A Dream or a Glimpse of The Sky

William Wordsworth‘s poem, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud uses a tranquil and peaceful tone to express the joyful feelings of experiencing the afterlife. The speaker compares his feeling with the parts of nature. The peaceful tone runs in the entire poem as the poet describes a utopia environment where only peace and joy exist. However, the persona acknowledges that his fantasy of a perfect world is impossible. Secondly, I like to see it lap the miles by Emily Dickinson uses a playful tone, which compares a train to various animals.

Dickson creates a friendly tone using simple and direct diction, and first-person. The persona appears to be inviting the readers into an imaginative game of guessing the objects described in the poem. Moreover, the tone in Rite of passage by Sharon Olds is critical and satirical. The author uses the experiences of her son’s first-grade party as a metaphor to satirize the common belief that a man is supposed to be more powerful than other men.

Olds criticizes the men who are always seeking power by comparing the behavior of first-grade and second-grade boys. This essay provides a comparison of the use of tone in the three poems.

The tone in Sharon Olds’s Rites of Passage resembles that of a mother to her child. It has motherly instincts and authoritative advice. The poet uses a parental persona, who is possibly the mother of the child in the poem. The poet describes the thoughts of the persona overseeing her son’s birthday party.

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In this case, the boys attending the party are initiating the persona’s son from a boy to a man. Olds uses the setting and the characters in the poem to address the destructive and violent nature of human beings. In the first stanza, the persona uses a somber and innocent tone to describe the young boys attending the party. The description of the boys at the beginning portrays innocence, “short men in first grade, with smooth jaws and chins”(Olds 3–4).

The tone suddenly changes when she describes her perception of the boys’ character traits, “jostling, jockeying for place small fights breaking out and calming ” (Olds 7). This critical tone helps the readers to understand the violent and destructive nature of the boys. The boys try to ape the grownups around them by comparing age and using violence against the younger boys. Here the poet is using a parental tone to juxtaposition the behavior of boys and that of men. Utilizing a somber and critical tone Olds emphasizes the immature nature of the boys’ actions and still maintains that they are acting like men. In addition, Olds criticizes the boys’ wishes of being seen as mature men by other people but they are aware of their young age, “the boys are tiny in each other’s eyes (Olds 10). This tone serves as a reminder of the boys’ misconceptions of adulthood and gives insights hts into how men view themselves about others.

The poet maintains a critical tone as he describes the battle of superiority as compares the boys with grownup men. Olds compares the boys’ act of clearing their throats with “ small bankers” (Olds 11). When a six-year-old clashes with a seven-year-old, they both try to clear their throats to prove their superiority. Comparing the boys to bankers shows the ‘mature’ behavior in boys and indicates that they are imitating the grownups close to them (Hoagland 7). Olds’s criticism of the boys’ behavior continues when she describes the superiority of the seven-year-old. The seven-year-old boy tells the younger that he could smash his face with the cake “round and heavy as a turret” (Olds 14). This simile compares the boys’ perception of war to that of two men. While the adults view the fight as a trivial case, children see it as a way of power over their age mates (Hoagland 7).

Additionally, the poet continues to use a critical tone to describe the naughty who took her son away, “long hand s cool and thin as the day they guided him out of me.” In bitterness, she expresses her opposition against occasions that led the son to mingle with the young boys who are small and yet prefer playing as if they are generals in war. The person is worried that the boys’ violent nature could “easily kill a two-year-old” (Olds 21). The older boy who has gained superiority presents a common enemy to other boys so that they can unite against him. Hoagland compares the boys’ actions to that of men by claiming that man tends to look for a target, which might be something or someone to despise (Hoagland 7). Olds is critical when describing how the boys imitate their role models. This criticism is relevant in contemporary society because it reveals how boys spend their childhood preparing to be men. The dream and aspirations of the boys to be men mark the rite of passage for a boy.

The first part of I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud uses the first-person’s subjective case to personalize the words of the persona. The first person also helps in creating an in-depth meaning of the poem. In the first stanza of the poem, the persona uses a melancholic tone to describe his loneliness which is compared to a cloud (William 1–2). The poet also uses a euphoric tone when describing the “host of golden Daffodils” (William 4). The imagery and the tone used in the first stanza introduce the speaker to the imaginary world in the poem. The poet also employs a peaceful diction, which allows the readers to feel peaceful and carefree.

