ipl-logo

Figurative Language In The Poem Life By Paul Lawrence Dunbar

459 Words2 Pages

A minute to smile and an hour to weep in" is exactly how Paul Lawrence Dunbar begins his poem, "life". In the poem " life" Paul Lawrence Dunbar discusses the sadness in life, but demonstrates how that sadness and emptiness can be overcome with by a bit of happiness you have in your life. Although this is a relatively short poem, it does a great job of portraying the good and the bad that comes with being alive. To get his point across Dunbar uses figurative language to convey the meaning of life.
In line 3 of the poem its states " a pint of joy and a peck of trouble". This is an example of figurative language that is used to explain that life has its happy moments, but it also comes with the trouble and hardships as well. This line supports my claim of Dunbar using figurative language to convey the meaning of life because this phrase means that life does indeed have its up and downs and with life comes allot of good, but also allot of problems. By stating this he is giving us an outlook on what we have to expect while alive and into this society. Although it seems like life goes as its planned, there is always the good that can result from all the troubles you have already overcome. …show more content…

This strategy is used in line 1 where he states " A crust of bread and a corner to sleep in". We can vividly picture this in our minds as a crust of bread was used to portray poverty in sense where sometimes there isn't always enough money to have a so-called gourmet or even a fulling meal. He goes onto include A corner to sleep in to further dig into just how hard life can be for those who don’t even have a bed to crawl into at night. But as he includes in his poem it's not about just paying attention to the rough times, it's about appreciating the good times because life isn't easy and as long as that strong support system is there you can get through all the rough times life

Show More
Related

Figurative Language Sentences In Marigolds By Eugenia Collier

382 Words | 2 Pages

In the story "Marigolds" by Eugenia Collier there are several figurative language sentences and symbols that have meaning to the overall theme of the story. "Everything was suddenly out of tune, like a broken accordion." (Collier 11) This means that Lizabeth is explaining everything she is going through and how her life and emotions are. She uses an accordion to describe this because an accordion is a fun and upbeat instrument and a "broken accordion" is the complete opposite.

Read More

Figurative Language In The Poem Tuesday 9: 00 Am

54 Words | 1 Pages

In the poem “Tuesday 9:00 AM” Denver Butson writes about how people can not say what is on their mind. He can convey this through the use of figurative language. The figurative language in the poem is used to express the inner conflicts of each character and the addition of details, construct the theme.

Read More

Figurative Language In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

1965 Words | 8 Pages

Triple Entry: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey Quote Analysis Synthesis "She’s swelling up, swells till her back’s splitting out the white uniform and she’s let her arms section out long enough to wrap around the three of them five, six times. She looks around her with a swivel of her huge head.... So she really lets herself go and her painted smile twists, stretches to an open snarl, and she blows up bigger and bigger, big as a tractor, so big I can smell the machinery inside the way you smell a motor pulling too big" (5).

Read More

Figurative Language In The Book Anthem

352 Words | 2 Pages

In the book anthem by Ayn Rand starts off by saying that “Its is a sin to write this.” Why does he start the character by saying these words? in the book the main character is named equality 7-2521 and in his society they have taught him differently than ours. in mentioned in pg 19 “we are one in all and all in one there are no men but only the great we , one, indivisible forever.” The people in equalities society were taught by using the word “we” not

Read More

Figurative Language In The Pedestrian By Ray Bradbury

184 Words | 1 Pages

In his short story “The Pedestrian”, Ray Bradbury uses figurative language to reveal the characterization of Mr. Leonard Mead. First, Bradbury describes Mead’s shadow as “moving like the shadow of a hawk in midcountry.” By using this simile, Mead can be characterized as moving alone and quietly through a seemingly abandoned area, creating him as a peaceful, desolate man. Next, Mead is described as standing “not unlike a night moth, stunned by the illumination.” This simile, compares Mead to a night moth, obviously not used to and surprised by the bright light in the normal darkness, as he prefers to be at peace in the twilight.

Read More

Figurative Language In The Things They Carried

1541 Words | 7 Pages

Tim O’Brien Research Essay Truth is something that Tim O’Brien wants his readers to comprehend about war throughout his writing. For example in The Things They Carried O’Brien mentions that he doesn’t support the Vietnam war, but he supports the fact that he is fighting for his country and for their safety. “They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity.” (The Things They Carried,39) O’Brien uses figurative language to emphasis his writing and uses symbolism to convey the importance of a message to the readers.

