Death Of The Moth Analysis

Words: 552
Pages: 3

Art of the Personal Essay
Title: The Death of the Moth
Author: Virginia Woolf
Biographical Information: Virginia Woolf was a pioneer of modern fiction. Growing up into an intellectual home allowed her to advance in her studies further. Turning her into some of the most remarkable essay authors. Fascinated with the boundary between life and death, Virginia Woolf writes between those boundaries inside her personal essays.
Historical Background: 1882-1941
Summary: In this essay the author references moths to the struggle between life and death. She uses language that shows that the moth is living life, dancing through the air.Until it gets trapped, escapes and settles on onto a window ledge. The moth then falls and is helpless until the narrator
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It then died which created conflict into the essay, as the author described the death, it concluded the life of the moth and the essay.
Diction: Diction in this essay allowed the reader to find imagery in the writing. For example when describing the moth's flight she says it's fluttering. This shows the reader that the moth was weaker amounting in the fact that the life of a moth isn't strong. Another descriptor is benignant, this also described the moth. When saying the moth was benignant, the author showed how the moth was harmless, making the tone peaceful and the mood positive.
Tone: The tone turned from positive to negative throughout the essay, for example, the moth's flight resembled a human's life, simple and somber. As the moth hit and obstacle it was apparent that the demise of its life was going to happen soon and foreshadowed the death which happened later. This proved that the end of the essay became negative in the sense that the moth was killed and the author felt sad toward it. The author also showed that death was stronger than life ,which was morbid but true as far as human life as