analysis of a poem 0002

8/8/2019 Analysis of a Poem 0002

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PART I IWritingaboutLiteratureCHAPTERAnalysis f a Poem

wri t ing is a verYgeneral erm. lndiv idual ypesof wr i t ing assignmentsol low part icularformats. nd he oork iou must producen ,vour up. t t is udgedbothon i ts content nd on i tspresentat ion.n essa1,s not an anal l ,s is;n anal l ,s iss not a research aper.

Subject ing prece f l i terature o analysiss not unl ikesubject ing nything se o anal -" -s is 'In an analysls, ou consider n ent i ty 's omponentsnd seehow they work together or fa i l towork rogether) . he successful erging f the appropr iate omponentss a whole '

n the case fa piece f l i terature.hewhole scomprisedf elements hichactbothobject ivelyndsubject ivelyThe complexi ty f th is nteract ion.ike he complexi ty f characte-rra i tswi th in a single erson'elicitsboth ntellectual nd emotional esponses.ou , as a readerof a l iterarypiece,mustconsideri ts st imul iand he means l which hey' voke esponses'You areasked o *r i te an analysis f a piece f l i terature: poem'a play'a shortstory 'cra novel.Your assignment,hen, s twofold: o analyseand to r+'ri le Beforeattemptingvour firsttask,analysrs,ou must eal ize omething:ou mustconsiderhe wholebefore ou focus n theparts.You cannotanalyse nything f you-donot know i t ,wel l . How is i t possib leo considerindiv idual lements i thout r , in t ng of them n the context f the whole?No element xists na vacuum; nothingdoes. n th e casi o[ a poem, or example' iguresof speech' mages' hyme'andmetrearenot ndependentnt i t ies;heyareelements hich,whenput togethern a part icularway, comprisea ParticularPoem'

lf you try ro attack a poem head-onwithout proper consideration' ou ma ) find yourselfproducing omething imilar to what this studentha d to say:Th e topic assigneds ro analyserhispoem v'hich s a sonnetb1 ' hakespearewh o uses

fourteen tines nd a Shakespearean'rh1'mecheme 'hich he invented o suit what hewanted o sa yan d th , penri^eter line v'hichsounded ik e real speech ut isn't 'Pull yourself ogether.Mangled presentationseffect ncoherent houghts' t is all right if yourthoughtsar e a jumble init ialiy, bu t they must be organized efore he y appear n your f inal draft 'Ho w do you order your thoughtsabout a poem?

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A poem s a work of riteraryart. It is an entity, rikea tapestry*lovelyas a whole.Thendividual trands rewovenogethero make tr,ing;ri;;r. fi strandsmaybe emarkabre,ut theyare ruly effective nt/*r,"i *o""n^tog3tr,*.a p""ili;;.l", unifying hreads, ut youustsee hewholepiece efore ouunr"u"i'it.,vour"""r;;;;i;; poemnvorvesnraveringhe#;1i:',:::J:*":,""9 tr'.nr'o*ingo",r,"y.",. oi,* rr.,ii, Donot imprynraverhei-"g_",,h;;; ',,i..fi;:'l*j'r",jil:11ji.#"11"ir""?"rv""r,i,'.ii'rl'*o,a,nIt is mucheasier o.put a jigsaw priri" togetherwhenyou havea comprete icture rom;il:l r work' rt is much""ti"r ioln"i;;;; *",n whenyou r,"u.-tr," compreted iece n your

Writing aboutLiteratureaNO WTH E POEM

WHAT IS AN ANALYSIS?:#i:ffi'ilIT"l;:Tl,::l;:,ii*":j-i":"..i:_"'r:i sashowher hessaying;:tr;;"'li:ffJLHIllf,:i:"riii#:ilrl;".*r';:,:?,[$:T"iffJi:';:ffi':';l*f:,:,r,p-,:TlT;cfT*;;"ur,;"HJilTKJn"":l'lHi:'1*::ili"'1""ffi:::i::;i':l;F;il:ff';'Jll1i:'i:*T,:,:"i:':?ii.i::.'erely a "translation" : ' rvr Jt'vPrrr Iv_^._.:_- . , ot lmages to layman,s terms.

analysiss not,"o,k:n;;;li.firffii';.i::1"ff:Tll. *r"l-",'psofauhe oeticeviceshatmakehe

