Songs of Ourselves-

1. The Sea Eats the Land at Home - 2

2. London Snow - 5

3. Afternoon with Irish Cow - 8

4. Watching the Dolphins - 11

5 Ode an Melancholy – 15

6 Coming - 17

7 The Buck in the Snow - 21

8 Cetacean - 25

9 The Kraken - 29

10. You will know when you get there - 33

11. Stormcock in Elder - 37

12. The Poplar Field – 41

13. Caged Skylark - 45

14. Written on a Port on a Dark Evening - 49

15. In Praise Of Creation - 53

Stories of Ourselves-

1. There will come Soft Rains

2. The Lemon Orchard

3. Secrets

4. The Bath

5. On Her Knees

6. The Fall of the House of Usher

7. The Moving Finger

8. The Open Boat

9. Journey

10. The Stoat

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The Sea Eats the Land at Home
by Kofi Awoonor

At home the sea is in the town,

Running in and out of the cooking places,
Collecting the firewood from the hearths
And sending it back at night;
The sea eats the land at home.

It came one day at the dead of night,

Destroying the cement walls,
And carried away the fowls,
The cooking-pots and the ladles,
The sea eats the land at home;

It is a sad thing to hear the wails,

And the mourning shouts of the women,
Calling on all the gods they worship,
To protect them from the angry sea.

Aku stood outside where her cooking-pot stood,

With her two children shivering from the cold,
Her hands on her breasts,
Weeping mournfully.
Her ancestors have neglected her,
Her gods have deserted her,
It was a cold Sunday morning,
The storm was raging,
Goats and fowls were struggling in the water,
The angry water of the cruel sea;
The lap-lapping of the bark water at the shore,
And above the sobs and the deep and low moans,
Was the eternal hum of the living sea.
It has taken away their belongings
Adena has lost the trinkets which
Were her dowry and her joy,
In the sea that eats the land at home,
Eats the whole land at home.

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The Sea Eats the Land at Home is a poem by Ghanaian poet Kofi Awoonor. The poem is four stanzas long
of varying line length. The first three stanzas are similar, four to five lines each. But the last stanza is
eighteen lines long, a drawn out conclusion to the poem. The poem has no rhyme scheme but does utilize
a good amount of repetition and personification. The sea is the main character in this piece and is
described throughout as if it is making considered choices.

Summary of The Sea Eats the Land At Home

This poem is a story of a simple town through which sweeps the anger of a personified sea. The sea eats
up the town and all the belongings of those that reside in it. The poem focuses on the general loss of the
town but then zooms in on two women who have different experiences with the loss they go through.
One, Aku, has lost everything and is left in the cold in what used to be her her kitchen, and Adena, who
has lost the trinkets that were her dowry. The poem concludes by saying that the sea that eats the land
will eat anything, nothing is off limits. You can read the full poem here.

The Sea Eats the Land At Home Analysis

First Stanza

The Sea Eats the Land at Home begins with a line that is as evocative as it’s title,

At home the sea is in the town,

Immediately this brings to the surface images of water running down streets and flooding houses.
Perhaps it has gone even farther than that and the town is more sea than streets and buildings. The
reader is given more information about the extent of the damage in the next line. The sea is said to be,

…running in and out of the cooking places,

One can assume that this is a reference to interior kitchens but also areas out of doors in which bonfires
and cooking fires are lit. This strange phrase, “cooking places,” supports this conclusion, if the “places”
were only indoors they would be called kitchens.

The firewood from the hearths of the “cooking places” is said to be collected up by the sea. It is at this
point that the personification begins. The sea does not sweep up, or wash away the wood, it is said to
pick it up. As if the sea was in possession of arms and hands capable of this motion. After collecting the
wood the sea sends it back “at night.” It has been washed away and then washes back in with the tide.
The sea, personified once more, “sends” it back. This first stanza is concluded with a repetition of the title
line.

Second Stanza

The second stanza begins with the start of the story. How the sea came “one day at the dead of night.”
Awoonor writes this line as if it was a conscious choice made by the sea to come at night. The sea is given
reasoning abilities, it is portrayed as being sneaking, knowing when the residents of the town will be
more vulnerable.

The sea destroys the cement walls, proof of its immense strength, and carries away the fowl. Their homes
are destroyed and their livestock is killed. The sea does not stop there but as it washes into the cooking
places it takes the pots and ladles too. Once more the title line is repeated at the conclusion of this
stanza.

Third Stanza

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The third stanza begins with a description of the emotion that comes with this kind of loss. The speaker
describes the sadness of the wails, and how the “mourning shouts “ of women can be heard. The speaker
says these shouts are to the gods to protect them,

…from the angry sea.

Again the sea is personified. It is given sentience and is said to be “angry.” But just as the motives of the
sea are impossible to determine, so too is the response of the gods. They do not come to the aid of this
town, in fact, their plight is only emphasized.

Fourth Stanza

The fourth and final stanza of this poem is more than twice the length of the other three. In it, a specific
woman is named, Aku. The description of how she was personally impacted by the “sea eat[ing] the land”
forces the reader to greater empathy with the town in general. Until now the town was just unnamed,
but now it has a face.

Aku stood outside where her cooking-pot stood,

With her two children shivering from the cold,

She stands outside in the inclement weather, with no where else to go. She is standing in what was
probably her kitchen, a place that used to be symbolic of warmth and home, and is now part of the
freezing sea. She is not alone here though, she has the burden of two children to care for. She weeps with
her hands on her chest for her home, and for the future of her family.

She does not understand why this has happened to her, it seems to her that her,

…ancestors have neglected her,

They should be watching over her and her family but for some reason have allowed the sea to destroy
her home. Her gods, too, have abandoned her. She is spiritually alone.

The speaker then pans out from the situation and looks over the whole town once more and the reader
receives some additional context.

Once more the day is said to be cold. But we know now it is morning, perhaps only the morning right
after the storm, and it’s a Sunday.

The storm is described as “raging,” and the livestock is placed by the speaker in the water, they are
struggling to swim against the sea.

Once again the sea is personified, described as being angry, but now also cruel. As if it, on purpose, swept
into this town with the intention to destroy it.

The poem then turns to describing the water, how it is lapping against the shore and how its interior
hum, its life force and power, is stronger and louder than the sobs, and deep low moans of the
townspeople.

The poem concludes with continued emphasis on what physically as lost. Another woman is named,
Adena. She has lost her dowry, much of which were “trinkets.” These trinkets are described as being her
joy, turning the poem to a rare glimpse of materialism. The last two lines describes,

…the sea that eats the land at home,

as eating the “whole land at home.” Nothing and no one is left untouched. Some lose trinkets, others lose
entire homes and lively hoods.

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London snow
When men were all asleep the snow came flying,
In large white flakes falling on the city brown,
Stealthily and perpetually settling and loosely lying,
Hushing the latest traffic of the drowsy town;
Deadening, muffling, stifling its murmurs failing;
Lazily and incessantly floating down and down:
Silently sifting and veiling road, roof and railing;
Hiding difference, making unevenness even,
Into angles and crevices softly drifting and sailing.
All night it fell, and when full inches seven
It lay in the depth of its uncompacted lightness,
The clouds blew off from a high and frosty heaven;
And all woke earlier for the unaccustomed brightness
Of the winter dawning, the strange unheavenly glare:
The eye marvelled—marvelled at the dazzling whiteness;
The ear hearkened to the stillness of the solemn air;
No sound of wheel rumbling nor of foot falling,
And the busy morning cries came thin and spare.
Then boys I heard, as they went to school, calling,
They gathered up the crystal manna to freeze
Their tongues with tasting, their hands with snowballing;
Or rioted in a drift, plunging up to the knees;
Or peering up from under the white-mossed wonder,
‘O look at the trees!’ they cried, ‘O look at the trees!’
With lessened load a few carts creak and blunder,
Following along the white deserted way,
A country company long dispersed asunder:
When now already the sun, in pale display
Standing by Paul’s high dome, spread forth below
His sparkling beams, and awoke the stir of the day.
For now doors open, and war is waged with the snow;
And trains of sombre men, past tale of number,
Tread long brown paths, as toward their toil they go:
But even for them awhile no cares encumber
Their minds diverted; the daily word is unspoken,
The daily thoughts of labour and sorrow slumber
At the sight of the beauty that greets them, for the charm they have broken.

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London Snow by Robert Bridges

‘London Snow’ by Robert Bridges is a twenty-seven line poem which is all contained within one block of
text. Bridges has chosen to give this poem a specific, and consistent rhyme scheme that only diverges
from its pattern every few lines. The poem begins with the end rhymes, ababcbcdc, the second set of
lines ends with different words but follows the same exact pattern. The rest of the poem continues in a
similar form, with only one or two misplaced words per stanza.

It is also important to note the repetition of general ending sounds that are used in the poem. Bridges
has emphasized the ‘ing’ sound in the first three sections. Even if all the words do not perfectly rhyme,
they often create half or slant rhymes. You can read the full poem here.

Summary of London Snow

‘London Snow’ by Robert Bridges describes an early morning snowfall in London and the reactions of
those who walk within it.

The poem begins with the speaker stating that it is snowing in the city, and since everyone is asleep, no
one yet knows. When finally the city begins to wake, all are quiet. No one wants to disturb the peace of
these moments. They all know it is fleeting and will not come again soon.

The narrator eventually flips the poem and begins to speak of himself in the first person. He becomes a
character that walks along the trees of London listening to the yelling of school boys, and enjoying their
excitement over the beauty of what they are seeing for the first time.

In the final section he describes the “brown” of humanity returning to the snow as the sombre men walk
to their workplaces. While it seems to be a depressing scene, in reality they are lighter in mind and heart
than usual and do find some pleasant diversion in the vastly changed landscape.

Analysis of London Snow

Lines 1-9

The first lines of this piece take the reader to a place that is at once familiar, but also magical.
Immediately one is placed in a position of knowledge as the subjects of the poem, the men and women
of the city of London, are still sleeping as the main action occurs. There is a snow falling over the city of
which no one is yet aware, aside from the narrator and the readers, of course.

The speaker describes the snow as if it has its own agency. It “came flying,” seemingly by choice, “In large
white flakes.” It has come to grace a city which is usually “brown.” The London of this era, just like many
other cities, then and now, was known for dank streets and dirty thoroughfares. Snow, in all its purity,
seems out of place within the “brown” muck of compressed humanity.

The poet continues to make use of anthropomorphism to describe the actions of the snow. It is gliding
into the city “Stealthily.” Its inherent quietness disturbs no one and guarantees a surprise when everyone
is finally awake. The streets begin to be covered by a layer of it, “hushing” the traffic of the still sleeping
town. The wheels of the cars make no noise as they pass over the snow.

Bridges uses a large number of verbs to describe the actions of the snow. They fall one after another
creating a semi-rhyming pattern within the lines of the poem. The flakes are “sifting,” “floating,” “drifting
and sailing” to the ground.

Lines 10-18

In the second set of lines the speaker continues to describe the path of the snow and how it came to the
streets of London that night. It continued to fall all through the night until it reached a “full…seven”

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inches. For London this is a remarkable amount of snow, but it still manages to lay in “lightness” on the
ground.

By the time the city is getting up, the clouds that created the snow are long gone. They “blew off” from
the sky leaving a clear view out over the newly white landscape. The light that this clearness creates
brings everyone out of bed earlier. All the people of the city are used to much darker mornings.

While to some, a snowfall might seem unimportant, to the people of London it is a marvellous feat.
Everyone is dazed by the “whiteness” and amazed by the silences of the streets as everyone
contemplates the landscape. The city has undergone a true transformation. There are no cars or carts on
the street, and those who do venture out, do so quietly. The “morning cries” are “thin and spare.” They
are quiet and infrequent.

Lines 19-30

The next set of lines signal a change in the poem, the speaker introduces himself using the first person
pronoun, “I.” He has left his house, intent on walking through the newly made city. The narrative of the
piece narrows down and turns to focus on what the speaker can see from his perspective.

From where he is walking he can hear the “boys…calling.” They are on their way to school and stop to
pick up and taste the magical snow. It contains what he calls, “manna,” meaning something unexpected.
The snow is a benefit that no one was looking for.

The young boys are truly amazed by what they are seeing. So much so, they call to one another and
express particular fondness for the trees. It seems as if they have never seen snow before. Perhaps this is
the first time it has snowed since they were born.

There are only a few “carts” on the road and those which are there move along very quietly. Everyone is
doing their best to preserve the peace of the morning for as long as possible.

The sun has only just come up, but most of the city is already awake, due to the brightness of the snow.
The light is illuminating St. Paul’s Cathedral and spreading across the ground. It brings further glory to the
landscape, but also alludes to the fact that the snow will melt sooner rather than later.

Lines 31-37

In the final seven lines the speaker returns to focus on the moment he is living. The perfection of these
few minutes and hours begin to come to a close as all the working men are forced to carry on with their
lives. As they leave their homes a “war is waged with the snow.” They fight against it as they walk, in
“trains of sombre men.”

The men are innumerable and serve as a stark remember of the reality of the city. They bring their
humanity with them, dirtying the snow as they go, returning it to the brown of the city.

The happier initial tone of the poem reasserts itself and the speaker looks into the minds of
the men. They are not as depressed as they usually are.The landscape is serving as a
distraction that helps keep their minds, for a moment anyway, off their realities.

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Afternoon with Irish Cows
by Billy Collins

There were a few dozen who occupied the field

across the road from where we lived,
stepping all day from tuft to tuft,
their big heads down in the soft grass,
though I would sometimes pass a window
and look out to see the field suddenly empty
as if they had taken wing, flown off to another country.

Then later, I would open the blue front door,

and again the field would be full of their munching
or they would be lying down
on the black-and-white maps of their sides,
facing in all directions, waiting for rain.
How mysterious, how patient and dumbfounded
they appear in the long quiet of the afternoon.

But every once in a while, one of them

would let out a sound so phenomenal
that I would put down the paper
or the knife I was cutting an apple with
and walk across the road to the stone wall
to see which one of them was being torched
or pierced through the side with a long spear.

Yes, it sounded like pain until I could see

the noisy one, anchored there on all fours,
her neck outstretched, her bellowing head
laboring upward as she gave voice
to the rising, full-bodied cry
that began in the darkness of her belly
and echoed up through her bowed ribs into her gaping mouth.

Then I knew that she was only announcing

the large, unadulterated cowness of herself,
pouring out the ancient apologia of her kind
to all the green fields and the gray clouds,
to the limestone hills and the inlet of the blue bay,
while she regarded my head and shoulders
above the wall with one wild, shocking eye.

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Afternoon with Irish Cows by Billy Collins
‘Afternoon with Irish Cows’ by Billy Collins is a five stanza poem that is separated into sections of seven
lines. The stanzas are not structured through any particular rhyme scheme, but each one does contain at
least one complete phrase. In all of the stanzas, expect for the second, the poet has chosen to stretch
one sentence over all seven of the lines. This forces the reader to complete an entire stanza before
coming to the conclusion of the thought. You can read the full poem here.

Summary of Afternoon with Irish Cows

‘Afternoon with Irish Cows’ by Billy Collins describes one speaker’s presumptions about the interior lives
of cows and the power that sound has over human understanding.
The poem begins with the speaker describing how he is able to see a cow field from his house, and the
cows that live in it, everyday. The field is more often than not filled with a “few dozen” cows which are
there to greet him as he comes and goes.
Sometimes though, they seem to disappear. One moment they are grazing happily, and the next they are
gone. As quickly as they disappeared, they return and are back to eating and lying on the ground “waiting
for rain.” The speaker does not see much use in being a cow, he is confused by their apparent patience
and simplicity.
The next stanzas describe how he sometimes hears a horrifying sound coming from the fields. This
“bellowing” emerges from the “dark” depths of a female cow who, he realizes, is declaring her
“cowness.” He sees the sound as being the embodied essence of what it means to be a cow and is moved
by the humanness of the moment.

