Artifice
In the poem "No Swan so Fine’’ the narrator describes a beautiful garden at Versailles, filled with many sculptures of various creatures. The narrator looks at those creatures and marvels at their beauty. However, at the end of the poem, the narrator mentions how the animals are dead and thus have no value. What the narrator wants to transmit through this is the idea that while those sculptures are beautiful, they are also worthless. In a similar fashion, many people may appear from outside as having a great value and as being good people but in reality they are empty and have no value at all.
Heroes
In the poem entitled "The Hero’’ the narrator analyzes the characteristics that make someone be a special person. The narrator draws a parallel between the normal people and the heroes, those who are different from the rest of the world. According to the narrator, a hero is someone who knows they are afraid but choses to do the things they are afraid of either way. They have the courage to take their lives into their own hands and risk everything to have a better life. According to the narrator these people are the true heroes that exist today in our society.
The need to have strong beliefs
The main theme in the poem "Black Earth’’ is the idea that a person needs to have strong beliefs. The narrator compares herself with various elements and animals that are ‘strong’ to transmit the idea that her beliefs and her ideas are not subject to change. However, towards the end of the poem, the narrator agrees that pressure can change a person and that pressure can eventually change radically the shape of a belief or idea. Thus, the narrator also highlights how important it is for a person to learn how to deal with those pressures as to avoid being influenced by them.