PENCIL IN HAND. Reading the poem, even four or five tinl*1 ,*'"i,uni.-"iingith.91,r"""gii:',;?lfilff ;nffi l:H:T,,l'*flT:Ji;ind' Explore he poem,pencirn t"ni c"rry on a discussion ith the poet hroughmarginall'"i?"",:#ITil:1|;!lf,,ip;f;,n;n:i'.T:F;,t.'.o,i*iil;;;;i'd;iouwi,rrhat areyou ooking:il" ,t""*ri oi.*"rr;, ;;,,," andmetre re mportantor theovementf thepiece' or ull "ppt""i"tionof its paceil;; readhepoem roud. hire:flil:L|.l::l:fl:"*'mit acareiur;;;;;"" "r,r,"""ri,"p*., p"*i.ularlyf the narysissi,,"g,,r",iti".;;;.ili:;#;;rJ-*lffi,?n'ilj"1,J'1":m*mllliB*il:iii:Jorthymetricalevicesh"tu"'y" ""ii"* *vr[:t. ry;ilni*nll isunusuarrparticurarryffectiveaboutthe metreor format oiii" *o*, but do not beradur the obvious.Regularmetre;li""ii,I'fiil',ff:i,i::n*iir;:::*tr ;;,d;;ri;;", me,re,u,oo,pend. Adiscussionr',o,o"y.o,n*n.i*T::r"Hnill1:,tr;lT:lTl""* o,*,"""..0"nexpericncedstudentwho qrcns ;;;;;"" -9r po". *iir, ,l-r"..n* to the ..tight,skippinghvthm"' rsomethinsimirat,"; l;;;;uiriivr,iii;d##"ph. Avoid uicksand.ark;fil^"i:l'iilli"|lldilr;;'1ilffi:isT.' ,r,"Appendixo, ii,"u,sionrmetrendheconsiderthe structureof the poem. s it written in stanzas?s thc prosodyof cach stanzahesame, imilar,different?r ,r , ft- " ,onnr,,an odc,a ryric?Does hesubjcctmatterdictate


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Analysis f a Poem , "thestructure?What is the rhymescheme? gain,note rregularities, ut do not spendime andspacereciting"a regular hymescheme.Figuresof speech,mages, nd symbols re of prime mportancen a poem.These, longwith prosody, re he focalpoints or youranalysis. he mplications f poeticdevices nd heirrelationshipsre he oining hreadsn the tapestry f poetry.Notedevices syouread hepoemaloud.Work out yourown orm of shorthandfor example, nderlinemages ndsymbols;irclefiguresof speech).Onceyou haveestablishedhat thesedevices xist n the work, you mustconsider fty heyexist.

ANALYSETH E WORKOnceyouhaveestablishedfamiliaritywith thepoem o thepoint hatyou know t, youcanexploret. You arenow eady o discoverhe special onfigurationsf thepiece ouareanalysing.You know he poemwhenyou are fully awareof what its individual omponentsre andwhytheywork.You mustnotewhat movementhere s n thepoemn termsof themes, ymbols, ndimages. igures f speech re hevehiclesor muchof thismovement. emember-these re hethreads.n isolatinghem,youhave tarted o unravelhe poem.This unravellinghould ot endwith merelya list of images nd igures f speech. list may helpyougeteverything ou wantfrom the supermarket, ut it will not tell you anythingabouta poem'The"imagelisters"arean unfortunateot in any iterature ourse. heir essays ention healliterationn line ; hyperbolen line2; personificationn line 3; onomatopoeian line4; metaphorin line 5;. . . . The result,of course,s a badlydissectedoem. t hasbeen ulledaparthaphaz-ardly and eft to die.Certainly,n studying pocm, he ndividualaskswhat devices xist n each ine. However,listing hem s onlyone tepn a complex rocess. owandwhydo hedevices ork?Shakespeare'sdevices ork; Mr. X's do not.They may be he same evices. he mageof the rose s not new.Somepoets aveusedt successfully;thers avenot.Why? The mage s an ntegralpartof thewhole n a good poem,but, in a bad poem, t is superffuous r unrelated.Onceyou haveunravelledhe poem n termsof its devices, ou must showhow he poetwovethe threadsogether.f youstopat the unravelling,ou areonlyhalf done.

