Poetry is a genre in literature that concerns itself with presenting and communicating ideas and moral teachings in a way that evoke feelings and conscience of readers to aspects of society addressed by the poet. To understand and appreciate a poets work one need to appreciate the setting and language used to deliver the theme and teachings. These literary elements include themes, poetic use of language and character traits of the persona in deliverance of the literary work (Rath, 2003).
The poet also uses themes in the poem to convey his message. A theme can be defined as the focus of the poem. In the poem, the poet uses the theme of old age in the poem to pass his message within the poem. In his poem, he shows how people in their old age face harsh surroundings. Delivering the theme could have difficult and challenging were it not for the images used and the mental images they help create in the reader.
Metaphors have also been widely used in the poem. This refers to direct comparison of things without using the word like. This direct comparison helps us compare by attributing characteristics of the first with the second item. “Old age is a flight of small chipping birds ” is a metaphor that enable us compare old age with the small chipping birds and give old age same characteristics of the chipping birds. The metaphors used help in enhancing euphemism and delivery of the message as intended.
The use of metaphors, themes, and imagery has helped in delivering the theme of the poem. The main theme “old age” has been described vividly by use of imagery and metaphors used in the poem. The metaphors have helped bring out the characteristics of an aged person in the persona of a woman. For instance “a flight of small cheeping birds,” is used to show how the old woman is fragile and weak. These metaphors portray inevitability of death once old age catches up with a person. This metaphor “Gaining and failing they are buffeted by a dark wind” send a message that death must come despite ones achievements provided old age arrives. The imageries used help the reader understand old age and that death is inevitable.
The literary elements above show how important they are in the delivery of the completely literary work. They affected my opinions on the content of the poem. For delivery of a good piece of poetry, the focus should be on the literary elements. These elements helped shape my opinion as well as invoking feelings and conscience to the issues addressed by the poet. I concentrated on all aspects of the poem. In this case, I appreciated old age and inevitability of death.
References:
Rath, H. (2003). The poetry of Robert Frost and William Carlos Williams. New Delhi: Atlantic Pub. and Dist.
Williams, W. C., & MacGowan, C. (1988). The collected poems of William Carlos Williams: Vol. 2. New York: New Directions
