8. How does the poem apply to contemporary life? What passages could serve as satirical commentaries on people’s behavior today?…
The speaker of the poem tries “at length” to amend the “blemishes” of her child, which can be connected to a writer editing the flaws and imperfections of his or her writing. However, as Bradstreet’s juxtaposition of the speakers efforts to better her child with her child’s lack of response each time suggests, a writer can try to “amend,” “wash,” “stretch” and “better dress” his or her work but there will always exist some flaws in it. In fact, the speaker comments that the more adjustments she made to her child, the more her child would display other…
Li-Young Lee’s poem “A Story” shows the complicated relationship between the father and the son by utilizing the literary devices of point of view and structure. Italicized lines distinguish the diction of who is talking to draw on point of view to indicate the complex relationship. Through changing perspective, Lee employs emotional interests to emphasize the conflicting perspectives that exist between father and son. Lee also adds depth to the shared “love” between the two characters to illuminate the theme of innocence and changing relationships over the course of time.…
I think that this reads best as an essay intended to inspire and to illustrate the importance of literacy to all. He writes in a matter-of-fact tone, simply telling the story of the lengths he went to become literate. As Frederick Douglass was a slave, he risked his very life for the ability to read and write. What he gained, however, was far better than the life he lead before his efforts paid off. It was far from easy; he even fought himself in his efforts sometimes, stating, “I envied my fellow-slaves for their stupidity.” Fortunately, he used his knowledge as a lifeboat of sorts, and he went on to become a powerful orator, journalist, and most importantly, a free…
Shel Silverstein is best known for his collection of children’s poetry in both “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” and “A Light in the Attic.” He is also known for his classic children’s story “The Giving Tree” which raises many questions on the message of kindness and generosity that it sends to children who read the story (Spitz). Although some people may have a bias opinion towards Silverstein and his very simple yet appealing poetry, he still lives on as an honorable poet and author. The excellence of Shel Silverstein’s writing is not only portrayed through his clever lines and stanzas, but also by the simple technique and humor that he utilizes in his works.…
The first descriptions in the poem are of savagery, the thing, rough and crudely done, cut in coarse stone,' these are to signify how imperfect the object is, made by an imperfect being thus indicating the objects inferiority. But, conversely these images could also indicate a certain sense of simplicity within the object; it is not needlessly ornate. The next are of disdain for the object, spitefully placed aside, as merest lumber,' the attitude of the collector lends to the idea that they prefer grandioso works of art, and the attitude that beauty is more defining in a pieces value than either historical value or the meaning of a piece. These feelings of discontent…
Also, Nathaniel’s use of diction indicated how he really felt towards the cruel Puritan society. Throughout the passage, Hawthorne chose to use specific adjectives to express how he truly felt about these people; he chose to use the words “grim rigidity”, “awful”, “venerable”, and “cold”. Although in the passage, not all the adjectives are clearly describing the Puritans, Hawthorne decided to use those words to specifically convey his attitude towards the Puritans. An author chooses his/her diction specifically for a reason, but it is up to people to figure out the reason why.…
The satire that is portrayed in the play is very obvious, however today requires to match with the context of the times, Wilde’s satire is centered in the aristocratic lives of the Victorian social system, this is first recognised when Algernon first introduced, immediately posed as a hypocrite, eating cucumber sandwiches that he told Jack not to eat, Algernon is also narcissistic , when at the piano he states that “I don’t play accurately - any one can play accurately - but I play with wonderful expression.” This shows how The Importance of Being Earnest supports Penny Gay’s view by instantly portraying the character as a self-centered aristocrat, by this point in the play there has been one stage direction, showing that Wilde was more interested in what the character said rather than how the character acted, this can be further seen when Algernon says to Lane “I don’t know that I am much interested in your family life, Lane.” Further showing Algernon’s self centered attitudes, however this is quickly changed when he meets Cecily, calling her “the visible personification of absolute perfection.” Showing the hypocritical nature of the characters. Wilde uses this as a way of creating comedy by showing the corrupt morals of Algernon and infact Cecily, who will only marry a man named Ernest. The satire is more comedic in comparison to most comedies that involved shrouding the narcissism of the main character, such as in Wilde’s The Picture Of Dorian Gray where the Dorian,…
“The mind changes, the word changes, time doesn't stay still, history is a verb, it is ongoing, there is no past tense, future tense, history is constant” Hung Liu told interviewer Rachelle Riechart (Riechart). Hung Liu is a Chinese woman who was born in Changchun, China in 1948. She was born during the age which we call the Chinese Cultural Revolution, which heavily impacted her life. She lived in China for 36 years and then left for the United States. She now resides in Oakland, CA, where she teaches art at Mills College (“A World of Art”). A lot of her artwork is based on photographs and memories she has from China and photographs she’s taken in the United States. She takes photographs of pictures, repaints them, usually oil paint on canvas, and slightly alters them by leaving washes and drips to show how history can’t be remembered fully from a picture. She also does artwork for American history such as a piece she did in South Carolina for Chinese people who owned laundry mats (Riechart). I find most of Hung Liu’s artwork to be very historical and personal, because most of her artwork comes from her own photographs. I’d like to focus on how she addresses the struggles of being an immigrant throughout the country, how Hung Liu maintains her cultural traditions in almost all of her artwork, and how she defines the word “history”.…
