“Leaves fluttering raggedly” - for native speakers of English.
I wrote a poem in which I wrote the line
“Leaves fluttering raggedly”.
I’m curious to know whether this creates any meaningful or interesting association in the mind of a native speaker. I’m thinking about my use of the word “raggedly”.
Do you associate it with a sound - like in “ragged breathing” - or with an uneven rhythm?
Thanks for your feedback!
Search from various English teachers...
Answers · 17
1
I like it. For me, it evokes an visual image rather than a sound.
1
I like it. I see leaves the size of oak tree leaves that are dead but haven't yet fallen. They're flapping in a good wind. I see a cluster of leaves. Like Su.Ki, I think your phrase is evocative of movement, not of sound.
1
It's poetic, it's original (not a stock phrase), and it's evocative. However, I can't help interpreting "raggedly" as applying to the leaves, not to the dynamics of the fluttering. It makes me think of dead leaves, that are still on the tree, that have gotten brittle and dried out and have actually been torn by the wind, or are tearing.
Oddly, it called to mind the poem that is being written by the protagonist in George Orwell's novel, "Keep the Aspidistra Flying," which begins:
Sharply the menacing wind sweeps over
The bending poplars, newly bare,
And the dark ribbons of the chimneys
Veer downward; flicked by whips of air,
Torn posters flutter,
and also a sentence from "Nineteen Eighty-Four:"
"Down at street level another poster, torn at one corner, flapped fitfully in the wind, alternately covering and uncovering the single word INGSOC."
1
Hi Mikkel, If I were you, I'd rather have those leaves quiver, or tremble or even simply flutter. Adding the adverb does no benefit to the picture I see of your leaves. A suitable simile or even better, a fresh metaphor on the other hand, brings those leaves to life and I get to see them and perhaps even hear them.
Just my 2 cents worth mate. :)
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