Analysis of Afternoon with Irish Cows

Stanza One

Afternoon with Irish Cows begins with the speaker describing a particular location he is very familiar with.
The exact area of the speaker’s interest is not made clear, but using the information supplied in the title,
and only that which is spoken in the first line, the reader can come to a fairly clear conclusion about
where the poem is taking place.
The first line describes the speaker seeing “a few dozen.” This enigmatic “dozen” is not defined any
further for the time being, and if one did not read the title, it would not be completely clear that the
speaker is describing seeing cows.
The cows are close to the speaker, so much so that he sees them everyday from where he lives. They are
“across the road” and he can observe them from the window of his house. This makes the animals a
crucial and repetitive part of the speaker’s everyday life. It would be unusual for him to walk out his door
and not see these animals, a fact which comes up in the following lines.
He continues on to describe how the cows spend the entire day, “stepping…from tuft to tuft.” Their lives
seem simple to him, and their appearance is summarized in this stanza through the size of their heads.
Throughout the poem the speaker gives a bit more detail, one line at a time, about what the cows look
like. The trickling in of context would slowly reveal to one unable to see the title, what the animal the
speaker sees is.
The lines continue on, and the speakers describes how usually the cows are always there, but sometimes
he looks out the window and it is if they have “taken wing” and somehow managed to “fly off to another
country.”
Many readers will be able to relate to this strange phenomenon, whether through bird watching, or other
large animals like horses and sheep. One moment the cows are there, and the next they seem to have
vanished.

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Stanza Two

The second stanza brings the reader further into the speaker’s day. It is later on in the same afternoon
and he is describing another moment where after seeing the field without cows, he looks out the “blue
front door, “ and sees that the field is “full of their munching.” They are back where they’re supposed to
be, “lying down” on their sides. They are doing no more than they were previously. Perhaps, the speaker
thinks, they are “waiting for rain.”
The final two lines of this stanza describe how the speaker sees their interior lives. He is unable to
penetrate their thoughts and the only conclusion he can come to is that they are “patient and
dumbfounded.” He sees them as being incredibly quiet and “mysterious.”

Stanza Three
In an effort to make real the world of cows in which he is living, the speaker jumps to another moment of
observation that has to do with sound. Not only are they visual mysterious, they are also strange in the
noises they make.

He describes how “every once in a while” he will be engaged in a simple task, like cutting up an apple,
and suddenly jump at a noise coming from the field. The sound seems to him to be one of intense pain.
He imagines that a cow is being killed or, “pierced through the side with a long spear.”
The speaker says that he often walks down to the field to check on the animals, just to make sure that
none of them are injured.

Stanza Four
The origin of the mysterious noise that the speaker heard and investigated in the third stanza is revealed
in the fourth. Once he has walked down to the fence surrounding his neighbour’s property, he sees “the
noisy one.” It is a female cow and she is “anchored” to the ground on “all fours.”
He states that “her neck” is stretched to its limit and she is “bellowing” to the sky. Her sounds are “full-
bodied” and seem to have originated from the “darkness of her belly.” The noise is simply the essence of
cow. It is a “bellow” strictly possessed by cows and expressed as only they can. It cannot, and should not,
be understood by humans.

Stanza Five
In the final stanza of this piece the speaker continues to describe the sound that the cow made and his
thoughts about her during its aftermath. He no longer fears that the cow is in danger. Instead, he comes
to the conclusion that she “was only announcing…herself.” She was expressing her “unadulterated
cowness.” The noise contains, as state previously, all that it means to be a cow.
The noise represents more to the speaker than he initially thought. As he contemplates its depth, beauty,
and purpose, he sees it stretching beyond this particular cow to all of her kind. It expands along “all the
green fields” and up into “the gray clouds.” There is no force on earth, nor barrier, that can stop its
progression.

In the final two lines the speaker is brought back to the reality of the moment, and shocked by wildness
of the cow’s expression. He now sees in this animal much more than he did previously. All it took for him
to change his opinion of the mental capacity of this creature was to look directly into her eyes and
consider for a moment why she was really doing what she was doing.

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Watching for dolphins
In the summer months on every crossing to Piraeus
One noticed that certain passengers soon rose
From seats in the packed saloon and with serious
Looks and no acknowledgement of a common purpose
Passed forward through the small door into the bows
To watch for dolphins. One saw them lose

Every other wish. Even the lovers

Turned their desires on the sea, and a fat man
Hung with equipment to photograph the occasion
Stared like a saint, through sad bi-focals; others,
Hopeless themselves, looked to the children for they
Would see dolphins if anyone would. Day after day

Or on their last opportunity all gazed

Undecided whether a flat calm were favourable
Or a sea the sun and the wind between them raised
To a likeness of dolphins. Were gulls a sign, that fell
Screeching from the sky or over an unremarkable place
Sat in a silent school? Every face

After its character implored the sea.

All, unaccustomed, wanted epiphany,
Praying the sky would clang and the abused Aegean
Reverberate with cymbal, gong and drum.
We could not imagine more prayer, and had they then
On the waves, on the climax of our longing come

Smiling, snub-nosed, domed like satyrs, oh

We should have laughed and lifted the children up
Stranger to stranger, pointing how with a leap
They left their element, three or four times, centred
On grace, and heavily and warm re-entered,
Looping the keel. We should have felt them go

Further and further into the deep parts. But soon

We were among the great tankers, under their chains
In black water. We had not seen the dolphins
But woke, blinking. Eyes cast down
With no admission of disappointment the company
Dispersed and prepared to land in the city.
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Watching for Dolphins by David Constantine
‘Watching for Dolphins’ by David Constantine is a six stanza poem which is divided into sets of six
lines, also known as a sestet. These stanzas do not conform to single pattern of rhyming lines, but
vary as the poem progresses. In the first two stanzas the poet follows the general schemes of
abacbd, and then with different ending sounds, abcadd. The next stanzas diverge once more
following the patterns of abacdd and aabcdc. The final two stanzas are the most different of all with
schemes of, abcdda and abcdef.
This varying pattern is created in an attempt to keep a reader on their toes. It does not allow one to
slip into complacency and easy expectation of what rhyming sound is to come next.
There are two place names in this piece which are important to know before beginning an analysis of
the work, “Piraeus” and “Aegean.” The second is the easiest to recognize and refers to the “Aegean”
Sea which is located between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. The second place, “Piraeus,” is a
little more unusual. It is a port city in the Attica region of Greece and is the destination of the ship
which serves as both a character and setting in ‘Watching For Dolphins‘. You can read the full
poem here.

Summary of Watching for Dolphins

‘Watching for Dolphins’ by David Constantine describes the passage of a ship into port and the hope
among its passengers that they will spot dolphins on the journey.
This work describes the joys, disappointments, and ways of coping, that exist throughout ones life.
From the beginning to the end of the journey one will experience a number of different emotions,
these are detailed by Constantine through an experience on a passenger ship.
The poem begins with the passengers being drawn to the bow where they hope to see dolphins.
They have all come together at this point and speculate about what it will be like to see these
animals jumping up and out of the water. Before they know it they have returned to port having
seen nothing.

Analysis of Watching for Dolphins

Stanza One
In the first stanza of this poem the speaker introduces the reader to an activity that he participates
in on a regular basis. This speaker is commonly on board a passenger ship or ferry which takes him
and many other travellers to “Piraeus.” For more information of “Piraeus,” see the Introduction.
The crossing on which the narrator embarks only occurs during the summer, but is common enough
to where he describes the movements of the passengers and ship fluidly and with great and
convincing detail.
The following actions which he describes are ones that he sees on “every crossing.” This is an
interesting detail as the passengers, many of whom have surely been on this ship before, still yearn
for the same things. Additionally, it does not matter who the passengers are, or what class they
prescribed to. All people, from all parts of the ship, “From seats in the packed saloon,” move to the
deck of the ship, up to the bow.
Everyone feels some of the same desire, to see dolphins. There is an element of wonder in this
activity which inhabits all the commuters for this short period. They do not consciously realize they
are moving together with the same purpose, but the narrator does. He has been on enough of these
journeys and is able to keep track of where everyone is. This raises the question of whether or not
he still cares to see the dolphins.

Stanza Two
In the second stanza the narrator elaborates on the fact that this common goal forces all thoughts of
one’s own life and ambitions, temporarily, from one’s head. “Every other wish” that one might have,
is “Turned…on the sea.” The lovers who are sailing together replace their desire for one another
with the desire to see dolphins.

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The same goes for a “fat man” who is toting around “equipment to photograph the occasion.” The
man came prepared for this exact moment. He knew ahead of time that there was a chance he’d get
to see dolphins on this voyage. This was so important to him that he brought all of his photo
equipment with him. He is, the speaker describes, looking through “sad bi-focals.” His countenance
appears to be downcast, or perhaps pathetic feeling to the speaker. This is the first hint the reader
gets that things may not turn out as everyone is hoping.
In the last two lines of this sestet the speaker shows another way that the commuters attempt to
see the dolphins. Some of them, those who have children, believe they are the best chance they
have. They want to think that “if anyone would” see dolphins it would be the young people.

Stanza Three
In the third stanza the people of the ship are all gathered. They are all gazing out into the water and
wondering amongst themselves whether a rough or “flat” and “calm” sea is more favourable. They
are trying to convince themselves that the elements, one way or another, predict their chances of
seeing the dolphins. Gulls are also discussed as an omen. They wonder whether they are a “sign, that
fell / Screeching from the sky.” Does that mean the dolphins are near?
It is clear that the passengers are quite restless. This one goal has overwhelmed all others, to the
point that they are unable to pull themselves way from the bow.

Stanza Four
In the fourth sestet the traveller’s faces are still set to the sea. Each in its own way is begging, or
“implor[ing]” the sea to make the dolphins show themselves. This is an action, and a way of being,
which many of the commuters are unprepared for. Many, the speaker states, are not used to
wanting an “epiphany” or a moment of wonder and realization. Usually life presents itself easily and
without much effort, but in this case, what the passengers want is completely beyond their control.
They do everything they can think of, including”Praying the sky would clang.” They want to
experience a reverberation going out along the Aegean, in the hopes that the animals will surface.
This is the climax of the poem. All the people on the deck are convinced they are going to see
something and are ready to celebrate.

Stanza Five
The hope for a successful dolphin sighting continues into the fifth stanza in which the speaker
describes how everyone would act if they saw the animals in the water. They would observe the
dolphins’ “snub-nosed” faces and lift up the children in celebration.
Everyone would share in their mutual joy and wonder at the creatures. The ideal scenario would
have the dolphins leaving their element and jumping “three or four times” into the air and “Looping
the keel.”
From that point the dolphins would be felt going “Further and further” into the depths of the ocean.
Stanza Six
This ideal scenario is not what happens though. Before the passengers realize what has happened,
the ship is back “among the great tankers,” edging toward port. They are sailing under the enormous
chains that hold the ships in place. The passengers have not seen any dolphins.
Everyone is suddenly awoken from the trance they were in and “blinking,” with down cast eyes,
prepare to land in the city. Everyone is deeply disappointed, but unwilling to admit it. Their previous
joy seems childish now and they dismiss it in an effort to rejoin their lives.

13
 ODE ON MELONCHOLY
No, no, go not to Lethe, neither twist
Wolf's-bane, tight-rooted, for its poisonous wine;
Nor suffer thy pale forehead to be kiss'd
By nightshade, ruby grape of Proserpine;
Make not your rosary of yew-berries,
Nor let the beetle, nor the death-moth be
Your mournful Psyche, nor the downy owl
A partner in your sorrow's mysteries;
For shade to shade will come too drowsily,
And drown the wakeful anguish of the soul.

But when the melancholy fit shall fall

Sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud,
That fosters the droop-headed flowers all,
And hides the green hill in an April shroud;
Then glut thy sorrow on a morning rose,
Or on the rainbow of the salt sand-wave,
Or on the wealth of globed peonies;
Or if thy mistress some rich anger shows,
Emprison her soft hand, and let her rave,
And feed deep, deep upon her peerless eyes.

She dwells with Beauty—Beauty that must die;

And Joy, whose hand is ever at his lips
Bidding adieu; and aching Pleasure nigh,
Turning to poison while the bee-mouth sips:
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine,
Though seen of none save him whose strenuous tongue
Can burst Joy's grape against his palate fine;
His soul shalt taste the sadness of her might,
And be among her cloudy trophies hung.

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Ode on Melancholy
Summary
The three stanzas of the “Ode on Melancholy” address the subject of how to
cope with sadness. The first stanza tells what not to do: The sufferer should
not “go to Lethe,” or forget their sadness (Lethe is the river of forgetfulness in
Greek mythology); should not commit suicide (nightshade, “the ruby grape of
Prosperpine,” is a poison; Prosperpine is the mythological queen of the
underworld); and should not become obsessed with objects of death and
misery (the beetle, the death-moth, and the owl). For, the speaker says, that
will make the anguish of the soul drowsy, and the sufferer should do
everything he can to remain aware of and alert to the depths of his suffering.
In the second stanza, the speaker tells the sufferer what to do in place of the
things he forbade in the first stanza. When afflicted with “the melancholy fit,”
the sufferer should instead overwhelm his sorrow with natural beauty, glutting
it on the morning rose, “on the rainbow of the salt sand-wave,” or in the eyes
of his beloved. In the third stanza, the speaker explains these injunctions,
saying that pleasure and pain are inextricably linked: Beauty must die, joy is
fleeting, and the flower of pleasure is forever “turning to poison while the bee-
mouth sips.” The speaker says that the shrine of melancholy is inside the
“temple of Delight,” but that it is only visible if one can overwhelm oneself
with joy until it reveals its center of sadness, by “burst[ing] Joy’s grape against
his palate fine.” The man who can do this shall “taste the sadness” of
melancholy’s might and “be among her cloudy trophies hung.”
Form
“Ode on Melancholy,” the shortest of Keats’s odes, is written in a very regular
form that matches its logical, argumentative thematic structure. Each stanza is
ten lines long and metered in a relatively precise iambic pentameter. The first
two stanzas, offering advice to the sufferer, follow the same rhyme scheme,
ABABCDECDE; the third, which explains the advice, varies the ending slightly,
following a scheme of ABABCDEDCE, so that the rhymes of the eighth and
ninth lines are reversed in order from the previous two stanzas. As in some
other odes (especially “Autumn” and “Grecian Urn”), the two-part rhyme
scheme of each stanza (one group of AB rhymes, one of CDE rhymes) creates
the sense of a two-part thematic structure as well, in which the first four lines
of each stanza define the stanza’s subject, and the latter six develop it. (This is
true especially of the second two stanzas.)
Themes
If the “Ode to Psyche” is different from the other odes primarily because of its
form, the “Ode on Melancholy” is different primarily because of its style. The
only ode not to be written in the first person, “Melancholy” finds the speaker

15
admonishing or advising sufferers of melancholy in the imperative mode;
presumably his advice is the result of his own hard-won experience. In many
ways, “Melancholy” seeks to synthesize the language of all the previous odes—
the Greek mythology of “Indolence” and “Urn,” the beautiful descriptions of
nature in “Psyche” and “Nightingale,” the passion of “Nightingale,” and the
philosophy of “Urn,” all find expression in its three stanzas—but “Melancholy”
is more than simply an amalgam of the previous poems. In it, the speaker at
last explores the nature of transience and the connection of pleasure and pain
in a way that lets him move beyond the insufficient aesthetic understanding of
“Urn” and achieve the deeper understanding of “To Autumn.”
For the first time in the odes, the speaker in “Melancholy” urges action rather
than passive contemplation. Rejecting both the eagerly embraced drowsiness
of “Indolence” and the rapturous “drowsy numbness” of “Nightingale,” the
speaker declares that he must remain alert and open to “wakeful anguish,”
and rather than flee from sadness, he will instead glut it on the pleasures of
beauty. Instead of numbing himself to the knowledge that his mistress will
grow old and die (that “Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,” as he said in
“Nightingale”), he uses that knowledge to feel her beauty even more acutely.
Because she dwells with “beauty that must die,” he will “feed deep, deep upon
her peerless eyes.”
In the third stanza, the speaker offers his most convincing synthesis of
melancholy and joy, in a way that takes in the tragic mortality of life but lets
him remain connected to his own experience. It is precisely the fact that joy
will come to an end that makes the experience of joy such a ravishing one; the
fact that beauty dies makes the experience of beauty sharper and more
thrilling. The key, he writes, is to see the kernel of sadness that lies at the heart
of all pleasure—to “burst joy’s grape” and gain admission to the inner temple
of melancholy. Though the “Ode on Melancholy” is not explicitly about art, it is
clear that this synthetic understanding of joy and suffering is what has been
missing from the speaker’s earlier attempts to experience art.

16
Coming

On longer evenings,

Light, chill and yellow,

Bathes the serene

Foreheads of houses.

A thrush sings,

Laurel-surrounded

In the deep bare garden,

Its fresh-peeled voice

Astonishing the brickwork.

It will be spring soon,

It will be spring soon—

And I, whose childhood

Is a forgotten boredom,

Feel like a child

Who comes on a scene

Of adult reconciling,

And can understand nothing

But the unusual laughter,

And starts to be happy.