The sonnet begins with the words, “Thou ill-formed offspring,” demonstrating the speaker’s perilous and somewhat despised attitude towards the book. Albeit, the following line shows a polar sense of indebtedness of the book’s blind allegiance with the words: “Whoafter birth did’st by my side remain.” No matter how terrible the book may be or how negative the reaction of critics, the book will always remain loyal to the author. The metaphorical semblance of a mother simply cements the loyalty of such a bond. However, the binary opposition between love and disdain continues throughout the poem, and likens to the complex relationship between mother and child. This antagonism between love and hate symbolizes a mother’s cold-heartedness towards a fetus she perhaps did not desire. However, the birth of the child, like the publishing of the book, softens the mother’s heart and she finds comfort in the unquestionable loyalty. The opposition and eventual changing of heart bolsters both sincerity and loyalty, solidifying the poem’s tone.…
Abraham Lincoln uses figurative and euphonious diction to encourage reflection on the Civil War to the people of Northern and Southern United States. First, he uses figurative paradox to contradict judging others (the slaves), and expect that "we" (the owners of the slaves) should not be judged. "It may seem strange that any men should dare ask a just God 's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men 's faces, but let us judge not, that we not be judged." This paradoxical statement addresses God as a medium that will assist the country with slavery from the "sweat of other men 's faces" (the slaves), yet the owners expect not to be judged when they do much to be judged; this will give insight to the people to reconciliate their actions. Also, euphonious diction is used through the term of rhyme; in which Lincoln expresses the hopes for "us" (the North and South) to end the Civil War effects without trying to doing anything to end this cause. "Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away." He uses the words "pray and "away" as a rhyme to fully express the meaning of trying to work towards the reconstruction of the aftermath in the Civil War; rather than hoping it will pass away soon. Abraham Lincoln uses figurative and euphonious diction to lead the people of Northern and Southern United States in reflecting on the Civil War through his vision for a better future.…
As Douglass discusses one of his masters named Mrs. Auld he specifically focuses on the change she went through as she owned slaves. Consequently, using diction helps the audience see the effect slavery had on all people, not just slaves.. As Douglass describes Mrs. Auld as having a “kind heart” and “finest feelings” he shows how kind she was when she had never owned a slave.. However, he starts using words with negative connotations such as“dehumanizing” and “fatal poison.” These words help illustrate not only how destructive slavery was to a person’s character, but how much pressure was put on slave masters to treat their slaves the way everyone else did. He contrasted these words with “sweet accord” and “angelic face” to show how different Mrs. Auld became after having slaves. These words helped him make his argument stronger by demonstrating how different a person became after having slaves. By using diction, Douglass helped show the contrast of the slaves and masters before they had…
This poem was written around the end of the Civil War and after Abraham Lincoln’s death. As he was the president of the United States at that time, he is considered one of the most important leaders in America. Since he was elected as the president of the United States, he did many things for his country. He led the United States during the American Civil War and gave his best effort in leading America to a better future, but he did not have much time to experience his achievement. The American Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, six days before he died on April 15, 1865 (“Abraham Lincoln”). He was shot by the actor John Wilkes Booth while attending a performance at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., on the evening of April 14, 1865 (“Abraham Lincoln”). President Lincoln only had less than a week to savor the victory. On April 20th, his body lay in state at the Capitol, and the next day it began a 1,600-mile journey by rail across the landscape and through major cities on its way to Springfield, Illinois, for burial on May 4th (“Abraham Lincoln”).…
Emily Dickinson might be called an artisan, since most of her poems have fewer than thirty lines, yet she deals with the most deep topics in poetry: death, love, and humanity’s relations to God and nature. Her poetry not only impresses by its on going freshness but also the animation. Her use of language and approachness of her subjects in unique ways, might attribute to why “Hope is the thing with feathers” is one of her most famous works.…
Nathaniel Hawthorn uses irony in the story of “Young Goodman Brown” to portray the fact that although people may appear good on the outside, they all have some sort of evil inside of them. Hawthorne also uses descriptive imagery to discuss this evil in the characters and in the forest. Hawthorne uses his imagery to portray Goodman Brown’s dark venture into this evil, with vivid descriptions of the forest and of the witching ceremony. He uses irony when referring to the people involved in the ceremony and the people in Young Goodman Brown’s life. He also uses his irony with the name and word “Faith”: referring to both Young Goodman Brown’s wife and his spiritual faith. The word “Faith” has a lot of symbolic meaning to the main character. Hawthorne uses all of these aspects to tell a story of a man venturing into the woods to complete an evil deed.…