses his words to describe man as a helpless being, needing his animal friends to survive. “At birth man was helpless. Again it was the animals who assisted the spirit woman in nourishing the newborn infants by bring fruits, vegetables, berries, and drink, while the birds and butterflies brought joy” (Animal 62). This interdependence of man with his environment is clearly illustrated in this story. To further illustrate this interdependence, the storyteller talks about how the animals sacrificed their flesh to feed man. It is clear from the many passages in the story that the Native American understood the close relationship that exists between himself and his fellow animals. The message expressed by the storyteller in the story is clear, conservation of the resources provided by Mother Earth is key to the survival of man. This concept is now referred to as “Going Green” and it involves conserving our limited natural resources. The storyteller goes on to talk about the consequences of not being grateful for the gifts provided by Mother Earth. “At last, weary of service, the

The three poems show exile and keening, but the poems also show tactile imagery. The Wanderer show tactile imagery in line three, “wintery seas,” describes the setting is in this poem along with the tone. The Seafarer show’s tactile imagery as well, in line nine, “in icy bands, bound with frost,” the tactile imagery in this line describes the coldness of the thoughts in the lonely man’s head. In The Wife’s Lament the tactile imagery is shown in line forty seven, “That my beloved sits under a rocky cliff rimed with frost a lord dreary in spirit drenched with water in the ruined hall.” The wife in this tactile imagery is show how her husband is suffering just

Eco-critics ask questions such as whether or not ‘Everything is connected to everything else’, in order to explore the realms of human thought. In relation to Wilfred Owen’s poems; Futility, Spring Offensive, and Exposure, this theory that all living things are interconnected is a multifaceted one. Nature is used heavily as a centralised motif in each of them, albeit in different ways, in order to represent a range of both internal and external battles Owen’s soldiers are forced to undergo during active service in the war. The soldiers are also depicted to depend on, as well as exploit their rural surroundings in equal measure, particularly concerning military action.

As the snake “drew back his head and [the man] raised [his] weapon” they both were ready for their last fight. Both felt threatened by each other; thus, both felt the necessity to become defensive. However, neither one saw the situation as an immediate threat, so they did not immediately strike. When the narrator “made an unprovoked attack,” the snake performed “a little song of death.” The reader’s sympathy for the snake once again returns because the snake did nothing wrong. The “little song of death” depicts an image of the snake’s last effort to live. However, there is nothing “little” in death, but rather displays the snake’s submissiveness to the man. The “ominous” situation with “poison dripping from [the snake’s] fangs” is reminiscent of the tragedy that just occurred. The author reminds the reader of the necessity to rid the world of the danger from a snake. It lessens the reader’s grief towards the snake, bringing a more neutral tone to the

The Man from Snowy River holds plenty of language devices that help capture the mood and setting of the poem. ‘The old man with his hair as white as snow’ makes use of simile to help describe one of the men on a horse. The simile makes the line more interesting and less monotonous by showing what he looks like rather than straight-out telling. The man is made out to be strong and fierce but the similarity of his hair and snow juxtaposes this power as snow is thought to be delicate and beautiful. Another technique is the metaphor “And the stock-horse snuffs the battle with delight.” This hints that the drovers must be prepared for the dangerous job ahead of them, if

In the poem “A Blessing,” James Wright analyzes the relationship between human beings and nature through the descriptive explanation of an encounter between his friend and himself and two Indian horses. He shows that although we are able to relate and interact with the animals we don't have the ability to join them or as Wright puts it: “break into blossom” (26-27). Wright uses imagery and personification to describe the nature he witnesses as he escapes from the stress of human life. The ponies in this poem are personified by comparing them to human beings, mainly through the description of their emotions. This personification lessens the gap between the author and the horses and separates him from civilization represented by the highways

Humanity is but a facet of the sublime macrocosm that is the world’s landscapes. In the relationship between man and landscape, nature is perpetually authoritarian. In her free-verse poems, The Hawthorn Hedge, (1945) and Flame-Tree in a Quarry (1949), Judith Wright illustrates the how refusal to engage with this environment is detrimental to one’s sense of self, and the relentless endurance of the Australian landscape. This overwhelming force of nature is mirrored in JMW Turner’s Romantic artwork, Fishermen at Sea (1796). Both Wright and Turner utilise their respective texts to allegorise the unequal relationship between people and the unforgiving landscape.