17
Coming by Phillip Larkin
‘Coming’ by Phillip Larkin is a nineteen line poem that can be separated into
one set of nine lines and another set of ten, or a straight forward
analysis. Although there is no rhyme scheme in this piece, it is unified by the
similar lengths of the lines, as well as the blissfully peaceful tone that runs
throughout the piece.
Starting with the first lines, Larkin crafts a narrative that seems to build
towards something spectacular. It reaches that place in the final line; it is a
climax of unadulterated happiness and laughter.

Read the full poem here.

Summary of Coming
‘Coming’ by Phillip Larkin describes a culmination of blissful emotions within a
speaker that are a result of the soon to arrive season of spring.
The poem begins with the speaker stating that he is living within a world that is
filled with a certain kind of emotional physicality. This particular evening is a
prime example. It is simply perfect, with the “Light,” the “chill,” and the yellow
color of the sky. It is a depiction of the sunset and all the resulting sights and
sounds.
The world around the speaker is filled with the sound of a bird singing from
within the garden. It is buried behind layers and layers of laurel bushes but its
voice emerges as pure and unadulterated as it could possibly be. The speaker
describes it as being “Fresh-peeled” as if it has never sung before. All of these
elements are so strong that they “astonish” and inflict a positive impact on the
houses of the neighbourhood.
In the second half of the poem the speaker is looking forward in time. He sees
the coming spring, and wishes, through the use of repetition, for its swift
arrival. The narrator continues on to state, using a long metaphor, that the
happiness he feels over the arrival of spring is comparable to that which a child
feels who sees a reconciliation between adults. He does not know why it
makes him so giddy and blissfully happy, but it does.
The peace, joy, and promise of spring rubs off on this speaker and he is
returned to a childish state of mind. He feeds off of the season as a child feeds
off the happiness of its parents.

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Analysis of Coming
Lines 1-9
The speaker begins this piece by placing his narrative within a
specific setting. The poem is based around two interconnected
elements of the speaker’s life, that of the setting, and of the
emotions related to specific sites and sounds. The speaker walks the
reader through what is essentially an emotional landscape played
out through images of domesticity and natural beauty.
In the first lines the speaker informs the reader that there are certain
evenings that are somewhat more special than others. At these
times, in which the air feels “Light, chill and yellow,” there is an
inescapable serenity to the scene. It is an element that doesn’t just
exist in this world, but has bathed the surroundings. A “serene”
feeling covers everything in this place and is said to “Bathe” the
front, or “foreheads” of the neighbouring houses.
Now that the basic emotional and physical context has been set, the
speaker moves on to provide the reader with some additional details
that add to the scene.
In this place the narrator can hear a “thrush,” a commonly found
small bird, singing in the laurel. It is “surrounded” by the bush but its
voice belts out of the garden. There is nothing to truly stop or
obstruct the sounds it makes. The notes are so pure they sound
“fresh-peeled” as if they’ve never been sung before.
Larkin makes interesting use of personification when he describes
how the emotional landscape touches the physical space. The sound
of the thrush is so arresting that the “brickwork” of the
neighbourhood houses is said to be “astonished.”

Lines 10-19
In the second stanza the speaker turns away from the present
moment to cast his mind into the future. He knows what all these
sights and sounds portend—spring is coming soon. Larkin has chosen
to repeat this line twice. By doing so, the phrase becomes a briefly

19
recognized mantra. It has been said before, and will be said again, as
if speaking it will hurry the season.
For the first time in this piece the speaker refers to himself in the
first person. While it might be tempting, one should not assume that
these memories belong to the writer himself, more supporting
evidence would be needed to support that claim.
Now speaking about himself, the narrator explains that he had a
childhood that was unremarkable. It was filled with boring days that
were so un-noteworthy that he has all but forgotten them. He brings
up his childhood in the effort to create an impactful contrast when
describing his following emotions.
With his listless youth in mind, he is experiencing the present
moment as if he is once more a child and has come upon “a scene /
Of adult reconciling.” He imagines himself with the mind of a child,
and feels as if he is witnessing something that is good, but which he
is incapable of fully understanding.
While one is young, the complexities of adult lives are far out of
reach, and for this projecting narrator he feels, and accepts that. He
knows he will never be able to grasp what it is that makes spring, and
its coming, so joyful.

In the final lines the speaker comes to the conclusion of the piece, as
well as what could be considered the climax of this short narrative.
The emotions he is experiencing culminate in unstoppable laughter.
He feels as if he is feeding off the joy of the world, just as a child
feeds off the joy expressed by a parent.

20
The Buck in the Snow
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
White sky, over the hemlocks bowed with snow,
Saw you not at the beginning of evening the antlered
buck and his doe
Standing in the apple-orchard? I saw them. I saw them
suddenly go,
Tails up, with long leaps lovely and slow,
Over the stone-wall into the wood of hemlocks bowed
with snow.

Now lies he here, his wild blood scalding the snow.

How strange a thing is death, bringing to his knees,

bringing to his antlers
The buck in the snow.
How strange a thing,—a mile away by now, it may be,
Under the heavy hemlocks that as the moments pass
Shift their loads a little, letting fall a feather of snow—
Life, looking out attentive from the eyes of the doe.

21
The Buck in the Snow by Edna St. Vincent Millay
‘The Buck in the Snow’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a twelve line
poem which is separated into one set of five lines, or quintet,
one single line, and then a final set of six lines, or sestet. ‘The
Buck in the Snow’ has a very interesting rhyme scheme inn that
the entire first stanza, the single line in the middle, and two lines
of the last stanza all rhyme. Its twelve lines follow the pattern of:
aaaaa a bacdaa. This is quite an unusual pattern and certainly
works to create a sense of unity within this piece.
There is no question that the poet wants her speaker to craft a
certain tone at the beginning, and then as one will learn at the
poem’s halfway point, shock the reader with its continuance.
That being said, it is important to note that the first five lines of
this piece are quite different, but also similar, to the final six. The
first half of the poem holds nothing but peace and images of a
pristine world, while the second casts a shadow over this world
by bringing in death. You can read the full poem here.

Summary of The Buck in the Snow

‘The Buck in the Snow’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay describes the
power of death to overcome all boundaries and inflict loss on
even the most peaceful of times.
The poem begins with the speaker describing a beautiful snow-
covered landscape in which she is exploring. She immediately
turns to address her listener asking him/her if they were able to
see the buck and the dear which passed by the hemlock trees
earlier. With this image in mind she tells the reader that now she
has found the buck dead.
Death, something the speaker finds to be endlessly interesting
and strange, came and took the deer. It has the power to go
wherever and whenever it wants to claim those it desires.
Anyone could be next, including the last doe the speaker saw.

22
Analysis of The Buck in the Snow
Lines 1-6
The speaker begins this piece by describing for the reader, and
her listener, a specific scene. The poet has chosen to write this
piece with a certain listener in mind. The speaker is addressing
the entire poem to one person, or perhaps to one certain kind of
person who needs to hear what she has to say.
The scene that the speaker describes is one of peace. There is a
“White sky,” that might seem cold and distant, but at this
moment fits perfectly into the snowy world she is within. There
are “hemlocks” all around the speaker which are so heavy with
snow that they are “bowing,” or bending. Amazingly, with only a
few words the poet has been able to paint a clear image of her
world.
The next line begins with her speaking to the listener. She is
asking him/her a specific question, if they saw the “antlered buck
and his doe” at the “beginning of evening.” They were, she says,
“Standing in the apple-orchard.” Whether the listener saw them
or not, the speaker is ready to interject saying that she did. She
“saw them” and then “saw them suddenly go.” The animals
bounded off without a moments notice.
The deer moved gracefully through this pristine winter
landscape. They take “long” and “lovely” leaps. It is as if they are
moving in slow motion, although the speaker knows this isn’t’
the case. The last she saw of the animals, at least for now, was
the sight of their tails going over the “stone-wall into the wood.”
Just as she began this stanza she ends with, “hemlocks bowed
with snow.” Here is where they disappeared, the last place she
saw them. At this pint in the piece the tone is quite calm and
pleasant. There is nothing to be overly concerned about, a
reader should not be expecting the turn that comes with the
floating middle line.

23
Line 6
This line state that “Now” the buck is in the snow at the
speaker’s feet, she has found him with “his wild blood scalding
the snow.” The deer’s life force, something so pure and alive, is
fading away. It is moving away in the form of blood into the cold
icy world that killed him.

Lines 7-12
Now that the poem has completed its turn to the darker side of
life, the speaker is able to take her time contemplating what it
means to die and how death is a “strange…thing.”
The final sestet begins with just that statement that death is a
“strange…thing” able to bring a beautiful, strong animal like a
“buck” to “his knees …in the snow.” She does not feel like there
should be any force on earth capable of this feat. A buck’s life
should not drain out of it, nor should its “antlers” be in the
snow.
She continues on through this section of the poem to speak of
death’s ability to move from place to place. It is not restricted by
any human, animal or immaterial force. It goes where it needs to
when it needs to.
In this particular situation, death could, she states, have moved
from “Under the heavy hemlocks” which are moving under the
weight of the snow they bare. It could already be on its way to its
next victim. The speaker does not doubt that the next victim
could be anther innocent creature, perhaps even the doe herself.
The now lonely animal is filled with “Life” at the moment, staring
out into the world, but death could soon come along behind.

24
Cetacean

Out of Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, Sunday, early,

our vessel, bow to stern, some sixty-three feet,

to observe Blue Whales -and we did, off the Farallones.

They were swimming slowly, and rose at a shallow angle

(they were grey as slate with white mottling, dorsals tiny and stubby,

with broad flat heads one quarter their overall body-lengths).

They blew as soon as their heads began to break the surface.

The blows were as straight and slim as upright columns

rising to thirty feet in vertical sprays.

Then their heads disappeared underwater, and the lengthy, rolling

expanse of their backs hove into our view -about twenty feet longer

than the vessel herself.

And then the diminutive dorsals

showed briefly, after the blows had dispersed and the heads had gone under.

Then they arched their backs, then arched their tail stocks ready for diving.

25
Then the flukes were visible just…
Cetacean by Peter Reading
‘Cetacean’ by Peter Reading is a twenty-three line poem which is
does not follow a particular rhyme scheme. The piece has been
written utilizing a variety of line lengths, ranging from thirteen words
to four. This intrinsic element of variety, as well as the initially
random seeming line breaks, add to the visual and auditory
interest. The title of this piece is a word which is not common in
every day speech, “cetacean” refers to a certain species of ocean
animal, such as a dolphin, whale or porpoise.
The individual verses often break in unexpected places where one
would not naturally pause in their speech, this is called enjambment
and is used to draw attention to, speed up and slow down, certain
elements of the poem. Additionally, the poet has chosen to write
using short choppy phrases within his long lines. A great example of
this is in the second line, “to observe Blue Whales-and we did, off the
Farallones.”
One other aspect to note about ‘Cetacean’ is the way that Reading
has chosen to construct the poem as more of a narrative than lines
of verse. The individual lines are longer than an average poem’s, and
he has not put emphasis on rhyme or meter. You can read the full
poem here.

Summary of Cetacean
‘Cetacean’ by Peter Reading describes a speaker’s whale watching
experience off the coast of California and the overall grace of the
blue whales he observed.
The poem begins with the speaker stating that it was on an early
Sunday morning that he, and his companions, set out to see the
whales. They were intentionally going out to see blue whales and
traveled to a set of islands off the coast of California, the
“Farallones.”
The speaker is successful in his quest and the rest of the poem is
devoted to describing that experience. He frequently takes note of
the grace of their bodies, as well as their general mass. He is amazed

26
by their movements, and struck by the “diminutive” nature of their
dorsal fins.
The whales dive back under the water, rolling through the waves,
showing off all the markings of their bodies. The display finally ends
when they dive into the depths, leaving the narrator with the image
of their “flukes,” or tail fins.

Analysis of Cetacean
Lines 1-8
The poem begins with the speaker describing the setting. Due to the
format of Reading’s writing in this piece it might take more than one
reading to understand the first few lines. The words appear out-of-
order, and the choppy nature of the phrasing is quite unusual.
The speaker, and his unnamed companions, are setting off from San
Francisco, early on a Sunday morning. They have left behind
“Fisherman’s Wharf” and are headed out to sea. These simple
phrases are evocative and bring to mind endless images of the
tossing ocean and hardy sailors setting out on a great quest. Taken in
tandem with the title, one might assume that this is the beginning of
a hunt.
The poem continues on to describe a closer element of the setting,
the boat itself. As the speaker looks around he knows that the
“vessel” is “sixty-three feet” from the “bow to stern,” or front to
back. The following line provides more context as well as the reason
for the trip. He and his companions are setting off in the hopes of
seeing “Blue Whales” off of “the Farallones,” a group of islands off
the California coast.
The story is not about whether or not the speaker will see the whales
though, as the following two words confirm. He saw the whales as
they came quite close to the boat. They were swimming and rising
“slowly” from the water. They breached at an angle and appeared as
“grey as slate.” Their bodies were covered with “white mottling” and
compared to the overall size of their bodies, their “dorsal” fins were
small.

27
In the final line of this section he states that their “broad flat heads”
were impressively large. The speaker knows a lot about these
animals and relays, scientifically, to the reader that they were “one
quarter their overall body-lengths.”

Lines 9-17
In the next set of lines the speaker continues to describe the
interaction he had with these blue whales off the coast of California.
After the whales had come to the surface they “blew” out water.
These streaks were enormous, and “straight and slim as upright
columns..” They rose up to “thirty feet.” This is a fact that clearly
impresses the speaker. He sees these creatures as both beautiful and
highly impressive.
In the next lines, the show is over. The whales descend back into the
water and momentarily disappear. The poet is trying to evoke a
sense of loss— through his speaker he has described something
wonderful, and then taken it away. They were gone from the surface,
but could still be seen rolling through the water. Their “backs” would
“hove into” the speaker’s view and he could tell that they were
longer than “the vessel herself.”

Lines 18-23
In the final four lines the speaker brings the narrative of whale
watching to a close. He has glimpsed the mass of the whales, and has
been impressed by their biological distinctiveness. He notes the fact
that as they rolled he once more caught sight of their “diminutive
dorsals,” (an interesting use of “d” sound alliteration by the poet).
In the last two lines the whales departed from the scene entirely.
They “arched” up their backs and their tails. The speaker knows they
are getting ready to dive. They do so, and the last thing he is able to
see are their “flukes,” or tail fins. One can easily imagine the grace of
these movements and the true sense of loss that would be
experienced when the whales were truly and finally out of sight.

28
Kraken

Below the thunders of the upper deep,

Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee
About his shadowy sides; above him swell
Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;
And far away into the sickly light,
From many a wondrous grot and secret cell
Unnumbered and enormous polypi
Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.
There hath he lain for ages, and will lie
Battening upon huge sea worms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.

