In the poems "London", "Burial on the Beach", "A Poisonous Tree", "The Garden of Love", "Journey of the Magi" and In Blake, Slessor, Eliot, and Tennyson's Ulysses, simple images of objects, actions, and ideas are used to develop universal themes of life, death, social decay, religion, and human alienation. “London” and “Beach Burial” both use simple imagery to express the speaker’s human journey into desperation. “The Journey of the Magi” and “Ulysses” both explore the reflection of a journey and its impact on life through images. 'A Poisonous Tree' and 'The Garden of Love' are short stories that describe the repression and confession of anger and the destruction that the corrupt church causes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get the original essay "London" by William Blake and "Beach Burial" by Slessor, both rely heavily on simple images of death and pain to explore and develop the themes of life and its miseries. In "London", Blake is very critical of London and the miserable lives that Londoners lead, but he is also critical of institutions such as the church, the monarchy and especially marriage, which take away people's freedom. London uses simple color imagery, such as “darkened church” and “midnight streets” to evoke a sense of darkness that can be further interpreted as an idea of death. As the "sigh of the hapless soldier flows in blood along the palace walls", a vivid criticism is asserted of the monarchy that wages wars without concern for those who fight. The simple image of the chimney sweep, "Like the cry of the chimney sweep", contributes to the depiction of London's period of industrialisation. These simple but effective images demonstrate the rigidity of London society at that particular time. Like London, Beach Burial uses images of suffering and desolation to reveal the speaker's recognition of the great democracy of death. "Dead sailors, gone seeking the same landing, / Whether they fought as enemies, / Or fought with us, or neither; the sand unites them." Slessor illustrates a stark depiction of death and how it inevitably forces men together, despite their differences.** Similarly to London, Beach Burial uses simple color images to help reveal an appropriately serious and somber tone. “Unknown sailor – the ghostly pencil/ Wavers and fades, the drops purple,” the indelible pencil used to write the unknown sailor turns purple in the wet, wavering and fading like a ghostly pencil. Both poems successfully use simple images of suffering and misery to develop the underlying theme of death. Simple images of nature are evident in "The Journey of the Magi", by TS Eliot, and "Ulysses", by Tennyson, as they reinforce and develop the complicated theme of how life and religion can be influenced and changed. “The Journey of the Magi” is a narrative reflection of the speaker's conversion to Christianity as he expresses his feelings toward his religion and thoroughly describes his religious rebirth. A great sense of human alienation is evoked as the speaker presents himself as uncomfortable both physically and psychologically: "And the hostile towns and the unfriendly towns / And the villages dirty and charging high prices." The antagonism between people and the harshness of the journey are conveyed through images of the physical aspects of the journey. Eliot effectively uses simple imagery to convey implications of complexity to the audience: “And an old white horse.
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