Analysis of The Shadow on the Stone - Literature Essay Samples

Thomas Hardy wrote â€Å"The Shadow on the Stone† after his wife’s death, and the ghost he mentions is his wife’s. The poem focuses on the realities of time and death. The poet’s feelings are complex, which is reflected in the complex rhyme scheme of the poem. The title shows us how Emma has always been like a shadow for Hardy. When she was alive, she followed him and now that she’s dead, according to Greek mythology, her soul has become a shadow. The stone in the poem is white as opposed to the black color of a shadow. Black may symbolize the evil way Emma was treated during the last years of her life. For convenience, I will analyze this poem stanza by stanza.I went by the Druid stone That broods in the garden white and lone, And I stopped and looked at the shifting shadows That at some moments fall thereon From the tree hard by with a rhythmic swing, And they shaped in my imagining To the shade that a well-known head and shoulders Threw there whe n she was gardening. A druid stone is a mystical stone of intuition and physic wisdom. Another definition of Druid Stone is a stone made by the ancient Druids. Both these definitions apply to the poem as we will later see. The stone is a representation of Hardy. He broods (or thinks) a lot on Emma’s death, which is why he writes poems. Moreover, he is a man of talent and skill and according to his fans-flawless. The color white is often connected to flawlessness or perfection. Apart from that, white also symbioses purity. It may reflect hardy’s desire to be pure or clean his soul of the sins he has committed by neglecting his wife when she needed him the most. The stone, although beautiful and full of powers, is alone – a metaphor for Hardy. The alliteration in line three suggests a sense of peacefulness and calmness. It’s as if everything is quiet when Hardy observes the garden. The shadows were probably formed by the trees behind Hardy. It’s iro nic how he describes the shadow so bluntly and in only one line as if he’s been numbed. Perhaps it pains him to talk about his wife and describe her as if she was alive, or maybe he didn’t want to get his hopes up as he knows it’s only the trees. I thought her behind my back, Yea, her I long had learned to lack, And I said: ‘I am sure you are standing behind me, though how do you get into this old track?’ And there was no sound but the fall of a leaf As a sad response; and to keep down grief I would not turn my head to discover That there was nothing in my belief. The key words in this stanza are ‘thought’ and ‘sure’. He knows it’s only an illusion and yet still says he’s sure she’s standing there. The second line suggests he’s already used to the fact that she’s dead, explaining the numbness in the previous stanza. Hardy’s question is answered by the one thing that always had his b ack: Nature. Generally, only dead leaves fall of trees. Nature sends a message to Hardy that his wife is dead. This also shows that the place was alive when Emma was alive and now that she’s dead, so is the place. It is safe to assume that the season is autumn as leaves are falling. Autumn is the season of death and misery, setting up an excellent atmosphere for the poem. The last lines present the dilemma of the poem: He knows it’s not Emma, yet doesn’t want to turn around and confirm that fact. Maybe he wants to live in a delusion that Emma is there, watching over her. He probably doesn’t have the strength to face reality. Yet I wanted to look and see That nobody stood at the back of me; But I thought once more: ‘Nay, I’ll not unvision A shape which, somehow, there may be.’ So I went on softly from the glade, And left her behind me throwing her shade, As she were indeed an apparition— My head unturned lest my dream should fade .However, he wanted to turn around and see, face reality like a man. But then, decides against it. Hardy’s contradictory and complex feelings can be seen here. He is arguing with himself whether to check or not. In the end he finally decides not to look. The word ‘unvision’ is created by Hardy to describe a new feeling. He thought that there is no word in the English language to describe how he feels. Unvision may mean destroying an illusion. When he leaves her behind him throwing her shade, Hardy imitates his wife as she also went slowly, leaving Hardy behind. The hyphen after apparition describes a pause to think. She’s indeed an illusion, he thinks (or is she?). The thought of the shadow being a ghost crosses his mind again. In the end, he finally admits that this wasn’t real by giving it the word ‘dream’. The sound effects in the last line are worth noting. The harsh ‘d’ sound suggests that the poet is hardening. He is trying to be strong but just can’t gather up the strength to turn around.

