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Narcissus And Echo Analysis

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Ovid’s story telling of Echo and Narcissus myth in Metamorphoses shows how excessive self-love can be destructive and result in loneliness; which Fred Chappell’s poem, “Narcissus and Echo” explores this notion of loneliness corresponding with vanity. In this adaptation, there is a body of water that Narcissus gazes and speaks with while Echo’s voice is only heard as a repeated rhyme which is overlooked by Narcissus. The poem includes imagery from Ovid’s myth including the allusions of the flower and Narcissus’ inability of to live apart from himself. The way the poem is formatted it shows Echo’s words as thoughts or her words are unheard by the main character because he does not respond. The poem is about Narcissus voicing his thoughts as …show more content…

Narcissus believes that his appearance is breathtaking by the continuous gazing and admiration of his looks although he believes his exterior is his only accomplishment in life: “My only belonging/ is my beauty” (4-5). Narcissus displays a great sense of vanity but lacks confidence within himself. In this passage, the expression that he is powerless to becoming significant since his beauty is the only thing he contains in life. Narcissus is heartbroken that he is unable to love himself the way an outside character can: “I live apart/ from myself, yet cannot/ live apart” (9-11). He voices his admiration of himself in a way that he wants to love and take care of himself the way a spouse would. This can also be interpreted as Narcissus appreciating his own beauty because he is his conditioned by his peers, but he cannot fully love himself because he does not accept himself for who he is as a being. At the beginning of the poem, Narcissus is prideful of his appearance although, towards the end of the poem he realizes that he is looking at his reflection and cannot hold a romantic relationship with himself: “the world become cloudswell” (15). In the last line, Narcissus states that his world became dreary and dark due to his discovery that the body of water was showing his

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These lines reveal how the lack of reviews from men, “the big boys,” and the lack of a stereotypical author’s photograph bring curiosity to the speaker, causing them to be further attracted to the book. A further example of imagery is, “The swans posed on a placid lake, your name blurred underwater sinking to the bottom” (11-13). These lines use imagery to gradually introduce the book as an object of focus throughout the poem. The lines focus upon the cover of the book, explaining how the author’s name appears to be sinking to the bottom of the lake’s artwork and how there are swans on the lake that are floating upon the surface. These depictions pull the speaker closer due to her curiosity.

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As it says in Mythology by Edith Hamilton, "His (Narcissus) beauty was so great, all girls who saw him longed to be his but he would have none of them." (113) Every girl that saw him wanted him, but he did not

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The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left me.” (115) here, it’s almost like you can feel all the lost he has felt because even though he is looking the mirror at himself, he can barley recognize it’s him that he sees. This

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The literary criticism “Shelley’s Frankenstein” offers background information into the world of the Greek god Narcissus. Narcissus was the most beautiful being in the entirety of the Greek world, but was oblivious to his looks. One day, Narcissus drinks from a pool of dark, idle water and spots a reflection of himself. He is immediately entranced by his own appearance and cannot look away; he later dies of dehydration. Author, Terry Thompson, compares Frankenstein’s monster to Narcissus through appearance, saying that extreme physical appearance led to the demise of both.

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The exclusively human quality of narcissism programs us to believe that we are superior above all creatures; however, it is completely unwarranted as our transcendence exists only in our brain. We are no different than the savage beasts that lurk in the wild. Driven by raw instinct, our role in nature is the same as any other animal’s: fighting for the survival of our species. Even if it means murder. Even if it means renouncing our humanity.

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Unlike last poem, this time the narrator is not a mirror, because she has the ability to “pinch” and “look at myself in the mirror”, however, this narrator’s attitude is very similar to a mirror: she does not feel the pain and suffering of herself or other people, but it appears that she does not want this, because she is “frightened” by it. Then the narrator headed to the “streets”, where all kinds of misery happen: loud “shouts”; “children with dirty faces”, they are apparently very poor, because they “ask for charity”, even sell their body for money; also there are “tanks” and soldiers with “bayonets”, so the narrator is in a war zone. After she saw the terrible scene, she can “feel” and “hurt”, but soon she “feel nothing” again, the surroundings

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1060 Words | 5 Pages

The poem Eurydice by Ocean Vuong, is constructed off the famous Greek Mythology legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. The many similes, metaphors and allusions to the story, represent the famous story in a more ambiguous style, that conveys Ocean Vuong’s occurring theme throughout his poem as the many different sides of love, including happiness, sacrifice and hurt. The abundant metaphor and simile represent and emphasize the feelings present throughout the poem, as well the transition from radiant happiness, to emotional hurt. The literary devices and symbolism employed through the poem, underscore the underlying messages in Eurydice.

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The story of Narcissus was a tragic and famous tale in Greek mythology. It was significant to the Greeks because of the important lesson hidden in the tale. It has been spread around, teaching everyone about the importance of arrogance and pride. It was a significant myth, because it shows negative traits a main character has. Narcissus was a beautiful but vain man.

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“While I admired her understanding and fancy I loved to tend on her, as I should on a favorite animal; and I never saw so much grace both of a person and mind united to so little pretension.” He was in love with her since he saw her and the beauty, both physically and mentally, she

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He believes that because humanity has absorbed so many materialistic ideals that the connection between nature and oneself feels absent. “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” instead begins with the discovery of a field of golden daffodils, “fluttering

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He idealizes the woman he loves and sees her to be far better than she actually is. This is also demonstrated in the line,“Love’s eye is not so true as all men’s” (8). This further proves the difference between sight with love and without. Sight with love ignores flaws, while sight without gives a clear view of imperfections.

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Gods like Hera and youths for example, Narcissus and others can be narcissistic. For example Hera thinks she is the most and only beautiful goddess out of all the other goddess. She was being narcissistic because she didn 't think about any other goddess except her. A youth that is narcissistic is Narcissus. He was too narcissistic because he thought he was too good for any women.

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1461 Words | 6 Pages

Coleridge is known for his use of supernatural elements in poetry. According to him, poet cannot just pour out his/her emotions. Poet should rise above the normal level of humans and poetry provides facts also. Immense stress on imagination is used, primary – impressed by something as in the topic comes from within. Secondary imagination – how one work over primary imagination, how you consciously work over the inspired topic.

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