AP Literature

Chris Wright September 28th, 2013 2A

M. Ahearn

The poems in choice A are poetry. The poems repeat the sound of the word at the end of each line in either the next line or the author skips a line then repeats the sound. In the opening stanza of the eagle the author ends the first line with hands then follows up with lands in the 2nd line which rhymes. The simple words written in the stanzas also give another idea that corresponds with the rest of the poem. For example in The Eagle instead of the usual portrayal of the Eagle as an animal that is just majestic it gives a more relaxed look into the Eagles life and some of the things it does. Instead of just speaking on the topic the poems also have a deeper meaning within the gentle and easily misunderstood words. Instead of having a single meaning that everyone will comprehend when they read the meaning changes from person to person. The Eagle has a more somber tone compared to The Darkling Thrush which has a more depressed and sad theme. The Eagle is describing how an eagle is by itself in the air while The Darkling Thrush is describing the desolate enviroment that the narrator is in. In The Darkling Thrush the hidden message I absorbed was that the narrator is stuck to the truth and the reality that exists around him. The world that he describes is so dark and it seems as though he is alone until the bird sings for him but he doesnt all of a sudden change his perspective on the situation and enviroment instead he goes back into the dark and desolate place that he was in before.

Each one of these works of literature is not just short stories they have a hidden meaning which is usually not used in other forms of literature. Both these poems speak on the theme of isolation, solidarity and the natural world but the meaning that come from the poems are different. The Eagle expresses more of a calm and relaxed way of dealing with isolation while the Darkling Thrush is depressed and sad even when there is an opportunity for the narrator to no longer be isolate and alone in the world. Every little aspect of the poem has a purpose and a meaning for its existence for example in The Eagle the focus of the poem is on the eagle which is meant to be majestic and free while in this poem the eagle is seen hardly doing anything until the last line when he gives a bit of interesting movement. The Darkling Thrush has an allusion to Hardys previous works because when he saw the bird he had an option to take a different road and switch the perspective he was taking on the situation. The idea of the bird being able to change the perspective of the main character was a symbol of opportunity which is a common theme in hardys previous works of literature. Both poems involve nature and its cold yet interesting landscape that is described within both of these poems.