Tone/Mood

The tone of a poem, novel, or play is essential to the profound impact it has on the reader. Tone has a deep-seated connection to the theme of the poems "To an Athlete Dying Young" by A.E. Housman and "Ulysses" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. While the tone of the first shifts from celebratory to melancholy, the mood of the latter contains an unchanging lament.
In the first stanza of A.E. Housman's poem, the reader can sense a freshly victorious tone that screams of merriment, and suddenly it shifts to a gloomy disposition. Even with the use of similar wording, Housman is able to convey the tonal shift that occurs between the peak of the athlete's career and his death. Through the rest of the poem, though the tone remains mournful of the athlete, it also has the aura of admiration toward the young man. "Smart lad, to slip betimes away..." (Housman 9). The author communicates a complex tone in that the young athlete is appreciated for all he did for the duration of his life while it also comes to light that he is no more.
Similarly, but in thematic opposition, "Ulysses" by Tennyson highlights the problems of an old man who is grieving the lengthiness of his life. The entire poem carries a heavy disappointed and almost tired mood in describing the life of an old man. "It little profits that an idle king...Matched with an aged wife, I mete and dole" (Tennyson 1-3). The narrator's seems to be almost desperate for relief and ultimately, death. With this, Tennyson projects the effects of tone onto the reader as ideal to the revelation of theme.
Both authors use tone as a steady means of disclosure to the reader in terms of the overall theme. Mood can give the poem an emotional touch that is necessary to actually feel the depth of each word.

Diction

Diction is very integral part of poetry and writing in general. The quality and meaning of the words one chooses ultimately determines the poems effectivity. Word choice is the core of a piece of writing and establishes the literal and to some extent figurative interpretations. Two very contrarily written poems: "The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot and "Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell enhance the variety of effects that diction has on poetry. While Eliot remains vivid and modernistic in his word choice, Marvell tends to use diction that is more traditionally striking in his writing.
"Coy Mistress" is a very conventional use of diction. Marvell tends to tell a story and reveal his deeper meaning through a simpler word choice. Since the syntax falls into a comprehensive pattern, the reader is able to understand each figurative reference and even literal mention throughout the poem. Rather than being a mixture of words and thus a muddle of thoughts, Marvell uses his diction to cohesively communicate a certain overlaying theme; in this case, the limitations of time. With such word choice, there is no way the reader can go wrong. The author begins his poem with an apostrophe, letting the reader know the intention of the narrator way before any interpretation takes place. "Had we but world enough, and time, This coyness, Lady, were no crime..."(Marvell 2). This very phrase creates an understandable world for the reader in which the diction is merely a helping hand into the deep end of the poem. Marvell, with a traditional approach to poetry, uses a very classic diction to generate a simpler access to mind of the narrator.
On the other hand, T.S. Eliot adopts a very modern style of diction to his poetry. In “The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock” the narrator’s thoughts seem to be splashed onto a blank page. The diction shows no sense of organization or understandable quality. Eliot’s word choice seems to be more emotion based than logic based as he radically changes scenarios. The diction and syntax are very haphazard, which contributes to the ambiguous blanket thrown over the poem. The narrator does not seem to have any real opinion or issue to be dealt with but rather the words have no connection to one another. The words with harsh definitions follow those with soft meanings and thus the poem becomes a puzzle. “When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherised upon a table;…” (Eliot 2-3). At first, words like “evening,” “spread,” and “sky” all give the reader a tranquil image, and then suddenly, words like “patient,” and “etherised” spark confusion. The diction is contradictory at many points in Eliot’s poetry and hence gives the poem its uniqueness.

