1、A Review of My Wood16130011011 陈昭池My Wood is an essay written by English novelist and essayist E.M.Forster. My very first intention to read My Wood is to learn the usage of allusion. There is no doubt that E.M.Forster make it in showing a typical example of allusion. But I find it is apparently that
2、 there are more lessons I can learn in the end.The wood in the title is a property of the author which he bought after his well books well selling. E.M.Forster talks about property in the whole essay to explores the psychological consequences of owing property. He describes every subtle psychologica
3、l difference and overstate it. Through these discussion, he tells the evil side of owning fortune and divides it into four points. Simultaneously, he also uses a number of rhetorical devices highlights the irony and humor of the article.During his expounding, Forster cites several stories from the B
4、ible. Stories in the bible are often used as allusions in literary works, which makes the opinion more acceptable and impersonal. But the allusions in My Wood acts a different role. The authors purpose is to make his tone more serious. And he exaggerated his human nature to be stout, selfish and gre
5、ed by this way. I have to confess that this flexible using of allusion impress me a lot and build me a impression of E.M.Forster with wit and sense of humor. And theses allusions do add the entertainment and marvellous to this essay.Except allusion, the author quoted the Russian novelist Tolstoys vi
6、ew of “property is sinful.“ in the second paragraph. Tolstoy advocated the simple way of life, and believed that the property is evil. In this section, Tolstoy used the views “property makes people heavy, slow“ from the Bible, which highlights the authors point: Property produce psychological advers
7、e impact on people, and makes the theme more vivid and convincing. In paragraph 5, Forster cites Shakespeares assessment of greed-The expense of spirit in a waste of shame, and also words from Dante- Possession is one with loss. These quotations express the view that property is entangled with greed
8、. And the Dante words show the greed of possession only lead to the consequence with a great loss.My favorite part of the essay is the tone. The author uses a more serious and formal expression to unimportant little things, which causes a huge contrast. This rhetorical device functions in strengthen
9、ing the sarcasm and humor of the passage successfully. In My Wood, the author uses this rhetorical technique frequently to make the articles satire more prominent. For instance, Forster care very much about the blackberry in his wood. And even a little bird fly by his place, he call it “my bird”, an
10、d show anger for its leaving which he regards as a betray. I couldnt help my self to laugh out loud while I was reading.My Wood is not a essay with long length. But the rhetoric Foster uses perfectly gives us a direct impression of his knowledge, which tells us how much rhetoric can do. And his sense of humor makes our study more amusing.
