Apostrophe & Personification: Poetic Comparison
Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem, "Ode to the West Wind" and Sylvia Plath's poem "Mirror" both employ the poetic tools of apostrophe, the address to something that is intangible, and personification, the application of human characteristics to something inanimate. However, they form a paradox in the usage of these tools through the imagery they create. Both poets have breathed life into inanimate objects, however death and aging are the prominent themes within both of these works.
In "Ode to the West Wind", Shelley personifies many of nature's elements by attaching descriptions of remains of death that are typically human. He begins the poem with a simile by comparing the autumn leaves to ghosts. Though leaves are in fact, living things, the term "ghost" implies a spirit or presence from a living being who has passed on. To become a ghost, it is necessary to have a soul and this is specific to humans and other mammals. Shelley uses the idea of giving a soul to an inanimate object......
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