We Are The Ocean Poem Summary

The language in the poem has extremely powerful qualities which invoke vivid imagery. Metaphor, repetition, assonance and various punctuation techniques are used to highlight the poems themes and mood. "Metho Drinker's" prayer is by far the most powerful language in the poem. He is asked to be relieved of the

Imagery is used consistently right through the poem to evoke sensory experiences and to endorse the theme. For instance: ‘A stark white ring-barked forest’-‘the sapphire misted mountains’-‘the hot gold lush of noon’ and many more. All of these appeal to the readers senses and places brilliant visual image(s) in our minds by illuminating the various features of the country, from the perspective of the poems persona. This is attained using; adjectives, ‘the sapphire-misted mountains¬¬¬’, which gives us a picture of mountains with a bluish haze embracing it, this image would thus give an impression of a composed environment and evoke a sense of tranquillity. Additionally by using ‘sapphire’ to illustrate the mist surrounding the mountains we get a sense of Australia’s uniqueness as sapphire is a rare gem. Imagery is also displayed through a metaphor used to appeal to the sense of hearing. For example: ‘the drumming of an army, the steady soaking rain’. Here Mackellar depicts the rain as an army and allows us not only to visualize but get a sense of the sound of the rain, which is presented through the adjective ‘drumming’. This line also presents to us the intensity of the rain again through the adjectives ‘drumming, steady and soaking’.

To elaborate, the reader can not truly hear what is taking place in the poem, but does get a sense of being able to hear what they are reading. For instance when the speaker says “While his gills were breathing in” (22), the reader can almost hear the fish breathing. The speaker again stimulates the auditory senses when she says “and a fine black thread, / still crimped from the strain and snap” (58-59). Again the reader can virtually hear the sound of the line snapping. The next aspect of imagery that needs to be examined is the sensory imagery. An excellent example of sensory imagery is found when reading the lines “It was more like the tipping, / of an object toward light” (43-44). These lines can give an almost unbalanced feeling to the reader as they conceptualize these words. Imagery is not the only important element used in this poem. As stated earlier, irony is an important component involved in “The Fish”.

Imagery allows the reader to hear and connect to the story by using onomatopoeia and see what is happening in the poem.

describing the characters and objects throughout the poem and in creating the atmosphere of the

The author uses imagery in the poem to enable the reader to see what the speaker sees. For example, in lines 4-11 the speaker describes to us the

As evident by the title of this poem, imagery is a strong technique used in this poem as the author describes with great detail his journey through a sawmill town. This technique is used most in the following phrases: “...down a tilting road, into a distant valley.” And “The sawmill towns, bare hamlets built of boards with perhaps a store”. This has the effect of creating an image in the reader’s mind and making the poem even more real.

In conclusion I was personally moved by this well-crafted poem because of the poetic techniques used and the setting. The setting was what particularly moved me because of how much I personally relate to the ocean. On my trips to Byron Bay and the Sunshine Coast I have seen waves that were both angry and calm. I have seen the waves smash against the rocks and the helpless swimmers get dragged out by the strong current. However I have never thought about the ocean in way the poet has exposed it. I believe that this poem has touched my heart like no other poem ever

symbolic richness, but at the same time the poem supplies the reader with a wide

In poetry, there is often the use of many words that may seem a bit strange to the average reader. These words are often more complex than what is actually meant, but are used to enhance the reading and make it more enjoyable to the reader. Other words would make the poem less smooth, and that is why such complexity arises. These words shape a type of metaphor, which is referred to as a kenning.

This, along with a large amount of enjambment makes the poem flow easily. It seems like it is a few longs lines, rather than five stanzas! When you read the poem aloud the sound makes you think of waves in the sea, going back and forth. In the first stanza, there is a lot of sibilance – repeating of the sound “s”. This sounds a lot like the waves.

As noted in an article by Laura Woltag, “Connecting with texts through the study of literary devices helps readers to deconstruct these texts. Literary devices provide a conceptual framework for analysis that allows readers to interpret how these techniques affect their readings of texts” (Woltag). When reading a poem people should not read it to simply go through the motions, rather they should read it and

These three lines are perfect examples of the imagery within the poem because they contain an image of a river with its small peeks and waves trembling and glistening in the afternoon sun. All the while it equates the natural beauty of the river to the beauty that the young man sees in the youthful maiden.

Imagery is a good source to help the readers better understand what is happening in the poem. There are several examples of different kinds of imagery. One example is “crouching over the hot coals of desire” (Wallada 5). This shows the use of kinetic imagery and visual imagery. It shows kinetic imagery because it shows the image of a character bending over hot coals. Visual imagery is used by having the reader visualize someone bending over something. Another example of imagery being portrayed in this poem is “there may be winter rains pelting copiously down” (Wallada 13-14). Tactile imagery is used

In the second part of the poem, Arnold uses the same method of writing, however he speaks of human history to further support the mood of the "Sea of Faith" and it's "eternal sadness". Arnold writes of Sophocles hearing the "eternal sadness" on "the Aegean" with it's "turbid ebb and flow". This appeals to the sense of hearing and causes the reader to almost hear powerful waves crashing to the land below. Sophocles saw the waves as sounds of "human misery". Arnold is portraying the parallel thought between the speaker's feelings and Sophocles same sadness over the changing of the land. The metaphor of the tides and the sea is suggested by the sounds and view of the speaker's window, but Arnold uses Sophocles as another example of nature's strength over the entire world. Arnold uses this to illustrate the speaker's despair and helplessness over his situation. Arnold uses this writing to exhibit the conflict between the land and the sea, and how more than just land suffers from the destruction. Arnold wants to show how deep the speaker's emotions run for his home.