REWEAVETHE THREADSThe preparatoryorganizationand the actualwriting of the analysisare the next, final, andimportant steps n doingyour analysis.You must indicate hc validity of the Poem n terms ofwhetheror not its componcnt arts work togetheras a whole. Hereyour list of symbols, evicesand noteworthyprosodyplaysan importantpart.Considerhe followingquestions:l. What is the dominant moodor theme? s it consistenthroughout he poem? f not, whynot?2. How docs he poetcreate he moodand atmosphere?3. Do the imagesand figuresof speechwork? How? Why?4. How do the unifying threadsunify?

Your responseso thcsequestions omprise our analysis.

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68 Writing aboutLidratureEXAMPLE

Considerhe followingpoemby ArchibaldLampman.Read t aloud.Notice ts mood,pace,and theme.Lampman s discussingeat.Why is hi i discussion poemandnot a chapterof aphysicsextbook? s physicalheat the subject,or is it a metaphor or something t'her hantemperature?You should ead he poemcarefullyat least wo or three imesbeforeyou try to analyset."Heattt

From plains hat reel o southward, im,Theroad unsby me whiteandbarc:Up the steephill it seemso swimBeyond, ndmelt nto theglare.Upwardhalf-way,or it maybeNearer he summit,slowlystealsA hay-cart,movingdustilyWith idly clackingwheels.By hiscart'sside he wagonerIs slouching lowlyat hisease,Half-hiddenn thewindless lurOf whitedustpuffing o hisknees.Thiswagon n theheightabove,Fromsky to sky on eitherhand,Is thesole hing hat seemso moveIn al l the heat-heldand.Beyondme n the fields he sunSoaksn thc grass ndhathhiswiil;I count he marguerites ncby one;Even he buttercups restill.On the brook yondernot a breathDisturbs hc spidcror thc midge.The water-bugs raw closebeneathThecoolglmm of the bridge.Where hc far elm-treeshadowslmdDark patchesn the burninggrass,The cows,eachwith her peaccfulcud,

- Lic waiting or the heat o pass.' Fromsomewhcren the slopenearbyInto thepaledepthof thenoonA wandcringhrushslideseisurelyHis thin revolvingune.


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Analysisof a PocmIn intervals f dreams hearThecricket rom thedroughtyground;Thegrasshopperspin nto mineearA small nnumerableound.I lift mineeyes ometimeso gaze:The burning ky-lineblindsmy sight:Thewoodsar of f arebluewith haze:Thehillsaredrenchedn light.And yet to menot thisor thatIs always harpor always weet;In the sloped hadow f my hatI leanat rest,and drain he heat:Nay, more, thinksomeblessedowerHath broughtme wanderingdly here:In the full furnaceof his hourMy thoughts rowkccnand clear.

In this poem,Archibald Lampmanhas ntegratedand fuseda numberof poeticdeviccsocreate whole.Likc al l poets, ehas ncorporatedhyme,metre, ymbols,magis,and igures fspeech. hey work for Lampmanbecausee successfullyntegrateshe dcvices.ou "r" to-analysehis poem.To do this, you mustseewhat devicesampman nasusedand recognizehe unifyingelements.Readthe poem,aloud, pencil n hand.You havealready ead t a coupleof timeswithouttouching t. Now youcancarryon a marginaldialoguewith the poet,and he poeticdevices ehasusedshouldbecome pparcnt o you.Theyaremoreapt to do so f you readthe poemaloud,because,f you do not seea device,you may hear one. n readingaloud, you cannotmisstheaural devices uchasonomatopocia,lliteration,assonance,nd rh-yme.Notice the stanzaicormat.Are thc stanzasegular? s the rhymescheme onsistentn eachstanza?Are the links between tanzas hronological,ause nd effect, ariations n a theme?Eachstanzashouldprepare ou for the nextone,sincc hcy are the buildingblocksof the wholepoem.Eachof thesestanzass end-stopped.s therea r"aron for the last line of cverystanza,sbeing rimeter,while the first sevenn eachblockare tctramcter?what symbolsdo wc find in the poem?Predictably, cat s a majorsymbol.That is evidcntfrom the title. Howcver,wemust solate hequalities, our""r, andcffectsof n""t asprcsented ythe poet. s heatrelated o, comparedwith, or contrastedwith any other magesor symbols?Aswe analysehe poem,we answer hesequestions.What is the atmosphere r moodof the poem?What is its pacc?How are thcy cxprcssedand maintained?Do you fcel the heat the speakern the pocm s dcscribing?Why? Notice thcslowpaceof the pocm'The words n the poemare generaliymonosyllabic;hey plod.Thc rhymeis-masculine, eavy,strong.Note the sustainedn*n"nt or lonjvowcts in ini rhymcsounds.Thereare vcry few light fect.


