In “Queries of Unrest,” Clint Smith uses imagery, repetition, and oxymoron to describe what he knows of himself. In his poem, he describes where he comes from, whether it were his parents or his neighborhood. He uses his experiences and upbringing to reflect on himself now, as a writer. By using figurative language, Clint wrote a poem that conveys the complexity of his feelings. Repetition is a very strong device in Clint’s poem.
Jimmy Santiago Baca is an ex-convict turned poem writer. During his stay in prison, he developed a love for poetry and literature. This poem, “Cloudy Days” was written to show his strength in the face of adversity and hardship, both in and out of the prison. That strength is something he’s needed all his life since his abandonment from his parents and grandmother, through the U.S. prison system, and after, in getting back on his feet. Through the use of metaphors and repetition, Jimmy Santiago Baca effectively conveys this.
Two pieces of lyrical work, the song “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter and the poem “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, direct attention to non-ideal situations through similar and different lights. While both of these pieces have different literal aspects such as setting and type of situation, “Bad Day” and “Casey at the Bat” both emphasize similar ideas about life through themes and a multitude of literary elements including narration,
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.
Elie Wiesel was a victim of the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel was born September 30. When Wiesel was a teenager, his entire family, including him, was taken from their home. They were abducted and kidnapped in 1944. They were transported to the Auschwitz Concentration camp.
The fear of dying is something a lot of people are afraid of. However, in the the novel, Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, the main character, Morrie accepts death. Morrie was diagnosed with AlS and instead of being depressed for the rest of his life, he accepts the fact and lives the rest of his life to the fullest. When Mitch saw on a TV show from an interview that his old professor was sick, he started visiting him every tuesday. In this novel, the author uses figurative language, dialogue, and flashbacks to display the theme of following the popular culture is not always the best way.
“His eyes would suddenly go blank leaving two gaping wounds, two wells of terror” (Wiesel 75), is a rousing example of the horror Elie Wiesel portrays in Night by using imagery. Elie uses layers of figurative language to help facilitate the meaning of the text beyond its literal interpretation and enhances the reader's experience. Not only does his use of figurative language produce vivid imagery to draw in readers, it also accurately portrays his primary account of the dismay he experienced during the holocaust. Night is filled with wonderfully descriptive figurative language to elevate the effect and take the reader on Wiesel’s painfully haunting and incomprehensible journey. Likewise, in the novel Night, Elie portrays his firsthand
We would like to think that a truly equal would be happy and beautiful, with no more violence, no more hate, no more jealousy, and no more discrimination, but the real cost needed in order to get true equality would be heavy and evil in the eyes of freedom. With his diction, figurative language, and syntax, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is able to depict the true cost of equality. The cost being a world of true equality made with the threads of oppression against people’s true potentials. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. used the sentences held within “Harrison Bergerson” to create characters as advanced, and as basic, as the sentences used to describe them. Whenever Vonnegut has George and Hazel speak, they use basic dialogue; there’s nothing fancy, nothing special, just a married couple talking.
This proves that Jack is confident about poetry because he is being inspired by other poetics and he is now starting to write his own poems. Throughout the book, Jack’s thoughts about poetry have grow from timid, then he changed to reluctant and enthusiastic, and now he is confident about poetry because he is now starting to enjoy poetry more and write his own
As a gay black writer in racist mid-twentieth century America, James Baldwin felt a great need to escape. And he did, he moved to France where he spent most of his life. Baldwin often took inspiration from his own life experiences for his stories, and as a result, many of his stories are semi-autobiographical, and it is possible to see Baldwin in the place of the title character. Baldwin’s characters escape from their struggles by listening or playing music, taking part in a romantic relationship, traveling, drinking excess amounts of alcohol, or acting in a theater or in movies. Baldwin’s short stories have an episodic feel to them -- short intervals with loosely connected events.
Though there is little danger of forgetting that heartbreaking day, she worries that even she will still forget. She expresses these worries while writing her poem “Going to Work”. She does this by using three poetic devices within her poem: personification, imagery, and symbolism. Within Mercado’s poem “Going to Work” she reflects on her memories of the twin towers before the attack using personification; giving human-like qualities to the twin towers to further illustrate on her memories of them.
In today's world, many people are very ungrateful for their current state they are in and complain without taking any action, only adding negativity to their lives. In the slam poem "Complainers" by Rudy Francisco, it demonstrates that one's constant focus on negativity and complaints towards life with no action results in failure to recognize the joys life has to offer. Throughout the slam poem, the author makes effective use of allusion, metaphor, and repetition to inspire and encourage readers to make positive changes in their lives and to strive towards self-improvement. Firstly, the author uses allusion to draw on the reader's pre-existing knowledge of the subject matter and establish the context of the discussion. " May 26th 2003 Aron Ralston was hiking, a boulder fell on his right hand.
The poem “Ithaka” by C. P. Cavafy illustrates Foster’s quest theory by using metaphors. Throughout the poem there are several metaphors but overall the whole poem is a metaphor all in itself. The speaker begins to tell you right as the poem begins, “Laistrygonians, Cyclops, angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them: you’ll never find things like that on your way as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,as long as a rare excitement stirs your spirit and your body.” The Laistrygonians, Cyclops, and angry Poseidon are obstacles that will cross your path, don’t let them get in your way. It is comparing these three terrifying things to the obstacles you come across everyday and how you can’t let them destroy you.
In the poem “For Poets”, by Al Young, the theme is the challenge of stepping out of your comfort zone and seizing moments in life. Young expands and argues his theme through the literary devices used in the poem. These literary devices include symbolism, hyperbole, and metaphor. Al Young portrays life’s obstacles, our society’s attitude towards self expression, and experiencing nature. In conclusion, life is a big obstacle and in order to live it, you must go out of your comfort zone and try your best to give it all you’ve
In “Acquainted with the Night”, poet Robert Frost examines the inner workings of a lonely, depressed mentality. Through his extensive use of symbolism, Frost demonstrates exactly how confined and flustered someone in that conditions feels. There are two specific symbols that, if analyzed, unravel the meaning behind the poem: the symbol of darkness, the symbol of walking, and the symbol of large distances. Darkness is a perpetually popular symbol, and in this poem, it is certainly prominent/ Historically, darkness has been used to symbolize malice, evil, sadness — generally, anything adverse.
