The Thistle Down

The Thistle Down

There several instances of prose fiction in the Pauline thistle-down. Fiction is a fundamental element of every piece of literature, and Jonson succeeds in using it to convey the intended message appropriately. Through fiction, the author is able to incorporate some taboos and related moral issues in real-world situations. This element has been used so stylishly throughout the poem; as such, the author has been able to meld the mind sent of the writer with that of the reader. The author uses fictional to enable the various characters within the poem to interact with the world around them, making the poem livelier.

The second line, “the west lifts the sun, her longing lips,” contains some fictional elements. The author describes the sun as “she,” meaning that the sun is seen as a woman. It is as a result of this that the author is able to describe the sun as a woman or lady that possess some attractive lips. The author therefore succeeds in hijacking the mindset of the leaders by making them see the sun as a real human. Through this, the author sets the stage for the readers to understand the poem in another way. He describes the sky as if it is the earth by saying, “the shoe, the river, and the wide sky (Johnson, 1917).” This line interlinks the preceding lines in a precise manner. The author uses this line to explain that the woman who is represented by the sun in the poem needs a place to stay, which is the sky. The woman needs all the earthly properties, such as rivers, for her to live like an average human.

The author uses the phrase, like the “floods of wine,” to describe the intensity of the waters. In real-life situations, it is unlikely to experience floods of wine. Floods of wine can only be witnessed in abnormal situations. Wine is known to be expensive, and people of higher class consume it. Therefore, floods of wine in this context are used to show that the waters might have been too much beyond the expected levels. The canoe was flowing over these waters though it was slow. The author uses the word Goldenrod is used factiously by the author (Johnson, 1917). The Goldenrod is a plant used to heal several health conditions. Therefore, the author factiously uses it in this poem to represent some form of healing, maybe emotional or physical.

The author uses the phrase “her Stain with gold and garment dye” to show a sense of attractiveness. Gold is known to be expensive and therefore, he uses it in this poem to show how valuable “she was.” The canoe which the character of the poem was using has been factiously used. The canoe may have represented the transition of the actor from one situation to another. The author has undoubtedly succeeded in using fictional stylishly though out the poem to portray ideas (Curtis et al., 2019). He is able to evoke feelings and emotions through the use of fiction. As seen from Johnson’s piece of work, prose fiction is inspired by how the world digests language. He has been able to use imaginary writings as opposed to creative writings to pass his ideas. The various aspects of prose such as the character, point of view, plot and the setting have been strategically applied throughout the poem.

References

Curtis, L., Taplin, A., & Fraser, J. (2019). Prose fiction. Metaphor, (1), 58. 130.

Johnson, E. P. (1917). Flint and Feather: The Complete Poems of E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake). Musson Book Company.