The Skeleton Council Poem

The tone in these lines are often humorous and at the same time genuinely loving. In short, the tone of this poem is as complex as the subject with which it so memorably

Here Hill has used a metaphor by describing the train carriage as a cold tomb which gives a sense of forboding and forshadowing of death as well as isolation.

The death of a loved one can result in a trauma where the painful experience causes a psychological scar. Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones explores the different ways in which people process grief when they lose a loved one. When young Susie Salmon is killed on her way home from school, the remaining four members of her family all deal differently with their grief. After Susie’s death, her mother, Abigail Salmon, endures the adversity of losing her daughter, her family collapsing, and accepting the loss of the life she never had the opportunity to live. Abigail uses Freud’s defence mechanisms to repress wounds, fears, her guilty desires, and to resolve conflicts, which results in her alienation and

Secondly, the author uses word choice to show the speakers overall sorrow. Throughout the whole poem there are word scattered everywhere that describe the general emotion of sorrow, some of those word being “restless” (19), “torment”, and “troubled” (4). These words instantly give the connotation of feelings like despair and sadness. The speaker also uses literary elements such as simile to express sorrow, like when she says “These troubles of the heart/ are like unwashed clothes” (27, 28). Everyday people usually do not pay much mind to unwashed clothes, and usually look at it as something unimportant or irrelevant. When the speaker compares her internal troubles to something that holds little importance to everyday life and is also seen as unpleasant, the readers really get a look into the sorrow and sadness that the speaker is truly feeling. The speaker also uses word choice to help show the readers the true intensity of what she is going through.

The tone of the poem changes as the poem progresses. The poem begins with energetic language like “full of heroic tales” and “by a mere swing to his shoulder”. The composer also uses hyperboles like “My father began as a god” and “lifted me to heaven”. The use of this positive language indicates to the responder that the composer is longing for those days – he is nostalgic. It also highlights the perspective of a typical child. The language used in the middle of the poem is highly critical of his father: “A foolish small old man”. This highlights the perspective of a typical teenager and signifies that they have generally conflicting views. The language used in the last section of the poem is more loving and emotional than the rest: “...revealing virtues such as honesty, generosity, integrity”. This draws attention to a mature adult’s perspective.

A shift in focus from the students to himself creates an interesting structure in the poem. Collins began discussing his disinterest of his students and their laughable yet pathetic lifestyle. Then toward the end, the author shifts to speak about himself. He expresses the impact of being a long time teacher and the loneliness that comes along with it. Collins creates the detailed image of his colonial house, the deflated car, and vines growing on the porch swing, revealing his depression and sense of being trapped. Therefore, the author connects how past students have driven him to insanity and caused him to create a false reality in his head.

The second half of the poem is very different from the beginning half because the lines that follow the first sentence

The poem is composed in free verse and it has no rhyme scheme or meter. It is 51 lines long and takes no particular structure with fluctuated line lengths all throughout the work. It is told as story from what can be accepted is a young boys' viewpoint. There are points in the story where it makes it clear the story is being told later on, as in line 8 where it is composed "Even/a quarter century later…." however a significant part of the story is told in the current state. This change makes readers feel as though we are

The tone of this poem effects the internal message as it starts off somewhat calm then takes a sadistic turn. Even though Gretel had achieved the life she essentially wanted, the remembrance of the witch makes it unbearable for her

by using imagery and other literary devices to appeal to the reader. This poem was created to help society realize that there is a much needed change with young men who lives are constantly ending due to gang violence. The poem focuses on an undertaker who specializes in recreating the natural state of dead bodies, ones that have been mutilated. The undertaker specializes in this recreation for a specific group of young men, “gang members”.

Readers are aware of this ambiguity. Here the heaviest flashback thoughts and the short-lasting issue set up a continuing contrast throughout the poem, which enchants its effect.

It again reinforces the thematic concern of the overall theme. The tone does not change throughout the poem suggesting the constant constraint the poet felt. This is created by words such as "rage", "smouldering" and "furious". Which again highlights the irritation the poet herself felt due to the lack of freedom on the poetic inspirations. Therefore, the tone creates a sense of "life as bleak".

“Good Bones” was written by a female poet Maggie Smith. It is about a mother being scared of what the world is coming to, and if its safe for her children. The poem is written in the first person. This is known since throughout the poem since she uses the word “I”, therefore she is describing her feelings throughout the poem. For example Smith says, “The world is at least/fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative estimate.”(Lines 5-7). Smith uses repetition to show her readers how she feels about the issues in the world and what kind of home this will be for her children. An example of when Smith uses repetition is when she says, “Life is short, though I keep this from my children./Life is short, and i’ve shorten mine.”(Lines 1-2). Another example of repetition is when Smith says “In a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways,/a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways.”(Lines 3-4). Smith uses repetition again at the end of the poem when she says “This place could be beautiful,/right? You could make this place beautiful.”(Lines 16-17). I think Smith chose to use a lot of repetition in this poem to add emphasis and to make her thought clear.

A comparison of the ways that the dead affect the living in the novels Beloved by Toni Morrison and The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

Despite the flowing syntax, the poem has a clear and predictable structure to replicate the persona’s calm familiarity with experiencing and answering to “storms” in their life. It is interesting to note that even though parlous weather is on its way, there is a lack of panic, chaos, and anomalies in the structure of the poem. There continues to be seven lines in each stanza throughout the piece;