Blogpost #8 Tone and Mood

Both Tone and Mood are elements that are usually necessary in any poem or work and provide the reader with a sense of understanding and allows them to relate to that mood. Tone and mood are not exactly necessary in a poem or play, but they do happen to appear in both and contribute to the author's meaning as well as provide emotion to the work to make it ever more dramatic. The authors sometimes do not purposefully provide a tone or mood to their work to make it sound dramatic, but rather it is automatically placed or even made up by the reader to make their experience of reading better. For example, when comparing poems such as "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats, and "Ode on a Grecian Urn" by John Keats are examples of poems with in some ways the same tone/mood are presented in both poems. Yeats provides his poem with a very ominous and dark foreshadowing tone because he discusses chaos and disorder in civilization. The Second coming is a time of chaos and where basically the world is falling apart and there is nothing to stop this disorder. Keats's explains his poem with a very similar tone and mood  about chaos and about anarchy that exists during the poem's time. Keats is very descriptive and this provides the tone with a lot more meaning and makes his poem become filled with emotion.  

Blogpost #7 Diction

Diction is a more complicated idea used in every poem or play by characters to help express theme, plot, setting, symbol, or figurative language. Diction is basically the author's choice of words in a certain context and these word choices may be denotations or connotations or maybe expressed through character's colloquial language. The author purposefully uses diction formally or informally to send a concealed message discussing what the author wants to make known without openly expressing it. Diction operates in a way so that the reader can understand and become connected with what the character's are saying and allows the reader to relate to certain themes of the poem or play. In comparing "Traveling through the dark" by William Stafford and "Fast Break" by Edward Hirsch, these authors use totally different diction in both poems to express their meaning and by allowing the reader to understand what their inside meaning is. Even though these poems don't really have characters to follow, the author uses diction in his own words to describe some moment in time or some event. In the diction used by William Stafford, he uses slow and monotonous word choices such as "dead", "dragged", and "stiffened" to express the death of the deer and how the awful environment around it is dark and gloomy as well. This diction used by Stafford clearly exemplifies his message of darkness, and ominous tone that he provides to the poem. In "Fast Break", Hirsch uses a different type of diction including denotations and connotations to exemplify the "hidden" meaning he attempts to express. Hirsch's word choice such as "both forwards racing down the court" or "the power-forward explodes past them in a fury" help portray Hirsch's need to express the fast paced and accelerated game that he wants to explain. He clearly expresses the quickness and swift motions of the players on the court through his diction and allow the reader to realize the swiftness of the poem. Diction is essential in expressing the theme and meaning of a poem or play. Author's use diction for this exact purpose and they carefully pick their word choice wisely.

Blogpost #6 Imagery/Figurative Language

Imagery and Figurative language are key essential elements in a poet's wording and diction, and they help provide an image that explains clearly what each poet is trying to depict. In a poet's mind, they are always trying to send a message to the reader that the reader can not only depict, but fully understand the complex theory or idea. Figurative language is in a figure of speech or metaphorical which means that whatever figurative language the poet uses is not exactly literal or true. Poets like to alter the diction by using metaphorical language because this diction usually expands on an idea and provides a more detailed analysis that the reader can understand and see clearly. In "The Second Coming," William Butler Yeats explains the use of imagery and figurative language through images of exaggerated chaos and disorder that is occurring when the second coming happens. An example of figurative language as well as imagery is depicted in Yeats' word choice such as "A shape with lion body and the head of a man, a gaze blank and pitiless as the sun." As the reader can see, there is both personification, metaphor, hyperbole and imagery in this line of the poem because the reader can clearly identify the exaggerated as well as clear diction that the poet uses. This metaphorical diction provides the reader with a more detailed depiction of exactly the message that Yeats is trying to explain. Obviously, in this poem Yeats is trying to explain the chaos and sense of disorder that is occurring during the second coming. He clearly explains this message the reader through his use of imagery and figurative language in his diction.