29
‘The Kraken‘ by Alfred Lord Tennyson is a fifteen line variant of an Italian
or Petrarchan sonnet. The poem can be divided into two sections, that
can then be divided further. “The Kraken” is made up of one octave, or
set of eight lines, that can be divided into two sets of four lines, and one
set seven lines. The poem follows a consistent rhyme scheme of abab
cddc efeggfe .
Summary of The Kraken
“The Kraken” by Alfred Lord Tennyson describes the slumbering bulk
of the Kraken, its eventual rise to the surface of the sea, and resulting
death.
The poem begins with the speaker describing how deeply one would have
to look in the ocean to find the Kraken. It is in a place no human can truly
go. He continues on to state that the Kraken is not the king of this place,
but just another feature. This is due to the fact that he has been sleeping
an “ancient” sleep. He has become a home for all the creatures of the
deep.
In the final lines of the poem it is revealed that eventually the Kraken will
wake up, it will bring all its power to man and angels alike, and then die
when it reaches the surface.
Analysis of The Kraken
Lines 1-4
Below the thunders of the upper deep,
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee
The poem begins with the speaker describing a potion of the sea that is
far from the reach or full understanding of humankind. He is describing a
place that is unfathomable to the human eye and can only be described
in the grandest of terms. The speaker is laying out the details of the
habitat of the kraken and the life it lives.
The place that the kraken resides in is located, “Below,” or under, the
layer of the “upper deep.” The portion of the sea that is accessible to us,
that which is referred to as big the “upper” section, is only the beginning.
There is much more to come. As the speaker takes the reader deeper
down into the ocean he passes the “abysmal sea.” The kraken does not

30
reside anywhere close to the surface, he is “Far, far” beneath all the
layers of the ocean.
Once the speaker has taken his readers down through the ocean, he
comes upon the “Kraken.” He is in a deep sleep. This is a state that he has
inhabited for an innumerable swath of years. His sleep is “ancient,
dreamless” and “uninvaded.” The reader might get the feeling that now
that the speaker has taken the narrative to this place that this sleep might
be coming to an end. The reader is now invading the Kraken’s realm.
In the final line of this section the speaker begins his description of what
this place, and the beast within it, are like.
Lines 5- 8
About his shadowy sides; above him swell
Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;
And far away into the sickly light,
From many a wondrous grot and secret cell
The next four line provide the reader with a greater understanding of
what this world so deep below the ocean is like. The reader has been
taken to a place that no human has been, or will ever go again.
In the realm of the Kraken there is no sun, he is much to deep below the
waves for the sun to touch him. The next lines emphasize the extended
period of time the beast has been sleeping there.
He has remained in the same spot for so long that there are millennia of
“growth” surrounding him. “Huge sponges” and sea plants of every form
“swell” around him. The Kraken is so deep in the ocean that there is only
“sickly light” about him.
It is in the meagre lighting that life has made its home. The Kraken has
slept for so long in the same place that the creatures of the sea have
come to live in his “wonderous grot,” a shortened form of grotto, and
within the “Unnumbered” and “secret” parts of his body. His mass has
become nothing more than another part of the ocean on, in, and around
which others have made their home.
Lines 9-15
Unnumbered and enormous polypi
Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.
There hath he lain for ages, and will lie

31
Battening upon huge sea worms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.
In the final nine lines of the poem a change is predicted in the realm
of the Kraken.
This section begins with the poet’s speaker further emphasizing the fact
that the beast has resided in this same place for an endless number of
days. There are “enormous polypi,” or growths, that “Winnow” or cover,
his “giant arms.” One might imagine his being covered with a “green”
layer of small green growths.
The speaker continues on to say, “There hath he lain for ages.” Now the
narrator goes further, to state that the Kraken will continue to “lie /
Battening upon huge sea worms” while he sleeps; at least for awhile
longer.
The final three lines of the piece give a hint about what will happen when
the time comes for the Kraken to wake up. This will only happen when
the “latter fire shall heat the deep,” he will be driven up from the floor of
the ocean, either by necessity or by a newly reinvigorated passion.
He will “once by man” and by the angels, be seen again. The world in its
entirety will see the beast and know his greatest. This one act of power
and assertion will come crashing down though as “roaring he shall rise
and on the surface die.”
This entire poem can be interpreted as a metaphor for any type of
impassioned revolution. The Kraken can be see as a contingent of people,
or a harboured hatred, discontentment or fear that finally reaches its
breaking point. This pure, unencumbered emotion will come “roaring” to
the surface, but when it reaches the clear air, it dies. Even the best
intentions can fall short when they are met with the challenges of reality.

32
You will know when you get there
‘You Will Know When You Get There’ by Allen Curnow is a twenty-
three line poem and the title piece of Curnow’s collection, You Will
Know When You Get There: Poems. The piece is separated into ten
couplets, or sets of two lines, and one final tercet, or set of three
lines.
Curnow has not chosen to structure the poem with a consistent
pattern of rhyme or rhythm. The lines are all very similar in length
though. This lends the piece a feeling of physical unity on the page. It
appears to be very structured upon first glance but when one
investigates deeper the emotional nature of the text is emphasized
through the free verse style.

Summary of You Will Know When You Get There

‘You Will Know When You Get There’ by Allen Curnow speaks on the
path of life through metaphors of the sun and sea.
The poem begins with the speaker describing how no one, no matter
who they are, goes to the sea before or after their time. The vague
language of the poem lends a dark and foreboding feeling to the sea.
This is contrasted by the warmth of the sun. The two elements come
to represent life and death.
In the following lines the sun funnels its light into the sea without
seeming to know it is emptying. Three characters are introduced to
the narrative. A man wading into the sea and two young boys. The
boys represent life, and the man, impending death.
The poem concludes with the inevitable ending that the first lines
alluded to.The listener, referred to as “you” progresses deep into the
ocean, alone.

Analysis of You Will Know When You Get There

Lines 1-6
In the first couplet the speaker begins by describing a “sea’ which
from “Nobody comes up from” late. It immediately appears as if
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there is some kind of deadline the speaker is very aware of. The line
that no one ever passes is represented by the sea. It is a place that
no one goes to, or comes back from late.

These lines, and those that follow are vague. It is not entirely clear
what exactly the speaker is referring to. There is though a sense of
foreboding. The sea does not seem like a place one wants to venture
to, especially if it is “late.” In the following couplets the speaker goes
on to describe the path that leads to the sea.
The description is also very dark, adding to depressing mood of the
lines. If one was to travel down this path they not want to go down
the “last steep kilometre.” It appears to be the most dangerous part
of the walk. This is due to the wet areas that have been pummelled
by a “shower.” The shower of rain was, and is, so powerful that it
“shred[s]” the light coming from the sky.
Curnow’s speaker is now describing a path which seems quite
dangerous. One is liable to fall as the ground is wet, and there is no
clear light coming from the sky. Although it continues to pour from
its “tank,” the sun, it is obscured by the rain. Whatever dark forces
are in this area, they are able to block out the light of the sun.
From these sections one should be able to infer that some aspect of
this piece is going to be about death. It is likely the force which takes
light, and from which no one goes to late or early. One goes to
“death” exactly when they are meant to. It is embodied by the sea in
the first lines.

Lines 7-12
The following lines are not any clearer than those which preceded
them. At this point the speaker references the “celestial.” One must
trace the mention of the sun into these new couplets to understand
that the “Reservoir” spoken of in line eight is the sun. The sun, and
the light it emits, is “celestial.” It continues to pour out, unaware that
it is “emptying.” This is due to the fact that the “light” is still there.

34
The speaker has put a finishing point on the sun’s ability to produce
light. At some unknown point it is going to end.
This can be considered as an allusion to the death that awaits
everyone. One continues to live, emptying their reserve of light, until
there is nothing left. In the following lines Curnow makes a direct
reference to Ezra Pound’s Canto VII with the line, “‘gathers the gold
against it.’” In this line Pound was referencing how gold is able to
attract light even in the gloom.
This line fits into Curnow’s poem as the sun sits over the sea like
gold. It attracts all the good and fine things in life. Some of the light
that becomes a part of the sun, and which shines under its influence,
is the “crushed rock.” It is not something one immediately notices on
a beach. It is often simple “underfoot.”
The next couplet introduces “you” into the poem. There is a speaker
the speaker is addressing this work to, although it is unclear who this
person is. The listener is said to “go” alongside the sun. It is likely the
metal destination is death, or as represented in this piece, the sea.

Lines 13-18
In the path towards death, the “sun gets there first.” In its way, this
line is depressing but also somewhat comforting. If the sea is death,
one should not be as fearful of it as the sun and all its light as
entered there as well.
In the next stanzas two characters are introduced. These “Boys” are
pure embodiments of life. They have faces lit by the “campfire light.”
They sit on the beach and watch as a man travels towards its waters.
After the previous descriptions of the ocean the reader should also
be alarmed by this fact.
The speaker states that the man has an arrangement with ocean that
it “be shallowed three-point seven metres.” This way the man can
reach the mussels he is seeking more easily.

Lines 19-23

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In the final five lines of this piece the day is coming to an end. One’s
life is dating to a close just as the sun is setting. There is only “One
hour’s light..left.” Although this last hour should be precious and
important there is the moon to contend with. It is acting like an
excrescence, or growth. The moon feeds off the sun’s last light.
The concluding lines describe the slamming of a door. Its force is so
strong that it makes the “sea-floor shudder.” With the door’s final
closing, one has entered into the last moments of their life. It is time
to proceed down the dangerous path, into the ocean. The listener is
described as doing just this. They travel “alone…into the surge-black
/ fissure.”

36
Stormcock in elder
In my dark hermitage, aloof
From the world’s sight and the world’s sound,
By the small door where the old roof
Hangs but five feet above the ground,
I groped along the shelf for bread
But found celestial food instead:

For suddenly close at my ear,

Loud, loud and wild, with wintry glee,
The old unfailing chorister
Burst out in pride of poetry;
And through the broken roof I spied
Him by his singing glorified.

Scarcely an arm’s-length from the eye,

Myself unseen, I saw him there;
The throbbing throat that made the cry,
The breast dewed from the misty air,
The polished bill that opened wide
And showed the pointed tongue inside;

The large eye, ringed with many a ray

Of minion feathers, finely laid,
The feet that grasped the elder-spray;
How strongly used, how subtly made
The scale, the sinew, and the claw,
Plain through the broken roof I saw;

The flight-feathers in tail and wing,

The shorter coverts, and the white
Merged into russet, marrying
The bright breast to the pinions bright,
Gold sequins, spots of chestnut, shower
Of silver, like a brindled flower.

Soldier of fortune, northwest Jack,

Old hard-times’ braggart, there you blow
But tell me ere your bagpipes crack
How you can make so brave a show,
Full-fed in February, and dressed
Like a rich merchant at a feast.

One-half the world, or so they say,

Knows not how half the world may live;
So sing your song and go your way,
And still in February contrive
As bright as Gabriel to smile
On elder-spray by broken tile.

37
‘Stormcock the Elder’ by Ruth Pitter is a seven stanza poem which is separated
into sets of six lines, or sestets. Each of these sestets follows a specific and
structured rhyme scheme. The lines follow a patter of ababcc, alternating
stanza to stanza as the poet saw fit.
The repetitive, and somewhat simple nature, of this rhyming pattern imbues
the poem with a sense of unity and continuity. By the time one gets to the
second stanza, one should be able to predict the upcoming rhymes. This
structure also helps to keep the narrative on track. There are no moments in
which the story goes off topic or away from the main subject of the
“stormcock.”
Another point that a reader should take note of is the definition of the word
“stormcock.” It is a less common word used to refer to a mistle thrush (a bird
which is easily found across Europe, Asia and North Africa). You can read the
full poem here.

Summary of Stormcock the Elder

‘Stormcock the Elder’ by Ruth Pitter describes the nature of a mistle thrush
which sings in close proximity to a speaker.
The poem begins with the speaker stating that she is within her “hermitage,”
looking along a shelf for bread, when she hears the sound of a bird singing. She
goes to investigate and sees the stormcock, or mistle thrush, alongside her
dilapidated home. It does not notice her.
She spends the next stanzas describing what the bird looks like in great detail.
The speaker takes note of everything from the eyes, to the throat and tail
feathers.
In the last lines she promotes a life of optimism. One should attempt to live as
the mistle thrush does, singing out even in February.

Analysis of Stormcock the Elder

Stanza One
In the first stanza of this piece the speaker begins by stating that she is alone
in her “dark hermitage,” or small dwelling. This is a strange situation for a
speaker to be in and may raise a number of questions among readers. All that
one is aware of at this point is that she is “aloof,” or hidden…
From the world’s sight and the world’s sound,
She has placed herself in this position, or made her home in this particular
spot, in an effort to hide from the world. The speaker does not want to be a
part of it. In the next lines she describes how she was moving along her hovel
near the “small door” along the roof, looking “along the shelf for bread.”

38
Instead of finding bread she comes upon “celestial food instead.” This is the
first reference in the poem to another body or force at work. She has stumbled
upon something which is outside her confined world.

Stanza Two
In the sound stanza the speaker clarifies, at least somewhat, what it is she has
found. The first thing she describes is a noise “close at [her] ear.” It is “loud
and wild” and seemingly filled with “wintry glee.”
The noise is a shock to her ears, but not an unpleasant one. She refers to the
singer of the song as being an “old unfailing chorister.” It is someone, or
something, which is used to singing. It has honed its craft over many years but
still cannot resist breaking “out in pride of poetry.”
From her spot in the roof of the structure the speaker can see “Him.” He is
“glorified” by his singing.

Stanza Three
In the third stanza the speaker describes how the source of the sound, which
the reader will understand as a bird, is “an arm’s-length from [her] eye.” While
she might be extremely close to the bird it has yet to see her.
She is so close that she can see his “throbbing throat” and knows that it is the
source of his “cry.” The speaker is also able to see the bird’s
“breast” and how it is covered in “dew from the misty air,” as well as the
“pointed tongue” inside its mouth.

Stanza Four
The speaker continues her description of the bird in the fourth stanza. She
begins by focusing on the “large eye” which is…
ringed with many a ray
Of minion feathers.
She is noticing the complexity of the bird’s colouring and feather patterns.
They are “finely laid.” She also takes note of the “feet” and their ability to
“grasp the elder-spray” on which he is perching. The poet uses the rhyme
scheme to great effect in these lines when she writes, “The scale, the sinew,
and the claw.”

Stanza Five
The fifth stanza is the final which focuses heavily on depicting the bird. She
concludes her description by speaking on the way the bird’s colors are all
distinctive but eventually “Merge into russet.” The bird seems to sport…
Gold sequins, spots of chestnut, shower

39
Of silver, like a brindled flower.
It is not a simple stormcock any longer. It is so much more beautiful and
complex.

Stanza Six
In the sixth stanza the speaker departs from her description of the bird to
speak on its larger impact on the world. She completes this task by first
comparing the bird’s jovial nature to “northwest Jack.” This person is described
as being a “Soldier of fortune.”
Just like the bird, he does well and makes “so brave a show” in the coldest
months of the year. He, and the mistle thrush singing so close to the speaker’s
face, are like “rich merchant[s] at a feast.”

Stanza Seven
In the final stanza the speaker concludes her narrative on a more somber note.
Up until this point she has been celebrating the beauty and resilience of the
bird. She spent time on each part of its body, making sure the reader
understood how important it is to her, and should be to any who hears her
words.
In these last lines she speaks on one’s inability to know all parts of the world.
This is in an effort to interest a reader in the fact that many more will never
know the mistle thrush, than do. The speaker has spent her time glorifying the
bird, but time will move on and these thoughts will be forgotten.
She speaks to the reader and asks that “you” go ahead and “sing your song”
and then go about your life. The speaker hopes that any reading these lines
will take some of the resilience and optimism of the stormcock into the future
colder months.

40
The poplar field
The poplars are fell’d, farewell to the shade
And the whispering sound of the cool colonnade,
The winds play no longer, and sing in the leaves,
Nor Ouse on his bosom their image receives.

Twelve years have elaps’d since I last took a view

Of my favourite field and the bank where they grew,
And now in the grass behold they are laid,
And the tree is my seat that once lent me a shade.

The blackbird has fled to another retreat

Where the hazels afford him a screen from the heat,
And the scene where his melody charm’d me before,
Resounds with his sweet-flowing ditty no more.

My fugitive years are all hasting away,

And I must ere long lie as lowly as they,
With a turf on my breast, and a stone at my head,
Ere another such grove shall arise in its stead.

Tis a sight to engage me, if any thing can,

To muse on the perishing pleasures of man ;
Though his life be a dream, his enjoyments, I see,
Have a being less durable even than he.

41
‘The Poplar Field’ by William Cowper is a five stanza poem which is
divided into sets of four lines, or quatrains. Each of these quatrains follow
a consistent rhyme scheme in the pattern of, aabb ccdd eeff.., etc. You
can read the full poem here.

Summary of The Poplar Field

‘The Poplar Field’ by William Cowper describes the destruction of a field
of poplar trees and how its loss allows a speaker to reflect on his death.
The poem begins with the speaker describing how the place he loves no
longer gives him shade. The trees have been cut down and are now more
like seats. Their loss has impacted more than just his own emotions
though, the blackbird no longer has anywhere to gain protection from the
sun and has been forced to move to a new “scene.”
In conclusion, the speaker realizes that the pleasures of life are incredibly
short, so much so that they are sure to die out before humankind does.
The entire situation has forced to speaker to contend with his own
death.

Analysis of The Poplar Field

Stanza One
The speaker begins this piece by describing the current state of a place
that means a great deal to him. The poet has chosen to focus on the
details of this place rather than fully describing when or where it is.
Further description is not necessary due to the fact that the reader will
gain a full understanding of the emotions tied to the setting. The
experiences of the speaker in this place are what matters, not its actual
location.
The speaker does devote a remarkable amount of time to describing the
individual details of the setting. One very important detail that is noted in
the first line is that the “poplars are felled.” This is important because of
the title of the piece, and the fact that the poet chose to begin the poem
in this way. The entire poem is named after this particular field and the
poplars within it. If the poplars are gone, then what is left? What kind of
field is it?
The poplar trees have been cut down and the speaker notes to himself
that this is a “farewell to the shade.” He is describing the situation, and
truly wishing the past farewell. A place that he cares deeply about has
been irreparably changed.
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Departing alongside the trees is the “whispering sound of the cool
colonnade” and the winds that used to “play” in the landscape. There is
an element of peace that is draining away, and the reader is not yet sure
what is going to be left behind.
This stanza ends with the loss of one other element of the landscape, the
reflection of leaves in the River Ouse, located in Yorkshire, England.

