Vivid imagery and historical allegory in Longfellow's "The Skeleton in Armor"

Skeleton Amor-

The Skeleton in Armor

The poem The Skeleton in Armor by Henry Wordsworth is a master piece of its own kind and quite characteristic of Wordsworth's poems. It is a philosophical statement or tale that tries to retain the history of the Americas. This runs from the exploration trips that brought forth the fruits of discovery of America (as insinuated in "Newfoundland" line and Norway) to the stay in the America. There is also a portrayal of the conquest and dominance of the land through marriage and building statues that symbolize the victory and conquest by the warrior.

The poem is purely based in factual events as noted above, the rule of the ancient "Viking" and the struggle for freedom from this Viking, to the journey of the hero with the aim of finding a land that is free from the oppression of the Viking or the then kings. It is essential then to note that the poem utilizes the philosophy of the struggle and the journey of this warrior and this is juxtaposed against the struggle of America towards the same end, it is a symbolism incident that the entire poem indicates through the warrior as a fable.

Being that it is a journey implied, the poem utilizes thyme to give a melodic and flowing touch to the poem to indicate movement and making the poem easy to read.

The other pertinent aspect of stylistic device used in the poem is imagery. This was inevitable as being a journey described in the poem, there had to be vivid imagery used to enable the reader see the journey in his mind. There are various instances of use of vivid imagery like in stanza 4 line 5,6 "With my skates fast-bound, Skimmed the half-frozen sound" (Poetry Foundation, 2011) giving the reader the picture of a moving warrior and aspect of urgency in the movement. The vivid imagery also creates a world of fantasy in the mind of the reader and in this particular poem, this fantasy has been emphasized by the use of repetition and alliteration throughout the poem.