Poetry and the Imagination

Name: Professor’s name: Course: Date: Poetry and the Imagination Poems whose primary focus is nature can teach children about the beauty of pristine forests, heavenly bodies, and animals. For this assignment, I will discuss three poems. The first poem is Trees by Walter de la Mare. In Trees, de la Mare describes a tree, which in his opinion is the most magnificent in all of England. De la Mare describes the tree in a manner that allows a child to see its beauty. He also uses poetic rhythm to show how the tree stands out compared to other trees. The use of patterns, rhythms, images, and moods in Trees is crucial to the effectiveness of the piece. For example, if de la Mare did not use “Of all the trees in England” as the opening sentence to all four stanzas (1, 5, 9, 13), the poem would be lacking in the specificity of the location of the tree, and the reader would be left to wonder which trees he is comparing his tree to. De la Mare used positive adjectives such as lovely (7) and sweet (2) to describe the tree. He also brought out the magnificence of the tree when he wrote that it could not be compared to the Thorn, Elm, Oak, and Elder trees (14) and its fragrance cannot be compared to that of myrrh and frankincense (10). The second poem is The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson uses real-life examples in the poem to describe the moon. For instance, he writes that the face of the moon is like that of a “clock in the hall.” This description makes it easy for a child to understand what the moon looks like. The use of rhythms, moods, images, and patterns in The Moon contribute to the overall effectiveness of the poem. Many children believe that they are the only ones who can see the moon or that the moon is following them. But, in this poem, Stevenson explains in a manner that is easy for a child to understand that the moon shines on everyone, including thieves (2), on streets and fields (3), and birdies sleeping in the forks of the trees (3). By readi...