Stanza Two
The second stanza begins with the speaker describing why it is that things
appear to be so changed. It has been “Twelve years” since the first time
that the speaker ever set his eyes upon the “view / Of [his] favourite
field.”
Once more he turns to what was the grandest element of the landscape,
the poplar trees. They have been felled, or cut down, since the last time
he was there. They no longer provide him with the shade they used to.
His favourite tree is now his “seat.” This is a reference to the fact that the
trees are horizontal on the ground, they have been cut down and, at this
point anyway, abandoned.
The setting has been transformed and permanently changed within his
mind. This descriptions the poet has included are presented through a
setting, but represent something so much larger. Cowper has crafted a
larger commentary on loss and change. As well as the inability to get back
something, or some time, lost.

Stanza Three
In the third stanza the speaker turns to another creature that has been
impacted by the cutting down of the poplars in the field. He mentions
“The blackbird” which has “fled” the poplar field for some other “retreat”
which is now more hospitable. “He,” referring to the bird, is looking for
somewhere that can “screen” him from the heat.
There is no forest to protect the animals from the sun, nor from greater
dangers. Everyone, including the speaker, are newly exposed. The
blackbird is seeking out a new sanctuary where he can sing his “ditty.” It
no longer echoes around the “scene” that the narrator remembers.

Stanza Four
In the second to last stanza the speaker directly references the passage of
time and how it has brought so much change to his own life, and to the
43
life of his environment. He sees that his “fugitive years,” or the years of
his youth are “hasting away,” or slipping into the past.
He knows that becoming part of the past is his own fate as well. “Ere
long,” or before long, he too will be lost. When this happens, and he is
dead, he will be covered in “turf” or earth, and have a “stone” at his
head.
He is describing his own grave, where he will rest in the future. The
speaker knows that before this field of poplars can ever grow back, he
will be long dead. He will not live to see it rejuvenated.

Stanza Five
In the final stanza the speaker takes a larger, overarching view of what
has happened to his world. The shock of seeing the field in this state has
triggered him to think more deeply about life. It has “engage[d] him”
more than anything else. It has also inspired him to think on the way that
the “pleasures of man” so easily “perish.”
As stated above, the poet has chosen to represent loss through the
degradation of a much loved landscape. It is the embodiment of loss, and
is made easier to understand through its relatability.
In the last two lines the speaker summarizes what he has learned through
seeing the poplar field as it now is. He knew previously that the
“enjoyments” of humankind are short, but now he knows that they “die
sooner than we.” They must be fully appreciated while they exist.

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 The caged skylark
As a dare-gale skylark scanted in a dull cage,
Man's mounting spirit in his bone-house, mean house, dwells —
That bird beyond the remembering his free fells;
This in drudgery, day-labouring-out life's age.
Though aloft on turf or perch or poor low stage
Both sing sometímes the sweetest, sweetest spells,
Yet both droop deadly sómetimes in their cells
Or wring their barriers in bursts of fear or rage.

Not that the sweet-fowl, song-fowl, needs no rest —

Why, hear him, hear him babble & drop down to his nest,
But his own nest, wild nest, no prison.

Man's spirit will be flesh-bound, when found at best,

But uncumberèd: meadow-down is not distressed
For a rainbow footing it nor he for his bónes rísen

45
In the sonnet, The Caged Skylark, Hopkins makes an elaborate
comparison between the human spirit and a skylark. There are two stages
of this comparison: in the octave the human spirit of a living human being
is compared to a caged skylark; in the sestet the human spirit of the same
human being, when resurrected after death, is compared to a free
skylark.

Theme of The Caged Skylark

Man has a spirit which aspires upwards, which rises to soar to heaven but
is kept back by the prison of the body, just as a skylark, imprisoned in a
cage, finds it impossible to fly upwards to the sky. The skylark, who is
free, sings gaily and, when tired, drops to rest in his own nest (not in any
cage). The human spirit, too, will be glorified and attain immortality after
the death and resurrection of the individual. Thus, the theme of the poem
is Resurrection. Similar to the caged skylark, the human individual reacts
against his confines, aspires above them, and is frustrated by them. But
after Resurrection the individual will no longer feel encumbered by the
flesh or the body.
Before we start with the poem, let me tell you that the idea of the spirit
being a prisoner in the body was a familiar one during the Renaissance. In
John Webster’s play, The Duchess of Malfi, there is a passage with which
the octave of this sonnet shows a striking similarity: “Didst thou ever see
a lark in a cage? Such is the soul in the body: this world is like her little
turf of grass, and the heaven over our heads, like her looking-glass, only
gives us a miserable knowledge of the small compass of our prison.”
Besides, this poem is also said to be personal allegory of Hopkins’s life
which was restricted and cramped by his routine duties and by the
constant frustration of his creative impulse. The religious life to which he
had dedicated himself placed a great mental strain upon him. He never
wavered in his devotion, but he had to pay heavily for it. He suffered
terrible fits of depression and the torments of self-disgust which came
upon him from time to time.
All this is reflected in the following lines in the present poem: “This in
drudgery, day-labouring-out life’s age./ Yet both droop deadly sometimes
in their cells/Or wring their barriers in bursts of fear or rage.”

The Caged Skylark Analysis

As a dare-gale skylark scanted in a dull cage,
46
Man’s mounting spirit in his bone-house, mean house, dwells —
That bird beyond the remembering his free fells;
This in drudgery, day-labouring-out life’s age.
In the poem, The Caged Skylark, the poet compares the spirit of man to a
caged skylark, which though possessing the courage to face a storm, may
be confined within the bars of a dull cage, so the spirit of man, which has
the courage to soar to heaven, is confined within the dwelling of the body
which is a mean house of bones. Further, just as the skylark can no longer
remember the time of his freedom to fly over the wild mountain scenery,
so the spirit of man endures the drudgery of a slave, spending his long life
on earth toiling and sweating.
Though aloft on turf or perch or poor low stage
Both sing sometímes the sweetest, sweetest spells,
Yet both droop deadly sómetimes in their cells
Or wring their barriers in bursts of fear or rage.
Continuing the comparison, the poet now says that there are times when
both the man and the skylark, despite their confinement, experience a
secret joy and sing the sweetest songs, the skylark sitting aloft on the
turf-covered floor of the cage or on its perch in the cage, and the man
below on the poor, humble stage of this world. But there are also times
when both the man and the bird experience the weight of this weary
world and droop as though in death, or else they grow desperate in their
efforts to break out of their prison, with alternating outbursts of fear and
anger.
Not that the sweet-fowl, song-fowl, needs no rest —
Why, hear him, hear him babble & drop down to his nest,
But his own nest, wild nest, no prison.
The poet then turns his attention to a skylark that is free. In spite of his
freedom, this singing bird too needs rest sometimes. After this bird has
babbled his song up there in the sky, he must drop down to his nest.
What makes all the difference, however, is that the free bird can rest in
his own nest, amid the wildness of Nature, not in a cage where he would
be deprived of his freedom.
Man’s spirit will be flesh-bound, when found at best,
But uncumberèd: meadow-down is not distressed
For a rainbow footing it nor he for his bónes rísen.
The poet, in this last stanza of the poem, says that in the same way, the
human spirit, in the final state of resurrection, will be bound by flesh, for
47
such is man’s nature (composed of body and soul). But then man will feel
no hindrance from the flesh just as the down or fluff of dandelions,
growing to seed in a meadow, feels no weight from a rainbow. The ‘bones
risen’ or the resurrected human body is compared to the down in a
meadow, while the human spirit is compare to a rainbow.)

Imagery used in The Caged Skylark

The aptness and vividness of images presented in this poem must also be
admitted. The comparison made by the poet in the poem of the soul
being held a prisoner in the body with a skylark held as a prisoner in a
cage is most appropriate, though not new or original. The disparagement
of the earthly life of human beings is expressed in forceful language. ‘This
is drudgery, day-labouring-out life’s age.’ The picture of a free skylark
‘babbling’ his gay songs and then dropping into his nest for rest is vividly
presented. The metaphor with which the poem closes is, however,
somewhat elusive because it contains an unfamiliar image; ‘meadow-
down is no distressed/For a rainbow footing.’

Use of Words and Phrases in The Caged Skylark

The phrase “dare-gale” has been coined on the analogy of “dare-devil”.
The phrase “beyond the remembering” is intended to convey the sense of
“unable to remember any longer” or “forgetful of”. The word “spells” has
been used to mean “magically sweet melodies or songs”. “When found at
best” is to be interpreted as referring to the resurrected human life. “For
his bones risen” too means the same thing. All such usages create
difficulties for the reader, though the poet’s daring in this regard cannot
be doubted.

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Written on a Port on a Dark Evening
Huge vapours brood above the clifted shore,
Night on the ocean settles dark and mute,
Save where is heard the repercussive roar
Of drowsy billows on the rugged foot
Of rocks remote; or still more distant tone
Of seamen in the anchored bark that tell
The watch relieved; or one deep voice alone
Singing the hour, and bidding "Strike the bell!"
All is black shadow but the lucid line
Marked by the light surf on the level sand,
Or where afar the ship-lights faintly shine
Like wandering fairy fires, that oft on land
Misled the pilgrim--such the dubious ray
That wavering reason lends in life's long darkling way.

49
‘Huge Vapours Brood above the Clifted Shore‘ by Charlotte Smith is a
Shakespearean sonnet that follows the rhyme scheme of ababcdcdefefgg.
While rarely mentioned now, at the time of her death Charlotte Smith
served as the inspiration for many poets that followed, such as
Wordworth, Coleridge, and Jane Austen.

Summary of Huge Vapours Brood above the Clifted Shore

“Huge Vapours Brood above the Clifted Shore” by Charlotte Smith
describes a brooding storm, the darkness it casts, and the lighted paths of
life one might choose to follow.
The speaker begins this piece by describing a storm that has come in
“above the lifted shore.” The storm is dense, dark, and “mute.” It has a
muffling impact on the surrounding lands and people. There are only a
few sounds that are able to get through and the loudest comes from the
storm itself. The “repercussive roar” of thunder breaks the silence, as
does the sound of “foot” falls on “rocks remote” and the yelling of sailors
at sea. Additionally, the sound of men working the clocktower in town
perseveres. These sounds are heard under the worst of circumstances.
Although all should be consumed, still life goes on.
In the second half of the sonnet the speaker states that there are two
lighted paths in the darkness that are visible. The first is created by the
white surf of the beach. It runs parallel to the water and is a safe guide
for one to follow. The second, is more dangerous. It is the path created by
the lights of ships on the water. If one was to follow these lights, they
would surely drown. By contrasting these two situations the speaker is
able to depict how in darkness one still has the ability to succeed. But,
there is also a chance of failure or death. All is not lost, but the situation is
no less dangerous.

Analysis of Huge Vapours Brood above the Clifted Shore

Lines 1-8
Huge vapours brood above the clifted shore,
Night o’er the ocean settles, dark and mute,
Save where is heard the repercussive roar
Of drowsy billows, on the rugged foot
Of rocks remote; or still more distant tone
Of seamen, in the anchored bark, that tell
The watch reliev’d; or one deep voice alone
50
Singing the hour, and bidding “strike the bell.”
The title of this piece was chosen, as was common during this time, from
the first line of the poem. The first line, in-tandem with the title, vibrantly
describe the weather over a “clifted shore.” The sky above the water, and
land, is covered in vapors of clouds. These are dense, and appear
“brooding.” It is likely that they are dark, and perhaps intimidating in their
mass. This assumption is supported by the second line in which it become
clear that it is “Night.” The darkness of the nighttime hours is setting over
the ocean. It makes the whole world feel, “dark and mute.” It is as if the
clouds have dampened the landscape and pushed back it’s colors and
light.
The speaker continues on to state that there are some areas that are not
quite so quiet. These places are filled with the “repercussive roar” of
thunder. The “billows,” or masses of clouds, are “drowsy” in their noise. It
does not take any effort to produce the sound, but that does not make it
any less impressive.
Other areas also exist where sound can be heard, or movement observed.
These include anywhere that the “rugged” fall of foot steps echoes out
from “rocks remote.” Those who are still outside at this time seem to cast
their sound louder and farther than they would at any other time of day.
The circumstances of the night are enhancing the natural sounds of this
world.
Finally, the speaker adds two more sounds, “the anchored bark,” of a
sailor at sea. This sound is very distant, but the narrator is able to make
out the command, “The watch [is] reliev’d.” Men are going about their
lives as normal; oblivious, or perhaps tuned to, the changes in the
weather and forbidding “vapours” that are “brood[ing]” overhead.
The last sound is that of “one deep voice” that sings out “the hour.”
These sounds come from the clock tower in town. The operators of the
structure can be heard speaking to one another, and above all, the bell
can be heard ringing. This once more signals that while the weather is
remarkably intense, people are carrying on as they always do.

Lines 9-14
All is black shadow, but the lucid line
Mark’d by the light surf on the level sand,
Or where afar, the ship-lights faintly shine
Like wandering fairy fires, that oft on land
51
Mislead the pilgrim; such the dubious ray
That wavering reason lends, in life’s long darkling way.
In the second half of the sonnet the speaker goes back to describing what
the clouds have done to the landscape. The whole environment the
narrator is observing has been cast in “black shadow,” but the darkness is
not all encompassing. There are points of life in the world that stand out
against the heavy dark clouds.
The speaker lists two examples of this persevering light. She mentions the
“light surf” of the water, where it touches “the level sand.” It creates a
“lucid line” that runs, penetratingly, through the darkness. This is a
straight, and consistent path. The one which can, and should be
followed.
In contrast, the speaker describes the light of the ships far off in the
distance. Although this light is dim, it is not irrelevant. The faint lights
shine like “fairy fires.” They are given an air of magic, and power, that is
able to break through the night. These lights, while beautiful, are not to
be trusted. If one was to follow a ship-light from shore, they would end
up in the sea. They are compared to the “fairy fires, that oft on land /
Mislead the pilgrim,” following one would be a mistake. They are
“dubious” in their providence and destination.
The speaker is hoping to portray the different paths that one might take
in life, and the ways in which darkness might be penetrated, even when
the clouds are “Huge” and brooding. This second choice of path, that of
the “ship-lights,” is only followed by those with “wavering reason.” No
one in their right mind would choose to go this way and traverse the path
of “life’s long darkling way.” There are better destinations to strive for,
and ways to get there.

52
In Praise Of Creation
That one bird, one star,
The one flash of the tiger’s eye
Purely assert what they are,
Without ceremony testify.
Testify to order, to rule–
How the birds mate at one time only,
How the sky is, for a certain time, full
Of birds, the moon sometimes cut thinly.
And the tiger trapped in the cage of his skin,
Watchful over creation, rests
For the blood to pound, the drums to begin,
Till the tigress’s shadow casts
A darkness over him, a passion, a scent,
The world goes turning, turning, the season
Sieves earth to its one sure element
And the blood beats beyond reason.
Then quiet, and birds folding their wings,
The new moon waiting for years to be stared at
here,
The season sinks to satisfied things –
Man with his mind ajar.

53
The speaker of this poem, In Praise of Creation, is in awe of creation. That
much is quite obvious. However, the speaker is deliberately vague about
why nature is so inspiring and awesome, in the truest sense of the word.
While some attribute the order and detail of creation to a creator, others
attribute it to chance. The fact that the speaker uses the word “creation”
in the title, suggests her belief that something or someone intelligent is
behind the order and wonder of nature. However, she does not delve into
that aspect of creation with her poem. She simply stands in awe of all
that creation is, from the sky above, to the tiger, down the mating rituals
of the birds. The speaker finds it all unspeakably awe inspiring.

In Praise of Creation Analysis

Stanza 1
The speaker notices the small things in creation that have caused her to
stand in awe of it. She has studied “that one bird” and the “one star” for
long enough to acknowledge that the beauty and wonder behind one tiny
little bird is too much for her mind to comprehend. She realizes that the
light from one star travelling from millions of light years away, is enough
to cause her to stand in complete awe of the universe. She then refers to
“the one flash of the tiger’s eye”. She finds the tiger to be a specimen
truly unique and fascinating. One flash of his eye reveals the intricate and
complicated nature of creation. The speaker claims that these parts of the
earth and the universe “clearly assert what they are”. She does not
explicitly claim that they assert a creator. Nor does she deny one. Rather,
she claims that the bird, the star, and the tiger in themselves assert what
they are, and by their very natures testify to what they are. There need
be no ceremony. Rather, they testify by simply doing what is in their
nature for them to do.

