The poem has a rhyme scheme of ABABCDDCEFEFGG. On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book Summary
The poem has a rhyme scheme of ABABCDDCEFEFGG.
On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book Summary
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In Charles Tennyson Turner's poem "On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book," the sudden death of a tiny fly prompts reflection on the important subjects of mortality, legacy, and the transient nature of life. He discovers the fly crushed between the book's pages, its life abruptly taken by an inexpRead more
In Charles Tennyson Turner’s poem “On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book,” the sudden death of a tiny fly prompts reflection on the important subjects of mortality, legacy, and the transient nature of life. He discovers the fly crushed between the book’s pages, its life abruptly taken by an inexperienced hand. This picture turns into a moving metaphor for how unexpectedly and suddenly death may come to any living thing, including people.
On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book Summary
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Metaphor: The central and most powerful device is the extended metaphor comparing the crushed fly to human existence. The book represents death, its closing pages symbolizing the finality of life. This comparison makes the poem's message clear and relatable, using a seemingly insignificant creatureRead more
- Metaphor: The central and most powerful device is the extended metaphor comparing the crushed fly to human existence. The book represents death, its closing pages symbolizing the finality of life. This comparison makes the poem’s message clear and relatable, using a seemingly insignificant creature to ponder a universal human experience.
- Apostrophe: Turner directly addresses the dead fly in lines like “thou” and “thine,” creating a sense of intimacy and immediacy. This personalizes the event and draws the reader deeper into the speaker’s contemplation.
- Alliteration: Repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of words (e.g., “survive,” “hand,” “harm”) add a musicality and emphasize certain keywords, drawing attention to their significance.
- Imagery: The poem creates vivid images of the fly’s crushed wings and the closed book, making the scene real and impactful for the reader.
- Personification: Attributing human qualities to the book, like it “seizes” the fly, makes the object more menacing and reinforces the connection with death.
On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book Summary
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The poem delves into the theme of artistic inspiration and the choices a poet might face when seeking sources of creativity. Whitman contrasts the traditional subjects of great bards, including epic tales and tragic characters, with the more immediate and sensory inspiration from the sea. Hence, theRead more
The poem delves into the theme of artistic inspiration and the choices a poet might face when seeking sources of creativity. Whitman contrasts the traditional subjects of great bards, including epic tales and tragic characters, with the more immediate and sensory inspiration from the sea. Hence, the poem shows how deeply connected the speaker is towards nature, especially the sea. Whitman prefers the simple beauty of nature over the complex writings of famous people. The undulation of a single wave and the breath of the sea are valued more highly than the intricate and elaborate works of celebrated poets.
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There is no specific rhyming scheme or meter. The poem is written in free verse. Had I the Choice Summary
There is no specific rhyming scheme or meter. The poem is written in free verse.
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Had I the Choice by Walt Whitman explores the poet's profound reverence for the natural world, particularly the sea, and his reflection on the subject of true artistic inspiration. The central idea revolves around Whitman's hypothetical choice between emulating the greatest bards and poets in historRead more
Had I the Choice by Walt Whitman explores the poet’s profound reverence for the natural world, particularly the sea, and his reflection on the subject of true artistic inspiration. The central idea revolves around Whitman’s hypothetical choice between emulating the greatest bards and poets in history, with their epic tales and intricate characters or surrendering those ambitions in favour of the raw, unfiltered beauty of the sea. The poem reflects Whitman’s transcendentalist philosophy, emphasizing the spiritual connection between humanity and nature. He suggests that the undulating waves and breath of the sea possess a transformative power that surpasses the elaborate works of even the most celebrated poets.
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Alliteration- Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of adjacent or closely positioned words. It can be seen in places like, “Its trick to me transfer” and ‘Homer with all his wars and warriors”. Metaphor- A metaphor is a figure of speech that involves an implied compariRead more
- Alliteration- Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of adjacent or closely positioned words. It can be seen in places like, “Its trick to me transfer” and ‘Homer with all his wars and warriors”.
- Metaphor- A metaphor is a figure of speech that involves an implied comparison between two unlike things, highlighting similarities without using “like” or “as.”Whitman also uses metaphors when he speaks of Shakespeare’s “woe-entangled” characters as if they were caught up in a web of grief and unable to free themselves. He speaks of the “trick” of a wave, suggesting a sleight of hand perhaps, some hidden magic in the motion of the sea.
- Personification- Personification is attributing human characteristics to non-human entities or abstract concepts. The sea is personified in the following lines, “Would you the undulation of one wave, its trick to me transfer,/ Or breathe one breath of yours upon my verse,/ And leave its odor there.”.
- Apostrophe- In poetry, an “apostrophe” is a figure of speech in which the poet addresses an absent person, an abstract idea, or a non-human entity as if it were present and capable of responding. It can be seen in the line, “These, these, O sea, all these I’d gladly barter,”.
- Enjambment- Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, stanza, or couplet. It can be seen in this poem and it makes the poem flow like the sea waves.
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The central theme of the poem revolves around the speaker's profound sense of loss. The speaker attains the realisation of losing their beloved emotionally rather than pjysically. There is a great deal of alienation that the speaker and the woman feel towards each other. As the speaker describes theRead more
The central theme of the poem revolves around the speaker’s profound sense of loss. The speaker attains the realisation of losing their beloved emotionally rather than pjysically. There is a great deal of alienation that the speaker and the woman feel towards each other. As the speaker describes the woman as a “Foreign Race” we see the extent to which they feel extranged from her. Lastly, the speaker talks about the true cost of devotion that they have to pay now. The speaker thus, talks about the consequences of such a big emotional change between two people involved in a relationship.
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In each stanza, the second and fourth line are rhyming, except for the last stanza. Now I Knew I Lost Her Summary
In each stanza, the second and fourth line are rhyming, except for the last stanza.
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In “On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book," Turner mostly discusses the subject of death's inevitable conclusion. Most of the poem is devoted to his admiration of the fly, its tragic demise, and what remains. He then discusses death as a part of everyone's existence. The novel is extended and utiRead more
In “On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book,” Turner mostly discusses the subject of death’s inevitable conclusion. Most of the poem is devoted to his admiration of the fly, its tragic demise, and what remains. He then discusses death as a part of everyone’s existence. The novel is extended and utilized as a metaphor for death, showing how it can strike at any time and claim a person’s life. Like it did on the fly, it can close anytime. By the poem’s conclusion, it is also evident that the speaker doesn’t think a human’s death could ever be as exquisite as a fly’s. Its wings’ shimmering evidence is that.
On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book Summary
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