Literary Devices in Updike's “The Great Scarf of Birds” Essay

Nevertheless, in the poem ‘Nesting time’, Stewart interprets a personal experience in first person of the appearance of a bird that lands upon his daughter and forgets the thought of the harsh world. Stewart’s descriptive language repeatedly explains the poem as if seen in his viewpoint, beginning with an interjection, ‘oh’ communicating of his incredulity of an ‘absurd’ bird. Symbolizing the bird with strong coloured imagery its ‘mossy green, sunlit’, described to be bright and joyful, with sweetness shown with the type of bird, ‘honey-eater’, Douglas Stewart takes the time to describe its admiration juxtaposed to the dangerous world surrounding it. While visualizing the birds actions, ‘pick-pick-pick’ of alliteration and repetition of its

In the poem by Joy Harjo called “Eagle Poem,” Harjo talks about prayer and life and how they revolve around mother-nature. She suggests that while being one with nature, we feel we are in a place in which we haven’t imagined and the things in which we would love to do in that magnificent and calming place. After one reads the poem, he/she enjoys the lyrical type of it. This is because “Eagle Poem” sticks to one idea and extends it throughout the entire poem. For instance, it talks about prayer, nature, and animals from start to finish.

In life, there are often many different ways to experience an event depending on a person’s background and field of study. Regarding these two passages, John Audubon, a scientist, and Annie Dillard, an artisan, describe a murmuration of starlings based on their experiences. The use of their craft in the description of this phenomenon is shown through their styles of writing. While both authors use descriptive language, Audubon utilizes an exact and scientific style while Dillard utilizes a reflective and poetic style.

Thus, through the initial impression of the man of the bird’s brave and challenging movements by the utilisation of poetic techniques, the reader is able to visualise the bird’s characteristic it inherits and gain a deeper understanding of nature and the impression of humanity distinctively.

Birds are a common sight in most places people tend to be. These winged creatures are seen in bustling places like the pigeons that are in urban and suburban areas, the woodpeckers in rural regions, the crows on farms, and even in cages within buildings. In fact, these elegant creatures are so common a sight in society that they are often overlooked and underappreciated. This is similar to how women were and sometimes still are treated within society; they are given little appreciation when they are present and doing as they are told, but when they do not do as they are told they become a problem. This parallel that can be drawn between women and birds is used throughout Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, in which its main character Edna Pontellier is often likened to and symbolized by a bird. Throughout the novel, the bird acts as a theme and symbol of both Edna and women in general.

Once his heart is lifted, he sees the true beauty of nature and it’s true meaning.

Hello. I am Anna Zhang. Today, I will discuss the motif of birds in Joseph Boyden’s novel: Three Day Road by sharing two quotes following with my personal analysis.

This immediately makes the birds seem somewhat mysterious, which Dillard never makes an effort to figure out. Audubon would want to know how the birds looked like that, but Dillard just appreciates the sight by itself. Dillard also uses unique similes and metaphors throughout her piece, many of which relate to sewing or knitting. Comparing the birds to this implies something interesting; although each individual thread in a blanket isn’t anything special, when they all come together they become beautiful. Perhaps the birds are each a thread, and when they come together as a flock, they become beautiful.

The poem, “O Autumn, Autumn!” used many detailed words and phrases. Overall, the poem was written about the season autumn, and the feeling you get during this time. The first stanza talked about the type of atmosphere the season helps you feel. Newsome expands on the mood of the season autumn. Newsome talks about the deep color of the sky. This helps the reader visualize how the autumn sky looks. Furthermore, she goes into detail about the ground, and how it appeals to everyone; moreover, she explains the beautiful color of the leaves, and how they are fluttering everywhere. There are beautiful butterflies and robins flying by in clusters everywhere. Then, she talks about the summer feeling slowly going away, and slowly moving into the autumn season. Throughout her poem, she used meticulous phrases. She describes the sky and the leaves in details that help you picture in your mind. Professor Emerita at Ohio State University talked about how she has a great amount of imagery in her poems. She describes everything in detail, and help the reader imbibe the

Both Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See and Emily Dickinson’s “‘Hope is the the thing with feathers” make use of bird imagery. Doerr’s novel follows the parallel lives of a blind French girl and a young German boy, as their lives intertwine as World War Two unfolds around them. Frederick, a character in All the Light We Cannot See, exhibits an obsession with birds, which reflects his desire for freedom. His desire is never satisfied, as his character meets a restricting, dismal future. The speaker in “Hope is the the thing with feathers” describes the bird’s attributes, which are parallel to that of hope.

The motif of birds is present throughout The Awakening and Chopin uses them to develops the theme of identity as well as symbolize the want of freedom. The novella

The poem “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver connects the both the natural and human world as it compares human life to the travels of wild geese. Touching on the landscapes of the natural world and emotions faced by the average person; Oliver manages to use devices such as tone, metaphors and descriptive images to convey a message that helps a person view life from a different perspective. Oliver makes it clear that the relationship between the wild and the human is coexistence; where one universe continues on if the parallel seems to have stopped. Thus, Oliver is able to move the reader on a comforting journey as she entangles the natural world and human world, showing that the natural world has more

Poets use many ways when they want to communicate something using poems. Poems are used as a means of passing ideas, information and expression of feelings. This has made the poets to use the natural things and images that people can relate with so that they can make these poems understandable. The most common forms of writing that are used by the poets are the figurative language for example imagery and metaphors. In addition, the poets use the natural landscape in their attempt to explore the philosophical questions. Therefore, this essay will explore the forms that have been used by the poets in writing poems using the natural landscape. The essay will be based on poems such as ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ by

The man describes an identical situation at the end of the poem, saying, “Thoughts of a dry brain in a dry season” (76). The concept of nature as a source of order is based on its function as a cycle. The old man waits for the cycle to deliver him from his spiritually dry state to a place of fulfillment. But nature brings no change to the man and leaves him in the same arid condition in which he began. The failure of nature to provide a cycle is supported by the natural, stationary images in the poem, such as, “Rocks, moss, stonecrop, iron, merds” (12), and the “Gull against the wind, in the windy straits” (70), which shows nature forcefully impeding the progress of the bird, just as its lack of cycle reinforces the stagnation of the old man’s mind, body, and spirit.