Blogpost #5 Poetry Sounds

The sounds of poetry provide the poem with a lot of meaning and emphasis on different aspects of the poem. Sound is the musical quality of poetry and it can be identified and created through techniques such as rhyme, caesura, and meter. Different literary devices such as alliteration, assonance, and onomatopoeia provide the poem with much more meaning and emphasis on different aspects of the poem whether it be in the beginning of the poem or at the end. Two poems that I can identify and analyze the sound used in each would be Fast Break by Edward Hirsch and Traveling through the Dark by William Stafford. These two poems are analyzed and written in very different moods and speeds. Fast Break is a very fast poem considering its use of words such as "spinning," "racing", or "gliding." Its use of descriptive words such as these provide the poem with a much faster motion and allow the reader to be more influenced and also allow him/her to read at a faster pace. Edward Hirsch has made his poem extremely descriptive and the reader can easily picture two teams on the court playing basketball. William Stafford on the other hand has very slow and monotonous descriptions in Traveling through the Dark. Stafford describes this poem in a very slow and dead tone when it describes how the deer has fallen on the ground in the dark and is automatically killed by the car. He uses words such as "dead", "stiffened", and "red" to describe the deer and also show examples of the monotonous tone that Stafford likes to use.  

Blogpost #4 Symbol/Theme

Symbols and Themes are also parts of a novel, play, or poem that use certain objects, places, events, and even characters to help portray some certain part of a novel or play that is repeated several times and the author wants to put emphasis on that certain object because the author wants to point out its importance. The Author sort of challenges and tricks the reader into finding certain themes or objects in a novel and play and the author wants to basically see if a reader can point out them. Symbols can be a wide variety of things such as a rose in The Scarlet Letter or a dagger in Hamlet. Also, symbols could connect with setting because a symbol could be a setting of a play. For example in Hamlet, Shakespeare makes the setting of Denmark act like a symbol for Hamlet the character by personifying Denmark as a home for Hamlet that has been corrupted with the new arrival of King Claudius. Shakespeare makes the setting the symbol to challenge the reader into figuring out whether the setting could be a symbol or not. Shakespeare has many tricks and challenges to the reader in all of his works. The theme of a novel or play is a little bit more complicated because it discusses the summed up version of a novel or play. The theme is basically like a symbol because it is repeated through out the play or novel but it isn't easy to find. Also, different people may not be able to pick out the same theme for the novel or play. A theme is an emphasis on some aspect of a novel or play that is repeated and it is emphasized through the diction and dialogue.

Blogpost #3 Setting: An essential element in a play or novel

Setting is described as something that indicates the time and place, or the when and where. This description is accurate from the fact that setting is always essential in understanding the play or novel. The readers need to know the time and place so they can help visualize the play or novel and see how other necessary components fit in with the setting. If they visualize the setting whether it be in the 1900's or the 1700's, they can use their knowledge of history and figure out what components or objects were used during that time period and they can relate. The play or novel is understood through its setting and not only do readers understand more, but the characters can relate and if the character knows the setting, than they can teach more to the audience. Also if there was no setting than the play or novel would be confusing and readers wouldn't be able to relate. Authors purposefully base their play or novel through the setting by making up the setting before they even make up the characters. A setting is like a base or fortification for an author and the ways that the author writes. For example in Hamlet, Shakespeare right off the bat identifies the setting as being in Denmark and then the discusses the importance of the characters and their roles in the new setting that has been made. Shakespeare has key ways of introducing the setting and describes the setting through dialogue.

Blogpost #2 Character

Character has been exemplified as an essential ingredient to both plays and novels. Characters make a play or novel through a character's conflict, temptation, struggles, and successes which are all explained clearly through dialogue and the author's ability to express the character in ways that the reader can follow and understand. The most important idea about character is the ability of an author to express and explain the intentions, personality, and dispositions of a character in an author's novel or play. Without a good examination and explanation of a character in a novel, the reader will be confused on where the main point stands and since the character connects to the plot, the reader will also be confused about what events or conflicts need to be discussed in the play or novel. An example of a great character is Hamlet who is exemplified by Shakespeare in diction as an interesting but intriguing character who makes the play become more realistic and also a reader can follow the protagonist and understand more about the plot. Hamlet, the protagonist, has a unique disposition and personality that Shakespeare clearly portrays in his diction about how Hamlet has two conflicting personalities and has conflict/disagreement with the antagonist who is King Claudius. Shakespeare exemplifies Hamlet's every move and disposition which allows the reader to follow the protagonist and also help the reader learn more about both the antagonist and the plot. Character is an essential theme to both novels and plays and help allow the reader to understand and relate to certain issues in the novel or play that need to be discussed to learn more about the plot.