Figurative Language (Graded)

Figurative language is imperative to producing relatable poetry. Without over-simplifying the meaning of each detail, the author is able to give the reader a great picture of the scene explained. Figurative language is the use of subtle comparison to reveal a greater significance of the incident or thought at hand. In the poem "Fast Break" by Edward Hirsch, there are many uses of figurative language through similes, metaphors, imagery, and personification. At the very commencement of the poem, Hirsch describes the basketball as "kissing" the hoop and "helplessly" hanging, giving it personified traits. With this, Hirsch is able to communicate to the audience the emotion invested in the path of the basketball in a tense game. His use of figurative language continues as he employs various metaphors and similes, sometimes intertwined. For example, he describes the basketball as "orange leather," metaphorically, and then compares it to a "cherished possession." This demonstrates the mixed use of metaphor and simile. Moreover, Hirsch continues to use an abundance of similes to describe the intense moments on the court. "in slow motion, almost exactly like a coach's drawing on the blackboard." (Hirsch 16). The comparison to writing on a blackboard displays the simplicity of the game, yet the overwhelming expectations of victory. Hirsch also uses auditory imagery to give the reader a sense of being at the game. With references to dribbling and "a single bounce hitting the hardwood..." the author places the reader, mentally, in an anxious moment at a basketball game with very real and imaginable sounds. Overall, Hirsch, with a good variety of figurative language, is able to pull the reader in to his story, which essentially, shows us the success of using suggestive diction rather than applying literal statements.

Sounds of Poetry

The sounds of a poem are very important in conveying emotion effectively. The use of clever diction goes a long way for the reader in understanding the major theme of the poem. In Robert Frost's “Out, Out-”, the use of consistent sibilance and alliteration gives an overriding sinister effect to the meaning of the poem. When read aloud, this diction contributes to the personified evil nature of the “buzz-saw” that cuts off the young boy’s arm. Frost also uses plosives such as “puffed” and “pulse” to enhance the sorrowful moment of the boy’s last breaths and he employs aggressive words such as: “snarl” and “rattle" to further the animalistic traits of the saw. Furthermore, Frost uses repetition of words such as: "supper," "hand," "leap," and the phrase "snarled and rattled." The redundant words catch the reader's attention and their meaning becomes increasingly eminent. Overall, the sounds creating when reading "Out, Out-" due to sibilance, alliteration, and repetition contribute to the at times intense, and at times melancholy theme of this piece of writing.

Symbols

Symbolism is the amount of objectivity that the writer prefers for his work. With the use of metaphors that depict his or her ideas and theme, the author is able to control, even the smallest amount, the reader's interpretation of their piece. The use of symbolism in poetry is paramount to revealing what that author is trying to convey while simultaneously allowing the reader to form their own take on the poem. "Traveling through the Dark" by William Stafford and "Woodchucks" by Maxine Kumin are similar in that both their poems are based on animals; however, while Stafford uses cars as a symbolism for the greater evil that destroys nature, Kumin uses the symbolism of the cyanide gas to express the inborn and unidentifiable evil within human beings themselves.

In "Traveling through the Dark" by William Stafford, the use of one powerful symbol establishes the main idea of the poem; the destruction of nature by material objects. His description of his car as he stands by the dead deer is almost predatory. The car stands for the bigger meaning of a destructive creation towards nature and wildlife. The scene where he is touching the deer's stomach and sees his car further demonstrates the predaciousness of the machine."The car aimed ahead its lowered parking lights; under the hood purred the steady engine." With the car, Stafford symbolizes the harmful characteristics of man-made machinery.

In "Woodchucks" by Maxine Kumin, while also using the theme of animals, uses the symbol of cyanide gas to reveal her thoughts of the inherent malevolence of humans. Her approach to exterminating the woodchucks by gassing them instantly uncovers her malicious intentions. As the poem progresses the narrator becomes more and more irritated and consequentially more evil-natured and serious toward the death of each woodchuck. Nearing the end, after she has killed them all, we see a more regretful nature of her, though disturbing. "If only they'd all consented to die unseen gassed underground the quiet Nazi way." This ending statement signifies the connection the narrator is making between the effects of the Holocaust and the termination of the small woodchucks. The reader can see her true intentions as, explaining the inceptive immoral streak each human carries within them toward living things and nature overall.

Both these poems, with their respective symbols, explicate what they want the reader to take away from their poems.