after merely picking berries. The poem "Blackberries" by Yusef Komunyakaa‚ published in 1992‚ illustrates the author’s childhood experience in a candid yet heartbreaking image. Komunyakaa frankly describes his struggle growing up; additionally during a specific day picking blackberries to raise money in hopes of a better future Komunyakaa is painfully reminded of his less fortunate beginnings. Through a series of allusions and metaphors‚ Komunyakaa’s "Blackberries" displays an unsettling theme that
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The poem “Blackberries” is about a young man spending his day eating handfuls of blackberries. Narrator Yusef Komunyakaa paints a picture of the day. The perfect stains left from the juices of the berries‚ as well as concluding the day of picking wild blackberries by describing a memory of when he was younger. His fingers not only stained from the berries‚ also by the blood from picking the berries that were “too ripe to touch.” This poem is about forgiveness and the affects of how limbo can change
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Mary Oliver In Mary Oliver’s award winning book‚ “Blue Pastures”‚ Oliver states three qualities that makes up an artist. The first quality is to be extraordinary and never ordinary. Also‚ break loose from time and the craziness of the world today to reach the inner child. Another quality is to find a place of solitude so creativity can flow uninterrupted. Oliver exhibited all three qualities and more. She is truly an artist. Oliver talks of the normal things in life that must be done. Dishes
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"Traveling Through the Dark‚" by William Strafford and "The Black Snake‚" by Mary Oliver use animals to express their thoughts in these poems. The animals play an important role in determining what the writers want to convey through its function‚ the relation between the speaker and animal‚ as well as the tone of the poem. Strafford does a great job of illustrating the function of the animal in "Traveling Through the Dark." The deer is dead on the side of the road from a hit and run and the speaker
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When most see nature‚ they think of the exterior‚ and nothing more. They don’t experience the true‚ overwhelming power of nature. Mary Oliver is not one of those people. She writes about nature as if it is a dream world where nature is an omnipotent power that controls everything. Oliver allows herself to experience nature in an intimate way. She writes about both the all-consuming terror and beauty that nature holds‚ and explains the complexity of these elements through her use of immense detail
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Stand Up and Speak Up After reading “The Journey” written by Mary Oliver‚ I have noted that the author of the poem was suggesting a few different themes and ideas. One of which is that although there will be countless things dragging you down in life‚ you must stay strong and carry on. From line four to line seven‚ the author mentioned that bad advice was shouted at you‚ and the entire house began to tremble. They represent the people who tell you that you will never succeed and the awful things
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Period 4B In this very lyrical excerpt‚ Mary Oliver has a great attraction to nature because of its paradoxical yet balancing form. By being both terrifying and beautiful‚ nature fills the world with contrasting entities that can be “death-bringers” or bring “immobilizing happiness.” Oliver uses imagery‚ parallelism‚ and contrasting to express her swaying emotions of fear‚ awe‚ and happiness towards nature. The imagery creates the very distinct contrast between terrifying and beautiful parts of
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toxin into their prey. It can kill. Furthermore‚ Mary Oliver‚ the writer of "Owls"‚ successfully delineates the two-faced personality nature is affiliated with. In this rich excerpt‚ Oliver makes it a priority to point out that nature can be both miraculous and corrupt at the same time. Like the jellyfish‚ nature can bring “immobilizing happiness"‚ but it can also be complex‚ and bring forth "death.” From the get-go‚ Oliver uses Vonnegut-like imagery to create a distinct contrast
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Mary Oliver‚ an American poet‚ discusses her observations about the natural world in her book titled House of Light (1984). Her poems primarily embed a spiritual takeaway through the establishment of several speakers with varying personas. For example‚ in her poems “The Buddha’s Last Instruction‚” “Some Questions You Might Ask‚” and “White Owl Flies Into and Out of the Field‚” Oliver introduces three speakers which similarly examine the ideas of death and nature. There are plenty of rhetorical tools
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Allusion The poem‚ “Lilies” which was written by Mary Oliver in 1935 was one which I found to be rather compelling. In this poem‚ Ms. Oliver strategically uses the metaphor of a lily while also describing the longing need to live a carefree‚ desolate but yet fulfilling life. When first observing this poem‚ one might swiftly conclude that Oliver is referring to living this simple life without the stress or confusion of an ordinary human lifestyle. Although this indeed may be true‚ Oliver’s continuous
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