The second stanza of the poem introduces the concept of continuous stars but the tone remains peaceful and melancholic. The poet uses diction that prompts the reader to imagine an experience of seeing thousands of starting, “ten thousand stars at a glance” (William 11). The melancholic tone used here takes the reader from the world to a majestic and peaceful world, perhaps a world of the afterlife (Joplin 67). The poet also uses sound devices that create musicality and a smooth rhythm thus enabling the readers to continue experiencing utopian peace. The peaceful tone does not only influence the reader to experience peace but also appreciate nature. Personification is used to describe the nature of daffodils as they “toss their heads” (William 12). The description implies that the utopian world is not only peaceful but also lively and spirited. The poet continues to use personification in the third stanza to describe the joyful nature of daffodils in the utopian place, “the daffodils outdid the sparkling waves in glee” (William 14). This description continues to enhance feelings of peace and joy. By personifying the daffodils, the speaker expresses their effects on him as they are regarded to have life and the ability “to feel glee” (William 14). The golden daffodils have a significant impact on the persona when he says, what wealth the show had brought to me” (William 16). A mare glance at the daffodils brought wealth to the persona. The choice of the word wealth means that the peaceful and joyous atmosphere in the utopia place cannot be compared with worldly wealth (Joplin 67). The reader learns that joy and peace are more worthy than worldly assets.

At the ending of the poem, the tone shifts from being peaceful and joyful to a pensive tone. The persona comes from the fantasy and describes his current physical state. Although he no longer experiences the dancing of the golden daffodils, he says that their memories will remain in his mind, “they flash upon that inward eye” (William 21). The persona is thoughtful when he reveals that he not only has the memories of daffodils but also remembers the feelings that they brought to him. The thoughtfulness at this point reveals that the persona has either been daydreaming or has been through an experience that revealed the nature of heaven (Joplin 68). The tone used in the poem prompts the reader to yearn for a place with imaginary peace.

Further, the playful tone in I likes to see it lap the miles by Emily Dickinson is evident in, “lap the miles and lick the valleys up” (Dickinson 1–2). Line 1 and 2 use vivid verbs that bring out the musical tone. As the readers read the third which refers to, “feeding itself at the tanks” (Dickinson 3), one starts guessing that the poet is describing a train. The poet uses animal metaphors in the first two lines to enhance a deliberate witty tone. The diction used shows that the persona is playing the guessing game with herself as well as the readers (Hall 414). The game seems to be testing the readers’ ingenuity and their ability to interpret animal metaphors.

Furthermore, the enjambment of inline-four enhances the playful tone of the poem. The fourth line ensures that the meaning of the first stanza does not end there but proceeds to the second stanza. By modifying the form of the poem to fit the playful nature of riddles, the poet creates a humorous tone (Hall 414). The poem does not have any aspects that prompt the readers to look for a deeper meaning. The poet personifies the train by describing its feelings and attitudes. . Personification in the poem enhances the playfulness of the poem by making the train familiar and approachable. As the poem develops the poet, gives a clear description of the train, which reveals its identity to the readers. The tone used to describe the train is playful and light, “complaining all the while, in horrid hooting” (Dickinson 11–12). The use of the word ‘hooting’ after the adjective ‘horrid’ creates alliteration which cancels any connotation that might have been implied by the adjective horrid (Hall 414). The playful tone used from the beginning of the poem continues up to the end. The use of words such as neigh and chase in lines 13 and 14 enhance the playful tone. The playful tone in the poem implies that the poem is meant to entertain rather than provoke in-depth analysis.

Conclusively, Sharon Olds’ Rites of Passage uses a critical tone to compare young boys to men. Just like the boys in the party aspire to gain superiority over the others, it is a man’s nature to achieve perfection in life. The tone in I Wandered Lonely by William Wordsworth changes in the course of the poem. The first part uses a melancholic tone, followed by a peaceful and joyful tone and then a pensive tone. The changing tone in the poem reveals that the persona is more comfortable when he thinks of the afterlife than he is on earth. He reveals that he longs to experience the afterlife since he is rather disappointed in earthly life. The pensive tone at the ending of the poem reveals that the experience of the poem is either a dream or a glimpse of heaven. Lastly, Emily Dickson uses a playful and humorous tone to describe a train, which is referred to as ‘it’S. She uses diction it describes the beautiful locomotive without mentioning its name. The playfulness of the lines creates a riddle-like poem where the readers are expected to guess the thing being referred to in the poem.