comparing a postponed dream to the smell of rotting meat. Rotten meat smells foul, sickening, and hard to ignore. By using this image, Hughes suggests that when dreams are put off too long, they don't just fade away quietly — they become painful, disgusting, and harmful, just like the unbearable smell of spoiled food.

Whitman uses natural imagery, particularly the lilac, the star, and the thrush, to symbolize grief, loss, and renewal. This deep connection between human emotion and the natural world is a hallmark of Romanticism.