Life and Dark Tone Essay

Submitted By track167
Words: 1874
Pages: 8
Open Document
“What Lays Between the Two”
Within history there has always been this theory of spirits, ghosts and other life forms. This notion has entertained the imagination of many, while others believe that humans are the only ones living on Earth. Nevertheless, through enough gathered evidence there are suggestions that there may be other life forms. Generally, everyone is accustomed to seeing certain things with a naïve or biased perspective. Consequently, we fail to acknowledge the possibility that there could be another life form looming through the world. In Anthony Hecht`s poem “The End of the Weekend” he utilizes the influence of another life form in his poem. Through several scenes indulged with vivid imagery and particular themes like the dead and sin and the dark tone it is evident that the presence of another life form shapes the outlook of this poem.
In the beginning of the poem, Hecht`s introduces a setting with a rather dark tone to it. “A dying firelight slides along the quirt.” (Hecht Line 1) This line suggests that there are no actual lights but rather a fire was started to produce light. It seems like the outside setting is placed in the middle of a far place with open spaces with the indications of open water, windy weather and also the dying firelight. The idea that ghosts or another life form is present is in affect due to the creepy and endless wind as Hecht`s describes it. “Outside, across the lake, an endless wind whips at the headstones of the dead and wails.” (8) This leads one to question the presence of the graveyard in that particular area, and also if there are any wandering spirits, ghosts or zombies lurking in the area? Also there could be a possibility that the cabin itself has been there a very long time. From inside the cabin Hecht describes the funny images and shadows that are cast against the wall. “The eventual shapes of all our formless prayers, This dark cabin of loose imaginings.” (13, 14) This suggests that the young couple may not be entirely alone as they intended to be. It is clear that the boy in the poem does not feel fully safe. “Although we are alone, I lock the door.” (12) Hecht`s introduces the climax of the poem, “And then the noise. Something is dropped. It grates against the attic beams.” (17, 18) This sudden action makes one clearly feel that there could be either a rodent running around or someone else is truly in the cabin. From the beginning, it introduces that the young couple is in someone else`s home. It could be that the young couple is in the man`s father cabin or perhaps it could be an inheritance gift from the late father. Considerably the sudden object that is dropped is done at the moment the young couple is starting to engage in a romantic moment. Indeed if there is a person or some type of spirit in the cabin, at this point it does not want the young couple engaged in any romantic affairs. This opens the theme of possible sin in the poem. Hecht describes in the third stanza, “The eventual shapes of all our formless prayers.” One can say that this line is rather dark and plays into the idea that the young couple`s actions of pre-marital sex are careless. When people sin they are careless and have no recollection sometimes of the moral consequences of their sins. It is evident the two individuals are falling into the plight of pre-marital relations and will not care about the later repercussions that can occur. This is evident in the later portions of the poem. “She rubs against me and I feel her nails.”(11) The couple seems particularly juvenile due to Hecht`s detail of the girl reading a novel of Captain Marryat, who wrote adventure books for children. In addition, the instances of the girl also wearing an attire of skin tight jeans and shirt, and the initial indications of the cowboy all stimulate the reader`s perception and imagination towards the potential youth in the poem.
The usage of a dark tone seems to run throughout this
Show More

Related Documents: Life and Dark Tone Essay

The Influence Of Life In Edgar Allan Poe's Works

Does an author’s life often affect their literature and the way they write? For Edgar Allan Poe, his life experiences greatly affected his writing. He wrote with a dark tone and because of what he went through with life, it affected his writing. Edgar Allan Poe faced many tragic events throughout his life which caused his writings to get the “dark” theme and tone. The word dark means a low mood and a deep feeling. It is clearly evident that Poe’s dark tones and themes as well as psychologically turbulent…

