In the Following stanza the writer slows the tone of the poem down by using short sentences and gives the reader an image of how the young girl excavates onto the clothesline.
The title "Sky High", used also in the first sentence of Paragraph 3 is also a figure of speech. "Sky High" is a hyperbole highlighting the extreme sense of change that Hannah feels as she was once young looking upon the clothes line seeing it touching the sky, now as a young adult seeing it different she feels she exaggerated. Similes are also used to express her feelings "feeling as frilly and nearly as pink as the bathers I'm wearing" The child feels pleased with herself as she feels about her frilly bathers, she also feels as pink as them suggesting pleasure and color caused by her climb, reminding us of the simple satisfactions of childhood. The "veggie patch" is an inanimate object that has been personified which reaches out to the reader "its boughs stretch out to me beseechingly"
Hannah's informal language indicates her childish ways through her uncertain manner of "I think." I think comes across as more hesitant compared to the strong statement of the description of the neighbors garden.
Paragraph 5 brings upon the change of the end of her childhood past. Roberts emphasizes her last exhilarating, earth spinning ride upon "the best climbing tree in the backyard."
Coming back to present tense Hannah examines her hands "the line etched story of life" imprinted upon them through scars and wrinkles telling stories of her childhood and how age has become of her. "I now write my own semaphore secrets..." Once again remising on those times of deciphering semispherical codes, Roberts feels empathy with desire to return to the freshness of childhood pleasures. "A small, pilot light burning somewhere inside.." indicates that she still has the impulse to climb on top the washing line and swing as if she was young. The memories still playing fresh in her mind...
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
In Sora Song’s article, “sleeping your way to the top”, (C) she explains that dangers in not get the suggested amount of sleep. She states that 71% American adults and 85% of American teens are sleep deprived. Depriving the body of an efficient amount of sleep can be detrimental to the body and the mind. She explains that while sleep deprivation is a condition that people adapt to over time, sleep deprivation can lead to very serious health problems. People lack knowledge about he repercussions of being sleep deprived so they do not realize the dangers in starving the body of sleep. Sleep is the body's way of ensuring the body can function properly…
- 486 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The author uses Figurative Language, more specifically, Hyperbole and Metaphors, throughout the poem to reveal the theme. For example, in line four, the poet states “and there the sun burns crimson bright.” This supports the theme because it exaggerates how bright and beautiful the world would be if all were creative and tolerant. Additionally, the use of a positive language to…
- 476 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Throughout the poem it is evident that persona is discontent with her lifestyle. The paratactic form of the poem, consisting of enjambment, ‘a small balloon…but for the grace of God’, and hyphens ‘passes by-too late’ reflects her disjointedness with her current lifestyle. The masculine rhyme in the first two stanzas emphasise the repetitive cycle of her monotonous existence. This shows her sheer desperation to communicate her unhappiness. Her children are able to ‘whine and bicker’ however, she is forever silenced, and this constant frustration leads her to talk to the wind ‘ to the wind she says, they have eaten me alive’. When Harwood refers to the wind, she uses the particular image to allude to the human experience of loneliness and frustration, as the mother feels like she has nobody else to turn to. Harwood’s choice of words is monosyllabic ‘they have eaten me alive’ suggesting a sense of weariness and despair throughout the poem, in turn adding effect for the reader. The children ‘Draw(s) aimless patterns in the dirt’ metaphorically emphasizes her disorientation and lack of direction. When Harwood describes the persona as ‘sit(ing) in the park’ she is using the particular image to figuratively emphasise her lack of energy and enthusiasm even in the midst of the energy radiating from the children surrounding her. She is portrayed as lifeless, static and ignored. Her clothes ‘out of date’, creates a particular image, which suggests her loss of identity and self-indulgence. ‘Nursing the youngest child’ reflects her inclined responsibility, which further underscores her need to care for others and therefore forget about herself. ‘Someone she loved once’ symbolizes the love, romance, and the life she once lived. The irony that she is ‘rehearsing the children’s name and birthdays’ is effective, as birthdays should be a…
- 1028 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
The sentences are not structured in a conventional way, and it is slightly confusing, but also helps to create a melodic rhythm. When read out loud, the poem sounds almost like a lullaby, and even if the reader doesn’t understand the actual meaning, they still experience the atmosphere of strange contentment. The symbolic mention of the seasons and nature also contributes to this hypnotically content mood; the seasons, weather, celestial bodies, etc. are mentioned a few times, somewhat randomly; for example, on line three “spring summer autumn winter”, line eight “sun moon stars rain”, line eleven “autumn winter spring summer”, etc. These random interjections are almost like a chant, and break up the actual plot of the…
- 513 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In “The Flowers” by Alice Walker, she portrays the main character’s loss of innocence through symbolism. Myop starts off as a girl that is oblivious to the harsh reality and at the end of the short story, she is more aware of her surroundings. She matures due to her experience. Flowers and summer symbolize both innocence and how she gains experience. Symbols of being naive and unmindful are used throughout the short story.…
