‘The Visionary’ by Emily Bronte is a poem about the future, as indicated by its title, and focuses on the feelings of the speaker such as the concern of safety and also the feelings of isolation and loneliness. The dilemmas faced by the speaker are explored through contrasts as well as imagery and structure to convey a tone of indecision but ambition throughout the poem. Bronte uses contrasts in order to portray the polarised feelings between the inside of the house, where the speaker feels safe, and the hostility faced outside. In the first line ‘the house ‘ is personified and said to be ‘silent’ which evokes imagery of serenity and peace, whereas outside she is ‘dreading every breeze’; the determiner ‘every’ implying the relentlessness of …show more content…
The use of a dramatic monologue gives poem a more conversational and personal tone, much like the reader entering the speaker's own thoughts. Through this narrative, the speaker focuses on her future lover whom she describes as an ‘angel (that) night tracks the waste of frozen snow’. The supernatural and religious imagery presents the idea of the speaker being almost ephemeral and omnibenevolent, and in turn idealising them. This interpretation can be further supported through the reference of the ‘little lamp’ being the ‘wanderer’s guiding-star’, with the ‘star’ in particular being an object which is unreachable. The diminutive of ‘little’ to describe the lamp has connotations of being vulnerable which is contrasted from the ‘strong rays’ that she sees. This may be symbolic of the disproportional amount of hope and passion that she puts on this ‘little lamp’. The lover may also be likened to the snow, with its white colour which is has connotations of being pure- the colour in which ‘angels’ are often depicted. However, the setting of the ‘frozen snow’ further adds to the idealizing of the lover at it shows his determination to track through the bleak environment. More supernatural references are to describe the lover in later stanzas such as ‘visitant of air’ and ‘Strange Power’ which implies that
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.
In the poem “Oranges” by Gary soto, it follows the sacrifices that a young boy makes to ensure that his lover is happy. Gary soto uses a nostalgic tone to emphasize that sacrifice is necessary in love. The larger issues throughout this whole poem is that gratitude from strangers can make someone else’s day amazing. Additionally, this is the speaker’s first date ever in his life, so he is extremely nervous and wants everything to go fine.
Throughout ‘At Mornington’, Harwood uses descriptions, “night fell”, and similes, “the piece of this day will shine like light” when referring to the power of memory. During ‘The Violets’, Harwood uses imagery such as “ambiguous light” and metaphors such as “unreturning light” and “blurring darkness” to portray time’s ability to pass, and the way that you cannot regain time that is lost. During ‘The Violets’, Harwood also uses the metaphor of the “melting west” to represent a closing day, capturing the vivid colours of the natural phenomenon through the use of evocative imagery. Indeed, the second poem of the diptych of ‘Father and Child’ is ‘Nightfall’. These references to darkness, light and the closing of days can all be seen as symbolic of life, death and the transience of time, as when one day ends and night falls, the transience of that moment will be held in one’s memory regardless of the moment never being able to be relived.
| | |Even though she was afraid of the red room the fire made her |
The use of symbolism and imagery is beautifully orchestrated in a magnificent dance of emotion that is resonated throughout the poem. The two main ideas that are keen to resurface are that of personal growth and freedom. Furthermore, at first glimpse this can be seen as a simple poem about a women’s struggle with her counterpart. However, this meaning can be interpreted more profoundly than just the causality of a bad relationship.
In Billy Collins’ poem, Neither Snow, the speaker shows a reflective tone towards the idea that every individual has their own perspective on any given situation through figurative language and choice of detail. The speakers’ reflective tone is visible through a shift in the diction choices he uses and a rhetorical question he presents. Early in the poem the speaker compares snow to krill with the words “looked like”, the connotation behind these words which are repeated suggest and emphasize uncertainty in thought as well as a belief that the image can be interpreted in more than one way. As he thinks more about the events of that Sunday afternoon however, he comes to the conclusion that “it was a run of white plankton”.
