Poets use a combination of literary elements to express the statement that they convey through their poems. In “Ars Poetica,” Archibald MacLeish uses the literary elements of simile and diction to express his opinions on how poems should tell their story. In stanza four, MacLeish expresses how “a poem should be wordless / as the flight of birds” (7-8). MacLeish’s comparison of a poem and the flight of birds shows that he believes that a poem should hold a silent meaning. Readers can conclude this because when birds move, they move in silence, hence the word “wordless” in line 7. The flight of birds would represent the meaning because when birds take flight, they move from one place to another for a set purpose. So since MacLeish says that …show more content…
uses diction, and repetition to express to readers the fascination felt over a pear tree. H.D. states in stanza one “Silver dust / lifted from the earth, / higher than my arms reach, / you have mounted / O silver, / higher than my arms reach / you front us with great mass” (1-7). H.D uses the silver dust to symbolize the pear tree, expressing that the tree reaches higher than her own reach. This tells readers that H.D. sees the tree as something that she can not grasp onto. Readers can look into this meaning literally as in not grasping the tree in a physical manner, or not being able to reach the tree in a level of superiority. Not having the ability to reach something symbolizes that stands higher than someone and they stand under it. H.D. expresses that she feels under the pear tree in her choice to use the words “mounted,” which means higher than, and “great”. Also, the repetition of “higher than my own reach” puts emphasis on the fact that the tree stands above her and that she does not amount to the same level as it does. In correspondence, H.D. expresses about the pear tree that “no flower ever opened / so staunch a white leaf, / no flower ever parted silver / from such rare silver” (8-11) H.D. speaks of the beauty of the tree, comparing it to others. H.D. expresses that the pear tree has the allure of no other. White represents pureness and beauty. H.D. states that no other flower holds the whiteness and purity that the pear tree does. Overall,