Death is the unavoidable part of our daily lives. In the poems, “Shrike Tree” by Lucia Perillo and “Plums Falling Well” by Linda Gregg, the poets discussed the plot with an accepting attitude towards death because it is part of the natural life cycle. In our society, we tend to hide and avoid death; However, Shrikes and the plums in the poems face death with an open manner. Their attitudes towards death indicate the shrikes and plums are not afraid to die.
Loss is an experience unique to each individual and James McAuley and Gwen Harwood explore this in their poems “Pietà” and “In the Park”. The free verse “Pietà” bears witness to the physical loss a father endures on the anniversary of his son’s death, while in contrast, the sonnet “In the Park” explores the loss of self-identity that a mother feels in her role as a parent. The physical loss that accompanies the death of a loved one is depicted in “Pietà” when the narrator recounts how his son came metaphorically “Early into the light” of life, “Then died” one year prior. By accepting the part that death plays in one’s life, he acknowledges that “no one (is) to blame” for the loss, however, this resignation does not console his anguish. Just as he is consumed by his grief, so too is the mother in Harwood’s narrative but her pain stems from a loss of self-identity due to motherhood.
In the following passage from the novel We Were the Mulvaneys, Joyce Carol Oates laments that even though most everything in one’s surrounding is dying, not everyone has managed to find the adequate amount of maturity to accept the fact that they are not immortal, even though the idea of death is difficult to come to terms with. Oates conveys this universal idea and characterizes the narrator through the usage of a depressing tone and dismal imagery. The tone set in the passage is fairly dark and depressing. An “eleven or maybe twelve,” year old child should not be fixated on the idea that “every heart beat is past and gone.”
Additionally- like Dickinson, Whitman uses vivid imagery, such as “The play of shine and shade on the trees as the supple boughs wag,” to paint various pictures—whether it be the background of a scene or a feeling his encountering—in a clear, compelling, and creative way. The author’s use of detailed verbiage and robust wording acts to make the reader imagine his thoughts artistically and
Life has been celebrated and death has been mourned since the begining of time. The certainty of life and death can be seen as tragic or necessary. There is no way to get used to either of these things occurring because the loss of every person important to us causes pain and allows us to reevaluate what our life looks like without them. In the novel, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, the author portrays the emotional aftermath of death on those still living by introducing differing viewpionts to show the massive impact culture and age has on the acceptance of the inevitable. It is always tragic when a child outlives their parents, or even when an adult loses someone close to them.
The narrator’s changing understanding of the inevitability of death across the two sections of the poem illustrates the dynamic and contrasting nature of the human
Although they lead different lifestyles, Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley both deal differently with death in Before the Birth of One of Her Children and To a Gentleman… the latter in a way that is more optimistic than the former. Many similarities are present throughout the writings of the two poets when it comes to the way they speak of death and how to cope with it. Both poets acknowledge their christian beliefs in saying that God holds all power when it comes to death and we, humans, are powerless in that domain. When talking about the fragile subject of death, Bradstreet says, “No ties so strong, no friends so dear and sweet,/ But with death’s parting blow is sure to meet./ The sentence past is most irrevocable,/
‘’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.
The name, Thanatopsis, Means simply a view of death. This poem never said “take my hand” and it never said to go with death. It said to enjoy life, but not to fear death because Mother Nature will take care of you. “Dust in the Wind,” by Kansas shows that life is short but need to be enjoyed while it last.
Whitman and Dickinson share the theme of death in their work, while Whitman decides to speak of death in a more realistic point of view, Dickinson speaks of the theme in a more conceptual one. In Whitman’s poems, he likes to have a more empathic view of individuals and their ways of living. For example, in Whitman’s “Song of Myself”, the poet talks about not just of himself, but all human beings, and of how mankind works into the world and the life of it. Even though the poem mostly talks about life and the happiness of it, Whitman describes also that life itself has its ending, and that is the theme of death. For Dickinson, she is the complete opposite of happiness.
Throughout the poem, “Thanatopsis”, William Cullen Bryant’s positive view surrounding death appears to be consoling. Bryant states his belief that everyone is bound to die at one point. All people are bound to die at one point, and every individual “shalt lie down with patriarchs of the infant world-with kings… the wise, the good, fair forms ” (Bryant 171) Death appears to be reassuring in that it is viewed as inevitable because no matter the person’s social status, in death everyone is equal and exempt from mistreatment. Another way Bryant makes death seem comfortable is by stating that people will not go through any consequences when they pass away.
From her internal thoughts and observations, the reader is given knowledge of the exact extent to which Ellie’s own mortality affects her thoughts, actions, and enjoyment of her whole life. The impact of the knowledge is best demonstrated when the reader is told, “Yet
His yearning for death is accentuated in his work with elaborate diction and a dramatic tone. For example, in his poem, "Death's Valley", Whitman uses elaborate and somewhat extravagant wording when he says "And I myself for long, O Death, have/ breathed my every breath/", simply put, he feels that his life is over. His nearly labyrinthine word choice gives his work more emotion than something blatantly said. In another case, his poem, "Whispers of Heavenly Death", Whitman uses an exorbitantly dramatic tone when he states, "Ripples of unseen rivers- tides of a current, flowing, forever flowing/", when he could have said that he was crying hysterically. In addition to elaborate diction and dramatic tone, Whitman uses personification to accentuate the emotional aspects of his poetry.
Walt Whitman is comparing Death and Race, everyone is equal. Death happened all over the place. In the beginning Emily Dickinson’s thought and her work was not being understood. She wrote down I DIED for beauty this poem, in this poem she had a different understanding of death. In this poem Emily Dickinson showed the person who can be resting in peace, to be immoral after death, is the person who only lives for beauty and truth.
The attitudes to grief over the loss of a loved one are presented in two thoroughly different ways in the two poems of ‘Funeral Blues’ and ‘Remember’. Some differences include the tone towards death as ‘Funeral Blues’ was written with a more mocking, sarcastic tone towards death and grieving the loss of a loved one, (even though it was later interpreted as a genuine expression of grief after the movie “Four Weddings and a Funeral” in 1994), whereas ‘Remember’ has a more sincere and heartfelt tone towards death. In addition, ‘Funeral Blues’ is entirely negative towards death not only forbidding themselves from moving on but also forbidding the world from moving on after the tragic passing of the loved one, whilst ‘Remember’ gives the griever
