What is Poetry through the Lenses of Dickinson, Chakravarty and Reed

The following essay is a brief discussion of finding out what poetry is. The three poems mentioned in the essay are: That's What Poetry Is by Nirendranath Chakravarty, I Dwell in Possibility by Emily Dickinson and finally, Beware: Do Not Read This Poem by Ishmael Reed. It maintains the structure of a conventional essay with a word count of 464 words. 

Nearly every poet in their life has tried to define the features that constitute a poem. That’s What Poetry Is, I Dwell in Possibility, Beware: Do not read this poem by poets Nirendranath Chakravarty, Emily Dickinson and Ishmael Reed respectively are three such poems which explore the idea of what poetry is through the lens of the aforementioned three poets. Despite having some dissimilarities, the poems do share a common ground in terms of thematic messages, use of metaphors and concrete imagery and symbolism.

The Ruined Maid by Thomas Hardy: Prose and Analysis

A young girl from the countryside happens to meet her former friend one day while visiting the Town. Her friend goes by the name Amelia and the country girl is perplexed to see how Amelia is dressed in such a fancy gown and moves with a regal poise. So, she stops her old friend and expresses her surprise in meeting her so suddenly. She also asks her how Amelia managed to get herself such fair garments and prosperity. In response, Amelia asks the country maiden whether she knows if she is ruined, implying that losing her innocence by either being an escort to a wealthy lord or a high class sex worker brought her all these lavishness.

The country maiden further goes on to ask Amelia how she has been able to change her life while simultaneously providing little details of her former life in the countryside. She mentions how Amelia did not even own shoes or sock and how her clothes were in tatters. Moreover, she details how she used to speak in dialect, especially the dialect of old Irish countryside. Furthermore, she briefs about how her hands used to resemble a paw due to all the hard work she had to do in the potato fields and her face was always bleak and blue due to the cold and dirt. But now, Amelia has rosy cheeks, speaks in a language befitting an aristocratic company, and wears gloves that fit her delicate hands and also bracelets and feathers. To all of these details about her transformation, Amelia replies by saying that she has achieved this by being ruined.

Metaphors in the Poems of Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickinson

Metaphors are not only integral part of poetry but a significant addition as well, since the presence of metaphors enriches the standard of the literary work. The strength of a metaphor in enhancing the beauty of a poem as well as amplifying its core message can be observed in the poems – “Metaphors” by Sylvia Plath and “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun” by Emily Dickinson. Both poems successfully used this important literary device in order to paint a coherent picture.

“Metaphors” is a clever little poem by Plath which contains nine lines, each with nine syllables. In fact, in the very first verse of the poem, the narrator mentions that this poem is a riddle of nine syllables. Such arrangement is intentionally made by Plath to mimic the nine-month duration of pregnancy, which the poem is all about. Calling the poem a riddle was an interesting move Plath did as metaphors are normally left up to the reader’s interpretation just like a riddle is. The poet wanted the readers to decipher the imagery created in the poem much like they would decipher a riddle. All in all, “Metaphors” is a poem with a collection of metaphors symbolizing the gestation period a woman goes through.

Use of myth in The Shield of Achilles by W. H. Auden

W. H. Auden’s poem – The Shield of Achilles – is a great poem that incorporates both the thesis and anti-thesis into it formulating an interesting synthesis. On one hand, there is Thetis, a minor goddess from the Ancient Greek mythology who embodies fortune, virtue and goodness and on the other hand, there is Hephaestus, a firesmith god from the same mythology, who portrays poverty, hardship and misfortune. The poet uses these two contradicting characters to showcase the conflicts between war and love.

The poet employs two significant characters from the Ancient Greek poet Homer’s Iliad – Thetis and Hephaestus – through whom the readers get to learn about the greatest Greek hero of all time, Achilles. Achilles is the son of Thetis, a goddess, and Peleus, a mortal king. When he was still an infant, his mother gave him a bath in the river Styx of the underworld which gave him immortality. Unfortunately, as he was held by one of his heels, the water failed to reach that spot, making that part of his body vulnerable. Years later in the battle with the Trojans, Achilles would pass away after an arrow went through that heel.