The Fly Figurative Language
Humans are floating in the vastness of space, waiting to be annihilated by the hand of time. People live their live knowing that death is certain, but are unaware when the time will come creating a sense of fear. Life is empty until given a purpose, but that objective may not always be fulfilled. William Blake’s The Fly expresses the absurdity of life by analyzing the simple act of swatting a fly. The moral of the poem is understanding the insignificance of life and is expressed through the tone, rhyme scheme, and figurative language. In an instant life can be ended, without knowing the cause demise. The meaninglessness of life is expressed in the narrator’s analysis on his own life. The narrator is uncertain about the meaning of life believing
…show more content…
This reinforces the purposelessness of life, by allowing multiple interpretations of the same object. The meaning or value one places on life is relative, differing from person to person. The narrator expresses his own sense of nothingness when he states “For I dance / And drink, and sing, / Till some blind hand / Shall brush my wing” (Lines 9-12). The narrator leads his life without giving a second thought to death, by wasting it away on meaningless events. He stuffs himself full of food and drinks until some imaginary force ends his life by hitting his “wings” and disrupting his intended path. This is a reflection of the insignificance of life, due to the fact at any moment life could cease to exist without knowing the cause. The narrator continues pondering the idea of life, by questioning his own happiness. The final quatrain has an intense and dark mood by stating, “Then am I / A happy fly, / If I live, / Or if I die.” (Lines 17-20). The author is unsure of whether having the ability to think and live is worth the sacrifice of pain and suffering, knowing eventually everything dies. The fly doesn’t have the ability to fear his day of reckoning but instead enjoys every moment of life. This connects to the theme of life is insignificant, due to the fact the narrator understands once he dies, life will still go on without him. He is not an essential part of nature to make it
This reinforces the purposelessness of life, by allowing multiple interpretations of the same object. The meaning or value one places on life is relative, differing from person to person. The narrator expresses his own sense of nothingness when he states “For I dance / And drink, and sing, / Till some blind hand / Shall brush my wing” (Lines 9-12). The narrator leads his life without giving a second thought to death, by wasting it away on meaningless events. He stuffs himself full of food and drinks until some imaginary force ends his life by hitting his “wings” and disrupting his intended path. This is a reflection of the insignificance of life, due to the fact at any moment life could cease to exist without knowing the cause. The narrator continues pondering the idea of life, by questioning his own happiness. The final quatrain has an intense and dark mood by stating, “Then am I / A happy fly, / If I live, / Or if I die.” (Lines 17-20). The author is unsure of whether having the ability to think and live is worth the sacrifice of pain and suffering, knowing eventually everything dies. The fly doesn’t have the ability to fear his day of reckoning but instead enjoys every moment of life. This connects to the theme of life is insignificant, due to the fact the narrator understands once he dies, life will still go on without him. He is not an essential part of nature to make it