Golden Glade Literary Devices

In “Golden Glade” Warren uses the literary elements of similes, alliteration, and word choice to create an overall image that conveys his ideas. The speaker recalls an adventure he had as boy where he strolls through the woods, a “heart aimless as rifle, boy blankness of mood” (3). The simile emphasizes the innocence of youth and the idea that children find satisfaction in simply exploring without any intention of finding a specific location. As the boy continues to wander he passes a gorge with “foam white on/wet stone, stone wet-black, white water tumbling” (7-8) The alliteration provides a rhythm that imitates the flow of the stream as it trickles through the rocks which increases the vividity of the image of the gorge. When the speaker

As the day begins and the seasons begin to shift from winter to spring “the light comes brighter from the east; the caw/ of restive crows is sharper on the ear” (1-2) The caw of the crow sounds sharper at the start of the day when the individual has just awaken. The new brightness of the sun also indicates that it has more life in the spring. To initiate the changing of the seasons “the sun cut deep into the heavy drift/ though still the guarded snow is winter-sealed”(5-6) The sun tries desperately to thaw the ground but winter refuses to give up without a battle. The personification of the sun battling stubborn winter represents individuals resistance to embrace nature and the cycle of life in it’s simplicity. Finally, spring emerges and “the leafy mind, that long was tightly furled/will turn its private substance into green,/ and young shoots spread upon our inner world” (18-20). The leaf is personified to have a mind which becomes active when spring commences. Spring represents new life and the stimulation of the mind, or “inner world”. Roethke uses literary elements to describe an image that creates a metaphor comparing the awakening of nature, from winter to spring, to the awakening of the human sense, from neglected to