Words 995 - Pages 4

Ball Turret Gunner

interpretation, but it carries the same dark tone as "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe. "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" has to be carefully picked apart to grasp its dark tone. It touches on the feelings one feels at war and in death. Whilst "The Cask of Amontillado" carries an ironic tone with it. "The Cask of Amontillado" starts with an alluding back story and a prologue. Poe’s word choice like borne, utterance, and vowed, makes the dark tone come together. The story also has a revengeful…

Words 581 - Pages 3

Write A Rhetorical Analysis Of Hester Prynne

text. Of the exuberant number possibilities, rhetorical questions are some of the most provocative and influential tools in an argument. As the author, Hawthorne takes advantage of this mechanism to share Hester’s view of her life and the life of women. “Indeed, the same dark question often arose into her mind with reference to the whole race of womanhood. Was existence worth accepting, even to the happiest among them?” This rhetorical question exudes a completely negative attitude. How is she questioning…

Words 503 - Pages 3

Comparing Dickinson's 'And Accustomed To The Night'

significance, through point of view, diction and structure, the tones of both pieces differ. The first instance of how the tones are different is through the point of views used in each poem. In Dickinson’s poem second person is used. This choice makes the poem more open and relatable to the reader. They feel as if the darkness that is faced by the speaker is the same as what every human has or will face at least once in their life. Compared to Frost’s poem that is in first person, Dickinson manages…

Words 540 - Pages 3

Skin: Race and Life Chances Essay

Skin color and appearance obviously matters in distinguishing among what Americans categorize as separate races and ethnicities. Skin tone is deeply implicated in determining individuals’ life chances, identities, and political engagement.Many people have a bias against those who are of a darker complexion and their behavior reflects that. Colorism, is a form of pedijus in which human beings are treated differently based on the social meanings attached to their skin color.As a result of this…

Words 775 - Pages 4

Dorothy Livesay's A November Landscape

to read. Both poems are very similar in terms of meaning and imagery, but they are also very different, which makes you more excited to read the next line. In both of these poems, we see different kinds of tones used to describe the environment. However, in both poems we see a very dark tone used. In A November Landscape the land is bereft meaning deprived of something. Lines three and four of stanza one read “but drabs and yellows on a land bereft of bird and leaf, of body and soul”. Here we can…

Words 486 - Pages 2

Diction In Brave New World Essay

challenging diction that enables the reader to dive deeper into Huxley’s thoughts, as well as an abundance of allusions to other literary pieces that counteract ideas brought up in the book with the title being an example, all under a dramatically dark tone sprinkled with light moments that Aldous…

Words 1220 - Pages 5

Similarities Between Hawthorne And Edgar Allan Poe

Dark Romantics: Edgar Allan Poe & Nathaniel Hawthorne Of all the romantic periods, the authors that contributed to the dark romantic period and their works remain some of the most influential in the history of literature. Edgar Allan Poe and Nathanial Hawthorne for example, are remembered today for their contributions to literature in the eighteenth and nineteenth century and their influence on dark romantics overall. Nearly all of Hawthorne’s works are well known, but “The Minister’s Black Veil”…

Words 1518 - Pages 7

Poe Paper

Many poets are able to portray their life experiences in a very subtle way using the imagery, tone, or even the narrator. There is one poet in particular that is able to create a very dark and eerie tone his poems and short stories by letting the reader inside his own dark, dark mind. This poet happens to be Edgar Allan Poe. Over and over again Poe is able to guide the reader into thinking that he isn’t mentally ill in some way, but, lets us know that in his mind, everything was dark, very dark and this lead h…

Words 892 - Pages 4

Things Fall Apart Failure

literature use negative tone, diction, and symbols to reveal the theme everything leads to failure. In Things Fall Apart Achebe focuses upon the end of an era by integrating a negative tone towards the subject. Achebe uses his attitude towards the life of the tribe, before and after, the invasion of Christian missionaries and whites to show the tension between the tribe, and the whites. When Okonkwo kills another tribe member accidently, the author uses his dark and cryptic tone to address this topic…

Words 1036 - Pages 5