Death Theme in Poetry

Paper Summary:

The writer of this paper examines the underlying theme of death in both works of poetry. In "The Voice" poet Thomas Hardy questions the reality of the voice he's hearing by questioning if ,it is in fact the wind, and not his recently deceased wife. In his poem, Hardy believes his wife is still with him as she speaks to him in whispers of breeze. The poem "The Widow's Lament in Springtime" by William Carlos Williams is full of metaphorical content. From the beginning of the poem Williams describes the extent of grief which is felt by the widow as she finds memories of her life with her husband and cannot bear to gaze upon them. This paper also clearly details the structure of both poems.

From the Paper:

"Now, in this stanza Hardy introduces his second thoughts about the voice actually being the voice of his wife. He wonders if it is just the breeze, and a lazy breeze at that, which just seems to catch his attention as it floated past him. In the last two stanzas, Hardy describes the abandonment of his wife if it is the breeze. He describes that if he only hears the wind, then his wife has been cast into a realm where she will never be heard again. Therefore, these stanzas describe the other side of Hardy. He has created an elaborate poem in which his wife is remembered through her whispers to him. Then in this stanza he comes out and says that is could just be the wind. This sets him up to conclude his poem."

More papers on Death Theme in Poetry:

• Analytical Essay # 62151 : "Death in Poetry"
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• Analytical Essay # 129387 : "Death in the Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe"

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