Analysis of poetry in essay format

¶ … poetry often use imagery as a way to connect the reader to the work. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate this specific use of imagery by analyzing the four following poems: Bogland by Seamus Heaney, The lake of Innisfree, by WB Yeats, Dylan Thomas "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" and Seamus Heaney uses strong visual images in order to construct the landscape of his country Ireland. The images however have a powerful metaphorical and symbolical dimension. The space which is open towards infinity "we have no prairies/To slice a big sun at evening" (Heaney, 1-2) is actually a metaphor for the free spirit of its inhabitants and the infinite possibilities of development they are provided with. The island therefore becomes a symbol of freedom, associated with perpetual creation. "Butter sunk under / More than a hundred years/Was recovered salty and white. / The ground itself is kind, black butter" (Heaney, 13-16) where butter suggests the root of life in the island is strong and fertile, thus allowing for a constant recreation of the country and its spirit.

The image of the soil's fertility is translated into a concept of the life's fertility and ultimately into spiritual fertility. The readers are brought into the poet's vision through a strong imagery connected not only to landscapes, but also to mindscapes. Innisfree on the other hand, still a symbol of freedom, is the place where the poet can escape. The imagery depicts an almost paradisaical island set in the middle of lake waters in clear opposition with the civilized world where the poet feels oppressed. The grey pavement creates not only a sad and gloomy image, but also communicates an inner stare. From an imagery which depicts reality, Yeats passes to one depicting the spiritual reality: "And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,/Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;" (Yeats, 5-6).

The use of imagery is somewhat different in "Do not go gentle into that good night." Here the metaphorical images create an almost surreal landscape: "Old age should burn and rave at close of day;/Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Thomas, 2-3). The message of the poem is the longing for life and youth. In this case as well the images have a strong symbolical dimension, the light must be understood as life and youth, whereas the night as death and decay. Just as the title suggests it, there are people who will not easily accept their fate. "Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, / And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, / Do not go gentle into that good night" (Thomas, 10-12). Wild is a state of mind and the sun in flight is a symbol of freedom and creation. The imagery creates spiritual landscapes which unite the poet and the reader.