Creation of Mood in "The Bull Moose"
             In his narrative poem, "The Bull Moose", the poet, Alden Nowlan, presents us with his portrait of a bull moose whose final journey takes him from his familiar mountain environment to the entrapment of a "pole-fenced pasture". It is within this setting that the moose, weakened by time and fatigue, is teased, tormented and eventually killed by the local townspeople. Throughout the poem, the mood or feeling changes often. The narrator uses several effects to alter and intensify the mood of the poem. Changes in setting, as well as vivid imagery and religious symbolism, directly form the powerful mood in the poem.
             The different settings in the poem enhance the mood that the author is attempting to convey towards the reader. The poet, during the beginning of the poem uses the words, "purple mist of trees on the mountain", "forests of white spruce and cedar", and "tamarack swamps" to help us get a feeling of the habitat that the moose would call home. These descriptions of the remarkable setting give us an idea of the dominion, majesty and freedom that the Bull Moose has in his own territory and immediately gives us a respect for the great moose.
             The setting is then abruptly changed when the poet describes that the moose was, "stopped at last by a pole-fenced pasture." This sudden change in setting as the moose is forced to halt his journey also causes a very abrupt and noticeable mood change. The previous mood of freedom, isolation and tranquility is suddenly transformed to a total opposite one of confinement and uneasiness as the Bull Moose enters into civilization.
             Later on in the poem, the setting again changes slightly when the "sun dropped into the river." The darkness that comes with the setting of the sun causes another apparent change in mood. The mood
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