Poetic Reflections on Mortality and Ephemerality
Poetic Reflections on Mortality and Ephemerality
Have you ever hypothetically pondered the details of your own fatality? Everyone covets a bit of certainty that not many realities allow, but mortality -while a glum concept- is a definite fate we will all ultimately encounter in our respective lifetimes. “Nothing is more predictable than death. Each of us will die without any need to take adventuresome risks.” (Kelly, 1986). This is likely the reason prolific poets Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost have created quite similar themed poems using dissimilar imaginative slants in which they optimistically convey the topic of human transience. Death is a disheartening, tragic matter that not very many individuals readily wish to discuss. Because ephemerality is, however, an extremely ordinary notion to countless expressive artists, it is vital to notice the literary elements these renowned authors applied which set such works apart from less potent pieces. The symbolism, tone, assonance, rhythm, and other literary techniques behind the elegies “Nothing Gold Can Stay” (Frost, 1969) and “Because I could not stop for Death” (Dickinson, 1893) fervently beg for further exploration. No matter which approach authors apply to such deviations, one truth remains; the amount of life contained in the works by Frost and Dickinson is somewhat ironic to say the least.
If you envision the scenery described in literary pieces you read as if you are a participating, fictional character, you exceptionally possess “The human power that shapes artistic expression...” (Clugston, 2010 a). Put in simpler terms, you clearly have a vivid imagination! Prodigious writers can and will effortlessly incorporate such imagery into their work by imploring the implicit values of society and culture(s). “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost (1969) is unquestionably far from the exception as he connects the way leaves grow, change, and die to our eventual demise with ease. Frost
Have you ever hypothetically pondered the details of your own fatality? Everyone covets a bit of certainty that not many realities allow, but mortality -while a glum concept- is a definite fate we will all ultimately encounter in our respective lifetimes. “Nothing is more predictable than death. Each of us will die without any need to take adventuresome risks.” (Kelly, 1986). This is likely the reason prolific poets Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost have created quite similar themed poems using dissimilar imaginative slants in which they optimistically convey the topic of human transience. Death is a disheartening, tragic matter that not very many individuals readily wish to discuss. Because ephemerality is, however, an extremely ordinary notion to countless expressive artists, it is vital to notice the literary elements these renowned authors applied which set such works apart from less potent pieces. The symbolism, tone, assonance, rhythm, and other literary techniques behind the elegies “Nothing Gold Can Stay” (Frost, 1969) and “Because I could not stop for Death” (Dickinson, 1893) fervently beg for further exploration. No matter which approach authors apply to such deviations, one truth remains; the amount of life contained in the works by Frost and Dickinson is somewhat ironic to say the least.
If you envision the scenery described in literary pieces you read as if you are a participating, fictional character, you exceptionally possess “The human power that shapes artistic expression...” (Clugston, 2010 a). Put in simpler terms, you clearly have a vivid imagination! Prodigious writers can and will effortlessly incorporate such imagery into their work by imploring the implicit values of society and culture(s). “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost (1969) is unquestionably far from the exception as he connects the way leaves grow, change, and die to our eventual demise with ease. Frost
References: Chen, I. & Aull, F. (1993-2001). Literature Annotations [of] Because I could not stop for death [by] Emily Dickinson.(1890) Retrieved from: http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=15 Conrey, S. (n. d.). Ear Training; Sound and Meter. Retrieved from: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/570/ Clugston, R. W. (2010 a., b.). Journey into Literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from: https://content.ashford.edu/books Deppman, J. (2000). Dickinson, Death, and the Sublime. From: The Emily Dickinson Journal Retrieved from: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/edj/summary/v009/9.1deppman.html Dickinson, E. (1893). Because I could not stop for death. In T. H. Johnson (Ed.), The poems of Emily Dickinson. Boston, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1890). Retrieved from: https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUENG125.10.2/sections/h12.4 Frost, R. (1969). Nothing gold can stay. In E. C. Latham (Ed.), The poetry of Robert Frost. New York: Holt. (Original work published 1923 in New Hamp–shire) Retrieved from: https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUENG125.10.2/sections/sec10.5 Kelly, G. A. (1986). The Music of Mortality. Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques. P 235-260. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23232317 Online Etymology Dictionary (2010). Carpe Diem Retrieved March 11, 2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/carpe diem Unknown Author (2009). Emily Dickinson—Death. “Because I could not stop for Death” p.35. Retrieved from: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/stop.html