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Sharpio's "Auto Wreck": The Theme Of Death - Papers Online

Sharpio's "Auto Wreck": The Theme Of Death

Few subjects can be discussed with more insightfulness and curiosity
than death. The unpredictability and grimness of it are conveyed well in Karl
Shapiro's poem, "Auto Wreck". The poem starts with a description of an
ambulance rushing to the scene of a crash, and hurriedly gathering up the
victims and rushing them away. The aftermath of the police investigation that
follows leaves the crowd gathered around the scene to explore privately and
individually a range of feelings and emotions about the reality of death.
Shapiro's usage of imagery together with figurative language is a key element in
getting the theme of death across to the reader. By bringing the scene of the
accident to ...

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clearly and vividly the
emotions of the scene, it is easy for the reader to identify the theme itself,
and also to identify with it.
In the first stanza, the speaker describes the ambulance arriving on the
scene more so than the actual scene itself. The ambulance is described using
words such as "wings", "dips", and "floating", giving the impression of the
hectic nature of its business at an accident. When the ambulance arrives and
breaks through the crowd, "the doors leap open" to further convey the hurried
state it's in. In line 5, as the ambulance passes the beacons and illuminated
clocks, it gives the reader an obvious clue about setting. To take the words'
meaning further, it can be argued that the illumination of the clocks and the
emptying light in line 8 symbolize life itself as light in an otherwise dark
situation. Also, the allusion to a heart by use of the words "pulsing",
"artery" and "beating" personify the ambulance as the new life giving support of
the ...

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Sharpio's "Auto Wreck": The Theme Of Death. (2006, July 11). Retrieved November 30, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Sharpios-Auto-Wreck-The-Theme-Death/48954

"Sharpio's "Auto Wreck": The Theme Of Death." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 11 Jul. 2006. Web. 30 Nov. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Sharpios-Auto-Wreck-The-Theme-Death/48954>

"Sharpio's "Auto Wreck": The Theme Of Death." Essayworld.com. July 11, 2006. Accessed November 30, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Sharpios-Auto-Wreck-The-Theme-Death/48954.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 7/11/2006 01:52:48 AM
Category: Poetry & Poets
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1076
Pages: 4

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