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Writing aboutLitcrature

Considerhe reatment f heat.Underline ndmakemarginal otes syouanalysehepoem'Note the recurringreferenceso heat' Does he levelof these eferenccshangefom stanza ostanza?s each eference ithin each tanza ecessary?stablishhescorched,rid,dusty,quietlandscapein theheatheld-land."But is thisall?Do we have o contend nlywith heat?Notice1r,", r, . a.ynesss offsetwith wetness. hy?While hesunprovidcs eat o the andscape,t also..drenches,,it in light. The road, n the opening tanza, eemso swim-and melt' obviously'there s a balancedensionhere hat the poet hascarefullyengineered'ontinue hrough hepoem.Your marginalnotesmay ook ike the following:

Fromrainshat@sltoouthwarfHmtr^hy,V, 4WThe&badounsyme hitend^r";6btunrtifr';:;A'{il' 'iry/ry^-.., IUp he6teepill t(pemsdfuim Auarn-unpv Sb - albul, fu/ In.yona,ni meltnio.hegiare. 'rW- ffi Iil:h'"llfiit;ffi;;"ii\^,,,il;i^fri-,-';';/'{&,*!*^.,,,Up he6teepil l t(pemsdfuim Auarn-unpv Sb - Albul, fu/ |Beyond,ni melt nto heglare. t4i'fu- ffi IHH:P:i',tiifffi-i,frii#*,AID,. I$lnfit#il! fi: M ffi-' *' M'n) :vr'A"wTUpward l;alf-waY,.or t maY

ber:,""!l.*;li!tiiji;"iffiW,By hiscart'sside fre6666666666666666@* ffi ;;;tu @ j*ib"',,,,'^tffi'll","ffi;":,ffiffiT,ffiffffi;:W' a'-oas ry ryHalf-hiddenn r," 1a511g',fu-ry:ry, 4,rbt ' -or @'411-9935t+ffils.t:is.knees.l -W.' ffiafrPt;rOThis wagonon the height 4@ve'Gt"- rr.v. sky)on iihethand, arL- dtLcfuJ

7Is the($le thing that(*ems to movetln all theheat-heldili. -o'aa^vr,.anWAI44P AfrP 'dsrui"9; , : f f* 'iexf i f f i f f i "^^ '*'i *un, th" gfgptjtcr onebyonef,/au*Eve1th.q,utercus) 6it.246--*, ;;;""d' 4 @Oi tIe(Vookyonder ota(teathDisturbshespider;"';;;;-.' Q,'ittzuau' s'tttG**r''ffi 1i;'"i:r':&'tr- fi-' -a,tun'ryWherehe arelm-treehadows@[ud'/1"-,Lfu'/4,AD"it p"t"ft"r n thebg!4g Zrz{-^;ra^^tt kezleo{eThJco*s,each ithherPeaceful+, qryLie waiting for the heatto Pass.From omewherenth9slopc eartv ry*-ry -fufa txiltil /r' /t"a9 !"t"tp:Tiff,?tHffi'Ti*H*'fi'r* - "1*""n'n''aA'n'His thi( rcvXlving rfne.


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Analysis of a Poem

l. Heat--{ryness-stillness--{uiet"hay-cartmovingdustily""windlessblur""whitedust""heat held and""burninggrass""droughtyground""full furnace f this hour"- "burningskyline"-blinds(heat/light)2. Wetness-humidity"roadseemso swimandmelt"

"sgng62155"-..hathits will""brook""waterbugs"-..cootgloom""shadowsflood""hills aredrenchedn light""drain the heat"Did younotice hecircle magery? hecycleand hecyclicalnature f the poem reunifyingthreads. heyweaveogetherhe other mages:"Plainsreel""Rec l . . roadruns"alliteration-whirr of wheel

7lIn intervalsf dream{l)hearuAl;oh/dttt*tw, tAX,hAon, fu}rrfr^nq, NAnrrq 'Thecricketrom heArp,bryLgrpg{:A,aWtta,i,co,-h/Aur_drr,r/_r@);r; , tff,"'finpflHrt,li:,g t *$$$$$!ffi:*,j'l{?,,T:::;:nl ,d/"^)Thewoodsar off ArebluewithhLze: Jrrurrln$V -Urhehil/s re c!6hedn--l-igfud^rr&;-:W,/rr/d, --/'rt /Vi\fi,ne u'qtul-'And yet to@not this or that /.6t putejv ,i;tigffi;m;ffi,T*A'-fuYy'nmaqa'a/r/nnna*?trL'dLIlednit r'est,Xnd hintKeh6,at:tttrr9-ntzr