Soccer Is Life - Free Essay Example

I understand that soccer isnt everyones favorite sport but for me its my favorite sport due to its fast paced and the passion the players put in the field. I was interested on soccer since I was a little kid due that it was easy to understand and mostly everyone in my family is a soccer fan. As the result of me becoming interested on soccer I started to play soccer when I was around five years old. As the years past I would become more passionate for soccer do to the time and effort I would put to become a better player. I remember as a kid I was part of several soccer teams. I would have soccer practices Mondays and Wednesdays which I was always eager and excited to get out there and improve my skills. The big days where Saturdays because we had our soccer matches. Playing soccer was really exciting and relaxing but the bond I made with my teammates is unforgettable. We would travel together for our matches and be there for each other. We were all united like a family due to our passion for soccer. Soccer isnt only a great sport but it makes you create bonds with others. However, soccer is a well-known sport but it struggles to be popular as the others sports in the United States. In the article Why soccer is the best sport in the world by Blake Lovell shares his opinion on why soccer is the best sport in the world. The article focuses on the authors opinion and the evidence he shares. The author argues that soccer is the best sport in the world due to its simplicity and the popularity of soccer has grown over the years. Lovell believes that soccer will be the sport of the future due to its popularity in the United States. Lovell presents statistics to prove his points in order to persuade his readers. In my opinion the article was good but it didnt fully convinced me why soccer is the best sport. The author did some things I liked and some things I didnt like. First, I liked how the author shares anecdotes about his childhood when he used to play soccer. This makes him connect with his readers. The anecdotes the author shares really connects to the reader if the reader plays a sport in general. In addition, I liked the structure of the author because we would reflect on his own experiences, then bring up his point or argument and finally he would introduce his evidence. However, I feel that Lovell needed more persuasion in his article. If Lovell would of use more evidence with reasoning or stronger evidence in his article he would of persuaded his audience believing that soccer is actually the best sport. Finally, another thing this article is missing is that Lovell doesnt share any important facts or background information about soccer. Lovell does many great things in his article to get his opinion out. I agree with the opinions Lovell shares about soccer because he includes his own perspective. One good strength the article has is the rebuttal Lovell uses. Lovell shares a rebuttal someone may have on why soccer isnt that popular .While soccer has experienced incredible growth and popularity over the past 20 years, it is still struggling to surpass the long-held favorites in the crowded U.S. sports landscape (paragraph 8). I agree with this rebuttal because I do feel soccer isnt that popular in the United States do to other great sports like football, basketball, and baseball here in the United States. Do to other sports popularity in the United States its hard for soccer to standout. Then Lovell uses evidence to refute that rebuttal. While the criticism of soccer may give one the idea that the sport isnt making any headway in the states, a 2018 Gallup report suggests otherwise 11 percent of adults aged 18 to 34 named soccer as their favorite, which tied basketball for second in that same demographic(Paragraph 10). The evidence Lovell uses is great because it shows that soccer is starting to grow its popularity in the united states. I liked the evidence Lovell uses because he uses statistics to refute the rebuttal which makes his argument stronger. In addition, Lovell shares some ideas that I agree with and find very interesting. One idea Lovell shares is that he compares soccer to a piece of art. Like a fine work of art, the skills, the tactics, and the nature of the game itself are indeed beautiful(Paragraph 14). I agree with his point of view because I also believe that. Its amazing to see players use their skills to avoid defenders and see players work as teams to become better than others. Even though I like some things Lovell did in his article however, I feel he had some weaknesses. The first weakness I notice in Lovell article is that he doesnt include background information about soccer in his article. I found that odd because he shouldve include some background information to introduce the topic and to share some important information about soccer. Additionally, the evidence Lovell shares I found the evidence repetitive because both share statistics about the popularity of soccer over the years. According to U.S. Youth Soccer annual registration data, there were 1.6 million children registered to play in 1990. Ten years later, that number nearly doubled to over 3 million kids enrolled in the sport(paragraph 5). I found this evidence similar to other evidence Lovell uses because they focus on one thing which is popularity. Another weakness I notice in Lovell article is that he isnt that persuasive in his article. I feel he isnt that persuasive in his article because he is to focus to get his opinions across. If he wanted to be more persuasive in his article he can introduce more evidence that connect to his opinions. In conclusion, the article was good but it just needed more evidence to make the authors argument stronger and more convincing on why soccer is the best sport in the world. Lovell presented good points which help get his opinion cross the readers.