Similarities Between A Barred Owl And The History Teacher

Harwood introduces the idea of maturity, responsibility and grief in her poems 'Father and Child'. The "Barn Owl" poem is situated around her childhood whereas "Nightfall" is situated around her adulthood, through different settings comes different themes, focuses and lessons. Within the first stanza of "Barn Owl", authority is challenged with the child wanting to prove to her sleeping father that she is not an 'obedient gentle angel.' The child is obviously bitter towards her father, regarding him as 'old no-sayer' which alludes to the controlling, vengeful God of the Old Testament. She thinks that her father is now robbed of his power because he is asleep and is unaware of her plans. With Harwood contesting against authority at such an

Childhood is arguably the most exciting time of a person’s life. One has few responsibilities or cares, and the smallest events can seem monumentally thrilling. Often, people reflect on the memories of their youth with fondness and appreciation for the lessons they learned. Sarah Orne Jewett captures this essence perfectly in the excerpt from “A White Heron.” Jewett uses many literary devices, including diction, imagery, narrative pace, and point of view to immerse the reader in familiar feelings of nostalgia and wonder, and dramatize the plot.

In the poems “A Barred Owl” by Richard Wilbur and “The History Teacher” by Billy Collins, each poet illustrates adults who are providing explanations for children to protect them from the harsher realities of life. In “A Barred Owl”, Wilbur conveys his point that children should be shielded from these harsh realities, through the use of personification and understatements. However, in “The History Teacher”, Collins conveys his point that protecting the students’ innocence is a lost cause, through his use of metaphors as well as understatements. Both poets use similar and different devices to convey their respective points.

History is one of those subjects that often times doesn’t always show the full truth, and whether that be to protect the students being taught or just because it seems more convenient for the teacher, there are a lot of lies that can be taught. Again, it can be for different reasons or it could just be that it is looked at from a different view, two poems that have the same general topic won’t always be the same. Just take the poem The History Teacher by Billy Collins or Southern History by Natasha Trethewey for example and you will be able to right away catch the lies the students were told by the teacher and for different reasons

The poems “A Barred Owl” and “the History Teacher” by Richard Wilbur and Billy Collins respectively, depict two different scenarios where a child is lied to because an adult feels the need to protect them. Both poets use different techniques in their rhyme scheme, and tone, to show that while it may be appropriate to shield a child from a menacing owl, it is less so to skew the facts from the world’s past.

In A Barred Owl by Richard Wilbur, we see what seems to be a parent perhaps comforting a young child assuring her that everything is alright and that all she heard was an owl. We see the parents convince the young child that when an owl “who’s” it’s merely asking a question of “Who’s cooking for you”? There is no real explanation as to why cooking was relevant, perhaps at such a young age food is a constant part of their lives, and it’s something relatable to the child. As the child nods back to sleep, the poem continues about what is actually happening outside the window, devouring something raw and untamed. Toward the end of the poem the author really gets into the imagery of the poem describing the owl itself using “stealthy flight” and using other unique words to describe finding its food and “dreaming of some small thing in a claw”.

Many adults choose to alter the truth to certain questions so that they can shelter children from the horrors of the real world. I remember growing up I would ask my parents things that looking back now I am sure it was hard for them to come up with an answer to. Today as a big sister my little brother will ask me questions and I have learned that slightly covering up the truth is better than him knowing the full truth in order to keep his innocence for a little while longer. In “A Barred Owl” and “The History Teacher”, both poets do this when kids ask questions that they don’t really need to know the actual answer to. However, although each author has the same idea, they convey it differently in their poems by using different literary devices

“A Barred Owl” and “The History Teacher” are two poems that show how adults lie to children in order to protect them and their innocence. The poets use imagery and symbolism to show that adults occasionally lie to young kids to protect them.

“The two doves were sitting in the hazel tree and they cried out: “Roocoo, roocoo, There’s blood in theshoe. The foot’s too long, the foot’s too wide, That’s not the proper bride.” (School, A.H 2012) The birds understand Ashputtle and follow her commands. “The girl went out the back door to the garden and cried out...” Metaphor is used also to support the theme, “...but their hearts

The next stanza uses internal rhyme in line eleven, “So rested he by the Tumtum tree,” reflecting the lackadaisical attitude of the young boy. However, the fourth stanza immediately becomes action packed as the infamous Jabberwock makes its appearance. Its ‘eyes of flame’ emphasize the evil connotation given to nature in the poem. The repetition of line seventeen, ‘One, two One two And through and through,’ adds to the quick pace of the next stanza. The boy uses his weapon to kill off the beast as Carroll uses the onomatopoeia ‘snicker-snack’ to describe the swift sound of the

The Powerful Owl establishes to the reader, humans, and the authority that he carries to create a fearful image. This is seen in the first line “ the night proceeds when I call for it”; the use of the imperative ‘call’ gives off the dominance of the owl over nature. The word

In the second half of the poem the tone also makes a shift and becomes distinctly Poe. Strangely the third line of the third stanza is “What tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells!” (Poe). This line sticks in your head like the refrain of the most recent and obnoxious pop song. The alliteration from here just keeps getting better. Starting with the next line and on to the eighth, “In the startled ear of night / How they scream out their affright! / Too much Horrified to speak, / They can only shriek, shriek, / Out of tune,” (Poe). So, the key words here are, scream, speak, and shriek. There is no brain trickery here just the same consent. There is also a line that is only in the first and last stanza that is “In a sort of runic rhyme” (Poe) this line creates a sort of image. Runic, or a rune is an incantation that is written on an object to create a permeate effect. So, the “runic rhyme” hints toward a more mystical element to the bells. This is a foreshadowing of the last stanza. This line is first used in line ten and is not seen again till line 94. In the last stanza, is where that poem hits a runic apex of alliteration. This excerpt from the fourth stanza, I personally feel, is a good representation of the poem. “What a world of solemn thought their monody compels! / In the silence of the night, / How we shiver with affright / At the melancholy meaning of their tone!” (Poe). This is my favorite part of this poem. Solemn silence shiver, melancholy meaning, and their tone are all alliteration. These four lines are build up to the next three. “For every sound that floats / From the rust within their throats / Is a groan.” (Poe). Then with the assonance of tone, floats, throats, and groan in combination with the metaphor in the second line creates a striking image. The metaphor in the line “From the rust within their throats” (Poe), is not like the typical metaphor. Though this metaphor does

Carroll’s whimsical story of successful conquest tells us good will always win, even if you don’t always take life seriously. The poet’s unique style also attracts and intrigues the reader through the poem’s fairytale-like opening and closing stanzas, “’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe,” (1-4 or 25-28). Carroll has specifically shaped words like, “borogove”, (3 or 27) a thin shabby-looking bird, to encase the poem through the first and last stanza in a sense of adventure through the swamps with different kinds of animals. Throughout the rest of the poem, Carroll continues to tell a story through nonsense, “And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came! ,” (10-12).

Knowing as she does, that the owl's hoot usually signifies danger she rushes to her window. He gestures with his beak down toward a carriage in the dark where her parents seem to be rushing off into the night.

The short story “Owl” is written by the Scottish writer Jackie Kay in 2012 and it’s from her most recent collection Reality, Reality. Jackie Kay is famous for her poetry novels such us her stories that are primarily for children. Anita is the main character in this short story. And the story isn’t