- 562 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In the second line of the lyrics, “But as long as there are stars above you”, the writer uses both imagery and symbolism. The visual imagery allows the reader to imagine stars twinkling in the night sky. The use of imagery “allows the reader to identify with the story, the characters and the themes by making…
- 590 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In the second paragraph, for instance, she “laughed aloud” when she sees that “someone had tied a stone” under a sign which reads “Hanging Rock”. However, in the third paragraph, we are told that “It was not really all that funny”. This instance emphasises that the main character has a somewhat “bubbly” nature, and emotions in her can be triggered very easily. This nature explains how the main character can pick up many details in the setting that others look past upon, for example; “Where a band of sun cast a slice of black shadow, the water was dark and secretive.”…
- 910 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The poem is written in a free verse style meaning, there is no rhyme scheme or meter to the poem. It is almost like you are reading different verses. One of the elements of this poem is visual imagery, and the reader experiences this when they read lines eight and nine. Hirshfield describes the sight outside her window as “But outside my window all day a maple tree has stepped from her leaves like a woman in love with winter, dropping the colored silks” (Hirshfield 657). Of course a tree cannot actually step from her leaves but Hirshfield paints this visual image of the tree dropping its leaves in preparation for winter. The last lines of the poem continue to build on the mystery and are a cryptic, sad description of a door. The author talks about a door existing, opening, and closing. The reader is left to wonder is this an actual door or is the word door symbolic and life like. This example of figurative language encourages the reader to think about the symbolism of the light peeking out under the door. “But here a slip of light stays, like a scrap of unreadable paper on the floor, or…
- 689 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The first point which supports classifying “Sky Scraper” as a poem, states the great use of imagery in the…
- 1008 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
In the second stanza the speaker starts to give unrealistic orders as if she/he wanted all people to show sympathy and to spread sadness. Since this poem is easy to read and contains simple but familiar words and ideas, many readers can relate to it. "He is Dead" is the message the speaker wants to be written across the sky. The capitalization of the first letters of this sentence grabs the eye and places emphasis on the seriousness of this death. The speaker’s demands that the “aeroplanes” should circle the sky, and "traffic policemen" should "wear black cotton gloves" indicate that the dead man served in military and that he was an important person. The whole stanza, including the order to have the doves wear “black bows,” shows the speaker’s desire to have the world, including the natural world, to partake of the sorrow he/she experiences as a result of this loss.…
- 584 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The tree growing out of the rock symbolizes hope and strength. Despite the obstacle, the tree manages to thrive and overcome the challenge. Coleridge continues his journey. Finally, he reaches the pinnacle of the hill. He is mesmerized by his surroundings. Towers, fields, and the sea meets his gaze. The enchanting scenery suddenly saddens him. Sobbing, he remembers a woman named Sara. He wishes Sara was with him. Sara could be a previous lover or someone close to his heart that was unable to hike up with him. Despite the majestic view right in front of him, his mood changes with the thought of Sara’s absence. Overall, Coleridge’s message to his readers is that nothing can replace the happiness love or companionship can bring into their lives. However, when someone loses someone dear to them, they must become strong in order to continue living their life without that person. They must also not lose hope. Soon enough, someone will come into their lives to bring them happiness through love or companionship…
- 388 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In a passage adapted from “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett, a little girl goes on a monumental adventure. Sylvia, the protagonist, climbs an enormous tree that “whoever climbed to the top could see the ocean” (10). Climbing the tree symbolizes Sylvia’s coming of age from girl to woman. The author dramatizes this climb using imagery and narrative pace.…
- 340 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
The poem suggests that nature is mad and reaking her havoc onto the Earth. The speaker says, “The Sky is low, the Clouds are mean” (1). This imagery is used to show that there is a storm approaching the area. By saying that the clouds are mean the speaker is showing that the clouds have no mercy on the ground below it or anything in there path.…
- 654 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The composer reminisces of the simple joys of life experienced as a child and the magical significance in a child’s eyes of inanimate objects. “The best climbing tree stood proud on a small mound of concrete, festooned with socks and knickers” she is imaging the tree as a place of happy thoughts, were she could reminisce her childhood memories. Whereas “ today however it is bare” and like reality is dark and harsh. “It is an older more age-warped washing line” the narrator feels that she no longer can be that little girl that once climbed the washing line. The hyperbole of Sky High is a metaphor of her naivety of the way she perceived the world to be as she believes as an adult “there are too many things tying me to the…
- 342 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
Wallflowers by Donna Vorreyer illustrates one woman’s desire to expand her knowledge of literature. She challenges herself by setting out to use each word that is abandoned in everyday language and literature- “I want to make from for all of them, to be the Ellis Island of diction..” This reveals the overall theme of the poem which is the importance of words. The author truly believes that every word was created for a purpose. The speaker is determined to not only improve her writing but also herself by using uncommon words and diction in her writing.…
- 226 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays