When You Are Old Tone

Essentially a monologue set within a frame, this poem creates two personae. The anonymous author gives a brief introduction and conclusion. The Wanderer, an aging warrior, who roams the world seeking shelter and aid. The Wanderer’s monologue divides into two distinct parts, the first being a lament for his exile and the loss of kin, friends, home, and the generosity of his king. In nature, he finds absolutely no comfort, for he has set sail on the winter stricken sea. Poignantly, the speaker dreams that he is among his companions, and embracing his king, only to awaken facing the gray, winter sea, and snowfall mingled with hail.

In the poem “XIV,” Derek Walcott utilizes the use of inhumane imagery that is being counterpointed with the use of happy imagery to show the view of an elderly woman with his experiences with her; the speaker recalls this information by describing his experiences with her with a sense of happiness, fear and appreciation.

What is the overall TONE of this poem and how do you come to that conclusion? (what is

She writes “The One Girl at the Boy’s Party” as a representation of reaching the full potential and understand the power and beauty of an individual's mind. Having an alcoholic father that often would use cruel and unfair punishments, left Olds and her family afraid to express themselves. As Olds neared adolescence she joined a church choir, where she would find a new passion to pursue. She fell in love with sonnets and poetry, her favorite book was composed of hymns and passages. As she furthered her education she became passionate about writing free verses. In this free verse poem she discusses the theme of aging and maturing. Due to the fact that she did not experience a ¨normal” childhood, she writes to inform the reader that it is okay to want to be older and to essentially grow up. She tells the story from a mother’s perspective, allowing the reader to see it from different point of view. The mother is scared and nervous for her daughter, but we cannot stop time, everyone

“When You Are Old” is a poem that was written by William Butler Yeats in 1891. It is a poem about a person who wants to be remembered by those he loves. It is a story about dreams forgotten and memories long gone. Yeats captured a feeling of longing in this poem that some people may never understand unless they have a relationship that is more to them than any other relationship they will ever have. “When You Are Old” talks about a woman who was loved by a man until he died. It is a story of how a life should be remembered by a person who loved another.

Throughout the poem, the author creates different tones using different types of figurative language and diction. The poet starts off the poem with the metaphor, “Although she feeds me

In conclusion, Gwen Harwood deals with the constant relevant issues of loss and consolation by the enduring power of poetic treatment of age and youth. In my opinion, on the most profound of universal truths, there is no certainty in life and we must deal with events and situations as we encounter them. Harwood’s poetry distinctly presents a

Here is a discussion of how the sound and metrics of the poem help convey that meaning. In the face of strong emotion, the poet sets himself the task of mastering it in difficult form of villanelle. Five tercets are followed by a quatrain, with the first and last line of stanza repeated alternately as the last line of the subsequent stanzas and gathered into a couplet at the end of the quatrain. And all this on only two rhymes. His villanelle repeates the theme of living and fury through the most forceful two lines, "do not go gentle into that good night," and "rage, rage against the dying of the light." Thomas further compounds his difficulty by having each line

insight into his life and personality that he is not aware of giving. While the poet

A major tone that is present throughout most of the poem is a reminiscent tone. The speaker begins the poem by stating “The first time I walked with a girl, I was twelve…” It is easy to notice that the speaker is indulging in past events. The speaker also tells his story in past tense. The speaker describes the little details that bring him joy while reminiscing. He states that the girl’s face was “...bright with rouge.” and there was “...Light in her eyes, a smile starting at the corners of her mouth.” The speaker is reminiscing and mentions the details so he can indulge in past events wholly. There is shift in tone present when it becomes a conflicted tone. This occurs when the girl choses a chocolate that costs a dime, but the boy only carries a dime and two oranges. When the speaker realizes the fact that he will not be able to play for the chocolate he states that he “...didn’t say anything.” He took the nickel and an orange and “...and set them quietly on the counter.” He then looks up at the sales lady “...knowing very well what it was about.” The speaker is so uncomfortable at this point he does not even talk. He is conflicted because if he can not buy his girl the chocolate, he will not be able to make her happy, and making her happy is his ultimate

Many time we spend our whole childhood wishing we were older and now we’re spending our adulthood wishing to be younger. In the poems “Quinceanera” and “Rite of Passage” both Cofer and Olds explore the theme of coming of age and we acquire to truly live up to those adult characteristics that every child has within them , the authors use various literary devices, such as imagery, tone, and figurative language, such as similes.

These two seemingly opposite tones and moods existing in one poem simultaneously resemble the ambiguity in the speaker that he reveals when he describes his condition very ambiguously. For instance, in the first line, he portrays himself as a “dead man”(1), but in the line immediately after, the dead man is moaning, which is biologically impossible. The unclear subject raises the issue of who the speaker is, if he should not be able to comment on himself because he is already dead. When the speaker uses the same pronouns, “he” and “him” from both the first person and the third person perspectives to refer to himself, this becomes even more puzzling; the readers are no longer sure of who the speaker is and who the subject of the poem is. One possible cause of these uncertainties is the discrepancy between the speaker’s real self and his public self; one that resembles who he

has lots of tone. Tone is the attitude of a poem but not only just the attitude but also the

This piece has several “mini” themes given to almost each stanza, emphasizing reminiscing, grief, and isolation. Appearing to be from the point of view of a man (apparently the writer himself) profoundly grieving the departure of a lover who has passed on. He starts by calling for quiet from the ordinary objects of life; the phones, the clocks, the pianos, drums, and creatures close-by. He doesn't simply need calm, but be that as it may; he needs his misfortune well known and projected. Its tone is significantly more dismal than earlier versions, and the themes more all inclusive, despite the fact that it talks about a person. There is almost an entire stanza demonstrating a  bunch of analogies that express what the speaker intended to his lover. The style in the piece readers typically perceive it as a dirge, or a mourning for the dead. It has four stanzas of four lines each with lines in

In Sailing to Byzantium, by W. B. Yeats, the message that as we grow up, those who are young want to experience life and have no desire to be directed by those who are old. This is a true statement, as it can be clearly defined. Although sometimes we should take advice from those who are at a higher point in life than us, we often choose to ignore them in order to regain focus for ourselves. As we continue our lives, we are constantly wishing to stay young. In the poem, Yeats describes this feeling in these words. “Caught in that sensual music all neglect Monuments of unaging intellect” (line 7). Yeats writes this to prove his position that he only wishes to experience life as one who may continually live life only by way of experiencing as a young person. Today, the poem Sailing to Byzantium has been