Lines 195 through 203 describe the plague and how it is affecting the citizens of Thebes. These lines use severe imagery to fully describe how bad the plague is in Thebes. “Our sorrows defy number,” meaning that they feel like their problems are infinite. “All the ship’s timbers are rotten,” is a metaphor which suggests that they feel like they are drowning in their problems. “Taking of thought is no spear for the driving away of the plague,” this suggests helplessness and how they feel like there is nothing that they can do to get rid of the plague. The next part goes on to talk about how there are no children and no babies and how even if you do see some, they are “…like birds swift on the wing, quicker than fire unmastered, speeding away to the coast of the Western God.” I really like this part because it sounds very fancy and intricate. I like how they reference speed using imagery. “Quicker than fire unmastered” which means like a flame that goes out quickly. “…speeding away to the coast of the Western God,” which means death or the God of death.
Powered by:
top