Read More

Essay On Jesse Jackson

573 Words | 3 Pages

This poem showed that anyone can be somebody no matter what background they came from or situation they're in. He then proceeded to say that people need

Read More

The Crowd Cheered As Gloom Galloped Away Analysis

991 Words | 4 Pages

In the world that the poem takes place in, sadness seems to have been solved through pills. People struggled with this because they didn’t understand

Read More

The Poet X Figurative Language

1330 Words | 6 Pages

Identity, it lives inside someone, it makes them who they are, it makes them stand out, it's something they found out by themselves, right? Someone’s identity can be impacted by societal normalities, friends and family. It may not be solely found through one person's eyes and experiences. In the book The Poet X the main character and the people she surrounds herself with go through the struggles of finding their true identities. The book is a poetic novel that follows a Latina teenager named Xiomara.

Read More

Frederick Douglass Figurative Language Analysis

1797 Words | 8 Pages

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave was written by Frederick Douglass himself, and was published in 1845. Douglass takes the readers through his own experience with American slavery while holding back very little. Douglass’s narrative goes on a journey beginning in his birthplace, Talbot County, Maryland. While Douglass mainly focuses on his own experiences with the American slave trade, he also shares the trials and tribulations of those around him throughout the book. Another attribute of this narrative is the high level of literacy Douglass has.

Read More

Paul Lawrence Dunbar We Wear The Mask Analysis

681 Words | 3 Pages

Beside his word choice, Dunbar connects the reader thanks to literary devices. We can notice an alliteration in -m in line 5, with the words “mouth” and “myriad” (Dunbar, l. 5). This alliteration emphasizes these words, and, as a consequence, the word “subtleties”, which follows “myriad” (Dunbar, l. 5). We can also notice the allusion to the Christian religion, with the reference to the “Christ” (Dunbar, l. 10). It reflects the theme perfectly, because the Christ suffered a lot, especially when he carried his cross, but he never failed to show his pain, hiding his suffering.

Read More

Allusion In 'Theme For English B' By Langston Hughes

752 Words | 4 Pages

In Dunbar’s poem “Sympathy” there is end rhyme present but no real rhyme scheme. Those are some of the rhythmic elements Dunbar uses in his writing. Dunbar writes his poems on very serious matters, such as life and dreams and identity. In his poem “We Wear the Mask” Dunbar writes about people wearing masks but the true meaning of the poem is how people will try to hide their identity to look like a better more perfect person. In his poem “Life” dunbar writes about how life is not always good and at t8imes life seems to be really bad.

Read More

Figurative Language In The Road By Cormac Mccarthy

596 Words | 3 Pages

In The Road, Cormac McCarthy uses figurative language, to demonstrate the difference in the people’s decisions and values when compared to the real world. The survivors of the apocalypse, including the father all had to undergo a series of radical changes in order to adapt and survive in the new world. When the father enters the house, where the people are kept for food, not only does he see naked people both male and female but also a man with his leg cut off. McCarthy writes, “On the mattress lay a man with his legs gone to the hip and stumps of them blackened and burnt” (McCarthy 110).

Read More

Maya Angelou And Langston Hughes Comparison

514 Words | 3 Pages

There is such a bigger meaning to these poems on overcoming hardships in life that everyone has to go through. To not give up and to fight for what is

Read More

My Son The Man Poem Analysis

1142 Words | 5 Pages

The poem really expresses how one mother values her son, and tells you how kids grow up to fast and she believes that her little boy cannot handle the challenges life throws at you. At the end of poem, the mom is surprised that her son learns to get out of the chains and get past the challenges he has been through. Families will always have a strong bond and it can never be broken, no matter what life throws at your family, you will always get though it and find new ways to make your relationship even stronger. Later in life as the kids get older, they learn that their mom will not always be there for you, so they start to get close with their mom and they realize all the wonderful things your mom did for you.

Read More

More about Figurative Language In The Poem Life By Paul Lawrence Dunbar

Related Topics

Open Document