Personification In Thanatopsis

There are many tones observed in this narrative. Tone is defined as the general attitude of a piece of writing. A very important tone present shown through the novel is emotional. Throughout the narrative, Douglass truly lets his emotions run wild whether it was from telling his brutal experiences while enslaved or his famous speeches that really questioned what your view of freedom is. Overall, Frederick Douglass’s tone is generally straightforward and serious as he covers emotional, heart wrenching topics. Towards the end of the novel, Douglass uses a lot of emotion as a tone to reflect over what he has overcome and accomplished.

When the word “myth” is spoken or written in today’s society, the first thing that probably comes to mind is that of a tall, muscular man with a beard holding a sword fighting off some sort of fantastical monster. However, when the word is more deeply examined, one can see that the word does not merely describe a story from some ancient time period, but rather it details a certain type of story consisting of certain factors. Some of these factors such as the ability to teach and the belittling of fears can be seen in John Steinbeck’s “Tularecito”. The story of Tularecito is a full-fledged myth, consisting of multiple key factors required to be so. Although myths are mainly thought of as stories from ancient times, “Tularecito” also falls into

Nature is often personified in this piece, for example, “She has a voice of gladness, and a smile and eloquence of beauty” (Bryant lines 4-5). Nature, something that can not be man made, is portrayed as alluring and joyful. Bryant connects the aforementioned with death by realizing that death is apart of life, when “Earth, that nourished thee, shall claim thy growth, to be resolv’d to earth again” (lines 22-23). This means the earth provided for a person during their life and returns them to the earth during their death. Bryant answers the question “what if thou shalt fall unnoticed by the living-- and no friend take note of thy departure?” (lines 58-60). If someone dies alone literally and figuratively, it does not affect the attractive appeal of the afterlife. No characteristics of a person may effect their joyful afterlife, “one by one be gathered to thy side, by those, who in their turn shall follow them” (lines 72-73). Everyone comes together so no one is ever alone in death. In the romantic time period, people found solace through nature, or comfort in a time of distress. This means that death is depicted as something to not fear, but something beautiful in connection with nature, a far more optimistic view.

It is very clear that the theme of “Thanatopsis” is death, we can see this in line 18 “… the all-beholding sun shall see no more…” where Bryant is saying we will die. Bryant uses imagery, to give a clear picture of death, in many lines: “As the long train of ages glide away…” (lines 66-67) “… the youth in life’s green spring…” (line 68) and in lines 8-9 “When thoughts of the last bitter hour come like a blight…” Bryant also uses personification, “The oak shall send his roots abroad…” (lines 29-30) and “…the complaining brooks…” (line 41) Bryant’s poem is in iambic pentameter, and also he use enjambment; meaning he doesn’t finish his sentence until the next line, making the reader follow to the next line to continue

Leaves rustling in the wind on a brisk fall day, the sun’s rays glistening the dew drops of a flower, and the heavy weight of snow on one’s rooftop after a chilly December night; these are all detailed and sensational descriptions of nature's most extreme conditions. Typically these detailed descriptions evoke a strong sense of emotion within the reader's mind, and provide a feeling of connection with nature. In the short story The Fall of the House of Usher by: Edgar Allen Poe, and in the poem Thanatopsis by: William Cullen Bryant, Poe and Bryant set the mood using two romanticism characteristics; detailed descriptions of the surrounding landscape to connect to the senses of the reader, along with parallels of nature to human beings, these

‘’Thanatopisis’’ like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.’’ This quote is describing how he laid down and died peacefully, Feeling death is a welcoming gift. ‘’Devil and Tom Walker’’ emotion in this poem is in my opinion is considered wicked. ‘’He leaped for joy; for he recognized his wife’s apron.’’

