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.
"Crossing the Swamp," a poem by Mary Oliver, confesses a struggle through "pathless, seamless, peerless mud" to a triumphant solitary victory in a "breathing palace of leaves. " Oliver's affair with the "black, slack earthsoup" is demonstrated as she faces her long coming combat against herself. Throughout this free verse poem, the wild spirit of the author is sensed in this flexible writing style. While Oliver's indecisiveness is obvious throughout the text, it is physically obvious in the shape of the poem itself.
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.
Readers have to read the whole selection to get to it and in the end it leaves them with a challenge. Good Old Dirt by David Montgomery appeals to most readers. He sets up this selection to relate to both a reader’s pathos and logos. As well as calls the reader to take action and trys to get them involved.
Sharon Olds is a poet who is known for writing a poem called, "Ode to Dirt" in which admires nature. Although Olds used to despise dirt by calling it "the background for leading characters", she later apologizes and admires dirt. In, "Ode to Dirt" Sharon Olds elaborates on her praise of dirt by using certain words, similes, and personification. Olds tributes dirt by using certain vocabulary in the ode. To illustrate, Olds uses words such as, "slight" and "intricate" to indicate how her views have changed of dirt.
I have interpreted these lines in one way, yet there are a million different possibilities. The author puts the words onto the paper, but the reader’s job is to interpret their own emotion, memory or belief and actually apply it to the poet’s words in order to create an
Throughout the poem Ode To Dirt the poet, Mrs. Sharon Olds, use of figurative language and choice words allow for clear transitions between the tones such as apologetic (lines 1-7), regretful (lines 8-17), and acknowledging (lines 17-21). To begin the ode Mrs. Olds's immediate response is to apologize to dirt. This stems from the neglect that she has come to realize she has displayed toward dirt throughout her years causing her to feel as though she owes the dirt an apology for not realizing its true worth. This is displayed clearly through the personification stating, “Dear dirt, I am sorry I slighted you,/ I thought that you were only the background/ for the leading characters-the plants/ and animals and human animals.
No one notices the butter knife that spreads jam on your sandwich, and no one appreciates the pencil that makes doing your homework possible. Everyone craves recognition, but it's the quiet helpers that end up doing the hardest, most important jobs. In the Poem “Ode to Dirt” the author, Sharon Olds, uses a variety of figurative language and words that convey heavy emotions to evoke pity in the audience, raise questions, and broaden the subject to more relatable scenarios. This helps the readers
He could imagine his deception of this town “nestled in a paper landscape,” (Collins 534). This image of the speaker shows the first sign of his delusional ideas of the people in his town. Collins create a connection between the speaker’s teacher teaching life and retired life in lines five and six of the poem. These connections are “ chalk dust flurrying down in winter, nights dark as a blackboard,” which compares images that the readers can picture.
Ode to Dirt Analysis Sharon Olds’s “Ode to Dirt” is dedicated to nature's beautiful and awe-inspiring power, specifically the dirt. “Ode to Dirt,” first published in 2016 as part of Sharon Olds’s poetry collection, Odes, follows the poetic style of an ode in praising the dirt. I chose to analyze “Ode to Dirt” because its title was reminiscent of a classical piece I enjoyed: “Ode to Joy.” Sharon Olds's poem stood out because of its unusual subject matter for its celebratory tone; “Ode to Dirt” celebrates something often overlooked and underappreciated. Another thing that drew my attention was the conversational nature of the poem; Sharon Olds directs the poem to dirt and writes it from a first-person point of view.
Olds then moves on to talking about how she was "ashamed of herself" for neglecting dirt and compares it to "as if" she "had not recognized a character who looked so different from" her. Similes helped Olds extend the meaning of her poem. Olds uses metaphors to help shape the reader's thought process throughout
The poet is reflecting to themself in a coming of age manner. The poet seemed to be away from their hometown for a while, and upon returning they may have realized aspects of their community in a more intellectual and spiritual way (post learning and evolving in this world), a way they have never noticed before. Upon returning home, the poet says, “I returned to a country battlefield where colored troops fought and died.” (Trethewey 21) The poet is utilizing learned knowledge to analyze something that once seemed to be so innocent and
So it's the use of personification to describe the dirt. And in the next paragraph we see the author recognize that he has never honored the dirt. They say “ I have never honored you as a living equal.” They use personification to say how they never honored the dirt. And saying they are equals.
Similes in the poem such as ‘till he was like to drop’ are used to create a more descriptive image in the reader’s mind. Metaphors when saying ‘He lifted up his hairy paw’ and in many other sections of the poem to exaggerate areas to give the reader a more interesting view. So the poet can express what he is trying to prove through and entertaining way. The imagery device enhances the poem to make it stand out more so it grabs the reader attention. The poem was a very entertaining and humorous.
The poet compared the graves like a shipwreck that is the death will take the human go down and drowning to the underground like the dead bodies in the graves. The last line “as though we lived falling out of the skin into the soul.” is like the rotting of the dead bodies. The second stanza there is one Simile in this
