Also, similes are tools that the author uses when portraying the situation
Throughout the book, Edward Bloor uses figurative language to help describe vivid parts in the novel. For instance, “The ice was forming too rapidly in the new grove; the coatings on the trees were too thick. The loud cracking sound of trees splitting of branches like amputated limbs, or splitting in two like they’d been pole-axed, hung horribly in the frozen night air. We were losing”(225). The figurative language that Edward Bloor uses above, helps you paint the scene in your mind.
Doyle captures the beauty of snow throughout its physical transformations. He humanizes snow throughout the text using the word female in his sentence “Snow is like when female cottonwood trees let go of vast gentle quantities of fluffy seed pods all at once in spring.'' We often connect the adjective “female” to living beings; by including this in his text he creates the image of snow in a life-like approach. His word choice is important in this sentence, allowing us to witness the movement of snow without being in its vicinity. His mention of cottonwood seed pods provides an impression for those who have yet to experience snow, assuming the audience has seen cottonwood during warm seasons.
He uses many descriptive words to convey the emotions he wants his audience to feel. One of the most recurring emotions is distress. An example of this is “...spills the upper boulders”(Frost, line 3). By using describing words to get the full meaning across, it makes people think about what or who is spilling the upper boulders and why are the upper boulders spilling? There is no direct answer ever given, which causes the feeling of distress to grow even more.
The snowy weather and cold air symbolizes the way the men feel toward each other throughout the story. Like how Kenny shows up an hour late to pick up Tubs and almost runs him over on purpose and laughs about it. Or how Frank always chimes in on Kenny’s rude comments, while Tubs tries to be the considerate one throughout the story until he reaches a breaking point when Kenny shoots the dog. The forest then symbolizes a sense of fear and darkness throughout the story. The snowy forest makes it appear though that the men are going to get lost and stranded in the cold woods, since there snow tracts are being covered up with fresh powder as it gets later during the hunt.
Frost uses imagery by witting “I have looked down the saddest city lane”(541). The speaker attaches the emotion sadness to the city lane because he is in a lowest emotion, and everything seems sad as well. The imagery enhances the emotions of the speaker by transferring his sadness to a city lane. The most significant point in this stanza is the watchman, who is the only alive thing in the whole poem. However, the appearance of the watchman in the night catches the narrator’s attention, and the narrator escapes any contact with the watchman, which seems that the speaker is in no mood to convert or connect with another human.
An illustration of this is in the first five sentences which describes one clear idea; a leaf bud. One can see this through the line of “her early leaf’s a flower” (3), where “early leaf” connotes to a leaf bud. The author chooses a leaf bud to show how any innocent and young element will have to grow through changes and grow up sooner or later. In addition, the author states in the second line that a leaf bud is “gold” which connotes beauty, rarity, and its color. Frost chooses to say “gold” instead of its initial meaning of “yellow” to give the reader a clear image of how much a leaf bud can connect with the reader, because we view gold as something luxurious and more valuable than any other colour, so it will emphasize how much a leaf bud is so valuable in the beginning of its life, but as it grows older it may not be seen as rich and pure anymore.
Also, in Birches it talks about how when the trees fall down, they never go back up to their original position. This is similar to “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost because in both poems it speaks about the idea of things changing and never going back to what they originally were. Another similarity between these poems is that the central image you get from it is about nature. In “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, it’s based around flowers, gold, and the Garden of Eden. While in “Birches”, it is based around birches, obviously.
The two poems “Stopping By The Woods” by Robert Frost and “The Snow Storm” by Ralph Waldo Emerson both share Romantic Imagery. However, they differ in elements of individuality. Mr. Frost focuses more on who is speaking and the point of view. On the other hand, Mr. Emerson focuses on imagery and the setting it creates in the audience’s head even though the audience cannot see it. Both poems share the image of snow, but differ in individuality.
He describes the woods as “lovely, dark and deep” (13) as he stands and admires. The speaker feels at peace saying that “the only other sound’s the sweep / of easy wind and downy flake” (11-12). Unaccompanied and carefree, the speaker spends his time admiring the beauty and peacefulness of where he stands. Frost also uses phrases including onomatopoeia such as “he gives his harness bells a shake” (9) and “the only other sound’s the sweep / of easy wind and downy flake” (11-12) to appeal to the senses and bring the woods to
”(21) This extends the theme by looking at the flames of the fire, and thinking about the past and the future, dreaming about what will happen next, also wanting winter to last, so they are making the most of it. The third and final evidence that explains further on the poetic device of imagery is “In the meadow we can build a snowman. ”(26) This goes further with the theme of going out and enjoying things while they last, by having the enjoyment of building a snowman, with someone close to you, also this quote allows you to create a clear image in your head of a snowy meadow where two people are building a snowman.
The poem states this as it continues to explain the winter coming, showing the weather is getting extremely cold and the leaves have fallen making the trees bare. The use of personification in this piece makes the readers feel almost as the winter changes are happening right outside. Rather, if the author chose not to use figurative language the importance of the little changes and beauty that the winter creates, would be missed. As readers without the figurative language, we wouldn’t feel how the winter creates these glowing sunsets, harsh cold winds, and the beauty of these cold winds and bare trees with no leaves. The author is using personifications to describe the environment as these winter changes are happening so that the overall theme that they are trying to create feels stronger.
Similarly, the writer also uses similes for that same effect. The usage of similes gets the reader to understand thoroughly how
branching off of the trees that are darker in color. Frost uses juxtaposition to show the contrast of the darker trees amongst the white bark. The bark of birch trees can vary in color, white to darker ones such as black. Although the ones he specifically describes are the darker birches, which helps develop the connection to stressful times. The birches being that darker color shows the imagery of bad times and now in this line he puts forth a possible hypothesis claiming that a boy has been swinging on them.
Frost utilizes analogous imagery throughout his poems; specifically in this poem, he uses natural imagery like the woods and roads to signify these themes. The woods represent indecision and instinct. Everywhere in literature, the plots of novels and poems alike contain characters lost in the woods. Similarly, in “The Road Not Taken”, the woods represent indecision while an adrift traveler wanders lost in the woods (Rukhaya). Frost repeatedly uses this symbol, and “the image...has represented indecision in Frost’s other poems…