Stanza 2
The speaker continues to explain the claims she implicitly made in the
first stanza. She claims that what these magnificent parts of creation
testify to, is “order” and “rule”. This seems to give the implication that
nature does not lend itself well to the idea of it’s being there due to
chance, but rather demands the idea of order and rule. She goes on to
explain that the way “the birds mate at one time only” and “how the sky
is…full of birds” are all signs that there is an incredible about of order and
rule in creation. She is amazed at the changes of the moon, and the way
54
that it is “sometimes cut thinly” and other times is full. This indirectly
reveals her awe at the way the universe is set up so that the moon orbits
the earth and the earth the sun in such a way that to the human eye, it
seems that sometimes the moon is “cut thin”. The fact that the birds
mate at only one time also strikes the speaker fascinating. If mating is
something instinctual, why do the birds wait until a certain time of year?
All of the speaker’s observations re-iterate her awe at the order and rule
that seems to exist in the universe, from the moon, to the birds in the sky,
the speaker marvels at the way the earth and universe function.

Stanza 3
With this stanza, the speaker finds it amazing that an animal as dangerous
as a tiger comes with a visible warning sign. She sees the tiger’s stripes as
a type of cage, warning other animals of the dangerous nature of this
beast. Yet, though it is a dangerous animal, it still is “watchful over
creation” as though it plays a very important role in the way that nature
functions. The speaker then describes the way the tiger rests and waits
“for the blood to pound” and “the drums to begin” The language used
here reveals that something intense is about to happen, though the
speaker does not yet reveal what that is. She simply says that the tigress
will cast a shadow.

Stanza 4
With this stanza, the speaker gives further detail concerning this event.
She describes the way the shadow of the tigress would fall over the tiger,
and there would be “a passion” and “a scent”. It is clear now that the
speaker is referring the mating of the tiger and the tigress. In the midst of
the mating of these two magnificent creatures, the world seems to go
“turning, turning”. This language, quite obviously, reflects that of William
Butler Yeats in one of his most famous poems, The Second Coming, in
which Yeats seems to suggest that the world is spinning out of control.
The speaker in this poem, however, uses similar language to convey a
meaning just the opposite. She seems to see the world as maintaining
order, and the mating of the two powerful beasts suggests not that the
world is spinning out of control, but rather that it continues to turn in
uniform, as it was created to do, allowing the seasons to change and time
to go on. This, the speaker suggests, “sieves earth to its one sure
element”. The speaker does not directly reveal what this “one sure
55
element” is, but the next line suggests that mating practices of all of
creations’ beings are that “one sure element”. She claims that when the
tiger and tigress meet for mating, “the blood beats beyond reason”. This
is an interesting line, because throughout the rest of the poem, the
speaker seems to evaluate creation, seeking reasoning behind the
seeming order and rule of nature. However, here she admits that when it
comes to mating, the “blood beats beyond reason” and one simply
cannot understand the nature of it.

Stanza 5
After the mating is done, the speaker describes the “quiet” and the way
the “birds [are] folding their wings”. She notices that after the few
minutes of mating, “the new moon” still sits there, as it was, “waiting for
years to be stared at here”. Once the mating has taken place, “The season
sinks to satisfied things” and leaves man, once again, “with his mind ajar”.
The speaker’s description of this mating reveals some parallels to what is
likely personal experience, and thus, a human sexual experience. The use
of the word “man” at the end of the poem further suggests this view.
Thus far, man has not been mentioned in the poem. The speaker simply
reflects upon nature and all of creation. At the end of the poem, after her
description of the mating of the tiger and tigress as something which is
“beyond reason” she mentions another human being whose mind is left
“ajar”. This suggests the idea that even the instinctual act of sexual
intercourse with another human being is subject to order and rule, and
that even though it is an act that seems “beyond reason” it still leaves
people with their minds open, pondering life, humanity, and creation just
as the speaker does throughout this poem.

56
STORIES OF
OURSELVES

57
1. There will come Soft Rains

"There Will Come Soft Rains"; "The Million-

Year Picnic"
Summary
In August of 2026, in California, a fully-automated house announces that
it is time to wake up. Yet the house is empty. Breakfast is automatically
made, but there is no one to eat it. Outside, where the automatic
sprinklers come on, a wall can be seen where the paint has all been
burned off except for a few silhouettes. There is a silhouette of a man
and woman doing yardwork and of a boy and a girl throwing a ball. The
rest of the neighborhood is charred and flattened, and a radioactive glow
hangs over the city. A dog enters the house, covered with sores, and
dies. The robotic mice that automatically clean the house take the dog
away to the incinerator. As evening comes, the house automatically
reads the woman's favorite poem, "There Will Come Soft Rains." The
poem describes how, once man is utterly destroyed because of a war,
nature will go on without man, as if nothing had happened. Later that
night, a tree bough falls on the house, causing a fire that consumes all of
the house but one wall.
In October of 2026, a rocket lands on Mars. It carries a husband and
wife and three boys. They have a stockpile of food. They head down a
canal in a boat. The Dad has a mysterious smile on his face, and his
eldest (but still young) son Timothy tries to understand what is
happening. Suddenly, they hear an explosion, as their rocket self-
destructs. The Dad explains that he has brought them away from Earth
to start a new life on Mars. The next day, the Edwards will arrive with
their daughters, and together they will start life anew. The Dad lets his
boys pick out a city to live in, and he burns a number of papers he
brought from Earth, even a map of Earth. He then takes his boys to see
some Martians. He has them look into the canal at their own reflections.
Commentary

58
The irony of the story "There Will Come Soft Rains" is strong. The poem
within the story describes how happy nature will be when man has
destroyed himself, but the truth is that nature has been decimated by the
war. The dog that comes in to die is lean and covered with sores. The
rest of the city is "rubble and ashes." Radiation hangs in the air. Yet
nature lives on in a mechanical form. Mechanical mice scurry about the
house. The closest thing to soft rains that fall are the mechanical rains of
the sprinkler system that goes off when the house catches fire. The
poem, which seems pessimistic, is actually very optimistic compared to
the reality. In this penultimate story, Bradbury shows his final example of
the folly of thoughtless technological development. It is no wonder that
some in the Science Fiction community accuse him of being anti-
science.
If "There Will Come Soft Rains" brings Bradbury's criticisms of heedless
advancement to a climax, then "The Million-Year Picnic" is a fitting
denouement, or conclusion following the climax. It is his alternative to
the pioneering style criticized in the rest of the book. Instead of making
Mars as much like Earth as possible, Timothy and his family will adjust to
Mars. The Dad tries to convince his boys that they will be Martians, and
he symbolically burns a map of Earth. They decide to live in a Martian
city instead of building a wooden, American town. They are fleeing Earth
because they do not like it and want to be somewhere else. To
Bradbury, this is the correct way to be a pioneer.
Analysis
The Martian Chronicles is a very fragmentary book. Many of its stories were
written to stand alone. Therefore, any analysis of the book should first
state what the novel manages to achieve as a whole. Obviously, it is a
fictional account of the colonization of Mars. NASA repeatedly sends
teams to explore; finally, one of them is successful. What follows is
rampant settlement, much like Westward Expansion in American History.

59
Some are looking for escape from civilization, but most only want to
bring civilization to Mars--American civilization, that is. Finally, atomic
war breaks out on Earth, and so all the humans go home. A few humans
flee the war and head to Mars; when they get there, they don't make the
mistake of trying to recreate American civilization. They have seen that
the result of Earth civilization was war, so they burn their maps of Earth
and decide to become Martians. Bradbury's message is that some types
of colonization are right and others are wrong. Trying to replicate the old
civilization is wrong, but appreciating the civilization you have found is
right.
Beside this warning against reckless exploration and expansion,
Bradbury is also simply writing a story about the American Dream of the
frontier. He writes exciting tales about the dangers the first explorers
face, and one is reminded of cowboys and Indians. He writes about the
loneliness of the frontier, about how different people approach the idea
of a new landscape. He shows how the American Dream can lead to
misunderstandings and waste, and he shows the diversity of that dream,
in disaffected literati like Stendahl, in oppressed Negroes like Silly, in
rowdy young men like Sam Parkhill.
There are no major characters in The Martian Chronicles, and its plot, as
stated above, does not move steadily from story to story. Why, then, is
the novel so famous? First, it was a function of the novel's crossover
appeal--it was a science-fiction novel that non-sci-fi fans could enjoy.
Second, it is a very poetic novel. Whether you think the "poetry" is good
or bad, it cannot be denied that, for a novel about outer space, Bradbury
pays an extraordinary amount of attention to physical beauty, to familial
ties, and to eerie, chilling atmospheres.

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2. The Lemon Orchard

In The Lemon Orchard by Alex la Guma we have the theme of racism,

discrimination, hierarchy and injustice. Narrated in the third person by an
unnamed narrator the reader realises after reading the story that la
Guma may be exploring the theme of racism and discrimination. The
coloured man who is described by his captor’s as being a ‘hotnot’
(coloured person) is being led through the lemon orchard by a group of
white men. His hands are bound and for part of the story he has the
muzzle of a shotgun against his back. His only crime was to have an
argument or indifference with the local church minister. Which suggests
that there is a hierarchy occurring and the coloured man is at the lower
end of the scale due to his skin colour. It might also be important to
mention that the story is set during the apartheid era in South Africa.
When black people did not have the same rights as white people. They
were treated as being inferior. There is also no doubting that there is an
injustice occurring. The coloured man who is a qualified teacher is being
treated improperly solely based on the colour of his skin. The reader does
not imagine that should a white person of had an indifference with the
church minister that they too would incur the same difficulties that the
coloured man is incurring. It is also noticeable that the coloured man tries
his best not to show fear to his captors. He is a proud man who knows
that what is happening to him is not only unjust but again is based solely
on the colour of his skin. It may also be symbolically important that the
coloured man is educated yet we know of no education for the group of
white men. La Guma may be suggesting that the four white men are
uneducated when it comes to their actions. Though yet they are still
responsible.
The fact that the clouds are described as being like ‘dirty cotton wool’
may also be significant as La Guma may be symbolically suggesting that
what is about to happen the coloured man is something that is not right.
Clouds are usually described as being white and in literature white is
often used to symbolise innocence and beauty. By having the clouds dirty
la Guma may be suggesting that nature is tainted in some way. The leader
of the group of men is also an interesting character as the reader is left in
little doubt that he is capable of killing a man. Even so the coloured man
remains dignified throughout the story showing as mentioned no fear. It

61
is possible that la Guma is highlighting the strength that some individuals
of colour had when faced with adversity. If anything the real coward in
the story is the leader of the group of white men. He relies on his shotgun
to enforce his will on the coloured man.
There is also further symbolism in the story which may be important. The
moon is mentioned on several occasions. Firstly it is described as being
‘hidden’. Later on in the story there is moonlight which suggests that the
moon is showing itself in the sky. It is possible that by hiding the
moonlight at the beginning of the story la Guma is symbolically
suggesting that people hid themselves away when it came to racism in
South Africa. Nobody (who was white) stood up. Similarly when the moon
appears at the end of the story what is to happen the coloured man is
something that is known and witnessed by all. Not only by the
perpetrators. The crickets too may be symbolic of human nature. Those
that are near the white men who are holding the coloured man prisoner
are described as having ‘stopped their small noises.’ While further away
those not near the men are continuing to creek. It may be a case that la
Guma is suggesting that the crickets (as human nature) that are far away
are turning a blind eye to what is occurring. While those that are near the
men are waiting to see what will happen. Possibly in support of the men.
The ending of the story is also interesting. Though the reader can’t say for
sure if the coloured man is killed. La Guma does use language to suggest
that something is going to happen that will result in either injury or death
to the coloured man. Words like ‘angled branches’ ‘tips and edges’ shine’
suggest that possibly knives will be used to harm the coloured man.
Whose only crime is to have had an argument with a white church
minister. Even if the coloured man is not killed he will most likely be
scarred for life. Not only because he is about to be attacked by the group
of white men but physically his body will show the marks of the knives. If
anything the coloured man will be an example to other coloured or black
men. That there is a hierarchy in South Africa (at the time the story was
written), with white people being at the top of the hierarchy. A coloured
person no matter how well they might have been educated was to be
treated as a second class citizen who did not have the same rights as
white people.

3. Secrets

62
4. The Bath

In The Bath by Janet Frame we have the theme of loneliness, control,

reliance, loss, struggle, mortality and connection. Narrated in the third
person by an unnamed narrator the reader realises after reading the
story that Frame may be exploring the theme of loneliness. The old
woman throughout the story is alone. When she gets stuck in the bath
despite calling out for help nobody comes to assist her. When she is
placing the flowers on her husband’s grave she is again alone. In fact that
old woman is so alone in life that she appears to long for a time when she
herself is dead. It is as though life has become one long difficulty for the
old woman. She no longer has control over her body. The tasks she would
like to perform. Something as simple as getting out of the bath or taking
down a pot of jam from a shelf. Are no longer something that the old
woman can do with ease. She has to rely on others to assist her. This may
be significant as it suggests that time has caught up with the old woman.
Yet she is very much alive when it comes to feeling loss. Something that is
noticeable by the fact that the old woman tends to her husband’s grave
on each anniversary of his death. The past is very much alive for the old
woman. Whether she might like it to be or not.
Frame also appears to be exploring the theme of struggle. The old woman
struggles with every task she performs. She also may struggle with the
loss of her husband. Not only emotionally is she still attached to her
husband as one would expect a widow to be. But she also relies on him
physically. If he was still alive he would be able to help the old woman out
of the bath. No longer would she have to struggle. The sense of struggle
that the old woman feels would also lead the reader to believe that
Frame is suggesting that life may be getting to be too much for the old
woman. It is as though she wishes for her life to be over. Which would
play on the theme of mortality. If anything the old woman longs to be
dead such is the difficulty she incurs in life. Not only is the longing for
death driven by loneliness but it is also the fact that the old woman’s
body is wearing out. As mentioned she is no longer able to do the things
she once was and is reliant on others to assist her. If anything there is no
joy in the old woman’s life. Everything is a struggle that is tinged with
sadness.
It may also be possible that the loss of her husband is just too much for
the old woman. Though she attends his grave for his anniversary it is

63
most likely that she is a frequent visitor to the grave. Even though Frame
doesn’t give any details as to the type of relationship the old woman had
with her husband there is still nonetheless a sense that the old woman
loved and continues to love her husband. It may also be significant that
the old woman can no longer enjoy the simple things in life (looking at
the sky) as this suggests that the old woman may have given up on life. It
is as though she has been defeated by her body and the fact that she is
alone. Simple things are no longer simple for the old woman. Everything
is an effort which may not be worth it to the old woman. She appears to
be comfortable with the idea of death. Something that is symbolically
noticeable by the fact that the old woman wishes she could fall asleep in
the graveyard. It is as though the graveyard is the only place where the
old woman is able to find peace. Also she would be near her husband.
The end of the story is also interesting as Frame through her description
of the world around the old woman may be suggesting that life goes on
regardless. The traffic still moves and people or strangers still have places
to go. These observations may be important as it is through them that the
reader senses that the old woman is no longer connected with the world.
She is a stranger among strangers. It might be true that her nephew will
come and stay with her but the old woman still longs to be dead. She sees
no positivity in the world and if she does (nephew coming) it is soon
beaten down by the negativity that the old woman feels about life.
Whether it is the loneliness the old woman feels or the loss of her
husband or even a combination of both the old woman does not appear
to be enjoying the life she is living. Not only has her body let her down
but her mind too lacks any sense of optimism. While many would like to
live on forever in life this is not the case for the old woman. Any comfort
that the old woman has felt in life is gone. She is alone, beaten and
unable to live her life as she would like to.

