The Armadillo by Elizabeth Bishop
Theme(s)
- Nature
- Appearance vs reality
Poetic Techniques
- Simile
- Alliteration
Rhyme + Structure
- 40 line poem
- Some formal rhyme but falls away as the poem progresses from stanza 9
Tone + Mood
- Initially nostalgic (remembering setting of laterns)
- Remorseful
- Fearful (afraid of danger)
- Vulnerability
Imagery
- Lanterns being let go
- Fire, danger, animals scattering
Symbolism
- Fire - danger
- Lanterns - splattering/exploding like a bomb
- Old owls - old people
- Baby rabbit - innocence