Poem Analysis

Answer

1. • 1. 1. Poem Analysis

           Part 1

                       This sonnet is one of antithesis as it speaks on the juxtaposition of opposites seeing and not seeing, dark and bright, day and night, feeling and not feeling, shadow and form. In the poem the shadows seem to flicker and in the end the persona enters a dream world which is as real to the poet as the world of absence from which he strives to escape. This poet shows a lot of unnatural happenings which one does not expect to see in real life. For example in line which says “All days are nights to see till I see thee,” The days become nights and nights days, and the natural order of things is inverted and confounded. This alludes to the theme of absence and emptiness. The poet is absent in life, it is as though he is floating through it. Unable to feel the way he should. He says that he when he blinks, it is when he best sees. This implies that when his eyes are shut is when he feels he is most alive and able to visualize his dreams. The persona portrays a disturbed mind that is devoid of peace and calmness. The tone in this sonnet is that of despair. The persona longs to be from the emptiness that he feels. The fourteen line poem consists of three quatrains and one concluding couplet; the two concluding lines “All days are nights to see till I see thee, And nights bright days when dreams do show thee me.” These last two lines bring a shift to the poem. When reading, it gives the idea that the poet is answering his  It is written in iambic pentameter and the lines follow a consistent rhyme scheme of ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG. There is emphasis on the second part of the lines. In the first part the poet introduces the idea, then the second part he shows the result of the idea. For example, in line 3 “But when I sleep, in dreams they look on thee,”

           Alliteration is one of the most dominant literary devices used in the poem. The persona often repeats constant sounds in the same line. For example, in line 5 “…the shadows doth make bright, do” the words “doth” and “do”, in line four, the words “darkly” and “dark”. This repetition creates some rhythm in the reader’s mind. Another technique that has been employed in this poem is enjambment. This is in how the poet brings lines to an unexpected ending. This kind of transitions have been used in lines six and seven,

           “6.How would thy shadow's form form happy show 
           7.To the clear day with thy much clearer light,”

           And in lines nine and ten,

           9How would, I say, mine eyes be blessed made 
           10.By looking on thee in the living day, 

           This kind of literary style elicits eagerness in the reader as they move to the next line to see the continuation. Repetition is also used in the sonnet. Words such as “shadow”, “see”, “form” and “bright” have been used as emphasis on the contrasting emotions of the poem.

            

            

           Part 2

                       The theme of comfort and beauty of nature is common in the two poems. In My Heart Leaps Up, the poet in lines 1 and 2 says “My heart leaps up when I behold 2.A rainbow in the sky:” This alludes to the excitement that the persona feels when they see a rainbow. Rainbows are often associated with gay feelings and often symbolize a warm weather following rain. This phrase alludes that nature should be appreciated for each of its qualities: the spontaneous beauty it can bring into people's lives, as well as its comforting implication of hope. Subsequently, in “To the Thawing Wind”, the poet also describes in nostalgia how happy they feel with the rain. He beckons to the wind to bring rain in line 1 which says “Come with rain, O loud Southwester” and in line 3 he alludes to the how comforting nature is to what has already dried up by saying, “Give the buried flower a dream”. This shows the persona is hopeful that the rain will bring life, which is indeed the beauty of nature and its seasons. Both poems show intense appreciation of nature and the beauty that is wrapped up in its different forms as one speaks on the onset of warm weather symbolized by a rainbow while the other speaks on the beauty and restoration that the rains bring.

           Imagery has been greatly employed in both poems. The use of imagery serves to give the reader clear pictures of what the persona is talking about. In “To the Thawing Wind”, lines 7 and 8, the poet says “Bathe my window, make it flow, Melt it as the ice will go;” here, one gets a picture of how the rain water will run down the window in a flowing manner as the ice melts to welcome the new season. In line 12, the poet says “Swing the picture on the wall.” This shows that the wind the poet is calling upon is strong and how it will make the hanging on the wall swing. Similarly, in My Heart Leaps Up, the introductory lines 1 and 2, serve to create a picture in the reader’s mind. The lines which say, “My heart leaps up when I behold, A rainbow in the sky:” help one to see a smile on the poets face as they jump up with joy and the image of a rainbow being on the sky. It also helps one resonate with the emotions of the persona better.

           The structure of the poems is also almost similar. Both poets have embraced use of short lines with rather simple vocabulary. This is to make the poems easy to understand and increase the audience that resonates with them. This simplicity also reflects in the rhyme schemes of the poem. In My Heart Leaps Up, the rhyme is ABCCABC with the repetition of sounds in “man” and “began” in lines 3 and 4 respectively and sounds in “behold” and “old” in lines 1 and 5 respectively. Subsequently, in “To the Thawing Wind”, there is also a rhyme scheme with the pattern of AABBCCDDEE… until the end. This enhances the readability and flow of the poem and hence, the understanding of the meaning.