Starfish Tone

Throughout this poem and essay, both writers make connections between beauty and sorrow which are major elements of life. In Cervantes’ “Starfish” and Hurds’ “Sea Stars”, this bond is shared by all creatures which are illuminated through rhetorical devices. Hurd and Cervantes both use imagery and tone shifts which develop the theme that life is beautiful and tragic.

Cervantes, the author of “Starfish” advances the theme with imagery and a tone shift. She states in her poem, “ seascapes, geodesics...”, to portray the natural beauty of starfish. (Cervantes 9). Consequently, she demonstrates the first part of the theme that there are serenity and awe in the wonders of nature. Cervantes uses the premise of “We gathered what we could” as imagery to reiterates the second part of the theme, where there is light there is also darkness (9). She deploys that starfish perish because of reckless people who leave them sprawled on the shore. Thus, a somber tone is created when the starfish perish. Thus, Cervantes shifts the tone, “Thousands of flawless five-fingered specimens sprawled”(11). The author evokes pathos which creates a dramatic tone shift about the perfect starfish having to

Similarly, Hurd also uses imagery in her essay, “the sky is pink this morning and on the shore...”(Hurd 1). Consequently, this creates a lovely visual element of the creatures stranded on the beach and illustrates the scenic view. Hurd sets the stage up by illuminating the aesthetic pleasure of nature. She further describes the sea stars as, “orangy body glistens wet in the dawn light...”(8). Hurd’s descriptive language creates depth on the physical features of the starfish. Hurd makes an illusion so that the reader feels as if they are looking at dozens of little orange and shiny starfish. This form of figurative language emphasizes the first part of the theme that, life is beautiful and