In Bronte’s writing, the message is at times, quite clear, and at other time, relatively subtle. Jane questions the status of woman. Yet, she does so mainly through her writing. A woman, at that time, should not be free to have opinions and to manifest her feelings. However, through her writing, she is able to treat certain taboo subjects, at times quite openly and at other times in a subtler way. A woman is expected to follow the path which has been carved out for her. There is no room to be passionate and to have opinions. Bronte, however, allows Jane to do so. The description of the weather in several instances reflects the protagonist’s state of mind. The beginning of the novel is a perfect example to illustrate the way in which the narration sets the tone for what is to be expected by the reader:
In the second stanza it is the semantic field of cold: ‘winter’, ‘ice’, ‘naked’, ‘snow’. All these lexical items give us a feeling of cold which evokes loneliness, unknown, fear.
why he stopped, may be he doesn’t know himself. May be, he is comparing the beauty of nature to something, but on a symbolic level, the snow strongly reminds me that the poem is set in winter, and which is also widely represented as the image of death.
The night symbolized death, and the walk was the person's journey to find their lost life. This poem was somewhat disturbing to me. I thought of a lost soul, thirsting to finish a mission that was not completed in life. Frost depicts death in a frightening manner with the contents of this piece of work.
In this excerpt from, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte is excellent on bringing forth great emotional remarks from the protagonist. Bronte’s application of imagery and tone creates strong feelings toward the audience. Bronte utilizes imagery to create sadness through the first lines. One of uses in the novel, “the cold winter wind… brought … clouds so somber and rain so penetrating. ”(line 4)
The relationship between the environment and characters in literature played a large role in Victorian novels. This relationship is extremely evident in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, where Jane’s journey to freedom is reflected by her environment. However, Jane’s goal of freedom and equality symbolizes Victorian women struggling to gain these same values. According to Jennifer D. Fuller in “Seeking Wild Eyre: Victorian Attitudes Towards Landscape and the Environment in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre”, Jane’s passion for freedom is reflects the passion for freedom in Victorian women who have not achieved equality yet. Although Jane’s environmental surroundings symbolize Jane’s future, Fuller effectively asserts that the weather instead symbolizes the harsh constraints of women’s gender roles in Victorian society.
“I am no bird and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will” (Bronte, Jane Eyre 293). In the Victorian time period Charlotte Bronte lived the unequal life as a woman, like many others. The only difference is Bronte did not believe in living in inequality, and she wrote about her hardships in her literature. In her book, Jane Eyre, the reader can see many similarities in her main character’s life and her own. Jane Eyre has many ways of showing how Victorian women were expected to be and act, included in the life of Jane. Bronte also continues her portrayal of the inequality of women and the decision of love versus autonomy through two of her poems, “Life” and “The Wife’s Will.” Charlotte Bronte displays the inequality in life of women in the Victorian era by taking her life and revitalizing it into themes of her works, by providing a journey of discovery of love or autonomy.
A poem is an experience, not a thought. It is an experience both the author and the reader share with one another. Authors of poems use tones, keywords, hidden messages, irony, and diction to create their work. They use these tactics so the reader thinks about what they are reading and try evaluating what the message is that the reader wants to get across. In the poem “Snow” by Louis MacNeice, he uses these same characteristics to get the readers mind active in the words. Let’s examine the poem “Snow” and see what the meaning behind this poem is.
Bronte takes the fire and transforms it to illustrate the image of sexuality and passion. By doing this, she also proposes the way in which internalized feelings of opposing ideas give into self-depleting energy through the loss of self-control. Here, Jane has the fear of becoming like Mrs. Reed. She comes to the realization that if this is not what she wants to be like, then she must keep her passions under control. Otherwise, she could become "black and blasted after the flames have died." This is presented to embody what Victorian society believed to be true and is a fine example of everything that it despises, which is namely the expression of passion. The fulfillment of self becomes the foundation of society's views, on which the fears of women and their passionate behaviors are laid.