Literal language, figurative images and tone

Literal language: by this I mean language that isn’t really meant to be interpreted. This is language that is quite objective, that describes and which generally shows us what is being seen, heard, etc. It doesn’t tend to have more than one meaning.

Figurative Imagery: by this mean language used by the poet to evoke images that we must read and interpret as a reader. Any poetic techniques fall into this category. So things like simile, metaphor and personification all create imagery that we have to find a meaning in. It is language being used to create images for us.

There is quite a lot of literal language in the poem and in Bishop’s writing in general. She doesn’t tend to use a lot of imagery in her poetry and tends to prefer description to imagery. This has a number of effects on the way the poem conveys its meaning and also it effects the way in which the reader engages with the poem. By keeping everything so literal and descriptive, it tends to keep the poem more ‘grounded’ in the real world, which helps it to feel more real and therefore more truthful. This is important as it helps to give Bishop’s messages, ideas and themes more substance – they feel truer because Bishop is working with such straightforward, ‘real world’ language.

Also, by using mainly literal language, the rare figurative images stand out much more clearly and create a much stronger contrast in the poem. This really helps us to see the extent to which the speaker is troubled by what is happening to her. For so much of the poem she is able to see things clearly, but there are these sudden flashes of imagery, which highlight the strongest moments of panic and crisis that the speaker encounters. This really helps us to understand just how much the speaker is affected by the experience that she is going through.

Tone

As we’ve already discussed, tone is the atmosphere or mood of the poem and is determined for us by the language and imagery that the poet provides for us.

Bishop’s tone changes throughout the poem and this helps us to understand and feel the changes that are happening within the speaker. Initially she is calm, to the point of being bored. She then becomes curious and confused about something she suddenly realises. This curiosity turns to confusion and panic as the realisation or epiphany takes full hold of her. And finally, the tone returns to something calm and regular once the speaker brings us back to the external world in the final stanza.

These shifts and changes in tone are indicated by different language techniques. Things like certain images being created for us, changes in the sentence structure and rhythm of the poem and the inclusion of more emotive language help the reader to see and understand these changes in tone.

Questions1) What is literal language? Provide a specific example from the text.2) What are figurative images? Provide a specific example from the text.3) Find another example of a figurative image and explain how that image helps the reader to

understand the feelings of the speaker. You should be identifying what the feeling is and then how the image helps to express that feeling.

4) What is tone?5) Find two specific quotes that help to define the tone at two different parts of the poem.

Explain what the tone is in each moment and how your quote suggests that specific tone.