Connotation and Imagery of The Appointment in Samarra, Oedipus the King, Godfather Death

Introduction

In most literary works, both words and images are often used to convey hidden messages. This enables the reader to understand and experience something in a manner desired by the author. The implied meaning may be achieved through connotation which evokes the desired feelings or creation of new images, sounds, ideas or senses by use of imagery. Imagery refers to the emblematic portrayal or illustration within a given literary work. In other words, it is a rhetorical description which leads to the creation of an image in the mind of the reader. Connotation, on the other hand, is useful in poetry because it allows the poet to pass a message and enrich meaning using the least words possible. Thus, poets normally use words that convey imagery as well as an experience instead of plain words. As a result of this, specific words used in poetry evoke specific emotions or represent a given sound, a particular taste, a type of smell, a kind of touch, or an internal sensation. In essence, this writing tool helps poets to evoke the desired emotions in the audience as they read the poem and thus to be more sensuous than the usual language. Connotation in literary works refers to the disguised meanings of specific words or statements within the text.

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The Appointment in Samarra

In the short story, the author utilizes imagery to show that one cannot run away from death when the time comes. The student of Sufi thought he could evade death by fleeing from Bagdad using the fastest of horses he could find. However, when death meets his old friend and happens to be the Sufi master, he enquired about the student's whereabouts. Surprised by the question, the teacher of Sufi wanted to know why death was looking for his student. Death said he was surprised to see the student in Bagdad because "I have an appointment to take him next week, but it is over in Samarra." Unknown to the master of Sufi is that his student was on his way to Samarra as he was talking with death, and not busy with his studies in Bagdad as he thought. Also, through imagery, the reader can visualize how people are afraid of death. This is evident through the Sufi student's reaction both on hearing and seeing death in the inn. Regardless of being death's friend, fear can also be noted in the curiosity of the Sufi master once death wanted to know the whereabouts of the student. The thought of death speaking is frightening in itself.

Oedipus the King

In the play by the great poet Sophocles, the town of Thebes was ruled by a revered Greek king named Oedipus. Throughout the play, the audience has an insightful look at the themes by use of connotation of blindness and vision. In the play, the use of sight and blindness alludes to light and darkness, although not with the specific meanings. Usually, a blind person is in the dark about what goes on around him and lacks knowledge of his setting and thereby is handicapped during decision making. On the other hand, a sighted person is always aware of his surroundings and thus should be in a position to make decisions while taking into account the various repercussions. The desperate measures undertaken by Oedipus to free himself from knowledge as well as the world is representative of the common idea that people are often unknowing and inconsequential with regards to the greater spectrum of life.

In terms of the play's theme, this shows that the search and curiosity of knowledge normally take place naturally. However, there is a limit past which such a quest for knowledge becomes dangerous and a liability for any individual to handle. Even so, it is always inevitable and inescapable. Sophocles also uses blindness and light to elaborate the themes of guilt and disgrace. King Oedipus tries to find the person who was guilty of the murder of his father, King Laius. He ended up realizing he was the guilty individual and that he married his mother Jocaste as well. This led him to feel guilty and ashamed. This is evident after he blinded himself when he says "If I had eyes, I do not know how I could bear the sight of my father when I came to the house of Death..."

Godfather Death

In Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm's story, the writers chose the thirteenth son that prompts the father to seek for a godfather. The number thirteen is symbolic in the sense that it is regarded as an unlucky number throughout the world. The father chose death over God and the Devil because he felt the two were biased in some way. Contrary to this, the Grimm brothers reveal how Death was biased by choosing which patient to spare and which to take by standing either at their head or feet respectively. The writers utilized imagery to convey a theme of greed in the story. The doctor flipped the patients who were meant to die such that Death stood at their head as he gave them the herbs and ultimately saved their lives. He saved the King because of who he was and the king's daughter because of the promise to marry her; which was contrary to the expectations of his godfather Death. Additionally, the lit candles and Death's alleged inability to light a full candle before one goes off reflects how one cannot change his destiny.