For+a+Lamb

**"For a Lamb" by Richard Eberhart** I saw on the slant hill a putrid lamb, Propped with daisies. The sleep looked deep The face nudged in the green pillow But the guts were out for crows to eat. Where’s the lamb? whose tender plaint Said all for the mute breezes. Say he’s in the wind somewhere, Say, there’s a lamb in the daisies.

**Biography**: April 5, 1904 - June 9, 2005 
 * Grew up in Austin, Minnesota on a 40 acre estate
 * Most poems written reflected his childhood in rural America
 * The death of his mother in 1921 from cancer influenced him to write poetry
 * Studied at the University of Minnesota, transferred to Dartmouth College, then studied in St. John's College in Cambridge, and then spent a year at Harvard University
 * Held the rank of Lieutenant Commander during World War II and served in the U.S. Naval Reserve, wrote many poems about war that were published in his 1945 book Poems: New and Selected


 * || **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Example from Text ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Explanation/Impact ** ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Theme ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">"Propped with daisies. The sleep looked deepThe face nudged in the green pillow" Lines 2-3

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">"Say he’s in the wind somewhere,

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Say, there’s a lamb in the daisies." Lines 7-8 || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">One should not fear death, but welcome it because it does not signify the end, but just a new journey in nature

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">We as readers realize the horror of death but the hope associated with it in lines 7-8

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Reborn through the daisies and the breeze || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">2. Olfactory- "putrid lamb" describes the rotting carcass of the lamb
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Imagery ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">1. Auditory- "mute breezes" describes the calm, light, and silence of the area

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">3. Contrasts- "the guts were out for crows to eat" line 4 and "The face nudged in the green pillow" line 3

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">4. Repetition of 'say' in lines 7 and 8

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">5. Metaphor- "The sleep looked deep" || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">1. The reader gets a sense of calm after the rather brutal death of the lamb <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Realize the horror of death but the hope associated with it.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">2. Done so the reader can grasp the horror and putrid nature the scenario.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">3. To show nature is how you perceive it, we notice either the bad or the good in things.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">4. To emphasize the relaxed nature of the poem. It discusses death so casually but puts focus on the fact that the lamb is everywhere in nature.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">5. Like a euphemism for death. Compares death to a deep sleep. || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">4 lines per stanza <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Free Verse- no rhyme scheme or iambic pentameter || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">"whose tender plaint" line 5, "face nudged in the green pillow" line 3 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Dark Tone- "putrid lamb" line 1 and "guts were out for crows to eat" line 4
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Meter ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Lines 2 and 4 rhyme: deep and eat || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">2 stanzas
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Emotion ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Light Tone- "Propped with daisies" line 2,

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Mood- use of diction with words like "guts", "putrid", "tender", "nudged", and "propped" || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Tone- initially dark, gradually gets lighter in tone as hope arises

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Mood- disgust, horror, sadness, hope, light-heartedness, happiness, and possible relief || Works Cited "Richard Eberhart." //, Famous Poet at Allpoetry//. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. "Richard Eberhart." //Poetry Foundation//. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. "Richard Eberhart." //Poets.org//. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. "Richard Eberhart." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.