1. The Last Leaf<br />By Oliver Wendell Holmes<br />In his poem “The Last Leaf” Oliver Wendell Holmes describes a relic of a season that has passed. The interesting element in the poem is that the relic is a living human being who is the last survivor of the generation that bloomed at the same time that he did. Holmes describes this relic of a man using similes and metaphors.Holmes uses similes to underscore the condition of the aged gentlemen in the poem. The description of the man’s cheek in his youth being like a “rose in the snow” serves two purposes. Firstly, it contrasts the passion of youth, represented by the redness of his cheeks, with the “sad and wan” appearance the man now has. Secondly, it suggests something about the nature of youth. Like a rose in the snow, youth is bound to fade away. Holmes also describes the old man’s nose as being “like a staff.” This comparison not only describes the old man’s physical appearance, but it also connotes age and the weakness that accompanies it.Holmes also makes great use of metaphors in this poem. One of the most powerful of these metaphors is the description of time as a “pruning knife.” Time is described as a weapon that injures the body; however, it is not a lethal weapon that kills with a blow. It whittles away at life a little bit at a time, weakening and deforming the body as it goes. The old man’s teeth are described metaphorically as “mossy marbles.” This metaphor serves to describe his teeth as small, rounded useless things. They were made so by the same erosive forces of time that ravaged the rest of the old man’s body. The final metaphor included in the poem is the one for which the poem is named. The old man is compared to “the last leaf upon the tree in the spring.” He is the last leaf because he is the last surviving member a group that has fallen before him and been ground into the dirt. The other people “bloomed” and thrived at the same time he did, but now he is strangely out of place in the new season of “spring” that brings forth a new generation.Holmes admires this stubborn old leaf and hopes himself to be such a leaf in another spring yet to come. He therefore smiles at the old man despite the man’s ugly and withered appearancequot;
<br />Oliver Wendell Holmes uses this older man as a relic of the season. He has held on to be the last of this generation that have all fallen before him, but he still holds stubbornly to life like the quot;
last leafquot;
on a tree in spring time. He is out of place; a withered discolored leaf among thriving new buds.Similies used ny Holmes are:A.) The man's cheek was like a quot;
rose in the snowquot;
this could mean threee things.1.)Roses are red amd signify passion. This would be the passion of youth in contrast to the show. Snow being the current wan(pale)demeanor of the old man.2.) It could represent the nature of youth. It will fade. A rose set in the snow can do nothing but wither away.3.) OR on a different tangent, the one I lean toward, it could be a symbol of perseverance. This man shouldn't still be here, much like a rose should not sitll be thriving in the snow.B.) The man's nose is quot;
like a staffquot;
1.)This is a reflection on his WHOLE self through just his nose.2.)Staff brings to mind cane. Cane transcends to instability and weakness. In the case a the staff instability in walking, but symbolically it is just weak in a general form. Men lean on staffs to help them stand.Metaphors used:A.)Time is a prunning knife. It cuts away selectively, choosing what to shape and what not to. I preffer carving knife. Prunning is like fine tuning to yield a more prolific outcome. Carving is slowly whittling away, such is life.B.)The man is the quot;
Last leaf in the springquot;
.. Everyone else has already past. The man is faded and weak, but still hangs on (why I like the third interpretation of the rose in snow similie the most).The old man's stubborn battle to cling to the tree is an inspiration to the speaker to cling to the tree and aspire to someday be that quot;
last leaf in the springquot;
.<br />