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5. On Her Knees

In On Her Knees by Tim Winton we have the theme of pride, dignity,

honesty, struggle, independence and class. Narrated in the first person by
man called Victor the reader realises after reading the story that Winton
may be exploring the theme of pride and dignity. Victor’s mother is a
proud and dignified woman. Despite the fact that she is forced to clean
other people’s houses in order to make a living she never allows this to
get the better of her. There is a sense that Victor’s mother is honourable
despite the obstacles she has had to face. If anything Victor’s mother
though she is struggling through life remains undefeated. Something that
is noticeable by the fact that she cleans the house one more time for the
woman who has accused her of stealing a pair of earrings. It is also
noticeable that Victor’s mother is able to put Victor through university
despite the fact that her husband has abandoned her. This could be
important as it suggests that Victor’s mother is independent of others.
The fact that Victor’s mother is also her own boss would also further
suggest that she is independent of others. Victor might be unhappy that
his mother is a cleaner but she does have her own independence.
It is also possible that Winton is exploring the theme of class. Both Victor
and his mother are working class though the people who have their
houses cleaned by Victor’s mother are middle or upper class. The fact
that they haggle with Victor’s mother over the rate she should be paid
may also be important as it is possible that Winton is placing a spotlight
on those who belong to the middle and upper classes. If anything Winton
could be suggesting that those who are wealthy and of a class higher than
Victor’s mother may be mean and blinded by self-importance. Viewing
Victor’s mother as being beneath them. Something that annoys Victor
because he knows how much his mother struggles. How annoyed Victor
actually is noticeable by the fact that he puts the earrings in the catbox.
Though Victor would like to see his mother do something else rather than
cleaning houses he still nonetheless takes great pride in his mother’s
ability to persevere. Which may be important as Winton could be
highlighting just how strong a woman can be. Not only is Victor’s mother
independent of others but she is also resilient. Despite the accusation of
stealing that have been made against her. Victor’s mother keeps looking
forward.

65
She and Victor are on their own and she knows that she has to be there
for Victor (and for herself). Neither Victor nor his mother have anybody
else to cushion the blows that life might throw at them. Unlike those who
own the houses that Victor’s mother cleans. Not only is Winton giving the
reader a strong female character but he also manages to highlight the
plight of those who are working class. Particularly the obstacles they can
face when engaging with the middle or upper classes. Individuals who
appear to be driven by a belief that they are better than others. A
cleaners role is often unappreciated something that Victor is only too well
aware of. Despite this Victor’s mother does everything to the best of her
ability. Regardless of what an employer may think of her. Victor on the
other hand is half-hearted when it comes to cleaning. He knows that his
(or his mother’s) work is not appreciated by those who he is cleaning for
and as such he limits the effort he puts in while cleaning. This could be
important as symbolically it suggests that Victor is aware of the class
divide that exists in society. With those who are working class being
under-valued.
The end of the story is also interesting as Winton appears to be
highlighting to the reader just how severe the obstacles are for those who
are working class. Despite the earrings being found and despite Victor’s
wishes to report the matter to the police. Victor’s mother knows that she
will not be believed by either the police or the woman whose flat she is
cleaning. This may be important as it suggests that there are two laws in
operation. One for working class people and one for those of a higher
class. Which may be the point that Winton is attempting to make. He may
be suggesting that an individual should not be judged solely by their
occupation (Victor’s mother) or class. That everybody should be treated
equally. It is also interesting that Victor removes the earrings from the
catbox and places them beside the money that his mother refuses to
take. It is as though both Victor and his mother know that they are better
than the woman who owns the flat. As they leave the flat the reader is
only too well aware that both Victor and his mother are leaving with their
heads held high and their dignity intact.

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6. The Fall of the House of Usher

Summary

The first five paragraphs of the story are devoted to creating a

gothic mood — that is, the ancient decaying castle is eerie and
moldy and the surrounding moat seems stagnant. Immediately Poe
entraps us; we have a sense of being confined within the
boundaries of the House of Usher. Outside the castle, a storm is
raging and inside the castle, there are mysterious rooms where
windows suddenly whisk open, blowing out candles; one hears
creaking and moaning sounds and sees the living corpse of the
Lady Madeline. This, then, is the gothic and these are its trappings;
one should realize by now that these are all basic effects that can
be found in any modern Alfred Hitchcock-type of horror film, any
ghost movie, or in any of the many movies about Count Dracula.
Here is the genesis of this type of story, created almost one
hundred and fifty years ago in plain, no-nonsense America, a new
nation not even sixty years old.

Besides having a fascination for the weird and the spectral, Poe
was also interested in the concept of the double, the schizophrenic,
the ironic, and the reverse. He investigated this phenomenon in
several stories, including "William Wilson" (a story which is
analyzed in this volume), and so it is important to note that there is
a special importance attached to the fact that Roderick Usher and
the Lady Madeline are twins. Poe is creating in this story his
conception of a special affinity between a brother and his twin
sister; it is almost as if Poe were "inventing" ESP, for this accounts
for the fact that Roderick Usher has heard the buried Lady Madeline
struggling with her coffin and her chains for over three days before
the narrator hears her. Unfortunately, modern readers tend to be a
little jaded by the many gothic effects. ESP, for example, is rather
old hat today as a gothic device, but in Poe's time, it was as
frightening and mysterious as UFOs are today.

"The Fall of the House of Usher" exemplifies perfectly Poe's

principle of composition that states that everything in the story must
contribute to a single unified effect. Late in the story, Roderick
Usher says: "I feel that the period will sooner or later arrive when I
67
must abandon life and reason together, in some struggle with the
grim phantasm, FEAR." Clearly, Poe has chosen the "grim
phantasm, FEAR" for his prime effect to be achieved in this story.
As a result, every word, every image, and every description in the
story is chosen with the central idea in mind of creating a sense of
abject terror and fear within both the narrator and the reader. From
the opening paragraphs, ominous and foreboding as they are, to
the presentation of the over-sensitive, hopelessly frail and delicate
Roderick Usher, to the terrible conclusion with the appearance of
the living corpse, all of Poe's details combine to create the anxiety
accompanying that "grim phantasm, FEAR."

Like so many of Poe's stories, the setting here is inside a closed

environment. From the time the unnamed narrator enters the House
of Usher until the end of the story when he flees in terror, the entire
story is boxed within the confines of the gloomy rooms on an
oppressive autumn day where every object and sound is attenuated
to the over-refined and over-developed sensitivities of Roderick
Usher.

In fact, the greatness of this story lies more in the unity of design
and the unity of atmosphere than it does in the plot itself. In terms of
what plot there is, it is set somewhere in the past, and we find out
that the narrator and Roderick Usher have been friends and
schoolmates previous to the story's beginning. At least Usher
considers the narrator to be his friend — in fact, his only friend —
and he has written an urgent letter to him, imploring him to come to
the Usher manor "post-haste." As the narrator approaches the
melancholy House of Usher, it is evening time and a "sense of
insufferable gloom pervades" his spirit. This is the first effect Poe
creates, this "sense of insufferable gloom." There are no gothic
stories or ghost stories which take place in daylight or at high noon;
these types of stories must occur in either darkness or in semi-
darkness, and thus the narrator arrives at this dark and cryptic
manor just as darkness is about to enshroud it. The house, the
barren landscape, the bleak walls, the rank sedges in the moat —
all these create a "sickening of the heart — an unredeemed
dreariness." This is a tone which will become the mood throughout
the entire story.

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Poe next sets up a sense of the "double" or the ironic reversal when
he has the narrator first see the House of Usher as it is reflected in
the "black and lurid tarn" (a dark and gruesome, revolting mountain
lake) which surrounds it. The image of the house, you should note,
is upside down. At the end of the story, the House of Usher will
literally fall into this tarn and be swallowed up by it. And even
though Poe said in his critical theories that he shunned symbolism,
he was not above using it if such symbolism contributed to his
effect. Here, the effect is electric with mystery; he says twice that
the windows of the house are "eyelike" and that the inside of the
house has become a living "body" while the outside has become
covered with moss and is decaying rapidly. Furthermore, the
ultimate Fall of the House is caused by an almost invisible crack in
the structure, but a crack which the narrator notices; symbolically,
this is a key image. Also central to this story is that fact that
Roderick and the Lady Madeline are twins. This suggests that when
he buries her, he will widen the crack, or fissure, between them.
This crack, or division, between the living and the dead will be so
critical that it will culminate ultimately in the Fall of the House of
Usher.

It is possible that Poe wanted us to imagine that when Usher tries to

get rid of that other part of himself, the twin half, he is, in effect,
signing his own death warrant. Certainly at the end of the story,
Lady Madeline falls upon him in an almost vampire-like sucking
position and the two of them are climactically, totally one, finally
united in the light of the full moon, by which the narrator is able to
see the tumultuous Fall of the House of Usher. (The full moon, of
course, is a traditional prop for stories of this sort; that is, one finds
it in all gothic, ghostly, and vampire-type stories.)

Upon entering the gothic archway of the deteriorating mansion, the

narrator is led "through many dark and intricate passages" filled
with "sombre tapestries," "ebon blackness," and "armorial trophies."
As noted earlier, these details of old armor standing in the shadows
and the intricate passageways leading mysteriously away are all
traditional elements in all gothic horror stories. Over everything, Poe
drapes his "atmosphere of sorrow . . . and irredeemable gloom." He
evokes here his primary effect: We sense that some fearful event
will soon transpire.

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When the narrator sees Roderick Usher, he is shocked at the
change in his old friend. Never before has he seen a person who
looks so much like a corpse with a "cadaverousness of
complexion." Death is in the air; the first meeting prepares us for
the untimely and ghastly death of Roderick Usher later in the story.
Usher tries to explain the nature of his illness; he suffers from a
"morbid acuteness of the senses." He can eat "only the most insipid
food, wear only delicate garments," and he must avoid the odors of
all flowers. His eyes, he says, are "tortured by even a faint light,"
and only a few sounds from certain stringed instruments are
endurable.

As Roderick Usher explains that he has not left the house in many
years and that his only companion has been his beloved sister, the
Lady Madeline, we are startled by Poe's unexpectedly introducing
her ghostly form far in the distance. Suddenly, while Roderick is
speaking, Madeline passes "slowly through a remote portion of the
apartment" and disappears without ever having noticed the
narrator's presence. No doctor has been able to discover the nature
of her illness — it is "a settled apathy, a gradual wasting away of
the person" in a "cataleptical" state; that is, Lady Madeline cannot
respond to any outside stimuli. The narrator then tells us that
nevermore will he see her alive. Of course, then, the question at the
end of the story is: Was the Lady Madeline ever alive? Or is the
narrator deceiving the reader by this statement? Roderick Usher
and the narrator speak no more of the Lady Madeline; they pass the
days reading together or painting, and yet Usher continues to be in
a gloomy state of mind. We also learn that one of Usher's paintings
impresses the narrator immensely with its originality and its bizarre
depiction: It is a picture of a luminous tunnel or vault with no visible
outlet. This visual image is symbolic of what will happen later; it
suggests both the vault that Usher will put his sister into and also
the maelstrom that will finally destroy the House of Usher.

Likewise, the poem "The Haunted Palace," which Poe places

almost exactly in the center of the story, is similar to the House of
Usher in that some "evil things" are there influencing its occupants
in the same way that Roderick Usher, the author of the poem
seems to be haunted by some unnamed "evil things." After he has
finished reading the poem, Usher offers another of his bizarre

70
views; this time, he muses on the possibility that vegetables and
fungi are sentient beings — that is, that they are conscious and
capable of having feelings of their own. He feels that the growth
around the House of Usher has this peculiar ability to feel and
sense matters within the house itself. This otherworldly atmosphere
enhances Poe's already grimly threatening atmosphere.

One day, Roderick Usher announces that the Lady Madeline is "no
more"; he says further that he is going to preserve her corpse for
two weeks because of the inaccessibility of the family burial ground
and also because of the "unusual character of the malady of the
deceased." These enigmatic statements are foreboding; they
prepare the reader for the re-emergence of the Lady Madeline as a
living corpse.

At the request of Usher, the narrator helps carry the "encoffined"

body to an underground vault where the atmosphere is so
oppressive that their torches almost go out. Again Poe is using a
highly effective gothic technique by using these deep, dark
underground vaults, lighted only by torches, and by having a dead
body carried downward to a great depth where everything is dank,
dark, and damp.

After some days of bitter grief, Usher changes appreciably; now he

wanders feverishly and hurries from one chamber to another. Often
he stops and stares vacantly into space as though he is listening to
some faint sound; his terrified condition brings terror to the narrator.
Then we read that on the night of the "seventh or eighth day" after
the death of the Lady Madeline, the narrator begins to hear "certain
low and indefinite sounds" which come from an undetermined
source. As we will learn later, these sounds are coming from the
buried Lady Madeline, and these are the sounds that Roderick
Usher has been hearing for days. Because of his over-
sensitiveness and because of the extra-sensory relationship
between him and his twin sister, Roderick has been able to hear
sounds long before the narrator is able to hear them.

When Usher appears at the narrator's door looking "cadaverously

wan" and asking, "Have you not seen it?," the narrator is so ill at
ease that he welcomes even the ghostly presence of his friend.
Usher does not identify the "it" he speaks of, but he throws open the
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casement window and reveals a raging storm outside — "a
tempestuous . . . night . . . singular in its terror and its beauty."
Again, these details are the true and authentic trappings of the
gothic tale. Night, a storm raging outside while another storm is
raging in Usher's heart, and a decaying mansion in which "visible
gaseous exhalations . . . enshrouded the mansion" — all these
elements contribute to the eerie gothic effect Poe aimed for.

The narrator refuses, however, to allow Usher to gaze out into the
storm with its weird electrical phenomena, exaggerated by their
reflection in the "rank miasma of the tarn." Protectively, he shuts the
window and takes down an antique volume entitled Mad Trist by Sir
Launcelot Canning and begins reading aloud. When he comes to
the section where the hero forces his way into the entrance of the
hermit's dwelling, the narrator says that it "appeared to me that,
from some very remote portion of the mansion, there came,
indistinctly, to my ears, what might have been, in its exact similarity
of character . . . the very cracking and ripping sound" which was
described in the antique volume which he is reading to Usher. The
narrator continues reading, and when he comes to the description
of a dragon being killed and dying with "a shriek so horrid and
harsh, and withal so piercing," he pauses because at the exact
moment, he hears a "low and apparently distant, but harsh,
protracted and most unusual screaming or grating sound" which
seems to be the exact counterpart of the scream in the antique
volume. He observes Usher, who seems to be rocking from side to
side, filled with some unknown terror. Very soon the narrator
becomes aware of a distinct sound, "hollow, metallic and
clangorous, yet apparently muffled." When he approaches Usher,
his friend responds that he has been hearing noises for many days,
and yet he has not dared to speak about them. The noises, he
believes, come from Lady Madeline: "We have put her living in the
tomb!" He heard the first feeble movements a few days ago while
she was in the coffin, then he heard the rending of the coffin and
the grating of the iron hinges of her prison and then her struggling
with the vault and, finally, she is now on the stairs and so close that
Usher can hear "the heavy and horrible beating of her heart." With a
leap upwards, he shrieks: "Madman! I tell you that she now stands
without the door!" At this moment, with superhuman strength, the
antique doors are thrown open and in the half darkness there is

72
revealed "the lofty and enshrouded figure of the Lady Madeline of
Usher." There is blood upon her white robes and the evidence of a
bitter struggle on every portion of her emaciated frame. With the
last of her energy, while she is trembling and reeling, she falls
heavily upon her brother, and "in her violent and now final death-
agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terrors
he had anticipated."

The narrator tells us that he fled from the chamber and from the
entire mansion and, at some distance, he turned to look back in the
light of the "full, setting and blood-red moon" (emphasis mine) and
saw the entire House of Usher split at the point where there was a
zigzag fissure and watched as the entire house sank into the "deep
and dank tarn" which covered, finally, the "fragments of the 'House
of Usher.'" There are more varying interpretations of this story than
there are of almost any of Poe's other works. For some of the
widely differing interpretations, the reader should consult the
volume Twentieth-Century Interpretations of Poe's "Fall of the
House of Usher." One key to the story is, of course, the name of the
main character. An usher is someone who lets one in or leads one
in. Thus, the narrator is ushered into the house by a bizarre-looking
servant, and he is then ushered into Roderick Usher's private
apartment and into his private thoughts. Finally, usher also means
doorkeeper, and as they had previously ushered Lady Madeline
prematurely into her tomb, at the end of the story Lady Madeline
stands outside the door waiting to be ushered in; failing that,
she ushers herself in and falls upon her brother.

In the concept of twins, there is also a reversal of roles. It is Usher

himself who seems to represent the weak, the over-sensitive, the
over-delicate, and the feminine. In contrast, Lady Madeline, as
many critics have pointed out, possesses a superhuman will to live.
She is the masculine force which survives being buried alive and is
able, by using almost supernatural strength, to force her way out
and escape from her entombment in the vaults, and then despite
being drained of strength, as evidenced by the blood on her shroud,
she is able to find her brother and fall upon him.

