In "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost, figurative language is used to create a tone of fleeting beauty and inevitable loss. The poem uses metaphors to describe nature's beauty as "gold" and the passing of time as the fading of that gold. Frost illustrates this with phrases such as "Nature's first green is gold" and "So dawn goes down to day." The use of imagery in the poem conveys a sense of impermanence and the inevitability of change. The tone is reflective and melancholic, with a sense of acceptance of the transient nature of beauty.
In contrast, "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams uses figurative language to create a tone of simplicity and quiet observation. The poem is composed of just a few short lines, focusing on the image of a red wheelbarrow glazed with rainwater beside white chickens. The simplicity of the imagery and language conveys a sense of stillness and contemplation. The tone is meditative and understated, inviting the reader to slow down and appreciate the beauty in everyday moments.
Overall, while both poems use figurative language to convey themes of beauty and impermanence, the tone in each poem differs significantly. "Nothing Gold Can Stay" has a tone of melancholy and acceptance of change, while "The Red Wheelbarrow" has a tone of simplicity and quiet observation. Frost's poem explores the fleeting nature of beauty in a world of constant change, while Williams' poem focuses on finding beauty in simplicity and everyday moments.
"Nothing Gold Can Stay"
by Robert Frost
Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold Her early leaf's a flower, But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.
"The Red Wheelbarrow"
by William Carlos Williams
so much depends upon
a red wheel barrow
glazed with rain water
beside the white chickens.
Compare and contrast the ways in which the two authors use figurative language in their poems to convey tone. How does the tone in each poem differ? Be sure to include specific details from the texts to support your answer.
(22 points)
1 answer
1 answer