Dirge in Woods by George Meredith Kaitlyn Hagy

Catch a Little Rhyme By Eve MerriamEve Merriam Once upon a time I caught a little rhyme I set it on the floor but it ran right out the door I chased it on my bicycle but it melted to an icicle I scooped it up in my hat but it turned into a cat I caught it by the tail but it stretched into a whale I followed it in a boat but it changed into a goat When I fed it tin and paper it became a tall skyscraper Then it grew into a kite and flew far out of sight...

A wind sways the pines, And below Not a breath of wild air; Still as the mosses that glow On the flooring and over the lines Of the roots here and there. The pine-tree drops its dead; They are quiet, as under the sea. Overhead, overhead Rushes life in a race, As the clouds the clouds chase; And we go, And we drop like the fruits of the tree, Even we, Even so. George Meredith

Biographical information  When Meredith was five his mother died.  Meredith was sent to boarding school and became very distant with his father.  During the first five years of his marriage his wife had several miscarriages and stillbirths. This led him to have nervous and digestive disorders.  Meredith’s wife left him and his five-year-old son alone.  Meredith’s poems mostly come from experiences in his life.

Structure A wind sways the pines, And below Not a breath of wild air; Still as the mosses that glow On the flooring and over the lines Of the roots here and there. The pine-tree drops its dead; They are quiet, as under the sea. Overhead, overhead Rushes life in a race, As the clouds the clouds chase; And we go, And we drop like the fruits of the tree, Even we, Even so.  1 stanza  15 lines  End rhyme  End rhyme:  A- 1,5  B- 2,4,12,15  C- 3,6  D- 7,9  E- 8,13,14  F- 10,11

Speaker  The speaker is a older person and is getting ready to die but is happy that he has children to carry on his generation. And we drop like the fruits of the tree, Even we, Even so. This part of the poem is showing that we go from a seed to a tree to make more seeds.

Imagery *This picture shows a casket in the woods because the poem is called “Dirge in the Woods” and dirge means a funeral song so the literal meaning of the title is funeral song in the woods.

*In the poem it refers to our children as the seeds of a pine tree. Imagery “The pine-tree drops its dead;”

Imagery *The figurative meaning in the poem is that life goes in a big cycle just like nature in this case a tree.

Imagery “A wind sways the pines,”

Alliteration  Alliteration- adds to the song/lyric in the poem; shows more emotion A wind sways the pines, And below Not a breath of wild air; Still as the mosses that glow On the flooring and over the lines Of the roots here and there. The pine-tree drops its dead; They are quiet, as under the sea. Overhead, overhead Rushes life in a race, As the clouds the clouds chase; And we go, And we drop like the fruits of the tree, Even we, Even so.

Similes  Simile- a comparison of two different things using like or as to show more exaggeration “And we drop like the fruits of the tree,” The pine-tree drops its dead; They are quiet, as under the sea.

Metaphor  Metaphor- a comparison when you say something is something other than it actually is.  This whole poem is a metaphor because it talks about humans being just like nature. A wind sways the pines, And below Not a breath of wild air; Still as the mosses that glow On the flooring and over the lines Of the roots here and there. The pine-tree drops its dead; They are quiet, as under the sea. Overhead, overhead Rushes life in a race, As the clouds the clouds chase; And we go, And we drop like the fruits of the tree, Even we, Even so.

Sensory language  Not a breath of wild air; - you use your mouth to breath  They are quiet, as under the sea. - quiet is what you hear  A wind sways the pines, - you feel the wind

Literal meaning  The literal meaning is that a tree is swaying in the wind and pinecones are falling from it.

Figurative meaning  The figurative meaning is that when you are born you start life cycle over just like in nature trees have a cycle that never ends.

Author's purpose  You can’t escape death A wind sways the pines, And below Not a breath of wild air; Still as the mosses that glow On the flooring and over the lines Of the roots here and there. The pine-tree drops its dead; They are quiet, as under the sea. Overhead, overhead Rushes life in a race, As the clouds the clouds chase; And we go, And we drop like the fruits of the tree, Even we, Even so.

Theme  The cycle of life/death never ends. A wind sways the pines, And below Not a breath of wild air; Still as the mosses that glow On the flooring and over the lines Of the roots here and there. The pine-tree drops its dead; They are quiet, as under the sea. Overhead, overhead Rushes life in a race, As the clouds the clouds chase; And we go, And we drop like the fruits of the tree, Even we, Even so.

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