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72 Writing abouttiterature"idly clackingwheels"

movementof poem,slow, idle"from sky to sky"-xra"bridge"-arc"thin revolving une""grasshoppersspin""marguerites""buttercups"

The circle completesand unifies.Notice how the metrical elementsare consistentwith the imagery. While the prevalent oot(iambic) need not be mentioned to excess n your analysis, t does establisha regular rhythm.Metre becomes mportant in a poem when it results n an unexpected eparture from the estab-lished rhythm, generally for a good reason. The iambic metre establishes egularity, circularrepetit ions onsistent it h the circle magery. n addition, t establishes n equil ibriumconsistentwith the sti l lness f the atmosphere. ot e effective xceptions:Spondees often coupled with assonance)arrest motion-"cool gloom"

inertia-"heat-held land"intensity-"full furnace"Anapests oftencoupledwith enjambement)

motion of quick movement"wanderingthrush""grasshoppersspin""into mine ear""innumerablesound"A circular movement balances he stillness.

Who is the speaker n the poem? Do you know who the "me" of the poem s? What doeshedo? He is a thinker. Ultimately his "thoughts grow keen and clear." Does the heat purify histhoughts, burning off all sludge? s this the ultimate purposeof heat?Is there another character in the poem? What purposedoes the wagoner serve? s thereperhapsanother dichotomy here?-the thinker and the worker, both drenched n heat? Thinkabout it . Can you develop his concept?What are the predominant figures of speech?Of course, he onomatopoeia f the clackingwheelsof the first stanza establishes pace,especiallysince t follows the whirr of wheels n thealliterative r's of the first two lines. If the r's whirr. what do all the s's do? Don't the s's of thefirst stanza slow down the paceset by the r's to culminate in idle clacking rather than whirring?Continue to trace the s's. Oonsiderassonance long with alliteration. You are collectingmaterialfor your analysis.


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Analysis of a poem73

PULL TH E ptECESTOGETHEB ,You know he poem'You haveconsideredt asa wholeand henunravelledt. Now put itack ogether' llustrate he relaxed,ro*, Ji " "t.osphereof thedm. Discussheheat magerynd indicatehow it mergeswittr dampneo-co-n,"ng "" ir,"'t'Js mergingof two seemingryontradictory lements' onsider hecircles.How do tt.y *o.t't rril yourreader.who appearsn the poem?what do they signify?wi"t po.ti. devices asLarnpmanused?How does herosody uit the subject "tt.r? wly ao", the poem ortt oo"r-it "lor" on the samenoteonhich t opened' r is theresome hange imood or resorution f idea?when you haveansweredhese i"rtionr, you havc ewovenhe threads f the poemandrittena successfutoetryanalysis.PITFALLSTO AVOIDl ' Your reader nowshat the person howrote 1" po"-,nsa poet. t is notnecessaryo remindim or her of this fact' Thuswhileyou must ntroducehe work_and riter,you, op"ninltatement eednot be, .In the poem, Heat,,thepoet,erciiUaii Lampman. .,,' Avoid autologies. o not r"y, ':rt i, po"i' is about ,""t.,,n.rure yourreader an eadandaraphraser summarizehi content.3. While poetryevokes oth intellec,u"t na emotional eactions, our personal, motionaleaction o the work is nor suitabren a formar ";tr; F;;;.on the emotionshe poemrousesn every ntelrigent eader.Be as a"t""n"J "nJ "i:*,* as possibre.our pastxperiencesn hot daysare-not ubjectmatter or a formalanalysis f ..Heat.,,4' An unraveiled oemmust be reassembleJ-".;; ffi;;lnarysis hanging. oncrudeeatlyandpositivery. void"I-hope-youagreewithme hat h, i, " good oem.,, eassertive.' Avoidmorarizing. o.n9tproouce;;;; reader ..ressonto ie t"a.nea rom thispoem.,,. Proofreadvouranarvsiseiore uu,'iuing it +|*: "i l ;;i;;; have pent rranging ndritingyouranalysis, hy let a few tyf'g."pl,i""l errorspull youdown?

analysis of a poem 0002

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