In other words, the voice, use of images and figurative language determines how a poem is read and reveals what is being said. ... The diction here is simple and direct, and the tone is the quiet voice of private conversation. ... The third stanza is the most irregular metrically, which is fitting because it is the site of a new and active presence in the poem. ... , in all its homeliness and diminutiveness, is the physical voice of the real world. ... In this poem, Hardy shows one imperfect human response through the voice of the speaker. ...

• Word Count: 1579
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

By saying that poetry is the expression of imagination, Shelley acknowledges the fact that poetry is the consequence of an active mental process –an adjustment of the impressions that stimulate our mind–, which implies that imagination is a creative faculty, as well as the fact that "man is an instrument over which a series of external and internal impressions are driven" (Ibid.). ... The speaker's command establishes distance between the poetic voice and what is portrayed in the first part of the sonnet; the poetic "I" is detached from the actions that ...

• Word Count: 1524
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In the first section the voice the poet chooses to use (it is never clear if he speaks as himself or if the poem is intended as a satire) very traditional, romantic language and is complimentary throughout, such as My vegetable love should grow' and An hundred years should go to praise Thine eyes '. ... The woman seems to play no active role in this idealised relationship and is merely an object to be admired, wooed and conquered. ... The fact that he chooses to leave off' implies that he feels respect for this woman, rather than just lust, and this is reiterated by the fact...

• Word Count: 1276
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In a predominantly male society, such active verse was often preferred to the soft lines associated with lyrical poetry. ... The lyrics of ancient Greek poet Sappho, whose work is classified within the Archaic and Classical periods, delve into soft and intimate contexts that are driven "by a human voice, a woman's voice speaking to the concerns of her daily life, a solitary daring to posit the notion that ordinary experience of human love is imbued with significance as worthy of attention as all the martial splendors of Homerica" (Santos 20). ...

• Word Count: 1123
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

We can hear a different voice to the first stanza in the diction of the yarner who narrates his story in the first person and animates it with his own comments on the characters: "I give him a wink" and "he went like a luny". ... Wright is not just an observer but an active participant in the spiritual communion offered by the land ("I drink you with my sight/ and I am filled with fire....

• Word Count: 1047
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

After setting up the mood by creating a scenario where Angelou's character is first lying back and thinking about her life, she immediately goes soul searching and voices her thoughts on life. ... Ramsey states the perfect reasoning behind why Angelou is such an active contributor to society when she says "While Maya Angelou's poetry may not have taken us into every nook and cranny of her long and complex life starting with the Lafayette County Training School--its various movements and insights have nonetheless helped us understand the themes, the issues even some of the confl...

• Word Count: 1766
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Through the history of the United States there have been a countless numbers of poets. With them came an equal number of writing styles. Certainly one of the most unique poets to write life's story through his own view of the world and with the ambition to do it was Walter Whitman. Greatly criticize...

• Word Count: 1688
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

He begins with imitation as it is incorporated within a character's role, as where a poet or dramatist "makes himself resemble another in either voice or gesture" (Republic, III, p37). ...

• Word Count: 5585
• Approx Pages: 22
• Grade Level: Undergraduate