blogpost #8: tone

Tone reflects the speaker's attitude toward the subject of work. In "To His Coy Mistress," Marvell uses a three-part structure, each consisting of different tones in order to convey the theme of carpe diem.  In lines 1-20, Marvell speaks to his mistress in the condition:  "Two hundred to adore each breast, But thirty thousand to the rest." Marvell employs a high-spirited tone, which expresses the magnitude of his love for his mistress, without considering the withering effects of time.  In a perfect, timeless world, he could afford to be patient; however, lines 21-32 play a pivotal role in the poem, as these lines serve as a reality check for the mistress. Although he states that he would be patient in their relationship in a timeless world, Marvell uses the second part to emphasize the constraints of time:  "The beauty shall no more be found."  Marvel, using a rather ominous tone, stresses that, unlike his conditional world where beauty would be preserved, their youth, beauty, and fertility cannot be taken for granted.  In the final part, lines 33-46, Marvell employs an urgent tone.  In the previous part, he had made his claim that the boundaries of time were actual; however, in the third part, he takes what he said in the second part and says that they should make the best of their relationship before time runs out.  While lines 33-46 is the only part that concretely stresses "carpe diem," both of the other parts have just as important a role in demonstrating it.  Lines 1-32 serve as a introduction to the final part, as they serve as a build-up for his theme of carpe-diem that is fully expressed in the last 14 lines.

blogpost #7: diction

Well-chosen diction is essential for properly conveying a theme.  Similarly, diction goes hand-in-hand with an author's feeling of the subject that he is writing about.   Shelley feels very strongly against those who support a gentle perspective of time, which is why he uses bombastic language compounded with a mocking tone in his poem "Ozymandias."  Shelley obviously felt that using bombastic and mocking diction would be the best approach to conveying his perspective of time: that everything, including the "king of kings," ultimately crumbles to the all-powerful forces of time.

blogpost #6: Personification/Figurative Language

In E.E. Cummings' "Ponder," he uses personification in order to demonstrate the deteriorating nature of time.  Throughout the poem, Cummings explores time's crumbling effects using a variety of literary devices; however, his utilization of personification truly stimulates his perspective of the forces of time. The words "Them Greediest Paws" expresses the avaricious nature of time. In giving time a life-like and objective attribute to time, which is subjective and therefore has no attributes, he clearly delivers his outlook to the reader in a more relatable and vivid fashion.

Blogpost #5

In "To An Athlete Dying Young," Housman uses poetic sounds in order to perpetuate a tragic yet comforting mood.  Housman's utilization of iambic tetrameter, AABB rhyme scheme, melancholy and consoling diction, and arrangement of words all play a role in appealing to the reader's emotion.  Thus, by using poetic sounds, Housman enables the reader to make a deeper connection to the poem.  Without poetic sounds such as rhyme, diction, and syntax, Housman would not have been able to appeal to the reader's emotions.  Subsequently, the reader would become disconnected without poetic sounds, as the poem would appear to lack complexity and be dull.