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How Are Literary Devices Used In Ode To Dirt

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When something is seen frequently throughout people’s lives, it starts to lose significance, and people begin to forget the profound influence it has on their daily activities. People frequently praise the food that they eat and the place that they live in, however, they often fail to praise the main character that supports these events to occur. In the poem Ode to Dirt by Sharon Olds, he praises and apologizes to dirt for his past ignorance of never acknowledging dirt as a living equal. While Olds expresses his remorse, he also demonstrates his disappointment towards the little importance people take over dirt. To convey the complex relationship with dirt and how it has transformed over time, Olds utilizes metaphor, word choice, and personification …show more content…

At the beginning of the poem, Olds expresses his past ignorance by comparing dirt to “the background/ for the leading characters” in order to illustrate how little influence he believed dirt possessed (Olds, 2/3). However, in many cases, the backgrounds in movies or shows bring the picture together as it foreshadows future events and conveys certain emotions to the audience. Similarly, dirt also plays an important role, which Olds later connects to as if he had “loved only the stars/ and not the sky which gave them space” (Olds, 5/6). Olds illustrations and change of perspective allow the reader to view a wider picture of how people often belittle dirt without taking into consideration their dependency on …show more content…

In the poem, Olds defines dirt as “subtle, various,” and “sensitive” to illustrate the seasonal shifts that occur in different areas throughout the years (Olds, 7 and 8). By characterizing dirt with those adjectives, the author highlights the unpredictability and rapid changes that dirt can undergo in response to changes in the weather or temperature as the earth revolves and the environment shifts. Furthermore, Olds then characterizes dirt as “the skin of our terrain” to illustrate how dirt doesn’t just take a role in the cycle of the food chain but also in the way people and animals live in their environment (Olds, 8). Depending on the terrain a person lives, their bodies grow used to the temperatures as well as the cultures of that place in order to survive. Similarly, in certain animals, a change of environment allows their bodies to evolve over time to become better ‘fit’ for that certain

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Analyzing Sharon Olds 'Ode To Dirt'

437 Words | 2 Pages

In "Ode to Dirt " Sharon Olds ases viid imagen, metaphor and personification to convey the speaker's evolving attitude toward dirt, from revulsion to appreciation, as she explores the complex and often overlooked role that dirt plays in sustaining life and connecting us to the natural world. Sharon Olds states specific language in the poem "Ode to Dirt" to express revulsion. In lines 2,3, and 4, Sharon Olds states," I thought that you were only the background for the leading thoracters- the plants and animals and human animals. " This quote proves revulsion due to Sharon Olds thinking that dirt was not as important as the plants and animals. This information proves that Sharon Olds was never paying attention to dirt.

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Figurative Language Used In Sharon Olds Ode To Dirt

428 Words | 2 Pages

In the poem, “ Ode to Dirt,” Sharon Olds uses figurative language and specific word choice to detail her acceptance and apparent repentance of dirt. The author's attitude towards dirt evolves throughout the poem, words such as “slighted” that entail apologetic feelings soon change to words of awe and amazement. This creates an interesting poem based around dirt, the speaker makes an irrelevant object into an interesting subject. To start the poem, the speaker sets the stage with an apologetic tone, referring to how insignificant they previously perceived dirt to be, “ It's as if I had loved only the stars and not the sky that gave them space.” She realizes dirt's importance in the grand scheme of things, and begins to realize its grand importance.

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Ode To Dirt By Sharon Old Summary

384 Words | 2 Pages

Have you ever really thought about how vital dirt is? Many people seem to look past its importance. In the poem “Ode to Dirt” by Sharon Olds, the speaker initially feels terrible for ignoring the dirt, then turns into acknowledging it. Old uses strong diction and figurative language such as personification to show the speaker's apologetic yet celebratory attitude towards the dirt.

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Figurative Language Used In Sharon Olds 'Ode To Dirt'

288 Words | 2 Pages

Sharon Olds utilizes word choice, and figurative language to express the speaker's complex attitude towards dirt throughout the poem "Ode to Dirt". At the beginning of the poem, Olds apologizes to dirt for viewing it as a background character and claiming that “I thought that you were only the background for the leading characters—the plants and animals and human animals” proves how the speaker viewed the connection between dirt and other living things. The speaker's word choice here emphasizes sympathy towards dirt for not appreciating it enough. Olds also includes personification as a figurative of speech to give dirt a source of agency by describing it as a "guardian that protects and nourishes the earth.

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Olds also uses vivid descriptions in order to inject a realistic approach into the poem. Olds beginning of similes start in the seventh line of the poem and is used to show the similarities between the bodies of gravediggers’ preparation to be buried and a tree’s preparation for life. The speaker says, “ They lay on the soil, some of them wrapped in dark cloth bound with rope like the tree’s ball of roots when it waits to be planted”(Olds Lines 5-8). After the gravediggers’ fight against starvation they are taken on a “child’s sled” to a cemetery (Olds Line 4). The “child’s sled” as being a

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Ode To Dirt By Sharon Olds

548 Words | 3 Pages

Here, Olds has the speaker using a metaphor to compare dirt to the skin of the Earth, showing how they themselves view it. This metaphor is important because it's a very different perspective from how they saw dirt in the beginning, with the "background" metaphor at the start of the poem. The speaker used to view dirt differently, as something that wasn't important, but we see by the end just how much they appreciate it. Olds effectively used metaphors to showcase the speaker's attitude toward dirt, but it wasn't just metaphors

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