He uses the metaphor “as still as if he would return to stone”. The audience knows the toad went to go lie down to die. Knowing the author was in war, the toad could be a soldier who got injured. In the third line of the second stanza the word “gutter” is used. The audience can predict the “gutter” could be a trench used in the war. So the soldier went to the trench to lie down and die. There is also another shift when the author says “and soundlessly attending, dies…”. In the last stanza, the audience can infer that the author is at peace with the death. He says “misted and ebullient seas and cooling shores, towards Amphibia’s empiries.” The audience can feel the relaxation. Also, the author symbolizes heaven by using “amphibian empiries”. That shows the author is relaxed about the death and the soldier, or toad, is in a better place. The audience can also infer the author has PTSD from war. The last sentence says “in the wide and antique eyes which still appear to watch across the castrate lawn, the haggard daylight steer.” This imagery lets the audience see that the author is probably sitting and remember seeing all the accidents that happened in the war. Also, the audience can use “antique eyes” and “haggard” to predict the old age of the author. The toad represents the soldier. But also it could reveal that the author gives dignity to death of all living

Captivity is defined as the state of being imprisoned or confined. A tragic experience is given a whole new perspective from Louise Erdrich 's poem, “Captivity”. Through descriptive imagery and a melancholic tone, we can see the poem and theme develop in her words. Erdrich takes a quote from Mary Rowlandson’s narrative about her imprisonment by the Native Americans and her response to this brings readers a different story based off of the epigraph. Louise Erdrich compiles various literary devices to convey her theme of sympathy, and her poem “Captivity” through specific and descriptive language brings a whole new meaning to Mary Rowlandson’s narrative.

William Cullen Bryant wrote “Thanatopsis” at the very young age of seventeen. The word thanatopsis is defined as, “a view or contemplation of death.” It surprised me when I learned that he had written such a deep and detailed poem about nature and death when he was my age. I had to read the poem a couple of times before I even began to understand Bryant’s wording and what he meant by it all.

From the beginning, children are taught to fear the concept of death. Most people spend their lives fearing death, but it’s not death that they are afraid of. It is part of nature to die, and our minds know that, what scares most people is the thought of death before they have had time to accomplish what they want in life. In “When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be,” John Keats put into words how people feel about dying before they have been successful in whatever mission they have set forth for themselves. His poem touches the reality of people’s feelings though imagery and figurative language.

Nothing But Death, The poem from Pablo Neruda translated and edited by Robert Bly. The poem presented about the looks of the Death and about how the death appears around the human. There are seven stanzas in this poem and the techniques appeared in the poem are Imagery, Simile, Metaphor, and Alliteration. The imagery is the techniques used all over the seven stanzas in this poem to describe the image of the Death the movement, and the sound which included Auditory, Visual, and Kinetic.

In “Because I Could Not Stop For Death”, Emily Dickinson uses imagery and symbols to establish the cycle of life and uses examples to establish the inevitability of death. This poem describes the speaker’s journey to the afterlife with death. Dickinson uses distinct images, such as a sunset, the horses’ heads, and the carriage ride to establish the cycle of life after death. Dickinson artfully uses symbols such as a child, a field of grain, and a sunset to establish the cycle of life and its different stages. Dickinson utilizes the example of the busyness of the speaker and the death of the sun to establish the inevitability of death.

She views and examines the mortality and immortality through various moods. The series of death of her family members makes her to see death as a painless one. She looks at the perishable body as a seed that is sown to be raised as imperishable. Thus she writes:

During the journey the speaker describes death as a person to accompany her during this journey. Using symbolism to show three locations that are important part of our lives. The speaker also uses imagery to show why death isn 't’ so scary. The theme of the of is that death need not be feared and in this poem the speaker shows how death is a part of life, and how death really is not as scary as it seems.

Turning twenty-one years old puts a person in a position to be universally regarded as an adult. Both Samuel Johnson in his poem, To Sir John Lade, on His Coming of Age, and A.E Housman’s, When I was One and Twenty, recollect memories when they once dealt with this adamant yet subtle time in their lives briskly unaware of the troublesome times that lied ahead. The writers’ use of provoking details, vivid imagery and a hint of irony, create a visually appealing description regarding the stubborn new adults, while both speakers recall and account their own experiences.