Poets Louise Gluck and Percy Bysshe Shelley use symbols and poetic techniques to convey themes of the human experience such as death and disturbing memories. In the poem "Gretel in the Darkness", Louise Gluck recalls a childhood fairy tale and imbues it with two fundamental human experiences: guilt and fear. In “Ozymandias,” Percy Bysshe Shelley discusses the idea that time and nature stop for no one. The poems reinforce major themes with a variety of techniques. “Gretel in dark” by Louise Gluck is a disturbing poem about the horrors that the speaker, Gretel, faces and tries with all her might to forget. The poem is set after the witch's death and Gretel has saved herself and her brother from her torment. Everything should be fine, says Gretel: “This is the world we wanted. Everyone who would have seen us dead is dead." This suggests a dream come true and portrays a character full of urgency, bitterness and violence. This contradicts the title, “in dark,” giving it an ironic tone. Although he regrets this unimaginable act, he originally did it for his brother. On the other hand it also seems that Gretel is dissatisfied as she feels all this guilt and is haunted by the death of the witch, the witch that Gretel killed. “I hear the witch's cry,” Gretel says. The poem begins in the past tense, suggesting that the speaker has defeated his enemies and achieved some degree of emotional closure. The majority of the poem is from Gretel's present-time point of view, and although she believes she has survived and is safe at home, she is still haunted by memories of the burning witch. Gluck portrays Gretel as a terrified and anguished adult. There seems to be this desire to be loved, combined with a childhood full of paper or backward thoughts. The poem forces the reader to dig deeper and examine the outraged fear the children feel from the darkness. Throughout the poem, there is a sense that the reader is looking at Gretel through the eyes of a psychologist, listening to her reveal her deepest secrets about how the darkness has made her almost helpless or defenseless. Gretel longs to find an answer to the question “Why don't I forget” while haunted by the witch's death. He confronts Hansel: “No one remembers. You too, my brother, / as if it had never happened / but I killed for you. Here Gretel realized that she had lost her innocence and her childhood was robbed, like many children in today's world. In the poem, symbolism is used as a powerful technique to reinforce the darkness that Gretel feels, but it also relates this common human experience, fear, to our own lives..