Virginia Woolf's essay "The Death of the Moth" is a piece that is effective in conveying her ideas through the use of language. By using the moth as a metaphor for humans, she shows that the way the moth lives its life is a model for human life. Her overall use of brevity, both in her language and the physical structure of the essay, serves to both convey her ideas and to provide her with powerful images, which are further enhanced by employing a tactic addressed by John Ciardi.
             Woolf's essay, although describing the short life of a day moth, is also used as a commentary on human life. Through her language, she effectively implies how the life of the moth is a model for humans to live their lives. The imagery shows the moth to be a "thread of vital light." Even though this moth may seem insignificant, it is exerting all of its energy into its life. He flutters around the window, not only with energy, but with "zest," something Woolf implies that humans should be doing. Humans all need that energy that possesses the moth; one needs to be consumed with vitality in order to make the most of our "meager" lives. Although many live to be in the eighties, that, like the span of a moth's life, is relatively small. By exerting the energy that the moth does, one will live a full, accomplished and meaningful life. Granted the moth only covers the square area of the window, it is vast compared to its size, and people can make accomplishments on a similar scale if a similar energy is employed.
             The moth is seen as "a tiny bead of pure life," another effective use of imagery by Woolf. In the essay, Woolf is showing that this tiny ball, once it begins to lose its energy, continues to fade until it eventually dies. In relations to humans, if we stop using our energy, our lives will be less meaningful and will continue to fade without that energy.
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