Another reading of the story involves the possibility that Roderick

Usher's weakness, his inability to function in light, and his necessity
to live constantly in the world of semi-darkness and muted sounds
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and colors is that the Lady Madeline is a vampire who has been
sucking blood from him for years. This would account for his
paleness and would fit this story in a category with the stories of
Count Dracula that were so popular in Europe at the time. In this
interpretation, Roderick Usher buries his sister so as to protect
himself. Vampires had to be dealt with harshly; thus, this accounts
for the difficulty Lady Madeline encounters in escaping from her
entombment. In this view, the final embrace must be seen in terms
of the Lady Madeline, a vampire, falling upon her brother's throat
and sucking the last drop of blood from him.

The final paragraph supports this view in that the actions occur
during the "full blood-red moon," a time during which vampires are
able to prey upon fresh victims.

At the opposite end of this phantasmal interpretation is the modern-

day psychological view that the twins represent two aspects of one
personality. The final embrace, in this case, becomes the unifying of
two divergent aspects into one whole being at birth. Certainly many
Romantics considered birth itself to be a breaking away from
supernatural beauty, and they believed that death was a reuniting of
oneself with that original spirituality. Lady Madeline can then be
seen as the incarnation of "otherworldliness," the pure spirit purged
of all earthly cares. She is, one might note, presented in this very
image; at one point in the story, she seems to float through the
apartment in a cataleptic state. If Usher embodies the incertitude of
life — a condition somewhere between waking and sleeping —
when Lady Madeline embraces him, this embrace would symbolize
the union of a divided soul, indicating a final restoration and
purification of that soul in a life to come. They will now live in pure
spirituality and everything that is material in the world is symbolized
by the collapse of the House of Usher — the dematerialization of all
that was earthly in exchange for the pure spirituality of Roderick
Usher and the Lady Madeline.

Even though Poe maintains that he did not approve of symbols or

allegory, this particular story has been, as suggested above,
subjected to many and varied types of allegorical or symbolic
interpretations. Basically, however, the story still functions as a
great story on the very basic level of the gothic horror story, in
which the element of fear is evoked in its highest form.
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7. The Moving Finger

In The Moving Finger by Edith Wharton we have the theme of control,

loneliness, conflict, obsession, isolation, connection, dependency and
letting go. Narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator the
reader realises after reading the story that Wharton may be exploring the
theme of control. There is a sense that Ralph was controlled by his first
wife and that his life was unhappy. Also despite the second Mrs Grancy
being dead. Ralph still wants to control her. Something that is evident by
the fact that he asks Claydon to repaint the portrait of Mrs Grancy so that
she may look older. Just as Ralph has gotten older. Though Ralph has
tried to do everything to move on with his life. Even going as far as taking
a job in Europe. He has not being able to escape from his past. He is
forever drawn to Mrs Grancy. Which may leave some readers to suggest
that Ralph is unable to move on with his life. He has never remarried and
since Mrs Grancy’s death there is a sense that Ralph has lived a lonely life.
Something that Wharton may be highlighting by way of the setting of the
story. Ralph when he returns from Europe does not leave his home or a
least there is no mention by the narrator of Ralph ever leaving his home.
Though it is not directly implied by the narrator there is also a sense that
Mrs Grancy and Claydon may have had an affair. Just as Ralph loved Mrs
Grancy so too did Claydon. It is perhaps for this reason that Claydon
restored the portrait to what it originally was. Just as Ralph is unable to
let go of Mrs Grancy so too is Claydon. By restoring the picture to what it
originally was Claydon wishes to remember Mrs Grancy as she was when
he fell in love with her. If anything both Ralph and Claydon are obsessed
with Mrs Grancy. With the possibility that Claydon may actually have
been jealous of Ralph’s relationship with his wife. It is as though there is
the undercurrent of a conflict between Ralph and Claydon. Though Ralph
would possibly be unaware of this. It is also possible that Wharton is
exploring the theme of isolation. Ralph felt not only trapped but isolated
in his first marriage. While it is possible that Mrs Grancy too felt trapped
and subsequently isolated when it came to her love for both Ralph and
Claydon.
There is also some symbolism in the story which may be important. Not
only does the portrait of Mrs Grancy symbolize love for both Ralph and
Claydon but it also symbolizes man’s obsession with women and how
men like to control women (even in death). The fact that Ralph has

75
married twice may also have some symbolic significance as Wharton
could be using the fact that Ralph married twice to highlight Ralph’s need
to feel connected to another person. Though his marriage to his first wife
was unhappy. Ralph never divorced or left his wife. Similarly with the
second Mrs Grancy there is a sense that Ralph needed her to bring joy to
his life. If anything Ralph needed to feel connected with the second Mrs
Grancy. Something that is also evident in her death. Which may leave
some critics to suggest that Ralph is dependent on both his wives.
Similarly there is a sense that Claydon too is dependent on Mrs Grancy in
order to be happy. Which is ironic considering that women were viewed
upon as being dependent on men at the time the story was written.
The end of the story is also interesting as the reader gets a sense into just
how deeply in love with Mrs Grancy Claydon is. Though some critics
might suggest that Claydon is self-absorbed. Thinking only of himself and
not of others (like Ralph and Mrs Grancy). However one thing is certain
and that is that Claydon is viewing Mrs Grancy as an object. Which may
be the point that Wharton is making. She may be suggesting that at the
time the story was written men objectified women rather than treating
them as equals. For Claydon he has an image (or portrait) of Mrs Grancy
which is not real. If anything Claydon has created a fantasy for himself.
Though for him the fantasy is very real. He has what he wants. Complete
control and possession over Mrs Grancy. Just as men in general had
control and possession over women at the time the story was written.
Claydon might also think that he has won his rivalry with Ralph however
the reality might be very different. All that Claydon is left with is a portrait
of Mrs Grancy and a memory of a time they spent together. He has not
really won anything. Though his fantasy may be real to him. It still is only
a fantasy.

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8. The Open Boat

In The Open Boat by Stephen Crane we have the theme of optimism,

desperation, determination, disappointment, acceptance and
gratitude. The story itself is narrated in the third person by an
unnamed narrator and the reader realises after reading the story
that Crane may be exploring the theme of optimism. Though some of
the men in the boat feel withdrawn and anxious while they are in the
boat overall there mood is one of optimism. It is as though they have
no option but to be optimistic and hope that they will either reach
land or be saved by another boat. It is also noticeable that none of
the men argue with each other. There is no conflict between them
and they are in unison when it comes to their goal of reaching land.
This may be important as it suggests that the men are not allowing
themselves to be disheartened by the circumstances they find
themselves in. Rather they remain determined in their goal despite
how desperate their situation may be. It might also be worth nothing
that there is an unspoken friendship between all four men with each
man respecting the rule of authority (the captain). Something which
may have actually helped to ensure that most of the men survived.
All four men are also greeted with disappointment when they see
the man on the beach who is aimlessly waving his coat. Rather than
this being a sign that help is on the way. The man on the beach is
merely waving to all four men in the boat without understanding
that they are in need of help. Despite this it is noticeable that the
men’s spirits are not dampened and they continue to do all they can
to ensure their safety in the boat. If anything not only do the men
show a great deal of determination to reach land but they are
resilient too. Though they might scorn the actions of the man waving
the coat. They do not give up on their goal despite being
disappointed. There is also no sign that any of the men despite being
confined in such a small space do anything but accept the position
they find themselves in. Most likely each man knows that they have
just one option and that is to try and persevere. To unite as one and
continue to the best of their abilities.

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It is also possible that each individual character in the story
represents a part of society. The captain for example may represent
those who are in power or who lead other men. The cook would
represent a follower. One who takes orders from others. While the
oiler would represent hard-working people whose efforts are needed
for society to function. The correspondent might represent those
who are more inclined to think or observe things in life. The attitudes
of all four men also change at times during the story. At the
beginning of the story all four men are confused. As the story
progresses all four begin to feel hopeful when they see the
lighthouse and at the end of the story there is a sense that the
correspondent has changed and is grateful to have survived. The fact
that Billie (oiler) dies might also be important as he is the one who
has put in the most effort when it comes to trying to reach shore. It
is possible that Crane is suggesting that nature is unfair and that the
strongest do not necessarily always survive. Regardless of the efforts
they might put in nature is indifferent to man’s plight.
The end of the story is also interesting as through the
correspondent’s eyes the reader gets an insight into the sense of
relief and gratitude that the correspondent feels. He is grateful that
his ordeal is over and that he has reached the beach. As too have the
other men. There is also a sense that the correspondent has a deeper
respect and understanding of the sea. Having experienced the power
that the sea can wield over a man. It is also likely that none of the
men will ever forget what they have went through and how
fortunate they may have been. The reader aware that all four men
have been driven by a desire to live and maintained an optimism
when others would falter. The captain, cook and the correspondent
have survived. Despite the odds of doing so being stacked against
them due to the harsh conditions that they had to endure. If
anything Crane may be exploring the power of the human spirit and
how strong an individual’s desire to live through or survive a
situation can be. He may also be suggesting that in times of doubt or
need an individual is reliant on others. Just as each man on the boat
was reliant on the other three men.

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9. Journey

In Journey by Patricia Grace we have the theme of change,

powerlessness, frustration, responsibility and acceptance. Narrated in the
third person by an unnamed narrator the reader realises after reading the
story that Grace may be exploring the theme of change. The old man can
remember travelling into the city by steam train. Also when he is on the
train to the city he notices how much the landscape has changed. The
difference that time has brought. This may be important as in many ways
it acts as foreshadowing. The old man also wants to change the small
piece of land that he owns and build some houses on it for his nephews
and nieces. However it becomes clear to the reader that the old man is in
reality powerless when it comes to the decision making on the changes
that he wishes to make. While in the city talking about his land with the
young man (Paul) it becomes clear to the reader that the city planners
intend to make car parking spaces out of the old man’s land. Something
that frustrates the old man even though he has been promised other
housing. The old man’s frustration may be two fold. Firstly he is unhappy
that the city planners will not build on his land for him and secondly his
emotional attachment to the land gets the better of him. Something that
is noticeable by the fact that the old man kicks and damages Paul’s desk.
At no stage of the story is the old man in control of the conversation he is
having with Paul. The decision has been made on how the land will be
allocated and the old man has to accept this. Something he finds difficulty
in doing. Though time has progressed and the world around the old man
has changed. The old man himself does not appear to be open to change
nor is he open to the city planners reallocating land to him. This may be
important as it suggests that the old man has difficulty letting go. There
are some things he might be able to accept that need changing. However
when it comes to anything which may affect his own life, like the housing
problem, he is not comfortable with this. It is as though the old man is
unable to adapt to the world around him. Something that is further
noticeable by his refusal to use the lavatories in the city. His previous
experience having been unpleasant.
It is also self-evident that the old man is under a lot of pressure from his
nephews and nieces. Though they do not say anything to the old man.
The sense is that they view it as being his responsibility to sort out the
issue with the land. They themselves have tried and failed. Their only

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recourse is to let the old man go into the city to see if he can resolve the
issue. Something which as mentioned he fails to do. What he might have
thought would have been a simple issue turns out to be a bureaucratic
headache for the old man. Others are in control of what will happen and
not the old man. Which may be the point that Grace is attempting to
make. She may be suggesting that no matter how simple or easy an
individual’s desires may be. Bureaucracy will inevitable wear the
individual down. Something that has happened the old man. He knows
that his battle is lost and there is nothing that he can do about it.
It is also interesting that Grace mentions the old man’s garden as this is
the only piece of land mentioned in the story that the old man has control
over. Something he himself seems to realise. The fact that the old man
looks at the palms of his hands while sitting on his bed could also be
important. By looking at his hands he may again realise how physically
and symbolically powerless he actually is. Earlier in the story he wanted
to hit Paul with his hands but knew that he no longer had the power. The
old man’s decision not be buried (or to go into the ground) may also be
significant as the old man knows that he has no control over his resting
place. His grave can be dug up and he can be moved. Something that the
old man recalls happening to other graves while he was on his journey to
the city. Overall the old man’s experience of change and bureaucracy has
been unpleasant. He has not succeeded in his goal which suggests that he
has become powerless to the changes that are and will occur around him.
The only thing the old man can do is accept the position he finds himself
in. Though this may take him some time. The old man has been beaten by
both change and bureaucracy. The drive and determination he had prior
to setting out to the city is no longer. If anything the old man is defeated.

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10. The Stoat

In The Stoat by John McGahern we have the theme of

selfishness, fear, responsibility, rejection and honesty.
Narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator the
reader realises after reading the story that McGahern may be
exploring the theme of selfishness. The protagonist’s father
on hearing that Miss McCabe has had a heart attack decides
to abandon any notions he had of getting engaged to Miss
McCabe. It is as though the protagonist’s father doesn’t want
to care for Miss McCabe should the need arise. This may be
important as it suggests that the protagonist’s father is being
selfish. Thinking only of his own feelings rather than on how
Miss McCabe may feel. It seems to be a case that if the focus
is not on him he does not want to get engaged to or marry
Miss McCabe. If anything Miss McCabe has become a liability
rather than an asset to the protagonist’s father. It is also
possible that the protagonist’s father fears the outcome
should he end up marrying Miss McCabe. He has already
buried one wife and may not wish to have to bury a second.
Miss McCabe is no longer of any use to the protagonist’s
father and as mentioned she has become a liability. Where
previously the protagonist’s father had been happy to get
engaged to Miss McCabe this is no longer the case. Driven by
his own sense of importance the protagonist’s father decides
to go back home without discussing the break-up with Miss
McCabe.
If anything the protagonist’s father is not taking responsibility
for his actions. It would be more appropriate for him to be
honest with Miss McCabe rather than simply abandoning her
without any type of explanation. Not only is the protagonist’s
father acting selfishly but he is also avoiding having to tell

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Miss McCabe as to why he no longer has any interest in
seeing her or getting engaged. His actions lack any type of
honesty. Similarly his fears that he may have to take care of
Miss McCabe suggest that the most important person in the
protagonist’s father’s life is himself. He had been seeking
companionship however everything must be on his terms.
Something that is noticeable by fact that the protagonist’s
father was unhappy with many of the women that he had
seen before he choose Ms McCabe. It is possible that the
other women may have been too much work for the
protagonist’s father. He is looking for something easy in life
without having to put too much effort in. Miss McCabe fits
the bill till she has a heart attack.
Though the protagonist’s father has every right to choose the
woman he wishes to marry some critics might suggest he is
acting spinelessly by abandoning or rejecting Miss McCabe. It
may also be a case that the protagonist is rejecting his father
(and Miss McCabe). Something that is noticeable by the
protagonist’s desire to ‘avoid the trout dinner and anything
more got to do with them.’ As to why the protagonist wishes
to reject his father and Miss McCabe is uncertain. He may
have tired of their interaction with one another. Where
previously he had no objection to his father finding female
companionship. The protagonist has now changed his mind.
The protagonist’s relationship with his uncle is also
interesting as he appears to have more constructive dialogue
with him than he does with his father. Throughout the story
the father has been concerned only with his own goal of
finding a companion. Whereas it seems his uncle listens to
him. Something that is noticeable by the fact that they go on
a four-mile walk together and then go to the Grand Central

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for a drink. It is as though both the protagonist and his uncle
share common interests not only professionally but
personally too.
The end of the story is also interesting as McGahern repeats
a paragraph. This may be important as McGahern could be
suggesting that just as the stoat will kill again so too
symbolically will the protagonist’s father. Just as the stoat
has killed the rabbit. The protagonist’s father has killed off his
relationship with Miss McCabe and he may do so with any
other woman that does not match the strict criteria that the
protagonist’s father has set out. Though the protagonist’s
father is looking for companionship he also seems to be
looking for perfection yet he is not able to offer this himself.
As a man he is flawed. He has abandoned Miss McCabe for
no other reason apart from the fact she had a heart attack.
The standard that the protagonist’s father has set and which
many women have not been able to attain in all possibility
may not be realistic. The protagonist’s father himself has very
little to offer. He is stuck in his ways something that is
noticeable by his reading habits when it comes to the
newspaper. Yet the woman that the protagonist’s father
seeks must be able to accommodate his idiosyncratic way of
living and at the same time have no quirks of note
themselves. Again the protagonist’s father is a selfish man
who thinks only of himself. If the woman does not tick all the
right boxes the protagonist’s father doesn’t want to know.
Yet he cannot tick some of the boxes himself.

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