Literary Analysis Essay on Some Say Plants Dont Speak

Introduction

In the "some say plants don't speak", the target domain is the stars, trees, fountains, and flowers, and the source domain is dreams which are described by whisperings. De Castro uses a variety of techniques, metaphors and styles in her quest to understand how the stars, trees, flowers, and fountains do not speak yet according to her; she hears them whisper. "...but it isn't true, since always as I pass by, things whisper about me and exclaim;" (3 and 4). The entailments that I get from this passage is that the stars, fountains and the flowers are whispering about the woman's dreams that are negatively describing them, but the woman has nothing to do of the murmurs because she cannot avoid without them. It helps me understand the poem better because I get to know that despite the woman looking at the positives that nature provides she cannot avoid noticing the negatives that they also showed. The surrounding in the woman's life is unavoidable because despite them having negative impacts in her life, she cannot help because of the positives that they also give.

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It is quite evident that De Castro loved nature, and despite describing herself as the mad woman, she continues to live in her own "cocoon" of believing that nature does speak. Nevertheless, she also describes herself as an old and what the reader would preview as a "poor soul" or hopeless in other words. "There's white hair on my head...but I, poor soul, incurable sleepwalker, dream on and on of expiring life's eternal spring" (10). Comparing this situation to modern life, de Castro depicts the dark age of the Germans during the enlighten era depicts the untold stories of the poor Germans.

She uses the fountains, stars and nature as a way of comforting her sorrowful life. In line 14 through to 15, she describes these target domains as her source of hope. She even goes further to say that, if it her dream that they do not murmur, she could not be alive. "Stars and fountains and flowers, don't whisper my dreams again; could I delight in you without them, Could I live? (14 and 15).

The poem depicts how De Castro valued nature and its importance. Her style of delivery is unique and one a kind. One can argue the De Castro uses an undervalued perception of what she truly believes in, that has questions to the extent of doubting oneself. Although she believes that the twinkling of the stars, the flow of the fountain, the whistling of trees whisper to her, she is eventually convinced that all these things dream of a mere old and poor woman who is only clinging of the hope on nature. As Joseph T. Snow argues, "De Castro's translations in this poem resembles that of Whitman, Dickinson, and other contemporaries of Rosalia de Castro. The commonalities in her world-view with those of the major poets of her era bring us face to face with her universal genius" CITATION Jos \l 1033 (Snow) -- Her poetic style on human nature put to light the smallest yet most significant events of the kind.

The idea of knowledge has changed from the enlightenment period to the romantic period. The leaders of the enlightenment period wanted to promote rationality and science. They wanted humankind to learn more about the world that surrounds them and to explain natural phenomena. Castro's poem contradicts those thoughts. It has a romantic element because she returns to the irrationality of human emotions. She feels insignificant compared to nature. This insignificance has led her to the conclusion that she has not discovered anything new but is instead rediscovering lost thoughts. She says, "that what I think of now others have thought before me... she is making it abundantly clear the beautiful aspect of nature in our lives through many as insignificant may regard it." "There goes the madwoman, dreaming of the eternal spring of life and the fields, though soon enough, all too soon, she will comb grey hair, and shivering." Though beautiful nature is, look at the "ugly truth" it whispered. Something as beautiful as nature should take probably sugar coat the truth a bit but not in the case. To me, this depicted one of the many binaries of life, an environment that is revered as beautiful seems to be mocking her and making her aware of an ugly truth, which is death. De Castro perceives the positivity of nature, but the negative traits are the ones that are seen, "poor soul, incurable sleepwalker, dream on and on of expiring life's eternal spring."

Conclusion

In conclusion, the "some say plants don't speak", target domain is the stars, fountains, and flowers, and the source domain is dreams, which are described by whisperings. The entailments depicted from the poem are the stars, fountains and the flowers are whispering about the woman's dreams that are negatively describing them, but the woman has nothing to do of the murmurs because she cannot avoid without them. Comparing this situation to modern life, de Castro depicts the dark age of the Germans during the enlighten era depicts the untold stories of the poor Germans. De Castro is trying to see the positive but the negative aspect comes out, "poor soul, incurable sleepwalker, dream on and on of expiring life's eternal spring."

Work Cited

Castro, Rosalia De. Some say plants don't speak. n.d.

Snow, Joseph Thomas. Rosalia de Castro Poems. n.d. <http://www.sunypress.edu/p-1121-poems.aspx>.